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514: What Technology We Are Using In Our Homeschooling · Now That We're A Family

0:00
[SPEAKER_01]: So today we're going to talk about how we use tech in our home school.
0:03
[SPEAKER_01]: We are using tech earlier than what we thought we would be using tech.
0:08
[SPEAKER_01]: But it has been very helpful.
0:10
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been a great tool.
0:11
[SPEAKER_01]: It's made our home schooling more efficient and it has leveraged my time and ability as a home schooling mother.
0:16
[SPEAKER_01]: So,
0:18
[SPEAKER_01]: This is something that we're ongoing, discussing, trying to figure out what's serving the children, what's not serving the children.
0:25
[SPEAKER_01]: We've done a ton of deep-dive research into this topic and we're excited to share with you guys what we found, what we've seen in our own kids, what we see being helpful when it comes to tech and what we see as being unhelpful.
0:36
[SPEAKER_01]: If you like this episode, don't forget to like and subscribe it and subscribe it.
0:42
[SPEAKER_01]: subscribe to it.
0:43
[SPEAKER_01]: There you go.
0:45
[SPEAKER_01]: You guys, you guys know this, but this is why I am always so nervous to do anything without a life shit on the podcast or anything online.
0:55
[SPEAKER_01]: It's because he catches so many things that I say, I'm like, what, what do I say when he's not here?
1:01
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, you, you probably sound way smarter and more fluid when I'm not there.
1:05
[SPEAKER_00]: It's, I think, in a room for a very, I interrupt you for petty things that are irrelevant.
1:12
[SPEAKER_01]: No, you make the make sense.
1:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Katie's, she's just said this since as long as I have known her, and that is, if you don't know the right thing to say, just say the wrong thing, and she's lived by that for a long time.
1:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think that's like an immature, well, you would say that in the context of misusing a word or saying, you know, like not knowing what word to use for a certain scenario or what you're trying to describe, and so you would just say the wrong word.
1:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, if you don't know the right word, just say the wrong word and people will figure it out.
1:42
[SPEAKER_00]: That's actually what you would say, exactly.
1:45
[SPEAKER_00]: He said it over time.
1:45
[SPEAKER_00]: What did I say you said?
1:47
[SPEAKER_01]: I think I said it over time.
1:48
[SPEAKER_00]: I think I said if you don't know what to say, or if you don't know the right thing to say, say the wrong thing, no, it's the word.
1:52
[SPEAKER_00]: If you don't know the right word to say, say the wrong word and people will figure it out.
1:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Which I actually think is really true.
1:58
[SPEAKER_01]: It is true when you aren't trying to posture or look intelligent.
2:02
[SPEAKER_01]: If you're trying to look intelligent, you should probably just pick a word that makes you sound like you have a brain in your head.
2:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so, what, okay, this is coming up right now because what's the main thing in our house that everyone is just thrilled about right now?
2:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we've got a typing game, what is this game called?
2:22
[SPEAKER_01]: It's ultimate typing structure and structure gold.
2:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we have this in my home growing up.
2:28
[SPEAKER_00]: I think you had a version of this.
2:29
[SPEAKER_01]: This is how I learned a type.
2:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, and...
2:32
[SPEAKER_00]: So we grew up with no video games in our home, and this was the closest thing that we could get our hands on, you know, of closest thing that resembled a video game.
2:40
[SPEAKER_00]: And so addiction was a real thing, screen addiction with the whole typing game was something that was needing to be addressed and mitigated early on in my life.
2:51
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm just remembering that as our kids are learning to type with this game.
2:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, let's funny as I thought that our children will learn to type later.
2:58
[SPEAKER_01]: I know there's so many benefits to handwriting, the pen and paper connection, the brain connection that goes on.
3:05
[SPEAKER_01]: And we do a lot of handwriting in our home.
3:08
[SPEAKER_01]: In terms of the kids do all of their assignments, handwritten, and we're really trying to which actually it's been great.
3:14
[SPEAKER_01]: You guys, just the cursive and the spelling, just after a week and a half.
3:20
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, wow, I really underestimate how quickly children can learn.
3:26
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think I put my own insecurities on them.
3:29
[SPEAKER_01]: And then they just are soaking up this stuff.
3:32
[SPEAKER_01]: I just have to present it.
3:33
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's been really encouraging.
3:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's not something we're strain away from.
3:37
[SPEAKER_01]: However, our son is going to be taking another class online.
3:43
[SPEAKER_01]: That is a Latin class and they are required to type to be a part of that class.
3:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And I really wanted to try out this class because there is grading and there's a different professor, it's live and there's this element of I wanted to see how he would do when I'm not.
4:03
[SPEAKER_01]: and control of the grades or there to help out or things like that.
4:07
[SPEAKER_01]: So this is kind of a trial class online and typing was a part of the class.
4:13
[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't want them to pick up bad habits.
4:15
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's like, well, let's just learn to type.
4:19
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think it is a good skill to learn, but it's probably like a year or two before I thought we would be typing.
4:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I'm interested to see how relevant typing is in their lifetime, because I mean everybody has their hypothesis for the difference.
