August 7, 2025 • 32 mins
Stepping into homeschooling is a big leap—especially for families of color navigating spaces that often weren’t built with them in mind. In this episode, Elan Page, founder of Homeschool Our Way, shares how she helps Black families and other families of color create affirming, flexible, and culturally grounded homeschool experiences.
We talk about:
- Finding community when you feel alone
- Choosing curriculum that represents your child
- Letting go of the “school-at-home” mindset
- Homeschooling with two working parents
- Creating a learning space where your child feels seen
Elan's story is full of warmth, real talk, and game-changing insight—especially if you’ve ever wondered, “Can we actually do this?” (Spoiler: Yes, you can.)
Ready to explore homeschooling that truly represents your family? Visit wokehomeschooling.com for resources that empower you to teach inclusive, truthful history to your children.
For links and the transcript, visit wokehomeschooling.com/podcast
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Delina (00:01):
Are you ready to start homeschooling?
If you're a family of color andyou've only been looking at the
resources available by Googlinghow to start homeschooling, the
answer is probably no.
Welcome to Homeschool Yourself.
I'm your host, alina.
In this episode we're talkingto Elan Cage, homeschool coach
and founder of Homeschool OurWay.
We're talking to her about whatconsiderations families have to
(00:24):
consider in beginning theirhomeschool journey.
I had a couple of if I could doit over again moments in this
episode.
I hope it helps you craft anamazing homeschool life for you
and your kids.
Take a listen, hi Elon.
How are you?
I'm so glad you're here to havea conversation with me.
Would you tell my audience alittle bit about yourself?
Elan (00:50):
I can.
Delina, thank you for having meon your podcast.
I'm so excited for you in thisnew format that you're able to
reach folks with.
I'm Elan, I'm a homeschool momof two and I have a business
called Homeschool Our Way, whichhelps families of color get
started homeschooling.
Tell me your why?
Delina (01:02):
Why is it important for you to help families get started
homeschooling?
Elan (01:06):
When I was coming up so I was born and raised in Dallas,
in the suburbs of Dallas I wentto a small Christian school, a
small white Christian school,and we actually had a lot of
homeschoolers who would come.
They would either takeelectives at our school or they
would be involved in the sportsat our school, and so I was like
very familiar with a lot ofhomeschool families, but none of
(01:28):
those homeschool families looklike mine, and so I feel like
it's a very common thing in thewhite, especially white
Christian world, but for thoseof us, families of color, it's a
newer thing for us, and a lotof us have, because we haven't
had sort of decades, years,generations of educating our
kids this way.
We have a lot of questions.
(01:49):
We have a lot of questions likewell, what is it supposed to
look like?
And our families oftentimes arealso set up differently.
I know in my own family we'retwo working parents and I never
saw that with my whitecounterparts.
It was always like astay-at-home mom and then a
parent who worked outside thehome.
And so we have, you know, asfamilies of color, we have
different reasons for choosingto homeschool.
(02:10):
Our families often lookdifferent, and so we just need.
I feel like at this moment intime, as homeschool is gaining
popularity and it's reallybecoming a way of educating our
kids it's so beneficial to us asBlack families we just need
some help getting started andkind of getting set up for
success.
Delina (02:28):
Yes, yes, all of the generic advice does not apply to
us.
Elan (02:33):
It does not.
Delina (02:34):
It does not apply to us in the same way.
I love that.
I love that you're servingfamilies of color.
So, like you said,homeschooling in families of
color is gaining ground.
Like people are gravitating tohomeschooling in families of
color is gaining ground.
Like people are gravitating tohomeschooling so much I imagine
that more and more of them arecoming to you for help.
So I want to talk to you alittle bit about the trends that
(02:55):
you've noticed with families ofcolor that you've helped.
So what kind of things do theycome to you for and what kind of
questions do they have?
What do you help them answer?
Elan (03:06):
Yeah, I think that the two biggest things that I see time
and time again are how do wefind community and how do we
find curriculum?
Those are two of the big thingsthat like parents as they're
getting started and I was one ofthose parents right who worried
about those two things.
Especially people families,parents want to know that their
kids aren't missing out onanything.
(03:27):
So that community piece is veryimportant.
Where will my kids find friends?
How will they be interactingwith their peers and learning
with their peers on a regularbasis, even as parents?
Where are the other blackhomeschool parents?
Where can I find support inthose ways?
So I think that that communitypiece is very important,
(03:48):
especially if, for example,maybe you don't live in an urban
area or maybe you live in anarea that doesn't have a ton of
black families.
Where can you find your people?
Where can you find your tribe?
And so that's very important.
The other piece with thecurriculum and thank you for
creating Woke Homeschooling andfor giving us products like
O'Freedom, because it'simportant for a lot of us that
(04:11):
our kids are learning truthright, that they are learning
things that are actual andfactual, as TLC said and so
that's a priority.
The other priority, though, isjust making sure that our kids
are nurtured in what they arelearning, that they see
themselves in it, so that thecharacters and the books that
(04:34):
they read not only look likethem but come from families and
experiences that mirror theirown, and so we we don't always
get that in the traditionalschool system right, like I feel
like it has to be a veryspecialized, very unique
experience to be able to getthat in a traditional school,
but we can absolutely createthat in our world of
homeschooling, and so, a lot oftimes, families are coming in
(04:57):
with the question okay, like Ikind of have an idea of what's
missing, but how do I find theresources to fill what I want my
child's education to look like?
Delina (05:08):
Yeah, what are some of the things that surprised them
about the homeschooling world?
Because it's like stepping intoa different world altogether,
coming from a school system.
Elan (05:18):
Absolutely it is.
I think one of the things thatI've always find funny is that
when parents transition intohomeschooling and they are
trying to, they think that theyneed to recreate traditional
school at home.
Yes, Then it looks like.
Well, oh my gosh, what do Ifind to fill my kid's day for
eight hours?
And I'm always like who told youyou need to do that, that's not
(05:40):
necessary, you don't have to dothat, that's not necessary, you
don't have to do that.
So they start to see learning.
That can happen in differentways.
It doesn't have to look likesitting behind a desk and
sitting in a classroom for eighthours.
It doesn't have to be onworksheets.
It could be so.
I'll give you an example.
Right now, as we're recording,it is Hispanic Heritage Month,
(06:01):
and so one of the things thatwe've been learning a lot about
are people of African descentwho are either born and raised
in Latin America or are Americanwith Latin American lineage,
and my children and I have lotsof rich discussions about this.
So, yes, there are books thatwe read, there might be videos
(06:21):
that we watch, but the learningI'm not sticking a worksheet in
front of them necessarily totest to see what they recall.
We're having rich discussionsas a family to reinforce what it
is that they're learning and soand that might that might be.
Last week in particular.
I can guarantee it was in thecar on the way to volleyball
practice that we were havingthis discussion.
(06:43):
So it's not again.
It's not like I wasn't likeokay, it's 8.30 AM.
It's time for us to do ourHispanic heritage lesson and
we're going to sit here and dothese works.
No, it was like I was on a callfor work.
They were watching a video andthen they read a chapter in a
book that we got from thelibrary and then, like I said,
(07:05):
later that afternoon we had ourdiscussion in the car on the way
to something else.
