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The Homeschool How To
I don't claim to know anything about homeschooling, so I set out on a journey to ask the people who do! Join me as I chat with homeschoolers to discuss; "why are people homeschooling," "what are all the ways people are using to homeschool today," and ultimately, "should I homeschool my kids?"
The Homeschool How To
LIVE Q&A Session with Homeschooling Experts: How to Begin Homeschooling
Discover the world of homeschooling through our engaging discussion with experienced experts who share their unique insights and journeys. This episode dives into the motivations behind the shift to homeschooling and the crucial process of de-schooling, allowing parents to reconnect with their children's learning experiences authentically.
Listeners will find invaluable advice on forming a supportive community, choosing the right curriculum, and addressing common misconceptions about homeschooling. The experts emphasize that it’s not about adhering to traditional educational standards but about fostering a love for learning that will last a lifetime.
With practical tips, encouragement, and a focus on life skills, this episode invites every parent to consider the possibilities of homeschooling their children. If you wonder about your family’s educational path or need insights to navigate the journey, this episode is a must-listen.
We invite you to join us, reflect on your 'why,' and embark on this colorful journey of education together! Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to support our community as we inspire the next generation of learners.
Connect with Amberlee: https://www.richlivingcoaching.com/
Connect with Katie: Instagram
Connect with Allisia: Instagram
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Welcome to this week's episode of the Homeschool How-To. I'm Cheryl and I invite you to join me on my quest to find out why are people homeschooling, how do you do it, how does it differ from region to region? And should I homeschool my kids? Stick with me as I interview homeschooling families across the country to unfold the answers to each of these questions week by week. Hello everybody, we are here live with our Q&A session. I have three experts, guests from my podcast, that will be joining me today. We have Alicia, katie Berry and Amber Lee Rich. Hi guys, so tonight we're doing a live Q&A session for how to get started with homeschooling. Where do we begin, and obviously that's going to be a little bit different for everybody, but we've got three experts, expert homeschoolers that have been doing it for a while, that are going to tell us exactly how they did it, so that we can all kind of find a groove that works for us. So all right, alicia, I'm going to have you start us out on this.
Speaker 1:All right, yeah, let us know how did you start, or how would you recommend to people to start homeschooling today?
Speaker 2:I feel like it's such a loaded question because there's a million things that you can do to get started. But, um, I would say, probably my biggest influence for getting started with homeschooling was finding people that have been doing it for a while, like how you're hosting this, and then seeing like, okay, I really like how they do that. And, going from there, it's like the simplest way to find information without overwhelming yourself and you can kind of align yourself with people that have your same values or even live a similar life to you, so it makes sense what they're doing. So that would that would be my biggest suggestion off the bat.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, great. So finding that group of people that have been doing it so you can kind of gleam what works from them. Katie, what would you recommend or that worked for you, or maybe that you didn't do, that you kind of wish you did when you started homeschooling?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I think obviously, like the first thing to do is look at your state laws, like that's pretty much what everyone needs to do to get started. But I was the same. I pretty much relied on seasoned homeschoolers. So in my area I didn't know anybody that homeschooled, but I had just briefly met somebody at the pool that homeschooled and I just ran into her and I was like, can you please tell me what to do? And she added me to a Facebook group for homeschooling and I just, yeah, I put that out there like, hey, I don't know what I'm doing. Everybody just tell me what to do please. And very much relied on seasoned homeschoolers in these Facebook groups to guide me because I didn't know anybody in my local area.
Speaker 1:Yeah, facebook is really awesome for that, as much as we don't want to give Mark Zuckerberg that much credit, but it has been awesome. And even on the ongoing things, like what is going on in your area, what kind of field trips, what kind of co-ops, what kind of meetups there are just at parks there's so many different sorts of things that go on. Like, I know, our week looks so different every single day. There's, you know, a group that meets up at someone's house once a week. There's another group that meets up at a local park or library once a week. There's another one that just does field trips every now and then. So, um, like, really, you can find whatever works for you and do as much or as little as you want. So okay, so, alicia, step one and um, amberlee, if you're on, you can just request to join and I will keep an eye out for that request.
Speaker 2:Um, I don't know where it is but you can request to join.
Speaker 1:So, alicia, what would you say, like the next step would be? So say, I found some people. I have, you know, two or three kids. Some are not even in school yet, Some are, have been in public school, like if I've looked at the laws, and where would you even go to look at those?
Speaker 2:laws. And then what? Well, for us in Colorado we have CHEC and it's Colorado or maybe it's Christian Homeschooling Education of Colorado, and they are a huge resource because they have. They take like we went and attended a conference and we got so much information on exactly how to even begin because, man, when you say research laws, it's so scary, like what does that even mean? And so that organization, for us, it laid everything out and um, and they had like a mentor give a lecture on what homeschooling looks like and kind of what they do, and they do a once a year conference. So that that's been really huge for us to figure out what to do.
Speaker 1:OK, so what were some of the things that the conference talked about? Even like, like. Were you all in Colorado? Because I know in New York our laws look way different than, I'm sure, in Colorado. We're very strict here. So for researching the laws, I know HSLDAorg has all the state's laws. You can go there so that you don't have to worry about being Christian or not or specific to Colorado or not the homeschoollegaldefenseassociationorg and you don't even have to pay to be a member. You can to get the templates and all that stuff your diploma through them. But if you just want to find their information, like what you have to do in your state, you can go there and get that for free. Amberlee, thank you for joining us. How would you tell people? What would you recommend to people? Someone that came up to you off the street or maybe saw you at the park and was like you look like a homeschooler, like what do I do? I want to homeschool my kids. What would you tell them?
