Episode 122: Beyond the Classroom: Exploring Homeschooling Options with Expert Catherine Read

Children  0:00  
We think you should know that Imperfect Heroes podcast is a production of Little Hearts Academy USA.

DJ Stutz  0:09  
Welcome heroes and heroines to Episode 122 of Imperfect Heroes - Insights Into Parenting, the perfect podcast for imperfect parents looking to find joy in their experience of raising children in an imperfect world. And I'm your host, DJ Stutz.

Welcome back to another episode of Imperfect Heroes, and I am thrilled to share some exciting news with you. You know, it's getting to be that time of year, and you might just be in the market for an amazing holiday gift or a perfect classroom edition. Well, that's okay, I've got you covered. Meet my new book, Roman is Bigger. It's a heartwarming tale that offers some essential life lessons. In this book, Roman discovers the profound impact of words on our emotions, and on our relationships. And Roman learns that the right words not only makes him feel better, but it also helps others to understand him better. And this lesson in communication and empathy is invaluable to children and parents. Roman is bigger isn't just a book. It's a key to strengthening bonds and building character. And it's perfect for Christmas, Hanukkah or any special occasion. And it's available now on Amazon. The link is in the show notes. So don't miss out on this chance to nurture your child's emotional growth. Get Roman is Bigger today and start off on a touching literary journey that will inspire your child's soul. 

Now, on today's episode, I had the pleasure of talking with a truly remarkable guest. Her name is Dr. Catherine Read, and she is not only the author of The Genius of Home, she is also a passionate advocate for homeschooling. So with a PhD in developmental psychology from UCLA, go Bruins. Catherine brings a wealth of academic expertise to the conversation. And what makes her insights even more compelling is her own personal journey that she had as a parent, because she homeschooled her two daughters from kindergarten all the way through 11th grade. And during our conversation, we delved into the myriad of benefits and the supports that are available to parents who have chosen or even just contemplating the path of homeschooling. And we explored the exciting world of alternative education options way beyond the traditional public school systems. And we shed some light on the diverse avenues that parents can explore to nurture their children's learning experiences. Now, Catherine's unique blend of academic knowledge and practical experience in homeschooling makes this episode an invaluable resource for all parents navigating the educational journey with their young ones. There's so much to learn. So let's get started. 

Welcome, everybody, and thanks for choosing to spend the next few minutes here with us at Imperfect Heroes podcast and Little Hearts Academy. And today we are talking about homeschooling and the Waldorf approach and doing that with my guests. Catherine Read is now fun with homeschooling. I love it. But before we get started, I just want to remind everybody that if you are watching on YouTube or Rumble, be sure to follow it like leave a comment. And actually the comments. I really love getting those and seeing what you're thinking what your reactions are to what we're saying and doing. And so be sure to do that. And we'll get back to you and look at what people are saying and answers maybe some questions that we maybe don't answer that you might have while we're doing the program. So think about that. And before we get started, I really want to let everybody know that we have a challenge coming up. And it is a challenge on service. So five days of living in service. And if you're interested in being a part of that, we will have all that information down in the show notes. So be sure to check that out. You can click on it, and what a great time of year to get our kids and our families involved in service and perhaps getting them more involved in the real spirit of the season. So whether we have Thanksgiving coming up and the holidays, this is such a great time to get us started. And hopefully this This is something that you're going to make part of your family's commitment and life on into the rest of the year. And so I even suggest them, picking a cause or a group that you would like to serve. And your gift to them is a year of commitment, and serving that whatever group or cause that you're interested in, what a great way to involve your family. So anyway, keep that in mind. 

