The homeschool community celebrates Dia de los Muertos with an emphasis on culture and ancestry

SAN ANTONIO – A secular, inclusive homeschool community in San Antonio known as For the Culture offers a unique perspective on education by celebrating the rich traditions of Dia de los Muertos. This celebration is part of the group's ongoing commitment to diversity, culture and active social engagement.

Founder Ashley Presly shared the community's approach to learning through cultural immersion.

“Our kids are definitely changing the narrative about what homeschooling looks like. They have social opportunities at least three to four times a week,” Presly said.

In addition to regular social gatherings, the group collaborates on community projects. This fall, a project revolves around “Muertos Fest,” which teaches children about the indigenous roots of the Day of the Dead.

The community has incorporated Dia de los Muertos traditions, such as building an altar, into its activities.

Presly described how her family built an altar at home with loved ones from both family members represented.

“We create an altar and we all have our loved ones from both sides of our family,” she said.

One of the younger parishioners, Cari, added that she will be placing a photo of her great-grandmother on her altar.

For community member Lorena, Dia de los Muertos is an opportunity to honor memories.

“It's a great holiday for people to remember their deceased ancestors,” she explained, adding that the tradition allows families to preserve memories of past loved ones.

Through the celebration, Presly also emphasized a different view of death.

“We often associate death with grief, and so we need to look at it differently and celebrate life,” she said.

Presly noted that cultural traditions allow children to personally connect with their heritage and that this goes beyond popular depictions of the holiday in films.

Community activities also include a hands-on art project in which children create shadow boxes with photos of their loved ones.

The engineering component of the project has sparked interest, with one student commenting on the challenge saying, “It will require a lot of engineering and physics.”

Others make clay food items that they place on the boxes, honoring their families' memories and traditions.

Presly shared that older students wanted to honor victims of social injustice as part of their Dia de los Muertos altars.

“In our culture you will see Black Lives Matter, Brown Lives Matter and Trans Lives Matter,” Presly said, adding that some children are also dedicating boxes to lives lost in school shootings, an initiative that is led by the students themselves.

Through these activities, For the Culture continues to redefine what homeschooling can look like, connecting education with cultural awareness and social justice.