The Homeschool How To

#158: A “Good Education” Might Be a Lie… Here’s What Actually Matters

• Cheryl - Host • Episode 158

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0:00 | 42:34

What happens when you stop measuring “success” by convenience—and start building your family life around your deepest values?

In this episode of The Homeschool How To Podcast, Cheryl sits down with homeschool dad Todd Marchand, founder of Be Whole Do Good, to talk about what it really looks like to raise kids with resilience, emotional tools, and a strong sense of identity—without turning your home into a lecture hall.

Todd shares how their family found a hybrid homeschool rhythm, why “a good education” often just means “what we’ve always known,” and how he made the leap from software sales to entrepreneurship so his work could align with his family’s mission.

You’ll also hear about the new text-message-based program Todd is launching—designed to help parents teach skills like emotional regulation, gratitude, growth mindset, and resilience in tiny daily moments (without adding more to your plate).

In this episode, we cover:

  • Why “good schooling” isn’t always the same as a meaningful education
  • Hybrid homeschooling: how it works and why it fits some families best
  • Values over convenience (and why that changes everything)
  • Teaching emotional skills before the meltdown happens
  • Simple gratitude practices that actually rewire perspective
  • From corporate ladder to calling: building a life with autonomy
  • What Todd wants his kids to know by age 18 (hint: it’s not just academics)

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Why I Chose Homeschool

SPEAKER_01

I didn't plan to homeschool. I started asking hard questions, realized how little control parents actually have, and made the hard decision to leave a government job to homeschool my kids. Now I interview other homeschooling parents to learn how this all works. I'm Cheryl, and this is the Homeschool How-To podcast. Let's learn this together. Welcome. And with us today, I have Todd Marchand. Todd, thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_00

My pleasure. It's just an honor. Thank you, Cheryl.

SPEAKER_01

And so, Todd, are you a homeschool dad?

SPEAKER_00

Uh, I am. Yes. Proud homeschool dad.

SPEAKER_01

Awesome. So, how many kids do you have and what are their ages?

SPEAKER_00

So, we have four kiddos. Well, I should crooked that. We have five kiddos, and we have four here with us. So we have we have an angel son as well. Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. Thank you. Thank you. And he's still such a gift to us. But yeah, there's a whole story behind that. But we've got a 12, 12-year-old son, a 10-year-old daughter, an eight-year-old son, and then uh our angel son Joseph was next. And then we have a three-year-old son.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my goodness. So is it all boys?

SPEAKER_00

Four boys, one girl, or 10-year-olds a girl. Four boys, one girl.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, okay. So it's a busy household.

SPEAKER_00

It is. Yes.

SPEAKER_01

What motivated you and your wife to homeschool in the first place? Had you always thought about homeschooling?