Speaker 4:I would first say take that back and just reset especially if you have had your kids in public school just to kind of reactivate yourself, to like figuring out what you really want.
Speaker 4:I think a lot of times there's just so much information out there about homeschooling, like what methods to use and how to start just figuring how your kids, and taking some time to slow down and just be with them and read books and just start to just slow down and try to figure out like what, what you want your, your homeschooling life to look like and I would really recommend reading books there's so many different types of homeschooling books out there and just kind of see, like, if you are more of a type A person, maybe doing unschooling probably is not going to work for you, but figuring out like what, what really does line up with the way that you tick and how you could make this sustainable, I think that's really where I would start. I mean, I've heard what everyone else said, so I would like agree with those things too. But I think just to add to it is just to take a step back and just see what you want and how you can help your kids thrive, and it's okay if you as you go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's a good point. So that's kind of this de-schooling process that we hear people talk about and it's like yeah, I get the idea, but I don't really know. Like Katie, do you want to talk a little bit about the de-schooling process? Did you have to do that?
Speaker 3:So I personally didn't, because when I started homeschooling, my son had only been in kindergarten for two months and we pulled him out on a school break. So we took kind of like a week or two break and then we got started. So I didn't really have to do school because of that. However, I do think that it's very beneficial for kids that are being polled when they're in. Like you know, they've been in school for at least two or three years, like third, fourth, fifth grade and up.
Speaker 3:I think the de-schooling process is important because otherwise it's just going to feel like homework and you know kids that have been in school and they're in the desk for six to seven hours a day then come home to do homework with their parents. Lots of times there's arguing at the table and you know it's very difficult to do homes, to do homework, and I think that kids will expect that that's how it's going to be if you don't do a de-schooling period. I think the de-schooling period helps those children acclimate to who mom is during the day and that, you know, I guess, reforming those relationships too, because lots of times if they haven't been around you that much because they're in school, they need to re-acclimate to who mom is and the, and rebuild that relationship. So I think part of the de-schooling process is building that relationship with your child. That's going to be different where you're going to be a mom who's also educating their children.
Speaker 1:Okay, cool. So all right, Alicia, I'm going to throw it to you. How would you de-school as the adult? Because I think for me that was the hardest part, because and I'm still doing it right, because you want your kid to do well, you if, like my child, is six, they are learning to read in school at that age. But when I come up to roadblocks, like you know, maybe he's just not cognitively there, but I don't want people to think I'm not doing anything with him all day. But why do schools in America require that kids learn to read at age six? So did you have to do any sort of de-schooling as the adult?
Speaker 2:I would. I would say de-schooling never ends. I don't know that there's ever like a time period and then you've like reached the reached it Because, if you think about it, you know I went to public charter schools, so that means I have been programmed for decades to see education in this certain light. So, no matter what that's going to be my go to and then it's going to be okay, stop for a second. We're all crying. We need to take a break and figure out what's going on here, because it's never I don't think it ever ends.
Speaker 2:So even and our kids have gone into public school, back out, and into charter school and back out. So I think for us and I'm going to forget names, but you know she had mentioned that you need to think about who you are as a person. It's like, hey, take a step back, and how am I best serving my child and how am I best serving my mental state right now? And that's hard because, guess, what we were never taught in public school is that you are a unique individual who has unique gifts and talents to give to society. So that's a whole thing that you have to just keep reminding yourself is how am I learning? Am I overstimulated right now? Are they overstimulated right now? And why did they teach your kids to learn? Those are all huge questions that are really important to unpack as you decide your path for homeschooling, for sure.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely, I love that. Yeah, that gave me chills. You got to really figure out how you are before you can even present to each other and goals like what do you? What are you educating your kids for? I had written an article for the quite frankly podcast, their newsletter, and I titled it why are we educating them at all?
Speaker 1:We just send them off on a bus Because somebody in society told us that's what you do at five years old and we don't even know that we have another option or that there's another way. No one asks you do you want?
Speaker 2:to do this. Are you guys ready?
Speaker 1:It's just like oh, you're signing them up for kindergarten, it's time to sign them up. You know it's springtime and they're four, so it's so crazy. And why are we sending them for what? So, amberlee, did you, I know, like with your business, you financial plan and you know you and your husband, amber last Amberlee, rich is rich is her last name and their financial planner. This is so funny. But, um, having a goal when you plan financially is, I'm assuming, huge. Right, what is your goal? Why are you even going to work? Why are you making money? Right, you need a goal for, like, what your goal is. Do you have that for your kids in their education too?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I do want to say I'm not a financial planner, we're financial coaches. So a little different part. Like the financial planning planners, they really focus on the investment side. We're all about personal finances and doing everything so that way you can be investing, but with people on their goals. Like I just started a new client today and we just talked about like we need to first figure out where you are at right now and figuring out like where your finances are, so that way you have clarity and I have clarity of where you're at, so that way we know how to get to where you want to go.
Speaker 4:It's your goal and I think, with our kids, with their schooling, is to figure out like what, what do we want for our children? Like in when you started, like for me, I was an educator before. I homeschooled our kids and there's so many different types of schools, different ways of educating. If you look at magnet schools and charter schools, public schools and all the different, they all have different focuses and I was just surprised when I had our you know, our first kid and was starting to do the research and realizing like there are so many different ways that we could go when it comes to education and like, how do we and how do we see what we are like wanting overall, but what was going to line up and serve our children based on their individual needs? So I think you know, finding that end goal is going to change as you see your kid and like I'm noticing that I'm so much more of an auditory learner. I'm not that much of an auditory learner, but I'm starting to recognize things that he's that really helps him thrive. And then I'm able to to really tailor the way that I teach him and the curriculum we use to really help him thrive. And so I think, overall, like, what is your main goal?
