This Golden Hour

79. Robynn Lang and Developing Character and Discipleship

• Timothy Eaton

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In today’s episode, we get to spend time with Robynn Lang from Edmonton, Alberta. In our conversation, Robynn recounts her family's transition into homeschooling during Covid and the benefits they have observed for their children along the way. Their faith in God played an integral role in the Lang’s decision to homeschool, and it is their trust in God that helps them continue with confidence and peace. We discuss the importance of family and community support, the centrality of character development in education, and accepting the primary role and responsibility we have as parents to provide our children with a meaningful, robust education and lifestyle that prepare them well for the future.

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Robynn Lang:

home education is so much more about character development than it is about actual curriculum. And so character development and discipleship are day in, day out what we're talking about throughout the day when the kids are in bed and it's just us, we're talking about, okay, what do we need to do in this situation? What's the best move here? And I just realized I'm so glad that it's us. I'm so glad we are the ones who are developing their character, that we're not outsourcing it to other adults who don't love them the way we love them.

Tim Eaton:

Hi, I'm Timmy Eaton, homeschool father of six and doctor of education. We've been homeschooling for more than 15 years and have watched our children go from birth to university successfully and completely without the school system. Homeschooling has grown tremendously in recent years and tons of parents are becoming interested in trying it out. But people have questions and concerns and misconceptions and lack the confidence to get started. New and seasoned homeschoolers are looking for more knowledge and peace and assurance to continue homeschooling. The guests and discussions on this podcast will empower anyone thinking of homeschooling to bring their kids home and start homeschooling. And homeschoolers at all stages of the journey will get what they need and want from these conversations. Thank you for joining us today and enjoy this episode of this Golden Hour Podcast as you exercise, drive, clean, or just chill you're listening to this Golden Hour Podcast. In today's episode, we get to spend time with Robin Lange from Edmonton, Alberta. In our conversation, Robin recounts her family's transition into homeschooling during COVID and the benefits they have observed for their children along the way. Their faith in God played an integral role. In the lane's decision to homeschool and it is their trust in God that helps them continue with confidence and peace. We discussed the importance of family and community support, the centrality of character development and education and accepting the primary role and responsibility we have as parents to provide our children with a meaningful, robust education and lifestyle that prepare them well for the future. Welcome back to this Golden Hour podcast. Today we have with us Robin Lang from the Edmonton area in Alberta. Robin, thanks for being with us.

Robynn Lang:

Thank you.

Tim Eaton:

Now I have a little bit of experience doing these interviews and this is her first. Robin has three children ranging from ages nine to 14, and she's a homeschool mother. And also does a little bit of volunteer graphic design work. So Robin, tell us a little bit more about you. Give us a bio

Robynn Lang:

Well, we, We started out with our kids in public school. We always had homeschooling in the back of our minds of a possibility because our oldest son has always just been that weekly kid at the back of the class of the teachers aren't really sure what to do. And by the time he was in grade three his teacher was starting to say that we needed to look into ADHD medication and that's when we started thinking, okay maybe the school room isn't the best place for him. Because medication wasn't really a route we were willing to go. We did like dietary changes and took him to a naturopath and stuff. But when COVID came and They were making so many changes for the school room. We decided it just pushed us to go ahead and let's just give this homeschooling thing a whirl. Because lots of people are doing it, so why can't we?

Tim Eaton:

Wow, was that scary for you or had you already thought about it enough that you weren't so daunted?

Robynn Lang:

I think God really chose the timing in which it happened because we were on vacation and we happened to be visiting one of my husband's aunts and also my aunt and my aunt is a full time tutor. And my husband's aunt is a homeschooling tutor, but she also homeschooled all of her grown children. So I had a lot of support with me at that decision making time what are we doing? It's August. We need to know what's happening in September. And so I had a lot of encouragement and support and just they were so willing to help me and answer all the questions that I had and point me towards curriculum. And it was exactly what I needed at that pivotal time.

Tim Eaton:

And so he would have been around 10.

Robynn Lang:

He would have been like, he was about to go into grade five.

Tim Eaton:

This is interesting because the very last interview I had a few days ago she said the same thing she and her husband experienced ADHD and then they have their oldest child has it. And but they very similar to what you're saying. They tried different things and it just wasn't working out. Did you have exposure before that to home education? Had you really looked into it before talking with yours and your husband's aunts, or was it more like that was the first exposure to it?

