The Shadow
Cori Layman has established the Lifehouse Homeschool Christian Coop on Facebook in order to assist parents in homeschooling their children.
She and her husband, Shawn Layman, an engineer who is employed by WestRock, reside in Clifton Forge.
Cori said, “I do run a homeschooling coop here in Clifton Forge.”
The Lifehouse Homeschool Christian Coop is available to the public on Facebook.
“We have classes every Monday and support meetings for the parents,” Cori noted.
She has homeschooled all four of her children, two of who are grown and living away from home and two still at home where they are being homeschooled.
Noah Layman, 23, entered the U.S. Air Force where he reached an E-4 rank before leaving the service to work in Richmond, Va. for Virginia Housing in its IT Department as a systems administrator.
Johah Layman, 22, is serving his country in New Mexico as a member of the U.S. Air Force.
Micah Layman, 13, is being homeschooled alongside his brother, Isaiah, 12.
Cori remarked, “I have used the unit study approach, and we do not have to have our children tested for SOLs.”
At the end of each year of homeschooling, she has her children evaluated in terms of their educational development.
“We choose to turn in letters each year to the Alleghany County School Board based on the evaluations,” Cori stated.
Educating her children at home gives her far more latitude to choose educational materials that appeal to the interest of her children, and she points out that having the flexibility to choose the materials that best fit each child’s needs is a huge advantage over sending her children to public schools where they are tied to the curriculum at hand.
She observed, “By not being bound to use one particular program for homeschooling, I was able to fit the study units to the interests of our children, and our children are learning life skills like cooking as well.
Cori was born in Pomton Plains, N. J., the daughter of Major Richard Smith. Her father’s career in the U.S. Air Force led him to Panama where Cori attended two years of elementary school.
After five years in Panama, her father was stationed at Summerville, S.C. where Cori finished her schooling. After high school, she attended Trident Technical Community College in Charleston where she earned her associate degree in computer information sciences and services.
Shawn was born in Mt. Savage, M.D., and he met Cori while they were taking the same Spanish class at the University of Charleston.
Shawn earned his B.S. degree in biology at The Citadel and his M.A. degree in information technology at the University of Maryland.
As for the materials Cori has chosen to homeschool her children, she recalled, “World of Adventure Unit Studies,” was helpful, and “Life of Fred” was the math program that I used.”
Homeschooling in Virginia is an option that parents have, and according to Cori, homeschooling her sons has allowed her to identify their individual interests and to provide the educational materials that has led her two eldest sons to success while helping her two youngest sons pursue careers that interest them.
