Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

**Transcription Below**

Monica Swanson and her husband, Dave (a hospital physician), are raising four sons on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. They have graduated three sons, and homeschool the other one, and they spend much of their free time supporting their sons' competitive surfing and enjoying all that Hawaii has to offer. Monica's background is in sports medicine and fitness, and she shares inspiration for balanced living, as well as recipes, stories, and a ton of encouragement for families on her blog at MonicaSwanson.com.

Questions and Topics We Discuss:

According to analysis from The Washington Post, homeschooling has become the fastest-growing form of education in America. Why do you believe there has been a shift in the perception and implementation of homeschooling?
In chapter 1, you share "20 Good Reasons to Homeschool Your Kids." Will you share a couple favorites from your list?
What are the three steps you recommend to begin?

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#1 from 2023: School Series: Benefits of Homeschooling with Jodi Mockabee

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Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

**Transcription**

Music: (0:00 – 0:09)

Laura Dugger: (0:10 - 1:22)

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.

Thank you to an anonymous donor to Midwest Food Bank who paid the sponsorship fee in hopes of spreading awareness.

Learn more about this amazing nonprofit organization at MidwestFoodBank.org.

My guest for today is podcaster and author Monica Swanson. Her latest book is entitled Becoming Homeschoolers, and we're going to discuss that today. Also, anytime someone mentions what their best decision has been so far in parenting, I always listen in.

So, Monica is going to share that with us today, along with so much more. Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Monica.

Monica Swanson: (1:12 - 1:14)

Thanks so much. Great to be here.

Laura Dugger: (1:14 - 1:49)

Well, we're just going to dive right in because I'm hoping that you'll share a little bit about your family and your journey along the way. But even from the get-go of your book, you were thinking back to this compelling realization you had when you were reflecting on your sons and you told your husband, I'm pretty sure that the greatest factor in shaping our boys' lives outside of their relationship with Jesus has been that we homeschooled them. Homeschooling isn't just a nice little part of their growing up story.

It's the main story.

Monica Swanson: (1:50 - 3:25)

Will you elaborate on that? Totally. It's really funny how I guess sometimes the Lord just reveals things to you a little bit at a time.

I wrote a book in 2019, Boy Mom, then I wrote Raising Amazing, it came out just a year ago. It's my heart to encourage families and parents and I've been doing that for so long. Homeschooling comes up here and there and I've mentioned it.

People ask a lot of questions, but somehow I think in my heart's desire to serve the masses and to make sure I'm not excluding anyone. It just has been my heart's desire to say, no matter what, I just want to support families. As I wrapped up my book, Raising Amazing, and I was in that last chapter talking about how kids spend their time and really just encouraging families to be intentional about all the different things we do with our time because I have now three grown children.

I can look back and go, wow, those days that seemed so long, they really were short. Those years flew by. As I reflected on that, it's like it just hit me square between the eyes and I couldn't deny it.

I was like, Dave, I haven't told the whole story. I haven't meant to hide anything or keep anything back, but if I'm really honest, homeschooling is a huge part of our family. I need to actually talk about that more than I ever have.

That is where Becoming Homeschoolers, my newest book, was born. It's just been so fun to have the freedom to go, okay, now I get to tell you everything. That's the story.

Laura Dugger: (3:26 - 3:32)

I love it. You mentioned Dave, your husband. Can you also tell us your son's names, ages?

Monica Swanson: (3:33 - 4:38)

You betcha. Yes. I have two sons who now live in California.

One is a college graduate and got a job. He's adulting in the Santa Barbara area. His name is Josiah. He's 24. He's single. If you've got great daughters out there, they'll love it when I say these things.

Then I have a 22-year-old who, as we record, is about to graduate from Westmont College, also in Santa Barbara. That's Jonah. He's hoping to get a job in the area and stick around too.

Then my 20-year-old, Luke, lives here. This is home-base, but he is a professional surfer. He travels the world regularly for surfing and he's doing online college and just comes and goes.

That's a really fun part of our family life. Then my 13-year-old, Levi, is homeschooling. He's pursuing golf with all of his heart.

I get to stay humble. I say he keeps me young or he makes me old. I'm not sure which, but he's 13.