Robynn Lang:

Yeah, my husband had done I wouldn't really call it homeschooling, but, his parents just left him with a computer to just follow a curriculum, but he was online doing it for most of the time. So he did a mix of that and Christian school growing up. And Honestly, I had the impression that homeschool kids were just weird and socially awkward. And

Tim Eaton:

Yeah, that's all of us.. And so nobody in your families had really done that before besides this.

Robynn Lang:

So his side of the family was very familiar with it, but not mine.

Tim Eaton:

So how did your family feel about it when you started?

Robynn Lang:

My parents are really supportive and they only live 10 minutes away from us. So they jumped right in with helping however they could. They started taking the kids once a week. They each kid takes turns going to the grandparents house on Fridays cause we do a four day work week. So then Friday is grandma's house and they do crafts and cooking and woodworking. No

Tim Eaton:

way. With your mom and your dad?

Robynn Lang:

Yeah, all those fun things. That is

Tim Eaton:

so cool,

Robynn Lang:

add on to the education plan.

Tim Eaton:

My, my mother in law they're in Shura Park near where your friend lives. And same thing. Like they, they have so much involvement. And so I love when I hear grandparents getting involved. How did that evolve? Like, how did you determine the four day week work week and then doing that with your parents? How did that all come to be?

Robynn Lang:

Oh, I'm trying to think back. Yeah. My parents have always taken them. They've been living 10 minutes from us for about five years. And it's when they moved close to us that they started just, it was my mom's idea to invite A grandchild to come every weekend. So sometimes she has one, sometimes she has two, sometimes she has all three, but

Tim Eaton:

we've

Robynn Lang:

been really blessed because we have so much support and help from them.

Tim Eaton:

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. It's a supplement, but we always use the term fill your bucket. It's also helps you to fill your bucket and stay motivated and get like the break that you need. Do your parents go over things that they have interest in themselves and that they are versed in and then that's what they teach your kids?

Robynn Lang:

It's interest driven. So for instance, my daughter decided that she wanted more doll clothes for her dolls. So then my mom was like, Oh, we can make doll clothes. So then they started working on that together. And there was like one time that they needed like a, their iPads kept falling over. So my mom and my dad were like we could make stands. And so then they made stands for their iPads and they got all got individually decorated iPad stands. What in

Tim Eaton:

the world, man, those are like all potential businesses. I love that.

Robynn Lang:

Great.

Tim Eaton:

No, and I don't want to understate how valuable that is, like the contribution of your parents and then just the idea of doing it interest based. If there's something I would emphasize to any family, it's that like when your kids find meaning in what they're learning, that's what actually enhances the learning and also the long term memory of what they're learning. And so that's amazing that your parents are doing that and good for them. You said that your aunts had some influence in pointing you towards resources and curriculum, and then how has that, the idea of deciding what you're going to do with your kids, obviously you said based on interest how else have you determined and gleaned from different curriculum and, how have you decided what you're going to do with each of your kids and how you're going to plan your day?

Robynn Lang:

When I decided that we were going to jump in and do this the very first year, I decided we would just do it really simple as long as they don't lose any progress in math or English. That was my focus. So we're just going to really focus on math and English, not fall behind. And that first year was COVID. So it was really just A lot of time at home, a lot of time together, a lot of time finding playgrounds we could go to when we were allowed to go to playgrounds. It was a really lonely year to be honest, but at the same time, I realized how much of my kids lives I was already missing out on just having them gone for, Seven hours a day. So it was really a year of growth and bonding together because we were in this together, let's figure it out.

Tim Eaton:

And how was it like, how was it for you and your husband? How was it for them?

Robynn Lang:

I think what we really realized in that first year is that we've been approaching it. There's a better way to approach it than we had been approaching it. And the way that our culture kind of does life now is like everyone lives in the same house, but everyone goes off in different directions in the morning. And we realized through living it, that God actually has designed us as the primary teachers and disciple makers of our kids. The Bible says. teach them and show them the way they should go and they won't depart from it. But we have to actually be there doing it. We can't just leave that in other people's court. And I think we realized more than ever that we had been opting out of the like real hard work, the meat of parenting the day in day out discipleship making. And it's amazing how just like working through a math problem. You can actually invite the Holy Spirit in and you can actually invite character development and life skills and teaching them. It's no, don't say you can't do it because when you say you can't do it, you shut down the opportunity that you might do it. No,

Tim Eaton:

if

Robynn Lang:

you invite the Holy Spirit in to help you and if you just keep working at it, then. Maybe you might learn that you can do something you didn't think you could do.

