The Rise of Homeschooling in Urban Areas and What You Need to Get Into College as a Homeschooler

Foreign. Welcome to this week's episode of the Homeschool How To. I'm Cheryl, and I invite you to join me on my quest to find out why are people homeschooling? How do you do it? How does it differ from region to region? And should I homeschool my kids? Stick with me as I interview homeschooling families across the country to unfold the answers to each each of these questions week by week. Welcome. And with us today we have Manisha from Teach youh Kids. Manisha, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you so much for having me, Cheryl. I love the podcast and I'm excited to speak with you today.

Oh, awesome. Well, I thank you for listening. And so right off the bat, you have 20 years of teaching experience. Why don't you tell us a little bit about that and how that led into your journey into the homeschooling world?

Sure, I'd be happy to. So I like to say I kind of became a teacher by accident. I was pounding the pavement as an actress in New York City and also before that in France, and I needed a way to make a living. So I started tutoring. And I began with test prep and fresh, and then I started teaching other subjects, biology, algebra, and eventually got invited to tutor, to substitute teach in the New York City public schools. So I ended up seeing just a huge range of educational experiences, from elite private prep schools where parents are paying $60,000 a year for their children to attend, and they were calling me in for emergency support, to, you know, really great public schools where I had to teach 30 kids, a third of them who had had IEPs alone, without really any help or support, at two schools where I felt really like I was walking more into a prison than a learning environment. And my. My impression from that was that our education system was really broken at every level, from these elite, expensive schools to the schools that had almost no funding and are really failing our kids.

And.

And so, kind of almost by accident, I found that there was this movement of parents in Brooklyn that were starting small homeschool co ops that met two or three times a week. They were much less expensive than private school and much more curated than you might find in a typical public school environment. And kids were thriving. So I started to look into this, and that led me to start my first tech startup, which was kind of Airbnb for micro schools, where I was helping teachers start their own small schools. But as I learned more about homeschooling, I just became more and more interested because what I found is that there are people in tech and artists and entrepreneurs who were really designing incredible educational experiences for their kids. And that led me to feel like maybe a more modular experience, something totally looked totally different from school, might be this ideal learning for children. So then I started my second startup called Modulo, which was designed to help parents curate every aspect of their child's education. And I launched School Closers, which was the largest network helping families impacted by school closures during the pandemic. And, you know, now today, I've really found that the most support needed is just helping give parents permission to make this educational choice for their child and also building community so both, especially parents, but also kids, can connect with others for support and friendship in this area.

That is so heartwarming. Like, you gave me chills talking about it. And, you know, I'm not far from the city. I'm a couple hours north in upstate New York, and I wasn't even aware that in Brooklyn, like, people were building homeschool co ops. You just think of the city as being so. So hustle and bustle, and there's no way anyone can afford to live on one income down there, you know, even if it's in one of the boroughs. Like, it's just so expensive in New York in general, and then to be in the city on top of that. But it sounds like these parents were getting really creative, because if you met a couple times a week and you were actually maybe getting some income together to pay a teacher or something, I don't know, you can maybe elaborate on that more. Because I think what parents need is different ideas on how to homeschool. It doesn't just have to be that you pull your kids out and you spend all day at home, you know, reading the school textbooks. It can look so different. So I'll just give it to you to kind of elaborate on what are different things that you've seen or that you've recommended to people to do.

Absolutely. So one of the things you kind of alluded to is that traditional school tends to glom together childcare, socialization, and education, and people don't even imagine that you could actually separate each of these and optimize them. So, you know, when these homeschooling parents who have the creativity and courage to start from scratch realize, you know, hey, I work this remote software engineering job, I really just need two days a week where my kid can be engaged and make friends so I can focus on my work. Or I really only need, you know, three hours where I can get a break for myself and then I can kind of organize activities for my child to do at home while I'm working. And so I think that's a big insight that these parents have had. There's a lot of single moms who are homeschooling people on welfare. You know, the census data shows that the average homeschooler is just as likely to be poor or near poor than the average parent who attends traditional school. And so, you know, one of the things I've observed is that a lot of these parents, they spend maybe one or two hours a day on math and English language arts, getting those core fundamentals. They leave a huge amount of time for self directed learning. So kids can have play dates or they can, you know, join in different homeschool groups and really cater that to their child. And what kind of social experience is conducive to their personality type and to the parents personality as well. And then often they will attend one of these homeschool co ops one or two or three days a week. Sometimes it's the parents that switch off and take turns, and then sometimes it's a teacher who started this micro school and kind of runs the show. But there's always much more involvement than you might see with parents and teachers talking about the education and collaborating that in a traditional learning environment.

