# Homeschooling High Schoolers? It’s Not Only Possible - It’s Powerful | Rachel Kovac (Bonus Episode)

An episode of [Minimalist Moms Podcast | Purposeful Life & Parenting Tips](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1159498258), 15 Jun 2026, 33 min.

Audio: https://prefix.up.audio/s/pdst.fm/e/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/clrtpod.com/m/mgln.ai/e/35/audio2.redcircle.com/episodes/b2d2a5df-d41c-4823-a831-25a3644aa9fc/stream.mp3

As parents, we dream big dreams for our children and our families. For many, choosing to homeschool - especially in the younger years - is a way to intentionally achieve those dreams, offering not just academic flexibility but the freedom to truly know a child and nurture them accordingly. But as high school approaches, a question remains: Can homeschooling in the high school years continue to be a well-rounded and practical path that helps teens pursue their dreams for the future? Rachel Kovac knows this is the case. In today's conversation, she shares personal stories, expertise and words of encouragement to empower parents to confidently guide their student through a thoughtfully crafted high school education at home that ensures they're academically prepared and emotionally resilient for their unique post-graduation paths. Links Discussed in This Episode | • Checkout the podcast storefront for recommendations from Diane. • Subscribe to the Minimalist Moms Youtube Channel • Rachel's Resource: italki language learning app • Rachel Can't Stop Talking About: Voxer • Connect with Rachel • Website • Instagram • Substack • Book: Their Future Is Shining Bright: A Guide to Homeschooling in High School -- and Equipping Your Child for Success and Fulfillment in Adulthood About Rachel | Rachel Kovac is a homeschooling mother of six and a longtime writer on motherhood, education, creativity, and home life. When she’s not writing or homeschooling, she loves photography, sewing, growing flowers, baking sourdough, and learning Italian. Episode Sponsors | The Minimalist Moms Podcast would not be possible without the support of weekly sponsors. Choosing brands that I believe in is important to me. I only want to recommend brands that I believe may help you in your daily life. As always, never feel pressured into buying anything. Remember: if you don't need it, it's not a good deal! Enjoy the Podcast? Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your fellow mothers so that they can be inspired to think more and do with less. Order (or review) my book, Minimalist Moms: Living & Parenting With Simplicity. You can contact me through my website, find me on Instagram, Pinterest or like The Minimalist Moms Page on Facebook. Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Cure Hydration and use my code MINIMALIST for a great deal: https://www.curehydration.com * Check out DeleteMe and use my code joindeleteme.com/MINIMALIST for a great deal: https://joindeleteme.com * Check out Wayfair: https://www.wayfair.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

## Transcript

[0:00] \[SPEAKER_01\]: For those of you that are new around here, I released bonus episodes that serve a niche part of my audience, so if this content is something that doesn't fit what you're looking for, check out the other episodes that drop this week or join me back here next week for episodes that you don't want to miss.
[0:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: a lot of times we're just being pulled along by inertia into that whatever comes next without really thinking, is this the life I want to create?
[0:21] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Is this the life that I really want to live?
[0:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so I think that high school is an amazing time where you can really give your child the opportunity to think through, what is it that I want to do?
[0:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: What is it that's right for me?
[0:37] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And I think that we're in a new era with education, where things are changing rapidly.
[0:44] \[SPEAKER_01\]: This is Diane Bowden, and you're listening to the minimalist mom's podcast.
[0:48] \[SPEAKER_01\]: As parents, we dream big dreams for our children and our families.
[0:51] \[SPEAKER_01\]: For many, choosing to homeschool, especially in the younger years, is a way to intentionally achieve those dreams, offering not just academic flexibility, but the freedom to truly know a child and to nurture them accordingly.
[1:03] \[SPEAKER_01\]: But, as high school approaches, a question remains, can homeschooling in the high school years continue to be a well-rounded and practical path that helps teens pursue their dreams for the future?
[1:15] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Rachel Kovak knows this is the case.