SPEAKER_00

We did. Yeah. It was really my wife still. She she took lead in that. You know, we both just went through the public school system and and both had relatively positive experiences. But I also think it's always interesting. My measuring stick for a positive experience at the time was based off of what I knew, right? And what's been interesting is certainly, you know, times have changed and things are different than, you know, maybe they were as I was in school. But more importantly, the contrast was starting to have a vision for what the schooling and education experience could be. Uh that created a contrast that provided that much more motivation to desire to do it. I think that started early on when our kids were little, preschool age. My wife was actually an elementary school teacher previously, but she she just started reading a lot of different books. The Jefferson books, you know, was a big, big kind of initial influence and some of the classical education, you know, stuff. And uh it just started to really hit home that the the types of values that we wanted to pass on to our kids, the type of lifestyle, uh, that there's there's just a lot of alignment with with homeschooling. And so, you know, right from the start, as our first son went into kindergarten, we've always done some version of homeschool. I will say that our family's kind of needs are such that we have found more of a hybrid approach, tends to be our jam. And so we've usually done some version of a hybrid homeschool where you know they go somewhere for a couple of days in the week and we do a couple of days at home. And that has looked different year to year. We've actually moved quite a bit. And so that also um has had to adapt as we go to new places and try to figure out well, what resources are available. But just uh, you know, we've we've always liked that very well supported homeschool. But um, regardless of the level of that balance, which has gone back and forth from full-time homeschool to uh a almost a hybrid that's a little more led by the school versus by us. So we've experimented with all of that. And I think in the end of the day, like our mindset always is across any of those experiences, we we are the ones that want to take lead in uh who our children are becoming and education, the academic education is one component of that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. And I love what you said too about like your meter for what was a good education and you know, a good experience in public school is is only going to show you what you already know, right? Like even I, you know, even when my kids complain about, you know, I can't believe we have to pause the TV to go brush our teeth. I'm like, you don't even realize we didn't have paws on a TV before. But like in their lives, that's all they know. So, you know, like you you don't know ridiculous if you've never experienced it. So yeah, we can look we can look at our education and think, like, yeah, I had a good time because I remember like the prom was fun. But is that really the defining moment of your 18 years? I mean, come on. So what did that what did that look like when you know your wife was like, okay, I know I went to school to be a teacher, but now I'm going to quit my job to homeschool. And like, did you have to take on more financial burden or how did how did that work out for you guys? Because that is the hard part too.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, no, there's there's certainly no question on that. And we we had actually made that move a little bit earlier when we had our first three kids uh within a four-year period. And uh my wife just uh felt like I I want to be home, uh, at least during you know, whatever phase that ends up being. But uh and so she she had made that decision earlier pre-getting to where we were homeschooling, that transition had to be made. And we certainly financial all of that, that that came down to to you know my responsibility to to work through. And and again, uh that has always been changed at the time. Um my our lifestyle and my career were such that that was that was really easy. That was simple. But as as time goes on, you know, things evolve, and one of the things that ultimately we decided to do is orient more and more of our life, including the way we earn income, toward the the outcomes that we want for our family. And so that meant going into entrepreneurship, uh investing even our working time and energy into the types of things that will contribute to our family culture, our family well-being, our thriving as a family. And uh that has had all sorts of ups and downs uh along that that road. But uh it is it's interesting to see that there really is, struggle included, um, a different level of satisfaction and fulfillment the more you align your life with your core deepest values. And I know that's not necessarily always true, but for a lot of us homeschool families, that's that's part of it, is like, man, it is not easy. It is hard. And there's a lot of effort and struggle that goes in to homeschooling, but there's also a degree of, I would say there's a higher degree of discontent in life when we live out of alignment with our values than if we just have it a little bit easier or more comfortable, right?

Leaving Careers And Redefining Success

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and you know, I think society has us so busy that most people don't sit and say, What are my values? to even know that they need to align anything with it. I know I never thought about it. You know, I had I worked for the government when I had my son at six months. I sent him to daycare and I was told, Oh my god, you're so lucky you got to stay home for six months. Now looking at it, I'm like, that's nothing. Poor kid. Shuffled him off to daycare, and I spent my days in a cubicle, twiddling my thumbs. And man, thinking about leaving the that job and the pension I would be getting and the income. I'm like, I can't leave all this money and stuff that I was promised. And it really took like unraveling things in my brain to be like, but what about on your deathbed, man? Are you really gonna care about your pension? What if you die at 54 and you never see that pension anyway? You know you have your kids here today. You don't know what 20 years from now is gonna bring, or they invest the money wrong and we don't have a pension. I don't know, who knows? But anything could happen. So yeah, why don't you talk a little bit about the company that you founded, Behold Do Good? Because I I'm really interested to hear how you implemented this.

