318. How Hands-On, Real-Life Learning Transformed Their Health and Home | Kody Hanner of Homestead Education

Summary

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Simple Farmhouse Life — Episode 318 "How Hands-On, Real-Life Learning Transformed Their Health and Home"

Guest: Kody Hanner, Homestead Education
Host: Lisa Bass
Date: December 2, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Lisa Bass welcomes Kody Hanner—homesteader, educator, author, and founder of Homestead Science—to discuss how hands-on real-life learning has shaped her family’s health, home, and educational choices. Kody shares her family's journey after her husband’s life-changing diagnosis and how it sparked a radical shift toward homesteading, whole food living, and home-based education. The conversation delves into the practical transformation of managing a home and farm, designing educational curricula for homestead and home economics skills, and the power of intentional parenting and homeschooling.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Life-Altering Diagnosis and the Start of Homesteading

• Background:
  • Kody’s husband was diagnosed with end-stage liver disease at age 35, given a year to live, which led to immediate lifestyle changes.
  • The shock was compounded by personal losses: Kody’s own father and brother had also passed from liver disease.
  • “To get that kind of diagnosis at 35, it was shocking.” – Kody (05:07)
• Initial Overhaul:
  • Shift from a typical American diet (though already somewhat rural) to cooking everything from scratch and deeply rethinking food, medicine, and home care.
  • Kody was overwhelmed: “The kids took a picture of me sitting in the middle of the kitchen...I was sobbing, like, just, okay.” (07:26)

2. Practical Changes and Unexpected Outcomes

• Transition to Whole Foods:
  • Embraced homemade, nutrient-dense foods and scrutinized everything from cleaning supplies to medications.
  • Doctors' initial advice was a low-fat, “standard” approach, but Kody’s research and a supportive holistic doctor led them to raw full-fat dairy, home-grown meats, lard, and mineral salts.
    • “I vote for full fat raw dairy on everything. I vote that you guys raise pigs. I vote that you cook in all lard.” – Holistic Doctor (11:13)
• Results:
  • Her husband's liver recovered beyond doctors’ expectations.
  • Notable health metrics: Cholesterols dropped 150 points, liver function normalized within a year.
    • “At this point they said he has like an absolutely beautiful liver with just a little bit of scarring on the outside.” – Kody (07:04)

3. The Shift to Homesteading and Home-Based Enterprise

• Homestead Beginnings:
  • The family moved to 40 acres in Idaho and started producing their own food, raising livestock, and eventually selling farm products.
  • Financial self-sufficiency: diversified income streams through farm sales, curriculum, and conferences.

4. Homeschooling and Filling the Curriculum Gap

• Motivation:
  • Homeschooling began partly out of necessity—making the most of uncertain time as a family, dissatisfaction with public education, and a desire to teach practical life skills.
  • Kody found no suitable hands-on agricultural curriculum designed for homesteaders or home learners, so she began writing her own, tailored to various ages.
    • “There was nothing. I very much did [find a gap]… I wanted something that met the kids on the farm doing what they were doing.” (16:07)
• Homestead Science:
  • Created lesson plans combining science, agriculture, and home economics, blended with real farm tasks, economics, budgeting, and food preservation.
  • Curriculum is adaptable (preschool through high school) and requires no actual homestead: "It's a no homestead required curriculum." (24:26)

5. Philosophy of Real-Life, Hands-On Learning

• Multi-Generational and Practical Skills:
  • Emphasis on kids participating fully in home and farm life: milking cows, budgeting for fencing, making entire meals from scratch.
  • “If I could teach them agriculture while we were learning to grow all of our own food… that would just lock everything in.” – Kody (15:26)
  • Stresses the lifelong importance of practical skills and critical thinking over rote academics.
• Parenting and Delegation:
  • Openly discusses that not everything gets done; older kids and the household work together, emphasizing teamwork over perfectionism.
    • “Sometimes my husband steps in. Or sometimes it's because my older children step in. And sometimes it's just not done.” – Kody (14:41)

6. Homeschooling Mindset and Parenting Advice

• Self-Paced, Child-Led Learning:
  • Formal “strewing” technique: leaving interesting materials around for kids to pick up on their own initiative, leading to “ownership” of projects and skills.
    • “Strewing is more, I would bring it home, leave it on the kitchen table, and not say anything to anyone. And if they do it, great.” – Kody (36:21)
• No One-Size-Fits-All:
  • Homeschooling for large, blended, and neurodiverse families looks different for everyone. “Do what feels good to you and what feels good to your kids because the most important thing is your relationship…” (51:42)
• Emphasizing Real-World Readiness:
  • Teens (including neurodiverse kids) run parts of the family farm, manage shipping for the business, and organize family gatherings—mirroring real-life responsibility.
    • “My daughter did Thanksgiving all by herself last year...I was just like, it's busy season for me. And she's like, I got it. Like, we're good.” – Kody (47:31)

7. Navigating Screens & Technology

• Technology as a Tool:
  • Children are taught to use phones and computers as tools for finding information, not simply for entertainment.
  • Older children handle their own research, learn business skills, and even help operate the curriculum company.

8. Reclaiming Home Economics and Family Synergy

• Curriculum Teaches:
  • Food science, budgeting, household management, first aid, herbalism, off-grid living, even planning raw-land infrastructure.
  • Designed for both children and adults: “I probably sell about 20% to either moms or families in general.” (27:51)
• Breaking Multi-Generational Taboos:
  • Defends “parentification” (giving real responsibilities to kids) as natural community and skill-building, not a burden.
    • “We were designed to be multi generational families. That is how we were designed as...humans. That’s how God made us. And...we've been sociologically for thousands of years. Stop trying to make it bad that I'm teaching my daughter to cook dinner.” – Kody (54:33)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Overwhelm & Determination:
  “Good food and stubborn wives.” – Kody, on what saved her husband’s life and her role as a persistent researcher (08:13)
• On Changing Health Outcomes:
  “He was given a completely like clean bill of health… his liver was like, absolutely beautiful.” (06:41, 07:10)
• On Curriculum Philosophy:
  “I wanted it to somewhat mimic like the textbook learning, but that it could be even used in an unschool setting…” (27:58)
• On Kids and Responsibility:
  “If you cook dinner, then I have time to take you to go be a teenager.” (55:16)
• On Homeschooling Expectations:
  “You don't have to do all the things.” (15:12)
• On Multi-Age, Sibling Dynamics:
  “When they were all going to public school, they hated each other… being home, they're each other's best friends. And within a year, I saw that shift.” (58:01)
• Advice to New Homeschoolers:
  “Do what feels good to you and what feels good to your kids because the most important thing is your relationship and everything else will fall into place.” (51:42)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Life-Changing Diagnosis: 03:53–07:10
• Initial Overhaul & Overwhelm: 07:26–08:22
• Dietary and Health Transformation: 09:01–11:45
• Starting Homeschooling, Homestead, and Blended Family Challenges: 13:03–16:07
• Developing Homestead Science Curriculum: 16:55–19:29
• Curriculum Details & Adaptability (No Homestead Required): 22:26–27:51
• Homeschooling Mindset, Multi-Age Learning & Strewing: 33:51–41:12
• Screens and Research as Learning Tools: 42:00–45:08
• Teenagers Managing Real Life: 46:19–49:27
• Homeschooling Realities & Avoiding Comparison: 50:28–54:11
• Parentification, Family Teamwork, and Sibling Bonds: 54:30–58:32

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Resources & Where to Find Kody

• Website: thehomesteadeducation.com
• Book: Raising Self Sufficient Kids: An Honest Mom's Guide to Intentional Parenting
• Homestead Science Curriculum: Preschool–High School; mini-units and upcoming history course
• Podcast: The Homestead Education Podcast
• Social media: Linked via website

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Closing Advice from Kody

(51:42)
“Do what feels good to you and what feels good to your kids because the most important thing is your relationship and everything else will fall into place.”