Now, as we get started, I would love to introduce you to my new friend Catherine Read. And I, I am kind of maybe an unusual animal in that I am a former public school teacher, and I really love homeschooling. So if it's right for you, and I know it's not right for everyone, and I think people might feel more intimidated than they need to feel about it. And there's so many different ways of doing it. There are hybrids where maybe you're a couple of days in school, and the rest of the time, you're homeschooling, there are online programs that will support you with a teacher that they just connect with online. There are I've heard people say that they're worried about socialization, right, and social skills when they're at home learning. But there's so many other answers to that. And maybe we can talk a little bit about that as well. But Catherine, let our audience know, kind of what you've got going on, and how we can learn from you.

Catherine Read  6:29  
Well, I published a book because I homeschooled my two daughters, using the Waldorf curriculum. And that was 15 years, pulling them because they were three years apart in age. And we started in kindergarten and went through grade 11 in the high school. Now, I did not start out saying I was going to do that. I started out with the older one in kindergarten, saying, A and I can get into why exactly. But you know, it's like, okay, we I think we have to consider homeschool for this year. And we did. And we said, okay, but only for this year, then we'll reassess. We're gonna make this decision as we go along. It's not like, it's not like I grew up thinking, Oh, I'm going to homeschool my children and, you know, nothing like that. And so we did, we decided at each year, and as they got older, they became part of the decision. And that's the way it went. So I got the teacher training as I went along, for all those different ages. And then, in 2021, so about a year and a half ago, not quite two years ago, my book came out. So I published a book about what I had done here. Having school at home and the Waldorf curriculum. It's called I'll put it up here. Can you can you see? It's called? Yeah. Love it. Yeah, teaching your children at home with the Waldorf curriculum. So it's a relatively small paperback, it has different chapters on different topics, and it has some specific examples at the back. And I'm just hoping it can give people ideas that they can just I hope that people can look at it and say, oh, yeah, that sounds good. I think I could do that. It's not a whole grade or a whole year or anything, just some idea that kind of sparks something in, in their approach to their children into into their children's education, even if they're not teaching them themselves. I mean, I think in some ways, it's more general than homeschool, even but it is, is about children and what they need at different ages and what the Waldorf curriculum provides.

DJ Stutz  8:43  
Well, and we're gonna have all of that information in our show notes. And so if anyone's interested, whether you're listening on the podcast, or on YouTube, or rumbo, you can just go on down and we'll have a link there, you can click and see how to order the book and find out more about the book. So

Catherine Read  9:00  
yeah, yes, it's also there's an audiobook. Okay, there's great. There's an audio book too, which has slightly different material. And you get to hear the songs being sung because there's fun. Yeah, there's always an artistic side to teaching in particular, music is involved all the time. I give examples in the book where you're just looking at the the notation, but in the on the audiobook, you get to hear somebody singing it

DJ Stutz  9:25  
fun. And so you wind up doing pretty much the whole thing at home and with Waldorf. And so I guess one of the things that I think parents are really concerned, I guess, about with homeschooling is I don't have a teaching degree. Well, I do but but that's it's not that big of a deal, actually, especially when you're working with such smaller groups. And so they worry about that they just don't have the understanding or the acumen or Whatever, to be able to teach their kids. So how would you respond to that?

Catherine Read  10:05  
Well, it is intimidating. Yeah, it is intimidating to think you're gonna teach your children. And you know, as a teacher, the parents are thinking, Okay, you're gonna teach them, right. So, to be the parent and the teacher at the same time, it's, it's a little daunting, you know, you have to say, it is a little scary, you can't, you can't deny that. But I think if, if the person has a really strong feeling that that's the right thing for their child or their children, then there's way there's a way to work it out. I think that feeling comes first, that intuition comes first, you know, right. This is what my child or my children need. And then you work out the way to do it. You know, whether you're using Waldorf or anything else, you, you work out the way and there's a lot of support, just as you were saying, In the beginning, there's a lot of support, I think on what you're doing. There are other people who are doing it, there are many people now doing Waldorf homeschooling, there weren't that many when I was starting, and many now, so it's, it's all you know, this whole online thing is going on going on, then it's really possible now to connect with the other people who are doing something like what you're thinking about, and that is your main support, that's your main support. Right? Then you can figure it out, you'll figure out how to get the training that will help you or how to find them, that will help you or how to, you know, work your family life, it's a it's a, it can be overwhelming. But if you just take the first few steps, then you start to see how it can happen. That's all that matters that were raised.

