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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
#124: Why This Practitioner Rejects Traditional Education AND Medicine
Stepping away from traditional education wasn't originally in Jessica's plans. When her mother-in-law, a retired kindergarten teacher, began casually teaching her daughter at home "just for fun," Jessica discovered unexpected benefits that eventually led her family down the homeschooling path.
As the owner of Well-Rooted, a holistic wellness practice with multiple locations across several states, Jessica brings a unique perspective to homeschooling. The flexibility allows her family to integrate education with their entrepreneurial lifestyle - traveling when needed, adjusting schedules around sports commitments, and fostering stronger family bonds. "We wanted to maximize our time with our children to its fullest potential," she explains, noting that after struggling with infertility, every moment with her children feels precious.
This conversation dives deep into practical homeschooling approaches, from curriculum choices to incorporating outside teachers. Jessica shares how her family moved from boxed curriculum to more personalized learning methods that respect each child's unique learning style. Rather than assuming all children learn the same way, their approach incorporates games, movement, and real-world application.
The parallels between Jessica's holistic health practice and homeschooling philosophy become evident as she discusses toxins in food, preventative healthcare, and teaching children to understand the "why" behind health choices. This isn't just about academics - it's about raising children who can think critically, advocate for themselves, and navigate life's complexities with confidence.
Whether you're currently homeschooling, considering it as an option, or simply curious about alternative educational approaches, this episode offers valuable insights into how one family balances business ownership, health advocacy, and personalized education. Follow Jessica and Well-Rooted Pediatrics on Instagram to learn more about their integrated approach to family wellness and education.
Follow: Well Rooted Pediatrics
What is the most important thing we can teach our kids?
HOW TO HANDLE AN EMERGENCY!
This could mean life or death in some cases!
Help a child you know navigate how to handle an emergency situation with ease:
Let's Talk, Emergencies! -and don't forget
Tuttle Twins- use code Cheryl15 for 15% off!
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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. Welcome, and with us today I have Jessica, with Well-Rooted Jessica, thank you for being here. Why don't we start with how you found yourself in the homeschooling space in the first place? Had you always been a homeschooler, or did this sort of fall into your lap like it did mine?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think we all have that. You know how did we get here?
Speaker 2:Right, because eventually you just realize like, oh, this is what we're doing every day. But is this, is this a legit thing? So my oldest is 11. She's in fifth grade. My youngest is nine, he's in third, and when we had my oldest I would say we had no, no inkling that we were ever going to homeschool. It was just they were going to be in school, right, it's kind of what you're subjected to. We weren't really surrounded around any homeschooling families, so to us it was very foreign. And at the time my mother-in-law had just retired and she was a kindergarten teacher for 20 years. So at that point she started helping teach my daughter at home, just for more fun, and we realized that she was kind of ahead of the game and we were working towards that. And throughout our natural journey we found more and more homeschooling parents and realized that it was what aligned with us. So our children have never been in school. We have homeschooled from the get-go and it has been a very great decision for our family.
Speaker 1:I love that.
Speaker 2:You kind of saw how the effects of it before you even intended to and you recognize that too, like wow, she's already ahead of everything that's going on Everybody say like she can have full conversations with adults, or you know, it just seems like your kids problem solve really well and you know, I think just a lot of those things were like oh okay, maybe there is a bonus to this right. And you know, it's not to diss anybody who's in the school system, it's just for us that's what aligned and made the most sense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think everybody starts out for different reasons and then once you start homeschooling, you all of the reasons sort of unfold and you kind of see them play out day by day. Little things like just letting your kids sleep in until they're ready in the morning, it's like wow, that's probably really beneficial to them. No-transcript benefits, other than she's just a little bit ahead. That you've seen.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I think for us you know you go through for us personally, we went through like we were ahead and then we had some challenges and then we kind of got back on track and I think the flexibility is the biggest thing for us. You know being business owners, you know owning Well Rooted. We have, you know, several different locations and we have a lot of different employees and staff and a lot of different moving parts. So for the flexibility there, my husband's been home for five years and helping me run the business and so for us being able to travel, just going and grabbing, you know, lunch or going and deciding like, hey, we're done for the day, we just need to check out, and having our kids present with us, you know, I think some families for us.
Speaker 2:You know we really worked hard to have our children.
Speaker 2:We went through some infertility stuff and some miscarriages and you know God blessed us with two great kiddos and so we want to be able to, we wanted to be able to maximize that right to its fullest potential, and so the flexibility is probably the biggest thing that we see.
Speaker 2:Again, we love to travel and just being able to. You know our kids are both in travel sports. So just having that flexibility to not be up, like you said, 530 on the bus or at school till whatever time and then have to do sports till nine o'clock and then come home and shower and go to bed, like I always say, I don't know how people do this, you know, because for us it's chaotic and we're not even gone from the house. You know the house, you know. So it's um, it's a ton of fun. But just having that that different relationship with the kids too, um, you know, we're all very close. We talk about so many different things. We're the ones who are educating and teaching them the ways that they should be taught, um, and allowing them to, like, make their own decisions and problems all for themselves.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and like a great example of that, because that sounds so good, right, like, oh, yeah, I want that. But then it's so hard to really like how would that really work in a day to day? And it just reminds me of a conversation that I have with my son on Monday, and you know, I was like what do you want? And he's six. I was like, what do you want to do when you're older? And he goes oh, I want to work where dad works, you know, at a company doing commercial HVAC. I said, okay, why do you want to work for that company? Though? He goes well, cause there's good people, I go well, but by the time you get there you don't know that there will be.
Speaker 1:I said, well, why wouldn't you want to own your own business? You can do that work. Oh, yeah, okay, I'm going to do that. And then I started asking him what can do that as a business too. You can do that when you're 16, you, you know you don't have to wait.
