Homeschool parents do A LOT, but none of us do it all. We want to normalize not doing it all—and embrace the idea that homeschool and parenting will be more enjoyable and sustainable when we take things off our plates. So this episode is a celebration of what we don't do! In addition to the things on our don't-do list, we share listener answers, too. Takeaways -We try to remember the phrase: Saying "yes" to one thing means saying "no" to something else. -We teach people how to treat us: Not doin...
Nov 16, 2020•58 min•Ep. 149
We see these comments pop up in every homeschool Facebook group: "How do I get my kid to do their work?" "My kid is fighting with me about doing math." "Homeschool is hurting my relationships with my kids." Homeschool doesn't have to be contentious, and burnout isn't the inevitable outcome of homeschooling. So how can we begin to homeschool in harmony? Join us as we explore the ways we're creating a harmonious homeschool experience for ourselves and our kids. Takeaways -We often feel the tension...
Nov 09, 2020•49 min•Ep. 148
Two words: SCREEN TIME. We’re all sick of thinking about it, but we also can’t stop thinking about it. We don’t have the device dilemma figured out either, but we’re here to process with you all the pros and cons and big question marks. Grab a cup of whatever it takes and let’s chat! This episode is first in a new series: You've Got This! We'll be tackling some of the most common questions and daily dilemmas we face in homeschool and parenting. Takeaways -Not all screen time is equal. Screens ar...
Nov 02, 2020•52 min•Ep. 147
Niurka Maldonado is a certified Conscious Parenting coach and the founder of Connected Kindred . Niurka shares about her experience as a homeschool family of color. While the homeschooling community is becoming increasingly more diverse, the majority of homeschoolers are white. Niurka sheds light on the subtle ways racism shows up in homeschool spaces and offers advice for how white homeschoolers can be better allies to homeschooling families of color. She also talks about the unique homeschool ...
Oct 26, 2020•51 min•Ep. 146
Ok, but how are you doing REALLY? You’re getting the unedited behind-the-scenes look at our homeschool lives—the academics and routines we’re doing (or not doing), the stuff that’s going well (and what's NOT working), and the self-care solutions that are saving us (when we hold ourselves and each other accountable to making self-care happen!). This is the conversation we’re having every. single. month. on Patreon with our $5 Squad . Join us! When you join Patreon , you’ll unlock 2 years of patro...
Oct 19, 2020•55 min•Ep. 145
Raising confident kids can be inconvenient, uncomfortable, and challenging--but it's so worth it! And we can't talk about raising confident kids without talking about raising ourselves, too. This important work is woven into what we do every day through listening to and trusting our kids, modeling how we show up in the world, and advocating for ourselves and setting boundaries. Watch your homeschool learning atmosphere come alive and your relationships blossom as you and your children embrace an...
Oct 12, 2020•52 min•Ep. 144
One of the secrets to a sustainable homeschool is YOU. Your strengths energize you, and what energizes you will energize your homeschool. Doing what you are good at and what you enjoy will make your homeschool more enjoyable, efficient, and empowered. So we're focusing on YOUR strengths in this episode. Listeners share their unique strengths and how they're rocking their strengths to rock their homeschool. We know you'll be inspired by the ways real-life parents are using their incredible, pract...
Oct 05, 2020•56 min•Ep. 143
Yolonda Coles Jones ( @yolonda_j ) joins us for an important conversation about prioritizing mental health and wellbeing for ourselves and our families as we homeschool. How can we best support the mental health of our children in this difficult and uncertain time of pandemic? How do we take care of ourselves while we take care of our kids? Yolonda also shares her advice for non-white families on how to take good care amidst increased visibility of and exposure to racial terror and trauma. Breat...
Sep 28, 2020•55 min•Ep. 142
We love the flexibility of loose planning. We can be more responsive to the many different needs in our families, the changing seasons, and our own needs for both structure and spontaneity. Listen in as we talk about what loose planning looks like for each of us in our routines, on our bookshelves, and with the curriculum we're using. Our differing personalities shine through: Angela's loose plans are more detailed and organized, and Maren's are more open-ended and adjustable. What does homescho...
Sep 21, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 141
[Cue Ross Geller: PIVOT!] We’re looking back on the Summer of 2020—the pandemic challenges, the cultural complexities, the big changes in our own lives and in our communities—and breaking down what it all means for the Fall of 2020 for us personally and professionally. We talk about what learning looks like in a pandemic and how we are emphasizing a deeper cultural and self awareness in this unique season for ourselves and our kids. We’ll be talking about our specific fall plans in our next epis...
