May 3, 2025 • 45 mins
What happens when a dedicated special education teacher realizes the system she works in isn't what she wants for her own children? In this revealing conversation, Terry shares her remarkable journey from classroom teacher to homeschooling mother of four (soon to be five).
Growing up as a first-generation Mexican-American, Terry was raised believing that college education and professional success were the ultimate goals. She dutifully followed this path, becoming a special education teacher for five years in Arizona. Yet what she witnessed behind the scenes – from rigid behavioral expectations to concerning pandemic responses – gradually shifted her perspective on public education.
Making the leap to homeschooling wasn't easy. Terry and her husband took the dramatic step of relocating across the country to South Carolina, significantly downsizing their lifestyle to survive on a single income. Despite her educational background, she still battled self-doubt about teaching her own children – a sentiment many homeschooling parents will recognize.
The rewards have been profound. Her children have thrived away from the pressures of traditional schooling. Her son, once labeled a "class clown," now focuses better on academics without constant social distractions. Her daughter, who experienced testing anxiety even in kindergarten, has rediscovered the joy of learning. Perhaps most beautifully, the family has grown closer through shared daily experiences, including welcoming a new baby.
Terry doesn't shy away from discussing the practical challenges – from curriculum choices to balancing the needs of multiple children at different levels. She shares her approach to finding community through library meetups and church connections, and her thoughts on preparing for the high school years ahead.
Whether you're considering homeschooling, already on the journey, or simply curious about educational alternatives, this conversation offers valuable perspective from someone who's seen both sides of the educational divide. As Terry reflects, "You're never going to regret having that time with your children."
Ready to explore more homeschooling journeys? Subscribe to the Homeschool How To podcast and join our growing community of families discovering educational freedom.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to this week's episode of the Homeschool
How-To.
I'm Cheryl and I invite you tojoin me on my quest to find out
why are people homeschooling,how do you do it, how does it
differ from region to region,and should I homeschool my kids?
Stick with me as I interviewhomeschooling families across
the country to unfold theanswers to each of these
(00:26):
questions week by week.
Welcome, and with us today Ihave Terri from South Carolina.
Hi, terri, thanks for beinghere.
Hi, thanks for having me.
So are you a homeschooling mom?
Were you homeschooled yourself?
Give us a little backgroundhere.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah Well, so I grew up going to public school.
We kind of were talking beforewe started recording.
So, like I grew up, I'm a firstgeneration Mexican, so my
parents came here and they justdid everything that got, you
know, everything that wassupposed to be done, like.
So we were my, my brothers wereput into school, public school,
and I just, you know, theyreally pushed college because
that's what we were supposed todo, and so I went to be a
(01:08):
teacher.
I went to college to be aspecial yes, a teacher.
But then I got a dual major inspecial education.
So I really had the choicebetween doing a general
education or special educationand after doing my so, just
being a student teacher in bothplacements, special education
really just like tugged at myheartstrings, I really loved it.
(01:28):
So that's what I was doing forfive years in Arizona.
And after just being in publicschool and working as a special
education teacher, I just openedmy eyes to a lot of things and
I realized I didn't want thatfor my kids.
So, yeah, you know, my parentsare really proud I was first
generation.
Like I said, they were like goto college, go to college, it's
(01:50):
what you're supposed to do.
So they were really proud thatI went to college and I was a
teacher.
And I became a teacher,thinking it was going to be such
a mom friendly job because youhave the summers off and you
have the weekends off and mykids could go to the school that
I was working at, which three.
So I had three children at thistime.
So when I stopped teaching, Iwas already had three children,
(02:12):
but two of them were school age,the two older ones, and it just
ended up backfiring because Idecided no, I don't want my kids
in this environment.
So it was like the completeopposite.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
What was it that you were?
What was it that you wereseeing that you were like I
don't really want this for mykids.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Oh gosh, there was just a mixture of things, right.
So I did resource rooms, so Ihad kids who I had, some kids
that had needed like one-on-onesbecause they had a type of
autism that was like nonverbalor down syndrome.
But I also worked with a lot ofkids who were, you know, just
had learning disabilities andmath and reading and writing.
So I had all types of studentswith disabilities and so I got
(02:52):
to have to work with the gen edteachers on quite a bit.
And you know, I think the gened teachers 99% of them really
try to do the best that was, youknow, for their students, for
their class.
But you know, I think that formy kids, especially my son he's
the oldest, he's in middleschool now, but, um, you know,
he was a little bit of a classclown.
(03:13):
He um liked to make peoplelaugh and I think it was.
He had to be at a.
He was, you know, you're, youhave to be like this and you
have to be like that.
And I think it was harder.
He had more pressure on himbecause he was a teacher's kid
and so that was hard for him.
It was hard for me to see, andalso, just again, some of the
teachers.
I just think that the way theyevery teacher is different,
(03:37):
right.
So I think that some of them,the way they ran their
classrooms, it didn't help myson, you know, and gosh.
And then the influences, likejust other influences, of other
children, my son, I feel like mykids are very easily influenced
and I just felt, like you know,we would have the conversation
like you need to be a leader,you need to not be a follower,
(04:00):
and I think the prayer pressurefor them and I grew up, like I
said, going to public school andI knew that was a struggle I
had was peer pressure.
I wanted to be cool, I wantedto be light and luckily, you
know, I never did anything thatwas going to hurt me or, you
know, do anything to.
I still walked like a good,like a decent path and gotten
(04:21):
some trouble here and there.
You know, I just worried aboutmy son I really did and my
daughter especially.
And then COVID hit and COVID waseven more eyeopening.
I really I didn't think thatthe schools did the best for
kids doing distance learning.
We know that there's suiciderates went up, um, and it's just
all this stuff happened and wewent, we were able to go back to
(04:44):
schools and the vaccine cameout and I chose not to get
vaccinated and I feel like I gotblack sheeped by some of the
teachers and the parents and Iwas like what is going on?
And a lot of the teachers andparaprofessionals would show
their cards to each other and itwas like a popularity thing and
if you weren't sharing andsaying, saying I got this and I
(05:05):
got that, um, and I and I wouldsay, like that's against him,
you are peer pressured again asthe adult and the teacher well,
I was just so like this issomething wrong with this, like
this is not okay.
And at that point I was kind oflike more thick-skinned right,
like I do not care what peoplethink, I don't care what the
(05:26):
admin says and the district saysParents, I was the only
resource room teacher,kindergarten through fourth
grade.
So parents were asking the gened teachers because their kids
had to come to my classroom.
So they were like some of theparents were wondering like is
Ms Clark, is she vaccinated?
Because they had to be aroundme.
So it just was very weird erain time.
(05:49):
I'm sure we all have our crazystories.
And that's when I got to apoint where I'm like I don't
want to be in this environmentanymore and like again, for me
it was a big HIPAA, HIPAAviolation, like I'm like we
shouldn't be walking aroundtelling each other our medical
history.
That's between us and ourdoctors.
So anytime anybody ever came tome and asked me like Ms Clark,
(06:10):
did you get vaccinated?
It's like I don't have to tellyou.
It's against HIPAA, like foryou to even ask me.
But that was an automatic redflag to people.
So yeah, I just I just ended up.
My heart wasn't in it anymore.
For so many, for so many ofthose reasons I love the special
education kids.
I eventually, when my kids getolder, want to go work for maybe
(06:32):
not the school system, but Iknow there's some nonprofits and
stuff out there that are doingsome awesome things.
So, yeah, I just was wanting todo something different and I
don't like I just think that Godwas working in my life and just
kind of like, hey, like youknow, something has to change,
something has to change.
And I just was like told myhusband, I'm like we need to
move, we need to do somethingdifferent, I want to homeschool.
(06:54):
And we moved from Arizona toSouth Carolina.
I think that's we had kind of Ihad posted that on one of the
posts you had posted.
But yeah, we moved across thecountry so that we could afford
for me to stay at home and himbe the only provider.
We really had to downsize andjust make a huge sacrifice.
And even then I, even then Ihad a lot of doubt in myself to
(07:16):
be able to do it, even though Ihad gone to school to be a
teacher and things like that.
So I tried the school one yearhere in South Carolina and I was
not impressed.
I was like no, we're not doingit.
I didn't go to school, I didn'tgo to work, I stayed with my
youngest, who was five, so shewas going to go to kinder, but
not just yet.
So I was like, okay, well, letme put the other, the two older
ones, back in school and see howit goes.
(07:38):
And it was the same.
I mean it was you went from oneside of the country to the
other and similar problems andsimilar situation.
And I think that the educationsystem, you know there's just
the days are too long for thesechildren, they don't get enough
outside time.
You know there's so manyinfluences that are just not
(07:58):
good and there's just not enoughresources for those teachers
and the parents.
There's just, I'm just seeinglike a whole picture of the
educational system and it's justnot what I want my kids in.
The things that they'relearning.
It's not just reading andwriting and math anymore, it's
other things.
And the testing.
(08:18):
My daughter, she was inkindergarten.
She went to kindergarten twiceand you know how they have to do
these progress monitoring andthese testing.
You know, quite frequently nowas a kindergartner she would be
like I have to do this test.
You know, mommy, I don't knowon my letter, you know she just
would, it would just consume herlittle mind.
I'm like, honey, it's okay,like you're in kindergarten.
And she worried me because Ifirst saw like a lot of anxiety
(08:41):
in her.
She's a people, people pleaser,so she was like a teacher
pleaser.
She just wanted to makeeverybody happy.
And that worried me as she gotolder and what that would turn
into.
So yeah, I just then I pulledthem out.
I finally just told myself,like you have to do it, you know
, you can't cause.
My youngest at the time wasgoing to go into kinder and I
was like this is it Like this?
(09:02):
This is?
I have to make this choice.
Am I gonna send her tokindergarten and keep sending
the other two older ones?
Am I just gonna pull them allout, you know?
so that's what I ended up doingwhat ages were you're older too
when you pulled them out so myson was gonna be going into
fifth grade and my daughter wasgonna be going into first grade.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Yeah, and then my youngest were they happy about
the decision to homeschool orwere were they?
Did they want to stay in school?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
I would say my, my youngest daughter didn't know
any better.
She's like, okay, I guess I'mjust going to stay home.
And my middle daughter, the onegoing into first grade, she she
was she kind of understood,like, okay, I don't have to go
to school, I don't have to wakeup early, I don't have to worry
about what I'm going to wear,cause like she had that kind of
issue going on too, like what amI going to wear every day?