Speaker 4:I think in a lot of times, the public system. It's like they just want you to graduate and that's pretty much it. You to do well on the, the and you know, like, get the check mark, you know you have perfect attendance Great Like that. Those are the things they're really looking for.
Speaker 4:But when, you know, I started looking at public school for our kids, I just noticed like we first brought our daughter to a charter school and it was so focused on academics, to the point that, that it was like she had 45 minutes of homework in kindergarten every night and I was like this is not what I'm wanting for her.
Speaker 4:Like yes, I think academics are important, but there are so many other things that and skill sets that I want her to have, and I don't want her to be in a in an environment where she just feels always having to compete academically against her peers when she's five. I don't think that that's a very healthy way to start out and just always being comparing yourself and like not do things that are hands-on, and so I do feel like the more that we do have a goal I even do goals just for the year just like these are the things I want to make sure my kids learn and do this I feel like that just really helps instead of just looking at like this is what I want when they graduate.
Speaker 1:When it comes to teaching my kids, I choose the Tuttle Twins curriculum because it's not just for them. I'm learning so much right alongside them. What I love is how engaging it is for kids. They take real world concepts and weave them into stories that kids can actually understand and relate to. Whether it's US history, critical thinking or even the Tuttle Twins Guide to True Conspiracies, it's all presented in a way that sticks. I especially love learning about government, because I never learned this stuff in school how the government is supposed to work versus how it actually works and it's so cool that I get to have these conversations with my son about it and he gets it. They've got books for toddlers, a fantastic series for ages five through 11, and so much more. They even have a Tuttle Twins Academy. I can't wait to get started on that, because they have classes for business and entrepreneurship. You can get 40% off select items using code Cheryl40. That's C-H-E-R-Y-L-4-0. Just grab the link in the show's description and start learning together as a family.
Speaker 4:Trust me, you'll love what you're going to learn, because they never taught this to you in school, because I might not homeschool the whole time, I don't know. I've been really open-handed with it and I just felt like whatever is best for what works for our family, I'll be open-handed with it and just see what their needs are and if we need to change and move, we'll do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's important, definitely to move and add with the flow. I mean, even what they're learning in school is so different today than what they were learning 10 years ago and, who knows, it could be totally revamped in another 10 years. I do think something big is overhauling the education system. For sure I don't see colleges being what they were when I don't know we're probably all about the same age Like when we were graduating. It was like you have to go to college or you just won't succeed in life. You'll be the garbage man, and you know so. It was like like if any of your friends weren't going to college, or even if they were going to a two year school, it was like, oh, like, almost like, oh, they couldn't make it. Oh, shucks, lost another one. You know like that's how they made you feel in school. It's so terrible, which, I think, going forward, it's going to be oh, you're going to a four-year school. Why, you know like you could learn that online, or why wouldn't you just go to a trade school? Or why wouldn't you just, you know, learn it yourself online? So, um, I do think that's kind of revamping and overhauling, katie, what I was going to ask you.
Speaker 1:You know so much about curriculums. You've been through so many of them. You've been on my curriculum series podcast so many times about so many different curriculums. That's awesome. What would you say to the mom or dad? That's like I want to homeschool but like do I just have to follow this curriculum? What curriculum do I pick? And you know, I guess I'm looking at like there's so many different things. I could teach Latin. I could teach art, I could teach you know um, any, any number of things, nature studies, I could teach unschooling. Like there's so many different things. How do you know you're not letting your kid fall through the cracks.
Speaker 3:Well, what that has to do with curriculum, but have at it. Yeah, let me just say as somebody. So I have five children and my two oldest went to a public charter and then graduated from public high school. I have a big gap in between my kids and so I'm kind of unique where I have had kids go all the way through high school, graduated and then exclusively homeschooled the younger three all the way through high school, graduated and then exclusively homeschooled the younger three. And I just want to say, at least in Idaho, like you're going to do a better job, no matter what you do, than what the high schools here are doing. I'm just going to say that my daughter that graduated. She graduated with like high honors, she had scholarships, she almost had an associate's degree, she was scoring high on state testing. She got into college and called me having a panic attack because she didn't know how to study. So, um, anything you're doing is going to be better than what the schools are doing. I'm just saying that right now.
Speaker 3:But I agree that starting with a goal is helpful and, like you can have overall goals, like I want them, like I tend to view my kids as adult apprentices, so I'm trying to teach them how to be a functional adult and what does that look like? That look like. So you can look at goals like I want them to have faith when they graduate. I want them to have faith in God. That can be an overarching goal that you can work on their whole life, right. Or I want them to have a good work ethic, to have good character All those things you can teach very naturally throughout life. But then you can also go kind of by grades, like in high school. My oldest that I homeschool is going into high school in the fall and I looked for him like I really want him to have financial literacy, I want him to understand personal finance and things like that. I really want him to understand data literacy. I want him to know what statistics look like, so that he's not, you know, swayed by what's in the media, um, and to understand that and so. And then, like you know, my my youngest it's you know I want her to love reading, like I want her to learn to love reading. So you can kind of tailor it to like their age, um, or you know the season they're in in life or whatever.