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This episode is a rich, down-to-earth discussion showing how adversity birthed a new way of living and teaching—and how an ordinary family can become deeply self-sufficient, resilient, and united through hands-on, real-life learning. Whether for educators, parents, or aspiring homesteaders, there’s powerful encouragement here to roll up your sleeves, do what matters for your family, and trust that the learning—and the connection—will follow.

Transcript

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[Cody Hanner]

how you buy When Covid hit I just saw so many families saying, how do I teach my kids to do all the things I don't know how to do? I like I want to learn it, but I want my kids to learn it. I want my kids to embrace it in a way that they have confidence in it. But I'm I mean, even myself having the background in ag, there were so many times that I was like, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to make this. I don't know how to make this safe. And it's really become a mission because the more research I do, I have found that there's a like a systematic gap in the way we teach kids. That used to be commonplace, as in teaching agriculture and home economics in a way that wasn't a vocational agriculture class or a vocational cooking class. It was parts teach you how to like run a home.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

My name is Lisa, mother of nine and creator of the blog and YouTube channel Farmhouse on Boone. On this podcast, I like to talk about simplifying your life so you can live out your priorities. I help you learn how to cook from scratch and decorate on a budget. Through this podcast and my courses Simple Sourdough and the Simple Sewing Series, I also help people reach their goals from home through my business course, YouTube Success Academy. I will leave links to these resources in the show notes in description box below. Now let's get into the show. Welcome back to the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast. Today I am going to be chatting with Cody Hanner of Homestead Education. She's a homesteader, educator, and founder of Homestead Science and the Homestead Education Podcast. Her journey into natural living began in 2018 when her husband was diagnosed with stage four liver cirrhosis, a diagnosis that prompted their family to overhaul their lifestyle overnight. What started as a personal pursuit of wellness quickly grew into a passion for teaching others how to live more intentionally and sustainably. After relocating to North Idaho, Cody and her family established a thriving commercial homestead where they raise livestock, grow much of their own food and sell poor pork and seasonal products. They're currently expanding their vision with a farm store to serve their community more directly. As a homeschooling mom, Cody searched for a true science based agricultural curriculum letter to create the homestead science program, a program designed to teach the next generation where their food comes from. Through the Homestead Education podcast, she now reaches homesteaders and homeschoolers across the country, sharing practical education, encouragement and lessons learned from her family's real life experiences. Cody also travels nationwide to speak at homesteading and homeschooling conferences, inspiring families to reconnect with their roots and embrace a more grounded, self sufficient way of life. I think you're going to really enjoy this conversation, find it encouraging. We're going to chat a bit on homeschooling, homesteading, and all of the skills that young children and children of all ages can learn from that. All right, welcome on the show, Cody. Let's start with introductions. Tell us a bit about yourself and your family. I already talked about your. Your business online and what you do, but thank you. Is there, is there anything that you want to share?

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah. So my name is Cody Hanner, and, you know, like you mentioned, I own the Homestead Education. My family and I moved to north Idaho about seven years. Six. Seven years ago after a big change happened with our family medically. And it's kind of just molded where we've gone over the last eight years. And it's been a crazy ride, but a really special one too, and we feel really blessed to be able to share our story.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. So I know you are a mother to six. You're an educator and founder of Homestead Science and the Homestead Education Podcast. You mentioned a medical diagnosis. Do you want to go a little bit more into that?

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah. So my husband was diagnosed with end stage liver disease eight years ago. Now. He was. See here? Gotta do math. That. That stinks. He was only about 35 at the time. And I mean, it was just. It was a huge blow because they gave him about a year to live. They said, like, get your affairs in order. This is end stage liver disease. And you know, for him, that just sent him into a spiral of depression and stuff. Whereas for me, I had just lost my dad and my brother to the same disease the year before.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Really?

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah. Of course. My dad and my brother, I could be like, I know what you did. But, you know, because liver disease, a lot of times associated with alcohol and stuff.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yes, yes.

[Cody Hanner]

You know, my dad was a rodeo cowboy and stuff, so drinking a lot of times just Comes with that. But my husband had not drank for 12 years just by choice. I mean, and then we were. We'd have like a barbecue and have a beer or something, but we weren't drinkers.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

So to get that kind of diagnosis at 35, it was shocking, huh?

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

And so, I mean, we kind of at this point have maybe traced it back to something he was exposed to in Iraq because he is a disabled veteran. But yeah, it, like I said, it sent him into a tailwind of depression. It sent me into that tailwind of. I am gonna find an answer.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right? Yeah. So you guys, you overhauled your lifestyle. Was it. Were you living like a standard American diet. Standard American lifestyle prior to this? Yes.

[Cody Hanner]

So I would say that we lived a somewhat average American diet, although my husband and I had both grown up rather rural, so we hunted a lot. A lot of the meat in our freezer was venison and pork and bear and elk and. But we still bought a lot from the grocery store. What I had believed was natural cooking, or you know, not natural, like whole food cooking, was that I made my chicken noodle soup with chicken broth and chicken and store bought noodles because. Because that was from scratch. It wasn't completely from the can because that's what I had been taught. And so I definitely had to relook at how we had grown and cooked everything as well as what medicines we were on, like how we cleaned our house, everything.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay. Yeah. So I'm just. This is obviously, I don't know if this is the pillar of your. Your content. I think you talk about this probably all the time, but obviously your husband is still alive right now.

[Cody Hanner]

Yes, he is. And two years ago he was given a completely like clean bill of health.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Did he do the treatments or anything or.

[Cody Hanner]

There was, there was no treatments. There's nothing you can do for liver disease.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

Other than reduce the load on your liver and that might help. But generally with end stage liver disease, the scarring, they say that there's no regeneration of that.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay.

[Cody Hanner]

And at this point they said he has like an absolutely beautiful liver with just a little bit of scarring on the outside.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Wow. Okay, so what were some of the first changes you made? Because you did a whole lifestyle overhaul, but I'm sure you couldn't do it all at once. Or maybe in this very intense situation you did, like, maybe this wasn't casual like I'm expecting.

[Cody Hanner]

It was not casual. The kids took a picture of me sitting in the middle of the kitchen and we had like a box of chicks in the kitchen. I was surrounded by, like, a pressure canner and all these, like, different things. And I had cookbooks laid out and I was sobbing, like, just, okay.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

I mean, it was. I felt so overwhelmed and I'm never going to be able to do all of this. And because my husband was in such a dark place, he wasn't in there, like, being my champion. Like, he had been on so many other things. He was like, I don't care. I'm not doing it. Like, do whatever you want.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Like, you probably, like, you know, you're given this by medical experts so that your wife is going to somehow, like, help to make the situation better is probably, you know, they're probably a little skeptical maybe.

[Cody Hanner]

We actually keynoted last year and we called it good food and stubborn wives.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Wow. Yeah. Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

Because that was like, the basis of that.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Huh. So where did you get the information? Like, how did you know? Okay, let's first begin by getting chicks and making whatever it is that you learned how to do. How did you know where to even begin?

