What does it actually take to start a microschool - and why are nearly 80 of them thriving across 20+ states? Amar Kumar, CEO of KaiPod Learning, shares five years of lessons.

Read the full blog post: https://opened.co/blog/how-to-start-a-microschool

Amar Kumar is the CEO and founder of KaiPod Learning, a microschool network with nearly 80 schools across 20+ states. A former classroom teacher turned education entrepreneur, Amar spent over a decade at Connections Academy before launching KaiPod in 2020.

Learn more: https://www.kaipodlearning.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kumaramar

X: https://x.com/AmarKumarEdu

Dr. Claire Honeycutt is a neuroscientist, researcher, and homeschool parent who recommends two philosophically opposed books - Well-Trained Mind and Free to Learn - and says you need both. In this second conversation, Dr. Claire explains why sensitive developmental windows matter, how she introduces rigor without killing joy, and why she thinks kids need to learn to think before they learn to prompt. If you missed Part 1, where Claire talks about leaving her tenured neuroscience career to homeschool, go watch that first: https://opened.co/blog/what-neuroscience-tells-us-about-homeschooling-dr-claire-honeycutt

Dr. Claire Honeycutt:

Substack: https://clarified.life

Twitter/X: https://x.com/HippyMomPhD

Most advice about homeschooling comes from parents, researchers, and experts. But what does a 16-year-old who's lived it - and documented it across four teenage lives - have to say? Turns out, we've been asking the wrong questions.

In this episode, Mason Ember shares what surprised him most about teenage homeschool communities, why his parents identified "storytelling" as his through-line instead of just "film," and his most pointed critique of homeschooling.

His philosophy: "Be pro-kid over pro-system." Whether you're homeschooling, considering it, or just curious about what education looks like when teens have more agency, Mason's perspective offers something you won't get from the usual experts - because he's the kid those experts are theorizing about.

Mason's Links:

- Documentary website: https://www.againstthegrade.com/

- Follow Mason on Instagram: @embers_insta

- NY Times letter to the editor: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/opinion/letters/home-schooling-debate.html

What does minimalism have to do with education?

Joshua Fields Millburn - co-founder of The Minimalists, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and New York Times bestselling author - has spent over a decade helping people declutter their lives. But when his dyslexic daughter started coming home with stomach aches every morning from traditional school, he realized minimalism applies to more than physical stuff.

In this conversation with OpenEd CEO Isaac Morehouse, Joshua shares his family's journey from public school struggle to thriving in an unschool environment - and the philosophy that made it possible.

The Minimalists

- Website: https://www.theminimalists.com/

- TEDx "Scrolling Is the New Smoking": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYK1u8Vg5No

- Netflix "Less Is Now": https://www.netflix.com/title/81074662

- Book "Love People, Use Things": https://www.theminimalists.com/lput/

What does minimalism have to do with education?

Joshua Fields Millburn - co-founder of The Minimalists, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and New York Times bestselling author - has spent over a decade helping people declutter their lives. But when his dyslexic daughter started coming home with stomach aches every morning from traditional school, he realized minimalism applies to more than physical stuff.

In this conversation with OpenEd CEO Isaac Morehouse, Joshua shares his family's journey from public school struggle to thriving in an unschool environment - and the philosophy that made it possible.

The Minimalists

- Website: https://www.theminimalists.com/

- TEDx "Scrolling Is the New Smoking": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYK1u8Vg5No

- Netflix "Less Is Now": https://www.netflix.com/title/81074662

- Book "Love People, Use Things": https://www.theminimalists.com/lput/

Krisy Shaughnessy never planned to homeschool. When COVID hit, she found herself renovating a house with her kids—and accidentally discovered they learned more from measuring boards than worksheets.

In this episode, Krisy shares the "vegetable trick" she uses to hide education in plain sight, the $2 Wonder Wall system that captures her kids' questions (like "Do slugs have guts?"), and why she believes boredom is one of the most valuable tools in homeschooling.

She also explains how she built a homeschool community from scratch by simply picking a park and sending an email—and why "if you want to be part of the village, you have to be willing to be the villager."