That's all my boys and I just love them so much.

Laura Dugger: (4:39 - 5:24)

That is wonderful. I was telling you before we started the recording that we run a top 10 series every year at The Savvy Sauce. This past summer revealed that the most popular top 10, number one episode, was all on the topic of homeschooling.

It's clearly a popular topic. I think it's more commonly considered than we realize. In fact, in your book, you taught me that according to analysis from the Washington Post, homeschooling has become the fastest growing form of education in America.

Monica, why do you believe that there's been a shift in the perception and implementation of homeschooling?

Monica Swanson: (5:25 - 7:18)

Great question because many of us, and I share in the book, grew up with the typical stereotype about homeschoolers. I just thought they were weird. I never even considered it until I had kids of my own and I was facing choices about their education.

Here in Hawaii, we probably have even more limited options than a lot of people do. I think the pandemic brought this wave of air quote homeschooling, which anyone out there who had that experience and hated it, that's not what homeschooling is like. I like to tell people, don't think that's all there is.

But that did kind of open some people's minds to like, could we do school at home? And maybe they were trying to do it through distance learning and failing, but then they're like, well, what if we did our own thing or use the charter or did something else? So, I think that kind of opened the door.

But beyond that, I also think that there's just a whole lot of people, especially in the faith community, but even outside of the faith community, who are just looking at our culture and our schools and saying what in the world is going on. What are these new things that are suddenly celebrated, and talked about, and really even pushed into our public schools in some areas more than others, of course. And what's the future going to look like, like if you have little kids and you're looking at the schools now, well, imagine in five years, because in the past two, three years, a lot has changed and I don't think it's going to turn around and go the other way.

So, I think people are just like, OK, what are our options here? And their minds are just being opened. And I think it's becoming more socially acceptable.

Some of the old stereotypes are being taken down, thankfully, and people are realizing that some great there's great options. There's a lot of ways you can homeschool. There is so many helpful resources.

And so, yeah, I think we're just learning more. And as we learn more, people are ready to try it.

Laura Dugger: (7:19 - 7:35)

Well, and then if you think back to your beginning days, what were some of the fears that you had when you were beginning this journey? And then could you also share some of the truth that Jesus was able to replace those fears with and your experience was able to replace?

Monica Swanson: (7:36 - 8:53)

Yes, 100 percent. Well, I think new things are scary, right, all the time. And it makes sense if people are concerned or have fear about if they can give their kids everything that they need.

I know for me, it was can I give my kids what they would get in a traditional public-school setting, even a private school? How can I match that at home? And I think that's what I hear from most people. When I'm like, what are your biggest fears?

If I ask on social media or something like that, most people would say, “I don't know if I could give my kids enough. I don't know where to get started.” And those were my exact questions, especially when I thought about high school. I wanted to make sure if my kids wanted to go to college, that door would be open or at least I wouldn't be the one to close it.

And I think that's a reasonable thing. I think parents should. I think even though college isn't for everyone, I think that it's reasonable to make sure your kids have that option if they choose in their later high school years.

So, with that, I think that it's OK to have some concerns. But oh, my goodness, the Lord just provided one step at a time. I didn't know much.

I just took that first step into homeschooling. And each year I learned a little bit more. I found more resources.

And my goodness, it wasn't nearly what I imagined it would be.

Laura Dugger: (8:55 - 9:10)

Well, then also when I'm thinking I've got your book right here and even from chapter one, you were sharing 20 good reasons to homeschool your kids, and you can share them all of you. I thought they were fantastic. But you want to just share a couple of your favorites.

Monica Swanson: (9:11 - 11:45)

Sure. Yes. Well, I mean, my favorites coming out the other side with three grown, you know, graduated kids would be the things that are hard to put like numbers or statistics by.

It's things like the relationships we have with one another. Seeing my boys be best friends as we're talking. They've got a text thread going because they're planning a road trip together.

When my second son graduates from college, they would choose each other over anyone. And I cannot deny that comes from all the time they spent together. Homeschooling our relationship with our boys.

We are just super close with our grown sons. And so, it is those kind of things. Seeing my boys’ faith.