[1:17] \[SPEAKER_01\]: In today's conversation, she shares personal stories, expertise, and words of encouragement to empower parents to confidently guide their student through a thoughtfully crafted high school education at home that ensures their academically prepared
[1:31] \[SPEAKER_01\]: and emotionally resilient for the unique post-graduation paths.
[1:35] \[SPEAKER_01\]: If you've been enjoying the minimalist mom's podcast, be sure to hit five stars or leave a rating interview if you haven't done so yet.
[1:41] \[SPEAKER_01\]: This is one of the best ways you can support the show, and I know there are so many wonderful podcasts that you can be listening to, and yet you continue to show up here a week after week tuning in, and it means so much to me.
[1:52] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I appreciate the time taken to do that, and I appreciate you being here.
[1:56] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And with all that said, let's get into this conversation with Rachel Kovak.
[2:04] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I'd love to hear just here from the beginning of our conversation.
[2:07] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I obviously talk about intentionality, simplicity, slowing down minimalism, of course.
[2:13] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I would love to know why you think that your book and your message is aligned.
[2:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, so I embrace minimalism when I had four kids, seven and under because I just felt like I was constantly pushing back the ocean.
[2:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: That's how my husband and I used to describe it.
[2:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It was so overwhelming to try to maintain so many things that you can just accumulate when people start giving you toys or clothes.
[2:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: or various, even with good intentions trying to help you out, and so when we had four children seven and under, we embraced minimalism, we spent 10 days going through our whole house, just wanting to simplify.
[2:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We didn't have a lot of toys for our kids, and it was amazing.
[3:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I had read a study on how having a lot of toys actually inhibits creativity.
[3:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: that when kids have fewer toys and they're more open-ended, they can play so creatively.
[3:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We found that to be so true.
[3:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We would just have some scarves that could become like a lake for their little animals or it could become a cape or it could be turned into a puppet theater and it was so fun to see their creativity unbounded.
[3:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: but it wasn't until my son was in second grade where we felt like we needed to have almost like an embrace of minimalism in terms of our lifestyle because our kids were in different schools, our second grade, you know, school for second graders and then a school for preschoolers and we wanted our preschoolers to be learning through play and
[3:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: and our life was just so chaotic.
[3:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We would pick my son up from school and then he would come home and have a stack of homework and then there were obligations on the weekends, a lot of kids didn't sports even as young as the first or second grade and so that's great if that's like your family's thing but I really wasn't our family's thing.
[4:09] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So we found like we needed to just
[4:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I felt like home schooling was not something that I ever set out to do, but it allowed us to be able to embrace a life that was more simplified, actually, even though it seems like it maybe wouldn't be.
[4:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Really it was.
[4:28] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It gave us the space to set our own schedule to set the rhythm of our days to have time to really breathe.
[4:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so it's not that it was without challenges, but for
[4:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: homeschooling helped us embrace more minimalistic lifestyle.
[4:47] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, no, absolutely.
[4:49] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I think to continue on in regards to intentionality and homeschooling, I think that that's a, it sounds like intentional living is, you wanted to homeschool to live in a more intentional life with the family dynamic that you were in the family culture that you were creating.
[5:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Exactly, because also we weren't bound to a school schedule, so we could go and visit different places on our own time frame, like whether that was national parks, whether that's art museums, or just getting out on hikes.
[5:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We could be doing those things when the trails weren't really busy, and so we could really say like, this is what I want.
[5:26] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And in terms of the curriculum, what do we want our kids to learn?
[5:29] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I have a daughter that we adapted from Ethiopia and she's learning M.H.R.
[5:34] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The National Language of Ethiopia.
[5:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: My husband grew up in West Africa speaking French.
[5:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: My daughter wanted to learn French, so she's learning French.
[5:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I fell in love with Italian, so I'm learning Italian.
[5:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We're all learning different things.
[5:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You can set the pace as a family, but also as individuals.
[5:56] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yes, absolutely.
[5:57] \[SPEAKER_01\]: All right.
[5:58] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So you weren't planning on homeschooling.
[6:00] \[SPEAKER_01\]: You ended up homeschooling.
