Reconnecting to Joyful Learning. A Conversation with Meredith Reyes.

We sit down with former public school teacher Meredith Reyes to unpack the moment burnout stopped being manageable and started being dangerous. She shares how moving states changed her working conditions overnight and how homeschooling helped her rebuild learning around safety, curiosity and mastery.

• Meredith’s path from lifelong “teacher kid” to ten-year public school veteran
• COVID-era boundary shifts that made teachers feel less valued
• IEP realities when supports do not match student needs
• Paperwork, assessments and required programs crowding out teaching time
• Class size pressure and why union protections mattered in California
• Texas culture shock: pay cut, longer days, extra events and unprotected prep
• The mental health spiral that led to a mid-year resignation
• An active shooter drill that felt real and reshaped school safety concerns
• Early homeschooling mistakes: recreating school at home
• De-schooling and building a flexible family rhythm for learning
• Inquiry-based learning and following rabbit holes on purpose
• Mixed-age co-op learning and why age grouping is a school construct
• Rethinking grades through mastery-based learning and repeated practice
• The value of conversation as assessment, not just worksheets
• Books and voices that helped, including Julie Bogart and The Brave Learner
• The teachers who kindled Meredith’s love of learning early on

About our guest
Meredith Reyes is an experienced classroom teacher in both California and Texas. After years of teaching in public schools she decided to make the move to homeschool her own children. Meredith shares her journey on instagram as @thestringymama.

Connect with Meredith
The Stringy Mama

About the podcast
The KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.

Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.

Got a burning question?
We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to podcast@prenda.com. Let's dive into the conversation together!

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