I mean, 3 John 1:4 is my parenting life verse, which is, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” And I am like, oh, my goodness, that came. I mean, can you give that to your kids if they go to a traditional school?

Absolutely. That is possible. But I will say when they're home all day long, it is a lot easier to live that Deuteronomy chapter six lifestyle of talking about spiritual things when you get up, when you walk along the road, when you lie down.

That's what we gave our kids. So those are the big things. But then in the book, I know some parents out there are like, I need to know, you know, more academics and all that.

So, we talk about how homeschool kids consistently outperform traditionally school kids on SAT tests, that colleges are now looking to recruit homeschool kids because they see how well they do in college. They're actually very well adjusted. They're very independent learners.

They're motivated. They do well on timelines. So, some of those things are in there as well.

And then, of course, things like mental health. It's just proven that homeschool kids sleep more, have better mental health, socialization, healthy socialization. Despite all the myths out there that homeschoolers cannot socialize, I'm like, actually, let's flip that script and point out the fact that homeschoolers have really healthy socialization because we're helping them choose the kind of people that they're going to surround themselves with.

I would say socialization might be one of the top reasons to choose homeschooling, not a factor that would be a concern for homeschoolers. So, yeah, we've got 20 good reasons. By the time you read all those, most people are like, OK, I'm convinced, sign me up.

And, you know, definitely somebody is going to read it and be like, yeah, those are good, but it's still not for me. Then that's fine. Hopefully you're still encouraged to be intentional in your parenting and look for some ways to be involved in your kids' education and all that.

Laura Dugger: (11:47 - 14:03)

Let's take a quick break to hear a message from our sponsor. Midwest Food Bank exists to provide industry leading food relief to those in need while feeding them spiritually. They are a food charity with a desire to demonstrate God's love by providing help to those in need.

Unlike other parts of the world where there's not enough food in America, the resources actually do exist. That's why food pantries and food banks like Midwest Food Bank are so important. The goods that they deliver to their agency partners help to supplement the food supply for families and individuals across our country, aiding those whose resources are beyond stretched.

Midwest Food Bank also supports people globally through their locations in Haiti and East Africa, which are some of the areas hardest hit by hunger arising from poverty. This ministry reaches millions of people every year. And thanks to the Lord's provision, 99 percent of every donation goes directly toward providing food to people in need.

The remaining 1 percent of income is used for fundraising, cost of leadership, oversight and other administrative expenses. Donations, volunteers and prayers are always appreciated for Midwest Food Bank. To learn more, visit MidwestFoodBank.org or listen to Episode 83 of The Savvy Sauce, where the founder, David Kieser, shares miracles of God that he's witnessed through this nonprofit organization. I hope you check them out today. Well, and I'd love to just go a little bit further into that socialization because we don't get to hear the flipped perspective. And you are right.

As our family transitioned into homeschooling, there were two things that especially resonated from your book that everybody will ask about socialization. So, I'd love for you to unpack that. And then just so humorous that you were sharing a story in the book where somebody, I believe it was another doctor who discovered what you did as a homeschooling mom.

And he was saying, oh, I could never do it, as if you were asking him to do it. And he gave you all the reasons. But yes, yes.

With socialization, tell us more, because we don't get to hear that side very often. Totally.

Monica Swanson: (14:04 - 17:19)

Yes. Well, I think there's like three different places in the book where socialization comes up. So, if that's on anyone's mind, they're going to it's going to be covered well in there.

But I think, you know, and I confess, I'm like, listen, if you bring up socialization to a seasoned homeschool mom, depending on the day, you're going to get one of two responses. First, we might be really understanding because most of us have the same concern. At one point, like I said, I thought homeschoolers were weird.

My husband really hesitated to say yes to homeschooling because he thought the same thing. So, we get it. But we're also kind of tired of people bringing it up.

I mean, it's literally the first thing most people bring up. If I meet a stranger, I'm out with the kids on a Tuesday and they're like, oh, why aren't the kids in school? And I'm like, oh, we homeschool.

Literally, they don't even hesitate to say, oh, well, what do you do about socialization? And I'm like, interesting that my kids like carrying on a conversation with you right now, giving you eye contact, super comfortable. Do you really think they're struggling with socialization?

