#164: Teachers Are Leaving the System—Here’s Why (Homeschool + Work Reality)

What happens when a former public school teacher decides she won’t send her own kids to school?

In this episode of the Homeschool How To Podcast, Cheryl sits down with Ashley Martinez—a former teacher turned homeschooling mom of two—who shares what she saw inside the classroom, why she chose a different path, and how her family makes homeschooling and working actually work.

This conversation goes beyond curriculum and schedules. Ashley opens up about:

•  What teachers see inside schools that most parents don’t 
•  Why more educators are choosing to homeschool their own kids 
•  How to balance working from home while homeschooling 
•  The truth about socialization, co-ops, and hybrid homeschool models 
•  Why homeschooling gives families more freedom, flexibility, and connection 
•  Letting go of “balance” and embracing seasons of life 

If you’ve ever thought:
 “Can I homeschool if I still need to work?”
 or
 “I feel called to homeschool but don’t know how to make it work…”

This episode will give you clarity, encouragement, and a real-life look at what’s possible.

🎯 Ready to learn how families are actually doing this? Cheryl has interviewed 200+ homeschool families—and put a step by step process together for how to work and homeschool (even as a single parent!) Check it out below!

👉 How to Work & Homeschool (Even as a Single Parent!)

Find Ashley at:

https://linktr.ee/mrsashleymartinez

Support the show

Instagram: TheHomeschoolHowToPodcast
Facebook: The Homeschool How To Podcast

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:02):
I didn't plan to homeschool.
I started asking hard questions,realized how little control
parents actually have, and madethe hard decision to leave a
government job to homeschool mykids.
Now I interview otherhomeschooling parents to learn
how this all works.
I'm Cheryl, and this is theHomeschool How to Podcast.
Let's learn this together.

(00:23):
Welcome.
Today I have Ashley with us.
Hi, Ashley.
Hi, thank you for having me.
Absolutely.
Thanks for being here.
What state are you in?

SPEAKER_00 (00:32):
So I am in Colorado.
I'm originally a native Texan,but I moved and we love it.

SPEAKER_01 (00:38):
Well, I'm sure both states are better than New York
where I am.

SPEAKER_00 (00:41):
Listen, I if there's one thing I've learned, they all
have their pros and cons.
That's for sure.

SPEAKER_01 (00:46):
That is true.
How many kids do you have?
And what are their ages?

SPEAKER_00 (00:49):
I have two kids.
I have a boy who's nine and adaughter who is seven.
Fun.

SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
And do you homeschool?

SPEAKER_00 (00:56):
I do homeschool.
We have actually homeschooledsince the get-go.
So I used to be a public schoolteacher back in the day, feels
like a lifetime ago.
Um, and then my son would havebeen going to kindergarten in
2021 and everything was what itwas.
And I said, you know, he's asummer birthday.

(01:17):
Let me just homeschool a year.
Because we would have held himto be a little bit later, you
know, so it was older when hewent into kindergarten.
So we homeschooled for a yearand I was sold.
I was like, this is how I wantto do life.
It's so flexible.
We get so much time together.
My husband's self-employed, I'mself-employed.
So it just everything worksfluidly.

SPEAKER_01 (01:38):
Okay.
So you were a teacher.
Did you were you alreadyplanning on leaving teaching to
become self-employed?

SPEAKER_00 (01:45):
So I left teaching before I got pregnant, which is
very um not typical in teaching.
I had a lot of people be like,Are you okay?
And I was like, Yes, I I lovebeing out in nature.
I love being outside.
I'm a very active person.
Um, and I love kids.
I truly have a heart for kids.
So I loved teaching and I wastired of the politics and the

(02:07):
emails and the inside all day.
And I just felt trapped.
And I was like, I I recognizethat everybody thinks teaching
is the ideal job when you havekids, right?
Because you are on their sameschedule.
But I was like, maybe I maybe Ijust want to be home when I have
kids.
And so this isn't the ideal jobfor me.
And so I left teaching a year, ayear before I got pregnant with

(02:31):
my son.
And I was working in aninsurance agency because my
husband and I thought aboutstarting that up, which is not
the path we went down.
But yeah, then I got pregnantand been blessed to be able to
be home the whole time.
Yeah.
So, but I had an inkling becauseof the school district I taught
in, wonderful academically.
I just had an inkling I willwant something different for our

(02:53):
kids one day.
But that was back beforehomeschool was the cool thing to
do, you know, before everybodywas doing it.

SPEAKER_01 (02:59):
Yeah.
So was this before COVID?

SPEAKER_00 (03:01):
This was pre-COVID.
Yes.
I left teaching in 2015.
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (03:06):
So I I have a couple of directions that I'd like to
go with this interview.
One being the, you know, whatwere some things that you saw
inside the school system, butthen also how you managed to
work, uh, you know, do your ownbusiness and homeschool the
kids.
So like, and I've I've had somany teachers on, and I remember
the first teacher I ever had on,I was like, oh my god, you left

(03:29):
teaching to homeschool.
Like, this is crazy.
This is a diamond in the rough.
And then over three years, I'mlike, oh my goodness, there's so
many teachers because you guyssee it firsthand.
It's not that you need ateaching degree to homeschool
your kids or all that.
Like you're seeing somethingthat other parents just are not.
And I I think when I talk topeople that are hesitant to

(03:50):
homeschool, like that's what Iwant to get across to them.
Like, no, you don't understand.
There's so many teachers thatare like, I don't want this for
my kids.
And if they're saying thatbecause they're seeing me every
day, that you you might want toquestion it.
So, like, if you and I you don'thave to like bash the school or
anything like that.
Like you said, they werewonderful academically, but you
didn't want it for your kid.
What were like some of thethings that you're like, this

(04:11):
isn't the way?

SPEAKER_00 (04:12):
This is funny because I just had this
conversation with a girlfriendlast week who is also a teacher.
And we said, when all theteachers leave the schools to
homeschool their kids, does thatnot wake people up?
Like, does that not wake peopleup?
And so things that I saw, I wasin a very liberal school
district, and I would go to thedistrict office and I saw you

(04:34):
can read between the lines, I'mpretty observant, and you could
see different ideals andmissions and values that did not
align with what I believed.
And I had also taught previousto this in Texas for two years.
So I had very different teachingexperiences, very different
environments in which I taughtin Texas.
I would say it was a lot of likesweet women who just loved kids

(04:57):
and wanted to have as much timeas possible with their kids but
need to make money.
That was the environment I wasin in Texas.
And for me, faith is veryimportant.
So a lot of faith-filled people.
And then I got up here and I sawjust it was a job for people and
there were agendas comingthrough.
And it, I just felt like therewas heart missing.