Speaker 1:Um and so then he started talking about that, and you know we live in upstate New York. So I said, well, what would you do in the winter time for work? So we were brainstorming different things he could do, like plow, or, you know, if there isn't a lot of snow that year, he could, you know, learn how to butcher and process deer, um, all these cool things. Or or learn electrical and work in people's homes. And uh, it was just a cool conversation, cause then I was like, okay, well, oh, it started because he said to me I don't need to learn reading and math because I know what I want to do already. And I was like, oh, wow, I never really thought of that in his mind. He only has to learn stuff until he figures out what he wants to do. That's kind of funny, like like they don't know why they're going to school every day, like we'd never, I never knew why I was going there, right, um, you just go, because that's where they shuffle you off to.
Speaker 1:But it was kind of cool, like hearing this come out of my son, cause I was like, well, no, you need to know how to read and do math to do the job itself. It doesn't stop because you've figured out that that's what you want to do. So now I'm kind of thinking of like, okay, well, I can work math into what he right now, as of right now wants to do, so I can tell him, you know how? Would you know how much money to charge people? And that's where we can work on adding and subtracting and multiplication and then it's really relevant for their life and so that's like just such a cool real world experience about what you're talking about.
Speaker 1:Because it's so easy to say it but it happens like all the time these conversations, but when you're really thinking about it like this, it comes easy too, like you don't have to really sit there and think today I am going to talk to my child about. It's just, you have time to have these conversations with your kids when you're home with them all day. So it's I love that. And you said your daughter's how old she's 11. Oh, and then you have a son as well. He's nine. Yeah, do you like look at their relationship and think how it would be if they were both in school in separate places all day, versus what they are together? Because I find that that's something not talked about a whole lot, but it's so special.
Speaker 2:That's just it. And I literally have said to even my husband like I can't imagine them being separated all day, like they are so close and don't get me wrong, they're still siblings, right, so they still have their fair share of fighting and arguing and pushing and shoving and all the things, but they like don't see themselves like not a part of each other's lives. So they're always thinking of another. So it's like, oh, I'm going to grab this, cause you know Elena wants this, or I'm going to make sure that, like, phillip gets this too, and like they're always, just constantly thinking of each other. And I have friends that are even just like no way in heck would my kids ever play like that or get along. And for me I'm like gosh, I don't even know what that would be like if they didn't do that. You know, and we try to still obviously you know you don't make them do things together Like we really try to still encourage independence with certain aspects and marks in their lives. But also it's just like your siblings, your biggest piece, and not everybody has that blessing in those relationships. So we really strive for just like thinking of them and just really ensuring that they understand too, whether that be emotional challenges even. You know, do you understand, like why they're upset, um, and if you don't like, let's try to figure that part out. So, um, their relationship is super fun.
Speaker 2:And I think, you know, obviously, growing up, like you don't like looking back like I have a younger brother and I never saw like a disconnect, right like when you look back like I remember the times that you were together so playing outside, the car trips, like all of that, so you remember those things. But you then you know I don't remember moving out and like him still being at home, like you don't like kind of pay attention to those details. And and then now that we're older, it's like our conversations are very different when we meet up. We're so different and they're they're still we're very close, you know, blessingly, and we're very connected. But to think of like that gap in the kids is hard. It's like super hard to try to figure out and picture.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I agree it's. It's. It's not like you know cause I think about that too. Oh, I have you know I'm close with my sister and we were both in public school, um, but you don't know what you're missing out on because it wasn't there so you don't know what else could have been. But yeah, I agree it's, and you know, I was thinking about it as you were talking too. It's almost like training for like your future, like relationships like in marriage and stuff. Like your siblings are kind of they're that pushback, that like kind of equal, because your parents, it's a different relationship, there's an authority there, but when you're with your seven siblings, you're kind of like equal and that's your training, like, oh, this is how they react when I do this.
Speaker 1:And it's not to say that you know if you're an only child you're, you know, not going to have that because you'll have friends and all that stuff too. That's all along the same lines. But, um, and I love what you were saying about the travel groups too, because it's such a persona that homeschoolers just are not socialized and, you know, can't do the sports and all that. But it's funny because my sister's kids they all went to school and they all did the school sports, but then they also did the travel teams and I was like how does she do all this? So it's almost like the school sports are like practice for the travel team anyway. So is that what you're kind of seeing? Your kids obviously are not lacking for any sort of socialization in that aspect.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, and, and they've been in sports for me, whether it be when they were small gymnastics, dance, all the you know the fun stuff for the girls. And, um, my son started early with like T-ball and he kind of had just stuck with it. But yeah, I mean the conversations and the respect, and you know even coaches that saying like, oh, she's, she's the leader on the team and team, and it's just interesting, it's interesting to see and watch. And you know, obviously, as parents, like we hold them to higher expectations too. It's like, you know, I don't get caught up in that.
Speaker 2:And as they grow, they deal with seeing other kids be bullied or potentially name called or talked about, and it's trying to have those conversations. Hey, we don't interact in those conversations. Like it's okay to speak up and defend that person. It's okay to say, hey, this conversation is not appropriate, right? So giving them that freedom and that flex to be able to defend their own character and like explaining, hey, do you know, like, if you're in that group, but that conversation, right, if they get in trouble, you realize you're a part of that she goes. Well, I didn't say anything, I understand, but you were there, right? So, like, let's talk about that. So it's just taking real life experiences and really putting that to. I think, what we all have learned throughout life and as parents and adults, and we've all been in those situations. But I always just say, like you're, you're guilty by what you're a part of. So we really just need to make sure that we're always paying attention to, like what we're teaching you at home.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's huge too. I think about that a lot now as I'm witnessing my kids grow up and seeing them interact with other people and like I'm there. Like I was saying to my friend yesterday, you know, um her kids like they can be like a little wild and stuff, and she's like you know, I'm not raising them to be like these well behaved kids. I want them to grow up to be well adjusted adults. So they're getting out all their craziness now they're like they're living their best life right now and it is funny that we get to like witness that. And I don't know when you think about like kids in school, like we all like, I guess, as when you hear pushback from like, say, your parents, you know, because you're choosing to homeschool your kids with your parents or siblings or whatever. If they don't homeschool, they might be like listen, your kids need to be in school. They're a little wild, they're a little crazy, they need to learn discipline. That da, da, da, da. And you know you think about like well, teachers are not trained to be psychologists, they're not behavioral specialists. They are there to they. They know how to teach, so they know how to like teach you your phonics or teach you what's on the test. But yeah, this like misconception that we have behavioral therapists teaching 30 children and so that they're going to be way more well-behaved it's just so funny, but getting to witness it it's.
