Inspiring Conversations with Free Range Families Homeschool Podcast Britt Stewart & Christina Blanarovich of Free Range Families Homeschool Podcast

Today we’d like to introduce you to Free Range Families Homeschool Podcast Britt Stewart & Christina Blanarovich

Hi Free Range Families Homeschool Podcast, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Britt here – Briefly? Well – Bureaucracy, seeing my own kids struggle in a system that was supposed to benefit them, an awakening, putting God and my family first, following a calling to do something larger than myself. In short that’s how I got to where I am today. I followed the “path” – going to college, attaining licenses and degrees, obtaining a job as an educator in the district. Until I saw that it was all very different than it was “supposed” to be. Until I saw my own children struggling in a system that was supposed to inspire them. So, I left, pulled the kids, started my own homeschool co-op “Homeschool Underground Arizona”, landed a job working for Christian News Journal, another working for Public School Exit, and another for Truth in Education. And then forming FreeRangeFamilies Podcast with Christina. That’s the brief version.

Christina and I are both former teachers and although our stories are different, we left for very similar reasons.

Christina here – I was a high school science teacher and certified NYS administrator for over a decade before I left teaching to pursue a career in Photography when my sons were born. I had already seen the “writing on the wall” with changes to public education that didn’t help to serve the students. After moving to Arizona in 2020, we decided to homeschool our boys and they are THRIVING. We found Britt and the HUG group shortly thereafter and once we got to know each other’s stories, it was a natural fit for us to collaborate on a podcast helping others to homeschool their kids and give them the absolute BEST, PERSONALIZED education they can possibly get!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Britt here – Oh no. When you swim upstream and go against the grain the path is never smooth. I would say the largest curve ball was working for free at first. Leaving a salaried position (even if it didn’t pay much) and teaching my own kids where my pay was the fact that they could think for themselves, and were not becoming “human capital”. So, I went back to waiting tables on the weekends, now I work as a writer, editor, and journalist for a few companies that I align with. Also, starting and running your own homeschool co-op may seem like an easy venture, but it is not. You literally become the principal of a small school, where you work for free. You are managing schedules, ideals, budgets, and parents. But, it was the best decision I ever made – my children have made some of their best friends (no forced assimilation), they can excel at things they are interested in, participate in dances, graduation, amazing adventures and field trips. You can read all about it in my upcoming book. Stay tuned!

Christina – nothing worthwhile comes easily. Part of the reason we started our podcast was to help parents understand that while homeschooling can (and will) be hard at times, the benefits far outweigh the negatives. Navigating a whole different way of looking at life is a challenge, but one we readily accept. Once you see how much freedom and family time you have from homeschooling, you won’t ever look back! Allowing your kids to have the flexibility to pursue interests without feeling overstressed and overworked is also a major bonus. It just takes some out of the box thinking and a strong sense of not caring what the status quo thinks!

As you know, we’re big fans of Free Range Families Homeschool Podcast. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
FreeRangeFamilies is a homeschooling podcast aimed at reaching the mass exodus of people leaving the “system” and those that have been homeschooling for some time.

We have large aspirations for the future. We are alike in a lot of ways: background, values, perspectives. And, although our personalities are different, they so complement each other. Even more, our mission to HELP and SAVE children from the cage of public schools won’t go unnoticed. Beneath our personalities, however, lie very different talents. While Britt is uneasy in front of the camera, Christina is naturally confident. Her mind is on overdrive in the realm of marketing and graphic design and has an exceptional ability to take ideas and make them come to life. Britt’s confidence lies in the “behind the scenes” – the dreams. Her brain is constantly on overdrive trying to articulate everything in some written form. You could say Britt’s brain is a book that won’t stop writing and Christina’s is an Instagram Reel that won’t stop promoting.

We realized this combination was a blessing and if we could highlight this unique partnership, our momentum would be unstoppable!

Partnerships like this are rare. The hard work doesn’t seem as hard when the passion and talent is laser focused rather than spreading thin. Plus, we knew it was a good fit when Christina copied Britt’s t-shirt with Smokey Bear on it that reads, “Only YOU can prevent socialism.” Twinsies! Queue the laughter.

In a nutshell, Christina and Britt are a rare duo, not seen before in the realm of homeschool moms on YouTube or Spotify. The banter is awesome and will hopefully change the trajectory and reputation Homeschooling has – and for the good.

Free Range Families Podcast is breaking down the walls of institutionalized learning folks! While other homeschooling podcasts talk about the “how-to” in a very sublime and cordial manner, FRF likes to wrap things in BACON and maybe a little Jalapeño! Hahaha. Homeschooling holds soooooooooo many stigmas, from “unsocialized children” to “weird families” and everything in between. We will tackle all of it – the hard stuff is easier to swallow wrapped in bacon.

And we want to help you (parents) navigate the adventure of homeschooling, help you embrace its inventiveness, shedding light on the realities of this world, smashing stigmas along the way, and warn you of the dangers of the public school system today.

In a world where diversity equals conformity, equity is unfair, and inclusion means exclusion, we want to help you turn to homeschooling as your key to unlocking real Freedom. Your children are growing up alongside these issues and parents bear the sole responsibility to help make sense of the backwardness of this topsy-turvy world. So, tune in and join two teachers gone rogue: now breaking down the walls of instuitionalized learning! We want you to swim upstream with us! In life, what you really want, will never come easy. We will show you that homeschooling is a do-able, better form of education, where the creativity is limitless and the time you spend with your children is priceless.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Britt – I think any time you start a business you are taking a risk. Being totally real, you can take every precaution and it may just not work out. But, you won’t know until you try. Christina and I both took a financial and time commitment risk when starting FRF. We put our own time and money into recording, branding, and marketing; knowing full well, that unless we either “go viral” or get sponsors – this may very well become a hobby we can not afford! Hahaha.

Christina – I’ve always been a risk taker through and through. Making big changes in my career, moving again and again, trying something new… these things bring me less trepidation and more excitement about the “what if”. My husband and I are thankfully similar in this aspect of our personalities and while every risk we’ve taken hasn’t been a MASSIVE success, there hasn’t been one we haven’t grown from or that hasn’t helped us achieve a goal. Risks are part of life. You either embrace them or fear them.

So far, our success has been on the uphill, and with homeschooling becoming ever so popular, we have a positive outlook on the future of the podcast. However, we are searching for Sponsors! So, definitely reach out to us if you would like to sponsor our show!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/freerangefamiliespodcast?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=91820d44-03c4-437a-9760-64abd4e86e05
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freerangefamilies?igsh=MXEzeTU0cW9ramVvOQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Twitter: https://x.com/frfpodcast
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@FreeRangeFamiliesPodcast

Image Credits
Photos Courtesy of Timothy Eyrich