The letters of NLC began when my household embarked upon officially homeschooling in 2007. Originally, NLC stood for "Nell Learning Center" where I guided my own two boys as well as small groups of public, private, and homeschool kids in math, language, science, and social studies from my home. Over the years, we have learned so much from our journey and we realized that NLC actually stood for so much more. What we were really doing as we hacked our way through existing structures and found our own path was "Navigating Learning Creatively."
The world is full of educational opportunities when you are
Navigating Learning Creatively.
Jackie and her two sons in Moab, UT in 2018.
Every day is a new adventure!
Jackie Nell holds a graduate level education degree from George Mason University in Advanced Studies in Teaching and Learning with a focus in Literacy (2003). Her private research within that program centered on student-led literature discussion groups. Earlier, Jackie graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education, minoring in Developmental Reading (1995). Before embarking upon a homeschooling lifestyle with her own children, she held Virginia, Missouri and Louisiana Professional certifications in Elementary Education, Middle School Social Studies and English, and as a K-12 Reading Specialist. She taught in public and private schools in Missouri, Virginia, and Louisiana, working with pre-kindergarten students through 8th grade level (1995 to 2006). After relocating to Louisiana in 2003, she realized that she wanted to research more ways to empower students to guide their own journey. This ultimately led to Montessori training. In 2005 and 2006, she participated in the AMS Elementary training program in Houston, TX and taught at a private Montessori school in Louisiana. Jackie continued to work with students of all ages, tutoring in her home and offering group science classes in Louisiana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. She planned large camp experiences as a Camp Director and grew a failing Resident Camp program from 50 campers per weekend to over 600 campers per event by creating a high quality, STEM based, hands-on program. Currently, she is living in Pennsylvania and helping to care for her parents who reside with her. Her oldest son attends a nearby 4 year college and her youngest son plans to graduate from a nearby community college with an Associate's Degree at age 17. 