Speaker 3:But when it comes to curriculum. I think looking at what your goals are first can help pinpoint you in that direction. If you're trying to build by subject, it's easy to get caught in the weeds. You're like, okay, I need a math, I need a language arts, I need a history or science, and pretty soon you've bought like 10 to 12 things and you don't get to half of them.
Speaker 3:If you start with the goals in mind, like if, if I'm like, okay, I really want, you know, my son to focus on financial literacy, then I can go search for something if I need it to teach that thing, if it's something that I can't teach on my own and that can really help you narrow down on what you're, what you're spending your money on and where you're putting your focus.
Speaker 3:Because it can be really easy to want to teach your kids all the things, but you can't. Like there's just not enough time in the day and um and public schools do this too. Like nobody has all knowledge. There's going to be gaps in knowledge. That's just how it is. But as a homeschooler, you can choose what those gaps are right. So for me it's like I really want to make sure that my kids love reading and they have financial literacy. So I'm going to make sure that's not a gap, but maybe it's okay if they don't learn about the Aztecs you know. So you can kind of choose, you know curricula based on what your goals are, and I think that's a better way to go about it than to try to build by subject.
Speaker 1:Okay, Awesome. Thank you, Alicia. You've got kids that are like different ages and, if I remember correctly from our episode, you also have a blended family, so or you know, so you've got kids that step kids and, um, how do you even think about homeschooling and getting to everybody's curriculum when you have these multiple ages? Can you combine things? How do you even think about homeschooling and getting to everybody's curriculum when you have these multiple ages? Can you combine things? How do you do it?
Speaker 2:Yes, so I do have. I'm pretty similar because I do have two elders that have gone through all the education, and then the youngers we've totally decided to homeschool along the way, although they did experience charter school. But with that in mind, one of the biggest things that I would say helps is understanding their developmental age. So when you have because I have five all the way to 20. So there's, my five-year-old is going to be very black and white, very literate, and so it's like whatever I say is truth, whereas my eight-year-old is going to start thinking, well, what, what does that mean, you know? And so we have found that.
Speaker 2:Well, we found a curriculum that we really enjoy that tailors to their ages. So we all learn the same thing throughout the day and then, depending on their ages, we do different things. So my nine-year-old writes a paper about the we're in ancient history, so it's all based around that time period and so, but my younger ones, they just sing songs and do the hand motions and just repeat the knowledge, and then, as they get older, they get to dive deeper into understanding exactly what we're talking about. So that's been, um, and even if you don't use like the curriculum we do, I think, understanding how does your child at that age interpret knowledge and how do they view the world makes a really big difference. Because then you realize in those younger years so much of your foundation is relational and building that relationship with your kids of good memories being outside, doing fun activities together, that's going to lay a foundation way more solid than their math facts or their ABCs.
Speaker 1:So oh, that's very true. Well, what curriculum are you using now that you have to tell us?
Speaker 2:We're doing classical conversations, so it's nationwide. I don't know if they do worldwide, but it just comes at developmental stages and it's been really nice to be able to do the same thing all together and you and as a parent, you can decide well, actually there's these cliff dwellings in Colorado, so let's go visit the cliff dwelling so you can see what that looks like and stuff like that. So it makes it. You can tailor it as much as you need to.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Yeah, I've heard good things about classical conversations and, to the best of my knowledge, there's like groups in areas throughout the country and you can meet once a week and you know, have your assignments that you work on throughout the week, and they have the history timeline song. Anybody can find that on YouTube. It's like a 12 minute song and they memorize history, so we've listened to that in the car rides before. Very cool, all right. So, amberlee, I'm thinking from the parent standpoint who have not begun homeschooling, and in myself self, you know, a year or two ago, um, are my kids going to be taken from me if I do not keep them up to par with the other kids that are in public school their age? Like, how do I know my children will not be ripped from my, my grip?
Speaker 4:Like if they, if you get in trouble with the law. Or just like you're they don't compare.
Speaker 1:Or like they are if they, if you get in trouble with the law, or just like they don't compare or like they are behind. Yeah, I think that people view it as like if I don't teach the times tables by the age that they're supposed to learn them, that like the school will come and like take your children from you from what I have learned. That is not the truth.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and I think maybe depending on the state, like I also live in Idaho and there's it's just there's a lot of freedom for homeschoolers, which is amazing. I know that for me personally I do struggle because I'm always like I don't know. I think just in women in general, we care like ourselves versus other women.
Speaker 4:We do that with our kids, of like man, one of our kids is, you know, doesn't read as quickly as the other, like as a friend's kid, like the same age, and you know, I think about in reality, like as an adult, I I don't remember when I learned how to read, I don't remember how I compared, like when, when I learned the multiplication tables or any of that kind of thing, like in reality, it doesn't matter. I feel like when you get to adulthood, adulthood it's like, even like the age of my spouse, like my husband's, three years older than me, but as a kid, that early not as a kid, but like in high school or college it felt like there was a bigger gap. As you get older, it's like it's not that big of a deal and I think that's kind of like a similar thing that I think it's easy to try to compare and like. Are my kids learning the same things? Like for me, we're doing history from the beginning of US history and working our way to current day.
Speaker 4:And I was just thinking, like you know, and if I was trying to compare what my kids are learning versus you know, their, their grade level right now, like they don't get to see the whole span of history. It's always broken up by a different teacher in a different spot. So there's lots of different gaps. And so I feel like it's okay and I have to remind myself this that like I don't need to be comparing my kid versus another, because we all have strengths in some ways and weaknesses and others, and the goal is to just help our kids move forward and not try to, like, compare them versus someone else. And so I think, like it's always, I think, a struggle and I think, as a homeschooling parent, I feel the weight of my child's education. I can't just like send them to school and be like, oh, I don't have to worry about it because someone else is doing that work.
