This Golden Hour

111. Amber O'Neal Johnston and Heritage Mom

• Timothy Eaton

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In today’s episode, we get to spend time with Amber O’Neal Johnston from Georgia. Amber is a homeschool mom of four children, an author, speaker, world traveler, and founder of Heritage Mom. Initially, Amber was skeptical about homeschooling, but she has become a passionate advocate, crediting her husband’s gentle leadership and the encouragement of experienced homeschool moms for her transformation. She discusses the importance of creating a culturally rich home environment that her children want to be part of, emphasizing intentional parenting, flexibility, and the value of community. Our conversation explores Amber’s commitment to infusing diverse voices into her children’s curriculum, moving beyond “cookie-cutter” approaches to create a “special sauce” unique to each family. She encourages parents to embrace what makes their homeschool distinct, to seek out “life-giving books,” and to learn alongside their children. Listeners will come away with practical insights on intentional living, the power of community, the beauty of cultural inclusion, and the freedom to make homeschooling a deeply personal, joyful journey.


Connect with Amber

heritagemom.com


Amber’s Books

A Place to Belong

Soul School 

Homegrown


Books

Wingfeather Saga

The Green Ember

Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry

The Last Day of Summer



This Golden Hour

Amber Johnston:

So just a couple weeks ago, I had a ton of teens over here. We had taco bar. I was making guacamole all night. They were out at the fire pit doing the s'mores I'm investing in this life for my kids and creating opportunities for them. They don't wanna miss out on. So the question for me is, I would love for all my kids to be homeschooled all the way through graduation. That's my plan. That's what I hope for. And because of that, I try to create a home atmosphere that they want to be a part of.

Timmy Eaton:

Hi. I am Timmy Eaton, homeschool father of six and Doctor of Education. We've been homeschooling for more than 15 years and have watched our children go from birth to university successfully and completely without the school system. Homeschooling has grown tremendously in recent years, and tons of parents are becoming interested in trying it out, but people have questions and concerns and misconceptions and lack the confidence to get started. New and seasoned homeschoolers are looking for more knowledge and peace and assurance to continue. New homeschooling. The guests and discussions on this podcast will empower anyone thinking of homeschooling to bring their kids home and start homeschooling and homeschoolers at all stages of the journey will get what they need and want from these conversations. Thank you for joining us today and enjoy this episode of This Golden Hour podcast. As you exercise, drive clean or just chill. You're listening to this Golden Hour podcast. In today's episode, we get to spend time with Amber O'Neill Johnston from Georgia. Amber is a homeschool mom of four children and author, speaker, world traveler, and founder of Heritage Mom. Initially, Amber was skeptical about homeschooling, but she has become a passionate advocate, crediting her husband's gentle leadership and the encouragement of experienced homeschool moms. For her transformation, she discusses the importance of creating a culturally rich home environment that her children want to be part of, emphasizing intentional parenting, flexibility and the value of community. Our conversation explores Amber's commitment to infusing diverse voices into her children's curriculum. Moving beyond cookie cutter approaches to create a special sauce unique to each family. She encourages parents to embrace what makes their homeschool distinct, to seek out life-giving books, and to learn alongside their children. Listeners will come away with practical insights on intentional living, the power of community, the beauty of cultural inclusion, and the freedom to make homeschooling a deeply personal, joyful journey. Welcome back to this Golden Hour podcast. Today we are very blessed to have with us Amber O'Neill Johnston from Georgia. Thank you, Amber, for taking time.

Amber Johnston:

I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having me.

Timmy Eaton:

Excellent. And I just wanna do a quick bio and then we'll jump into some questions. Amber is a homeschooling mom of four children. What are their range? Age range, by the way. From

Amber Johnston:

10 to 16.

Timmy Eaton:

Oh, cool that's close together. That's fun.

Amber Johnston:

Yeah.

Timmy Eaton:

Amber is a speaker all over the place and an author, and I'll put links to her books in the in the show notes. Founder of Heritage Mom, and you can find that@heritagemom.com, which I would definitely want to encourage everybody go to tons of good resources and such quality stuff. So definitely take a look at that. And I noticed on your site it says that you're a product of two public school principals. And you and I talked about that a amber and I just found out that we're basically grew up in the same area, so that, yeah. That's

Amber Johnston:

exciting.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. So good. So good. Go ahead and add anything you want to that bio and then we'll jump into questions.

Amber Johnston:

Sure. I'm. Born and raised from the Midwest and I live now in Georgia. I met my husband down here. He's also from the Midwest. So we say we were attracted, we recognized home when we met at a museum down here. And also, is he from Chicago

Timmy Eaton:

area?

Amber Johnston:

No, he's from Ohio actually.

Timmy Eaton:

Oh, cool.

Amber Johnston:

Yeah, we met here at the art museum in Atlanta and we married and we're raising our family here and we've been homeschooling them from the beginning. So we're starting to edge close to that kind of be an old homeschoolers now, which is a exciting.

Timmy Eaton:

I'm glad you said that. You you homeschooled from the beginning'cause we did too. And we're pretty much the same age. And so I wanna ask you,'cause I know that you said there were some very influential homeschool moms that had impact on you. And and as I read about your stuff, I thought, man, this is so similar to my wife Sara and I, our experience, we would've never thought that we would've done it. And so tell us about your beginnings, how you got into it, and these homeschool moms that had such an effect.

