Rebecca Stromsdorfer never wanted to homeschool. She toured the charters and the private schools in her county looking for any other option, but she couldn't find a classroom she'd put her daughter in. This episode is a full walkthrough of how she started homeschooling and what she learned along the way.

GUEST

Rebecca Stromsdorfer - homeschool mom of five (22 years), founder of My Homeschool Village

Website: https://myhomeschoolvillage.com

CHAPTERS

00:00 She never wanted to homeschool

03:55 Enjoying learning vs. making it fun

07:52 Six workbooks, and everything a first grader needs to know

12:36 Deschooling, and what "broken" actually means

21:24 You don't know what plant you were given

25:47 Week one: take a vacation, then start doing the work yourself

32:02 What their family culture actually is

35:30 The homeschool daily schedule, hour by hour

38:57 The weekly homeschool rhythm

51:11 She thought she was dumb, and the mirror

01:00:33 Homeschooling is hard on marriage

01:08:28 Rapid fire: curriculum and textbooks

Sam Griffin spent two years wanting to homeschool and not starting, because she did not think she was qualified. Five years later, she teaches four kids from kindergarten through ninth grade. She is a homeschool mom of four and a homeschool coach who works with parents who are curious about homeschooling but have no idea where to start.

Read the full show notes: https://opened.co/blog/homeschool-schedule-2-hours-a-day

GUEST: Samantha Griffin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeschoolsam/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@homeschoolsam

CHAPTERS

00:00 From footwear buyer to homeschool mom of four

02:22 How the coaching started

03:11 "Our kids work a nine to five"

04:58 The homeschool schedule: two hours of academics a day

05:50 What the schedule gives the kids

07:07 Her first year was a hot mess

08:40 Every curriculum has the same scope

09:47 Start with two subjects, open-and-go

12:19 The self-doubt in year one

15:25 Stop explaining it to anyone

18:48 A 13-year-old in ninth grade

21:56 "Skip elementary science and history entirely"

29:23 You don't have to be the teacher

31:30 Theater, farm school, and survival class

40:50 A wakeboarding class that's really physics

43:43 On the viral anti-homeschooling podcast

46:38 Was it hard to leave the career?

50:05 Rapid fire: socialization, college, credentials

Jeremy Cioara never planned to homeschool - or to become an entrepreneur. Twenty years and seven kids later, the longtime tech trainer has a simple method for raising kids who actually love to work: bring them along. In this episode, he tells Ela Bass how a haircut turned into buying his daughter a cookie shop, and what 20 years of hiring taught him about degrees versus doing.

FIND JEREMY

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-cioara-4860573/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cioarajeremy/

CHAPTERS

00:00 How the Cioaras decided to homeschool (and bought a cookie shop)

06:38 Advice for homeschool dads who aren't on board

10:09 Bringing your kids along: what a dad's role looks like

13:18 Dads knowing dads

17:53 From training career-changers to raising kids who work

24:14 How the family talks about work and unique giftings

31:44 The practicalities of developing each kid's gifts

38:53 Why homeschool sports over going pro

46:23 Passing the mantle of decision-making

49:31 Rapid fire: getting kids to love work

53:57 Where to find Jeremy

Val Morse was homeschooled until high school, and now she homeschools her own two daughters - two completely different learners. In this conversation, Val breaks down what to do when your kid hates learning, why being interested is a skill you can build rather than a personality trait, and what it means to let go of the outcome. Follow Val on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valariespnw/

Read the full blog post: https://opened.co/blog/how-to-make-learning-fun

What's it actually like to be homeschooled? Finley is 10 years old, in fourth grade, one of nine kids, and a Lego robotics competitor - and he is the youngest student ever interviewed on the OpenEd Podcast. He walks through his real homeschool day and answers the question of socialization for himself.Read the full blog post: https://opened.co/blog/day-in-the-life-of-a-homeschooler

