Home..Homeschooling on the Ranch: Running an active ranch and homeschooling multiple kids with Allison Askew

Description:
Welcome to a special episode featuring Allison from Arrow J Beef, a homeschooling mama with a passion for raising critically thinking problem solvers, healing our food system, and entrepreneurship. Join us as we delve into Allison's journey of homeschooling her three kids on their ranch, exploring her unique approach to education and family values while running Arrow  J Beef.

Key Concepts:

1. Homeschooling Beginnings: Allison shares her journey as a first-generation homeschooler, guided by a deep conviction and calling to provide a personalized education for her children.
2. Entrepreneurial Spirit: Discover how Allison's commitment to quality led her to establish Arrow J Beef, providing families with clean and nutritious meat options while balancing homeschooling and entrepreneurship.
3. Remote Living and Education: Explore the challenges and rewards of homeschooling in a remote setting, emphasizing the importance of family values and community support.
4. Overcoming Fears and Challenges: Gain insights into the fears and uncertainties of embarking on the homeschooling journey and how Allison navigated them with determination and resilience.
5. Redefining Success: Learn how Allison redefined success in homeschooling, embracing authenticity and flexibility over conventional expectations.

You can connect with Allison here...
arrowjbeef.com 
@arrowjbeef on instagram
info@arrowjranchwife.com

Transcript

0:02

Hey there loves, I'm Alia Darachung and this is The Conscious Family Project, where we take the insane amount of homeschooling, parenting, and family lifestyle information out there and break it down into simple, actionable steps that set your unique family up for success. It is time for your brave decisions to reap big rewards, for your family life to be brimming over with joy, for your relationships to be meaningful, connected and fun, and for you to fully step into the freedom that the conscious family lifestyle has to offer. Hello everybody. I have a very special treat for you today. My friend Allison from Arrow J Brief is joining us. she is such, just such a genuine, authentic, wonderful person and light to be around. And she has been homeschooling her. Wait, three, four. Yeah. Three kids, three kids. That's what I thought. Three kids on their ranch. Which is so cool. So I can't wait to talk to her today. Just as like one side note, one of the things that the, one of the ways Alison has blessed my life recently is that my youngest, who wouldn't eat meat at all Only eats arrow J beef and he eats a lot of it. It's the best. It really is the best. So and I love your guys commitment to making sure that you've got something really clean and wonderful that families can enjoy. So so grateful to have you here today. How are you Allison? I'm well, thank you for your kind words. I'm so happy to be here just to chat with you. Yeah, we're going to have a good conversation. So I always start with the same question. How did you come to homeschooling? I think that's a great question because I think a lot of us just really have unique stories and it's good for us to hear how everyone else kind of entered into their journey. I really don't have a grand story to tell you actually. I was raised in the public school system I am a first generation homeschooler. My younger sister did have her family before me and she has been homeschooled. So that's been a big blessing to have someone else to kind of go to as I start my journey. But you know, honestly, even though I wasn't homeschooled, it was just something I think God just put on my heart. It was just a conviction and my husband was not homeschooled. He's also, we're the first generation, he had the same inkling and I couldn't really tell you exactly why. Other than I just really felt it was a calling for us and a conviction for us. You know, we do live in a very remote place out in the middle of nowhere and a lot of people assume, Oh, you must homeschool because there's no school around, but I would be homeschooling, no matter where we lived. And so we had our children and I was still kind of, even though I. I had that gut feeling that I wanted to do it. I think for a lot of us, first generation, you just need that extra shove. It's scary. It's scary. Thinking, literally going into the unknown, the biggest thing you'll ever take. And. You know, I had a very, very skewed image of what I thought I should be doing when I started this. I was, I was going thinking I need to mimic school and how am I going to do that? And obviously I know now that is the furthest thing you want to do, but it was very intimidating. So as my, as we had our kids and I just was kind of researching how I was going to enter into my homeschooling journey. The icing on the cake was confessions of a homeschooler. I think that's her site. I have not, I actually don't school like her at all, so I haven't been to her site since, but she has a really amazing spot on her website where it says why we homeschool and she just had listed all these verses out of the Bible and. That was it. That was all I needed. You're like, yes, that's what's been pushed on my heart. Yes. Yeah, I love that. That's awesome. So, okay, so that's not your style of homeschooling. What is your style of homeschooling? Where did you guys, after you went through the de schooling process, right? The releasing of all those things that we thought were important for education and we found out were just institutional stuff. Where did you land? What would you say is your homeschooling style? So I am five years in my kids are 10, nine and six got five years under my belt. And to be honest, this is the first year I'm actually feeling really good about our schooling and like I have a good perspective on what it is. And I have learned with our lifestyle. My schooling style is, it is simply a tool. It is simply a tool in my toolbox for the rest of our life. Yep. We're very blessed to have our lifestyle, very blessed to have our ranch and be able to work together as a family and live day in and day out together as a family. So my kids are learning so much in everything that we do that, you know, when I started it was. Here's school, and I'm going to revolve everything else we do around school and have these set hours. Just like school, we're going to sit down, do our school, and we'll see what we do around that, but school is priority. And yes, I still, I really try to stick to a routine. I like consistency for my kids, Well, I would like to say we have a really strong rhythm in place. I, I am a person of consistency and routine and God sure had a sense of humor when he had me marry a rancher. Things get thrown in your life. At a moment's notice constantly but for the most part, I do know the importance of routine and having that rhythm and structure. So we have that. But again, it's not what we revolve our whole life around. I used to keep school more of a priority. And then once I started learning and getting confidence, which the confidence came because of little successes we had. As I started seeing my kids having success stories and learning as we were working together, I really had the confidence to say, okay, we, You know, school is just what we do to better what we're doing outside. Do you remember one of the first success stories? Is there one that sticks out in your mind? Absolutely. We were branding our cattle. And when you do that, you put the ear tags