Episode 310 | Homeschool Success Story: An Interview with Tandy Hogate of Homeschool Hindsight

Show Notes:

Episode summary

This episode will totally inspire and encourage you on your homeschooling journey. Tandy, a homeschooling mom of four, shares her story of homeschooling her son who was diagnosed with dyslexia. Tandy shares their journey and how she gave him space to grow up into the man God wanted him to be, and now he is an extremely successful entrepreneur, raising a beautiful family, with a close relationship to God, impacting the world to be a better place. This story will surely inspire any parent in the trenches who is feeling discouraged or worried for a child who may not be hitting the milestones the traditional school system has created.

Guest biography

Tandy is the wife to her high school sweetheart, mom to 4, and Grammie to 2. She has been homeschooling for over 20 years. Encouraging and equipping homeschool moms is one of her greatest passions. Having graduated 3 her three oldest from homeschool, she is aware that, although the mission of homeschooling your kids is incredibly hard, it is also one of the most rewarding things you will ever do. And with God at the helm, it can be an amazing adventure. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook, where she is launching a brand new ministry connecting young homeschool moms with women who are slightly ahead in the journey to gain wisdom, encouragement, and friendship.

Host biography

Serena Ryan is the founder of The Confident Homeschooler. After a turbulent start homeschooling her own children, she became passionate about helping other parents with an interest in homeschooling get started with success and confidence. Serena lives in Franklin, Tennessee with her husband, sons, and dogs. Serena was a Registered Nurse who left her career to homeschool her two sons, as well as help her husband run their online marketing business. She loves spreading awareness about the beauty of homeschooling and empowering parents. Serena created her e-course, Homeschool With Confidence, to equip parents with everything they need to get started.

Connect

Tandy Hogate | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group

Serena Ryan | Instagram | Facebook | Website

Homeschooling.mom | Instagram | Website

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Show Transcript:

Serena Ryan [00:01:09] Hey, Tandy. How are you doing?

Tandy Hogate [00:01:11] I'm good. How are you, Serena?

Serena Ryan [00:01:14] I am great. Thank you so much for being here today and having this conversation with me. I've been wanting to share with our audience some awesome stories and case studies of really successful homeschooled children who are now adults. And so you're a dear friend of mine. Tandy has helped us with The Confident Homeschooler. She's helped many business owners, and she can introduce herself in a moment. But Tandy is joining us from Alaska. Which it looks like Alaska where I'm at today, but surely is not here in Tennessee. But Tandy has an amazing story. She has homeschooled her kids from day one, and a few of them are now adults. And so she has just an inspiring story that I just had to share with you. So welcome, Tandy.

Tandy Hogate [00:02:02] Thank you, Serena. It's really fun to be here. I was very honored to be asked, so thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Serena Ryan [00:02:08] Oh, of course.

Tandy Hogate [00:02:08] I love that you think our story is inspiring because it's kind of messy, too. So I like that it's even inspiring through the messes.

Serena Ryan [00:02:19] Yes. Yes, definitely. So yeah, tell us a little bit about yourself and your family and just kind of introduce yourself.

Tandy Hogate [00:02:27] I am married to my high school sweetheart. We will be married thirty-two years, I think, this year.

Serena Ryan [00:02:32] Wow. That's awesome.

Tandy Hogate [00:02:34] I know, and I still just really like him. He's still the most handsome guy I know. We we both were born and raised in Oregon and in the same town. We grew up together. And we opted to move. We had an opportunity kind of through some crazy God things to move to Alaska, so we did. So now we are here. We've been here for almost 20 years and we bought a piece of bare land and turned it into a farm. So now we have a U-pick farm here in Alaska, which is really fun. So Gene's kind of getting to live out his dream, what he's always wanted to do. And so I have four kids, three are graduated and on their own, and I have an 11-year-old, a fifth-grader, that I'm still homeschooling. I started homeschooling my oldest in kindergarten and we just homeschooled all the way through. They did go to a private school for about six months, but we didn't even finish out the school year there. It just didn't work out. But otherwise we homeschooled all the way through. So I have homeschooled— if there's a homeschool style, we've tried it. But we're just super eclectic. If someone asks me, like if they really need to put me in a box, I would say, we're Charlotte Mason. But really, we're kind of eclectic, unschool, Charlotte Mason. But I do have— like, I want to allow my kids the opportunity— if any of them felt like they were college-bound, I want to make sure that they're prepared and equipped for whatever life would have for them. So we try to kind of toe that line between all the different things. But I think preparing them for life is the most important thing.