(05:17):
And I'm like, my kid can have Apluses all day long.
But if they're not surrounded bypeople who care for their heart,
I have a problem with that as amom.
And I knew I would even before Ihad kids.
I always wanted to be a mom.
And I knew sitting in there, Iwas like, well, if I am not at
my optimal, sitting in abuilding under fluorescent
lighting, round robin readingfrom a textbook, how's my

(05:40):
seven-year-old boy gonna do thisone day?
You know, and so I had kind ofsaid to my husband, I was like,
I think, I think this might be aroute we take.
And granted, I was in probablythe most um liberal forward
district in our area.
We also have, you know, someother great school districts
around us.
Um, but I just, my heart knew.
I just knew.

(06:00):
And so fast forward, we had ourour son in 2016, COVID happened
in 2020.
I actually never put, he wasvery tall for his age, never put
him in preschool, never didanything because I'm a teacher
and I also know how fast timegoes by and I just wanted to be
home with them.
And so I kind of already had theexperience of doing a little

(06:20):
preschool co-op group out of myhouse because I'm a very social
person.
And this is something I wanthomeschool parents to hear.
If you're worried about thesocial and you've heard that
phrase from people, right?
Like, how will they besocialized?
How do you want them socialized?
I want them socialized withpeople who have similar values
and morals, and they want moreout of life than just status

(06:44):
quo.
So I'm gonna surround them withpeople who are also free
thinkers, right?
And so I had all theseexperiences.
So when it came time for school,I was like, just let me try it.
And because everything was soweird post-COVID, my husband was
on board, and now it's just Icouldn't imagine not doing it,
to be honest.

SPEAKER_01 (07:00):
Yeah.
Um, what were some and I I'vehad a gentleman, Spencer Taylor,
he created a film called TheDeath of Recess.
He was just on my podcast acouple weeks ago.
I just watched that.
That was such a cool interview,but you watched The Death of
Recess?

SPEAKER_00 (07:16):
I watched it, and so the district that that gentleman
talks about post-COVID that wasknown for having the art club.
Do you remember this story?
Post-COVID.

SPEAKER_01 (07:29):
The daughter committed suicide, right?

SPEAKER_00 (07:31):
That was the school district I taught in.

SPEAKER_01 (07:33):
No, yes.
Oh, you just gave me chills.

SPEAKER_00 (07:35):
I just got chills too.
This is very like aligned thatwe're talking, I feel like.
It's wild how that lines up.
So, so this is a district Itaught in.
So I saw people who werealigning with these things, and
I was like, I will not be ableto send my kid to school with
this.
I will do whatever it takes.
I always tell my husband, I amthe hardest worker in the room.
If we need me to like make moneyfrom home, or you need me to

(07:58):
help, or we need like I'll dowhatever it takes to be able to
be home with them, homeschoolthem, and and keep them out of
places like that with people whohave agendas like that.
So that was the district Itaught in.

SPEAKER_01 (08:11):
Okay.
And let me catch up any of thelisteners that did not watch
this film.
And you can watch it on theAngel Network.
So, like what I did, I don'thave a subscription to Angel,
although if we had the extramoney, I would, because I love
the Tuttle twins and they're onthat.
But they have a lot of greatstuff on the Angel Network.
But so I just paid for a month,and which is like way cheaper
than even going to the movies.
So it was like$8.99.

(08:32):
And I got to watch the film.
And what Spencer did is he wentall over the world really to see
how like how are they educatingin Finland, how are they
educating in China, comparing itto the United States.
But he also went undercover atthe NEA, which I didn't even
realize that is a nationaleducation association.
And what it is is the largestteachers' union that exists.
So you as a teacher would liketo pay your dues every paycheck,

(08:55):
but they also get funding fromDemocrat politicians, and vice
versa.
They fund the Democrats duringcampaign season, and then they
all just kind of funnel thismoney back and forth.
And I mean, it makes, I think itwas like half a billion dollars
a year, something ridiculous inthe way in the millions every
year that this teachers' unionmakes.
Now, when you think about yoursalary and how underpaid

(09:19):
teachers are and understaffedand under-resourced, but yet
there's so much money in theseteachers' unions, it's
sickening.
But anyway, he went undercoverat their convention and he
recorded them.
And it's all in this documentarythat he created, this film,
about how they do have agendas.
And I think in their mind, theyactually believe they're doing
the right thing.

(09:39):
They think parents like us whohave good morals, like maybe
faith-based or just that that,you know, there is an two X
chromosomes or an X and a Ychromosome, you know, that like,
hey, we're not going to be ableto do that.

SPEAKER_00 (09:52):
That's part of the problem.
They really do believe they'rein the right.
And when people are that strongin their convictions and they're
doing it with purpose behindthem, they're almost relentless
in their pursuit of what they'llteach.
Sorry, not to interrupt.

SPEAKER_01 (10:06):
Yeah, no, I love it.
And so essentially what they'resaying at this teachers' union
convention is that we are therefor the children to come to
instead of their parents.
If they need to tell us thatthey are the opposite gender, if
they need gender-confirmingwhatever or gender-affirming
drugs, if they want to takehormone blockers, like they are
there to help the childrenthrough this process behind the

(10:28):
parents' backs.
So if and they think they areright.
And I don't know what's rightand what's wrong, but I know
that's not how our family isgonna live.
So that's just a background onit.
So that's crazy that you were inthat art district.
And what that specific schooldistrict did was have an art
club that they lure teacher kidsinto, thinking they're going
after school to an art club.

(10:48):
And then they kind of coax theminto like, oh, are you feeling
sad today?
Are you feeling left out?
Are you feeling this?
Are you feeling that?
Well, any adolescent is, mostadults do too.
They take a hold of theirinsecurities and then they coax
them into saying this is thesolution, maybe you're the
opposite gender.
And then they get hooked onthese pharmaceuticals where the

(11:09):
pharmaceutical companies arefunding the NEA, and they're
happy because it's coming backtenfold because these kids are
getting on these drugs for therest of their life.

SPEAKER_00 (11:18):
It's insane.
It's absolutely insane.
And what happened up there, Imean, it breaks my heart.
Now it's like, I mean, it was 30minutes from where we lived.
And these the guest speakersthey brought in, there's there's
no way parents knew what wasgoing on in this club and would
have signed off on it.
I forget what exactly it was,but it was something like a

(11:40):
Satanist or a witch or somethingthat was coming in teaching
these, oh yeah, it was bad.
It went on for multiple weeksbefore that girl committed
suicide.
And then they, you know, kind ofshut it down.
But it was so sad.
So again, my beliefs, whenyou're partnering with a school
district who's wrapped up in allthat stuff, it goes so much

(12:01):
deeper than just academics forme.
And I'll die on the hill thatit's important what we surround
ourselves with, it's importantwho we surround ourselves with,
it's important what we let go inand out of our mind.
And this specifically wasn'tgoing on when I was teaching
back there, but they did stuffover the past few years.
Like I used to teach fourth andfifth grade in an elementary

(12:22):
school.
So I was not in the middleschools where some of this other
stuff was happening.
But they would do genderbreadmen in fifth grade.
This was not while I was there.
Mind you, I would not have donethis.
There were many a days I shut mydoor and just like loved on kids
and genderbread men.
So we did a gingerbread manproject when I was there.
I can't even remember thedetails of it.

