“Sometimes you have to put the relationship before your desire to have them meet all of your check boxes.”

– Sandy Grant

From a $50 total budget for three kids to navigating high school calculus, veteran homeschool mom Sandy Grant shares her raw, unfiltered journey of educating six very different children over two decades. After seeing five graduate (three through college), she reveals the surprising truth about what actually matters in home education. Whether you’re worried about teaching advanced subjects, balancing multiple kids’ needs, or maintaining your parent-child relationship, Sandy’s practical wisdom and honest insights illuminate a path forward. Check out her guide to homeschooling here.

Learn:

• The surprising benefits of letting kids choose their own learning path
• Why the parent-child relationship should come before academic checkboxes
• How to balance structure and flexibility in your homeschool day
• The truth about socializing homeschool teenagers vs. younger children
• Why leaving free time for self-directed interests is crucial for development
• How to adapt your approach for different learning styles and personalities

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

00:53 Sandy’s Homeschooling Journey Begins

03:03 Adapting Homeschool Methods

05:32 Creating Effective Checklists

07:30 Evaluating Curriculum Effectiveness

09:52 Balancing Parent and Teacher Roles

18:38 Transitioning from Young Kids to Teens

23:51 College and Career Paths

27:06 Encouraging Self-Led Interests

33:06 Social Aspects of Homeschooling

37:05 Rapid Fire Questions and Conclusion

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Transcript

Introduction and Guest Welcome [00:00]

Ela: Welcome back to the OpenEd podcast. I’m Ela Richmond, your sometimes host, and today I have Sandy Grant with us. How are you today, Sandy?

Sandy: Doing great.

Ela: Sandy has six kids and began homeschooling in 2004, so she’s been doing this for a very long time. She’s a veteran in this field. Five of your kids are done with homeschool, and now you just have one more, correct?

Sandy: Yes, he’s 16 and a junior this year.

Ela: That’s awesome. You’re very involved in the homeschool world. You have a guide that’s absolutely incredible for new homeschool parents that you share liberally. You’re embedded in different Facebook groups and communities. What has that journey been like for you, getting started in homeschool and then becoming as involved as you are now?

Sandy’s Homeschooling Journey Begins [00:53]

Sandy: We originally started homeschooling when my third child was approaching kindergarten age. He already knew pretty much everything he needed to know for kindergarten, so I started thinking about homeschooling him. My husband suggested we might also homeschool the older two, who were approaching second and fourth grade. We decided to pull them all out at that point, and I just fell in love with homeschooling.

The community was much smaller back then. There were fewer resources, and we were pretty much on our own, but we found some small groups to get us going and a good support system. One thing I really appreciated was how those who had done it before were willing to share their ideas and what worked for them. As I moved along, I started offering more homeschool support options.

I found I was answering the same questions repeatedly, so I created a document that I share to help answer all the beginning questions—things that work, things that don’t, and whatever tips I can give that might be helpful.

Adapting Homeschool Methods [03:03]

Sandy: When we started, we were on a very limited budget—think $50 for all three kids total. We were buying inexpensive workbooks or looking for materials at thrift stores, just trying to find affordable resources to cover all the subjects.

I started with what I was familiar with, trying to replicate public school. We’d start with math for half an hour, then move on to language arts. I had that structure laid out, and we had a little school room in the basement where everybody had their own desk. I quickly found that wasn’t working.

I’d have a baby that needed diaper changes or nursing, and I’d miss math for the day. Or I’d send the kids out for recess, my sister would call, and since we hadn’t talked in weeks, I’d want to catch up. Then I’d realize we’d skipped three subjects.

I discovered what worked better was having a checklist of what we wanted to accomplish during the day—doing math, reading with the kids, spelling, whatever I wanted each child to complete. By making charts and just listing what we needed to do, our day became more natural and fluid. If I was busy with the baby, I could have them do something independently, like a computer program, and then get back to them when I was done.

Creating Effective Checklists [05:32]

Ela: How did you figure out what was going to go on those checklists to begin with? What was guiding you?

Sandy: I look at each subject and what I want to include. For language arts, I break it down. It’s not just “do your language arts” on the chart. It’ll say “read with mom” every day, “do your spelling” every day, and “read for 30 minutes” or for a younger kid, maybe 15 minutes on their own.

