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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
#136: “I Loved Teaching, But Schools Failed My Kids": Toni’s Homeschool Journey
What happens when a seasoned teacher with 20 years in the classroom decides traditional education isn’t right for her own children? In this inspiring episode, Toni, mother of five shares her journey from dedicated educator to passionate homeschool advocate.
Toni noticed troubling patterns in conventional schooling that she “couldn’t unsee,” realizing that schools often fail to prepare children for the real world while neglecting natural learning rhythms—especially for active learners who struggle to sit still. She shares her philosophy: “Academics should serve kids, not suffocate them,” and explains how homeschooling can preserve curiosity, foster creativity, and develop critical thinking skills.
Learn practical homeschooling strategies, including Toni’s “Socratic snack” discussions, balanced reading routines, and real-world projects that connect learning to life. Toni’s Roots and Wings method empowers children to build strong foundations while gaining the confidence to explore, create, and contribute meaningfully to the world.
Whether you’re a homeschooling parent, considering a switch, or exploring ways to enhance your child’s education, this episode provides actionable insights, encouragement, and inspiration to raise independent, creative thinkers.
Toni Samuelu is the founder of Simple Joyful Learning and the creator of the Roots & Wings framework, designed to help families spark wonder, build character, and raise creators—not consumers. A former teacher and single mom of five, Toni combines over 20 years of experience in education with the everyday reality of motherhood. Her mission is to give moms simple, meaningful tools to connect with their children, create fun memories, and raise kind, capable, creative kids—without overwhelm.
Check out Toni's Page: Simple Joyful Learning
and Toni's Instagram
Cheryl's Guide to Homeschooling: Check out The Homeschool How To Complete Starter Guide- Cheryl's eBook compiling everything she's learned from her interviews on The Homeschool How To Podcast.
👉 15% off Tuttle Twins books with code Cheryl15
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!
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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 Toni, a homeschool mom and creator of Simple, joyful Learning. Hi, toni, how are you? Hi, I'm doing great. How are you? Thank you, thank you for being here today.
Speaker 1:You have a very cool story, because this is one that when I first started the podcast, I thought I was getting like a diamond in the rough, talking to a public school teacher who decided to homeschool her kids. And then, now that I've been interviewing people for two and a half years, I'm like, wow, a lot of teachers do actually leave the system to home educate, and that's kind of where your story came from. But you have a very unique perspective on it and I can't wait to hear about it. It's so fun, and I guess it seems that way because I'm talking to a bunch of homeschoolers, but you know, we just you think of, like all the education you have to go through to be a teacher to walk away from. That is huge. You have to go through to be a teacher to walk away from. That is huge. So why don't we start out by just how many kids do you have and what even got you into homeschooling in the first place?
Speaker 2:Sure, so I am a former teacher, so I've actually been in early childhood education for over 20 years now and I have five kids ages two through 16. And they're like three or four years between them all and the reason I got into homeschooling. We have a very interesting journey. My eldest daughter, who's 16 now, she went through schooling up until fifth grade and I had started, I had left public school teaching, which I loved, which was a lot of fun, but I noticed some things that I couldn't unsee and I started this journey of trying to find the perfect school for my kids, which doesn't exist, by the way, it never will, I just I guess the pen tube.
Speaker 1:So whoops, did you hear that? Yeah, so it cut off at, I guess, the bottom line Okay.
Speaker 2:I'll say it again. So the bottom line is schools today are not preparing kids for the world that they're walking into. I think that schools are trying to improve, but the rate at which the world is moving due to technology is just going so much faster, and I think the thing that I wish a lot of parents realized is there are a couple of things. So I think schools don't respect young kids, or even middle and high schoolers, their natural physiology. I mean, if you think about it, we as adults we don't even like sitting and learning at a class for longer than about an hour, but we expect kids, young kids, who are very active and they are actually designed to learn through all of their senses, not just sitting and getting, or, you know, hearing and vision, but they're designed, their brains are wired to where they're supposed to be, using all of the senses, even ones that we don't even know about, like the vestibular sense and the proprioceptive sense, which like spinning and balance, and and it affects them. So I just that was one thing, and I did see a lot of young does it just keep kicking out what's going on? Does it keep kicking you out? It's not kicking me out, but it just says like it just pauses me.
Speaker 2:So it makes me wonder if that's really weird. If it, but I can just start again with that point. Yeah, that's really strange. Yeah, and you're really blurry to me, but I'm clear. Is that how it is on your end? I'm clear, but you look clear as well. Oh, okay, good, well, that's all that matters is the one on your end.
