Everyday Educator - How Do You Know When You're Ready to Homeschool?
00:00:00.000 | Hello, and welcome to the Everyday Educator, a podcast where we explore the beauty, challenges,
00:00:10.920 | and calling of classical Christian homeschooling through classical conversations. I'm your
00:00:16.960 | host, Kelly Wilt, and today's episode is for the parents who are standing on the edge
00:00:23.260 | of a big decision, the ones who might feel the tug to homeschool but wonder, am I really
00:00:29.260 | ready for this? And if you've ever wrestled with doubts, questions, or fears about starting
00:00:35.500 | this journey, you, my friend, are definitely not alone. In today's conversation, I'm sitting
00:00:41.360 | down with two moms who have been in your shoes. Lynn and Deedee, thank you so much for being
00:00:47.100 | my guest here today. Can you take a moment to introduce yourselves to our listeners, and
00:00:52.560 | Lynn, we'll start with you. Hello, my name is Lynn Patti. I have been homeschooling for
00:00:58.520 | 13 years. Eight of those have been with CC, with classical conversations. My children,
00:01:06.140 | I have five children, and they go from seven to 17. My husband is a software developer, so
00:01:14.120 | he works at home, we homeschool at home, and our house is definitely very busy. It's like
00:01:19.700 | Grand Central Station. And I am just very, very passionate about the subject, about getting
00:01:27.060 | moms engaged with that conversation about homeschool, where to start, what to do. I love this stuff.
00:01:34.780 | So yeah, Deedee, go ahead. Okay. Hi, everyone. My name is Deedee, and I have four kids from 10
00:01:43.600 | years old to 17 years old to 17 years old. My husband works at the bank, and we have been in
00:01:48.760 | Charlotte for about 12 years now. I used to come from corporate America background, so we lived in
00:01:55.780 | California, Florida, and currently Charlotte for my job moving around. So homeschooling now has really
00:02:02.300 | been an opportunity to just feel settled as a family and kind of reclaim my sense of motherhood,
00:02:08.400 | honestly. So I do enjoy talking about this as well, because it's easier than you think to start.
00:02:14.480 | I like that. I like that intro to what we're going to talk about today. And, you know, during this
00:02:22.060 | podcast today, we're going to talk about what, quote unquote, readiness really looks like and how to
00:02:27.360 | prepare for homeschooling, both practically and spiritually, and how God's grace fills all of the
00:02:34.340 | gaps that we might feel so deeply. If you've ever asked yourself, am I enough? Is this enough? This
00:02:41.040 | podcast today is for you. So if you're watching, grab your coffee or your laundry basket, because we've all
00:02:46.840 | been there, and settle in. And let's talk about having the courage to begin even before you feel
00:02:53.880 | completely ready. So ladies, I'm going to start with this question. And Lynn, I'm going to direct this to you
00:03:00.920 | first. What first sparked your interest in homeschooling? And how did you know that homeschooling
00:03:07.720 | was the right choice for your family? Thanks, Kelly. Yeah, we were living in Los Angeles at the
00:03:14.240 | time. It was 2012. And I had come from a public, I was an educator and in public schools. I was actually
00:03:22.500 | a music teacher. But I was like, let's go tour the local school where my daughter, Emma would go.
00:03:28.420 | And we went and I was definitely like, Oh, I don't think this is good. You know, and then it's like,
00:03:34.520 | well, there's no way we can do private school because that's just out of our budget. And so my friend who
00:03:41.240 | had moved up to Washington State, she's like, you know, we're going to do this thing called classical
00:03:46.540 | conversations. And I was like, you know what, kindergarten isn't even required in the state
00:03:52.700 | of California. Like you don't even have to like, put your kid down as a homeschooler in kindergarten.
00:03:57.000 | So I was like, I'll just do that. I'll just do what my friend Emily did. And that was it. Like,
00:04:02.500 | that was literally it. The other thing that was interesting is that the school where she would
00:04:07.280 | have gone for public school, their kindergarten program was like an hour and 45 minutes or
00:04:13.540 | something like that. So I had a two year old and a six month old, I was like, I'm gonna literally get
00:04:20.820 | her ready for school, take her there, come home, turn around. I can't put a baby down for a nap. I
00:04:26.460 | can't do, you know, the morning nap or whatever. And I'll have to go back. And I was like, I'll just
00:04:31.340 | homeschool. It's just easier. I love that. I love that. Devi, what first sparked your interest
00:04:39.260 | in homeschooling for your family? Well, I would say it was primarily the idea that I could reclaim my
00:04:46.260 | family, my family time. So I was working corporate America when that idea first came across. It was
00:04:53.120 | actually at a Bible study and this mom probably wearing a jumper. I mean, that was love. It was like,
00:05:00.660 | you should consider homeschooling. And I was like, what? No, never. And I think that was just the
00:05:08.200 | first seed that was planted. And after the years of working like 70 hour work weeks and yes, in
00:05:15.060 | California, everything's like 45 minutes an hour. Like it was crazy, but I didn't have the option of
00:05:20.180 | homeschooling at that time as early in my career. And I was like, okay, I've got to do this. But honestly,
00:05:25.060 | I think that time really prepared my heart to desire it more and to just sink into the gift that
00:05:32.300 | it is. So what sparked my interest is I want to have more time with my family, but also I think
00:05:39.840 | we're just created to want to be with our kids, right? I feel like it's God's design for a mother to
00:05:46.620 | want to be with her kids. And homeschooling was a great opportunity to do that.
00:05:50.320 | I love that. And I, I, my story resonates with you, with both of yours in that I had this desire
00:05:57.880 | for something different for my family. I had seen different educational options because I'm a former
00:06:04.620 | public school kindergarten teacher. And so I looked at them and thought, Oh, is this really what I want?
00:06:11.400 | And I think it was driven by the same desire that you're expressing, Didi, where I looked at the amount
00:06:16.660 | of time that my kindergartners were with me during the day. And I was, I was a little jealous for that
00:06:22.500 | time with my own children. I agree with you that God creates us with that desire to want to be there
00:06:30.140 | and speak into the lives of our children. But I have to say as a kindergarten teacher, I was a little
00:06:36.040 | fearful about bringing that experience into our home. So I'm curious, did you guys experience any
00:06:42.900 | doubts or fears before you started homeschooling? And what steps did you take to overcome them? So
00:06:50.520 | Didi, what about you? Any doubts or fears?
