The Founders

Building educated leaders for a brighter tomorrow

Jim and Sheila Carroll believe that every child, regardless of gender, race, or circumstances is a gift of God and precious in His sight.They believe that the children educated through Living Books Curriculum will be the leaders and nation-builders of tomorrow.These children will be the mothers and fathers of a generation of high-minded children, passing on the academic excellence, sound moral character, and lifelong love of learning that they themselves enjoy.

Accomplished home school parents, Jim and Sheila have three daughters, two grown and one still at home.They live together with their daughter Bridget, a horse, two cats and a variety of other animals in mid-Michigan.The family loves and serves the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jim has a doctorate in Educational Psychology and has taught at the graduate level for more than thirty years. He has also earned a reputation as a researcher and assessment specialist. Sheila has two master’s degrees, one in Educational Leadership and the other in Children's Literature. She was an elementary school teacher, a college professor, an educational consultant, professional storyteller and writer. Combined, Jim and Sheila have published five books on educational topics.

Their Inspiration

As educators, Jim and Sheila saw a steady decline in the quality of education over the last ten to twenty years. When Bridget became school age, they decided to explore homeschooling as an alternative.The type of curriculum they looked for was one rich in the wonderful books they knew as children.What they found instead were textbooks and workbooks—a public school version of homeschooling. A friend suggested the Carrolls explore For the Children’s Sake, by Susan Schaeffer Macauley, which spoke of an educator named of Charlotte Mason.

Intrigued by the multiple references to Charlotte Mason, they researched her educational philosophy and were pleased to find her methods literature based. After reading many Charlotte Mason books and traveling to homeschooling conferences, they began to homeschool Bridget with To share ideas and resources, Jim and Sheila developed a local support group for other homeschooling parents.

As Jim and Sheila researched and prayed, they learned of the tremendous need for schooling in developing nations.Wouldn’t it be wonderful, they thought, if children in impoverished nations could also have a living books education? How could such a venture be funded?

Little by little the pieces came together. The Carrolls formed Worldwide Educational Resources, a non-profit organization devoted to providing a quality education for children. There was a period of trial and error to find the right way to put the literature together with a viable curriculum. What emerged was a curriculum for homeschooling families—Living Books Curriculum —and another for children in developing nations—Education in a Box (www.educationinabox.com). The proceeds of the homeschool curriculum support the work in developing nations.

Their Faith

Jim and Sheila are Christians who have committed their lives to the care and oversight of our Heavenly Father. Charlotte Mason was also a Christian.Her work reflects this point of view but not in any didactic sense. Charlotte Mason believed that education should not be divided into religious and secular—that all true knowledge comes from God.Therefore, Living Books Curriculum is not limited to books that are overtly Christian. A non-Christian would not find among our works any overt proselytizing. However, speaking of religious matters takes place when appropriate.

Jim and Sheila’s personal statement of faith is:

That Holy Scripture is the inspired and infallible Word of God.
That God has existed from all eternity in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
That Jesus Christ was God incarnate, being fully God and fully man, except without sin.
That the central purpose of the coming of Jesus Christ was to pay the penalty for man's sin through His substitutionary death on the cross.
That the successful completion of this act is attested to by His visible, bodily resurrection.
That as we accept the finished work of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection for ourselves we are saved from our sins.
That salvation is a free gift and not the result of any personal acts.