Amber Johnston:

Yeah, sure. So originally it was Scott's idea and I was like, what kind of nonsense is this? We're not doing that. That's weird. We're not weird. So I'm not doing that. And I kinda laughed it off and eventually he told me we were on a date and he's like, I have something very serious I wanna talk to you about. I was like, oh gosh, what have you done? And he is every time I bring up homeschooling, you start laughing. And I was like,'cause it's funny. I think you're joking, right? And he was like, no. I said you laugh. And he's that's nervous. Laughter in response to you. He's like, but I'm actually dead serious. This is something really important that I want to do with our family. And I was totally against it. And he and his wisdom, which I'm just so grateful for, he said, will you try it for one year? And if you don't like it and you don't think it's the right thing, I'll never ask you to do it again. And I was like, yeah, sold. I, on one year get rid of this guy asking me this all the time. And of course during that year, it's all she wrote because it was amazing. And I was already as. Stay-at-home mom. So it's hard for me to even explain why or how. It was amazing because what really changed, but my heart is the thing that changed during that year and in my intention, and it softened toward the idea, but also just so grateful for Scott's leadership and seeing something that I couldn't see. And so then he told me, oh, there's this lady, Judy at the park. He would take our kids to the park every day. And she homeschools and he started saying, Judy said this, and Judy said that. And I was like, lemme go to the park and find out who this Judy lady is. I keep talking to my man and I went to the park and I met Judy and of course I loved her. She was amazing. She invited me over and to her house and she was the first person to really speak into me. And she didn't spend her time telling me, this is how you teach math and this is how you teach reading. No, which is what I was worried about. She was like she. Instead, she spent her time like encouraging me. You are made for this. This is something you're going to be amazing at. Your kids are going to take to this. You're going to shine. It's gonna be beautiful for your family. And she just, I don't know. I realize now it was fear and a lack of confidence and that's what she addressed directly and head on. So she was the first of several women to basically come beside me and just. Whisper Sweet. Nothings in my ear Sure. About homeschooling. And that made all the difference in the world for me.

Timmy Eaton:

I've actually noticed that experienced homeschool moms,'cause I see my wife doing it to other younger moms as well. But and to this day still has her mentors that like, know how hard it is and how you second guess yourself. And they're not pretending they're testifying. Like you have this within you. You're the best person to educate your children. And you need to hear that so I'm glad you shared that. I'm glad you said that and that's unique that your husband, like it's, I've heard a few in these episodes, but it's very rare that the husband leads out on this. So what have you thought of that since?

Amber Johnston:

And honestly it's just one of several things that I feel, God's revealed to me over the years that. Scott is someone that I can look to for ideas and leadership and trust and everything, because it's not the only thing that he's kind of seen an eye for. And he always listens to me too. I think it was very gentle of him to say, would you just try it for a year instead of us fighting about it, so I'm thankful. And I think he's also grateful because he kept saying, I want us to homeschool. I want us to be a homeschooling family. Yes. But the truth of the matter is. The majority of the day to day heavy lifting has been me. Yeah. And so he also has been such a good supporter and coming alongside and helping in major ways. He's he's not really like an outlier. He works from home full time and he's like in the thick of things. He's very participative in our homeschool group that we founded about 10 years ago. And I don't know. I feel like he, he's putting his time where his mouth is, instead of the money where the mouth is, he puts his time where his mouth is.

Timmy Eaton:

I don't know if you know this, but my niche is homeschool dads and I have a course called Proactive Homeschool Dads. And my interest is them. And so I you've already led into that, that and so I was gonna ask you about seeing his role and you've talked about that. Is there anything else that comes to mind when you think of how he contributes to, and we say homeschool, which I've said many times doesn't totally fit because really it's just intentional parenting, intentional living at home, learning and living. And you said you, you emphasize creating an intentional learning and home environment, but but what else do you see as his kind of role in that as a homeschool dad?

Amber Johnston:

Oh, I think so many things, but a few that come to mind is Scott was, is very open when he sees something that he would like, he shares, when he sees something he would like the kids to learn or study. So I'll give you an example from very early on, I was like, no technology ever under any circumstances, no screens, no touching anything. We're just gonna read paper books from now forevermore. And he was like. So about that, yeah. He's I actually would really like for the kids to experience, some technology in this direction and that direction. And he's I've been studying some things. I see these as things that would be beneficial to the family. And so that's just like one example. He was very involved in math curriculum and he told me, he is listen, he was like, I'm all for counting daisies in the field. He's I'd really like our kids to have a really strong math foundation. That's important to me. That's just, he's I don't have a reason for it. That's just how I feel. Yeah. And so I was like, okay. So he weighs in, he doesn't just sit passively by he, he talks about what he wants to see and how he thinks things are going. Also, he's very involved in making sure that I'm okay and sometimes he's the only person. That does that, and it could be homeschooling. I love it. I would never wanna change this choice, but it's hard. It's hard. And at times I feel like I'm about to burn out or I feel unappreciated by the kids, who think that they think this is normal life. They don't necessarily see this as oh my gosh, my parents have made this huge sacrifice. And so when they're being kids, that's all they know. Exactly. It's like normal. And I'm just like, but I'm doing so much and you're not appreciating it. So he can see, he's the first line of defense when I'm starting to get burnout and he knows what refills my cup. It's time alone. It's hot tea, it's a, meeting a friend at a coffee shop. Like those things give me life and he. Push me out the door with nothing to worry about and just say you need this and I, I want you to have this. So I think that's another way,'cause I probably wouldn't do that on my own. I just like grin and bear it and grit my teeth and yes, white knuckle it through. So I think that's good. Another thing is that Scott works around the house. Like he does all the laundry, we share dishes. He bless his heart, he does try to cook. In a pinch it'll do, I think everybody involved would prefer if I was the one cooking most nights. But he will do it.

