Pooh-ification of Pedagogy: Homeschooling at the Hundred Acre Wood Academy
Title and/or Affiliation
Hollins University Alumna
Presenter Bio
Amie Rose Rotruck has been homeschooling since 2016, and made heavy use of her interest in Children’s Literature in this endeavor. Her degrees in Children’s Literature include a B.A. from University of Pittsburgh, and an M.A. and M.F.A. from Hollins University. Her writing credits include Bronze Dragon Codex, How to Trap a Vampire, Track a Zombie, and Other Hands-On Activities for Monster Hunters, entries in the RPGs Twisted Taverns, Sunken Isles, and Treasures Untold, and numerous scholarly articles and reviews.
Session
Neurodivergence in the 100 Aker Woods
Start Date
11-7-2026 3:15 PM
End Date
11-7-2026 4:30 PM
Abstract
When I began my homeschool journey with my child in 2016, I never dreamed that ten years later, we still would be using that silliest of old bears, Winnie-the-Pooh, in our lessons. We are far from the first family to use Pooh in homeschooling (as evidenced by the existence of multiple Pooh-based curriculums and unit studies, some of which will be reviewed in this presentation), but I don’t know if any homeschool family has ever thoroughly integrated Pooh into our lessons to the extent that our family has. At the Hundred Acre Wood Academy (a name chosen by my child that very likely will go on her high school diploma and transcript, by her choice), Pooh factors into lessons almost daily. Pooh’s involvement was driven not by the love of a children’s literature scholar for the bear (although that certainly played a part) but as the special interest of a neurodivergent child with multiple learning differences. Pooh is certainly not a long-term educational solution for all or even most homeschool families, although I hope most would include Pooh as a read-aloud during their homeschool journey. Ours is an extremely specific situation owing to a homeschool teacher’s scholarly background in children’s literature and the sheer luck of a neurodivergent child fixating on the silly old bear. But I hope that examples on integrating lessons into a special literature interest could provide a framework for other homeschool families.
Pooh-ification of Pedagogy: Homeschooling at the Hundred Acre Wood Academy
When I began my homeschool journey with my child in 2016, I never dreamed that ten years later, we still would be using that silliest of old bears, Winnie-the-Pooh, in our lessons. We are far from the first family to use Pooh in homeschooling (as evidenced by the existence of multiple Pooh-based curriculums and unit studies, some of which will be reviewed in this presentation), but I don’t know if any homeschool family has ever thoroughly integrated Pooh into our lessons to the extent that our family has. At the Hundred Acre Wood Academy (a name chosen by my child that very likely will go on her high school diploma and transcript, by her choice), Pooh factors into lessons almost daily. Pooh’s involvement was driven not by the love of a children’s literature scholar for the bear (although that certainly played a part) but as the special interest of a neurodivergent child with multiple learning differences. Pooh is certainly not a long-term educational solution for all or even most homeschool families, although I hope most would include Pooh as a read-aloud during their homeschool journey. Ours is an extremely specific situation owing to a homeschool teacher’s scholarly background in children’s literature and the sheer luck of a neurodivergent child fixating on the silly old bear. But I hope that examples on integrating lessons into a special literature interest could provide a framework for other homeschool families.