There's learning happening allthe time and I think that that
really surprises parents thatlike, oh, look at this
flexibility, look at thisflexibility that we can truly
have a hand in our kids'education anytime, anywhere.
I love that.
Delina (07:21):
I love that.
It's kind of hard to find thatrhythm because it always keeps
you questioning am I doingenough?
Are they going to be on parwith their peers that are in
school?
You know, you feel like youhave to do it that way.
That's one of the I'm heretalking, but that's one of the
ways I wish that education hadchanged with the pandemic,
(07:41):
because we don't have to do itthat way, Like there's so many
other ways, and homeschooling issuch a gift to be able to do
that with your own family, evenwhen society's still stuck with
one way of doing it.
Elan (07:54):
It is, and really quickly to.
To piggyback on what you justsaid.
That's another thing thatsurprises parents is, once they
step fully into this homeschoolthing, they're very surprised at
how quickly their children arelearning Right.
And so that goes into exactlywhat you were just saying,
delina, about how, like, who aremy kids behind?
Are they, you know, do I needto get them caught up?
(08:16):
The one-on-one instruction orthe instruction that your child
gets with you or with aninstructor that you've, you know
, brought in to help withwhatever that is, it's so
specialized for your child thatthey are going to catch on that
much quicker.
And so I really think that if aparent is transitioning from
(08:37):
traditional school and perhapstheir child was a little bit
behind let's say, at the end ofone school year their child was
behind and then maybe they workwith them a little bit over the
summer by the time we get to thefall of the next school year, I
think parents are shocked athow much progress has happened
with just a couple months ofbeing able to work one-on-one
(08:58):
with your child.
Delina (08:58):
Yeah, parent magic, the one-on-one special magic.
Elan (09:02):
I love that parent magic yes.
Delina (09:04):
What kind of support do you see that families of color
need the most?
Elan (09:08):
I think that again I go back to that community piece
that community thing is veryimportant for us and here's why
A lot of times and I can saythis about my upbringing,
remember I said I went to asmall Christian school In Texas
In Texas, and the people at theschool who looked like me were
(09:29):
also related to me.
So literally it was me, mybrother, my cousins.
We made up the Black studentpopulation.
My goodness we couldn't let inone family.
That's right.
That's right, and so what Imean?
There were a few others.
I'm exaggerating slightly, butfor the most part, for the most
part, we were holding it down,no-transcript whatever, and our
(10:10):
we would have, like somestudents or whatever, who would
read morning announcements forthe whole school During the
month of February.
They students would read ablack history fact and my.
I remember one.
One day in particular, in my APbiology class, the Black
History Fact was read andimmediately as soon as they
finished that Black History Fact, several of my white classmates
(10:31):
were like who cares?
And it was two of us, two Blackfolks in that class me and then
one young lady who was Nigerian, american.
And so there is, yes, therewere two Black people in the
classroom, but there was onlyone of us whose history was just
disrespected in that way.
(10:54):
And there's something thathappens to a child when we are
in such an unsafe space.
Because what could I do?
I looked to my blonde-haired,blue-eyed teacher and she was
like you know, she was just likeoh well, it happens.
I'm looking to my other blackclassmate, who is Nigerian, and
she's offended, but in a verydifferent way.
(11:14):
And then I'm looking to all therest of my white classmates and
they really don't.
They don't care.
Even though they didn't shoutit out, they don't care either.
I don't want my children to everbe in an environment like that,
Not as they're growing up.
Now the world is the world, andonce they begin to be adults,
you know that that happens.
But I want them to be, for now,in a nurturing environment, in
(11:37):
a safe environment, where theycan be loved and affirmed and
educated, and so I think thatfinding I go back to finding
community that will do thosethings nurture, affirm and
educate is so important, it's soimportant.
So I think that, if I were topick the ones, the single thing
(11:57):
that is the most important waythat Black families can and
should be supported in theirhomeschool journey it's finding
community.
It's that important to me.
Delina (12:05):
Yeah, I feel like we all have stories like that and it
makes me, it does somethinginside of me to hear it.
Elan (12:11):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Delina (12:13):
What questions do you think that families of color
should think about when they'rethinking about homeschooling?
What has it dawned on them yet,because they're new to this
world?
Elan (12:27):
Well, I actually in my mind there are five key things,
and I actually have a littlelike guide that I created based
on these five things.
So I think that, first of all,you need to know your family's
goals.
What do you want to get out ofthis experience Like?
What do you want it?
What do you want it to not onlylook like in the present, but
what do you want the outcome tobe in the future, with your
kiddos and with your entirefamily?
So, thinking with the end inmind, I think, is very important
(12:49):
, yeah, and then the secondthing is understanding.
You know we all live indifferent states.
Understanding what your state'slaws are regarding
homeschooling, because what youknow, delina, what we are able
to do here in Texas, looks verydifferent than a family who
lives in New Jersey, and so youwant to make sure that you get
off on the right start, becauseyou don't want anybody you know
(13:12):
knocking at your door.
Yes, like you don't want that,but then you also don't want.
You also don't want a situationwhere your child is not able to
do something because you didsomething incorrectly.
So, for example, if they'recollege bound, if they're
college bound and you arehelping them apply for college
and they don't have somethingyou know, maybe in your state
(13:34):
school they don't have somethingthat was needed because you
didn't know.
So you just want to make surethat you get those pieces right
from the very beginning.
And I also think you need tothink about.
You don't have to make all thedecisions about curriculum at
one time, but I do think it paysto think about curriculum from
the very beginning.
What are you looking for in thecurriculum resources?
(13:55):
And they don't have to all comefrom one place.
I am a very eclectichomeschooler.
I pull from a number ofdifferent sources, but I do have
standards for everything thatI'm looking at.
I always want things to be.
I cannot deal with problematiccurriculum.
Like if you are going to insome way belittle people of
color, I'm out.
(14:16):
If you are somehow going toerase people of color, I'm out.
So there are those kinds ofthings that, like I look at
things through that lens.
I also am a person of faith,and so there are certain, there
are certain in certain areasthat I want my faith to come
through in what I'm teaching mykiddos.
And so, whatever your standardsare, whatever your goals are,
(14:41):
that's why it's important to setthose goals at the very
beginning, because then you knowwhat to look for when it comes
time for curriculum, when itcomes time for finding those
learning resources, and then youknow, I think too, like the
fourth piece for me isunderstanding that our children
are whole humans, right, and so,yes, there's the academics.
But then what else is your kidinto?
(15:01):
Maybe they're into a certainarea of academics that you want
to explore more, like, maybethey are just a math whiz, and
so you want to keep feeding thatright.
Or maybe they're a writer, youwant to get them maybe into
writing clubs, writing workshops, that kind of thing.
But then also, what are theyinto?
That's outside again of thoseacademics.
(15:23):
So are they into sports?
Do they love building withtheir hands, like?
What do they like and what canwe nurture?
Because, as we step into thisworld of homeschooling, we have
a little more freedom, we have alittle more flexibility, right,
and so what are ways we cancontinue to pour into our whole
child, so that they are gettingmore than just their ABCs.
(15:43):
One, two, threes.