[Cody Hanner]

Well, I did have a little bit of a background, as in that I was a. I had majored in agriculture, grew up on a ranch. I had been a food safety specialist for 10 years in big food plants. So I did have a basis for how to grow our own food and that that was going to be the way we would do that. I started doing research, I joined Facebook groups, I bought every book there was to buy. And everything I could find, you know, just was a list of foods you could and couldn't eat for liver.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Like to protect your liver.

[Cody Hanner]

Yes.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

And to heal strain on your liver. Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

You know, a lot on non alcoholic fatty liver disease is really the route I took in doing research because when you do a lot of research on cirrhosis, it's just how to handle your end stage stuff and your end of life stuff versus I looked at what non alcoholic fatty liver disease and how to heal that. And I mean, at this point, I even dove deep and I hadn't even heard about, like, the Weston A. Price foundation or anything like that. I just knew what I had known from commercial agriculture. I followed a couple of homesteaders online and I just kind of had to figure it out.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

So what were some of the main things that were going to make his liver more taxed and like, not heal?

[Cody Hanner]

You know, we really looked at, like,

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

what were you trying to avoid?

[Cody Hanner]

I guess, honestly, in the beginning, some of the things we tried to avoid are the things that we pursue the most now.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay.

[Cody Hanner]

And one of them is that, you know, they want you to lose weight, and so you start really pursuing that low fat diet.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay.

[Cody Hanner]

And now, since then, we have moved to. So we were, you know, low fat dairies and low fat foods that are all just replaced with sugars and salts and bad salts and things like that. The first one that was really a game changer for me was switching to Redmond's. The flavor of Redmond's is so wonderful that we could use about a third to a half of the amount of sodium and really reduce his sodium load. So that was great because at first he was like, all this food tastes nasty. And then he was able to eat something that actually tasted good to him.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

The next one was, you know, our doctors in Oregon were, you know, no full fat dairies, no raw milk, none of that type of stuff. And when we moved to Idaho, he really wanted a dairy cow because he wanted to try, you know, getting away from the enzymes and things like that that are in or, you know, not in commercial milk. And so we bought a cow, and we were doing low temp pasteurization for about a year, which I was also pregnant, and we had a one year old. So it was kind of like, okay, like, that's. We're just learning how to have a dairy cow. So low temp pasteurization I felt really comfortable with. But we found a doctor up here who's very holistic and was behind us 100%. And she's like, I vote for full fat raw dairy on everything. I vote that you guys raise pigs. I vote that you cook in all lard. Like, you know, just kind of, like, confirmed all the things that felt more natural to us, but we were being told wasn't okay. And so that's what we really pursued at that point. You know, both of our cholesterols dropped about 150 points making those changes.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Wow.

[Cody Hanner]

So, I mean, the proof was kind of in the pudding there, huh? And we saw that right away his liver enzymes, his labs dropped right away. And when I say right away, within like a year, which is. That was exciting to see.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And now you. You all are teaching others how to, like, have a homestead, how to have, you know, financial diversity is one of the things you teach as well. Whole food, nutrition. You speak at homestead conferences, homeschooling conferen. What is the reason behind that mission? How did you get started on all of that?

[Cody Hanner]

You know, I mean, obviously, as you mentioned, it's like, super multifaceted.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

And it wasn't just one thing, but what I did realize is that so many other people wanted to pursue this lifestyle. And because of my background in ag and doing consulting for small businesses and stuff, that I had something to share that would help others.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

And, you know, we had already gone through a lot of stress of. We are a blended family. And with my husband being in Iraq for most of the years when his children were younger, we were all. And I had been working. We kind of blended our family with all these kids that had never really been raised by us, even though they were all our children.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

And we had to kind of figure that one out at the same time because he was only diagnosed with this liver disease, like, two years into our relationship.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Oh, wow.

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah. And he was a widower. And so we're like, okay, let's figure this out all at once. I mean, if you've ever talked about baptism by fire, this was it. Yeah.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

So we.

[Cody Hanner]

We were trying to figure out how to raise all these kids, how to eat naturally, how to raise all the food ourselves and make money so that I could be home and not have to be at work where I could be with the kids. And we decided to homeschool because we already weren't happy with what was going on in public schools, and we wanted to spend more time as a family, because if he did only have a year, let's make the best of it.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

So where we bought this farm, 40 acres, and it had been previously farmed, so we were able to just kind of, like, step into place. But being a new homeschool mom, I felt like I had to do all the things. And I think that that's probably a conversation you've definitely had before.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Oh, yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

I feel like it's one of those ones where I feel like I'm beating a dead horse with it. And then I. I always end up talking to someone new who goes, oh, I didn't know I had to do. I didn't have to do all the things.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Oh, no. That's always a welcome conversation. Because nobody. No matter how many times you've heard it or it just. It comes up again and again. Because the job does feel endless. I was talking to a mom the other night at a fall thing, and she was like, so how do you do this, this, this, and this? Because I'm really struggling. Like, this is just a conversation moms need to have.

[Cody Hanner]

Yes, it is. And a lot of times my answer is, I don't. I just don't do it.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, right. Exactly. Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

And sometimes that's because my husband steps in. Or sometimes it's because my older children step in. And sometimes it's just not done.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Sometimes you just can't get it all done.

[Cody Hanner]

And that's okay, too, because there is not like a Pinterest expect inspector that comes to your home.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

No.

[Cody Hanner]

And there's no Pinterest worthy all the time. And if you're having company, shut a door, you know, it's okay.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yes.

[Cody Hanner]

So, yeah, we're trying to do all the things. And I still. I wish I had somebody tell me eight years ago, you don't have to do all the things.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

Like, we could have not homeschooled the kids for the first two years of all of this, and everything would have been okay.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yes. Yes. Right. Yes. That was probably an overwhelming couple years because you were learning how to do everything.

[Cody Hanner]

So I went ahead and was trying to do everything, and one of them that I, right off the bat realized is that if I could teach them agriculture while we were learning to grow all of our own food, that that would be. I mean, that would just lock everything in, and I would. I would feel like I was a good mom.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Multiple birds. Exactly.

[Cody Hanner]

And so I was like, well, there's a. There's a curriculum for everything. So I'll just hop online and I'll find an ad curriculum, and we'll. We'll do that, and that'll be great. And that'll just be what we do for a year. And there was nothing.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Wow. Yeah. So you found a. Quite a hole in the marketplace.

[Cody Hanner]

I very much did. I mean, and I'm, you know, there's going to be someone who's like, oh, there's four H curriculums. Oh, yeah. And they're great. And I've got a lot of wonderful information and insight from them. But I really wanted something that met the kids on the farm doing what they were doing, not in a commercial aspect where they were, you know, learning how to just go milk their one cow, bring it back to the house and process it and learn that skill and that chore, but also learn, you know, why we feed our cows the way we do, why some people pasteurize milk, why we have to keep the milk clean, like all those pieces at the same time. And so I started creating these lessons for my kids to meet them at each of their levels, because I had, at the time that we're being homeschooled, I had, like, third graders through freshmen in high school.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay.

[Cody Hanner]

And so I kind of had to meet them in different places and So I was building these different lessons, doing different things, different projects. They had different responsibilities that were associated with their assignments. So, you know, the older boys would actually do the milking, but then the younger kids would come in and do the pasteurization. But then during that time, the older boys were putting ice in the bucket to bring into the. You know, just kind of. And then afterwards, they'd have their assignments with it. And when Covid hit, I just saw so many families saying, how do I teach my kids to do all the things I don't know how to do?