Speaker 1:Okay, the end recording will look good. I promise we can do all sorts of stuff.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Okay, I trust you. I'm just honored to be here. So little boys especially are expected to sit and there's been this, you know, over-feminization of education, I think, because most teachers are women in America and so we just expect little boys to be able to sit there like little girls do, and it's just not the case and it just breaks my heart for little, sweet, active boys that keep getting in trouble for not sitting, which they're designed to get up and do, and it just makes me like it irks me, because there are some tolerant teachers, but for the most part, the system like I love teachers.
Speaker 2:Teachers are great. They are put their heart in it, they care about the kids, they want to do what's best for the kids, but the system that they're in doesn't always allow them to respect like their natural physiology or, you know, like there's not enough sunlight, there's just things that teachers can't control and the system expects the system is really more convenient for the adults in the building than it is for the kids, which it should. It's backwards, like it should be. You know, it's all about the kids and their growth and another reason I homeschool is because I think schools are still overly focused on learning to know things, and that made sense when we didn't have access to the internet. You know podcasts and all these world-renowned experts that have courses. But I think it's more important that we raise our kids to learn to be and learn to do, and I really believe in having them fail earlier and more often, and I just feel like school doesn't allow kids to really fail until maybe like after they graduate college, because I feel like that's what happened to me.
Speaker 2:So I was really good at school, like I learned the game really early on. I was like, okay, I get it, like you're supposed to just follow the instructions and you know, do what we're told and turn in these assignments and make good grades. And I happened to be good at it. So I memorized the stuff, I regurgitated onto the test and I would forget it and and go figure, that is what most people do, like they learn it and then they forget it like two months later.
Speaker 2:And so I graduated with all the ribbons and medals and I was like jingling when I crossed the stage at graduation and I wish I could go back and basically, bottom line, I just feel like I wasn't prepared for life. I felt like, okay, I know how to take tests and that's about it. Like I need, you know, because my parents were like, oh, your job is school and I did really well at school, so they didn't really complain. But I wish that I had maybe started some apprenticeships earlier on and you know, like I just felt like I was lacking in the life skills. So with my kids I definitely am trying to instill more life skills earlier on, and that's just easier to do when you homeschool.
Speaker 1:Oh for sure. Yes, so much of what you said there is so important and, like you were mentioning, the teachers are good people. It's the system and you're so right, because there's nothing about a square cement room with 30 to 35 kids in it that would be conducive for activity. You know, like in all these desks in the middle, like a teacher just couldn't, you can't bring them outside every single day, and you know you get 39 minutes in some cases and by the time you get all their gear on to go outside, you know it's time to come back in. So even this, like when I talk to teachers about, well, you were early childhood, so you know it takes. You know it's time to come back in. So even this, like when I talk to teachers about well, you were early childhood, so you know it takes.
Speaker 1:You know, the first 15 minutes for kids they're kind of like I don't know what to do with myself. And then the next 15 minute block they're like starting to explore things oh, look at this puddle, the snowbank. The next 15 minutes they're kind of creating their own little world with each other and their languages. And then, like the next 15 minutes, they're fully submerged and their brain is like going off doing all these synapses and making connections and doing all this healthy stuff for them. So it's like even if a teacher could be like I'm going to bring them outside for English every day, by the time you get out there and the bell rings, it's like they've only had 20 minutes and nothing really could have happened then. So I mean that is just so key right there in what you touched on. And you're right, it's the test.
Speaker 1:I don't know anything from school or college. Four years of college too, I don't know anything, you know. The one thing I remember is my business law teacher said don't, don't propose. Men Don't propose on their birthday or Christmas, cause if you don't actually go through with the marriage, you can't get that ring back.
Speaker 1:It's a gift, that's the only thing I remember I was like don't get proposed to on a holiday, that's it. It must've been relevant to me at the time, so it stuck with me, or just something that I thought was funny. But yeah, you're right, every test. I don't remember a single thing on it Sociology, history, spanish, french, none of it, none of it. So, yeah, okay, so go on with how. You mentioned something else too. That was really cool the learning with different parts of their senses. I didn't even know what the lumbar, what did you mention?
Speaker 2:So the vestibular sense, that has to do with your balance and, like your, you know your ability to balance with your eyes closed. And young kids actually need to spin a lot to develop that and they will do it naturally if they're given enough time and space to do that. But if they're, you know, stuck indoors all day then they can't develop that. And actually when I was teaching, we were having issues with kids coming in and like falling out of chairs because they had just been indoors for so long, and I have a real concern about that. Like, especially with all the screen time and using the screens as babysitter time, like I don't think parents realize the harm that that does to young developing brains.
Speaker 2:And then the other sense was the proprioceptive sense, which is the one that's like your ability to kind of feel space, um, when your eyes are closed. But I think the the proprioceptive. I know I know a little less about that, but I just think it's interesting that there are other senses that we didn't even hear about because we only learned about the five main ones but there are actually other ones that I think we don't know a lot about. Oh, I'm sure that young kids probably do a lot of that, and I mean like try to develop that when they're young, naturally, but we just don't even realize it yeah but and I just learned about the- sixth sense.