[6:01] \[SPEAKER_01\]: You have a new book.
[6:02] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Their future is shining bright.
[6:04] \[SPEAKER_01\]: A guide to homeschooling in high school and equipping your child for success in fulfillment and adulthood.
[6:09] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And you're here today to share how it can be done regardless of the age.
[6:14] \[SPEAKER_01\]: But specifically, I think so many of us are fearful and don't we don't know how to be intentional.
[6:20] \[SPEAKER_01\]: during the older years of our children's education, I homeschool my oldest, those are the years that are giving me pause and I have some apprehension because I just don't know if I'm capable.
[6:30] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So I can't wait to pick your brain a little bit more.
[6:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Do you have anything to say before we go on?
[6:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: No, I mean, I think that is such a common thing.
[6:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I was surprised as I wrote this book that so many people shared with me.
[6:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I had read an article in the New York Times that a lot of people have never really thought about gold setting.
[6:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They were never taught like how to live a life with intention.
[6:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: A lot of times we're just being pulled along by inertia into that whatever comes next without really thinking, is this the life I want to create?
[6:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Is this the life that I really want to live?
[6:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so,
[7:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I think that high school is an amazing time where you can really give your child the opportunity to think through, what is it that I want to do, what is it that's right for me, and I think that we're in a new era with education.
[7:18] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Where things are changing rapidly, so in 2003, about 300,000 students had some form of dual enrollment.
[7:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In 2021, 2021, that number had increased to 1.5 million.
[7:26] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, just a few years later, it's 2.8 million.
[7:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: students have some form of dual enrollment.
[7:37] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This isn't just dual enrollment in terms of getting college credits because you want to go on to have a four-year college degree.
[7:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This could be working toward an apprenticeship, working toward a trade.
[7:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It might be earning a certification in fact, in my city of 1.5 million, they're actually targeting kids who are underserved to help them get into whatever kind of program they might want to get into.
[8:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So it's not just for
[8:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The debt crisis, the college debt crisis in the U.S. is at $1.7 trillion, half of which is an undergraduate debt.
[8:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so people are looking for another way.
[8:16] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I think this is an amazing time to be homeschooling where we have so many opportunities really at our fingertips.
[8:23] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, is that what you think so many families have made the switch to home school because there's more opportunities there, maybe?
[8:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well, from the research that I have read, most families have made the switch to home schooling for concerns about the school environment as a primary cause either.
[8:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Maybe they're in the situation that I was in when my son was in second grade where he wasn't having recess.
[8:45] \[SPEAKER_00\]: He was having a lot of homework at night.
[8:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: He didn't have the time to play.
[8:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so they did it for reasons like they wanted their child to have more time for open-ended play, more time to be outside.
[8:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They didn't want the pressure that they felt like their kids were facing.
[9:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Or there's concerns about safety in schools that's become or maybe parents want more control over what is being taught.
[9:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so that's the number one concern homeschooling is growing seven times faster than private school enrollment.
[9:14] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so in my state there are twice as many homeschoolers as students are enrolled in private school and alongside of that has come an enormous outpouring of resources.
[9:27] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, for sure.
[9:29] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So I had said that I am nervous about the high school years and yeah, I think some people continue just like I'm nervous as a homeschooling mom moving into the high school years and you're saying that even if your kids are in public school, you can even pull them out for the high school years as not to be so intimidated.
[9:46] \[SPEAKER_01\]: We are qualified.
[9:47] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I just love to hear your encouragement of why
[9:50] \[SPEAKER_01\]: we shouldn't be so nervous.
[9:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Oh yeah, I think in terms of homeschooling, the high school years can be some of the best times to homeschool because there are so many resources.
[10:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So whether that's homeschooling co-ops, whether that's dual enrollment, there are online classes.
[10:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I mean, I think it's really important for kids to be living in body, lives, and not just...
[10:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You know, only be online, but I think you can throw in an online class like we do math online and that's been so great, but it allows our kids to also have time to practice their instruments or grow another hobbies or things that they want to pursue and because they are older, they can have just more independence in what they're pursuing.