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right. That's a common question people have.

[Cody Hanner]

I, like, I want to learn it, but I want my kids to learn it and want my kids to embrace it in a way that they have confidence in it. But I'm. I mean, even myself, having the background in ag, there were so many times that I was like, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to make this. I don't know how to make this safe. I don't know which medications I can give my animals because I don't want them to come to us. But working in commercial ag, my whole life, there was a different protocol. And there's still. I had a talk with my vet the other day. He came to do some preg checking, and I had a couple of cabs, and I was like, should I vaccinate them? Should I not vaccinate them? And he was like. He was like, you know what answer you're looking for, so let's just leave it at that. And he didn't say another word about it and left. And I was like, okay. So he, you know, he wanted me to say that I didn't want them vaccinated, but didn't want to actually say that, because good animal health practices when you have a herd is to keep the herd healthy, you know? So it's kind of that balancing all those things and teaching my kids to understand that that there isn't just one way to do it. Because if we did have a herd of, you know, 300 head of cattle, I would probably have a very different protocol with them, even if I wanted a natural herd than I would with our 10 head of cattle.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yes.

[Cody Hanner]

And so I wanted my kids to understand both sides of that. And everything I could find on agriculture was teaching from a commercial standpoint. And again, I don't think we could feed the amount of people that we feed without having some of these practices. But I wanted my kids to understand there was both ways.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

And. Or that there can be a combination of both ways. So when everybody got online and was saying, how do I feel? You know, how do I learn this and teach my kids? I thought I could help.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Like, I have all this.

[Cody Hanner]

I have all this done. And I was still just, you know, I had had a blog, like, trying to have a place to share what we were doing with my husband's liver disease. But I was still working a job I didn't love. I couldn't figure out a way to be home. And I was driving to. I was doing real estate, so I was kind of 50. 50. But I was driving to work one day and I was listening to an agriculture or a, you know, homesteading podcast, and they were talking about something, and it just clicked for me right then. Like, you have everything you need to write this curriculum that you're trying to write on a daily basis for your kids. Why don't you just take the time and do it? And so we had an option of not working in the office for as long as we wanted to during COVID that we could just work from home. So I took that option and I went home and I said, honey, I have a crazy idea. And I was waiting for his. Like, not another one. Like, yeah, because I always have a crazy idea. I still have him, my assistant. And I came up with a crazy idea the other day, and he was like, oh, no. Yeah, do it. But no.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

And he actually loved this one. I mean, he was like, that is amazing. Like, sit down. Let me bring you a computer. Like, do you need a glass of iced tea?

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

And I wrote it. And at first it was just to fill a need for myself and a hole in the market. And since then, it's really become a mission because the more research I do, I have found that there's a, like, a systematic gap in the way we teach kids. That used to be commonplace, as in teaching agriculture and home economics in a way that wasn't a vocational agriculture class or a vocational cooking class. It was parts teach you how to, like, run a home.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right, right, right. Yes.

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[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yes. So your curriculum, do you learn math in reading through this too, or is it more just like an add on to some of those more basic type of skills? Or what age is it for too?

[Cody Hanner]

So I have it for preschool through high school and I'm adding stuff all the time. It's kind of just me in the creation area. I have, you know, people who do shipping and things like that. But when it comes to the creation part of it, it is just me. So it's slow. But I have a full year science for younger kids and a full year science for junior high high school and it follows all of the national ag standards for teaching that class.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Oh cool.

[Cody Hanner]

So it's absolutely. Especially for the high schoolers, it is absolutely a full year science that meets all those things, plus a lab, which a lot of parents really love because then they're being, they're able to integrate and get exactly what they need, even for their kids, their college prep. So that's really awesome.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

So a lot of families do use the younger one as more of a unit study.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay.

[Cody Hanner]

However, that wasn't really the way I designed it because I wanted it to just really focus on ag and what you're doing in the home. However, in order to do that, it covers every aspect of what you're doing in life. So they are getting reading, they're getting writing, they're getting public service. They're, you know, especially in the older one, it really encourages kids. Like, are you allowed to sell eggs in your county? Don't look it up. Call the county and ask. So it's like encouraging kids to make take those steps outside of their comfort zones. And so it's covering a lot more than just science, right?

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yes. Okay. Yeah, that was my question. Now, do you recommend your curriculum for everyone? If someone lives, say they live like in the Middle of a subdivision or something. Oh, they can still learn all these things. Necessarily not be able to like, go milk your own cow, but you're still learning.

[Cody Hanner]

It's a no homestead required curriculum.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay, I got you. Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

So yeah, all the projects, it doesn't say like, go milk a cow.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

It tells you how to milk a cow. And then maybe the project is a little bit more how to, you know, figure out how much you're supposed to feed that cow and how much you can make off the milk. So that's a little bit more hands on for that family in some of the cases. You know, I teach the kids how to make yogurt, so you can do that with store bought milk. You can bring it home. And then they're still practicing measuring with a thermometer and, you know, measuring in how much they need and learning how the bacteria from the store bought yogurt grows in their milk and you know, that type of stuff.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, yeah, that is so interesting. I love that whole entire concept. Now you mentioned teaching some home economic type stuff. I guess you're talking about, like, you just mentioned making yogurt. Are you walking them through? You said some pricing too, like what it would, what it would take to make a profit on something like that.

[Cody Hanner]

Yep. So it teaches, you know, how to do budgeting, how to research your budget. Some of them are a little bit more agriculture specific. Like, I encourage the kids to go to the store, like the feed store, and, you know, figure out, you know, how much a fence insulator costs. Okay. Then they're also getting to like put a fence insulator in their hand and see what it is.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

And anybody can do that. But then they're budgeting for their fence and then they decide at the end of the year based on how much milk they made off their goats, if that fence was worth it or if they should have built, you know, a hot wire fence instead of a barbed wire fence or something. And then. But then the home economics part is kind of the same idea. And I actually have several chapters and all of my books that cover home cooking. You know, just the real basics of home cooking. Like what spice blends and things like that, how one of the projects is just making a hamburger. And so it, you know, how to season it, how to cook it, how to check the temperature. And then that's a skill that like, a lot of even young boys aren't taught. And that's something that could be, you know, they move out of the house for the first time as long as they can have a hamburger patty every night. Like they're cook, you know, they're solid.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yes. They can add on from there, but.

[Cody Hanner]

And then I also have a project where you can plan a whole meal completely from scratch and either can do it by yourself and budget it, or I give a sample recipe that goes all the way back to baking your bread, making your own homemade egg noodles, making chicken noodle soup, making it from broth. And it kind of like cuts it off at each step. Like if you, you know, aren't going out and killing your own chicken, this, go buy one. If you aren't making your own broth, you can go buy broth, you know, and kind of.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

Breaks it down that way. It also covers, take it as far as you want. Yeah. Food preservation, food safety, both in the home and commercially. It covers how to budget a house. Like, you know, budget your home and budget your profit from any business that you're doing. First aid, herbalism.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Wow.

[Cody Hanner]

And hunting and fishing and off grid life. Like, you know, how to even calculate what size off grid system you need. So it covers a little bit of everything you could possibly want for running a homestead.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. There's so many moms out there who are like, I actually want this curriculum for myself. Do you find that happens a lot too?

[Cody Hanner]

I, I probably sell about 20% to either moms or families in general.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, I could see that.

