The Modulo Community Podcast

🎉New Episode! Gifted and 2e Learning for Life With Dr. Dan Peters from Summit Center

In this lovely heart-to-heart between educational psychologist and executive leadership coach Dr. Dan Peters and Modulo’s founder Manisha Snoyer, we talk about raising gifted kids, nuances in gifted diagnoses, school vs homeschooling, socialization and explore our own experiences with learning, community, raising and teaching kids in a changing world. Dr. Peters is the founder of Summit Center [https://summitcenter.us/] (one of the most respected centers for psychological and educational services for children, adolescents, adults, and families, including assessments, coaching, consultation, and counseling) and the host of Make It a Great One with Dr. Dan [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-it-a-great-one-with-dr-dan-1-podcast-for/id1157097748]: #1 Podcast for Inspiring Conversations to Live and Lead On Purpose. Manisha Snoyer is a teacher of 20 years and the founder of Modulo, which helps families find full-time private educators [https://joinmodulo.com/pages/private-homeschool-teachers] for homeschooling, world travel and learning pods. Modulo also offers a free, curated, searchable directory of 2,000+ vetted homeschooling resources, including curricula, classes, and tutors. Manisha is also the founder of MasteryHour.org, which provides free online tutoring to under-resourced youth.Links:Summit Center: https://summitcenter.us/ [https://summitcenter.us/]Make it a Great One with Dr. Peters: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqazlUNDkxQzdGek94enY1WlhnTUtPOTVhejRZUXxBQ3Jtc0ttWHEzUHZVakg1QkVwVVYwQzhkX1NfXzE0OFJ6b1FRWnpMeUdjOHN5R2RlSDh6ejRRekF2MGhKbXlrSktIdEowNEFwU1daNmV0R1V2blU2NUdpamh5WG03Z2psZTZGQ0tPMkpQSGFwdDBsWHp2NnBhVQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fmake-it-a-great-one-with-dr-dan-1-podcast-for%2Fid1157097748&v=S-7ZqIsSqn0]Modulo Homeschool Teacher Placement: https://joinmodulo.com/pages/private-... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFEtYWg2V1EzUUVROXhsNzNOTEx0emtIcldDUXxBQ3Jtc0ttQWpDel9JckFfc2FQeFhhOUlESHJtd09lS09WYkVUdlgzR19kOWtKS2JDU0p5MGtHZlZUOC0wV2MzSmZNYklyUG5Na0ZWdjZ0azlsVEZaSll2OTlXUTVSVmtRSDFDVi1XcXFvVFFVZ2tvLUdPV1VQWQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fjoinmodulo.com%2Fpages%2Fprivate-homeschool-teachers&v=S-7ZqIsSqn0]Mastery Hour: https://www.masteryhour.org/ [https://www.masteryhour.org/]Modulo marketplace for homeschooling : https://joinmodulo.com/ [https://joinmodulo.com/] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit teachyourkids.substack.com/subscribe [https://teachyourkids.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Big news on my next chapter in education

