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May 31, 2025 50 mins

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Tiffany Curry, a homeschool mom and preschool teacher, shares her journey and strategies for engaging children in learning. She emphasizes hands-on activities, such as using blocks, Play-Doh, and sensory materials, to keep children engaged. Tiffany highlights the importance of reading daily, incorporating various teaching philosophies, and using resources like Pinterest and books. She advises parents to involve their children in learning, use casual conversations to assess understanding, and maintain open communication about online activities. Tiffany also stresses the value of extracurricular activities and field trips to provide a well-rounded education.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
TD Flenaugh (00:00):
We have a special episode that where we have a

(00:04):
homeschool mom who also has apreschool and homeschool other
children, her own children, andother people in the
neighborhood. It's just going totell us a little bit about how
she got started. And this willhelp give you tips if you are
helping your kid at home, or ifyou are thinking about doing
homeschooling, all right,hi, thank you so much for

(00:28):
joining the Falling for LearningPodcast. I am T.D. Flenaugh. We
have this podcast to helpparents and caregivers with
having the resources, strategiesand tools needed to make sure
that their children are on trackfor learning and to stay on
track for success. Welcomeeveryone. So we have Lauren

(00:52):
Mosley on our show again that'sgoing to help us interview her
good friend, Tiffany curry.
Welcome, hi. Okay, so Tiffany,tell us a little bit about
yourself.

Tiffany Curry (01:12):
Okay, well, I am married, mom of three boys.
Their ages are 11, nine and two.
And I homeschooled my two olderchildren from the time you know,
they were two years old untilthey went they recently went

(01:35):
into private school. This istheir first year in private
school. So my older one is inmiddle school now, and my middle
son is in third grade. So theyhad been homeschooled up until
this point, and I, after havingmy youngest, started an in home

(01:57):
child care where I teachpreschoolers, and I also home
school a school aged child who'sgoing to be starting Kinder in
the fall. So that keeps me verybusy. And I also, you know, if I
do get free time, I like to docreative things like art related

(02:24):
painting and drawing and crafts.
But okay, you know, I don't havemuch time for that

Lauren Moseley (02:36):
TIFF. Tell everyone how you use creativity
to help your kids learn how youkeep them engaged. I

Tiffany Curry (02:43):
think I use a lot of hands on things that they can
manipulate and play with whenteaching, instead of worksheets
and books and paper and pencil,I like to use things that are
tangible to get them moreengaged, whether it be just

(03:08):
blocks and, you know, littlefigurines. Sometimes I can use
Play Doh, you know, othersensory style things to engage
them, and, you know, keep theirattention and have, you know,

(03:29):
have them also use, you know,other arts and crafts, like
paints and markers and all thosethings, those can help them. I
think that I use that also tohelp with just making it more
creative. And I get a lot ofideas, you know, from websites

(03:50):
on how to make games and, like,just making it fun, you know, I
yeah, come up with ideas all thetime. It's just like, endless
every day.

Lauren Moseley (04:07):
Yeah?

TD Flenaugh (04:09):
So that's makeup.
So that's really good. Like,that's like the basis of our
podcast is like falling in lovewith learning, making it fun,
making it engaging. So what aresome things as a kid that made
you fall in love with learning

Tiffany Curry (04:27):
arts and crafts really were always interesting
to me. I always caught myattention whenever we were able
to draw or paint or makesomething with materials, you
know, gluing things together andcreating something always caught

(04:49):
my attention. I wasn'tnecessarily, um, this great
student, you know, I was prettyaverage. I We had that in
common. Yeah, I would say Iwould. An average student. I
didn't do poorly in school, butI wasn't like straight A's and
exceptional either, but Idefinitely was drawn to anything

(05:13):
creative.

Lauren Moseley (05:17):
You and I had a conversation not too long ago
about how when we were kids, wewere watching Sesame Street,
because we we both have that incommon. Just weren't awesome
students, but super interestedin how things work. And I think
I shared that with you guys onour last show, like so,

Tiffany Curry (05:37):
yeah, that's what I was gonna get to. I think that
it started. I can remember beingsuper young, maybe three or
four, and watching SesameStreet, and they went to the
Crayola factory, and they showedhow the crayons were made. They
showed the whole process of thewax being melted and the dye

(05:59):
being added and pouring it intothe molds and putting the
wrappers on. And I was justblown away by that. I was so
fascinated. And I think thatthat really sparked something in
me to realize that everything ismade. Yeah, wow, oh. Like, the

(06:20):
stuff didn't just appear, likeit was made, like, either in a
factory, or it was made bysomeone by hand, or, you know,
it was an idea of someone andthey created it. So I've always
been really drawn to the processof creating something, whether

(06:42):
it's cooking or, you know,teaching a child coming up with
an activity for them to do, tolearn, that, you know, help them
in that way. So I've always justbeen drawn to the whole creative
process of just the idea ofmaking something.