With math, I’ll say “complete one lesson” and “work on math facts.” Then there’s science and history and just the basic things you want to include in your day. Each year I evaluate what I want to focus on and what should go on their charts.

I try to keep it to about 10 things, some of which they can do on their own when I’m not available. You learn as you go. Many times I’ll make a chart and three weeks in realize it’s not working—we have too much to do, or a curriculum isn’t working for that child. So I’ll revamp their chart, and that’s fine. Even halfway through the year, if you find a math curriculum isn’t working, it’s perfectly fine to switch things up and change as needed.

Evaluating Curriculum Effectiveness [07:30]

Ela: I’ve heard this from so many parents, but how do you know when a curriculum won’t work for a certain kid? How do you know the difference between “this is just challenging for them” and “this really isn’t going to work”?

Sandy: That takes a lot of intuition and gut feeling. I have kids who won’t do something simply because they don’t like it—not because it’s too hard or too easy, they’re just being stubborn. So you have to ask, are they just being stubborn? And even if that is the case, is this a fight worth fighting?

Right now I’m dealing with my son with writing. I tried to make it as simple as possible—just write for five minutes every day in a Google Doc, I don’t care what you write about. But he has fought me so much on that. So I’m evaluating: is this worth fighting over when he won’t do any of his other school because this one task is so overwhelming? Should we look at different options to cover the material or focus on something else for language arts this year?

It’s a lot of trial and error. You have to be willing to recognize that’s part of the process—figuring out what works, what doesn’t, and what battles are worth fighting. Sometimes if it’s just busy work anyway and they don’t want to do it, there’s no point in forcing it. Even if it looked fun to me, if they’re not enjoying it, we need to reevaluate.

Balancing Parent and Teacher Roles [09:52]

Ela: I imagine that’s difficult with six different kids, six different personalities, six different passions and things they’re good at. How has that been for you as a parent, as the person guiding them in this homeschool journey, to figure out the best path for each individual child?

Sandy: I do most of my planning during the summer. Once school starts, I don’t have time to make lesson plans. I try to determine what we’re going to do during the school year and how much I want them to get done each day. During summer, I look at each subject and how each kid can meet those requirements.

Some years we’ll do history all together as part of our morning routine. Other years we’ll all cover US history but differently—one using a public school textbook, one reading Joy Hakim’s “History of US” books, and one watching Liberty Kids. You meet them where they are and try to cover the subject. Some years we go light on history and heavier on science, and some years we really focus on read-alouds.

Every year I ask, “Where do I want our focus to be this year?” And it changes every year. One year, all we did for history was watch an episode of American Ride during lunch, and that was our history for the year.

Transitioning from Young Kids to Teens [18:38]

Ela: What was the journey like for you to go from homeschooling young kids to homeschooling older kids? There are a lot of people trying to figure that out because it’s difficult to go from young kids, where you understand most of the material, to teenagers, where the challenges are so different.

Sandy: I think it’s the same as any aspect of parenting. You go from a baby who’s just lying there in the crib to a toddler to a preschooler—they grow so gradually that you just go from one step to the next. When I first started dealing with high school, I worried about whether I could do it, whether I would ruin my kids.

From my experience, as long as you keep trying, you won’t ruin your kids. No matter what curriculum you’re using, whether you’re an unschooler or using online school, whatever you’re doing—as long as you keep trying, you won’t ruin your kids. I think we worry probably a lot more than we need to, which is standard for mothering. We worry about everything from potty training to college to their future lives.

One of the joys of homeschooling is that there’s curriculum designed to be taught by people who don’t know anything about the subject. For high school science, I picked homeschool curriculum rather than public school textbooks because those aren’t designed to be taught at home.

College and Career Paths [23:51]

Ela: Can you talk about your kids and college? Isaac, our CEO at OpenEd, is pretty big on the idea that not everybody needs to go to college—there are trades and specific jobs you can get without college, and then there’s a set of jobs that require college. What was that experience like for you? Were you already open to the idea of no college, or did that evolve as you reflected on your children’s needs?

Sandy: It’s complex because my sister and I were the first college graduates in my family. For me, getting a college education was the end goal because I saw how not having one limited some of my family members. Even my brother reached a point in his career where he couldn’t advance without a degree.

