speaker-1: Welcome to the Homeschool for the Win podcast, the podcast for homeschool families looking for real conversations, practical insights, and a fresh perspective on homeschooling. Hosted by homeschool consultant and homeschool mom, Jeanette McBee and Jose Lopez, a college and career readiness coach who works exclusively with homeschool families. In this podcast, we dive into the latest homeschooling trends, educational choices, and ways to help students discover their passions and future paths. all while building a supportive homeschool community. Whether you're just getting started or been homeschooling for years, join us on Homeschool for the Win and be a part of the conversation that informs, encourages and inspires your homeschool adventure. Well, hello, everyone. Welcome to Homeschool for the Win. I'm so excited to be here today to talk about our fun topic on why we homeschool. My name is Jose Lopez and with me I have

speaker-0: Jeanette McBee with homeschool help with Jeanette.

speaker-1: And we are excited to talk about why we homeschool. So a lot of the foundation of homeschooling comes to that one question of why do you homeschool? You know, we hear it from other families who ask us that question, or we may ask other families that question because it's so crucial to know what is the foundation of why you homeschool. And so whether it's you have a hard day of homeschooling and you just need to remind yourself of why am I homeschooling? or whether it's you've never had that conversation and maybe that's something that you have with your family to say, I think we need to recognize why we homeschool so that we can have that as our foundation and understanding. So we're excited to talk about this topic today, but before we get started, I want to introduce our segment, the homeschool for the win check-in. this segment, what we're going to do is we're going to ask questions to ourselves to just see, so you can learn more about us. And so that you can get ready to just kind of know. And so if you have questions that you want to ask us to feel free to send that as well. We can have that as part of our check-in. But for today's ⁓ check-in, obviously it's going to be Jeanette, why do you homeschool?

speaker-0: And I know that we addressed this a little bit on one of our Hot Takes episode, there's two probably of the biggest reasons. One of them was our faith, and we didn't really see that ⁓ we could give the foundation that we wanted personally for our ⁓ kiddos, and we really wanted them to grow more in their relationship with Jesus before. we sent them out into the world. ⁓ Again, I say this personally because I have friends who ⁓ have their kids go went from K through 12 through ⁓ public school and I think that's fine. I have no judgment for that. I think that's great. This was just the choice that was for our family and we really benefited from it. And the second reason is My son started reading when he was three years old with very little help from me. And so I was like, he's going to get in trouble. He's going to be so bored. And he had a lot of energy. And so we just wanted him to be able to ⁓ explore learning at his pace. And then when our daughter came along, her learning was different. And she ended up having problems with her eyes that we didn't find out until later. Her reading was very much delayed and school was very hard. And so ⁓ it was really, really wonderful to be able to homeschool in a manner that was at her pace. She was never taken into a different room or a different setting. ⁓ And so I believe that her confidence wasn't as effective. did. That's just what I think. And so it was really great to be able to discover those things of the family and be able to work with them as a family. So those are the two reasons why we homeschooled.

speaker-1: Yeah, and I think that for having that conversation with the family, like if your kiddos were ever to ask, you know, why do we homeschool? I think those are the kinds of conversations that you have, which is our foundation is we want to make sure that we're doing a customizable education that really fits you. We feel like you're so smart and we want you to continue. Right. I don't know if the school that we are looking at can provide the resources. so we want to make sure that you aren't... ⁓ shy or nervous about just how you're learning style and the level that you're at. We want to make sure that you're doing the right or that you're feeling comfortable with how you're learning and creating that environment for you. And so I think that that's really cool and that makes sense. And I feel like that resonates with some other homeschool families as well.

speaker-0: ⁓ yeah, really hope so. Okay Jose, your turn.