TD Flenaugh (07:07):
I remember that, you know as well, from Sesame
Street. I do remember that thatwas right, yeah. So it you
already told us, like, how this,you know, that idea about making
and creating and arts andcrafts, how it goes into what
you do right now. Can you tellus, like, a little bit about
your background, like, what gotyou into teaching kids and being

(07:31):
successful at it? Basically,

Tiffany Curry (07:33):
it started with my own children. So I started
teaching my oldest son, youknow, like I said, he when he
was around two years old, Istopped working, and I was a
full time mom, and I had mysecond son. So right around he

(07:54):
was two and a half, I had mysecond son. So at that point,
you know, I wanted to be homefull time with my children and I
just started teaching them rightoff, you know, you know, their
dad started reading to them whenthey were first born. So that
was always a part of our, youknow, our family was was already

(08:17):
on that path of just teachingthe kids from the very
beginning, but once I stoppedworking, you know, I just read
more and more. I think, youknow, reading books was the
beginning of our teachingjourney. For me, like teaching
my kids, it started with justreading to them every day,

(08:40):
multiple books a day, and thengradually it started into, you
know, teaching the alphabet andthe numbers and the phonics, and
it just kind of, you know,snowballed in. And then
eventually we decided tohomeschool. Okay, so I didn't
start out on this journey frombeing a classroom teacher or

(09:05):
going to school for education oranything of that nature. I am
married to a teacher. Okay, sohe's always been like the coach,
the you know, kind of like theone to kind of help me, guide me
along, and give input andaccountability to make sure that

(09:27):
we're, you know, doing things ina way that is helping them grow
and get better and stay on, youKnow, the right trajectory, so
that, no, it's not so that I'mnot, like, missing things or,
you know, it just kind of got tome. And then I look things up

(09:49):
and I use resources and try tofind fun ways and creative ways
to teach it.

TD Flenaugh (09:55):
Okay, so can you tell me a little bit more about
like that, accountability andthe coaching i. Like that, maybe
something that you needed moreguidance in, or you got some
advice. I think

Tiffany Curry (10:06):
one of the big things that helped me was him
making sure that I was givingassessments that I knew that
what I was teaching them, theyactually took it in, and they
were able to, you know, thatthey really got it, you know. So

(10:30):
one of the ways that I tried tomake that fun, you know,
assessing them was I would likeask the older one or the younger
one to teach us. So you get upand you teach whatever the topic
is, you know, like, we'relearning about multiplication.

(10:51):
Let's say we're doingmultiplication and it's like,
Can you teach us how to domultiplication? Like, I see you
have three times three. Like,what does that mean? Because we
had manipulatives to show whatthree times three means, instead
of just memorizing, you knowwhat three times three is nine,

(11:11):
but show me how that looks. Howdo you make three times three
using these cubes or blocks orwhatever you have so giving them
the opportunity to show thatthey really get it by being able
to explain it,

Lauren Moseley (11:27):
wonderful, nice.
So

TD Flenaugh (11:30):
this really makes me think, because I have
definitely talked to someparents who do some online
schooling or homeschooling, butit's really a lot of it's
online, and they kind ofrealized later, like their kids
don't get as much that theythought they did from that

(11:51):
online learning. So like, whatkind of advice or information
like you gave us one thing, likemake sure you can assess them.
And I notice your assessmentdoesn't bring in the computer.
It really is about them,talking, showing, explaining,
yes. So any other advice aboutthat?

