The Homestead Education

Walking away from Public Schooling with Mandy Davis of HomeBuilt Education

It’s 2023, and public schools are in a downward spiral. For many parents, covid was the catalyst that woke up a deep-seated desire to take back responsibility for our children’s educational and emotional well-being. But is homeschooling really the answer to a broken system? Can we really meet all of our kids’ needs inside the four walls of our home?
 
Today’s podcast guest says, yes! A quality education might be more accessible than you think. Meet Mandy Davis, a former elementary school principal turned homemaker, homeschooler, and homesteader. Together we talk about our experiences with the public school system and its inability to serve kids that don’t fit the mold due to neurodiversity and learning styles. We touch on some hot topics like parental consent, informal education, child-led learning, and more! 
 
If you’re considering homeschooling or want to know what it looks like when you take charge of your kids’ education, check out Mandy’s free resources on her website and tune in to today’s episode! 
“When I sat down with my husband to figure out that plan, it was not a plan without sacrifice because we were going from two incomes to a single income. It was, ‘This is going to be worth it because it's the life we want to live, and I'm okay giving up these other things.’ I wanted to find that peace and joy in my own home.” - Mandy Davis, HomeBuilt Education
Find Mandy: 
 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homebuilteducation/
Website: https://www.homebuilteducation.com/
Kody’s Links:
 
Website: www.thehomesteadeducation.comInstagram: www.instagram.com/homestead_educationCurriculum: www.homesteadsciencecurriculum.comHomestead Business: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteading/Pre-Order "Self-Sufficient Children": https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/sufficient-children/Buying Vacant Land: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/vacant-land/Get on the waitlist for Homestead History: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-history/ 

Learning about Grain Mills with Bonnie Jones (GrainMaker)

As homesteaders, we like to be prepared for anything - with a little grit and determination. But as modern homesteaders with an image to maintain, it’s still okay to embrace convenience! In today’s episode, Bonnie Jones of Grain Maker Grain Mills shows us how we can have the best of both: convenience through innovation and hard-earned self-sufficiency.  
 
Bonnie and her husband were homeschool parents facing the Y2K scare of 1999 when they began their venture into grain milling as a home business and disaster preparation plan. The very first GrainMaker® mill was designed when they were raising their family, homeschooling their children and generally learning to become more self-sufficient-or "God-reliant." Today, they’ve perfected their heirloom quality hand-operated and motorized mill that boasts a rustic homestead aesthetic, durability, and versatility. They still own and operate their flourishing home business, GrainMaker Grain Mills, and share their love for baking bread with homesteaders and homeschoolers at conferences across the country.
“We may not ever be the largest grain mill manufacturer in the world, but we really wanted to have a good name and do our very best. We're constantly growing and changing because of all the things that people are finding out and teaching us.” - Bonnie Jones, Grain Maker
Join us as we talk about bread making, recipes, grain milling, experimentation over perfection, gardening, and more! 
Find Bonnie: 
Phone: 406-777-7096
Email: Bonnie@grainmaker.com
Website: https://grainmaker.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grainmaker
 
Other Resources: 
Redmond Real Salt: https://amzn.to/3ECBK0s 
Kody's Links:
Website: www.thehomesteadeducation.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/homestead_education
Curriculum: www.homesteadsciencecurriculum.com
Homestead Business: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteading/
Pre-Order "Self-Sufficient Children": https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/sufficient-children/
Buying Vacant Land: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/vacant-land/
Get on the waitlist for Homestead History: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-history/ 

Discussing Hard Topics in Agriculture with The Farm Babe (Michelle Miller)

Can we demystify the world of plant breeding and genetic modification?
 
Meet Michelle Miller, the Farm Babe, on a mission to break down the barriers between consumers and farmers. She began her social media outreach almost nine years ago, fueled by frustration with misinformation about farming practices.
 
Michelle's story unfolds from a large-scale farm in Iowa to a small Timber Farm in Florida. As a keynote speaker and advocate, she champions the stories of farms of all sizes and shapes, emphasizing the importance of mutual respect in our food system.
 
Join us for the myth busting truth behind food labels and chemicals!
Find Michelle:
Social Media Links: @TheFarmBabe
Website: https://thefarmbabe.com/ 
 
Kody's Links:
Website: www.thehomesteadeducation.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/homestead_education
Curriculum: www.homesteadsciencecurriculum.com
Homestead Business: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteading/
Pre-Order "Self-Sufficient Children": https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/sufficient-children/
Buying Vacant Land: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/vacant-land/
Get on the waitlist for Homestead History: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-history/
 
 
 