speaker-1: Why are we homeschooling? Why are our family homeschooling? It's really fun to do show prep for this ⁓ podcast today. I actually had a conversation with my wife and it's really funny because we have different reasons why we feel like we homeschool. And so I can speak for myself personally. I've been in higher education now for over 10 years. And so for me, before we started homeschooling, ⁓ I was always like, we're going to do public school makes sense. That's what we're going to do. And so when I started getting into education though, that's when my son turned one years old. And as we started to do that, I started to work more and more with public schools and not bashing them, not bashing what public schools are. But when I started working with high schoolers, it was really funny. Just the type of uh, questions and answers I would get for, know, what do you plan to do in the future? Uh, and it didn't hit me, um, until I actually went to my oldest nieces, uh, one of her, um, uh, presentations that she did. And there was this moment where she was articulate, answering, answering questions, doing speeches. Her writing At how old was she? At the time she was a, uh, a ninth grader. And so at that time I was already working with home high schoolers and I was like, this is far beyond what ⁓ I could imagine. And so for me, was like, you know, I worked in education. I work with the career development centers at a university at the time. And I was like, ⁓ what are employers saying about candidates? And it was, we're looking for candidates who have soft skills. And so being able to talk with one another, being able to show up on time. And when I looked at the homeschool, I was a homeschool student or my niece, I was like, you have it. Like you have what employers are looking for. So for me, it was always the end goal of like, ⁓ we have this opportunity to show my kiddos things that, ⁓ that they don't know they have the potential to do. And right now, as we're going through our curriculum, I'm starting to see the fruits from that where they're saying their times tables and they're saying like science verbiage that I have no idea it means and I'm like you're way beyond what I know. And so it's just cool to see what the end result is and that's what I'm keeping in mind for me. And the other thing I look at too is just really I didn't for me in my personal career, I always had a faith of like You know, God take me where you want to go. Like I'm follow you all the way. And so for me, when I've worked with a high school students in the public system, I really can't have that conversation of like, ⁓ I just want the best job with the most money. And I'm like, no, you, what you really should be seeking is a relationship with Jesus and how he's going to guide you to where you want to go. But for me and my homeschool co-op and group, it's kind of cool to have that feeling of like, I'm going to tell them all my feelings of like how faith is intertwined with homeschooling. And so that's really what I teach my boys and why I feel like we're homeschooling is because with our education, not only can we prepare for the future, but we can intertwine our faith to make sure that as we're looking towards the future, that we're not only preparing ourselves for a great career, great ⁓ salaries, all that, but it's really what is God calling you to do and how does that fit, make you fit into the world of work? And so to me, it's freeing to now I get to... talk with homeschool families, talk with my kids about how it's so important to have faith as you ⁓ get ready for whatever it is that's next for your students. And it is so fun and so freeing to say that. ⁓ so that's why we, ⁓ homeschool, is because we really just love what the end result looks like and we just want the best for what our kiddos.

speaker-0: I'm sorry.

speaker-1: are doing in education. ⁓

speaker-0: Absolutely, absolutely.

speaker-1: And so that's, mean, that's our story. Like that's why we homeschool, but I think there's other reasons why families homeschool, right? And I thought, I thought that it would be cool just to kind of talk about some of those reasons and then just kind of go from there. So what I think, or let's talk about some of the experiences that we've heard and then maybe we can provide a little bit of insight. And so the first thing of why, when we talk with, ⁓ homeschool families and we find out, you know, you why do you homeschool? From our experiences, we've heard about the learning differences and just the individual needs that students need. And so, Jeanette, I'm going to hand it over to you and just see, you know, what are your thoughts? Have you heard about that or what are your, what's your take on ⁓ why a homeschool family would homeschool ⁓ because of learning differences or individual needs?