She would have meltdowns.
And my son, because he was moreof the class clown, very social
(09:53):
kid he did he did struggle withit.
He never said you know, no, Iwant to go back to school.
He didn't argue or anythinglike that.
I think now, when you, if youask him, when you, when people
ask him, he says you know what,what if you went back to like
public school, how would youfeel?
(10:15):
Or went back to school, he'd belike he says I'll just drive
all the teachers crazy and justbe a class class, cause he
really went there just tosocialize and just to kind of
goof around and at home, becausehe doesn't have all that going
on, he is more able to focus onhis studies and the things that
he needs to get done so that hecan do all the other things he
wants to enjoy doing.
When he was at school he couldjust not do.
Those things fall under theradar.
(10:36):
For the most part it was justso hard, like if his teacher did
tell me you know we wouldmessage on those message apps.
I didn't get his math done andI said, okay, we'll send it with
him, or I did, and then I tellhim, you know like what?
What did you not get done?
Did you bring it home?
Oh no, I lost it and it wasjust he had no accountability.
It was just so hard to get himto understand.
(11:00):
You know you need to get thisstuff done.
But me and his dad he sees thevalue of you know my parents are
my authority.
You know I need to listen to myparents and you know obey and
do what they ask me to do,because that is my
responsibility.
And he reacts and he does.
He does understand that so muchbetter than like a stranger.
(11:21):
Like to him, a teacher is astranger and he just doesn't
relate to so many people.
So he understands and he doesso much better just doing it
because, like I asked you to.
You need to do it.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Yeah, I never really thought about that before either
.
But kids kind of having thisconfusion over who do I answer
to?
Because, yeah, when you're inschool I mean especially when
you start middle school and youare switching classes now you
have like nine differentauthorities to answer to, plus
your parents.
And if you are in like asituation where your parents are
(11:54):
split up, now you've got themom's household and the dad's
household, and that must be veryconfusing to a kid, like you
know, and it is funny too.
You'll see the memes whereparents are like you sent
homework home with my kids Causeyou couldn't get your job done
in the eight hours that you hadthem.
And you know, we, we, we do thehomework cause we think it's
(12:18):
teaching them responsibility andmaking sure that they can do
the stuff.
But it's like, yeah, why canthey not get that stuff done in
the six to eight hours thatthey're at school?
Why take up more time out ofthe family time?
And then it's like the sportsand all that on top of it.
But, yeah, how confusing is itto a kid when they're like I
have so many authority figuresto answer to.
(12:39):
I feel like my whole day isjust dictated by what these
people want from me, and I don'teven know why they want it from
me.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Yeah, yeah.
So that's really tough.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
So it sounds like he, it sounds like he thrived, you
know.
Coming home Now, how did youwith having the teaching
background?
How did you figure out, like,what curriculum you wanted to do
?
Do you do a family style, causeyou have multiple kids, for the
certain subjects that you canDo you, do they each have their
own separate thing?
Do you use online stuff?
(13:10):
How do you?
What is your day to day looklike?
I guess?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Yeah, you know, I feel like I struggled, actually
coming from the educationalbackgrounds, because I felt like
I needed to do it like aneducator, and that overwhelms me
because I was like, okay, Ileft.
One of the reasons I'm doingthis is because I don't think my
kids should be sitting down.
You know, doing rigorous workfor eight hours, right.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
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Speaker 2 (14:13):
So I struggled with it at first and then, plus, I
had a baby, so I have a little18 month old, right.
So it's like we decided tohomeschool and we were having
another baby well, addinganother member to our family so
but that was fun for them to see.
Like they were like, like, wow,like we're so happy we get to
enjoy this little baby and wedon't have to rush off to school
(14:33):
and so they're actually a bigpart of just.
It almost makes me want to crybecause they just, they really
just loved.
That part of being at home waslike we get to see our baby
sister all the time.
So that was a blessing too.
But as far as curriculum andday to day, I'm still working
around.
I'm still working with it.
This is my year.
(14:54):
Next year will be in August.
Technically right Will be threeyears.
So the first year I was likeokay, good in the beautiful, and
it was different for all ofthem.
Then this year it's been more.
I found easy peasy so far forClyde to be very helpful.
It has the videos.
He has also the worksheets thatgo with it so he can be a
little bit more independent withthat.
(15:15):
Um, the girls.
I'm going back and like tryingto find some curriculum
especially focusing on reading.
And I think, because they're soclose in age, they're only
about 15 months aparttechnically, even though they're
like two years apart and no, so, yeah, so they're only a year
apart in school.
So like Talia will be in secondgrade and no, she is in second
grade and Selena's in firstgrade, and so as far as the
(15:38):
curriculum, I'm like thinkinglike for reading, I want to do
it together and so I'm lookingaround for something like that.
I'm still doing the good andbeautiful for them, but I
haven't split up the curriculum,so they're still doing split
curriculum.
But I think for reading, I wantto do something together.
So I'm still doing the good andbeautiful for them, but I
haven't split up the curriculum,so they're still doing split
curriculum.
But I think for reading, I wantto do something together, so
I'm just still playing aroundwith all kinds of things.
Math they're also doing easypeasy for math and then language
(16:00):
arts and history right now, or,sorry, history and science.
It's family oriented with easypeasy right now.
But I'm just like I said, I'mjust trying to survive right now
and just get them going anddoing things throughout their
morning like academics.
But curriculum.
I'm like okay, so want to lookaround.
(16:20):
I've been listening to somedifferent podcasts and stuff and
getting some ideas.
So it's just hard to financially, you know.
I don't want to invest too muchin one thing and then not work
and then so that's a big thingfor us because we are down, we
downside so much, going from twoincomes to one income.
You know, budgeting isimportant for us to be able to,
(16:41):
for me to stay at home with them, so that's always a hard thing
too is like just investing toomuch money on a curriculum
that's not gonna work issomething I like struggle to.
You know, really.
So they have notebooks and I'llprint things out, like if they
really need to work on somethinglike sight words.
I'm just old school right now,like we're writing it.
You know you're saying theletters, you're saying the word,
(17:02):
you're writing a sentence alongwith that.
Like we're just trying to keepit kind of traditional and just
really just focused on gettingacademic and learning done and
not overwhelming with like toomuch of fancy curriculum.
I feel like there's so muchfancy stuff out there, right.
I'm like I don't want to dothat right now, like I'm not
(17:23):
when my son gets higher intomiddle school, like seventh,
eighth grade, we'll see what itlooks like.
Really need to, especially highschool.
I'm thinking I might have to doa co-op, that's like once a day
.
There's a couple differentoptions around my area.
There's one in particular I'mlooking at for him going to high
school where it's like onesubject one day and that would
(17:45):
probably be like a math subject,just because I'm not very good
at math.
So it's just different things,yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I?
I in the same way where I'vekind of bounced around a little
bit, not because I was, I mean,like I did the good and the
beautiful for kindergarten andwe did love it, but I also was
like, but what if we lovesomething else?
Speaker 2 (18:05):
too, you know so.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I tried something different for the year and I my
son likes it, but I don't knowthat I am as happy with it.
So I don't know what I'm goingto do for next year.
But then now I'm like, becauseI switched, can I seamlessly
switch back or is like theyprobably would have learned
different things in their firstgrade year?
And the reading part has beenmy gosh like such a struggle not
(18:28):
struggle, but just slow going.
I guess because we started outwhen he was like four or five
doing like a Hagerty phonics inconjunction with the all about
reading pre-reading.
So I really wanted a goodfoundation of phonics and that
the all about readingpre-reading was great.
But again I wanted to know issomething else better?
(18:49):
So then we switched to likethis for first grade teach your
child to read in 100 easylessons in conjunction with I
think something else and thatwas hard.
It was it was fine the first 50lessons, but then around lesson
50, he just it was so hard forhim.
They have these huge paragraphsand the way they teach them to
(19:10):
read you can't relate it toanything else that you're
reading in real life or anyother books, because they're
changing fonts and not usinguppercase and stuff like that.
So we had to go all the wayback and redo lessons one
through again and then it wasstill hard for him at lesson 50.
I couldn't keep going the other50 because I was like this just
(19:31):
, I don't want to frustrate him,I want him to enjoy reading.
And one of the guests that Iand we'd got out the Bob books
and he was like these are stupid, these books don't make sense,
this isn't a real book.
He says this story wouldn'thappen and so he wasn't jiving
with that.
And a guest of mine recentlyrecommended reading horizons.
She said it's like been aroundforever, like she used it in the
(19:52):
east and there's online.
It's the cheaper version.
So we've been doing that and Idid make him go back and do all
of the kindergarten, but he wentthrough like he's going through
it so quick and he's learningso much and he enjoys it.
It is online, but he reallylikes it and he's learning, so
I'm like all right, I think thisis like our fit.
(20:15):
But that's kind of the beautyof homeschooling is we can
bounce and we've done.
We've taken months off and justdone nature studies and taken
breaks.
So, yeah, I've had a lot of funwith that.
At first you're kind of scared.
You're like, oh my God, did Isteer him down the wrong path?
Are we going to be behind now?
Because we're like, oh my God,did I steer him down the wrong
path?
Are we going to be behind now?
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Because we're like essentially starting over with
something else.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
But I think it all builds and it's all like you're
learning what works for them, sothat going forward, you kind of
know what you're looking for.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah, exactly Exactly , and that's what I definitely
feel like with what you weresaying about taking like breaks,
and you know, just like.
So we're expecting baby numberfive and actually next month
Congratulations, thank you.
And so you know that will just,you know, probably take like an
earlier break.
(21:01):
Well, you know.
And so when the baby comes, Itold them we'll probably start
back up, you know, with school,and so it's just the flexibility
of it all.
You know I've really enjoyedthat, for sure, with my kids and
not being so, you know, ofcourse we try to do
homeschooling four days a week,which they're used to, going to
school five days a week, andjust some of that flexibility
(21:22):
that we've had.
You know, if I don't understanda math concept, their dad, when
their dad gets home early on aSaturday morning, he'll work
with some Clyde on some of thosethings my older one so it's
just such a blessing, it's soflexible and I could never
imagine having to go back tojust the rigorous, you know,
cycle of how public school isjust laid out and I think my
(21:44):
kids have definitely thrived andenjoy it overall and, of course
, like my son once, he realized,oh, we do things with other
like we don't do.
We don't do a co-op right now.
I did try my first year lastyear and it was it was fine.
