Communities Grow Together on Elevate Springfield featuring Courtney Ferriell

summary

In this conversation, Robert Ferriell and Courtney Ferriell discuss the Central Illinois Homeschool community, focusing on the importance of social events like dances for homeschoolers. They address common misconceptions about homeschooling, particularly regarding socialization and educational quality. The discussion highlights the real-world skills that homeschooling can provide, emphasizing the unique opportunities for family bonding and community involvement. Upcoming events, including a prom and a special needs event, are also mentioned, showcasing the active role of the homeschool community.

Takeaways

• Central Illinois Homeschool was created to provide social events for homeschoolers.
• Homeschool dances offer essential social experiences for teens.
• Socialization is a common misconception about homeschooling.
• Homeschoolers have diverse opportunities for social interaction.
• Parents are equipped to teach their children effectively.
• Homeschooling allows for real-world learning experiences.
• Family relationships are strengthened through homeschooling.
• Homeschooling can prepare kids for life after high school.
• Community involvement is a key aspect of homeschooling.
• Every homeschooling family has a unique approach to education.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Elevate Springfield, where we will dive into strategies and stories that help you rise to your full potential. Each episode, we'll talk about how you can take intentional steps to elevate your life and your business while making a meaningful impact on those around you. Along the way, we're gonna bring in the change makers from our community that are already elevating. We'll bring the actionable strategies, you bring the discipline and follow through, and together we can elevate Springfield. Alright, let's go, Springfield. Time to 10X your day, y'all. Time to level up, time to crush it. Hey, you are listening to the Elevate Springfield podcast. Robert Farrell here, certified 10x coach, speaker, and mentor, here to bring you actionable strategies. You bring the discipline and follow through. And together, we're going to Elevate Springfield. Well, you are listening to another segment of Communities Grow Together on the Elevate Springfield podcast. As you know, we drop these segments each week. The Communities Grow Together segment will touch on all things nonprofit associations and how we as a community are working together so we can all grow together. This segment is brought to you by David Hilst, American Family Insurance Agency over on West Wabash. Whatever you need insurance-wise, whether that's business, life, home, auto, or anything in between, hey, David and his team can take care of you. Give them a shout, or hey, stop by and visit them over on West Wabash. These segments are quick hits of actionable strategies and what's going on in our area to help you level up and grow together. Be right back after the break. Looking for personalized insurance with hometown care, David Hilst, American Family Insurance Agent is here to help you protect what matters most: your family, your home, and your dreams. Whether it's auto, home, life, business, David and his team are proud to serve the Springfield community with trusted advice and reliable coverage. Local service, real relationships, peace of mind. Call today or stop by their office. They can build your dream protection plan together. Call 217-726-6343. And we are back for another edition of Communities Grow Together. Joining me in the studio, Familiar Face. You may remember her from uh couple of months ago or occasionally on my social media pages, Miss Courtney Farrell. How are we doing today, Courtney?

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Doing good, babe. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 2:54

I'm good. Cold down here today.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

It's very cold.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Have to turn the heat back on. But today, uh, we're gonna talk about a few things, gonna talk about homeschooling a little bit, but want to dig a little bit deeper into Central Illinois Homeschool, the other business that we have for uh the homeschool community, because we have an event coming up, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:13

So yes, we do.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

So, first off, tell us a little bit about Central Illinois Homeschool first.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Central Illinois Homeschool was created with friends. Um, I had a good friend and still have that friend, and she and her daughters were like, ooh, we really want to plant a prom. So we planned a dance. We did a winter dance out at Rochester Christian Church, and we had about 125 homeschoolers, teens. And so it was a very successful. And then we were like, wow, this is awesome. And like our first dance was our mindset was very much like this is just gonna be a fundraiser for this one dance. Like that was our mindset, and it was very successful, and we all played a part in how it worked out. So then we did prom and prom was even more of a success. Um, and so in the second year, we added homecoming. We thought, oh, there's never been a homecoming, so let's try a homecoming. So we did that out at Clayville, and that was really awesome. And so we had the one this year we had was at Pole Barn Cheek. So we typically do mostly high school dances for 13 to 18. And then we've done a few for the younger kids, for the middle school kids. They don't typically show out as much as the older kids do, but you know, we've got Adeline, so she likes to have some dances for her friends too.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Right. And now the proms have been great. We've had uh, what, two at ace?

SPEAKER_00 4:35

Two at ace.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Two at ace. And then this one coming up next month. Looking forward to. It's gonna be pretty cool. Tell us a little bit about it.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

We have prom on Saturday, April 25th from 7 to 9:30 at the Ursuline Conservatory. It is a uh a night in high society, a diamonds ball, because it's kind of a Bridgerton-esque theme, but with the PG spent on it, obviously, for homeschoolers and high schoolers. I try to really lean into the theme of the venue when I'm planning, you know, an event or the theme of the event. And this building is just beautiful, historic. It's got lots of really pretty arches. Oh, and it's it's really a big venue. So we're gonna do several photo areas and lean into some lace and some diamonds and maybe some ostrich feathers and some florals.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

That'd be fun. No, one of the great things about it is being homeschooled, the kids don't get to participate a lot in some in some of those extracurriculars that they may want to like that. So it's fun for them to be able to go out and have those same experiences as the typical high school kid would have, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Yes, I feel like that dances were the one thing that homeschoolers really didn't have on a regular basis. So that's why we've really leaned into them and tried to provide that for the area. And being central Illinois, they come from all over. They come from Decatur. I mean, we've had problems where we've had kids come from two hours away. So it's really nice to see that there's kids coming from Clinton and places that I've never even heard of.