Speaker 4:So I do feel like there is that pressure to make sure that my kids are learning and that they're growing but then I've also had to release that like part of it is on them, like the same thing as when a kid is in school they could be in a classroom with, you know, 30 other kids are hearing the same thing and they can be totally tuning everything out. And so it's also on our kids to to be engaged and do things that like are engaging for our kids and we can tailor it so much more than in a public school setting. But it is on them as well to put in the effort, Like we can do so much. But then you know they have to actually, you know, be learning and participating and growing and participating and growing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so true. And the beauty of the homeschooling with that is you can find an interest of theirs and then tailor that to what you, what your goal is for them that year, and blend all the subjects into that one topic. So, for instance, my son really loves, you know, cars and four wheelers and that stuff, so I can tailor. You know learning to read if we're learning about cars. You know in books about that math nut, I don't know, but you know what I mean, you can't. And then history.
Speaker 1:Well, let's learn about where did the first vehicle come from and where, where was that in the world and where did they start? You know building roads and you know when you start actually thinking about that stuff and that stuff we never really learned in school. You never got that opportunity to take like what you're learning about the world or reading or math or anything, and make it relevant to something that you have an interest in. So that's been kind of the cool part and I think that's part of de-schooling to to like be like wait, it does not have to be this boring like this is. This is such an interesting world, why are we making this the most boring it could possibly ever be. And I mean, I know why now, because I've researched the history of our education system. So, katie, maybe you might want to touch on that next.
Speaker 1:I don't know if you are quite the conspiracy theorist I am but for parents who don't know if they want to homeschool and they're just kind of like on the fence, like I don't really know if I like what they're teaching at school and you know, maybe the bullies, maybe the active drills, that they don't want their child to be part of. All of that is, you know, good reasons, but then there's also, like this nefarious reason behind why our school education system was created. Do you want to like touch?
Speaker 3:on that at all? Sure. So first of all, I would say, um, everybody that gets started homeschooling, whether you are getting started or whether you've been nine years, if you've not read anything by John Taylor Gatto, you need to. Yeah, I second that. I'm just going to put that out there right now. He was a public school teacher in New York one teacher of the year, I think, two years in a row in the state of New York, and in one of his acceptance speeches he actually critiqued the public school system, ended up quitting teaching and became a very loud advocate for homeschooling In particular, speaking out against how damaging public schools can be. And so dumbing us down is probably his most famous book. Um, that's a collection of essays by him. He also has, I think, the underground history of American education. I think that's his um, but he also has a few books that, uh, do go into that.
Speaker 3:But, um, basically, you know the schools were developed by? Um know, you have the rockefellers who in new york, um, they basically wanted to create a, a dumbed down, subservient population, because they didn't want anybody smart enough to take their money from them. And so what they did is they put? They just said they would donate money to the different schools if they could put a member of the Rockefeller family or somebody from their board on the school board for that school. And that led to the debbing down, in the area of New York schools at least. And yeah, but in general, schools were created to create the subservient people, people who couldn't critically think, people who were just smart enough to get a job done, but not so smart. Not so smart they could outsmart the powers in that be that held the money. Yeah, yeah, that's the short version.
Speaker 1:And it's true. And when I first learned that I was like, all right, that's like what the conspiracy theorists think, right. But then you just read book after book after book and how it was taken from the Prussian model of, you know, the old Germany. And because they wanted soldiers that would just be obedient. And yeah, they want you smart enough to do the job, but not smart enough to question it. And yes, why would oil tycoons invest millions of dollars in the school board to create competitors to their business? No, that's crazy. So when you think about just like, should I homeschool or not, when you think about sending your child to an institution, that this is their goal, it is a little nuts that we would do that. So, all right.
Speaker 1:So, breaking it down further, we have talked about so far on this live to go to HSLDAorg for your homeschooling laws in your state. We have talked about finding people, seasoned homeschoolers whether it be online or find them online who live in your community, friends or friends of friends. If you even just put on Facebook that you're thinking of homeschooling, people crawl out of the woodwork. They're like, oh, I have information. So it's so funny that people you wouldn't even know homeschool. Oh, come on, my sister homeschools. She'll tell you all about it. So, yes, if you just start to be open about it, you will find people, wherever you look, that homeschool or know so much about homeschooling.
Speaker 1:And we talked about how we shouldn't compare our children. Whether it's learning to read or math or not, no one will take your children from you because you have not. You know they have not mastered their math facts by a certain age or learned to read by a certain age, as long as you are submitting what you need to submit to the school, and there might be some tests, but they also are administered at home usually. So you know that's pretty much the basic of that. Alicia, what does your reporting look like? I know we have strict reporting in New York. Do you have to notify the school or submit reports?
Speaker 2:No, actually. No, we do. You're required to keep a log, but that's like nobody comes to check for the log, so it's the only. The only thing that we have to do is like the state testing. So we have to do Iowa testing and SATs and ACTs and stuff like that, but nothing beyond that really. I mean, you keep the log just in case, but nobody's asking for it and there's really nowhere to turn it into, so it's just Wait.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry. Are you in Colorado or Idaho?
Speaker 2:Colorado.