4:42
[SPEAKER_00]: things that AI is going to render useless, and I've heard, you know, this is a popular saying that the new computer coding language is now English, right, or whatever your spoken language is.
4:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I think with voice tax with be able to have voice recognition, people are saying, oh, typing is less and less relevant, you don't need to learn it.
5:02
[SPEAKER_00]: But again, that we're looking at today and what
5:05
[SPEAKER_00]: We need to do, literally, this year for our children's academics, and I think that you look at handwriting, which has been around for a long time.
5:14
[SPEAKER_00]: That's something that we always want to, I guess, instill a value in when it comes to our children to see the value in it.
5:22
[SPEAKER_00]: And then right now, typing is just the method that we all use for the most people use for communication.
5:29
[SPEAKER_00]: And so, for writing papers, sure you could, people will probably learn to in a very efficient way.
5:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Use just voice command.
5:37
[SPEAKER_00]: But my brain doesn't work that way right now.
5:39
[SPEAKER_00]: And I don't think most people's brains do.
5:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe some of our listeners have transitioned fully over to the voice command things.
5:46
[SPEAKER_00]: But I'm not able to process my thoughts.
5:51
[SPEAKER_00]: speaking them like I am typing them or writing them by hand.
5:54
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's just going to continue to be the case for at least the near future.
5:57
[SPEAKER_00]: So we see there being value in it today.
5:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I think what's the same is humanity.
6:04
[SPEAKER_01]: And so when we're raising our kids really looking at what is going to serve them as humans.
6:08
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't really care what people say is going to be irrelevant or not.
6:12
[SPEAKER_01]: For instance, like schools dropped spelling, school dropped phonics, school dropped cursive, because it's not relevant.
6:21
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a waste of time.
6:22
[SPEAKER_01]: It's still, these are things that attach to our humanity and make us better humans.
6:26
[SPEAKER_01]: They make
6:27
[SPEAKER_01]: the mind, body, and brain connection all work very well together, and so it's very important to me that all of our children know how to write lovely cursive.
6:39
[SPEAKER_01]: And I really don't care what people are doing with AI.
6:42
[SPEAKER_01]: It might be faster, it might be more efficient on a lot of levels, but the brain and body connection is just something that is what
6:56
[SPEAKER_01]: and writing is always going to be a part of that.
6:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Writing your thoughts down is a way to communicate in a way that helps you process.
7:05
[SPEAKER_01]: And there's so much research on just the power of processing through the written word.
7:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Being able to go back and see what you've said and revise it.
7:14
[SPEAKER_01]: And again, that physical component of actually using your body to do it,
7:19
[SPEAKER_01]: attaches to your brain in a different way than just audio does.
7:23
[SPEAKER_01]: So this is another big reason why I'm a huge fan of reading actual books even for kids that struggle with dyslexia or anything like that.
7:31
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not like you can't supplement with audio books, but it's a different experience.
7:38
[SPEAKER_01]: for your brain when you are looking at the written word and processing it that way versus audio.
7:44
[SPEAKER_01]: So, again, I just think a lot of the skills that we're teaching our kids, I really don't care if it's extinct or not.
7:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, they're gonna be able to use efficient tools at some point in their future, however they need to, but they're gonna be full humans that are capable and some of these things are part of that.
8:06
[SPEAKER_01]: the middle ages, right?
8:07
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's not like this is a life-skilled writing, writing wasn't, you were like maybe chiseling a hyroglyphic in a rock, maybe it was just oral tradition again back in the day, but I think for every level of interaction we have with communication and the written word, it serves this in a different way, and so we just want to give our kids all those things.
8:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, exactly.
8:27
[SPEAKER_00]: I want them to be able to have exposure to all the levels, at least all the levels that we're able to give them exposure to of communication, because there's something that we value, and looking at it not from, okay, what's the utilitarian purpose of this out in the world, but how is it shaping them as a person?
8:45
[SPEAKER_00]: And that is the great thing about things like music that's in our home that's, you know, working with your hands in a garden, and you think of just being a human,
8:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, what AI can never do is enjoy doing those things.
8:58
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think there's so much joy to be had in writing and processing your thoughts that way, in reading, and creating music, and gardening, and like, you can go on and on and on, just to be in diligent and stewarding the things that God's given us.
9:13
[SPEAKER_00]: We get to enjoy those things.
9:15
[SPEAKER_00]: And so there is an element that's like, well, there'll be like a economical value to your work.
9:21
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that's the lord only knows with so many of those things, because you're probably what you're doing now.
9:27
[SPEAKER_00]: There was probably no economical value too, like 100 years ago, right?
9:29
[SPEAKER_00]: That's how most people's careers are now anyways.
9:32
[SPEAKER_00]: But what we do know is that we can work as under the Lord and enjoy the labor of our hands, which is a gift.
9:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, we really, we're raising a lot of sons.
9:42
[SPEAKER_01]: We do want them to be great providers, but we aren't raising people like economical value is not actually the first thing on our list.
9:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
9:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Like vocational training comes a lot further down the road.
9:53
[SPEAKER_01]: And right now it's a lot more focused on character training and just the whole person development.
9:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Which is why it's just old school rating and writing and handwriting and typing works its way in there because it's a way that we communicate online with other people.