in the calves. And my daughter, I don't remember how old, it was last year, the year before, she was having a really hard time with three digit numbers. Okay. You know, it's like one hundred fifty six, really hard. And we had done that for about, we had been going over it for like two to three weeks, the math. And then we had to go out and brand. And she spent the entire day logging every calf, its number and whether it was a bull or a heifer. And after that one day, it was never even an issue. Oh, that's beautiful. I love that. That is beautiful. Oh, that's awesome. It's that hands on real life. There's a, there's a purpose to it. That connection. I always talk about like how we actually learn and how our brain actually brings in new information. It has to connect to something else. So having like a real living thing in front of you that needs your attention and care that that information has to, it opens so many file cabinets to attach to, it helps it find its way. I love that. Right. Oh, that's such a beautiful story. That's awesome. Yeah. I am so glad that you found that confidence because it really is learning is life. It's not something that has to be compartmentalized. It's a part of how we live. So, okay. I know everybody is going to want to hear this. What is a typical and I realize there's not probably a typical day on a ranch, but let's say like, what would a typical homeschool day look like for you guys? What does it look like to have that, that complete fusion of life life on the ranch and learning together? Right. That's, that is like the number one question everyone wants to know, like there is no, you're right. No typical day. You know, it changes with the season. So a real ideal day for me is we get up, we do morning chores. And the kids come outside so they get that outside time, the activity, and which I think really benefits the kids when it comes to learning instead of just rolling out of bed. Well, and heavy work, right? Like lifting bales or whatever, like I'm not sure what their morning chores are. Yeah, they they feed the chickens or they do help feed the livestock. I mean, it's, Snowed the other day. We're in Northern California, so while you guys are enjoying the sunshine, it snowed the other day, so my six year old is out shoveling snow off of the speed trap, which he loves, you know, so it just a whole bunch of different stuff, which that we could get on a side tangent too, because we don't really have designated tours. Because my husband and I really have to fill in for each other a lot. So our kids have learned that instead of just having one specific thing to do, we know what needs to be done, fill in the gaps. See what someone's doing. Go do something else. So that is a skill set that a lot of adults struggle with. Right. So right there, they're learning, they're getting fresh air, they're getting the sunshine, maybe some grounding. And then we come in and I usually get the kids set up with things that they don't need. My assistance with obviously I'm here, but we don't have a school room. We just sit at our dining room table. That's the perfect place. And I start breakfast way. They do things like penmanship and spelling and things that they're more independent on. And then I bring in their breakfast. We usually then do a Bible study and move on with our day where I can be available. To really work closely with them. And after ages, there's someone, someone needing. Your attention, full attention and deep help on something they're working on. So, and it's a couple hours of pretty, I mean, I don't want to say intense homeschooling for me. It's for me, it's intense because you've got all the people, tell the people, yeah, that's where a lot of deep breathing helps. And you know what, I, we only stick to homeschooling a few hours a day. I mean, maybe. That's beautiful. Three hours tops, maybe. And that's if I am doing every single subject and I really try to follow the feel of my kids. Learning. I want them to actually learn. I don't want to sit down. And if they're really struggling that day mentally, then I try to shift and we might focus on one subject more than a different subject. So we still have, we still have our rhythm of, I find they do very well if we keep the subjects in order every day because they know what's expected of them. You know, when everybody likes to know what's going to happen, everybody. And I think sometimes we underestimate how important that is to children when we, as adults want to know, it's like, if somebody invites you somewhere and they're like, okay, we're going to meet at five and you don't know what's going to happen next. You're probably not going to know, but then we are, we forget that, that it's reasonable and makes sense that kids want to know too. So I love that you do that. Yeah. Yeah. And I, you know what, that's how I approach all of their schooling. I think, like you said, I think we put such different expectations on our children and schooling. Well, in society, then We behave as adults. And yes, there are times we have to work through a subject or get a job done that we don't feel like doing. We got to push through it. But I tried to take even those opportunities to teach my kids. You know, my son can't He will write all day long if it's on his own. He will not write in a writing assignment. When it comes to an English assignment, no way. He's a creative writer. He's the one that throws the yoke off. He wants to do it his way. Right. So. Then the focus isn't necessarily so much on that. You have to sit here and write, but okay, we're struggling with this, but it's something we need to learn how to do. So how do I take my, you know, teaching my son how to deal with that? Maybe I set a goal to write a certain amount of sentences and sometimes it's just getting up and doing jumping jacks, you know, and then sitting back down. So yeah, I really try to. I don't know if we can gauge where they are with certain things and we still go through all the subjects but maybe one I might just kind of go over lightly that day because if they aren't absorbing, then it's pointless. And I have definitely learned, but I think in the beginning I would panic, like, oh, they're not learning it. And I've learned now, time is everything, right? Absolutely. Absolutely. So now I see, okay, they're struggling today in this, but it doesn't mean they will tomorrow. So let me, I want to, I want to talk about that a little more because I think what you just said that in the beginning it would make you panic, right? It was like and then now you're in this place where you really are able to respond to them. What? Because really what we're talking about here, there's a fancy, a fancy name in neurology and in teacher education, which I'm not a huge fan of, but it's lowering the effective filter. We, we biologically can't form those new pathways and learn if we are starving, have to pee really bad. We're really tired. We are feeling like we have big feelings or emotions, your mind, what we were perfectly designed and we, our body prioritizes those needs over learning about fractions. Which logical sense, but it does when you're getting started and you don't necessarily feel comfortable, have that confidence you were talking about to trust the process and you feel that panic. It really is a stressful thing. And that's that de schooling process. Where was the switch for you? What was, what happened? Was there some, was there an instance that happened? Was there something, where was the switch for you where you