Delina (15:46):
Even to extend that a little bit the kind of person
that they are, the kind of likevalues that are important to
them, like the things that weexpose them to.
I know it was important for meto know that my kids understand
the news, so we would watch theyou know those kids news things
on YouTube together.
You know just the differentthings that you want them to,
(16:08):
you want for them to feel areimportant.
Elan (16:11):
I'm so glad you said that we are actually right now, my
children and I are doing somelearning, because it is an
election year.
And so PBS kids has somefantastic kids resources free,
totally free kids resources thathelp our kids understand our
government here in the UnitedStates and how our officials are
(16:32):
elected and that kind of thing,and so I think that that piece
is super important too, becauseI don't know that, like, yeah, I
took a civics class in highschool and I did take some
government economics in highschool, but it was in high
school, right, in high school,right.
Why do we need to wait to teachour kids about the world that
they live in and how they cancontribute as citizens of this
(16:53):
world?
Why should we have to waituntil they get older?
So that's another thing thatwe've been able to tap into and
yes, you're correct, that goesinto them as a whole person and
seeing themselves as a realimportant piece of the society.
Delina (17:06):
And another one to add would be like chores.
I know chores, but my kids areall teenagers now and they're
surprised at how many of theirfriends don't know how to do
their laundry or don't know howto cook a meal or can't follow a
recipe.
You know those things you havetime for.
I totally understand how, whenyou, your kids, are in school,
(17:29):
the time you have at home isprecious and you don't
necessarily you know it's easierfor you to do the laundry while
they're at school or something.
But yes, teaching those lifeskills, you have time for that
now.
Elan (17:41):
Absolutely, Absolutely yeah, Because in traditional
school, everything is rush, rush, rush.
So, yeah, the kids I do.
I saw a lot of that too when Iwas a kid.
Like you get to, you get tocollege and your roommate
doesn't know how to clean upbehind themselves.
What are we doing?
Delina (17:57):
How do you think that bed got made when?
Elan (17:59):
you were growing up Exactly.
That's so funny.
Well, the last piece, the fifthkind of step that I think that
you should consider as you'restarting homeschooling is, is,
again, support.
So, yes, that's support from acommunity standpoint, finding
that for your kiddos, but thenalso, like I said earlier, as
parents we need we need thatsupport too, and it doesn't all
(18:20):
have to be in person, right.
So, like I have found a gooddeal of support, delina, I think
I found you online before wehad an opportunity to meet in
person.
I think that don't discount thevirtual space.
Get in groups like the one thatyou have, delina, on Facebook,
where you can share resourcesand you can talk to other
(18:40):
parents and maybe work throughsome things like ooh, I'm
struggling with X, y and Z, andthen somebody clear in another
state that you've never met inperson is able to shoot you a
few things and say my child washaving the same struggles, try
this, this and this.
Delina (18:55):
And see if that helps.
Elan (18:56):
That is truly, truly a form of support that is truly
needed, and I don't want peopleto overlook that.
Delina (19:02):
Yes, absolutely.
Share and be open to learningfrom other people that are doing
the same thing you're doingAbsolutely, so let's talk a
little bit about when youstarted homeschooling.
Same thing you're doingAbsolutely, so let's talk a
little bit about when youstarted homeschooling what
motivated your pivot intohomeschooling my kiddos,
specifically my older daughter,because she was already in
kindergarten, I think when COVIDstarted, and so it was that
(19:24):
school year that all the kidshad to come home from school.
Elan (19:27):
Right, it was cut short, and so my child was doing
virtual schooling.
So the school where she wasagain a small white private
school, you think I would havelearned, you did it again.
You're repeating the cycle.
That's so funny.
So, anyway, so she comes home.
But I will say this her schoolwas far more diverse than mine
was.
She had a black teacher in herkindergarten year and I remember
(19:50):
telling her.
I said, kira, you don'tunderstand right now how
important and how exciting thisis.
I said, but I never had thatuntil I got to high school.
So I was like just know thatmommy's excited that you have Ms
Dawson was her name, that youhave Ms Dawson.
She was a sweet lady, is asweet lady.
She hadn't gone anywhere.
Delina (20:07):
But anyway.
Elan (20:12):
Oh no, it did not.
It did not.
She's doing fine, but no.
So what happens is that kiddoscome home from school and Ms
Dawson and all the otherteachers, they're doing classes
virtually Right.
And what I was noticing is thatmy daughter was finishing her
work very quickly and then shewas kind of sitting around and
kind of fidgeting and kind of,like you know, looking for
something else to do.
And I remembered that there wasa parent teacher conference
that I'd had with Ms Dawson.
(20:33):
That was something stuck out tome and it didn't make sense
until months later that shewould say well, you know, kira,
she's my little helper, she doesthis and that in the class for
me, and she, she helps me withthe other kids, and blah, blah,
blah.
And in my mind at the time Iwas just thinking, oh well,
she's a leader.
Well mind at the time I was justthinking, oh well, she's a
(20:54):
leader.
Well then, you know, I wasproud from that standpoint.
The kid was bored.
The kid was bored because shewas finishing her work.
And I saw this firsthand when,when the kiddos came home, you
know during COVID, and so thatsummer, my husband and I talked
about it.
It was just like let's try thishomeschool thing, like let's go
(21:16):
, let's go into it.
The kids, you know, we weren'treally comfortable with sending
them because then at the time mybaby girl would have been going
into preschool.
And so that's sending two kidsto to a school where folks may
or may not be wearing masks andyou know things were just very
uncertain at that time, so I waslike, okay, well, okay, so
we're going to do homeschooling.
And what happened for me was allof the questions, all the
things, delina, that we've beentalking about, these were all of
the things that were in my headthat summer, trying to solve,
(21:40):
for, well is she, are we goingto do some virtual classes?
And what?
What do we do for curriculum?
And I spent all this money onthis box curriculum.
That was like all the subjects.
I was like it just needs to beeasy, cause I'm still working,
and I just I can't, I can't bebothered and wasted a good $900
good of my hard earned money.
So, anyway, made some mistakes,but, ultimately, what was
(22:00):
exciting was the progress Again,I talked about that progress
with their learning, theprogress that I saw in both kids
as they were learning from home.
I was like, oh, this is special.
I think we've tapped intosomething really, really special
.
So, when we were, they did haveto end up going back to
traditional school, maybe like ayear later, just because I was
the problem, my job, I was justvery busy at the time, very
(22:22):
demanding, and so when we,though, could revisit
homeschooling, then weabsolutely did that because the
seed that was planted in me wasseeing those children thrive as
they were learning at home and Iwas like I want to get back to
that.
Oh, I love that.
Delina (22:35):
I love that.
What ideas or beliefs did youhave about homeschooling that
turned out not to be true.
Elan (22:40):
Well, I thought to myself at the beginning, I'm going to
be the only working mom andnobody's going to understand.
And do I have to hide that Iwork so silly?
And that's how, like, as I gotout into you know, the real
homeschool world, I was like I'mnot alone in this at all.
There are so many of us whowork a full-time job, either for
(23:02):
someone else or we'reentrepreneurs ourselves,
whatever that might look like.
There are different ways to beable to do this.
It does not have to be a workfrom home parent who does all of
the educating of the kids, andI also.