10:09
[SPEAKER_01]: But I don't want to be too quick to jump to audio or just dictating things.
10:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and so we'll move on to the other online learning, I guess, curriculums or platforms that we're using, but something to be said with the whole gamification of learning.
10:23
[SPEAKER_00]: This is something that we actually go to, pretty in depth, in depth manner, in our fourth coming book, we're going to be talking more about in the coming months.
10:33
[SPEAKER_00]: But that is, you know, how you learn is actually far more important than what you learned sometimes.
10:38
[SPEAKER_00]: and not all online learning platforms are created equally.
10:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Gamification is a huge problem when it comes to academics, you know, in learning.
10:47
[SPEAKER_00]: And just as like a, okay, I'm going to get it wrong.
10:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Is it litness or litness?
10:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Is it litness?
10:53
[SPEAKER_00]: litness test.
10:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
10:54
[SPEAKER_00]: If your, if your kids are begging,
10:57
[SPEAKER_00]: to go to their, you know, learning platform.
11:01
[SPEAKER_00]: There's the suspect, right?
11:03
[SPEAKER_00]: You should, and that's how this typing game is in our home.
11:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And so we're not looking at this as a long-term a part of our family's life.
11:11
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, okay, they are learning, where to put their hands for the, for the proper keys and they're able to write these spell, or type these words out, but then we're gonna move on because even with the low,
11:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Graphics it is like the most exciting thing that they're able to do and it's not the best thing for them And so we really are going to minimize them.
11:36
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to minimize the time they spend on them
11:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's funny, our three-year-old.
11:40
[SPEAKER_01]: We had to minimize the time, watching it.
11:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Because we have one child doing 20 minutes of typing, and that would be 20 minutes of screen time, right?
11:48
[SPEAKER_01]: But then you had four people watching the 20 minutes of screen time, and then we have two children doing it.
11:54
[SPEAKER_01]: So then the next child would get on, and then all those children are watching.
11:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's like, wow, we went from zero screen time in our home to like an hour for everybody in a very short amount of time.
12:06
[SPEAKER_01]: now it's like, okay, during quiet time, one child goes in, they do the typing, we leave the door open because you don't own them alone with a computer, but no one's allowed to watch anymore.
12:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Our three-year-old was coming and complaining to me that one of the kids wasn't playing the motorcycle game, and he really wanted to watch the motorcycle game.
12:26
[SPEAKER_01]: So, this does break all of the, all our rules for technology in our home.
12:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Every single one of them, this typing game breaks.
12:35
[SPEAKER_01]: It is seasonal, and we're requiring a lot of the kids this school year, and it's really nice to have them learning the skill without requiring it in a painful way.
12:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Because there are more simplistic ways to learn typing.
12:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
12:53
[SPEAKER_01]: like a lot of them.
12:55
[SPEAKER_01]: But again, I think what gives me comfortability with this is a lie she and I both did this and our homes growing up where we had like zero screen time.
13:03
[SPEAKER_01]: I know that's like a funny thing to say but it was like it was fun for three months and then we were done and that's kind of my goal with the kids is okay we'll have it for three months.
13:14
[SPEAKER_01]: The two children will learn and then we'll get rid of the program.
13:18
[SPEAKER_01]: They're just gonna have to type papers from there on
13:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we're just going to move on.
13:24
[SPEAKER_01]: I just wanted to let you guys know that the Get It All Done Club is back open by popular demand.
13:30
[SPEAKER_01]: We closed it in January of 2026 and it was indefinite.
13:35
[SPEAKER_01]: We didn't know if we would be opening it again, but having recently been in the clubhouse and just interacted with the wonderful women there.
13:44
[SPEAKER_01]: We have decided to open it back up for a
13:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Undetermined amount of time.
13:51
[SPEAKER_01]: I know that is kind of frustrating, but that's kind of how this program works is it just kind of works when it works.
13:58
[SPEAKER_01]: And so it's a program to take you from drowning in motherhood to thriving in motherhood.
14:02
[SPEAKER_01]: I have a
14:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Masterclass, it's free that's down below.
14:06
[SPEAKER_01]: You guys can check that out.
14:07
[SPEAKER_01]: I filmed it when we had four children and All be honest.
14:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I was watching back through it.
14:12
[SPEAKER_01]: I think the information is phenomenal in it.
14:15
[SPEAKER_01]: I was I was like this is really helpful But also I think there were a few parts that were like more tasteless.
14:22
[SPEAKER_01]: I guess.
14:23
[SPEAKER_01]: I was just less mature.
14:24
[SPEAKER_01]: That's stage
14:25
[SPEAKER_01]: So, anyways, watch it at your own risk.
14:28
[SPEAKER_01]: It's no longer attached to an email funnel, or anything like that.
14:30
[SPEAKER_01]: So you have to go sign up on your own.
14:32
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not gonna prompt you to sign up.
14:34
[SPEAKER_01]: We used to have this like great sales funnel thing, and now it's just like, hey, if you want it, you could sign up if you don't know how I'm no fail.
14:42
[SPEAKER_01]: So anyways, that's there.