Timmy Eaton:

Would he agree to that?

Amber Johnston:

Oh yeah, totally. He would prefer that I be the one cooking too. So yeah, I think that's been a really lovely thing because it's never been like, I only do this and he only does that, but it's like Team Johnston around here. Yes. We all just chip in and do what needs to be done, including the kids. So we really, truly are living and learning together.

Timmy Eaton:

So in the course I do, there's six modules. The second one is called Be a Companion, and that's all about being on the same page and and really philosophically seeing things together, not that you always have to agree on things, but that you're on the same page as couples, because it makes it so hard when it's not like that. And especially if he led out and said, try this for a year, and then he's noticing things about you and how you fill your bucket. And the last module I do is called Be a Protector. And you said it like, one of the things that kind of surprising to people is you have to protect your spouse sometimes from the children and because you said like they, they don't mean harm, but they just don't have the same level of appreciation because it's all they know. And so he really has a role in protecting his family in a, in many ways. And one of them is protecting his spouse. And even from herself and not taking time to fill her bucket. So you mentioned that you guys founded a homeschool group. Tell us a little bit about that.

Amber Johnston:

About a decade ago, I recognized that my family needed a community and a community that we couldn't find. And to be honest specifically, I wanted a community. Where people could come together and that my kids would not be the only black children. That was something that was a heavy load for them to carry. Yeah. And they were young and really struggling with that. And we also needed something really close to home. So I'm a big proponent of hyperlocal community where the people, I found the road, I can bring you a meal when I know you've had a hard day. We can see each other at the park for an hour and then pop back home or whatever. And so we launched a group and, first it was just gonna be like a park play date group. But then it kept growing and that first year we got slapped with a 10 99 from PayPal. I'm like, I didn't make any money off this. People were like paying me for field trips. And then I was turning around giving all of it to the museums or the places. Yeah. So I made no profit and Scott's like, um. ma'am, we're gonna have to figure something out here. So we turned it into a 5 0 1 C3 nonprofit. Cool. And it's just been thriving since then. So we do all the things, mom's events, dad's events, field trips, park play dates, celebrations, classes you name it, so

Timmy Eaton:

do you consider it a co-op or like, how do you.

Amber Johnston:

So the group has a co-op on that meets once a week, but a lot of people don't even do that part. That was a later addition. Cool. The core aspect of the group is the community. Yes. And doing everything together. The, there's an opportunity to do everything other than just your. Base academics, everybody handles academics in their own way, their own philosophy, their own time. But we all come together. So like this past weekend was Labor Day weekend here, and we all just went camping. We were all out in our tents, camping and hanging out on the lake and stuff like that. So these are the people my kids are growing up with. And I had a huge devastating health crisis. A few years ago, and these are the people who were feeding my husband and my kids while I couldn't move and all of that. So it's been. An amazing thing. And I think God has just done that without me, because I literally had no vision for this. I thought we were just gonna hang out at the park maybe a couple times a month. So it's been great.

Timmy Eaton:

I'm sorry to hear you went through that hard time, but what a blessing to have a community that. That is there for you in times like that? Our kids range from 12 to 21 and we've homeschooled from the very beginning, so about 17 plus years. And we never did the co-op thing. We never did that much. We had community friends and homeschool friends, but like our style was that we just did our own last year because our youngest are now coming up and don't have as many. Kids around and we do less with homeschool families just'cause our kids are at different stages. And so they started a co-op last year and it ballooned just like you're saying, very quickly. And I like how you said families use it as they will based on their philosophy and personality. Have you noticed that sometimes it does it ever get too much like almost too much social where you're like, that's, which is so funny'cause that's one of the huge criticisms I know. And it's all the homeschool families I know, they're like trying to. Pair back on Oh, social'cause it's, it could be constant. So how have you navigated that with your family?

Amber Johnston:

So that's actually part of what I love about it is you can lean in as much or as little as you want. We also have tended to keep our. Main things at home, and not participate. I don't like commitments, basically. I like to go out and do stuff, but I don't like to commit. I don't feel Yeah. You're homeschooling for

Timmy Eaton:

the flexibility.

Amber Johnston:

Yeah, and my family travels, so actually that's what I got very ill and in Western Africa, so I got typhoid fever. It's crazy. But we still, travel around the world and we like to take these extended trips, so I don't wanna be tied down to having to be at a certain place.

Timmy Eaton:

Especially if your husband works from home.

Amber Johnston:

Yeah. So yeah, that's, it's great. We're actually about to take off for Ethiopia in 12 days. No way. So we like to be able to do that. So me personally, I don't wanna have a lot of commitments. We go out when and do things when we can on a ad hoc basis, but I know some families are the exact opposite. They have maybe the mom works and she has to count on knowing that it's gonna be every day. Every week on this day. So she can work her work schedule around that. Or perhaps they live super far away and they wanna be able to come and know that every week on this day they can do something. So either way, the way our group works, I'm a little on the looser side, but even if you're want more of that, you can get that from the group as well.