I was really shocked Don't tellhim I said this.
I was really shocked at howhands on my husband is in this
(23:24):
whole homeschooling thing.
He is right there, even, likeright now.
He's on a field trip with themright now as we speak, and it is
very much a team effort, and sothat, yeah, that has been,
that's been super important, notonly for, you know, the actual
function of making sure that thekids are educated, but allowing
my girls to not just hear fromme and not just, you know,
(23:45):
interact with me from aneducation standpoint, but to be
able to share that experiencewith their dad too, I think is
super important, and for us tobe able to do it together as a
family, that's been great.
Delina (23:52):
I love that.
Did you have to sell him onhomeschooling, or did he see
that same growth during thattime?
Elan (23:58):
Not only did he see the same growth, but what I think is
always funny is he and I wereboth thinking about
homeschooling silently.
We had not said anything to oneanother until that summer of
2020, where, when COVID washappening, we were trying to
figure out what to do for thenext school year, and so he was
the first person to saysomething he was like well, what
(24:20):
?
Delina (24:20):
about what if we homeschool.
Elan (24:21):
So I always have to give him the credit that he was he.
It wasn't that he had to get meon board, but he was the first
one to say it out loud, and sowe were.
We were on the same page and wewent ahead and went for it.
I love that.
Delina (24:33):
I love that.
When did you realize, you knowin all this process, that you
had more freedom?
It wasn't just like how are wegoing to do this during the
pandemic, but you had freedom tohomeschool your way.
Elan (24:44):
I think that there are two things that are very important.
So, first off, I go back to2020, when we first started
homeschooling, and that was whenJoe Biden and Kamala Harris
were elected, and so to have ourfirst woman of color woman and
person of color vice presidentthat my children could see we
watched inauguration together,that we were able to see, and I
(25:07):
was able to incorporate thatinto their learning.
There was also I think theyoung lady's name is Amanda
Gordon or Gorman who was is apoet, who a young poet, very
young.
She was just a young lady atthe time.
She's an adult now, but shespoke at inauguration and my
daughter, my older daughter, whothen was about seven, I think
(25:29):
she was taking a poetry class anonline poetry class at the time
and so she got to see in reallife a young lady just a few
years older than her who wasdoing the thing that she was
studying and I just.
There were just so many moreinstances of how I could educate
and pour into my kiddos at thesame time in ways that they
(25:52):
never, ever, ever were going toget in traditional school,
especially not the traditionalschool that they were in, you
know, just being able to doBlack history outside of
February.
Imagine that.
Being able to learn aboutnotable black figures that
weren't the standard you knowMLK and you know that kind of
thing I loved all that.
I was like this is this is very, very cool.
(26:13):
But I also think getting toteach them in the ways that they
receive information was so, wasso important.
So their learning styles.
I have one child who is verymuch an auditory learner and
then I have one child who isvery much a reading, writing
learner, and so, yes, there aretimes when I will show them a
(26:33):
video or that we will dohands-on projects and that kind
of thing.
But just understanding that Ihave one kid that I can pop a
podcast on, you know and let herlisten to that, and she's going
to soak in all that informationand knowing that that is her
preferred method.
So she has her headphones nearher computer always, like that's
her, you know, that's her, herway.
Whereas the other one, myreading writing learner, she has
(26:56):
journals upon journals, uponjournals, because she likes to
write and she likes to.
You know, she'll take in theinformation but she needs to
also write it back out so thatshe is process.
That's how she processes, and sojust understanding how your kid
I cannot even express thisenough how your kids receive
information, how they bestreceive information, is so
(27:18):
important.
That's truly, again, how you'regoing to see that progress with
your kiddos fast, when you'renot trying to force them to do
something that they're notcreated to do, you're not trying
to force a visual learner to be, you know, an auditory learner
or like whatever that looks like.
When you embrace how theynaturally learn, you'll see them
go so much further, so muchfaster.
Delina (27:39):
Yes, and for them to even know that about themselves
at this age.
This is how I learned, this ishow information sticks in my
head.
This is how yes, that's such avaluable tool for the rest of
their life, absolutely,absolutely.
So I have one last question foryou how do you homeschool
yourself?
How do you stay on thislearning path?
Elan (28:00):
Well, I will tell you what .
I didn't do it on purpose, butthis is a perfect segue into how
I homeschool myself, because Iactually, a couple of years ago,
I took what is called astrengths finders test and
learned that my number onelearning style or my number one
strength is learning.
I love to learn, I love it.
I just, I absolutely love tolearn and I think that's why I'm
(28:22):
so passionate abouthomeschooling and about kids
being able to learn.
But what is I love?
It?
Visionary, strategic and someother things.
And so when I whether it's inmy nine to five job or my job
(28:46):
with homeschool our way, orwhether it's how I prepare, you
know, learning activities andthings like that for my kiddos,
I think about these things.
I think about what drives meand how I like to operate, and
there are certain things I donot like.
I don't like building, I don'tlike like whatever, but I do
love, again, strategy is one ofmy, one of my key strengths.
(29:08):
I love to think about whatcould be like the vision, like
the you know, that kind of thing.
And so how that plays outsometimes in in our homeschool
world is I will plan thesemester and the year.
This is what the kiddos willlearn.
These are the experiences thatwe'll have, that kind of thing,
because that is super excitingto me.
My husband will come in, he'sthe fun parent and so he'll come
(29:32):
in and he, you know, with theactivities and, like I said, the
field trip that they're ontoday, those kinds of things,
that's his strength, and so whatI learned about what I learned
is to embrace our strengths andnot work against against our
strengths, and that learningactually is what led me to.
I have like a little quiz thatfind the ways that their kid
best likes to learn, like thatone thing transitioned into the
(30:08):
other thing, and so it's again.
It's just a constant likelearning, but to learn oneself
is so, so important.
So I'm just on a journey tocontinue to learn myself and to
help others learn themselves.
I think it's super important.
Delina (30:21):
I love that.
I love that, and let us knowhow we can get in touch with you
, sure.
Elan (30:28):
Well, you'll find me on Instagram homeschool underscore
our way, because somebody elsehad homeschool our way, so don't
find them.
Find me, you'll see my littlebrown face, so you'll find me
there.
I also have a podcast calledHomeschool Our Way and if you
want any more details aboutthose kind of five steps as
you're getting intohomeschooling, you can find that
at homeschoolourwaycom.
(30:49):
Backslash start.
Delina (30:50):
Beautiful and I will add that to the show notes.
Appreciate that.
Thank you so much, Elan.
I love this conversation withyou and I love how you're
helping other parents get onthis homeschooling journey.
It's a beautiful, beautifulspace to be in.
Elan (31:04):
It really is.
I love it so much and I amcheering on all of the parents
who are either looking to getinto the space or are in the
space now.
You're doing what is an amazingthing for your kiddos and I
think that you'll see it pay off.
I love that, thank you.
Delina (31:19):
I love that in this conversation, ilan inspired us
to rethink some of the ideas wehave about what schooling is and
what our homeschooling lifecould look like.
May it inspire you to look forcommunity and step into
homeschool freedom.
To connect with Ilan, head overto our show notes
wokehomeschoolingcom slashpodcast, where there are links
(31:42):
to our social media.