Was there something across the board that you saw that wasn't working between just the public school versus these expensive private schools? Like was there one thing that in common that they dropped the ball on?

Yeah, absolutely. So I think I've kind of narrowed it down to three untested assumptions. I've worked a lot in tech, so we often talk about what's the big idea that no one really questions. And one that I see across the board in private and public school is that there could be something that exists that's the perfect school. So for example, these kind of new private schools are always trying to say, you know, if we have this curriculum, this method, you know, Socratic project based, we will eventually come to the perfect school. And in public school they're really trying hard to meet standards which have, you know, Common Core is not terrible. There's a lot of good sense behind it. But the problem is that learners are so diverse and our world is changing so quickly that there's actually no such thing as a perfect curriculum. And even if you developed one, it would change tomorrow. So the second thing is there's a big misconception about socialization and people thinking that you learn from your peers how to socialize as Opposed to valuing that connection between the parent and the child.

And that's huge. That's one of the parents main concerns and that's something I hear all the time, is what about the socialization? And it's so silly, especially in today's day and age.

Completely. And there's a great book by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate, that call that's called hold on to your kids. And they talk about how this idea of a peer culture has only emerged since World War II. This idea that kids would learn how to socialize from each other. If you really dig into it, there's not a lot of weight to that idea. People think like, oh, my kid will know how to interact at an office or building a company. If they interact with people their own age. Actually they don't need to learn how to interact with 8 year olds, they need to learn how to interact with, with adults. And so it's that healthy attachment between a parent and a child that gives a foundation from which children can make friends and socialize. That's what cultivates a secure attachment, not hanging out with kids your own age. So the family time is really devalued. And I think these are like two really huge things that parents look for in schools. Like the perfect curriculum and this peer learning that just, you know, don't make a lot of sense ultimately.

And then. Okay, so that was two. Right, you said that not everybody learns the same. And the socialization and yeah, and I am thinking of so many things even, okay, let's put your kid in a classroom, but we're going to tell them to sit and be quiet. And I remember, I mean I got yelled at all the time by my teachers for talking. So it's this whole idea of send your kids to school to social for their socialization skills. All they do is get yelled at when they socialize. So I mean it's really a ridiculous.

And I was so true.

My son, I mean just because the hours, like the six hours in the day that he would have been in a classroom, he's at home with me, doesn't mean that for those six hours we're alone. I mean yesterday we went out to lunch with my mom and my sister, we went to a store, you know, he was learning the value of things, yada yada. But then in addition, other days we'll have play dates and even if we don't do an ounce of curriculum on those days, he's playing with other friends. And if anything, it's more one on one Play where they can go outside or go in the basement and, you know, do whatever, be creative. Where in school, you've got the playground, you got, here's your swings, here's your monkey bars. We probably don't even let you go on those anymore. You know, the caution tape around them because somebody sued. And like, it's. It's so ironic how little socialization and then you add Covid to the mix where you're like, wear your mask, put on your shield six inches, six feet apart from each other, don't touch any toy that another kid played with. And it is funny, but. Okay, so you had two there, and then you mentioned a third as well. I don't want to get too off track.

No, it's fine. I've actually thought of two more as well. So you can go on and on.

Perfect.

So there's this kind of impulse, even I see it in the tech world of like, let's build the perfect thing school. Let's build the perfect curriculum. But we really need is an evolving system, and no one is better set up to do that than a parent with their individual child. Which.

You mean it's not the Rockefellers, Right?

Right, exactly. I mean, our world is just changing so incredibly quickly, and a parent is really positioned to adapt to that. And so then there's this assumption that we need to outsource our child's education. Why?

Yeah.