were like, Okay, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna do that. Like, I'm not gonna panic about this. I'm gonna, we're gonna try something else. What was, what, what caused that switch for you? I don't know if it was, as my kids have matured in their age things that They're okay. You know, I still it's very easy in my mind for to creep in or the behind. Behind you is what we say. There's nobody there. Yeah. And also a big one was just stopping and saying, why? Yes. And again, because I grew up in the public school system. Mm hmm. You are taught just to go through something and we never ask why, or you weren't taught to think outside the box and you weren't almost like it's designed that way, right? Yeah. There is no critical thinking. There is no, why can't you do it this way? A lot of it has just been even the shift in my lifestyle and, and working horses in how we run our beef business. My husband is a, by nature, a very Outside the box thinker. Okay. His hero is Walt Disney, believe it or not. Walt. I mean, at his age, he was, I mean, I believe his success did not come till his fifties. Oh, and he had a lot of failures before, but You know, I'll compare it to the beef business because I think that's easier for me. But you know, you, a lot of people in consumerism, they hear Angus beef, black Angus beef, and it is all marketing. Nobody stops and asks, well, why is black Angus meat so great? There is nothing great about it. It's all that it's marketing and advertising. I don't know the answer to that. Yeah. It is all because someone chose to market it that way. So here we enter into the beef business. We run, it's a Corianne Angus crossbreed, which nobody uses Corianne for beef. But what we did was we matched cattle to the environment. So they really fry. We put them in a natural state, so our cattle never get sick. I mean, we you know, the Angus are so there's so much inbreeding and, you know, getting so exclusive that then they have problems calving and. Ranchers lose calves or lose cows. We have no calving'cause we have a 99% success rate in calving. That's awesome. Yeah. So, and then we have this great beef, but if any rancher outside looking in, saw what we were doing, we don't vaccinate, we don't have to use any antibiotics because we're just raising cattle as they should be raised and live. Mm-hmm. I think it's because nobody said, well, why not, why not do it this way? Why not match cattle to the environment? That's how they would have lived before, you know? Yeah, getting them back to the natural state. I, that, I mean, I knew that we've talked, we've talked about that, but I'm thinking about that. And like my youngest child, he, it's like, he knew right away. Like, you know, I mean, like there's a, there's an intuitive piece there too, that like my youngest child, it's like, we would give him steak. We bought from a grocery store. We don't do that anymore, but you know that we bought from a grocery store and he's like, I'm not touching that at all. Like that's gross and yucky. And then we make the steak from, from that we get from you guys, it looks like, I mean, without realizing it, like it looks. It's me. It still looks like me and he downed it and he loves it. There's, but that makes so much sense that why not bringing it back to nature and asking questions about like why we're doing things the way that's how institutional schooling got to run amok anyways, is that people were just like, well, that's what they did. So that's what we do and didn't ask those questions. Exactly. And that's how we got to commercially raising our food. And then we have, because it's not. Nature's way of doing it, that's when we start giving the antibiotics and the growth hormones and everything like that. We'll bring it back around to our children. The way we have schooled has led to so many other problems. Ands education. Yeah. Well, and interventions required. Interventions in childhood where it's like, you know, when kids were going up on ranches and getting up in the morning and doing heavy work and moving their bodies and learning and then getting back out in the sunshine, like there was a natural, there, there is a natural order to things where then you don't need the intervention of medications and things like that. Not We're not, we're not judging and it's nothing like that, but there is something to be said for the further we've gotten away from the way nature had things the way we intuitively know how to do them, the more interventions required and those interventions cause more interventions, right? And I think just watching my kids learn, like with my daughter learning the ear tags. And me reversing it and the numbers on the ear tags and me reversing it and going, okay, why does she have to learn how to say 152 in a classroom? Why can't she just learn it out here? And it was just little things like that that I realized, okay, yes, there's a foundation we can get by sitting at a table and going over you know, learning a new topic or subject or how to break something down in math. But then, us adults, we want to know the why. I do not want to go study something if I don't know the why behind it. Absolutely. I'm not going to be motivated. And if I don't, if I don't buy into the why. Right. You give me a why and I'm like, yeah, no, I don't, I'm not going to use that. I don't want that. Well, and I think what you're saying there is so, so interesting too, because we will say that the reason they have to sit there and learn it that way is so they can use it in real life. But then we would negate using it in real life as As valuable when they're not sitting at a table. It's such a weird thing. We got going. Yeah. And I just started to see so many things happening, like fractions. Yeah. When we got fractions of math, my kids have always been in the kitchen with me cooking and planting seeds with me. So they've seen fractions their whole life because you have half a cup, quarter cup, or even when you plant your seedlings. And so when we got to fractions, they were just like, yeah. We're like two weeks we already know it. That's the accordion, right? There's going to be things you spend more time on and then there's like, Oh no, we've got it. We can just move on through. Yeah. Well, in the gardening measurement, like measuring out the beds and how deep, and I mean that so much of that becomes intuitive because you're doing it. It's in your body. Yeah. And just what a blessing. I mean, I, I was bored a lot and I had no interest in things. I was a horrible history student and let me tell you, third grade history. I am learning more than I ever have. Interest there. And I don't, you can't have those. You can't make it interesting for 30 different minds when you're in a brick and mortar classroom and when it's given a certain amount of time. So yes, if, if my kids happen to get their English done that day in 10 minutes, because they get what a verb is, I'm not going to sit there and just do it over and over. It's like, okay, if you get it, we're moving on. And if not, we're going to sit and spend a little more time on it. And that's the beauty. Of homeschooling. Cause we, again, it's just a tool. Yep. I, I don't want to do school. You're like, I'd rather let's go do something else. Yeah. I want to get to work, you know, however we could make that happen. And also just keeping the perspective of what kind, what kind of child am I trying to raise? You're not trying to raise a child. I am trying to create, create. a strong, independent, critical