This Golden Hour

89. Laurie Zienchuk and Stockpiling Your Toolbox

• Timothy Eaton

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In today’s episode, we get to spend time with Laurie Zienchuk, a seasoned homeschool mom of two sons from Lethbridge, Alberta. Laurie shares her family's journey and decision to homeschool while living abroad in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. We discuss the challenges and rewards of home education, the importance of creating simple, engaging routines, and the impact of a supportive family environment. Laurie also talks about transitioning back to Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, the value of outdoor and hands-on learning, and the significance of keeping future opportunities open for children. This episode is filled with insightful advice for both new and experienced homeschoolers.

Resources
Lego Technic
Keva Planks
Thames and Kosmos

Homeschool Providers
Palisser Beyond Borders
Centre for Learning at Home
Wisdom Homeschooling



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Laurie Zienchuk:

We had no intentions whatsoever of having this evolve into a personal family choice. We just looked at the child and said there's better out there. How can we as educators, And I, I'll say this right from the beginning is it wouldn't have been possible if Andrew wasn't on board. It was a full support of doing home education together.

Timmy 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 Lori Zenchuk, a seasoned homeschool mom of two sons from Lethbridge, Alberta. Lori shares her family's journey and decision to homeschool while living abroad in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. We discuss the challenges, And rewards of home education, the importance of creating simple, engaging routines and the impact of a supportive family environment. Lori also talks about transitioning back to Canada during the COVID 19 pandemic, the value of outdoor and hands on learning and the significance of keeping future opportunities open for children. This episode is filled with insightful advice for both new and experienced homeschoolers. Welcome back to this Golden Hour podcast. Today, we're very excited to have with us Lori Zenshuk from Lethbridge, Alberta. Lori, thank you for being with us.

Laurie Zienchuk:

Thank you so much, Tim. It's my privilege and pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with you about home ed today.

Timmy Eaton:

Thank you so much. And I just want to give a little bit of bio. One thing that maybe our listeners would be interested to know is that we've known each other for some years because our kids have met through music through home education, but like through music particularly. And we've loved listening to their sons play their amazing instruments over the years, but so we'll talk about that within the interview but Lori is currently serving as a facilitator in the palacer beyond borders. And she is a homeschooling mother of two, and we're going to learn her whole story. So go ahead and give us a little bit more bio and anything you want to say, and then we'll jump into some questions.

Laurie Zienchuk:

Awesome. Thank you so much, Tim. To start off my husband and I are both teachers and we're certified in Ontario and in 1995 we jumped on planes and we ended up in Japan to start our 25 years of teaching overseas. We lived in Japan for six years, we lived in Kuwait, we lived in Seoul, Korea, where our oldest son was born, we lived nine years in Saudi Arabia, and we also then ended off our career on Jeju Island in South Korea. Our second son was born in Saudi Arabia as well, which is where our home education journey begins.

Timmy Eaton:

I'm glad you said all that because I remember we talked about that when we were at your home one day but to hear that again, that, that is amazing. So Korea and Saudi Arabia is where they were born.

Laurie Zienchuk:

Yes, those are the birthplaces of both our boys, and when our first was born Lev actually my husband, Andrew, received the opportunity to start working at King Abdullah University of Science Technology campus on the Red Sea And he was offered a job at KAUST. And so we moved then to Saudi. And I had the opportunity to stay home. And this is where we started off with so many hands on activities right when Lev was super, super small. And shortly after Luke joined the family and he was born there. And then it was time that Lev was five years old and mom's a teacher and dad's a teacher. So obviously, step number one, we enrolled him for kindergarten. And I'm sure that there are a lot of families that have also done the same process and it was no different. But we never ever had home education in any capacity on our radar at that point. It was just like, this is a natural progression. This is what we trained as professionals to do. And let's jump on board. Because Lev and both, both Lev and Luke were home and me being a teacher by trade. So many of the activities and things that we did were school related, Lev learned how to read very young and we did lots of science experiments and Lego projects and all of these things, so when he had the opportunity to go to school, it was a little bit

Timmy Eaton:

Underwhelming?