Serena Ryan [00:04:20] Yep. I 100% agree, Tandy, with you. I think we relate a lot on our homeschool styles. We're also very eclectic and unschooling and definitely preparing them for life. And also, I think you and I both value raising our children to be who God intends them to be and using the strengths that God gave them so that they grow up to do what, you know, God's work. And that they're happy because I think that when we're doing what God wants us to, that's when we have the most joy and passion. And so I just love that you homeschooled your children with that, even if you maybe didn't from the beginning. I can tell that you, along the way, got there.

Tandy Hogate [00:05:04] Yeah. Well, and I don't know that there's a "got there." But we progressed. And one thing I had to learn early on was that it was really important to leave God in the driver's seat of their life. And that's hard to do as a homeschool mom because you want— like, you're planning whatever your day, and we have to have benchmarks, and we have to have goals. And it's really hard, especially when it's individual kids. It's not like I can just say, well, the three of— because I had a batch of three kids and then the younger is, you know, she came along after the others were graduated. So I have three individuals. I can't just lump them together and hope it's all going to turn out. Like, God has given them each a path that they need to follow on. And so I mean, it's easier to let God lead because then he does the miraculous, beautiful things in their life. But it's hard because it's giving up that control. That's not easy.

Serena Ryan [00:06:04] Exactly. And I think as a new homeschooling parent, that's what we— we feel all that pressure that we have all the control and we have to pick the curriculum and we have to pick the the method and the co-op and all the things. But really, you know, I wish looking back, I just prayed about it more first than I did. I really just kind of jumped in feet first or head first. I don't know. Maybe the back end first. I probably did it all the backwards way, but now it really is, like you said, a process and it's a maturity. The first few years I was sure I was messing everything up, and now I'm to the point where, like not to say I don't care. But there's definitely this confidence about me where it's like, I got this. Like, yeah, we maybe had an off week, an off month, maybe the year itself. Like for me, during the pandemic, I mean, it was kind of like crisis schooling, you know, like we just were just surviving. And that's okay because my kids are still, in my opinion, where they need to be. They're happy, they're thriving. They have interests, they have friends. And I mean, the rest is just minor details, really.

Tandy Hogate [00:07:16] Yeah, you're so right. And God is so faithful to show us just when it seems like, like you said, with crisis schooling, you just you don't even know what the next step is going to be. And then God, you know, your kids will do something or something will happen in their lives where you realize he's still working in their lives and it's okay. You haven't screwed everything up. And that's the voice that I fought and still do. Is that voice of, "You were given this beautiful child and you're going to screw everything up." But the truth is like, I don't even have that kind of power. God has a plan for their life, and I can make it more difficult or I can work with him and make it easier on them. But ultimately, I can't thwart his plan. I'm not that powerful. I'm just me.

Serena Ryan [00:08:06] Exactly. And there's so much freedom when you realize that, right? When you realize that you're not really in the driver's seat; you're really the passenger. Like, you're guiding. Or maybe you're like the traffic director. I don't know, but you're there to help guide and direct your child, but you know, you're not the end all, be all. And you don't have to put 100 percent of the pressure on yourself.

Tandy Hogate [00:08:28] Yeah, totally.

Serena Ryan [00:08:29] So what I love— this is a good segue way into your story of your son, Dusty. When you shared the story with me, I was just like, "What? This is crazy." And it's definitely something I needed to hear. My kids now are almost 10 and seven, and some days I'm just like, "What the heck's going on? What are we doing? I hope this is going to work out." And so whenever I meet someone who has graduated a homeschool student and I hear these great stories, it's just so inspiring and it gives me a little bit like, "Okay, yeah, this is why I'm doing this. The kids will be fine, I will be fine. Everything's going to work out." So if you would kind of walk us through, I guess, your story with Dusty.