[Cody Hanner]

And I see that a lot at homestead conferences. They come up, they're like, I love this because another thing is it's written kind of traditionally. I wanted it to somewhat mimic like the textbook learning, but that it could be even used in an unschool setting or however the family feels works best for them. But a lot of, you know, moms our age, they see it and they go, this looks like the way I learned.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Uh huh.

[Cody Hanner]

And so it fits the way their brains are already wired to learn.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right. That makes sense. Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

And then makes it easier for them to fit that for their kids.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yes.

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

And I'm sure, like a lot of things you're mentioning, I was thinking, okay, those kind of build on each other. So you don't necessarily. Is it organized by grade level or is it kind of just like once you get through this, move on to this type of thing.

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah. I mean, I don't, I don't know that I would even know what seventh grade homesteading is.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, well, that's exactly. I mean that's with homeschooling in general, you don't necessarily think of it that way. But sometimes when people haven't homeschooled. They typically think of it in grade level and it's hard to kind of reframe your mind around that. That's not really how life works. But I wasn't sure how you organized is hard.

[Cody Hanner]

I have it broke down for like lower division elementary school, upper division elementary school, and then I have a junior high and high school version and then I have some mini units that kind of walk it work in like I have a high school specific economics course that just kind of goes deeper. A junior higher could take it, but it's more focused for that high school level.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

And so then I. Each level is more based on maturity level, math level, kind of just some of those pieces that, you know, for a five year old, they really only want to, you know, I have a barn on my homestead. I'm super excited for that. The little kids, they build their own homestead on a big poster and so they, they learn about a barn, they build a barn, you know, that type of thing where then the next age group up, they learn why barns were historically red, why there's cross pieces for structural integrity. They make their own homemade red paint. So they're getting a little bit of history, a little bit of chemistry, kind of all those pieces. And then when they get to the older grades, they learn how to work all the power tools to build a barn or, you know, at least an explanation of it. And they watch videos, I have linked videos that are either my own or I pre vetted them to make sure they aren't just selling you something or foul language or something. And so they learn how to work all the tools, they learn how to calculate angles, how to measure, you know, just kind of all those pieces. And then there's, you know, they learn about painting and insulation and budgeting and how to even buy land that already has infrastructure, Right? Yes. So it kind of just builds based on an age level.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. It's amazing how many different things you can learn through homesteading. And the more you mention, the more I'm like, oh, yep, yeah, you do have to encounter that like at some point in your adult life, if you go on to pursue a homestead, you're going to encounter that. Maybe you're going to learn it the hard way or maybe you'll have a little bit of background to understand, if nothing else, the economics of it. Like you mentioned raw land and infrastructure. And those are all really important pieces and be better to encounter it when you're a kid than an adult. Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

And even if they don't retain every piece of it, that's okay.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Well, that's. Any education you're not.

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah, yeah. One day, like, I mean, I know like with you, you started out, you know, in town in your farmhouse and then you move to a larger place, right?

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Huh? Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

So you were probably, you know, okay, like, we had our, you know, farmhouse thing going on here. Now we need to buy a larger place and what do you mean there's no water at the barn? You know, like in those types of conversations that you don't even think.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. Things you never think about unless you're doing it. Yeah. Huh. So then, yeah, we in the middle there, we. We had a place that was a small homestead that already had a house and a barn and electricity and all that stuff. Water, not water. To all the places we did have to run that. But then, then now we're. We have raw land that we've added electricity, water, septic, barn, you know, and so just taking it a step further and learning even more. And I think that's one of the beautiful things about homeschooling. It's like one of the most beautiful things about homeschooling is even if you're not specifically teaching them something, when kids walk through life with you because they're just around you all the time and they have to be inconvenienced by going out and meeting the guy that's going to run the lines for. You know, they're. They're very much around your life and what you, what you're doing. But even if you're not homesteading, I like that your curriculum walks you through those scenarios that you might not encounter if that's not something you're pursuing, but you have a child who's more interested in that.

[Cody Hanner]

And, you know, this really came a lot from my now 20 year old. When he was 15, he said, hey, can I stop going to school and just get a job? And my husband and I were like, oh, thank goodness.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

A lot of boys do this.

[Cody Hanner]

Like, I've heard there was no way we would have been able to teach this kid through high school. I mean, he has really severe adhd.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

I've heard this from so many boy moms. Like, it's so weird because it's so natural. Like, why do we even stop it? But anyways, go on.

[Cody Hanner]

Well, yeah, I mean, they. He has ADHD and odd. So, I mean, already, like, I was up against a challenge, but honestly, I think high school should be vocationally focused anyways. Like, I don't think we need to be going and taking all these advanced sciences and Englishes and stuff. Unless you're planning on being my language and English. Unless you're planning on being an English teacher.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

So I, you know, I kind of feel like with him when he was 15, it was like, can I just get a job? We're like, yes, please, yes.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

I have a 12 year old who I'm who like. And I didn't feel this way with my older kids, but this one particular, I'm like, I cannot wait till you can finally go get a job because you just need to, you need to do that.

[Cody Hanner]

I have 17 year old twins, boy, girl, twins. And they are both very academic minded.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

And so yeah, there's kids like that.

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah. Like my son reads textbooks for fun, but then he's reading like the history of farm mechanics and my husband does mechanics for the neighbor's farm. So then he goes with him and he's learning it in a hands on way. And the farmers there were even at one point like, hey, we have this old tractor, we don't even know if it runs. Like, do you guys think you could look at it? My husband's like, I don't even know what it is. And my son's like, oh, I know. And they ended up getting it running together.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Wow.

[Cody Hanner]

Like fabricating parts and everything. So even though he's not, I mean he is a hands on kid, but he's definitely more academic.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

Whereas the 20 year old, he was like academics. No thank you. I'm pretty sure you invented math to ruin my life.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, yeah. And my dad, he described school to me like what it felt like for him. Like he just, and he's such like, he's a very successful guy. Like he ended up very successful, but he just, school was terrible for him. And I can see one of my kids is just like him and I'm like, you just have to go like try stuff. Like I can't like did this. Yeah, I agree. Like math. Why? I mean he'll, when he needs to know it, he cares. But when it's just an artificial setting, it's like he cannot get his brain to care about something so fake. And I, I'm kind of that way. So I kind of understand. But then again, I was a pretty good student, but I like to do it. Yeah. Yes, exactly. Like not just like a fake problem. Like I need to actually go figure this out while I'm, you know, like this kid, he always has new business ideas. I'm like, I just cannot wait till Like, I didn't want my daughters to get their. Like, my oldest has her license. I'm not. I don't love it. Like, it's great. She's in, she's independent, she can go places. But, you know, I'm like, scared and I don't like it. But then with him, I'm like, I almost.

[Cody Hanner]

My 17 year olds don't have their license yet, so.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay, yeah, my daughter will be 17 this month. And she, she drives. You know, obviously we have rules on, like, certain things, but she drives. But my son, I'm like, the one that's this particular child, I'm like, I almost cannot wait till you can go do your own thing, because you need to.

[Cody Hanner]

Have you ever heard of strewing? So it's where you put out things that you hope the kids will pick up and want to learn about.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay.

[Cody Hanner]

But you don't force them to do it. Like, because I've definitely brought home an art project. I'm like, hey, we're going to do an art project. And some kids are excited and some of them are like, no. And you're like, guess what?

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

You're doing it anyways, right? Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

Strewing is more. I would like, bring it home, leave it on the kitchen table and not say anything to anyone. And if they do it, great. If they don't, that's okay too.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

What's. What's an example?

