How To Homeschool (Free Workshop Aug. 17): Jacklynn Walters

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 chatting with Jacklynn Walters, who is a Shawnee City Councilwoman and longtime homeschool mom. She will be our featured speaker at our August 17th How to Homeschool Workshop at Lenexa City Center Library. 

Jacklynn, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your homeschool journey for people who haven't met you yet?

Jacklynn: Absolutely. I'd love to. Thanks so much, Shanxi, for having me. I'm really excited to participate in this way. I've been doing the homeschool workshops for a while. And so this is fun to highlight it and to bring more attention and hopefully get some more attendees. I was actually homeschooled for three years in elementary school, and then I went to private school and then back to public school where I started my education. I always loved homeschooling, and I always said I was going to homeschool my own kids. And so I, you know, was on that trajectory.

And I remember even telling my husband on one of our dates that I wanted to homeschool our children. You know, this was before we were married or even dating. But he was right on board with me and has always been super supportive in that homeschool journey. But I recognize that not everybody is really in that scenario and has not always maybe had the support of a spouse or always wanted to or feel almost like they have to and are kind of begrudgingly looking towards that journey. So I know my situation is really unique in that regard.

So fast forward a little bit, just a little bit more about me personally. I do serve on the Shawnee City Council. I was elected in 2021 and in 2020, I started doing a lot of interviews, similar setup to this for MPE. Just because of the influx of homeschooling as a whole, and it was an honor to do that in a very rough season. For all of us and hopefully it was helpful and encouraging to parents who really were thrown under the bus.

And then fast forward a little bit more to 2023. I was hired onto Senate staff for the Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, and so I am a full-time working mom, homeschool mom. And I couldn't do it without my amazing supportive husband who really just stepped in and started helping. And I might share about that a little bit more later, but yeah, that's a bit about me.

Shanxi: That whole time, you know, working while plus homeschooling is so valuable, you know, especially in today's day and age where people (say), how can I do that and homeschool at the same time. So what can people expect at a homeschool workshop if they're just hearing about it for the first time?

Jacklynn: I think it's a great environment where it's relaxed, it's casual, you can come in with experience or with zero knowledge on homeschooling and I think find encouragement no matter where it is, where you fall. It really is intended to be an overview of what homeschooling is, homeschooling in Kansas and Missouri. We'll touch a little bit on Kansas and Missouri law and just really the nuts and bolts of a homeschool day and how to choose curriculum and all of those things.

Then there's a great question-and answer-time. And so you feel free to you know, come with all the questions. I think that's my favorite part. It's a great way to connect with, and encourage, those parents that are looking to homeschool. I used to say moms, and now - I love it - families are coming together, dads are coming and supporting. Sometimes dads are the number one homeschool parent. Yeah. It's just a really great environment to come and and be vulnerable and ask those tough questions that maybe you're wrestling through.

Shanxi: And the nice thing about the Q&A session too is I know some people may not feel comfortable voicing their questions in front of other people, and there's always time after the session to come up one-on-one and just ask those questions that maybe you may not want to ask in front of an audience per se, but there are lots of people who are willing. We just have that one-on-one time with you.

So what are some common objections that you hear to starting homeschool? You know, maybe the mom or the dad feels like, I'm just not qualified enough. I work other jobs. So what is the most frequently asked questions you hear?

 Jacklynn: Yeah, I think I've heard it all. And I think I could answer yes to all of those, feeling not qualified. You know, I wasn't trained to be an educator. I work full time. My husband works full time. How on earth could we squeeze in one more thing?

But that's I think the beauty of coming together is learning how people have done it from different family dynamics, different family makeups, single moms that come and really just are trying to navigate, how do I do this as a single parent? And we really are there to come alongside and show you the way and show you that somebody like you has done this before and we're here to help encourage them along that way.

Shanxi: You also mentioned how this can help families who are, you know, already have some experience with homeschooling. I know I personally have heard from families, I'm like three years even into my homeschool journey, and I'm still learning new things about home schooling from this workshop. What's been some of the feedback that you've heard personally from attendees before? 

Jacklynn: I think the number one thing I hear is how encouraging it is. I met a young mom, I guess it's been probably 2 years now at a workshop that we had. And she was just starting out and come to find out, she goes to our church. And so I've been able to connect with her and follow up with her and had even had her into my home and tried to show her the resources that worked for our family. And not to say that's going to work for her, but she just kept going back to, it was so encouraging to get the nuts and bolts and to know that she wasn't alone.