Tiffany Curry (12:14):
Yeah, I think that that's a big one. And
maybe, let's say sometimes thedynamic of parent and child can
be a little bit tricky, right?
Because you know, your childacts different with you than
they would like their teacher.
And so I hear it all the time,like, I'll change the child's

(12:38):
diaper and the parent will belike, she was okay or he was
okay with you changing, youknow? They didn't scream or run,
you know. And I'm like, No, theyjust it was fine. They're like,
Oh, perfect angel, huh? Like, athome, they're like, drama. So

(13:00):
there's definitely that dynamicof parents and children having,
you know, different. So I wouldsuggest maybe asking them about
what they're learning in a morecasual way. You know, while
you're doing something else,okay, while you're outside, you
know, playing basketball, orwhile you're making dinner and

(13:26):
they're hanging out with you, orwhile you're eating dinner, even
just casually bringing it up, sothat it doesn't feel like a test
or like they're being drilled,you know, just casually, You
know, oh, you know, I sawphotosynthesis, you know, you
were, you were doing somethingwith the plants and the you

(13:47):
know, what was that? What wasthat about? Okay, you know, just
kind of getting them talking andgoing, Oh, okay, so plant sales,
what is that, you know, like,just kind of getting, okay, them
to do it without being like, sowhat does photo suited this mean
and wrong? It means this, youknow, like, you don't want to,

Lauren Moseley (14:08):
I'm taking notes,

Tiffany Curry (14:10):
you know, like, you know, just kind of casual. I
see about it, I think that's agood way to do it. Or maybe even
have someone else, like maybe,if there's one parent that is,
because we have to do this too,with with our dynamic. You know,
I was at home full time. Myhusband's away working in the

(14:32):
classroom full time. So youknow, his time with the kids was
a shorter window, so he wouldhave to look through, okay, you
know, he would look through whatthey've been learning and then
bring it up casually, you know,randomly say, Oh, do you do? You

(14:54):
know what a vowel is, it's avowel. And then, you know, we
would kind of get gay. Gosh,like we've been going over vows.
Do they do they get what a vowelis, you know? So it may need to
be the other parent that isn'tthe main teacher. Maybe that
could also help as well. This

TD Flenaugh (15:13):
brings when you bring this up, like you're not
saying another parent. But Ihave seen in some of the
homeschool forums that sometimesthere's, like, a nosy relative
that's very like, Do your kidsreally know how to read, or do
they really know how to do math?
And so they might be, you know,quizzing the kid or something,
and the parent feels defensiveor something. Do you have that

(15:35):
experience? Yeah, you're gonnafeel defensive. Yes, you will.
You will, when you've been, youknow, spending hours teaching
your kid, right about, it'slike,

Tiffany Curry (15:51):
sure. Then dad comes home and says, so what's
the preposition? And they'relike, Oh, No,

TD Flenaugh (16:00):
kidding me, right?
We went over

Tiffany Curry (16:11):
weeks, you know, yeah, so I think that that just
comes to learning. I think a lotabout just parenting in general
is learning not to take thingspersonal. Not take things
personal when your kid is givingyou an attitude, no, it's

(16:34):
something about it's not you,it's them, so don't take it
personal. Let's figure outwhat's going on here. Same thing
when your kid isn't able torattle off whatever answer
that's correct. And you knowthat you spend all this time,
you know, drilling it andpracticing and yes, you thought

(16:57):
they had it okay. Well, maybethey don't, and you got to
change your approach. You needto take it on in a different way
that clicks for them. You know,that's what it's all about, is
making sure that they they havethe knowledge that they need,
that they are able to, you know,retain it and recite it and they

(17:24):
got it so,

TD Flenaugh (17:28):
you know, I love that, because I do look and I
say, I for me as a classroomteacher, like, I'm like, well,
that's not bad if the grandmawants to know if the grandchild
can read, you know, like, and ifthey don't, if they're not able
to do it, then, like, maybe youdo need support, right? Because

(17:48):
we all know, like, we have arange of students that come to
us, or, you know, maybe theydon't get it the first time, and
then even I've seen kids thenext year, it's like, wow, well,
you did. It didn't seem like youwere getting it when you were
with me, but now you're like,you know, sometimes it, it's
over time they get things or,you know, yes, and I think

(18:09):
that's something that peoplejust need to change their
perspective, because, you know,it, people are concerned, right?
Obviously, like you said, thataccountability piece, like, Is
the child actually learning,right? Because they may not be
learning in the school, and thenwe're like, you know, looking at
the teacher, or if they may notbe learning in the home school,
like, what needs to change? Whatadjustment needs to be?

Tiffany Curry (18:34):
Constantly being able to make adjustments is
huge. You have to constantly beable to, you know, change the
environment, change the thecurriculum that you you're using
may not work for your child, youknow, your method, your you
know, for me, I, I was alwayslooking into different teaching

(18:55):
philosophies and trying themout, you know, and in, you know,
there's all kinds ofphilosophies on how to teach a
child. And, yeah, yeah, we canbring, bring those into your
home school. You know, there's agood did you notice thoughts
about that? It's called wild andfree. Wild and Free, okay, yeah.