You know, so many people don't even think about the fact that that is not what we used to do. They think parents aren't qualified to teach their when as a teacher, what you really learn about is behavioral management. Only a very, very skilled senior teacher can actually differentiate learning towards a large group of students with different learning needs. Any parent who cares about their child can do that with a few tips and tools and a good curriculum.

Yeah, you're so right. And I'm thinking about my friend who teaches in inner city. It's a loop. First and second grade, I believe. So she has them for two years, and there's like 30 kids. A lot of them are coming in from like, the city or other countries. A lot of them don't speak English or have never even been evaluated. The whole evaluation system, she can't refer them or she can, but it takes about a year for them to actually get evaluated and then get the services that they need if they need anymore. If a parent pushes for them, it might happen a little bit quicker if the services are available. I mean, I tried to get my son's speech through the school, and that was like, I mean, it was not. It was just easier to go on YouTube and find some videos. So we're, you know, she's in a classroom with these 30 kids now, and maybe she did get six years of college education to know how to teach. So she might know the perfect way to teach these kids how to read. Right. But if you have 30 kids that are all in different levels of, you know, whatever home life they're coming from, if they're not sleeping properly at night, if they don't feel safe, if this is as safe as they are all day, you know, and they're. They're nervous to go home, they're not fed at home, there is so many different behavioral things going on. And I know this is drastic because it's. It's just that type of school, but it's not non existent. I mean, I didn't grow up much different than that in my schools. So to say that a parent isn't capable of, you know, teaching, especially these things like reading, or even as they get older, the different sort of math and science is a little bit ridiculous because the teachers might know the best way, but they have to manage. They can't get it done. It's like they can't get the information out to each student because there's so many things going on with all different students in a classroom, at least to me, that it seems that way. What are your thoughts?

I mean, I agree with you, and I think you bring up a. You kind of touched upon this. But I think it's important to acknowledge the level of poverty that exists in the United States, that there are, you know, 11 million children who are starving in this rich country of ours. And, you know, when people hear about homeschooling, they think, okay, that's fine for the elite, but what about for these children? And so I want to emphasize that, you know, I went during COVID I started a nonprofit that does math tutoring with kids online. And there's a lot of issues involved, like getting kids the devices they need, et cetera. But what we found is that we were able to pair college students with adaptive learning apps. And these children just raced through the literacy curriculum and the math curriculum. And so what's important to understand is that in our day and age, there are so many new resources that have emerged to support parents, even resources that are available in languages like Spanish, you know, and that is, you know, really critical for children's development. So there are tools out there that can help families. And, you know, part of my work is Trying to help families understand that these resources are available to them. And it doesn't discount the need for childcare, the need for social services, and all these things that schools often provide to families.

Yeah. And even though they provide them, it is sometimes hard to get and even to. I don't know, I remember my friend saying on back to school night, like, one parent would show up. So it's. It's very hard. There's. There's a disconnect between, like, what the school and the parent. You know, it's amazing that anyone learns anything, really. And have you seen a bigger enrollment in homeschooling, like, across the board, or what has that looked like from your perspective?

Oh, my goodness. So the homeschooling population has skyrocketed. It's grown, I think, three times since what it was before the pandemic. And the largest segment of people homeschooling that has grown is black homeschoolers. That population has grown five times since the pandemic, which means 16.1% of African American families are choosing to homeschool their kids and really taking the power back over their children's education, many at considerable personal sacrifice in order to make this work. So I think it's a combination, you know, it's a real. They're real network effects that as more people homeschool, it becomes more socially acceptable and the communities grow. And so it just is like a tumbleweed, you know.

Yeah. It's no longer like, you know, Bobby sue sewing her own clothes. That's the home, you know, the Persona you'd had, but now it's. It's everybody. It's like, oh, these kids love to play flag football, so they do that every day at noon, but they gotta, you know, get through a little bit of curriculum in the morning. And what are your thoughts on, like, the, like. I know there's, you know, Charlotte Mason and unschooling and then the classical and all this stuff. Do you have thoughts on. I know. You said it so many. It's always changing. How do you guide parents as to what would be best, the best path for them?