Speaker 1:We have like a bio field around us that goes out about I don't know six feet. I don't. I don't think this is conspiracy. I think this is actually legitimately true. They just don't teach about it in school, but it's the energy around us and it really affects, like you know, what we're thinking and how we're feeling and stuff. So, and like the wifi might have something to do with that. But yeah, that that is great in screen time too. Okay. So let's get into what switched you from. I'm a school teacher and I'm going to homeschool my kids. Let's start there, okay so.
Speaker 2:I knew that I was going to need to transition my daughter to like an alternative type, more innovative type of school before middle school. Because once they're in middle school and high school it's just so much harder to um to basically pull them out because they want. They're so plugged in with their friends and they're so influenced by their friends and that's another reason that I love homeschooling. What that I prefer homeschooling is because I want to hold on to that influence and not like, if I don't know. If you've heard of dr gabber mate's book. It's called hold on to your kids.
Speaker 1:I've heard of the book.
Speaker 2:Yes, okay, yeah, he talks about how you know when they're in school. It's kind of like they get their influence and they only care about what their friends think and it's kind of like the blind leading the blind right, because they I mean, what do they know when they're in middle school about life and about making wise choices and healthy habits? But, like, I think if you homeschool, it's just so much easier to hold on to, to like, instill your values and to hold on to that influence. Because I remember when I was in school I was a good, I was like really into school and I made wise choices. But I was also really worried about like being popular and what other kids think I don't know. Homeschoolers don't have to worry about that as much.
Speaker 1:I was thinking about this today, with just the screens and the phones and stuff, because my son, well, he's seven. He'll sometimes say to me, like when can I get a phone? But it's never like that's because he sees like a cousin or a neighbor have it and he never just brings it up on his own randomly because he's his, his homeschooler friends don't have cell phones and so it's easy enough for me to say, well, when you can afford one, you have a job and hopefully when you're out of the house. But no, but I do want to be around to supervise the first few years too. But it's like, yeah, you don't need, we might need something to track him sometimes, because he does go off into the woods like a rogue homeschooling child sometimes will, and you know, or go off on his four-wheeler dirt bike. So I'd like to have something. But you know, it's like it's so easy when you homeschool to not have to worry about who has snapchat and who doesn't, and is your kid being left out of the group text and everybody is included on it and the inside jokes, and your kid isn't, because you won't allow them to have a cell phone and that's got to be so hard to navigate.
Speaker 1:Of course you get your kids a cell phone because, well, if I'm at work and you come home early from school, I want you to have. We don't have a house phone, so I want you to be able to contact someone in an emergency or call me if you need me. Or school shooting god forbid. I wanted you to be able to get ahold of me. Any of those things on top of the peer pressure of you know, all these kids are involved in it and I'm not, I'm left out. You don't want that for your kid. You want them to be involved.
Speaker 1:So I it's gotta be so hard having kids in school and having to deal with that inner struggle. Cause I have the inner struggle with my daughter watching Blippi and it's it's like whatever. Sometimes I just throw my hands up, I don't care, watch Blippi, but right, that's like step one of like step. You know 50 steps to like. You know they're on Minecraft or whatever, for I don't know, that's probably a bad analogy, because I don't even know what Minecraft is, I've never seen it played. But or you know your kid being on Snapchat all day long. Right, like there's got to be somewhere where that balance is okay, but it's just so much easier to manage when you're homeschooling.
Speaker 2:You know it is, and I was a little worried, like when my eldest daughter was like five or six. She was like pretty strong willed and independent and I was like I was always thinking or six, she was like pretty strong-willed and independent and I was like I was always thinking to myself like I'm going to have a hard time when she's a teenager, like I don't know, I better prepare myself. But honestly, I am so pleasantly surprised like with how like I mean, she there's like nothing she can't do.
Speaker 1:Thinking about homeschooling but don't know where to start. Well, I've interviewed a few people on the topic Actually, 120 interviews at this point with homeschooling families from across the country and the world and what I've done is I've packed everything I've learned into an e-book called the Homeschool How-To Complete Starter Guide. From navigating your state's laws to finding your homeschooling style, from working while homeschooling to supporting kids with special needs, this guide covers it all with real stories from real families who've walked this path. I've taken the best insights, the best resources and put them all into this guide. Stop feeling overwhelmed and start feeling confident. Get your copy of the Homeschool How-To Complete Starter Guide today and discover that homeschooling isn't just about education. It's about getting what you want out of each day, not what somebody else wants out of you. You can grab the link to this ebook in the show's description or head on over to thehomeschoolhowtocom.
