Welcome Friends!
I’m Kim Baust, founder of The Young Scholar Academy. Welcome to our YSA Educational Hub. We hope you can find great curriculum, classes, and inspiration on these pages.
I founded The Young Scholar Academy in 2023 with one powerful belief: that every child deserves to be truly known by their teacher and educated well. With over 26 years of teaching experience at the time, Kim built YSA from the ground up — selecting every teacher, designing the curriculum, and crafting the kind of warm, connected community that makes kids actually want to show up.
YSA is more than a school — it’s the learning community Kim always wished existed. A place where relationships come first, where parents are true partners, and where every child is celebrated for exactly who they are. Her motto says it all: “Where magic happens.”
Using my passion for all things books, I also launched The Literature Lady in 2023. The curriculum products helped teachers incorporate books into their classrooms, and the blog shared teaching strategies, newly published books, along with some of my all-time favorite books.
In 2026, I decided to combine The Literature Lady and YSA into one educational hub for parents and homeschooling families. The Young Scholar Academy is a culmination of all the things I love about teaching children. I can’t wait to share and grow with you!
Of course, it wouldn’t be a fun blog without a few personal stories thrown in!
My Favorite Quotes!
“What’s coming will come, and we’ll face it when it does.”
Hagrid
“I am a part of everything that I have read.”
Theodore Roosevelt
“Children must learn how to think, not what to think.”
Margaret Mead
01
On the water, in the water, looking at the water…nothing beats it!
02
A morning with coffee on the screened porch with my doodles snuggling.
03
Reading a book on the couch with the rain tapping on the roof.
how I got Here
Why I Love What I Do
When in the classroom, I am like a dog with a bone. I am unrelenting until I can find a book that sparks the joy of reading in a student. It is like my super power. In order to do this though, it requires reading a lot of children’s books, and even more reviews of children’s books and series. This passion was ignited long ago by a sweet librarian in my life, Mrs. Allbritten. Then, later in life, my craft was honed and a whole new world of literature was opened to me by an amazing colleague while working in Nashville, TN. Once you have seen what can happen in a child’s academic life after finding that “spark;” there is no turning back.
Mrs. Allbritten wouldn’t have done her job if she had only sparked my love of reading for a short time. What she did was spark a love of reading for a lifetime in me. My only problem with reading so many children’s books is that it can limit how many adult books I can read! But, reading fills my bucket. I am a better person when I am consuming books. I love sharing titles with friends, reading along with a book club, and talking to the local bookstore clerk about the new books hitting the shelves. I hope to be able to share those great titles and newsworthy topics with you as well! We all need to read for ourselves too!
Favorite TV Show
The Great British Baking Show
Favorite location
Coastal Virginia
Favorite Food
Italian
Favorite Animal
Dolphin
Favorite Book
Nightingale
by K. Hannah
Favorite Hobby
Baking
You, My Friend
have come to the right place
Reading is just one part of me. My family…they are my North Star. I would move mountains for my two boys. They bring me joy and so much hope for the world. They also bring me laughter, love and so much more.
I have been with my husband for over three decades. He, too, has lovely memories of Ms. Allbritten. He is not only my soulmate, but when it comes to reading… checkmate- he wins! A more well read person I do not know.
However, our daily lives wouldn’t be complete without our crazy sheepadoodle, Maisie, and Australian Labradoodle, Sophie!