00:06:53.300 | What helped me was a neighbor homeschooled and she kept telling me over and over, it's not a permanent
00:07:01.500 | decision. And I would say the fear was that if I do this, there's no going back, you know, like I'm in
00:07:09.800 | this black hole of homeschoolers that I'll never come out the same. And, you know, that's actually a
00:07:15.140 | wonderful thing. But it, I was so fearful of, I'll never get the charter school that I was into. I'll
00:07:21.780 | never like all the things that I've worked for, to get my kids into the, you know, magnet school,
00:07:27.760 | they were in a STEM school. I'll never be able to go back to that. And it was, it was a lot of just kind
00:07:33.280 | of letting that go and trusting that if, if God is opening this door, he can open the next one at the
00:07:41.040 | right time. And so really faith was a huge part of it. And my neighbor just encouraging me, my neighbor,
00:07:46.400 | Nikki, she was just like, it's not permanent. You don't have to do this forever. And I think that just took
00:07:51.640 | the pressure off. So that was super helpful. I love that. Just the thought of a, of a neighbor
00:07:57.720 | who's speaking truth into you, just shows the value of good community and surrounding your good
00:08:04.320 | community. Lynn, what about you? What about you? Were there any doubts and fears and what did you do to
00:08:09.640 | overcome those? Yeah. I feel like there were doubts and fears like before homeschool and after,
00:08:15.420 | you know, like, yes, agreed after you start, it's like, Whoa, I didn't even know I should be afraid
00:08:21.560 | of that. Um, no, I'm just kidding. Oh, well, I'm not kidding. But anyway, yeah, I was, I was scared.
00:08:29.420 | I think I, I struggled with, um, being fearful of what people thought of me. Um, I, I do, I do think
00:08:37.440 | that I'm a little bit rebellious, but then I really do. I'm like, Ooh, what are they going to think?
00:08:42.200 | You know, what is this person, this family member, this, whatever, um, that was certainly in there.
00:08:47.700 | Um, I doubted my ability to, to just to educate my daughter, you know, and I think what Dee said about
00:08:54.420 | how it's not a permanent decision, um, is really important because, you know, we aren't given 13
00:09:01.400 | years and, and, and, you know, say, Oh, you have to do all of this for 13 years. I mean, you might,
00:09:08.080 | but really it's today, right? It's just today. And, um, yeah, I think before I homeschooled or at the
00:09:16.980 | very beginning, I just had very little vision. Um, I just hadn't sat down to be like, what is the vision
00:09:24.080 | for this? But in the end, I think that that is how like God really wanted it to be for us. Um,
00:09:30.400 | that I wasn't going to set out this, you know, big, huge thing TM. It was just going to be today
00:09:36.440 | and just get through today. And then if you are adding babies and adding moves or building businesses
00:09:43.180 | or what else, all of that stuff really only have today because a lot of those things become very
00:09:49.540 | uncertain. Sleep is very uncertain. Um, so yeah, I, I had a lot of fears, but, um, I didn't know it would
00:09:57.640 | last so long. I really didn't like when DD was saying, um, that's like a happy surprise that I'm
00:10:04.340 | still here heading into year 14 and, um, we're still doing it, but, um, I definitely, I, I feel
00:10:14.100 | like I overcame those fears or the Lord helped me overcome those fears with community. It was a huge,
00:10:19.640 | huge puzzle piece. Um, and the times that my fear or doubting was allayed was directly related to the
00:10:28.340 | amount of time I was spending in the word and prayer and community. Um, and my husband and I being, um,
00:10:34.940 | really intentional about our time together. Uh, I can't say enough about that. I feel like
00:10:40.380 | I haven't heard a lot of people talk about that, but, um, yeah, just getting his, cause he does have
00:10:45.980 | vision. Um, and I'm not sure he was like 100% on board when we started, but he was like, Oh yeah,
00:10:53.180 | do your thing, babe. You know, like whatever. Um, and then as he got more on board, his vision,
00:10:59.460 | I really relied on that or really rely on it even today. Yeah. I love that. Go ahead.
00:11:06.200 | I was just going to say, I love what you said there about vision. I feel like that's such a good word
00:11:11.660 | because I love the scripture. That's like, for lack of vision, people perish. And that's something
00:11:18.260 | that I didn't know I needed honestly. And I was so caught up and like, but it has to be like this.
00:11:23.720 | It has to be school at home. I didn't realize the freedom I had to cast a vision for my family
00:11:30.720 | and my friend Diana. So kind of walking closer to making that decision. My friend Diana gave me this
00:11:37.240 | book called teaching from rest and it gave me this vision for relationship, which is what the deeper
00:11:44.820 | thing I was wanting. So it just kind of came together. And yes, my husband was very much like,
00:11:50.240 | so we're, we're doing this. And that was huge. It was huge to have that support and that vision,
00:11:57.520 | that he had as well. I agree. I agree. I think looking back now, having a spouse who could
00:12:05.740 | understand the reasons why I was drawn to homeschooling and who was there to say, all right,
00:12:11.860 | let's do this thing together. That was key for me. I do think, thinking back on my story and where God
00:12:20.320 | brought me from before homeschooling, one of my fears was that, and I think one of you already
00:12:25.460 | alluded to this, that I wouldn't be able to replicate a school atmosphere in our home.
00:12:31.380 | And now that's laughable to me because I think that's not what it's about. It's not about creating
00:12:39.300 | a school at home. It's about making life educational and fun. And having those experiences together,
00:12:48.400 | not necessarily bound to, you know, a desk sitting in a room, but that the classroom, our classroom is
00:12:55.400 | the world. And so I think that was one of the things. So unfortunately, that information did not
00:13:03.280 | come to me until later, like what Lynn was describing, how, you know, the farther you get in,
00:13:07.480 | the more questions you have and the more realizations you have. And so I did at first try to prepare our home
00:13:15.300 | for homeschooling by making it as much like that classroom environment that I knew. I made the mistake
00:13:22.080 | of reverting to my comfortable paradigm and bring that environment home. But I'm curious, as you guys
00:13:29.920 | began homeschooling, did you have something similar or how did you prepare your home for, you know, and your
00:13:37.700 | schedule, quite frankly, for homeschooling? Because when we came into homeschooling, I had a baby. I had a squirrely
00:13:45.540 | four-year-old boy and a squirrely six-year-old boy who were all, everyone was full of energy and perhaps me not so much
00:13:52.940 | because they took all my energy. But we had to definitely do some schedule shifting and we had to think about life in new
00:14:00.360 | ways. So I'm curious, I'm curious, Dede, what, what was life like? What was home like? How did you prepare for
00:14:09.080 | homeschooling once you guys made that decision? And then Lynn, I'm curious to hear your thoughts as well.
00:14:14.740 | Well, yeah, we, I felt like we always homeschooled in a way and that's kind of, I guess, the advice or
00:14:23.580 | encouragement I would like to give to moms, you're already doing this. You might also be sending your
00:14:29.340 | child to traditional school, but I don't know of a mom that's not teaching their children the ABCs or
00:14:35.320 | manners or how to be kind to your siblings, you know, so you just get more of that. And what you were
00:14:42.180 | saying, Kelly, about the idea of bringing school home, that's definitely what I had in mind. But honestly,
00:14:47.360 | the best conversations have been in between math and English and those spontaneous moments where we're
00:14:54.180 | just talking and learning so much and making connections about all of the subjects. We're not
00:14:59.100 | just focused, zeroed in on how to diagram the sentence. And we do that, but then it just, it kind of rounds
00:15:05.240 | out into this whole, like school, the world is our homeschool, so to speak. So the way I prepared
00:15:12.980 | is I just kept doing what I was doing. We were memorizing scripture. I remember we went to the
00:15:19.460 | Billy Graham library when we first moved to North Carolina and it gave us this bookmark, the ABCs of
00:15:24.800 | the Bible. And at the time I was still taking my kids to traditional school. My oldest had just gotten
00:15:30.740 | into, um, actually my second was in a STEM academy and I was like, okay, we're going to just say this on the
00:15:39.200 | way to school. And my kids still remember that like, oh yeah, we did do that. And that just grew
00:15:45.760 | and grew and grew until that was primarily, you know, what we did at home. But, um, I feel like
00:15:52.000 | God just put on my heart, what I was already doing was enough. It was a good foundation. And then finding
00:15:59.120 | CC obviously was, was helpful because I feel like I kind of did a couple of things. I did like the
00:16:04.340 | unschooling. I was like, we're just going to do it. I started with five in a row. I was like,
00:16:08.900 | everybody tries it. And that's all we need. But at the time, all of mine were in elementary,
00:16:14.400 | so it kind of worked well. But then I thought I am very all over the place. I'm a little scattered.