Laurie Zienchuk:

Yes, well said, that's exactly what it was. It was something that was a little bit of a disappointment, as opposed to the, let's get the backpack and let's head off to school every morning. After a few weeks of kindergarten it was decided that maybe kindergarten wasn't his best time. Time to start. So we pulled him and we just from that moment on, Tim, we set up home ed. Everything was just, let's do as many things that we can that may or may not happen in the classroom. And we set up, little chairs. And we just said, what are as many things as we can expose? Lev, too, in his learning journey right from the beginning. So he was building mechanical elevators, and he was right into Lego Technic, and he started drumming and piano and violin and French lessons, and we would read and we would write. And one of the things right from the get go that we set up, and of course, both boys were very thrilled about this, is we had half days of sports.

Timmy Eaton:

So

Laurie Zienchuk:

we would set things up where it would be like, okay, mornings we would do all our home things and then in the afternoon we'd be like, let's, okay, let's head down to the Red Sea and let's go for a swim. And then after that we'll do bike riding with the friends in the park. And then maybe we'll do some rock climbing, so it would be really physically active. And everybody slept very well those days.

Timmy Eaton:

I'm sure. So was your motivations at the beginning what was it tied to just like that you were overseas or was it a disappointment in a way.

Laurie Zienchuk:

Yeah, yes, exactly. We had no intentions whatsoever of having this evolve into a personal family choice. We just looked at the child and said there's better out there. How can we as educators, And I, I'll say this right from the beginning is it wouldn't have been possible if Andrew wasn't on board. It was a full support of doing home education together. We supported each other in resources and time and those things as best as he could when he was at the school and I was at home with the boys. But. It evolved, like it just grew and grew to, hey, there are so many rabbit holes and there's so many tree branches that the boys are curious and want to know more about. Why would we take that from them when they're thriving? And it's a word that I often use with my home ed families is every family that I, as a facilitator, meet Are seeking this way of how can my child thrive and if home ed is a perfect way for them to thrive, then, oh let's feed that. Let's find out what all the activities and resources and books and hands on things that you can do and sports and whether it's the art galleries and art explorations that you can do and field trips. What are those things that are going to. Keep that fuel and love of learning going. And that's where Home Ed grew for us. We just opened Pandora's box and said, woof let's explore all these things. And who

Timmy Eaton:

was guiding you? You serve as a guide for these younger families that are doing this and other families in home and home education. But who was guiding you? Who did you get help from and who were your mentors?

Laurie Zienchuk:

Love that question. But, I don't have anyone. I know I was thinking about that question that you asked and when I was going and reflecting back, for me, there was nothing. We started from no curriculum to there was nothing available to us and it's in Saudi, so everything I'm purchasing is, oh, we're going home for Christmas. What's on my wish list? I've got a picture. Canadian curriculum, and I've got to pick up I've got to pick up some science kits, and I've got to pick up some more lego, there's so many things you can pick up. Authentically, right from the beginning, it was Everything was an option. And so we just kept building on what was a possibility. And it came from nothing. And I think because we didn't have anything in place, Everything was a yes.

Timmy Eaton:

It seems like you and your husband were just naturally exposing them to lots of things. But did that come from your own experiences or like, how did you know to do that? Not everybody naturally just knows, okay, I'm going to expose my kids to this giant variety of things and then let them explore endlessly. Like, how did that come about?

Laurie Zienchuk:

Perhaps it was my raising. My mom was at home. We did so many different things and I have always been creating and making and trying. And so some things obviously were wonderful successes and some things were like, wow, what have you done now? Which is part of learning as well. But I think that free spirited learning really fed into that confident building learning that happened at home. And when we would say things like, we're going to try swimming lessons, let's try swimming lessons, we can do this, then we would have swimming with snorkels, and then we could take them to the Red Sea and go snorkeling. Like it was an evolution of activities that, hey, you can do this. You know what? I've never done a piano recital. I'm only five. Sure. But you know what? You've got a really great teacher. He'll support you. Hey, I did this and look at the journey that's evolved because of it.

Timmy Eaton:

And when you said you would save up to when you would come and collect the things that you wanted to bring back, how did you find stuff?

Laurie Zienchuk:

Oh, great question. Because we would come in the summertime and we would visit Andrew's family and my sister and her husband in Ontario. And then we come out west, we would think of all of the things that were on the radar. So we would find out and I would go on Pinterest. sometimes there were some canadian homeschooling groups that I would look at as well and find out what are these unit studies and what are these other things that people are doing. And I'd also visit the library that we had on our campus. I would always, whenever we got in the car and we would go to town, because Jeddah was about an hour's drive away, we would always go to a lot of bookstores. It was always like, what can we get our hands on? Because there weren't any other home ed families that were doing home education on the campus where we lived at the time. It was okay, this campus is our resource. What can we gather from here? And whenever they had open house in the science department, in the chemistry department, and, We would go to the finance and we would go to just the theatres and see what everything and how things work. The fire department, we'd even do a tour there and the supermarket. How do we make learning real? How do we take it to heart and how do we keep asking questions? And how that's that feeding. That's that constant feeding of you. There's more. How do we learn more? How do we gain knowledge and how do we understand how things work? And even with regards to relationships with other friends and things like that too.

Timmy Eaton:

I'm just curious because you're both educators, were your colleagues asking questions about that? And then also, you said, how you grew up with a natural educator as your mom, I don't know what your dad was like, but how did your parents and your in laws, like, how did everybody react to this decision?

Laurie Zienchuk:

That's a great question. The reaction at the beginning was pretty from family was pretty neutral. It was like, okay they're really young and it's great. And I think just by their interactions

Timmy Eaton:

And

Laurie Zienchuk:

observations and things. Fortunately my mom and my dad came for a visit when Lev was five. They were there when Luke was born. And just that journey of being part of their lives and seeing them grow and thrive and the things that they were learning and explaining and musically playing because we had drumming lessons. We had violin, we had piano, and yes. These little concert things and we started a group called Young Builders which was all about Kiva planks and Lego Technic projects and Thames and Cosmos and 3d puzzles and Yeah, all the cool stuff that we started up and it was just for kids that were between 6 and 12 and We we're supporting Not only the boys You But they became leaders in that, and then we started to, bring in other people and say how, how can we all benefit from this learning environment. When the interactions happened, it was like, wow, your kids are turning out all it

Timmy Eaton:

was impressive, yeah.

Laurie Zienchuk:

Yeah, actually this looks really good. And I remember one, I see a few of the colleagues that I had were can you teach my kids, you know, my kids from school and I'll put the, do you run the school? I'm like, no, I'm dedicated mom. When things work and the character and the enthusiasm was shared, then it was like There are other ways to learn and it doesn't have to happen in the classroom. For some it's a really great fit and it's really important to be in a classroom. But for some who have support groups and have the right mentality people have asked how much do you have to give in order to do home ed? You're all in, in my opinion, you're all in or you're all out. It's not a clockwork where you say, I'm only gonna do home ed for three hours a day with you, that's all, and your hands go up. It's it's morning, noon, and night. The books beside my bed, even today, are all about what comes in the next science unit, and what comes in the next social studies, and keeping ahead with novel studies, and those kinds of things,

Timmy Eaton:

and the term that I often use is that it really is a lifestyle choice. And again, not everybody does it the same way. And in fact, I would say probably nobody does it the same way, but what is common among homeschool families is that it's a lifestyle choice. And usually quite a positive lifestyle choice. Yes, it requires a lot and it can be exhausting, especially for mothers who are the principal home educators but it's a lifestyle choice. And so I think you're right when you say I, it's hard to be half in homeschool parents. And I like what you said before about your husband, you guys were so together on that because that makes all the difference.

Laurie Zienchuk:

Yes. Yes, it does. And, I as well needed that support to know that it wasn't a question of, Laura, what are you doing? What's happening here all day. Everything was good. Constantly moving forward. And when dad would come home, it would be a celebration of, Hey, look what I did today, come check this out, or look at this, listen to what I can play now, or, what, look what I've built, or what story I can read or, those kinds of fun things. So it was a show and tell every night. This is my journey, dad. And come check it out.

Timmy Eaton:

That's a good way to say it. It is like a show and tell on a regular basis. And I liked that as a homeschooling dad, I really enjoy that. And as somebody who has observed you guys here and there, I just feel like your kids are really blessed because you guys are both amazing with them. So how has the journey evolved? Take us from. You were overseas and then take us from coming back and how did that influence what you did with education?