SPEAKER_01 6:05

Yeah, no, it's it's been fun. And like you said, the middle school kids um typically those aren't as big of a dance as they don't come out as much as the high school one, but the high school ones have been have been packed. They've been and they've had a really good time with them, and everybody seems to really enjoy them.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Yes, they do. They have a blast.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

So uh if you're a homeschooler out there and you want to get a ticket, head over to just to centralillinois homeschool.com and be able to find the link there. Grab your ticket and we will see you out there.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Yep. Right now we are doing 15 days of giveaways if they buy a ticket. So we're giving away a gift card every day. Your name will be entered, and we're doing that all the way till March 30th.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

So since we're talking about homeschool dances here, you do a lot with the girls for our girls homeschooling during the day. So what are some of the maybe some of the misconceptions that people have about homeschooling in general?

SPEAKER_00 6:56

Well, obviously the biggest misconception is socialization for sure. I mean, that is every time you say the word homeschool, that's like the next word that comes out of somebody's mouth. I've I was a public school teacher for several years, so I've been able to see both sides of it, but I feel like that is just such a societal myth. Kids are social by nature. That's what I tell people all the time. Most kids come out born being social. That's just how they are. And I'm not bashing public schools, but they are sitting shoulder to shoulder with people who are the same age. They cram a lot into those school days. You know, they basically maybe get a 20-minute recess, you know, maybe a 20-minute lunch. It's very different than homeschooling. Um, our kids have a lot of opportunities to be social with kids of different ages, like the older high school kids, they can come alongside the younger kids and just play and learn and do activities together of all ages. And they also have a lot of opportunities for interning or volunteering. Um, and I feel like homeschoolers also start working a little bit younger if they're able to because they have so much time during the day. I mean, our girls are very fortunate. They they work at our church, you know, they work alongside me in kid care. And Adeline's only 12, but they both absolutely love it. And it's teaching them valuable skills at a younger age and they're socializing, they're getting to learn job skills and working with other adults and also getting to take care of children.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

Yeah, no, the socialization piece I think is is huge that a lot of people think that they'd struggle in social settings, but that's just simply not the case. One point that you made there was they're able to interact with people of varying ages, which is really, really important. They're they're interacting probably with more adults on a regular basis, with older kids, with younger kids. And I think that creates this well-rounded social socialization really.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

And I'm a big believer, and I think you are too, of gently pushing them out of their comfort zone, very much so. I mean, I might be shoving them out of their comfort zone because I'm always the one that's like, yeah, try it. You know, what what can go wrong? Like one year we did Valentine's Cards and we went down to Cedarhurst, and that was great, you know, to see all the residents, and that's something I'm very passionate about. There's just a lot of opportunities. There's a lot of co-ops, there's a lot of activities around town. Homeschool skate is something that happens every month that the kids can go to just for homeschoolers. And they also go on Wednesday. There's Christian skate night, there's Christian co-ops, there's secular co-ops, there's four school, which Kylie does. A forest school is a great opportunity to get outside and learn some things. Our girls in particular, they do individual sports, you know, karate, Madeline's with the black belt. She's with the adults, you know. Ellie is doing archery, and archery, you know, can have some adults too. But yeah, there's just there's a lot of opportunity. I mean, it's it's almost too busy. You have to say, hey, no, we're gonna stay home. But also, like my mom. My mom, grandma lives right down the street, and my sister lives right down the street, and they're cousins. So they have a lot of opportunity to be with their family as well.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

Right. Well, and that's probably another misconception that that people think is well, you're just home all day doing that, doing that. And that's really not the case. You have a lot of different interactive things that go on during the day and during the week to coincide with what you're doing on the actual curriculum part of the homeschooling. So Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

That's a total misconception. I mean, we also have youth group. My our girls serve at church every Sunday. That's in addition to working there. So they they're very busy. Sometimes it's hard. It's like, hey mom, you know, between my schoolwork and all these extracurriculars, I want to fit in some social time with my friends. What day are we free? You know, they have to come and ask me, you know, to make sure they've got time to do that.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Right. I know a lot of people over the years have asked you, hey, should we homeschool or what are the best ways to homeschool and stuff like that? What I don't know, when you've talked to people, what typically holds people back from giving it a try?