Speaker 1:You're in Colorado and Amberlee and Katie are in Idaho.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I mean there's some things that they're trying to do to make it harder to homeschool in Colorado, so hopefully those things don't pass.
Speaker 1:Thinking about homeschooling but not sure where to start, or maybe you're already on the journey and want more guidance. Join the homeschool how-to community. You'll get exclusive access to live interviews with me and my guests where you get to ask questions, plus monthly Q&A sessions with homeschooling experts. You'll also get my full curriculum series where I chat one-on-one with homeschoolers to find the specifics about each curriculum all to help you find the right fit for you and your family. And don't miss my comprehensive course breaking down everything I've learned from interviewing over a hundred homeschooling families on my podcast, complete with an easy to follow roadmap. Ready to make homeschooling easier? Sign up today using the link in my show's description. Amberlee, what is your reporting requirements?
Speaker 4:like there's no reporting requirements.
Speaker 3:It's on the honor system. They're like you know, we as a parent, you should teach your kids these subjects, and that's it, like it's on the honor system, basically.
Speaker 1:I'm so jealous. So in New York we have to by six, um first grade, you have to say I intend to homeschool my child this year by a certain date. You've got to submit that. Then you have to submit, so that's your notice of intention. Then you have to submit an IHIP, the individual plan of what you're going to teach for that year, and then tell them the quarter dates of the end of your quarters that you're going to submit what that year and then tell them the quarter dates of the end of your quarters that you're going to submit what you did complete and um, they also want you to.
Speaker 1:So they have a list of subjects that they want you to touch on you. They don't tell you how many hours you have to spend in each subject, but they do tell you you have to do the 225 days or equivalent in the year and they like you to keep. You have to keep attendance at home, but you don't have to submit the attendance. It's like the log that, alicia, you were talking about. You have it just in case CPS knocks on your door, I suppose, but no one's asking for it. So and then.
Speaker 1:So then you're submitting quarterly what you've done for the last quarter and then, I believe, every other year. I mean, they have very funny language, but around third or fourth grade, every other year you have to do a test. So you pick the test and as long as you say on your third quarter report, I want to administer this myself at home and they okay that then you can have the test sent to your home and submit it back in and let's see is there anything else you might have to do evaluations too, even from first grade on. But I can say on the third quarter report, I will do my child's evaluation in lieu of a teacher. Like I suppose I would just find a teacher off the street and ask them to evaluate them. But, um, so whether you have, like maybe a network of homeschooling parents that you can all trade off on doing you know each other's child evaluation or you can just ask for that approval to be the one to do it.
Speaker 2:but yeah, it's pretty crazy in new york we do have to do the letter of intent. That's yeah, that is the other thing. But you just do that once a year at the beginning, and that's it yeah they just want to know your job is alive in existence.
Speaker 1:Yes, yep, um, all right. So as we round out for the last 15 minutes here, we'll just go around one more time and just kind of any last words or words of inspiration or encouragement that you would have to the hesitant homeschooling parent, um, to maybe give them that push to homeschool or the courage to, and then where people can find you if you're working on anything or, um, have any good stuff for us to know about. So, alicia, I'll hand it over to you. Have any good stuff for us to know about.
Speaker 2:So, alicia, I'll hand it over to you. Okay, any last words of encouragement Definitely think about your reason why you're doing this, just kind of echoing some things and get to understand kind of child development. Do your history on public education, because it really does make a big difference of why you're even doing this. And probably I would say, something that I did in the very beginning was and I kind of do throughout but maybe keep a little journal about your kid and it's just a little like their strengths are or I see them growing in this way, cause, like when you get in the trenches it's really hard to like to remember, like where you began and also like what they've overcome that year and or even some weaknesses that you were able to, that you were able to work through and and get through that year, and I feel like that it really helps the child even to see in the end like hey, look, remember at the beginning of the year you were struggling with this and now look at what we've done together and keep a more positive atmosphere with it and look into co-ops, because you never know what's around.
Speaker 2:Facebook has been huge. We moved cities, so we moved from in the city up to the mountains. So we've had to find a whole new group of people, and Facebook was huge because everybody loves having their groups. So, and it turns out there's several things we can do. And then also I said this in our previous interview but keep a like a family statement of where you're trying to head as a family together, so you can kind of filter things through what fits, what doesn't. Does this fit with our family motto? You know, are we trying to what's our goal this year? And you know, if it doesn't fit, then it's okay to say no, you don't have to do everything. You can do the few things well. And so I'd say that would be my words of of encouragement. And um, and we started an instagram page called the moda cottage. If anybody wants to follow it's following our house. It's a historic log cabin in the mountains, so that's been a new adventure this year.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, oh, how cool. And all of the learning that the kids will just gain from rehabbing a house. That's so cool.
Speaker 2:Everything we do is in comparison to the timeline of when our house was built and what was happening. So it's been really fun. What year was it built? On record it's 1894, but it could be older. So we're yeah, and it's just this cute little historic town. I could go on and on, but it was established in 1863. So it's got a lot of history and a lot of families still live here that homesteaded and pioneered over here.
Speaker 1:So it's a really cool. I mean that is awesome. And I'll tell you, I like I'm 41 years old and I never stopped to think about things like that. Like you, just you're kind of just so ingrained like you. You go everything's pavement and cement and square buildings and you know you wait for your bus and you go to your school and you come home and they busy you with dance classes and this and that, and you know nasty food, uh, from the takeout plate and you know you never stop to think about that where now we like, when I met my husband, I'm like, oh my god, I like met somebody from the woods. There's not even internet there. Like they heat the house with wood. This is ridiculous. But now that I have made my full circle and now I'm like we gotta build a bunker. They're trying to kill us.
