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Rachel Kovac

@rachelstitchedtogether

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Author | Their Future Is Shining Bright
Homeschooling high school with purpose
Preparing teens for life after graduation
Mother of 6 • Book details ⬇️

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Today is the birthday of my book, Their Future Is Shining Bright. It is now available wherever books are sold!

One of my endorsers, Cindy Rollins wrote, “Their Future Is Shining Bright isn’t a new paradigm; it is an older, more beautiful model of what it means to be an educated human, not just for school but for life.”

This book explores possibilities for academics, outsourcing, and earning college credit, but also family life, building community, the search for meaning, career discernment, and so much more!

Thank you to all who have come alongside me on this journey, and to those who have purchased the book. It means so much, and I am deeply grateful. ♥️ by @rachelstitchedtogether

As my kids have gotten older, I take significantly fewer photos. My phone camera roll is now mostly screenshots and I rarely get out my DSLR. Even though I’ve worked as a photographer, I’ve never liked having my own photo taken, so I haven’t really prioritized family photos, either.

Last year, Jude spent the summer in the Midwest doing medical research, and Indi was interning and preparing to leave for college. I felt so strongly then that it was time to have photos taken of all of us together, before my kids start going in their own different directions.

And while I don’t have many things on my bucket list, having our photos taken by my friend of over a decade @joyprouty was one of my dreams. She was so generous with her time and care, really seeing us as we are. I am so grateful.

It reminded me, once again, of the value in preserving and honoring each season. And it encouraged me to be more intentional about taking photos with my friends, too.

To mark and cherish these days we are in. by @rachelstitchedtogether

Homeschooling through high school can feel intimidating. The stakes are high, and many of us wonder if we have what it takes or whether we are giving our kids what they truly need. I had those same concerns, and those questions led me here.

I am so excited to share a project so close to my heart, one I’ve been working on for the last year and a half and have poured over 1,000 hours of time and research into, though it began years earlier.

I hope it will save families stress, time, and potentially thousands of dollars: Their Future Is Shining Bright, my book on homeschooling through high school.

Homeschooling has been one of my greatest joys, more rewarding than I ever dreamed. But when our eldest, Jude, was a senior, I realized that while resources for the early years were abundant, the scaffolding for the teen years often felt missing or confusing. Yet this season is so vulnerable, formative, and important.

Jude is now a junior in college, preparing to apply to medical school, and doing wonderfully. Still, I learned so much along the way that could have made his and our lives easier and less stressful.

Their Future Is Shining Bright shares everything I wish I’d known from the start including:

• how to design an exceptional, personalized high school education
• teaching at home and/or thoughtfully outsourcing classes
• internships, apprenticeships, certifications, service projects, and passion-driven exploration
• earning college credit through AP, CLEP, and dual enrollment
• transcripts, credits, and year-by-year planning
• college applications, scholarships, testing, and financial aid
• exploration of career paths that don’t require a four-year degree
• the humanities, faith, and the search for meaning
• building community, deepening family connection, and nurturing belonging

Integrated throughout are the stories of homeschooling families across the country and the wisdom of experts who came alongside us, including a dual enrollment director and a top-tier college advisor.

Their Future Is Shining Bright releases in April and is available for preorder now. by @rachelstitchedtogether

Last summer, Jude did a medical research internship at the Mayo Clinic in cardiology. His research was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and last weekend he presented it at the American College of Cardiology conference in New Orleans! Jude has worked so hard and we are so proud of him! ♥️ by @rachelstitchedtogether

I’m so excited to share that my pre-order symposium on the teen years is available now! Visit the link in my bio to access your pre-order gifts! Just click on the banner at the top of my home page and enter your email address for instant access.

I’ve recorded conversations with four people I deeply respect as a special audio bonus for you. We explore important questions parents face while homeschooling through the teen years. It’s filled with wisdom and practical insight, offering over three hours of encouraging content you can listen to at your own pace.

Together we focus on four key questions:

1. How can I parent my child in accordance with the unique way they were made?

@leahboden_ , author of Modern Miss Mason, and I talk about the humanities, how beauty is for everyone, and raising each child as an individual.