Speaker 2:That's another reason I think homeschooling is helpful because so I'm a mom of five. And I think homeschooling is helpful because so I'm a mom of five and so I couldn't do everything for them, even if I tried, right, but but they, my kids, know earlier on like I better make something happen because like I'm in charge of my life. And I just think in traditional school it's like we're graduating, all these kids that are like waiting for instructions or waiting for like the life handbook. And I just, I just think, like from all the homeschooling families that I know, it seems like their kids are more like proactive or they're just like more self-autonomous and they kind of they self-reflect and they're like they have like a clearer picture of where they're headed. And maybe it's because homeschooling you know you can individualize and you can focus on, you know like each kid's talents and interests and you know like their, their unique design. And I fully believe that we as parents, it's our, it's like our mission to to help them figure out their mission, and like it's just a little bit easier when, when you're homeschooling, and so I should probably tell you I'm having to transition, like with my, I was staying at home and I didn't have to make income, and now I do, so it's so.
Speaker 2:I do have two that are like going to school out of the five, but and then my and then one of my kids is in like a micro school situation, which you know is great. And then I have one that's like full time homeschooleded and she's also dual enrolled, so she's actually taking at 16. She's taking college classes and getting credit for and you know that's paid for with tax dollars. So that's nice and this was fully her idea. Because I'm not one to like push college, I have the unpopular opinion that the ROI is just not good.
Speaker 2:I'm not just monetarily wise, it's like time wise, like they're in the prime of their life, and I just don't see how more schooling is. I mean, it should never be the end goal, like it should be a means to an end, like if they like. So my daughter's taking two different things, very different things criminal justice and interior design right now, and she's trying to choose, like, which direction she'd like to go. And I think, like when I was 16, I had all these plans but they were very abstract and I didn't know that there were so many jobs that you could even make your own job, and so I just had like a list in my head, but I didn't have time to explore them, so I just I really wish that we could bring apprenticeships back earlier on, like starting in middle school and early high school.
Speaker 1:That makes so much sense. Like, as you're saying that, I'm thinking of my nephew that graduated and he got like a speeding ticket and he was. He got the ticket in the mail and he just took I think it's just something I'm like you might owe up to $300. And he took $300 cash, put it in the envelope, sealed it up and asked my sister how do I address this? And she's like there's so many things wrong with this situation. You don't just send money. You have to have a court date and you can't seal it up before you see where the address was, like there was, and you don't send cash. So but you know it's right and he's not a stupid kid, it's just like the school never taught that and parents don't know what the schools aren't teaching. So if it didn't come up in life, right, they don't know. Like, hey, make sure, before we brush teeth tonight, we teach him how to fill out an envelope.
Speaker 2:You know, teach him how to write a check exactly so I can I can give you some insight on that. I think one of the main things that I wish a lot of parents knew is I wish that like so even in elementary school. So I I got my master's degree in early childhood education and then I also got gifted endorsed. So I also like know about gifted kids and like how to teach them, but I don't think parents realize that, like creativity and critical thinking, don't really, don't really have time to to do activities that have the kids practice those majorly valuable skills, and so it's all like I just believe academics should serve kids, not like suffocate them, like they you know, like creativity, like these meta skills are not being practiced because of like standardized testing and all the focus on that, and so I just like, unless they qualify for like the gift quote, gifted unquote program which they only meet like once a week, the kids are not really, the teachers are not really able to focus on creativity and critical thinking and it just has to stay very surface level. And that's a real problem, because the world that we're walking into with AI and everything, like we need critical thinkers and creative problem solvers and excellent communicators and really good collaborators, and, like, the number one thing that businesses are complaining about, about our college graduates, is that they don't know how to work together on a team. And they don't. They're just like waiting to be told what to do. And you know, like, so that's.
Speaker 2:I really just want my kids and all kids like to just be, have more opportunity to add value and you know to, to like look around and see, like, what problems do I need? What can I help solve? Instead of you know, like, oh, it's, it's two o'clock, it's time for math, let's just focus on math. And you know, like, oh, it's two o'clock, it's time for math, let's just focus on math. And you know, take calculus. Even though I'm not going to be a math teacher and I probably won't use a lot of this or remember a lot of this After the test, I just, you know, like we just got to focus on you know.
Speaker 2:And then I know you probably know this already, but a lot of parents might not but the school system was modeled after the Prussian system, which was basically created to train obedient soldiers, and Rockefeller was known for supposedly saying I want a nation of workers, not thinkers. And so if you think about it the way that I mean even, let's just say that's not even true. Um, let's just say that is a conspiracy theory or something like if you just think about the way the school day is designed, it's just not producing creative and critical thinkers and then I have a really, really sad story.
Speaker 2:I'm like I just went on vacation with a couple of girlfriends three others and two of them knew of situations where their child, like their middle school age child and like, like I think, a freshman in high school, so middle, like a, like a 12 year old and a 16 year old who were having suicidal thoughts and they come from good families, and so I just think that's when we need to, as a society, like stop and think, like what is what is wrong? Like why are we having to talk to middle schoolers about not hurting themselves?