Speaker 1:It's not to say that homeschoolers are all perfect and none of them are. There are bullies in homeschool. There are times your kid is the bully, no matter who your kid is. Your kid can be the nicest kid. They might still laugh at someone or make a comment that they didn't know was mean or whatever, and they're the bully. But like we're there to witness it and correct it or talk about it and have that conversation after, which has been another really cool part of homeschooling that I didn't really expect going in, but yeah, I've been able to see that we've, even at six years old, I've had some tough conversations, whether it's because my son's around kids that are older sometimes, or kids that go to public school, or just kids that you know, whatever they're exposed to and they're saying stuff. So yeah, it starts younger and younger, I guess, but we're like there for it and can talk them through it, which has been really cool, very hard, but it's happening in the schools too. It's just you're not there to witness it and sort of help them through it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and, like you said, you know the well-rounded adults. Like we want to make sure that they're set up for success and I don't want to look back and be like, oh shoot, I could have done that better. You'll always think of something, right, where none of us are perfect, but I just want to make sure that we're at least hitting those marks. Like simple things, like there was a conversation I even had with a patient the other day about kids ordering their own food at restaurants. And you don't think about the small things, right, but like your child should be able to look at that waiter or that waitress, make eye contact, use their manners, order their meal, know exactly what they want, not sitting there doing something else on a phone or a tablet. You know even coloring. Like put the crayon down, take the second. Like make the eye contact. Like those are the things that we're shooting for, hey everyone.
Speaker 1:This is Cheryl. I want to thank you so much for checking out the podcast. I'm going to keep this short and sweet because I know your time is valuable. I want to ask you a serious question Do your kids know what to do to actually save their life in an emergency? The most important thing we can talk to our kids about is knowing their first and last name, knowing mom and dad's first and last name, mom's phone number, dad's phone number, their address, what to do if they get lost, what to do if someone who's watching them has a heart attack, a stroke, an accident, where they fall and your child needs to get help.
Speaker 1:We live in a world where there's no landline phones anymore, basically, and cell phones law. Does your child know how to call 9-1-1 from a locked cell phone? It is absolutely possible, and my book demonstrates how to do that, whether it it's an Android, whether it's an iPhone and, most importantly, it starts the conversation, because I was going through homeschooling curriculum with my kids, realizing that, gee, maybe they skim over this stuff, but they don't get into depth, so my child's not going to remember this should an accident occur, right? I asked a couple of teachers what they do in school and they said they really don't do anything either other than talk about what to do in a fire during the month of October fire prevention month. So I wrote a book because this is near and dear to my heart.
Speaker 1:I have had multiple friends that have lost kids in tragedies and I don't wanna see it happen again if it doesn't have to. We were at the fair over the summer and the first thing I said to my son when we walked through that gate was what's my first and last name, what is your first and last name and what is my phone number? And if you get lost, what are you going to do? You can get my book on amazon and I will put the link in my show's description again. It's called let's talk emergencies and I really hope you'll check it out because there's just no need to be scared when you can choose prepared.
Speaker 2:And I'm not sure, like you said, if it comes down to like being in the business role now and like the expectations that like we have, like I want to make sure that they're set up for that and that they can thrive in any environment and know. And I even had the conversation with my son yesterday at his um, his. He had a travel um like hitting lesson and um like he was messing with his back, he was kind of like flipping it and like turning it around and like he wasn't looking at the guy because he was talking to him and I was in the lobby. I could see it on the cameras and so I had a conversation in the car, listen, and he's going. The guy homeschools his kids too, so he probably is used to like these little squirrels running around. But I said, when he's talking to you, like you need to give him your undivided attention, right, because otherwise it looks like you're not paying attention. And so just kind of reiterating like hey, these are life skills and my goal is to provide you with these skills to allow you to thrive in the environment wherever that you know that turns and, like you said, they want to do all sorts of different things at this age. So it's all over the place.
Speaker 2:You know, one day my son wants to be a chef. One day he wants to be a pilot. One day he wants to be an architect. Like I, have no idea what he's going to do. My daughter says she's going to run my company. I have right. Who knows?
Speaker 1:but you got to be able to provide them with those tools to get there and that's huge because when you think about people that are successful in life, I feel like it's the people that can hold a conversation, are well-spoken, have manners, are able to listen and then like, regurgitate to show the person, the speaker, that they were listening and understand. People who ask questions, those, I feel like are the people who, when you meet, you're like, oh, I like that guy, I like that girl. You know, those are the unforgettable people where everybody else just kind of goes by the wayside. The people that are on their phones and scroll so, and that's huge.
Speaker 1:And when I just think about my 16 year career at the state, it was, you know, I did climb the ladder and it wasn't because I was like good at what I did or even you know new stuff. It was more just, I wasn't afraid to talk to people and I could speak a well, you know, developed sentence and so that got you places. And yeah, you're right, just being able to give an order to the waiter or waitress, that's huge. I had a guest on my podcast recently and she said I make my kids call to set up their dentist's appointments and doctor's appointments at very early ages.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I've totally heard that and I've seen even a reel on that where they sent their child to like make that appointment and they had no clue. They had no clue and this was like an older child. And the video was to be fun, like, oh my gosh, they have no clue, but it's like man, they should have a clue.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Who teaches your child better than like you guys teach them that. We teach them the best as parents. It's like we need to rock that. That's so true.