(19:19):
And it kind of breaks down avariety of teaching
philosophies, and you can kindof go through there, and because
I've heard different names overthe years, you know, and didn't
quite know exactly what they allwere about, but that book was

(19:40):
helpful in kind of showing youwhat they all are and how they
kind of look if you incorporatethem,

Unknown (19:46):
okay, okay,

Lauren Moseley (19:50):
I wanted to ask, Did you notice anything about
how your younger one related tolearning? Because he had his
older brother? They. There,learning alongside of him. Was
there? Was there any thing thatyou saw that, oh, the middle the
middle son, the middle one,right? Not the baby, the middle
one. He was, he was learningalongside his brother. So wonder

(20:13):
being in that environment. Doyou see any, any, any way that
he learns that that was helpfulbecause he had his older brother
alongside

Unknown (20:24):
him. Um,

Tiffany Curry (20:27):
you know, I, you know, I don't know necessarily,
because I don't know how to I'mjust comparing them to each
other, and they were verysimilar to one another and
learning, right? But I do thinkthat, even to this day, what
helps the older one is actuallyto have the younger one, because
sometimes we will ask the olderone to help the younger one. So

(20:52):
I think that that helps him.
Because, you know, especiallywith math, the older one is
really good at math, andsometimes my middle son will
have questions about his maththat he may not get it. So we'll
always do like, if I'm busy, youknow, you can ask your brother.
He, oh, he'll be able to, youknow, explain it to you, and

(21:14):
then, you know, always follow uplike, Hey, do you get it now?
Did he, you know, does it makesense? Did he help you? And
usually it's yes, so

Lauren Moseley (21:24):
yeah. So sometimes that yeah, that that
peer tutoring is can be reallyon that kind

Tiffany Curry (21:32):
of Yeah. And I think the middle one also was
able to kind of be exposed totopics in science and social
studies that he would ordinarilyprobably not have been. But at
the same time, I don't know ifthey really slunk in because
they were a little bit,

TD Flenaugh (21:49):
you know, over him, but I kind of kept them on the
same topics. When it came toscience and history, they were
just both kind of, you know,just explaining it in a more
simplistic way for the middleson, but it was kind of the same
topics. Yeah, I want tohighlight that. Oh, sorry. No,

(22:12):
go ahead. Highlight that.
Because I think, you know, whenthere's parents who are
homeschooling multiple kids,sometimes like managing that
might be something that's achallenge, and you're saying one
thing that you did is make sure,okay, we're, they're going to be
studying magnets, just at the,maybe the third grade level, and
then at the first grade level.

(22:34):
Or they're going to be writing,you know, the Revolutionary War,
maybe first grade level, thirdgrade level. So that's one way
to keep it a little bit moremanageable. So you're not doing
the Revolutionary War, the CivilWar for this group and you know,
so just keep right,

Tiffany Curry (22:50):
because that can get overwhelming, sure, yeah,
especially if you're someonelike me. Because I didn't use,
like, a box curriculum, youknow, a preset program I kind
of, you know, like I said, itwas very eclectic, like I pulled
from here and there and, youknow, got guidance from my
husband, and kind of mixed itall together. I made a lot of

(23:13):
things, you know, myself. So itcould have, you know, it would
have been really hard to kind ofdo a bunch of different topics
for each child. So yeah, forsure.

TD Flenaugh (23:25):
Can you tell us, like, what is your day? Is there
like, a set structure for theday, for when you do the
homeschooling for your kids? Orhow do you manage? How do you do
that?

Tiffany Curry (23:36):
Okay, well, you know, my kids are currently now
in, uh, private school, but Ido, you know, it's only been a
year, so I remember the schedulevery well, but, and it's kind of
similar to what I do now withwith my child's care, you know,

(23:57):
where they kind of start the dayand they have breakfast, and
while they're eating, you knowwhether some of them eat before
they come and some of them eathere, right? So while they're
eating, sometimes I will read,we'll have story time

(24:17):
simultaneously, okay? Because Ifind that they're a little bit
more still, they're not aswiggly and, you know,
distracted. They have theirlittle snack or their food, and
they're just sitting there soand that's become something that
they, you know, anticipate thatthat's what we're going to do.