DJ Stutz  11:45  
Well, and there's I know, there's Facebook groups, and there's coaching that you can go into there. I mean, there's just so many opportunities now to get help, that were not available to us, you know, pre Internet, and, and even for like the first, what, 1012 years of even the internet existing us coming to a point of understanding how to really use that in a positive manner and supporting our kids. Now we've kind of really got it down. And so there's a lot of ways for me, it seems like Facebook, at this is my take anyway, are my experiences has gone away from the oh, look, I had this great vacation. Oh, look, I did this. But to me, it's gone more into the group's areas where young moms first time mom groups, or, you know, and so you're getting information you're collaborating, it's become more of that kind of a format for me, were Instagram and some of the others that are out there are more for the hey, you know, my, my daughter just graduated or whatever. That's kind of for other venues. Oh, it's

Catherine Read  12:56  
interesting, because I have a website, it's called the genius of home.org. So that work, you know, all all lowercase, all run together and the genius. But I do also have Instagram and the Facebook, but the Facebook page is the Instagram feed. Okay, so the Instagram goes on to the Facebook page. But that Instagram is not, it's not focused on this is our family vacation. I mean, there is some person there, but more it's like, it's about the book. It's about the book. And it's about different topics from the book, photos of the children when they were that age, or some of the artwork they did, or physical education activities or something like that. It's in the book, but including the photo in the in the small text, and then the Facebook page too. So I haven't even done the research to see what's on Facebook for Waldorf education. But there's at least that one thing I know,

DJ Stutz  13:58  
you know, one thing? Yeah, yeah. And I think it'd be easy enough to do, but I think a great place for anyone to start would be at your page, right? And to get some basics and going on, of course, again, all of that is going to be in the show notes. And so if anyone's interested, and they want to become part of that group, do it. Yeah, just will have a click and you just go. And so and I know that like for our upcoming challenge. It's easy for me to use Facebook to have an interactive live, where on Instagram, it's not as interactive, right? And so and maybe it's more my understanding of how to use it to its fullest but to me, that's that's kind of where it goes. But so when you're looking at wanting to homeschool or you know, there's so many other options that are out there. I know that my niece so she has lived she's just moving now but she's lived in Michigan for years. And she taught for four first and second grade, but it was a hybrid program where the kids were, we just call it butts and seats, right. But they were actually in the classroom only two days a week. And then she would send home, all of these activities and all of these things for the parents to do for homeschooling for the other three days. And so there's those kinds of programs, there are programs where maybe, maybe a charter school is what's the answer for you, or whatever, but, but if you're not satisfied, or if you're having awkward feelings about your child's current situation, and education, or their upcoming situation in education, that it's okay to start looking at options. There's way more out there than you would ever guess. So there's some that maybe you're at kind of on your own, you're the full on only teacher and maybe you're even coming up with your own curriculum. If you've never done it before, especially I would highly suggest finding a curriculum, and there's a lot of great ones, but do the research and see which ones that you think would best fit your family, your family values, your children's abilities, their interests, all of those things, right.