00:16:20.320 | So finding the classical conversations curriculum was great. Cause it was like, no, we can just
00:16:25.120 | follow this, put my mind at rest. And it was wonderful. I don't know if that answers your
00:16:31.100 | question. I feel like I was all over the place. It does. Lynn, what about you? What about you?
00:16:35.500 | How did you guys prepare your life, your home, your schedule once you decided, okay, we're all in,
00:16:41.700 | this is the thing we're going to do it. Yeah. I remember, you know, transforming our dining room
00:16:47.560 | and we had some built-in bookshelves. So those ended up being where all of our materials went.
00:16:52.540 | You know, talking to my husband about, he's got to get over to his studio, but by a certain time,
00:16:59.920 | because I want to start at a certain time, which now that I'm again, starting year 14,
00:17:04.640 | it's just so hilarious because I'm like, we, our schedule is like, you know, with all the kids and
00:17:11.260 | all the needs. But, um, I did, I absolutely, I, I resonate with the wanting to bring quote unquote
00:17:18.080 | traditional school home. That absolutely was a thing. Um, I can remember early on, um, Emma was,
00:17:25.640 | I had asked her, she's, she was six and she, um, was supposed to empty the dishwasher and she took
00:17:32.600 | the plates and the forks and the knives and the spoons, and maybe even a cup. And she laid them
00:17:37.960 | out on the floor and made this really big caterpillar. And I remember this very like Jekyll and Hyde moment
00:17:45.600 | where I was like, but your job was to empty the dishwasher. And then this other side, which I think
00:17:52.200 | is my homeschool persona was like, Oh my gosh, this is amazing. She's so creative, like blah, blah, blah.
00:17:58.160 | So like the reason I bring that up is because I think, I don't know if it was that incident or
00:18:03.280 | another, but my husband was like, well, that was her school for today. And you know, that idea creeping
00:18:09.760 | in that there's just so much of every day that is school, which is what Didi was talking about too.
00:18:14.680 | Um, and then, uh, being in the car is a big one, even for homeschoolers, when we are like supposed to
00:18:23.440 | be having these conversations in our school rooms, in our whatever, but then it's in the car where a
00:18:30.080 | kid asks about, you know, the pineal gland or something. And then you just go from there or the
00:18:36.280 | phases of matter. These are just from yesterday. Um, you know, stuff like that. It just, it just goes.
00:18:42.160 | So to prepare, I think, I just think about that first time homeschooler mom. Yeah, you got to prepare.
00:18:50.480 | And if it means that you're going to make a desk or going to make a table or going to make it look
00:18:55.080 | like school, you know what, go for it because you got to go through to get there. You know,
00:19:00.880 | you have to do those things to figure out what is my style. What is my vibe for lack of a better word?
00:19:09.040 | Yeah, absolutely. I totally agree with that. I think, you know, looking, looking back, I didn't know
00:19:14.920 | what I needed for our individual family until we had begun walking the homeschooling path and it took
00:19:21.420 | time. And one thing that I wish that I could speak to that Kelly from 20 years ago. Wow. Is that I wish
00:19:29.640 | that I had given more grace to myself to discover what it was that I needed to do in order to provide
00:19:36.820 | the best learning environment for our family. And I felt like almost like what Didi was saying,
00:19:41.160 | like it had to be like the magic switch that we did forever. And however we began,
00:19:45.500 | that was how we were going to finish. And now I look back and think, Oh, Kelly, you know, I wish,
00:19:51.820 | I wish that I'd had, and I know we all have similar regrets, right? Now that we've walked to this path
00:19:56.900 | for a while, how we wish we could go back and say certain things to ourselves and, you know,
00:20:01.960 | communicate like have grace. It will work out, you know, just start walking and align yourself with
00:20:08.560 | good community, align yourself with great curriculum. And most importantly, align yourself with God's
00:20:15.460 | calling, um, align yourself with him and, um, allow him to speak to you and walk it out friends. I mean,
00:20:24.100 | really that is, that is the thing. I'm glad that at the beginning, um, I was willing to take the steps,
00:20:30.440 | but there was, there were fears associated with that, that we wouldn't be enough that, um, I would
00:20:35.600 | do something wrong. And now I look back and think, Oh, I wish that I had more grace for myself. I wish
00:20:42.060 | that I had more grace for my family. Like what you were describing when, um, where there were teachable
00:20:47.040 | moments that God afforded us. And maybe I stole the joy of my child because I was in this, like,
00:20:53.160 | Oh, we have to accomplish learning objectives. Yeah. That's right. And now I'm like, Oh, you know what?
00:20:59.320 | The grace of God was sufficient even for those moments. And even in those times where, man,
00:21:05.180 | I love some gaps because I just didn't know the Lord has been kind to fill every single one of those
00:21:11.300 | for his glory. So I think we've kind of hit on another part of the homeschooling experience that
00:21:16.880 | kind of needs to be spoken about, and that is our families. So how did family dynamics shift for both of
00:21:25.040 | you once you began homeschooling and what helped you during that time to be able to ease the transition
00:21:31.020 | from life before homeschooling into this brave new world that you had chosen to enter with your family?
00:21:37.660 | So Lynn, I'm curious your thoughts about that. What did you guys do during that transition? You've
00:21:42.940 | already told us that you set up an environment, but what about with your family?