Laurie Zienchuk:

Perfect. So when we were in 20, 2020 is a magic number for a lot of people.

Timmy Eaton:

Yes. And

Laurie Zienchuk:

2020 brought us so in 2020, we had plans to retire from international teaching and we were on Jeju Island at the time, which is South Korea, very close to China. And February rolled around and the boys at that time, Andrew and I were both teaching at St. Johnsbury Academy on the island. And we, encountered this amazing virus. And decided that we would be returning back in 2020. We had full plans of retiring in June. COVID brought the boys and me back earlier in February. And I said, let's just go back to Canada and let's be here. And we live here in Lethbridge simply because my mom is here. She lives five minutes up the road, walking up the pathway. Really integral part of our relationship here with Left Bridge and how we interact. And the journey has been that since everything from St. Johnsbury and then moving forward went to online learning, I said, Oh! Let's just drop all that. Let's just do our home. And the boys were like, Oh, let's pick it up. Let's do it again. And have that experience of being in home education. And I learned all about the Alberta curriculum at that time. And the boys just picked naturally up. They realized how to set good routines because that was part of what our experiences were prior to and when we lived In coast and south in Saudi Arabia, then when we started to pick up and there was this excitement again, we tapped into the libraries, we looked at all the resources that we could get. And then September, we registered with Center for Learning at home for both boys. The second year, Lev started up with Wisdom, and then we would have one Center for Learning at home. And then in the third year, I was hired by Palace or Beyond Borders to be the Home Ed facilitator. And both boys are now with Palace or Beyond Borders in home education for Luke, our youngest one, who's in grade nine. And Lev, who is in the online program he's in grade 11, 12 this year. 11,

Timmy Eaton:

12. Excellent. I think is so important for people to realize, like how valuable it was that you said that you could just pick up on and just do education, because not everybody can say that, that was a pressure for so many families, but then when a lot of families, what, like what I've learned in doing these interviews and talking with so many people is that a lot of people said it was intimidating, but then they said, wait, I can do this. And that's why in the United States and Canada, it has. Literally doubled. The home education has legitimately doubled since COVID, and people are going, wow, I really like this lifestyle. I like what it's doing for my children in the way of academics and also in the way of character building and being Parent raised instead of peer raised and there's been a lot of blessings. I think that have come from that

Laurie Zienchuk:

And I think you've just nailed the word that we use often. It's blessings it's just countless on so many different levels like health wise and the mental state And just the relationships. It's just blessings and the opportunities for sports and music. And it's just, it's incredible. But you have to dig. And that's what another thing that I say to families often is, you know what, if you're going into home ed, get your shovel ready because you're going to have to start digging. And it's not in the same hole. You got to keep digging a lot of holes and find out. What are some possible opportunities for your children and what are some really great resources for you? Because in home ed it's you're not just oh, here's the best package for you. And here's the best package. Dig find it, we'll do what you need to do in order to Each child thrive and find out what motivates them and find out what they're passionate about. Even if they're six and seven years old they know what they gravitate towards. And it's

Timmy Eaton:

a

Laurie Zienchuk:

matter of listening and finding out what are some things that, hey, what do you love? You don't like that? Yes, I know violin is not your thing But we're not going to drop it right away We're going to carry on just a little bit more and then we'll explore some other options

Timmy Eaton:

And I think that I married a digger for sure because she research is so thoroughly and so customized to each of my You Children. And so I think that's how we met you guys, because it's because she researched music teachers that, you come across others of like mindedness and so I love that she is that way. And I have to, she really gets the credit for that because she's taught me to be more that way. And it's been a blessing to our kids for sure. What would you say if you had a good friend, say, Okay, this sounds really idealistic. But what are the challenges? Like what really are the hard parts of being a homeschool mom? And just, even for your children, like what's been difficult, what's the challenge.