So, we get a little snarky sometimes because we are sick of that topic coming up. But again, I just love the fact that homeschoolers get to be socialized in an environment that we choose. And can you blow it?

Are there examples of homeschool families that are, you know, raising their kids without getting them out of the house? I'm sure that happens. I'm sure there's, you know, plenty of situations where parents don't do a good job of socializing their kids.

But I also like to say in the book that there's quirky, odd, awkward kids in every setting. I mean, that's just that's just humanity. Right.

So, I remember growing up in a public school. There were a good couple handfuls of really weird kids. Like they were just strange.

Nobody questioned that. They were just strange kids. Right.

Oh, but if they're homeschooled, then everybody's going to blame homeschooling on them being weird. So, end of the day, this is what I say, “Most likely, your kids are going to grow up to be like you, whether they're homeschooled or not, but if they're homeschooled, even more so because they're going to be around you.”

So, I say if you are a little bit weird, quirky, there's a good chance your kids are going to grow up to be that way, too. And you know what? There are worse things in the world than raising a quirky kid.

And I'd rather raise a quirky kid than a kid who is socialized in our current culture out there today and makes all kinds of choices that could lead them down some really dark paths. Quirky isn't all bad. Sometimes quirky is really good.

But on the other hand, if you say, I'm pretty social, I'm well adjusted. I'm, you know, a pretty cool human being. Your kids are probably going to turn out to be like you.

So, whatever you want your kids to be like, they're just going to model what mom and dad are like. So, it's on you, mom and dad. And if you're homeschooling, they're probably going to grow up to be a whole lot like you.

So, that's, that's the bottom line of it all. And, um, socialization is just not an issue. Yeah, we need to make some efforts.

We want to get them involved in whether it's a co-op sports youth ministry. There's so many opportunities and most homeschoolers I know are doing a really good job of that. And I don't think kids need daily all day long to be interacting with their peers.

I think that, you know, they need some of that, but mostly being home with family is the healthiest place for them to spend the majority of their time.

Laura Dugger: (17:20 - 17:55)

I appreciate that. And just want to draw one other piece. I thought it was so interesting that your family has chosen some things that would be considered counter cultural.

And I think that makes a lot of sense because Jesus was counter cultural. And yet there were seasons then where your boys gave you permission to share that they went through some lonely times, but I loved your takeaway that it actually was, it was a combination of those lonely seasons that really made them dive deep in their relationship with Christ and they got through those seasons.

Monica Swanson: (17:56 - 21:21)

Totally. Yeah. I love to talk about this.

And I think that the more I've, I've shared this, honestly, the more I've heard from people who are like, thank you. My kid's going through that now. I think loneliness is part of, well, first of all, it's part of the human experience.

We all have lonely seasons, right? But especially growing up, wherever kids are in school, loneliness is kind of just a built-in part of that adolescence season. And when kids are homeschooled, and especially if kids are making a choice to stay on that narrow path, there's likely to be some lonely seasons.

So, my boys maybe had their, their youth friends, you know, church friends. We're in a really small community. So, they have their couple of handfuls of friends.

When they hit those middle school years, kids start to make choices to hang out with the crowd, to compromise their faith, to make their own choices. And especially their friends who went to a public school were starting to make bad choices. And my boys were kind of faced with the decision.

Do I keep hanging out with them? Maybe I can influence them, you know, or do I just pull away? And that's where we as parents are important, coaching our kids through these things.

And so, my husband and I would be like, you know, we want to keep loving these kids, invite them over, invite them to youth group, invite them to our spaces. But no, we're not going to send you out with a crowd of young people who are making bad choices and hope that you're going to influence them. That's just not the way it typically works.

It's more likely you will be influenced by them. And, you know, I, I quote King Solomon and, and Paul, you know, he who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm. That's in the book of Proverbs.

And then Paul talks about, you know, don't be fooled. Bad company corrupts good character. So, we're really intentional about those influences in our kids' lives.

So, we made some hard choices and we watched our sons kind of hang out with mom and dad on Friday night. And they didn't suffer too much in that season, but it probably wasn't their ideal. But like you mentioned, what we saw was in that time they had started pursuing things like guitar, like photography.