speaker-0: ⁓ yeah, I've definitely heard this ⁓ so many times and I think homeschooling is a fantastic way to really help the student feel confident in what they're doing, to help them feel and know that they are intelligent and ⁓ to know that they are cared for the best way possible. Parents, know your kids. You know your kids better than anybody else. And there are so many resources out there. ⁓ In Iowa, there's an organization called Apples of Gold, and it helps with students that have ⁓ dyslexia-type issues. ⁓ then there's also support because you're not the only family who's ever done this before. ⁓ My own experience with Alyssa, my daughter, is that we actually didn't know she had a problem with her eyes until she was nine years old. And that was humbling because I actually had a non-homeschooler say something like, how did you not know? I'm like, ⁓ okay. I'm human. And ⁓ yeah, we just didn't know. And she didn't have the words to communicate. She honestly thought that's just what it was. And this was a time when the Lord just brought a family into our lives. And the mom, knew how to diagnose this type of issue. And she's like, let me just see if this is what it is. And so she did some tests. And she's like, yeah, your, your daughter is seeing double when she's reading, she doesn't track. And so instead of taking her straight to ⁓ someone that deals with dyslexia, we took her to an eye doctor who specialized in eye therapy. And so sometimes people go directly to they have dyslexia or something like that or dysgraphia, ⁓ which absolutely that may be an issue. But going to the eye doctor and just having their eyes checked is kind of an easy first step and a lot of times it's covered by insurance. So I would actually suggest going to the eye doctor first and just crossing that part off your list and then going the route of going to an organization that looks at ⁓ those other learning differences that way. And I know there's more learning differences than that. ⁓ And being able to see your pediatrician and having a pediatrician that is on board with you is so very, very helpful. If you have someone that you're working with who is not helpful in the homeschool realm, they don't support that issue, you can find someone else. There are a lot of great pediatricians out there who know wonderful things that will help you, help you put a program together. ⁓ When it comes to behavioral differences, I think homeschooling is definitely the way to go and to have, this is something that ⁓ I like helping families with is ⁓ sometimes it's just a, not just, but sometimes it's a rebellious issue. And there are certain things that need to address like respect in the home. And so that's something that homeschooling is really great for because yes, you're spending all day with your kids. You should have little breaks and times when you're having fun, but you can really address those things right when they're happening. And that really helps for building a really good relationship later. So those are just... Quickly, little handful tidbit things that ⁓ I've come in contact with the families that I know that do have learning differences. They have the hard days, they have their fun days, and it's a balancing act just like it always is. But yeah, I think it's a great idea.

speaker-1: And I think what I've heard too from homeschool families when it comes to individual ⁓ learning and learning differences is that you really want to build confidence in your student. And so if you go to ⁓ some sort of education system that isn't providing the services that you need, and you could provide that throughout your homeschool journey, parents love doing that because it really provides ⁓ that confidence building that We're not gonna make you feel bad or make you feel like we're sending you years back just because of Just because we need to adapt to our education style I think that there's a lot of support that especially in the homeschool environment where ⁓ We're very scrappy. We find answers. We can find different resources And so if one person is saying no, then we just got to keep looking for another support ⁓ And I've seen that too where family said that you know I went into a school district and they said, my kiddo has ⁓ dyslexia, we can't support. so parents decided to homeschool and they said, we're not making that a barrier. that actually became ⁓ one of my teacher friends too, who said, actually my homeschool mom said, this isn't gonna be a barrier. And he was so happy that that happened too. And that was really cool to see. And so I think that as much as it's like finding the resource for the kiddo, I think it's... Also, let's build the confidence that we can help you get through whatever it is that we need to help to do to support you. ⁓ And I think that that's cool about homeschool education as well as just being adaptable and flexible with your curriculum to say, hey, maybe we need a little bit more time on this area in order for you to feel confident. And you know what? That's okay if we have to take a little bit more time on

speaker-0: Yeah, that's absolutely true. So the next part we were looking at is ⁓ how a student feels safe in their environment. ⁓ Sometimes parents will pull their kids from public school because of ⁓ maybe a bullying issue. And Jose, what has been your experience with that? What have you been hearing?

speaker-1: How? Yeah, that's a, it's very tough to hear about. It's hard for me to talk about what bullying or any environment that feels dangerous outside of homeschooling because it's, it's a real issue. It's something that really is happening. And so, for, for the individual student that you're working with, you again, want to build an environment where you're building confidence and you're feeling like you are. kind of in control of like the social aspect of how they're growing. And so it's not so much of like, I don't want them to be in an environment where they're not prepared to be in, I don't want them to, I want them to be weird and I don't want them to be social. It's just more, we want to make sure that they're protected against whatever comes their way. And so. You know, I said that I spoke with my wife about, why do we homeschool? And I would say that that's one of the reasons why she loves homeschooling is that you can really not only focus on the education part, but the character part as well. so as much as I want to say, ⁓ there's bullies out there. Don't pick on my kid. It's more like, well, I actually don't want my kid to be the bully either. And so we work on, you know, how do you want to be treated? How, you know, what? And so we do fun activities like karate that says, you know, You know, hey, we use our karate moves for good. We don't want defending and not for being the aggressor or being in other programs that, just talk about, know, how you want to treat others. And so really what we're looking for is just an environment that how do you protect yourself? How do you guard your heart when people say things that really are harmful to your heart and just kind of, how can you unpack that in a better way than just hearing it? coming home crying and just saying like, let's actually unpack why that's happening. And I feel like those conversations happen more, are more open in a homeschool environment. ⁓ And, but I don't, I don't want to also just deny that, yeah, it does happen in those environments and we want to be prepared for, for that as well. But we also want to protect our kids from anything that's happening on that side.