Yes. So I think that that is an area where families do need some support because there's no type of certification for curriculum, and many of the curricula includes factual errors or in some cases, has religious content, but doesn't overtly state that it's religious, which is problematic if you don't share the religion or the views. I mean, there's even a very popular math curriculum that has, you know, some word Problems that says, you know, sue wanted to lose weight to please her husband, and how many pounds did she have to lose? I don't think that that kind of math problem is something that, you know, a young woman or a young man should be solving. So it can be very tricky. So I turn a lot to this group called secular Eclectic academic homeschoolers. They're, you know, they're all. You know, some people actually are Christian or Jewish, but they want to use secular curriculum with their children. They also want to use inclusive curriculum that includes black history, indigenous history. And there are a lot of teachers in that group who've chosen to homeschool their kids. So often what I'll do is I'll just kind of look for curriculum recommendations from that group. And that's where I found out about this math problem, because they've literally gone through every single problem. They can tell you if there's math problem. You know, math workbooks that have a lot of factual errors. And so during the pandemic, I had lots of conversations with different families, and I identified about 200 different. Different archetypes of children to try to recommend curriculum that would appeal to that individual child. And, you know, after doing a lot of these interviews, I started coming up with the same questions and getting the same results. So I'm able to consistently recommend curriculum that a child will love and will be in the family's budget. So I developed a free curriculum planner, and I'm always trying to get new information to put into that, and I'll be happy to share a link with your. With your listeners, but I think that is a really key. And. And I did. I just want to return to that point of parents being able to teach their kids, because this. These amazing curricula that are being developed has really expanded the opportunity for parents to be guides for their children's learning. And any exceptional teacher, if a parent has any doubt about their ability to guide their children's learning, talk to any great teacher in public school or private school, and they will say, you are absolutely qualified to teach your kids. Only a mediocre teacher would say that a parent isn't absolutely the best person to help their child with homework or learning, you know, would have that kind of arrogance. A good teacher knows that the parent is the best person to help, for sure.

Wow. I think a lot of people needed to hear that. And it's so true. Like, we made it through the system, you know. So you're saying that the. The system I went through to learn didn't equip. Me well enough to teach my kid, you know, then why are we putting our kid in the same system? You know, and, and I'm, I'm really big on kind of thinking about, like, well, what are the goals for our children? Like, why even send them at all? Right. Like, what, what are you expecting the school or your home education to do for your child? You have to kind of think about that and what is needed, what's necessary, and then what are your goals and how do you combine that? And like, for myself, you know, my husband and I thought a lot about, okay, well, do we want him to be able to. I kind of want him to be able to know all the jobs that exist and then, you know, like, okay, well, that's the kind of.

They'll be completely different in ten years from now.

Yeah, exact. Exactly. Exactly. But to get a basis and, you know, okay, well, I know I like trades or I know I like mechanical stuff. I know I like engineering. And engineering might, of course it's going to look different, but, you know, or oh, I like, you know, a religion, you know, go. So there's just so many different areas I feel like school only kind of told you about, like, be getting in health care, becoming a teacher and I don't know, lawyer may. I don't know. I don't even know. So there. And then just life skills, like, okay, well, how do you grow food? How do you find water? Like, these are things we take for granted, but we don't know what the future is going to bring. So we don't know that our children's. Children's children don't need to know that information. And it's really scary because our grandparents knew it and it like in one or two generations, there's hardly any kids. I know that unless their parents are actively working with them on it, know that stuff. And a lot of people will say, well, that's up to the parents to teach. But tell me, do you have back to school nights where you and the teachers discuss that, or is that in like, some sort of pamphlet that the school sends out to all the taxpayers, you know, each year saying, this is what we'll cover, this is what you cover. And, and also when they busy us with being at work for eight hours a day plus a commute there and back, and then making sure our kids are in all these different sports, and then making sure, you know, every kid's invited to every birthday party in the classroom on the weekends and this and that, where is there time to say, like, this is how we grow a garden, this is how we preserve the food. This is, you know, so it's, there's so many elements that it makes it so difficult in like the education system to get, to get it all in. And I do. Again, going back to, I think there's the disconnect between what's the parents role and what's the teacher's role when you are in the school setting.