One of my sons built a website, learned code, put his photos online. They were making stop motion videos and homemade movies. And most of all, they really spent time with the Lord.

There, their devotions weren't rushed because they had to be somewhere else. They dug into the Bible. They grew to see the Lord as their very best friend.

And after a couple of years, they started to develop some friendships that maybe they wouldn't have sought out earlier on. They were the youth group kids. They were the kids kind of like them.

Maybe we're lonely too. And they, to this day would say those are some of their lifelong best friends and all is well. But for a couple of years, there weren't a lot of social activities going on and they did just fine.

They didn't. Today they would say, “thank you mom and dad for those years because we grew the most during those seasons.” And so, if anyone's in that now, senior kid, maybe feeling a little bit lonely.

Yes. Make the efforts. I encourage you to get them involved where they can.

That's, you know, a good positive place for them, but also don't worry too much. Just make sure that they've got plenty of things to explore and be there for them. And they're going to come out.

Okay. On the other side.

Laura Dugger: (21:22 - 21:39)

That's so reassuring to hear. And you've been through it, but you also mentioned that freedom was one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling. So, Monica, what did that lifestyle allow you and your family to do that?

Otherwise, you wouldn't have experienced.

Monica Swanson: (21:40 - 22:54)

Totally. Yes. Well, I think, you know, some of the first things that come to mind living on an island where we don't get to travel a lot because, you know, road trips are hard to do on a little island.

So, taking a trip to the mainland is a big deal. And if all we could do is travel to the mainland over the holidays, during spring break or summertime, it would be really difficult and very expensive. So, we've loved that as my husband's work allows him time off, we can travel, see family, do adventures when other people aren't or the majority aren't.

Um, the freedom also to just, again, pursue those things that my boys ended up finding to be their passions and interests, having a professional surfer and a son who hopes to be a professional golfer, my goodness, they wouldn't be who they are today if they couldn't train according to the best times of day to get in the ocean or to go golfing. And so, we've just had a ton of freedom to pursue the things we want and make school fit in around that. Um, my older sons, one did speech and debate.

The other is real involved in ministry. Well, they both did a lot of ministry. So yeah, having your own schedule is pretty sweet.

And once you get a taste of that, it's hard to ever imagine going back.

Laura Dugger: (22:55 - 23:08)

I see that because I think one of my other big surprises has been that the school time takes so much less time than you would think. It doesn't fill up the entire typical public-school day.

Monica Swanson: (23:09 - 23:30)

So, for sure. Yes. Um, especially if you are efficient. I have a 13-year-old who likes to take a day that could be three to four hours and make it last nine, but you know what?

He's also learning time management. And I'm like, buddy, it's up to you. Do you want to be done at noon? Or, do you want to drive this out all day?

So, yes, I think that's an important part of growing up as well.

Laura Dugger: (23:30 - 24:07)

Uh, that's a great point where education is a life. And so, learning time management and things along the way, but in your book, you also dispel some of the most common reasons that families avoid homeschooling. And we've talked about that fear of missing out and socialization, but you also discuss how the parents may be feeling like they don't have the credentials or the patience. Or maybe they're working and you balance it, you recognize that homeschooling isn't always easy, but can you share some of the blessings that do result from this lifestyle?

Absolutely.

Monica Swanson: (24:07 - 27:25)

Yes. And I really wanted to include this chapter for two reasons. One, as I say in the book with some big sister love, I like to, you know, in a call people's bluff. I hear so many people say, “Oh, I could never homeschool.”

My son and I just would butt heads. And I'm like, you know what? We all have a tendency to butt heads or have that one child who's testing our patience, but that is not a reason to not homeschool.

I mean, really, that means we need to work on our parenting and our kids need to develop some character. So that's a, that's a parenting issue more even than a homeschool issue. And I'm not saying it doesn't count.

I have my, God waited till number four to give me one who really challenges me, but I'm seeing that as that's on me. I need to parent better. So, I understand for those who are in that position.

Um, and then some other things are, you know, so let me go back to that. Some of the reasons people give are, like I say, maybe a smokescreen where really you could homeschool. Um, maybe you would say you, you feel like you have to work to provide income for your family.