[Cody Hanner]

Like, one of them that I always like is you start like a documentary on the TV and then leave the room and see if, when they come in for their TV time, if they just go ahead and watch the documentary or if they. Okay, so that's one, you know, maybe pick up a book on, you know, like, my one son is really. He loves to draw. He's eight. And so I picked him up a drawing book at a homeschool conference. But I didn't say, you're gonna sit down and do 30 minutes of drawing a day. I just tossed it on the table and didn't say who it was for. And then he's like, skirting around it. Like, I want to look at it. I don't know if I'm allowed to look at it. And then he's like, mom, can I

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

look at the book Psychology here? Yes.

[Cody Hanner]

Right. So I have been told, you know, moms who strew are trying to manipulate their kids.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Well, I mean, yeah, with my 115

[Cody Hanner]

year old, like, somebody told me that. And I was like, oh, Yeah, I was 100 trying to manipulate this kid. Like, try to get him to do anything. But, I mean, I think it's kind of what your goals are on that. I bought a book called, like, Homestead Building Projects or something.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay.

[Cody Hanner]

And I put it on the table, and I said. I told my husband. We had it, like, kind of scripted, you know, Like, I told him this whole plan of, I need trellises for the garden. I don't have time to build trellises. My husband cannot build anything. Like, it's kind of. It's a little sad. He's an amazing mechanic, but he. He built a pig hut one time, and it just.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Oh, yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

So I put this book out, and I talked about how I needed a trellis, and I hemmed and hawed about it and complained that I didn't have time to do it. And next thing I know, this kid's over here flipping through the book. Well, what are you trying to do? Then he's out there looking to see if we have the stuff. Then he's coming in and being like, so I need three legs this length, but I only have wood. You know, like, what do I. And, you know, what does this word mean? I can't read this word. How do I add this? It's in fractions. I hate fractions. You know, and so. And it even gave me opportunities where I could say, hey, I hate fractions, too. I actually don't. And I showed him how he could calculate a fraction with his calculator or how he could look up the conversions, because I realized that he's not the kid who's ever going to get it, but he was very interested in construction, so he's going to have to be working with it all the time. So why don't I just give him the tools?

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right. Yes.

[Cody Hanner]

He ended up building me three chalices, then found a place where he could source free materials, and he started selling those trellises, and he was trying to hustle them to the neighbor, and the neighbor offered him a job in his maggot farm. That's a whole nother story. He ended up working the maggot farm, where he could feed our animals first and then go work at the maggot farm. And then from there, he met a guy on the fire department who offered him a job as an electrician's apprentice. And he did that for five years, and now he's trying to start his own business.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

So, yes, I was absolutely trying to manipulate him, and I wouldn't change that story for anything.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Well, and, I mean, we. Any education when, you know, kids go to school too like there's certain things that they just, they have to do. You make them do it. So in this way, I guess at least when, when something is their own idea. I would say maybe not always, but especially boys, sometimes it makes them take more ownership of it and it makes them more excited to do it. I find it interesting. My older kids, my two oldest are girls, but they're always doing things that I think I would have had to, that would have been like an assignment at school. And you guys just came up with it as something fun. It happens all the time. Like I'm like, oh, you just did a creative writing project.

[Cody Hanner]

Like, cool. You know, my kids found a turtle and it turned into like a two week long unit study that they were like designing themselves. Like my high schoolers and my 8 year old. Exactly. Doing it together. And I was like, have fun. They're looking at videos, they're drawing pictures of turtles. They're looking for books about turtles. Right. They built a whole little like aquarium for turtles, but ended up putting a praying mantis in it. You know, like it. Yeah, it was a whole thing.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yep. Yeah. My. I, they, they'll do unit studies too, if you put it that way. Like, there's things that they get into. And I'm like, you just took that really far because you had free time and you had the supplies, you know, the time, the tools and just the space to do it. And so that, believe it or not, actually does happen. I, I'm always amazed thinking like, that would have been an assignment. I didn't have to even come up with it. Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

And you know, I actually, I noticed in some of the questions that people sent in that one of them was like, you know, how. What do you do when kids have questions and you don't know? You don't have the answer. Yeah. Do you look it up or do you make them do it? And honestly, it just depends on the child.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

And like, but that's, yeah, in the day. Some days I'm like, I am sorry, I do not have the time, but here's the tools. Go ahead. Sometimes it's like, okay, yeah, let's look this up together.

[Cody Hanner]

And I think them seeing that I don't have all the answers, but that I'm willing to be a lifelong learner.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yep.

[Cody Hanner]

Is like the key on that one. And, and you know, we, we always have the conversation of whether or not they should be on, you know, tablets or electronics. And I always say, hey, they're a tool. And if I can teach my kids to use them As a tool. And sometimes that tool is for entertainment, but not always.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

Then, you know, so it's like my 8 year old will be in the car and he's like, hey, mom, why, whatever. And I'm driving and I don't know the answer. And so I've taught him how to, you know, do the voice thing to

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

look up an answer.

[Cody Hanner]

And then we end up having this really long conversation. Once he gets his. Once we get the answer. But I'm not looking it up. He's getting a little bit of, you know, electronic time or something, but I'm not just like handing him a tablet and sending him away.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. And I think those questions typically come from moms with really small children. And you still can. Like, you have a very like, controlled little environment and you're still picturing every child as age 3, which I understand because I was also once a month age 3 and 1 year old. But then when they're so much older and teenagers, you're like, wait, like they're going to use these tools. Like, it's not like you're going to. Because of how you, what you do when they're three and four and five, which, that is a good time to mostly avoid screens. That's, that's great. But for, at some point in their lives, they're going to have that tool and they're going to use it whether you would want them to or not. Just like you do. Just like you're listening to this podcast right now.

[Cody Hanner]

Right.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

And so you at some point decided that having access to the Internet was a good thing for you. I think that's typically, it's just kind of forgetting. Like, I, I don't know. When I was a young mom, it was really hard for me to picture what it would be like having older children. And it's just so different.

[Cody Hanner]

You know, there's some parts of it where I'm like, I am so happy with, with where we're at. Like, I never imagined it being like this. And then there's days where I go, I wish I could have done something better because I never imagined it being like this. And I think both of them are okay. But you know, I have, you know, 17 year olds and I have, well, I mean, I have them up into their 20s. My stepsons are in their 20s.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

That I've been raising them since they were little.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

But my two teenage twins, they're the ones that I. There was a single mom with them. They, it was me and them while I was in college. Like I used to say us against the world, you know, and.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Huh.

[Cody Hanner]

So I have a different relationship with them, but yeah, I pictured a lot of stuff that would be our relationship. That even when they were little, before I was a homeschooler, they would come to me sometimes when I was busy and have questions and I didn't have that opportunity to tell them. And we used to keep a whiteboard in the kitchen to put like the grocery list. So I would just take a second and write down what they wanted to look up and we would like do it on a Saturday afternoon, like make projects of it. Now as 17 year olds, they. The things I see them do and the way they advocate for themselves is really amazing. They both have neurodivergencies and they handle that. And like my daughter, she really wants to be a vet, but she's severely dyslexic. She's teaching herself honors biology this year and she does most the work, but has me read to her out of the textbook so that she's getting all those words right.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay.

