Welcome to our newest blog series, Meet the Team! In each post, we spotlight a different member of the Pandia Press team and learn more about them – interests, background, and what they love about Pandia! Join us in meeting all of the amazing people behind our curricula.
Meet Blair!
This month, we’re chatting with Blair Lee, M.S., a prolific science author with Pandia Press as well as the founder of Secular Eclectic Academic (SEA) Homeschoolers, a supportive community of over 39,000 members that advocates for the exclusive use of secular academic materials.
Q: When and how did you develop a passion for your subject matter?
BL: I am going to answer this in two ways. I think curriculum developers have two subjects when they work: the subject-specific discipline and how that discipline is best learned.
It was not until I was in college that I fell in love with science. It all started when I looked at a drop of pond water and saw a rotifer whirling around in it. I have never looked back from that. I am fascinated with how the natural and physical world works.
Blair Lee, M.S.
As far as how people learn, that has fascinated me from a young age. I have spent decades musing and reading books about how people access information. Think about it, thoughts are sent through chemical signals in our brains. How amazing! It fills me with awe to think about. When I graduated from college, I took a job teaching at our local community college. I taught chemistry and human heredity. Every college I have been associated with, either as a student or a professor, did a good job of teaching science. Most students in my classes, however, were entirely unprepared for college science. This was something I observed when I was a college student as well.
I began applying what I knew about how people learn best in my science classes. When I started homeschooling, I started thinking about how we could do a better job teaching science before college. At that point I put pen to paper and fingers to typewriter keys, and R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey Chemistry 1 was written.
Q: What do you most enjoy about being an author with Pandia Press?
BL: The thing I enjoy most about being a Pandia author is the quality of product put out by this publishing house. The attention to detail with all of the products is commendable. The editing is stellar. I am honestly proud to be an author for this publishing house!
Q: When you’re not writing, how do you like to spend your time?
BL: I do have a couple of other jobs, such as teaching and helping to run SEA Homeschoolers. Outside of work, I love to travel; that is my passion, and it is shared by my husband. We like to travel to places that are off the beaten path and stay in traditional lodging. We also often pair service work (another passion) with our travel. I read every day, and I read a huge range of materials. When I am not doing these things, I hang out with my family. We have a yours, mine, and ours family and we are all really close.
Q: What is the best advice you have for families who are homeschooling?
BL: My best advice is that you take the time to learn how your children learn: How do they access and disseminate information? Which of the four primary learning modalities are they most adept at using? How strong are their metacognitive skills? Where do you and your children have concordance with these and where don’t you? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you immensely on your homeschooling journey.
R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey Chemistry Level One Textbook and Student Pages.
And always remember: There is no timeline for learning!
Blair Lee, M.S. is the founder of Secular Eclectic Academic (SEA) Homeschoolers as well as the author of Pandia Press’s critically acclaimed REAL Science Odyssey Series, as well as The Science of Climate Change: A Hands-On Course. Blair earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Master’s degree in Chemistry at the University of California San Diego. She is a passionate advocate of innovative academics using secular materials. Through her speaking and writing, her goal is to empower homeschoolers to dare to be innovative and create something unique and academically-rich when handcrafting their child’s journey through learning. She believes science can be and should be taught from the beginning of a child’s education. Blair now spends her time writing science for young people and is currently working on REAL Science Odyssey Biology 1 and Earth & Environment 2. She lives in California with her husband, son, many dogs, and several guinea pigs. You can contact Blair directly with questions about REAL Science Odyssey and SEA Homeschoolers at blair@seahomeschoolers.com.