thinking adult. And I think if you just keep reminding yourself as a mom, the end goal of why you're doing it. It really helps you in the day to day when you hit those hiccups and hurdles of, wait, just stop. Why are we doing this? Yep. Instead of just getting frazzled. Well, and doing that out loud so that they can see that you're trying to think critically about what you're doing too. Right. I think is, is beneficial. So you guys do about, you do a couple hours of school, you get through all of this wonderful, wonderful child led, child responsive, real world learning and joy together. So you're done like probably around lunchtime. Yeah. Yeah. So I usually do lunch and then sorry, I totally forgot. We were talking about. No, no, no. You're good. I just know that the listener is going, wait, but I want to hear the whole day. So yeah, we usually I try to finish by lunchtime. Because especially at my kid's age, I really want them to have it. Independent playtime. I the time we're done schooling, I'm don't want to see them. They don't want to see me break free. So I'll make some lunch and then I will do whatever housework I need to do. Change laundry, do the dishes, clean up the kitchen, whatever. But I do run our beef business. So I'm usually in our, my home office. Between one and four every day, answering emails, making calls, looking at future projects. It's, it's not all glamorous. So and that's when I love that I can work from home because I am here to shepherd my children, but I really try to push them. Okay, I need to get work done, so please go off, you know, be creative and play and independent, and I think it's really healthy for all of us. But like I said, it's nice being at home. So if you do overhear something or if they do really need you, family comes first, push something to the back burner and I'm here to just serve my family. And then by four o'clock, it's time to do evening chores again. Usually my husband's getting home cause he goes out you know, to do different prep, we have a lot of land, so he's either doing a project on what in one of our pastures. Or writing to check on cattle or doing something. He's usually getting home and we all do chores and we do dinner. And if it's summertime, we're right back outside till it gets dark at night. So we spend evenings in the garden or the kids ride dirt bikes and it's just, it. Right. To be able to have all that family time. Of course. I love that. Okay. So can we go back to the one to four? Cause I know moms are, what are they doing and how did you teach them that? Because really, I mean, a lot of, a lot of families, I completely agree. I think that's. A beautiful thing. I think that there's also a lot of support just in needing time to process after doing such intensive learning like mm-hmm. to have time to let those things sink in and to play. And so what kinds of things are your kids doing during that time? And what, do you guys have some boundaries or guide guidelines on, you know, when they come to mom, are you in, you said you're in an office. Are you kind of separate from them? Do you sit in the middle of it? Like, how does that, what does it look like? Yeah what it's just another room in our house that I turned into our office. And my kids are like any other kids, they could go to upstairs and go to the room, but no, they're going to be right by my feet. No, they want to be right here. Right now I have little ones knocking on my door to my office. So, I mean, this is, like. So, it's, I mean, it's very real and it is a struggle and trust you guys, I have days, I get nothing done. I have days where there is one fight after another. My children. I love them. I think in the grand scheme of things, they are great, great children that I really enjoy being around, but they are kids, and we do have our days. And some days, it's one fight after another that I'm constantly refereeing and whatnot. But it's just consistency. Time and time again, you know they do understand, and I I don't want to be a huge stickler about it. Like if I'm on the phone with customers, you know, if my kids are in the background, my kids are in the background because we are a family business. And you have to be okay with that. Yeah. And again, there's another question of why, Oh, well you should be more professional and not have your kids. I mean, I don't want them screaming and fighting, but why not have my kids were a family business? Why wouldn't I just have my kids? Here, kind of overhearing how I'm running our business and talking to customers because they do, they do why they hang on your words and they witness what you're doing. And it gets better with when they were really little, I knew I had very small windows. I know I decided to join her right now. Dad will be coming to look for him in just a second. I'm sure. But yeah, when they were little, I would have, I knew I had smaller windows to get something accomplished, but then it grows a little bit, grows a little bit and they learn. And we talk about it a lot too. I'll say, okay, mom has to do this for the business. I, it's not just go play. I have to answer emails. I have to make sure you're giving them that. Why? Yeah. And it is, and it's a family business. That's how we always present it. This is what we do as a family. This is how we, how we work together. So what kind of activities do your kids like to do during that time? Do they you know, if it's summertime, that's a weird outside outside. Yeah. And you know what? My kids will play in the dirt forever. They will. Think they're planting their own crops. They mimic our life a lot. They will go play in our corrals and pretend if we don't have any calves around, they'll pretend they're herding calves. They'll just play with the animals, with the chickens, they'll play in the dirt and make their own garden or mud pies and play kitchen. The boys take their BB guns. Yes, we have that lifestyle. Run out into nature, and they know gun safety laws or rules to follow already. And they, you know, we do have to watch for. Mountain lions. I'm sure not a lot of your listeners have to do with that right now. Watching out for mountain lions? There's other predators in the city. You never know. But you know, so we do have boundaries that they can't go out in. As they get older, they do respect them. In the winter time, they actually love books on tape. So sometimes that is their reward is they can sit and listen to a book on tape. They'll read Legos. Legos are huge in our house too. Yes. Yeah. Especially on like a rainy day or a day where outside isn't as fun. Yeah. Our winters are pretty harsh here, so it's a lot of times spent inside. We do have screen time in the winter time. I'd love to say we don't but that's just the reality of it. But again, like you said earlier, things are tools. It's a tool, right? Sometimes it's a tool that you, that you need, and that's. Well, I feel like when it's used as a tool and it's thought of that way, then that's what it is. And that's right. I mean, right. Right. We live in a world where you're not going to, it's not necessarily going to be a zero zero, zero access thing. Yeah. And we very, you know, my kids are not even in our schooling. The only resource I use that's online is a mad dog math. So they can just sit there and practice their math facts, but we really do a lot of hands on. So I feel like I can't, I have more leniency to use the television as a tool. And we of course have guidelines of what they can watch and things like that. And we all need that rest time