Speaker 1:So it's just really sad I've I've mentioned this a couple times lately because there's a lady on Instagram Her handle is scrolling to death and she used to work in like social media marketing and not and she left it because she realized, like, the harm that that is doing to children. And now she speaks out about it, has an organization about it, uh, bringing awareness, and she posts all the time about the AI that is getting children to hurt themselves and it's like thing I don't know. I mean to me AI, somebody has to program it to do that. So whether that's happening and that's some sort of like war initiative, I don't know from who, but their AI. She, you know, shows these examples and has these parents on that talk about how their child committed suicide because of the AI, like basically turning the child against their parents by turning onto them and it poses as a person. I think the kid understands that it's AI, but they almost then start to believe this is a real person, this is my friend. And then, oh yeah, my parents suck and they don't get me and yada, yada, and then, hey, you could get them back by doing this. I think it spans over a lengthy amount of time, but that's just so interesting on top of the whole, just like what the social media and the TV, the electronics does to the brain. But yeah, these are in those years where they're still forming, still forming.
Speaker 1:And you brought up a few times which is so relevant to what I went through always being told what to do so that you never kind of have initiative over your own time or agency, I guess that's the word. You never have agency over your own time, because I mean, from the time I was, from the time I was, remember I always had to be at, you know, the babysitter's house before school, get to school, then you know home after school and do the homework and then get to the dance class and then go to bed, shower in bed. You do all that. And then, once you're in college, it's okay, yep, you're doing your activities and you're doing your classes. You don't know why you're doing your job. And then you graduate and it's like, what do I do now? I don't know my parents, most parents push their careers on you.
Speaker 1:So I became a government worker, like both minded, and for 16 years it was like, okay, get up, go to the office, sit in the cubicle and, like you said, 2 pm, it's math time. I'm here to learn math. It was like okay, it's Thursday at 2 pm, that's the time where we have our unit meeting. Okay, well, why are we meeting? I don't know. Because we meet every Thursday.
Speaker 1:It's easier just to put it on the calendar for every Thursday at 2. Do we have anything to talk about? No, but we'll just sit here for the hour because it's on the calendar and that's what we're supposed to do. Okay, are we going to accomplish anything? No, but it's on the calendar. And that's at a lot of companies, because my husband works for a private company and he says it's still the same thing. They have like a routine meeting every week and even if their time is better spent at a job, getting the job done, it doesn't matter. They still have to be on that call to talk about all the jobs that have to get done still. So it's like that could be one email. These are the open jobs, right?
Speaker 2:right, it's just right. That should be a key for all leaders. Like, if it can be in an email, just put it in an email.
Speaker 1:Yeah yes, so yeah, and I see that with my sister's kids too. It's like you know, okay, well, I'm gonna take a police exam. Okay, well, why do you really want to be a police officer? Is just because your father did that. So that's what you know. That's like a career that you're comfortable with, which is why a lot of kids become teachers, because they've seen a teacher for 12 years or 16 years and they're like, oh, I know that one, I can do it. You know, it's something I see every day. So, yeah, that there's got to be some sort of studies into that too. But yeah, this is also interesting. I don't know what I jumped in, sorry, I got all like what you said to. Academics should All right. Academics should serve kids, not suffocate them. I mean that if a statement was ever truer, oh my goodness. Because why would you teach a kid about I don't know geology if they just don't care? But they really want to know how mechanics work on a truck. You know, like why waste their time with it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like it's. I mean, if you think about it, we, I mean it makes sense if you learn things so much faster when you're actually interested in them. And so that's another reason I prefer homeschooling over a traditional model is because their natural curiosity and creativity is preserved and, unfortunately, the way the system is set up they don't have time to dive into. You know like, oh Johnny, I'm sorry that you're curious about that butterfly, but we've got to get back to science in the classroom and playing with plastic animals. You know, like we, we don't, we don't, and I think we don't give kids as much credit as they deserve because we don't trust them Like I, like I.
Speaker 2:So in my journey it brought me to a really cool innovative model called Acton Academy, and they have guides as opposed to teachers. Like sage on the stage teachers, they have more like guides on the side, like sort of like Montessori model, where actually the guides are not even supposed to answer questions, Like it's that serious, Like they're just supposed to be, like well, where can you look to find that out? Like everything's figureoutable, Like you know, like they're. They're there to provide world-class examples and to kind of guide the children, but the children themselves are learning to self-govern and they have Socratic discussions every day. And that brings me to one of my favorite like homeschooling rhythms is like we have a Socratic snack where we gather together, food always brings us together and we talk. You know like it's? It's just where a Socratic discussion is like where you're given a choice and you choose and then you're given more information. Given choice and you choose and then you're given more information. And basically it helps you to learn to debate respectfully and to really ask better and better questions. And because, like, it just makes sense that like the like, the better your questions are. A good question always trumps a good answer, right, Because curiosity should be leading us.