I'm like, I get it. Life is hard. You may need to work, but at the same time, I want to challenge you on that and say, is it a need or a want?

Is your extra work because of a lifestyle you want to keep up? Cause I know people who have downsized, who sold a car, who have skipped their summer vacation. They have made huge sacrifices so that they can homeschool and they have no regrets.

Also, sometimes we can find a way to get creative and maybe take that job you go to every day and find a way to do it from home, maybe change your hours, maybe recruit some help. There are creative ways. Most people can homeschool if they want to.

I mean, there's full websites dedicated to single parents who homeschool. And I linked to those in my resource section. But with that being said, I also think it's fair to say there are some situations too, where I'm like, I get it.

This may not be your season to homeschool. You may have an opportunity to send kids to a school where you feel really good, where you can stay involved. Um, if there's a parent with a mental health issue or a serious medical condition, and it's just not a good environment for the kids, I get it.

Sometimes in a divorce situation, it's just going to be impossible. You just know, kids are going back and forth, and it may not be ideal time to try homeschooling. So, I'd like to acknowledge there are certainly times where there is all the grace in the world.

You do what's right for your family in this season. But a lot of those reasons people give me, I'm like, yeah, you can still homeschool if you really wanted to. So, I like to be fair and balanced there.

And there is a bonus chapter for those who buy the book on my website that is facing some of the real challenges that come with homeschooling. Because again, I'd like to be really honest and say, there is no school setting that is ideal. There's going to be pros and cons with everything. Homeschooling is not perfect.

You know, we battle over screens because my son is home all day. So, I see that as one of the challenges we face. You know, certainly there are real challenges that come with homeschooling, and I like to address those.

So that's what's in the bonus chapter as well. I hope will be just a lot of encouragement and some ideas, and some resources that will help make those things a little bit easier.

Laura Dugger: (27:26 - 27:47)

Well, and I want to go back to something you said about getting creative with your work and even having this conversation with you right now. This is your third book that you've written while homeschooling and you're a podcaster and you're on other people's podcasts. So, what are some tips from what that looked like for you, even though you had all those responsibilities simultaneously?

Monica Swanson: (27:49 - 28:53)

Yes. You know, I think the more organized you are, the better you are with time management, the better you're going to do. I'm not natural at any of that.

I'm a little bit more go with the flow person. So, it's challenging for me, but I do think where there's a will, there's a way. So, there've been seasons where I've hired a high school homeschooled girl to come in and help with my younger son so that I can manage my older boys and I can get some work done.

My husband, he's a doctor in a hospital and his work schedule is such that he works for, you know, a bunch of days in a row, but then he's off. And during his off weeks, I'm like, we need to team up. You need to help with homeschooling because I have to write this book.

So, there's definitely some creative ways, depending on your life situation and all of that, there's almost always something you can do, whether it's recruiting a grandparent or hiring some help. But time management is huge. If you can be up early, if you can use, you know, your afternoons or evenings, it's going to work, but it's not going to come natural.

So, you're going to have to be really intentional about time management.

Laura Dugger: (28:53 - 29:05)

Oh, that's really good. And how do you respond to the common phrase that many people say that they desire for their children to be salt and light in, let's say their public school?

Monica Swanson: (29:07 - 32:14)

Sure. I love the heart behind that. And I just, you know, totally want to applaud any parent who has that.

We, my husband and I, raise our kids to be prepared to share their faith. We want them to be a little evangelist. And so, I get that.

Um, but I also was really careful writing about this part because it was super important to me to tackle this one. Well, because I think it's super important for parents to realize that that's a big burden to put on children in their formative years while kids are still growing up. Um, you know, the one command we have from Jesus was that the little children would come to him.

It doesn't say he's not speaking to children when he says, go out and make disciples. Now, do we hope our kids might bring some friends that to youth group in church. That they might share Jesus with their friends?

Oh, my goodness. Yes. But that was never a command given to children. And so, for us to say, Oh, go be salt and light in a school where they're teaching all kinds of crazy, progressive, you know, things that, that are not biblically sound at all. Um, where they're in a culture where teachers are teaching things that our kids aren't prepared to come up against.