2. How can I help my teen cultivate a healthy relationship with technology?

Erin Loechner, author of The Opt-Out Family, and I discuss teens, technology, smartphones, and social media.

3. How can my teen (and I) find community and connection in a lonely world?

My friend @wovenfable shares how she started a thriving nature group bringing moms, children, and families together. She models how loneliness can be the catalyst for something beautiful.

4. How can I help my teen discern their vocational path and prepare for what comes next?

I speak with dual enrollment advisor Dr. Abel Gonzales who demystifies dual enrollment, debunks myths, and explains opportunities available to high school students.

My preorder bonus also includes a short series of emails offering more about the why behind each conversation, along with additional information not found in the book.

To those who have preordered my book, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Your support means so much! by @rachelstitchedtogether

When Dan and I first started dating, he was recently widowed and I had been previously engaged to someone else, ending the relationship 26 days before the wedding. (Those closest to us breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it was the right choice.) Dan and I fell madly in love and married 5 1/2 months later, planning our wedding in only two weeks, a quasi-elopement with only a few people from our immediate families in attendance. We married the day after Christmas in a tiny candlelit chapel, surrounded by poinsettias that the pastor let us carry in from the larger sanctuary.

Last December we celebrated our 20th anniversary. Dan has experienced painfully difficult things in his life. But those things didn’t make him hard or bitter or cynical. He is the most loyal, grounded, and genuinely kind person I know. He has shown me unconditional love that healed my broken places and allowed me to more deeply experience the love of God.

For years we had dreamed of celebrating in England, but Dan lost his job of 18 years in a reorg. Our home had had significant water damage, and the repair was disastrous. We were launching Jude to college. We let it go.

Later, Dan was offered a new job, his dream job, with a British company. My cousin offered to watch our kids. We could fly to England for free using points!

So we recently celebrated our milestone anniversary (belated) in England. We went to Oxford, toured CS Lewis’s home, the Kilns, walked Addison’s Walk, toured the Bodleian Library and Christ Church, and went to evensong at Magdalen College. We stayed in Shakepeare’s hometown and went to the Cotswolds. We ended our time in the Lake District, where we toured Beatrix Potter’s home. We spent three days with our dear English friends Dave and Leah Boden, tour guides extraordinaire, who made the trip so magical.

On Substack I am sharing an interview I did with Leah on the art of commonplacing. I started my own commonplace book two years ago, and through the various ups and downs of the last couple of years, it has been an abiding gift. by @rachelstitchedtogether

A mentor once told me that we sometimes get into thinking and feeling feedback loops, and one way to break them is by doing. This year, I’ve been trying to direct my energy away from primarily thinking about things and instead move toward doing them. I’ve thought a lot about how much I’ve missed sewing for my girls, how it doesn’t take long to make a garment, and the joy I feel afterward seeing them wear it. I realized that getting the pattern cut out is the equivalent of getting my shoes on before exercising. It’s only a small obstacle. Everything becomes easier after I move past it. For this reason, when I cut out a pattern, I often sew in batches.

Last month, I made a patchwork dress for Maeve using the Geranium dress pattern by @madebyrae. I decided to sew two more, so she now has three new summer dresses. I hope to do the same with shorts and tops to create a little summer capsule wardrobe for her.

This weekend, I’m planning to sow some flower seeds in my garden and plant some vegetable transplants before it gets too hot. I can procrastinate on practical tasks, so I’m working on that too. I know I’ll never regret planting flowers or vegetables. Over on Substack, I wrote about my three favorite easy-to-grow spring flowers, and today I’m sharing an interview with flower farmer @foothillsflower on starting a flower farm on only 1/4th of an acre of land and on getting started with your own cut flower garden at home. She is such an inspiration to me! by @rachelstitchedtogether

When my girls were younger, I sewed most of their clothes. I enjoyed trying new patterns but found a certain comfort in going back to familiar ones again and again. My hands could lead intuitively, and it was satisfying to know how each step would come together. There’s a meditative aspect to the rhythm of the process: pin, sew, press. (Don’t forget to press!) One of my favorite patterns to return to is the Geranium dress by @madebyrae. I’ve made this dress so many times, and these dresses became inextricably linked to my memories of my daughters’ childhoods.

