Episode 149: Bringing Pacific Northwest History to Homeschool Life with Tiffany Michaels

Introduction

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Homestead Education Podcast.
Today, I have Tiffany Michaels from Sparrow Homeschool here to chat about her new curriculum.

We met on the road and absolutely hit it off — she has such an amazing product, and I couldn’t wait to share it with you.
So welcome, Tiffany.

Thank you, I’m really excited to be here.

Yeah, I’m really excited to have you on, and I’ll get to it in a little bit, but I have my own agenda behind it. But do you want to tell everyone a little bit about yourself and your business?

The Start of Sparrow Homeschool

Okay. I started Sparrow Homeschool about three years ago. I love writing, and at that point, I felt like God was really telling me to write.

So I sat down, started a curriculum, and was loving it — until my son had to take Pacific Northwest History.

My older son needed the class, and I couldn’t find anything for it.

Oh, you just hit on my agenda.

Right? We live in Washington State, and one of the required subjects is Washington State History — but there’s no curriculum for it.

Schools use a program called Since Time Immemorial, and there are some older textbooks, but most people just piece their own curriculum together.

I feel your pain on that one.

Yeah, so for my oldest, I found an older Christian textbook — black and white, a little dull — and he made it through.

But when my younger son reached seventh grade, I thought, there is no way I’m getting him through that boring book.

So I decided to pause the curriculum I was working on and spend a little time on Pacific Northwest History. I figured I’d come back to the other one in a few months.

Well… it took me two years to write the Pacific Northwest History curriculum.

Naming the Curriculum and Following God’s Direction

The name Sparrow Homeschool came straight from that calling. When I felt God telling me to write, I knew the name had to be Sparrow — “His eye is on the sparrow.”

It felt completely directed — there was no other name.

I love that driving force and when people really listen to those messages from God.

It’s actually kind of funny — I sometimes get weird looks when I say things like that.

When I graduated from college, my pastor told me, “Praise Jesus,” and I thought, I worked really hard for that!

But now I see it differently. God gives us free will and purpose, and I always tell people, I’m proud of you for listening to the messages He sends and using your free will to follow them.

Because He does send them — but not everyone listens.

It’s true. And that’s always what I love hearing in stories like yours.

Miranda’s Similar Journey

When I wrote my curriculum, I had a similar story.

I wanted agriculture lessons for my kids — and there was nothing. Everything out there was too vocational or commercial.

I wanted something that taught how to grow food, for the average homeschool or homestead family.

One of my sons is absolutely convinced that I invented math to ruin his life. So I was trying to figure out how to teach struggling learners through hands-on ag lessons.

At the time, I was also working in real estate and hated it. I was trying to figure out how to make my homestead blog pay — and then it hit me.

I remember exactly where I was on the road, what podcast I was listening to — it was like a download from God.

I went into the office, wrote everything down, went home, and told my husband, “I have a really good idea.”

I waited for the “another one of your crazy ideas” look, but he said, “Get in the chair, I’ll get you an iced tea, start writing.”

That’s amazing.

Perseverance Through Challenges

There have been so many times since when I’ve thought, this is too much, but then I get that nudge — “Just keep going.”

Asking yourself, what did I take on?

Yes! Usually when the printer breaks before a conference.

Or like last week when I flew out for a conference — my books didn’t show up, three tornadoes hit, and the whole thing shut down.

I’d already been in the hospital for pneumonia, and my husband said, “You didn’t listen when God gave you pneumonia, so He gave you a tornado.”

He literally made me stay in bed the rest of the weekend and brought me food. It was sweet.

Tiffany’s Background in Social Work

So do you have a background in history or was this just, “I need to do this”?

I actually have a background in social work. It’s not far from education, really. I went back and forth between the two in college, but ended up with a Master’s in Social Work.

Before kids, I worked with at-risk teens — juvenile justice, pregnant and parenting teens, dropout prevention.

That’s hard work.

It is. But it really prepared me for what I do now — the writing, research, communication, and small-group work all transfer beautifully into curriculum development.

Research and Creation-Based Perspective

I can relate — my degree was in agriculture, but I did technical writing in food plants, so lots of research and process writing.

Right! And when I started writing, I spent a lot of time thinking about sources — I wanted credibility, but also a creation-based worldview.

So I used both academic and Christian research — Institute for Creation Research, Answers in Genesis, and others.

That’s awesome. I have a friend writing a creation-based science curriculum right now — she’s struggling to balance credible science with biblical worldview.

Yeah, I found that much of it comes down to interpretation. Secular research often describes the what, while creation research interprets the why.

Writing With Purpose and Credibility

As a curriculum writer, that balance is hard.