Tandy Hogate [00:09:14] Okay, sure, I would love to. When Dusty was, I believe, eight years old— Megan would have been nine, Cameron would have been seven— we moved to Alaska. And when we moved to Alaska, it was kind of an abrupt move. And we had some friends who lived up here who let us stay in their— they had a really nice daylight basement, and they kind of fixed it up as a living space for us. So we stayed there while we found a house. We moved up in January, which is— I don't recommend it. That's kind of a bad time to move to Alaska. But anyway. But when we moved, Dusty still couldn't read. He was eight years old. He is smart as a whip and he was always like fixing things. He's very tactile, so he can do anything with his hands, but he's really, really smart too. He's very mechanically minded. But he couldn't read. And one other thing about Dusty, about his character, is God created him to be a strong and fierce leader. So raising a strong and fierce leader is not easy because they're very strong-willed. So I really thought, you know, I was pretty immature at the time, and I really thought that part of Dusty's problem was he was just stubborn. So we kind of went to battle a lot about it, but something about when we moved, there was so much in our life that was out of control that kind of made me just kind of take a step back from his reading. You know, we were we were trying to find a house. We were trying to find clothes that were warm enough. You know, there were bigger there were bigger things, bigger fish to fry. So Dusty— his reading kind of took a back— well, their school took a back burner for the remainder of that year. But while that happened, Dusty was actually— took the initiative on his own. He had a little book about— a little one of those like readers, like stage one or level one or whatever readers about prairie dogs, I don't even remember. But he kind of taught himself to read, but at his own pace without me constantly pushing whatever system I was using on him. But he just kind of did it on his own, so that felt like a win, but I still was— he wasn't a fluent reader. My other two, when they learned— his little brother read better than him. And that was hard for Dusty as a leader. He's, you know, he always wants to be the best at everything he does. He's extremely driven. So fast forward to— Dusty was either 12 or 13. We put them in a private school for a short time, which was a great experience for a while. And two weeks in, because we had homeschooled all along, I had requested a meeting with the teacher after a couple of weeks just to see how— I wanted her perspective on how the kids were doing. And she said, "You know, everyone's was doing really great. Socially, they were doing fine. They were doing fine in school. They were right where they needed to be. Except for Dusty, who struggled with reading, which I was already expecting. And division in math, for some reason, was hard. But the teacher, while we were in the meeting, she said, "So I just wanted to ask you a quick question because I didn't see a note about this," she goes, "So I noticed that Dusty's dyslexic and I'm just wondering, like, what is your protocol on that? What have you been doing about it?" Well, I about fell out of my chair, like, I didn't even know what to say. I had no idea Dusty was dyslexic. I had no idea at all whatsoever. I didn't know that's why he couldn't read. I didn't know that's why he struggled so much with the way certain numbers were, and I just didn't have a clue. Yeah. And so because I was still a young mom and kind of immature, there was a pity party for a little bit just trying to figure out how could I— you know, I think I've screwed my kid up for life, and I kind of did that whole God thing. You know, "It's fallen on me, and I messed it up. And you know, now who knows?" He's going to end up working at McDonald's forever and, you know— which was stupid. But thankfully, God just kind of meets you sometimes when you're at that place. There weren't a lot of resources available for— we were pretty remote. So there weren't a lot of resources available, but that teacher was a huge help to me. She was really wonderful and we worked through quite a bit. She was a really great resource. She gave Dusty some coping skills and some— just a lot of great resources to help him learn. And that was super successful. So I guess what the moral of the story is: that little piece of his life made me realize that I didn't know my kids as well as I thought I did. As a homeschool mom, you think you know everything about your kids all the time. And that was something that I'd missed. And so it helped me to kind of watch the kids more and kind of see what else was I missing, you know, in their life and be more in tune to it. So when Dusty turned 14— in Alaska, when you turn 14, you can get your driver's permit and you have it for two years. You still get your license at 16, which I think is— putting a 14-year-old on the road— it seems a little crazy. But the the idea behind it is to get two winters to drive, to practice driving before they're on their own, which is super helpful.

Serena Ryan [00:14:44] That is really smart.