Announcer (31:54):
Homeschool Yourself is a production of Woke
Homeschooling Inc.
For show notes and links tothings mentioned in the episode,
visit wokehomeschoolingcomslash podcast.
Woke Homeschooling empowersparents to teach their kids an
inclusive, truthful history.
We invite you to visit ourwebsite and download a sample of
the history curriculum we offerfor kids.
(32:14):
Visit us atwokehomeschoolingcom.
Are you ready to start homeschooling?
If you're a family of color andyou've only been looking at the
resources available by Googlinghow to start homeschooling, the
answer is probably no.
Welcome to Homeschool Yourself.
I'm your host, alina.
In this episode we're talkingto Elan Cage, homeschool coach
and founder of Homeschool OurWay.
We're talking to her about whatconsiderations families have to
(00:24):
consider in beginning theirhomeschool journey.
I had a couple of if I could doit over again moments in this
episode.
I hope it helps you craft anamazing homeschool life for you
and your kids.
Take a listen, hi Elon.
How are you?
I'm so glad you're here to havea conversation with me.
Would you tell my audience alittle bit about yourself?
Elan (00:50):
I can.
Delina, thank you for having meon your podcast.
I'm so excited for you in thisnew format that you're able to
reach folks with.
I'm Elan, I'm a homeschool momof two and I have a business
called Homeschool Our Way, whichhelps families of color get
started homeschooling.
Tell me your why?
Delina (01:02):
Why is it important for you to help families get started
homeschooling?
Elan (01:06):
When I was coming up so I was born and raised in Dallas,
in the suburbs of Dallas I wentto a small Christian school, a
small white Christian school,and we actually had a lot of
homeschoolers who would come.
They would either takeelectives at our school or they
would be involved in the sportsat our school, and so I was like
very familiar with a lot ofhomeschool families, but none of
(01:28):
those homeschool families looklike mine, and so I feel like
it's a very common thing in thewhite, especially white
Christian world, but for thoseof us, families of color, it's a
newer thing for us, and a lotof us have, because we haven't
had sort of decades, years,generations of educating our
kids this way.
We have a lot of questions.
(01:49):
We have a lot of questions likewell, what is it supposed to
look like?
And our families oftentimes arealso set up differently.
I know in my own family we'retwo working parents and I never
saw that with my whitecounterparts.
It was always like astay-at-home mom and then a
parent who worked outside thehome.
And so we have, you know, asfamilies of color, we have
different reasons for choosingto homeschool.
(02:10):
Our families often lookdifferent, and so we just need.
I feel like at this moment intime, as homeschool is gaining
popularity and it's reallybecoming a way of educating our
kids it's so beneficial to us asBlack families we just need
some help getting started andkind of getting set up for
success.
Delina (02:28):
Yes, yes, all of the generic advice does not apply to
us.
Elan (02:33):
It does not.
Delina (02:34):
It does not apply to us in the same way.
I love that.
I love that you're servingfamilies of color.
So, like you said,homeschooling in families of
color is gaining ground.
Like people are gravitating tohomeschooling in families of
color is gaining ground.
Like people are gravitating tohomeschooling so much I imagine
that more and more of them arecoming to you for help.
So I want to talk to you alittle bit about the trends that
(02:55):
you've noticed with families ofcolor that you've helped.
So what kind of things do theycome to you for and what kind of
questions do they have?
What do you help them answer?
Elan (03:06):
Yeah, I think that the two biggest things that I see time
and time again are how do wefind community and how do we
find curriculum?
Those are two of the big thingsthat like parents as they're
getting started and I was one ofthose parents right who worried
about those two things.
Especially people families,parents want to know that their
kids aren't missing out onanything.
(03:27):
So that community piece is veryimportant.
Where will my kids find friends?
How will they be interactingwith their peers and learning
with their peers on a regularbasis, even as parents?
Where are the other blackhomeschool parents?
Where can I find support inthose ways?
So I think that that communitypiece is very important,
(03:48):
especially if, for example,maybe you don't live in an urban
area or maybe you live in anarea that doesn't have a ton of
black families.
Where can you find your people?
Where can you find your tribe?
And so that's very important.
The other piece with thecurriculum and thank you for
creating Woke Homeschooling andfor giving us products like
O'Freedom, because it'simportant for a lot of us that
(04:11):
our kids are learning truthright, that they are learning
things that are actual andfactual, as TLC said and so
that's a priority.
The other priority, though, isjust making sure that our kids
are nurtured in what they arelearning, that they see
themselves in it, so that thecharacters and the books that
(04:34):
they read not only look likethem but come from families and
experiences that mirror theirown, and so we we don't always
get that in the traditionalschool system right, like I feel
like it has to be a veryspecialized, very unique
experience to be able to getthat in a traditional school,
but we can absolutely createthat in our world of
homeschooling, and so, a lot oftimes, families are coming in
(04:57):
with the question okay, like Ikind of have an idea of what's
missing, but how do I find theresources to fill what I want my
child's education to look like?
Delina (05:08):
Yeah, what are some of the things that surprised them
about the homeschooling world?
Because it's like stepping intoa different world altogether,
coming from a school system.
Elan (05:18):
Absolutely it is.
I think one of the things thatI've always find funny is that
when parents transition intohomeschooling and they are
trying to, they think that theyneed to recreate traditional
school at home.
Yes, Then it looks like.
Well, oh my gosh, what do Ifind to fill my kid's day for
eight hours?
And I'm always like who told youyou need to do that, that's not
(05:40):
necessary, you don't have to dothat, that's not necessary, you
don't have to do that.
So they start to see learning.
That can happen in differentways.
It doesn't have to look likesitting behind a desk and
sitting in a classroom for eighthours.
It doesn't have to be onworksheets.
It could be so.
I'll give you an example.
Right now, as we're recording,it is Hispanic Heritage Month,
(06:01):
and so one of the things thatwe've been learning a lot about
are people of African descentwho are either born and raised
in Latin America or are Americanwith Latin American lineage,
and my children and I have lotsof rich discussions about this.
So, yes, there are books thatwe read, there might be videos
(06:21):
that we watch, but the learningI'm not sticking a worksheet in
front of them necessarily totest to see what they recall.
We're having rich discussionsas a family to reinforce what it
is that they're learning and soand that might that might be.
Last week in particular.
I can guarantee it was in thecar on the way to volleyball
practice that we were havingthis discussion.
(06:43):
So it's not again.
It's not like I wasn't likeokay, it's 8.30 AM.
It's time for us to do ourHispanic heritage lesson and
we're going to sit here and dothese works.
No, it was like I was on a callfor work.
They were watching a video andthen they read a chapter in a
book that we got from thelibrary and then, like I said,
(07:05):
later that afternoon we had ourdiscussion in the car on the way
to something else.
There's learning happening allthe time and I think that that
really surprises parents thatlike, oh, look at this
flexibility, look at thisflexibility that we can truly
have a hand in our kids'education anytime, anywhere.
I love that.
Delina (07:21):
I love that.
It's kind of hard to find thatrhythm because it always keeps
you questioning am I doingenough?
Are they going to be on parwith their peers that are in
school?
You know, you feel like youhave to do it that way.