14:43
[SPEAKER_01]: If you want it, we have a lot of you have joined recently and loving seeing those new faces in the club.
14:49
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm excited to see you over there.
14:52
[SPEAKER_00]: even hearing you say that it's like we've always we always want there to be more reasoning behind our decisions other than well that's what we did you know i know that's not that's not a good reason but i think it gives me comfort ability knowing my own
15:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Awareness, I think, when it comes to screens and what I can handle, what I can not, we're very strict, a lot of you are very strict in our own home with ourselves with our screens.
15:19
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I think it's not going to be eroding too much gray matter.
15:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully.
15:24
[SPEAKER_01]: That's all I'm saying.
15:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Another thing we've done this with is timestales.
15:28
[SPEAKER_01]: So timestales are where the kids learn their multiplication.
15:31
[SPEAKER_01]: They learn them so fast with timestales and it is so painless.
15:35
[SPEAKER_01]: So this is the first thing I did that went against everything that, you know,
15:40
[SPEAKER_01]: and courageous.
15:41
[SPEAKER_01]: And the kids did times tales for about one to two weeks.
15:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to say.
15:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And then Leon might have done it for a month, but the children following him did it for two weeks.
15:53
[SPEAKER_01]: And then one week, they're already kind of familiar with the characters in the process.
15:58
[SPEAKER_01]: And then we are done.
16:00
[SPEAKER_01]: And then they do multiplication drills on paper or with flashcards after that.
16:06
[SPEAKER_01]: So I am confident that we're able to shut off the flow.
16:09
[SPEAKER_01]: But these little gamification things have proven to be helpful, like we have used them.
16:17
[SPEAKER_00]: To get started, kind of a quick start.
16:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and just to make something less, to make it enjoyable for the kids.
16:25
[SPEAKER_01]: But
16:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, I respect people that don't do it at all, and it would be something that in an ideal world we might not, but it's been worth it to us.
16:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's what it is.
16:41
[SPEAKER_01]: I do think our elders really wants to get an actual typewriter with paper coming out of it.
16:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I'm thinking that after we're done with this program, we will actually get a typewriter for the kids, and I will have them type out their papers on that.
16:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we were just talking to someone that's writing a book on a typewriter.
16:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, just crazy.
17:00
[SPEAKER_01]: I've always wanted to own one.
17:01
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think that would be a cool way to, you know, just kind of work the whole gamin.
17:08
[SPEAKER_00]: But those are really the two right now, and those are temporary, right?
17:12
[SPEAKER_00]: We use those very, very short kind of thing.
17:14
[SPEAKER_01]: We don't have time to else right now.
17:15
[SPEAKER_00]: So, yeah, exactly.
17:16
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what I mean, we've used it and we're moving on.
17:19
[SPEAKER_00]: And then the typing game, it's got a short shelf life in our home.
17:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Those are kind of the only two that I feel like we're compromising on a little bit.
17:27
[SPEAKER_00]: That's true.
17:27
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going back and forth.
17:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Going against our better judgment.
17:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Whereas the other online learning, I guess platforms we're using, I would just stand by.
17:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, so Memorial Press we talked about this before, but the Latin program that lands going to be doing, he starts in a couple of weeks and I'll let you guys know how it goes, but that's in person.
17:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I love that person, but it's live.
17:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, that's the way to say it, that is like a live time when everyone is on the in the class together and so that I feel really good about I think it's like an hour and a half class which seems like a really long time and then he has 30 minutes of homework a day in order to keep up with the class.
18:09
[SPEAKER_01]: So again, we'll just see how it goes, but that is a method of learning that has really been proven to have long-term retention and just a really high efficacy.
18:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, again, we've mentioned this before, but
18:25
[SPEAKER_00]: The closest that you can get to being in a long drawn-out classroom setting, or a lecture, or just kind of a slow-moving course, or teaching style, the closest you can get to that online is going to be where the children actually gain the most from it mentally, academically, not in their whole person.
18:46
[SPEAKER_00]: And so while fast-moving and jump cuts and animation and gamification,
18:51
[SPEAKER_00]: might make learning as air quotes, it might make the, you know, the learner, the students experience more enjoyable and it'll be more fun, they'll be more prone to going back to it, they actually learn and retain a lot less.
19:02
[SPEAKER_00]: And so those are things to consider when you are choosing online learning programs for your children is, is this, you know, the pace of an in-person lecture or a class and because that is actually going to be what's going to really be
19:19
[SPEAKER_00]: helpful and have a taste to your child and they're going to be able to sustain a lot more of the information in that learning style and you're probably going to have to remind them to go do it right after a while might be exciting for one or two lessons but then you're going to have to remind them to get on the call okay you got to go get on the call you got to go to your lesson you got to watch the video and that's kind of a good that's a good sign.
19:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
19:40
[SPEAKER_01]: That's a good sign.
19:41
[SPEAKER_01]: And I do think there are issues with retention when it comes to animation.
19:45
[SPEAKER_01]: And so even as we're saying this right now, I think that I'm going to go home and tomorrow have the kids pull up a page's document and type out some of the words that they know on that page's document because it is different when you are typing on that screen and they're giving you the words for you.