(12:43):
Well, they pivoted after 2020and it became a genderbread
project talking about all thedifferent kinds of genders that
exist.
10-year-olds who are at the peakof learning about puberty,
questioning everything, curiousabout how all this works.
Yeah.
So it's funny because I actuallyhaven't shared this very in

(13:04):
detail with people I know inreal life because it feels like
such a former life ago for me.
And it felt so good to let itgo.
And there is literally, like ifsomebody's watching and they're
questioning whether tohomeschool or not, I want you to
think about the level it willbring you to raise your children
the way you want to do it, inpeace with your family, in peace
with the people you love, likesomething that aligns with your

(13:26):
beliefs and your values and yourfaith.
And then what you're doing isyou're giving them a concrete
foundation.
And your children are spendingtheir childhood starting to put
up the foundation of their houseor the walls, rather.
My husband does constructionstuff.
So they're they're putting upthe scaffolding, they're putting
up the wood.
But what gets laid before thatis a concrete foundation.

(13:49):
Like, what do you want in thatfoundation?
And so these younger ages, it'ssuch a precious time to hold
your kids tight and to make surethey know what's right and
wrong, how to treat people, howto respectfully, because we're
always big on respect in ourhouse, respectfully disagree
with an adult, right?
You know, and how to how tohandle it.

(14:09):
Like we are on the front lines,right?
You think about military andwar, like we're the front lines
with our kids.
So when a topic comes up that'scontroversial or they see
something out in public or theyread something or a YouTube
video pops up, or whatever itis, look what I saw, or mom,
dad, what do you, you know, andwe get to talk through it.
Our kids don't get to grow upnot in this world, right?

(14:31):
But they do not have to partnerwith the way this world
operates.

SPEAKER_01 (14:34):
Wow.
Yeah, that's beautifully said.
And that's just one of thereasons I'm sure that you were
like, hey, this isn't what Iwant for my kids, but because
you said you left even beforethat situation took place.
So it's like our teaching thatand when I just think back to
2022 when I was like onFacebook, hey, vermectin might
work for COVID, guys.
And that was like, shut down.

(14:55):
Oh my God, we're not friendswith Cheryl anymore.
Your your YouTube's banned, yourTikTok is banned.
It's like, okay, so there's thatscience that they didn't agree
with, but then we can do gingergender bread mess.

SPEAKER_00 (15:08):
Gender, gender bread.

SPEAKER_01 (15:10):
So that's okay with 10 year olds, but you can't talk
about ivermectin, which has wonthe Nobel Prize for like most
safest drug out there beingeffective for COVID, even though
doctors were saying it'seffective for COVID.
It just that right there, you'relike, okay, there's an agenda.
There's something else going onhere, Paypal.
So there's that.

(15:31):
What about the like the learningenvironment and like just having
so many kids in a classroom?
Is it I mean, I remember we hadlike maybe 20, 25 kids when I
was younger, but we I also don'tremember like the autism and the
there were some special needskids, you know, they were in a
separate, but it was small.

(15:51):
It was like maybe five, 10 kids.
Now, is that more prevalent?
Is it harder to teach aclassroom today?

SPEAKER_00 (15:58):
You know, all I know is my experience, and it was
pre-being a mom, right?
Which I think you come at thingsdifferently after being a mom to
your own kids because youunderstand it from a parent's
point of view, which when you're23 and don't have your own kids,
you don't.
But what I will say is when Itaught in Texas, academically it
was not as the not as advanced,but there wasn't this like focus

(16:20):
on special needs and all ofthis.
We gave the kids what theyneeded, um, but it was a very
loving environment, very simplefor lack of a better term.
When I came up here, I mean,again, academically, they're
amazing.
You know, it's it's interesting,I think, too, when you go by
regions like here, we have a tonof charter schools and core
knowledge schools and STEMschools, and Colorado has tons

(16:41):
of different kinds of schoolsthat you can put your kids in.
I specifically have always had aheart for kids who were
struggling and for the underdogbecause I don't other people
just pass them through IEPs inprison and kept them moving
along.
And I was like, hold up, holdup.
Like, like, even if, even ifthey're not gonna start a
company one day, but they'regonna go have a job at Target,

(17:03):
they're gonna function with therest of society.
So it's a double-edged sword,right?
Because I as a teacher, yes,it's harder to have like these
high need kids in yourclassroom, but also like we go
to a co-op right now, we have aspecial needs kiddo in there.
That is one of my daughters atseven years old, her favorite
buddies.
We have never had a conversationabout him being different,

(17:24):
looking different, havingdifferent skills.
That that's just her buddy.
And she just adores him.
And I love that compassion thatmy children are being introduced
to because that's how we'remeant to love people, right?
Is just not blindly, but butblindly, like just love and care
for people and help them in thearea.
Some kids are gonna need help inthe classroom, some kids are

(17:45):
gonna need a little bit of helpat recess because they don't
have that muscle memory yet todo the monkey bars or to play
soccer.
And I think, I think having yourchildren around kids who are a
little bit different developsthat compassion.
Now, to your point, yes, I wasthe teacher who would sit in the
IEP meetings and tell parents,like in a in a in a uh polite
way, like they need sunshine.

(18:06):
They don't need two hours ofhomework after school.
They need sunshine, probablyless video games.
Like now, as a mom, like, hey,let's let's not feed them red
food dye all the time.
Let's like be mindful of what'sin their lunch, mindful of
eating a good breakfast, likeall of those things play into
it.
But I feel like once kids are inthat system, and I always tell
parents, I'm like, if you'resuper concerned with their

(18:27):
reading, take them to a readingspecialist outside the school.
If you're super concerned, likeyou work with them.
And granted, that's easy for meto say because I have a teacher
heart, and that is that's mygifting, but you work with them
because once they have that 504IEP label on them, it's very
hard to get off.
And they keep getting wrapped inthe system, wrapped in the
system, pushed to the nextspecialist teacher, pushed into

(18:50):
this program, and then they'repulled out of the normal
classroom.
And what ends up happening, inmy view, is they don't have all
the time to do the fun stuffbecause that's when they're off
getting their special classes.
And so then they miss out onthese fun parts.
Yes, they miss out on the funparts of the day that they need.
They need that.
They need the, and I'm not evensaying like PE and art, but like

(19:11):
my classroom when I was ateacher, we had classroom
economy.
It was the last 30 minutes of aday.
Kids could start up their ownlittle businesses and make
things.
Well, that was when the specialed kids had to go to their class
and do their thing.
And I dare say they would havegotten a lot more out of being
in my entrepreneurial-mindedclassroom for 30 minutes than
going and doing more readinglogs and more quizzes on a

(19:32):
computer, you know?
And so that part of the systemalways broke my heart.
And I know I have a I have asweet, sweet friend at the co-op
my kids are at now, and she's alittle bit older than us.
And she said she used to dospecial ed at a junior high.
And she said that she washelping this kid work him along.
Like, hey, you like you have totake notes.