Resources Mentioned:

- Wonder Led Life (Instagram): [https://www.instagram.com/wonderledlife/]

- Prodigy Math Game: https://www.prodigygame.com/

- Life of Fred Books: https://lifeoffred.uniquemath.com/

She did everything right. Surrounded her kids with books from birth. Read aloud every night. Was even an elementary school librarian. Her first daughter tested at 12th-grade reading level in kindergarten. Her second daughter? Barely hanging on.

In this episode, Janssen Bradshaw—founder of Everyday Reading and co-founder of Savvy Learning—shares how her two daughters had completely opposite reading experiences, even though they grew up in the same book-filled home. She opens up about the moment she realized something was wrong, the simple intervention that changed everything, and why flexibility in education is the greatest gift you can give your kids.

Therapists say their #1 clients are homeschool moms. Dalena Wallace understands why - and she's found a better way.

After 13 years of homeschooling six kids, Dalena admits she's "not gifted at teaching." But instead of burning out, she built something different: a hybrid approach that brings tutors, co-ops, and community into her kids' education. In this episode, she shares why letting go of the "super mom" expectation changed everything - and how other homeschool families can do the same.

Chapters:

(00:00) - Therapists' #1 Clients Are Homeschool Moms(00:45) - Meet Dalena: 6 Kids, 13 Years Homeschooling(05:17) - "I'm Not Gifted at Teaching"(14:43) - The Hybrid Model Changed Everything(21:09) - Why She Sent Two Kids to Private School(25:50) - Pulled Her Daughter Out After 6 Weeks(36:03) - Her Dream: A School in Every Neighborhood(45:38) - Find the People, Not the Curriculum(51:28) - "Weepy Wednesday" and Homeschool Burnout

Most parents pull their kids out of music lessons the moment the "practice battles" start. It feels like a waste of money to pay for lessons when the kid isn't doing the work at home. But Deborah Pratt, founder of Southern Oregon School of Music, argues that this efficiency mindset is actually robbing children of the real ROI.In this episode, she shares the story of a student who spent 8 years "mediocrely" playing piano, guitar, and ukulele—only to discover at age 16 that he was a born bass player. Had he quit during the "low practice" years, he never would have found it. Deb reveals why the *environment* of music (the community, the brain development, the weekly touchpoint) matters more than the daily grind, and why the "Corpus Callosum" might be the best reason to keep paying for lessons even when your kid won't practice.

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**00:00** - Welcome & Deborah's Journey to Music Education

**02:06** - Southern Oregon School of Music's Grand Reopening

**03:21** - Why Parents Put Kids in Music (The Research)

**04:18** - The Trumpet Regret: When Quitting Is the Wrong Answer

**08:55** - Never Quit at the Frustration Point

**12:35** - Music & Brain Development: The Corpus Callosum

**26:31** - Piano as the Foundation Instrument

**34:01** - The Piano-to-Bass Discovery Journey

**38:20** - The Social Glue: Community Creates Persistence

**42:45** - Trial Lessons & Finding the Right Teacher

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## GUEST

**Deborah Pratt**Founder & Director, Southern Oregon School of MusicDeborah is a music educator with a Master's degree in Music Education and a bachelor's degree in Vocal Music Education. She spent nine years as a college instructor before founding and growing a Kinder Music program into a thriving music school with 172 students across multiple age groups and instruments. Her approach prioritizes persistence, community, and the neurological benefits of music education.

You don’t need a bell schedule to keep your kids on track—you need Jean Lee’s “plan everything, pause for magic” rhythm. Neuroscientist and Academy of Chaos founder Jean Lee never planned to homeschool—now she’s the mentor every family corners at soccer practice. In this conversation with Ela Richmond, Jean shares how she maps an entire year in Homeschool Planet in one weekend, keeps even her four-year-old accountable, and still slams the brakes to chase June berries or inspect insects.

If you’re a working parent, raising twice-exceptional kids, or just trying to stop the daily workbook wars, this episode is your blueprint for flexible structure.

Chapters:00:00 – Plan, then slam the brakes

00:35 – Why every parent finds Jean at soccer practice

04:05 – Flexible structure vs. deschooling myths

10:12 – Homeschool Planet and year-round pacing

16:45 – Teaching independence (even for four-year-olds)

24:30 – Parenting philosophy inside the “Academy of Chaos”

30:05 – Dopamine-proof screen time strategy

36:20 – Tech, AI, and executive function

43:00 – Curriculum isn’t a workbook

50:10 – Jean’s resource library + how to connect