Tim Eaton:

Talk a little bit about the math and English. Why did you feel strongly or did that come from you and your husband or why those subjects in particular?

Robynn Lang:

I just felt like they were Kind of

Tim Eaton:

foundational.

Robynn Lang:

Yeah, like the hardest to make up if you fall behind. And so I figured if we're just going to focus on a couple things, we'll focus on those. And then the following year, that's when I discovered the generations dot org, their curriculum, and we've stuck with them ever since for the rest of it. For social and for Bible and history.

Tim Eaton:

COVID was compelling and got you into it and with the circumstances of your family. And how has that evolved as far as what you're emphasizing? Have you seen a change in the way you thought it was going to happen and the way that it's happening now, as far as how you're approaching the learning and the lifestyle of it?

Robynn Lang:

Yeah, when I was first looking into it I had in my mind a mom standing at the front of a classroom of her own children trying to teach like a pioneer classroom,

Tim Eaton:

but

Robynn Lang:

what I actually realized is especially once my youngest learned to read I'm really just an administrator. I I find the curriculum, or we work on it together as they get older, we choose what they want to learn about, but really I'm just the one making sure that they're actually doing the work. So they read the textbook, they answer the questions, they submitted to me and I'm like, check check. And it's actually been a lot less difficult than. Then I imagined it might be, I don't actually have to teach things. I just have to find the right resources. And sometimes we're learning together, and it helps that my husband is good at math and I'm good at English. So we kind of work together on them.

Tim Eaton:

So are, do you find that you're most heavily involved in language arts type things with your kids, as far as your more direct involvement and what they're learning?

Robynn Lang:

Yeah. Like the grammar checking and the spelling and the, yeah, that kind of stuff.

Tim Eaton:

It's interesting. I don't know that you can actually Do it a different way in the sense that you just have to go through the stages of development, just like you do in anything else. It's, akin to, it's best to crawl before you walk. And in homeschooling, I feel like you do figure out, like you have these conceptions of what it's going to be like, but then you quickly learn on your own. I don't know if you can like really prepare somebody for that, you just have to experience it with your children. Now, when you were facing the decision and when you guys as a family were going, okay, we're going to actually do this and try this out. If you can remember, what was the scariest part of that for you? And then what were you looking forward to the most?

Robynn Lang:

I'm not sure that there was something scary about it. I know every homeschool parent has fear of failure in the back of their mind. What if I'm not teaching them enough? What if they never graduate? There's always those fears. But what we quickly realized in terms of something to look forward to is just the flexibility that it offers. Originally, when we were just considering, just at the very beginning, we were only considering homeschooling our oldest, we were like, okay we'll do it here with him because we don't want to send him off to COVID school. We'll just do him. But then we realized if he's going to be on a different schedule and my husband's working from home, then we might as well just all be on this new weird schedule. And so we actually by the end of our first school year, we got a trailer, our fifth wheel and we started traveling and we started homeschooling on the road. And it just opened up. So many possibilities. Wait,

Tim Eaton:

this was after the first year of doing it?

Robynn Lang:

I think so. Yeah., we started in September and then by that spring, we got a fifth wheel. Yeah.

Tim Eaton:

No way. You're like living the dream that we would love to do, but I don't work from home.

Robynn Lang:

So the nice thing is that we could travel in September and June. In those shoulder seasons when other kids are still in school and yes, bring the books along and we did a trip all the way down to Texas. We did the Oregon and California. Yeah, Oregon Coast, California.

Tim Eaton:

How long did you travel for?

Robynn Lang:

Oh, we would do like month to six week type. Wow. Come home in between. Yeah.

Tim Eaton:

So they didn't have activities at home that were binding them down.