Timmy Eaton:

And you mentioned that like you wanted to make sure there was community especially like for, are there other black families that are in the co-op that are, that there is that connection? I did my doctorate degree on home education. Amma Sama. Are you familiar with her? Mm. Amma Sama is a professor at temple University. She's on this podcast. And a lot of my research was based on her stuff among African Americans. It's the fastest growing demographic of homeschool families in the United States. Yeah. And so what, tell us about that and like, how has that been for your kids?

Amber Johnston:

Yes. And I've seen that growth over these last years. Yes, there are tons of them in the group, which is what was surprising to me because I would've told you before this group started that there weren't very many of us in the area. Now I know people are like Atlanta, Georgia. I don't actually live in Atlanta, so we live. Out in a further suburb. And because as I mentioned, I'm into hyper-local community, so that's nice if I meet someone. But if it takes me an hour and 20 minutes to get to your house too hard, that to me isn't, yeah. That's not gonna build relationships for the long term. And so out here where I live, I was like, oh, there is not gonna be any other black people homeschooling. And you know what? That's my message to people is you don't know what's there until you try. Because I I make a joke. When I was growing up before school, I used to watch this show called Thundercats, and when there somebody I watched it

Timmy Eaton:

religiously. Are you kidding me? Yes. Thundercat. So when they

Amber Johnston:

were in trouble, yeah, they go Thundercat thunder. When they'd put their lights up in the air and they would see it. And I feel like that's what I did. I put a beacon out there and people looked up and saw that beacon and they came and so I didn't know they were around and I'm like we're Beacon because I go to all the stuff. And they're like we go to that same library, but we always go on Wednesdays. And you were always there on Tuesdays in the morning. Wow. And so we were all missing each other and granted, there. As a percentage. It's still a small percentage of the homeschooling community, but it's growing. And so we would, we just didn't know each other. And so this definitely by me stating that intention, and it was never an intention to keep anyone out, but just to say, you guys, my kids, I'm a mama bear and my kids need something. And if you have that and you can come and bring that to the table. And it ends up that our group is very diverse. So we, between interracial marriages and adoption and people. From, just different walks of life. But yeah it definitely required me to take that first step and to say, Hey, this is what I need. Does anybody else need that?

Timmy Eaton:

I just wanna tell you to listen to that that episode with Alma Moama. I think you'd enjoy her a lot. But tell us about world schooling.

Amber Johnston:

So that has been like I laugh, my girlfriends when we were younger and we were meeting guys and they'd be like, oh, he has such a nice car. Oh, did you see his job? Or whatever. And I remember being like, Scott's passport is full. Yeah. And he drives an old beat up Honda and, doesn't dress all that cool. But you know what, no.

Timmy Eaton:

His priorities are in order.

Amber Johnston:

And that was. So attractive to me. And so even before kids, we talked about traveling the world together and we started a family right away and we were like, that's not gonna stop us. So our first trip, we spent three months in South America and I my youngest turned. Two while we were there. So he was one when we left. Still in diapers, still nursing. And so we decided, tried to hit every continent for a while Wow. Before our oldest graduates. So even though we're cheating a little this time,'cause we did West Africa, now we're doing East Africa, but we'll also be doing Asia on this trip. Cool. And and then we'll only have one left. We'll have Australia left, maybe her senior year or for senior graduation. And so it's just been a little bit, of an adventure. Most of the time we're at home in Georgia, so it's not like we're, nomads with no home base. But when we are able, we save cash, so we only travel. That was an agreement that we made. We wouldn't go into any debt. So it takes us a couple years usually to save up and then we head out.

Timmy Eaton:

So tell us some highlights, like places you've been and that you just you're like bursting with okay, this place is awesome.

Amber Johnston:

So we're all food or culture or whatever. We're different. Yeah, we're all different. Which is really fun'cause it helps us to get to know each other. So I loved Ghana despite the fact that I got very ill and had to come home before that. I loved it. It was the first time in my life and here I am and I'm the mom. I'm supposed to know everything. It was my first time being somewhere where. Everybody around me is black. I was like, this is really crazy. I've never felt this way before. And it just was exciting. And to see the culture and the music and the food. Yes. And I obviously, I enjoy the food a little too much'cause Hello typhoid. But it was great. But, one of my daughters while we're there, she was like um, can we go out to Paris? And I was like, you sound like. Like somebody from a movie or something. She loves Paris. Paris speaks to her and we've been there, she's been there multiple times. She's this is my vibe. She likes the architecture, she loves the food, the people, she doesn't speak a lick of French, but she loves it. And so the French countryside, all of that. So we all have our different things and I think it's brought us closer as a family to even say, I get that this is not your vibe right now, but someone in our family loves this and I'm gonna need you to, to. Put your big pants on and Yeah. And do this thing even though it's not your first choice, don't ruin it for everyone else. And so we've learned to sacrifice for one another. And we've also learned to walk with humility because when we leave the United States, we are known for one thing and one thing only. We're American. And I was like, that comes with a lot of baggage. Much of it well deserved, but also it comes with a lot of responsibility. So there are places and opportunities we have to bless that we wouldn't otherwise have. There are opportunities that we have to change the stereotype of who Americans are or maybe to change. The narrative of somebody's actual bad experience that they've had with people who weren't walking in humility. So it's just been an amazing experience for all of us.

