IN THIS ISSUE:
- From Kim's Desk → The beauty of coming home to yourself
- From the Schoolhouse → The leadership lesson in owning your expertise
- Field Notes → Thanksgiving guides, awakening perspectives, and fall adventures
- Grace + Grit → Fall adventures with your favorite correspondent
- Coming Up → Let's get messy together
Hey Reader!
Have you ever spent time trying to figure out what you're "supposed" to do and missed what you were already doing?
I've been thinking a lot about calling lately, not the lightning-bolt, burning-bush kind, but the quieter version that reveals itself through reflection. Some people know exactly what they're meant to do from childhood and chase it with unwavering focus. But for many of us, purpose unfolds more gently.
Mine has come through looking back at the threads woven throughout my life. For nearly 20 years, every role I've stepped into has had education and leadership at its heart, even when I didn't fully see it that way at the time. See photo for what some of my "early teaching days" looked like.
There's something both humbling and deeply comforting about realizing your calling isn't something you need to find or create. It's something you can simply recognize by seeing the patterns unfold throughout your life.
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Sometimes the thing we're meant to do has been quietly waiting for us all along, not in some distant future or different version of ourselves, but right here in the work that has always felt like home.
What patterns have been showing up in your own life? What keeps calling you back, even when you try to complicate it or dress it up as something else?
With grace and grit,
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+ In each issue, The Schoolhouse is where we pause to learn. A short reflection, a lesson in progress, a reminder worth keeping - focused on the three pillars of Mapphouse (Leadership, Pedagogy and Systems).+
As I have started share more about this business I found people kept asking, "So what exactly do you do?" and hearing responses like "Oh, education consulting?" It's time for me to stop dancing around it and own the title I've been nervous to claim: online education consultant.
I'm not sure why this felt so hard to say. Maybe because it felt too simple, or maybe because I was overcomplicating something that's actually very clear.
Here's what that means: I help educators, coaches, and knowledge-holders build online education that actually works. This isn't theoretical for me. With 15+ years in education and leadership roles, plus the experience of building my own online business and designing a course that still generates monthly recurring revenue, I understand both sides of this equation — the teaching and the business.
I do this through what I call the Mapphouse Model (I'm still working on the name... if you have suggestion let me know:), a framework built through my lived and professional experiences in each of the three essential foundations:
Leadership → Nurturing the teacher (that's you)
Pedagogy → Building content that follows proven educational principles
Systems → Creating the business infrastructure that serves both you and your students
"Online education is expanding exponentially. If we want it to stick, we need to build it intentionally."
This is what Mapphouse is about and as this business move forward I'll be offering different services and ways to engage with this work, but at the core, we're building online education that honors both the teacher and the learner.
The lesson: Sometimes the most powerful leadership move you can make is owning the space you're in and having the confidence to stand in the arena you know you're qualified for.
What I’m Reading
Currently reading The River of Doubt. The book follows Roosevelt's harrowing 1914 expedition into the uncharted Brazilian rainforest, where the former president nearly died while mapping a previously unknown river that was later named Rio Teodoro in his honor.
What I’m Cooking
With Thanksgiving around the corner, I'm turning to my tried-and-true source: Half Baked Harvest's Thanksgiving guide. Tieghan's recipes have been my go-to for holiday cooking (and honestly, most weekly meals) for years — her approach to cozy, seasonal cooking never disappoints.
What’s Inspiring Me
recently listened to Mark Nepo on The Mel Robbins Podcast, where he shared insights from his book "The Book of Awakening." It was one of those conversations that shifted something in me — a beautiful reminder about perspective, presence, and finding meaning in the everyday moments we often rush past. Sometimes we need voices like his to help us slow down and remember what really matters.
Disclaimer: This letter was “written” by Jolene — Kim’s 19 month old — and typed up by her mom. Hopefully it’s a breath of fresh air in the middle of the chaos, and a gentle reminder that we’re all just doing our best on any given day.
Hi everyone, Jolene here — your favorite tiny explorer and chief leaf inspector.
This fall has been absolutely perfect for what I like to call "very important puppy walks." Every day, I insist we go see the dogs in the neighborhood (they're all my best friends, obviously), and I've been working very hard on my wave technique. Some dogs wave back, some don't, but I'm not giving up.
Mom keeps saying things like "look at the pretty leaves" while I'm busy collecting the crunchiest ones for my pockets. We make a good team, she points out colors, I provide the quality control by stepping on every single leaf to test the crunch factor.
The best part? When we get home, I get to dump all my treasures (rocks, leaves, the occasional stick) on the kitchen floor and reorganize them several times. Mom calls this "making a mess," but I call it "interior decorating."
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Fall is pretty great when you're almost 20 months old and everything is an adventure.
Love and crunchy leaves,
Jolene
(and Mom, who's learning that the best walks are the ones without a destination)
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Let's get messy together
I'm looking for a few brave souls who want to get in the weeds with me as I bring the Mapphouse Model to life.
If you've got an idea for online education brewing, or maybe you've already created a course that hasn't quite hit the way you hoped it would — I'd love to sit down with you. Think of it as a strategy session where we dig into your vision and see how the three foundations (Leadership, Pedagogy, and Systems) might transform what you're building.
I'm genuinely seeking people who want to give feedback, ask hard questions, and help me refine this work as I get it out into the world.
Ready to explore what's possible? Let's talk.