(24:37):
So we eat, and then we readstory, and then they have free
time to play. They love Magnatiles. So they're always
building with the Magna tilesfor, you know, 30 minutes to an
hour. And then we have some sortof activity, you know, depending
on, you know, right now, mytheme is like deep. Sea. So we

(25:01):
have, you know, books about thedeep sea, and we have, you know,
sensory activities, and you knowthat involve that. And then we
go outside. They run around andplay outside for a while, and we

(25:26):
come back in and they wash upand have us have a snack. And
then I read, you know, againwhile they're having snack time.
And we do, actually, before wego outside, we do circle time.
So we go over calendar, the daysof the week, the months of the

(25:47):
year, and we talk about theweather, and we talk about the
seasons, and then we go outside,and then they come back in and
wash up and have a snack. And Iread, you know, while they're
having their snack, and thenthey hang out and play again.

(26:10):
And then it's lunchtime, andthen at lunchtime, I also read
while they're eating theirlunch. And, you know, after
lunch, they hang out and playfor like, a few minutes, maybe,
like 20 minutes, and then it'snap time. And because these are

(26:32):
little kids, so they're at agestwo to five, five is the oldest,
so they nap, and then when theywake up from their nap, they
have a snack again, and theyjust play. And sometimes I have

(26:53):
an activity, you know, we do alot of loose parts play as well
where, you know, it encouragescreativity for them to play with
various objects that they canuse and create something that
they've imagined, you know, likepieces of wood or blocks and
little pasta and anything thatcan be manipulated or configured

(27:16):
in a way that promotes likecreativity and imagination that
they could, like, make a smileyface, or make a person you know.
Just call it loose parts. Placeloose parts. So those parts,

TD Flenaugh (27:29):
it's not something that you buy, is something that
you bring together, like youjust

Tiffany Curry (27:33):
gather materials, wood, okay, yeah, you just
gather various materials thatmaybe little animal figurines
and little wooden blocks, and,you know, we may have, like, a
bunch of wheels or a bunch oflittle hats or just anything

(27:55):
that you may have, you know, asa Teacher, you pom poms and
anything that they could playwith and engage with, you just
kind of put it all together andsee what they come up with.
Okay, so it's kind of like, youknow, just free for all.
Everybody just digs in and makeswhatever they want to make,

TD Flenaugh (28:19):
the rewrite method and the rewrite method workbook
are your go to resource forhelping kids to learn to fall in
love with writing. It has thetips, tools, resources,
strategies and skill buildingactivities to help kids fall out

(28:44):
of writing Hoot and into lovingto write. Get your book set
today.

Tiffany Curry (28:59):
So what about earlier, you said something
about magnet tiles. Did I say itcorrectly? Magnet tiles? Uh huh,
you tell me more about what thatis. So they're colorful squares
that are kind of like, kind oflike blocks, but they're thin
and they have magnets around theedges. So when you put two

(29:22):
together, they stay so you couldbuild a structure of some sort
with them. I have some partsthat you can connect it to that
have wheels, so they can build alittle cars. Okay, you know? And
there's little ramps that theycan drum down, but it's, it's

(29:43):
their imagination. Again,they're just building their
little structure, or theirlittle vehicle. And, you know,
they put things inside. Afterthey make their structure, they
put little people in, and, youknow, different things like
that. So, yeah, they thosethings are. Like, that's, I
would say, the number one hotitem in the in the playroom, for

(30:07):
sure. Okay,

Lauren Moseley (30:09):
creativity that e right? Yes,

TD Flenaugh (30:13):
your kids were homeschooling. What kind of
schedule did you have for them?

Tiffany Curry (30:17):
Yeah, well, my kids were homeschooling. So they
would get up and the same thingI would make break. I would get
up and make breakfast. Theywould still be sleeping. I would
get up first. That's anothercheat code there. Like parents,
whoever it is that'shomeschooling these kids, if
you're not getting up firstbefore those children and

(30:40):
getting your time to do whateveryou need to do, work out, drink
your coffee, pray, read yourBible, whatever you need for
yourself You gotta do thatfirst. Okay? Otherwise, I don't

(31:02):
know how you can make it. Idon't know how I've seen parents
that are like I sleep and thosekids just, you know, been for
themselves until I'm up in acouple hours after them. I don't
know that life like I would be,I would not be okay if, if I had
done that, because

TD Flenaugh (31:23):
alone time at the beginning,

Tiffany Curry (31:27):
I did for sure, you know, so I have to do that.
Get up early, get myself, youknow, together and then figure
out, you know, what they weregoing to do throughout the day,
you know? But so, yeah, I wouldbe up first, have my time, make

(31:52):
their breakfast, and they wouldeat, and I would read to them as
well. I would have, like, mykids, you know, I would have a
big stack of books, as they wereused to me reading all the time.
So we would read like, five, sixbooks at a time. Or what I also