But even the once a week it'sjust like, oh, I have to get
prepared for this co-op onFriday.
Even now I was kind of likewait, no, I don't, I don't want
(22:04):
that commitment.
And they did ask me to teachthe second semester and I did,
and I was like I don't want thatcommitment.
And they did ask me to teachthe second semester and I did.
And I was like okay, I don'twant to do this, which I
understand why.
They would ask like I do havethat teaching background and
things like that.
But I had a little baby andeven though I could teach with
her, it still was just not.
I think that was just a littleturned off from teaching five
(22:25):
years, but I wasn't ready forthat.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Yeah, and so I did a co-op too in the same thing they
wanted me to like teach gym.
It gave me so much anxiety Idreaded going and I'm like, if
I'm dreading it, my kid is not.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Yeah, the kids must be dreading it right, yeah, and
so this year we it's just beenus but we do a homeschooling get
together at a library that'sclose to our home and my kids
love it.
So it's other homeschoolingfamilies and we just get
together on a Monday morning andthe librarian is so awesome.
She.
She does like, she does like alittle thing with them where she
(23:00):
reads them and do an activity.
She's so great about making itfriendly for all the ages,
because it's all ages that arethere, and then I play for a
while, and so those are the momsthat we get together.
I'm actually at a park rightnow with some of those moms and
my kids are playing like I waslike, hey, I'm gonna be doing
this, and we were gettingtogether anyways, but they were
like, yeah, go go, go, go, go dothe interview.
(23:20):
That's so fun that you're doingthat.
And so I think my son realizingyou know I'm so we're gonna get
to socialize, we're gonna getto make good friends.
Our church family is amazing.
A lot of those families alsohomeschool.
I've never been to a churchwith so many homeschooling
families and I think that somany of those families just also
(23:42):
see the value of how importantit is to just homeschool and and
have your kids with you,because, I mean, that's another
reason why right is that?
For me and my family, um, it'simportant to teach them like the
gospel and you know, and justgo through Bible studies and
things like that.
So that's another thing I'mlooking, um, at a little bit
(24:03):
more as far as like a Christiancurriculum, but that's what I've
done, the good and thebeautiful, and I've done easy
peasy, cause I do want us torevolve around, you know,
biblical, gospel orientedcurriculum.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
So yeah, yeah, and I just I'm working with a company
right now that well, it's calledExcelsior classes.
It's an online supplementalprogram for ages fifth through
12th grade, and you know, as I'mresearching it and stuff.
It's all Christian based.
It's people that were liketeachers, that were actually
like called to teach thesesubjects and you know, they
(24:35):
really promote on their pagelike where it works, which
sometimes you know people shyaway from that so like, oh well,
we're going to alienateourselves, but they like are, so
stand behind this and, um, Ilove it, I love that, you know,
having that supplemental.
So it's not like you have tosign up for a whole list of
classes If there's like onething that your son was
interested in or daughters thatyou just like are like, well, I
(24:55):
don't, I don't know anythingabout aviation science.
So, like you could just takethat class and these things.
They're just popping up allover the place.
So it's so cool because youknow that you can put in as one
of your viewer or a state thathas prerequisites like that.
There's a science for you, butit's not just the biology,
chemistry earth science you getaviation science I mean, I still
(25:17):
do that but, you know it's likeall this stuff that isn't
available to kids that are, youknow, just doing the regular
public school thing they justhave to take.
Okay, well, here are theclasses that you got to take
next year, what fits into yourschedule, what out of the
lottery?
You know, you were last in linethis year, so, oops, sorry, the
classes that you want to takeare full.
(25:39):
Here's what you're stuck with,and it's like gosh what a way to
waste your life, your child, noless.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Yeah, and I think it's great that there, I think
so many families are going thatway, going through the like
homeschooling.
I think it's so great that somany things are coming out right
now and I think that's why it'sso flexible as parents, um, to
try to, you know, be able to beflexible with curriculum and
things, and that shows your kidflexibility right, because I
(26:07):
mean, they're going to grow up,they're going to be in the real
world.
They need to learn these skillsthat things change.
We need to be flexible, we needto be able to, you know, go
with the flow.
So I think it's important thatwe just because I'm not looking
to what you just talked about,because, again, kyle's gonna get
into high school and I'm like,oh, like, that's big dog, you
know school stuff, so we'll seewhat that looks like, and it
(26:29):
makes me nervous.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
I'm like, okay, yeah, I can link it in the shows.
I'll link it in the show'sdescription too, so people can
check that out.
But yeah, it's um.
There's so many different waysto learn.
We're just so used to thinkingit has to be one way.
Now, how hard was it for you toleave your job?
I know you were kind of likeall right, I'm sick of what I'm
seeing in the school system.
I've lost my taste for and Iwas the same way.
I was a government worker for16 years.
(26:51):
I did not get the same thingthat you experienced I, I, it
was the same thing.
Like these people were allproud to wear their masks and
proud to, you know, have theirvaccines, and I'm, I the a-hole
at work with.
Like I just printed all over mywall all these printouts of how
masks are horrible for you anddon't work, and all these
(27:11):
studies, and like they justhated me.
They hated me.
Um and and you know, thefunniest part is the like stuff,
that this is the stuff peoplethey're not.
They don't think, because foryears I have always like when
you go to the bathroom at apublic place, I've always, you
know, dry my hands with thepaper towel and then I take the
paper towel out with me andthat's how I touch the doorknob
(27:34):
with a paper towel in my hand,so I don't have to touch it to
the actual doorknob.
I've just always been that way,right, and I don't consider
myself a germ of phobe.
But there are people,especially working in the
government.
Some of them are not thecleanest.
They don't wash their handswhen they go to the bathroom.
Some of them are not thecleanest.
They don't wash their handswhen they go to the bathroom.
They're touching the flush orthey're touching everything else
, and then they walk out andhold.
So I was one of those peoplethat always took the paper towel
(27:56):
and open the doorknob with it.
People made fun of me all thetime, but yet during COVID they
all wore masks and I wouldn'twear one.
I'm like I'm not going to putGod, you're going to breathe in
(28:16):
all these germs.
You don't even wash your handsand then you're all congregating
over because someone brought inyou know last night's leftovers
or you know some sort of likeleftover cookies from a party or
a bake sale and oh my, it'sfree food.
Let's all congregate over itwith our nasty hands that
haven't been washed.
They were all okay with that,but they needed me to be
(28:38):
vaccinated and wear a maskbecause I was a threat to their
health.
It was just like so convoluted.
Yeah, it was, it was, butanyway, my original question was
it was still hard for me towalk away from an income, a
pension and something I went tocollege for to like be.
How hard was that for you?
Speaker 2 (28:58):
It was hard, it was difficult.
I think that it was one ofthose things that it had to be.
I had to have a change of heartand it wasn't of me.
It was like it was God itreally was.
I mean, I don't know, it wasn'tof me, it was like it was God
it really was.
I mean, I don't know how elseto explain it it was.
He gave me a different affection, you know, he at the time
different desire and it wassomething that I just I had to
(29:22):
just walk away from, like Ialmost I couldn't think too much
about it, I just knew that thissomething had to change.
You know, when I, when I got mycontract for that year five it
was year five, so it was apretty penny, like it wasn't a
special education teacher inArizona after it was the
contract amounts, the salaryamount, was that the numbers?
(29:44):
I was like wow, like am Ireally going to walk away from
this?
And I even, like I snapped, youknow I took a picture of it
showed my husband, I'm like thisis what I'm saying no to um,
and you know he's 100 supportedme and was like you know, this
is what you still want to do.
Let's do it.
You know we're already like thehouse is for sale, everything
is you know, everything is goingaccording to plan.
(30:05):
So, yeah, I turned it down andI just I almost couldn't think
about it too much because I feellike I all those you know what
ifs and you know, and I thinkthat's why I came out here and I
still had so much doubt aboutabout it and I had doubt in
myself, even though I was aneducator just being able to it's
and it's scary, it's kind ofhow society kind of warps mom's
(30:27):
mind like we're not capable ofof raising our own children
almost right, like how are theygoing to listen to me?
And how is this?
You know they're not.
You know and you know I saw howit was here and I still was
like I think I think it was Godjust being like you know, you
need to do this and I was kindof thinking, well, maybe I'll go
(30:47):
back to work, like you know,maybe I can.
Just it'd be so much money tohave nice, to have the extra
income.
So I also had that kind ofgoing through my head, even
though I moved out to SouthCarolina.
But then I had our fourth baby,I was in health, I was like I'm
not, I'm going to have to stayat home, because in Arizona I
had a family.
I had my mom who was able tohelp me with my babies when they
were little so I could do mycareer, and that was a huge help
(31:10):
.
But also it it just it's notthe way God designed it.
Like I really don't think it is, even though it was better than
having them go to daycare.
But, um, so I was like out hereand I feel like again it was
like God's intervening in mylife and saying like, okay, now
you have another baby, now youdon't have that support.
So like you have to stay home,right, because I wasn't,
couldn't afford the amount.
The money that you have to payfor daycare is just not worth it
(31:33):
.
So I had to stay home and Ithat's when I pulled them out I
said, okay, like they didn't goback to school.
So she was born in October.
So, yeah, that August, when Iwas still pregnant, they didn't
go back to school and it just Icouldn't even it's so hard for
me looking back now like why Ihad so much worry about it,
cause it's just I would never, Icould never imagine it any
(31:54):
different.
I feel like we've grown andbecome so much closer as a
family.
My house stays cleaner nowbecause they can all chip in.
Like they've learned, like thisis how we clean the bathroom,
this is how you put your clothesaway, this is how we unload a
dishwasher, and they justthey're learning life skills.
(32:19):
They're learning real skills,real things of how to take care
of a home and pitch in.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
You guys know I am a big fan of the Tuttle Twins.
I had Connor Boyack, the writerof these books, on episode 24.
I reached out to his companyasking to let me be an affiliate
because I strongly believe intheir books and their message.
In the H5 through 11 bookseries which I read to my son
all the time I mean he actuallyasks us to read these books with
him.
Book five, road to Serfdom,talks about what happens to a
(32:44):
local town with local businesseswhen corporations start moving
in.
Book six, the Golden Rule, talksall about Ethan and Emily's
experience at summer campthrough a series of cheating and
manipulation on certain racesthat they're required to
complete.
It talks about how the goldenrule of treating others how we
want to be treated ourselves ishow we all should be conducting
(33:05):
our lives.