Creating Behold Do Good

Tools For Emotions And Resilience

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah, thank you. And thank you for giving that chance, Cheryl. So yeah, going back to just some of the things that we value, I think our own journey and a lot of us in this generation are experiencing this. You know, there's been such a uh an evolution of learning and awareness and the removing of stereotypes around mental health and just overall kind of well-being and wellness, and what are the things that contribute to that? Um, and yet our modern culture in so many ways is counter to those things that lead to thriving and to happiness and well-being. And, you know, we we have been, my wife and I, both on our own kind of different journeys of uh our own struggles and hardships and then together. And over time, you know, both of us are are kind of of the personality of we we want to find answers, right? And we search and we seek and we're kind of love the continual learning mindset. And so we've we would learn something and it would give us kind of a tool that would help our own kind of personal well-being. And then we'd learn something else, and it just felt like so all over the place, and all the different ways to get support and knowledge, you know, from podcasts to books to therapy to uh coaching programs to whatever it might be, right? And man, we're like, how do we how do we give this to our kids earlier? Like, can we do this actually at home in their formative years to where by the time they leave our home, they have the mindsets, the tools, the skills, the habits that will just arm them to navigate life really well and to thrive. And there is never a point where we can eliminate them not going through hard things, right? They're going to we're all gonna experience difficult things in life. Um, but it's more so can we arm them that when those things happen, there's a resilience because they have the tools and the tool belt to pull and draw on. And so, you know, we just desired that. And and and you know, certainly that's kind of long-term vision, but some of us see this right now, like, oh man, the one child just really struggles with anger, you know, and and like and and emotional outburst, and and another, you know, child really uh struggles with social anxiety. And, you know, there's just all the little things that cause this friction in the home or in life uh are also aided by learning and practicing these tools. And so, you know, we desired that, and you know, certainly we were doing our best to try to pass on these things that we've we've learned over the years through all this education and programs. But the lectures, it felt too often like lectures or felt like too often in the moment that our kids were needing the tool, we're trying to teach it, which is not the time that they can actually learn it and receive it. And so eventually there's just this sense of we we need a more systematic way that helps us feel like we're we're fulfilling our role in helping them be truly whole, their whole self showing up. Um, and so, you know, what what can we do to create more intention around that? And, you know, we had a hard time finding all the resources we wanted and we ended up deciding to create it. And so, you know, Behold Do Good is is a program where uh and it's had to evolve over the years as we experimented with stuff, but uh we're just now releasing a text message version of the program where it is simple, daily, encouraging, warm uh text that are supports to you on your phone, right where you need them on a daily basis, where you're already looking to guide you as a parent on how to teach and cultivate these principles. And it starts all with amazing content. So we have just these fantastic videos that teach different tools, so anything or anything across the board from active listening skills to selflessness and service to growth mindset to discovering your strengths to naming your emotions to reframing setbacks. These types of things, uh, families will go a whole month focused on practicing and developing one of those skills or mindsets. And and the parents are guided after you watch this, you know, really engaging, age-appropriate video that teaches it, gives this shared language and foundation. There's these simple text messages you get as a parent every day that some days it's a script. Hey, when this hard thing happens, it happens all the time with your kids. Here's something you can say that helps to bring back and reinforce that principle. Sometimes it's a question that you discuss at the family dinner table that helps to really digest this concept in your life more. Sometimes it's a uh again, a word of uh inspiration and encouragement. Sometimes it's an intentional activity you can do during that day that only takes a few minutes on a car ride or on a walk or something that again helps to deepen the understanding in your heart, our kids, our kids' hearts of that principle. So it's all and there's many habits that you practice on a weekly basis throughout those. So it's just this guide to be your kind of warm, encouraging friend and coach to to teach our kids the things that matter most. And each month, you know, it's not like you can master a skill in a month, but what it's really helping to achieve is you're finding what works for your family. Like what are the little phrases, the little tools that actually like really stick and that that resonate? And the other rest you don't have to worry about. And you just keep those things. And they it's like adding every month a little bit to our family culture and our family language that ultimately over the long haul brings a consistency that cultivates these skills and mindsets within our children as they grow up.

Making Learning Stick At Home

SPEAKER_01

Love that. I I definitely need that because I actually I was just putting together, like I had written a memoir a long time ago about my childhood and that, but I kind of never felt like nah, I don't know where to finish it. And then the other day I came up with the idea, I'm like, well, let's finish it that like into the homeschool life, like despite what your childhood was, you can learn to do better as an adult. And I'm like, well, I don't really know how to do better. I just I tell him a lot, like, sorry, I I didn't mean to say that, I didn't mean to do that. I had a messed up childhood. But it's like, I think half the battle is being like realizing, hey, it wasn't done right for me. I want to do better so that he either stopped the cycle or, you know, it's just I I was thinking of it too. I was like, well, I don't want him to treat his my my grandbaby like that someday, you know, if I just like fly off my hand of like, why are you acting like this, you know? Because that's just how my mother was. And I'm like, I don't want him to yell at my grandchild, so I shouldn't yell at him. But it's really hard to do, especially when you're in the moment and you commented on that, you know, that oh, well, you it's not really the right time in the moment. And I love that having the idea of the text messages and the tools that you just have in your back pocket for when you need them. And also what came to mind too is you know, we're seeing things, we're home with our kids all day when they are homeschooling. So, like it is added things like I'm watching how he interacts with other kids, right? I'm noticing the things that like he shouldn't do that, or you know, but it adds more to the parents' plate. Like if they're at school all day, you don't really know how they're treating other kids. You get home and you hear their story, like that kid's a bully, and oh yeah, that kid's awful. But like, well, what did your child do to make them make the bully, quote unquote, react in a way that your child didn't like? Because I know I've seen for my son, I'm like, well, dear, you annoyed the crap out of them. That's why they all turned around and left you.