Speaker 2:Like, look at science, and yes, we need kids to know how to read and write and do arithmetic and know the scientific method, for example, but they don't need to be forced at all of this surface level info that they might not even be interested in. And all the while they're asking a very valid question like how is this relevant to my life and me and my path? And I just like, when you homeschool, everything is relevant to what they're doing pretty much like, like other outside of. They're in, they're doing what they're interested in. Like, my son loves chess, so he loves to, you know, play chess in his spare time and they get to. They have more opportunity to choose their own interests, I think, and more time to explore them than most kids, Because, like, if you have to spend seven or eight hours at school all day learning stuff that you may or may not be interested in, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time for you to explore, you know, things that you really might be interested in. That's another reason we homeschool.
Speaker 1:So true, because before I homeschooled I was like, what do these people do all day? Like I'm not just going to sit there and read textbooks with them, that's just not my thing. And then I remember, like when I officially quit my government job, I'm like, whoa, I could just do whatever I want. Today, like, this is weird. I mean not whatever I want, because we don't have like all the money in the world, but like we can go on a hike if it's nice out, we can pack a lunch and eat by the stream, we can go on a bike ride or go for a rollerblading, like I the. In the last 12 months I have bought rollerblades, ice skates. I've ice skated for the first time this past year.
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, what else we do like just you know, even things that are free, that are available to the community, but usually you don't have time to do them because your work and school and everything else, all the sports. And you know we did like free stuff, like, oh, let's go to the. There's a bird sanctuary that has all these wounded hawks and eagles right near us, and so now that we found out about it, we'll go there a couple of times a year and check up on them and it's like we would never have time to do this if we were in school. You might take a field trip, but like when you bring 30 kids anywhere and I've realized this even with homeschooling when you bring a bunch of homeschoolers to something, you're not getting out of it as you would like. If it was just me bringing my kids, you know they're always going to want to just play over, take it all in and learn so yeah, that's kind of like a note to self too.
Speaker 1:Like don't feel that you have to join those field trip groups, see where they're going and then go a week later.
Speaker 2:Yeah, or maybe a mix of both, right? Like I always try to remind myself, kids are just like us we we like to have time to socialize, but we also, you know, want to learn what we want to learn, what we want to learn, what we're curious about. Right. So, like curious, letting curiosity lead the way is not really possible in traditional schooling model, but it is possible in homeschooling, and so just preserving that natural curiosity and creativity, I think, is just super important.
Speaker 1:So talk to me more about the rhythms, because I really like what you mentioned about the Socratic way that you and I'm going to look into that more and just see what, because I like that idea of like teaching them how to ask questions not just why, but really how to ask questions. So what are some other rhythms that you work on with your kids?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So other than the Socratic snack time where I just basically we kind of try to have a Socratic discussion or I just ask them not just about their day or what their goals are, or anything like that, I just we just I bring up a topic and they have to choose, and then we bring up more information and we just kind of practice asking better and better questions and debating respectfully.
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Speaker 2:And then the other major thing I think that a lot of homeschool parents do really well is reading aloud with their kids, especially younger kids. You know, pre-k, kindergarten, up to like maybe second grade, because third grade is the is kind of the age where they switch from learning to read to reading, to learn that, you know, when they can kind of read on their own and learn things. But up until third grade and even after third grade, it's so nice to read with your kids and I feel like most parents just maybe think like if I just read this story and shut the book and then it's bedtime, that's equivalent to like like making a big feast and then only serving the appetizer, because it's like there's so much you can get from reading a story with your child and talking about it and conversing about it. And I think one thing I wish all parents knew is like kids will learn to read and write so much faster and easier if they have a strong oral language foundation, so like you can't learn to read if you don't know how to say it properly. And so if your child is saying her is going to the store and then and then they see the word she is going to the store like they don't have a chance, like they have to, you know. So a strong oral language foundation is built by just conversing a lot like, not, not. And I think a lot of parents are just in a hurry all the time and like talking at their kids, giving them instructions and baby talking at times, and it's just it does them no favors, like, so I wish more parents understood that speaking to them and not dumbing down their vocabulary is way better.
