Sasha Takis was born and raised in Idaho. Graduating from Nampa High School in 1991 as an Honor Student, Sasha was a favorite of teachers, principals, and counselors. She was heavily involved in Natural Helpers, a peer counseling program, where she went on to teach the courses while still in high school and to speak to local community leaders and groups about the program. She was also involved as a student in Rotary, earning the Rotary Youth Scholarship Award. Sasha attended Westminster College of Salt Lake City with numerous academic, literary, and music scholarships. She tested out of various musical courses, earning her Minor in Music while a freshman. She was also the first freshman ever admitted into Westminster’s Renaissance Singers, a small Renaissance period vocal ensemble. Sasha was also an editor of content for Westminter’s literary magazine.

While at Westminster, Sasha met her future husband, Phil, and then proceeded to “serve a mission” in introducing him to the gospel. She left Westminster and pursued writing, graduating from The Institute of Children’s Literature.

After her husband’s college graduation, they moved to the Seattle, Washington area, where they lived for 11 years. Their 5 children were born in Washington. Their 4 sons (ages 12, 10, 7, and 5) and their daughter (age 3) have always been homeschooled.

Sasha has a vast love for learning and education, and especially for bringing the gospel truths into each “subject.” While taking a Homeschool Qualification Course (a Washington State law), she decided to finish her Bachelor’s degree. That was all fine and good until she “got into it” with a Sociology professor over the vulgar required reading for the course. She told the professor what was what, dropped the course, and burned the book. This experience only fueled her fire for homeschooling!

Sasha has authored close to 50 published homeschool articles. She is a popular speaker at various homeschool conferences around the country. Sasha served for 5 years as a board member for the Washington State Latter-day Saint Family Educators, and for 2 years on the board of the National LDS Homeschool Association. Sasha was an assistant editor for a year for the Utah Home Education Association’s newsletter, Right at Home, and the Editor in Chief for a year of LDS-NHA’s publications, The Sentinel, The Quarterly Bulletin, and The Leaders’ Post.

Sasha is currently settled in Nibley (Logan), Utah, where she is heavily involved in her local support group, the Cache Valley Homeschoolers. She puts on a huge Fall Festival for the group every year, as well as a few smaller activities. In addition to enjoying eternal education with her children, Sasha is a piano teacher and likes writing and performing music. Her hobbies include hiking, tennis, archery, gardening, photography, scrapbooking, canning, and (blush) shopping. Her dream is to one day have a home library just like the one pictured in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” (She keeps telling her husband she needs more bookshelves and he tells her to “just stop buying books.” It’s then that she loves to quote the prophet regarding having good books in our homes!) Sasha loves to do laundry.

Articles by Sasha

  • Homeschooling with the Lights On
  • You Might Be a Homeschooler If...
  • Metamorphosis at Cape Henry
  • Polar Bear Parenting
  • The Case for Grades
  • The October Unit Factory
  • A New Dawn-the Innovative "First Day" of Homeschool
  • A Mother's Touch and an Editor's Farewell
  • Winter Warm-ups for Wiggle Worms
  • Mood Music
  • Ads Add Up
  • Peace Like a River
  • August Showers Bring Oreo Cookies
  • The 5 Browns
  • The Banana Split Approach to Homeschooling
  • The Hike That We Call Life and the Trail That We Call Homeschooling
  • Scientific "Eggshellence"
  • Seize the Day
  • Conversation Hearts
  • The Needs of the One
  • When it Comes to the 3 Rs, Remember the 3 Ps
  • Gifts
  • Travel the World this Christmas
  • Ammon: A Model for Your Mission
  • Saving the World
  • Tricks with Treats: A Bag Full of Math
  • Popcorn: A Parable for Homeschoolers
  • What's Growing in Your Garden?
  • Pioneer Children
  • The Quotably Clean House
  • Your Continuing Education
  • Digging Deep: When Ignorance is not Bliss
  • Snow for Thought
  • The Christmas Tree of Life
  • God's Student: The Education of Joseph Smith, Jr. and My Testimony
  • Thank the Homeschoolers for Thanksgiving
  • Kindling
  • It's My Paper and I'll Write What I Want To
  • How to Keep Simple Records
  • Lessons From the Nest
  • Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence, Part 2
  • Homeschoolers Defined
  • Old MacDonald's Family Homeschooled
  • Homeschooling Means Family
  • Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence, Part 1