Catherine Read  16:12  
actly and the Waldorf curriculum has some unique qualities, it has different from other things in some ways. So art, the art side of learning anything is emphasized in really from kindergarten all the way through high school. So that's one thing, visual art, music, artistic movement, that's a part of the curriculum all the way through. And that is a lot of, it's a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun for everybody, you know, for the parent and the children, it's, it's a way of working together, you're working together, you're not just the parent, filling the head, not just pouring something in that they're then going to have to regurgitate. It's more like, you're all working together on something. And the parent is, is leading definitely the parents leading the one they decide what is going to be the activity what and they know why. But they don't have to say anything about why. Right. And so they lead it but but you still all the time you're working together. And as the children get older, especially to get through adolescence or into later adolescence, they're definitely becoming more aware that they're working together, working together with the teacher, right. It's just a good feeling. It's a really good feeling. So that's one thing the art of though working together, the parent has teacher, not parent teacher as the leader. And and then the other thing is the Waldorf curriculum emphasizes nature in a lot of different ways to so important, yes, extremely important. So time in nature with for everybody that is not instructional for one thing. It's just observational, it's just fun for the younger children. It's just their play whatever they want to do. They're learning so much. They're learning so much about nature, the seasons, the rhythms, etc, just spending time outdoors and the parents. But it's not a question of, again, filling their heads with anything. And then that time outdoors, becomes becomes the basis of science. Yeah, absolutely. Oh, they're direct experience. And they're coming to trust their own direct experience. That's extremely important, extremely important in science. And so you know, as you go along, it becomes, again, more and more conscious what they're doing the outdoors, but then you bring it back in first, when they're really young, you you're bringing it back in just as Oh, we found this on our walk, you know, and you put it in me do something artistic with it, this was this was on the Instagram feed, where you take leaves that you've picked up. So a fall, this is a fall activity, you take these leaves you've picked up, and maybe they're bright colors, and they're beautiful, if you live in, you know, that kind of a place, but but you're not going to do anything complicated with them, because it's not a question of copying something or trying to get the form exactly anything like, right, make those actual leaves and leave tracing paper and you just go with so the child's movement is very simple. It's just this you know, straight back and forth. But what comes out of that is the form of the leaf the form in its colors if you're using those colors of grant so you can see how it's kind of all integrated our act Yeah, observation. And that gets us even though it becomes of course more and more intellectual as you go along. But the basis there of direct experience and trust in your own experience and having it be an experience of beauty is it stays the same.

DJ Stutz  19:49  
And, and I love that what you were talking about earlier with that child, Jill, kids are learning through play. We know that as educators they In fact, you know, you go to trainings and all of these things that teachers go to, and they talk about, well, kids learn through play. And yet we have their butts in their seats all day. So we know it. And yet, very often we're counteracting. And it goes much further, I think then, then you realize, so that we say, Oh, of course, you know, preschool, kindergarten, there's a lot of play and learning, but even now, kindergarten, it's butts and seats for a lot of it. The learning the play centers and stuff like that are not really there. I know. And so, when you have a really good kindergarten teacher it is, in fact, that's one of the things that you can look at, if you're thinking as this class ride or whatever. Go see the classroom where your child's going to be, and look around. Yes. And so I had, I would have tables where kids were, that was low enough kids could sit on the floor and work on the table. And then I had some with chairs, I had some more they could stand. I had some that they could use tool a stools was what's kind of a higher seating. I've even used you know, those crates that people will you can use it for hanging files, but they're plastic, and you can use it for all kinds of different things. But if you take a ball, one of those big bouncy balls, put that inside the crate, that's a bouncy seat. Oh, that's

Catherine Read  21:29  
interesting. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

DJ Stutz  21:31  
I, in fact, I had the first year I did that my principal came in and said, What are these balls doing here? Because it was by my reading table where we would go into phonics and all those kinds of things. And I told him what was going on? He was, oh, this is great. And he would actually bring other teachers in to show them, right, because

Catherine Read  21:49  
then they have movement. They have, you know, more free movement. I mean, we use those large balls too, as a kind of thing, because we were doing we always did movement before we started anything that required a lot of attention. Absolutely. There was always you know, rhythmic movement, rhythmic speech, music, something. Yes. You call that circle time, because you're generally in a circle. Yep. I just adjusted it. So that it was two graves being incorporated into that. So there was an autumn song, there was something, something about the season something about the weather. And what she then had to do with little rhymes about the pumpkins and whatever. And we would have this movement, and we eventually got to where we were, yes, moving those begging on those big balls bouncing around. Because you can use your own space, however, right? You can, what you've got, and you just work it out. But the play part? Yeah, I think we had, we had school only three days a week we had in, in the classroom, school, three days a week, okay, for five or six hours a day with breaks and lunch and the whole thing that's including breaks and lunch and the whole thing. Other two days were a day in nature. That's Monday. And then school in the classroom, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then physical education and other courses with other people, though, and I maintained that only three days a week in the classroom, through high school.