[10:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They don't need you to stand over them as a teacher.
[10:34] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I think people have a false idea of what
[10:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: homeschooling is they might see it as school at home or you're standing up as a teacher and like these pictures students sitting at a desk, but it's really not like that at all.
[10:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I would say it's a lot more similar to a college environment where you're taking a few classes and then you have time to explore the other things.
[10:53] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And in my book, I'm not anti school at all.
[10:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I have such a great respect for schools and a great respect for teachers.
[11:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I just want to empower families who are looking for something else to show them what's possible if this is for them.
[11:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So this isn't about drawing battle lines or anything like that.
[11:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I think every family has to choose what's right.
[11:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And then if you think this is right for you, I want to empower families to get the information that I didn't feel I had.
[11:20] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah.
[11:21] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Well, I think depending on your state.
[11:23] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So it's really cool here in Ohio.
[11:25] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I'm able to pull my boys out for our nature group.
[11:28] \[SPEAKER_01\]: They do somewhat of a homeschool hybrid on the day that we have our nature group and their exempt from that afternoon.
[11:34] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So I think that's really cool too.
[11:36] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Even if the majority of the schooling could be done in public, you can pull your kids out maybe and you don't even recognize or realize that you can do so.
[11:42] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And then I also think with you saying how there's so much growth.
[11:45] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Did you say 2.8 million people homeschool now?
[11:47] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Is that the number that
[11:50] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Oh, shoot.
[11:51] \[SPEAKER_01\]: That's crazy.
[11:51] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Okay.
[11:52] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I can sense it because there are so many, again, here in Ohio, there are so many opportunities for co-ops and just like different groups to be a part of.
[12:00] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And so at this point, I'm really, I really am kind of more of a homeschooling hybrid mom because my daughter goes to co-op the handful of days a week.
[12:06] \[SPEAKER_01\]: But that works for her.
[12:07] \[SPEAKER_01\]: She's too social.
[12:08] \[SPEAKER_01\]: It's where her electives are done.
[12:09] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And then I have her on those other days.
[12:11] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And she wants to be at home.
[12:13] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And
[12:13] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Again, you kind of just have to figure out what works for your family.
[12:16] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I think throughout the years of the podcast and just kind of growing into my late 30s at this point.
[12:21] \[SPEAKER_01\]: What I realized is there's no set rule of what your life has to look like.
[12:26] \[SPEAKER_01\]: You can choose, you and your family get to choose what dynamic works best for you and whatever.
[12:31] \[SPEAKER_01\]: certain rules that we feel like society is crafted, like maybe examine why they were there in the first place.
[12:36] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I'm not saying to always be a rebel and to question all of the rules, but it's like, why do we have schools in the first place?
[12:42] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And who were they to benefit?
[12:43] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And why?
[12:44] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I don't know.
[12:45] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I think that helps you kind of break it down a little bit more if you want to.
[12:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, and that's how I actually opened the book with, uh, I start talking about the high school experience because one of the first questions that my kids would receive mostly from adults not so much from peers was, well, what about the high school experience?
[13:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So, and I think by that, they mostly mean things like prom or maybe sporting events, but nowadays those are accessible to homeschoolers too.
[13:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They're not just like our co-ops have prom.
[13:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: My, my daughter went to like three
[13:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so there are a lot of those resources available, but it's a legitimate concern, especially for people who really valued those kind of experiences.
[13:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so I walk through that actually, the high school experience is relatively new.
[13:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's not even 100 years old, where most kids went to high school in the US.
[13:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So we have this idea because it's what we've always known that this is how things should be.
[13:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: but it is a relatively new idea and kids have not throughout human history been primarily shaped by their peers.
[13:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They have been primarily shaped by multi-generational or intergenerational experiences and relationships.
[13:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And I think that that's one of the benefits of homeschooling that you can have these relationships with your peers, but also with people who are older and younger,
[14:14] \[SPEAKER_01\]: We've talked about maybe some misconceptions that people have in regards to homeschooling, but now I would love for you to talk about for those that do choose to opt into homeschooling.
