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!

Why is teaching reading so tricky? Why is it critical that kids (and especially Christian kids) have the ability to read with understanding? How can we help our kids read and comprehend better? These are just a few of the topics Emilie and her guest, Lydia Callahan (Founder and CEO of The Reading HQ) chat about on this week's episode of Heart & Soul Homeschool.

https://www.thereadinghq.com/

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

Emilie's husband, Jared, is back this week. Both Emilie and Jared attended Public School growing up, but they realize now that their parents were preparing them to be homeschoolers all along! Listen in as Emilie and Jared discuss specific things their parents taught them that have been extremely beneficial as they homeschool their own children.

Jared Lunt is a West Point graduate, Army veteran, sales professional, great husband and homeschool dad. He and his family reside in the Kansas City area.

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

Emilie's husband, Jared, joins the podcast this week as they discuss the Heart & Soul of THEIR homeschool.

Jared Lunt is a West Point graduate, Army veteran, sales professional, great husband, and homeschool dad. He and his family reside in the Kansas City area.

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, Debbie Park, as they chat about how Debbie is able to work full-time from home AND homeschool at the same time. Debbie offers her experience and encourages parents to think through all the possibilities!

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

Emilie and her friend, Dr. Allison Lassiter, talk about what it looks like to be a college professor AND a homeschool mom!

Dr. Allison Lassiter is a part time homeschool mom and a part time professor. She is passionate about giving her kids a personalized education and teaching them to think critically and love Jesus with both their hearts and minds.

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