Speaker 1:So then, all right, what do you? How does your, how does your curriculum look? I mean, I know that's another big worry for people that want to step into the homeschooling world, like am I going to teach them enough? Am I going to overwhelm them and make it look like school? And we're going to scream at each other, you know, kind of like. And then there's the unschooling, the Charlotte Mason, the Montessori, the Waldorf, like there's so many things that can just be overwhelming. How do you kind of manage that on a day-to-day basis and without overwhelming your child? Make sure that you're hitting on, like the thing, like how important are all the little things that their counterparts in school are learning?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So, um, up until about a year and a half ago, we were fully using, just like full on built curriculums. Because I am not a teacher and I did want to make sure that, like I'm not setting them up to fail right, Like I think that was my biggest fear and that was my biggest fear. Getting started, and that's the biggest thing I talked to patients about is you're always afraid you're going to miss something you know or like miss when that's supposed to be taught. So we followed, you know, the good and the beautiful, like full on curriculums where it's like, okay, everything is here and I'd say that works really well, up until about a year and a half ago where then we kind of felt that there wasn't enough being focused on in certain subjects and headed to start like piecemeal things. And that's where I got a little confused. You know, in full transparency. It's like, okay, well, if I have to piece this together and this is for grades one through four, like is it really one through four is my fifth? You know it gets tricky. And then you're like, okay, do we do we need to focus on science and history? Like is this something that needs to be dabbled in now? Like, of course we all did it. That's like your daily in school, but like, is it a necessary part? At what point? Right, like you, you know that you've thought about all these questions and so you kind of start to spiral and you go a little bit crazy and then you post in a group and then you get 75,000 answers and they're all different and you're like, oh my God, can I at least get two of the same answers so that I could feel like I have an idea? Nothing is the same and it's so overwhelming and you know, with the way that the business went and you know how busy that became and the growth that we had, I'm like I need to find somebody to help us.
Speaker 2:So in our situation, like we actually have now a teacher that comes in to our house and we kind of all interact together and she brings her two kiddos and so they do like a little school together. You know, four days a week for two hours a day, so they do school from 10 to 12 and, um, again, she's kind of just piecing stuff together, but a lot of it's like learning through games. So what's interesting is my nine-year-old is doing the same decimal fractions games systems as these 11 and 14 year olds, and so it's very cool to watch and he Elena's, like he's doing the same math as me, and so she kind of gets a little like I'm like you know, just think about it, Like it's good for him, right, Because think about how hard it was for you to learn all these things. Like now he's just going to have this awesome refresh and like really be able to figure it.
Speaker 2:So you know at a certain point, like there's so many resources and I'm assuming, like you've heard of things like out school as well, like I'll send parents like the tutoring, the one on one help, the one on one courses. My daughter was struggling with multiplication like two years ago and I literally did the three day boot camp and it was like 15 kids on a screen and it was just three full days, like three days of a couple hours, and she figured it all out in three days. It was just how it needed to be taught different. And that's where we started to realize that the way it was being taught, whether it be through the videos or the curriculum itself, was the challenge. And the way that I was trying to teach her wasn't connecting with her brain because it was like, well, I already knew it, so now I'm trying to teach it how I know it, and she's like, yeah, I'm trying to teach it how I know it. And she's like, yeah, I'm not connecting these dots. So games is a really big thing that we do a ton of learning through just games and direction. The kids all love that positive praise. They all love like the rewards of oh cool, this was fun and interactive. So they do a ton of floor time games. On the floor. She makes all these different activities and like that's what I was looking for.
Speaker 2:And you know, I think that the take home from that too is is you can be a business owner, you can work full time, like there's ways, and it doesn't mean that you have to necessarily do the schooling yourself, right, it just means that you're choosing this life for these two hours. So now we have her travel softball team, all of her friends, they're all like we want to be homeschooled. All these parents are texting me like, oh my gosh, like Elena's talking about her school and now all my kids want to be homeschooled. We're just going to drop them off at your house every day. I'm like go for it, there's a teacher here we can figure it out. So that flexibility is really big for us.
Speaker 2:But there's not one way to teach it and there's not a wrong way. Like you can work full time, you can do it in the evening, you can do it in the weekend, you can use this curriculum, that curriculum, you can piece things together, you can do online. As you know, there's so many different ways, but getting, I think, like you said like the support, and sometimes these groups are really overwhelming. I have been super overwhelmed in them. Um, so local groups are the best library groups. Um, and just kind of learning, like where do I start?
Speaker 1:I, I love that point that you brought up and I've recently connected that myself too because I was kind of working with um, this company called Excelsior Classes, and I'm, like you know, kind of looking at avenues like of how to present this to people and I'm, like you know, I feel like homeschoolers think it's just got to be parent sitting with a child around the table and or, you know, on a blanket out in the backyard and like it doesn't have to mean that you're even doing all the teaching and for one, your kids are learning through your business, because I'm sure they're around you as you're working the rest of the day.
Speaker 1:And that's probably the bulk of, like the life skills that they're learning. But, yeah, it is finding what we're homeschooling is finding what works best for your family. So, like, if your daughter was in school and multiplication was a problem for her, her staying after class to work with that same teacher, presenting it in the same way, probably isn't going to get her farther, but you found a program that was alternative to the way you were presenting it and then it clicked. And how many things are like that in life. Or if you just heard it a different way, from a different parent or from a different book, a different source, it does make sense. So I love that and I yeah, we can outsource things all the time, like whether it's an online program, whether it's a different textbook, whether it's just stuff you want YouTube videos or audio books or reading a book, like there's so many ways to consume information, we don't have to read a boring book.
Speaker 2:When I was talking with our one of our computers yesterday about this, like just going through grad school, and I'm like man, I was never the one and it was. We started a book club and so I couldn't get into this book. It was god awful for me and I gave up at 50 pages.
Speaker 1:I'm like, yeah, this isn't for me.