[Cody Hanner]

And she's like, I could use the audiobook, but I feel like us being able to conversate about it would be better. Whereas then she knows her spelling is really bad. And so she asked if she could get explode the code and do phonics with her little brothers this year to help her learn while she's doing it. And she's like, that's that way I can learn. But I'm not having to do that curriculum because I would purposely scan over it going, oh, I know that. Because she's like, I know it. I know the rules, but I can't use them in practice. So I have. If I have to stop and explain it to them, she's like, hopefully it'll rewire my brain. And I'm like, oh,

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

yes.

[Cody Hanner]

She's like, can you make a real about it, mom? I was like, oh, I absolutely will. So then that was fun too, helping it, because she helps me run my business and so she's always got that business mindset. She's been doing the shipping since she

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

was 13, so that's awesome.

[Cody Hanner]

So you hired a full time assistant. And my husband's like, are you gonna give the shipping to her? And I'm like, no, Savannah's got it. Like it's.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, you don't want to re. Explain that to somebody else when somebody's so good at it already.

[Cody Hanner]

So they were. They work together and I don't have to touch it anymore. The assistant does the customer service. My daughter does the shipping.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

That's amazing.

[Cody Hanner]

So, yeah, she's also great. Like, we go to conferences, and she'll be like, mom, how many tables do we have? How many people are coming? Is it a Homestead conference at a homeschool conference? And I tell her, and she does all the ordering for it. She packs everything. She goes. She travels with me to most of them. And we get there, and she's like, mom, you go network or go speak or whatever it is that I have to do. And she sets up the whole table and runs it, and it's just such an amazing. And she. Even somebody was kind of giving her a hard time about the whole homeschool concept the other day, and she's like, I can run a business. Can you? Right?

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. Seriously. I love that confidence. Yeah. It's amazing. To me, teenagers are so, like, they just. There's so much they can do. Like, I'm always giving my oldest daughter and my second oldest, like, jobs that I'm like, hey, can you handle this? Just, like, anything. Like, they can handle so many things. Like, if we were to have a family gathering or something. You know, when you're a young mom, you need to think through the menu and what you're gonna get for that. And I'm like, hey, can you please go get all the things that we need for this and make it. And then. And then, like, completely, like, plan the whole entire party. Like, they could do all of that.

[Cody Hanner]

Oh, yeah. My daughter did Thanksgiving all by herself last year, and we had two families, like, coming to visit, and I was just like, it's busy season for me. And she's like, I got it. Like, we're good. So.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, they can totally. They're just capable of so much. Like, it's like another two more adults in the house is what it's like.

[Cody Hanner]

And then afterwards, she's like, I got a lot of videos, Mom. So do. Where do you want me to upload them?

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

That's awesome.

[Cody Hanner]

But then, you know, then I. Sometimes I'm reminded that they're teenagers because she does things like, hey, Mom, I forgot my password. I don't know how to log in. And I'm like, did you try?

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

I know, yeah, there's. There's.

[Cody Hanner]

I'm like, did you try just clicking in the box? Because I saved all your passwords for you in Chrome. And she's like, oh, no, I didn't do that.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, well. And, you know, they sleep in. You know, you're like, okay, it's 10 o'. Clock. Like. Like, because we had a busy weekend. And then teenagers can do things like that. You're like, no, you need to get up and do things too. Like it's not, I guess it's not totally like an adult because yeah, my husband, yo, he's gotta wake up and get busy.

[Cody Hanner]

But my husband's out of town right now because my father in law is not doing well. And so our 17 year old son is running the whole farm which he usually actually does. Like he's kind of my, he's autistic and he runs, but he runs our whole dairy. It's his dairy that he started when he was 12. And so then with that I'm like if you're up there feeding your cows every morning, you're feeding the pigs. My, you know, dad will handle other stuff. And with my husband had to leave in like 36 hours. It was like I have to walk out the door and my son's handling everything. He's like hey mom, we're out of hay. Like can you make arrangements to go get some? Like we're out of firewood. I'm just gonna go cut some. And like I just, I was like, oh, you know how to use the chainsaw? He's like, yeah, I've been using it for a couple of years. I've never really the maintenance by myself. But he's like I think I got it. I'll call dad if I have questions. I'm like, I'm not going to touch it then.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, it's amazing.

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[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay. One of the Questions that we got, which I think is a good. A good. At least a good thing probably to end on is if you could give one piece of advice. And I know this whole episode wasn't about homeschooling, but whatever, it's a good one. To a new homeschooling mom, what would it be?

[Cody Hanner]

You know, I think we've touched on it a little bit, but it's, it's. Don't try to do all the things and do what feels comfortable. Comfortable to you, because I've tried. Like right now we're really busy in life and we're not hitting school every day. And honestly, that doesn't feel comfortable to me.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay. Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

Not that we do school every day anyways, but we're probably a couple weeks behind right now and that doesn't feel comfortable to me. And so I've scheduled time for myself every morning to do school. And even my husband's like, you're busy. Why are you putting school as a priority? I said, because it didn't feel comfortable to me. Me.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. You didn't like that. That, that made it feel like everything else wasn't. Like the pieces weren't in place.

[Cody Hanner]

But at the same time, when I was trying to do all the things and teach all the kids a different curriculum at their age level, and we do it for four hours a day and Bob, you know, like trying to check all the boxes while they're still, like they're wrestling, they're doing four H, they're, you know, all the things. And I was a mess and I was upgrading assignments and you know, like, Like a full time teacher.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right.

[Cody Hanner]

And that didn't feel good either. So, you know, do your research, find out, you know, like what your laws are for your state and stuff like that to make sure you are checking the boxes that you have to. But do what feels good to you and what feels good to your kids because the most important thing is your relationship and everything else will fall into place.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, it truly will. I was talking to a mom at an event we were at recently and she has several children. She has more kids than me. And she was saying that a lot of the homeschool moms that she knows do xyz and she's like, and I just can't seem to do what they're doing. I'm like, do they have like three or four kids? And you know, we were like, you know, because I'm like, usually the moms that say those things have like three or four kids. And it is just an Entirely different thing. Like you cannot compare what you are doing to them, but also your kids are getting different experiences that theirs aren't. And so they could be possibly comparing themselves to you in a way that really wouldn't be fair either. And you know, it's, I think it's just knowing what your situation is, like the ages, the personalities. Like you said, you have some autism, some adhd. That's a whole different thing. The number of children. Like you're, you have a blended family. Like, there's just different.

[Cody Hanner]

There's so many factors.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. And to, to think that there's like

[Cody Hanner]

my 8 year old is not planning Thanksgiving dinner. So if their oldest is eight, that's not happening there'? Yeah, exactly.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yes. So there, there's just so many factors to consider. And this mom, you know, like, even though older kids can do so many things, there's also like a lot of obligations that come with having older kids. And so you're, there are just a lot of moving parts with a large family, with a large age range. And then, you know, there's just, it just isn't one size fits all at all. And so I was, you know, I think that's an encouragement for younger moms is to just like you said, I mean, what feels, if it doesn't feel comfortable for you now, if it feels comfortable for you to sit and watch TV all day and like not do anything, well, that's, that's not going to be good.

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah, that, that's maybe not what I

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

meant, but I think, you know, homeschool sometimes has that stereotype like, like there's going to be these lazy parents who aren't doing anything. Absolutely not. It's just like if there's more things to do in a day than you can reasonably do from morning until night, like you're, you know, you stay busy all day long and you still can't get all that done, then something has to give. That's just not going to be. Yeah, okay.

[Cody Hanner]

You know, well, and then I also, I see a lot of all these, you know, new mental illnesses that everybody has and you know, maybe I have a couple of them too, but one of them is young, like moms our age talking about how their parents, what's the word for it? Parentification.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Oh boy, have I ever heard of that? Yes.

