April 1, 2025 • 32 mins
"We want our homeschool to be life-giving, not a prison of checklists." ~ Zan Tyler
Discover how to transform your homeschool into a vibrant and life-giving environment with renowned homeschool advocate Zan Tyler. Zan joins host Kristi Clover to discuss overcoming the fear of educational gaps, the power of experiential learning, and finding freedom in your homeschooling journey. Get inspired to shake things up and incorporate creativity and joy in your home education.
Support the Schoolhouse Rocked Ministry
Has the Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast been a blessing to you? Support from our listeners allows us provide resources, support, and encouragement to homeschooling families around the world. Would you please consider a year-end gift to support the Schoolhouse Rocked ministry?
Recommended Resources:
Free Download – When Homeschooling Gets Hard
Seven Tools for Cultivating Your Child’s Potential, by Zan Tyler
Free Copy of Sanity Savers for Moms, by Kristi Clover – Use Coupon Code ROCKED20
More from Zan Tyler on the Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast
More from Kristi Clover on the Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast
📚📖 Ready to start homeschooling? 🏠📓
🍿 Stream Schoolhouse Rocked: The Homeschool Revolution 🍿 for FREE today and get the 📖 Homeschool Survival Kit 📖 delivered to your inbox immediately!
❤️ ❤️ ❤️ Are you in need of a fresh vision for your homeschool? Join us for 4 days of Homeschool Encouragement at the Homegrown Generation Family Expo. Use the coupon code PODCAST to save 25% on registration today!
Be the most popular mom in your co-op. Get your Schoolhouse Rocked merch here.
SPONSORS:
Apologia is a Christ-centered, award-winning homeschool curriculum provider. Our mission is to help homeschooling students and families learn, live, and defend the Christian faith through our print and digital curriculum and online classes.
BJU Press Homeschool is dedicated to providing homeschool families with academically strong curriculum rooted in a biblical worldview. They offer a complete curriculum from preschool through 12th grade, available in both traditional textbooks and video courses. By teaching through the lens of Christ’s power, they help students view the world through the transformative story of God’s creation
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I wake up one day and I tell theLord, OK, I'm obviously an
abysmal failure at this, and so I'm going to try to do
homeschooling the right way. So I take the kids downstairs.
It's like I put on my Army Sergeant drill hat and I blew
this whistle. And I read them these directions
and I say, this is what you willdo today.
(00:21):
You know, this just shows. I just didn't know.
Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
I'm Christy Clover and I am so excited to be your host for this
week. And I have none other than the
lovely Zan Tyler on the show today.
And we're going to be discussinghow not to have a boring
homeschool. We are actually going to be
(00:43):
talking about how to bring life into your homeschool.
So you are going to love it. Do not miss out on this.
And 1st I want to introduce us to the sponsor of our
conversation which is CTC Math. If you're looking for a math
program that truly works, CTC Math has you covered.
They offer easy to follow video lessons, step by step solutions,
(01:04):
and interactive practice with courses from kindergarten to
calculus. It's an all in one solution for
students of all ages. Parents love the progress
tracking and kids enjoy the self-paced learning.
Here's a testimonial from Penny in New York.
She said since using CTC Math, my daughter has stopped
stressing over math and I find her actually enjoying it.
(01:26):
Thank you so much for all that you've done to help her.
Find successinthesubjectshehatedbutnowenjoyssignuptodayfor@ctcmath.com
and start your free trial. CTC Math Math made easy.
All right my friends. So I get to bring onto the
screen my beautiful friend Zan Tyler.
Now Zan and I have actually beenfriends.
(01:47):
I calculated it out for almost 10 years now.
And. I know it's amazing.
I did the math. I was like Zan and I met that
one blogging conference and I was like timing it out to when
everything hit and I was like, it's been.
Ten years. So hard to believe.
Forever. So, so fun.
(02:07):
Well, I can give all these like wonderful examples.
I mean, you're a homeschool pioneer.
You're an advocate for homeschool freedom.
You do speaking and writing and you work at BJU.
But how about you tell us a little bit about yourself and
kind of what makes you tick? You know.
That's a deeper conversation. Yes, really.
Probably the most important thing to tell you about myself
(02:30):
is that I homeschooled my kids for 21 years and you know, the
most homeschooling is the most glorious thing I think you can
do if you when you love your kids, it's the hardest thing.
You know, there's nothing easy about it, but it is glorious.
So that would be the first thingI would say is that we had, you
(02:52):
know, I just loved my kids. I loved that time with them.
And we'll talk about that a little bit more as time goes on.
Joe and I have been married for many, many years.
My husband is my best friend andsort of my partner in crime with
all of this. And, and now that you know, I,
we finished homeschooling into, we started in 1984 when I was
(03:13):
threatened with jail and then wefinished in 2005.
And so I have been involved for another 2020 years.
Really, I'm in the homeschoolingmovement and I would probably
have to say I'm more committed to homeschooling now more than
ever. Because when you're not, when
you're in the middle of homeschooling, you're in the
(03:34):
throes of it. It's hard to see the bigger
picture sometimes of the fabulous things that are
happening with your kids educationally or spiritually or
socially, all of those things, and you don't have time for a
lot of reflection. But now that I'm away from being
in the trenches every day, I I can reflect a lot more and I can
watch you and your family and other homeschool moms and just
(03:56):
say, for lack of a better word, the magic that happens in your
home when you're homeschooling. Awful.
You're, I think everybody needs a Zan in their life because you
always are like you're doing great.
You're doing amazing. You're like, OK, I can do it
because Zan told me to. Oh, well, if anyone can like
(04:19):
again, you're talking about reflection and I think that's so
great because I really do want to talk about, I mean, yes,
don't have a boring homeschool. Yes, it's OK for kids to be
bored, but we don't necessarily want homeschooling to be boring.
But really the bigger picture ishow to create a life giving
home. So I kind of wanted to talk to
you about that today because I think people get so racked up in
(04:40):
in the checklist, you know, there might be gaps if I take a
break, what do I have to do? What can I, you know, push back
on do it? You know, so that's kind of what
I wanted to talk to you about today.
And so figured we could kick it off with maybe just talking
about those gaps because when wethink about creating a more life
giving home that sometimes are at home school, that often means
(05:01):
that we have to allow gaps. So can you kind of talk about,
you know, what are some of your advice for what to let go of and
what to hold on to? Sure.
And then and at one point we'll talk about I think the two most
important days in my life in terms of gaining freedom in our
home school to not worry about gaps, to not worry about those
things. And I'm not talking about
(05:23):
constitutional freedom to home school.
I'm talking about the freedom toreally enjoy our kids.
But I will never forget sitting in my first college class.
I went to Furman University. It was very academic college,
and I had gone to an excellent high school and graduated near
the top of my class with 650 kids.
(05:43):
And I remember sitting in that classroom and thinking, nobody
prepared me for this. And I thought I had studied
hard. I had worked hard.