As some of you know, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can be of influence in our changing, beautiful, but also often troubling ecosystem of people, planet and current events. A world with so much beauty, so much to celebrate, but that also one that holds so much pain and suffering, at a moment in history that is causing many of us to feel fearful, angry, divided, other times more connected through our collaboration around shared causes…and still at other junctures powerless, at a complete loss for what’s going on…or what to do about it. And I’ve decided where I want to focus next. I’m bringing back Mastery Hour [https://www.masteryhour.org/], our free online tutoring program for under-resourced youth. You can learn all about it and ways to get involved in the video. We’re looking for about $10-20k to kick things off, as well as introductions at companies like Apple and Microsoft that match employee volunteer hours with donations. If you’d like to contribute, here’s the link to make a 100% tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor! Further Reading *Impact of and Equity in Education My theory and key tenets on democratizing Education Accumulation of Opportunities Predicts the Educational Attainment and Adulthood Earnings of Children Born Into Low- Versus Higher-Income Households [https://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/default+domain/EWAUPF9GNMG9GY8RZZIQ/full] The Nation’s Report Card Shows Declines in Reading, Some Progress in 4th Grade Math [http://nagb.gov/news-and-events/news-releases/2025/nations-report-card-decline-in-reading-progress-in-math.html] SAT math scores mirror and maintain racial inequity | Brookings [https://www.brookings.edu/articles/sat-math-scores-mirror-and-maintain-racial-inequity/#:~:text=A%20stubborn%20race%20gap%20in,7%25%20of%20Black%20test%20takers] What Works in Girls’ Education | Brookings [https://www.brookings.edu/books/what-works-in-girls-education-evidence-for-the-worlds-best-investment/] *1-1 Mastery-Based Learning & High Dosage Tutoring Impact of 1-2 hours of focused learning in core subjects (a method organically developed by the homeschooling movement and implemented by companies like Alpha School [https://alpha.school/2-hour-learning/]) *Love and Attachment Theory Promoting attachment security during the transition to college: A pilot study of emotionally focused mentoring - Atina Manvelian, Savannah Boyd, Karey L. O’Hara, Cassandra Watters, Yilin Liu, David A. Sbarra, 2023 [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02654075231195530] On the role of love and attachment in learning, watch this interview with my mom, a former Montessori teacher and current pre-med advisor *AI in Education For the value of human tutors in the age of AI, check out my interviews with Jeremy Howard and Rachel Thomas, PhD Tutoring with Adaptive Learning Apps [https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/tutoring-with-adaptive-learning-apps] *Mental Health Benefits of Volunteering The Baltimore Experience Corps Trial: Enhancing Generativity via Intergenerational Activity Engagement in Later Life [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25721053/] When kindness becomes a habit, it improves our health [https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/12/25/nx-s1-5233123/kindness-heart-brain-mental-health] Thanks for reading The Modulo Community! This post is public so feel free to share it. ❤️ With all my love, Manisha Find me on LinkedIN [https://www.linkedin.com/in/manisha-snoyer/] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit teachyourkids.substack.com/subscribe [https://teachyourkids.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Get $8000 to homeschool your kids?!

This podcast covers the #1 reason to move to Florida that no one every told you. Florida’s PEP scholarship program allocates $7,000-11,000 per year to any state resident who wants to curate their children’s education While the program is currently capped at 100,000 students, they still have 30,000 available for this Fall, with the deadline to apply approaching April 30. The scholarship application is very easy and straightforward (as we show in the video). There’s still time to move to Florida, establish residency and nab your scholarship in time to apply. Watch it on YouTube and please subscribe to our channel! I sat down with VP of development at Step Up for Students [https://www.stepupforstudents.org/], Jillian Metz, to walk us through exactly how how to apply for these funds. The takeaway: it’s super easy to apply for any Kindergarten-12th grade student with as little as a utility bill that matches your home address (and a birth certificate or passport for kindergarten age students.) Modulo’s AI learning concierge [https://www.modulo.app/] is trained to answer any question about PEP in 50+ languages, so feel free to give it a whirl if you’re considering enrolling your child. The Modulo Community is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit teachyourkids.substack.com/subscribe [https://teachyourkids.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Dr. Joan Cotter, legendary founder of Right Start Math

