Learning Is a Lifestyle

The Everyday Educator podcast is your weekly reminder to open your eyes to the world as your classroom, your encouragement that you don’t have to homeschool alone, and your lifeline for practical tips and resource suggestions for the road ahead.

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Listen to the Latest Episode

Mock Trial: Fruit Being Borne

Why do Challenge B graduates consistently name Mock Trial as their favorite memory—even the ones who cried through every rehearsal? Join host Lisa Bailey and guests Jennifer Hester and Emma Bortins for an encouraging conversation about Mock Trial—the pinnacle Challenge B experience that graduates remember most fondly, even when the journey is rocky. Jennifer shares her journey from terrified new director to confident guide, watching her son improvise courtroom testimony on the fly. Emma opens up about the drama, tears, and her infamous courtroom phrase repeated 15+ times: “That’s not in my witness statement!” Lisa reflects on decades of watching 13-year-olds surprise judges, parents, and themselves with skills they didn’t know they had. This episode covers the practical side of preparation—where to find resources on CC Connected, how to walk alongside your student without coaching, and why following the week-by-week schedule makes all the difference. You’ll hear honest stories about hyperventilating students who become stars, skeptical parents who become believers, and how every Challenge B skill converges in this moment.

 

This episode of Everyday Educator is sponsored by Summit Ministries:

Do you want your child to have conversations that challenge, encouragement that endure, and friends and faith for life? Summit’s Student Conferences equip young Christians with the hope, clarity, and confidence they need to follow Jesus boldly in today’s world. It’s not just about getting apologetics answers. Students learn how to live winsomely and bravely in today’s world.  Visit summit.org/cc before March 31, 2026, and lock in the early bird rate. Save an additional $250 when you use the code CC26. Want your child to have conversations that challenge, encouragement that endures, and friends and faith for life? Grab their spot now at summit.org/cc

A dad teaches his son how to fix a bike

About Everyday Educator

Everyday Educator began in 2015 with a simple purpose: to help other parents leap over the hurdles and steer around the potholes encountered on the homeschooling journey by laying out simple systems to apply the classical tools of learning.

Now, the show has reached over one million downloads and is enjoyed by homeschool families all over the world.

Enthusiastic lifelong learner Lisa Bailey, often joined by fellow everyday educators, comes alongside listeners to offer much-needed encouragement, present practical tips, and suggest helpful resources to make homeschooling a little more doable.

You don’t have to do this alone. Everyday Educator will encourage, equip, and inspire you to continue on the journey with excellence!

Meet Lisa Bailey

Lisa Bailey has been a homeschool mom for more than twenty years and is the mother of two Classical Conversations Challenge program graduates. She has served in a variety of positions at Classical Conversations since 2004 and most recently serves as a Lead Curriculum Developer at Classical Conversations Multi-Media. As host of the Everyday Educator podcast since its humble beginnings, Lisa considers herself blessed with the unique opportunity to encourage homeschool families across the nation and around the world.

Lisa Bailey headshot