Speaker 1:But, um, it's so cool because the mountain behind our house I mean it's just miles and miles. You go through it. We'll go through it on our side by side and I'll see these, um, stone walls that people have put stones together by hand and it's I'm like, where did this even come from? And you know. So, just to learn the history of that that people were, you know, marking where their territory was with that, or keeping cows in or something maybe. But you know there's a historic society here which I keep saying. I'm going, we are going to make a field trip day of just that, and go to the. There's a little red school house, um down at the end of the road and just having the time to explore that stuff with your kid and then seeing how excited you get to learn about it, is one of the coolest things about homeschooling too. So, um, amberlee, I'm going to throw it over to you Parting wisdom to the hesitant homeschooling parent and where we can find you as well.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think overall, I think a lot of people feel like they need an education degree to homeschool their kids. Like, I do have an education degree, but it is not necessary and, honestly, it probably has been more of a struggle for me because I have these expectations since I taught middle school and like I like, yeah, it's ingrained inside of me and I think, just give yourself grace that you don't have to know everything. You're like I'm learning alongside my kids and that is such a wonderful experience and so I think, just give yourself permission to not have to know it all, and I think it's really helpful for our kids to not know or like to recognize that we're also lifelong learners and that we are doing them because, like, like I was saying about, we're doing the history from you know the Native Americans and we're almost at the Civil War at this point. Ever actually try to do it like in chronological order, like without having gaps in my entire life and I'm seeing things in a different perspective because it's never. I've never experienced it and so it's been really neat to be able to experience it with our kids, with our kids, and I've also just been trying to pay attention.
Speaker 4:What are the things that are life giving, and if those things are life giving, like we're going to continue doing those things with homeschooling, and I do like to spend time with my kids one-on-one and it's not like I'm just going to like grill them on what do you like about school and what you don't, but I do just talk about, like, what do you really love about our homeschooling experience right now?
Speaker 4:What are the things you would like us to continue and what are things you wouldn't? And I think it's helpful for them to feel like there's ownership in it, that they they also are getting to craft their education, as me like pushing things at them and I think like students at a public school do not get that opportunity and they get to be involved in it. And so, like I think, overall, just give yourself grace, don't compare yourself against every single person, like you're going to have different strengths than other people and it's okay. So I think just yeah, give yourself grace and just lean into your relationship with your kids and I think also letting them experience real life, like learning skills, like how to cook, how to clean the house, how to do their own laundry, like all of those things Most of the kids that are in public school.
Speaker 4:Their parents are doing it for them because they're stalker games like all this extra stuff that goes along the way, and if we are able to give our kids the opportunity to practice real life skills, they're going to be so much more equipped for real life. And I think that's really what we want to do is just bring our kids to the place where they can be fully embracing their, their, their career and their calling and whatever they're going to be doing in adulthood. So that those are my parting words to find me. My husband and I have our own financial coaching business called Rich Living Coaching. I have our own financial coaching business called Rich Living Coaching. You can go to richlivingcoachingcom. We also have created an online group coaching program for Christians called Steward Lab, and so that really helps you to steward your resources well and effectively. So that's something you can look into and that's at stewardlabcom.
Speaker 1:Cool, cool, awesome. And I can put all this stuff in like the description of the show when we release this as the podcast episode too, so there'll be clickable links there and anyone who is watching live right now. If you have any questions, please put them in the comment box and I will keep an eye out for those. Well, we have our last parting words here from Katie. But Katie, yeah, what are your words of wisdom or encouragement to the folks, and where can they find you?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I agree that it's important knowing your why. Because I'm going to tell you right now when February rolls around, it's the public school can look really tempting every February. So knowing why you want to homeschool and I do think doing your research on you know what the public schools were created to do those kinds of things have kind of kept me going, like when I'm like, when I just have that back, thought like, oh, maybe they'd be better in school, then I remember all the things that I've learned about schools and it keeps me going. So knowing your why, knowing you know not only why you're leaving public school but why you're homeschooling too, I think that's important. But I think just remember that you are their parent. Like you, you understand your children. In a way nobody else will. Nobody else is as invested in your child as you are. Nobody loves them as much as you do. Nobody has, you know, a bigger heart for wanting what's best for them. And so, just by nature of being a parent and having those feelings towards your child, you're going to do really like that's all you need to be successful. You just need to have love and to be invested in your child. That's all you need to be a successful homeschooler.
Speaker 3:As a mom or a dad, you've already taught your kids. That's all you need to be a successful homeschooler. As a mom or a dad, you've already taught your kids many things Like you've probably. You've taught them how to walk. You've potty trained them. You've taught them how to use, you know, a fork and a spoon. What have you? You might like?
Speaker 3:I know I see your son, cheryl, learning all the stuff you know on the four wheelers and things like that. Your kids are learning things from you all the time, and so teaching them a little bit of history, a little bit of math is just cherry on the top, like they're learning so much from you anyway. I do think, too, that parents, we can be examples. I think that if you have had your love of learning turned off by the public school system, now's a great time to ignite that, to be to ignite that passion for learning yourself and be a good example to your children of being excited about learning. If mom's excited about something that your kids are more excited to be about that too. So I just think, model what it looks like to be a lifelong learner and then just trust in your instincts as a parent that loving them and being invested in them is going to be enough.
