All About Danica McKellar's Son, Draco

Danica McKellar passed on her love of learning to her only child, son Draco

Danica McKellar said that becoming a mother to her son, Draco, is “the best thing” she’s ever done.

McKellar and her ex-husband, composer Mike Verta, welcomed their first and only child together in September 2010.

For The Wonder Years alum, becoming a mom changed her life forever, telling PEOPLE in June 2013, “You tap into this love that you didn’t even know was possible. I thought I knew what love was, but it’s crazy. ... I love Draco with everything that I am — there’s no question about it.”

At the beginning of her parenthood journey, the actress shared that she went through a learning curve. Now that she’s raising a teenager, she sometimes feels like life is going by too fast. She explained to ROUTE Magazine, “I’ve been hearing people say that since Draco was a baby, and I have just been determined not to think or live that way.”

According to McKellar, it comes down to being a present parent and despite occasionally struggling with this, she takes “mental snapshots” of her son to stay in the moment.

“I’ll just stare at Draco’s face, and he’ll be like, ‘What are you doing?’ I’m like, ‘I’m just taking you in right now.’ I just really absorb every moment,” she said.

Here’s everything to know about Danica McKellar’s son, Draco.

He was born in 2010

McKellar and Verta welcomed their son Draco Verta on Sept. 7, 2010, weighing 7 lbs., 2 oz.

At the time, the former couple told PEOPLE in a statement, “We are humbled, overjoyed and so grateful for this miraculous gift. It’s like we’ve only now just learned the true meaning of love.”

McKellar opened up about giving birth to her son without an epidural to PEOPLE in December 2010 and said that she could not “remember what most of the labor was like.” She explained, “If I had known it was going to be 36 hours, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to do it.”

As for the moment she first saw her son, McKellar said they had an immediate connection.

“There was so much joy in the room and so much relief!” she shared. “It was instant love. It was an amazing, amazing evening.”

His name has a double meaning

McKellar’s son is not named after the character Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter. Rather, Draco is the Latin word for dragon and the name of a constellation — a definition that initially caught Verta's attention.

“He’d heard the name and loved it," McKellar told PEOPLE in December 2010. “He said, ‘Once we’re gone, the constellation will keep looking out for him.’ “

She continued, “It makes me cry every time I hear it. So of course that made it a winner! I love it. It’s a cool, strong name.”

He is homeschooled by McKellar

The actress opened up about her homeschooling techniques in an August 2010 essay for Romper and shared several of her methods, including using a timer, setting goals, acting things out, reverse psychology and more.

McKellar is a math whiz herself: After The Wonder Years ended, McKellar headed off to the University of California, Los Angeles, where she received a bachelor of science in mathematics. She went on to become a New York Times best-selling author, writing numerous children's books that help teach math, like The Times Machine! and Do Not Open This Math Book.

When McKellar became a mom, she passed along her love of math to Draco, who began learning the subject before he turned 2. In August 2012, she told PEOPLE that he already knew colors and shapes and was starting to count his toes.

“He likes it when I recite Pi,” she added. “And I’m trying to teach him the quadratic formula, he hasn’t quite gotten it yet. It’s sung to the tune of ‘Pop Goes the Weasel.’ “

Three years later, McKellar told PEOPLE that outside of math, Draco wanted to learn about everything and could spell words out loud.

“Anything he’s interested in we’ll watch YouTube videos about it or I’ll get him a book on it,” she said. “We do little math exercises everyday. I love it.”

Over the years, McKellar has shown glimpses of their homeschooling on social media. Most recently, in March 2023, she spoke to Fox News about how it came to be, revealing that it wasn't a long-term plan in the beginning. Still. homeschooling stuck when McKellar realized that it worked best for her family's schedule, including her ex-husband Verta.

“We co-parent fantastically. It’s been a journey, but I’m so grateful for it, and I get [Draco] half the time," she told the outlet. "So if he was in school all day long, I wouldn’t get to see him very much, so I also really appreciate the fact that we get to bond more.”

As for interacting with peers, McKellar shared that her son participates in sports and she organizes play dates with his friends.

He helped influence his family’s move to Tennessee

Without Draco, McKellar may not have relocated from Los Angeles to rural Tennessee in 2022.

McKellar told The Tennessean that after two of his best friends moved to the state, he “was begging” his mom to pack up their home and join them in the country.

"I said, 'Sweetie, we can't just move where your friends move,’ “ she explained. “But then my husband and I were like, 'Well, we do want more nature.' “

(After McKellar and Vert finalized their divorce in 2013, the actress remarried the following year to attorney Scott Sveslosky.)

The actress elaborated to PEOPLE, saying, "My husband and I have been wanting more nature for a long time. We were kind of ready to not be in a city anymore."

The move also made it easier for Draco to visit his father, who lives in Florida.

Related: Who Is Danica McKellar's Husband? All About Scott Sveslosky

He plays piano

Draco isn’t just a math whiz — he’s also a musician!

McKellar has shown off her son’s talent on social media, including a December 2022 video posted on Instagram of Draco playing “Sleigh Ride” on the piano.

In the caption, the actress called the gesture the “BEST Christmas present EVER,” adding, “My 12-year-old learning Sleigh Ride, my favorite Christmas song!!”

The actress also shared a touching tribute from her son to the late Eddie Van Halen in October 2020 of Draco playing the tune “Jump.”

McKellar penned a sweet note about her son alongside it, writing, “His tearful little ‘Thank you, Van Halen’ at the end gets me every time I've watched it. Draco has been learning ‘Jump’ for months now... Eddie Van Halen, your legacy lives on.”

He travels with McKellar

Over the years, they’ve gone to different places together and created memories that will last a lifetime.

After the family moved to Tennessee, McKellar and Draco visited Universal Studios Hollywood in March 2023 to experience Super Nintendo World as a mother-son duo. A few months later, the family took a trip to Costa Rica in July 2023.

The following spring, they took another mother-son trip, this time to New York City, where they visited landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Draco also got to experience his first Broadway show, Hamilton.

By April 2024, before McKellar started filming a new movie for Great American Family, they enjoyed some time with family in Niagara Falls, Ontario, including dinner at a steakhouse and the Journey Behind The Falls experience.

He’s appeared in movies with McKellar

Draco might still be a teenager, but he’s made quite a few appearances in his mom’s movies. His credited roles include Love at the Christmas Table and Crown for Christmas, and he’s also appeared uncredited in Christmas at Dollywood, Love and Sunshine and Campfire Kiss, the latter of which Sveslosky wrote.

In August 2022, Draco got the opportunity to interview his mom for Entertainment Tonight and asked her how she’d react if he decided to follow in her footsteps and become an actor.

"Draco, I will support you whatever you wanna do,” she said. “I would put you in acting classes and I would help guide you through it."

She added, "I'm not gonna ever push you in that direction [though], because it’s a tough life."

In September 2023, McKellar told Fox News that her son had her support, no matter his career path.

She explained, "I would support my son Draco in anything he wants to do, whether it's acting or anything else. I want him to explore his talents and enjoy this life we get to live and just see what he likes to do."

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