Catholic Books & Educational Materials
About our founder
McKenzie was born and homeschooled in the United States. As a child, her family used Seton Home School--and she had other friends using a variety of other curriculums or even unschooling (very new at that time!).
As an adult, she worked for TAN Books and Publishers (a leading Catholic books publisher and homeschool curriculum provider in America).
After meeting her wonderful husband and moving to Ireland, she began to plan her own children's education--and The Hedge School was born as a bespoke combination of what works in Ireland--and what has worked for years in America.
How we got started
After observing the continued decline of traditional Catholic Education in Ireland . . . the constant referenda and policy changes negatively affecting our children’s lives and upbringing . . . after seeing the steady increase in home educating families in both the Republic & Northern Ireland, we have created an Authentically Irish & Faithfully Catholic home education curriculum for Ireland!
We hope that this programme of studies will serve as a basis for the renewal of Catholic culture and sanctity, and authentic Irish heritage and scholarship in our beautiful Land of Saints & Scholars.
Our Mission
Beginning with the youngest students, we endeavour to instil in our children a deep love for God and the Catholic Faith and also for the Irish language and cultural traditions. Our curriculum is inspired by Catholic programmes in use in the United States, and is specifically created for the Irish home educating family.
After creating our curriculum plans, we saw the additional need to import quality, faithful Catholic books and educational texts for families in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. Good books can be hard to come by here--with VAT, import, shipping--and we hope that our service will make this easier for everyone!
McKenzie has been involved in the homeschooling community for almost 30 years--
and we're looking forward to enjoying the next 30
with ye!