and downtime. So in the winter time, there's more of that. My kids love board games too. So I love that they will play board games. They'll cook, we cook a lot more in the winter time and they'll be in the kitchen cooking with me. Time to bake and yeah. Yeah and you know what they just, we've really tried to nurture. experimenting on their own and being creative, which can be the worst. As long as they'll help clean it up afterwards. I feel like, I feel like that's the clincher. There's a few things that, you know, I'll, I'll be like, gosh, they're playing so well. And, you know, an hour into my work, I'll be like, oh, I better go check. And those situations where it's like, Okay, well, I can't really get mad because you were creative and what you did is really cool. But yeah, you can't do that. You're like, you know, we're not going to repeat and let's put that away. Maybe ask, but they're like, you told us to be self sufficient mom. So You're like, when it comes to like electricity, there's some things where I'm like, you know, let's not take apart dad's computer, you know? Right. So, I mean, it's a very real life in that sense too. It's not all great and we get ourselves into predicaments and all that, but I think it's just the consistency of having that rhythm every day of we do school, you know, I have to work. This is why we're doing it. They're starting to get to an age where they can help us to what does that look like? Cause I feel like that's, I feel like that's actually the, one of the best parts of running a business and homeschooling is that your kids, like you said, they're listening to how you're talking. They're getting a whole nother level of their education. So how are they able to help now? My kids are. Such the little entrepreneurs to possibly to a fault. I mean, all they do now is they're like, we could sell X, Y, Z. Everything is about selling something, but it's because we really want to be responsible with our resources. Like with the beef, they hear us, you know, we want to be nose to tail and really respect the animal and have a resource for all of it. So we're trying to be wise and good. So everything they do revolves around. Well, what business can we start? Yeah. And it, you know what, you're right. They have learned so much just by. Being by our side I think the biggest joy and now looking back, I can't believe how little they were when they did this, but they got it. We were going to farmer's markets at the time when we first started beef business. And since the kids were going with us, we wanted to give them something to be responsible for. So we let them start an egg business and they had to, they had to list, it was like a real business where. Okay, we're going to sell eggs will list every step you need to do to get to selling eggs and they had to write down the list of all the supplies they had to buy how much it was going to cost. Our kids have savings accounts, so they had to go to the bank. Take money out of there. I made him use cash. No, that's good. I understand. Yeah. Because it's all me. It's vapor otherwise. Right. So mommy took them to each store and we picked up all the supplies. And then when we went to farmer's markets they would sell their eggs, so they had to look at people in the eye, you know, have a conversation, which our customers are just the best. So we were so, so blessed by people really taking their time to talk to our kids and let them do their spiel. And then when they made their money, they had to come home and The first 10 percent they had to tithe, and then whatever was left, we divided into three, and I put just three jars out, three mason jars, and we would divide it up into three. And the first one was repaying the expenses they took out for the cost of the business. Then they also had to do one jar, a third of it was for future expenses. And then a third. Was you get to do whatever you want with this. Yeah. And that it was a little hard for me in the beginning. Cause I'm like my kids at six years old can't just go buy whatever they want, but you know what? That, that put a fire in them and for me to give them that freedom, they were already putting money in their savings account anyways, because a third of it had to go to see once they repaid what they took out that third, then what kept going into their savings. Because they had to save up. So they were already saving and you know what? They learned such responsibility with their money that way. That it was the biggest lesson that they learned and they love it. They love, you know, kids, they want, everyone wants to be older, right? When you're a kid, you want to grow up, you want your independence, you want your own responsibilities. And because we homeschool and because we work together as a family, The greenhouse that we have created for children. Is this greenhouse that makes them thrive of the way they see independence is I'm going to have my own business. I'm going to make my own money. I'm going to go spend my money how I want. I'm going to have responsibilities taking care of livestock and not that you have to live on a ranch to do that. You can do that no matter where you live. It's about making their work, their contribution valuable, right? It's when we do like the paper and stick crafty stuff and the things that like, Don't have the weight of real responsibility or real action in the world, then it doesn't ever get to that point where it gets fully integrated. Well, you're talking about having cash, putting in the heart, putting in the labor, like really figuring that out. And it's so, I think it's always so funny because their personalities always come out in this, like when, with the money left over, I have one kiddo who saved, I mean. will not spend a penny unless it is the perfect thing. But also struggles to make quick decisions. Right. And then I have a kiddo who the second he has a penny, it's like burning a hole in his pocket. And the next thing that walks by is going to get purchased. Right. And all of those things. But. Learning those lessons now with money that they're making and the, the stakes being low gives them that, that rich background and experience so that they'll make wiser decisions when they get older too. So it's, yeah, it's, it's giving them real meaningful things to do. Right. And it is like you said, the difference between the kids that they learn from each other, because like, it's the same way as when that Jess will save every dime and the one that spends it quickly. All of a sudden they see the other one by something grand that they really thought of and they're like, well, I want to buy something. Well, y'all already spent your money. So, and it's nature takes its course that way. And it's, it's, it's keeping life real, you know, and when we homeschool, we get to keep life real. There's no easy way out, especially living on a ranch. Our kids experienced the reality of business going up and down life and death on the ranch. Getting a hard freeze the first week of July and losing your entire garden on one night after a hideout. But those are such healthy lessons. You've been for us. I don't think us adults have it anymore. The world that's the way it's going. There's not a real sense of this is just life and things are not all in our control. We need to learn how to adjust to fit the situation constantly. And that was the hardest lesson for me to learn coming out of public school system. Was going with the flow and adjusting to meet this situation, or I would always wait because you're taught