SPEAKER_00 10:57

I think people are very fearful that they are not as quote good as, you know, a teacher. But I feel like God equips parents, He equips us naturally to be able to teach our kids. And there's nobody that you're ever gonna meet that is gonna remember their fifth grade math or, you know, even things that they learned in high school, but you're equipped to sit alongside your kids and figure it out, which is the same thing teachers do. I mean, I would just encourage parents that you are equipped and you take baby steps. There is something that people do when they take their kids out of public school. It's called unschooling. It's just like decompress from the school environment for a while, let your kid be, let them cook with you at home, let them plant things, read books, do things that they're interested in. And the beauty of homeschooling is that every single family and a house, they do it completely different. You know, I've got so many homeschooling mom friends and they do it completely different than I do it. And that's totally okay. That is the beauty of it. And I think the most beautiful thing is also letting your kids say, Hey, you know, this is working for me or this is not working for me because they're all different. And quite frankly, I mean, our schooling has changed since our kids were little, you know. It was very different. It's very different now from when we first started because they're more independent when they want to do things on their own and kind of be on their own. So it's not so much like I don't have to be as hands-on now. I can be. And I know that, you know, I can monitor it and know when they're behind or they're falling behind on something.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

So I guess because of all these other things we can integrate into it, I feel like homeschooling can actually prepare kids more for life after high school to a degree because of all these other experiences that they're able to have.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Yes. Homeschoolers are very hands-on. They're also very hands-on in their house because like our kids, they're not starting school until about 8:30, and they can be done by noon or earlier. Sometimes they're done in two hours a day. So it leaves a lot of extra time. The weather's nice. Homeschoolers are known. Like when the weather gets nice, we're going out, we're hiking, we are doing several field trips, um, taking cooking classes, cooking with mom, cooking with dad, learning how to run a household, interning, working somewhere. There's so many things that they are able to do because they have so much more time. I call homeschool life school. It is very much real life. Um, and I also think that it allows you so much more time with your children to actually talk about real-world things that are going on, or they can come and ask you a question. You have, I think, a really deep relationship because you're spending so much time together. And I think that's one of the best benefits of it. Your kids aren't nervous to come ask you a question. It just really gives you a lot more one-on-one time that you might not normally get.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Right. No, completely agree. So speaking of other things that they could do, Ellie's been doing the podcast with me every week. She's been driving the bus over here from my chair every Tuesday. You you enjoying it so far?

SPEAKER_00 14:08

Oh, yes. She's been doing a wonderful job. I love listening to her thoughts. Uh, I think a lot of times you hear in society like, oh, teenagers, oh, I have a teenager. You know, like I feel like it's kind of a negative connotation um for teenagers. And I feel like if you just really listen to your kids, they're very smart, they're very intuitive. It is kind of hard when they are strong-willed, like we're strong-willed, and maybe we have differences of opinion on things, and maybe our, you know, I'm older and I've had different experiences than they have, but I think that they're worth listening to. They have a very fresh look on things, and they're very intuitive and intelligent, and I'm very proud of her. She's done a wonderful job.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

No doubt about it. So, another event you've got coming up here uh that you're serving at is the night of stars over at West Side. That's gonna be a cool event.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

So Yep, I'm very excited about that. That is our prompt for special needs, and we're looking for about 75 more volunteers to be buddies, and I'll be a buddy, and you'll be a buddy that night. And I'm very excited about that. And I think that maybe when you say special needs, sometimes it makes people nervous. Um, you and I have education backgrounds, so we both have a background in that. But West Side is amazing at equipping people and making sure that you've got help there that you need. They will have people there at every turn to help. And it's two hours of your night. It's April 24th. It's actually the night before our homeschool prompt. So we'll have prompt two nights in a row. There you go. And it's just two hours. You just go to their go to their website to register, and it's just a wonderful serving experience. Ellie and I did it, they do it every other year, and she and I served on the group home team that year. So this will be a different experience because it'll be a one-on-one for you and I. But yeah, it's gonna be fun and exciting.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

That'll be fun. Looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Me too.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

So well, thanks for coming in and talking about prom and all things homeschool and all this fun stuff coming up.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Well, thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 16:12

Absolutely. Well, we're gonna let Courtney get back to elevating Springfield. But for the rest of y'all, we'll be right back. Hey, Springfield, when it comes to reliable, high-quality roofing, you don't want to leave things to chance. That's why you should reach out to Acosta Angeli Ruffing, your local roofing expert serving Springfield and surrounding communities, from quick, dependable repairs to full replacement, from residential to commercial. They are your trusted pros. Call them today at 217-993-2748 or visit their website to book your free quote and inspection. Don't wait. A little leak now could lead to major damage later. Trust the local experts, protect your home, and get peace of mind with Acosta Angeli Roofing. Well, thank you for joining us today, everybody, on another segment of Communities Grow Together on the Elevate Springfield Podcast. Thank you again to David Hilst, American Family Insurance Agency, for partnering with us on this segment. A take what you learn today. You bring the discipline and follow-through and together. That's right, y'all. We're gonna Elevate Springfield. Be great. Looking for expert tree care with hometown integrity, look no further than Sangamon Tree Service. They're your trusted local pros, delivering quality workmanship, exceptional customer service, and fair, honest pricing. Every time. Whether it's trimming, removal, or storm cleanup, their team brings professionalism and care to every job, big or small. Call the name your neighbors trust, Sangamon Tree Service, or visit them today at SangmanTreeService.com. Sangamon Tree Service, rooted in quality, built on trust.