(19:54):
I'm not going to do everythingfor you.
If you want to move furtheralong in seventh grade next
year, you got to do some ofthis.
They're not going to do it foryou.
So he started learning and hestarted taking notes on his own
and started doing some of thesethings that will be required of
him in the real world, right?
And the supervisor came in oneday and was like, why are you
doing that?
You don't even know how to dothat.
And she took the paper andstarted doing it for him.

(20:16):
That was it for the rest of theyear.
He never would take notes on hisown again.
He never would do anythingbecause we're spoon feeding
every like if you're born andsomething's a challenge, you're
gonna have to live with that andwork with that.
So, like, let's let's foster anatmosphere that really helps you
and will help you become afunctioning adult instead of
just limping you along and notreally helping you.

(20:38):
And so I there's so many things.
I mean, in Texas, we had ourclass sizes maxed at, I think it
was 22 kids, which wasreasonable.
Up here, I would end up with 25to 27 kids in my class
sometimes.
It's a lot.
Now I see how quickly my kidsand I get school done.
And I'm like, how did I ever dothis with 25 different little

(20:59):
brains?
You know what I mean?
Running in a gazilliondirections.

SPEAKER_01 (21:03):
I used to think that you couldn't work and
homeschool, but afterinterviewing over 200 families
now, if you've been a listenerfor that long, yes, that's
actually how many it is.
I realized that it's not true.
People are working andhomeschooling.
It just looks different than weexpect.
I started noticing the patterns,the resources, the schedules
that people were using toactually make homeschooling

(21:24):
while working work.
And I put everything that I'velearned into a course called How
to Work and Homeschool, even asa single parent.
Yes, you heard that right.
Even as a single parent.
If this is something that you'vebeen trying to figure out and
would really just like it laidall out for you, check out the
link in the show's description.

SPEAKER_00 (21:44):
The modern day classroom was meant to create
the workforce, right?
Like it was meant to create theworkforce, not individual
thinkers who can truly work attheir pace.

SPEAKER_01 (21:54):
Right.
And yeah, I I really like whatyou said about the kids should
integrate with all different.
Different kinds of needs and youknow, learn compassion through
that.
I think the problem in theschool district is when you
throw all these kids in andexpect them to all do the same
level, and then you're testingthem on it.
You know, it's like if they wereif they were all in the

(22:17):
environment like your co-op, youare just having fun learning.
There's not a standardized testat the end of it to stress them
out with.
And and you are outside, you'renot under the fluorescent
lights.
I'm wondering if the kids thatdo act up, because it's just
that maybe they had so much reddye 40 this week.
They cannot sit.
They literally cannot sit andfunction.

(22:38):
They're the ones acting upbecause they're in an
environment that's not lettingthem release that.
It's a hundred percent.
Yeah, it's not that they need alower level class, it's that
they just need that time to run.
They need better food that isn'tclouding the way their brain,
you know.
Basically, when you think oflike the high fructose corn
syrup, the red dye 40s, they'reyou're putting that in their

(22:58):
body and then not letting themrun and get it out.
It's like a little volcanoerupting.

SPEAKER_00 (23:03):
Listen, my kids don't go to a birthday party
nowadays.
And, you know, like we try to doreally good within our four
walls.
I also am like, I I'm not gonnabe that mom who says you can't
have a cupcake at a birthdayparty, right?
And so when they go eatsomething or do something that's
not our huge, they run it offbecause that's what they need to
do.
You know, listen, I didn't even,without eating the junk, without

(23:24):
even eating whatever, as anadult in my 20s, I didn't like
sitting still all day,constantly walking my classroom.
How can we expect children tothrive in an environment like
that?
They won't.
They just won't.

SPEAKER_01 (23:36):
Right.
It's yeah, the environments arejust not set up today.
They haven't changed, other thanwe're just making kids sit
longer and for more days a yearin that same seat and taking
away more recess time.
But yet it it just it blows mymind that it hasn't evolved
more.
But like you said, there areother schools in Colorado.
Are they schools that like yourtax dollars cover or are parents

(23:58):
paying for private school?

SPEAKER_00 (24:00):
So we have we have all of it.
I mean, and that is one reallynice thing up here.
You have a lot of options.
So the public school systemswill fund charter schools, they
fund STEM schools, they there'seven a couple homeschool
programs up here.
Like we have one where you getone day a week and it's funded

(24:20):
by public schools, and it's forhomeschool kids to go in and do
different, they can do like cakedecorating and Lego robotics and
you know, whatever.
And so they have options likethat for us.
And then, of course, we have theprivate schools, and then we've
opted for which we've opted thisyear and the past two years for
a co-op that's also like ahybrid school.

(24:41):
So they can go two days a weekor four days a week.
I love our co-op.
It feels like a giant family,it's like started up by an
individual family on someone'sprivate property.
Like people would not even knowit's there, which is so cool.
Like, I love it.
But they have a separate schoolbuilding and the kids go and
they've got combined classes.
We have the most amazingteachers.
Next year, we're actually movinginto just full homeschool

(25:04):
because we have built such anamazing community.
I want my flexibility back ofnot staying on a calendar
because we have so many friendsthat I'm like, oh, we're trying
to stay on calendar, and I'mkind of ready to like be able to
move freely with our schedule.
And so that's one thing too.
Like, you can find your fit.
And I will tell people, I knowthis is a homeschool podcast,
but I get asked a lot becauseI've been doing this since the

(25:26):
beginning with my kids.
Should I homeschool?
I feel like I should homeschool.
And I think people see things onthe internet and they read
things and they automaticallyare like, I need to do that.
And I always tell parents, I'mlike, you really got to think
about it, you got to pray aboutit, and you got to make sure
it's what's right for you.
It's right for us for so manyother reasons than just sticking
it to the school system andgetting our kids out of there.

(25:47):
It also is a schedule that welove.
It works well for my kids.
When my kids go to a park orplayground, they can run off and
find buddies within two minutes.
When we go to the indoor poolsthat we have, they will find the
other kids who are in there andmake friends.
I think too, it's like uh Iwanna I wanna speak to the mom
right now.
I just feel like somebody'slistening who can't afford to do

(26:09):
homeschool right now.
And I want her to know it'sgonna be okay.
You can move your life into adirection that is homeschool,
but it's okay in the meantime.
You can take care of your kids,you can teach them their values,
you can teach them to be a lightin a dark place, but keep moving
the needle forward because thefreedom that homeschool affords
you is worth so much.

(26:30):
Because I feel like that's Ihear that a lot from people.
They're like, but I can't do ityet.
And that's, I know you wanted totalk about this.
Like, there's so many optionsbecause most of us were brought
up in public school and taughtlike doctor, lawyer, teacher,
like what you know, like justthese basic jobs.
We don't know, or we forgetthere's other ways to make money

(26:51):
as a parent.
And like, if you can just keepinching it, nothing happens
overnight.
If you can keep inching yourselftowards that life of freedom in
work, in play, in school, itbecomes this beautiful life that
you were meant to live.