in public school to give your business plan where everything has to go perfectly. And I remember one of my bosses one time I actually, I managed. The equestrian center there in Huntington Beach for you. Oh, okay. Yeah. So even though, just so your listeners know, I, I'm from Orange County. This was not always my life, but horses were always a big part of it. And I remember I was trying to make every project we did. They're so perfect. And she said, sometimes you just have to take that risk and do it without everything being perfectly in line. And that, I went absolutely against everything inside of me. It was so hard to do that. And now looking back, I see how stifling that was and I don't want my kids to be stifled. So I guess there's another reason of how you feel more confident in your homeschooling. You start seeing life is real as in ranching. You do not know what's going to be thrown at you day in and day out is something new. Nobody can prepare you for what's going to happen. You can go to ag school if you want. But the reality of what actually takes place, it's real life. And I'm glad my kids are going to have the skills to learn how to just figure out the problem. Yep. That's what I want them to do. Be a problem solver. Don't whine. Don't quit. How you can solve it. Well, that's what, as you're talking about this, I'm like, that's how you develop grit, like that's how you develop a person. And this is something that has been talked about nationwide in the last, let's say 10 years or so where employers are coming out and they're like. People are made of glass like they come and they they'll do exactly what they're told in the way that it's done. And if it doesn't go right or something's off or it's outside, they shut down that that that willingness to be flexible to look at it and be like. This is solvable. I can figure this out and letting it be hard, letting it be, letting it be uncomfortable and not letting that be a reason to walk away. It's just part of the process is something that is sorely missing in our world right now. And I'm not, this is not like a judgment or an admonishment on anybody. It's just something that has been a byproduct of how we've done things for a long time. And it's missing, it's something we need and living in the hard and doing the hard and having things go wrong is actually really good for us and really good for for how we grow and develop. I, I, we I, I want to ask one more question before we wrap up. Can you tell us a little bit more about. How your business developed and did that grow alongside your homeschooling? Was that something that you, because I mean, like you're talking about how our world is changing. Our world is changing. Families are families who have been homeschooling are considering homeschooling. A lot of them are also. Looking at starting businesses or going out on their own for so many different reasons. Can you tell us, cause I, if I remember correctly, your journey was a little, this isn't the life you've had your whole life, right? Can you tell us what that was like? Like, did you have infants? Did you set this all up and have it running beautifully and then decide to have children? What, what was the journey like with that, with your business? Sure. And I think, you know, going back to me getting more confidence in homeschooling this year, I think a lot of it does have to serve to do also not just. successes with my kids. T of it. But how much her w over last year. And y it's I don't know ho boudreau. Yeah. You k just prepares your kids f It doesn't prepare them for life and why they're trying to keep kids in school for such a ridiculously long time, right? And I, I'm seeing that catch up and I don't want people to live in fear. I really, really don't let. Let's pull up our bootstraps. Let's be wise again. This is how we vote, right? Let's be problem solvers. Yes, be problem solvers. Live in the uncomfortable. So let's adjust. Move through, yes, yes, there is a solution. So I knew, so I did grow up in Orange County. Did the public went to LaSalle program for everybody. Yeah. The last two years though, because I did, I really, really struggled in school school. My brother and sister had no problem. They floated through school was not being a taught in a way. my mind was working. But I was still a bright person. It just, it caused a lot, a lot of stress in my life. And just, I knew there was proof in that my junior year of high school, I have the opportunity to transfer to Brethren Christian and just that change and having teachers Not that there's not intentional great teachers in the public school system. I am not saying that. No, but there's a lot of overwhelmed, overworked teachers in the public school system. And the change in environment, I thrived at Brother. But school still wasn't for me. I just, I was a worker and doer. But all that to say, growing up in Orange County, always a beach girl, grew up at the beach, thought I was going to marry a surfer. Saltwater kisses with my kids. I wasn't going anywhere. Five minutes from a mall, movie theater, grocery store, everything right by you. Yes. Yeah. I, I even worked for Paul Frank and Volcom for a while. You were all in on Orange County, Orange County, but again, horses were just kind of part of my life. And I did manage the equestrian for. Center for quite some time and it was just, it was a journey through horsemanship where as I was growing in my horsemanship and with these animals, my priorities changed. And it was all, it was all God too, because God had a different plan and I never thought I'd leave the ocean. And my priorities just changed and through a series of circumstances, I knew I wanted to reach. So, I take a complete, had a great job, great home, had, had everything that I had dreamed of in Orange County. You checked all the boxes. And at 33 years old. I left it all and I took a risk to leave to pursue this life and add that I wanted. And that's when I met my husband and he was ranching in central California in Folsom. And then the way we got on the beef business really was by accident. He had always had a cow calf operation. And then he had one of his bulls had broken its back and there was nothing wrong with him and other than he needed to be put down, he couldn't stand up so he didn't want the meat to go to waste. And here we have this, it was at the same time, 100 percent grass fed beef was really making its way into Main Street. Well, this animal was grass fed, grass finished, no antibiotics or hormones, pasture raised, so we turned him into ground beef. And there was so much meat. We just started giving it to our family and friends. And everyone came back and said, this is the best beef we've ever had. So that was like our test run. But at the same time, I did start to study. The benefits of grass fed beef, and then that led to realizing what was happening with beef in our food system. And it was pretty limited to just be and we just really felt convicted. We're like, you know what, it's really hard to find a good resource for this beef. Yeah. Let's be the resource. So that started our beef business journey. But once we got into even the beef business and then being in the food industry. Then our eyes were really open to government overreach. Labels mean nothing, you know and that's the worst. Yeah, it is. It is. And again, we, we streamlined our food. Like we streamlined our kids and education. And there were so many holes in the system. And we wanted to go back to how we felt things should be done. We want, we