That's one of the I'm heretalking, but that's one of the
ways I wish that education hadchanged with the pandemic,
(07:41):
because we don't have to do itthat way, Like there's so many
other ways, and homeschooling issuch a gift to be able to do
that with your own family, evenwhen society's still stuck with
one way of doing it.
Elan (07:54):
It is, and really quickly to.
To piggyback on what you justsaid.
That's another thing thatsurprises parents is, once they
step fully into this homeschoolthing, they're very surprised at
how quickly their children arelearning Right.
And so that goes into exactlywhat you were just saying,
delina, about how, like, who aremy kids behind?
Are they, you know, do I needto get them caught up?
(08:16):
The one-on-one instruction orthe instruction that your child
gets with you or with aninstructor that you've, you know
, brought in to help withwhatever that is, it's so
specialized for your child thatthey are going to catch on that
much quicker.
And so I really think that if aparent is transitioning from
(08:37):
traditional school and perhapstheir child was a little bit
behind let's say, at the end ofone school year their child was
behind and then maybe they workwith them a little bit over the
summer by the time we get to thefall of the next school year, I
think parents are shocked athow much progress has happened
with just a couple months ofbeing able to work one-on-one
(08:58):
with your child.
Delina (08:58):
Yeah, parent magic, the one-on-one special magic.
Elan (09:02):
I love that parent magic yes.
Delina (09:04):
What kind of support do you see that families of color
need the most?
Elan (09:08):
I think that again I go back to that community piece
that community thing is veryimportant for us and here's why
A lot of times and I can saythis about my upbringing,
remember I said I went to asmall Christian school In Texas
In Texas, and the people at theschool who looked like me were
(09:29):
also related to me.
So literally it was me, mybrother, my cousins.
We made up the Black studentpopulation.
My goodness we couldn't let inone family.
That's right.
That's right, and so what Imean?
There were a few others.
I'm exaggerating slightly, butfor the most part, for the most
part, we were holding it down,no-transcript whatever, and our
(10:10):
we would have, like somestudents or whatever, who would
read morning announcements forthe whole school During the
month of February.
They students would read ablack history fact and my.
I remember one.
One day in particular, in my APbiology class, the Black
History Fact was read andimmediately as soon as they
finished that Black History Fact, several of my white classmates
(10:31):
were like who cares?
And it was two of us, two Blackfolks in that class me and then
one young lady who was Nigerian, american.
And so there is, yes, therewere two Black people in the
classroom, but there was onlyone of us whose history was just
disrespected in that way.
(10:54):
And there's something thathappens to a child when we are
in such an unsafe space.
Because what could I do?
I looked to my blonde-haired,blue-eyed teacher and she was
like you know, she was just likeoh well, it happens.
I'm looking to my other blackclassmate, who is Nigerian, and
she's offended, but in a verydifferent way.
(11:14):
And then I'm looking to all therest of my white classmates and
they really don't.
They don't care.
Even though they didn't shoutit out, they don't care either.
I don't want my children to everbe in an environment like that,
Not as they're growing up.
Now the world is the world, andonce they begin to be adults,
you know that that happens.
But I want them to be, for now,in a nurturing environment, in
(11:37):
a safe environment, where theycan be loved and affirmed and
educated, and so I think thatfinding I go back to finding
community that will do thosethings nurture, affirm and
educate is so important, it's soimportant.
So I think that, if I were topick the ones, the single thing
(11:57):
that is the most important waythat Black families can and
should be supported in theirhomeschool journey it's finding
community.
It's that important to me.
Delina (12:05):
Yeah, I feel like we all have stories like that and it
makes me, it does somethinginside of me to hear it.
Elan (12:11):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Delina (12:13):
What questions do you think that families of color
should think about when they'rethinking about homeschooling?
What has it dawned on them yet,because they're new to this
world?
Elan (12:27):
Well, I actually in my mind there are five key things,
and I actually have a littlelike guide that I created based
on these five things.
So I think that, first of all,you need to know your family's
goals.
What do you want to get out ofthis experience Like?
What do you want it?
What do you want it to not onlylook like in the present, but
what do you want the outcome tobe in the future, with your
kiddos and with your entirefamily?
So, thinking with the end inmind, I think, is very important
(12:49):
, yeah, and then the secondthing is understanding.
You know we all live indifferent states.
Understanding what your state'slaws are regarding
homeschooling, because what youknow, delina, what we are able
to do here in Texas, looks verydifferent than a family who
lives in New Jersey, and so youwant to make sure that you get
off on the right start, becauseyou don't want anybody you know
(13:12):
knocking at your door.
Yes, like you don't want that,but then you also don't want.
You also don't want a situationwhere your child is not able to
do something because you didsomething incorrectly.
So, for example, if they'recollege bound, if they're
college bound and you arehelping them apply for college
and they don't have somethingyou know, maybe in your state
(13:34):
school they don't have somethingthat was needed because you
didn't know.
So you just want to make surethat you get those pieces right
from the very beginning.
And I also think you need tothink about.
You don't have to make all thedecisions about curriculum at
one time, but I do think it paysto think about curriculum from
the very beginning.
What are you looking for in thecurriculum resources?
(13:55):
And they don't have to all comefrom one place.
I am a very eclectichomeschooler.
I pull from a number ofdifferent sources, but I do have
standards for everything thatI'm looking at.
I always want things to be.
I cannot deal with problematiccurriculum.
Like if you are going to insome way belittle people of
color, I'm out.
(14:16):
If you are somehow going toerase people of color, I'm out.
So there are those kinds ofthings that, like I look at
things through that lens.
I also am a person of faith,and so there are certain, there
are certain in certain areasthat I want my faith to come
through in what I'm teaching mykiddos.
And so, whatever your standardsare, whatever your goals are,
(14:41):
that's why it's important to setthose goals at the very
beginning, because then you knowwhat to look for when it comes
time for curriculum, when itcomes time for finding those
learning resources, and then youknow, I think too, like the
fourth piece for me isunderstanding that our children
are whole humans, right, and so,yes, there's the academics.
But then what else is your kidinto?
(15:01):
Maybe they're into a certainarea of academics that you want
to explore more, like, maybethey are just a math whiz, and
so you want to keep feeding thatright.
Or maybe they're a writer, youwant to get them maybe into
writing clubs, writing workshops, that kind of thing.
But then also, what are theyinto?
That's outside again of thoseacademics.
(15:23):
So are they into sports?
Do they love building withtheir hands, like?
What do they like and what canwe nurture?
Because, as we step into thisworld of homeschooling, we have
a little more freedom, we have alittle more flexibility, right,
and so what are ways we cancontinue to pour into our whole
child, so that they are gettingmore than just their ABCs.
(15:43):
One, two, threes.
Delina (15:46):
Even to extend that a little bit the kind of person
that they are, the kind of likevalues that are important to
them, like the things that weexpose them to.
I know it was important for meto know that my kids understand
the news, so we would watch theyou know those kids news things
on YouTube together.
You know just the differentthings that you want them to,
(16:08):
you want for them to feel areimportant.
Elan (16:11):
I'm so glad you said that we are actually right now, my
children and I are doing somelearning, because it is an
election year.