SPEAKER_00

That's right, that's right.

Faith, Research, And Gratitude Practices

SPEAKER_01

If you're homeschooling or even just thinking about it, language arts can feel like one of those big intimidating subjects writing, grammar, spelling, all the things. That's why we have loved using Night Zookeeper. It's designed for kids ages six to twelve, and it turns reading and writing into this uh creative, interactive world instead of just worksheets. They're building characters, completing challenges, playing games, but at the same time, they're covering spelling, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, all of it. And if you're like me and you still want to know what's actually getting done, there's a parent dashboard where you can see progress, set assignments, and even grab printable resources. It can work as your full language arts curriculum or just something that you layer in to keep writing fun. If you've been nervous about teaching writing at home, this might be the one thing that makes it click. Click on the link in the show's description for a free seven-day trial and a 50% off a yearly subscription. Having like safe, good ways to because sometimes I feel like I'm just so negative to him and telling him, well, no, this is how you should act. And I'm like, I really wish I did have a guidebook on like how to handle these things because we are with them all day, and none of us came from a perfect upbringing to have that perfect example of what to do. So this sounds like an amazing program.

From Corporate To Calling

SPEAKER_00

Oh, well, thank you. Yeah, it's been it's been a lot of work and we've gone it wrong, I think, a bunch on how it needs to look. And you know, we uh we've done like these full curriculums that have been so good. And and when parents like and families go through the full kind of curriculum, they're like gushing about just how powerful this material is, and yet like it was hard to adopt, like it was hard to actually be consistent with. And so there's this recognition of of and and actually the interesting thing, Cheryl, is like we're the creators of it, right? And and we have so much passion around it. And even our family, it was hard to be consistent with this full curriculum type approach. And so that that's where the learnings came of like this, this has to like be distilled down to be so simple, so easy that it just like it just flows as a part of daily life, but you just have this help, this support and in it. And and that I think has been what has been the big uh innovation that that has made the difference for us and and you know, we're seeing the impact for for families is just it removes some of the the guilt and and the worry that we have of you know, are we are we doing what we can to help help our children? But I think the other thing I would just comment on what you were saying, Cheryl, and this is so hard to do. Man, we just need to give ourselves a lot of grace because yeah, this life is hard and parenting is hard, and all we can do is try to do a little better, you know, than maybe what we had and received. And I I think that um, you know, in the long run, it's amazing how much good can come from imperfect people making imperfect efforts, but that have the good desires and are just trying and continually trying to do the best. And I think part of what we need to have modeled for our kids is self-compassion in the imperfection because they're gonna struggle with the same imperfection in different ways than than us because we're all just human. And so I I, you know, I I need the support too because this is a struggle for me. I I have constantly things that I'm modeling that I don't want to model for my kids. And so having ways to help get better in the way I'm modeling and to have a guide and a coach, you know, there side by side with me. But also in the midst of all of that, man, it is so powerful when we can just say to our kids, no, this is what it should look like. And this is what we're striving for as a family altogether. And I just, I just mess that up. And and I want you to know that um I'm sorry, you know, and and I love you and will you forgive me? It's like there's something about that that um I don't know. Uh the more we can offer ourselves grace, the more our kids will offer themselves grace too.

SPEAKER_01

I love that. That is, I mean, what a quote right there, man. Because yeah, I you want your children to be able to forgive themselves and move on and just do better instead of dwelling. And when we look at, you know, depression and anxiety these days, I mean, that's huge. And I think a lot of that has to do too with like the breaking apart of the family unit. You know, what you're speaking on is a lot of it is to bring the family together, make a stronger bond. And the public school system, it's just breaking it apart from every way possible between the the longer hours and then making them do homework and all the extracurriculars you throw in there. The extracurriculars, tell me what gender you want to be, I'll keep that from mom and dad, give you injections and drugs and all that, and won't tell mom and dad. And it really, like, I don't know. It that's a huge reason right there to just homeschool because it's just you can't do worse than the school system. And the worst that's gonna happen is your family is gonna be closer. So, how did you come up with like the expertise on, you know, oh, this is what you should do, the guidance on telling other parents, you know, this is how you can handle this. Is it through experience or are you getting information from other experts?