DJ Stutz  23:21  
Yeah. Yeah. And I think that we're finding more systems, more school districts are actually going down to four days a week. Yes. I know that the system just north of where I live now, is going to four days next year. I know. Yeah. In Colorado, a lot of the more rural school districts were already going to four days a week years ago. And and they're doing and the kids are doing fine. And so what does that I don't know, what does that say? And it's a little longer day. On the four days, you know, that it's a little longer to make up for the hours because the state will decide how many hours each kid needs to have in school. And so they they work all of that out. But they're finding that kids feel more free, they're more excited. There's issues sometimes with, you know, childcare for working parents, that kind of thing. But these other systems have worked all of that out. They have found answers to that. But I love that you bring up that on, you know, on Friday was your physical fitness. And so that's one of the answers, I think, for some of the socialization issue. Oh, yes. Get get them involved in a sport, have them be involved. And I know like in Florida. Homeschooling is huge in Florida. And so they would have whole groups of physical education, for homeschoolers, so you could sign up for that. And then once a week you're going and they would just like any other physical education class that they would take, they would investigate, investigate different sports, they would have teams, they would play things they would learn about their bodies and how they work. And and so there's so many answers that are, are there for the socialization part of it?

Catherine Read  25:19  
Oh, yeah, I don't think that's a real issue. I think that's just what people imagined when they haven't really seen the actual thing. I mean, we were always working with a group of other families who were homeschooling with our you know, with the Waldorf curriculum, there's tons of ways they everybody, there's going to be some group that's doing something like what you're doing. And we were always working together for festivals, for plays, we had a class play every year for each grade. And, and everyone, yeah, everybody in the group had to be involved in those plays, because that's the only way you could do it. And the parents were studying together outside of school. That's how they become colleagues. And then in school, it's them with all their children working together. Sports is one thing, we were also in a choir, we were in a homeschool choir, it was just Yeah, it was organized for homeschool families. Yeah. And sports is another one. And you know, again, the plays or some community, the way you talk about, you know, community service that can be a group of right, that are involved with something together.

DJ Stutz  26:25  
Absolutely. You're so right. And even like church activities, too. I mean, most, most congregations will have something going on maybe during the week for kids. And I know that even some congregations, the ones that I grew up in, they had their own sports, kind of leagues, and they would play other congregations.

Catherine Read  26:45  
That's true, there are many groups that you can become a part of, you know, there's just different ways. I mean, when we were in, when, when each of my daughters were in fifth grade, we started their community volunteer work. And the older one was so interested in animals and she wanted to be a vet. Beginning she wanted to be a vet. So she volunteered at the local, you know, small animal clinic for six weeks, one morning or two mornings a week for six weeks. And that was helping out that she was literally helping out she wasn't just a burden at this small animal clinic, and she then had a connection with this vet, who ended up writing a letter for her when she you know, applied, wow. And the whole thing, I mean, it's, she's definitely a part of this, this town, this community that we're in here.

DJ Stutz  27:36  
I love it. I love it. And so those are some really great options that are out there. So and then there's also an I don't know, if we're Waldorf systems have have this, you know, the official Waldorf company that provides that they provide you with curriculum with?