Robynn Lang:

That's why we were doing the shoulder. So we tried to be home between October and. March ish. So that my middle son does a homeschool hockey league and my oldest son is heavily into music. So he needs to be home for music lessons. And so we just try and make it work

Tim Eaton:

well. And those are a couple of things that bind us down as sports and music. But that idea and the freedom and the flexibility of doing that is so attractive to us and to so many. And, I don't know if anything has been written on this, but the advantages and the benefits of off. Times during the year are are such a benefit for homeschool families. For example, like if you want to an Airbnb at a place that's, frequented by people a vacation spot is usually so much cheaper because you can just go when it's not the high season. And so something needs to be written about that because that's enticing. So were all your kids on board with it? Were they pretty cool about the change or did anybody struggle with that transition?

Robynn Lang:

At the very beginning they weren't sure about it. But, once it started, they started actually realizing it's wait, we're going to the playground right now and everybody else is in class, or it's we're going to tell us world of science and everybody's stuck in school and just having the four days and having Fridays off. None of them would ever want to go back to school at this point. Yeah,

Tim Eaton:

And those awesome days with your parents, like that's so magical. And I feel like when people hear about homeschool, it's changed from this idea of Ooh, I would never want to do that, that it is like so much more enticing to the majority. Once in a while you'll still hear people say, that's so weird. I'll never do that. But the majority of people are going. they're either saying, I'm looking into it, or, they have these ideas that they can't, for whatever reasons, and some are definitely legitimate, like they'll say, I just can't do it, but I would definitely be interested in it, but, I had to chuckle when you said one of the fears that is common is that will they graduate? And I chuckled because what we learned so quickly is that you don't even have to graduate. But that there's so many different avenues to the life of career and the post secondary routes and. And that's just one of the beauties I feel like of homeschooling is that you research those options more. We've had two kids go through without a diploma and our third is about to finish this year without a diploma. And I'm not saying you don't have to do that because depending on what a kid is going to pursue, that might be a good idea, but just that there's options and that it's good to know the options.

Robynn Lang:

Yeah. So one thing that I've realized is that it's actually such a better route for setting your kids up for whatever career they choose, because they have the freedom to really explore those passions now and really figure out okay what do I want to do? Whereas I feel like when they're in school, they're just doing the schedule that's set for them. And then they graduate and it's okay, now what's

Tim Eaton:

now what

Robynn Lang:

we've like just through homeschooling are, my son has discovered a love for music and so knowing that now we can make sure and choose education options that are going to set him up for wherever he wants to take it.

Tim Eaton:

Yes, I was interviewing a lady a couple weeks ago and she was saying, her daughter's only 12 or 13 years old, but she has a certain interest. And so she just immediately started calling universities and post secondary institutions and saying, Hey, so if my daughter's interested in this, what's the route and what does she have to have? And even if she doesn't do that, that kind of legwork just demystifies. And I'm finding a lot of homeschool parents doing that is. Literally just making the phone calls, going online and looking what is necessary. The the lady that I interviewed a few days ago, she said that her son was into game design. And so she called a couple of universities in Canada and in in the States. She's from Canada. And learn so quickly that what they need is a portfolio, and that they don't need a diploma, and that these, at least these particular institutions. And that's so good that this is happening more and more frequently, because post secondary institutions are really businesses too and they want people to come and it's very positive for them to have these home educated students who have gone deep on something. And so I think the depth, like you said, your son in music, that's appealing to universities, and it's also enriching for the individual who actually It really learns their craft and and deep in their understanding of it. The thing that I was thinking though is I read this thing the other day that talked about how I think it's eight out of 10 people actually don't know their passion. And much less when they're in their youth years or their younger years, there are some kids that go, no, I'm going to be an engineer or I'm going to be this or that. And it's not that you can't change that, but very few people have a very set passion. And how will you navigate that with your children? If they don't know clearly what their interests are, how will you help them prepare for their future with that in mind?

Robynn Lang:

That's a good question. We've never been the type of parents who are like asking them already what do you want to be when you grow up? Where's this going? I think that for us, it's so much more important to train them up to be men and women who have a strong work ethic and I have critical thinking skills. Just all of those skills that wherever you decide to take it, those are going to serve you well whether you want to be a realtor or. University professor. Those are the skills that will support you in whatever direction you want to take it. And so I don't think it's, you don't have to decide right off the bat this is my passion, I must follow this because even in a like, Something like music. There's so many different avenues that you can go down. You can go down composing or audio engineering, and those are two very different things. But if he has a work ethic and if he has critical thinking skills and he has the ability to self educate, then once he realizes the avenue he wants to take, he'll have the skills.