Women Functioning Outside the Box with Brandy Von Holten of Country Tough

Ready to meet a real Baddie homesteader in every sense of the word? Buckle up and get ready for my conversation with Brandy Von Holten! 
She’s the host of Country Tough, a podcast formerly known as Big Boss Mare, which won the number one podcast in Missouri for 2024 and was a top podcast in Missouri for three years running. Brandy is a former heavyweight fighter who has also competed in powerlifting. She has a degree in biology, a degree in criminal justice, and a master’s in teaching. And she writes children’s books in her spare time!
She and her husband, David, own and live on a farm that’s belonged to the Von Holten’s since 1906 and won Best Ranch in Missouri 2024 Together, they turned their farm into a horse trail riding facility where they also host a competition called Country Tough Trail Versatility, run an at-home woodshop business for homeschool woodworking projects called Building with David. 
Join us as we talk about our out-of-the-box upbringings, our smokin’ hot husbands, homesteading, science, holistic health, ice baths, grounding, and so much more!Find Brandy: Website: https://www.brandyvonholten.com/Website: https://www.vonholtenranch.com/Website: https://www.buildingwithdavid.com/Website: https://www.horsemanshipwithbrandy.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@horsemanshipwithbrandy/Email: Brandy@Brandyvonholten.com
Kody's Links:
Website: www.thehomesteadeducation.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/homestead_education
Curriculum: www.homesteadsciencecurriculum.com
Homestead Business: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteading/
Pre-Order "Self-Sufficient Children": https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/sufficient-children/
Buying Vacant Land: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/vacant-land/
Get on the waitlist for Homestead History: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-history/

Beyond Personal Finance with Charla McKinley

How can we teach our kids to understand how money works in real life before real consequences happen? Join us today as we talk with one of my favorite conference friends, Charla McKinley of Beyond Personal Finance! Charla explains how she created a fun and interactive homeschool finance curriculum with the goal of training kids to make informed decisions about realistic careers that fund the housing and expenses that form the future lifestyle they envision. 
 
Charla McKinley graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Finance. She went on to become a Certified Public Accountant with over 25 years experience in both corporate and private sectors. While homeschooling her two children, Charla was inspired to write an interactive personal finance curriculum that opens the student's eyes to the high costs of being an adult. After retiring from homeschooling, Charla continues to teach teens in Raleigh, NC and across the country using her Beyond Personal Finance curriculum.
 
Charla’s passion is teaching teens that their choices matter. She is a firm believer that in order to prepare teens for the road ahead they must be given the opportunity to practice making good (and not so good) choices using real dollars before they get out into the world and have real regrets."You've got to raise the kid that you have. You've got to notice notice their problems and walk them through it, and you... don't necessarily save them from the trouble. Help them navigate through the trouble." - Charla McKinley
Find Charla: 
 
Email: charla@beyondpersonalfinanceclass.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beyondpersonalfinance
Website: https://bpfclass.com/ 
Kody's Links:
Website: www.thehomesteadeducation.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/homestead_education
Curriculum: www.homesteadsciencecurriculum.com
Homestead Business: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteading/
Pre-Order "Self-Sufficient Children": https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/sufficient-children/
Buying Vacant Land: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/vacant-land/
Get on the waitlist for Homestead History: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-history/

Know Before You Drill with American Water Locators

If you’ve ever gone shopping for vacant land, you know how difficult it can be to find out which amenities are available on the property. A reliable water source and electricity are essentials for new and experienced homesteaders. And realtors don’t always have the deets. 
 
In this podcast episode, we talk to my local friends Steven and Jessalyn Willis from American Water Locators to discuss their journey from coffee roasting to water locating and their involvement in mission work in Guatemala. They are a family of 5, and they've been running a water-locating business since 2016. They use seismo-electric equipment to locate the depth, yield, and thickness of an aquifer, helping to save you from a dry well and take the guesswork out of getting the most available water on your property. They explain how their top-of-the-line technology helps locate water underground using artificial seismic events and electrical signals. It’s the only one that actually images water and provides peace of mind for homesteaders in the market for vacant land. 
 
Join us as we nerd out on water location and hear more about Steven and Jessalyn’s journey from a hand-to-mouth existence to becoming business owners and philanthropists. I can’t wait for you to hear their story! 
 
See the links below to check out their coffee roasting company, Norse Roots Roasters, and American Water Locators for all your water location needs!
“If we're not growing, then we're just getting stagnant. I don't think we're on this Earth to be stagnant… I think we're here to enjoy it, but … with the little time we're given we should make the biggest impact that we can with as many people as we can and make as many relationships as possible.” - Steven Willis, American Water LocatorsFind Steven and Jessalyn:Email: steve.waterlocate@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063698843886&sk=about Website:  www.americanwaterlocators.comCoffee: https://norse-roots-roasters.square.site/Kody's Links:
Website: www.thehomesteadeducation.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/homestead_education
Curriculum: www.homesteadsciencecurriculum.com
Homestead Business: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteading/
Pre-Order "Self-Sufficient Children": https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/sufficient-children/
Buying Vacant Land: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/vacant-land/
Get on the waitlist for Homestead History: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-history/ 
 
 

Something to be Proud of with Derrick Josi

How does a small, family-owned dairy farm survive over a hundred years and continue to grow in today’s shaky economy and flawed agricultural system—while maintaining a self-sufficient mindset? 
 