00:21:47.980 | Yeah. I, uh, these issues pop up real quick when you start, but, um, for me, one of the things,
00:21:54.100 | and I'm going to get a little bit like brass tacks here, um, is the house, the cleanliness of the house
00:22:00.620 | that became a real issue. Um, I had little littles and, you know, I know some people are like,
00:22:07.300 | we, we are going to teach our kids to clean the house when they're four years old. And yes,
00:22:11.720 | of course, but I'm sorry, they just don't do a great job when they're four. Um, so, uh, we got
00:22:17.340 | a cleaning lady. That was a big one. Um, we budgeted for it and we are Dave Ramsey people over here. So
00:22:23.060 | it came at a cost. It absolutely did. And we gave up other things, but I knew if I didn't have someone
00:22:30.360 | helping me with like the nuts and bolts, laundry, cleaning, whatever that I would, I, I found that my
00:22:37.820 | pattern was to sacrifice the homeschool to clean because when the kids are little, they do play
00:22:43.480 | and they play really, really well. And so it could be nine, 10, 11, 12, one, and I'm just doing all of
00:22:50.600 | the doing. Um, and I was like, if we're going to be intentional about this at all, I'm going to have
00:22:56.360 | to take that off my plate. So I did get a cleaning lady. Um, you know, I had to switch from, I thought I
00:23:03.160 | was an extrovert all these years, but when you're with the kids all of this time, I'm actually like,
00:23:08.480 | I really needed some space. So we also did like, um, I don't know if it was like one afternoon a week
00:23:14.840 | or something while the baby was sleeping, I would go out, um, by myself. I can remember sleeping in my
00:23:21.840 | van in the Trader Joe's parking lot for two hours or like whatever. Oh, that was you before. Yeah,
00:23:28.340 | exactly. Um, this was before the phone was such a draw, like to scroll or whatever. So I really did
00:23:37.120 | sleep. I really just, um, needed that. Uh, I can remember getting pedicures was a big deal. I would
00:23:43.780 | like, you know, not once a week, but like once a month. And, and that was like, and I would sleep
00:23:48.280 | during those two. Ha ha. Um, anyway, uh, yeah, I think that, uh, date nights, I've already kind of
00:23:57.880 | said this before we budgeted for that, found a great sitter to work with. Um, that was so important.
00:24:03.660 | I felt like my husband needed a space where he just had me like, just like really had my focused
00:24:11.060 | attention. Um, because he was building a business, which means we were building a business together.
00:24:16.940 | Um, so that was part of it. But then I also needed to say, you know, Hey, what do you think about this
00:24:22.840 | kid or that kid? And we still do that to this day. Date nights are a big deal. We just don't need a
00:24:27.040 | babysitter anymore. Cause we got like three built-in ones, which is awesome. Um, so, uh, yeah, I think
00:24:33.800 | so. Didi, how about you? Yeah, I, I would say what changed was, was really my attitude about it. So
00:24:42.340 | my kids, my older kids were like, Oh, mommy, can you please homeschool us? Because the neighbor was
00:24:48.740 | homeschooled that I was referring to earlier. And I was like, what? No, you know why? Because you think
00:24:55.480 | it's going to be easier and it will not be, I will not make it easier for you. So, and also my husband's
00:25:03.120 | from Nigeria. So we have that cultural, you know, background school is so important. Traditional
00:25:09.120 | school, that structure, that classroom setting, that respecting your elders and teachers. It's,
00:25:16.900 | it is kind of life school too, right? So the things, the soft skills that they learn in that environment
00:25:21.740 | are so important. And I was like, I will not homeschool you. I repeat, I will not do this for you.
00:25:28.720 | And then after feeling like I could do this for a year, I could try it. I saw that my kids were just
00:25:38.200 | wanting it so much. They were ready to do the work. They would wake up, they would read the books. We
00:25:44.140 | started with a boxcar children and this is a summer. We started like just in the summer to try it out.
00:25:48.480 | And they wanted to do all the experiments that this other curriculum had laid out for us
00:25:52.960 | on account of the books. And I just remember to this day, like very simple things that you could
00:25:58.620 | do at home became our classroom. And it was just like kind of walking into what God had already laid
00:26:06.480 | out before me. Right. So it was more of a heart issue for me and just the attitude of I can do this well
00:26:14.200 | and I can, I can love Lord, I can love my kids. And it just, I don't know, it just unfolded.
00:26:20.820 | I feel like the, the way that I wanted to prepare was not necessarily the best way. Like that idea of
00:26:29.120 | the, you're climbing a ladder, but it's against the wrong wall. And I kept thinking, no, I have to have
00:26:34.500 | all this curriculum color coded and, and the cleaning and everything, you know, just in order. But I think
00:26:41.540 | God just said, there's another way and, um, help me understand that. So really it was an attitude.
00:26:47.160 | It was a heart adjustment. And that was, that was huge.
00:26:50.880 | Hey everyone. We want to interrupt this show to tell you more about this semester's sponsor,
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00:27:04.160 | on our three uniques classical Christian and community. Listen to their mission statement.
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00:28:04.040 | lives of their students. They want their students to leave equipped theologically and professionally
00:28:08.860 | for whatever career God wants them to pursue. To find out more about what Judson college has to offer,
00:28:14.700 | visit judsoncollege.com forward slash distinctives. And again, thank you to Judson college for sponsoring
00:28:20.960 | this semester of the everyday educator. Let's get back to the show.
00:28:24.440 | Right. Right. I remember, um, struggling with feelings of guilt. Um, whenever we first started
00:28:33.220 | homeschooling, because I am a raging extrovert by nature. And I experienced something similar to you,
00:28:39.780 | Lynn, where I just needed to sit and look at a wall. And I felt badly about that because I needed to
00:28:45.860 | decompress from a day with active, you know, wiggly squirrely children all day long who needed me, um,
00:28:52.120 | so much. And I think Didi, if I had been wise, like what you're describing, and I had my heart posture
00:28:58.880 | needed to be adjusted. Um, because I think I was being, I was being led around by the tyranny of the urgent.
00:29:06.620 | And I did not allow my days to be spirit field filled. I had a rigid schedule and I was like,
00:29:15.140 | oh my goodness, we're math from eight to, um, eight 59. And then we have Bible. And I just look back and
00:29:25.120 | I'm like, oh, you know, I wish that I wish that in preparing for homeschooling, I'd had a better
00:29:31.560 | understanding of what life school looks like. And the fact that I can do these things and I can make
00:29:37.240 | my environment perfect for what I thought would perfect would look like. But the reality is you've
00:29:44.000 | got to start with your heart and then have to take steps to allow yourself grace to be that parent that
00:29:52.100 | your children need. And I agree with you, Lynn, like for me, like the house, like that's a big deal
00:29:57.200 | because suddenly, you know, you're not going out, you're in, right. And so you're looking at things
00:30:03.420 | and sometimes things can try to be more important than people in our lives. And we have to cast that
00:30:09.600 | down. So I really applaud both of you, the wisdom that you exercise to have the right heart posture
00:30:15.180 | and to provide the right learning environment so that you weren't distracted by things that maybe were not
00:30:21.240 | the most important thing at that particular moment. Um, I'm, I'm curious, Dede, you mentioned the box
00:30:28.320 | card children, one of my favorite series and a huge part. I know as I look around, like there were stacks
00:30:34.920 | of books, the cabinet behind me is full of books, my children have books in their rooms. And as a former
00:30:41.240 | classroom teacher, I really, before we discovered classical conversations, felt a tremendous amount of
00:30:48.020 | overwhelm because there are so many options available to us as homeschoolers. Um, you know, and we do
00:30:55.520 | sometimes feel that invisible pressure to find the magic bullet that we'll use forever and ever that
00:31:00.600 | will make all of our children, you know, surgeon, surgeon, president. Um, and I'm curious, um, for both of you,
00:31:11.300 | you know, looking back, what advice would you give to parents who maybe feel similarly to how I did?