[Cody Hanner]

We were designed to be multi generational families. That is how we were designed as, like, as like humans. That's how God made us. And, and then that's how we've been sociologically for thousands of years. Stop trying to make it bad that I'm teaching my daughter to cook dinner because that's the skills she needs when she goes out into the real world.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Uh huh. Well, a lot of times it'll be the same, the same people because, you know, this is like an ungrateful, entitled sort of attitude. And so it'll be the same people who will say, like, I can't do things because I was never taught to. But then it's the same ones who are like, don't teach people to do things that are, you know, a lot

[Cody Hanner]

of times I'm like, if you cook dinner, then I have time to take you to go be a teenager.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Exactly. Oh yeah. And my kids have, like, despite some of the things they can help with, they get to be just teenagers, like way more than, than they, you know, don't like.

[Cody Hanner]

Then you probably think they do. Oh, we live 40 minutes from town.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

So a lot of times we have to plan them being teenagers.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Mine do. Like, there's just so many times where they have plans. And so Luke and I like, hardly ever get to go on date nights anymore. And I like that because I'm glad that they're teenagers. Like, that's, that's all good. But it's not like they're just always here to do whatever we want. But when they are here, they're really useful.

[Cody Hanner]

Although my daughter had a, like a date the other night. Like, she's 17. Like we kind of are just. I like that she wants to date while she's still at home to learn healthy habits. But I'm also not like, go do your thing, you know, but he's a nice boy, goes to church. His family owns a gun shop. So you know, I'm always good with that. And she, they were meeting at the gun shop and then walking to get something to eat. And I had something I had to do. And she goes, well, why don't I just take the boys? And she took her two little brothers with her. She was like, we had the best time. Like, she's like his grandma at the shop. Taught all the boys, the boys about like old coins and stuff like that that they had in the shop. They had a really good time. They had a conversational buffer. And it wasn't, you know, she was totally okay with it. There was no, like, oh, I have to take the boys.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Oh yeah. No, sometimes they come with that themselves. I think, like you said, the conversational buffer. We've been places where my teenager will grab the baby from me. I'm like, I know why you just hooked that child. Like, you know, like, hey, like, if, you know, if something gets awkward, it's like, oh, sweetie pie. Distraction. I know that trick.

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah. My daughter's the oldest at co op, so she definitely uses her little siblings to you know, either, like, one bridge the conversational gap or to get out of, like, maybe having to do class herself.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right, Right.

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah. Or she goes, I'll take your homestead science class this year, Mom. And I was like, cool. Then she's like, but, oh, I plan on teaching. And then, like, I don't know. She's. She actually has done a wonderful job. She's taught a couple of the classes herself. But at the same time, I know that that was her way of not actually having to take another class. So.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. No, it's. It's super fun having multiple age. Like a multiple age range. Like, people get really fearful of that when they're a young mom if they're thinking they're going to have a lot of children. Like, okay, what's it like when there's a big age gap? And it's mostly just really fun. And you won't believe how much, like, the teenagers enjoy their siblings truly. Like, it's not. People just think, like, if they ever see a teenager with a child, like, it was forced. No, they took that kid from me.

[Cody Hanner]

Well, and then I noticed when we switched, when they were all going to public school, they hated each other.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Okay. So that might be a dynamic that is more like, it's created. Not necessarily like a given.

[Cody Hanner]

It's a created. It's that. That stigma of, like, you fight with your siblings and, you know, that's what everybody's talking about and doing and, oh, my brother's so dumb, you know, and being home. They're each other's best friends. And within a year, I saw that shift. And they're still all really close. Even the ones that have moved out. They were their step siblings, but they had shared a bedroom.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

And a life for eight years. And they still talk on the phone regularly and they want to spend time with each other. And we went to a Halloween party the other night, and there was other teenagers there and partaking in activities that maybe I wasn't, like, all on board with. And I was. Somebody was like, oh, I was a twin and. Or I'm a twin. I had this twin sister. And I was like, oh, did you guys hate each other like mine do? And he's like, they're sitting over there, like, talking and having a Great time together. I would have never talked to my sister like that.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

I was like, oh, so they just hate each other at home. That's cool.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. Yeah. It really is a beautiful dynamic. Not. Not always, obviously. Like, they fight too. Like, let's not. But yeah, it's.

[Cody Hanner]

I posted a real. The other day of the kids processing chickens, and then, like, my daughter turning and trying to stab her brother with a knife or with a scissor.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

I always edit those things out. But, yeah,

[Cody Hanner]

I edit those things in because.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. Yeah. You don't want to give a false. Yeah. Depiction.

[Cody Hanner]

You know, I. I kind of feel like. And, you know, I don't have a YouTube and stuff. It's just too much. And my husband, being a veteran, has too much of a mouth, so I can't really do that. But.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

And I can add in, like, the silliness that's happening in our house that I'm not just, you know, somebody else processing chickens. Everybody's processing chickens and putting that online. Or not everybody, but everybody in our niche, you know.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Right. Yeah.

[Cody Hanner]

Yeah. But when I can put those fun family dynamics like I had, you know, five tips for when you're processing your chickens. Make sure you label the packages, make sure you wash your hands, that type of stuff. And don't trust teenagers with sharp objects. Little.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Little element of humor. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Tell the listeners where they can find you, your curriculum, your podcast, your socials, and what you have upcoming that you're currently talking about.

[Cody Hanner]

Definitely. So I have my book and Raising Self Sufficient Kids. It's an honest mom's guide to intentional parenting. You can get that both on Amazon or my website. And then I have my homestead science curriculum, which is, you know, for all grades. We're constantly adding new mini units and things like that that work for families. You can get that all on my website@the homesteadeducation.com that's also where you can find my podcast and, you know, kind of things that we have moving forward is we're working on a history course, which has been a lot of talk and a lot of excitement over the last couple of years, but I am writing it myself, so. Grace, please.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yes. Lots of time needed, I'm sure.

[Cody Hanner]

And every time I write something, then something changes, and I realize that I should probably come at it from a different angle, so.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Oh, yeah, I bet that does happen.

[Cody Hanner]

It's very challenging. And then. And I'm also just really trying to gather the. Rally the troops on making this change in the systemic issues that we're having in teaching from a young age and I'm working with private schools and charter schools and getting my program in there. I'm working with micro schools on getting FFA programs. We've been to D.C. talking about how to make changes in rural education and that type of stuff. So definitely make sure you hop over and listen to the things that we're doing on the site and and be part of the change for both your own family and for others.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Awesome. Well we will leave links down in the show notes the description box below. Wherever you're watching this or listening to this and people can go check that out.

[Cody Hanner]

I appreciate that.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Yeah. So thank you so much Cody.

[Cody Hanner]

Thank you.

[Lisa (Host of Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast)]

Thanks as always for listening to the Simple Farmhouse Life Podcast. My husband Luke and I and our kids work together side by side on our little homestead and use our blog, podcast and YouTube channel to reach other other homemakers, home cooks and homesteaders with practical recipes and daily family life. For everyday sourdough recipes, make sure to check out our blog, farmassomboon.com and to dig deeper, we do also offer a course called Simple Sourdough over at Bitbit ly FarmhouseSourdo course. That's all one word. Bit ly FarmhouseSourdo course. If you're looking to learn how we earn an income online, check out my YouTube course at Bit Ly Farmhouse YouTube Course all one Word.

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