Faye Casell spent two decades as a special educator before reading struggles got personal with her own son during lockdown. In this episode, she explains why one in five kids is dyslexic, why only one in five of those ever gets help, and how schools spent decades teaching an entire generation to read by guessing instead of decoding. Read the full blog post: https://opened.co/blog/signs-your-homeschooled-child-might-be-dyslexicFAYE'S LINKSWebsite: https://homereadingcoach.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/homereadingcoachFree ebook, "Family Dyslexia Roadmap": https://fayebankler.mysamcart.com/free-dyslexia-roadmap-for-familiesThe Reading Breakthrough program: https://fayebankler.samcart.com/products/reading-breakthrough-level-1

A former teacher who graduated with $50,000 in student loans made sure her two daughters never would. Both finished college about a week before high school graduation - debt-free - using dual enrollment. Shelley Branine, author of "Finish College in High School," breaks down the exact playbook: what the program is called in your state, where to start, how to guarantee your credits transfer, and why a C in a dual-enrollment class beats an AP exam.Read the full blog post: https://opened.co/blog/dual-enrollment-how-to-help-your-kids-graduate-college-debt-freeWebsite: https://shelleybranine.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/shelleybranineLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelley-branineBook: "Finish College in High School" https://a.co/d/0bpPNxlW

ToriAnn Perkey homeschooled four kids from 2004 through graduation - all are now in college. She is the Executive Director at the Independent Education Program in Utah, where she teaches English, writing, and ACT prep to more than 160 homeschool students ages 12-18. She homeschooled her four children and spent years mentoring new homeschool moms.

FIND TORIANN

Website: https://ieprogram.org/

YouTube:  ⁨@homeschooltohomeschool⁩ 

ALSO LISTEN

ToriAnn's first appearance - Homeschool High School Without Fear: https://opened.co/blog/homeschool-high-school-without-fear

Becky Wilmoth never wanted to homeschool. A new baby, a private school bill she couldn't afford, and a nine-year gap between her kids pushed her into it. Becky is a consultant at Nonprofit Ed Solutions, where she helps education entrepreneurs start co-ops, hybrid schools, and microschools as 501(c)(3) nonprofits. She is also a named Ambassador for the National Hybrid Schools Project.

FIND BECKYWebsite: NonprofitEdSolutions.comInstagram: @nonprofitedsolutionsFacebook: @nonprofitedsolutionsLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/becky-abrams

RESOURCES MENTIONEDNational Microschooling Center: microschoolingcenter.orgKaiPod Learning: kaipodlearning.comVela Ed Fund (app for finding hybrid programs): https://vela.org/

ALSO LISTEN How to Start a Microschool with Amar Kumar (KaiPod Learning): https://opened.co/blog/how-to-start-a-microschool

CHAPTERS

0:00 She Never Wanted to Homeschool0:54 The Reluctant Homeschooler4:10 The Perfectionism Trap7:48 The Costco Call That Started It All12:32 From 40 Students to 30016:41 Co-op vs. Hybrid vs. Full Homeschool22:00 The Primary Influencer Shift29:30 What the National Hybrid Schools Project Does33:22 Public Schools Feeling the Pressure37:39 How to Start a Hybrid Program40:29 Where to Find Becky

Angela Rigby has homeschooled her six children for 13 years - and never tried to recreate school at home. In this conversation she shares the method behind it: get the bookwork done in a few focused morning hours, then hand the kids their afternoons. Two of her sons earned associate's degrees before finishing high school. A daughter is writing her first novel. And her 19-year-old taught himself Zulu and helped restore the plumbing for a school of 1,400 students in South Africa.
RESOURCESStory of the World: https://welltrainedmind.com/c/series/...Heroes of History: https://www.amazon.com/Heroes-History...Singapore Math: https://www.singaporemath.com/BYU Independent Study: https://is.byu.edu/South African School Service Project:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/2770088229999079