Timmy Eaton:

And I thought another aspect of the walking humility is when you see the circumstances of which others live in and then your children are exposed to that, that to me is like one of the best blessings of travel is to open your kids' eyes and give them a worldview that expands. And so I love that aspect. I love what I do for a living, but I seriously wish I worked from home sometimes because I think we would really love that. And that's something I dunno if I could change things that would be one. This kind of kinda reminds me of some of the emphasis you give in di diverse voices in traditional curriculum that comes out in your books. I think world schooling opens your eyes to that kind of thing. So can you talk a little bit about that? What would you tell us about diverse voices in traditional curriculum?

Amber Johnston:

So I think when I first started homeschooling, I was doing what everyone around me was doing and it was actually quite beautiful, the books we were reading, the poetry, the music we still do a lot of those same things, but my daughter helped me real. Realize that we were missing something and what we were missing was a view of anybody who looked like us. And that was really hard for me to hear because it's one, it was embarrassing because how could I, as a black woman not share that with my black children? But also, it made me realize, like I I just didn't know, like, how do I teach something? I don't know. I never learned it myself. And so I had to like, have this long talk with myself and figure out where are we gonna go from here? And I just decided I can't just spontaneously combust into knowing a bunch of stuff, but I could learn alongside her and that's what we've done. So we just started diving into including stories about people like us. And then when we did that, it felt so good that yes, we started let's take it a step further. Why stop with just at that point it was black and white people, but I was like, there's so many more people. Let's read and these stories here and let's read their poetry, what music stands out in the, in their culture. And it just became this kind of beautiful symphony, I would say, of and we still read classics and books that I grew up on. Yeah. And like we just mixed it all up. And when I saw the impact on my children, on myself, on our community that we were sharing these things with, I just wanted to start telling everybody about it. And that was the genesis of Heritage Mom.

Timmy Eaton:

And one thing in general that you point out there is just what happens to homeschool moms in particular, because they're typically the principal, homeschool parent, but to all of us who homeschool is that learning is revitalized for us as the parents. And then, and obviously for you in particular. I love how, I think you said something to the effect of, in our home, Charlotte. Charlotte Mason has an Afro and I love Yeah, that's so good. But the other that helps

Amber Johnston:

people know right away what I was about, yeah. It was like quick and down to the nitty gritty. Totally. Yeah. Well,

Timmy Eaton:

And I like the idea of infusing like your own culture and then seeing like what was happening with your own culture amongst these other classics and what was happening. Because a lot of times they aren't necessarily included and then along with that is this idea of globally minded living and learning, which I think accompanies the world schooling thing and, tying in several traditions and cultures. But anything else you wanna say about G globally minded living and learning and what impact that's having on your children?

Amber Johnston:

Yeah, and I think, like I said, of course world travel, that's easy. That's a low hanging fruit, but that's not available. To everybody, and it's not even always available to my family. And so I think really it's, sometimes it's as simple as choosing different restaurants to visit and try their, cuisine. Because every culture has their traditions around feasting and food. The films that we watch, different festivals that we try to go to when we're taking road trips and, going to visit people or places, stopping along the way at things that might be culturally relevant to us, but also really to anybody. We just like knowing people. And I think that it's not anything that special, it's just being intentional. It doesn't cost anything. It's just about the intentional choices that I'm choosing to make. And, I also would say I know for a lot of people they're like, oh my gosh, that sounds so hard. I don't know what to do. But it's actually quite fun. And if it wasn't fun, I don't think we would have stuck with it. So there's no I don't have a curriculum for it. I, it's not like a list of rules. It's just like a choice to just. Think that way when, whenever the opportunity arises, I try to take it and we have fun with it. We're not perfect. I don't know everything I am learning alongside my kids, but that's been part of the journey and part of what has bonded us in this.

Timmy Eaton:

And as you've done that, have you noticed is there a variety of responses from your children, or do they feel like they're having a fairly similar experience? Their personalities are obviously so unique and subjective. What's their response been to that type of intentional cultural kind of emphasis?

Amber Johnston:

It's so funny because they are so different. I remember once telling a group of people that people always ask me for advice.'cause they're like, oh, you have four kids. And I'm like, actually I'm the mom of one four times. Because I don't have a learning curve. They're all so incredibly different. But in general, what they have in common is a thought that they think that being black is really cool and they think that everybody else is. Story is also really cool. And to me, that is the number one thing that I want. I want you to feel great about yourself, and I don't want you to think that you're any better than anybody else, and that they all have achieved. Now within that, they have different areas. One of'em is an extraordinary reader, so she, you can't get enough books. So she's the only time I ever thought I would be like, if you don't stop reading yeah. This is what's gonna happen. I'm like, oh my gosh. Words I never thought I'd say. Yeah. What am I saying? And yeah, it's wow, this is. This is really what it was called.

Timmy Eaton:

What kind of books does she like?