Yeah, for sure. So there's a lot in there. Right. So talking about the parent and the teacher's role, I mean, unfortunately teachers have, and school principals have little to no control over learning standards. They just have to pack in a ton of information and, and it's really fantastic. And there's no information for parents about what they need to teach outside of school. That is completely up to them. And when are they supposed to teach this? In between their kids get home exhausted and go to sleep and then want a break on the weekends, want a break in the summer? No. And that happens at the private schools that parents try to cram and all this stuff after school and the kids get so anxious. And so when you're homeschooling, I mean, I have kind of a radical viewpoint that you really only need to teach your kids math and literacy and handwriting, that those are the elements that parents really need to take ownership over. It's a matter of safety. If your child doesn't know how to learn, doesn't know math, doesn't know how to read, doesn't know how to write, they don't know how important these tools are, they're going to be at a real disadvantage when they turn 18 and they want to apply for a job. But aside from that, I really encourage parents to leave a ton of space for self directed education because children are observing you all the time and they have a natural intuition about what kind of skills they need to cultivate to develop the type of life that they want. And one thing I sometimes see in homeschooling is that parents can develop almost a type of FOMO about what types of things their kids need to learn. Like, oh my gosh, now I'm responsible for what's the core knowledge they have to learn, what's the biology they have to learn, what's the coding they have to learn instead of, you know, really giving that empty space to help give the child opportunity for their own curiosity to awaken and follow in that direction. And also even for the parent to just follow their own intuitions. Like, hey, I think gardening would be a good thing to learn. Now. And so I really, you know, I see really successful homeschoolers really do focus on the hour of math and English language arts, and they do incredibly well that way.

So touching on what you had mentioned about what they have to know, which, yes, obviously, math, reading, and writing. Are there other things or even the level of math? And I mean, I guess if you know how to read, you know how to read. But expanding your vocabulary is always important, too. Are there levels to the math and the reading and handwriting and any other subjects or things that people have to make sure their kids know in order to, say, get accepted into college or be able to apply for a job? You know, have you seen homeschoolers that do get into college? And is there any sort of extra, like, extra testing that they need to take?

Yeah, so that's a great question. And I would say there are some people who disagree with me and even think, like, why does my child need to know multiplication? And I think there can be a debate around that. There are certainly children who teach themselves how to read. Others don't. There's a lot of research that shows that children need explicit instruction in reading. So homeschoolers definitely get into college. Mit, for example, loves homeschoolers. They tend to be very autonomous, have their own interests. You have a lot of time to prepare for things like AP exams. So those types of tests can be really good if you're a homeschooler, you know, just to show like, hey, I got a 5 on 8 AP exams. You know, obviously, even though it's homeschooled, I know stuff. So I definitely encourage parents to do that. You can obviously develop a portfolio. Most homeschoolers take the GED for their high school diploma. But, yeah, there's just so much. If you look at, you know, Stanford has a whole page about how much they like homeschoolers. Especially the elite universities are just, like, growing more and more fond of homeschoolers.

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And you know, there's been some research that, you know, the average student in public school, there is just no growth between grades 9 through 12th. So in many ways interesting. These homeschoolers, you know, are at a real advantage for preparing for college or career or whatever they want to do. And we're seeing more and more opportunities for micro credentialing as well. So I think parents can inform their kids about these opportunities. They can talk to them about their own job, about their own college experience, and then they really have a lot of time and space to prepare a good portfolio and application.

Okay, so you had mentioned these AP exams are there across the United States. Are there certain ones I know you had mentioned before like the no Child Left by oh, Common Core is like. Is Common Core just a New York thing or is that countrywide?

Yeah, so Common Core is national. I think California recently changed its standards. Each state has different standards, and sometimes the homeschool curriculum is actually aligned with those state standards. So that can be helpful. Or, you know, they might require you to follow the state standards standards, but it's pretty easy to get up to speed. And again, there are tests like the Map Growth tests or Moby Max that can help parents see where they are. And then the AP exams is just these exams that actually normally high schoolers get take to get extra college credit. And there's just tons of different subjects that they can take.

Okay. So you don't have to take them, but you can take them. Especially if you wanted to maybe start getting college credits in high school, because I know that you save money by doing that. Oh, that's interesting. So tell me a little bit about the work that you do and kind of what you've put together with teach your kids. Yeah. And even how you. I. I mean, how did you go from getting into acting?