And so I just think gaps are a part of life.
There is no school teacher who could teach, can teach a child
(06:05):
1/4 grader everything they need to know.
There is no English teacher thatcan teach a child everything
they need to know. And so I think as homeschool
moms, we, we have these, I don'tknow, these things that cause us
to lose sleep at night. And gaps is one of them.
You know, I, I could remember when we started homeschooling,
people would say, is it legal? What about socialization?
(06:29):
What about the prom? And what about physics?
And I'm saying, hey, you know, they're six and four.
Can you give me a little bit of a break here?
You know, and you do it bit by bit and bite by bite and, and
it's amazing. But I, so I would tell kid, I
would tell parents, don't worry about the gaps.
I remember one time I was reallyworried about the things my kids
(06:52):
weren't learning in science. And so I hired a tutor and this
tutor went through this 6th grade science book with the boys
for six weeks, covered the wholescience book.
And The funny thing was he said,Mrs. Tyler, do you teach your
boys the same thing? I said I do.
(07:13):
He said, do you use the same book?
I said I do. And he said you would never
know. They've been sitting in the same
classroom from what the two of them know and don't know.
And, you know, it's just the difference in the way they learn
a difference in what they're interested in.
And I needed for him to say thatto me.
And and so, you know, with homeschooling, it's kind of easy
(07:36):
to pick up the gaps. You know, the, the thing we
don't want gaps and we don't want gaps in our kids faith and
we don't want gaps in their joy.We don't want gaps in their
relationships. Not that all of those things are
going to be perfect in your home.
I don't mean that. But as homeschooling moms, we
get to focus on those things. You know, we get to focus on
(07:56):
their faith. We get to focus on our
relationship with them, their ability to serve others, what
they're interested in. And so I think when you have
that type of life, giving home agap in science or history or
grammar is really pretty easy tofeel.
Okay, so here's my favorite story and then I will let you
(08:19):
talk. I'm.
Good. So, you know, by by the time my
daughter had gone to college, I had written two books and I had
worked for a publisher some because she was in high school
and very independent. And we sit there and do our work
together. And grammar was so important to
me. Editing was so important to me.
(08:39):
Although there's a lot more to writing than editing.
I could not get this child interested in grammar to save
her life. Now she had won.
She had won money for creative essays and recipes and all these
are very personable. She had been any, I mean, but
did she want to know the mechanics of grammar?
(09:02):
No. So she goes to college.
She's majoring in media communications, and she has this
professor who says if you learn how to edit, you'll always have
a job. If you have little kids or big
kids or just want something extra on the side, you'll always
have a job. So.
So in one semester, she learned everything she needed to know
about being a professional editor.
(09:23):
And you know, that was an obvious gap and I tried to fill
it to no avail. Then she goes to college and has
1 teacher who totally fills the gap in less than a semester and
she's used that as a skill ever since she's been in college and
out of college so. Oh my goodness, I love it.
(09:45):
No, because it's and it it is almost funny that you know, to
our best like when other people say things, they're like light
bulb and you're like, but but I was saying that.
Yes. Listen to me.
Yes, yeah, that's right. You can say it sometimes 1000
times and but I really do feel like that's just firewood that
(10:08):
the Holy Spirit lays up in theirheart.
And so when the right person comes along, or the right idea
or the right circumstance, they,like, you know it, just the Holy
Spirit just lights a little firein their heart and gets that
flame blade blazing too. I love it and I think that's
what we ultimately need to thinkabout too, is that number one, I
have gaps in my education. I was in home school.
(10:31):
You know, I have gaps in all kinds of things.
And if it's interesting, I fill the gap as an adult, I choose to
fill the gap that's. Right.
Yeah. And the big thing like #2 I
guess would be that we know the ultimate gap filler.
So if it's something they need to know and that's important for
them to to have going forward inlife, God knows and he's going
(10:54):
to bring about if you forget, it's okay, He doesn't.
And he will bring about the right people to speak into our
kids, the right circumstances, the right motivation.
Sometimes that's the bigger issue is that they're just like,
yeah, it's it's not fun. Like I always hear stories about
people talking about how, you know, there's their daughter
decided to go into this major like, but you don't like math.
(11:17):
And then, but suddenly math has meaning.
And so then they focus. And like you said, with grammar,
same thing. It's like when it has a
different purpose than the motivation changes.
That's right. You know, I think about my two,
my two sons and my middle son wanted to be a doctor.
And Ty, we either knew he was going to be a salesman or a
(11:38):
preacher. Whatever he did, he was going to
make his living with his mouth and his personality, you know.
And so science really, we knew that they were both college
bound. That's not the case for
everybody. But with what they wanted to do,
I knew they needed it at this point.
They needed a college at that point in their lives.
They needed a college education.And so, so we had, they had done
(12:00):
their four years of science, andI probably had emphasized it
more with John than with Ty, because John loves science.
He wanted to be a doctor. Ty was not.
He just didn't care that much about math or science.
Great speaker, great, you know, great in the language arts.
And so as it turns out, John goes to law school and Ty was a
(12:25):
medical device salesman and had to go up to Boston and take this
course that all these doctors have to take to pass medical
school to be this. And then I looked at time.
I said I guess I just didn't payyou enough.
Right, because that's the ultimate motivator for home
school. Do your work and I'll give you a
dollar broke. Yeah, that's not exactly.
(12:51):
I'll give you a dollar and we'llgo towards food.
So, but you know, he had a family, you know, and now, so
this is meaning something to himand he had an aptitude too.
So it's just, it's funny how your kids grow and, and what
they're interested in today is not what they're be interested
(13:13):
in in 10 years. But I still think there's great
freedom and power in letting them pursue their interests and
letting them, you know, just experience life because they are
going to get it when they need it.
Oh yeah, absolutely. Well, the other thing that
because I think we listened to the lie, like kind of what's
kind of can be kind of lead to aboring homeschool is when we're
(13:34):
just following that checklist and just getting things done.
And we keep it all about that. And so we're afraid of gaps and
we're afraid of falling behind. But what are some what are some
ways to speak into that parent who is afraid that being
creative and taking field trips because that means a day without
getting things done. So how would you speak into that
(13:55):
just to kind of encourage mom? So I'm going to go back because
this is what we do when we talk,Christy, I'm going to go back
and give you the background of why I think this.
And it was because the first year we homeschooled, there was
this crazy law that said that I had to use a curriculum that a
public or private school in my district was using.
(14:16):
I wasn't free to choose and but there was a Christian School and
there was a curriculum that I could use.
So unsuited for my son Ty. It was unbelievable.
Doesn't mean it was bad, it justwas not right for him.
But I was stuck and every morning I would read something
like this in the teacher's manual.
Now this is just kindergarten orGrade 1 and and it's have your
(14:38):
kids sit with your feet on theirdesk and their their feet on the
floor and their hands on the desk and look you in the eye and
raise up your hand. You know, there's no curriculum
for homeschoolers and it's all classroom curriculum.