Kids As Creators And Learners

Text-Based Program Launch

What We Want At Age Eighteen

SPEAKER_00

Both. Yeah, there's both. So part a part of our journey has been training with receiving education from some of the leading people out there. So one of my mentors is a guy named Talbin Shahar. So he's a positive psychologist out of Harvard and uh has been kind of the an advocate of this field he calls happiness studies. And so it's it's looking across all disciplines and all research from biology to to psychology to you know, even philosophy. And what is everything we've learned that really contributes to a whole life and a whole person? And so I've learned a lot from him, and there's a lot from his content that is a guide for what we do. Um I've studied with and received training and certifications with the leading behavioral scientists of habit formation out of Stanford, uh, BJ Fogg. So there's some really good stuff from that that we use to guide some of the things that are being recommended. But then just hire great people. One of the core people that really influences um some of our content writing uh does a lot of research for every topic we do. There's a bunch of the research we'll do of gathering together what's all the proven, you know, type of well-validated studies on stuff. And then we base the family experiences based off of those and what's been shown to have a real impact. Like really simple stuff sometimes. You know, one of the suggestions we give on a month focused on cultivating gratitude, which is interesting because it's so much more than just saying thank you. It's actually the real heart of gratitude is this practiced, um, it I mean, it it takes reinforcing neural pathways in the brain, but it's this practiced way of looking at life where you have an ability to acknowledge hard things, but you don't stay there. You move past it and you scan and identify the positive that you can focus on. Like that's the Right. And so, you know, one study that was done is the whole gratitude letter thing. Like if you if you think of someone that's made a difference in your life and you write a gratitude letter and then you actually give it and deliver it to them, it has been shown not for like just that day or for a couple of days or even a couple of weeks. It literally impacts your happiness level for several months. Like that's what the research shows. And it's been validated multiple times, right? So, you know, so simple things like that. So we find what are the things that really have been validated or and so yeah, yeah, we we gather that material and then we fit it into this structure for these day-to-day kind of suggestions. And we also are a faith-based program. And so, you know, we we take you know principles from scripture and we integrate and show how all of this is is truth, you know, that there's just this ability to uh receive. Um what do we sometimes do that blocks what God is trying to give us? And let's break through that and open it up to receive you know more of um what he's already trying to give us anyway.

SPEAKER_01

So boy, I would imagine writing gratitude letters, you would probably be writing some to people who you have gratitude for, but who have also maybe hurt you or made you mad in the past, and you're kind of making yourself vulnerable to surpass that, which probably helps yourself more than anything. But wow, that's a really cool. I've never thought about doing that. I can imagine that that would really change your perspective for for a a little while at least.

Advice For Hesitant Parents

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And and you know what? It that's not something that you just like make a regular part of your life. So most things, uh, and that's kind of on the highest level of effort required, that would be kind of the highest level of the invitations you receive, you know, and what we do. Most things are you know so much more simple and small. Um, and uh, you know, whether it be just uh again, hey, every day this week during dinner, what is the top thing you want to celebrate that day? You know, and everyone goes around and shares that. Or, you know, uh every day this week, write down three things as a part of your bedtime that you're grateful for from that day, right? So those things are also things that have been like, you know, they're or actually there's one even that month that's on as you eat a meal, everyone you focus on savoring. There's a lot of research around savoring, which is connected to gratitude of how do you savor things in the moment more? And so when you eat a meal, everyone they they kind of take a bite, they close their eyes, and they like just savor every bit of that bite and then describe it. And even even an extra size size like that, you know, is has some great research behind just what it does for helping you see the power being present in the moment.

SPEAKER_01

So anyway, yeah, for us, that would look like my children. I don't want to eat this.

SPEAKER_00

That's right, that's right.

SPEAKER_01

Let's if you put that in your mouth that I slaved over.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, we would we would have to have some good prep to a meal to actually have every child willing to savor what is on the table. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

That puts a lot of pressure on the cook.

SPEAKER_00

That's that's more the dessert that we do that exercise with, you know. Let's all savor the dessert. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So and then me. There are children in other countries that don't get any food at all.

SPEAKER_00

That's right.

SPEAKER_01

That's still good, right? That line is still good. Jeez. Oh, all right. So this is really cool. How did you make the leap from like what was your job before?

SPEAKER_00

Software sales.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, all right. So then you're gonna be like, well, I was a motivational speaker.

SPEAKER_00

Total, total, huge, huge job.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, software sales. So how does this like can you walk us through that? Because I left a career too. And you know, I mentioned that before, but like not only like we still have my husband's career though to fall back on for like mortgage payments. How do does one go from like, I am leaving software sales to start this company? You obviously have to pay people like you know, you're working with experts and everything. You've got to get this software up and going. Like, can you walk us through how that even happens? Because I think first people we're just so set in our ways. We don't think that it's even possible to take that leap of faith into starting our own business that we actually care about.

