Many Ways Home

Episode 13: Liz

This conversation is near and dear to my heart - my bestie! Liz lives in Minneapolis and has two girls, 10 & 7. We’ve only shared physical space one time, but we talk just about every day in some form or other. She’s a magical human and I feel super grateful to be on this big blue planet at the same time as her; not to mention, homeschooling and parenting alongside, too. We cover everything from pandemic kindergarten to rhythm in the early years, the magic of getting to learn how kids learn, the spiritual hyper-drive of homeschooling, listening as community support (vs. advice giving), and much more. Enjoy ☺️ Resources shared > Pinwheels [https://rootedinlanguage.com/pages/pinwheels] Fran Liberatore [https://alifeunschooled.substack.com/] If you’re in Minne, too - yoga with Liz [https://www.liz-wentworth.com/] Watch this conversation on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yS8-J0sZVQ] Thanks for listening and reading. To support my work give it a ♥️, share it, dialogue with me in the comments, and/or consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Peace Mail at peacemail.substack.com/subscribe [https://peacemail.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 12: Jo

This week’s convo is with my friend Jo, who is a mom to two (8 and 5) and who was homeschooled herself, from start to finish. She gives honest insights into her experience, and how, in many ways, it taught her ahead of time what she “didn’t want to do.” We also chat the image of homeschooling today, the mindset of “constant adjusting,” some of the pressures felt being a homeschooling parent, and much more. I will say, it was interesting to listen to this again in prep for posting it (several months after we recorded) because our back and forth about what you give up to homeschool, and the reality of not being able to do it all…really resonated with me at the current juncture I find myself in. Just goes to show that the constant adjusting that we are doing with our kids is constant adjusting in ourselves, too. 💛 Resources shared > All About Spelling [https://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/all-about-spelling/?utm_term=all%20about%20spelling&utm_campaign=Brand+-+All+About+Spelling&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=2844285535&hsa_cam=14613995944&hsa_grp=133862927024&hsa_ad=545101979233&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=aud-1187844462440:kwd-309054280057&hsa_kw=all%20about%20spelling&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=14613995944&gbraid=0AAAAABtOlnpZAIGf3npUzakblz9FpJXbe&gclid=CjwKCAjwwpDQBhAuEiwAa-4Wo7XguHPzxhOGEtL_Mq70iUh5G350oTx_q0rrwqaz-qYVgbVwmfwPGBoC-bkQAvD_BwE] This didn’t come up but, Jo has an Etsy shop [https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCamdenMercantile?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=4479776834&from_page=listing]! Watch this episode on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brvG8KsUc3Q&feature=youtu.be]. Thanks for listening, reading, and engaging in any way! To support my work, give it a ♥️ , share it, dialogue with me in the comments, and/or consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I appreciate you. Get full access to Peace Mail at peacemail.substack.com/subscribe [https://peacemail.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 11: Meg

Sharing a convo with my virtual bud Meg this week. Meg and I have known each other since 2019, but have never met in-person. She lives in Vermont and has three kiddos: a sophomore in college, a junior in high school, and a six year old. She’s the first person I’ve interviewed who a) doesn’t live in Colorado and b) has older kids, so I’ve been excited to share, because she’s done the thing, is doing the thing, and her story is a reminder that you can’t predict the path. Also: all of it is temporary and fleeting; a window of time you can’t get back.She speaks to the winding road between public school, homeschool, public school, college, and homeschool hybrids…echoing some of what Amanda (ep. 9) shared: that one of the gifts of homeschool is that her older kids had a solid sense of self by the teen years. “They knew who they were, they know who they are.” And I gotta pull this quote, too: “Part of that betrayal was my own, like I was learning in real time that the idea that I had had that someone other than myself and Chris were responsible for our children’s education….that that was never actually true to begin with. It was just an idea that I had absorbed through the culture.” Oof. It’s so good, Meg is so easy to talk (and listen) to, and I find her perspective a breath of fresh air. Thanks for listening 💫 Resources shared > Orton Gillingham [https://www.ortonacademy.org/] Singapore Math [https://www.singaporemath.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooIuUTGWCq4us9Ui4VFejWBoCzbwpdPU95GQf4XxEa3Iwg8Xmys] Mathhelp.com [https://www.mathhelp.com/] Brave Writer [https://bravewriter.com/] Meg’s substack [https://cryingseason.substack.com/] and website [https://www.megabenenewlin.com/] Watch this interview on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSUESiFn7as&t=5s] Thanks for reading, listening, engaging in any way! To support my work, give it a ♥️, share it, dialogue with me in the comments, and/or consider being a free or paid subscriber. I appreciate you. Get full access to Peace Mail at peacemail.substack.com/subscribe [https://peacemail.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 10: Tiffany