speaker-0: Yeah, I completely agree. think something that you brought up with is, you know, homeschooling or, excuse me, bullying happening in schools is kind of interesting. You have this little microcosm of kids having their phones ⁓ and, you know, saying things that adults wouldn't normally say, ⁓ particularly cruel or hurtful. This doesn't normally happen in the adult world. And so ⁓ I've had to think about this a lot and raising my kids, like, am I denying them a hardship now that they would need when they are older? And what I've come to is that this particular hardship of being bullied is not the kind of hardship that would help them be a better person later. This kind of hardship is pretty sinful and it's actually a big distraction and it can actually take away from, like you said, not just their confidence, ⁓ but also how they view their worth. And that is something that I think is really important to protect. They are already innately not sure about their identity when they hit puberty in high school. That is something they're wondering who they are and who they are in the world. And then you put bullying as another layer on top of that, and it's kind of going to throw the train off the rails. taking that distraction out of the picture is actually very helpful. I think the hardships that come along are ⁓ having to do with getting things done on time. And like you said before with karate, you know, this is how we respect another person. And these are healthy ways that you deal with conflict in the home. And these are healthy ways that we deal with conflict in friendships. Let's talk about those difficulties instead of these very extreme, out of the ordinary things where people are, our kids are doing things. ⁓ that they're gonna look back 20 years about and say, what in the world was I thinking? So yeah, it's very different.

speaker-1: And I would say that going with that as well is learning to control your emotions. Like, I don't know about you, but I never had a class ⁓ in public school that said, hey, let's talk about emotions. What is anger? What is sadness? What is, and those are topics that we discuss about, like, I look at my kids and sometimes they can be very emotional and that's cool and that's great. But like, there's going to be times where I know if they were in another environment where they were emotional or. ⁓ they were in their feelings, right? That they may get picked on because of that. And it's like, no, those are natural. Those are good to have. And so controlling the emotions before those instances happen. And we talk about bullying, but there's other types of things that happen in the environment, like you're saying. So for instance, my kids are 11 and eight years old, and they have never come to us and said, I want a cell phone. And when we talk with our neighbors about public school and being in an elementary, like everyone wants a cell phone or people already, half of them already have cell phones. me and my wife, joke around, we say, ⁓ well, they never asked us, but if they did, we'd be like, who are you going to call? Like, there's no one there you're going to call. There's no reason why you need one. So those environments, like there's different things, different topics that, you know, middle schoolers or high schoolers start to talk about that. It's like, you, who do you want to have those conversations about like you're saying puberty or what it's like to have, you know, boyfriend, girlfriend relationship. Who do you want those conversations to go through? And so that's why I like homeschooling is because we can kind of have those conversations that are meaningful and helpful to our students before who knows who has a conversation now. Will they have that with their friends? Yeah, they will eventually, but To contain that is a lot helpful and that's what I enjoy about it as well.

speaker-0: Yeah, I would agree with that. We've on the spectrum, we've waited a very long time. My son didn't have an actual smartphone that had internet until he was 17. And I think the time when we started to look at, he really kind of needs a cell phone is when he got a job. And sometimes jobs have apps where the only way you get paid is if you have data and you can get paid through that app. So ⁓ that totally makes sense to me. if you something that kept me from what my daughter still has, she has a gab phone, so she doesn't have access to the internet. And all I have to do is look at statistics for 15, you know, for teenage girls and cell phones. And I'm like, yeah, you're not getting one right now.

