Presented by Classical Conversations®

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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Operation Christmas Child: How One Shoebox Changed a Life

Sep 8, 2026

Can a simple gift really change how a child sees God? In this episode of the Everyday Educator podcast, host Delise Germond sits down with Katie Shearin and Izabella McMillon — two women whose lives intersect through Operation Christmas Child, the shoebox ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. Izabella shares her powerful testimony of growing up in communist Romania, where faith had to be practiced in secret, and how a single shoebox gift — and the snow globe tucked inside it — became the moment God’s faithfulness became undeniably real to her as a 13-year-old girl.

Katie, a Classical Conversations mom of 15 years, shares how her family has packed shoeboxes together year after year, and how Operation Christmas Child’s mission of tangible love and gospel outreach mirrors CC’s own heartbeat of discipleship — knowing God and making Him known. Together, Katie and Izabella talk practically about how to get your own family or CC community started, from buying your first pack of boxes to hosting a packing party.

Whatever phase of homeschooling you’re in, this conversation is an encouragement that discipleship doesn’t have to be complicated — sometimes it starts with a box, a prayer, and a willingness to just do it. Pack a box, follow its journey, and see what God does with it.

 

This episode of Everyday Educator is sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse – Operation Christmas Child

The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world. Your homeschool community can be part of this global mission by packing gift-filled shoeboxes full of quality toys, school supplies, and personal care items that are sent to children in over 100 countries. Through this project, Samaritan’s Purse partners with the local church worldwide to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and make disciples of the nations. Make Operation Christmas Child part of your school year leading up to National Collection Week November 16-23.

Learn More at https://samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/

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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.

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