00:31:17.480 | They feel a little overwhelmed by all of the curriculum options that are available. I'm curious,
00:31:24.120 | Lynn, what your thoughts are about that. Yeah, I think, um, you know, if you talk to anybody about
00:31:30.880 | homeschool for just a minute, you probably will get to curriculum pretty quickly. But then when I have in
00:31:37.200 | mind this, this prototype mom, who's just dipping her toe and just like, wait, is this right for my family?
00:31:43.600 | I feel like curriculum wouldn't necessarily be her first thing. I mean, maybe, yeah. What worksheets do
00:31:49.460 | I use or something? But, um, you know, when I dove in, um, it was like, I had to, I had to kind of get my
00:31:58.260 | hands on it for a while before I was like, Ooh, now I want to talk about curriculum and what goes.
00:32:03.240 | But what, one thing that I had a friend and this wasn't even at the beginning. So now as a friend,
00:32:07.920 | I will tell everyone, you know, to really sit down and create some kind of a philosophy of homeschool,
00:32:14.480 | you know, what, what, what do I want for these kids? And, and maybe even if you are a researcher,
00:32:21.400 | even if you're not to look into the different, um, styles of homeschool, because that will inform,
00:32:28.620 | you know, how you, um, run your homeschool. And I do think, um, you know, our philosophy as an example,
00:32:36.700 | when the kids were really little, our philosophy was developing lifelong learners who love adventure
00:32:41.760 | and who give generously. Um, and this is all under the umbrella of, um, the gospel, you know,
00:32:48.280 | obviously, maybe not, obviously I should say that, um, you know, having that philosophy can drive your
00:32:55.720 | curriculum choices. Then you have to sit with the kid that's in front of you and say, is this working
00:33:02.060 | for them? Because we are not teaching curriculum. We're teaching children. And I say that as an avid CC
00:33:08.940 | mom and an avid, whatever homeschool mom, but we are teaching those little souls, those little
00:33:14.720 | immortal souls that sit in front of us every day, that's who we're teaching. And I have had many years
00:33:20.660 | where I start off earnestly in August with a plan and a curriculum and blah, blah, blah. And then by
00:33:26.600 | November we're, we're changing it all up. So, um, you know, I think curriculum is, is long and deep and
00:33:33.860 | wide and we could get there, but just on the, on the front end of it, I would say that developing your
00:33:41.600 | philosophy of homeschool, why you're doing it and you know, what, what, um, outcome you want from even
00:33:47.620 | just the first few months or the year or whatever, that's where you have to start. I agree. I agree.
00:33:53.740 | And if you're listening to this podcast and you're looking for a great place to begin,
00:33:57.640 | the scribblers at home curriculum actually takes you through the steps to create and craft a vision
00:34:03.800 | statement for your family so that you can think more deeply about your why, because I'm going to tell
00:34:08.380 | you right now, friends, that if you don't firmly latch onto that, why it's really easy to make a
00:34:13.780 | decision to just forego, um, what you've been called to do. And so it is, I agree with you, Lynn,
00:34:20.420 | it's so important to understand your family's why so that you have a target. You're not shooting an
00:34:26.760 | arrow and then drawing a bullseye around it, but you have a target for why, um, you're making the
00:34:32.120 | decisions that you are. Um, Dede, I'm curious, you've already alluded to this a little bit, but, um,
00:34:37.620 | there is a lot of preparation for homeschooling that is invisible. And I know the theme of practicum
00:34:42.860 | this season is seeing the unseen. So I'm curious if you would allude a little bit more about
00:34:48.600 | spiritually, how did you prepare for your calling to homeschool? Um, were there steps that you took
00:34:55.560 | with your husband or individually that you felt prepared you well, um, or at least prepared you?
00:35:02.380 | I'll say that because we've all learned things after the fact, um, as well, or beginning homeschooling
00:35:07.760 | with your family. Yeah, I would say it's abiding in the word. I think it's understanding that no matter
00:35:16.360 | what you're doing, you are teaching your children. If I'm spending my morning on YouTube, looking for
00:35:23.020 | the perfect block schedule for my kids, I'm teaching my kids that you need to go to YouTube and find the
00:35:29.500 | perfect schedule for yourself. Instead of putting up my Bible, reading the word, letting it wash over me,
00:35:37.000 | maybe pausing at a verse and saying, Oh, that's interesting. While I'm at the table and my kids are
00:35:43.120 | eating breakfast and saying, Oh, that's, that's interesting. And then speaking about it, you know, all of
00:35:48.520 | those things are teaching our children. So I feel like just abiding in the word and prayer was the most
00:35:57.380 | important part of preparing me spiritually. I think the Lord gave me this verse in Ephesians 5 16 that says, um,
00:36:04.040 | something to the effect of redeeming the time for the days are evil. And it sounds kind of like looming,
00:36:10.320 | you know, I'm like the days are evil. We will homeschool, you know, it's like
00:36:15.100 | my vigilante over here, but it was more, it was more about, you know what, let's, let's see what we can
00:36:24.360 | do to actually love the Lord and love family and his purpose for us through homeschool. And so I love what
00:36:31.980 | you said to Lynn about the, why is so important. If you have that, why, if you care, the curriculum
00:36:37.980 | will follow all those things will happen. And even when you're not bound to the curriculum,
00:36:43.860 | right. When you're just sitting in between subjects or it's lunchtime, what you do with yourself,
00:36:48.340 | that's still teaching your kids is important. So if you have a worship song, you want to play that
00:36:55.500 | matters. Um, so I just, I think in preparation, it was, I just had that verse, um, kind of ready
00:37:04.240 | on my heart and ready to share. And then just continuing to look for ways to be with my kids
00:37:10.200 | and see where they are spiritually as well. So I feel like to start, you just have to be with your kids.
00:37:15.560 | You, you have to sit with your kids. It's the time that you invest in them. And I had a friend
00:37:21.820 | who had homeschooled many years before me. And she said, it's not about choosing the right curriculum
00:37:26.880 | or finding the right books. Like you were saying, Kelly, it's not a silver bullet. It's that you use
00:37:32.020 | the books you have. And that really struck me because I was always searching, always looking for the next
00:37:38.280 | great curriculum that was shiny with the stickers. And you go to all these fairs and you're like,
00:37:43.820 | no, that one is better. Just use the things you have, use the tool you have. We have the Lord,
00:37:49.400 | we have our children, we have our husband, right? Supporting us. So when you use that,
00:37:54.880 | I feel like you do feel more equipped to do the tasks that you're called to do.
00:37:58.640 | Yeah. When I started, I, I'm just thinking about what you said, Didi. I don't think I really
00:38:03.740 | understood God's word and the truth of Christianity. I don't know if I really understood how important
00:38:11.660 | that was in our homeschool. I feel like the last two to three years as my older ones are getting older
00:38:17.580 | and like, you can start to see them, you know, as adults in the real world, which is like a whole
00:38:23.580 | other thing. But I'm like, there's only one thing that matters. Like, it's really true. Like all of those
00:38:31.140 | mamas, you know, who were old when I was young and they would say, it's really the only thing that
00:38:37.800 | matters. I don't know if I had ears to hear that at the time, but man, I do now. And I just, if there's
00:38:44.080 | anything that I could say today, it would be that, you know, that the truth of Christianity, that God's
00:38:51.240 | word is actually the most important foundation for these kids. Yeah. You know, what's amazing about
00:38:58.600 | that is that they see us growing as well, right? They can look back and say, I remember when mom was
00:39:05.720 | so into this one curriculum and so on edge about this and our test scores. And then, you know, it just
00:39:14.380 | became about really good conversation about who God is and they feel the difference in their bodies and
00:39:20.460 | they take that with them. And so it is an all around school. Like we're all becoming educated. We're all
00:39:25.740 | growing and that's the fruit of homeschooling and in community because your testimony, what you're
00:39:31.580 | sharing encourages me that it's still happening wherever we are today. Right? Like even now there's,
00:39:39.140 | there's something, there's a place God is still taking us and taking these families that are listening.