Start Moving, Then Adjust

Where To Find Behold Do Good

Closing And Free Resources

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, it it was um it was a lot of moments that built up to that decision. Yeah, it certainly wasn't a fast thing, uh, it was years in the making, but there's a few key moments. So if I look at kind of key milestones on that, that journey that led to that leap, and it was a big leap of face. Uh at times we've wondered if it was worth it. Yeah, but you get there. You in fact, I've seen this actually really interesting graphic. It's for entrepreneurs, but they were really, I think it's creators in general. And I can't remember all the details, I'm gonna butcher it, but it's like this like dip, and it has like these little marks in in kind of this, this, this process. And on the way down, it's like, yeah, this is gonna be awesome. It's gonna go so great. And this is good, I think this was a good idea, into like a pit of total despair. And then on your way out, wait, actually, it is kind of working. And oh, this is really good. I'm so glad I did this. My life is, yeah. And we have traveled that whole thing, you know. Um, but how did we get there to make make that decision uh and do that leap of faith? I remember one moment where I was actually on a morning run and it was it was like up on this mountainside and it was beautiful, and there's this view, but um, where I just had been doing it for, you know, eight or nine years, uh this kind of software sales job. It was a super fast growing company, really amazing experience. Uh, but yet um, and my career just kept growing. You know, the company was growing so fast that like, you know, those who were involved got to take on new things quickly and grow quickly. And so, you know, it was doing things earlier in my career than that I really deserved, honestly, because of the just great opportunity being a part of. And and um, and yet there was just this deep feeling, this this moments where you kind of can really hear your inner voice more clearly. And and there was this moment of like, I want my life to mean more. And I want like, if I'm gonna spend decades in a career, I want it to like contribute to things that I care more deeply about. And so that was one moment that just stuck with me. And it looked kind of like gave this lens that I think got my my mind thinking more about it. And then there's there's another really key moment I remember where as I continued to climb that corporate ladder, it was like the amount of demand on me, which then turned into the amount of demand and burden on our family, just continued to grow. And I remember this moment where I realized that next jump, that next big promotion, uh, it only gets worse, actually. It doesn't get better. And and I just remember my wife and I sitting on our bed one night and just really talking through like, if we look forward at where this path leads us, like our kids will leave the home and our family life will have been far different than what we actually wanted it to really be. And so it was that moment that was just like, okay, we got to figure out something different. And and I think we we were of this sense of like, let's design our life to be the way we actually want it to be, and what would that take? And we realized if we truly wanted to design it the way we want it to be, we have to have a lot of autonomy. And that autonomy uh requires having more ownership over and being our own boss, in essence. And so I think that's that led us down the road of entrepreneurship. I ended up getting an executive MBA and got it in entrepreneurship and was doing that while I was working on the side, and so I got a lot of business planning there, a lot of mentorship and support. Um, and then after that, we had built up some savings to live off of, and we just jumped in with both feet and said, let's do this. And like I said, it's been it has been quite the ride, but what it is doing and creating and what it's I guess showing to our kids is something we're proud of.

SPEAKER_01

That's that's awesome. After three years of interviewing homeschooling families, I realized how overwhelming it can be to piece everything together. So I took the best advice, tips, questions, and resources that I've learned along the way and put them into one practical ebook. If you're looking for a clear starting point, you'll find the link in this show's description. And are your kids a part of it? Like, do they learn as part of their homeschooling through this business?

SPEAKER_00

Uh yeah, both uh, of course, as a family, we're the first customers of it, right? Or the first members, and so we, you know, use all our own stuff. Uh, but what is actually really cool, and this was part of why I wanted it to do it this way, so we have different, uh, I mentioned we have different age appropriate videos. So we have two primary like groupings, uh, kind of your five to eleven year olds, and then you know, 12 and up or 11 and up. And uh, and so the upper ones are like these kind of teen masterclass versions. Uh, so there's this 12 to 15 minute video for the month, and they're just packed with humor and inspiration and stories, powerful stories, and and they're they're great. But the younger kid ones are these more animated, digital, illustrated, child, child storybook style videos, and my kids are the voices for the characters and uh yeah. So we have our whole recording studio set up and and uh and so uh you know, whenever we record a new topic, you know, they we all get in the room together and and you know I'm the narrator in in those ones, and my kids are the kids' voices, and so anyway, it's it's it's really cool together to do to do together and they take real ownership over it, and but it also reinforces it that much more. They're not only watching it, they're like helping to teach it, and so it's teaching it to them at a whole new level.