SPEAKER_01 (27:05):
And I can attest to that.
Yeah, I worked for thegovernment for 16 years and I
did not think that I would behomeschooling or even quitting a
government job, just like you.
Like I'm gonna leave thisteaching job with this perfect
schedule.
And it was like, I'm gonna leavea pension.
But yeah, I did.
And the podcast, you know, thatdoesn't make money.
But I just I'm I'm coming outwith a course this week actually

(27:26):
on how to work and homeschoolbased off of talking to all of
you wonderful homeschoolingfamilies and hearing how you do
it and then doing it myself,like putting it together,
walking people through it.
And I know you started your ownbusiness too, so we'll get into
that.
If your kids are still in schoolright now for the rest of the
year, whatever, as long as youtalk to them about that's why I
back the Tuttle Twins book somuch, because it's like, that's

(27:47):
like your kid is in school andbeing exposed to things.
But if you're coming home andreading good books together,
having good conversationstogether, taking walks together,
playing board games together,like you're you can undo any
damage the school system hasdone just through that time.
But, you know, they make us sobusy that we feel like, oh,
well, we have to get to soccerpractice and then we have to do
this on the weekend, and we haveto that way we forget to

(28:09):
actually just be together andyou know, read a book together,
even if they can read.

SPEAKER_00 (28:13):
All right, you read yours and I'll read mine, and
then let's talk about it at theend, or let's read it aloud
together anyway, or it's beingintentional and it's a it's a
lot of what our society hasgotten away from.
And it's funny because you lookonline, and even as a mom, this
can be overwhelming.
You look online and there's amillion ways to get organized,
and there's a thousand differentways to get disciplined.

(28:35):
And and I think sometimes weforget to just keep it simple.
Like, like you said, find a bookyour family can connect on, find
music that you all love andenjoy.
Like I know for us, sometimes,like we love being social, all
of us.
And so sometimes I willintentionally, as a mom, I am
the gatekeeper of our schedule.

(28:56):
Okay.
I will block off a weekend.
Like this weekend, we're havinga family weekend, and we've had
opportunities to go do thingsand invitations, and I love
that.
And I'm grateful we have those.
I'm so grateful.
But sometimes we we just boughtan acreage property two years
ago.
You need to just go run in thedirt and do hard work that makes
you sweat and have the lifelessons and hard conversations

(29:19):
that come along with don't belazy and you have to help.
And this is our family propertyand and and and you go be with
your animals.
And I think I think sometimes wedon't slow down enough to find
the places to be intentional.
But even if you're still walkingthat line of like being in
public school but having a heartto homeschool, don't give up

(29:40):
because the distractions ofsports and all that, it'll keep
you going from year to year, notactually making a change when
really there's jobopportunities, there's other
families homeschooling.
Schooling can be pretty darninexpensive if you want it to
be.
And then you'll get into it andyou'll get hooked on these
curriculums, and you're like,but it's there, there's so many

(30:02):
ways to baby step into it.
So don't let fear keep you fromtrying it.
And I think that's one thing.
I don't know if you found thisas a homeschool mom.
Once you homeschool, you realizehow much power you have over
your family's life routineschedule, public school is gonna
be there.
Private school options are gonnabe there.
Homeschool is gonna be there.
So I always tell people we takeit a year at a time.

(30:24):
How's our family doing?
What's our sports situation?
What's our financial situation?
What's our friend situation?
We take it all a year at a timeand we make the best decision
that works for all of us.

SPEAKER_01 (30:34):
I love that.
And can you talk to us a littlebit about your co-op and like
what that might look like for aparent that isn't homeschooling
yet and are like, oh, well, youknow, just like you said in the
beginning, we have to keep themsocial.
Because I love how you talkedabout we do our co-op and we
love our co-op, but we do wantour schedule back.
And we've done a co-op as well.
And I had to like, I was forcedto teach like gym class.
I'm like, are you kidding?

(30:55):
I was picked last in gym everytime.
So it actually gave me a lot ofanxiety, and we did not do a
co-op again.
But we do different things likeplay groups that meet, you know,
once a week, whether it bedifferent parks or a different
activity going on.
And we go sometimes and we don'tgo sometimes.
And um, you know, just differentfriends that like, okay, well,
these ones meet up every Monday,and so we try to make that.

(31:17):
Oh, but uh there always seems tobe now it's ukulele is on
Wednesdays, and my daughter's ingymnastics, and that's
Thursdays.
So it's like, even without aco-op, and my kids are still
young, like things seep intoyour week, and before you know
it, it's like, oh my goodness,it's a Friday night again.
But can you tell us, like, firstof all, what your co-op days
look like?
Like, what are they learning?

(31:37):
Are they um educational based orare they fun based?
I mean, they those should be thesame thing, right?
Essentially, but you know what Imean.
And like what the differencewhat the difference in the
two-day and the four-day are,and do you have to do extra
things beyond the co-opeducational-wise?

SPEAKER_00 (31:54):
Okay, so let me start with our very first co-op
that we started with.
Um, because we've now done acouple.
So, well, I guess there's beenthree.
Very first, I led something outof my house.
Don't overcomplicate it, youguys.
Oftentimes, if you can't findwhat you're looking for, you're
it.
Okay, you're the answer.
You are meant to create it.
That is that is a common themein my life that I'm like, okay,

(32:17):
we'll just we'll just go do thisthing.
But if what you want doesn'texist, you have the capability
to do it and to put thattogether.
And there's another mom outthere waiting for you to do
that.
So that's number one.
So I did like a preschool co-opat my house.
Um, we got way more organizedover the course of two years of
doing this.
That that was great, you guys.
We did you can do it twice amonth or four times a month.

(32:40):
If you do it every week, highlyrecommend doing one week that is
a field trip week or park day,so you don't get overwhelmed
having to host at your houseevery week.
I did topics.
So I sat down over summertimeand we did like marine animals
one month.
We did farm the next month, wedid write topicals.
And then I had a mom who was amath mom, a science mom, a

(33:04):
craft, and then a snack mom.
Anyway, so these moms would planbased off the topic and
calendar.
I came up with all theactivities.
So then I got to lead like song,music, all the stuff at the
beginning, and then they wouldgo into their little things.
And it was fun because we kindof started getting a feel.
Because, gosh, when I startedthis, my daughter was probably

(33:27):
two and my son was four.
And so we got a feel for theages of the kids, and the moms
would cater the lessons to thatage.
And so that was really coolbecause they would make harder
math and easier math and whatnotan option for mamas out there
looking for something, but itdoesn't exist yet.
We did a public school, I wantto say sponsored, it was through

(33:48):
a charter school, but publicschool funded homeschool
program.
That was not the best fit forus.
It was one fun day a week, allday on a Friday, because it was
a classical style program.
And so it was fine inkindergarten.
And then it the next year whenmy son went to go back, I was
like, you guys are listening tosomeone read a book for 45
minutes.
Like, this is not fun.