She had a a sister-in-law that homeschools her children, who really was encouraging her. And so this kind of broke it down. She was further along in her journey, her sister-in-law was. And so this kind of gave her, where do I start?

And even though maybe you're in your third year, I can tell you in my third year, I was still scrambling. And sometimes as I'm in my 9th year, I'm still scrambling. I'm still trying to navigate and figure it out because your children change, and their needs change, and their curriculum needs change. And so you have to take the time to step back and reassess.

And I'm always going to moms that are further along than I am and saying, hey, what do you think about this curriculum? I'm struggling with, you know, how to divide my time, you know, whatever it is. I think any opportunity that you have to be in that setting, whether you're just maybe you're pulling your kids from school and starting to homeschool them, or you're three years into a homeschool journey and you just need some encouragement.

I think that's the beauty of coming to something like this where you kind of go back to the basics, figure out maybe I'm missing something along the way, and this, I think, gives that opportunity. To make sure that you're kind of checking all the boxes, and I hate to put it that way for maybe not a type A person, I'm a type A, so I like checking the boxes, but maybe you feel like you're scrambling and I think this is a great opportunity to bring in those, what do I truly need and what can I throw out? 

Shanxi: Right. Yeah, that's so true. And I love also how like you're saying, because it's so casual and informal. You hear a lot of tidbits along the way that, you know, may not even you think have to do with homeschooling. At one of the conference workshops, I remember one wise mom saying when we take family photos, I always make sure it's before the food, because then everybody has to take the photos before all the food. And I was like, that's real treasure right there. <laughs>

Jacklynn: The things you learned from other moms along the way, nuts and bolts that are crucial!

Shanxi: What have you found, personally, most helpful when preparing for, you know, today's back to school, back to homeschool season? Everybody's vacillating between that extreme of, you know, I'm so excited. And I'm so intimidated. <laughs>

Jacklynn: I think for me, as I mentioned, I'm a type A I'm a planner and because of our very busy schedules because our kids are all in activities, my husband, like I said, works full time. I’m full time, sometimes from home, sometime about four months out of the year I'm in Topeka, and so that really pulls me away a lot.

And so I really want my family to thrive in that time and not be scrambling because, you know, they don't know what to do. They don't know what the lesson plan is. And oops, you got to make dinner. You know, all of those things that, like you said, all the pieces because you're all home together. You have to think about all of that, you can't just do the school and forget about supper and laundry and cleaning the house. All of those components. And so it can be overwhelming.

So I always go back to a really good solid plan, and not to say that that plan is perfect all the time. It takes some trial and error. It takes finding what works for your family, for the makeup of your family, your husband's work and schedule, your possible work schedule.

I start planning really far in advance. I usually watch for sales on curriculum. And those sales usually hit sometime anywhere around Black Friday to, you know, early January, February, March. And so I know that that's coming on a certain curriculum that I've got my eye on. I'm thinking ahead to next year already in the middle of this school year. So I can get that good deal. Because I love a good deal, and if you don't think ahead, it's OK because there's the used curriculum sale and you can catch that over the summer break.

So that's fine. Either way, you're gonna be covered, but just, what curriculums do you like? What systems work? Well, for your children, that takes trial and error, and doing research kind of upfront. And we'll go into kind of those nuts and bolts, and how do you pick out a good curriculum for your family? We'll go over that then at the workshop, and so please tune into that, that it's laying out a successful year and being prepared because you've planned and prepared.

Like I mentioned the family that's pulling their kids out of public school and they're gonna start homeschooling. It's preparing them. It's having those conversations and talking about what school is going to look like now, and then it's going to be a lot different than what they're used to. But different isn't bad. Hard is not bad. It just takes planning, takes intentionality, takes prayer to really be prepared for what the next year’s like. 

Shanxi: What have you found most helpful for your kids? I know for the parents, you know, it might be a whole different scenario than what the children are expecting and wanting. Like you were saying, sitting down people and maybe saying it's going to look different. Any type of fun, back to school traditions or fun outings that you plan for your family? 

Jacklynn: Yeah. So you know really over the summer. They take it real easy on school. I learned early on that I needed a break as much as the kids.