Speaker 2:Sometimes it's it's kind of common to think like oh, I need to use smaller words with my kids because that they'll understand it better, when actually their brains are like sponges, so they, if you use the big word once or twice with them, or they see it in a tv, in a movie or something, and then they hear you say it like, it doesn't take as many repetitions for them for their brain to use it and to absorb it and then use it themselves, whereas you know a kid that is on screens all the time and is only being talked at and is only in school all day, learning things that they may or may not be interested in, like, versus a kid who you know wakes up and like, does chores and has meaningful work and is contributing to their family and learning life skills and reading books that they're really interested about the topic and maybe writing about that topic or journaling about that topic and like modeling the healthy habits of their parents, like which kid is going to have a better chance, you know, to be like successful with whatever they want to do later.
Speaker 2:Chance, you know, to be like successful with whatever they want to do later. So the core rhythms in our house are chores, because I don't believe in raising house guests Like I. I think it's really important that kids learn to contribute early and often so chores I mean I'll even say like I'm not taking you to your friend's house until you do the chores, or I'm not, I'm not even taking you to your class until you get your chore done.
Speaker 2:So you better hurry, because I just think it's important, and where else are they going to learn that? You know, like having responsibility, and when you don't do it, look what happens. So chores and then core skill work. That's the reading, writing, arithmetic, like those basic. And then core skill work. That's the reading writing, arithmetic, like those basic. You know, scientific method, like the basics, um, they spend maybe one or two hours on that a day, no more than like. No more than like an hour and a half um, and then like reading a lot.
Speaker 2:So one of my favorite favorite rhythms that my, that I did with my full-time homeschooled kids last year was they had, so we got into this thing where. So I'll I'll tell you about my son. He was, he wasn't um, he was like not, he was 11 when he finally found a series that that made him want to read. Um, before that it was like I don't really want to read and I was like, it was like pulling teeth. But um, once he finally found a series that he liked, then it was like, oh, buy me the next book, or let's go get the next book for this, and then leading on to other series.
Speaker 2:Um, and then we ran into the issue we all need to know, because we all don't want to read okay, I think it was called gregor I don't know if you have heard of that, but it's called Gregor G-R-E-G-O-R and it's kind of weird. He was telling me all about it. I was like really Like, okay, whatever works. And then he's just from there, like sometimes he reads things that I recommend and you know that I find for him, and sometimes he hears things from other friends. But so then we ran into the issue of him wanting to just read fiction all the time, and so we turned it into a like he has to read one page of a devotional every day, like, which is quick, and then one page of a biography and tell me about that person and their life, which is so cool to learn about and so inspiring to learn about other amazing humans that, like overcame amazing things or like built incredible things or filled a huge need. So I love that rhythm like, and it inspires me too. And then and then one chapter of a nonfiction book. It could be anything you want to learn about, like if you want to learn about how to do like animal balloons or whatever. Like it could be about Legos. It could be anything that you want as science. And then, after you know the devotional, the biography and the one chapter of nonfiction. Then you can read as much fiction as you want, like go to town, but I love having that in place. And then the biographies kind of touch on history, right, because it's like why was Anne Frank needing to do? You know like, needing to hide, like, and then you know, it leads you to discussions about you know history and you know like.
Speaker 2:And so, going back to that Socratic snack, one time we were talking about how, like I, this is just an example of the Socratic snack. So I was saying, okay, so you, this is the situation. You, you know that a boy in your, in your little class, is being accused of something that he actually did not do, of something that he actually did not do. He is, but he is usually making lots of mistakes, so everybody thinks he's, you know, bad and making poor choices, but you know for a fact that he did not do the thing he's being accused of. Do you A, like, stand up for him and say something. Or, b, just stay quiet.
Speaker 2:And then that led them into. They're like well, this is what I would do and why. And then I give more information and I was saying so, like, so then it just led us to a neat discussion about like how it's important to stand up for what you know, for saying the right thing, because sometimes people are misled and they might not know like all the facts, and so truth is just really important. And it led us into this whole discussion about you know, like somehow we talked about Hitler and like I don't know, it just led us down the road and it's just really cool because otherwise we would not have enough time to do those things.
Speaker 2:And so like it's just neat how you can tie history in, because basically the point of learning history is so we don't make the same mistakes, right, and I mean, aside from it being really interesting what people had to go through, but like the point of history is kind of so they can turn it around and internalize like okay, so so we shouldn't, you know, just go along with what everyone is doing or believing, like we actually need to have, like it needs to stand on truth.
Speaker 2:And that leads me to say, like I think homeschooling is just, it's just easier to impart your way of life, like I think education is something that never stops. It shouldn't stop when you get your certificate, like it should always be, you know, like we should always be learning and growing and like investing in our own personal development, and I just think it's easier to do that when that's a habit of theirs from early on, versus love that maybe they get into it after college, maybe they don't. Like I don't really feel like I started really learning and self-educating until I was out of college and I started listening to podcasts and reading books that I was interested in, versus just sitting and getting and taking tests.
