Many Ways Home

This week I’m sharing my conversation with Marisol. She is a mom to three kids - an older son who has autism (and who deeply inspired parts of her journey including becoming a special education teacher in public schools), a 7 year old who she’s homeschooling, and then a sweet, brand new little nugget who was with her for this entire interview (hence my high pitched oh em geee look at herrrr voice lol - it was my first time seeing her!)

We talk about advocacy, homeschooling with an infant, the learning that happens all the time (and the knowledge that isn’t valued as much - like knowing your poop type lolol), de-schooling our brains, the confidence piece for homeschooling parents of trusting you’re enough and that you are capable of teaching your kid(s) (whether you’re a teacher or not), and so much more.

I’ll close by saying this (since you mentioned your homeschool room, Marisol): I totally created a homeschool space in our basement in 2023 mainly because I was tired of stuff being all over the house. And guess what? Stuff’s still all over the house, and lately we’re only down there to play piano, have dance parties, and build with legos 😆. So yes, relatable. The learning happens all over. It cannot be contained. Parts of this convo reminded me of Julie Bogart’s “stages of homeschooling,” one of which is “playing school”. She says,

“We recreate the classroom we remember: bulletin boards, workbooks lined up in magazine files, color-coded schedules. We’re trying to make learning look official, because that’s what we know. Over time, though, we notice a gap between the tidy plan and the messy reality of family life. Someone melts down, someone’s sick, someone’s building an elaborate Lego world during read-aloud time—and, secretly, we’d rather join them than fight it […] Eventually, we arrive at a place we might call “us schooling.” We’re no longer trying to fit someone else’s mold. Instead, we’ve pieced together an education that reflects our family’s values, capacities, quirks, and dreams. It’s not perfect. There are still hard days and unfinished assignments. But there is a growing sense of calm: we know our kids, we know ourselves, and we trust the learning that unfolds in the middle of real life.“

Resources from Marisol >

Logic of English - the reading and language arts curriculum she follows, though she supplements with lots of things, including these books:

Singapore math - one of the math curriculums they use

Khan Academy - according to her, the app is for younger students, web for older kids. They use both.

Teach your monster number skills

Mia academy - her “right now” solution, with a newborn

Also, this is the Shambhala center :) Meditation in Boulder.

As always, you can also watch this episode on YouTube.

Thanks for tuning in to Many Ways Home. 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!

Today’s conversation is with Megan, who lives in Colorado and is a mom to two boys. Megan worked in the public school system as a Special Education teacher, and was inspired to homeschool by her husband who was homeschooled from start to finish. (Side note: she’s also a great Irish dancer. She led our kiddos in a mini class for St. Patrick’s day last year 🍀 ) We chat about everything from obsessively planning field trips, to flopped lessons, obedience and what it means to be a “good student,” the importance of building community (with ideas on how to find & start one) and more.

Thank you Megan for sharing your time and insights 🙏

Resources she mentioned >

Free Forest School

The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins*

*Note: I get a little kickback on books purchased through this link, if you decide to check it out.

This episode is also available to watch on YouTube.

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. I appreciate you.

This week is with my friend Elena, who lives in Colorado and is mom to two boys. In this conversation we cover everything from the windiness of parenting littles, to public school in post soviet Russia, patchwork quilting curriculum, the balance between discipline and play, the pressure we put on ourselves and the projection of that onto our kids, how it feels to actively build community vs. just being a part of one, and more.

I will admit, I can be defiant about parenting books/theories/advice/etc. but there are a lot of little gems in here, too, for how homeschooling and parenting inform each other. Are they different things? Or one and the same?

She is so intentional and thoughtful, and I feel like those qualities come through in this interview in spades. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed chatting with her.

Resources for things that came up >

Early on, with her first baby, she was inspired by Waldorf philosophy, and read books like: You are your Child’s First Teacher: Encouraging your Child’s Natural Development from Birth to Age Six by Rahima Baldwin Dancy. (Her favorite piece of this was the “Head, Heart, Hands” idea)*

In terms of schooly stuff, they’re currently big fans of Blossom and Root.

P.S. Windy days writing, from the archives, from the first part of this conversation :)

Housekeeping notes:

*I do get a little kickback from books linked through bookshop.org if you decide to shop.

I officially linked to Apple Podcasts, too, and with the RSS you should be able to listen wherever you listen to podcasts.

Video is also available on YouTube.

Thanks for listening & 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. I appreciate you.

Episode two is with my friend Lauren. She lives in Colorado and has three kiddos, 8, almost 6, and 2. Honestly, she’s the reason I ended up finding a larger homeschool community because she welcomed me into one. And not only did she welcome me in, but she kept.on.me (in a very kind, loyal way) when I was having commitment issues lol.

All that to say, she has taught me a great deal about what it means to be in community, and as the extrovert to my introvert, she continues to pull me out of my shell when I’d rather hole up and hide which is…often. (Like, what, we’re going dancing now Lauren? Just tell me what to wear! 🤣)

In this episode, we dive into everything from a Montessori inspired education, to the realities of homeschooling multiple children with a toddler along for the ride, learning alongside your children, cyclical wisdom, labels and the pressure to categorize what we’re doing, and more.