(34:09):
And so I wanted his fun day awayto be fun and not classical
style.
I like some of the classicalstyle curriculum, not for our
fun day.
We are a fun, very active familythat was not a good fit for us.
And so we left there.
Now where we're at, it's reallymore of a hybrid school.
When I say co-op, it's because Ilove being up there helping and

(34:29):
because it feels like family.
It really more is a hybridschool.
So it's a small environment.
They have like kinder firstcombined, second, third, fourth,
fifth.
And I think I believe they goall the way up to sophomores in
high school.
Okay.
So we have teachers.
You can go two days a week orfour days a week.
All of those are academic.
So right now we go two days aweek on so Monday, Wednesday,

(34:51):
our kids go from 8:30 to 1.30.
And I get I get a calendar fromthe teachers.
So if somebody is wanting tobaby step in homeschool, but
they're concerned they won't doa good job picking out
curriculum, or they're busy andthey are trying to work from
home, and it's not necessarily ajob you can zip in and out of,
this is a great option.
And so, and our co-op is veryflexible because if one semester

(35:15):
they're doing two days a weekand then you're like, they
really want to be there four,they'll they'll work with you
and let you do that.
They offer after school specialsfor an hour from 1:30 to 2:30,
and they can do art, music,cooking, they have PE classes,
like whatever the parents aroundwant to come teach.
Um, we're not doing any of thosecurrently because we get really

(35:37):
busy with sports, and my kidsalso raise goats.
And so I'm like, you got to gethome and help with tours and
baby goat life and all thethings.
But yeah, that's there's so manyoptions out there once you start
exploring them.

SPEAKER_01 (35:50):
Yeah, absolutely.
I I love hearing about all thedifferent options too.
So I was excited to get intothat with you.
Um, okay, and then how are youbalancing working?
You said that you started abusiness.
What do you want to talk aboutthat a little bit and how you
balance that with the rest ofit?

SPEAKER_00 (36:06):
Sure, I would love to.
So my husband has a homeinspection business.
He started that uh the weekbefore I got pregnant with my
daughter.
So we have had that businessnow, oh my gosh, eight years,
nine years.
We've had that a long time.
I have always bounced in and outof different things.
When I was home, my husband'slike, I really need you to make
like 500 bucks a month.
I'm like, okay, we can do this.
So when my son was a baby, Isold clothing with a network

(36:29):
marketing company, and I it justhappened to hit that at the
right time, and it was a hugeblessing for our family.
Um, I would stay up late and dolive sales and pictures and work
during nap time.
And then, long story short, Ijumped into having my own
clothing boutique from home,which was really, really fun.
Um, it was kind of the jobeverybody's like, I want to do
that.
Really fun, but it was a lot.

(36:50):
I was shipping orders, runningmy website, keeping my
accounting stuff.
I was the buyer.
I was going to shows on theweekend to sell.
And so when we got, it was alot.
It's not just, oh, you get cutefree clothes.
Like it was a lot.
And so when we bought our ruralproperty, I my husband and I
just looked at each other andwe're like, I think we're done.

(37:11):
We don't necessarily need thisfinancially right now.
And I want to be home on theweekends, like with our animals,
with you guys.
I don't want to be racing toanother show to set up because I
had a mobile boutique.
So we had turned a camper into aboutique.
Um, I was like, I don't want todo that, you know, and I I
didn't want to be married to mywebsite like constantly on my

(37:31):
computer.
So I sold my clothing boutiqueand then I started with a
network marketing company.
I said I would never do that.
I thought it was so cringy.
I thought it was a step downfrom having my own brand, my own
thing.
My ego was like so in my head.
What are people gonna think ofme?

SPEAKER_01 (37:47):
It is the biggest what is network marketing?
What is that?

SPEAKER_00 (37:51):
Okay, so network marketing means that you use
your network to market to.
So right now, I work for ashampoo company called Monate.
But you guys, I am a networker.
I love helping moms findcommunity.
I am around people all the time.
We're at the playground, we'reat the co-op, we're at sports,
I'm always doing snacks andhelping other people at church

(38:12):
and whatnot.
So in network marketing, I getto just promote promote the
shampoo that I love, and youmake money from that.
And I coach women in business.
So I lead a team of women allover the country who also do the
same thing.
It is a great fit for me becausemy husband and I, this a whole
other side of us that we haven'teven delved into, but we love

(38:33):
doing life debt-free.
And it is my life's passion tohelp other families be debt-free
because I see the shackles thatdebt puts on you.
And I see that it keeps you fromthings that offer freedom, like
wanting to quit your job andstart a business, like wanting
to homeschool, like having momsstay at home.
So I love helping people finddebt freedom.

(38:54):
So I had already spent so manyyears helping women start
businesses and make a little bitof money from home and work
through their budgets.
So now doing network marketing,it is this beautiful merging of
getting to sell a fun productand getting to coach women on
how to do a business from home.
And I'm not a lot of people onInstagram will show you how

(39:15):
pretty their life is and howunchaotic and how whatever.
And I hear from people all thetime, Ash, you're busy.
And I'm like, yeah, that's it isa beautiful, busy, full life.
And that's what I always tellpeople.
It's not without chaos behindthe scenes sometimes.
We're you know this working andhomeschooling is not for the
faint of heart.
It is you move schedules around,you're I think the lie is that

(39:38):
we always have a balanced life,right?
And that's not true.
Sometimes you're pouring a lotmore into your business, and
homeschool is just gettingschool done, right?
And then go play.
And sometimes you're doing thesegreat field trips and you're
starting a co-op and you'redoing all these wonderful
things, but you're not making asmuch in your business.
And I think learning how to beokay, that life ebbs and flows

(40:00):
in different seasons is the keyto being able to work as a
homeschool mom.

SPEAKER_01 (40:04):
Yeah, I definitely agree with that because, you
know, I do put the homeschool,like the bookwork.
I'll say the bookwork.
That's on our back burner.
But my kids are seven and three.
So, like my three-year-old, wedon't do anything.
I mean, like I'll ask her to betoday, what's that letter?
You know, that's the extent ofour book work.
It's not that we're sitting downwith an open book.

(40:25):
It's just like there's a letteron the wall.
Hey, what's that one?
You know, let's see what sheknows.
Yeah, yeah.
Or I'll be playing a game withmy son and she wants to learn
how to play.
So it's okay, well, we'recounting this part, you know, so
it's like within life.
And that's homeschool, you know.
But I I don't think until we getthat mind shift in people that
like that is enough.

(40:45):
You don't need, you can do theother stuff as long as your kids
like it.
It's not like you're failing ifyou do it.
Wonderful if they enjoy it.
But if they don't, there's noneed because even the pro like I
had Dr.
Peter Gray who wrote Free toLearn on my podcast a couple
weeks ago.
And he's just his kids and helike did so much research on
what kids learn when they learn.