Education Vacation talks aboutJohn Taylor Gatto and the
creation of the school systemand what it was actually
intended to do, which you get tolearn about by following Ethan
and Emily on a trip to Europe.
And book 11, the Messed UpMarket, takes you through the
journey of kids trying to createsmall businesses as they learn
all the laws and rules thatgovernment has put in place to
(33:29):
actually make it very difficultfor them.
You learn all about interestsavings versus borrowing, low
interest rates versus highinterest rates and supply and
demand, and these are just someof the books in that series.
Use the link in my show'sdescription or at the
homeschoolhowtocom under thelistener discounts page.
I also want to let you knowabout some other books that the
Tuttle Twins have out America'sHistory, volume 1 and 2, which
(33:52):
teaches all about the inspiringideas of America's founding
without the bias and hiddenagendas that's found in other
history books for kids and mostlikely in the schools.
There's also books on how toidentify fallacies, modern day
villains all stuff that we wantto be talking to our kids about.
Whether you homeschool or not,these books bring up important
(34:13):
discussions that we should behaving with our children.
Use the link in my show'sdescription or, like I said, at
thehomeschoolhowtocom underlistener discounts.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
I mean that's cool, right?
Kids have responsibilities,they have jobs, you have paper
passer, you have door holder,you have this, you have that,
and so, like, here are my kidsand they're doing things that
are in their home and they takepride of, you know, helping out
around the house, helping mom,helping dad, and it's just.
It's so beautiful to see likeit really is, like I love it and
(34:45):
it.
It was hard, but I'm happy.
At the end of the day it wasthe right decision and I could
never imagine going back.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Yeah, it was like hard pulling the plug for me as
well, but I just kept tellingmyself on my deathbed I'm never
going to say, well, I wish Ispent less time with the kids.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
You're always going to wish you had more time with
them when you're at the end ofyour life.
I agree.
And to wrap up, like, okay,this is not related to
homeschooling at all, but whenyou were talking about your
parents being immigrants fromMexico and I was just thinking
about this post that, like myhusband's aunt I think it was
her that had on a couple weeksago on Facebook and she was like
(35:28):
oh my God, all of you peoplethat vote and I'm just
generalizing because you saidthat you're christian and
unvaccinated, that you have moreof a conservative background,
but she's this aunt of his islike you must hate the
immigrants in this countrybecause you've just sent them
all back with your vote.
You know and I'm thinking allthe immigrants I know voted for
(35:51):
trump.
So I don't know, like, what iswhat's she watching?
So, like, do your parents?
Have they expressed any sort ofopinion?
Are they?
Do they think they're gettinglike deported?
Speaker 2 (36:01):
or something.
Well, they're citizens now,right, so they became citizens.
I would say have a very splitfamily.
My parents are very otherconservative.
They did vote Republican andthis last term, and but we have
so much family that doesn't seeit the same way.
And I think what we need tojust think back to is you know
(36:23):
every, every country has closedborders.
You know it's not.
And I go back and I have familywho might discuss with me and
argue, or you know, and I sayyou know the Biden
administration, democrats hadfour years to give amnesty to
illegals.
It's I don't think it's thatdifficult.
It can't be that difficult tolook at an immigrant and say,
(36:44):
okay, you know, have you beenworking?
Have you do have any criminalbackground?
You know, is there amnesty thatwe can give to you?
Ronald Reagan, he was the lastpresident that did it in the 80s
, and no one's done it since.
Obama didn't do it for eightyears and Biden didn't.
Like I said, trump didn't do itthe, of course, the first four
years and Biden didn't do it thelast four years that he was in
(37:06):
presidency.
So there's just there's a lotof ignorance going around with
that, you know.
I think Trump really wants toclean up, because the problem is
that not only did the Bidenadministration not give amnesty
to immigrants who were alreadyhere, he just had open borders
and people were just flooding inand that's just so unsafe.
I grew up going to Mexico formany years because I still have
(37:29):
family that live there and youknow you can't go there, I
couldn't go there, and just youknow you can weapons, you can't
take guns.
They have their own laws.
You know, when you're drivingacross the Mexican border, if
you have a gun, you can be putin prison for that even a bullet
, I've heard.
So.
Every country has laws, everycountry has regulations and we
can't.
(37:49):
I definitely support, you know,this party by wanting to.
So many people came in.
We don't know who they are.
They are criminals, not justfrom Mexico but from other
countries, and focusing onsending them back to their
country, I think is somethingthat was very important.
Do I wish that maybe PresidentTrump would do some?
Some type of amnesty, of course, because I do have family who
(38:12):
don't have their documents and Iwould hate for a cousin of mine
who's in their 40s or 50s, whohas been here since they were in
their 20s, not, you know, haveto be sent back.
It's sad, it's a veryunfortunate situation.
I don't know again, like I'mnot saying for my family, but
like you know, some of thosecases it's like did you not save
(38:32):
the money?
Like, why haven't you gonethrough the process?
Like, what's been keeping you?
Is it fear that's been keepingyou from going through the
process of like becoming acitizen?
Because, like I said, myparents did it right, like they
got their green cards, they gotthey became citizens right.
But I don't know, everybody'ssituation's different and I know
some people are fearful.
They were fearful with theobama presidency and then, of
(38:52):
course, with trump.
Um, the first four years he,sir, or he, was our president.
But that's why it makes me sadthat the biden administration
they did the opposite.
They made the situation worseby opening up the borders and
not focusing on the familiesthat were here, that didn't get
help during the obamaadministration or the trump
administration, and they justwere like, yeah, there's just
(39:15):
that every like open borders,it's like why didn't we focus on
those families, like thehardworking, immigrant families?
So I think that people just areignorant to that and they just
don't think about it in that way.
But you know, at the end of theday, if you're here illegally,
you're here illegally, and ifyou have to go back but you
(39:36):
don't have a criminal record,you know, start the process.
But I know that that's.
That's just a hard, a hardthing for some people to swallow
, but it's the right thing to doat the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
Yeah, and I think it does.
It has a lot to do with theschool systems not teaching us
how to properly educateourselves how to actually read
the bill.
People rely on social media nowfor news.
It's not even just CNN, whichyou know the in both of them
tell half truths or takesomething, whether it's a CNN or
(40:06):
even Fox, you know.
There it's like we just takethat and then they're taking.
Some people are taking that andthen they make their posts about
it on social media and a TikTokand that's what people follow
as the news and everything onthere is to get attention, get
attention and get the shares andthe people fighting over it.
That's the stuff that gets moreviews.
(40:27):
So like it's turned into thiswhole like propaganda system
where people don't even know,like how to know go research the
law or research the bill or howbills even go through, like
that it has to get you know aproposal in the house and the
senate.
And even I don't know quite,even though I've tried to
research, how all of it works.
We're not taught that and Ithink it's by design that we're
(40:48):
not taught that from thebeginning, because they'd rather
have us fighting with eachother.
We're easily controllable whenwe're all fighting.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
Yeah, it's divide and conquer for sure, and I don't
agree with everything that theRepublican, you know the Trump
administration is on board with.
But again, for my family, andwhat I thought was the best
option was the Trumpadministration and well, you
know Republican stance.
You know we see this with theboys and girls sports.
(41:18):
You know, Like I was a bigathlete growing up and I would
hate for my girls to have to oneday if they decide which I
don't think so, we're kind ofmore.
We do jujitsu.
But even in that the world ofjujitsu there's been some trans
men going against women In thechildren division.
It's different before you know,they hit puberty.
But everybody knows it's commonsense, when you hit puberty, a
(41:41):
boy and a girl, it's verydifferent and strength and
ability and those things, uh.
So you know I would hate for mygirls if they wanted to do a
jiu-jitsu competition and theyhad to go up against a boy who
was the same weight class, thesame belt.
Jujitsu is a beautiful sportthat it teaches, you know, the
smaller, the smaller personshould be able to.
(42:02):
It's, you know, for the smallerperson.
That's what it was designed for, that's what the sport's
designed for.
But, um, you know, when you'regoing against a man who's gotten
as much mat time as you, itcould be very dangerous.
Um, so we've seen it in likevolleyball.
There was a instance in, Ithink, high school in North
Carolina where a girl got her,you know, spiked on.
I don't mean to go off there,but I mean the fact that Trump
(42:23):
was, you know he had put intoexecutive order.
I believe.
Now, right, Men are, yeah, ifyou're a biological man, you
will not be playing in women'ssports.
And I support a hundred percentand I think, at the end of the
day, for, for families, you know, for people, we have to
understand, like you know, wethere should be understanding
and not so much hate and youknow what we think is best for
(42:47):
our families.
And, um, you know, I I thinkthat's unfortunate.
I just see it so much with myfamily.
Like I said, I have very splitfamily, coming from being first
generation I have the Bidenadministration really tries to
show itself as like theimmigrant and the, you know it's
just tries to disguise itselfas this, this party that's for
(43:07):
immigrants and for women, andI'm like, how are you for women
If you're allowing men to playwomen's sports?
And like that's just not forwomen.
We see it in beauty pageants,Like how can you take that away
from a woman?
You know like I just don'tunderstand.
I just think it's silly.
Speaker 1 (43:26):
Yeah, it's a crazy time right now, and if we can
homeschool our kids to justshield them from half of this,
they might have a chance,because how confusing it is to
them.
Yes, yeah, a thousand percent.
Well, terry, thank you so muchfor joining me today.
Is there any last words orparting words that you'd want to
(43:47):
leave people with?
Speaker 2 (43:48):
I just, um, I hope everybody, you know, whoever's
listening to this if they're onthe fence about homeschooling,
um, that they, you know, justknow that at the end of the day,
like you were saying to this,if they're on the fence about
homeschooling, that they, youknow, just know that at the end
of the day, like you were sayingto, like, you're never going to
regret having that time withyour children, I think that you
know there's just, there's somuch beauty in that and being
(44:08):
able to say, like I walked awayfrom this career and you know
this, and I downsized or didwhatever, because I see it so
much on social media, like Icouldn't, I could never do it,
you know this, and I downsizedor did whatever, because I see
it so much on social media, likeI couldn't, I could never do it
, you know, and it's like youreally have to sacrifice, you
know, and pray about it and youknow, ask the Lord to guide you
in that.
I know we're not all butbelievers and that's okay, but I
(44:30):
mean there is a greater powerand he changes hearts, he
changes affection.
Yeah, so I think, praying aboutit and talking to your family
about it.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
Well, terry.
Thank you so much again.
This has been so fun.
