Behind the Hearth
My Story & Foundations
A Childhood in the Vineyard
I was born and raised in Central California on a family raisin vineyard. Long before screens dominated our collective attention, my childhood was defined by a peaceful, unhurried cadence: working in the fields, under the open sun, using my hands. There was a quiet, rewarding satisfaction in that physical labor. It taught me early in life that our bodies thrive when they are aligned with the natural arc of the sky and the dirt beneath our feet.
In my early twenties, I married my husband, Greg, and began my path in education, teaching preschool and kindergarten at a private school. But after ten years of marriage, our lives shifted beautifully. We packed up our four young children and moved across the country to Minnesota, where we would spend the next twenty years.
The Comfort of the Seasons
In the Minnesota I fell in love with the immense peace of four distinct seasons. We lived in a small town, raised backyard chickens, tended a sprawling garden, and ran a family home-bakery, selling fresh baked goods at the local farmers' market. During these years, I homeschooled our youngest two children, led the homeschool group for a few years, and worked part-time at the local library. There was a happy rhythm to our lives. Sometimes we would visit the local Amish communities of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio and they inspired me to be more intentional. Their seasonal, God-centered, slow-paced, yet fiercely entrepreneurial lifestyle was inspiring. Like them, I valued self-reliance and faith-centered hard work (though I deeply appreciate modern amenities like indoor plumbing and electricity!). But as the years marched on, the world changed. Technology slowly infiltrated every aspect of daily life, fracturing the quiet rhythms we had worked so hard to protect. I felt a persistent, deep yearning to look backward to find the path forward.
The Scholar and the Steward
Once my nest was empty, I chose to return to school. I have always believed in the power of deep learning, and I went on to earn degrees in English Literature and History to pair with my early childhood education background. Ultimately, I completed my master’s degree in library and information science (MLIS), specializing in Organizational Leadership and Administration. I spent the next fifteen years serving in public libraries, including a decade as a public Library Director. Yet, as time went on, I found myself increasingly out of place in the radical, modern direction of the library system. I hold a traditional view: libraries are meant to unite, not divide, communities, and they should serve as a rich, safe harbor for homeschooling families seeking truth and beauty. So, in 2023 my path took a detour away from public libraries and back across the country back to my roots.
Returning to the Old Paths
In 2023, after two decades in the beautiful Midwest, my husband and I returned to Central California to be near my aging parents. Upon returning to California, I began teaching again, at the same small private school that I taught at so many years ago. I taught 3rd and 4th grade, then 5th and 6th grade - loving every minute, but in June 2026 I retired to pursue my own path. Although we are still in California, and our hearts still dream of returning to the fields of the Midwest one day, this transition has taught me a profound truth: you can cultivate a traditional, homestead lifestyle anywhere.
With thirty-eight years of marriage and motherhood, decades of classroom and home education experience, and a lifetime of scratch homemaking, Simple Traditions Homestead (and my newsletter Olive & Orchard) by Tina Norris was born out of a desire to share those hard-won, old-fashioned skills with you. I do not come with rigid checklists or a demand for perfection. I am simply here to walk beside you, season by season and grace by grace, as we turn off the noise, look up at the sky, and reclaim the peace of a rooted home.
Welcome to my hearth,
Tina Norris