Catherine Read  27:59  
Well, yeah, let me say something about that. The Waldorf approach to education, there is a curriculum, but it's not what people usually think of as a curriculum. It's not like material, the actual material that you're going to be using in the classroom, it's not that it's more occations about the type of material that you will use at each array, then the teacher chooses their on specific material that they're going to present, and how they're going to do it. It's often not all the time, but it's often coordinated with the season. This is again, how, how, so when I was teaching, I gotta remember these grades. I think it was the fifth grade, and you're in you're doing chemistry, you want it you want to observe fire. Hmm. Sir, you know, big fire and what happens with carbon, what God and, and, and how it works as a gas and as a as a as a solid. And so the best time to do that is in the fall, at least where we live, you know, in the temperate temperate zone, because it's not so hot. You can't, it's hard to have a big fire when it's right. Right. And it's not so cold. So you might adjust, you know, and you might just say, Well, I'm going to do my chemistry this year, the first block of chemistry in the fall. Now again, this is a different quality about the Waldorf, they teach the academic topics in blocks, what's called blocks. So you're only doing one academic topic at a time for three or four weeks. Each presentation by the teacher is on that topic, building and building and building it the students are taking it in learning it thinking about it, throwing it writing something where it's the end of that block, the students have to start giving back more you know, they're they're finishing up their drawings because they make their own books, we don't use any textbook, there's no textbook involved, cool, is presenting the material that chill, the children are making their own book, in the first grade, even all the way through 12th grade, they just become much more diverse and complex. And, and you know, long as you get older, but you, you know that you're going to be making a main lesson book, the child knows they're making their own book, and it's called a book. And the teacher is teaching the main lesson. For three or four weeks, then you go to the next topic, and you go to the next topic, and it goes through the year, sometimes you come back in first grade, it's letters and numbers and nature stories, those and fairy tales. Those are the blocks. So you've got four, but you come back, you know, to each one after you've done some you come back again later. Okay. Yeah. And and so the curriculum is is giving you that kind of indication, it's, these are the topics. These are, you know, the basics that you should cover, but the teacher has to decide exactly how they're going to do that. And in what order they're going to do it. So that's, I'm hoping that my book is a little bit of help with that, because it just describes the curriculum, and describes the curriculum and my experience working with it, and the different things that the children said, and you know, how I saw how they were taking, they're picking them in how they were taking in what we were doing in school. So that's what's in the book. And I'm hoping that it's it's a, it's a little bit of a guide. Yeah, right. It's not the curriculum itself. But it's experience working with it. And I try lots of references to the material that you can find, you know, if you want to go into it in detail.

DJ Stutz  31:43  
Well, that sounds fantastic. So we've talked a little bit about ways that our listeners and our viewers can contact you. So let's kind of put it all in a nutshell. And, and how people can get a hold of you and learn more.

Catherine Read  31:59  
Okay, well, the best way is to go to the webpage, if that's doable. So it's the genius of home.org. And there is an email address there. It's info at the genius of home.org. So I look at that every day. So if anybody you know wants to email me, that's easy. And there's an Instagram there, you know, people can direct message the Instagram, they've gotten some messages on the Instagram, and on Facebook, and it's all the same name. It's all under the same name, the genius of home.org. Perfect,

DJ Stutz  32:35  
perfect. I love it. I love it. So I always ask my guests the same question before we wind up things. And we know that there are no perfect parents, hence our title of our podcast. But how would you describe a successful parent?

Catherine Read  32:52  
Yeah, I thought about that. I've been thinking about that. And I just want to tell a little story as part of that. Yeah. So when I was in my mid 30s, and didn't have any children yet. I was speaking with a friend of mine who was a little bit older than me. And somehow she started talking about her mother. And she said something about her mother that really struck me at the time. She just was describing her mother hurt. She was describing the mothering basically. And it wasn't even like she was trying to say, oh, that my mother was so great. She wasn't even focused on her mother. She just kind of said this thing. She said, Oh, well, my mother always let what was good for me come to me. And what wasn't good for me. She kept it away. That was just like the straight statement. She goes, isn't that what mothers do? And I went, Yeah, I sort of like, really struck me I realized I had not consciously thought that before. It was like a thought for me. All right. So then, all these years later when my own older daughter is 32 Oh, wow. And she's a vet. And I mean, like the whole thing all this time? I say, yes. I actually agree with that. When she said that I didn't have children. Now, after my older one being 32. I say, I agree with that. I agree with that. The parent is the one who lets what's good for the child come to them, and tries to keep away what's not good for them. But what I say is you're successful, if you keep trying. Keep trying. Yeah. Good, come to them, and to keep what's not good away. And that's all you can do. That's all you can ask.