20:02
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to make sure the kids are just solid on their home row.
20:05
[SPEAKER_01]: looking at something and typing, or, you know, just typing from memory words.
20:13
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think it's good to mix those things in as you're going.
20:17
[SPEAKER_01]: If it looks like it's like squirrel squirrel with our eyes, we are sitting in front of our huge glass window in our storefront here at Vogue Music Academy.
20:27
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like, and every time someone walks by, it's hard to not be like, who is that?
20:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I thought you were referring to if the games like Squirrel Squirrel because they same thing applies No, I was just watching you and you just kept looking up every time so much But I just don't want people to think like I don't know I want to watch TV and recording the podcast
20:51
[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, yeah, that would be a bit hypocritical, I think.
20:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Just let them know if they're watching what's going on.
20:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, math, then a cold eat.
21:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Where was her name?
21:01
[SPEAKER_00]: Nicole, the math lady.
21:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Nicole, the math lady.
21:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, so how are we using this so far?
21:07
[SPEAKER_01]: I will say the first like two days using Singapore math.
21:10
[SPEAKER_01]: I was like, why did we switch from Saxon?
21:13
[SPEAKER_01]: I like Saxon.
21:14
[SPEAKER_01]: I know how to do Saxon, and I texted my neighbor who does Singapore, and I'm like, I need help.
21:21
[SPEAKER_01]: What is going on?
21:23
[SPEAKER_01]: So we got Nicole the math lady.
21:25
[SPEAKER_01]: If you guys aren't familiar Nicole the math lady basically works with programs like Staxon, Singapore, I think she is math you see on there and she breaks down the lesson so she does a video lesson, breaking it down and then she works through it depends on the program but she'll work through part of the lesson with the kids.
21:43
[SPEAKER_01]: and so those are kind of the first two things that she offers and then third she offers online grading.
21:50
[SPEAKER_01]: So as the kids are doing their work, they can type in their answers right there and get immediate feedback.
21:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Did I do the right thing?
21:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Did I do the wrong thing?
21:58
[SPEAKER_01]: And then had the chance to change their answer or catch their answer and then she also has like math drills and stuff like that.
22:06
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's kind of a big program and it the first day we did that because I needed some help and support on like how are we how are we doing this maybe she's going to break it down better than me.
22:18
[SPEAKER_01]: She did a great job, but the first day we did it.
22:23
[SPEAKER_01]: It was a lot of time online, and because everything just takes longer with the video lecture and entering the problems while you're doing the math and all of that, entering your answers.
22:41
[SPEAKER_01]: And my son, the other day, he just came up with his mommy, I just feel like I am doing too much screen time.
22:49
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, our kids who've like, they're in the stage right now, where they really absorbed our...
22:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, like they are hook line and sinker drinking the cool light, which I love because one day they are going to question it and they're going to have to decide what their own convictions are.
23:05
[SPEAKER_01]: We're right now.
23:06
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like our family convictions and our family talk around screen time is very high and the kids get this like guilt meter going if they're on a computer for too long, which honestly I'm not I don't hate because
23:22
[SPEAKER_01]: There is something that's physically happening when you're doing that.
23:25
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm glad there awareness is, I've spent a lot of time on the computer today.
23:29
[SPEAKER_01]: So I was like, I know, like, I don't feel good about this either.
23:34
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is what's been great though, is he hated it.
23:38
[SPEAKER_01]: And so the last week, he has done all of his lessons without doing any of the Nicole the math lady, because any time, but it's been great training wheels, I guess, because he comes to me, he goes, well, I need help with this.
23:52
[SPEAKER_01]: And my whole concept behind outsourcing math was, I don't have time to just sit there and break everything down and hold everybody's hand anymore.
24:01
[SPEAKER_01]: And then too, I really want the kids, you know, when we are considering a school environment, I want to see how well they can just learn on their own or asking a question of someone else.
24:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Because that's how the real world works.
24:12
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not like you can go to mommy every time you have a question.
24:14
[SPEAKER_01]: So, like when you can log on and see what Nicole and math lady says about it.
24:19
[SPEAKER_01]: And 90% of the time he just goes and says, down, I'm figure's out.
24:23
[SPEAKER_01]: The problem.
24:24
[SPEAKER_01]: He's like, no, he goes, and he loves Nicole.
24:27
[SPEAKER_01]: She's funny, but she just takes longer than if he went and figured it out on his own.
24:32
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's great for me.
24:33
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like this backup.
24:36
[SPEAKER_01]: And I know that if the math gets more complicated or whatever, then I have her as a resource.
24:41
[SPEAKER_01]: If I don't know what's going on, or if he doesn't know what's going on, OK, you can check it out.
24:45
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's great.
24:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm grateful we have the resource.
24:50
[SPEAKER_01]: This to me is not a real life learning experience to be able to get immediate feedback on anything.
24:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I want our kids to be good at taking tests, I think that's just a life skill, and I did a ton of club tests and stuff like that in college.
25:08
[SPEAKER_01]: You do not get your grade.
25:10
[SPEAKER_01]: until the very end.
25:11
[SPEAKER_01]: You just have to hope you did a good job and go back and double check your answers.