I should also say, I ended up writing her yesterday because in listening back to this before posting, I was like wait - but why homeschooling? Why not a Montessori school?

And she was like, “It’s so funny you ask that because I was thinking after we recorded - I really only told half of how I came to homeschooling!”

So for those of you who might be wondering the same thing, Lauren said that the public Montessori schools in Colorado were actually part of the motivator in moving, and they did enroll their eldest in public Montessori kindergarten the year she was turning 5. But then, in her words, “We got the acceptance and we were just looking at this day, like…she’s gonna be gone from 7:30-4 by the time we get home. And we just didn’t want to do that. So a big piece of it was the time - having time to spend together. We didn’t end up accepting, and then we didn’t start officially homeschooling until the following year.”

As someone who is very interested in identity, I loved the back and forth about 2/3 of the way in about what it is that we “do” and the expectation to have a specific kind of answer; to categorize ourselves in some way, even in something that is counter-culture. As Lauren said, “We homeschool, and that means so much.” It can feel impossible to distill down, and really…the beauty of it is the wild expanse of it all.

To me, this is part of the unlearning. Letting it stay big and open and all encompassing, and resisting the urge - and pressure - to put it, ourselves, and our children in a box.

Resources from Lauren >

Child of the Redwoods - the Montessori curriculum she follows

Books:

The Secret of Childhood by Maria Montessori

The Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori

The Deep Well of Time by Michael J. Dorer

*The Power of Showing Up by Daniel Siegel

*Hold on to your Kids by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté

*These last two are not Montessori specific, but also inspired Lauren to homeschool. Also, note: for all the books linked through bookshop.org, I (Eva) do earn a little kickback as an affiliate if you decide to shop through those links.

Lauren has also been inspired by Nicole Kavanaugh - this is her website/blog and podcast - Shelf Help).

And finally - quick shout out to my friend Laura who made me think about cyclical wisdom in relation to homeschooling (which I hadn’t, before.) She does a lot with this in relation to business (like scheduling/avoiding certain activities on certain days of your cycle) and though I haven’t implemented rhythm in quite this way, I am becoming more aware of my patterns (they really are so dang predictable) and how they impact my capacity. Also cool to think about, in raising a daughter. For a free guide to some of this info, click here (that also links you to her website).

And for my visual peeps, know this episode is also available to watch on YouTube.

Thank you for reading & 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.

This first conversation is with my friend Lisa. She lives in Colorado and has three kids, ages 9, 5, and 2.

In this episode, she shares what life was like before kids, what inspired her to homeschool, and a little bit about what it actually looks for their family in the day-to-day. All episodes in this first season follow a similar framework; essentially people’s starting stories, and where they find themselves now in the journey.

One of my favorite parts of this conversation was early on, when Lisa was talking about rediscovering some of the rhythms from before kids, with kids. Rejoining the rock climbing gym, going skiing with her eldest, including kids in travel…

It was reminding me of a conversation I had with another friend about “regaining our pink,” which was inspired by something her therapist told her: that flamingos, after they give birth, literally lose their pink hue. Both parents get drained of energy and nutrients while feeding their chicks, putting everything into the crop milk and as a result, not having as much for themselves. When the chicks are no longer dependent, the parents regain their pink.

Ever since my friend told me this, I’ve been reflecting on what “regaining my pink” would mean for me, while also trying to release any feelings I have about admitting that I lost some pink to begin with. I’m not a fan of the messaging surrounding the idea that mothers “let themselves go” or “lose themselves” in having kids, and I can see how “losing pink” could easily become another version of that story. But what strikes me is the neutrality of it for the flamingos. It isn’t framed as failure or self-sacrifice. There’s no psychological shaming, it’s literally just a biological shift- for both parents. One could argue the same is true for humans, just in more complex ways. The shifts are real, but the meaning we attach to them is not.

I digress 😅 This isn’t exactly what Lisa was talking about, but her joy in rediscovering pieces of herself from “the before times” and being able to share those pieces with her kids made me go: Ah! Pink! Regained and integrated.

And beyond that, her honesty about how it all unfolds, especially with a toddler in the mix, is refreshing and I certainly found it relatable. Flying by the seat of our pants can be a superpower - it keeps us responsive! And open!

Resources for some things that came up >

The Good and the Beautiful - what Lisa’s currently using for math and language arts

Also, we didn’t talk about this but Lisa made an app for homeschooling parents! It is close to being live, and I will update this post when it is with the link (check back within the month.) Here’s what she says about it: “I created this app because I wanted one simple place to plan our learning, manage our family calendar, and support our rhythm without overcomplicating it. From organizing curriculum and tracking lessons and attendance, to logging reading, travel, and real-world experiences, this app helps capture both the planned and organic learning that happens every day. It was born from a desire for less chaos and more clarity, so families can stay organized, present, and confident.“

Yay Lisa! 👏

Listen above, on Spotify, and/or watch this conversation on YouTube.

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.