Anyone who has ever hosted a podcast knows the magic of finally landing a guest you’ve been hoping to interview for years. Today, I have the extraordinary privilege of sharing a conversation with Dr. Joan Cotter. As a young mom, Montessori teacher, and PhD student in math education, Dr. Cotter began developing what would become one of the most beloved math curricula in the U.S. homeschooling community and around the world. Right Start Math [https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/right-start-math] is a creative, gamified, hands-on math program designed for children from PreK through 8th grade. Right Start Math is a rare gem that meets all of Modulo’s criteria for a strong math program [https://teachyourkids.substack.com/p/the-best-prek-12th-grade-math-curriculum]: * It’s mastery-based, allowing children to move at their own pace through a sequence that aligns with how math learning actually works. * It emphasizes deep conceptual understanding over rote memorization of procedures. * It’s fun and engaging for children. Kids love it. * The customer-feedback loop is child-centric. It’s constantly evolving based on feedback to better meet the needs of learners. * It’s designed specifically to support families and caregivers helping their children with math (whether they have teaching experience or not), as opposed to being designed to support schools and trained math educators. Right Start is a treasure in the homeschooling world and one of the only curricula we recommend for gifted learners who thrive with hands-on learning, as well as students with dyscalculia and ADHD. In a world where everyone (and their second cousin) seems to be launching AI math tutors, it’s worth taking a closer look at this extraordinary program, developed by a teacher, continually evolving to serve children better over the past 40 years. In fact, I learned on the podcast that Dr. Cotter still revises the program almost every day. One of the most striking aspects of Right Start is its exceptional customer support. They have learning specialists available to speak with families directly as they navigate the program, ensuring every child can thrive, no matter their learning profile or their parent’s confidence in math. I deeply believe that evolving our K12 education system takes everybody, not just teachers, not just bureaucrats, not just education experts. Everyone should be involved and everyone should be encouraged to innovate in this space. And everyone has valuable experience and feedback to bring from 12 years of schooling or alternative education. However, I often worry that attention and funding are disproportionately given to projects led by individuals skilled in raising capital and marketing, rather than those with deep expertise in teaching and learning. Hiring a teacher onto a team is valuable, but it’s not the same as a program built by a teacher for her own children, and honed over decades to meet real, evolving needs. Moreover, a bespoke program that’s in close contact with its community can be more powerful to a child’s learning than an adaptive learning app or AI tutor build to scale rapidly (and sometimes conflicted between its accountability to investors and its mission to serve children) Dr. Cotter’s Right Start Math is truly a rare gem, and one we should all be paying closer attention to. Watch it on YouTube Join the movement Modulo’s community round is still underway. We’re just $7,000 away from reaching our initial goal. We’re at an unprecedented moment in history. Modulo has a rare opportunity to help public schools open up their offerings to modular learners, bringing vital funding back to districts and expanding access to modular learning for families who need it most. Hitting this benchmark will allow us to bring on a powerhouse team with decades of experience partnering with public school districts and unlocking government funding opportunities for innovative learning models. With their expertise, we are poised to partner with districts, scale modular learning, and grow exponentially in the 2025–2026 school year. Will you join us? Resources Right Start has levels, rather than grades. They suggest each student take a placement test to determine the best level for them. We’ve provided approximate equivalents for each grade, we also recommend you take a placement test here [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=261] Materials: Materials for every level (you only need to purchase this once) [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=265] Right Start Tutoring Program Right Start Tutoring [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=661] Right Start Math Levels Level A (Approximately kindergarten/1st grade) [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=266] Level B (2nd Grade) [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=267] Level C (3rd Grade) [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=269] Level D (4th Grade) [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=270] Level E (5th grade) [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=271] Level F (6th grade) [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=272] Level G (7th grade) [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=273] Level H (8th grade) [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=274] High School [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=259] (Algebra through Calculus) Note that high school has three different programs, Video Text [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=276], which is a good choice for self-directed, visual learners who love youtube and learning through videos, Art of Problem Solving [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=277] which is a great option for independent students who prefer more of an interactive approach. They start with the problems, encouraging students to figure it out on their own and then provide step-by-step solutions with pictures. These can be done independently without a teacher. Finally, Jacob’s [https://rightstartmath.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=197&url=278] includes Geometry and Algebra only, includes a teacher script and requires support from a teacher/caregiver. Affiliate Disclaimer: Modulo has a partnership with Right Start Math, which means we may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we truly believe in and have carefully vetted for our community. The Modulo Community is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit teachyourkids.substack.com/subscribe [https://teachyourkids.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

🎧 A Chat with my favorite Science Guys 🧬

This conversation explores innovative approaches to science education, focusing on the experiences of three educators who have developed unique science programs for homeschooling families: Daniel Fried (Biochemistry Literacy for Kids [https://biochemistryliteracyforkids.com/]), Brandon Hendrickson (Science is Weird [http://scienceisweird.com]) and Michael Finnegan (Quantum Courses [https://www.quantumcamp.com/]). They discuss the importance of critical thinking, experiential learning, and the emotional aspects of learning science. The educators share their journeys from traditional teaching to creating engaging, hands-on science programs that challenge conventional methods. They also address controversial topics such as vaccine skepticism and the role of standards in science education, while underlying the fundamental need for curiosity and exploration in learning. If you ever wondered what science should my kids be learning…(and how?)…this is for you. Watch it on YouTube (and do a gal a favor and subscribe, pretty please!) Check out the guys and their incredible science programs: *Daniel Fried (Biochemistry Literacy for Kids [https://biochemistryliteracyforkids.com/]) *Brandon Hendrickson (Science is Weird [http://scienceisweird.com]) *Michael Finnegan (Quantum Courses [https://www.quantumcamp.com/]) Check out more great science programs here The Modulo Community is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Modulo is raising a community round! If you’d like to have a stake in our growth, and make it easier than ever for families to find phenomenal resources like Science is Weird, Biochemistry Literacy for Kids and Quantum Courses, consider making an investment in our WeFunder campaign [https://wefunder.com/modulo]. Investments start at $100 and allow you to grow along with us! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit teachyourkids.substack.com/subscribe [https://teachyourkids.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]