25:16
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I didn't like all the amount of time with them having the computer open the entire time in their work in their math.
25:23
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like that really affects deep work and focus.
25:27
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of context switching there and every time you context switch, you lose retention.
25:33
[SPEAKER_01]: And so,
25:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't like what was going on.
25:36
[SPEAKER_01]: I'd rather them just be able to get into deep work and not get used to feeling this like multitasking.
25:41
[SPEAKER_01]: I work on my paper.
25:42
[SPEAKER_01]: I type in the lesson.
25:43
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm confused by the computer.
25:44
[SPEAKER_01]: I just feel like that is what or distracted by the computer.
25:47
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like that's what adults struggle with all the time.
25:50
[SPEAKER_01]: And I want our kids to know what deep work is because it really blesses me.
25:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I like to be able to shut everything off and get a job done.
25:59
[SPEAKER_00]: and it is something that is becoming more and more challenging to do.
26:03
[SPEAKER_00]: But at US School, is that we can actually grow in this area.
26:05
[SPEAKER_00]: I've seen you grow in this area.
26:08
[SPEAKER_00]: I've experienced growing in it since being married.
26:11
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's really motivated.
26:13
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to continue doing that.
26:15
[SPEAKER_00]: And now when I look at people that are able to accomplish a lot more,
26:18
[SPEAKER_00]: with their time, or their life, or whatever.
26:23
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think, oh, I'm sure there's multiple things that play, but what I'm most curious about now is how they've learned to work more focused in longer hours and get more out of their time.
26:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Because I think that that's just a real thing.
26:40
[SPEAKER_00]: As I've experienced a little bit of growth in that area, it makes me want to do that a lot more.
26:47
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I think of my working years and my school years of being so distracted and fragmented in my brain and not knowing what the thing was that I really needed to focus on and get done and then do that over and over and over again, known what the next thing is and the next thing.
27:01
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you can do a day after day of that, you can get a lot done and so it's something that's really worth learning to learning and then teaching to your children as well.
27:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so just getting away from that context, switching, I think is good.
27:14
[SPEAKER_01]: So then what I was doing with the online grading was like, okay, you do all your work on your paper, and then you go and you can type in all your answers on the self-grading thing.
27:25
[SPEAKER_01]: But then honestly, it would take like 25 minutes for him to type in all his answers or meet a type in all his answers.
27:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Because then I was like, I don't want you to be sitting on the computer for that long.
27:34
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll do it.
27:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I'm typing in these six digit numbers over and over and over and over and I'm just like, you know what, I can like scan the teachers guide and see if you got this right in five minutes or you know, and it doesn't add to my screen time for the day where I'm sitting on a computer typing in all these numbers.
27:50
[SPEAKER_01]: So we really just scratched on that grading.
27:55
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm able to see, I grade the first part of his work, which is the textbook side, and make sure real quick that he got the concepts, and then I grade his workbook side when he's done.
28:06
[SPEAKER_01]: And so it's not like he's repetitively making the same mistakes.
28:10
[SPEAKER_01]: And for us, that's worked really well.
28:12
[SPEAKER_01]: We don't do any of the drills online.
28:15
[SPEAKER_01]: But again, you just retention isn't as good online, so if our kids are doing drills, I want them to be doing pen and paper, or early doing them with flashcards, and just staying offline.
28:31
[SPEAKER_01]: So, that is, I'm grateful, I'm very grateful we have the Nicole deMath Laney process.
28:39
[SPEAKER_01]: We are not utilizing it to its full potential.
28:42
[SPEAKER_01]: It's really there as a backup if one of my kids need explanation on a topic.
28:48
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm really grateful with how it's going so far.
28:51
[SPEAKER_00]: We've already discussed in recent episodes how we're doing the same grade in math for, I think all of our children, just a different curriculum to kind of have them to help them be able to, because they've been ahead in math, and so we feel very comfortable doing that.
29:05
[SPEAKER_00]: But I've been pumped because Leon's done his math while being with me and he's been able to really systematically get through full lessons far more so than it was last year when it was He was out of worse tips a little bit throughout some of those lessons and I'm trying to get work done and he's, you know, frustrated with his math.
29:21
[SPEAKER_00]: So it is really nice that he's able to systematically figure this out and do a lot of self work self-paced work.
29:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Because that is something that we want, even though the old, I mean like 95% of their schooling is going to be done at home in the school room with you or at the dining room table, which we're grateful for, we also like that we have the flexibility, the capability for different kiddos to come with me, especially since we are opening the in-person music school, we want them to be able to be here a lot, and then being able to work through their schooling on their own is something that's extremely helpful for that scenario.
29:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, basically, we've talked about this before, but it's worked out well.
30:00
[SPEAKER_01]: We've done a trial week and a half.
30:03
[SPEAKER_01]: We're kind of like Hodge hobbling our way into summer or school year, yeah, fall.
30:09
[SPEAKER_01]: But just really testing out curriculums, seeing what's working.
30:13
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's worked out really well to flip our, now all our language arts is hands on.
30:20
[SPEAKER_01]: So I am not having them go do their cursive in their cursive book by themselves.