And so, so we never had a day like that.
Ty was not that type of kid who was going to sit there and do
that. So I just remember I had been
(15:00):
homeschooling. I didn't know anybody in the
world who was homeschooling whenwe started.
So we've been homeschooling for about 6 months.
And so now it's like February orMarch and I wake up one day and
I tell the Lord, OK, I'm obviously an abysmal failure at
this. And so I'm going to try to do
homeschooling the right way. So I take the kids downstairs.
(15:20):
It's like I put on my Army Sergeant drill hat and I blew
this whistle and I read them these directions and I say, this
is what you will do today. And you are going to be still
and tie. You're going to raise your hand
when you have something to say. You're not going to interrupt
me. You're not going to color while
I'm talking. You're not going to play with
your cards. And for heaven's sakes, you're
(15:41):
not going to bounce that ball that's always going over here.
And so, you know, this just shows I just didn't know.
And so it was so miserable. Now John, my 4 year old just had
this amazing gift of concentration even at 4.
But he was Ty was upset. I mean Ty never said 2 words.
(16:02):
Ty talked all day long and we enjoyed being together, not
engaged at all. John the four year old was a
mess because he didn't his brother was a mess.
You know, he was just wanted everybody to be happy.
And so I, I just, I said, OK, Lord, if this is homeschooling,
I can't do it and I need to quit.
And I know there are people out there that feel that way.
(16:25):
Like, and so about a week or so later, I went to this little toy
store to buy a birthday present for the kids and they had the
brio train set, you know, where they can play because we
couldn't afford one. And, and, and I started reading
this book. They had this great book nook
and called growing up learning. And he said, and, and I mean,
(16:46):
for most of your audience, this is old news, but for me, this
was Independence Day. He said your kids learn in one
of three ways, auditory, kinesthetic and visual.
They learn by seeing, hearing and talking or moving and doing.
And he said woe to the auditory kinesthetic kid who learns by
talking and moving because thoseare unacceptable activities in a
(17:08):
classroom. Now, this is not a homeschool
person at all. He said if you can get them out
of school, they make the biggest, you know, usually the
biggest successes in life. And, and then he just talked
about the class. He talked about this graduate
student. And he said this.
He said she spent all of her time being when she had to be
(17:29):
still and focused in the classroom.
She said it took all of her energy because she was auditory
kinesthetic. And if she could move and talk,
she could learn. But if she had to be still, all
of her focus was going going into being still and quiet and
she couldn't learn anything. And I'm having these Ding Ding
Ding Ding Ding moments and the sirens going off and I'm
thinking, Ford, you made tie. You made him an auditory
(17:53):
kinesthetic learner. You made him to learn by moving
and talking. And that explains why he
couldn't say 2 words to me the day I made him sit still and
quiet. And so really, I call that
Independence Day in our home school because I was free to be
who God made him to be, not who I made him to be.
(18:16):
But I had felt so much guilt forthat because I felt like it was
my fault. Now, I'm not saying a child
never needs to sit still and be quiet.
So hear me, I'm not saying that.But that is not how Ty learned
on a daily basis. And that was the beauty of
homeschooling for him. Oh, I I agree because that was
(18:36):
such a big thing. I because I, I probably heard
that from you at homeschool convention.
I went to it was first starting out, but I, I remember because
my two older boys, we did a fullyear of kindergarten in public
school and pulled out my kindergartner and 1st grader at
that point from public school about 8 weeks in.
(18:57):
And that first I remember because Grant, my oldest was,
you know, thriving in school, but he was so far ahead in some
areas, he was bored. And so, like, I was noticing
that he was starting to not focus on stuff because he was so
bored. Like, well, we can bump them up
to be with the 3rd and 4th graders and like, yeah, no, that
(19:17):
doesn't sound like a great idea.And then with Blake, because
Blake is a kinesthetic learner. And so that was really
difficult. He's a, you know, visual
kinesthetic learner. So being talked at did not help
him. And I remember sitting in the
classroom and just watching one kid after another just like lose
focus and you've got these little kindergarteners in there.
(19:39):
And I remember that was that wasabout the time that I'm Steve
was travelling and I called him.I'm like, I think, I think we
need to pull the kids up to school and start homeschooling
them because this is not it justyou could just tell this is not
not what they're what. To do.
So crazy. Well, I can't wait to jump into
more details, but first we're going to take a quick break to
hear from another sponsor. Join Apologia for the Homeschool
(20:02):
Boot Camp, a free video series that provides practical guidance
and wisdom from experienced homeschool parents.
You'll discover how to equip your family for academic,
social, and spiritual success. Plus, you'll discover how to
build deeper and stronger familyrelationships.
Homeschool Boot Camp covers how to break free from the public
school mindset, daily planning, supporting students with
(20:23):
learning challenges, homeschooling as a working
parent, navigating the high school years, and much more.
Find this incredible free behomeschoolresource@apologia.com/bootcamp.
Homeschooling is a big responsibility.
With BJU Press, you can feel equipped to give your children
not just an education, but a foundation for life.
(20:44):
Children learn in different ways, and BJU Press lets you
adapt to their unique learning styles.
And you'll love the community ofother homeschool moms who use
BJU Press. They've been where you are, and
they're full of advice, encouragement, and practical
tips. And when you need even more
help, there's the Homeschool Hub, which keeps families
(21:06):
organized with easy lesson planning, calendars and even
grading tools. To learn more, visit
bjupresshomeschool.com. We are.
Back with my guest, Zan Tyler. And we are talking about how to
not have a boring homeschool. And we've been talking about,
you know, looking for gaps in letting go of the fact that
(21:27):
we're just going to have gaps. It's OK to fall behind.
It's just to kind of get away from feeling like we have to
have a lot of structure and learning to be more flexible.
But Zian, I want to kind of get into like, how can we add some
more fun and just bring more life into our homeschool?
So what are some tips for you from you about just ways to have
more fun in our homeschooling? You know, I read the most
(21:50):
interesting book one time and itwas called The Brilliant Idiot
and it was by a man with his PhDin education.
And he just talked about growingup in a primitive church
environment in Canada and being beaten when he couldn't learn
things. And, and I think it was mainly
on the hands, but it was pretty severe.
(22:11):
So his whole goal was to encourage people in their
learning. And but the one take away from
the book was this. He said, some days I wake up and
I know that nothing academic is going to happen today.
So I have a list of things I need to accomplish that might
not be book work because he was an academic at this point.
And then I thought, as a homeschooling mom, wow.
(22:34):
Because there are some days you wake up and, you know,
everything you have planned for that day just isn't going to
work. I mean, you're intuitive about
your home and the mood and when kids need a break or, you know,
you've been pushing hard throughone subject and maybe you just
need a little bit of time off, Iwould just know.