have built our entire business on building relationships. It is really, really important to us to take time. We know the beef will speak for itself. We try to make genuine connection. And we want people to know their rancher. Yeah. And that is such a lost thing nowadays. You know, I would have people come up at farmers market. I knew they were going to buy beef. We wouldn't talk about beef. We talked 20 minutes about their families, you know? Yeah. And it has been the most beautiful thing to do that. And everyone would probably. I'm going to run a business, you know what? People want authenticity. People want real don't try to fit in to the mold of having your kids homeschooled perfectly, having your business perfect. It's exhausting. If you try. It's exhausting. Yeah. And our kids would have a meltdown at farmer's market, but yeah, deal with it. You know, things aren't perfect. But I think. There's a real hunger for that in our society now because we've gotten so far away from it. And what an example to your children when you can choose to be the change. And that's what we did. We said, you know, what can we control? We can control what kind of business we run and we might do things real differently. But it's been the biggest joy to get to know families like yours. And every time we do have customers to be able to know, okay. I can't do it all, but I can feed that family a good nutritious meal. And then it just, and I didn't, I had never cooked anything but steak and ground beef. And all of a sudden I'm selling like brisket and ribs. And it was a learning curve for me. And you know what people would say, well, how do I cook this? And I would just be honest and say. I don't know. Let me get back to you. We're going to figure it out. And you know what? People don't mind. You don't have to. So, and it pushed me again. There's that comfort zone alley where it's like, Don't be afraid. Don't wait till it's all perfect. And you know, everything you know, in every store, everyone kept saying, Oh, you're like the pioneer women. And I said, no, we're more like the Donner party. Life has gone. You know, don't think, don't be fooled by social media. No, live to your own convictions. And you know, use it as a tool, but that we grew with the business, we figured it out when your children grew with the business. It sounds like, yeah, we were newly married. Then we had our kids and it, you know, for the moms out there too, that have the little ones. Yeah. Those And I know it sounds so cliche to say, and it's so much easier once they get a little older, but it is really hard when your kids are little. And here I had, for whoever needs to hear this, you know, I had sacrificed everything to follow this dream. Like I said, I left a job, a home and had to start from scratch. And we, I remember sitting at my kitchen sink one day and looking out the window and I, because I had my. My first two, they're 15 months apart. So it was like having Irish twins almost. Yeah, I'm very overwhelmed. My first child was really high need and I remember just crying because I went, oh my goodness. I sacrificed the salt and now I'm just looking at my dream out the window. And I love my kids more than all I ever wanted to be was a stay at home mom. I love that I could build this business with my husband. But there is a very real part of, I did all this and I've been on a horse in six months, I did all this. You know, I remember one day another family was helping my husband brand. Why I was at home with the little kids, because I forget why I couldn't be there and I was cooking meals for them. And that was really hard. Yeah. I don't think that's cliche at all. I think it's something that we don't necessarily acknowledge enough, but it is a season too. It's like, yeah, that time is it. And that's just what we've been talking about. Problem solving. Like it's just something you go through. It's a part of the bigger process. And you've been able to build this, this business Life because you push through those parts, right? Right. And you know what? You just start saying, okay, so what is the life I want to, what does it look like? And yeah, I can't. I mean, when the kids were little, trying to go outside and bundle them up in the snow, it was 30 minutes of bundling up for 10 minutes outside. I was going to go back again. Why not? Or why are we doing this? Stop. It's God has called each one. It is so easy to post a meme saying the world needs you, but whoever goes out there and goes against the flow of the system, it's okay. God made you to be your kid's mom, to parent, how you should, to school, how you should stop doubting yourself, you know, and create the life that you want. I'm that is why. Our forefathers fought so hard. They came for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And it's different for everybody. And that's good and beautiful. Yes. And if someone needs to school for eight hours a day, because that's how their family functions. Go ahead and do it. If you can do it in an hour, do it. You know, I'm, we use Rod and staff curriculum. Okay. Yeah, it is very straightforward. It is not really, and I had guilt about, you know, I was watching. I think I had, for those of you who might not know, it doesn't have like all the cartoons and the paintings and the, all the kitschy stuff, but it's a, it's been a longstanding, effective curriculum. It's very, very effective. It's very good, but it is down to business, but that's my personality. There you go. And I, you know, yes, we have to meet our children's needs and homeschooling. I think we forget. We have to meet our needs too. If I'm absolutely, I am quite, I. I mean, all the praises to the moms that can do all the crafts, because I dealt with that guilt for a long time because I'm not a crafty person, I'd rather go out and apply it to gardening or activities or cooking or, yep, I'm a doer. And in the beginning I thought, oh my goodness, I'm not. You know, there's not enough glitter in my house. Yes, glitter is outlawed in my house. I can't do glitter. It is not allowed. I'm not a glitter mom. So find that balance of what works for you as a mom because you're not going to be as an effective teacher if you can't, if you're hating it, you know? So yeah, we use rod and staff and it's really straightforward. And let's, because It's a tool to get us on with our day. But I totally forget what we were talking about to get us to this point. We were originally talking about digital business, how you started a business with a family and it's like you grew together. Yeah. Yeah. And you, you start to, you have to stop and take those days to go, hold on, but is this the life that I want? Yeah. And keep course correcting, right? Keep checking back in. And when I, this is why I always tell families to have a mission statement, get really clear about what it is because shiny objects come up all the time. Yeah. Things that distract you or take you away. And that those little, little things that steer you off the path that you know you want or even resentments or things like that, that can steer you off the path you want can take you in just a couple of steps can take you in a completely different direction. So I love that going back and just checking in. Is this what our goal is? Is this what we're called to do? Is this what we're supposed to be doing? Yeah, I'll note, you know, I have social media accounts just to try to share and encourage our life. I will never, ever be the person that posts consistently or has a rhythm in their social