Tim Eaton:

What an excellent answer that's going to benefit anybody listening and I just want to highlight three things that you said one. If you teach work ethic and you teach I would say it is like knowing how to learn, right? Like critical thinking skills. If you know how to learn. And then what was the last thing you just said?

Robynn Lang:

Being able to self.

Tim Eaton:

Yes, exactly. Self directed learning. And I found that was one of the most prominent findings for sure, basically what universities were finding was that homeschool educate or home education students were already university students because of their self directed learning. And so the transition for them was much less because, and not everybody, but the majority, like the statistically. And so that idea of being self directed and and if I were to just narrow those down, I would say, if you know how to learn and you love learning, then it's less important that the exact route you're taking. And more important that you just keep learning and not stressing your kids out about that, that they can just, Hey, if you keep loving learning and know how to learn and, are self directed in that effort, then things are going to work out well. And I think that we're seeing that all over the place. Really good answer. We, we Talked a little bit about what might've been daunting when you were starting, but what would you say is a challenge or challenges that you've seen in the effort? What's hard for you in this route in this lifestyle of homeschooling? And then what's actually really, I don't want to say easy, but desirable or really enjoyable. So the two ends, like what's been really hard. What's been really enjoyable.

Robynn Lang:

Oh, something that's challenging for me personally is I'm not like a really highly scheduled person. I prefer to go with the flow. My to do list is like. These are the things that need to get done this week. And if it doesn't get done this week, it'll get pushed to the next week. So I'm not like highly. We need this schedule and we're going to follow it. And it's all color coded. We don't do it's The day starts somewhere between 30, depending on when I get breakfast on the table. And

Tim Eaton:

Depending on the night before yeah. Yeah,

Robynn Lang:

and that's one of the huge values of homeschooling is that you can take a day off or you can push it. If you need to push it an hour, you can push it. Like it's just so flexible or you can

Tim Eaton:

have good sleep. That's just huge for your kids, good sleep and unrushed mornings.

Robynn Lang:

So for me, it's I need to stay on top of just making sure that this thing happens because I'm like the train conductor. I need to keep it on the rails. And so that has always been a challenge for me. But. That is something that I have really loved is those unscheduled mornings and just that time with them to sit down to breakfast together. And we always do devotions together. And that's the thing that I didn't realize homeschooling would look like is that time for character development and discipleship is just gold that I didn't even realize was out there for the taking.

Tim Eaton:

Yes. Oh man, your answers are so good. I just finished reading this book that talks about, stages of learning. And the last stage of learning is what they call the incubation stage. And in incubation, it's basically, you have to have downtime and relax time, and then your most intense learning takes place. And in this book goes through all of the major innovations in the world's history came in those states. And it's so consistent with us personally too. And so I can't speak for your everyday experience because I don't see your family but I, when you say that's your style and I'm not saying there's a right or wrong style to this, but that idea of it not being a rushed atmosphere, not being a stressed atmosphere. Cause I would say that my family is actually more structured when it comes to homeschooling, but it's not a right or wrong thing, but the principle is if kids aren't feeling stressed about it or rushed, then I know more meaningful learning is taking place. So have you been able to observe the effect that has had on your kids? Because some people could say that's either lazy or negligent but whatever it is, it's probably good for the kids. Have you observed the effects of that with your children as far as not being rushed or stressed?

Robynn Lang:

It's funny how you can really see their individual personalities come out. My oldest son is he likes to just get it all done as fast as possible,, So we do breakfast, then we do devotions, then we do read aloud, we're reading through a novel together. And then once that's done, everybody goes and does their individual subjects. And my oldest son likes to just like boom, get it all done. And then he can just play piano and nobody will bug him.

Tim Eaton:

No way. And he wants to get to piano. Oh, that's so good,

Robynn Lang:

but then my middle son he needs lots of physical activity breaks. Sometimes we would tell him just get outside, walk around the block or just put on your hockey pads and start shooting. He needs lots of breaks. And but then he gets stressed out because his brother and sister are done school and it's mid afternoon and he's not done yet. And he starts worrying about schedules and getting the subject finished at the end of the school year. And I keep reminding him, it's the good news is I'm the one who makes that schedule. Nothing is set in stone. And we've even had a couple times where a subject has just been way more difficult than expected. And we rolled it into the next year. And it's

Tim Eaton:

Yeah, there's so much written about not teaching until they're ready to learn. And I think you're touching on it right now, like there's some line between not stressing them out and then having some accountability not worrying about them finishing stuff, but then helping them feel a sense of accomplishment. There's a line in there somewhere, and I think parents know where that line is. You know, Your kids the best and you love them. And so I think ultimately you're going to do what's best for them, but I love what you're saying about rolling it into the next year and not causing undue stress when it's just not worth it. It's just not worth it. And then what about your, is it your daughter that's left? What's her style?

Robynn Lang:

She's a mix. If she gets into a group she'll get her work done. But mostly when you go over and check, her entire page is covered with doodles. She likes to read and draw. Those are her things. I have to keep her on

Tim Eaton:

But the daydream that's where all the wonders are happening. I forgot how we got into that conversation because I had a follow up but anyway, you were talking about, oh yeah, just the effect of not stressed and not rushed and how they deal with that differently. And that just naturally has been your way. Was that an intentional approach or is it just like Robin's personality and it's

Robynn Lang:

I think part of it was just because we started in COVID like the whole world was in a a state of It's not business as usual. So whatever you can get done, like good for you. And so that's like the philosophy that I took into homeschooling. It's Hey, we're doing it. Like at the end of the year, it's all done. And we still love each other.

Tim Eaton:

And what you pointed out I think is what people discover and that is such a revelation for people unfamiliar with homeschooling because what you Outlined there like your morning together breakfast devotions and then out reading aloud and then doing their own stuff And then getting to like whatever their interests are. That's actually a very common Pattern that I've been hearing And it opens people's eyes because they really do imagine what you said about being like in the Anne of Green Gables, one room classroom, people think of it as what are you going to do for seven hours? And are you feel like you could teach and you're like no you really got to get in this. This idea that learning in a school has confines that you have to deal with, and when you get rid of all of those, the flexibility is amazing. And typically, especially when kids are younger, we're talking an hour and a half to two hours of actual, structured learning activities. And then, especially from ages zero to seven, and I would say even beyond, their job is to play. And in that play, they're learning so much. But as they get older, their time might be as much as in a school, but it's so self directed and and flexible. And it's meaningful learning because they're doing Hopefully what they're interested in. So I'm glad you pointed that out. How have you responded to people that have said, why are you doing this? Or what's the benefits of this? Or how has it been? how do you talk to people who aren't necessarily homeschool familiar, but they ask those questions to you? Or have you had that?

Robynn Lang:

Not a lot. I, I did have a conversation with someone who I hadn't spoken to in a long time and she was Oh, okay, that's nice. And she's like, I just know that I'm a better parent when I don't see them for eight hours a day. And it just struck me the lies that parents buy into To think that you're a better parent when you're not around your child, when God has entrusted these children to you specifically. And it's our job, it's our duty to raise them in the way they should go. And we'll stand before God and give account for it.

Tim Eaton:

And you can't abdicate that. I would encourage you if you haven't listened to it already to listen to, do you know who Sam Sorbo is? You should listen to my episode with her, Sam Sorbo. And she highlights in a much more exclamation point way. What you just said, like she, she has a TV show she does and a radio show and she's quite political too, but she's I don't know. She's bold. She's really bold. And she talks about that on our episode. And again people can have their own views and beliefs about that. But that resonates with me as well. Cause some might listen and go, that sounds pretty strong to call it buying into lies when it's just like a mental health concern or something like that. And I'm sure there's realities to that. But I think more than not, just like you said, people think that it's going to be this crazy thing that will drive them nuts when what they find is that they they just love being with their kids and it does take adjustments and but you really can and nothing will enrich that relationship better. And then you won't need to complain about what's happening to your child because your influence isn't there, because that's the most common experience we have when people say, Oh, this happened and this happened. You really can make choices that change that.

Robynn Lang:

And I, I find actually at this time in history, To me, it feels like the first time that people can actually outsource their parenting, they just can be their chauffeurs driving them from school to the coach to the therapist, and they just let all these other people parent their children and Choosing to be the parent of your child is not the easy route. It's definitely the hard route, but it's so much more fulfilling.

Tim Eaton:

Yeah,

Robynn Lang:

because it's a pur a god-given purpose that we are created for, we're created to raise up the next generation. And if we opt out of that, then well, we see in the Old Testament what the results of that are. They didn't teach the next generation to walk in the way of the Lord.

Tim Eaton:

And we see it today. That to the degree that somebody abdicates their role as a parent, we see the issues in society that emerge. Thank you very much. How do you respond to people that say I want to do this, but I'm scared to death. What do you say to a parent, that is considering it, but is overwhelmed with the curriculum, the unfamiliarity of it what would you say to assuage or to quell somebody's concerns about wanting to do it?

Robynn Lang:

I think community is so important. Getting to know other parents that are doing it listening to podcasts like yours. For myself, I joined a bunch of Facebook groups where I could just read other parents and search through it and see what curriculum they're doing. And the more you familiarize yourself with the world of homeschooling, the more doable it seems.

Tim Eaton:

Yeah. Give us at least a few resources, like either whether it's podcasts, curriculum, books, anything like that. What are on the top of your head? You mentioned generations. org. What else do you glean information from what comes to mind immediately for you?

Robynn Lang:

Kevin Swanson is the one who does generations. org, but he's also takes part in the homeschooling summit, the online homeschool summit. And so listening to those summits is really helpful for me. But also I would highly recommend the wisdom School, the

Tim Eaton:

homeschooling

Robynn Lang:

platform, Wisdom.

Tim Eaton:

Yeah, if people outside of the Alberta context are listening, Wisdom is basically a school authority that facilitates home education and Some facilitate homeschooling, but they don't have the same philosophical roots as Wisdom. And so I would say the same thing. We go through Wisdom too, and their courses are rigorous and excellent.

Robynn Lang:

And we love our facilitator and just how parent centric they are that like, you know, your kids, so just tell us how we can support you. And I really love that philosophy.

Tim Eaton:

That's helpful to hear those ideas. What are you thinking about as far as the future, your kids into secondary, high school years? What have you guys talked about with that?

Robynn Lang:

We've Talked to our facilitator a lot because our oldest son is going into grade nine and So then it's like high school's on the horizon and it's once you're in high school That's when you really have to buckle down in my mind. But he just really put us at ease and just realizing there's so many paths To post secondary paths to a career like some careers don't even require post secondary. You can do a certificate or an apprenticeship. And the cool thing about homeschooling is you can start an apprenticeship when you're in high school. Now, yes. You know what you want to do.

Tim Eaton:

Yep.

Robynn Lang:

I think it's just for myself, just reminding myself to just take a breath and realize just like we have. Up to this point, we will figure it out as we go and God will lead our steps and open the doors that need to be opened and it will work out.

Tim Eaton:

I appreciate that. And I think it's very apparent to anyone listening to this that your faith really is fueling a lot of your decision making and that's inspiring to hear that somebody has that trust and that confidence, because of what they believe. Like you said, it's not an easy choice to home educate. It's very involved in your kids. Although it's very rewarding and enriching and fulfilling, one can experience burnout. And so what do you do personally to fill your bucket and what's your husband's role in that effort? And you have your parents that are helping to know that

Robynn Lang:

during our school day. We jokingly referred to my husband as the principal. So if things are going wrong, somebody has to visit the principal's office. And he's also our math teacher, which is super helpful. But in general I just appreciate how hands on he is with the parenting and the discipline and just backing me up in whatever direction. I'm the one who takes the role of choosing the curriculum and choosing the schedule and setting the pace, but he's there to back me up. And help it go as smoothly as possible. And so that's been really good. And the other thing that I love about homeschooling is that we get it done by one or two o'clock, depending on which child I'm referring to. But then everyone can retreat to their own corners and do their own thing, whether one is off to sports or and another is just wants to curl up and read. Then I get a few hours to myself before dinnertime to do whatever I need to get done in the day. And while the other great thing is while they're doing their subjects, that's when I do chores. So I can do the dishwasher and the laundry. And all I have to do is. Check on them once in a while and make sure they're doing it. So it's for all of us, it's our productive time of the day. And then we have that nice lull before dinner time where everyone can just take a break.

Tim Eaton:

And that is productive. Like I was talking about with the incubation stage it's way more productive than I think a lot of us realize what's actually happening in our brains in that downtime of exploration. A couple of things that came out of that. I just wanted to ask you about one, how often are you having conversations with your husband about just the homeschool and the lifestyle? Like how often are you talking about the kids and what's going on as far as their academics or their learning or.