Sep 14, 2020•57 min•Ep. 140
Hey friends! We've been working hard behind the scenes this summer to create our newest resource for you! The Unrefined Curriculum Guide is 30 pages of inspiration, encouragement, and resources to build and boost your curriculum library with recommendations you won't dread using. Best of all, it’s just $10 ! Which means, it’s affordable for you AND it helps support us do what we do here at Homeschool Unrefined—win, win! And this month, patrons in the Squad get $5 off with a special code! (Offer ...
Jul 13, 2020•2 min
With so much up in the air, how can we give our summer some stability to help us unwind from this school year and stay open to what the future school year might have for us? If we can do 3 things, and only 3 things, this summer, what should those 3 things be? We focus in on what solutions are going to be both realistic AND beneficial for us this summer. Where You'll Find Us This Summer... We’re taking some time off from recording this summer—our first-ever (and much-needed) hiatus. BUT! We’ll ...
May 25, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 139
Can you believe we've done NINE episodes in this series?! Friends, give yourselves CREDIT for navigating these last couple months of pandemic life. You're so amazing. We are tackling some of YOUR questions in this episode, and our answers might not be what you're expecting! -"How do you fit it all in? Working out, chores, running a whole household, AND having enough time for school work?" -"What are your mental health tips for mom?" -"What are some homeschool fails and loves this year?" -"What a...
May 18, 2020•52 min•Ep. 138
Anyone else missing adventures and ACTUAL ALONE TIME? Yes, there's a lot we miss during this pandemic. But thankfully, we've also found some surprising things that are getting us through. How about you? What are you missing? What's getting you through? BONUS Episode! Don't miss our bonus episode with Diversity & Inclusion Expert Charnaie Gordon of @hereweeread . You'll be inspired to read more diverse books AND you'll be equipped with an amazing list of picture books! Curriculum Wrap-Up! Our...
May 11, 2020•56 min•Ep. 137
Is there any better pandemic distraction than a book chat?! We talked with Diversity & Inclusion Expert Charnaie Gordon from @hereweeread a couple months ago, and we're so happy to finally share this conversation with you. You'll be inspired to read more diverse books AND you'll be equipped with an amazing list of picture books! Get our EXTENDED chat with Charnaie when you join our $5 Squad ! What does a picture book expert read for herself ? We talk about some of Charnaie's favorites, what ...
May 08, 2020•30 min
It feels like we're on a roll with routines and academic progress... but we're also wondering: Where do we go from here? Are we going to take a summer break? Should we be signing up for fall activities? We talk through this and more in our two segments: "State of the Family" (what's going on) and "The Nitty Gritty" (what we're actually doing every day). Highlights from this episode: -Are we going to take a summer break? What about signing up for fall things? It's hard to know what to do! -Where ...
May 04, 2020•53 min•Ep. 136
There’s no one right way to handle these days at home. Sometimes it feels great to tackle a project. Sometimes it feels best to just go with the flow. We’re giving you permission to do what you need to do. We also have an honest conversation about self-regulation and screen time and setting boundaries that best support our kids. Listen in as we process where we’re each at this week. Highlights from this episode: -We all handle the stress of these days differently: increased productivity or incre...
Apr 27, 2020•57 min•Ep. 135
How can we honor ALL the kinds of learning, even the ones that don't show up on a lesson plan or schedule? How can we make room for more non-traditional learning when our kids have so much on their plates with distance learning and our own homeschool plans? How can we balance the "must-do's" with the "want-to's" and how can we value BOTH kinds of learning equally? Listen in as we process setting up healthy boundaries for our kids' workloads (even saying "no" to assignments sometimes!) and partne...
Apr 20, 2020•58 min•Ep. 134
The shock of our new reality is wearing off and we’re settling into a marathon pace, which means we’re beginning to find routines that work. But in classic Maren and Angela fashion, our routines are unique to each of us and our personalities! In our “State of the Family” update, we discuss how we’re using screen time for our kids to support our own self-care efforts. In our “The Nitty Gritty” update, we dive into the ACTUAL curriculum and resources we’re using for homeschool. Well, at least what...
Apr 13, 2020•58 min•Ep. 133
We’re back with another conversation covering our two pandemic check-in topics: The State of the Family (what’s going on with everyone at home) and The Nitty Gritty (what we’re ACTUALLY doing for homeschool). We talk about heightened emotions, anxiety, deschooling, struggling to get adequate self-care, and feeling like we’re living in Groundhog Day. “Okay campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties cause its cold out there...its cold out there every day.” Highlights from this episode ...