Amber Johnston:

Everything but she especially loves fantasy dystopian and historical fiction. Cool. So she is my history buff. She's a docent um, the local history museum. She's now in her second museum. So she learns she can give tours and all of those things. She's trained in all of that. That's cool. So it's who she is through and through. Now my other. Like kid, like the, around that same age would rather vomit than be a docent at a history museum. And she is much more into music. She's into creative. She can sew, she can create beautiful things. All types of creative arts things with her hands. My son, it looks at it from a story of the land. He loves to be outside, so he's looking at geography and topography when we're. Studying these different places and visiting places. So he likes to start fires. He likes to bushcraft, right? And so looking at that idea in different places, like in this country, it's desert. It's gonna be like this, these are the supplies you'd need. You'd think the kid's planning to be lost in the wilderness any moment. And then my youngest, he doesn't see any of this. It's all he knows. He's it's all encompassing and he's the one that asked me, why do people wanna come hear you talk? So he doesn't realize that the way we live is any different than anybody else. He thinks everybody's doing this. Yes. And so it's really it's been eye-opening to me and I've enjoyed allowing them to become their own person and to see what they see in the things that we're doing. I'm not quizzing you on you. This is what you should take away from this. If what you take away from this country is that their food is remarkable and that's all you have to say about it, I'm good with it. That's what you got out of it.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. But the exposure is so good. Tell us a little bit about C and you've already talked a little bit about it, but very typical in homeschooling is that we start out and we go, okay, I'm going to, I'm trying to figure things out and you're. You're talking to families and people that have homeschooled, but like you're scared, you're nervous, and you're like, I'm gonna do what they did at school. And so you've talked about going from cookie cutter to special sauce, like making it more inclusive in a culturally rich environment. And you've already spoken to that, but can you say anything else about that idea of. Going from the cookie cutter to like special sauce. And I don't know what you mean by that. I think I do but I see it as the Johnston Homeschool is yours and it's unique from mine, the Eaton, the way we do it, and each home is a different homeschool. So even when people try to. Align with different movements of homeschooling, which is okay. I find that really most are eclectic and yeah. And they're just themselves. And so yeah. At least it becomes that over time more and more. But anyway, speak to that.

Amber Johnston:

Yeah. That's so funny because I've said that a lot in the Charlotte Mason world to be that voice of I'm like, okay, Charlotte Mason Police, you guys can retire now. Yeah. Because, everyone's just doing their thing. It's gonna be okay. And so I think that's exactly what I was talking about. When I lacked confidence and experience, all I could do was imitate. Because I didn't have anything else to do. I didn't have any ideas or know what in the heck I was doing. And I don't necessarily regret that because I started from zero. This wasn't something I'd been dreaming of my whole life or whatever. No. And I really didn't know what to do. So I found a lot of comfort in finding people I admired and doing what they do the way they do it. But you can't stay there. So that can be an entry point. It can be a safe place to land at first, but then you have to be able to start thinking. But, the Johnston's vibe like this, so her schedule doesn't work.'cause guess what? They're all still sleeping and so we can't start school at 7:00 AM We wouldn't even try or neither, this is, yeah. That's just not a, it's not gonna be a thing for us. That's one of the

Timmy Eaton:

beauties of homeschool, isn't it? That you, that your kids actually get good sleep. Yes. And up rushed, un rushed morning healthy breakfast. Like we love this.

Amber Johnston:

Yes. And when I hear the, the school bus breaks, they break right outside my house and I hear that those breaks and I'm looking around and I'm like, these kids are nowhere near even waking up. And I love that. And I'm a dietician as one of my many past careers, and so healthy food is really important to me. So we're eating a lot of fresh foods, whole foods. I love to cook. We're eating hot breakfast in the morning. We have lots of pots of tea those things sound small. But they're my values. Yes, this is what I like for my family, but somebody else might be like, listen kids, you better pour some frosted flakes and call it a day. And I'm like, I'm on team. You like if that's what you should do that. And that's what I mean by the special sauce. Like just because something makes my house hum, it might be a complete distraction. And then totally. Different, wrong thing for your house. And I've found that to be the case in so many ways. And so the way that I connect with other homeschooling families isn't to be like, I'm just like you, or you're just like me, but rather we both. Love our children and want the best for them. Yes. And we both have decided to take a very intentional hands-on route. And that's what we have in common. That's what I connect with you on

Timmy Eaton:

and celebrate it. Like why? Yeah why would I want to I might give a suggestion and be like, oh dude, you should try this. But like, why in the world would I want to impose on the beauty that's happening within your home? Charlotte Mason talks about living books. You have talked about this idea of life giving books, and I really like that. And I'm assuming that's, a place to belong Soul School, homegrown. And I wanna, dive into those, but what are life-giving books? Maybe talk about that a little bit.

Amber Johnston:

Okay, so there's the funny snarky part and then there's the serious part. Yeah. Yeah. So the funny snarky part was I started out talking about living books, but then online the Charlotte Mason Police were like that's not a living bar. And I was just like. Okay, listen, I remember saying that might not be a living book in your home, but it gave my kids' life. Amen. And so I'll say that it's a life-giving book then. And so I basically moved away from I made my own terminology because then nobody could tell me that it wasn't right. I wasn't disrespecting the old deadly. Life-giving books are books that give your children life, and sometimes it's the same book. There's some books that are pretty universal that all children, almost all who read love. And then there are books that the Eaton kids brings them alive. Yes. That my kids would be rolling their eyes. And there are books that my kids are like, mom, and we've been talking about it over dinner and we're listening to audio books in the car, and they're just like. These are like those seminal books that part of our family lexicon. And your kids might be like, eh, me, take it or leave it. Yeah. And so I don't think there's a rule necessarily, but generally they're rich stories. They're good storytelling, and it's the storytelling that meets the child where they are and whatever they need. And that's. Season. Is it a story about a rambunctious girl who loves to run and jump and play and isn't just sitting there quietly helping her mom cook soup? Or is it a story about a boy who, again, for my son, that conquers life in the wilderness, he needs to hear those stories'cause he has that burning desire inside of him. Or for us sometimes it was stories about black folks just. Doing their thing with no special thought in mind. People who weren't enslaved, who weren't fighting for civil rights, but who were just like going fishing with their grandfather. Yeah. And my kids coming alive at the ordinariness of all of that. So I think that this idea that all children can thrive with life giving books, it was really just a framework. Me trying to give people permission to leave the like these are the best of the best lists and pull some from there.'cause you never know and they really are good books usually, but. Be wild, live on the wild side and find what makes your family Yeah. Happy when you're reading books or makes you guys have great discussions or feel a certain way or sparks emotion or delight or curiosity. So that's what life-giving books are, in my opinion.