Tandy Hogate [00:14:44] Winters are challenging. So when he turned 14, he had— my kids have always been very hard workers. They always found neighbors to do stuff for and things, so— or they'd work for us on the farm or whatever. And he had saved up quite a bit of money. And he said, "Mom, is it okay if I buy a truck?" It was kind of funny because Dusty's very driven. He's not really flashy, but he definitely— he'd want a truck that's a very nice. He would always keep it perfectly clean. That's just how he is. And when he showed me, it was like before Craigslist, I think, even. I don't even know where he found it. But anyway, he showed me a picture and it was this old utility truck. It was just a Ford Ranger four-wheel drive. It was this ugly, ugly brown color. It was ugly. But Dusty had a vision for this truck. And he said, "Can I please buy this truck?" And I said, "Well, you know you have enough money to buy it." You know, we kind of talked through all that. And he had thought through it for a while, and he said, "Here's what I think," he said, "I think that we can use," you know, he said, "we'll use my personal finance." He said, "It'll teach me personal finance," because he wanted to do the whole thing on his own. He knew it was going to teach him some mechanical skills because then he mentioned, "Oh by the way, it doesn't run, like nothing on it works." So in my mind, I'm thinking, "Yeah, we'll haul it here, and then I'm going to have this junker truck sitting in my yard," and that didn't appeal to me very well. But God is just so faithful, and I just knew that this was something that Dusty needed to do. So I told him to talk to his dad. And of course, he approved it. And so he brought home this truck. And he spent one whole summer and then one whole school year working completely on this truck. He had school he had to do. The rule was, you know, we just kind of had that standard: you get your school done and then you can spend the rest of your time, as long as you want, on your truck. So he rebuilt the engine totally himself at 14 years old. He would ask Gene or my dad questions, but he had no history of this. But he's very mechanically minded. It just made sense to him, the things that he did. So he rebuilt the engine. He changed it from an automatic to a manual transmission. Pretty sure he put a lift kit under it. He bought new wheels and tires. Just kept saving money and working and then– but the really neat part was the relationships that were built during this time. He and my dad made— in our barn, and they plastic off this area and turned it into like a clean room, a paint room. And they painted his truck red, white, and blue. He drew out exactly what he wanted and they did it. And then Dusty and my mom redid the interior. They did the headliner and they did the floor. They put some liner stuff on the floor and they redid the seats. My mom used to do upholstery years ago, so they redid the seats. It was a beautiful truck when they got done. And it ran well. He'd just done fabulously. Inside, out, the whole thing. He went through it. And I've never seen Dusty thrive like that before. I mean, I'd seen him happy and I'd seen him do things, but I'd never seen him really dig into a project. He was where God made him to be. Something interesting, too. And sometimes I feel like this sounds weird, but I know that there are homeschool moms who will hear this, who will go, "Yes, I can relate." When my kids were little, there were certain parts of them that I always thought God would just use. And for my daughter, there's just something about her eyes, and I thought she was going to use her eyes for something incredible. She's an amazing photographer. For Dusty, I looked at his hands and I just always felt like his hands were going to be used for something good. And sure enough. You know, in my grandiose ideas like, "Oh, he's going to be like a world famous piano player or something." And that was so not where he was– well, he played banjo for a while. He plays guitar really well. But that wasn't where God took him. Anyway, to kind of finish out Dusty's story. After he graduated from high school, he worked on the North Slope in the oil fields for a while. But after he got married— when you work up on the North Slope, you're gone for two weeks every month. So you're gone half the year. And when his wife got pregnant, he was like, "I don't want to miss half my kid's life, you know?" So he had to work both for a while, but he started a business. He started a company that was in the auto industry. I don't even fully understand what he does. He does something with performance diesels, and it's all online. They do have a shop where they physically work on the mechanical side of things, but he doesn't turn wrenches. His is completely online. And it's pretty incredible. But he has like, I don't even know, a dozen employees. He's got a huge shop. He's making a huge impact in his industry for one, and he's making an impact in our community. His faith in God is so strong and it's such a deep rooted level that it's just so ingrained in who he is. He's an amazing dad. But I think what's fun about Dusty— it hasn't been perfect. Oh my gosh, some of the things we went through. I mean, there were times when Dusty was in high school and even after he was married that I thought, "I don't know." You know, there just was bumps in the road. But there are for everyone. Yeah, yeah. But in the end, I mean, you know, God has always shown himself faithful. And now, he not only supports his own family, but through his business, he supports a dozen or more other families. And he just was like, this kind of awkward dyslexic homeschool kid that now is making this this huge impact in our community and beyond. And he and my other son— all of my kids own their own business, except my youngest, who is 11. Well, she owns an egg business. We have chickens, and she sells the eggs.

Serena Ryan [00:21:12] Aw, so sweet. I love it.

Tandy Hogate [00:21:12] Yeah, but they all have— It's been interesting to see how— like I said, my daughter does photography. Dusty has this business that he does. My younger son is just— he's always been really good with numbers and with money. And when we'd go to the grocery store, he would, in his head, challenge himself to add up how much the groceries were going to be. And he'd tell the checker, like, "I think it's going to be around, you know, one hundred and eighty six fifty." And it'd be like, you know, one hundred and eighty four or something. Like he'd be super close every time. So he actually builds businesses and then he builds them up and then sells them. But he looks like for where there's a problem and solves the problem, builds the business up, sells it and does it, you know. So they all have— they all work in their own, their own industry and their own talent and exactly how God made them.