Thank you, I'd love to come onanytime, awesome, awesome.
Thank you for tuning into thisweek's episode of the homeschool
how to.
If you've enjoyed what youheard and you'd like to
contribute to the show, pleaseconsider leaving a small tip
using the link in my show'sdescription.
Or, if you'd rather, please usethe link in the description to
(45:00):
share this podcast with a friendor on your favorite homeschool
group Facebook page.
Any effort to help us keep thepodcast going is greatly
appreciated.
Thank you for tuning in and foryour love of the next
generation.
Welcome to this week's episode of the Homeschool
How-To.
I'm Cheryl and I invite you tojoin me on my quest to find out
why are people homeschooling,how do you do it, how does it
differ from region to region,and should I homeschool my kids?
Stick with me as I interviewhomeschooling families across
the country to unfold theanswers to each of these
(00:26):
questions week by week.
Welcome, and with us today Ihave Terri from South Carolina.
Hi, terri, thanks for beinghere.
Hi, thanks for having me.
So are you a homeschooling mom?
Were you homeschooled yourself?
Give us a little backgroundhere.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah Well, so I grew up going to public school.
We kind of were talking beforewe started recording.
So, like I grew up, I'm a firstgeneration Mexican, so my
parents came here and they justdid everything that got, you
know, everything that wassupposed to be done, like.
So we were my, my brothers wereput into school, public school,
and I just, you know, theyreally pushed college because
that's what we were supposed todo, and so I went to be a
(01:08):
teacher.
I went to college to be aspecial yes, a teacher.
But then I got a dual major inspecial education.
So I really had the choicebetween doing a general
education or special educationand after doing my so, just
being a student teacher in bothplacements, special education
really just like tugged at myheartstrings, I really loved it.
(01:28):
So that's what I was doing forfive years in Arizona.
And after just being in publicschool and working as a special
education teacher, I just openedmy eyes to a lot of things and
I realized I didn't want thatfor my kids.
So, yeah, you know, my parentsare really proud I was first
generation.
Like I said, they were like goto college, go to college, it's
(01:50):
what you're supposed to do.
So they were really proud thatI went to college and I was a
teacher.
And I became a teacher,thinking it was going to be such
a mom friendly job because youhave the summers off and you
have the weekends off and mykids could go to the school that
I was working at, which three.
So I had three children at thistime.
So when I stopped teaching, Iwas already had three children,
(02:12):
but two of them were school age,the two older ones, and it just
ended up backfiring because Idecided no, I don't want my kids
in this environment.
So it was like the completeopposite.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
What was it that you were?
What was it that you wereseeing that you were like I
don't really want this for mykids.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Oh gosh, there was just a mixture of things, right.
So I did resource rooms, so Ihad kids who I had, some kids
that had needed like one-on-onesbecause they had a type of
autism that was like nonverbalor down syndrome.
But I also worked with a lot ofkids who were, you know, just
had learning disabilities andmath and reading and writing.
So I had all types of studentswith disabilities and so I got
(02:52):
to have to work with the gen edteachers on quite a bit.
And you know, I think the gened teachers 99% of them really
try to do the best that was, youknow, for their students, for
their class.
But you know, I think that formy kids, especially my son he's
the oldest, he's in middleschool now, but, um, you know,
he was a little bit of a classclown.
(03:13):
He um liked to make peoplelaugh and I think it was.
He had to be at a.
He was, you know, you're, youhave to be like this and you
have to be like that.
And I think it was harder.
He had more pressure on himbecause he was a teacher's kid
and so that was hard for him.
It was hard for me to see, andalso, just again, some of the
teachers.
I just think that the way theyevery teacher is different,
(03:37):
right.
So I think that some of them,the way they ran their
classrooms, it didn't help myson, you know, and gosh.
And then the influences, likejust other influences, of other
children, my son, I feel like mykids are very easily influenced
and I just felt, like you know,we would have the conversation
like you need to be a leader,you need to not be a follower,
(04:00):
and I think the prayer pressurefor them and I grew up, like I
said, going to public school andI knew that was a struggle I
had was peer pressure.
I wanted to be cool, I wantedto be light and luckily, you
know, I never did anything thatwas going to hurt me or, you
know, do anything to.
I still walked like a good,like a decent path and gotten
(04:21):
some trouble here and there.
You know, I just worried aboutmy son I really did and my
daughter especially.
And then COVID hit and COVID waseven more eyeopening.
I really I didn't think thatthe schools did the best for
kids doing distance learning.
We know that there's suiciderates went up, um, and it's just
all this stuff happened and wewent, we were able to go back to
(04:44):
schools and the vaccine cameout and I chose not to get
vaccinated and I feel like I gotblack sheeped by some of the
teachers and the parents and Iwas like what is going on?
And a lot of the teachers andparaprofessionals would show
their cards to each other and itwas like a popularity thing and
if you weren't sharing andsaying, saying I got this and I
(05:05):
got that, um, and I and I wouldsay, like that's against him,
you are peer pressured again asthe adult and the teacher well,
I was just so like this issomething wrong with this, like
this is not okay.
And at that point I was kind oflike more thick-skinned right,
like I do not care what peoplethink, I don't care what the
(05:26):
admin says and the district saysParents, I was the only
resource room teacher,kindergarten through fourth
grade.
So parents were asking the gened teachers because their kids
had to come to my classroom.
So they were like some of theparents were wondering like is
Ms Clark, is she vaccinated?
Because they had to be aroundme.
So it just was very weird erain time.
(05:49):
I'm sure we all have our crazystories.
And that's when I got to apoint where I'm like I don't
want to be in this environmentanymore and like again, for me
it was a big HIPAA, HIPAAviolation, like I'm like we
shouldn't be walking aroundtelling each other our medical
history.
That's between us and ourdoctors.
So anytime anybody ever came tome and asked me like Ms Clark,
(06:10):
did you get vaccinated?
It's like I don't have to tellyou.
It's against HIPAA, like foryou to even ask me.
But that was an automatic redflag to people.
So yeah, I just I just ended up.
My heart wasn't in it anymore.
For so many, for so many ofthose reasons I love the special
education kids.
I eventually, when my kids getolder, want to go work for maybe
(06:32):
not the school system, but Iknow there's some nonprofits and
stuff out there that are doingsome awesome things.
So, yeah, I just was wanting todo something different and I
don't like I just think that Godwas working in my life and just
kind of like, hey, like youknow, something has to change,
something has to change.
And I just was like told myhusband, I'm like we need to
move, we need to do somethingdifferent, I want to homeschool.
(06:54):
And we moved from Arizona toSouth Carolina.
I think that's we had kind of Ihad posted that on one of the
posts you had posted.
But yeah, we moved across thecountry so that we could afford
for me to stay at home and himbe the only provider.
We really had to downsize andjust make a huge sacrifice.
And even then I, even then Ihad a lot of doubt in myself to
(07:16):
be able to do it, even though Ihad gone to school to be a
teacher and things like that.
So I tried the school one yearhere in South Carolina and I was
not impressed.
I was like no, we're not doingit.
I didn't go to school, I didn'tgo to work, I stayed with my
youngest, who was five, so shewas going to go to kinder, but
not just yet.
So I was like, okay, well, letme put the other, the two older
ones, back in school and see howit goes.
(07:38):
And it was the same.
I mean it was you went from oneside of the country to the
other and similar problems andsimilar situation.
And I think that the educationsystem, you know there's just
the days are too long for thesechildren, they don't get enough
outside time.
You know there's so manyinfluences that are just not
(07:58):
good and there's just not enoughresources for those teachers
and the parents.
There's just, I'm just seeinglike a whole picture of the
educational system and it's justnot what I want my kids in.
The things that they'relearning.
It's not just reading andwriting and math anymore, it's
other things.
And the testing.
(08:18):
My daughter, she was inkindergarten.
She went to kindergarten twiceand you know how they have to do
these progress monitoring andthese testing.
You know, quite frequently nowas a kindergartner she would be
like I have to do this test.
You know, mommy, I don't knowon my letter, you know she just
would, it would just consume herlittle mind.
I'm like, honey, it's okay,like you're in kindergarten.
And she worried me because Ifirst saw like a lot of anxiety
(08:41):
in her.
She's a people, people pleaser,so she was like a teacher
pleaser.
She just wanted to makeeverybody happy.
And that worried me as she gotolder and what that would turn
into.
So yeah, I just then I pulledthem out.
I finally just told myself,like you have to do it, you know
, you can't cause.
My youngest at the time wasgoing to go into kinder and I
was like this is it Like this?
(09:02):
This is?
I have to make this choice.
Am I gonna send her tokindergarten and keep sending
the other two older ones?
Am I just gonna pull them allout, you know?
so that's what I ended up doingwhat ages were you're older too
when you pulled them out so myson was gonna be going into
fifth grade and my daughter wasgonna be going into first grade.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Yeah, and then my youngest were they happy about
the decision to homeschool orwere were they?
Did they want to stay in school?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
I would say my, my youngest daughter didn't know
any better.
She's like, okay, I guess I'mjust going to stay home.
And my middle daughter, the onegoing into first grade, she she
was she kind of understood,like, okay, I don't have to go
to school, I don't have to wakeup early, I don't have to worry
about what I'm going to wear,cause like she had that kind of
issue going on too, like what amI going to wear every day?
She would have meltdowns.
And my son, because he was moreof the class clown, very social
(09:53):
kid he did he did struggle withit.
He never said you know, no, Iwant to go back to school.
He didn't argue or anythinglike that.
I think now, when you, if youask him, when you, when people
ask him, he says you know what,what if you went back to like
public school, how would youfeel?
(10:15):
Or went back to school, he'd belike he says I'll just drive
all the teachers crazy and justbe a class class, cause he
really went there just tosocialize and just to kind of
goof around and at home, becausehe doesn't have all that going
on, he is more able to focus onhis studies and the things that
he needs to get done so that hecan do all the other things he
wants to enjoy doing.
When he was at school he couldjust not do.
Those things fall under theradar.
(10:36):
For the most part it was justso hard, like if his teacher did
tell me you know we wouldmessage on those message apps.
I didn't get his math done andI said, okay, we'll send it with
him, or I did, and then I tellhim, you know like what?
What did you not get done?
Did you bring it home?
Oh no, I lost it and it wasjust he had no accountability.
It was just so hard to get himto understand.
(11:00):
You know you need to get thisstuff done.
But me and his dad he sees thevalue of you know my parents are
my authority.