Speaker 1:Yeah, getting indoctrinated. Yeah, it's only the victors write the history books. You know there's other sides to these stories. There's other things that went on that they've left out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's interesting what you the Socratic method that you were talking about uh, somebody had sent me the author of this book called what should Danny do. I actually just pulled it up so I'm like, oh, my God, that reminds me of this book. I know that you do. They sent me the two books and I I, I wrote a couple, like I wrote a story for them on my Instagram, and I keep meaning to do like a more of a real form, because the books are so cute and it's just like that, like your child picks what should Danny do. So then it's based on what they pick. You go to that page and the story continues, but you're supposed to go through all like eight stories over time, so you've always got a different story to read, because you want them to pick the bad choice so that they can see what the impact of that is, and I love that, and so I'm going to link what should Danny do in the show's description too, so we can give props to the author there because that goes right.
Speaker 1:Twins, they have some follow the story books also, like for for middle school and high school you know, I haven't gotten them because my son's seven and they keep asking me, like, do you need other books? And I'm like, no, I don't, my kid's only seven. So like I don't know. We're into the history ones now, which I'm loving. But you're right, they do have a choose your own consequence. I just haven't gotten there yet because he's seven. But I'm excited too that, yes, you're right, that's so. Thanks for um promoting that. I'll put the title twins with 15 off discount for you in the show's description too. Oh, that's so awesome. So, all right, you have to get your daughter right. So let's just wrap up. How are you like? You mentioned before that you have to, like, get income. Now you're a homeschool mom. I know that you have kind of a side gig going on while you're homeschooling. Tell us about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I've developed something I call the roots and wings method and that is because I was a teacher for so long and read so many children's books, I curated my favorite ones and one of the rhythms that I do with my younger kids, whether they're in school or not, is like we read together. We read a great story, really high quality, you know, like heartwarming, like Charlotte Mason living book, and then we and then I use that as like inspiration for a play invitation or a simple project invitation, for example, like grandparents day is coming up and one of our favorite things to do every year. One of my favorite books is called Molly Lou Mellon. Like stand tall, molly Lou Mellon, and it's about a little girl and she's listening to the advice of her grandma and it's so sweet and like so a real world project that we do with my kids is they plan a grandparents tea or a grandparents like, host them for dinner and like they actually do it all. So I'm just like the guide on the side, helping them kind of think through sort of like a, like a project manager or whatever, but I I'm letting them write the invitation or send the audio text or you know, or like design the invitation on Canva and then they have to send it and plan the day and serve the food, cook the food, and so I'm just all about real world, relevant, simple projects that our kids can do, and sometimes that is inspired by some of my favorite books. So I put it, I put some of my favorite little projects like that and play invitations. An example of a play invitation would be like like you read the Gingerbread man invitation would be like like you read the gingerbread man and then like you use Play-Doh and you use things from your pantry to design your own gingerbread creature, and so that would be an example of a play invitation.
Speaker 2:But I put all this together into a free guide and basically I put all of the knowledge and wisdom that I've gained over teaching for 20 years and being a mom of five into this guide and it's called Roots and Wings A Busy Mom's Guide to Raising Good Humans, and you can find it and download it at wwwsimplejoyfullearningorg. And then you can like keep getting email, like I'm starting to send a newsletter out and it's that's really exciting for me. I'm enjoying writing them. But so there's that guide. And then I also have this thing called the curiosity jar, which it like I'm just all about making things simple for moms because, like I know how overwhelming it is to be a mom these days and just like overload of information and the mental load that we have and you know, like the all the advice, like we could probably tell you the pros and cons of like every decision option that we have.
Speaker 2:So the curiosity jar is just like a printable you print it off, you cut up the prompts, you stick them a jar and then every day you can just pull a prompt and it's like a creative activity. It's a play invitation or a simple project that you can do with your child and there's even an extension, like if you want your kids to explore AI with you, you can even extend it with that. So, like one example of that would be like there's like pre-STEM type of projects like building things, like build a, you know, like use items from your recycling box to build a boat and like see, you know, see if it floats and see if you can get it to. You know move and then you know like it'll also encourage you to explore that topic or that project using AI. But you use definitely use your brain power first and your own natural creativity and then using AI to kind of enhance it. But that is available to everyone. If you want to check that out.
Speaker 1:Cool.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I hate to cut this short, but I have to go get her. No, no, next project is that she's gotta get her license. That's gonna be a game changer for us awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, it's been an hour, so I'm gonna link all of that in the show's description so people can just click right there easy to find. Tony, thank you so much for being here today.
Speaker 2:This has been so enlightening, thank you oh, you're so welcome and I would love to keep in touch, like if there's anything I can do for you, just let me know. Thank you so much for your time and for hosting me. It's been an honor.
Speaker 1:Well, I'll be using your guide myself, with my son and my daughter, so that'll be a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:I will make sure to put some reels up and show everyone how it's going and link them to you. Thank you so much. 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.