00:39:43.660 | They might not know exactly where, but that's okay. You'll get there.
00:39:48.780 | Absolutely. Absolutely. I think we've already alluded to this a little bit and the fact that
00:39:54.060 | God's word sustains us, um, that as believers, we homeschool because that is the main thing
00:40:00.860 | and keeping the main thing can be difficult and sometimes overwhelming, um, even discouraging.
00:40:07.300 | So I'm curious, you know, a lot of the people who are listening to this, this conversation might
00:40:12.640 | think like, Oh, there are going to be so many mountaintop moments as homeschoolers. And there
00:40:16.740 | are, but there are also some valleys that we experienced. And I'm curious, um, if both of you
00:40:23.840 | would speak to that a little bit, have there been moments where perhaps you were discouraged because
00:40:28.820 | you were doing the right things and you were doing them well, but you got weary, or there was something
00:40:34.340 | that maybe was a setback for you during those times. Um, and maybe both can allude as much as
00:40:41.400 | you're comfortable with, um, how did your faith sustain you? How did your walk with the Lord sustain
00:40:46.200 | you through those times? Um, and Lynn, you can go ahead and lead off with that. Um, yeah, I mean,
00:40:54.800 | the answer is yes. Discouragement is like, it's just part of the, part of the plan. And so, yeah,
00:41:01.940 | I mean, there's been health things, business, uh, disappointments, there's been, um, financial
00:41:07.680 | strain. Um, there was a brief period where I sent my kids to a private Christian school
00:41:12.980 | because I was burnt out, burnt out, burn out is a real thing. Um, all of the things, all
00:41:19.760 | of the things, um, and you ask, you know, how did my faith sustain me? I don't know if I could
00:41:26.200 | tell you how it sustained me. I just know that it did. And that, um, I was thinking about
00:41:31.940 | like, I was thinking about that whole concept where we're putting God in the center of, of
00:41:37.240 | all of the education. Right. And so my faith is, it's not an ingredient in how to make a great
00:41:44.660 | homeschool cake. It's like, it's like the house where you're making the cake. It's like the world,
00:41:52.260 | like it's so much bigger than an ingredient. And I think when I first started, I thought that faith
00:41:59.120 | was an ingredient. I thought that the Bible reading the Bible of my kid was a box to check or something,
00:42:04.600 | which don't get me wrong. Sometimes it is. They got to check a box. Okay, fine.
00:42:08.660 | But that's because we're building the discipline. But now looking back to those early years is like
00:42:15.220 | faith was everything. It was everything. Um, and, um, I think, I, I don't know if we could put a little
00:42:22.580 | bit of a finer point on the idea that faith isn't necessarily the curriculum that we're teaching our
00:42:28.020 | kids, but it is that overarching thing. Um, because I know if I were listening to this and I was a mom,
00:42:34.320 | like, Oh, I want to homeschool those little old ladies who sit and they say, it's all about Jesus,
00:42:40.240 | this is my heart, you know, well, it is, but it, it, it also is about like, well, what the heck do I do?
00:42:48.500 | You know? Um, uh, we can speak to that, but I know that, right. You know, for this, um, what's germane
00:42:55.600 | to this point is that faith is really everything. It really is. I love the idea of, you know, it being
00:43:02.440 | the house, like it is, it is, it is where and how we do what we do. What about you, Dede?
00:43:09.640 | So, yeah, I will echo what Lynn said. Yes. The times of discouragement are there and they're still
00:43:15.900 | here. Um, and how did my faith sustain me again, similar to Lynn? I, I don't really know how,
00:43:23.420 | I don't even know that I knew it was happening when it was. It's just the fact that I, I got through
00:43:30.320 | another day. Yes. And I, I wasn't going to bed like, wow, my faith really got me through today.
00:43:36.820 | It was like, it was like, Oh my goodness. Are we ever going to make it? And then you turn around
00:43:43.860 | and you're like, Oh wow, this actually, these things were okay. Like the gaps that I thought were so big
00:43:49.740 | and so wide and that I thought I needed to fill. God was filling that God was doing that. And you look
00:43:56.960 | around and you have people that have also poured into your kids because of community homeschooling
00:44:01.820 | and community. I can't say that enough. God designed us for community. And so that's where
00:44:07.380 | I feel like my faith, I was carried because other people saw the fruit that my kids were bearing and would
00:44:13.640 | say, Hey, your son did a good job with this. Or your daughter, you know, really stepped up in this
00:44:18.600 | way. And I was like, Oh, they did. Okay. So, so it's okay. And I think those are the moments that
00:44:25.540 | really encouraged me to keep going because you really can't fill all the gaps. You just can't,
00:44:31.360 | it's impossible, but it's a reminder to rely on God even more because that it is the house. It's where
00:44:37.700 | we live. That's right. That's right. I love that. I love that. I'll carry that metaphor with me
00:44:42.480 | throughout the rest of the day. Absolutely. Um, you know, I look back on the beginning of our
00:44:49.880 | family's homeschool journey and I think about the person I was, um, at that place that although I had
00:44:56.340 | a formal education to be an educator, um, there were ways that I still felt woefully inept, um,
00:45:04.560 | because I was used to educating solo in a classroom, um, by 25 little people who were all
00:45:12.000 | the same ages. And, you know, at the end of the day, guess what guys, they went home and then I would
00:45:18.440 | go home and then I could breathe and relax. And so, you know, coming into homeschooling and realizing
00:45:25.220 | that, you know, they're with me all the time and they're not, they're not going away.
00:45:31.560 | But also a mega adjustment for me. So when, when we began homeschooling, um, I was grateful
00:45:41.140 | for the blessing of community because, um, you know, there were other individuals who could speak
00:45:47.480 | truth into my life, who can maybe keep an eye on my children for five minutes so that I could have a
00:45:53.400 | conversation with a friend or go to the bathroom. That's right. Most importantly, go to the bathroom,
00:45:59.240 | get a snack, breathe, talk in complete sentences, all those things. Um, I am curious when you guys
00:46:06.280 | first began, um, and I already know the answer to this because one thing that I have not told you
00:46:10.980 | listeners is that both of these dear ladies are my friends, my personal friends and directors in the
00:46:16.140 | community in which I participate. So we know each other pretty well. Um, initially when you started this
00:46:22.560 | process, did you guys seek out a homeschooling community, recognizing that you needed that
00:46:28.100 | support? And I'm curious how the supportive community continues to shape your journey as
00:46:34.880 | homeschoolers now, because you've both already said you have younger children, but you also have older
00:46:39.080 | children. And I know for me personally, we're at the end. It makes me teary. We're at the end of our
00:46:45.680 | homeschooling journey as a family, at least with our three children that God has given to us. Now
00:46:50.940 | there may be opportunities to homeschool grandchildren down the line. So we'll cross that bridge when we
00:46:55.640 | come to it. But, um, you know, I'm curious, like how has community shaped your journey? Um, Dede,
00:47:04.180 | when you first came into homeschooling, did you immediately navigate toward a community or did you
00:47:09.800 | try to go it alone or how did that work out for you? I'm curious. Well, I initially started in the
00:47:16.000 | summertime with our, um, you know, just the books that we were reading. So we started with the boxcar
00:47:20.820 | children and the curriculum I used said, here's how you can pull out a science lesson from that.