Sharing my conversation with Tiffany this week, who is homeschooling her 9 year old. I love a lot of things about this convo, but one of which is the way Tiffany describes homeschooling….as something that is creative, technical, philosophical, humbling. A multi-layered project. She talks about the relationship with her daughter as the most important thing (“8-10 more years of orbiting her center”😭) and shares candidly about their “re-upping” moments. We talk introversion (and the polarity of that with an extroverted kiddo), she shares some of their sweet practices (Morning basket, Mail Mondays, beginning & end of year letters, Yule School…) and she also talks about her experience of being a “gifted and talented kid” and the ways in which that, ultimately, didn’t serve her. This is also the first convo that dives a little bit more into the homeschooling requirements in CO, specifically the third grade test requirements. Also - I said I would circle back at the end to the topic of Tiffany not driving and then I never did lol. BUT I did circle back via text. Her response: “So, I never learned to drive. Never had a license. The way I think about it is this: friction is a tool. It’s not always a bad thing. If I want to adopt a new behavior, I try to remove any friction between me and doing the thing that I want me to do. If I want to discourage a behavior, then adding friction makes it harder to do the thing that I might be tempted to do but do not want to do. Choosing not to drive aligns with my values. It’s one of the ways I care for the environment. I prefer the pace of life. It has a way of slowing things down. Traveling on foot, by bus, or bike, just offers a different view of being in the world. As a homeschooler, it can limit what we choose to do. But, if it is super important, we make it happen. Values-aligned self-imposed limits help you get real clear on what matters and inspires you to get creative. I love not running around. I love that it forces me to invest in the relationships I have with the people who live on my street. I love interacting with people on the bus whom I would otherwise never be in the same space with. I love walking or riding the bike and taking in my surroundings. I can feel the breeze, the heat of the sun, the scent of the lilacs if I am riding by some bushes. More specifically, with homeschooling, I have to say no to a lot of amazing wonderful opportunities. As a parent, you want them to have every and all opportunities. But the best anyone can do in life is have a portfolio of experiences. We can’t have and do it all. And it all comes back to the quality of our time. I give myself permission to not try to give my kiddo everything.” I admit, I totally romanticize this decision and often think about how different community is, now…when we’re driving 30 minutes to find it vs. committing to our neighborhood. I imagine there are many challenges to it, too (it’s also, on a practical level, part of the reason Tiffany and I don’t see each other as much) but I agree with all her reasons for not doing it and wish, every day, that our country had infrastructure like Japan lol. Why don’t we have more trains, Americaaa?! To me, it’s also a valuable perspective and practice to add into the mix because it does actively fight against so much of what I think many modern parents struggle with…which is the pressure of running & doing, despite believing in the importance of slowing down and helping our kids see that their worth is not tied to their doing. Anyway - it’s another good one :) Enjoy. Resources shared > Life Ways - Waldorf Early Childhood Certification [https://www.lifewaysnorthamerica.org/] Montessori [https://bookshop.org/a/117050/9781607965053], Reggio Emilia [https://bookshop.org/a/117050/9780313359811], Tools of the Mind [https://bookshop.org/a/117050/9780367758967], John Dewey [https://bookshop.org/a/117050/9780684836317] and the Chicago School, John Gatto [https://bookshop.org/a/117050/9780865718548], Charlotte Mason [https://bookshop.org/a/117050/9781433580000] * Night Zookeeper [https://www.nightzookeeper.com/] (Gamified Language Arts) Homeschool requirements in CO [https://ed.cde.state.co.us/choice/homeschool] Stanford 10 [https://www.setontesting.com/product/stanford-10-online/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16578477101&gbraid=0AAAAACn5vLggiWnZuPIQS1kHgJzStJWEw&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2MbPBhCSARIsAP3jP9xfT5TcqTVodZxbg8xmGR_96tPt0mF-Ggw7fY8iGN3qd3kKETY8nAkaAn7SEALw_wcB] Homeschool Boss - NWEA Map Growth [https://homeschoolboss.com/] *Note: I get a little kickback from books purchased through those bookshop links Tiffany writes on substack, too! [https://substack.com/@theunschoolingdiaries] As always, you can also watch this interview on Youtube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqlaoJnePNk]. Thank you for reading and listening! To support my work, give it a ♥️, share it, dialogue with me in the comments, and/or consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Peace Mail at peacemail.substack.com/subscribe [https://peacemail.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 9: Amanda

This week’s conversation is with my friend Amanda, who is also my fellow Wisconsinite/artist/mindful entrepreneur/dreamer/enneagram 4. She’s my slice of Wisco here in the mountains and I’m super grateful for her presence in my life. Her kids are 8 and 4. Amanda is the first person I’m interviewing who was homeschooled herself, and who also had an abrupt transition out of homeschool (not by choice), so she carries a deep, unique perspective with her. We talk about her experience, how it informs the experience she’s building for her kids, life as learning, dimmed lights, theory vs. practice, how “the way we do one thing is the way we do everything” and so much more. So many gems in this one that I’m carrying forward. A gift that keeps on giving. Resources shared > Learn more about Amanda’s work as a life coach via her website [https://amandalifecoach.com/] Unschooled by Kerry McDonald [https://bookshop.org/a/117050/9781641600637]* Teaching from Rest by Sarah Mackenzie* [https://amzn.to/3OEVJ7B] - neither Amanda or I have read this but it’s a Lauren rec that comes up in our convo :) *Note - I get a little kickback if you decide to buy books To watch this interview, click here [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH48Teya-OE] Thank you for listening and reading! To support my work, give it a ❤️, share it, dialogue with me in the comments, and/or consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Peace Mail at peacemail.substack.com/subscribe [https://peacemail.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]