(32:12):
did when they got a little bitwhen my middle son got a little
bit older and he could handleit, is, I would do a thicker
book, and we would read it, youknow, throughout the week or
month. It would take us to getthrough it, like Alice in
Wonderland, or one of thoseRoald Dahl books, like James and

(32:33):
the Giant Peach, or somethingthat is, you know, more
substantial, not just a picturebook, but it's like a story that
goes on. So they really enjoyedthat time. That was like a good
way to kind of start, start theday off, you know, read, reading
to them a story that wasengaging. And then we would

(32:58):
probably, you know, start withone of the subjects. Probably
started with math, because thatseems to be the, for me, easiest
to teach, considering I'm notvery good at math, but I felt I
find that math is the most funand easy to teach. Okay? Because

(33:22):
you can make a game like that,like, whatever math concept
you're teaching. You can justlook around your room and like,
oh, look, we're gonna make thismath get these little cubes in
here, get these littlefigurines, these little animals,
and we're making a math gameright now, let's do it. And, you

(33:43):
know, that was always fun andeasy. So we would just go
through our subjects, our math,and then we would do our reading
and writing and social studies acouple of, you know, a couple of
times a week. We wouldn't dosocial studies and science every
day, but we do it a couple oftimes a week, and they would
have their time outside while Iwas making lunch. So they're

(34:05):
outside, running around. I'mmaking lunch, they come back in,
they're eating, and, you know,I'm going to read again with
them while they're eating, andwe're going to probably talk
about what we're learning andwhat they grasp from it. And,

(34:28):
you know, we always went on anexcursion, a field trip, or
some, something of the sort,pretty much on a weekly basis,
you know, every other day. Youknow, even if it was just to go
to the park and have them runaround at the park, and we will
take our book and read at thepark and and then they would
have play time at the park, orwe would go to museums or, you

(34:52):
know, hang out with otherhomeschoolers, you know. And
they also had, like, piano.
Lessons that they had to go to,and they did karate and so, you
know, it was always a full day,just depending on what they had
going on. But that's pretty muchhow it was. We would just, you

(35:13):
know, kind of go, go like that.
Most days.

TD Flenaugh (35:21):
It sounds like so much. There's so much there,
right? You make it sound, yeah?
It's just like, so simple. Butthe major takeaways I hear is,
like an excursion, you said, atleast every other day, like,
even if it's going to the parkor if it's going to a museum,
like, planning something,getting out, yeah, meeting up
with other friends, meeting upwith others. And I also hear

(35:41):
like those extracurricularactivities. So it's not all you
doing everything, like you havethis, you know, just like in
school, they have, like a PE or,then they have a music teacher.
You're talking about musiclessons. So that's another way
to help balance the load of whatthey're learning because those
are, you know, pe physicaleducation, or different things

(36:02):
like that, art, you know, fromperforming arts, all of that is
part of a holistic education,like a well rounded education.
So I think that's really helpfulfor listeners who are thinking
about doing homeschooling, ormaybe you're already doing
homeschooling and need some tipson how to, you know, improve or
expand what they're doingalready build on,

Lauren Moseley (36:28):
yeah, I think one of my takeaways is I really
want to encourage my parents toread while they're eating. You
know, those are two really greatactivities to do together. You
know, your kid is sitting downat dinner, having a snack, and
just making that a consistenttime, especially during the
summer, you know, you if youhave time at home, you know,

(36:49):
making those intentionalmoments, yeah, where they can
sit and read, and having lots ofbooks.

Tiffany Curry (36:56):
Yeah, lots of books. Yeah, we have a ton of
books. Yeah. Always had a ton ofbooks. And my kids to this day,
they they love to read, and theyalways take a book with them.
They go. So even the little oneis like, I gotta get my book.
Yeah, he doesn't. It's natural.
We're gonna go bye, bye, I gottaget my book. Oh,

TD Flenaugh (37:24):
yeah. It's just a natural part of what they do.
Yeah. Are constantly learningright, reading during meeting,
you know, and going differentplaces. And they're learning
where they go, even if it'ssocial interaction or Yeah,
yeah. Oh, and

Tiffany Curry (37:41):
I did forget that, like, after we I always
with my kids, and I still do itwith my childcare kids, but
after they eat and we read ourbook, we would always, you know,
do like, I call it circle time,where we like sing songs and we
sing the days of the week, themonths of the year, phonics,

(38:04):
whatever you know, certainthings that they need to
memorize. Yeah, we'll go overthose things first thing after
they're done eating the day.