And so PBS kids has somefantastic kids resources free,
totally free kids resources thathelp our kids understand our
government here in the UnitedStates and how our officials are
(16:32):
elected and that kind of thing,and so I think that that piece
is super important too, becauseI don't know that, like, yeah, I
took a civics class in highschool and I did take some
government economics in highschool, but it was in high
school, right, in high school,right.
Why do we need to wait to teachour kids about the world that
they live in and how they cancontribute as citizens of this
(16:53):
world?
Why should we have to waituntil they get older?
So that's another thing thatwe've been able to tap into and
yes, you're correct, that goesinto them as a whole person and
seeing themselves as a realimportant piece of the society.
Delina (17:06):
And another one to add would be like chores.
I know chores, but my kids areall teenagers now and they're
surprised at how many of theirfriends don't know how to do
their laundry or don't know howto cook a meal or can't follow a
recipe.
You know those things you havetime for.
I totally understand how, whenyou, your kids, are in school,
(17:29):
the time you have at home isprecious and you don't
necessarily you know it's easierfor you to do the laundry while
they're at school or something.
But yes, teaching those lifeskills, you have time for that
now.
Elan (17:41):
Absolutely, Absolutely yeah, Because in traditional
school, everything is rush, rush, rush.
So, yeah, the kids I do.
I saw a lot of that too when Iwas a kid.
Like you get to, you get tocollege and your roommate
doesn't know how to clean upbehind themselves.
What are we doing?
Delina (17:57):
How do you think that bed got made when?
Elan (17:59):
you were growing up Exactly.
That's so funny.
Well, the last piece, the fifthkind of step that I think that
you should consider as you'restarting homeschooling is, is,
again, support.
So, yes, that's support from acommunity standpoint, finding
that for your kiddos, but thenalso, like I said earlier, as
parents we need we need thatsupport too, and it doesn't all
(18:20):
have to be in person, right.
So, like I have found a gooddeal of support, delina, I think
I found you online before wehad an opportunity to meet in
person.
I think that don't discount thevirtual space.
Get in groups like the one thatyou have, delina, on Facebook,
where you can share resourcesand you can talk to other
(18:40):
parents and maybe work throughsome things like ooh, I'm
struggling with X, y and Z, andthen somebody clear in another
state that you've never met inperson is able to shoot you a
few things and say my child washaving the same struggles, try
this, this and this.
Delina (18:55):
And see if that helps.
Elan (18:56):
That is truly, truly a form of support that is truly
needed, and I don't want peopleto overlook that.
Delina (19:02):
Yes, absolutely.
Share and be open to learningfrom other people that are doing
the same thing you're doingAbsolutely, so let's talk a
little bit about when youstarted homeschooling.
Same thing you're doingAbsolutely, so let's talk a
little bit about when youstarted homeschooling what
motivated your pivot intohomeschooling my kiddos,
specifically my older daughter,because she was already in
kindergarten, I think when COVIDstarted, and so it was that
(19:24):
school year that all the kidshad to come home from school.
Elan (19:27):
Right, it was cut short, and so my child was doing
virtual schooling.
So the school where she wasagain a small white private
school, you think I would havelearned, you did it again.
You're repeating the cycle.
That's so funny.
So, anyway, so she comes home.
But I will say this her schoolwas far more diverse than mine
was.
She had a black teacher in herkindergarten year and I remember
(19:50):
telling her.
I said, kira, you don'tunderstand right now how
important and how exciting thisis.
I said, but I never had thatuntil I got to high school.
So I was like just know thatmommy's excited that you have Ms
Dawson was her name, that youhave Ms Dawson.
She was a sweet lady, is asweet lady.
She hadn't gone anywhere.
Delina (20:07):
But anyway.
Elan (20:12):
Oh no, it did not.
It did not.
She's doing fine, but no.
So what happens is that kiddoscome home from school and Ms
Dawson and all the otherteachers, they're doing classes
virtually Right.
And what I was noticing is thatmy daughter was finishing her
work very quickly and then shewas kind of sitting around and
kind of fidgeting and kind of,like you know, looking for
something else to do.
And I remembered that there wasa parent teacher conference
that I'd had with Ms Dawson.
(20:33):
That was something stuck out tome and it didn't make sense
until months later that shewould say well, you know, kira,
she's my little helper, she doesthis and that in the class for
me, and she, she helps me withthe other kids, and blah, blah,
blah.
And in my mind at the time Iwas just thinking, oh well,
she's a leader.
Well mind at the time I was justthinking, oh well, she's a
(20:54):
leader.
Well then, you know, I wasproud from that standpoint.
The kid was bored.
The kid was bored because shewas finishing her work.
And I saw this firsthand when,when the kiddos came home, you
know during COVID, and so thatsummer, my husband and I talked
about it.
It was just like let's try thishomeschool thing, like let's go
(21:16):
, let's go into it.
The kids, you know, we weren'treally comfortable with sending
them because then at the time mybaby girl would have been going
into preschool.
And so that's sending two kidsto to a school where folks may
or may not be wearing masks andyou know things were just very
uncertain at that time, so I waslike, okay, well, okay, so
we're going to do homeschooling.
And what happened for me was allof the questions, all the
things, delina, that we've beentalking about, these were all of
the things that were in my headthat summer, trying to solve,
(21:40):
for, well is she, are we goingto do some virtual classes?
And what?
What do we do for curriculum?
And I spent all this money onthis box curriculum.
That was like all the subjects.
I was like it just needs to beeasy, cause I'm still working,
and I just I can't, I can't bebothered and wasted a good $900
good of my hard earned money.
So, anyway, made some mistakes,but, ultimately, what was
(22:00):
exciting was the progress Again,I talked about that progress
with their learning, theprogress that I saw in both kids
as they were learning from home.
I was like, oh, this is special.
I think we've tapped intosomething really, really special
.
So, when we were, they did haveto end up going back to
traditional school, maybe like ayear later, just because I was
the problem, my job, I was justvery busy at the time, very
(22:22):
demanding, and so when we,though, could revisit
homeschooling, then weabsolutely did that because the
seed that was planted in me wasseeing those children thrive as
they were learning at home and Iwas like I want to get back to
that.
Oh, I love that.
Delina (22:35):
I love that.
What ideas or beliefs did youhave about homeschooling that
turned out not to be true.
Elan (22:40):
Well, I thought to myself at the beginning, I'm going to
be the only working mom andnobody's going to understand.
And do I have to hide that Iwork so silly?
And that's how, like, as I gotout into you know, the real
homeschool world, I was like I'mnot alone in this at all.
There are so many of us whowork a full-time job, either for
(23:02):
someone else or we'reentrepreneurs ourselves,
whatever that might look like.
There are different ways to beable to do this.
It does not have to be a workfrom home parent who does all of
the educating of the kids, andI also.
I was really shocked Don't tellhim I said this.
I was really shocked at howhands on my husband is in this
(23:24):
whole homeschooling thing.
He is right there, even, likeright now.
He's on a field trip with themright now as we speak, and it is
very much a team effort, and sothat, yeah, that has been,
that's been super important, notonly for, you know, the actual
function of making sure that thekids are educated, but allowing
my girls to not just hear fromme and not just, you know,
(23:45):
interact with me from aneducation standpoint, but to be
able to share that experiencewith their dad too, I think is
super important, and for us tobe able to do it together as a
family, that's been great.