30:24
[SPEAKER_01]: I am like right over their shoulder.
30:26
[SPEAKER_01]: All three of the kids, four of the kids, and it's like, okay, those o's, they go up, you don't go back to the home to the baseline.
30:34
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, like correcting every little detail, um, M has three humps.
30:38
[SPEAKER_01]: How do we get to, why are we doing two humps on an M?
30:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Just over, just immediately an in-person, and same with grammar, same with punctuation, same with spelling.
30:47
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just like a media
30:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Those are things that I thought, oh, they can do all that work on their own, last year, and then I did the math.
30:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And this year, if they're going to bring something in with Elijah, it's their math.
30:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
31:00
[SPEAKER_01]: And so that's really nice.
31:01
[SPEAKER_01]: And again, that's why it's really nice not to be tethered to a computer, because they aren't bringing the computer with them when they go places.
31:08
[SPEAKER_01]: They just bring their books and they're ready to go.
31:11
[SPEAKER_01]: So we'll see.
31:11
[SPEAKER_01]: My daughter Singapore math hasn't gotten here yet.
31:14
[SPEAKER_01]: So she's still doing Zaxin and I'm curious to see she really liked Nicole the math lady.
31:20
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't know she might want to watch her lessons and then you know work through it that way.
31:26
[SPEAKER_01]: We'll see what she does.
31:28
[SPEAKER_01]: But for my son it's been an awesome motivator to not have him needing my input all the time.
31:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
31:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
31:37
[SPEAKER_00]: So then we've got the typing.
31:39
[SPEAKER_00]: We've got the time stable or
31:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's in the past, but I thought I'd bring it up because it's a resource for you.
31:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Nice.
31:46
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, the Latin is that right?
31:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And person, which is starting.
31:50
[SPEAKER_01]: And I like how that's one day a week and then the homework goes all week.
31:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
31:53
[SPEAKER_01]: But he's not on it daily.
31:55
[SPEAKER_00]: So is it called in person?
31:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, no.
31:58
[SPEAKER_01]: No, this is why I wrote down in person.
32:02
[SPEAKER_00]: but it's like a life that's right.
32:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Live, I'll just cross that out at this point.
32:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Now that we're done talking about it, all the right word they're live, that's like keep saying in person.
32:12
[SPEAKER_01]: I think of it as in person because like the person is there.
32:17
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not pre-recorded.
32:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you know, physically both there at the same time.
32:22
[SPEAKER_01]: You're physically there at the same time, but in different locations.
32:25
[SPEAKER_01]: And I do that often because I do that with our vote for music academy lives as well.
32:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Where in the instructors get on and coach the kids in real time.
32:35
[SPEAKER_01]: In real time, I say, oh, it's they're in person class and it's like, no, it's not in person.
32:41
[SPEAKER_01]: It's live.
32:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Right, in real time real time class and then fiddle with the M.A.
32:48
[SPEAKER_01]: So, Liam's using some other fiddle resources right now for the M.A.
32:52
[SPEAKER_01]: that are more aside from the M.A.
32:54
[SPEAKER_01]: that are more advanced for some of his songs.
32:57
[SPEAKER_01]: And then Lucy, Lewis, and Lawrence are using Boatburg music academy for their courses.
33:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and that's been great.
33:06
[SPEAKER_00]: We're, uh...
33:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, my sister is the fiddle teacher of Upper Music Academy, and she's just got a plethora of, I mean, knowledge, but in particular, tunes that our kids get to learn for a while.
33:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Those are tons of advanced tunes too.
33:20
[SPEAKER_01]: We just have an enrolled, um, unrolled, a fiddle, five or six.
33:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
33:24
[SPEAKER_01]: So like, that's like right where Leon would be.
33:27
[SPEAKER_01]: We just need to grow, um, you know, get the bandwidth to get those courses.
33:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and the kids love, I mean, I know we've talked about this before, and so we don't need to turn this into some commercial.
33:37
[SPEAKER_00]: But the badges, the ranks, the live calls, all the challenges that we're able to run through Voperative Music Academy, we get our kids really inspired and fired up, and we're going to be doing the exact same thing at the live school as well.
33:51
[SPEAKER_00]: We'll use the same badge system, and so it's going to be the same requirements to get your MC badge or to get your
33:58
[SPEAKER_00]: performance badge or any of those things.
34:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I've got rhythm badge, it'll be the all the exact same badge system that we use online, and we'll run the same challenges as well with the in-person music school.
34:11
[SPEAKER_00]: So there's going to be a lot of shared, I think, you know, language between the in-person and the online Academy which we're excited about.
34:18
[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, Vover Music Academy online has really just been helpful for our kiddos because I only have so much time to sit down with them and Kate is a great job of telling them to, you know, get their bow arm up or, you know, telling them to get their fingers in tune, because you can, you can do that, you know.
34:35
[SPEAKER_00]: But as far as that, like, okay, here's another tune.
34:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Great, here's another tune.
34:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Here's another tune.
34:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Here's another tune.
34:40
[SPEAKER_01]: They're all out way beyond me in terms of teaching tunes.
34:44
[SPEAKER_00]: like you can't teach them these tunes?