(22:55):
So there's some mornings I woke up and knew we've got to get out
of the house, we've got to go dosomething meaningful, but get
out. And so, you know, I love field
trips for that reason. And one thing I wish I had known
to do that I would encourage bombs to do interview each one
of your children and ask them these questions.
(23:17):
If you had could go anywhere on a field trip, where would it be?
If you could visit any location,where would it be?
If you could visit any person, who would that be?
And if you could study any one topic, what would that be?
Oh my goodness. So.
You know, so when you interview your kids, you have those things
(23:38):
written down. You wake up and, you know, OK,
we're not going to get any math done today, even if we sit there
with a math book open for 40 minutes.
And so then you've got this listof things to draw from you.
You know, for my kids, we're 2 1/2 hours from the beach and 2
1/2 hours from the mountains. And that would be a pretty
extreme field trip for the day. But we've been known to just
(24:01):
take off and go do that, you know, and but if you've got a
list of field trips, the statehouse, we took a few too
many field trips to the statehouse, but it was still a
break from the normal routine. And I think sometimes if you as
long as your kids know they're not that, that school is not a
prison, it's a lifelong learningsituation, then I think it's
(24:27):
great. And sometimes you just surprise
them with that break or, you know, everybody's fussing.
Sometimes you need a change of scenery.
Let's instead of just just harping on them all the time,
which your kids need to get, I mean, hear me out here, but
sometimes you just need to change the scenery.
Sometimes I just need to change the scenery.
(24:47):
So go outside and do your schoolwork or go out.
As you know, our dear friend Jenny Yurt says go outside for
1000 hours. I love it you.
Know, but but there's something about.
I mean, we've gone outside and just done our work or we've gone
outside. I, I love what George Washington
(25:07):
Carver says, that nature is God's broadcasting system where
he shows you the glories of the universe and takes you beyond
yourself. So there is something about
being outside and, and each of your kids will have different
things that they like doing. And so if you've written all
that down, you wake up that morning and you think, OK,
(25:28):
Johnny, what if you could pick one thing out of this list to do
today? What would it be?
And you've already, you've got this curated list and you just
go do something that's you're interacting with people, you're
out of the house, you're learning something.
I don't know. I just think that's one of the
glories of homeschooling. I love it and honestly mom, this
(25:48):
is a friend to friend thing. I am just so impressed you had a
list. I joke about that.
Yeah, because you know, I don't do list love list.
You said listen, I'm like, wait a minute.
No, I'm talking to Sam. Let me just say this, I have
lots of goals. I just don't like lists.
(26:11):
I think when I had the Myers Brig, when our friend Lanissa
did the Myers Brig on me, I, I never can remember what I am.
I think it's an ENTJ or something or something.
But the one thing it says is youneed to know this about
yourself. You don't like to do the same
thing two days in a row, which makes it hard to be a really
(26:33):
consistent homeschool mom, you know, and, and so, so I had to
work at that, but it was that desire to get out and let the
world be your classroom. That and, and, and I have to say
this too, I like curriculum. A lot of people hate curriculum.
I like it. I love reading through it.
(26:55):
I love books, you know, but I loved getting out too.
I think it's important for our kids to to see as much of life
as you can expose them to. Oh.
Absolutely no. In fact, when people are like,
what do I do? It's it's really hard.
I'm like, it's time for a field trip.
It is time to get outside. Like tell your kids to go to the
(27:16):
park and do school. I mean, just get out of the
normal rhythm. I agree with that, Dennis.
And you know, and I mean, you obviously can't do this every
day. I'm not saying never teach your
kids anything, you know, so some.
People do. There is the whole unschooling
side of things, but that's a whole different.
Yeah, but. Yeah.
And I do think most of unschooling, most of the people
(27:38):
who say they unschool are looking at the interests of
their kids and letting that direct them.
So I just think that's a different approach to schooling.
That's not truant schooling. You know what I'm saying?
We got laws on the book about not educating your kids.
But so I just, you know, I lovedthat about homeschooling.
I loved it. You know, the kids.
(28:00):
I know sometimes sports gets a bum rap in homeschooling, but my
kids loved sports and it was a real springboard for ministry
for them. I mean, both of them had played
on pretty competitive soccer teams and they they were
counselors at an FCA camp one year.
And then one year a pastor in Columbia who was not our pastor
(28:20):
asked my son John to put together a soccer team to take
over to the UK to use as an evangelistic outreach tool.
And so, you know, so I think allof our kids interest can be used
as a springboard for ministry and service, you know, as a
springboard to be who God created them to be.
I mean, Eric Little said when hewon the Olympic gold, you know,
(28:44):
if you've ever watched Chariots of Fire, if you haven't, you
watch that with your kids. You know, he said God made me to
serve the people in China, but he also made me fast.
And when I run, I feel his pleasure.
So what is it that your kids do that when they do that thing,
they feel God's pleasure? You know, that's what we're
(29:05):
after in life. You know that that CS Lewis
calls it the signature of the soul.
Every child has his own or her own signature of the soul that
makes them unique and different.I mean, God made each one of us
uniquely and different in his image.
And you know, it's a glorious way to be created it.
(29:28):
Is and you're kind of like teasing for next week when we
are going to be diving into an episode all about how to find
strengths, how to identify strengths in our kids, how to,
you know, help build those strengths in our kids.
But Zion, this is it for this part of the show.
And I just want to ask, it's like, you know, where can people
find you? What are some any resources that
(29:50):
you want to share while you're on here?
Well, the people can find me at Zan tyler.com and I've got a
podcast, the Zan Tyler podcast Thriving in Your Home School,
and you can find that on my website or anywhere you listen
to podcast and then I'm on social media and so they can
find me there. Oh, perfect.
And I want to make sure to tell our audience all about heading
(30:13):
over to schoolhouserock.com. So Schoolhouse rock.com and you
can stream the Schoolhouse Rock movie there.
They have other resources for you to find out or to find there
as well. Make sure that you guys are
subscribing to the YouTube channel.
If you are not watching this andyou're just listening to us now
that you can actually watch us laugh and everything right over
(30:36):
there on YouTube, but make sure that you are subscribed driving
so you can see all the ways thatSchoolhouse Rocked has been able
to bless their audience. And if you are interested in any
of my resources, you can find that at kristiclover.com.
That's KRIST ikristiclover.com and I if you go, in fact, if you
(30:56):
go to kristiclover.com/sanity, you can get a free copy of my
Sanity Savers for Mom's book. So it's just a little resource I
have for you as well. But thank you so much for
joining us here on on the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
I look forward to listening to you.
We're going to have Zam back on talking about identifying and
(31:16):
cultivating our strengths and our kids.
So thanks so much for listening in and we'll look forward to
seeing you soon. And be so sure to listen to the
full the the end is we're going to do a little teaser for you
here at the end of the podcast. So take care and have a great
rest of your week. You're listening to the Biblical
Family Network. Hey, I'm Miki and I'm Will and
(31:39):
we're the Co host of the CultureProof podcast.