DJ Stutz  34:42  
Agreed, agreed. And, you know, the world is such a place that we can do amazing things at home, but the world will tell them most of the time I think things that are in opposition to the values and And the honesty and and you know, all of that, that we're trying to instill in them, and how they identify who they are and, and what is right and what is wrong and all of that. And so you just do your best you keep trying. And and you always love them. Yes,

Catherine Read  35:20  
you know that there's something you know, you have some idea of what's good for them

DJ Stutz  35:24  
and what's not. Yeah, you have a better idea.

Catherine Read  35:28  
That's right. And the thing is, I think that they know, when you're trying, and they know that no matter if

DJ Stutz  35:35  
I agree with you so much. Well, Katherine Reed, thank you so much for spending this time with us. And so again, everybody, if you're listening on the podcast, you want to see what it's crazy, but ladies look like, go ahead and hit YouTube. So on YouTube, the channel is Little Hearts Academy, USA. And on rumble, it's just imperfect euros. So just go there. And I think if you just search DJ set, you're gonna find all kinds of things there. And so please remember to leave a rating and a review. And most importantly, tell a friend about us and, and all of the information that we have available to them. So, Katherine, thank you so much for being part of this. And good luck with all of the your, your book and all of the great work that you're doing.

Catherine Read  36:24  
Thank you, and thanks for your work.

DJ Stutz  36:27  
So thank you. I love doing it. I really do. Okay, well, we'll talk to you later. Okay, thanks. All right. Bye. Bye, everyone. 

Wow, right. So if you want to learn more about Catherine and her book, and she has this whole website, just click on the links in the show notes. And while you're there, hit the Follow button to make sure you are getting in on the amazing episodes that we have each week. And if you like what you hear in today's podcast, be sure to rate review and tell a friend. And you can do this, whether you're listening on Apple, Spotify, or some other platform. Or if you're listening from the Imperfect Heroes podcast website, you just go to the top of the page, and you'll see reviews, you're gonna click on that. And then you'll see leave a review, click there. And it's just that easy. 

And so before we wrap up, I want to share some more exciting news. We're just starting on November 13, I'm hosting the fFve Days of Service Challenge. You know, the holidays aren't just about decorations and parties. It's also about reaching out to others and teaching our children about the joy of service, and creating meaningful experiences as a family. And this challenge is going to be a little bit different than the ones we've had before. So each day, we'll work together to plan a service event that will truly matter to your family. And then on Thursday, we'll put your plans into action, followed by reflective session on Friday where we get to share our experiences, maybe a fun story or two. So join us in spreading service, kindness and joy this holiday season, it's a chance to be someone's superhero or maybe a special angel. So keep an eye on your email. We can't wait to embark on this heartwarming journey with you and your loved ones. So you just go to my website, www.littleheartsacademyusa.com or there's the link in the show notes. And you can click there and you can pre register right now. And don't forget also to check out the podcast on YouTube and Rumble. So our channel on YouTube is Little Hearts Academy USA. And on Rumble it is Imperfect Heroes. And we're just kind of getting things up and running. I've made a few mistakes and errors as I'm getting to learn those systems. But you know, those are kind of fun too. All right. So next week, my guest is Lynne Candle and Lynne is known as the resilience tutor. And so if you're looking to build more resilience in your children, and I hope you are, this is the episode for you. So check it out and see and until next time, let's find joy in parenting.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai