This week Emilie sits down with Ricky and Autumn Sands to chat about the homeschool co-op they started at their church and its huge impact on their congregation and community.

Pastor Ricky and his wife, Autumn, met while studying at Missouri Western State University. They have two boys named, Finnegan and Charlie and a baby girl named Eloise. Ricky has a degree in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Juvenile Delinquency. While working as a Juvenile Officer the Lord called him to full time ministry. Ricky is passionate about God's Word, the Church and telling the world about Jesus. He fully embraces the title of "Coffee Snob", enjoys spending time with his family, road trips, picking on a guitar, writing, and reading books by dead guys. He has been slowly pursuing furthered education at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as each season of life allows for it.

Autumn has a background in Public Relations & Marketing and felt the call to homeschool her children from day one. She is passionate about home education and discipleship, living a toxin free lifestyle, enjoys Christmas all year around, and Branson is her happy place!

For more information on the co-op, contact First Baptist Church of Weston: fbcwestonmo.com

Have a question, comment or suggestion for the show? E-mail Emilie at heartandsoulhomeschool@gmail.com. She'd love to hear from you!

This week Emilie and her guest, Letricia Osgood from Discovery Homeschool Academy, discuss options for both enrichment and academic programs offered by the Academy through partnership with local churches. Who knows…perhaps you’ll be inspired to seek out a similar program or even start your own!

If you or someone you know are interested in starting a homeschool group of any kind (traditional co-op, field trip group, resource center, hybrid academy – the sky’s the limit!), the Herzog Foundation has resources to help you. Check out https://hfschoolbox.com/ to learn more and be sure to let them know you learned about this great program from the Heart & Soul Homeschool Podcast!

Letricia Osgood is the Executive Director for both Academic and Enrichment programs at Discovery Homeschool Academy. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from Baylor University in Waco, Texas with certifications in reading and elementary education. She also has a Master's Degree in Education from University of Kansas City. Letricia taught Kindergarten through 5th grade as a reading specialist for 6 years. She started and managed an after school tutoring program for 5 years. She created Discovery Homeschool Academy in the year 2000 and started with 35 students and 5 teachers. It has brought a lot of joy to watch God bless homeschooling families through DHA over the years. Letricia has homeschooled her own 4 kids and attends Manna church. Her goal is to bless and serve those that want to participate in DHA and is excited to host 3 locations.

For more information about DHA visit https://www.dhacademy.org/

Have a question, comment or suggestion for the show? E-mail Emilie at heartandsoulhomeschool@gmail.com. She'd love to hear from you!

Join Emilie and her guest Megan Lewis as they chat about Megan's family's journey from public school to private Christian school and now homeschool! You'll be encouraged by their story of faith and trust as they seek to follow God's plan for their family.

Have a question, comment or suggestion for the show? E-mail Emilie at heartandsoulhomeschool@gmail.com. She'd love to hear from you!