Laurie Zienchuk:

And it's absolutely a part of. Every cycle, like we, we seem to have a two or three month cycle that's Oh, things are really good. And then we have a couple of hiccups and bumps along and we regroup and then we, visit again. Some of the challenges are. Finding out what motivates in subject areas that are not very interesting or not something that, oh, I really don't want to do. Yeah, I know you don't want to do math, it's part of what we have to do. And let's find out what are some activities and things that will constantly tap into that motivation and make it something that, hey, this isn't so bad. Because this is what we do. And I often tell parents Ten minutes. 10 minute rule. Clock in 10, give me 10 solid, excellent, full effort minutes, and then, we'll back off. And then, we'll move on to something else. Especially when they're really young. If you can give me 10 minutes of violin, That's awesome. I'm not going to bother you anymore because I know you did your best during that time. And then we'll just leave it. But finding that motivation I found to be sometimes a really big challenge. I also found that the relationships with other people and making sure that there are some peer groups, it's not always the same for me. age friends, but a similar age group is sometimes hard to find because either they're really young or they're really old and it's hard sometimes to find that perfect fit.

Timmy Eaton:

In the end and with the motivation thing is like for each of your children And for each individual, it's going to be different. And so it's not like you go, Oh, I tapped into it with this kid. And so that it must work with the next kid. Obviously they're going to have different things. Sometimes they have similar interests, so how have you done that? Like where do you find that they really make their peer connections? And is your guy's approach to befriend families? In that sense, or is it through sports or through music how have Levin Luke navigated that?

Laurie Zienchuk:

I think you said both of them. It's both with music and with with sports. So right now, Lev has figured out a way he heads up to Mount Royal each Monday and there is a senior music academy that's up there and he performs with them and you can tell he's electric when he comes back because it's like, I'm with music people. This is fantastic. And he's in the environment. Same with Luke. He connects, he's playing AAA hockey right now, U15. And so his peer group is practicing many times during the week. They have games on weekends, they travel, and this is a peer group. But also as the Home Education Facilitator at Palliser, I run an awful lot of workshops. And because I have a son in grade nine I'm trying my best to tap into workshops that complement our middle school set of needs. Sign, you know, age group for essay writing, for example, and also we just had four sessions with Let's Talk Science at the University of Lethbridge and just, bringing the same age middle school group together to see if there are some social opportunities within the learning.

Timmy Eaton:

I was wondering, you have a unique view having facilitated and counseled with so many families, and this is a question I typically end interviews with, but I just wanted to ask it now because of what you were just saying about the workshops that you do. When you have newer families that are homeschooling, and you can tell they're overwhelmed, what do you do to assuage them and like, how do you help them? Particularly with younger children, but then also for newer homeschool families that have kids of all ages.

Laurie Zienchuk:

Yeah, that's a great question. It's there. There is so much in understanding how your family thrives. So when you wake up in the morning. What is the first thing, and where are people going, and what, what's happening? So if you've got little children who congregate one of the things that I always used to try to do with the boys is, let's start warm and cozy. So whatever it was And usually involves one of the 20 books we would bring home from the library and it would start on the sofa. And that's where our home ed with little children started, like with Lev and Luke when they were really small. But we would dissect those, you know, Oh, what do you think this book is going to be about? And let's do scavenger hunts. And how do you read a book? Oh, you know what words do you see six times on this page? And, we would just. Turn little things into cozy games, but we would be on the sofa together and everything would just be Discussion read the story discussion And then we would be ready to stand up and move on to the next thing. If you set small, positive routines throughout the day and you, and I'm going to come back to ten, ten minutes, give me ten minutes, and it doesn't have to be by the clock, it can be in some cases, and it would start off by just, oh, a small little thing that would turn into writing. Oh, and we would go from reading into writing and it would be like, we've done this for 40 minutes and you're six and you're, or four and seven. Like it was just, the age was, wow, look what we can accomplish. And then we would take a break. And then it would be like all hands off. And then we go do 20 jumps on the trampoline or sorry, 200 jumps on the

Timmy Eaton:

trampoline. Yeah.

Laurie Zienchuk:

But we would do small little things. Which would end up being a really good, solid chunk of learning, and then break it up. And because we lived in Saudi and it was 40 degrees plus, I, we would have a little paddle pool or whatever in the backyard. And so it'd be like, okay, let's go jump in. It's 10 o'clock in the morning. Let's go. We just did a solid hour. Jump in the pool and jump out 15 minutes later. Let's go do the next. Let's go do the next. And so there was this attitude of, I'm going to work hard, I'm going to do my best, because why would we do things other than that? I would always include, show me what your best is, because otherwise we're not really making any progress. So let's use our time wisely and to our best, then let's take a break. Whether it's, let's go have a snack under the palm or let's go jump in the pool, trampoline, whatever it is, bike ride, come back. My brain is refreshed. I've seen something different and then start that second routine.

