JAY — Sweet Tomatoes Learning Center in Jay is narrowing its focus just months after opening in Jay, moving from broader childcare and education plans to limited, nature-based programs for homeschoolers.

Founder Kathleen Reed said the center will no longer offer a full-week schedule and will instead provide two three-day summer camp experiences this summer, followed by one- or two-day-per-week fall programs for homeschoolers ages 5-13. The change comes as Reed begins practicing law in Maine, continues real estate work and her family prepares to sell its farmhouse while keeping land used for trails, horses and outdoor learning.

The shift follows the center’s launch earlier this year, after Reed and her husband, Tom, relocated from Auburn to Jay following a lengthy permitting dispute. At the time, the Reeds said Jay offered a more welcoming setting for their nature-based learning center, which was planned around outdoor education, farm-based learning, animals, hiking and support for students who do not thrive in traditional classroom settings.

Sweet Tomatoes’ adjusted schedule will offer specialized, individually focused nature-based programs, Reed said.

The fall program will serve homeschoolers ages 5-13 and will be application-only. Preference will be given to students who need small-group, outdoors-centered educational experiences, including gifted students who need additional challenges, special education students who may benefit from inquiry and exploration, and children who have had trouble sitting still in classrooms.

“We will not offer the full-week schedule anymore, due to the community need being more of a drop-in program at this time,” Reed said.

The center will operate from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the days it serves students, with limited openings based on individual goals. Reed said the smaller schedule will allow Sweet Tomatoes to concentrate on “more intense and fun activities” built around adventure and student-centered learning.

The new model is a change from the plans Reed described in March, when Sweet Tomatoes was expected to offer full-time and part-time attendance options for 4- to 10-year-olds, with support for homeschoolers, enrichment programming and education by a certified teacher and principal.

The program change is part of a broader transition for Reed and her family. Reed said she has received her Maine law license after about one and a half to two years of effort and was sworn in by the Maine Supreme Court chief justice in the historic courtroom in Augusta.

“I finally got my law license here after all that time,” Reed said.

She is now practicing part time in Maine, centered in Jay with an Augusta mailing address. Her work includes deed work, land use issues, family law, estate law and general contracts. She also hopes to eventually represent clients in child protective cases and juvenile misdemeanors.

Reed also has been working as a real estate agent in central Maine, which she said helped support the family after the death of her mother, who had helped with household costs.

The family also has subdivided its Jay property and plans to sell its four-bedroom, 2.5-bath farmhouse, large barn and 2.3 acres. They will keep 10 acres with trails, an obstacle course and horse areas.

“We were able to subdivide our property so we can simplify a bit,” Reed said.

The family is finishing a new two-bedroom, one-bathroom cabin on the property and plans to spend warmer months and much of the year there, while spending some winter weeks in warmer weather. Sweet Tomatoes may also operate in Georgia at times, with online options planned for Maine students during those trips.

A community open house is planned for June 7 from 10-11:30 a.m. at 411 E. Jay Road in Jay. Reed said the event will show the section of the property being sold, serve as an end-of-year celebration for students and give the family a chance to meet more members of the community.

Supporting Sponsor for Franklin Journal, Livermore Falls Advertiser, Rangeley Highlander and Rumford Falls Times.
Keeping communities informed by supporting local news. franklinsavings.bank