Speaker 1:I love that, and where can people find you if they want to check out more of your work?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so you can find me on Katie Berry's book recs on Instagram. I currently don't offer any sort of anything other than you can listen to my ADHD rambles on my stories.
Speaker 1:But you are well-read and recommend books all the time, which is why I come to you all the time asking for, like, what could we use to de-school? And I'm actually you recommended to me Julie Bogart's A Brave Learner. So I am, I'm listening to the audio Okay, I'm cheating a little bit, but it is very good and I have an art table now in my living room and my husband is like what in God's name is taking up our entire living room? And I'm like they're only going to be in here for like 18 years. So let's make it fun. They're not going to do art if it's in the basement. So I have beads all over my living room, paint everything, but it's fun. They're using it because it's where they can see it. So it's a great book.
Speaker 1:A Brave Learner. And you've recommended to me Dumbing Us Down from John Taylor Gatto. Weapons of Mass Instruction is another one of his. Another great book is Indactrinating Our Children to Death by Alex Newman. He's been on my podcast before. That gets all into the history of our education system. What's another one that you've recommended? I think oh, free to Learn. And there's another one with a similar title. One is by John Gray. Peter Gray, no, it wasn't by Peter Gray. You do it, you recommend the books, oh man, I think you've listed a lot of them.
Speaker 3:I really like Awakening Wonder by Sally Clarkson. That is a heavily Christian book, so just be aware of that, but it's also kind of like inspirational. If you want to get going, there's Wild and Free. Wild and Free yeah, that's a really popular one as well. One of my favorites is mere motherhood by cindy rollins. Um, oh, I think I got pause for a minute anyway. Mere motherhood by cindy rollins. That's like her memoir of homeschooling her children and then um, but it through her experience. It gives you inspiration on it and and it's very comical. It's one of my favorites.
Speaker 1:And oh, how Children Learn, was another one by John Holt. Yeah, John.
Speaker 3:Holt. John Holt is the father of the unschooling movement.
Speaker 1:Okay. So all great books to recommend? I recommend all those as part of my de-schooling process and you know, I just want to note too. I don't think we have any questions, but one of the biggest things and Amberlee mentioned this that I have noticed over interviewing homeschoolers for two years is the amount of teachers that have left their jobs to homeschool their kids. Nothing says more to me that like this is the right path for you as a mom or a dad than a teacher leaving the system. They went to school in New York. You have to have a master's degree, so you're not only going to school for four years, you're then adding another two more years of loans onto that, so you're well over $100,000 in debt by the time you leave college to teach in New York at least. Leave college to teach in New York at least. And to leave all of that and a salary and a pension and health insurance because you're like, uh-uh, not my kid, no, no, my kid's not going to be part of this.
Speaker 1:Because nobody really knows what goes on in the school system than the teachers. Nobody knows better than those teachers do, and they see the behind the scenes, the funding, the testing. Nobody knows better than those teachers do and they see the behind the scenes, the funding, the testing. They see just what the intentions are of people. I just saw a friend of mine posted the other day she's a teacher on Facebook and she was just kind of ranting how she's like I used to love teaching and now I, like I don't know, she goes.
Speaker 1:I don't know what happened since COVID, but something is so different in these schools. Kids aren't the same, parents aren't the same, teachers aren't the same, and it's just a miserable place to be. And so when we just think of our children's childhood, like, is that what we want for them? These parents that are like I wanted to be here, but now I have no desire to be around, like your kid or anyone else's. And it's not their fault. Teachers are. They are struggling to work with what they have. You know they are given so few resources and are so overloaded, but it's just the way the system is. So I wanted to thank you, amberlee, for being honest about that that. You know you were a teacher that left and, yeah, I talked to so many teachers that left to say, yeah, I'm not putting my kid in the system. Yeah, there's.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I would totally agree, and I taught for five years in the public school system and I just noticed how the older the I guess the longer a teacher has been working, the more grumpy they were, typically, because there would be new stuff that they were wanting the teachers to implement and the teachers would be new stuff that they were wanting the teachers to implement and the teachers would be like I don't want to implement it For one, they'll have us implement it for a year, two years max, and then they drop it and they're like that's a bad idea. We're going to try something else. Like I did training for an entire summer on total instructional alignment and I was like on the forefront. I taught art of creating all of this for art, for the state of Idaho.
Speaker 4:I did that in the summer and then when schools started up, they said we're not doing total instructional alignment, we're changing to something else. So, like all of that, like I spent so much time on this and it just felt like what a waste. And so all these teachers are just like this is, this is a waste and the majority of the things they're wanting us to do is not actually helping the students. It's like all of these hoops of like contacting the parents, you know, submitting all your lesson plans, and like all of these things. Like I think it's good to have lesson plans, but it was so many hoops. That's's like this is not what I thought. I came into teaching, like I came to teach kids and I'm having to do all these other tasks that really don't feel like related, but I'm having to spend the majority of my time on that and not on the actual teaching.
Speaker 1:That's so huge, great point and a great point to leave off with. So, katie, alicia Amberleely, thank you guys so much for joining me. Thank you everybody who is watching. If you didn't catch the full episode, I will save this to my instagram and also release it as a bonus episode on the podcast. So thank you guys so much for joining me. Have a great night. Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the homesomeschool how To. If you've enjoyed what you heard and you'd like to contribute to the show, please consider leaving a small tip using the link in my show's description. Or, if you'd rather, please use the link in the description to share this podcast with a friend or on your favorite homeschool group Facebook page. Any effort to help us keep the podcast going is greatly appreciated. Thank you for tuning in and for your love of the next generation.