Lauren Moseley (38:20):
Yeah, and I like how you said you make learning
just kind of, it's everywhere,you know, you just, if you're
gonna do a math lesson, you canpull things from right there in
your environment. You don'tnecessarily need to go out and
buy things or buy an expensiveprogram, or, you know, you take
some beans out of a jar. Youcan, you can do a lot of

(38:42):
materials you have in yourenvironment. So I think that's
really a comfort thing, if youknow, for parents to know, it
doesn't take a lot,

Tiffany Curry (38:51):
right? Yeah, yeah. And also incorporating
things that your children areinterested in. You know, for one
time, we were learning aboutmoney, and at that time, you
know, my kids had all of theselittle stuffed animals and, you

(39:11):
know, figurines that they werereally into. So we, like, made,
like a store with those animals,and they were shopping, and they
were buying things. And we, youknow, exchange money with, you
know, little, I don't know thislittle teddy bear is buying, I
don't know, this popsicle, so wegotta charge him $1 and then

(39:35):
he's making. So how much moneydo you have now? And just, you
know, yeah, doing things likethat that, you know, spark their
interest in knowing, you know,incorporating what they're
interested in is really,

Lauren Moseley (39:46):
yeah, oh, that sounds great. It

TD Flenaugh (39:49):
really does, yeah.
It sounds like it's really a funtime, and learning is just like,
naturally a part of life andfun. Yeah? So, yeah. Great. What
I didn't hear is a lot about,like, computers. And I feel
like, when I'm in the homeschoolforums, I hear a lot of parents
talk about how the kids are onthe you know, and I brought it

(40:11):
up earlier. But do you use anylike, computer type based
learning? Or,

Tiffany Curry (40:21):
yeah, as my kids got older, you know, they were
learning to type, so they hadtyping games that they would do,
and they would do, sometimesmath games on the computer, you
know. And then they would alsostart to type their little

(40:45):
paragraphs and essays. And thethings that they would write,
they were starting to type themout. So they would do both. They
would write by hand as well. Andsometimes, you know, they would
also type it out. And now thatthey're even older, you know,
they are really active on thecomputer, because they're

(41:07):
learning a lot about AI. So theydo a lot of video making and
creating different things withAI, yeah, so of course, that
involves a computer. So theydid, you know, you they didn't
do a lot when they were, like,really little. There wasn't a
whole lot of computer or justscreen time in general, when

(41:32):
they were really young. We, wewere just weren't big on that
until they got, I would say, youknow, five, six is when it it
became more of a regular thing.
But prior to that, it was justonce in a while, or, you know,
on the weekends, or here andthere, but not, I wouldn't say

(41:52):
it was like a daily thing,

TD Flenaugh (41:56):
okay? And like another thing I see is like,
sometimes people aren't managingwhat the kids are doing, or
they're not maybe they got busyand they didn't look to see
where they are. So how do youmanage that? Like, do you make
sure you are looking every fiveminutes? Or, like, how do you
manage like, what they're doingonline?

Tiffany Curry (42:18):
I um, yeah, it is,
you know, like now that they'reolder. So we have all shared
devices, so they're not just ontheir own computer on their own

(42:42):
iPad in their room, I see awayfrom everyone, their computer is
like my computer. Their iPad ismy iPad. So there's no like my,
you know, their own. I'll sellit. We just don't feel that
that's necessary. It's great.

TD Flenaugh (43:00):
That would transform some of the things,
like, nip some of that in thebud, right? Like, because it is
just their computer, I think alot of times and easy to veer on
the wrong track, right? Yeah,

Tiffany Curry (43:16):
and I understand why, because, like my husband,
for example, he uses hiscomputer a lot for work, so it's
not always convenient for thekids to hop on his computer and
do their stuff. They do stilluse his computer, you know, at
times, but it's not alwaysconvenient. And me, I'm not

(43:38):
someone that is always using mycomputer for work, you know, I
use it, you know, a few times aweek for work, not every single
day, right? So that's easier. Soif I had a job where I needed to
use my computer every singleday, several hours a day, then
that will be a little bit morechallenging. So if you're one of

(44:01):
those parents, I would say, makesure that your child is using
the device in an open area whereeveryone is around and they're
not just up in their room, justdoing whatever they want. I see
and then you just have to makesure that you keep communication

(44:24):
open and you're going throughand looking and knowing what
they're engaging with online.
I'm sure parental blockers andthings that you can do, but I
like to just go through thesearch history, and it's my next
one. I sat down to do thisinterview. I saw something, a

(44:46):
picture on my computer, and Iwas like, Huh, what's that? So
I'm gonna ask. I'm gonna bequestioning about this, this
thing that I see on my computerhere, um. It wasn't there
yesterday. So I'm kind of like,what's this? We gotta talk about
it. So you just have to, youknow,

Lauren Moseley (45:09):
and I'm sure they're more they're going to be
more mindful about what they'researching if they know that
mom's going to computer, and,you know, we share it, so just
that alone keeps them on the upand up, yeah.

