Amanda Medford: How Women's Encouragement Day Can Help Homeschool Moms In 2025

TRANSCRIPT

Shanxi: Hello, this is Shanxi Omoniyi, host of MPE’s “Homeschool Hints” podcast to encourage you wherever you may be on your homeschool journey.

Today we're going to talk with Amanda Medford about the upcoming Women's Encouragement Day on Feb. 1, and I'm really excited to feature Amanda on the Women's Encouragement Day planning committee. Amanda, can you tell us a little about yourself and part of your homeschool journey and how you've made it thus far?

Amanda: Yeah. Thank you for having me. So yeah, I'm a second-generation homeschooler, and I was raised in the Kansas City area, and I was a part of JCPE many years ago before it was MPE.

We have been homeschooling my children, for about almost 15 years since my oldest was in preschool. So now he's graduating this year and we have a freshman, an 8th-grader, 6th-grader, and a 2nd-grader.

So we just moved back to the area the summer of 2023 and got plugged back in with MPE and back in the local activities and stuff like that. Yeah, we've homeschooled in three different states, a lot of different experiences.

Shanxi: Have you attended Women's Encouragement Day before? What was your experience like? Just for people who, you know, have never been? Maybe this is their first time hearing about it. Why is it even offered?

Amanda: Yeah, I attended for the first time last year. It was the first one after we moved back, and I really enjoyed it. It was good to see old friends and meet new people and make new friends. Yeah, it was encouraging and just enjoyed, it just felt like a mini-retreat. It was great.

Shanxi: Yeah, that's really awesome that, you know, you're coming in from a fresh perspective because I know way back when, like you mentioned when it was Johnson County Parent Educators and then we realized, Hey, we're attracting a lot more than just Johnson County.

Amanda: Right. It was a lot smaller then.

Shanxi: And then after that, one of the people were like, The winter months are just so hard for homeschooling. You're off from that Christmas high, you're just trying to hold on until the school year ends. We need something.

And so basically, it was just, you know, a handful of moms and grew to be the hundreds that attend today. What made you decide to join the Women's Encouragement Day Committee?

Amanda: One thing I feel, like I consider it an honor to be able to give back after homeschooling for so many years and especially with moving several times, I kind of like to jump in and help where I can. And I like to get to be part of something. And so it's kind of always been the easiest way for me to get to know people, is just jump right in and help them. So I was excited to be asked to help with it.

Shanxi: Yeah, that's great.

I know this year's theme is about homeschooling and just God's faithfulness throughout generations. And you know, being a second-generation homeschooler, how have you seen that personally in your own education?

Amanda: I think for me and like we talked about, it was a lot different than many years ago. And so my homeschooling journey now looks so much different than it did then, and a lot of that was very intentional.

I had kind of an unusual homeschool background probably. And so, with my kids, I've done things differently.

There weren’t very many options back then. You know, it was kind of cut and dried like you do this curriculum and that was pretty much it.

So when we started, I wanted to include Charlotte Mason-type things and people to read aloud with my kids a lot and spend a lot of time together and study artists and study hymns or whatever, like wanted to spend time together learning.

Our day-to-day looks a lot different, but also seeing God's faithfulness a lot in the different seasons and where you know, when we started, when our kids were young, we were living in California. And we joined a large homeschooling group where we lived at the time and had a great experience with that for quite a few years.

And then we moved to Arizona and at that point we struggled a little bit to find community. We moved in 2020, which was not a good time to move. So finding community was a little bit harder and finding, you know, people that were open to having us join. Looked a little bit different that first year for sure.

And then the next year, I ended up starting a homeschool group so that our kids could have more opportunities and people to be around and things to do, so we were not necessarily enjoying it that much. So we did a Wild & Free group so we could get out into nature and explore and learn to appreciate where we lived a little bit more. Yeah, that was good.

And then moving back here and kind of jumping back in and having friends that plugged us into community and in the process in Arizona, we went a little bit different route for a little while with my oldest. He went to private school for three years, starting in Arizona. So for high school, he went a different journey than the rest of us for a few years and it was good for him at the time because it was, you know, it was hard to plug in Arizona.

But he enjoyed that, and he's back homeschooling this year for his senior year.

Shanxi: Yeah, it's lovely and amazing just seeing how there's freedom to be different. I mean, so often, especially people looking from the outside are like, oh, you're homeschooled. What's your curriculum? What's your this, what’s your that? But I think, especially from a generational perspective, you can see there are some things that are different, and some things that are the same. And every generation is different, almost like every generation has to reinvent homeschooling for themselves.

Amanda: Yeah, I feel like as they've gotten older, we’ve had to kind of reinvent things a few different times.

Shanxi: Would you say to the earlier you, the earlier Amanda like just starting out, you know, like 15 years ago?

Amanda: I think one thing I did kind of learn after a couple of years was to give myself and my kids a little bit more grace. My oldest was an overachiever, and he wanted academics right away, and so I kind of rolled with that.

Then I also had to learn to just, it's OK to slow down a little bit and not push too much too quickly. And maybe more quickly figuring out the best learning style for each of them would be good because they were all different.

And so what worked for my first, it took us a little time sometimes to figure out, oh, it's different for the second or the third. (laughs)

Shanxi: I really appreciate that perspective and that wisdom because I think especially for the first-time homeschooler, who's just starting out with maybe just one child. And then the second and then the time of multiple children, it's like you're juggling so much more. So yes, your homeschool does have to adapt. You have to adapt too.