Speaker 2:But we talked about like how the struggle was through school, where, like if I didn't, if I wasn't engaged in that topic, it wasn't it. But then I got to like nursing school and grad school and it was something that just enlightened me and I loved it and I was so interested. But I still had to print the PowerPoints. Everything kind of started to be techie. So it was all like online and I had to like I would buy the book that was like outdated. I would like print the PowerPoint, I would use the highlighter, I would write the stuff, because that was my way of learning and I learned better through that. So then, with all of that, when we brought in this new teacher, you know I had said here's our struggles and like here's where our goals are. The first thing she spent the entire first week doing an entire assessment of how my kids learn.
Speaker 2:So whether it be through auditory, visual, just hands-on learning. So that's where, like the games and the interactions, and it's like it doesn't have to be a pencil, a paper, like you said. A classroom at a desk, at a blank wall, like that it does not work for them. They need to be able to move right, like they're not robotic. We can't just be stuck in a seat, like I am stuck in the seat more than I would like. It is like and I'm 37 years old, like I go crazy sitting in this room, so it's a lot.
Speaker 2:You have to accept that everybody learns different and that doesn't. There could be seven different ways to get there, Right, but we can't expect them all to follow the same way. And so, yeah, the tutors are great. Some of these teachers are absolutely phenomenal. You know I had met it from with one of the public school teachers prior to finding this teacher, because a girlfriend of mine teaches at that school and she's like this teacher could really help her and like help her excel.
Speaker 2:I'm like awesome, she was amazing, like I would have loved to meet with her, to tutor with her several days a week. Um, because she really just cared. She was those one rare birds that really cared about your kiddo. But I'm like, yeah, the answer is still not to be coming. You know we're not going to be enrolling in school, right? So it just all figures out. You know it all works out in the end of the day. You just got to figure out what your drive is and then know that there's not just one way to get there and you can do it in many different avenues.
Speaker 1:So tell us about Well-Rooted, and how does that kind of tie into your homeschool?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so Well-Rooted. We opened Well-Rooted about six years ago. So Well-Rooted has a few different sectors pediatrics, functional medicine and women's health. So we are more of a holistic, functional-based practice that focuses on why? So the root cause of underlying health conditions or problems. We're not just band-aid approaching things. We're very parent choice, full informed consent, and that was the way that I wanted my kiddos raised and that's the way that that's what I was looking for for them before we decided to open. So you know, we've built this amazing community.
Speaker 2:I started with just myself and you know, now we have 14 providers, we have over 18,000 patients, we're in 15 states, berea Viet, telehealth and we have 70 lovely employees that you know support us on five years behind our mission. And so it is busy, we're super busy. We're always doing something different, always trying to figure out the next process on how to help a parent. You know, realize that they have a choice or that there's a solution for them. That's not just the-aid approach, so a lot of advocacy, which is where, like, we really try to push our kiddos to just understand our why.
Speaker 2:Like why aren't we eating that? Why are we going to make a better decision on that? Like, why shouldn't we do that today? You know whether it just be like toxins, chemicals. You know all these girls are all into like Sephora and like doing all this stuff and it's like trying just to educate, like okay, I want you to look at those ingredients and tell me if you even can read them. Do you even know what they are? So we take a lot of like what we preach through our mission of Well-Rooted like into our family and we want them to get it. We don't want them just to be taught and like brainwashed into like this is it?
Speaker 1:right.
Speaker 2:Like they need to understand why, because once they leave our home, I want them to thrive and understand those reasons. So they're constantly you know, my husband between both of us, whether it be accounting, banking, you know, problem solving, zoom meetings. They understand that like all of that's a big part of our life and they're there for it Like they fully understand. I mean, sometimes I feel like she knows more about my employees than I do, just because they're always listening, as much as you don't want them to be, and it's a lot of fun. So, you know, hopefully we can teach them one thing just about entrepreneurship and leadership and just being a good human through the work that we do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my goodness. So is it like a pediatrics or is it family wellness?
Speaker 2:So it's both. So we have a pediatric, we have two pediatric locations in Illinois and then we have an adult location connected to one of our pediatric offices and then we have a separate women's location as well. So like holistic gyne, and then we also focus on like IV therapy and peptides and natural healing and alternatives like blood pressure medications and high cholesterol and toxic mold and Lyme and all the fun little things that come with illness and chronic disease.
Speaker 1:So we're kind of like the one stop shop with RFK Jr and taking out the toxins from the foods or at least some of them, kind of different things, with vaccines coming to, maybe light, maybe that we would just can explore where before you couldn't even explore. How big is that for your business and what you're doing? Obviously, this is sort of what you guys were, what you probably started looking at in the first place to make you go from mainstream to off. Uh, down the beaten path. Huge, yeah, truly.
Speaker 2:It's huge. It's huge and I think we're excited, like we're here for it, just to to see what happens. Um, and I know I'll talk about I saw this kiddo yesterday and mom will probably watch this. But, um, you know, their son has autism and like we were discussing just the work that, like RFK is looking to do, whether it just be to try to make things better, and how there's been like such a misconception, I believe, in the delivery of his discussions around autism that like it's not that it's a problem in your family, it's not that it's a that these children are problems, it's.
Speaker 2:It is a problem that we went from one in however many hundreds to thousands, to now one in less than 20 to two, to whatever the ratio is looking to be predicted for the future. That's the problem. It's the chemicals, it's the toxins, it's these things that are known to be neuro hindrance when it comes to toxicity and even cord blood, right, so it's maternals, it's environmental, so it's awareness, and I think everybody's so quick to like, try to pull aside these days, like I'm on this side, or I'm on this side, or I don't believe in this and I'm gonna, you know it's exhausting and in the end, just know that like these things are not meant to be healthy, like we need to understand they didn't exist back in the day. You know, usually the kickback is like, oh well, longevity wasn't there either, people were dying by 50 or 60. Like I'm not saying that, I'm not saying there's not a time and a place for medicine or advancements in technology A thousand percent there is. But the chemicals we can definitely do without.