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah, and I completely agree. But I think the influence is there in different education environments where, know, why are you wearing the latest clothes? Do you have a cell phone? Do you have the coolest car? Where it's like, I don't need to get you the coolest clothes in my house because you're not going to impress me with what you're wearing. it's just kind of cool to see that those are. Really things that we, me and my wife, we don't think about until we actually start having conversations with families that aren't doing homeschool. Like we start to say like, did you, have you had this talk yet? I'm like, no, I don't. What are you talking about? And like, ⁓ okay, that's right. And I will say, and then we'll move on to the next one. I will say that for harmful environments too. Like for me being raised, like with bullying and stuff, like for me. ⁓ I always had the feeling of like, ⁓ getting out of fights and like talking about that. And that's a skill I'd want to teach my kids too. But like, I've always had the, I, before someone beat me up, I always had the ability to have a conversation and say, you don't want to do this. You know, you'll get no street credit by beating me up. There's, like, they would agree and they'd say, you're right. There's no, and so I would get away with that. And so it was kind of like, we all won. Cause there's like, look, you don't need. you get nothing for beating me up. Like, let's move on. And so like, I think that that's kind of fun stuff to kind of teach as well as like, listen, some people just want to fight, just get out of that situation. so, but, but, ⁓ yeah, so, but I don't even want them to be involved in any of that.

speaker-0: I know. mean, you bring up an interesting point. Sometimes those things do come up. You know, want my son to be able to defend himself 100%. And I believe he can, but he's also learned ways that he can do that. And so ⁓ through his dad and him having conversations, so those real world things do come up. But, you know, like I said, the psychological difference in having, you know, being bullied when they're younger is kind of messy.

speaker-1: And I do like that and I don't know if that's a topic we talk about on another time, but really I do like that, know, hey, my kiddo didn't face some of those situations when they go off to college or into the workforce. Like, what is that going to look like? What is that going to be like? That might be a topic for another time where we just kind of talk with people who have already gone through it and have kiddos who are outside of homeschooling. And what was their, what did their kiddos face once they went into college and into the workforce. So I that's a good topic to talk about. ⁓ yeah, we can kind of expand on that. So ⁓ the last the last reason what we've heard from families that, you know, homeschool is just because of their lifestyle, their lifestyle, or, you know, there may be ⁓ there may be a stay at home mom who wants to homeschool. That's awesome. There may be There may be, ⁓ I know we've heard about families who are in the military who move around and then rather than going into schools in and out that they rather just do homeschooling to help kind of make a ⁓ kind of a normal type of routine, regardless of where they're at. But ⁓ for me ⁓ and our family, ⁓ my wife, she works from home and so she can dedicate some time for working and dedicate some time for working with our kiddos. And that's why she loves just having that flexibility to do that. Yeah, there's really, ⁓ when it comes to lifestyle and how families work, like there's really the opportunity to homeschool if that's what you're looking for and how to really just make that a part of your lifestyle. What's your experience, Janette, or what have you heard?

speaker-0: ⁓ yeah, absolutely. I agree 100 % with ⁓ stay at home moms who have ⁓ a successful career that they are able to do at home. I think that's wonderful. ⁓ And also, like you said, military, a new ⁓ mode of homeschooling that I saw come up was road schooling. So that is taking your family across the country or across the world. and being able to teach them through ⁓ completely integrating into some culture. And if you've traveled around the US, you notice there are different cultures. And so our family has traveled to 48 of the states and we did that on purpose so that our kids would be able to experience different people in this wonderful country that we live in. ⁓ That has been just so exciting and being able to study something and then go to the place that you studied. We went to Colonial Williamsburg after studying about the colonies. ⁓ We've been to both oceans, state and national parks. mean, there's so much to learn and they remember it. What you taught them, they're able to recall when you're there. It just brings that learning to life and then they want to learn more and then they want to go to more places and that's a beautiful thing. We want that. We want those lifelong learners. So yeah, road schooling, I'm all for. I think that's really exciting.