It's just not fair on our kids. And like I said earlier, those influences are more likely to take them down. So, I encourage parents to really consider what kids are called to, which has come to Jesus.

And we, as parents are called to train up our kids, to raise our kids in the training and admonition of the Lord. And like I already quoted Deuteronomy to teach our kids, these commands all day long so that their faith can be strong enough that when that day comes, that they leave the home, that they go out into the world. Like my older boys have that they are prepared while my older boys were in college, watching some of their friends, faith, deconstruct, watching them really get rattled.

When people challenge their faith, my boys were like, no way we know what we know, what we believe, and why we believe it because we had all those years to really develop a grounded faith. And so, I just encourage people to consider this idea of kids being salt and light. It's a sweet idea, but I don't think that sending them into the public school system, even a private school where even though it may be a Christian school, a lot of the students typically are not coming from believing families.

That's a tough position to put a child in, in today's world, maybe back 20, 30, 40 years ago, that would have been fine because the prevalent, you know, mindset was a Christian community, a Christian culture. Today, it's not that way. Today, we need to be just really aware of what's out there and it's, scary what's out there.

So, we need to prepare our kids well for that. And it's hard to do that in the short amount of time we have when they go to school every day, all day. We just have little snippets of time with them. So that would be my response.

There's more in the book and, and it's an important topic. And, and again, God bless you. If that's your heart's desire, I want to encourage that.

I just think we need to make sure we're seeing it for what it is and not assuming our kids are able to do something that they're not ready to do.

Laura Dugger: (32:15 - 33:23)

By now, I hope you've checked out our updated website, thesavvysauce.com, so that you can have access to all the additional freebies we are offering, including all of our previous articles and all of our previous episodes, which now include transcriptions. You will be equipped to have your own practical chats for intentional living when you read all the recommended questions in the articles or gain insight from expert guests and past episodes. As you read through the transcriptions, because many people have shared with us that they want to take notes on previous episodes, or maybe their spouse prefers to read our conversations rather than listen to them, we heard all of that.

And we now have provided transcripts for all our episodes. Just visit thesavvysauce.com. All of this is conveniently located under the tab show notes on our website. Happy reading.

Well, and I'm also curious, Monica, what other surprises came along the way during your homeschool journey?

Monica Swanson: (33:24 - 34:23)

Hmm. Well, I think the whole experience was a little bit of a surprise just because I went into it without any idea what I was doing. Uh, I think just how much I enjoyed learning things that probably I never got from my own education.

I mean, my son's eighth grade history. I'm like, oh my goodness, I'm learning so much right alongside you. So, I think for me, it's been really fun to kind of get a second chance at school.

Uh, I love, you know, seeing kids learn something new, seeing that light bulb moment. Uh, just the whole environment of getting to witness our kids having those aha moments, it's been really, really fun for me. And then seeing kids also kind of team up. And when one's struggling with math and the older one can help the younger one and, and they're kind of, you know, debating over different things that they're learning in school.

I'm like, wow, this is so much fun. Things that I wouldn't have anticipated, but that have been really fun to watch happen over time.

Laura Dugger: (34:24 - 35:03)

Well, and I think you also pointed out a few different things that I hadn't considered as much before. Just that you would take that more leisurely pace over the hour of stress and rush to get out of the house in the morning and even one other little piece. I love how you articulated that you were so grateful to get to raise your boys reading Proverbs because that's imparting wisdom rather than culture to be our trainer. So, for all of these reasons, if somebody's saying, okay, I'm in, what are the three steps that you recommend they take?

Monica Swanson: (35:05 - 37:47)

Yes, I've got three steps listed in my book. So, the three steps, if you are interested in becoming a homeschooler, the first steps, you know, always pray. Have conversations, talk to some homeschool families that you know. I do like to remind people, worst case scenario, you hate it, you can always go back, right? Although I also love to encourage people to consider that idea of really owning their homeschool experience and becoming homeschoolers and making that your family culture.

So, once you've started, I love to hear that families are like, we're in it for the long haul, we're going to do this. But yes, you can try it, and you can give it a trial run. That's okay.