00:47:24.980 | But I will speak to the idea of community can just be one person. Community can be that neighbor friend
00:47:31.280 | that I had said, you can do this because I had relationship with her already. And so community
00:47:37.420 | doesn't have to be this big group of people that maybe you don't really know. It can be that one
00:47:42.760 | person who has walked alongside you and says, I know you, I know your kids. I see what you're doing.
00:47:48.300 | You can do this. And it also helped being able to just watch her homeschool and step into her room
00:47:54.520 | every once in a while and say, Oh, you guys are doing math. Here's what it looks like. I wasn't
00:47:59.180 | necessarily seeking out community. Let's say it just kind of found me. And I think, again, that's the Lord
00:48:05.940 | leading me to this because I didn't even know what, you know, like whoever's listening. This is great
00:48:11.420 | that you're listening to this. I just, you know, I was like, Oh, okay. You can do this or that. And
00:48:19.040 | they just, I feel like it just found me. And then ultimately classical conversations was that broader
00:48:26.040 | community. But even within the broader community, I found relationship like with you guys. And when I was
00:48:31.900 | weary and I was low, I could just reach out and say, okay, how do we do this? Or how are you doing?
00:48:38.600 | And then encourage each other. And I think it's also interesting to how God will allow someone to
00:48:45.520 | come across your path that also has a need. So when we're feeling depleted and low, there's someone that
00:48:50.860 | needs advice or a word. And you're like, you know what, you could do this, this, this. And suddenly you're
00:48:56.300 | not so low, right? Like it's just the way that we can see others as well that have needs. We all have
00:49:02.780 | needs. So I don't know if that answers your question, but yeah.
00:49:07.540 | It does. What about you, Lynn? Were you naturally drawn to community at first or did you start this
00:49:13.420 | alone? I'm just curious because we're all three in community together now. And I know we've had
00:49:18.540 | conversations about community and the value of it. So I'm curious what your experience was.
00:49:23.300 | Yeah. I can remember when my oldest was four, four months, four months old. My, um, I think it was
00:49:30.460 | through a sermon I heard or something. I was like, I'm starting a mom's group. So we had a mom's group
00:49:35.720 | from the time she was four months old. And that really informed my sort of like collection of knowledge
00:49:42.260 | about community. Um, it was not homeschool. It was just getting through that first year of life.
00:49:48.300 | A lot of talking about birth stories. That's part of that first year of life is processing through
00:49:52.960 | that, which is wonderful. Um, and then, um, so community to answer the question first and foremost
00:50:01.000 | is always been a part of my motherhood journey. Um, and then, so when my friend Emily said, well,
00:50:07.920 | we're up here, she, she lives in a different state, but we're doing CC. And I was like, Oh,
00:50:12.220 | I'll just do that. Um, it was, I think as I look back on natural outcropping of what I had already
00:50:19.800 | been doing that, obviously I'm going to need to meet with some ladies once a week. Like that's just
00:50:25.180 | part of my rhythm and routine. Um, I will say that we did CC for five years, the first five,
00:50:31.880 | and then we moved and, um, we didn't move far, but we moved far enough that I couldn't continue
00:50:39.260 | attending that community. And where we moved to, uh, there was no space for, they had four or five
00:50:46.840 | communities and they were chock full. And so I could not be a part of community. And so then it
00:50:53.860 | got taken away from me. And then I realized like, it was like oxygen. I was like, this is really
00:51:00.320 | difficult to do this without community. And I will say just the way that timeline works there, um,
00:51:06.760 | that not being in community for me led me to, um, that fall where I, I did send my kids to Christian
00:51:13.720 | school, which is, it's totally fine. I understand, but I just know that, um, the burnout of having no
00:51:20.380 | one around feeling alone, I'm in a new town. Um, it was enough to, to kind of, to get me really low.
00:51:27.960 | So, um, you know, after the, the Christian school stuff, it was COVID. So then it was like, well,
00:51:35.640 | obviously nobody's in community right now. I mean, family became community, family was community.
00:51:42.240 | Um, and so when the opportunity arose in 2021 for us to be a part of a community, I jumped on it all
00:51:50.260 | 10 toes, like let's go. Um, because I knew that that would, would be life sustaining. And then moving
00:51:57.900 | to North Carolina again, I was like the first calls that I made when I knew we were coming here were to
00:52:04.060 | find a community. Absolutely. Absolutely. I would say if you are a parent who is standing on the edge,
00:52:10.380 | the precipice of homeschooling and you're thinking, you know, what are, what are the first steps that I
00:52:16.320 | need to take? I think that both of these ladies have, have alluded to the fact that you need to be in
00:52:21.600 | relationship, um, with either with your community of one, as Didi said, so, so lovely. We all begin with
00:52:30.260 | a community of one. There's one person perhaps who shares with you or encourages you, but then also
00:52:37.020 | getting to a place where you recognize the need to come into community and be surrounded by others who
00:52:43.440 | perhaps have the same mission or have the same goals. I would strongly encourage you to seek out
00:52:49.260 | a practicum near you this summer. Um, you know, I know that practicum is a great time where you can
00:52:56.460 | get together and you can sit across the table and have conversations with others who are contemplating
00:53:01.600 | the same things and where you can feel a camaraderie. Um, just like I feel with both of these wonderful
00:53:07.960 | friends. Um, just knowing that you can have conversations about these things, what God's calling
00:53:12.860 | you to what this looks like when it's fleshed out in your own home. So definitely go to classical
00:53:19.900 | conversations.com and do a search on the events tab that's on that page and see if you can locate a
00:53:27.780 | local practicum to attend so that you can begin to taste the first fruits of community, um, with others
00:53:33.940 | who are similarly called. So as we start to wind down this podcast, um, we could, we could probably
00:53:39.580 | record two or three hours, just a conversation together. Um, and you know, we are, we, we have
00:53:45.900 | talked about several things. We've talked about the importance of being connected, um, you know,
00:53:51.660 | spiritually to the one capital O who has called us to this, the importance of being connected to
00:53:58.980 | community, the importance of preparing yourself physically, mentally, spiritually, for what God has
00:54:05.500 | called you to. And I'm curious, um, both of you, um, I know personally have a rebellious streak.