[14:24] \[SPEAKER_01\]: You say that high school isn't only about academics, but there are ways that, through homeschool, we can intentionally prepare our teens emotionally, spiritually and relationally for adulthood.
[14:34] \[SPEAKER_01\]: How has homeschooling given you a better opportunity to do that?
[14:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, there are so many ways that I think homeschooling can benefit families in this way.
[14:45] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So when I think about our family relationships because we didn't have to get up early, teens are naturally biologically programmed to stay up late.
[14:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so their melatonin actually doesn't release until much later in the evening and so it's common for kids to not be tired until 11 o'clock or later and that's often when they have questions because we don't have to get up really early.
[15:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: we can have the time to talk late at night about the things that are really on their heart.
[15:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And in fact, there's legislation in the European school systems where they're thinking of moving the start time later for the high school students because they're seeing like kids are chronically underrested, that affects mental health, that affects decision-making.
[15:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: When kids are sleep deprived, they're more likely to make risky decisions.
[15:34] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I just cherish all of the times that we had to be able to stay up late and still have talking about the things that are on their heart.
[15:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I think it gives them the gift of time where they can do the core academics, but also have the time to pursue other interests and hobbies, and in a way that you want to pursue them, and then they have time with people of all ages.
[15:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Also, when you talk, going back to what you said about intentionality,
[16:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The high school years are such a great time to start experimenting with and testing out possible career ideas as a time where teens were made to start exploring potential vocation.
[16:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And I think the cool thing about homeschooling is that you can have the time to do job shadowing, internships, apprenticeships, and that can happen in schools too.
[16:25] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But to be a lot of times, students will say, well, I went to college and became an engineer because I was good in math or I went to college and I got a degree in English because I was good in English, but they didn't really think, is this really what I want to do for the rest of my life, does this match?
[16:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Teens can start to test out different things and find what seems to suit them best.
[16:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So for example, my son is premed.
[16:55] \[SPEAKER_00\]: He's applying to med schools right now, but only 15% of students who start premed finish premed because when they start taking the classes they're like, I don't want to do this kind of study for the next 10 years of my life in my 20s gets a great decade.
[17:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I don't want to be this tie down or whatever.
[17:14] \[SPEAKER_00\]: and so they pivot.
[17:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But if you can have exposure to some of those classes in high school and start to get a taste like then you are informed and you're saving time and money.
[17:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I think it's a great time for exploration too.
[17:27] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, that's funny.
[17:29] \[SPEAKER_01\]: That's
[17:30] \[SPEAKER_01\]: That's kind of what happened with me with my teaching.
[17:32] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I was supposed to teach high school English and my undergrad degree didn't get me into the classroom really till the very end, the very very end and then I realized, oh, I like actually don't want to do this at all.
[17:44] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I was just such.
[17:45] \[SPEAKER_01\]: a bizarre bonkers backwards thing.
[17:47] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I think that was only at Ohio State.
[17:48] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I think there's other colleges in Columbus that get you in the classroom reverse year.
[17:51] \[SPEAKER_01\]: But anyways, that real hands-on experience could have benefited me and saved me so much time.
[17:56] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I'm seeing that already for my daughter, which just things that she's able to explore on her own time.
[18:00] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, I really just do think it gives you back so much time that is otherwise spent in transition or dealing with things that may be our children have already learned, but we have to make sure
[18:12] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I think teachers obviously in doing the work to make every child successful in the classroom, it's like we have to go over something over and over and over again when maybe your child understands it and can move on.
[18:22] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And so I think that that's another thing that our homeschooling has given my daughter is that time that she can explore whatever it is that she wants.
[18:30] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I do want to talk about
[18:32] \[SPEAKER_01\]: How do I say this?
[18:33] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Like, I want to talk about the communication in the connection piece, I guess, that we have with our teenagers, if we choose to homeschool them during that time.
[18:39] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I do think that there are probably some parents that think maybe it's too overbearing, or I guess there's not a right answer here, but they think that it's too close.
