This year, for the first time, Steph’s kids are technically public school students. In this episode she shares why her family enrolled in a hands-off online charter school while she keeps choosing curriculum and teaching at home. She explains how the funding decision compared to Idaho’s new Parental Choice Tax Credit, and her honest feelings about state testing. If your plans changed this year, this one’s a reminder that adjusting isn’t failing.

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Our curriculum this year:

• Language Arts and Handwriting: The Good and the Beautiful: https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/pre-k-8-curriculum
• Math: Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/math
• Typing: TypingClub: https://www.typingclub.com

Funding options for Idaho families:

• Braintree Academy (the program we use, also available in Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Wyoming): https://www.braintree4me.com
• Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit (official program site): https://myschoolchoice.idaho.gov/
• Idaho State Tax Commission, credit details and advance payment: https://tax.idaho.gov/taxes/income-tax/individual-income/popular-credits-and-deductions/parental-choice-tax-credit-and-advance-payment/
• Homeschool laws by state (HSLDA): https://hslda.org/legal

Note for Idaho families: you can’t claim the Parental Choice Tax Credit for any semester your child is enrolled in a public school, charter school, or virtual charter, so check before you enroll.

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Corrections and updates (as of October 3, 2026)Texas ESA: Texas Education Freedom Accounts actually fund students for the first time this school year, 2026-27. Homeschool students get $2,000 a year. Check the official site for next year's dates.Maryland and Iowa: I described these funding bills as moving through committee right now. Both states' 2026 legislative sessions ended in the spring. Iowa's homeschool tax credit didn't make the list of bills that passed, and I couldn't find any record of Maryland's HB 1204 passing. Watch for them to come back next session.Ten Commandments case: I said an appeal to the Supreme Court was planned. It's already happened: the ACLU and Texas families asked the Supreme Court to review the case on August 17, 2026. The Court hasn't said yet whether it will take it. I'll share updates as they come.

Sources: NCES, public school enrollment projections: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cga/public-school-enrollment K-12 Dive, birth rate decline (citing Bellwether): https://www.k12dive.com/news/where-and-why-public-school-enrollment-keeps-declining/826269/ New Hampshire HB 1268 (NHPR): https://www.nhpr.org/education/2026-07-13/ayotte-signs-bill-loosening-homeschooling-requirements Texas Education Freedom Accounts (official site): https://educationfreedom.texas.gov/ Iowa 2026 session recap (Iowa Capital Dispatch): https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/05/04/the-2026-legislative-session-is-over-heres-what-passed-failed-and-what-is-already-iowa-law/ https://machemd.org/legislative-update-what-maryland-homeschoolers-need-to-know/ https://hslda.org/post/hb-5468 https://www.eastidahonews.com/2026/03/gov-brad-little-signs-public-school-moment-of-silence-bill-into-law/ https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/split-fifth-circuit-oks-texas-ten-commandments-in-classroom-law https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/supreme-court-asked-to-review-texas-law-requiring-the-ten-commandments-in-public-schools https://ballotpedia.org/State_policies_on_cellphone_use_in_K-12_public_schools https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB108/text/CHAP0331

Brittanie Bates is Senior Vice President of Crimson Global Academy, a fully accredited private online school serving 2,800+ students in 70 countries. As founding Academic Head of CGA's US Diploma Pathway, she's grown the US program to a global community of 400+ students, and she's also a parent of a CGA student herself. In this episode she talks with Steph about how online school can still build real connection, how credits transfer back to homeschool and local high school programs, and how CGA partners with families rather than replacing them.