With Homestead Science, I chose to skip formal citations — it all came from lived experience. Instead, I list my favorite readings on my website as “optional resources.”

But in future books, I’ll probably need to cite properly — even though it’s intimidating!

Yeah, I have 30 pages of references in the back of my second book — tiny font, so much research.

That’s incredible.

Building the Pacific Northwest History Curriculum

So what’s the requirement — Pacific Northwest or just Washington?

It’s technically Washington State History, but I wanted it broader — to include Oregon and Idaho, too.

I love that.

Here in Idaho, we don’t have specific curriculum requirements, but I’ve always wanted to teach local history.

When I looked for Idaho curriculum, there was nothing! Most are online-only, not print.

We’ve filled the gap through field trips — visiting old cemeteries, small museums, mountain towns no one’s heard of.

We love hands-on learning.

Hands-On Family Learning

We read In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse once and then mapped every place mentioned in the story. Then we took a road trip and visited them all.

So I really appreciate your curriculum, especially because it’s family-style. My kids are ages five to seventeen, and I love that they can all learn together.

In fact, my plan this year is to have my high schoolers lead the lessons for their younger siblings.

That’s awesome.

The Curriculum: Pacific Northwest History

So, you want to tell us what your curriculum looks like?

Yes! So the main set is two books — Book One and Book Two — over 500 pages total. Splitting it made it less intimidating.

It’s full color, beautifully designed, and starts with the Worldwide Flood, moving through to present day — ending with the Seattle riots.

I think that’s important — so much has changed recently.

Right. And I present history in a balanced way — not just one-sided.

I discuss injustices, like the treatment of indigenous peoples, but also explore how people justified their actions at the time.

It’s about understanding, not blaming.

Balanced Perspectives on History

That’s powerful. I’ve been reading An Indigenous History of the United States lately, and I’ve learned a lot about moral framing and perspective.

Right — it’s about how people talk about others. When you dehumanize a group, it becomes easier to mistreat them.

Exactly. And I had that same revelation recently — that we’re often judging history by modern morals.

It’s okay to acknowledge the evil of what happened without carrying personal guilt for it.

Yes — it’s all about understanding context.

Hands-On Activities and Materials

So you also have a younger version of your curriculum, right?

Yes! I have an elementary set, which is a simplified version of Book One — about 70% of the content, shorter lessons, more art, and geography.

Each chapter in the main set also has a hands-on activity — 24 in total.

We also offer beautiful wooden maps with gold pins for each chapter location, made by my friend Tima.

There’s even a corkboard version for younger learners, where they can pin museums or field trip spots.

That’s so beautiful — and so smart!

Art and Creativity in Learning

We also have cutout art kits — kids paint backgrounds and then layer wooden or paper cutouts (like wagon wheels or teepees) over them.

It’s great for confidence — even kids who say “I’m not an artist” end up proud of their work.

That’s wonderful. In my co-op, we did a Lewis and Clark day where kids sketched something from nature. It was so simple but powerful.

The Sparrow Planner

And then there’s your planner — I love this thing. It’s beautiful and so practical!

Yes! I’ve made my own planners for years because I could never find one that worked for me.

This one has meal planning, perforated shopping and cleaning lists, blank pages, and even packing lists.

I love that. I do that for farm chores — we make a big family list of everything that needs doing and check it off together.

That’s perfect! I also let my kids pick tasks from the cleaning list — it builds responsibility.

Everyday Homestead Organization

I love being organized for business, school, and finances — but not everything else.

Same! My room’s a mess half the time, but the systems work.

Right? And when you travel a lot, clean clothes often just go straight into the suitcase again.

Exactly.

Future Projects: Goal Setting & Life Lessons

So do you have any future plans or new projects?

Yes! I’m working on a new unit called Goal Setting and Life Lessons from a Wandering Artist, inspired by the painter Paul Kane.

It’s a 100-page mini unit, mixing art history with character lessons and life skills.

He was hilarious — in one painting he even depicted himself falling off a horse during a buffalo hunt. I love his humor and humility.

That’s awesome — what a great way to teach history and life lessons together.

Encouraging Growth and Courage

As we wrap up, I always ask: What does “Keep Growing” mean to you?

For me, Keep Growing means staying a little outside my comfort zone.

If you’re not stretching, you’re not growing. Keep learning, keep doing new things, and keep finding new passions.

That’s beautiful. And honestly, that’s exactly what I needed to hear this week.

Where to Find Sparrow Homeschool

You can find Tiffany and all her materials at sparrowhomeschool.com.

She’s also at many homeschool conferences in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho — including the Boise Homeschool Conference.

If you’re looking for beautiful, hands-on history rooted in truth and faith, this is it.

Thank you so much for coming on today, Tiffany!

Thank you — this was wonderful!