Timmy Eaton:

Awesome. So give us three or four, like for your family. Like I'm curious and I know, and I would encourage people to go again to Heritage mom.com to look at the book list that you have, but hit us with a few.

Amber Johnston:

So when it comes to like adventure stories for us it is the Wing Feather Saga and Green Amber. There are two long series. We've read them all. I read them all aloud from book one all the way to the end. Everyone's hanging on every word and we still use the vocabulary from those books. So I know that they really. Touched us in that way. And we tend to do that. We're nerdy like that. And so like people are like, I'm hungry. I'm like, you just ate breakfast. Like I want second breakfast. He's quoting the Hobbit or whatever. And we do things like that. Levins is from, yes, exactly, and I have Green number

Timmy Eaton:

is on my podcast as well. She was used to listen to that one, oh, Esay

Amber Johnston:

Smith. Essee Smith. Oh my gosh. I was the first time I met him in person. My kids think I'm a celebrity.'cause I'm like yeah, Sam knows me. Whatever. Yeah, totally. It's fun. But we love those books and for me personally, the role of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred d Taylor. It was a book that, it was the first of its kind that I ever read when I was growing up. Look

Timmy Eaton:

back here,

Amber Johnston:

it's beautiful, a beautiful story. It explained so much to me as a child. When I got done reading that book, I was like, oh. Now I understand what this feeling is that I have, and no one had ever explained it to me before. Yeah. So I've used that with my kids, but also it's just some good storytelling. The family, so good Cassie's family, they love each other. They stick together no matter what. They have a relationship to the land, to the heritage, to the legacy. There is obviously there's racism in the book, but there's also cross-racial, friendship where people are putting themselves on the line for one another in other ways. So it, it talks about the fact that we each have individual choice as to how we're gonna choose to treat people. And I just love that. I love the whole series. But that book in particular is always a very special one for me to share, with my children. And then we like sometimes silly books. So at a long road trip, we listened to the last day of summer, which has. Fantasy realism, these two cousins and they end up using a camera and they stop and freeze time and they freeze the last day of summer and all this crazy stuff happens and, is it going to be like this amazing classic that people are gonna be reading a hundred years from now? No. But what it did is crack our whole car load up, going on the trip and coming back and we just loved it. So those were some of the books, some serious, some sad, some hard, some fun, some adventurous.

Timmy Eaton:

Now, obviously you're a writer and writing is I find that when I talk to homeschooling families that writing is, it's not always, but a lot of times it's like one of the emphases in home education, and I like that because I just feel like it's so enriching to read and write and, like your husband. I also like math but talk about writing and your writing experience as homeschool. I know that's a wide open thing that you could talk about. But anything you wanna say?

Amber Johnston:

I would say that for me one, I was never known as a writer, so I didn't, I majored in business. In school and then went back for dietetics. So that isn't something that I thought, but I have always had thoughts and when I was able to have the opportunity to write them down, that was very cathartic for me. So first I was writing for myself and blogging, I was like one of, I'm old, so mommy, blogger and all that and eventually had the opportunity for that to start manifesting in published books. And one of the things I love about books is, on social media, you're getting sound bites, right? Like I, I'm saying something sometimes I feel like it was misunderstood or yes, or somebody's. Says something and I'm like, oh, I wanna comment back. But, or the

Timmy Eaton:

way that it's said is off. Yeah. Yes.

Amber Johnston:

It's just not, and so I can't really tell you my whole story. It would help you to understand what I'm really trying to say. And our people would make comments. Sometimes they were unkind and then I've made a rule never to respond to those, but inside I'm like. I wanna say this and that, you can never win with someone who has no limits to what they're gonna say. And as a believer, I have limits to what I'm willing to say, so part of the writing was the opportunity for me to lay out the whole entire story and what my message is from start to finish without interruption and without being misunderstood. So that was how it started. And then I realized wow, this is really great because I can reach a much wider audience. And more people who need these books will have access to them. I can leave this also behind as a legacy. I'm a reader. I love reading. And also just wanted to add my voice to the homeschooling book landscape. So homeschooling is becoming more diverse. Lots of different people all walks. Of life, but the book landscape wasn't really changing in that same way. And I thought I want people to say see that we're actually here and I have something to add to the conversation too. Absolutely. Too. I think it's valuable. So that's how it happened. It's also one of those things, I told you how I said, Scott encourages me to do things that fill my cup. And me writing like a day of writing at a coffee shop is that's like going to the spa for me. So that kind of helped in that way too.

Timmy Eaton:

When do you do it?

Amber Johnston:

So it's really peculiar, but really at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings when I'm writing a book, if I'm not writing a book, I don't do this. So right from about 5:00 AM to 10:00 AM on a Saturday. Wow. So by the time the kids are up, asking for waffles, I'm coming back home and so I need a big, long, solid block of uninterrupted time. Yes. Okay. I would only, that's like that deep work, deep thought so. Yeah. Are you in the middle

Timmy Eaton:

of something right now?