Timmy Eaton:

And

Laurie Zienchuk:

by the end of the morning mornings only, by the end of the morning, the boys were ready for a really fun afternoon of using and learning how their bodies worked, keeping their bodies healthy and strong, after a good lunch that they helped make. But it's the small, little things that you establish into a routine that really impact them. How you frame the shape of what your home education is, and I firmly believe that if you, even for me as a teacher, when I was in the classroom, if the students knew that after recess, we would be on the carpet I had grade fours, and we would always do some kind of a novel read aloud on the carpet after lunch, they were calm. Because they knew what Ms. Zenchuk would be doing, and it was very comfortable for them to come in. And then we can get back to what we were learning, and what the skill development for that activity was. But I think our children rely on that. And it doesn't happen on Saturdays and Sundays. Saturdays and Sundays are the chaos days, when things just happen, and don't happen, and it's fun, and go play with your friends, and do all that. But when it's my time, When it's my home at time, it's like we need to make sure that we can do things well, take a break, but we know what the routine is.

Timmy Eaton:

I really like your phrase of small positive routines. I'm a fan of the book atomic habits. I love the principle and the concept of by small and simple things that you can accomplish great things. And I think that's really helpful. Like the question was, what do you. Council, newer families, and I think that helps them not to feel overwhelmed is to say, Hey, take this into small chunks. And I've heard somebody refer to it like the breaks and then coming back, like you were referring to as like coming up for air, go under and go deep and like you said, it's not worth doing if it's not worth doing for real. And everybody's going to, enact that differently, but that's such a great way to say that small positive routines on a regular basis, it provides structure. It provides a expectation standard, and I think it helps them to accomplish. And a lot of homeschool families aren't worried necessarily about finishing the textbook or this or that, but it, but those routines is what really matters. And so thank you. That's excellent counsel. Now, one thing I'm observing, and I don't know if it's accurate or not, is it seems like you really enjoyed it.

Laurie Zienchuk:

Yes, Tim, that's an awesome comment. Yes I loved it. I love talking about Home Ed. I loved every moment that I was in it with the little ones. Even now with Luke, I do. I often talk about the sparks. I love the sparks. I love when it's like, ah, I got it. I can do this and that confidence moving forward. I don't know. It's one of the reasons why i'm working with palacer and being able to run workshops Oh, it's my favorite and when they get it, it's huh? This is what it's all about and just stay in the moment keep stockpiling your toolbox because you're going to need all these things if you're planning to get a diploma and move forward and continue your education. Come on, just keep stockpiling it because you've got the confidence, you've got the skill. And you know what? I'm right behind you supporting you along the way. So let's go.

Timmy Eaton:

And I think you can cultivate that and you can nurture that, but I just like seeing that, it just exudes from you. And I think that's common amongst a lot of people who decide to take the route of home education. What would your husband and you say to the idea of what is this all about for you guys? As far as what is the end goal of their educational experience while you have them at home before they leave the nest, so to speak, and go out on their own. What was the main purpose of their education and their lifestyle while they were with you and your husband?

Laurie Zienchuk:

Yeah. I'm going to use the simple word best. What's the best version of you? What is something that's going to not only be a positive impact on you and your immediate people around you, but what can you contribute? Like where are you moving forward to? And, as our oldest Lev, when he's going off to university and studying, hopefully music, which is his passion Um, you know, how can you bring music to everyone? Or what do you want to share and how can you impact people positively while you continue to learn and be an important member of society and add value? With our youngest, it's the same. 10 next year. So grade nine, obviously, in home ed is really important. Stockpiling his toolbox as well. And. How can he enter this arena of credit learning and how can he continue to do what he loves? How can he continue to impact people in a positive way, helping community members and also just doing the best that he can so doors and open and windows will open up for him in the future.