You know I need to listen to myparents and you know obey and
do what they ask me to do,because that is my
responsibility.
And he reacts and he does.
He does understand that so muchbetter than like a stranger.
(11:21):
Like to him, a teacher is astranger and he just doesn't
relate to so many people.
So he understands and he doesso much better just doing it
because, like I asked you to.
You need to do it.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Yeah, I never really thought about that before either
.
But kids kind of having thisconfusion over who do I answer
to?
Because, yeah, when you're inschool I mean especially when
you start middle school and youare switching classes now you
have like nine differentauthorities to answer to, plus
your parents.
And if you are in like asituation where your parents are
(11:54):
split up, now you've got themom's household and the dad's
household, and that must be veryconfusing to a kid, like you
know, and it is funny too.
You'll see the memes whereparents are like you sent
homework home with my kids Causeyou couldn't get your job done
in the eight hours that you hadthem.
And you know, we, we, we do thehomework cause we think it's
(12:18):
teaching them responsibility andmaking sure that they can do
the stuff.
But it's like, yeah, why canthey not get that stuff done in
the six to eight hours thatthey're at school?
Why take up more time out ofthe family time?
And then it's like the sportsand all that on top of it.
But, yeah, how confusing is itto a kid when they're like I
have so many authority figuresto answer to.
(12:39):
I feel like my whole day isjust dictated by what these
people want from me, and I don'teven know why they want it from
me.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Yeah, yeah.
So that's really tough.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
So it sounds like he, it sounds like he thrived, you
know.
Coming home Now, how did youwith having the teaching
background?
How did you figure out, like,what curriculum you wanted to do
?
Do you do a family style, causeyou have multiple kids, for the
certain subjects that you canDo you, do they each have their
own separate thing?
Do you use online stuff?
(13:10):
How do you?
What is your day to day looklike?
I guess?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Yeah, you know, I feel like I struggled, actually
coming from the educationalbackgrounds, because I felt like
I needed to do it like aneducator, and that overwhelms me
because I was like, okay, Ileft.
One of the reasons I'm doingthis is because I don't think my
kids should be sitting down.
You know, doing rigorous workfor eight hours, right.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Is your child interested in aviation,
chemistry, maybe even podcasting, but you have no time or desire
to teach it yourself.
I've talked to over 100homeschooling families on the
Homeschool how To podcast andone name keeps coming up
Excelsior Classes.
They're a fully accreditedonline program for 5th through
12th grade homeschool, how-topodcast.
And one name keeps coming upexcelsior classes.
They're a fully accreditedonline program for 5th through
12th grade homeschoolers,offering live classes in
everything from filmmaking toeconomics to architecture.
(13:57):
It's flexible, affordable youonly pay for what you need and
it gives your kids valuableonline learning experience.
Check out their course catalogby clicking in the link in the
show's description ExcelsiorClasses live online learning for
homeschooling families.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
So I struggled with it at first and then, plus, I
had a baby, so I have a little18 month old, right.
So it's like we decided tohomeschool and we were having
another baby well, addinganother member to our family so
but that was fun for them to see.
Like they were like, like, wow,like we're so happy we get to
enjoy this little baby and wedon't have to rush off to school
(14:33):
and so they're actually a bigpart of just.
It almost makes me want to crybecause they just, they really
just loved.
That part of being at home waslike we get to see our baby
sister all the time.
So that was a blessing too.
But as far as curriculum andday to day, I'm still working
around.
I'm still working with it.
This is my year.
(14:54):
Next year will be in August.
Technically right Will be threeyears.
So the first year I was likeokay, good in the beautiful, and
it was different for all ofthem.
Then this year it's been more.
I found easy peasy so far forClyde to be very helpful.
It has the videos.
He has also the worksheets thatgo with it so he can be a
little bit more independent withthat.
(15:15):
Um, the girls.
I'm going back and like tryingto find some curriculum
especially focusing on reading.
And I think, because they're soclose in age, they're only
about 15 months aparttechnically, even though they're
like two years apart and no, so, yeah, so they're only a year
apart in school.
So like Talia will be in secondgrade and no, she is in second
grade and Selena's in firstgrade, and so as far as the
(15:38):
curriculum, I'm like thinkinglike for reading, I want to do
it together and so I'm lookingaround for something like that.
I'm still doing the good andbeautiful for them, but I
haven't split up the curriculum,so they're still doing split
curriculum.
But I think for reading, I wantto do something together.
So I'm still doing the good andbeautiful for them, but I
haven't split up the curriculum,so they're still doing split
curriculum.
But I think for reading, I wantto do something together, so
I'm just still playing aroundwith all kinds of things.
Math they're also doing easypeasy for math and then language
(16:00):
arts and history right now, or,sorry, history and science.
It's family oriented with easypeasy right now.
But I'm just like I said, I'mjust trying to survive right now
and just get them going anddoing things throughout their
morning like academics.
But curriculum.
I'm like okay, so want to lookaround.
(16:20):
I've been listening to somedifferent podcasts and stuff and
getting some ideas.
So it's just hard to financially, you know.
I don't want to invest too muchin one thing and then not work
and then so that's a big thingfor us because we are down, we
downside so much, going from twoincomes to one income.
You know, budgeting isimportant for us to be able to,
(16:41):
for me to stay at home with them, so that's always a hard thing
too is like just investing toomuch money on a curriculum
that's not gonna work issomething I like struggle to.
You know, really.
So they have notebooks and I'llprint things out, like if they
really need to work on somethinglike sight words.
I'm just old school right now,like we're writing it.
You know you're saying theletters, you're saying the word,
(17:02):
you're writing a sentence alongwith that.
Like we're just trying to keepit kind of traditional and just
really just focused on gettingacademic and learning done and
not overwhelming with like toomuch of fancy curriculum.
I feel like there's so muchfancy stuff out there, right.
I'm like I don't want to dothat right now, like I'm not
(17:23):
when my son gets higher intomiddle school, like seventh,
eighth grade, we'll see what itlooks like.
Really need to, especially highschool.
I'm thinking I might have to doa co-op, that's like once a day
.
There's a couple differentoptions around my area.
There's one in particular I'mlooking at for him going to high
school where it's like onesubject one day and that would
(17:45):
probably be like a math subject,just because I'm not very good
at math.
So it's just different things,yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I?
I in the same way where I'vekind of bounced around a little
bit, not because I was, I mean,like I did the good and the
beautiful for kindergarten andwe did love it, but I also was
like, but what if we lovesomething else?
Speaker 2 (18:05):
too, you know so.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I tried something different for the year and I my
son likes it, but I don't knowthat I am as happy with it.
So I don't know what I'm goingto do for next year.
But then now I'm like, becauseI switched, can I seamlessly
switch back or is like theyprobably would have learned
different things in their firstgrade year?
And the reading part has beenmy gosh like such a struggle not
(18:28):
struggle, but just slow going.
I guess because we started outwhen he was like four or five
doing like a Hagerty phonics inconjunction with the all about
reading pre-reading.
So I really wanted a goodfoundation of phonics and that
the all about readingpre-reading was great.
But again I wanted to know issomething else better?
(18:49):
So then we switched to likethis for first grade teach your
child to read in 100 easylessons in conjunction with I
think something else and thatwas hard.
It was it was fine the first 50lessons, but then around lesson
50, he just it was so hard forhim.
They have these huge paragraphsand the way they teach them to
(19:10):
read you can't relate it toanything else that you're
reading in real life or anyother books, because they're
changing fonts and not usinguppercase and stuff like that.
So we had to go all the wayback and redo lessons one
through again and then it wasstill hard for him at lesson 50.
I couldn't keep going the other50 because I was like this just
(19:31):
, I don't want to frustrate him,I want him to enjoy reading.
And one of the guests that Iand we'd got out the Bob books
and he was like these are stupid, these books don't make sense,
this isn't a real book.
He says this story wouldn'thappen and so he wasn't jiving
with that.
And a guest of mine recentlyrecommended reading horizons.
She said it's like been aroundforever, like she used it in the
(19:52):
east and there's online.
It's the cheaper version.
So we've been doing that and Idid make him go back and do all
of the kindergarten, but he wentthrough like he's going through
it so quick and he's learningso much and he enjoys it.
It is online, but he reallylikes it and he's learning, so
I'm like all right, I think thisis like our fit.
(20:15):
But that's kind of the beautyof homeschooling is we can
bounce and we've done.
We've taken months off and justdone nature studies and taken
breaks.
So, yeah, I've had a lot of funwith that.
At first you're kind of scared.
You're like, oh my God, did Isteer him down the wrong path?
Are we going to be behind now?
Because we're like, oh my God,did I steer him down the wrong
path?
Are we going to be behind now?
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Because we're like essentially starting over with
something else.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
But I think it all builds and it's all like you're
learning what works for them, sothat going forward, you kind of
know what you're looking for.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah, exactly Exactly , and that's what I definitely
feel like with what you weresaying about taking like breaks,
and you know, just like.
So we're expecting baby numberfive and actually next month
Congratulations, thank you.
And so you know that will just,you know, probably take like an
earlier break.
(21:01):
Well, you know.
And so when the baby comes, Itold them we'll probably start
back up, you know, with school,and so it's just the flexibility
of it all.
You know I've really enjoyedthat, for sure, with my kids and
not being so, you know, ofcourse we try to do
homeschooling four days a week,which they're used to, going to
school five days a week, andjust some of that flexibility
(21:22):
that we've had.
You know, if I don't understanda math concept, their dad, when
their dad gets home early on aSaturday morning, he'll work
with some Clyde on some of thosethings my older one so it's
just such a blessing, it's soflexible and I could never
imagine having to go back tojust the rigorous, you know,
cycle of how public school isjust laid out and I think my
(21:44):
kids have definitely thrived andenjoy it overall and, of course
, like my son once, he realized,oh, we do things with other
like we don't do.
We don't do a co-op right now.
I did try my first year lastyear and it was it was fine.
But even the once a week it'sjust like, oh, I have to get
prepared for this co-op onFriday.
Even now I was kind of likewait, no, I don't, I don't want
(22:04):
that commitment.
And they did ask me to teachthe second semester and I did,
and I was like I don't want thatcommitment.
And they did ask me to teachthe second semester and I did.
And I was like okay, I don'twant to do this, which I
understand why.
They would ask like I do havethat teaching background and
things like that.
But I had a little baby andeven though I could teach with
her, it still was just not.