Amber Johnston:

I'm not, no.'cause we're about to take off on this trip.

Timmy Eaton:

Okay, so we'll be gone

Amber Johnston:

for a couple months, so I'm just Free mind is free. No, nothing tying me down. We are just gonna that's nice. Yeah. Head out.

Timmy Eaton:

And now do you have more books than the three?

Amber Johnston:

No, it's just those three.

Timmy Eaton:

And this is a lame question, but is there one that you're like, oh no, I actually really like this one.

Amber Johnston:

Okay. Well, A place to belong because it was my first one and it's part guide and part manifesto. And part memoir. And so if someone is looking for a place to start, that really is the core. That's like my, yes. Magnus Opus or whatever, like that is the book. And the others flowed from that fractions of that book that created a genesis for the other books. But a Place to Belong is my first opening book and saying this is what's happening and this is how I see this, and I would love to share it with you.

Timmy Eaton:

We're gonna put the links to those in the show notes, but everybody should definitely check that out. I just had two questions to wrap things up what's your counsel to newer homeschool families that are overwhelmed, that are scared, that are wondering about ruining their kids in the future, that kind of thing. And then maybe I'll ask something with that too, but just respond to that one first.

Amber Johnston:

So I think that one, that's normal and it's okay. But you have to begin to tell truth from lies. And so a lot of times we can let the lies take over in our minds that we're not doing enough. My kids are gonna be this. But the truth of the matter is that children raised in a learning rich. Environment with intentional parents pouring into them, whether they have a good curriculum or not good curriculum or whatever, who are consistently getting up and doing the thing. Meaning living life, going places, reading, looking at things, talking living in a rich, thriving atmosphere. Those kids excel. And that's just point blank all there is to it. So you may be worried about things that are secondary, because that's what the lies tell us. But the truth of the matter is you're already winning.

Timmy Eaton:

Oh my goodness. So good. And just amen to everything you just said. Now this is part B to that question. I didn't wanna take up my second question with that.

Amber Johnston:

Okay.

Timmy Eaton:

So as you look at the future with your children, do you guys have any plan to. Have them go to school or is it homeschool till the end? I have strong feelings about that. I wrote a dissertation on it and but but I've heard a lot of people say, don't die on the hill of homeschool. Which I get. But what is your thought about that? And like what's the plan for your children in the coming years

Amber Johnston:

so our. Goal in the beginning was that they wouldn't want to go to school, and that's what we've worked on. So if I had a high schooler who was begging that and felt like that's what they need in their lives, then maybe that's something we'd look at. But the way it is now, if you ask my kids, they'll be like no. And that is not something that just happens. That's a atmosphere that was created. So just a couple weeks ago, I had a ton of teens over here. We had taco bar. I was making guacamole all night. They were out at the fire pit doing the s'mores I'm investing in this life for my kids and creating opportunities for them. They don't wanna miss out on. So the question for me is, I would love for all my kids to be homeschooled all the way through graduation. That's my plan. That's what I hope for. And because of that, I try to create a home atmosphere that they want to be a part of.

Timmy Eaton:

That's an excellent response. I love that and appreciate that. And I have the same feeling. I, it would take more time to explain it, but it would be a bummer. If my kids went to school, it really would. And I have reasons for that. It's not just like anti-public school or something. And I don't even feel like I am that. It's just more, there's so much good. Why do I wanna do that? And last question, and this, I've never asked this before, but I wanna ask it now. How has this interview been for you?

Amber Johnston:

It's been very freeing. I feel like you asked me a lot of questions that allowed me to be myself and to talk about the things that were important to me. And to be honest, in homeschool world, often I'm very guarded because there's so many different opinions about different things, including even my work and a lot of the things that I like to talk about. So I stay quiet and present myself in a certain way. And you specifically asked questions that intentionally allowed me to say what's important to me. And so that's, I'm actually feeling kind of hype right now.

Timmy Eaton:

That makes me feel good. So thank you very much. I hope it was a positive experience. It just occurred to me as we were talking, I'm like, I wanna know how this is, like how are they experiencing this, it's like metacognition or something, but,

Amber Johnston:

yeah.

Timmy Eaton:

But I appreciate you taking time. I just love what you're doing and encourage people to follow Amber and all that she's doing. Give you the final word and then we'll wrap up.

Amber Johnston:

Yeah, I would just tell everybody to again, remember that you are the special sauce on your homeschool and lean into that. You are the only person who can do what you do with your children the way that you do it. You can find me everywhere online at Heritage Mom, blog on social media, and on my website@heritagemom.com, which is rich with years of resource.

Timmy Eaton:

Excellent. And then all your socials are on there as well and everything.

Amber Johnston:

Yep.

Timmy Eaton:

And we'll put stuff in the show notes. Thank you so much for taking time. We appreciate this. It has been Amber O'Neill Johnston, everybody. Thanks for being with us.

Amber Johnston:

Thank you.

Timmy Eaton:

That wraps up another edition of this Golden Hour podcast. If you haven't done so already, I would totally appreciate it if you would take a minute and give us a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. It helps out a lot, and if you've done that already, thank you much. Please consider sharing this show with friends and family members that you think would get something out of it. And thank you for listening and for your support. I'm your host, Tim Eaton. Until next time, remember to cherish this golden hour with your children and family.