But once you decide, the three steps are to know the legal requirements to officially begin homeschooling. That part isn't hard at all. It's actually really simple.

And in the book, I give you some websites. You can go to the HSLDA website actually is really helpful. They have tons of information, but if you go there, they have information state by state. You click on it. There's actually a lawyer from your state or that represents your state that tells you the legal requirements for your state for homeschooling. And it's really quite simple, pretty much in every state.

So, number one is super easy.

Number two is probably what most people take the most time on. And that's choosing your curriculum, the style of homeschooling you want to have.

This can be super exciting. It can be super overwhelming, but I list all the different styles of homeschooling as well as some curriculum choices in my book. And what I tell people is we're all going to probably switch it up a few times.

So don't overthink this, find something that you want to try and try it. You can always change later. Just get started.

Don't get frozen on that step.

And then number three, make a plan for how you want your homeschool days to look. And that's the, I think the fun part.

That's where you decide, do we want to homeschool year-round? Do we want to be on the traditional school calendar? What hours of the day do we want to homeschool?

How do we want that to look? And you get to decide this for your family. And that's back to that freedom point you had.

You have the freedom to choose what you want it to look like. And so that's kind of a fun part of the process. Those three steps are really simple.

And then everything that follows that you have plenty of time to figure it out. You don't have to know all the answers. You don't have to know how you're going to get your eight-year-old into college.

You've got time. Take a deep breath because it's all going to work out. And this book does cover preschool to college.

So, everything you need to know to hit that next step, whatever it might be, is all in the book.

Laura Dugger: (37:48 - 37:59)

Wonderful. And Monica, if we want to continue learning from you, whether it's about homeschooling or parenting or get more encouragement, where would you direct us to go online after this conversation?

Monica Swanson: (38:00 - 38:38)

Ah, thank you for asking. Yes. My home base is my website, monicaswanson.com.

And there's links to my podcast, my books, all the different things there. My favorite place to hang out on social media is Instagram. And I'm at monicaswanson_ there.

And if you find me, please say hi. Tell me how you found me because I love to make new friends, and it is genuinely my heart's desire to encourage families. And I say in the book, as much as I'm pro-homeschooling, I'm even more pro-family.

So whatever choice you make, um, you know, all the grace in the world to you, just continue to do your best to be intentional as a family and God's going to honor that.

Laura Dugger: (38:39 - 38:58)

I love the humility with which you speak when you answer all of these questions. And, and you are probably already familiar that we're called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so, Monica this is my final question for you today.

What is your savvy sauce?

Monica Swanson: (38:59 - 39:34)

What is my savvy sauce? I think my savvy sauce is to, um, just recognize that the word of God has everything we need for every situation that we face. And so, recognizing you mentioned Proverbs already, but that there is so much wisdom.

There's so much practical advice and help that the more we turn to the word of God for what we need, and we point our kids to it as the truth that they need for every day of their life, things are all going to fall into place when you start with the word of God. So that would be my savvy sauce.

Laura Dugger: (39:35 - 43:12)

Well, and Monica, I just greatly admire how your faith in Jesus is the driving force behind your family and behind your personal decisions in every arena. And that has been so evident throughout our chat today. So, thank you for all the encouragement you shared and thank you for being my guest.

Monica Swanson:

Oh, thank you so much for having me.

Laura Dugger: (43:12 – 43:40)

One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term gospel before?

It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news.

Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.

We need a savior. But God loved us so much, he made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.

That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.

We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, would you pray with me now?

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you. Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life?

We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me, so me for him. You get the opportunity to live your life for him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason.

We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you ready to get started? First, tell someone.

Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible.

I selected the Quest NIV Bible, and I love it. You can start by reading the book of John. Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ.

I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. We want to celebrate with you too, so feel free to leave a comment for us here if you did make a decision to follow Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.

And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “In the same way I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.

And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce

Practical chats for intentional living

A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others. Expect encouragement, surprises, and hope here. Each episode offers lively interviews with fascinating guests such as therapists, authors, non-profit founders, and business leaders.

They share their best practices and savvy tips we can replicate to make our daily life and relationships more enjoyable!