SPEAKER_01

That's cool. So is this would you call it you you said it's not a course because your other one was the course. This is like, is it an app? What is it? Program?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So and again, we're just about to launch the text message version publicly. Okay. And so when you look on our website, the date of this recording, and I don't know how much how much after this will be edited and published, it still reflects some of the all the workbooks and the posters and you know, these more physical materials. We are just waiting for one final kind of approval from carriers. It's probably about two weeks, and then we'll press live on the website. But uh the way that the text message version of it works is um, yeah, you just use as party purchase, you just opt in, you know, for the text messages, and then it just texts it to you every day, and then it gives you on the beginning of the month a link to watch the video. And so it's you don't have to have any logins, you don't have to have any apps, you don't have to do any downloads. Again, uh the goal was how do we make this as simple and as easy as possible? And so it's it's literally just a daily little text message that is designed to make you smile or to feel encouraged. Uh it's never um, you know, part of our simple rules we follow for everything is it never has to feel like we're just adding task onto a plate. And so it always has to feel supportive and additive to your day rather than uh you know, enhancing your your what you're already doing that day versus adding something to to you. So it's just that. And again, you'll have some text at the beginning that are like, here's the link, just pull it up and watch with your your family, find 10 minutes today. And you know, when's that time? And give yourself a little reminder, you'll thank yourself and you know, watch that there and so yeah, that's how it works. Uh again, the new version that's going live here um in the next two weeks.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, awesome. So uh I guess what are your goals for your kids, for their education? Like, what do you envision when they turn the age of 18? What do you want them to know? What do you want for them?

SPEAKER_00

It's a great question because we don't we don't really talk in our home about um necessarily as an end objective, a certain mastery of math or of their language arts um or of their science or you know, those those types of things. Um, all of that is important, really important. And we don't, you know, we certainly value and emphasize it a lot, right? Um, but all of that is just more important is who are they becoming? How clearly do they know and have a sense of identity, that they are an individual of worth that can literally positively impact the world. And that there's a there is there is a unique makeup to them that allows for a unique contribution to the world. How, you know, what is our goal and objective to help them to go through that self-discovery, to identify what they truly are passionate about and care about, and to cultivate the skills and the knowledge and the mindsets and the things they need to then go out into the world and make that impact, make that difference. And so that's what we want for them. And there's lots of things that go into that, including the way they practice independence in their and their learning of math, the way they have resilience in how they respond to their setbacks and mistakes they make in their science work. Or so the academic learning is a really great environment in which these things can be practiced and learned. But ultimately it's so much more about who they become and their readiness to go out into the world, ready, ready to to you know, do good. That's the whole behold do good piece, right? Is that uh our own personal wholeness is more about um the capacity it gives us to do our greatest good. And that good, the scope of the impact on the world may primarily be in our own home, you know, uh within the walls of our own home, um, or the impact in one person's world. Yeah, the scope of that doesn't matter so much is is that you you kind of find your personal calling in life and and you pursue it.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. And if you're not on that path, have the courage to jump on the path or at least try a few paths out. That's so good. That's so good. Uh what would your advice be to the parents who maybe aren't homeschooling yet and might want to um are thinking about it, or even that are in jobs like I was a government job, or you know, it it it seems like you enjoyed your job too. It just wasn't your life's passion, what you were meant to be doing. So, what advice would you give to the people that are like the me five years ago sitting in a cubicle while my son is in daycare, thinking, all right, 24 more years till my pension?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. Oh, that is a good question. Um, one of the thoughts that comes to mind right away, and we'll see what else comes. Again, I I I think sometimes to do the things we care most about, the path isn't always easy, but the things that are most important to us, there is always a way. And the first step is to have the faith and belief and commitment, and then the way can open. So the more you just sit back and perceive the impossible nature or the impractical nature of being able to make that step, or all the reasons why, you know, that you shouldn't or it would be a bad idea, the more you stay stuck there, the more you'll stay stuck there, right? Um and hopefully this is making sense. But I think the first step is it and this is enough for everybody, by the way. I I I don't know that hell schooling is for everyone. But if it is something that in uh your heart feels like that is what I want, then then I think it's more a matter of the first step is you truly have to commit that you're gonna find a way to make it happen. And that may take some time. Uh, it can't always be done right away. But what is so powerful uh with depending on your belief system from a standpoint of faith in a religious context to to uh you know just the power of the mind is that when you have made that commitment and you said, I am doing this, I don't know how, and I don't know what it what you know, things will need to occur to break through the barriers, the mountain that stands in front of me. But if you know you want it, commit to it and commit to finding the way and the resources, the people, the opportunities will be drawn to you to open up the path to make it possible. And so that that would be I maybe one thought that comes to mind.