Delina (23:52):
I love that.
Did you have to sell him onhomeschooling, or did he see
that same growth during thattime?
Elan (23:58):
Not only did he see the same growth, but what I think is
always funny is he and I wereboth thinking about
homeschooling silently.
We had not said anything to oneanother until that summer of
2020, where, when COVID washappening, we were trying to
figure out what to do for thenext school year, and so he was
the first person to saysomething he was like well, what
(24:20):
?
Delina (24:20):
about what if we homeschool.
Elan (24:21):
So I always have to give him the credit that he was he.
It wasn't that he had to get meon board, but he was the first
one to say it out loud, and sowe were.
We were on the same page and wewent ahead and went for it.
I love that.
Delina (24:33):
I love that.
When did you realize, you knowin all this process, that you
had more freedom?
It wasn't just like how are wegoing to do this during the
pandemic, but you had freedom tohomeschool your way.
Elan (24:44):
I think that there are two things that are very important.
So, first off, I go back to2020, when we first started
homeschooling, and that was whenJoe Biden and Kamala Harris
were elected, and so to have ourfirst woman of color woman and
person of color vice presidentthat my children could see we
watched inauguration together,that we were able to see, and I
(25:07):
was able to incorporate thatinto their learning.
There was also I think theyoung lady's name is Amanda
Gordon or Gorman who was is apoet, who a young poet, very
young.
She was just a young lady atthe time.
She's an adult now, but shespoke at inauguration and my
daughter, my older daughter, whothen was about seven, I think
(25:29):
she was taking a poetry class anonline poetry class at the time
and so she got to see in reallife a young lady just a few
years older than her who wasdoing the thing that she was
studying and I just.
There were just so many moreinstances of how I could educate
and pour into my kiddos at thesame time in ways that they
(25:52):
never, ever, ever were going toget in traditional school,
especially not the traditionalschool that they were in, you
know, just being able to doBlack history outside of
February.
Imagine that.
Being able to learn aboutnotable black figures that
weren't the standard you knowMLK and you know that kind of
thing I loved all that.
I was like this is this is very, very cool.
(26:13):
But I also think getting toteach them in the ways that they
receive information was so, wasso important.
So their learning styles.
I have one child who is verymuch an auditory learner and
then I have one child who isvery much a reading, writing
learner, and so, yes, there aretimes when I will show them a
(26:33):
video or that we will dohands-on projects and that kind
of thing.
But just understanding that Ihave one kid that I can pop a
podcast on, you know and let herlisten to that, and she's going
to soak in all that informationand knowing that that is her
preferred method.
So she has her headphones nearher computer always, like that's
her, you know, that's her, herway.
Whereas the other one, myreading writing learner, she has
(26:56):
journals upon journals, uponjournals, because she likes to
write and she likes to.
You know, she'll take in theinformation but she needs to
also write it back out so thatshe is process.
That's how she processes, and sojust understanding how your kid
I cannot even express thisenough how your kids receive
information, how they bestreceive information, is so
(27:18):
important.
That's truly, again, how you'regoing to see that progress with
your kiddos fast, when you'renot trying to force them to do
something that they're notcreated to do, you're not trying
to force a visual learner to be, you know, an auditory learner
or like whatever that looks like.
When you embrace how theynaturally learn, you'll see them
go so much further, so muchfaster.
Delina (27:39):
Yes, and for them to even know that about themselves
at this age.
This is how I learned, this ishow information sticks in my
head.
This is how yes, that's such avaluable tool for the rest of
their life, absolutely,absolutely.
So I have one last question foryou how do you homeschool
yourself?
How do you stay on thislearning path?
Elan (28:00):
Well, I will tell you what .
I didn't do it on purpose, butthis is a perfect segue into how
I homeschool myself, because Iactually, a couple of years ago,
I took what is called astrengths finders test and
learned that my number onelearning style or my number one
strength is learning.
I love to learn, I love it.
I just, I absolutely love tolearn and I think that's why I'm
(28:22):
so passionate abouthomeschooling and about kids
being able to learn.
But what is I love?
It?
Visionary, strategic and someother things.
And so when I whether it's inmy nine to five job or my job
(28:46):
with homeschool our way, orwhether it's how I prepare, you
know, learning activities andthings like that for my kiddos,
I think about these things.
I think about what drives meand how I like to operate, and
there are certain things I donot like.
I don't like building, I don'tlike like whatever, but I do
love, again, strategy is one ofmy, one of my key strengths.
(29:08):
I love to think about whatcould be like the vision, like
the you know, that kind of thing.
And so how that plays outsometimes in in our homeschool
world is I will plan thesemester and the year.
This is what the kiddos willlearn.
These are the experiences thatwe'll have, that kind of thing,
because that is super excitingto me.
My husband will come in, he'sthe fun parent and so he'll come
(29:32):
in and he, you know, with theactivities and, like I said, the
field trip that they're ontoday, those kinds of things,
that's his strength, and so whatI learned about what I learned
is to embrace our strengths andnot work against against our
strengths, and that learningactually is what led me to.
I have like a little quiz thatfind the ways that their kid
best likes to learn, like thatone thing transitioned into the
(30:08):
other thing, and so it's again.
It's just a constant likelearning, but to learn oneself
is so, so important.
So I'm just on a journey tocontinue to learn myself and to
help others learn themselves.
I think it's super important.
Delina (30:21):
I love that.
I love that, and let us knowhow we can get in touch with you
, sure.
Elan (30:28):
Well, you'll find me on Instagram homeschool underscore
our way, because somebody elsehad homeschool our way, so don't
find them.
Find me, you'll see my littlebrown face, so you'll find me
there.
I also have a podcast calledHomeschool Our Way and if you
want any more details aboutthose kind of five steps as
you're getting intohomeschooling, you can find that
at homeschoolourwaycom.
(30:49):
Backslash start.
Delina (30:50):
Beautiful and I will add that to the show notes.
Appreciate that.
Thank you so much, Elan.
I love this conversation withyou and I love how you're
helping other parents get onthis homeschooling journey.
It's a beautiful, beautifulspace to be in.
Elan (31:04):
It really is.
I love it so much and I amcheering on all of the parents
who are either looking to getinto the space or are in the
space now.
You're doing what is an amazingthing for your kiddos and I
think that you'll see it pay off.
I love that, thank you.
Delina (31:19):
I love that in this conversation, ilan inspired us
to rethink some of the ideas wehave about what schooling is and
what our homeschooling lifecould look like.
May it inspire you to look forcommunity and step into
homeschool freedom.
To connect with Ilan, head overto our show notes
wokehomeschoolingcom slashpodcast, where there are links
(31:42):
to our social media.
Announcer (31:54):
Homeschool Yourself is a production of Woke
Homeschooling Inc.
For show notes and links tothings mentioned in the episode,
visit wokehomeschoolingcomslash podcast.
Woke Homeschooling empowersparents to teach their kids an
inclusive, truthful history.
We invite you to visit ourwebsite and download a sample of
the history curriculum we offerfor kids.
(32:14):
Visit us atwokehomeschoolingcom.
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