Timmy Eaton:

I was wondering like, I've talked to a lot of people who have also achieved graduate level degrees and more and more people are saying I'm not like locked in on my kids going to university. Like I find that more and more people are saying that, how do you respond to people that kind of feel like. I don't think that necessarily it's everybody needs to do that. And a lot of them are saying it depends on especially the financial investment that it is. And if it doesn't produce something on the other end, that will be not just financially beneficial, but just, fully worth it. A lot of people are saying, no, there's other ways to provide for yourself and receive an education then through formal university. How do you and your husband respond I don't know if you can speak for him, but how do you respond to that?

Laurie Zienchuk:

That's, That's fantastic. One of the things that allowed. So both of us to head out in 1995 to Japan was the fact that we both had degrees. So we had both undergrad degrees. Andrew had his teaching certification at that time already, but I did not. And we got jobs in Japan, and we were like, what? We could work for the Board of Education. I was a teacher in grade 10, 11, 12 high school. I was teaching for five years for the Osaka Board of Education. And it would not have been possible if I did not have a degree. Now, Lev and Luke's parents are international, and Lev and Luke were both born overseas. And during our entire journey of home education, We have traveled and traveled. So we would study ancient civilizations and we'd go to Egypt because it was across the Red

Timmy Eaton:

Sea.

Laurie Zienchuk:

We would study the Roman Empire and we'd fly up to Rome, which was only five hours away. We studied Thailand, Cambodia and Kerwate and so, I always say to the boys, I cannot imagine your life without having a job or a life somewhere else in the world. Somewhere, somehow, if there is a window or something that, that will open up I know you're going to take it. Because even now, Andrew and I are like, oof, look at these opportunities over in this country and oh, look at South America, like there are just so many things that are incredible options that keep us salivating about it.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. So there's not like a one size fits all solution. And I think it's interesting because it's almost counterintuitive. The more that the technology increases, it's almost like, well, I mean, it does make sense, like the system is changing and a lot of the current, the way things operate are they're becoming archaic and people are going about things differently and I like it. I think it's exciting that there's people are open to changing things. Having said that, I think that kids need to be wise about how they're going to pursue their futures,

Laurie Zienchuk:

and that's where we come from the lens of, if you have a degree, doors are open for you. And if it's a possibility for you and you have the brain capacity to do this, you don't know who you're going to meet. You don't know how it's going to happen. You don't know what you're going to study now. But if there are some possibilities That will open more doors.

Timmy Eaton:

Don't cut it off.

Laurie Zienchuk:

And run with it because it's going to be beneficial somewhere somehow down the road. And our stepping stones have always been This happened and then look what happened because of that and it's just grown and we look back on the the negative things that may have happened in the past, but wow, they turned out to be incredible positives.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. Would you have guessed that you would have spent 25 years abroad doing that? Weren't you playing basketball in college or something?

Laurie Zienchuk:

Yes, I was at Waterloo, University of Waterloo, and it was never ever on my radar that I would be, going to a country like Japan. Why would I go there? I don't speak Japanese, I don't know anything about it. But wow, just one amazing thing, meeting another person, I believe we meet people, everybody for a reason, and there is a treasure in each one of those encounters and meetings, just like our meeting was a treasure. through Jane and Lev playing beautiful music together during that one wonderful season. So there are reasons why we meet people and I would just encourage that if university or college is an option, it may help down the road may, may not, but There are some possibilities that it could open other doors and windows for your child.

Timmy Eaton:

Yeah. And I like how you're saying that the principle there is really to keep doors open, right? So whatever that looks like, keep the doors open because some doors are closed by certain decisions. And so you just have to be wise about that. This has been a very fun conversation. It always goes quickly. I'll give you the last word, anything you want to say to wrap up and then we'll shut it down.

Laurie Zienchuk:

Oh thank you. I, it's been absolutely a pleasure. I love talking about home education and it's exciting when there are other like minded people who are interested in seeking and for the best for their children. And again, it comes down to thrive. So thank you so much Tim, for this opportunity. It's been a pleasure. Thank you.

Timmy Eaton:

Thank you very much. This has been Laurie's and Chuck, everybody. And maybe in the future we could do it again sometime, maybe with both of you or, or even the kids.

Laurie Zienchuk:

Thank you so much. Yes.

Timmy Eaton:

Thank you. Have a great night.

Laurie Zienchuk:

You too. Bye bye for now then.

Timmy 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.