I don't know. That's a million dollar question.

Right.

Or.

Or did is acting just a pat the dream is dead, or do you think you'll get back there someday?

Well, I'm very passionate about it, and I think my training in acting helped me in two aspects of what I do today. It helps me understand different people and how to relate to them and have compassion for their experiences. So I feel very at ease speaking to parents or teachers or investors or children. And I think being able to talk to these different stakeholders is very important. And the reason I transitioned out of acting is because I didn't feel that the theater and Earth film in its form today was really a medium that could allow me to have the impact I wanted to in the world. I mean, the more I saw the suffering in the education system, the more I wanted to do something about it. So now I just feel like I have much more power, you know, So I write a blog about education. It's published once a week. We cover top curriculum. Which types of curriculum work better for different kids. We have an online Facebook and WhatsApp group where parents can connect, ask questions, have online play dates. And then there's the curriculum planner, which parents very easy. It takes like three minutes and parents can use it to connect with the right curriculum for their child. So I feel like I am influencing people immediately in a much bigger way than I could when I was auditioning at Walls in New York City.

Yeah, oh, that's awesome. So where can people find you if they want to take advantage of of these things that you're offering?

Absolutely. So I have a website, teach your kids pod.com and parents can go there. They can subscribe to the blog or join our online community. There's just tons of tons of articles about every single question you could ever imagine. And when you join, if you just want to say, you know, write me an email, you can reply to the kind of confirmation message and ask your question. Also, I'm really committed to equity, so if there's anyone who feels I can't afford $10 a month to be part of the community, all you have to do is just shoot me a message and tell me that. And I will just trust that when you do have more resources, which you will, then you can become paying member and help someone else.

Awesome. I'll make sure that all of those links are in the show's description. And as we kind of, you know, fold up the episode here, is there anything else, like, any recommendations that you'd want to tell parents or any kind of, like, last thoughts for us?

Yeah, for sure. So I definitely would recommend that families check out my blog to curriculum, especially if you're an ongoing homeschooler and you're looking for more resources. And then the other point I'd like to bring up is that sometimes families don't want to homeschool because they feel like they just need a break during the day. I just need a break. And I would really encourage those parents to think about how much a break school is really giving you. You know, is your kids coming home at 4, really cranky, you getting up at 5 to get them on the bus and dressed and off to school, you know, having this kind of crazy weekend three months in the summer, like, is that really giving you the break that you need? Or could you take a pause and say, hey, how can I curate a better childcare situation for our whole family where maybe we can travel the world, sleep in as late as we want, raise children who are autonomous and who can become absorbed in activities that they love? Because the homeschoolers that I know just lead so much more relaxed, empowered lifestyles? And so I think that is an assumption that people really need to question if that's a belief that they hold about homeschooling schooling.

I so agree with with that. And you know, it is hard having two little kids home all day. I mean, right now, so I can do the podcast there at my in laws, but even that is Hard asking family, hey, can you watch my kids while I do something that doesn't really make any money? And so basically, you know, watch them while I do my hobby. And meanwhile, they're sitting there thinking, okay, you pay tax. You could have your kid in school right now. Why am I watching your kid? You know, so I do get that. And then, like, and. And this is the break, you know, it's not to do the laundry, wash the dishes, all the stuff that needs to be done in the day. But, you know, there are just, like, this morning when I'm feeding the kids breakfast, and the baby, she's a year and a half, and she just starts, you know, covering her eyes and going boo to her brother, and he's laughing at her. And, like, the bond that they're making and what I get to see, like, normally I would be in a cubicle. I've spent 16 years in a cubicle working for the agencies that you're talking about right now with, you know, welfare and all that stuff. But sitting in a cubicle under fluorescent lights, which, in my mind, it's just glorified welfare, because I got to be where they say. I got to sit where they tell me to. I can, you know, go home when they tell me to. And I sit there, and we all get the same amount of money. It's like, that's what I would normally be doing. So it feels so crazy to say I'm gonna walk away from that and be around these humans that I created. And. But then when you, like, watch them laughing at each other or these moments I would be missing of her, like, closing her eyes and then opening them up and going, boo. And thinking, that's, like, funny. I mean, those are smiles you're. You're not getting in your day when you're off at a job that you don't like. Absolutely. If you like your job, maybe that's something different. But for me, I'm. I'm just like, wow, I would be missing all this right now. So no amount of money in the world really is worth that because the time is so small that we, like, have them, you know, and get to form these bonds. For my son, he did go to daycare, and I missed a lot, and I only see it now that my daughter's home, like, what I missed with him, and it does get me, like, you know, but you can't change it, and it gives me an interesting perspective, you know, So I totally agree with that. To the parents that feel like, oh, my gosh, I need a Break, there will be time because they will get older and more self sufficient and you will have the breaks.

