Bradford resident Cori Dean and her family recently purchased Learning House, an educational resource shop based out of Goderirch.
For the past few months, Dean has been busy relocating the business into its new Bradford location at 389 Dissette Street (in the former Kidergy Indoor Playground unit) and will officially open its doors on Nov.16.
Learning House was originally owned by Louise and Harold House who were well known in the Goderich homeschool community. Learning House offers educational curriculum and resources for parents, home educators, and schools across Canada.
Dean is the owner of Maple Tree Publications, a home-based business in Bradford that offers similar educational resources to Learning House.
Dean and the Houses have been friends for several years and worked together serving surrounding communities. When the Houses announced they were retiring, Dean took over Learning House and amalgamated the two businesses, but kept the name Learning House.
“We’re still in the process of moving everything over to the new location,” states Dean. “It’s been a really good transition so far! We have moved a lot of products over already – books, shelves, phones, wiring… it’s been a big, big move, [but] we are making sure we care for the families in the interim."
Learning House will focus on serving families in homeschool settings and private schools, and will offer educational books and resources such as science and chemistry kits, microscopes, math and English books, geography, history, and art books, as well as novels. Much of their supplies are shipped across Canada, reaching as far as Alberta, British Columbia, and New Brunswick.
Dean and her husband Mark have been homeschooling their own kids for almost 20 years. They have four daughters, two of which have completed their studies, and two (ages 11 and 15) currently completing grades 6 and 10.
“We weren’t planning on homeschooling, but it fit our lifestyle at the time, so it just worked out,” notes Dean.
While homeschooling her daughters, Dean tutored on the side and worked for Maple Tree Publications part-time as a writer and editor. Eventually she became full-time and took over Maple Tree Publications which she has operated for over 12 years now.
Once the new location opens, Dean will have her youngest daughters continue their schooling in the centre while helping her husband with orders.
“We’re really fortunate to be moving into a bigger space,” shares Dean. “We will have more classroom space for homeschoolers who want to come and teach. More space for “circle time”, biology labs, school picture days… those are the kinds of things homeschoolers miss out on, so we want to make those things accessible for the public."
Dean adds that she plans to have workshops and demos available for the public, with the Houses continuing to help at the new centre offering consultations.
“There’s a lot of people who have chosen to homeschool their kids during COVID,” notes Dean. “It’s been a privilege to help people along their journey, even it it’s temporary for now… we’re really eager to open up and welcome people from the community and help them as they care for their kids."
While the Deans are still in the process of merging the two businesses, clients can learn more about Learning House by visiting their website at www.learninghouse.ca