speaker-1: Yeah, I've never thought about that, but like it's is funny because like ⁓ we are obviously learning about ⁓ the history of the US and so we have a trip coming up to Washington DC and that's just going to blow their mind of like everything that they're learning. We've done studies on Greece and so we as a family, hopefully one day we can go visit Greece and so

speaker-0: and you're

speaker-1: Yeah, everyone who's listening, can come on with us. Just send me an email. And so, no, but it is, it's a lot of fun to say, ⁓ I have family ⁓ across the U.S. So I have family in Florida. I have family in Colorado. And so it is fun to say, okay, ⁓ we're learning about space. We're going to go to Orlando. Hey, the Kennedy Space Center is there. Hey, that's a part of our curriculum today. Like there's so much Convert there's there's so many science centers out there And so there's so many places that you could visit so many museums that you could visit and just make it part of your curriculum So like if you're if you are if you want this to be a part of your lifestyle where you're traveling all the time Like I think that's a great opportunity. I think that just having the flexibility of your education and talking about like, you know having conversations, you're doing math and fractions and decimals and let's go to the store and let's see if we can count the change before the cashier. Like there's so many things that you can have it wrapped around your lifestyle that it's so fun. Now for me, right, I'm always thinking about the career side. And so driving down the street and looking at construction workers, we're gonna have a conversation about, you what pathway or what career cluster does construction fit into what? department, you know, is it a part of the Department of Transportation and what are the opportunities? like there's always, for me, it's always about relating homeschooling to how is it connected to this world of work. And so it's always, it's just so fun to do that because I, I sometimes, when I look at public school and just being stuck in a building for eight hours a day, I'm like, but there's so much more to explore. And I love that, you know, We can kind of go traveling or my, my, ⁓ my wife can go, ⁓ do run an errand while she's homeschooling and still be able to teach my kids what's going on. Or they can study while they're in the car or they can study where, while they're in the basement or outside. Like there's just so many things. And we just got a new puppy about six months ago and there's even more, there's more responsibility and learning and chores that are involved. So there's just so, it's so cool to intertwine. Your lifestyle with homeschooling.

speaker-0: Right. Right. Because really we're, we're growing adults. Yeah. You know, we're teaching them to open their eyes and to learn about the world and the people around them and to love them and to take care of them and to, ⁓ just, you know, be able to praise God and whatever situation they're in, whomever they are with. And it's really, it's really become a beautiful thing.

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah, there's beauty out there. There's the everything about ⁓ science, math, literature, everything is all connected. And it's like so cool to point that out. And even to say, hey, careers are connected to, to our faith. And so it's fun to do that. so I, I mean, I, I love homeschooling and it's so weird because if you were to ask me 15 years ago, I probably wouldn't have said that. ⁓ But I've just seen just. A, the fruits from my nieces and nephews. My kids, I could see them just how they're growing just intellectually with everything that they're doing and I'm just loving what they're doing. And I'm so proud of them and it's just been an awesome ride that I'd say, regardless of what anyone says of why they homeschool, There's a reason why they're doing it. And I think that that's so awesome and that they should continue to pursue it, especially if it's working for their family and everyone is just doing a great job doing it. But if they're not, or if it feels like it's kind of like not the right fit, that's the beauty of homeschooling too, is you could pivot or you can change or you can find a new curriculum or you can find a new way to help with the education process. Because like I said, we're all scrappy and we could all find solutions and we're all good at finding those solutions as well.

speaker-0: Yeah, and you and I are here to help them. They can reach out to us whenever they want. Yeah. And we're available.

speaker-1: Yeah, and and I think that that's I mean for us that's kind of like our conclusion and our wrap-up here is that we love homeschooling and we love the why of why you all homeschool and we'd love to hear from you all too like if there's a reason that obviously there's so many more reasons that we discuss but if there's something that we missed or something we didn't talk about and you choose to homeschool for a certain reason let us know we want to hear that please ⁓ leave a comment or reach out to us on our email. And we'd ⁓ love to just kind of chat and just see why you're homeschool. And this is such a great community and such a great group where we can learn more about why we're doing that. And again, if you have a question or a check-in on what you want to learn about us, and we'd love to hear that and answer those questions as well. So ⁓ with that, what do you think, Jeanette? Should we wrap up this episode?

speaker-0: Yep, I think it's time to get back to their kids.

speaker-1: Get back to your kids. Hank, thanks for joining us on this episode, and we look forward to hearing you all next time. Bye.

speaker-0: Yes, bye.