Serena Ryan [00:22:13] I love this.

Tandy Hogate [00:22:15] As a home school mom, it's easy to look back and say, "Oh, yeah, well, we did this right and we did that right and I'm glad we trusted." But man, when you are in the middle of it, it is so hard to trust and know and believe without a doubt that whatever trial you're going through, or whenever God especially is saying, "Let go," that you can trust that. But I'm glad we did.

Serena Ryan [00:22:43] Oh, Tandy, I love it. That is all music to my ears. Can I also ask a question because this is always something I love to know. Did any of your kids go to college?

Tandy Hogate [00:22:55] No, they didn't.

Serena Ryan [00:22:57] Yes, I love it. I love it.

Tandy Hogate [00:22:58] We, of course, if they ever wanted to, we weren't opposed to it. Megan was going to go to a Christian college and then I don't even remember what happened. But for some reason, she ended up not being able to go that year and then life just changed. And before she, you know, she was just going to do that gap year thing. And so no, they didn't. And I don't know if Abby will. Like I said, I want them to be— both of my daughters-in-law are— my sons both married women who have a degree in teaching. You know, I'm not opposed if they wanted to go to college to, you know, if there was something they wanted to go to college for. But they didn't, and they pursued their own thing and did a good job.

Serena Ryan [00:23:44] Yeah. Oh, you must be so proud. That definitely makes me happy as an entrepreneur because I do feel like for a traditional education, the goal is college. And for my husband and I, who have lots of student loan debt from our own degrees that we're not even using, it's just kind of like, "What are we doing here?" And so, I'm with you. We're like, "The door's open if—" I want them to be prepared if they decide to be a doctor or a lawyer, or something that does require a college education. But I'm also like, "Hey, before you just go to college to get some silly bachelors degree in like history, you need to tell me what your intention is with this degree." Because yeah, you don't want your children to have all this debt or for yourself to have debt or to go into debt for a degree that maybe they don't need. And so, I'm with you there of like the flexibility, but I think I secretly hope my kids become entrepreneurs and start their own business. So, yeah, I love that story. It is so inspiring and I'm just proud for you. I'm like, "You're an amazing homeschool mom even if it didn't always feel that way." You clearly knew what Dusty needed and what lit him up and what gave him passion in his life. And you supported him. And I think as a parent, I mean, what else can we do? I think supporting our kids to be who they naturally are, who God made them, rather than like, my mom who's like, "You're going to be a nurse and you're going to marry this guy and you're—" you know, she kind of curated my life into who she wanted me to be. And then I ended up as a nurse being like, miserable and hating my job, hating everything. And it's like, "Man, I could have– I wish I would have just went with what I was interested in at the time," and that's I guess, why I'm passionate about making sure my kids have that opportunity. That I'm not stifling them and saying, "No son, you need to be a doctor, you need to, you know, go to law school." I just want them to do what God has in store for them and be happy, right? I think that's all we want, for our kids to be happy.

Tandy Hogate [00:26:06] Totally, and be where God has them to be the person that God created them to be. Because I never want to get in the way. And I think that always needs to be, as a homeschool mom, that always needs to be— like, that's the target that we're headed for is, "Who did God create this child to be? And how can I be, you know, how can I be the catalyst for that?"

Serena Ryan [00:26:26] Yes, exactly. I was trying to think of a word. But right, we're the catalyst. We're there, guiding them, walking alongside them. But you know, ultimately it's who God wants them to be. And we don't have to put that pressure on us to figure out, "Oh my kid's going to be a guitar player or he's going to be a mechanic." Like, we don't have to figure that out. God's going to work it out with our kids and we just need to be there to support them in the meantime.

Tandy Hogate [00:26:52] Yeah, that's true.

Serena Ryan [00:26:54] Awesome, Tandy. Thank you so much for this wonderful story. I know the listeners will be just super inspired, and I know any of the other parents in the trenches like me right now with young kids can hear that story and just look to the future and feel comfort in Dusty's story. So thank you so much for sharing. I would love for you to share about Homeschool Hindsight.

