Episode 160: Home. School. Redefined. with Amy Schantzen
What You’ll Learn
In this episode we have Amy! An amazing momma who made the difficult decision to “retire” from her career as a full-spectrum small-town family physician to homeschool.
Amy's family is really interesting because they do what she calls, "hybrid school". They live in a small town, her oldest two (8, 5) go to public school in the afternoons, and her youngest two go to daycare three days a week.
She's a self-described homeschooling rebel 😂 (but we think she's a wonderful example of someone who's thoroughly explored the possibilities and found what works well in her family and small community).
The Schantzen Family (01:30)
Amy and her husband were high school sweethearts and went through high school, college, med school, and residency together. For a few years, they each worked three days a week and stayed home the other days. Their four kids are 8, 6, 3.5, and 1!
The oldest began homeschool in 2020, when the oldest wanted to learn to read, but the family has been homeschooling full-time for two years.
Amy LOVED her job, but homeschooling really brings her joy! It was a little bit covid and a little bit Amy’s personality that really led the family to homeschooling. Her mother-in-law has been really supportive, and she and her husband initially shared the teaching responsibilities, but now Amy does the bulk of the instruction.
Jumping in with Both Feet (06:09)
From the beginning, it was pretty easy for the Schantzen family, because it was covid and EVERYONE was homeschooling. Then, as Kindergarten and First Grade were on the horizon, Amy wanted to make sure she wasn’t limiting her daughter with homeschooling (the fear was that she was holding her back).
The family isn’t committing to high school or middle school just yet, but it’s a possibility!
Supporting a Homeschool (07:55)
Amy’s husband was able to keep his same “3 day” work schedule (with the occasional weekend on call). So there are times when both parents are home (which is SUCH a gift).
Small-Town Life (08:50)
Amy and her family live in small-town Iowa (population 5,500). There’s no Walmart or Target, but there is a grocery store. The community has a private school and a public school, and the Schantzen family was welcomed with open arms when they arrived 7 years ago.
The family lives just outside the city limits, in a neighborhood
Homeschool Space (11:05)
Amy doesn’t have a dedicated homeschool space just yet, but she’s working on it. Right now, they school in the dining room, but…
The family has a hearth room with a fireplace, cabinets, a book shelf, and she just FINALLY pushed the “buy” button on a table and some book shelves from Ikea. So, when those items arrive, they’ll be doing the bulk of their schooling in there.
Homeschooling Happens... (11:45)
For a number of reasons, the family schools in the mornings. They rise early, have breakfast by 6:30 am, and begin school by 7:00 am!
Core subjects are done by 9:00am (which is snack time), then they do History, Geography, Nature Study, and other extras before cleaning up and doing lunch.
Then the kids go to public school…last year this is how it went…
The oldest did recess and specials and then rode the bus home.
The middle one was able to do Kindergarten prep (the bus picked her up AND dropped her off). This year she’ll do something similar, which will be half-day kindergarten.
The third kiddo is able to do three-year old pre-school on Tuesdays and Thursdays now.
The baby is now the only one in daycare on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Amy uses Tuesday as a homeschool prep day (teacher planning time) and Thursday is for meal planning and grocery shopping.
There was a point when Amy felt a bit ashamed for being retired and still having the kids in daycare, but so much good is coming from their situation.
Curriculum (19:30)
The oldest does Logic of English currently. She began with The Good and the Beautiful, but had SO MANY questions.
Luisa, the kindergartener, is a very different child, and she’s using the Rooted in Language Pinwheels program. There’s a lot of prep-work, but it works very well!
Teddy, the three year old has already started with All About Reading.
The other favorite curriculum is Math with Confidence, because Amy loves the foundation it creates. They also did Beast Academy a bit this summer and deemed it the “eraser summer” because the goal was to have so many wrong answers that they’d need to erase A LOT.
Part of the fun of homeschooling is learning (as a parent) how to approach school related challenges in a non “school” way.
Incorporating Faith (25:20)
The family is Christian, so the ability to incorporate faith into their homeschool was exciting. It’s really part of every subject. The oldest just feels for everything, so homeschool allows the family to talk through and feel out the questions that arise in different lessons.
The family is doing the Old Testament, a little Catechism work, and scripture memory. Another wonderful part is being there to help the kids in THEIR faith journeys.
Having children and homeschooling has grown Amy’s faith journey too!
Fear & Flex (29:15)
The fear that Amy’s noticed is the concern that homeschool will take over the relationship with her daughter. Homeschooling can really put parenting under a microscope.
Amy’s biggest flex (right now) is that she’s figured out how to plan. She schedules out 6 week terms, with a 1 week break in between.
On her Tuesday afternoons, Amy will prepare each week for the next term…she’ll tear out worksheets, get scripture passages ready in week 1, and prep language arts in week 2…etc.
Then Sundays, Amy will sit down and plan for the week (while taking the already-planned events into account).
Advice for a New Homeschool Mom (36:25)
The biggest advice is there’s going to be a lot of advice, and learning what will work for your family will take time. The journey can be painful in some ways, but there will be lots of trial and error while you try things that may or may not work.
Also, live in your season and give yourself grace! You don’t have to give up on your big dreams and aspirations, but know that there will be a time and a place for them.
A's to Our Q's (39:25)
The family’s go-to dinner in a pinch is a sheet pan meal. Amy uses the Chicken Apple Sausages, sweet potatoes, broccoli, red peppers, and uses a bit of olive oil and salt and put it in the oven and it’s done! Add some fruit on the side and you’ve got a meal!
Something Amy does each morning to set herself up for success is waking up at 4:45 am, working out, reading the bible, and showering before the kids wake up.
Teaching from Rest was a VERY impactful book for Amy’s homeschool journey, as was Kendra Adachi’s Lazy Genius. She also enjoys Morning Basket podcasts, and ALL things Sally Clarkson (books, podcasts).