00:54:11.740 | So I would love to, um, as we wind down this podcast, talk about what does being ready for
00:54:19.340 | homeschooling really mean? And I say being ready in air quotes and what are myths about readiness now that
00:54:27.480 | you're farther down this journey that you'd like to debunk. Um, and I'm going to lead off by saying
00:54:34.580 | that you will never be feel a hundred percent percent ready. And that is God's gift in your life.
00:54:44.840 | Um, because I think looking back, if I had felt 100% ready, what need did I have for God to sustain me
00:54:53.680 | daily? Um, don't negate his work, your reliance on him by feeling like you are self-sustaining and that
00:55:03.120 | you're self-sufficient and have all of the answers because homeschooling, what you will quickly
00:55:08.280 | discover is a walk of refinement. You begin thinking it's a refining for your children,
00:55:14.380 | but then somewhere along the way, you also discover that it's a refining for you as you redeem your own
00:55:20.460 | education academically and spiritually. So I'm curious, Didi, is there a myth you'd like to debunk
00:55:28.380 | about readiness? Wow. Um, I guess it sounds so simple. I almost want to say it. You just,
00:55:37.820 | you just have to care. You just have to, it's a heart decision, honestly. Like I know I've said that
00:55:45.980 | before, but if you care about your kids, the fact that you're listening to this, whoever's listening to
00:55:53.980 | this, you're ready because you want to know more. You want to understand that's what it takes. Cause
00:56:00.140 | that will continue to lead you to the right curriculum and the right community and all those
00:56:05.800 | things because you care about how your kids are being educated. So I feel like maybe the myth I'd
00:56:11.760 | like to debunk is that you have to have everything set up beforehand. Um, that is a myth. You do learn as
00:56:19.280 | you go as with everything. I mean, if you were to take an archery class, you don't have to know how
00:56:24.380 | to do it before you start, you show up. So you just show up with your kids, you show up with your heart
00:56:30.760 | in the right place with the Lord and you will homeschool your kids. So I love that. I love that.
00:56:38.340 | All right. Then another myth to debunk. Yeah. I mean, I can't echo enough. You'll never be ready.
00:56:45.560 | You'll never be enough. It's all, all the things like, um, but I think that there is value in saying,
00:56:52.600 | um, that, you know, when, when the babies were little, right. They would be like in, in some new
00:56:59.320 | stage. Right. And I would be like, Oh, well, she usually takes a nap between dah, dah, dah, dah, dah.
00:57:04.060 | Or she usually really likes this food or whatever. And I figured out so quickly that we just aren't
00:57:09.680 | going to do that anymore. We're just not going to say what she usually does because that'll be the day
00:57:13.540 | where she doesn't. And, and if I have some preconceived notion about what she's supposed to
00:57:20.160 | do or usually. So, I mean, roll that into homeschooling your kids. It's just like what you might think
00:57:26.960 | it's going to happen. It won't what you think your schedule is going to be. It won't. And so that idea
00:57:31.980 | of just like holding your hands open to what the Lord wants to do. And I agree with you. You can't be
00:57:37.880 | a hundred percent ready. I don't even know I'm going to be 50% ready, you know? Um, cause you
00:57:42.620 | really do just need that space for flex for, you know, that kind of thing. And one thing, I don't
00:57:49.460 | know if this is a good place to say it, but I think I misunderstood timing. I think I misunderstood
00:57:54.300 | with a kindergarten student that, um, how much time would be like the school part. Um, and I think I
00:58:02.540 | had preconceived notions that it was hours and hours because that's what my idea of school would
00:58:07.940 | be. I, I send them away. Well in California, not for kindergarten, but first grade it's all day. And
00:58:13.120 | you know, that I, I feel like that's one of the things I tell people. It's like,
00:58:17.460 | you spend 45 minutes with your kindergartner, like that's it. And they're like, wait, what,
00:58:22.040 | you know? And, and I was that same way. And so, you know, are you ready to do 45 minutes a day with
00:58:28.600 | your kindergartner? I mean, that's a lot less of a commitment than six hours of school, you know?
00:58:34.560 | And, and by the way, if you do try to do two, three, four, five, six hours with your first grader,
00:58:40.820 | everyone's going to cry. Everyone. Um, so just, yeah, it's really the pressure there. When you
00:58:47.880 | talk about the, having grace with yourself, like that's, that was a great thing to learn is like,
00:58:53.160 | it's real easy to check the school box. If it's 45 minutes, when you start, when they're little.
00:58:58.120 | Absolutely. Absolutely. Wise advice. I want to thank both of you for joining me today. And as we get
00:59:06.260 | ready to say our goodbyes to you, listener, um, I have one more question for both Lynn
00:59:11.440 | and for Didi. I'm curious. And we've, we've already talked a little bit about if we had a time machine
00:59:18.180 | to go back in time and talk to that version of ourselves who was in the place. Some of our listeners
00:59:24.080 | are contemplating this decision. If you can, if you can get in a time machine and go back and tell
00:59:30.860 | yourself one thing now with your years of experience, what's the one thing you would tell your considering
00:59:39.580 | homeschooling self? Yeah. I would repeat what my neighbor said. Just try it. Hmm. It doesn't have
00:59:48.140 | to be permanent. Just try it. And that was the biggest gift. So that's what I would say.
00:59:55.100 | So good. What about you, Lynn? What would you tell yourself?
00:59:57.940 | I would tell myself that having them home with me is more valuable than, um, any other thing that I
01:00:07.420 | could be doing with them, like sending them to school or sending them to preschool or whatever it is,
01:00:12.460 | just having them home and doing no school is even more valuable. Um, that time together,
01:00:21.180 | when Didi talked about reclaiming her family time and stuff, uh, that just is, it's very true. Um,
01:00:27.860 | that the first step into homeschool is just gathering your kids and having them close to you. Yeah.
01:00:35.820 | Thank you both for joining me today for the everyday educator and listener. We want to thank you as well
01:00:41.940 | for joining us. And if you're still wondering whether you are ready, ready to homeschool,
01:00:48.060 | God does not always call the equipped. He equips those he, he has called. And we've already spoken
01:00:56.540 | about this at length today, but remember readiness is not about having it all figured out. It's just not
01:01:03.360 | because I will say as a 20 year homeschooler, veteran of homeschooling, I still don't have it
01:01:09.300 | all figured out, but I do rely on him for the grace that I need. It's about willing, being willing to
01:01:15.380 | trust, learn and grow every day alongside your children. So Didi and Lynn, I'm going to thank
01:01:21.540 | you both for sharing your heart with our listeners today. And we hope today's conversation gave you some
01:01:26.820 | encouragement, practical insight, and a reminder that you, my friend are not alone in this journey.
01:01:32.740 | So if this episode was a blessing to you, would you take a moment to share it with a friend who might
01:01:38.400 | also need some encouragement along their homeschooling journey until next time, keep learning, keep
01:01:44.880 | growing and keep educating every day. Goodbye, friends. Thank you. Bye. Thank you.
01:01:53.380 | you
01:01:55.440 | you
01:01:55.940 | you
01:01:56.440 | you
01:01:56.940 | you
01:01:57.440 | you
01:01:57.940 | you
01:01:58.440 | We'll see you next time.