Robynn Lang:

Those are a lot of different topics on a daily yeah every second

Tim Eaton:

you're together, there probably needs to be a clear, there probably needs to be a clear question. So I I guess what's the balance of what do you find that you guys are discussing mostly? Is it concerns about their learning? Is it more about their character development, their futures? Is it hard to distinguish? I don't know. Yeah.

Robynn Lang:

So one thing, and I'm sure I've already said this, but one thing I didn't see coming is just realizing that home education is so much more about character development than it is about actual curriculum. And so character development and discipleship are day in, day out what we're talking about throughout the day when the kids are in bed and it's just us, we're talking about, okay, what do we need to do in this situation? What's the best move here? And I just realized I'm so glad that it's us. I'm so glad we are the ones who are developing their character, that we're not outsourcing it to other adults who don't love them the way we love them.

Tim Eaton:

Yes. No, I know. I know you can feel that as a parent, how much of a blessing that is that you're the one having that primary influence. And it's interesting how. When you really dig into this, it's actually enhancing their academic learning, but you actually become less concerned as a parent, and you're just so much more concerned about their character development, and it really does infuse itself into every discussion with your spouse, and I know that's not unique to homeschool parents, but I do think it's probably the case. Increased because it's just always what's happening, right? How often are you researching and looking up stuff and like, what's your style as a homeschool mom? Are you constantly researching new stuff and seeing your kids interested in something and looking up more stuff for them and what's your style with all that?

Robynn Lang:

No, I'm not really I look things up on a needed basis. Once I discovered the generations curriculum, I was really happy with it. And for every grade, they have a curriculum. So I just reorder every grade that we need. I've just stuck with that but there will be times that we realize they need more. Computer skills or they need more handwriting skills and those types of things. And so then I'm looking for those types of resources. Yeah, you just figure it out as you go.

Tim Eaton:

And you don't seem like you said before, you don't seem stressed about it. You could tell that your situation is like we'll take this as it comes and that's probably good for the whole family. Do you have a mentor? Do you have somebody, is there like a homeschool mom that's either in the next stage that you look to for answers or you mentioned community. Are you a part of co op outside of Facebook groups, stuff like that? Who do you ask your questions to and who's your mentor?

Robynn Lang:

I had mentioned my husband's aunt. She homeschooled all her kids. And so for, I don't see her on a day to day basis, but she's like parent goals for me. She's the one I look up to. It's I want to get to the point where she's at, where all of her kids are grown and they've all kind of found their place in life, they're all serving God. So that's what I'm looking to. But in terms of day to day, I have some close friends who have taken the jump to homeschool. And in our church, we have a homeschool group that

Tim Eaton:

we

Robynn Lang:

can message and ask questions and get together with.

Tim Eaton:

I really appreciate all of your answers. And I think, like I said, so many people will glean from that and benefit. Can I just give you the last word? What do you feel to say at the end of this or if you had a message for people or whatever you want to say?

Robynn Lang:

I guess to just, for those of us who have faith, to trust in God, to trust that he has given us this job and He's not going to abandon us in it. He's going to give us the tools that we need that he's going to give us the people around us that we need to get the job done. He's more committed than we are to prosper and be successful and find their way in life. And so we're really just partnering with him in what he is already doing in their lives.

Tim Eaton:

It made me think of trust in the Lord with all thine heart and not until I don't understanding. That's just so effective, doesn't that increase one's confidence if they can say, Oh, there's a higher power than me. That's invested in this as well. And you don't just say, okay, so take over but that if you're partnered with a higher power, like that's amazing and that should increase our confidence. Thank you so much for taking time and giving us so much goodness to think on and to think about. This Was Robin laying everybody and we just appreciate your time. Thank you.

Robynn Lang:

Thank you.

Tim Eaton:

That wraps up another edition of This Golden Hour podcast. If you haven't done so already, I would totally appreciate it if you would take a minute and give us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps out a lot. And if you've done that already, thank you much. Please consider sharing this show with friends and family members that you think would get something out of it. And thank you for listening and for your support. I'm your host, Tim Eaton. Until next time, remember to cherish this golden hour with your children and family.