Amanda: Yeah, I was the only child. So like I said, my homeschool journey was different. And so seeing how that works with three and then four and then five, it was different.

Shanxi: What can first-time attendees expect to see or to experience at a Women's Encouragement Day?

Amanda: I think that they can always experience fellowship. It’s always beautifully set up and an encouraging atmosphere. I know there should be some yummy food and just get to enjoy encouraging speakers and time to chat and meet people, find people who have something in common with you. Some good worship. It's a very encouraging day.

Shanxi: I always like to tell attendees, especially if you know they're a little shy and introverted at first, like, you know, I don't know anybody there. I’m just going to come in for the first time.

You can come in at any stage, whether you have a bunch of friends and you're all attending together, or whether you're just coming in for the first time. I think just the feeling that you're not alone, and that you’re in this together, really ministers, at least to me personally, because you know some people are like, I just want to sit at the back. And I just wanna enjoy seeing, you know, from a distance and just, you know, have my own quiet space. Then there's also the times built in for the meet-and-greets, and the, you know, catching up with old friends like you said.

And with the backdrop of beautiful music, beautiful decorations, and this is a day to set aside for you personally. Because, you know, let's face it, 364 days of the year, you are pouring out to your family, to your children. And this is one day in the year where you get to say, I'd like to build my cup so that I can then be refreshed and encouraged to pull back out to others.

Amanda: Right.

Shanxi: Around this time of year, especially for those people who maybe, homeschooling wasn't on the horizon for them, and they're trying to find something midyear for whatever reason. What tips or suggestions would you give to those moms? Who maybe, you know, they are jumping in, both feet. And they're like, I don't know whether the Women’s Encouragement Day is the right place for me. But you know, I have all these questions and I'm feeling overwhelmed. Where do I go?

Amanda: It's never too late to start, so even, I know it can be intimidating to start in the middle of the year, but there's never a time that's a bad time to start.

Actually, I think midyear can be really beneficial because for a lot of families, it's a good idea to take a deschooling period of time, move away from the traditional school setting and just take some time together.

Let them both kind of slow down and just get their feet wet with homeschooling a little bit, finding the strengths and weaknesses of their students and where they need to place them.

You know, who knows how they've been doing in public school or wherever they've been and kind of finding out where they need to be placed, as far as curriculum and stuff like that.

I know a lot of families that start later will just spend time reading together and hanging out with good books and doing a fun unit study, a topic - but as you do it, kind of figuring out, how does my student learn best? And things like that.

And then, I always, with our kids when they were younger too, we liked to be a tourist in our own town and go check things out. And so it would be good just to do those kind of things for a little while until they feel a little bit more comfortable.

Figure out what works for them, and then be able to move forward with the curriculum that they officially decide to use.

I think too, something like Women’s Encouragement Day is so good because when you do get to know other people, you hear what others have used and what's worked for them and get some new ideas. And it just gives you an opportunity to chat with others and not feel like you're alone in your journey here, that you know others have been there too. So.

Shanxi: What works for one child may not work for the next child. (Laughs) Yeah.

Anything else you'd like to add that maybe I've missed, or that people can look forward to before registration closes Jan. 19?

Amanda: Yeah, I would say if you haven't experienced Women's Encouragement Day before, or you're brand new to MPE and not quite sure what to expect, I would just encourage you to go ahead and jump in and and check it out.

Yeah, because it is in February, it kind of gives a good opportunity to kind of you'll be able to hear a little bit more there, what MPE is all about and see whether it’s a good fit and learn more about upcoming things like the conference and things like that, but also just to help you to make that final stretch, the end of the school year.

If you're looking to start next year, it's a good time to be equipped and prepared and able to learn from others. I’d definitely encourage you to sign up.

Shanxi: So being on the Encouragement Day planning committee, are there any changes or anything that people should look forward to? If, you know, they’ve been coming a long time and expecting a certain routine?

Amanda: Yeah, it's going to be a little bit different this year. We're going to have a brunch, so it'll be a little bit after, we’ll start with an initial short session. And then we'll have a brunch, so yeah, so that'll be a lot of fun.

We have some really fun foods planned for the brunch, and then later in the afternoon, they're going to do an afternoon tea, which will have some little treats and things too, and we’re going to be at roundtables this year, so it'll be a little bit more discussion style. And try to find your friends as you get there, or ahead of time, to have a seat with your friends. So it'll be really good.

Shanxi: It's going to be at the same place. Journey Bible Church in Olathe.

I love how, you know, every homeschool is different because, you know, every family is different. So it's always great to hear various perspectives on Women’s Encouragement Day and what it all means to different people. I know the Women’s Encouragement Day committee in general does a fantastic job planning throughout the year for this day. It’s such a community for sure.

Amanda: It is. Yeah, it's fun to see all the details that go into it, and they have some really fun things planned for this year, so I'm excited.

Shanxi: Thanks so much for listening. We hope you were encouraged in your homeschool journey.

Please continue the conversation with us on our website, midwesthomeschoolers.org, or email us at podcast@midwestparenteducators.org. We're also active on social media if you'd like to connect with us there. Thanks to Kevin McLeod of incompetech.com for providing this royalty-free song Wholesome, which is licensed under creativecommons.org.