media because it ebbs and flows. There's times when I feel creative or we're inside or I feel I have a lot to share and then I will go weak. Yeah. And over my dead body, am I going to stop everything to be like, wait, I need to go post something about this. And there are times where I'm like, Oh, I wish I had my phone on because this is a really cool moment, but you know, it's not worth it. You know, it's definitely not worth it. And I don't, none of us want to get lost in that world. So just. And use everything as a teaching opportunity. I don't want my kids to know about social media. I don't. There's no way around it in our house because they use it for marketing. So it was the perspective I put on it in growth because our business, a lot of social media is great for advertising. A lot of my customers just wait for that post of, okay, we're taking orders. So they know. So my kids don't know about accounts. They don't know about likes. They don't know about followers, but I will let them sit there with me as I'm creating an advertisement. You know, it's another tool. Right. It's a tool. It's not a part of your lifestyle. It's not something that you're making an idol or priority. It's a tool that you utilize. Yeah. And we take it, we put it away. They don't see how many people see it but they have gotten great computer skills. Our, our one son this life is probably the best thing for him because it is not natural to him at all. You know, my younger two will, would be outside with animals all day long if they could. But you find it really is cool how it all comes together too. When you let people excel at what. They were meant to excel at so my son that wants to understand the business side of it, he, that's how we learned to use Excel because we keep all the cattle records on itself. And there's, there's a phrase in horsemanship, where this horseman said less time, or more time now for less time later. And I have to repeat that to myself, a lot, and the whole theory behind it is the more time you put into your horse now. Then they're just going to be this fluid flowing horse that you understand understands you and there's not so much work because you have this relationship and you understand each other. And the same with the kids. I am a, I'm task oriented. I would be very happy, leaving my kids inside and going out and checking everything off my list and doing it myself. And it takes a lot of intention on my side to, okay, if I want my kids. To be independent, strong thinkers. Yeah. I could break the ice on the water trough in about two seconds and it takes some 30 minutes, but you know what? I know it's going to pay off in their future. Yeah. And that just kind of is how our business has grown too, because then they do now they're at an age where they're actually helping and it's not taking five times as long. And this works for everything, making their bed, helping with laundry, working independently, like we're being able to do some of their home study independently, that you've got to put the effort in, in the beginning so that they can take those, take those skills and run with them. Yeah. So, you know, yeah, and then they get interest and sometimes their interest lead to our, our business growing we we have decided to diversify we were going to be just solely be. But just what we've seen with the food industry and everything happening. We really want to serve families so we've. The kids still do their eggs and now we're getting into chicken and hopefully we're very happy with our meat chickens. Oh, did you? So you know, just being able to serve others. And again, it's, we never thought we'd be getting into chicken. That's for sure. And that's the learning curve and having the kids by our side, even then, I mean the value of them watching their parents fail. Okay. Well, how do we fix this? How do we do it better instead of just quitting? Yeah. You know, I love it. I see a theme throughout our conversation. It's beautiful. Well, we really enjoyed the chicken. It was delicious. Oh, good. Thank you. And it doesn't always have to be working. You know, sometimes our winners are really hard. Our kids, they have that grit. They're not opposed to getting dressed up and going out and helping us with chores. There are days where it's... a little dangerous, and I have them just wait in the feed track, listen to books on tape, or they're just hanging out with us. But, you know, there's learning in that too. Again, they're seeing mom and dad, problem solved. They're seeing us working together for them. Yeah. So there's value. Just, you know, they learn, I swear they learn more when you think they aren't watching. Of course, and listening, you know, and faith in that process, right, right. So let your kids, you know, don't worry about the messy work days if you're working from home and if, if you don't, if you have a day where you get nothing done because the kids just are a mess that day. That's okay. That's why you're at home and it's still better than the alternative. Maybe that's what it what is the alternative. Yep. Yeah, for us, my husband's on the school board at our local school, because They needed a warm body and everyone, you know, so, you know, and you do the neighborly thing and we go to all the school functions to support them, but you also, you're being the change you want, you want voices to be heard. You get out and you show your kids that I love that. Alison, thank you so much for being with me today. There's been so many incredible. Beautiful nuggets of wisdom in the way you've chosen to lead your family and, and and live your life. It's beautiful. And thank you so much for sharing. How can everybody find you? Because I know they're going to want to learn more about what you're doing. And and of course they're going to want to taste all the wonderful things that you've got going on. Oh, thanks Ellie. So happy to be here. Yeah. So for just the beef business, we have arrow J. And that's on Facebook and Instagram. Make sure to put the links below too. Okay. So that focuses more on the cattle and the beef that we're selling and more business oriented. But then I also have the Arrow J Ranch Wife again on Instagram and Facebook. Because we really have. We're kind of crossed between ranching and homesteading. So, just showing that life of living day in and day out, building sustainability in your life cooking more from scratch, homeschooling more of a back to roof lifestyle. So, that's the... That's a little softer side of us over there. Perfect. I will make sure those links are below. Please go check out my friend, Alison. They are doing such wonderful things in really transforming the world. And I, I know that may sound cliche, but it is. But when you learn more about like what's happening with our food and the impact of that overall and in our world, I, I have so much gratitude for the work that your family is doing. And so please go check her out. Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope we can have you on again, because I feel like we have so much more we could have talked. I feel like we got the tip of the iceberg. I would love to chat with you. We'll have to bring you back for sure. Thank you again. And we will talk to you soon. Hey friends, if you'd like to continue this conversation or you're looking for more resources, be sure to head to my website at Ali Adair Chung. com. You can also go to the show notes for this episode to find great free resources and my Instagram and Facebook handle. I can't wait to connect with you.