Hi! We’re Susie & Erica.
We’re the authors of Branches and homeschooling parents who love a good “About Us” page—because when curriculum comes into your home, it becomes part of your family. It matters who wrote it and why.
Here’s a bit about each of us—and how we came together to create Branches.
Hi, I’m Susie.
I’m the author of Playing Preschool and the creator behind the renowned Instagram account Busy Toddler with more than 2.4 million followers. I hold a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and began my career teaching kindergarten and first grade. I left the classroom when my oldest was born and launched Busy Toddler in 2015, never imagining I would become a part of so many families’ educational journeys.
In 2017, I wrote the Playing Preschool curriculum to fix a problem my family was facing. I needed an affordable preschool option for my oldest, but when I started looking at homeschool preschool programs, I couldn’t find one as hands-on or comprehensive as I knew preschool at home could be. So I wrote what I needed. Playing Preschool quickly became one of the most widely used homeschool preschool programs available.
Throughout my family’s homeschool experience, I’ve worked tirelessly to create an environment where multi-age learning, knowledge acquisition, and family time weave together seamlessly.
My philosophy has always been that children learn best hands-on and in context—no matter their age.
But I couldn’t find an elementary-level homeschool curriculum that could support all that. I found grade-level-specific options that taught a few skills, but never as in-depth as I wanted or as whole-body as I knew big kids still needed.
And I knew I wasn’t alone in this need because right outside my kitchen window, my closest friend and neighbor, Erica, was homeschooling her family and facing similar challenges.
Hi, I’m Erica.
I’m the co-author of Branches. I didn’t start homeschooling with a background in education, but I’ve spent the past five years teaching my children and learning alongside them.
My childhood was split between Europe and the U.S.—I attended schools in the Netherlands, Paris, and Chicago before earning a double degree in French and Communications from Northwestern University. Learning and the pursuit of knowledge have always been at my core.
I never pictured myself as a homeschool parent or board member of a homeschool co-op, but life had a different plan—and I’m grateful it did.
I started homeschooling with a kindergartener and a toddler and was quickly overwhelmed by vague curriculum options, with little guidance for what an actual day looked like or what the clear learning outcomes were.
Loosely written lesson plans from single-subject programs didn’t support me as a new-to-teaching parent. I was lucky: Susie was my neighbor. She helped me piece things together. But not everyone has someone next door with a Master’s in Education.
Now, years later, with a kindergartener and a fifth grader at home, I know exactly what I needed back then—and what I still need now.
But that kind of program didn’t exist.
Until Susie and I wrote Branches.
Why We Created Branches
Branches is everything we needed as parents and educators—then and now.
It’s a way for elementary-aged kids to keep learning through hands-on experiences, honoring these middle years of childhood with the same magic and intention we give the early years.
It’s a curriculum that supports parents with clear, thoughtful guidance, detailed lesson plans, and step-by-step instructions—without being rigid or overly scripted.
It’s rooted in foundational knowledge, helping kids learn skills in context and make connections across subjects and domains rather than learning in isolated pieces.
At its core, Branches reflects our belief that children and parents learn best together. This is the foundation of our family life and the heart of this program. We created Branches to help your family grow—through knowledge, connection, and a lifelong love of learning.