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Editor’s Note: This feature originally ran in the annual 20 Under 40 magazine which was a part of the LaGrange Daily News July 31 edition. If you would like to pick up a copy of the 20 Under 40 magazine, please visit our office at 115 Broad Suite 101.

A pair of sisters in Hogansville have taken a new approach to homeschooling.

Aerin Rounds, 35, and Jordan Linfors, 34, co-founded Hummingbird Academy in Hogansville, which offers homeschool families a place to drop off their children 1-2 days a week to engage in hands-on learning. The program allows parents the ability to primarily homeschool their children, but also allows their kids to participate in music, art and other activities with others.

The sisters were raised in Southern California but later transitioned to Georgia in 2008-2009. Linfors said she began taking up roots in Troup County in 2015. Rounds came later, moving to Hogansville in 2020.

The two have owned the homeschool academy since August 2020.

“It was a big leap of faith since COVID was still a pretty hot topic at the time, but God led us to it, and it has really turned into a beautiful program with amazing teachers and wonderful families,” Linfors said.

With 13 children between them, the pair practically have enough kids for a class by themselves. Rounds has eight children and Linfors has five kids. It’s their love of children that helped inspire them to start the academy.

Rounds said she loves being surrounded by children’s joy.

“Kids are just the coolest. I feel so blessed to be able to share my love of music while also being able to support a child as they discover all the different outlets they can express themselves in really awesome creative ways,” Rounds said.

“I love our students and watching them come out of their shell. I love their little excited faces as their parents drop them off for the day. I love seeing them learn and engage with their peers. I love seeing friendships being made,” Linfors said. “I love that we get to share the word of God with our students, and I also love working with our teachers, who I can’t speak highly enough about, they truly care for our students and pour so much love into them.”

Starting this year, Hummingbirds Academy has added a class called “Busy Bees.” The class provides students the opportunity to create collaborative artwork and projects that they will then auction off and donate the proceeds to various organizations that serve our community. 

“Teaching our kids to use their gifts to make the world a better place is very important to us. We believe that God gave each of us gifts to serve others and glorify God in all we do,” Rounds said.

Aerin has a bachelors in Educational Studies with an emphasis in Music with multiple Pedagogy and theory classes and is currently working towards a Masters degree to be a Licensed Professional Counselor. 

Jordan is currently working toward an Occupational Safety degree which she hopes to utilize for the academy.

Linfors and her husband Mark have five kids Andi (10), Grant (8), Lea (4), Preston (2) and Nathan (9 mo).

Aerin is married to RJ Campbell. They have 7 boys and 1 girl.

Rounds said she was 33 weeks pregnant with her fifth son, when her former husband left.

“I had been a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom for 10 years. About 2 months after my son was born, I knew I had to do something to be able to keep homeschooling while also providing for my kids. I started out becoming a piano teacher and signed back up to finish my degree,” she said.

Rounds started teaching a small music and arts class in her mom’s garage and she later partnered up with her sister to  start Hummingbirds Academy.

“I’m so thankful to God for getting me through the darkest parts of my life and bringing me to where I am now,” Rounds said.

For Linfors, starting the academy in 2020 with her sister was an exciting but scary endeavor. 

“It was a big leap of faith since COVID was still a pretty hot topic at the time, but God led us to it, and it has really turned into a beautiful program with amazing teachers and wonderful families,” she Linfors said.

“Hummingbirds has been the greatest fulfillment in my life. I really believe in putting my all into what I do and right now this is the season of my life that God has placed me in and all I want to do is live for His will,” she said.

The academy came about when my sister and I were wanting to provide a place not only for our own homeschool children but also the homeschool children of our community where they can not only learn but also engage in healthy, meaningful relationships with their peers, she said.

“God placed Hummingbirds Academy in our hearts and we’re so grateful to Him, our families that trust us, and our community who are constantly spreading awareness to our program,” Linfors said.