Join me as I talk to Derrick Josi of TDF Honest Farming or, as I originally knew him, the Tillamook Dairy Farmer! Derrick Josi is steadfast in his quest to share farming through the community he’s established online behind the handle TDF Honest Farming. Born into a lineage of dairy farmers in the Pacific Northwest, he farms the same land as his great-grandfather, Alfred, who came to the United States from Switzerland as an indentured servant in 1912. A lot has changed in the 105 years they've been dairying in Tillamook, and Derrick is opening up modern Dairy to the world on a daily basis. In this episode, we talk about how farming practices are changing, the pros and cons of subsidies, state laws, restrictions, price floors, and school vouchers for homeschoolers and private schoolers. 
 
And, are cows really causing global warming? Hear Derrick weigh in with a simple explanation of the Biogenic Carbon Cycle. 
 
Derrick tells what it’s like to share the highs and lows of dairy farming with his 1 million+ Facebook followers and 100,000 Instagram followers plus a behind-the-scenes of life on the farm—the good, the bad, and the ugly—just for my listeners.  
 
Want more tips for self-sufficient farming and homesteading in 2023 and beyond? Subscribe to The Homestead Education podcast today! “Even at 40 years old, like myself, you need to be growing as a person, learning new things …  I want to still be learning and doing things well into my retirement because I am a firm believer that if you're not learning and growing, you're going the other way.” - Derrick Josi
 
Other Resources: 
Book: An Industry Worth Fighting For by Derrick Josi and Steve Olivas https://www.amazon.com/Industry-Worth-Fighting-Derrick-Josi/dp/1956577009
 
Find Derrick: Website: https://tdfhonestfarming.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tdf_honest_farming/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TDFHonestFarming
 
Kody's Links:
Website: www.thehomesteadeducation.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/homestead_education
Curriculum: www.homesteadsciencecurriculum.com
Homestead Business: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteading/
Pre-Order "Self-Sufficient Children": https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/sufficient-children/
Buying Vacant Land: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/vacant-land/
Get on the waitlist for Homestead History: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-history/ 

Embracing a Post-Vegan Lifestyle with HannahJo of Prairie Mountain Homestead

Would you give up city life and veganism to heal your chronic health issues? The modern homesteading movement has attracted suburban men and women with a thirst for knowledge, self-sufficiency, and holistic health, who are ready to reject modern societal norms in favor of freedom. We’re smack dab in the middle of a learning revolution, and I’m here for it!
 
Join us as we chat with HannahJo of Prairie Mountain Homestead about leaving a whole-foods plant-based diet and suburban life to be a traditional wife living a homestead life. HannahJo of PrairieMountainHomestead is the creator of #backtoprairieliving. She's also a member of God’s army, the patriot party, a learner, defender, whole food creator and self-reliant seeker. You’re going to love hearing her story as she shares her journey toward healing chronic health issues and embracing homeschooling, homesteading, and a symbiotic relationship with animals as food and food producers. 
“The symbiotic relationship between husband and wife in a role that we love, and in our places that we love, I just love to talk that way because it invites a conversation in which, you know, putting on an apron is so controversial these days because we're oppressed. […]  I just love that I wear my apron because I choose to.“ -HannahJo, Prairie Mountain Homestead
Find HannahJo:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@prairiemountainhomestead Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prairiemountainhomestead/Website: https://www.prairiemountainhomestead.com/Kody's Links:Homestead Harvesters 2023 Conference: https://homesteadharvesters.com/Website: www.thehomesteadeducation.comInstagram: www.instagram.com/homestead_educationCurriculum: www.homesteadsciencecurriculum.comHomestead History Waitlist: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-history/Homestead Business: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteading/Pre-Order "Self-Sufficient Children": https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/sufficient-children/Buying Vacant Land: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/vacant-land/For more homesteading and homeschooling tips, subscribe to The Homestead Education today! 

Huge Announcement to Wrap Up Season 3

Wow! This has been an amazing season with many interesting and intelligent guests helping us answer the questions we didn't know to ask. 
Tune in to this episode for an update on our crazy summer along with a HUGE announcement. 
Providing Fellowship for Homestead Women with Angela Miller: https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-x85bv-13c0c56
Homestead Harvesters Community: www.homesteadharvesters.com
Homestead History Waitlist: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homestead-history/
Kody's Links
Website: www.thehomesteadeducation.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/homestead_education
Curriculum: www.homesteadsciencecurriculum.com
Homestead Business: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteading/
Pre-Order "Self-Sufficient Children": https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/sufficient-children/
Buying Vacant Land: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/vacant-land/

Practicing Zero Waste as a Suburban Homestead with Catie Wark

Have you considered learning chemical-free tanning methods?
Colorado suburban homesteader Catie Wark shares her no-waste journey. One big part of her journey has been animal hyde tanning through the egg or tanning method. Follow Catie as The Western Wander Woman for ways to reduce waste as a homesteader.
Find Catie
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewesternwanderwoman/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewesternwanderwoman/
Bulk Alum: https://amzn.to/3pPSoGd
Kody's Links:
Website: www.thehomesteadeducation.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/homestead_education
Curriculum: www.homesteadsciencecurriculum.com
Homestead Business: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/homesteading/
Pre-Order "Self-Sufficient Children": https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/product/sufficient-children/
Buying Vacant Land: https://www.thehomesteadeducation.com/vacant-land/