I think that was just a littleturned off from teaching five
(22:25):
years, but I wasn't ready forthat.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Yeah, and so I did a co-op too in the same thing they
wanted me to like teach gym.
It gave me so much anxiety Idreaded going and I'm like, if
I'm dreading it, my kid is not.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Yeah, the kids must be dreading it right, yeah, and
so this year we it's just beenus but we do a homeschooling get
together at a library that'sclose to our home and my kids
love it.
So it's other homeschoolingfamilies and we just get
together on a Monday morning andthe librarian is so awesome.
She.
She does like, she does like alittle thing with them where she
(23:00):
reads them and do an activity.
She's so great about making itfriendly for all the ages,
because it's all ages that arethere, and then I play for a
while, and so those are the momsthat we get together.
I'm actually at a park rightnow with some of those moms and
my kids are playing like I waslike, hey, I'm gonna be doing
this, and we were gettingtogether anyways, but they were
like, yeah, go go, go, go, go dothe interview.
(23:20):
That's so fun that you're doingthat.
And so I think my son realizingyou know I'm so we're gonna get
to socialize, we're gonna getto make good friends.
Our church family is amazing.
A lot of those families alsohomeschool.
I've never been to a churchwith so many homeschooling
families and I think that somany of those families just also
(23:42):
see the value of how importantit is to just homeschool and and
have your kids with you,because, I mean, that's another
reason why right is that?
For me and my family, um, it'simportant to teach them like the
gospel and you know, and justgo through Bible studies and
things like that.
So that's another thing I'mlooking, um, at a little bit
(24:03):
more as far as like a Christiancurriculum, but that's what I've
done, the good and thebeautiful, and I've done easy
peasy, cause I do want us torevolve around, you know,
biblical, gospel orientedcurriculum.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
So yeah, yeah, and I just I'm working with a company
right now that well, it's calledExcelsior classes.
It's an online supplementalprogram for ages fifth through
12th grade, and you know, as I'mresearching it and stuff.
It's all Christian based.
It's people that were liketeachers, that were actually
like called to teach thesesubjects and you know, they
(24:35):
really promote on their pagelike where it works, which
sometimes you know people shyaway from that so like, oh well,
we're going to alienateourselves, but they like are, so
stand behind this and, um, Ilove it, I love that, you know,
having that supplemental.
So it's not like you have tosign up for a whole list of
classes If there's like onething that your son was
interested in or daughters thatyou just like are like, well, I
(24:55):
don't, I don't know anythingabout aviation science.
So, like you could just takethat class and these things.
They're just popping up allover the place.
So it's so cool because youknow that you can put in as one
of your viewer or a state thathas prerequisites like that.
There's a science for you, butit's not just the biology,
chemistry earth science you getaviation science I mean, I still
(25:17):
do that but, you know it's likeall this stuff that isn't
available to kids that are, youknow, just doing the regular
public school thing they justhave to take.
Okay, well, here are theclasses that you got to take
next year, what fits into yourschedule, what out of the
lottery?
You know, you were last in linethis year, so, oops, sorry, the
classes that you want to takeare full.
(25:39):
Here's what you're stuck with,and it's like gosh what a way to
waste your life, your child, noless.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Yeah, and I think it's great that there, I think
so many families are going thatway, going through the like
homeschooling.
I think it's so great that somany things are coming out right
now and I think that's why it'sso flexible as parents, um, to
try to, you know, be able to beflexible with curriculum and
things, and that shows your kidflexibility right, because I
(26:07):
mean, they're going to grow up,they're going to be in the real
world.
They need to learn these skillsthat things change.
We need to be flexible, we needto be able to, you know, go
with the flow.
So I think it's important thatwe just because I'm not looking
to what you just talked about,because, again, kyle's gonna get
into high school and I'm like,oh, like, that's big dog, you
know school stuff, so we'll seewhat that looks like, and it
(26:29):
makes me nervous.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
I'm like, okay, yeah, I can link it in the shows.
I'll link it in the show'sdescription too, so people can
check that out.
But yeah, it's um.
There's so many different waysto learn.
We're just so used to thinkingit has to be one way.
Now, how hard was it for you toleave your job?
I know you were kind of likeall right, I'm sick of what I'm
seeing in the school system.
I've lost my taste for and Iwas the same way.
I was a government worker for16 years.
(26:51):
I did not get the same thingthat you experienced I, I, it
was the same thing.
Like these people were allproud to wear their masks and
proud to, you know, have theirvaccines, and I'm, I the a-hole
at work with.
Like I just printed all over mywall all these printouts of how
masks are horrible for you anddon't work, and all these
(27:11):
studies, and like they justhated me.
They hated me.
Um and and you know, thefunniest part is the like stuff,
that this is the stuff peoplethey're not.
They don't think, because foryears I have always like when
you go to the bathroom at apublic place, I've always, you
know, dry my hands with thepaper towel and then I take the
paper towel out with me andthat's how I touch the doorknob
(27:34):
with a paper towel in my hand,so I don't have to touch it to
the actual doorknob.
I've just always been that way,right, and I don't consider
myself a germ of phobe.
But there are people,especially working in the
government.
Some of them are not thecleanest.
They don't wash their handswhen they go to the bathroom.
Some of them are not thecleanest.
They don't wash their handswhen they go to the bathroom.
They're touching the flush orthey're touching everything else
, and then they walk out andhold.
So I was one of those peoplethat always took the paper towel
(27:56):
and open the doorknob with it.
People made fun of me all thetime, but yet during COVID they
all wore masks and I wouldn'twear one.
I'm like I'm not going to putGod, you're going to breathe in
(28:16):
all these germs.
You don't even wash your handsand then you're all congregating
over because someone brought inyou know last night's leftovers
or you know some sort of likeleftover cookies from a party or
a bake sale and oh my, it'sfree food.
Let's all congregate over itwith our nasty hands that
haven't been washed.
They were all okay with that,but they needed me to be
(28:38):
vaccinated and wear a maskbecause I was a threat to their
health.
It was just like so convoluted.
Yeah, it was, it was, butanyway, my original question was
it was still hard for me towalk away from an income, a
pension and something I went tocollege for to like be.
How hard was that for you?
Speaker 2 (28:58):
It was hard, it was difficult.
I think that it was one ofthose things that it had to be.
I had to have a change of heartand it wasn't of me.
It was like it was God itreally was.
I mean, I don't know, it wasn'tof me, it was like it was God
it really was.
I mean, I don't know how elseto explain it it was.
He gave me a different affection, you know, he at the time
different desire and it wassomething that I just I had to
(29:22):
just walk away from, like Ialmost I couldn't think too much
about it, I just knew that thissomething had to change.
You know, when I, when I got mycontract for that year five it
was year five, so it was apretty penny, like it wasn't a
special education teacher inArizona after it was the
contract amounts, the salaryamount, was that the numbers?
(29:44):
I was like wow, like am Ireally going to walk away from
this?
And I even, like I snapped, youknow I took a picture of it
showed my husband, I'm like thisis what I'm saying no to um,
and you know he's 100 supportedme and was like you know, this
is what you still want to do.
Let's do it.
You know we're already like thehouse is for sale, everything
is you know, everything is goingaccording to plan.
(30:05):
So, yeah, I turned it down andI just I almost couldn't think
about it too much because I feellike I all those you know what
ifs and you know, and I thinkthat's why I came out here and I
still had so much doubt aboutabout it and I had doubt in
myself, even though I was aneducator just being able to it's
and it's scary, it's kind ofhow society kind of warps mom's
(30:27):
mind like we're not capable ofof raising our own children
almost right, like how are theygoing to listen to me?
And how is this?
You know they're not.
You know and you know I saw howit was here and I still was
like I think I think it was Godjust being like you know, you
need to do this and I was kindof thinking, well, maybe I'll go
(30:47):
back to work, like you know,maybe I can.
Just it'd be so much money tohave nice, to have the extra
income.
So I also had that kind ofgoing through my head, even
though I moved out to SouthCarolina.
But then I had our fourth baby,I was in health, I was like I'm
not, I'm going to have to stayat home, because in Arizona I
had a family.
I had my mom who was able tohelp me with my babies when they
were little so I could do mycareer, and that was a huge help
(31:10):
.
But also it it just it's notthe way God designed it.
Like I really don't think it is, even though it was better than
having them go to daycare.
But, um, so I was like out hereand I feel like again it was
like God's intervening in mylife and saying like, okay, now
you have another baby, now youdon't have that support.
So like you have to stay home,right, because I wasn't,
couldn't afford the amount.
The money that you have to payfor daycare is just not worth it
(31:33):
.
So I had to stay home and Ithat's when I pulled them out I
said, okay, like they didn't goback to school.
So she was born in October.
So, yeah, that August, when Iwas still pregnant, they didn't
go back to school and it just Icouldn't even it's so hard for
me looking back now like why Ihad so much worry about it,
cause it's just I would never, Icould never imagine it any
(31:54):
different.
I feel like we've grown andbecome so much closer as a
family.
My house stays cleaner nowbecause they can all chip in.
Like they've learned, like thisis how we clean the bathroom,
this is how you put your clothesaway, this is how we unload a
dishwasher, and they justthey're learning life skills.
(32:19):
They're learning real skills,real things of how to take care
of a home and pitch in.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
You guys know I am a big fan of the Tuttle Twins.
I had Connor Boyack, the writerof these books, on episode 24.
I reached out to his companyasking to let me be an affiliate
because I strongly believe intheir books and their message.
In the H5 through 11 bookseries which I read to my son
all the time I mean he actuallyasks us to read these books with
him.
Book five, road to Serfdom,talks about what happens to a
(32:44):
local town with local businesseswhen corporations start moving
in.
Book six, the Golden Rule, talksall about Ethan and Emily's
experience at summer campthrough a series of cheating and
manipulation on certain racesthat they're required to
complete.
It talks about how the goldenrule of treating others how we
want to be treated ourselves ishow we all should be conducting
(33:05):
our lives.
Education Vacation talks aboutJohn Taylor Gatto and the
creation of the school systemand what it was actually
intended to do, which you get tolearn about by following Ethan
and Emily on a trip to Europe.
And book 11, the Messed UpMarket, takes you through the
journey of kids trying to createsmall businesses as they learn
all the laws and rules thatgovernment has put in place to
(33:29):
actually make it very difficultfor them.
You learn all about interestsavings versus borrowing, low
interest rates versus highinterest rates and supply and
demand, and these are just someof the books in that series.
Use the link in my show'sdescription or at the
homeschoolhowtocom under thelistener discounts page.