I also wanted my kids to be surrounded by peers who were doing something with their lives when they moved out. I didn’t want them just getting an apartment somewhere and hanging out with people playing video games all day. I wanted them associating with people trying to better their lives, and I felt college was the best place for that.

Honestly, that’s still probably what I’d prefer, but I don’t think a degree is always necessary or beneficial. My oldest graduated in outdoor education, which has proven challenging because there are mostly part-time positions available. Unless there’s a marketable job at the end of that four-year degree, we essentially paid for the experience. In contrast, my son graduated in computer programming and immediately earned a substantial income. You have to be wise in choosing direction, especially if they’ll need a solid income.

Encouraging Self-Led Interests [27:06]

Ela: In your guide, you mention the importance of leaving time not just for curriculum but for self-led interests. Can you talk about how you’ve helped your kids develop their interests over time?

Sandy: I try to keep our core schoolwork simple. I want to ensure they have a broad base—understanding the basic timeline of history, concepts of biology and physics, and so on. But I don’t want to fill their whole day with assigned work and leave no time for their own interests.

I aim to keep formal schoolwork to about four hours, so they’re done by early afternoon and have plenty of time for their own pursuits. Whether they use that time is up to them—I’ve got dinner to make and other things to do. My son has loved computer programming since he was 10-12, making things on Scratch, and that’s what he grew up to be—a computer programmer.

I think this flexibility is also good preparation for life. In adulthood, you have free time you need to fill. If you’re constantly told what to do as a child, then as an adult with free time, you might not know what to do with it. It’s important they learn to choose how to spend their time.

Social Aspects of Homeschooling [33:06]

Ela: What was it like balancing the at-home aspect with the social aspect, especially having six kids? Were you trying to find activities that worked for everybody, or were you open to different activities for different kids?

Sandy: When I had all six at home, it was really challenging. I wanted each of them to have something they were doing, but when you’re running six kids to different activities, you run out of days in the week. For a while, we were involved in a relaxed-style co-op that had groups for preschoolers, girls, boys, and teenagers. We did that for a couple years so everyone had their group, all within a two-hour block of our day. That was heaven-sent for me because there was no way I could meet everyone’s needs otherwise.

The social landscape has changed dramatically. My older kids will tell you the social aspect wasn’t what they wanted it to be, largely because there weren’t as many homeschoolers then. There weren’t as many classes available, and we didn’t have the funds. My oldest never used My Tech High, which is now OpenEd. My second only did it her senior year.

My younger kids have had many more options. My youngest chooses not to participate much socially—he’s perfectly happy that way. But Zach, who organized the prom, was very social and had friends everywhere. I’d ask, “Where did you meet this person?” He went to three or four different proms his senior year because he had so many friends inviting him.

Rapid Fire Questions and Conclusion [37:05]

Ela: Let’s end with some rapid-fire questions. First, what advice would you have for a new OpenEd parent at any grade level?

Sandy: Number one, read ParentLink because it answers many of your questions. There’s a large learning curve, especially with custom-built programs. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if people say, “Have you read ParentLink?” Yes, reading it first will eliminate some basic questions, but there are no stupid questions—people will help you either way.

Ela: What has been the biggest challenge in your homeschool journey?

Sandy: Balancing being a mom and being a teacher. The responsibility of their education lies on your shoulders—it’s daunting. Maintaining that parent relationship and letting them know that no matter how they do on schoolwork, you still love them. It’s not easy, but if you just keep trying, you won’t ruin your kids.

Ela: What’s one success story that stands out?

Sandy: My daughter who wasn’t academic—I heard about a Shakespeare class and thought there was no way she’d want to do it. But I asked anyway, and she said yes. While she wasn’t the most dedicated student, she loved the social and theater aspects, which led her to community theater, which she still does today. The lesson is: don’t hesitate to ask your kids about opportunities, even if you think they might not be interested.

Ela: Last question—what do you see as the main challenge for homeschool families in the coming year?

Sandy: One thing I actually miss about homeschooling being less popular is the community aspect where moms taught the classes. Now, with more funding in the system, parents often just send their kids to class without actively participating in the homeschool environment. This can make parents feel more isolated. Finding your tribe or group of people who also homeschool makes it easier.