We want to invite you to join usevery week as we discuss what's
happening in the world and then filter those happenings through
a decidedly biblical lens. There are many questions,
especially when we see what's happening in our culture today,
but the answers are found withinthe Word of God, so that's where
we want to look. Amen.
(31:59):
When we resist those cultural trends that rival the truth.
We remain culture proof. I think we forget as parents
sometimes 'cause we're like homeschool, get things done
like, you know, take care of thehouse, make dinner, you know,
all the to dos we do as. Parents, yes.
And we? Forget that we have this
glorious ministry right in frontof us.
We are living our lives and doing the things God has called
(32:21):
us to as parents and families. We're discipling and our our
kids and it looks different for each one of them.
They each have different spiritual gifts.
They each have different callings on their lives.
Our kids weren't born as a blankslave.
God created each one of them with gifts and learning styles
and personality and bent. And if we fold them the way
(32:43):
they're bent, it's a great way to breathe life into your home,
school and also mass conflict.
I wake up one day and I tell theLord, OK, I'm obviously an
abysmal failure at this, and so I'm going to try to do
homeschooling the right way. So I take the kids downstairs.
It's like I put on my Army Sergeant drill hat and I blew
this whistle. And I read them these directions
and I say, this is what you willdo today.
(00:21):
You know, this just shows. I just didn't know.
Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
I'm Christy Clover and I am so excited to be your host for this
week. And I have none other than the
lovely Zan Tyler on the show today.
And we're going to be discussinghow not to have a boring
homeschool. We are actually going to be
(00:43):
talking about how to bring life into your homeschool.
So you are going to love it. Do not miss out on this.
And 1st I want to introduce us to the sponsor of our
conversation which is CTC Math. If you're looking for a math
program that truly works, CTC Math has you covered.
They offer easy to follow video lessons, step by step solutions,
(01:04):
and interactive practice with courses from kindergarten to
calculus. It's an all in one solution for
students of all ages. Parents love the progress
tracking and kids enjoy the self-paced learning.
Here's a testimonial from Penny in New York.
She said since using CTC Math, my daughter has stopped
stressing over math and I find her actually enjoying it.
(01:26):
Thank you so much for all that you've done to help her.
Find successinthesubjectshehatedbutnowenjoyssignuptodayfor@ctcmath.com
and start your free trial. CTC Math Math made easy.
All right my friends. So I get to bring onto the
screen my beautiful friend Zan Tyler.
Now Zan and I have actually beenfriends.
(01:47):
I calculated it out for almost 10 years now.
And. I know it's amazing.
I did the math. I was like Zan and I met that
one blogging conference and I was like timing it out to when
everything hit and I was like, it's been.
Ten years. So hard to believe.
Forever. So, so fun.
(02:07):
Well, I can give all these like wonderful examples.
I mean, you're a homeschool pioneer.
You're an advocate for homeschool freedom.
You do speaking and writing and you work at BJU.
But how about you tell us a little bit about yourself and
kind of what makes you tick? You know.
That's a deeper conversation. Yes, really.
Probably the most important thing to tell you about myself
(02:30):
is that I homeschooled my kids for 21 years and you know, the
most homeschooling is the most glorious thing I think you can
do if you when you love your kids, it's the hardest thing.
You know, there's nothing easy about it, but it is glorious.
So that would be the first thingI would say is that we had, you
(02:52):
know, I just loved my kids. I loved that time with them.
And we'll talk about that a little bit more as time goes on.
Joe and I have been married for many, many years.
My husband is my best friend andsort of my partner in crime with
all of this. And, and now that you know, I,
we finished homeschooling into, we started in 1984 when I was
(03:13):
threatened with jail and then wefinished in 2005.
And so I have been involved for another 2020 years.
Really, I'm in the homeschoolingmovement and I would probably
have to say I'm more committed to homeschooling now more than
ever. Because when you're not, when
you're in the middle of homeschooling, you're in the
(03:34):
throes of it. It's hard to see the bigger
picture sometimes of the fabulous things that are
happening with your kids educationally or spiritually or
socially, all of those things, and you don't have time for a
lot of reflection. But now that I'm away from being
in the trenches every day, I I can reflect a lot more and I can
watch you and your family and other homeschool moms and just
(03:56):
say, for lack of a better word, the magic that happens in your
home when you're homeschooling. Awful.
You're, I think everybody needs a Zan in their life because you
always are like you're doing great.
You're doing amazing. You're like, OK, I can do it
because Zan told me to. Oh, well, if anyone can like
(04:19):
again, you're talking about reflection and I think that's so
great because I really do want to talk about, I mean, yes,
don't have a boring homeschool. Yes, it's OK for kids to be
bored, but we don't necessarily want homeschooling to be boring.
But really the bigger picture ishow to create a life giving
home. So I kind of wanted to talk to
you about that today because I think people get so racked up in
(04:40):
in the checklist, you know, there might be gaps if I take a
break, what do I have to do? What can I, you know, push back
on do it? You know, so that's kind of what
I wanted to talk to you about today.
And so figured we could kick it off with maybe just talking
about those gaps because when wethink about creating a more life
giving home that sometimes are at home school, that often means
(05:01):
that we have to allow gaps. So can you kind of talk about,
you know, what are some of your advice for what to let go of and
what to hold on to? Sure.
And then and at one point we'll talk about I think the two most
important days in my life in terms of gaining freedom in our
home school to not worry about gaps, to not worry about those
things. And I'm not talking about
(05:23):
constitutional freedom to home school.
I'm talking about the freedom toreally enjoy our kids.
But I will never forget sitting in my first college class.
I went to Furman University. It was very academic college,
and I had gone to an excellent high school and graduated near
the top of my class with 650 kids.
(05:43):
And I remember sitting in that classroom and thinking, nobody
prepared me for this. And I thought I had studied
hard. I had worked hard.
And so I just think gaps are a part of life.
There is no school teacher who could teach, can teach a child
(06:05):
1/4 grader everything they need to know.
There is no English teacher thatcan teach a child everything
they need to know. And so I think as homeschool
moms, we, we have these, I don'tknow, these things that cause us
to lose sleep at night. And gaps is one of them.
You know, I, I could remember when we started homeschooling,
people would say, is it legal? What about socialization?
(06:29):
What about the prom? And what about physics?
And I'm saying, hey, you know, they're six and four.
Can you give me a little bit of a break here?
You know, and you do it bit by bit and bite by bite and, and
it's amazing. But I, so I would tell kid, I
would tell parents, don't worry about the gaps.
I remember one time I was reallyworried about the things my kids
(06:52):
weren't learning in science. And so I hired a tutor and this
tutor went through this 6th grade science book with the boys
for six weeks, covered the wholescience book.
And The funny thing was he said,Mrs. Tyler, do you teach your
boys the same thing? I said I do.
(07:13):
He said, do you use the same book?