Tiffany Curry (45:24):
And as parents, you know your child, you know if
they're like, suspicious, theyhave the suspicious face. If you
see that suspicious face, thenengage and go, Oh, what's going
on, like, what are we doing?
What's Yeah, what's on yourcomputer, what you know, yeah.
You know, my middle schoolerwill have a test coming up, and

(45:49):
the teacher provides a studyguide, yeah. So he'll take that
study guide and upload it intoAI and make, like, the coolest
podcast for him to listen to.
Yes, it operates everythingabout he he recently showed me
where it's like, the podcast isnot only about the topic on

(46:13):
this, on this study guide, butthe voice sounds like, so cool.
It's like, Hey, man, youlearning about this or whatever.
Like, hell cap, we gonna do,like, it's so cool, sounding
like just some guy talking tohim, regular like, Yeah,
whatever this topic is, it'slike, the coolest thing. So I'm

(46:36):
just saying that to say that

Lauren Moseley (46:38):
I'm gonna check out that. AI App, that's that
sounds amazing, yeah,

Tiffany Curry (46:42):
it's really cool.
Wow, this is, yeah, he's, he'stalking to you, like, you know,
your homie down the street.
It's, no, he's talking about theRevolutionary War, you know,
like, yeah,

TD Flenaugh (47:01):
for sure. Tiffany, where can people find you?

Tiffany Curry (47:08):
So on my Instagram, I share a lot of
activities that I do with mykiddos here
@QuestforLearningAcademy. So ifyou go on to Instagram, it's
quest for Learning Academy, andyou'll see a lot of things
there,

TD Flenaugh (47:27):
okay, and it's in our show notes as well. Well,
you have given us so many greatlike, you know, valuable tips
and information and insight as ahomeschool mom, and we really
appreciate you coming on theshow. Yes, thank you for having
me. Yes, yes, yes. Is there anylike final things that you would

(47:50):
tips you would give to a parentthat maybe struggling with their
homeschooling journey, or justsupporting their kid at home,
like even though they might belearning at school, but they
need some extra support at home.
What are final tips that youmight give them?

Tiffany Curry (48:06):
Well, I think I would definitely want to
articulate that parents aretheir child's teacher. Yes, oh,
I love that, that it's it's notyou can teach your child, and
you are their teacher. They goto school and they have a

(48:26):
teacher at school, but they alsohave a teacher at home. Yeah. So
whether you know it or not,you're teaching your child every
day by what you say, by what youdo, by what you don't say, and
by what you don't do so as aparent, you have to utilize the

(48:48):
resources if you are feelinglike there's something missing
that your child isn't learning,that you want them to learn,
that Maybe they're not gettingat school. So there's so many
resources I think you maybe inthe future, might be able to
talk to my husband, who'sextremely forceful when it comes

(49:11):
to AI, what I do when I firststarted, and even still, now,
whatever topic it is that I wantmy child to learn or know. You
know, younger children go onPinterest and type it in, even
if it's a book that you'rereading, that your child is

(49:35):
maybe reading, that you want tomaybe be able to ask them
questions about and you've neverread the book, you will find all
kinds of things. You know, thereis no reason that you should
feel like it's too difficult ortoo, you know, challenging for
you to teach your kid. You know,they're all you have to do is

(49:57):
just have the you. Dedication towant to do it and utilize so so
many resources. Yeah,

TD Flenaugh (50:08):
absolutely again, everyone, make sure that you do
something today that gives yourchild the competitive advantage.
Thanks again for supporting thefalling for learning podcast.
New Episodes go live everySaturday at 5pm you can watch us
on youtube.com, at falling forlearning, or listen on all major

(50:32):
podcast platforms such as Apple,Google, Audible, Spotify and
much more. For more resources,visit falling in love with
learning.com we reallyappreciate you. Have a wonderful
week. You.
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