[18:48] \[SPEAKER_01\]: That's too much connection.
[18:49] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Our kids should flee the coop at least in the high school years, or your thoughts.
[18:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well, okay, I've two thoughts first.
[18:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I would say I felt that more in the younger years home schooling.
[19:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It did sometimes feel like this is a lot of togetherness when the kids were small and they wanted to be within one inch of me all of the time.
[19:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You know, but as they've gotten older, actually, I find that a lot of homeschoolers, most homeschoolers that I know that are homeschooling to the high school years are outsourcing classes.
[19:22] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So either their kids are going to co-ops or they're taking dual enrollment, that's pretty standard.
[19:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And in fact, what I hear is especially when kids start driving, they don't see their kids maybe as much as they would like to see their kids.
[19:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so I haven't seen it as being a problem, but I think you can make of it what you want to make of it.
[19:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If you have a team that likes being home more, they might do fewer things.
[19:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And if you have a team that's an extrovert, they might fill their schedule to the margins, and you might have to actually ask them to scale back a little bit.
[19:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: depending on, you know, to keep your home life for them, we've tried to allow our kids to do a lot so we're busier than ever.
[20:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I think my friend L who is out in California says she thinks homeschoolers have more opportunities than they can say yes to.
[20:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so I don't think the problem will be that they're spending too much time at home, especially in places if you live in a larger city where there are a lot of opportunities.
[20:24] \[SPEAKER_01\]: no, that's so very true.
[20:25] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Again, I think depending on who you ask, the younger years can be trickier and or some people think the older ages are a little bit trickier.
[20:33] \[SPEAKER_01\]: But how would you encourage parents that these aren't years to just survive, but there can be thriving here with our teenagers?
[20:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, so when my kids were young, a lot of times people would say, you just wait, wait, you think they're cute now, but wait till they're teenagers, and I just thought that was so sad.
[20:51] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, I know that some parents do really struggle in the teenagers, and that expression is coming out of pain, but I think.
[20:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: People can struggle during any season of parenting.
[21:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: People struggle during pregnancy, people struggle postpartum, people struggle in the toddler years.
[21:09] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so I don't want, I don't think it's fair to paint teenagers in this light of, you know, they're very difficult to be around.
[21:18] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I have found, and I had this conversation too with Jenny Urich, who has kids a little bit younger than mine.
[21:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: that these have just been some of our best years because we have such close family relationships, we haven't had the issues a lot of people face and my kids haven't felt the strong pressure to conform, that a lot of kids might feel if they're in a high school environment where they're being pressured to do things that they don't align with or that don't align with your family
[21:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: and so I think it gives them a little bit more space from some of that peer pressure that can create tension in a home life.
[21:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, I don't think any method of parenting or education solves every problem.
[22:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But I think that it provides so many opportunities for connection and and fun.
[22:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I mean, we would road trip and just made the best memories doing that because we were able to have that time.
[22:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: where they weren't on a school schedule and to visit national parks or reading aloud together, we really protected our time in the mornings as a time to read aloud.
[22:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so we have all of those shared memories, those books that we went through.
[22:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: we could read about philosophy or history or whatever interest that they had.
[22:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And those just create more ties, more shared memories, we would drink coffee and read poetry and it could just be so beautiful.
[22:52] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Absolutely.
[22:53] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Well, someone as we wrap up here, speaking specifically to the homeschooling parents of high schoolers, I would love for you to give a few insights in regards to how teens can start to in their later years of high school, how they can start to think through if they're going to college what that process looks like, are they at a disadvantage from being homeschool or they have an advantage, any insight that you have here that you want to offer to parents of homeschooling
[23:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I feel like there are two myths that I encountered as I was homeschooling my own teenagers, especially my son who was our eldest.
[23:28] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The first is that homeschoolers can get into any college at our being sought after by Ivy League simply for the fact that they're homeschooled or out of the box.
[23:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I think that...
[23:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's true that Ivy leagues do admit homeschooled students, but they do expect them to have taken rigorous courses.