Speaker 2:So super excited, yeah, it's a two year, what they say, 2026 or something like that for um. You know, kind of introduced in removal and the introduction of that, that bill and statement of reduction of food dyes. But that's huge and why is it okay in other countries but it's okay here? Like that's where I want people to understand is other countries are eons ahead of us when it comes to their food. Um, obesity, chronic illness, death, you know all of it. Like we just have to do better. Um, and our kids deserve better. We all deserve better. So it really is aligning with um what we're preaching, that we have been preaching prior to any of this coming about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's funny Cause, as, uh, you were saying that, it made. It made me think of we have, like you know, my husband's cousin's wife. You know she's all over her Facebook saying you know, I will punch anyone in the face who says autism is caused by a vaccine. And I had to comment I try not to anymore because I just don't have the time like the anxiety, yeah, but I was like listen, lady, you're not a scientist. How do you know? How can you make that statement? And you know she was going on and on and I guess her daughter she's, you know, came out in that saying, well, my daughter is on the spectrum and I just thought so. You would rather say she's this way because of something in me that, um, you know a gene or a chromosome that I could not control, but that came from me. You would rather say that that that is why she has autism or is on the spectrum, than, say, a billionaire of a pharmaceutical company has made it so that I am mandated basically to give this their product to my child and it's their fault.
Speaker 1:Why are like? That's crazy. Why would we want the blame on ourselves when we can look externally and say and obviously there's so many different reasons for it. Sometimes it is chromosomes and all of that Absolutely. But then we have to look at why. Well, I know, like they put me on birth control at 15 years old, what was that doing to my body, all of the toxins I took, before I realized that they were bad? You know the weather, there's so many things, but we, we do. It's just so funny. Like you said, I think it's that side thing taking sides. Well, if I hate this side, I have to hate everything that that side says. Where it's like people are like, you will not say it was the pharmaceutical company, it was my fault. Why wouldn't we want to explain? You said awareness.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I hear it and I see it all too, and I just wonder, like I think they're so like unsure, and like they're just lost and they don't have answers, and so they try to just pick the—I don't even want to say the easy way out, but like— To them it's just like I don't want to fight this battle, like this is my life and it is probably challenging for them and so, like not being in that position, like I try to understand. But then, yeah, we were beat up over the weekend in social media for me, commenting on, you know, this mom, this four-year-old was on all these like medications for ADHD, or maybe just one medication, but like it's not helping. They were looking to figure out somebody else to manage it. And I'm like you know, hey, we exist. You know, we have so many kiddos that we help work through, especially at that age. There's a root cause, there's an underlying factor, like I'm here for it, um, and it was like please do not recommend not medicating. And I'm like, but why, you know? And then I had all these people like mom said that she didn't want your recommendations, like how dare you stay in your lane? Yada, yada, yada. And I was so upset for the kiddo and the mom that like doesn't know that. Like if I were to have her in, like just give me six months, like give me your trust, like we would work through that.
Speaker 2:You know, and even if it's just optimizing slightly, you know, the kiddo we saw yesterday last year there was tons of stimming. He was nonverbal, like he was saying words yesterday like like 75% less stimming, like you know, not running around the room. He was conversing, like he's making eye contact, he's smiling, like those are life goals, like that is awesome. And am I saying that's going to happen to everybody? No, I'm not saying that, but there wasn't also one thing that was that was a part of this Like there was a hundred things that we had to work through and build every single month to get him to where he's at. So I just wish that people just had a little bit outside the box and we weren't so against each other. You know, I'm not trying to like push something on you Like. I'm trying to like make the generation healthier. I'm trying to like give these kids an equal opportunity. I'm trying to empower these kids to know that they have choices. That's what we have to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think you probably wouldn't even be against medication if you could rule out all the toxins, take them, eliminate them from the child's life, see where that takes them and then get a real evaluation of what medication do you actually need. Because what are we just covering up for? Because there's so much red dye 40 in your diet, you're dehydrated, you're vitamin B deficient, vitamin D deficient. You know like rule change everything with diet before you go on to. And you know I, yeah, I, I come from um. You know my father had very severe mental illness and you know he did need to be on something later on in life and I, you know so. But there was also a lot of alcohol that was in there early on to kind of mask things. And it's like you've got to eliminate all that stuff, see what's left and then work from there, but to layer it all on top of each other. And I just asked chat GPT this morning. I was like I said what could I do to undo the years of damage I did with prescriptions that my doctor gave me, eating all the chemicals and dyes, drinking alcohol and what was the other one? Oh, bug spray.
Speaker 1:I used to move into an apartment and raid bomb every. It would be the first thing I did raid bomb the apartment. You leave for six hours, you come back in and then I just thought, oh, it only kills bugs, won't do anything to me. I'm sitting here thinking now I'm like, oh my god, how have I not got what? Not had cancer yet? But I did that for years, probably 10 years of raid bombs I breathed in. So I like asked chat GPT, how can I reverse all this? And it gave me like a long list of things. It gave me a long list of things to do. But and I consider myself a pretty healthy person but I got some work to do to detox.
Speaker 2:That's just it. You know, like you said, there's there's MTHFR, there's genetic pathways, there's there's ways, you know, that we can test and look and see where your detox pathways are hindered. And you know those with MTHFR. Sometimes they detox. Well, you know, they detox 100% if they don't have a carrier gene, or they can detox 10% or they can have a really severe mutation, your immune system.
Speaker 2:So the way that MTHFR works is it's basically like your genetic composition of your methylation pathways, so your homocysteine, your B-complexes and folate receptors. So all of this kind of tells you like how well your body stores and detoxes material that's not supposed to be there. So molds, toxins, like you said, all those different things. Like even on the kiddo that I saw yesterday, like she came back with one copy of the C677T variant, which is what I also have. So I detox only 50% and I store 50% of all toxins that I have. So those who have a higher, you know, component of MTHFR, those combination of mutations, do tend to struggle more, whether that be medications or just in general illness et cetera, because those toxins are in our body. So you have to kind of set yourself up for success in a different way, you know, through home and limiting your toxins and environment. And I always say you can control the four walls you live in. You can't control the environment, what you're going to breathe in the second that you walk out your door.