And especially when I'm working, it's kind of a busy season for me right now with work and so a little busier than I normally am just due to some projects I'm doing. And so letting them have that free time to play, but then they know August is coming. We start early August typically because of my work schedule. We want to get a really good jump start on the year and really hit it hard this fall.

And so the first day of school, I don't make it super academic heavy. I want to get pictures of everybody and a first day picture. I want to have a breakfast with my family, and we tend to do something fancier than normal or just fun. You know, those are the kind of things we do just to prepare them and to kind of make that shift to the new.

The older ones, they know what's expected, but even those younger ones, they know that first day of school, we take pictures the first day of school. We have a special breakfast, and you know, we do a couple subjects. We don't do a lot. We don't jump all in right away. We ease that way in, and remember that you're still, you know, enjoying a little bit of summer. We might do PE at Grandma and Papaw's neighborhood pool. <laughs>

You know, so making it fun for them, but yet, you know, being intentional about getting started. For my family, getting started early. And again, every family is unique and different. And so it's going to look different for each of you.

Some thing I actually didn't do last year, because I store it all in these bins and they each have one and they like to look back, one of them goes, Mom, are we going to do this this year?

And I always had this little print out sheet of, you know, what's their height and what's their favorite color and food. And I forgot to do it last year. And so I said, yes. Yes, we need to do that this year. I will print those out. I have it saved on the computer. It's just something I missed in the busy-ness, but things like that, even my freshman still enjoys doing that and reminiscing and watching herself grow and develop. And the style of books she likes now versus kindergarten, right?

Shanxi: Yeah, that's good. Even your children can help keep you on track. Yes.

Thinking back, you know, obviously, 9th year – congratulations! When you were just starting out, what's the best advice that you would have given yourself that younger you if you could go back in time?

Jacklynn: There's a common saying in our house that less is more. I would tell myself, that applies here too, Jacklynn, Less is more. We used a great curriculum that I absolutely loved for my younger ones, learning to read intentionally. I did it with all of them. Really. If I could have just told myself to soak that in and not be so rushed that they're going to get it, they're going to learn it. It's going to click. 

And I had a very bright young daughter, you know, and she was an overachiever, and she was anxious to learn, which is not always the case, and that's fine. But then I almost, because she was doing so well, I pushed it even further. And you know, I would just tell myself to treasure that.

Don't feel like you have to do everything, and it doesn't all need to be done today or this year or, you know, whatever. To really cherish those younger years that you have with them because they go by so fast. You really want to have the opportunity to build those relationships.

And I also understand like, I try to not forget about the family that's not starting with a kindergartener. If you haven’t homeschooled this whole time, there still can be those special moments.

And I think it's important to note, if I was starting out in this season of life with a freshman and a 6th grader, and I'm going to, what am I going to have, 4th and 2nd? I would have been starting now. What would I tell myself now? The most important thing for them is to invest in the relationship, friendship component, just their family network, through the homeschooling world.

So, what does that look like? That means you're going to ease into your school year. You're going to build strong relationships together. Don't think that that is not valuable because it is the key, I think, to a successful homeschool family, a successful school lifestyle.

Because if you're not having relationship with them and those teenagers aren't connecting with you and they're having to adjust to a whole new life, that relationship is so, so key. So I would just tell that. Again, take it slow. Less is more. Invest in the relationship side. You can still do that alongside learning. Pick out a book about history that you want to read with your child that invests in both of you, and that you can read together and talk about and discuss about, you know, how does that reflect on our life today? Those kinds of things that help build relationship out of education. And they go hand in hand in a homeschool home. 

Shanxi: So quick recap, and feel free to jump in if I miss anything. So the workshop is going to be Aug. 17 at Lenexa City Center Library, and there's going to be a meet and greet this time at 9, an hour before the workshop. And it's going to be Meeting Room 2 on the lower floor of the library, and we have the room booked until 11:30 AM, so everyone's free to go in and out of their schedule allows. Anything else people should know?

Jacklynn: Come with your questions. You know, nothing is out of the realm, a lot of people say, I have a stupid question. No, I promise you it's not stupid. It is a lot to navigate. But that truly is why we're here. We want to help you. We want to come alongside you and really be an encouragement to you as you begin this beautiful journey of homeschooling your children. 

Shanxi: Thanks so much for listening. We hope you are 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.