Absolutely.

And then you're gonna have too much of a break because they're just gonna be off.

I mean, I think you bring up such a good point that you've made sacrifices, but the rewards are so huge. And it's, I think you did something really smart, which is to take this time for your hobby to insist that your in laws watch your children, which I'm sure that they love, and multi generational. You know, parenting is so critical, but I think a lot of homeschooling parents don't take that break. And I say to everybody, you need three hours to yourself once a week, otherwise you can't recharge and give that energy to your children. And especially, you know, if you're an introvert, you might need even more time to yourself. It's just, it's vital, it's not wrong to ask for it. And it's important for your kids if you can't motivate yourself for yourself. So it's, it's really fantastic that you are doing that for yourself. Cheryl.

And thanks.

And you know, think about your friends who have kids in school. I mean, are they saying like, oh, I feel so nice and relaxed when I drop my kids off in school. I love this break I get every day. No, no, you're so right.

No, it's like, get up, get up.

We gotta get out of the house.

I gotta get you there, I gotta get you, you know, if we're late, I have to walk you in and then I'm gonna be late for work. And just chaos. It's just mass chaos.

And I've never met anyone more stressed than a single stay at home parent who has two kids in private school. It's just constant effort.

Really. Now why is that before I let you go? Yeah.

I mean, I think that the work just crops up, you know, and it's, you know, they end up spending so much time managing the household and different activities after school, you know, that there's just no break, no, no rest. And there's also this, this split where kids go to school and then they come home, they go off to summer camp and then they go back to school. So you're constantly readjusting and getting into rhythms and you kind of are living in these two separate worlds and there's so much fighting and conflict that goes on because of that. Whereas if you have this rhythm that continues this all year round, learning and living, that's happening there Isn't that split where you constantly need to be readjusting from place to place and environment to environment?

That. That is huge. And I didn't think about that before, but even just the month of December, I switched the curriculum. We did a little bit more about, like, learning about, you know, the birth of Jesus and this and that. So it was. I took a break from the phonics, the math, everything. And we did different stuff, like listen to the, like, Christmas carols and. Okay, let's see where this. It was from. Treehouse Schoolhouse. A connected Christmas. Where did the writer of this song or here's a piece of artwork. Where did. Where was the artist from? Let's learn about that and geography kind of thing. And getting my son back into our regular phonics and handwriting and math. This month has been so hard. The first couple days were so hard. Like, him crying, me crying, like, I'm gonna send you to school. I'm going back to work. But, you know, but. And then think about that in a classroom, and you got 30 kids all adjusting from their week and a half off or their three months off. That's got to be so chaotic.

Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

So that makes a lot of sense. Manisha, it has been such a lovely pleasure to talk to you. You bring such unique perspectives. So thank you for the work that you're doing.

So happy that we got this chance to meet, and I'm so excited to continue the conversation and see how the podcast grows. I just. I love the angle you're taking. You know, you're really coming to this homeschooling with a spirit of learning, and that's the best way to do it.

Awesome. Oh, I'm so, so happy to hear that. Thank you. Especially after this week starting out crying, but we're doing something right?

Sure.

We're through, but thank you so much. I'm gonna put links to all of the information in the show's description, so please check Manisha out and teach your kids. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Cheryl.

Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the Homeschool how to. If you've enjoyed what you heard and you'd like to contribute to the show, please consider leaving a small tip using the link in my show's description. Or if you'd rather, please use the link in the description to share this podcast with a friend or on your favorite homeschool group Facebook page. Any effort to help us keep the podcast going is greatly appreciated. Thank you for tuning in and for your love of the next generation.

Sam.