About Tara

Hi! I'm Tara Buchanan!

It feels like forever that I've been a homeschool mom! After over 20 years of home educating my four kids from birth to launch, it's hard to believe that assignment is coming to a close for me. I'm so grateful for those years of learning together as a family.

I’ve been married for almost 30 years to my husband, Joe, who serves as the Station Manager at our local Christian radio station. We also have the privilege of hosting the Behind Our Smiles Marriage Podcast together. Building a healthy, God-honoring family has always been our goal and homeschooling has been a big part of achieving that! And now that our kids are grown—and we’ve welcomed grandchildren—we couldn’t be more in awe of God’s faithfulness!

Our homeschool days were full of project-based learning, entrepreneurship, creativity, hospitality, and read-aloud marathons. Trips to the library were as essential as trips to the grocery store! My daughter self-published her first book when she was 12, then two more by the time she finished high school. My sons became pros at the Rubik’s Cube, one eventually solving it in 9 seconds! They all loved making movies, volunteering at church, and hosting themed parties. My favorite memory was all the read-alouds we did. If I could go back, I’d read to them even more! 

I love seeing the unique paths that homeschooling has taken each of my kids. My daughter JoLeigh works in the marketing department at Rainbow and is also a freelance proofreader and editor, mostly in Christian non-fiction. She loves that she has achieved her childhood dream of being paid to read books! My oldest son lives in Georgia with his new wife and baby and works in sales/project management, but their passion is for missions and sharing the gospel in their very multicultural community. My second son, also a newlywed and new father, works in IT at Samaritan Ministries, and my youngest son is still figuring out his path. He enjoyed working in the Rainbow warehouse over the summer and he loves volunteering in media ministry at our church.  

When my kids were babies, I volunteered as a breastfeeding counselor and led support groups for nursing moms for over a decade. That’s where I saw firsthand the difference that good information and a supportive community made for a new mom who was trying to figure it all out. Working at Rainbow now, I love serving homeschoolers in the same way—giving you the tools and confidence you need to succeed. You’re not alone in the things that you or your kids are struggling with, and I’d love to offer you some ideas and perspective to help you move forward. Or if your child has finally hit that long-awaited milestone in your homeschool, I’d love to celebrate with you! Give me a call and let’s chat! ~Tara