[23:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so they admit them according to the same standards that they would admit any other students.
[23:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Like, they might be looking at things like SAT or ACT scores depending on the school.
[23:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They might be looking at what coursework are you taking, what internships or research have you had?
[24:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: On the other hand, there's a myth that homeschoolers can't get into college at all, and that's also not true.
[24:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Homeschooling is common in some states 10% of students are homeschooled on a college application.
[24:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You can just check that your homeschool.
[24:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They're used to seeing this.
[24:21] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Admissions offices are used to seeing this.
[24:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so homeschool students get into college and attend college, and statistically do very well in college.
[24:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, I don't think colleges for everyone, more and more people are wondering if it is going to be the right fit for them.
[24:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The New York Times just had an article called Why Millennials or something like this.
[24:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I don't have it in front of me, but feel betrayed by getting a college degree or something like that.
[24:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And a lot of that has to do with debt, getting a degree and not feeling like they had job opportunities, based on that degree, questions like that.
[24:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I would say the teenage years can be a time to start exploring those pathways.
[25:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And then to decide, do I need a degree to do this job?
[25:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If that answer is yes, you can start to take dual enrollment classes.
[25:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If you'd like to get ahead start and get a better feel and if the answer is no, then maybe you start, you could also do dual enrollment to see if you like doing that other career based on apprenticeships,
[25:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And you don't have to do either of those things you can just I have my third child really wants to just take high school as it is a not go had long into dual enrollment and you can do that too I think it just really depends on the child and that is one of the gifts of home schooling.
[25:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If you have a child that's really academically minded and wants to start going after something they can, if you have a child that wants to take their time, they can do that too.
[25:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We don't have to rush them.
[25:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They don't have to be on this express way.
[25:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so, I love that you can choose a path that is based on the individual child.
[26:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Even for things like coursework, like two of my children did one kind of mass, curriculum that was great for them is called Think Well.
[26:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But for my third child, that curriculum did not work as well.
[26:14] \[SPEAKER_00\]: For her, she needed something that was more repetitive.
[26:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so even though this curriculum worked for two of my kids, it's more abstract.
[26:21] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It prepared them well for college level math.
[26:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: For my other child, she needs more repetition.
[26:26] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And she needs something that's more concrete.
[26:29] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so we were able to make that transition
[26:34] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If she was in a different environment, she would have just possibly been tracked as being not a math person.
[26:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Do you know what I mean?
[26:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Or being quote, bad at math.
[26:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so I think it allows us to choose things that help our children to really thrive.
[26:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: That's who they are.
[26:49] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah.
[26:49] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, for sure.
[26:51] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Well, Rachel, you gave us a lot to think about and I think as people are entering into the summer and tossing the idea around of maybe they're going to homeschool in the year.
[27:00] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I think my biggest encouragement to them is again, you don't have to have all the answers now.
[27:05] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I feel like as I started taking those steps, the path kind of showed itself and it is what you make of it, but do you have any other final word of encouragement that you to leave with the listeners and then after that share where you can be found and where they can grab a copy of your
[27:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I love that you said that because I wrote about that in my book.
[27:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I think sometimes we just take things one step at a time and then you look back and you see, oh, all along I was led, but I didn't feel that at the time.
[27:33] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I felt like there was uncertainty.
[27:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I write about in my own story, I was really held back by fear and feeling like even things like teaching reading which I now have confidence in.
[27:45] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I feel like, well, could I really do this?
[27:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Am I capable?
[27:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And I would say, don't allow fear to hold you back if this desire is on your heart, then move in that direction and like you're saying, you don't have to do it forever.
[27:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You don't have to even, you don't have to do it for all of your kids.
[28:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Look, try it if it's something you feel you're being led toward trying and take it one step at a time.
[28:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And if it doesn't work, then you've tried it and you know that you've tried it.
[28:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I felt like I just needed to try.
[28:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We started homeschooling in the summer so that if it didn't work, we could send our kids to school in the fall.
[28:21] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Like we wanted to just get a feel for it.