Speaker 1:You guys know I am a big fan of the Tuttle Twins. I had Conor Boyack, the writer of these books, on episode 24. I reached out to his company asking to let me be an affiliate because I strongly believe in their books and their message. In the H5-11 book series, which I read to my son all the time I mean, he actually asks us to read these books with him.
Speaker 1:Book five, road to Serfdom, talks about what happens to a local town with local businesses when corporations start moving in. Book six, the Golden Rule, talks all about Ethan and Emily's experience at summer camp through a series of cheating and manipulation on certain races that they're required to complete. It talks about how the golden rule of treating others how we want to be treated ourselves is how we all should be conducting our lives. Education Vacation talks about John Taylor Gatto and the creation of the school system and what it was actually intended to do, which you get to learn about by following Ethan and Emily on a trip to Europe. And book 11, the Messed Up Market, takes you through the journey of kids trying to create small businesses as they learn all the laws and rules that government has put in place to actually make it very difficult for them. You learn all about interest savings versus borrowing, low interest rates versus high interest rates and supply and demand, and these are just some of the books in that series.
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Speaker 2:So we need to do well here and we need to limit the exposure to the chemicals and those toxins, make sure our gut health is very much optimized so that our body and our liver can really rid of these things. I always say these other countries that are doing T3 four times a day, they got it figured out, they're using herbs to clean and they're really just making sure that everything is well. But also with MTHFR, you're not going to be responsive to certain medications. So, like you said, there's certain testing. We're not opposed to meds If we've worked through it. We've got kids that were even like, stay on your meds until we can figure this stuff out. Or you know what? I'm going to send you here to get some medication so that we can still work through these things. But your child's not struggling and you're not struggling with life.
Speaker 2:But there's tests that you can do that actually tell you. There's like a cheek swab that actually looks at your composition to say these medications work well for you and these ones don't Like. Why aren't we doing those? Like I try to say and blessingly around here a lot of psychiatrists and stuff are really starting to look for those tests. Or if a parent asks, they're okay with them doing it and looking at the results. But again, there's just not one way. And that's where we try to stress and try to educate, and either people are receptive or they're super against you, and that's fine. That is their life, that is their journey. You tried to plant the seed and hopefully it made their wheels spin a little bit, um, and that they'll come back to it, but that's all we can do, um is just continue to advocate for these babies and just really, you know, try to push for a better future.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you were right before when you said it is hard. It is very overwhelming to realize that everything you know and believe to be true has kind of been miss. I would say lie, but that sounds a little harsh. But essentially you've been lied to by people who wrote you know you can go back to the history and who wrote the pharmaceutical books for pharmaceutical schools and you know medical schools A lot of it came from the Rockefellers and what their agenda was and, um, you know. And schools a lot of it came from the Rockefellers and what their agenda was, and you know. And then they're having their hand in the pharmaceutical companies and it's just like, yeah, it did, it snowballed, and it's hard to like, even just for me, you know, a couple years ago, thinking like, could I really homeschool? And it's like when you step into homeschooling, you're not just stepping into teaching your kids at home, you're stepping into now the people you hang out with are going to be more health conscious, you're going to be reading labels, you might get chickens, and now you've got to have a coop and clean the chicken coop and all that. You might be getting raw milk. You might be, you know, but you're, you're, you might not be vaccinating anymore. Yeah, it, um.
Speaker 1:I mean, my friends will even sometimes say something to me like oh, do you guys have the SCOBY? Anyone have extra SCOBY? I'm like, what are you people even talking about? Um, what were they picking the other day? I don't even know. Like, they say so many words that I don't even I always have to say to them like guys, what are you talking about? And then they educate me on it. And it's really cool, because we all have to start somewhere. We didn't grow up learning that way. Um, but yeah, I think getting back to our roots is really, uh, awesome. But so what can people do if, like, if they want to be part of what you're doing? Are you even accepting new people? Do you have anything set up for them? Or is there something they can take to their doctor and ask for, like, can I get this test done to see my, you know basic what you're talking about? What would you recommend?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So people have asked you know, can I take what? Can I ask for testing? Why is that my current provider? I will say, like, obviously we're not just a one size fits all approach, so like there's no, like just standard tester or testing that can be done with that. So we do look at your 16 pages of intake paperwork to determine what best testing. So we wouldn't give you anything outside of our office. However, yes, we're accepting new patients If we follow our Instagram page.
Speaker 2:So Well-Rooted Pediatrics, we have an entire list of the states that we can see via telehealth, and then we also have, like I said, our brick and mortar locations in Illinois, based on telehealth states. It's not a matter of like we're not in your state because we don't like you. It's a matter of your legislation doesn't allow nurse practitioners to have full practice authority, so we only can do what we can do. So I always try to stress that with people. The states that we are in are states that are allowance of that and that we don't have any struggles with. We are pending in New York, actually, so we are applied and waiting for that. So that's super exciting.
Speaker 2:But yeah, so you can call our office and schedule that, but really it's just more, like you said, just making sure the body communicates and the body's doing what it needs to do and it's set up for success.
Speaker 2:So just optimizing we don't always have to have a problem to seek our services and just to ensure that. Hey, you know, I just want to make sure my minerals and my kiddos vitamins, their thyroid is actually functioning, because the world's so toxic and they're all these endocrine disruptors are so present that unfortunately we're seeing so many more thyroid issues in kiddos. And so a lot of working through that gut balance, gut gut health, like I do stool studies on my kiddos at least once a year because I want to know what their microbiome looks like, because the microbiome is what is going to determine their, their health and their disease project to the disease, projection of the future, and so all of that is important for us as parents and me as a provider. So there's so many things that we can be proactive to and the big thing that we preach is just being proactive versus reactive, um, and we're here for it.