Tandy Hogate [00:27:22] So, that's my next project. Kind of a ministry that we're starting. It's called Homeschool Hindsight. It's based on Titus, where the older woman, which I'm afraid I have to call myself that. These little gray hairs kind of qualify me for that. And I guess I'm a grandma. But when you're in the middle of homeschooling, when you're in the trenches, it's hard to it's hard to have that eternal perspective and that outlook, even that goes beyond today, tomorrow, the next day. And I think it's so important to have a mentor or just someone. It doesn't even have to be a mentor, but to have someone, to have a group of people, to have a community where you can be raw about what you're going through because sometimes, as homeschool moms, we go through really hard stuff. Like, let's face it, we have sin, our kids struggle with sin, and it's getting harder and harder and harder to raise godly kids in this world that is constantly giving them this barrage of ungodliness. And so the purpose of Homeschool Hindsight is just simply to be a community where moms who are in the trenches can be encouraged by moms who have already been there. We've been there. We get it. We're going to understand better than— and then we'll have a different perspective than someone who is in it with you. Not that there's— I mean, there's beautiful— I have tons of friends who are my age and we walk life together. But I think that there's also just so much beauty and I mean, God calls for it. He says the older women need to teach the younger ones, and our hearts need to be there, not even to teach, but just to— sometimes it's just a matter of listening or offering a bit of advice. I know for myself, sometimes, all I need is someone who will just let me kind of vomit— it's kind of what it is— the struggles that we're going through because oftentimes just when you verbalize it, you kind of realize, "Okay, first of all, this isn't as bad as it was when it was stuck in my head swirling around." But also, you can get clarity and someone to pray with you. And yeah, I just think it's really important. So Homeschool Hindsight is launching fairly soon. Well, by the time this podcast goes up, we'll have a Facebook page and Instagram. We'll have a group. Yeah. So we would love to have anyone join us, and they're welcome to a message me if they have questions. But I hope it's just going to be a really sweet, faithful, godly, you know, trustworthy community that women can just feel safe and loved and supported.

Serena Ryan [00:30:09] Oh, I love it, Tandy. I wish I had you years ago when I was starting out. And I think it's perfect. I really think there's a hole in this— I don't know how to explain it, but like in this homeschooling world, there is a lack of that mentorship and there's a lack of that support from the experienced homeschool moms. So, yeah, I think this is amazing. I wish I had it, and I'm really excited to promote it and share it with our audience. And so we will have the Facebook link and we'll get some other information from you so people know where to go to find this, because I know other moms need the support. And maybe there's moms that are looking to give the support and offer encouragement and to be kind of like a mentor to the other moms.

Tandy Hogate [00:30:57] I'd love to hear from anyone.

Serena Ryan [00:31:00] Yeah, I'm sure you will. I am really excited for you and this and this project Homeschool Hindsight. I'll be in there. I'm excited to be a part of it. So I'm just excited to see what God does with it.

Tandy Hogate [00:31:15] Serena, thank you for having me on the podcast. That was really fun to to think back and reminisce and remember all the good and the, you know, the trenches and the triumphs.

Serena Ryan [00:31:27] Yes. Oh, thank you so much. It's awesome hearing your story. And yeah, I'm sure you're like, "Wow, we've come a long way." And I can't imagine what it will feel like in 10, 20 years when my kids are grown. And I'm thinking back to those days that felt so long and all the times that you didn't want to do an assignment that I asked them to do and all the frustrating moments. But it's all worth it in the end, and I know for me I would never give up homeschooling for anything, for any dollar amount or for any opportunity. Homeschooling is definitely like number— well, obviously God's number one— but it's so important to me in my life to homeschool our children. And so I'm so glad and blessed to have a friend like you to walk alongside with and to help me and encourage me. And I'm just so glad you were here today. Thank you, Tandy.

Tandy Hogate [00:32:21] Well, thank you to Serena. Thank you for your ministry that you have going because you're making a huge impact with moms who are right there in the middle of homeschooling. And I love that you're helping them homeschool with confidence because confidence is not a word that's commonly used to describe homeschool moms. So I love that.

Serena Ryan [00:32:38] Exactly. God gave that to me in a shower one day.

Tandy Hogate [00:32:42] That's the best place for ideas, showers.

Serena Ryan [00:32:44] That's the only time I think my brain shuts off for a moment. But yeah, something about— I've read about like water helping give you like— being immersed in water helps give you ideas or hear from God. So that was like a eureka moment. I remember running out of the shower being like, "Andy, The Confident Homeschooler. That's what it's going to be. That's what we're going to call it."

Tandy Hogate [00:33:04] Oh my gosh, I love it.

Serena Ryan [00:33:05] Funny moment. But yeah, so thank you so much, Tandy. Thank you all for being here today and listening to the Homeschool Solutions Show. We are so glad that you're here and I hope you all are blessed and encouraged by this story and have a great day.

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