[28:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I think for myself, I would say also that the longer you do it like anything, it gets easier because you have more confidence, you don't feel beholden to doing things a certain way.
[28:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And I think you can start to see that you have your own unique family culture and you can live in that direction.
[28:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Rather than feeling like you have to look like another person's family, and especially with things like social media, sometimes we can just see
[28:51] \[SPEAKER_00\]: like this can pause at home school or that's made up of this family doing this and this family is doing that.
[28:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And we feel like I could never be all of those things, but no one is all of those things.
[29:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We can only be who we were made to be and so living into that direction.
[29:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so I would say don't allow fear to hold you back if it's something you're considering.
[29:13] \[SPEAKER_01\]: 100% and then work in listeners, grab a copy of your new book, Rachel, and connect with you online.
[29:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So my book is available wherever books are sold and I have additional resources on my website which is www.raitalcovaq.covaq.cac.com.
[29:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I'm also on Instagram as Rachel stitch together back when people had whimsical Instagram names.
[29:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I'm not on Instagram a lot, but I'm there and on
[29:41] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Perfect.
[29:41] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Well, quickly as we wrap things up, I'm asking the final two questions I asked all my guests.
[29:44] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And the first one is, what has been a beneficial resource in your life that you want to share with the listeners?
[29:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, one thing that I have loved that could be useful for homeschooling or for anyone is an app called I talky.
[29:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: where you can connect on language learning with native speakers in any country and have conversational lessons and they have varying price points and varying amounts of times you could do it for 30 minutes for an hour.
[30:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I've done this to learn Italian.
[30:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: My daughter has learned amharric this way, my other daughter French.
[30:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And it's such an exciting way to learn a language if you're
[30:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, no that looks great.
[30:28] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I'll be sure to include that in the show notes.
[30:29] \[SPEAKER_01\]: It looks a little bit better than do a lingo that my daughter always wants to do.
[30:33] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I'm like Charlotte that's just I feel like very gamified.
[30:37] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So this looks very legit it's amazing.
[30:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I have been absolutely thrilled and they can put together lessons.
[30:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If you're someone who's interested in learning a language, I would also recommend watching movies with the subtitles in that language.
[30:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I got the advice from so many people who I knew who learned English as a second language and they all gave me that advice and it's such a great way to learn a language.
[31:03] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Okay, great.
[31:04] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Final question.
[31:05] \[SPEAKER_01\]: What is something you can't stop talking about?
[31:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, I would say reading aloud.
[31:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I love reading aloud, and I also, I have a book club with a friend where we read aloud and leave messages over boxers.
[31:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So we'll take turns reading books, even as adults, chapter by chapter.
[31:22] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And I think in a world of speed, it's a way to stop and go really deep and to just, we love to read old books and to get a different perspective, it's been such a beautiful and centering practice.
[31:37] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, oh, that's lovely.
[31:38] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I love that you do that.
[31:39] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And what a great way to slow down.
[31:41] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I do love reading books out loud to my kids, and I really enjoy also doing voices for different characters.
[31:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's just like a fun outlet.
[31:48] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I'm going to be so it's out of my kids or older.
[31:49] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I probably will still do it, but you should still do it.
[31:52] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, I think it's a fun thing.
[31:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well, Rachel, again, thanks so much for joining me today.
[31:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I really appreciate it.
[31:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Thank you so much for having me.
[32:00] \[SPEAKER_01\]: What did you think of the episode?
[32:02] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I hope you enjoyed the conversation.
[32:04] \[SPEAKER_01\]: To learn more about today's guest, including links, resources related to everything discussed today, visit the episode page at minimalismomspodcast.com where you can find the entire podcast archive, as well as my book Minimalismoms Living and Parenting with Simplicity, or other ways to connect or work with me online.
[32:23] \[SPEAKER_01\]: If you'd like to support the podcast, the easiest and most impactful thing you can do is subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify, or YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave a rating or review of your favorite episode.
[32:35] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Lastly, sharing the show or your favorite episode with friends and social media is very helpful and will encourage others on their journey to think more and do with plus.

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