(41:06):
And it's like, they'll learnanything they want to learn if
they want to learn it.
You just provide the tools tomaybe facilitate how to get
there when they're young andteach them how to do it.
But it yeah, and and my son,it's like, okay, do we have time
today?
We got 45 minutes today.
All right, let's do some, youknow, reading and some math.
And if not, he's still learningall day long.
And like you said, when you'regoing to these homeschool

(41:29):
things, like last week, it wasthe group that we meet with,
they met at a thing that I neverwould have gotten tickets to.
I mean, they were free tickets.
It was at this thing in Albany,New York called the Egg.
So it's just kind of like a coolbuilding itself.
It's down at the Capitol.
So even just like teaching themlike, well, we have to find
parking.
And that sign says we can't wecan't park for more than two
hours.
So now we gotta go look forsomething else.

(41:50):
And, you know, showing them howthat process works and then
finding the location and thenthe show, I it was odd.
But um it was a cool experienceand something I never would have
done on my own.
So that's what I do love aboutlike the co-op slash groups that
you know, play groups that meetup, or they'll go to a park that
I never would have done on myown, or they'll go on a nature
trail I never would have done.

(42:10):
So I do love it for that too.
And it's like there are staplesin our week that I always make
sure, you know, my work is setaside.
We're doing those staples.
If you have like friends thatyou want to meet up with every
Monday, we're making sure thatwe do that.
But if, you know, if I have todo work and you'd rather I don't
know, they'd rather me, I don'tI don't even know what.

SPEAKER_00 (42:32):
I want to camp out there for a second though,
because this is something that Ithink people will people will
look and they'll almost maybethey won't make you feel guilty.
Maybe you feel guilty becauseyou're like, I'm trying to work
and like I should just dig intomy kids all the time.
I I have found because my kidsare a little bit older, they're
nine and seven.
We have conversations all thetime of you know what, like we

(42:55):
work as a team, at it, like evenwhen we're walking out the door,
putting our shoes on.
All right, team, let's go.
Because we do work as a team.
And in order for a team to work,sometimes the focus is on a
different player a little bitmore during practice, right?
Somebody's got the ball atdifferent points during the
game.
And so sometimes I will tell mykids, and this might sound
harsh, but I'll say it's notabout you right now.

(43:17):
I'm doing, like I also started awomen's ministry a year ago.
We put on our first conferencelast fall.
It became bigger than anything Ihad in mind, which is such a
blessing.
God is so good, but now I havethis and I love it and it's
wonderful.
But now I have meetings to setup our next conference, and I'm
making sure I have that emailand those books and all the, you
know, all the things that gointo having a nonprofit done.

(43:39):
And I'll tell the kids, I'mgoing to a coffee meeting.
It's not about you right now.
So if you need help on yourwork, you're gonna have to wait
a minute and do one of the otheractivities you brought with you.
But then this afternoon, when wego to the park, it's about you.
And I will push you on theswings and we'll grab an ice
cream and we'll play with ourfriends, and it's gonna be about
you.
And tonight you have soccerpractice.
Well, that's about You, theentire family switched around

(44:02):
our dinner time and got out thehouse for you.
So you can show that samerespect back to mom and dad when
we have a work engagement.
And I think growing up with kidswho are entrepreneurs, and this
doesn't have to just beentrepreneur parents, it's just
our case.
Man, you teach them that mutualrespect that like the world does
not revolve just around you.
And I think that's a really biglesson there for kids because

(44:26):
that's going to be the rest oftheir life.
But man, when it is about you,we're all here to cheer you on,
get out the door on time, makesure the snacks are packed, and
like let's go.
And I I love that.
And it's kind of taken some ofthe guilt away from me that like
I'm just a person who is livingout the assignment on my life
too.
And we're all doing our best tofulfill each other's assignments

(44:47):
together.
Love that.

SPEAKER_01 (44:48):
I love that.
And I I'm I'm gonna reword itlike that to my kids because
yes, that makes so much sense.
Even yeah, and the example thatI was trying to think of
earlier, I was recording a videofor the Tuttle twins.
It is the way that we, you know,make some extra money so that we
have the money to do the thingslike the a tri a couple days in
Florida that didn't come out ofdad's paycheck, that came out of

(45:11):
mom's.
And so it's like my son wantedto, he wanted me to go outside
because he made a track for hisremote control vehicle.
And I was like, I can't rightnow.
I'm recording.
I will do it later.
Oh, but mom, it's gonna be deadlater.
I was like, all right, well,charge the thing up now and I
don't go outside and stare at methrough the window.
I don't know what you want todo.
But now is not the time I cancome out, and I should have worn
it like that.

(45:31):
And I I'm gonna start because Ilove that.
It's not about you right now,it's about me.
We have and I I try to get up at5 30 every morning, but you
know, you get up at 5 30 andthere's dishes that still need
to get done, and there's laundrythat still needs to get put
away.
And it's like, ah, so, or likeyou get to the thing you need to
do, and then four other thingsjust pop up, and then you forgot

(45:51):
what you even got up at 5 30 todo.
Let's that is life, and they arelearning by watching you do all
that.

SPEAKER_00 (45:58):
And as they get older, I will I will tell you
this like my husband and I justhad this conversation this
morning before the kids got up.
It does get easier.
Like as they can do more, likewe did a family work day outside
yesterday.
They helped paint this part ofthe chicken coop we needed to
repair, they helped drive thefour-wheeler down to the brush
pile to haul sticks, like thingsthey can't quite do yet in your

(46:21):
season, you're gonna blink andthey're there.
And so it's I very much lovethat you get up early though,
because I always tell moms, ifyou homeschool, you've got to
find that time first thing inthe morning for yourself.
I religiously have gotten up inthe five o'clock hour since
before I had kids, right?
And it ebbs and flows whenthey're babies and you don't get
a good night's sleep.
But that time to fill your cupbefore everyone else gets up

(46:45):
allows you to be more patient,allows you to be more present,
and it allows you to like getorganized.
Like I keep a notebook by myselfin the or by my in the morning
while I'm either drinkingcoffee, reading my Bible, or
working out or whatever, becauseit's a juggle to get all that
done, right?
It doesn't always happen everymorning.
But I'm like, what do I need tonot forget?
What do I need to not forget?

(47:05):
And I like religiously havethese notepads because when I
feel more organized and likeI've got my stuff together, like
I'm a better mom, I'm a betterteacher.
And sometimes it's just chaotic.
And you know what?
That just they will understandthat when they're a parent one
day.

SPEAKER_01 (47:21):
Sometimes that's just like yes, and I and I'm
working too on like thatself-regulation, not letting my
emotions like pop out of mymouth.
We all are, sister.
We all are.
Even that is teaching my kidsbecause when I do it, and it
used to be more, but like yousaid, they get older too.
And I think my son has justmaybe matured a little bit.