I said I do. And he said you would never
know. They've been sitting in the same
classroom from what the two of them know and don't know.
And, you know, it's just the difference in the way they learn
a difference in what they're interested in.
And I needed for him to say thatto me.
And and so, you know, with homeschooling, it's kind of easy
(07:36):
to pick up the gaps. You know, the, the thing we
don't want gaps and we don't want gaps in our kids faith and
we don't want gaps in their joy.We don't want gaps in their
relationships. Not that all of those things are
going to be perfect in your home.
I don't mean that. But as homeschooling moms, we
get to focus on those things. You know, we get to focus on
(07:56):
their faith. We get to focus on our
relationship with them, their ability to serve others, what
they're interested in. And so I think when you have
that type of life, giving home agap in science or history or
grammar is really pretty easy tofeel.
Okay, so here's my favorite story and then I will let you
(08:19):
talk. I'm.
Good. So, you know, by by the time my
daughter had gone to college, I had written two books and I had
worked for a publisher some because she was in high school
and very independent. And we sit there and do our work
together. And grammar was so important to
me. Editing was so important to me.
(08:39):
Although there's a lot more to writing than editing.
I could not get this child interested in grammar to save
her life. Now she had won.
She had won money for creative essays and recipes and all these
are very personable. She had been any, I mean, but
did she want to know the mechanics of grammar?
(09:02):
No. So she goes to college.
She's majoring in media communications, and she has this
professor who says if you learn how to edit, you'll always have
a job. If you have little kids or big
kids or just want something extra on the side, you'll always
have a job. So.
So in one semester, she learned everything she needed to know
about being a professional editor.
(09:23):
And you know, that was an obvious gap and I tried to fill
it to no avail. Then she goes to college and has
1 teacher who totally fills the gap in less than a semester and
she's used that as a skill ever since she's been in college and
out of college so. Oh my goodness, I love it.
(09:45):
No, because it's and it it is almost funny that you know, to
our best like when other people say things, they're like light
bulb and you're like, but but I was saying that.
Yes. Listen to me.
Yes, yeah, that's right. You can say it sometimes 1000
times and but I really do feel like that's just firewood that
(10:08):
the Holy Spirit lays up in theirheart.
And so when the right person comes along, or the right idea
or the right circumstance, they,like, you know it, just the Holy
Spirit just lights a little firein their heart and gets that
flame blade blazing too. I love it and I think that's
what we ultimately need to thinkabout too, is that number one, I
have gaps in my education. I was in home school.
(10:31):
You know, I have gaps in all kinds of things.
And if it's interesting, I fill the gap as an adult, I choose to
fill the gap that's. Right.
Yeah. And the big thing like #2 I
guess would be that we know the ultimate gap filler.
So if it's something they need to know and that's important for
them to to have going forward inlife, God knows and he's going
(10:54):
to bring about if you forget, it's okay, He doesn't.
And he will bring about the right people to speak into our
kids, the right circumstances, the right motivation.
Sometimes that's the bigger issue is that they're just like,
yeah, it's it's not fun. Like I always hear stories about
people talking about how, you know, there's their daughter
decided to go into this major like, but you don't like math.
(11:17):
And then, but suddenly math has meaning.
And so then they focus. And like you said, with grammar,
same thing. It's like when it has a
different purpose than the motivation changes.
That's right. You know, I think about my two,
my two sons and my middle son wanted to be a doctor.
And Ty, we either knew he was going to be a salesman or a
(11:38):
preacher. Whatever he did, he was going to
make his living with his mouth and his personality, you know.
And so science really, we knew that they were both college
bound. That's not the case for
everybody. But with what they wanted to do,
I knew they needed it at this point.
They needed a college at that point in their lives.
They needed a college education.And so, so we had, they had done
(12:00):
their four years of science, andI probably had emphasized it
more with John than with Ty, because John loves science.
He wanted to be a doctor. Ty was not.
He just didn't care that much about math or science.
Great speaker, great, you know, great in the language arts.
And so as it turns out, John goes to law school and Ty was a
(12:25):
medical device salesman and had to go up to Boston and take this
course that all these doctors have to take to pass medical
school to be this. And then I looked at time.
I said I guess I just didn't payyou enough.
Right, because that's the ultimate motivator for home
school. Do your work and I'll give you a
dollar broke. Yeah, that's not exactly.
(12:51):
I'll give you a dollar and we'llgo towards food.
So, but you know, he had a family, you know, and now, so
this is meaning something to himand he had an aptitude too.
So it's just, it's funny how your kids grow and, and what
they're interested in today is not what they're be interested
(13:13):
in in 10 years. But I still think there's great
freedom and power in letting them pursue their interests and
letting them, you know, just experience life because they are
going to get it when they need it.
Oh yeah, absolutely. Well, the other thing that
because I think we listened to the lie, like kind of what's
kind of can be kind of lead to aboring homeschool is when we're
(13:34):
just following that checklist and just getting things done.
And we keep it all about that. And so we're afraid of gaps and
we're afraid of falling behind. But what are some what are some
ways to speak into that parent who is afraid that being
creative and taking field trips because that means a day without
getting things done. So how would you speak into that
(13:55):
just to kind of encourage mom? So I'm going to go back because
this is what we do when we talk,Christy, I'm going to go back
and give you the background of why I think this.
And it was because the first year we homeschooled, there was
this crazy law that said that I had to use a curriculum that a
public or private school in my district was using.
(14:16):
I wasn't free to choose and but there was a Christian School and
there was a curriculum that I could use.
So unsuited for my son Ty. It was unbelievable.
Doesn't mean it was bad, it justwas not right for him.
But I was stuck and every morning I would read something
like this in the teacher's manual.
Now this is just kindergarten orGrade 1 and and it's have your
(14:38):
kids sit with your feet on theirdesk and their their feet on the
floor and their hands on the desk and look you in the eye and
raise up your hand. You know, there's no curriculum
for homeschoolers and it's all classroom curriculum.
And so, so we never had a day like that.
Ty was not that type of kid who was going to sit there and do
that. So I just remember I had been
(15:00):
homeschooling. I didn't know anybody in the
world who was homeschooling whenwe started.
So we've been homeschooling for about 6 months.
And so now it's like February orMarch and I wake up one day and
I tell the Lord, OK, I'm obviously an abysmal failure at
this. And so I'm going to try to do
homeschooling the right way. So I take the kids downstairs.
(15:20):
It's like I put on my Army Sergeant drill hat and I blew
this whistle and I read them these directions and I say, this
is what you will do today. And you are going to be still
and tie. You're going to raise your hand
when you have something to say. You're not going to interrupt
me. You're not going to color while
I'm talking. You're not going to play with
your cards. And for heaven's sakes, you're
(15:41):
not going to bounce that ball that's always going over here.
And so, you know, this just shows I just didn't know.
And so it was so miserable. Now John, my 4 year old just had
this amazing gift of concentration even at 4.