Connect with Brittanie Bates / Crimson Global Academy:

• Website: https://www.crimsonglobalacademy.school/us/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimsonglobalacademy/ (school account; no personal IG on file for Brittanie)
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crimsonglobalacademy/
• LinkedIn (school): https://www.linkedin.com/school/crimsonglobalacademy/
• LinkedIn (Brittanie personally): https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanie-bates-82399829/

In this episode, Stephany sits down with Dana Kay — board-certified health and nutrition practitioner, two-time international best-selling author, and founder of the ADHD Thrive Institute — to talk about what's really driving ADHD symptoms in kids. Dana shares her own family's story, from her son being on three medications by age five to his thriving, medication-free life at sixteen, and explains how root causes like gut health, nutrition, and environmental toxins can drive symptoms. She also covers how to tell typical childhood behavior apart from something that may need more support, plus simple first steps for overwhelmed parents.

Connect with Dana Kay (all pulled from her own submitted intake form):

• Website: https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adhdthriveinstitute/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adhdthriveinstitute
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ADHDThriveInstitute
• The Soaring Child Podcast: https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/the-soaring-child-podcast-thriving-with-adhd/

Antoinette Elliott is the founder of All Our Children Elite Childcare Academy, a nature-based childcare program in Stonecrest/Lithonia, Georgia serving children from 6 weeks to 12 years old. After years substitute teaching and working in family businesses, she opened her own family-run center — now staffed in part by her own kids — built around outdoor play, vegetarian meals, and flexible hours for working parents.

Connect with Antoinette:

• Website: aocelitechildcare.com
• Instagram: @allourchildrenelitechildcare
• Facebook: All Our Children Elite Childcare Academy

Stephanie Malia Krauss is an author, speaker, and social worker who has worked from the classroom to Congress. Her newest book, How We Thrive: Caring for Kids and Ourselves in a Changing World, explores why protecting essentials like sleep, play, and connection matters so much for kids and parents alike. She's also the bestselling author of Whole Child, Whole Life and Making It, and her work has been featured on PBS NewsHour, in Parents, and in Good Housekeeping.

Connect with Stephanie:

• Website: https://www.rehumaning.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniemaliakrauss/
• Substack: https://substack.com/@stephaniemaliakrauss
• Buy How We Thrive: https://www.rehumaning.com/ | Amazon: https://amzn.to/4uBk7Hb | Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-we-thrive-caring-for-kids-and-ourselves-in-a-changing-world-manuel-herrera/b2c31f19b46c69fd | Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-we-thrive-stephanie-malia-krauss/1148676838 | Corwin (publisher, 20% off with code Save20): https://www.corwin.com/books/how-we-thrive-290839

In this episode, Steph sits down with S. Gale Bleth — a 26-year self-defense instructor, former Hayward Police Department Crime Prevention Specialist, and author of A.W.A.R.E.: A Personal Safety Playbook for Leaving the Nest. Gale breaks down her AWARE method (Alert, Watch, Assess, Respond, Escape), the "sight, sound, distance" rule for keeping young kids safe in public, and how to talk to teens about personal safety without scaring them. She also shares practical self-defense basics — voice, stance, and vulnerable strike points.

Connect with Gale:

• Website: stay-aware.com
• Instagram: @stayaware_sgb (per her guest intake form)

• Book on Amazon: A.W.A.R.E.: A Personal Safety Playbook for Leaving the Nest (verified)
• She mentioned it's also on Barnes & Noble and Walmart, but I couldn't verify direct links to those listings — flag as unconfirmed if you want them included.
• Bulk discount: 20+ copies, contact her directly (per intake form)

Sources:

• stay-aware.com
• A.W.A.R.E. on Amazon

Ever wonder if it's too late to help a struggling reader? In this episode, I sit down with Daniela Feldhausen, founder of Kids Up Reading Tutors, to talk about my daughter's journey with dyslexia — including the 15-session, five-week tutoring intensive that took her from avoiding books to finishing her first-ever chapter book on her own. We talk fluency, phonics, the guilt so many homeschool moms carry, and why Daniela says it's genuinely never too late to close a reading gap.

Follow along and connect with Daniela and Kids Up Reading Tutors:
📷 Instagram: @kidsupreadingtutors
🌐 Website: kidsupreadingtutors.com

If this episode helped you, follow the show and leave a review — it helps other homeschool moms find these conversations too.