I also want to let you knowabout some other books that the
Tuttle Twins have out America'sHistory, volume 1 and 2, which
(33:52):
teaches all about the inspiringideas of America's founding
without the bias and hiddenagendas that's found in other
history books for kids and mostlikely in the schools.
There's also books on how toidentify fallacies, modern day
villains all stuff that we wantto be talking to our kids about.
Whether you homeschool or not,these books bring up important
(34:13):
discussions that we should behaving with our children.
Use the link in my show'sdescription or, like I said, at
thehomeschoolhowtocom underlistener discounts.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
I mean that's cool, right?
Kids have responsibilities,they have jobs, you have paper
passer, you have door holder,you have this, you have that,
and so, like, here are my kidsand they're doing things that
are in their home and they takepride of, you know, helping out
around the house, helping mom,helping dad, and it's just.
It's so beautiful to see likeit really is, like I love it and
(34:45):
it.
It was hard, but I'm happy.
At the end of the day it wasthe right decision and I could
never imagine going back.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Yeah, it was like hard pulling the plug for me as
well, but I just kept tellingmyself on my deathbed I'm never
going to say, well, I wish Ispent less time with the kids.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
You're always going to wish you had more time with
them when you're at the end ofyour life.
I agree.
And to wrap up, like, okay,this is not related to
homeschooling at all, but whenyou were talking about your
parents being immigrants fromMexico and I was just thinking
about this post that, like myhusband's aunt I think it was
her that had on a couple weeksago on Facebook and she was like
(35:28):
oh my God, all of you peoplethat vote and I'm just
generalizing because you saidthat you're christian and
unvaccinated, that you have moreof a conservative background,
but she's this aunt of his islike you must hate the
immigrants in this countrybecause you've just sent them
all back with your vote.
You know and I'm thinking allthe immigrants I know voted for
(35:51):
trump.
So I don't know, like, what iswhat's she watching?
So, like, do your parents?
Have they expressed any sort ofopinion?
Are they?
Do they think they're gettinglike deported?
Speaker 2 (36:01):
or something.
Well, they're citizens now,right, so they became citizens.
I would say have a very splitfamily.
My parents are very otherconservative.
They did vote Republican andthis last term, and but we have
so much family that doesn't seeit the same way.
And I think what we need tojust think back to is you know
(36:23):
every, every country has closedborders.
You know it's not.
And I go back and I have familywho might discuss with me and
argue, or you know, and I sayyou know the Biden
administration, democrats hadfour years to give amnesty to
illegals.
It's I don't think it's thatdifficult.
It can't be that difficult tolook at an immigrant and say,
(36:44):
okay, you know, have you beenworking?
Have you do have any criminalbackground?
You know, is there amnesty thatwe can give to you?
Ronald Reagan, he was the lastpresident that did it in the 80s
, and no one's done it since.
Obama didn't do it for eightyears and Biden didn't.
Like I said, trump didn't do itthe, of course, the first four
years and Biden didn't do it thelast four years that he was in
(37:06):
presidency.
So there's just there's a lotof ignorance going around with
that, you know.
I think Trump really wants toclean up, because the problem is
that not only did the Bidenadministration not give amnesty
to immigrants who were alreadyhere, he just had open borders
and people were just flooding inand that's just so unsafe.
I grew up going to Mexico formany years because I still have
(37:29):
family that live there and youknow you can't go there, I
couldn't go there, and just youknow you can weapons, you can't
take guns.
They have their own laws.
You know, when you're drivingacross the Mexican border, if
you have a gun, you can be putin prison for that even a bullet
, I've heard.
So.
Every country has laws, everycountry has regulations and we
can't.
(37:49):
I definitely support, you know,this party by wanting to.
So many people came in.
We don't know who they are.
They are criminals, not justfrom Mexico but from other
countries, and focusing onsending them back to their
country, I think is somethingthat was very important.
Do I wish that maybe PresidentTrump would do some?
Some type of amnesty, of course, because I do have family who
(38:12):
don't have their documents and Iwould hate for a cousin of mine
who's in their 40s or 50s, whohas been here since they were in
their 20s, not, you know, haveto be sent back.
It's sad, it's a veryunfortunate situation.
I don't know again, like I'mnot saying for my family, but
like you know, some of thosecases it's like did you not save
(38:32):
the money?
Like, why haven't you gonethrough the process?
Like, what's been keeping you?
Is it fear that's been keepingyou from going through the
process of like becoming acitizen?
Because, like I said, myparents did it right, like they
got their green cards, they gotthey became citizens right.
But I don't know, everybody'ssituation's different and I know
some people are fearful.
They were fearful with theobama presidency and then, of
(38:52):
course, with trump.
Um, the first four years he,sir, or he, was our president.
But that's why it makes me sadthat the biden administration
they did the opposite.
They made the situation worseby opening up the borders and
not focusing on the familiesthat were here, that didn't get
help during the obamaadministration or the trump
administration, and they justwere like, yeah, there's just
(39:15):
that every like open borders,it's like why didn't we focus on
those families, like thehardworking, immigrant families?
So I think that people just areignorant to that and they just
don't think about it in that way.
But you know, at the end of theday, if you're here illegally,
you're here illegally, and ifyou have to go back but you
(39:36):
don't have a criminal record,you know, start the process.
But I know that that's.
That's just a hard, a hardthing for some people to swallow
, but it's the right thing to doat the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
Yeah, and I think it does.
It has a lot to do with theschool systems not teaching us
how to properly educateourselves how to actually read
the bill.
People rely on social media nowfor news.
It's not even just CNN, whichyou know the in both of them
tell half truths or takesomething, whether it's a CNN or
(40:06):
even Fox, you know.
There it's like we just takethat and then they're taking.
Some people are taking that andthen they make their posts about
it on social media and a TikTokand that's what people follow
as the news and everything onthere is to get attention, get
attention and get the shares andthe people fighting over it.
That's the stuff that gets moreviews.
(40:27):
So like it's turned into thiswhole like propaganda system
where people don't even know,like how to know go research the
law or research the bill or howbills even go through, like
that it has to get you know aproposal in the house and the
senate.
And even I don't know quite,even though I've tried to
research, how all of it works.
We're not taught that and Ithink it's by design that we're
(40:48):
not taught that from thebeginning, because they'd rather
have us fighting with eachother.
We're easily controllable whenwe're all fighting.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
Yeah, it's divide and conquer for sure, and I don't
agree with everything that theRepublican, you know the Trump
administration is on board with.
But again, for my family, andwhat I thought was the best
option was the Trumpadministration and well, you
know Republican stance.
You know we see this with theboys and girls sports.
(41:18):
You know, Like I was a bigathlete growing up and I would
hate for my girls to have to oneday if they decide which I
don't think so, we're kind ofmore.
We do jujitsu.
But even in that the world ofjujitsu there's been some trans
men going against women In thechildren division.
It's different before you know,they hit puberty.
But everybody knows it's commonsense, when you hit puberty, a
(41:41):
boy and a girl, it's verydifferent and strength and
ability and those things, uh.
So you know I would hate for mygirls if they wanted to do a
jiu-jitsu competition and theyhad to go up against a boy who
was the same weight class, thesame belt.
Jujitsu is a beautiful sportthat it teaches, you know, the
smaller, the smaller personshould be able to.
(42:02):
It's, you know, for the smallerperson.
That's what it was designed for, that's what the sport's
designed for.
But, um, you know, when you'regoing against a man who's gotten
as much mat time as you, itcould be very dangerous.
Um, so we've seen it in likevolleyball.
There was a instance in, Ithink, high school in North
Carolina where a girl got her,you know, spiked on.
I don't mean to go off there,but I mean the fact that Trump
(42:23):
was, you know he had put intoexecutive order.
I believe.
Now, right, Men are, yeah, ifyou're a biological man, you
will not be playing in women'ssports.
And I support a hundred percentand I think, at the end of the
day, for, for families, you know, for people, we have to
understand, like you know, wethere should be understanding
and not so much hate and youknow what we think is best for
(42:47):
our families.
And, um, you know, I I thinkthat's unfortunate.
I just see it so much with myfamily.
Like I said, I have very splitfamily, coming from being first
generation I have the Bidenadministration really tries to
show itself as like theimmigrant and the, you know it's
just tries to disguise itselfas this, this party that's for
(43:07):
immigrants and for women, andI'm like, how are you for women
If you're allowing men to playwomen's sports?
And like that's just not forwomen.
We see it in beauty pageants,Like how can you take that away
from a woman?
You know like I just don'tunderstand.
I just think it's silly.
Speaker 1 (43:26):
Yeah, it's a crazy time right now, and if we can
homeschool our kids to justshield them from half of this,
they might have a chance,because how confusing it is to
them.
Yes, yeah, a thousand percent.
Well, terry, thank you so muchfor joining me today.
Is there any last words orparting words that you'd want to
(43:47):
leave people with?
Speaker 2 (43:48):
I just, um, I hope everybody, you know, whoever's
listening to this if they're onthe fence about homeschooling,
um, that they, you know, justknow that at the end of the day,
like you were saying to this,if they're on the fence about
homeschooling, that they, youknow, just know that at the end
of the day, like you were sayingto, like, you're never going to
regret having that time withyour children, I think that you
know there's just, there's somuch beauty in that and being
(44:08):
able to say, like I walked awayfrom this career and you know
this, and I downsized or didwhatever, because I see it so
much on social media, like Icouldn't, I could never do it,
you know this, and I downsizedor did whatever, because I see
it so much on social media, likeI couldn't, I could never do it
, you know, and it's like youreally have to sacrifice, you
know, and pray about it and youknow, ask the Lord to guide you
in that.
I know we're not all butbelievers and that's okay, but I
(44:30):
mean there is a greater powerand he changes hearts, he
changes affection.
Yeah, so I think, praying aboutit and talking to your family
about it.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
Well, terry.
Thank you so much again.
This has been so fun.
Thank you, I'd love to come onanytime, awesome, awesome.
Thank you for tuning into thisweek's episode of the homeschool
how to.
If you've enjoyed what youheard and you'd like to
contribute to the show, pleaseconsider leaving a small tip
using the link in my show'sdescription.
Or, if you'd rather, please usethe link in the description to
(45:00):
share this podcast with a friendor on your favorite homeschool
group Facebook page.
Any effort to help us keep thepodcast going is greatly
appreciated.
Thank you for tuning in and foryour love of the next
generation.
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