Apr 06, 2020•52 min•Ep. 132
We’re gonna be here weekly for a while to process with you through this pandemic because, well, 1) we’re home anyway and 2) we want to laugh, encourage each other, and get real about homeschool. We cover two big topics: “The State of the Family” (what’s going on for each of us) and “The Nitty Gritty” (what we are ACTUALLY doing for homeschool and life). Distance learning, homeschooling, working spouses, spouses at home, prioritizing mental health for ourselves and our families, navigating all th...
Mar 30, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 131
We’re not experts on homeschooling through a pandemic, but we are here to process this new reality with you. Our calendars might be empty, but there’s A LOT happening every day: checking in with family and friends, keeping up with news and information, planning and cooking and cleaning a lot more than normal, managing more (and bigger!) emotions and conflicts… and of course, there’s homeschooling. We talk about how we can support our kids and ourselves through this challenging experience, and we...
Mar 23, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 130
We recently posted a quote from Morgan Jenkins that said, “You’re not well read if all you read is white authors.” And we agree! We’re talking about the importance of diverse books with our guest, author and activist Christine Platt. Christine helps us explore the concept of books as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors. Plus, she challenges our ideas about the kinds of stories we’re choosing when we read diverse books: “It’s really important to show that all communities and all families ex...
Mar 09, 2020•51 min•Ep. 129
Hey friends! We wanted to let you in on something great we have created just for you. Are you trying to find that balance with homeschool, technology, and life? Maybe you’re completely overwhelmed by all the seemingly “educational” apps out there. We’re here for you. We have carefully curated our favorite apps in a special guide with you in mind. This guide has all our favorites, organized by category, and everything is hyperlinked. It’s so easy to use, and it includes a key to let you know whic...
Mar 03, 2020•1 min
"Do audiobooks count?" We're here to shout it from the rooftops: YES! Listening to audiobooks, or "ear-reading" as it's also known, is a valuable and legitimate form of reading, with some of its own unique benefits not found with eye-reading. Let's demystify the idea of eye-reading superiority and celebrate all the amazing things about ear-reading and audiobooks! We'll each be sharing our Top 10 audiobooks for kids in a bonus episode for our Squad on Patreon . That's 20 audiobooks total! Hop on ...
Feb 24, 2020•56 min•Ep. 128
It’s seems like there’s a lot of stigma and shame around screens, especially for us homeschoolers. But should there be? Is all screen time created equal? We’ve embraced what we call “app schooling” for a few years, and now we want to help take away some of the shame around using screens for learning. Apps can take the pressure off us (and our kids!) on busy days and around difficult subjects (*cough* math *cough*). We love the variety, efficiency, and freedom apps have to offer. Listen as we tal...
Feb 10, 2020•49 min•Ep. 127
So, like, what even is deschooling?! The fact is this: We are immersed in a schooled mindset. It's the air we breathe, the water we swim in. Deschooling is a way to reprogram our thinking about learning. We're going to talk through this essential homeschooling tool: What is it? Why bother? What does it actually look like? And what comes next? Highlights from this episode: Learning is natural and happening all the time. Deschooling doesn't mean it's a free for all. Deschooling lets us concentrate...
Jan 27, 2020•55 min•Ep. 126
Sure, you’re Marie Kondo-ing your sock drawer, but what about your homeschool? In this episode, we talk about why we all might want to consider using Marie Kondo’s simplifying technique on our homeschool plans. We also identify what really Sparks Joy for us, and of course, we had to include a few What We Don’t Dos. Because, Marie. Show Some Love Leave us an iTunes review! Your reviews help more people find the podcast. When new people find us, they'll see how much YOU love the podcast and want t...
Jan 13, 2020•44 min
This week we reflect on 21 years of homeschooling with THE homeschool guru and veteran, Pam Barnhill! Pam brings insight and encouragement to our discussion. Ready for some serious truth bombs? Get out a Sharpie and notecard. You’ll want to tape these on your cupboard and be reminded of them everyday. Connect with Pam on her website, here . $20 in 2020: Classes ON SALE!! Jumpstart 2020 with our Personalities & Homeschool classes for just $20! Normally each class is $10, with all four classes...
Dec 30, 2019•44 min
Today, we honor our authentic selves and yours! Do you love to plan? Or are you more fly by the seat of your pants? Do you love to knit? Play games? Read aloud? Adventure? Whatever you do, embrace it! Here we give you ALL the reasons to own your authentic self. We’ll give you a glimpse into what our authentic homeschool looks like for each of us—and we bet it won’t look the same as yours! Ep 104: Where We Marie Kondo Our Homeschool Ep 56: Where We Adventure with Emily Carlson Ep 86: Where Nature...
Dec 16, 2019•45 min