34:46
[SPEAKER_01]: No, no, I'm just like, that's where I'm totally lost, especially with the older couple kids, if they're on a video and they're like, I can't figure out what's going on, it's like, well, I can't figure out what's going on.
34:57
[SPEAKER_01]: So you figure out what's going on.
34:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And then they come back later and they can play it.
35:02
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just like, I don't know how to play low twos in different double stops and the things that they're adding in now, and so anyways, they just have to figure it out, which is good for them.
35:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, something we try to stay away from our rewards earned on an app because then you just want to stay on the app.
35:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
35:20
[SPEAKER_01]: And so that's something that I appreciate with.
35:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Booper music academy and kind of what we want to keep going forward is no rewards earned online.
35:29
[SPEAKER_01]: There's just too much dopamine that's already hitting when you're online.
35:32
[SPEAKER_01]: So.
35:33
[SPEAKER_01]: That's your reward.
35:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's why we literally male physical badges versus most, you know, learning apps, you hit different ranks in the app and you're getting like these badges in the app.
35:48
[SPEAKER_00]: and that kind of defeats the purpose in our mind of why we have our learning and instrument in the first place.
35:54
[SPEAKER_00]: It's to be outplaying music, you know, for other people, and we want them to have the physical reward for that.
36:01
[SPEAKER_00]: But it comes in the mail.
36:03
[SPEAKER_00]: We were still just huge fans of the U.S.
36:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Postal Service.
36:06
[SPEAKER_00]: That's how Katie and I started our relationship.
36:10
[SPEAKER_00]: And we've moved beyond that.
36:12
[SPEAKER_00]: So but we never left it behind fully.
36:15
[SPEAKER_00]: You still write letters to me.
36:16
[SPEAKER_00]: And I still write to you.
36:18
[SPEAKER_00]: That was often as you write to me.
36:19
[SPEAKER_01]: But no, you do.
36:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Your letters always make me cry every time.
36:22
[SPEAKER_01]: They're so meaningful.
36:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Just a couple more things for how we use Tekken our home.
36:28
[SPEAKER_01]: While we use a desktop computer, not a touch screen.
36:32
[SPEAKER_01]: I know it's so easy to have that iPad because you can move it all around.
36:36
[SPEAKER_01]: But for us, there's just too much research that when kids touch screens versus interact on a keypad, they don't, they're more impulsive, it's worse for their gray matter, it's worse for their impulse control.
36:51
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, it's just like little things I guess we're trying to guard against.
36:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And we want our kids to have a comfort ability with the tools that we see being helpful in their life long term.
37:02
[SPEAKER_01]: So we want them to develop a relationship with a desktop or a laptop computer because that is currently the healthiest way to interact online.
37:12
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we want our kids to get used to doing that, not like, here's a phone or here's an iPad because then that's going to be their comfort ability moving forward.
37:19
[SPEAKER_01]: and not that they won't ever get one of those for themselves.
37:22
[SPEAKER_01]: We really want this to be what they know they can get deep work done on.
37:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And then the other thing is we try to avoid apps so far.
37:31
[SPEAKER_01]: We've completely avoided apps and just gone with a web browser.
37:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I know it sounds a lot crazier, almost from safety perspective to go through a web browser.
37:40
[SPEAKER_01]: But again, when looking at the research, it's easier to lock down an entire web browser from parental controls than apps.
37:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Because each individual app has its own web surfing option.
37:54
[SPEAKER_01]: In a lot of cases, so like Bible app, the Bible app does.
37:58
[SPEAKER_01]: And so in our...
38:02
[SPEAKER_01]: research, there were, you know, kids using that app to send unsolicited photos through the Bible app to other users on the Bible app.
38:11
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's just not something that we want happening to our kids, obviously.
38:15
[SPEAKER_01]: So if we just lock down the whole web browser and make it a lot easier than trying to figure out the tunnels and the intricacies of every individual app.
38:25
[SPEAKER_01]: So anyways, that's something just from a safety perspective that we've really tried to stay away from is apps and sticking with a browser.
38:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but we'd love to hear what you're using for your home education.
38:36
[SPEAKER_00]: This or just your children's education in general, what that online platform is that you sees being helpful in that advantageous.
38:43
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, most people know we're pretty low tech family, you know, we're not doing many, we're doing not doing much screen time in the Voper household these days.
38:51
[SPEAKER_00]: but however, but however, we do like to utilize technology in a way that advances our goals for our children and it gets us closer to accomplishing what the Lord may have for us and we hope you're doing the same.
39:03
[SPEAKER_00]: That's our goal.
39:03
[SPEAKER_00]: We really want to be stewards of technology and any time we hear somebody say, oh, I wish I could get rid of this.
39:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Our wish I didn't have to, we just want to, you know, kind of give them hope that you probably can.
39:16
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that we always want to be using a piece of technology or a certain
39:20
[SPEAKER_00]: program, not feeling like it's the only option or we have to do this, but because it's actually serving us and we've got a goal that's being achieved through it.
39:32
[SPEAKER_00]: That's all we have to say folks, thank you all so much for listening and we'll talk to you next time.
39:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Bye-bye.