About Elise, Pierre and Marlene

Hello! We are the hearts and minds behind Smiling Scholar: Elise and Pierre are the parents, and Marlene is the homeschooled daughter :)

We created our own resources over more than a decade of homeschooling in the Montreal area. Why? In short, we wanted to share the best aspects of our own educations with our growing daughter (the high quality literature, old-fashioned methods such as memorisation and a strong focus on reading and writing) while avoiding the parts we found less helpful (the unnecessarily dismal content, and the ‘filler’ that took time and taught nothing). Sometimes we found what we needed via mainstream curricula, sometimes we relied on home-grown lessons made by other teachers and tutors, and sometimes we turned to our own experience as teachers (and students) to create something new.

Elise wrote the books; Pierre edited, had the final word on the design, and is the French language expert; and Marlene both inspired and tested each resource as she made her way through school. She still graciously takes a peek at newer additions to the catalogue, as they emerge from the pile of ideas and find their way to you.

Wondering why there are no pictures of us on social media? Marlene is now an adult, and our homeschooling days are behind us, so unless you’re interested in seeing images of us playing chess, smiling at a new eggless Tiramisu recipe or attempting to do Garba dance in our living room, well . . . .

Smiling Scholar remains a group effort and a labour of love, and we are glad to see how many teachers and parents are still choosing these resources and giving us positive reviews.

We welcome questions and comments and will be happy to hear that you found ‘that’ lesson or workbook you were looking for. It’s a thrill every time we learn that another young person has had the opportunity to learn using what we consider to be the best possible methods with the best possible primary texts.

All the best!

Elise, Pierre & Marlene