Last month I launched a monthly series on Substack where I interview creative people who inspire me. Today I’m excited to share my interview with pattern designer Rae Hoekstra where she shares advice on getting started with sewing, sourcing fabrics, navigating the vast world of patterns and embracing mistakes. I haven’t been sewing nearly as much as I once did, but our conversation inspired me to sew a Geranium dress for Maeve, and now I’m hoping to sew a few more! by @rachelstitchedtogether

I once heard someone say that as we reach middle age and beyond, we mostly see our dreams in the rearview mirror. I disagree. The older I get, the more mesmerized I am by life, by existence. There are so many things I want to experience, discover and learn. I appreciate it all more deeply now than I did when I was younger. My dreams include reading the great thinkers and writers alongside of my children and friends, sewing quilts and garments, taking photos as an act of presence and remembering.

When Jude was home for winter break, we talked about social media. He told me he planned to delete Instagram from his phone for the first two weeks of January. I decided to join him. Being I didn’t spend a lot of time on social media, I didn’t expect it would affect my life very much. But I quickly noticed the spaciousness I felt living life without it, a spaciousness I hadn’t expected.

Previously I would sometimes check the app if I was waiting for things, just a few minutes here and there. Indigo is learning Italian, so I began learning it with her. Sometimes when I have a few minutes, I practice my words. Learning a new language as an adult and alongside my daughter has ignited my spirit. In January I learned 500 words. Other times, I just sit in the stillness of the moment. I like that too.

Two weeks off of social media turned into all of January and I have made the decision to move my work primarily to Substack. I will have more space there to share resources that inspire me and make me come alive as a woman and mother. I also like the slower pace. Substack posts are delivered directly to your inbox in a newsletter format, so you don’t have be on an app or engage in endless scrolling. My newsletter is free! You can sign up through the link in my bio.

In my first newsletter, I’m sharing about four things that have helped me as I pursue my midlife dreams! by @rachelstitchedtogether

I have spent most of my life waiting until the last minute to finish my projects, practical (like packing) and personal (like sewing Christmas nightgowns). I would sew garments just before a vacation and nightgowns a day or two before Christmas Eve.

But as I got older and my family grew, this way of being has felt less energizing and more stressful. Several times I couldn’t pull it off. My Christmas Eve nightgowns became Happy New Year nightgowns, which was what we needed in that season.

My friend and Danish trained seamstress @sewinglikemad suggested I start my nightgowns in November and I thought: I would never do that! Then this year I did and it was wonderful.

I chose two vintage patterns and was able to take my time with the details without feeling stressed. One of the patterns was printed in 1957 and the pages were so fragile they tore as I handled them. The pattern was opened but uncut and I wondered if the original owner was a dreamer and time optimist just like I am. by @rachelstitchedtogether

Over the last few months, Indigo has been working on making cross stitch ornaments during our morning read aloud time. Last December we ordered @aliciapaulson’s Christmas is Coming cross stitch ornament kit and it was the perfect starting place for Indigo. It came with supplies, patterns and wonderful instructions, even for those new to the handcraft.

Indi enjoyed making the ornaments so much that after she finished the kit she decided to try another pattern set and cross-stitched five more. I mentioned to Alicia that Indigo loved her patterns and that it ignited a love of cross-stitch in her heart. Alicia sent us ten 2023 ornament charms for all of Indi’s ornaments, which was so kind and generous. Alicia has been a beautiful inspiration to me for over a decade, both in her sewing and her handwork. I feel so grateful that Indi could learn from her and be encouraged by her.

The girls and I decorated our Christmas tree last night and I noticed the gingerbread man ornament hanging on the tree. Indi had planned to give the ornaments away as gifts, so we had been keeping them high up on a shelf, out of reach. I wondered if one had been left out and if Maeve hung it on the tree. Indi said, no, that she had spent a lot of time on that gingerbread man, that she had a special affection it and decided to keep it. When she was small we used to bake gingerbread families together and so this gingerbread ornament is special to me, too. by @rachelstitchedtogether