302. A Former Teacher’s Take on Homeschooling with Meredith Reyes
Brave Writer
Julie Bogart and Melissa Wiley
4.8 • 927 Ratings
🗓️ 27 August 2025
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Have you ever wondered why a classroom teacher who loved her job would leave it all behind to homeschool? That’s the story of Meredith Reyes, known as @TheStringyMama. In this episode, Meredith shares what she learned teaching in California and Texas, why an unannounced active-shooter drill became the tipping point for her family, and how she’s navigated the shift from rigid classroom structures to a more flexible, tidal rhythm at home. We talk about nature as a powerful teacher, the role of interest-driven writing (yes, Minecraft counts!), and the challenges—and opportunities—of raising kids in an age of AI.
Meredith’s story is candid, moving, and deeply relatable for anyone weighing the value of school versus the joy of learning. Listen in to hear her journey and take away fresh confidence for your own path.
Resources:
- Follow Meredith on Instagram: @thestringymama
- Find Skunk and Badger in the Brave Writer Book Shop—and don’t miss our Skunk and Badger Dart!
- Fall class registration is open!
- Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
- Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
- Brave Learner Home: https://bravewriter.com/brave-learner-home
- Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
- Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
- Give your child the gift of music! Sign up for a free month of private lessons with Maestro Music and let your child discover their own musical voice: www.maestromusic.online/brave
- Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
- Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
- Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684
Connect with Julie:
- Instagram: @juliebravewriter
- Threads: @juliebravewriter
- Bluesky: @bravewriter.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter
Connect with Melissa:
- Website: melissawiley.com
- Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
- Instagram: @melissawileybooks
- Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social
Produced by NOVA
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Looking for a great math program? |
| 0:03.0 | CTC Math provides online video tutorials that make learning math easy and effective |
| 0:10.0 | by using creative graphics and animation that are sure to grab and keep your child's attention. |
| 0:16.0 | Here's a great testimonial from Lori. |
| 0:18.0 | She said one day my 10-year-old was in tears over math. |
| 0:23.6 | I tried my best to help, but I ended up in tears as well. That very night, I received |
| 0:29.0 | an email offer for CTC Math. The following Monday, we reviewed the curriculum together. |
| 0:35.8 | She was willing to give it a shot, and we have never looked back. |
| 0:39.9 | Start your free trial today by visiting ctcmath.com. |
| 0:49.8 | Have you ever wondered why a trained public school classroom teacher would leave a career that she loved to stay home with her children to become a home educator? |
| 1:03.0 | That's something I've always been curious about. And it was really interesting to me. I was scrolling through Instagram, and Instagram showed me an account I wasn't following. |
| 1:14.3 | There was a woman on the screen, and she was talking about the difference between her classroom experience in California versus Texas. |
| 1:24.0 | And by the end of her story, she explained that that was why she left to become a homeschooler. |
| 1:32.0 | I was floored by this and immediately started going through the back catalog of her posts. |
| 1:37.8 | What I discovered there was a passionate educator, someone who had dreamed her entire life of teaching in a classroom. |
| 1:46.0 | And yet, she made this pivot because she had reasons. And some of those reasons are what I want |
| 1:53.2 | to discuss on today's podcast. I invited Meredith Rays, whose account is The Stringy Mama on |
| 2:00.7 | Instagram, to come on our show and talk |
| 2:03.3 | with Melissa and me about the nature of education, public school, home education, and all the |
| 2:10.6 | transitions that have to happen when we're moving from thinking about education in a traditional |
| 2:16.7 | school environment versus a living |
| 2:19.4 | room and everything in between. If you've ever wondered if your kids are getting the best |
... |
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