I started my business, Afterschoolplans (www.afterschoolplans.com), about eight years ago while living in Kyiv, Ukraine. We were there during the revolution and spending a lot of time at home due to a lockdown and evacuation. I started the business as a way to stay involved with education as a stay-at-home-mom. The business took many detours through the years and has solidified into a business that provides U.S. History courses, American-History-in-a-Box, and Gifted and Talented courses, to expat families around the world.

I love reading and history and my program puts those two together. I spent hours looking for engaging books connected to the people, events, and concepts found in the U.S. Standards of Learning. I tried to find books that would pull kids in and make them want to learn more. There are so many amazing books out there, and reading is such a powerful way to learn about our history. Best of all, once these books are in a library, they can be read over and over again. History shouldn’t be a class that you take, pass, and forget. It should be a subject to explore, share, analyze, and apply to our current and future lives. My boxes try to build a love of reading and history, and hopefully encourage kids to go beyond what I provide and turn to the news, other books, and other histories throughout their lives.

For information about our programs, you can go to www.afterschoolplans.com.

Leah Moorefield Evans