(47:43):
Yeah.
Um, you know, and it's okay, I'msorry.
I shouldn't have exploded on youlike that.
I am very frustrated.
And I think my son saidsomething to me last week.
I asked him, I said, When we gethome, you have to go put away
your clothes because he hidesthem in his closet and they look
like they're in a they lookdirty.
They're in so the one day I tookthem back out and put them in
the washer because he's hidinghis clothes in the closet in a

(48:03):
dirty camper.
So I'm like, you gotta do that.
And he said, I can't wait tillI'm an adult and I just like
lost it.
I was like, Do you know how muchmore fun it is to be a kid, a
homeschooled kid, no less.
And I like lost it out of.

SPEAKER_00 (48:16):
But listen, we have had many of these same episodes
in our house.
And my newest thing is great,I'm so glad you think that'll be
fun.
Let's go learn how to use thewasher.
And then I make them do it.
And I tell them anytime they'rehaving a day like that, where
they're like, ugh, I'm like, youare welcome to cook your meals
and wash your clothes and do theday.
I think we've lost some of thattoo.

(48:37):
I think the schools have lost alittle bit of that
accountability on both ways forteachers, for kids, for like
people in general, have lost theaccountability that like we need
to respect the people takingcare of us, writing our
paychecks, the people takingcare of our meals, right, for
our kids.
And I think it's okay to callthem out on that and say, like,
you, you know what, you can,you're seven, you can make a PB

(49:00):
and J on your own.
And if that's what you wouldlike to eat for the next week,
I'm happy to abandon what I'mdoing and you can do you, buddy.
And I think when you're I alwaystell people, when you're a
homeschool parent, you don'thave whether I I think it would
be a very difficult thing tohave.
I'm sure some people almost feellike it's a luxury.

(49:20):
You don't have the luxury ofhaving a hard morning and then
they go off for the day and youcan kind of decompress.
You don't get that time.
And so I remember I started justsaying having my kids sit down
in separate rooms and I wouldwalk away because I would just
need that time to decompress fortwo minutes to calm my head,
calm the words that wanted tofly out of my mouth so badly.

(49:42):
But then I would have to explainto them why it made me so upset,
what was wrong.
And I do feel like all of thosehard days, all of those lessons
have turned into really maturekids because we had to discuss
it and we had to get to theother side of the hard
conversation.
And that's one of the mostbeautiful things that I think
can happen for a family ishaving to work through the hard

(50:05):
together.

SPEAKER_01 (50:06):
Yeah, absolutely.
Ashley, the hour is running up.
This has been such a coolconversation from beginning to
end.
Is there any like parting wordsthat you want to leave parents
with or any like shampoo youwant to tell us about?
And I can link anything in theshow's description too.
But any, what would you like toleave us with?

SPEAKER_00 (50:26):
Oh my gosh, you're so sweet.
Well, I will say, please followme on Instagram.
My handle is Mrs.
Mrs Ashley Martinez.
Very simple.
I've got a link tree I'll sendyou to.
If you guys want the shampoo,it's amazing.
I went down this rabbit trail ofcleaner products when I started
using this.
My hair was so fine and thinthat I couldn't do anything to

(50:48):
grow it.
And so now I'm like, the factthat it's even like past my
shoulders is such a win for me.
So if you want great products,like I'm happy to help you.
If you want to make money fromhome, that is like that is my
expertise, you guys.
And that is what I do prettymuch is coach other homeschool
moms on how to make money fromhome, but how to do it in a way
that aligns with your familytime-wise.

(51:10):
Um, and then if you keepfollowing me, I haven't really
announced this to the world yet,but there are really, really
exciting things coming for afuture business for my husband
and I this year.
I don't want to give away allthe secrets, but um, it is very
legacy-minded.
Last summer, we had a familymember pass away all of a
sudden.
Um, he was in his 40s, leftbehind two boys, and it really

(51:32):
woke us up to that.
Families need to have a plan.
Families need to make sure theyhave a will lined out, they have
plans for their kids, they haveaccess to bank accounts.
You are sharing that stuff thatthere's, you know, communication
with your jobs.
And so we are developingsomething that is going to help
families be prepared foranything.

(51:53):
If your husband needs the Wi-Fipassword and doesn't know it,
it's in this.
If you, if somethingunexpectedly happens to both of
you, this is an open and closedguide that somebody could
literally look at your wholelife and have a roadmap.
And so, anyway, that is like thefirst time I'm speaking that out
past just friends and family,but it is coming very soon.

(52:13):
So follow me for when that comesout.

SPEAKER_01 (52:15):
No, I that is so wise.
And I've thought about that too.
Like we try to keep an envelopein our gun cabinet, but it's
like, well, if somethinghappened to both of us, who the
hell is getting in the guncabinet?
They they don't know thepasswords.
Yeah.
So yeah, and it's like, okay,then who's taking the kid?
And both of you know who's who'sgetting custody of the kids?
God forbid something happened toboth of us.

(52:35):
Not that we go anywheretogether, but if we ever one day
go on a date, well, what wouldyou do?
You got this today is coming.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And it's and then it's alsolike, okay, we have, you know,
an account set up for the kidsfor this, for each child, but
then grandma also has one.
And you know, like, we're notgonna remember that when they're
18.
So is there a place to put allthe information for all the

(52:58):
accounts set up to for that?
Yeah, I love this idea.
I love this, loves this, loveit.
Ashley, thank you so much.
I'll link everything in theshow's description if anybody
wants to check that out.
Thank you so much for being heretoday.

SPEAKER_00 (53:10):
Cheryl, thank you for having me.
This was just such a wonderfulconversation and props to you
for having all these families onand just sharing because I think
a lot of people need thatreinforcement before they can
take the jump.
And so I love how you just givethem all the resources.
So thank you for letting me be apart of it.

SPEAKER_01 (53:28):
Thank you.
And thank you for reschedulingbecause I had contacted her the
day before we were supposed toschedule.
And I was like, I'm sorry, we'reputting our dog down and we want
to take him to the beach onelast time.
So you reschedule for me, and hegot to go to the it wasn't the
ocean, like he's you know, weused to take him to Maine every
year.
Oh wow.
But we took him to the statepark, so he did.
He went to the he couldn'treally walk.
I thought he would walk in thewater.

(53:49):
He didn't, but he laid on thesand and he got an ice cream
cone.
So that's a good look forrescheduling.

SPEAKER_00 (53:54):
Oh my gosh, of course.

SPEAKER_01 (53:56):
Thank you for listening to the Homeschool How
To Podcast.
If today's episode helped you,please be sure to follow the
show and leave a review.
It's the best way to support thepodcast.
And if you're just gettingstarted or need a reset, head to
thehomeschoolhouttu.com and grabmy free 30-day homeschool quick
start guide.
Until next time, keep learning,keep questioning, and thank you
for your love of the nextgeneration.