Speaker 1:So and that's so important and yeah, and I think it's, we kind of have to get to that realization too, that, when you mentioned it before, um, we can control what's in our four walls, right, like we don't have to wait for the RFKs legislation to go through for two years from now to stop giving our kids toxins. You can just stop giving them the cereal with the toxins in it. Look at the labels. If you can't pronounce it, chances are it was made in a lab. So fix what you can within reason, and you don't have to do everything tomorrow. You just one thing you switch over at a time, whether it be a laundry detergent.
Speaker 2:Make a list, make a list of all the things in your home. There's an app that you can get on your phone. It's the Yuka app. You can download it and you can literally scan any barcode and it will give you a rating of zero to a hundred and it gives you green zones and yellow zones and red zones, and it is the simplest thing.
Speaker 2:Your husband may come home to like 75 garbage bags and he may think you've lost your freaking mind because I've been there and he's like, oh good Lord. But you know, just eliminate it. And there's better alternatives, right, thrive Market Good Foods, you know, whole Foods, fresh Thyme. There's all these things that have better alternatives for snack options. Are they still processed foods? They are, but they're made with whole food ingredients, right. So just make one change, figure that out. This week, I'm going to change laundry detergent. That can easily be done on a budget. Or, when I'm finished with this laundry detergent, I'm going to change it because I can't even fathom wasting it. Fine, then what can you change today? Right, can you change the syrup that's in your fridge? Can you change the butter that's in there? Can you, like you said, eliminate the cereal? Can we buy a butter, granola bar, right, there's so many things that we can do, but sometimes making that list and figuring it out is super, super important, and it can really help.
Speaker 2:It gives a good guidance.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Cause you don't realize how many toxins are in there until you start looking at everything.
Speaker 2:It's overwhelming and I promise it'll make you go crazy for a hot second.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the second part of that. Before we finish up, I was going to say, too, I think we're moving into the era of you know where I grew up, kind of like we don't go to any provider that doesn't accept our insurance. And I think, think for myself, we've gotten out of that mindset because I no longer work for the state anyways. My husband it's very selective, but he does have an HSA account that we can save money to and use. So, basically, when I left my career, our child's pediatrician which I had been kicked out of the last place due to my decisions around, you know her care were changing so they no longer would let me take my kids there Went to another one and he was very intimidating about the same vaccine issues. So I said, okay, I got. I left there crying going, what am I going to do? Finally found someone and I love her.
Speaker 1:Well, when I left the state, she doesn't accept my husband's insurance and I said, all right, well, let me, how much is an appointment? It was like $135. But how often do you go? I really, now that we are living a healthier lifestyle, knock on wood, we don't have to go that often. So once a year I pay $135 for each kid out of our pocket and we have a pediatrician that aligns with our values or does not bother me with. Whatever my values are and I love what you're talking about with the preventative care that is so important I think we have to get out of the mindset that everybody we go see has to be, you know, a provider that accepts our insurance. Maybe you might have to cough up a little something from your pocket, but how much are you gaining in the long run?
Speaker 2:Well, and I always tell people, like having a health share option you know so many people and so many patients of ours, and including myself, have a health share versus conventional insurance um, being entrepreneurs and whatnot and so it's because everything that we do is outside of that, so I'm not sitting here like we're going to the chiropractor, we're using supplements. If I have to pay for a prescription because things came up, somebody had pink eye and I tried doing all the things or whatever, paying cash for a prescription is like super cheap, so like taking those avenues, and like even cash labs, like I always tell people. Like a CBC which is just generally looking at blood composition, for us is like $2. So like. But insurance, like you do a full panel on insurance and sometimes, like our adult panels, insurance will charge the patients five to $8,000 through their insurance. That panel is less than $300 cash.
Speaker 1:Wait, Okay. So how does that work? Like if you go into a doctor with no insurance, you say I just want to pay out of pocket for this CVC test.
Speaker 2:If they're not a cash accepting office, though they may not see you, like there's not not every practice will accept you without insurance.
Speaker 2:So, like for us, like we're fee for service, we don't take insurance, but we can provide a super bill, right, so you can submit it to your insurance for reimbursement if that's what you choose to do. But a lot of our parents choose not to because they would rather just control their own healthcare, which is fine so. But we have people that will like not even use their insurance for labs because their insurance is super expensive and they have a deductible, so they would rather just pay cash that because they're not going to pay for it anyway. The test kits or, like you said, the visits themselves, like all of that is an option. And then with health shares, like health shares will submit and reimburse you for, like, a wellness visit and preventative care, just because they want you to thrive. Like you would think that the prevention would be where we really put our focus on instead of the illness, and try to prevent that. But unfortunately the world's a little bit backwards and the money's not made until we're sick.
Speaker 2:So you know you can use an HSA and an FSA and all that stuff still. You know through the offices and through our. Pos systems. But we're distressing like, hey, you have options and you can. You can pay cash here. We don't take your insurance. You can submit to your insurance If you would like. We'll provide you with all of those. You know those bills and the price breakdown, but ultimately it comes down to your decision.
Speaker 1:Well, I think, at least just empowering people to know that they have a decision, because we're just kind of taught, especially in school, like you know everything is just the mainstream way, so I love that. I hope this conversation kind of opened people's eyes to that that they do have options and you can shop around. Oh, my God, I keep hitting everything today. I'm sorry. Okay, jessica, thank you so much for joining us today. Where can people find you if they want to follow you, if they want to learn more about your business and maybe enroll?
Speaker 2:Sure. So, um, like I had mentioned, we are on Instagram well-rooted pediatrics, Um, we have well-rooted FM and well-rooted women, and then I have a personal brand page as well, which is the well-rooted APRN, um, and then any of those sites will have links to call us directly.
Speaker 1:Awesome. I will put all of that in the show's description and I hope you do get approved in New York because I would love to take my kiddos there and really get some of these preventative tests done. This is awesome. Thank you so much for the work that you do and for joining us today.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Thank you for tuning into this week's episode of the homeschool 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.