But he was Ty was upset. I mean Ty never said 2 words.
(16:02):
Ty talked all day long and we enjoyed being together, not
engaged at all. John the four year old was a
mess because he didn't his brother was a mess.
You know, he was just wanted everybody to be happy.
And so I, I just, I said, OK, Lord, if this is homeschooling,
I can't do it and I need to quit.
And I know there are people out there that feel that way.
(16:25):
Like, and so about a week or so later, I went to this little toy
store to buy a birthday present for the kids and they had the
brio train set, you know, where they can play because we
couldn't afford one. And, and, and I started reading
this book. They had this great book nook
and called growing up learning. And he said, and, and I mean,
(16:46):
for most of your audience, this is old news, but for me, this
was Independence Day. He said your kids learn in one
of three ways, auditory, kinesthetic and visual.
They learn by seeing, hearing and talking or moving and doing.
And he said woe to the auditory kinesthetic kid who learns by
talking and moving because thoseare unacceptable activities in a
(17:08):
classroom. Now, this is not a homeschool
person at all. He said if you can get them out
of school, they make the biggest, you know, usually the
biggest successes in life. And, and then he just talked
about the class. He talked about this graduate
student. And he said this.
He said she spent all of her time being when she had to be
(17:29):
still and focused in the classroom.
She said it took all of her energy because she was auditory
kinesthetic. And if she could move and talk,
she could learn. But if she had to be still, all
of her focus was going going into being still and quiet and
she couldn't learn anything. And I'm having these Ding Ding
Ding Ding Ding moments and the sirens going off and I'm
thinking, Ford, you made tie. You made him an auditory
(17:53):
kinesthetic learner. You made him to learn by moving
and talking. And that explains why he
couldn't say 2 words to me the day I made him sit still and
quiet. And so really, I call that
Independence Day in our home school because I was free to be
who God made him to be, not who I made him to be.
(18:16):
But I had felt so much guilt forthat because I felt like it was
my fault. Now, I'm not saying a child
never needs to sit still and be quiet.
So hear me, I'm not saying that.But that is not how Ty learned
on a daily basis. And that was the beauty of
homeschooling for him. Oh, I I agree because that was
(18:36):
such a big thing. I because I, I probably heard
that from you at homeschool convention.
I went to it was first starting out, but I, I remember because
my two older boys, we did a fullyear of kindergarten in public
school and pulled out my kindergartner and 1st grader at
that point from public school about 8 weeks in.
(18:57):
And that first I remember because Grant, my oldest was,
you know, thriving in school, but he was so far ahead in some
areas, he was bored. And so, like, I was noticing
that he was starting to not focus on stuff because he was so
bored. Like, well, we can bump them up
to be with the 3rd and 4th graders and like, yeah, no, that
(19:17):
doesn't sound like a great idea.And then with Blake, because
Blake is a kinesthetic learner. And so that was really
difficult. He's a, you know, visual
kinesthetic learner. So being talked at did not help
him. And I remember sitting in the
classroom and just watching one kid after another just like lose
focus and you've got these little kindergarteners in there.
(19:39):
And I remember that was that wasabout the time that I'm Steve
was travelling and I called him.I'm like, I think, I think we
need to pull the kids up to school and start homeschooling
them because this is not it justyou could just tell this is not
not what they're what. To do.
So crazy. Well, I can't wait to jump into
more details, but first we're going to take a quick break to
hear from another sponsor. Join Apologia for the Homeschool
(20:02):
Boot Camp, a free video series that provides practical guidance
and wisdom from experienced homeschool parents.
You'll discover how to equip your family for academic,
social, and spiritual success. Plus, you'll discover how to
build deeper and stronger familyrelationships.
Homeschool Boot Camp covers how to break free from the public
school mindset, daily planning, supporting students with
(20:23):
learning challenges, homeschooling as a working
parent, navigating the high school years, and much more.
Find this incredible free behomeschoolresource@apologia.com/bootcamp.
Homeschooling is a big responsibility.
With BJU Press, you can feel equipped to give your children
not just an education, but a foundation for life.
(20:44):
Children learn in different ways, and BJU Press lets you
adapt to their unique learning styles.
And you'll love the community ofother homeschool moms who use
BJU Press. They've been where you are, and
they're full of advice, encouragement, and practical
tips. And when you need even more
help, there's the Homeschool Hub, which keeps families
(21:06):
organized with easy lesson planning, calendars and even
grading tools. To learn more, visit
bjupresshomeschool.com. We are.
Back with my guest, Zan Tyler. And we are talking about how to
not have a boring homeschool. And we've been talking about,
you know, looking for gaps in letting go of the fact that
(21:27):
we're just going to have gaps. It's OK to fall behind.
It's just to kind of get away from feeling like we have to
have a lot of structure and learning to be more flexible.
But Zian, I want to kind of get into like, how can we add some
more fun and just bring more life into our homeschool?
So what are some tips for you from you about just ways to have
more fun in our homeschooling? You know, I read the most
(21:50):
interesting book one time and itwas called The Brilliant Idiot
and it was by a man with his PhDin education.
And he just talked about growingup in a primitive church
environment in Canada and being beaten when he couldn't learn
things. And, and I think it was mainly
on the hands, but it was pretty severe.
(22:11):
So his whole goal was to encourage people in their
learning. And but the one take away from
the book was this. He said, some days I wake up and
I know that nothing academic is going to happen today.
So I have a list of things I need to accomplish that might
not be book work because he was an academic at this point.
And then I thought, as a homeschooling mom, wow.
(22:34):
Because there are some days you wake up and, you know,
everything you have planned for that day just isn't going to
work. I mean, you're intuitive about
your home and the mood and when kids need a break or, you know,
you've been pushing hard throughone subject and maybe you just
need a little bit of time off, Iwould just know.
(22:55):
So there's some mornings I woke up and knew we've got to get out
of the house, we've got to go dosomething meaningful, but get
out. And so, you know, I love field
trips for that reason. And one thing I wish I had known
to do that I would encourage bombs to do interview each one
of your children and ask them these questions.
(23:17):
If you had could go anywhere on a field trip, where would it be?
If you could visit any location,where would it be?
If you could visit any person, who would that be?
And if you could study any one topic, what would that be?
Oh my goodness. So.
You know, so when you interview your kids, you have those things
(23:38):
written down. You wake up and, you know, OK,
we're not going to get any math done today, even if we sit there
with a math book open for 40 minutes.
And so then you've got this listof things to draw from you.
You know, for my kids, we're 2 1/2 hours from the beach and 2
1/2 hours from the mountains. And that would be a pretty
extreme field trip for the day. But we've been known to just
(24:01):
take off and go do that, you know, and but if you've got a
list of field trips, the statehouse, we took a few too
many field trips to the statehouse, but it was still a
break from the normal routine. And I think sometimes if you as
long as your kids know they're not that, that school is not a
prison, it's a lifelong learningsituation, then I think it's
(24:27):
great. And sometimes you just surprise
them with that break or, you know, everybody's fussing.