SPEAKER_01

Um yeah, and I definitely think that's true. I think, I mean, I know I didn't I remember it was when I started the podcast, it was just kind of like, oh, let me see what other homeschooling lives look like, because I'm just picturing us whittling and sewing and candlelight. And I'm like, I don't know if I can do that. But you know, someone said to me, Well, what's your goal for the podcast? I'm like, I don't know, I don't really have a goal. I really like Del Bigtree on the highwire. I'd like to know him. That's my goal. And then, like, lo and behold, I've met him three times now. He's been on the podcast, like it's and in a weird series of events, too. Like that, like, you know, it was at a a rally for medical freedom. And I didn't know he was gonna be there. I've been at that one before. He was never there, the highwire was never there, and I'm like, he's oh, he's here. Well, I'm just gonna walk to the front. Oh, he's looking at me. Hey, can I come up and talk to him? Like, and and then another time, like, oh, he's two hours away at a at a conference thing. It's just like, yeah, those things, and and then, you know, and then that sparks the Instagram page or the podcast to go a little elsewhere, and then you meet other people. And you know, it's like it's it's it's not that I'm gonna take a leap of faith and be, you know, financially sound in six months, but it's every little thing is a teaching lesson and experience for your life and the next step forward. So I think too, the measure is like like you said in the very beginning of the podcast. What was your measure of of of fine education or a happy childhood in the public school system? Like, where is your gauge for the happiness part? And it's the same thing with success. Like, where's your gauge for success? Like 10 years ago, I would have been like, oh, it would have been to make, you know, six figures in my government job. But now I'm like, oh, it would be that my kids look back on their childhood and think it was really fun.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. I love it. Yeah, and that's a perfect example.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that is what your your program really sounds like it brings to the home in a much needed time.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, well, I you know, and again, I I think um every you mentioned this right at the beginning. No one homeschools the same. And I think that that is important. It is important to recognize that um how it looks for others doesn't have to be the way it looks for you, you know, and and um that that can evolve over time and yeah, it can evolve year from year to year. That's been our experience is like the needs of our family as we've done different moves, as we've done had different things going on in life, as our kids have been in different places. It um can it can look different and evolve. But the first step is to step into it and you only learn what those needs are and how to evolve when in motion. You know, you you can adjust things at when you're at zero miles per hour, turning a car, it doesn't happen. You know, when you're going one or two miles per hour, you really gotta crank. But if you're cruising at a good, you know, kind of cruise control on the freeway and you need to make an adjustment, you can tweak and you can make adjustments, right? And so I I think there's something to say for, you know, I love your example of starting the podcast and what that has led to. And it's when we feel drawn to called to a certain path that takes faith and trust. Just know that as you get on the path, you may not know what step two, three, four, five, or six is gonna be, but those things get clear as you take step one and that helps you know step two, and then you just continue to find your way and all of our imperfect way.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, that's awesome. Todd, I want to thank you for being here today. And where can people find you if they would like to check out Be Whole Do Good?

SPEAKER_00

It's Behold Dogood.com. Yeah. So pretty, pretty simple. Please in W-H-O-L-E. So be whole dogood.com. Uh and again, I'm not sure when this will air, but by mid-February, the the new offering will be live. We're really excited about it. It's that's tested really well. And so um excited for the support that'll offer. And yeah, just anyone we can serve, uh, we would be so happy to provide that support to.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I'm gonna link that in the show's descriptions. Head there to check that out, easy click, and you're probably gonna change your life because I'm I'm pretty excited about this. We need some new dinner conversation. Thank you, Todd, for being here today.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you, Cheryl.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you for listening to the Homeschool How To Podcast. If today's episode helped you, please be sure to follow the show and leave a review. It's the best way to support the podcast. And if you're just getting started or need a reset, head to thehomeschoolhowto.com and grab my free 30-day homeschool quick start guide. Until next time, keep learning, keep questioning, and thank you for your love of the next generation.