Sometimes you need a change of scenery.
Let's instead of just just harping on them all the time,
which your kids need to get, I mean, hear me out here, but
sometimes you just need to change the scenery.
Sometimes I just need to change the scenery.
(24:47):
So go outside and do your schoolwork or go out.
As you know, our dear friend Jenny Yurt says go outside for
1000 hours. I love it you.
Know, but but there's something about.
I mean, we've gone outside and just done our work or we've gone
outside. I, I love what George Washington
(25:07):
Carver says, that nature is God's broadcasting system where
he shows you the glories of the universe and takes you beyond
yourself. So there is something about
being outside and, and each of your kids will have different
things that they like doing. And so if you've written all
that down, you wake up that morning and you think, OK,
(25:28):
Johnny, what if you could pick one thing out of this list to do
today? What would it be?
And you've already, you've got this curated list and you just
go do something that's you're interacting with people, you're
out of the house, you're learning something.
I don't know. I just think that's one of the
glories of homeschooling. I love it and honestly mom, this
(25:48):
is a friend to friend thing. I am just so impressed you had a
list. I joke about that.
Yeah, because you know, I don't do list love list.
You said listen, I'm like, wait a minute.
No, I'm talking to Sam. Let me just say this, I have
lots of goals. I just don't like lists.
(26:11):
I think when I had the Myers Brig, when our friend Lanissa
did the Myers Brig on me, I, I never can remember what I am.
I think it's an ENTJ or something or something.
But the one thing it says is youneed to know this about
yourself. You don't like to do the same
thing two days in a row, which makes it hard to be a really
(26:33):
consistent homeschool mom, you know, and, and so, so I had to
work at that, but it was that desire to get out and let the
world be your classroom. That and, and, and I have to say
this too, I like curriculum. A lot of people hate curriculum.
I like it. I love reading through it.
(26:55):
I love books, you know, but I loved getting out too.
I think it's important for our kids to to see as much of life
as you can expose them to. Oh.
Absolutely no. In fact, when people are like,
what do I do? It's it's really hard.
I'm like, it's time for a field trip.
It is time to get outside. Like tell your kids to go to the
(27:16):
park and do school. I mean, just get out of the
normal rhythm. I agree with that, Dennis.
And you know, and I mean, you obviously can't do this every
day. I'm not saying never teach your
kids anything, you know, so some.
People do. There is the whole unschooling
side of things, but that's a whole different.
Yeah, but. Yeah.
And I do think most of unschooling, most of the people
(27:38):
who say they unschool are looking at the interests of
their kids and letting that direct them.
So I just think that's a different approach to schooling.
That's not truant schooling. You know what I'm saying?
We got laws on the book about not educating your kids.
But so I just, you know, I lovedthat about homeschooling.
I loved it. You know, the kids.
(28:00):
I know sometimes sports gets a bum rap in homeschooling, but my
kids loved sports and it was a real springboard for ministry
for them. I mean, both of them had played
on pretty competitive soccer teams and they they were
counselors at an FCA camp one year.
And then one year a pastor in Columbia who was not our pastor
(28:20):
asked my son John to put together a soccer team to take
over to the UK to use as an evangelistic outreach tool.
And so, you know, so I think allof our kids interest can be used
as a springboard for ministry and service, you know, as a
springboard to be who God created them to be.
I mean, Eric Little said when hewon the Olympic gold, you know,
(28:44):
if you've ever watched Chariots of Fire, if you haven't, you
watch that with your kids. You know, he said God made me to
serve the people in China, but he also made me fast.
And when I run, I feel his pleasure.
So what is it that your kids do that when they do that thing,
they feel God's pleasure? You know, that's what we're
(29:05):
after in life. You know that that CS Lewis
calls it the signature of the soul.
Every child has his own or her own signature of the soul that
makes them unique and different.I mean, God made each one of us
uniquely and different in his image.
And you know, it's a glorious way to be created it.
(29:28):
Is and you're kind of like teasing for next week when we
are going to be diving into an episode all about how to find
strengths, how to identify strengths in our kids, how to,
you know, help build those strengths in our kids.
But Zion, this is it for this part of the show.
And I just want to ask, it's like, you know, where can people
find you? What are some any resources that
(29:50):
you want to share while you're on here?
Well, the people can find me at Zan tyler.com and I've got a
podcast, the Zan Tyler podcast Thriving in Your Home School,
and you can find that on my website or anywhere you listen
to podcast and then I'm on social media and so they can
find me there. Oh, perfect.
And I want to make sure to tell our audience all about heading
(30:13):
over to schoolhouserock.com. So Schoolhouse rock.com and you
can stream the Schoolhouse Rock movie there.
They have other resources for you to find out or to find there
as well. Make sure that you guys are
subscribing to the YouTube channel.
If you are not watching this andyou're just listening to us now
that you can actually watch us laugh and everything right over
(30:36):
there on YouTube, but make sure that you are subscribed driving
so you can see all the ways thatSchoolhouse Rocked has been able
to bless their audience. And if you are interested in any
of my resources, you can find that at kristiclover.com.
That's KRIST ikristiclover.com and I if you go, in fact, if you
(30:56):
go to kristiclover.com/sanity, you can get a free copy of my
Sanity Savers for Mom's book. So it's just a little resource I
have for you as well. But thank you so much for
joining us here on on the Schoolhouse Rock podcast.
I look forward to listening to you.
We're going to have Zam back on talking about identifying and
(31:16):
cultivating our strengths and our kids.
So thanks so much for listening in and we'll look forward to
seeing you soon. And be so sure to listen to the
full the the end is we're going to do a little teaser for you
here at the end of the podcast. So take care and have a great
rest of your week. You're listening to the Biblical
Family Network. Hey, I'm Miki and I'm Will and
(31:39):
we're the Co host of the CultureProof podcast.
We want to invite you to join usevery week as we discuss what's
happening in the world and then filter those happenings through
a decidedly biblical lens. There are many questions,
especially when we see what's happening in our culture today,
but the answers are found withinthe Word of God, so that's where
we want to look. Amen.
(31:59):
When we resist those cultural trends that rival the truth.
We remain culture proof. I think we forget as parents
sometimes 'cause we're like homeschool, get things done
like, you know, take care of thehouse, make dinner, you know,
all the to dos we do as. Parents, yes.
And we? Forget that we have this
glorious ministry right in frontof us.
We are living our lives and doing the things God has called
(32:21):
us to as parents and families. We're discipling and our our
kids and it looks different for each one of them.
They each have different spiritual gifts.
They each have different callings on their lives.
Our kids weren't born as a blankslave.
God created each one of them with gifts and learning styles
and personality and bent. And if we fold them the way
(32:43):
they're bent, it's a great way to breathe life into your home,
school and also mass conflict.
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com