With each new school year that rolls around, I always seem find a renewed energy and vision for homeschooling. Rather than wait until Thanksgiving or when the blahs of winter kick in (when it seems to make sense to write a post about why I’m thankful for homeschooling), I thought I’d harness this joyful beginning-of-the-school-year energy to list all those reasons now. Listen or read more at https://ourjourneywestward.com/10-reasons-im-thankful-for-homeschooling/...
Nov 17, 2017•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Homeschooling preschool doesn't have to be complicated. It took me at least one child to figure that out, but once I did we enjoyed our preschool days so much more. Have a listen!
Nov 10, 2017•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast I will freely admit that our children have missed out on some things because we homeschool high school. There is no doubt that there are experiences that the public school provides that we just cannot replicate in our home. Some people even quit homeschooling at this level, because they don’t want their children to miss out on anything. Listen or read more at https://www.annieandeverything.com/homeschool-high-school-missed-opportunities/...
Nov 03, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s say you are convinced that reading aloud to your children is the best thing you can do for them. You line up your reading selections, you plan your morning time, you are prepared to overcome the obstacles of wiggly bodies and wandering minds. You say that this is exactly the boost your homeschool needs. The first day comes, and you eagerly dive in. But then you find yourself stumbling over the words. You run into words you can’t even pronounce, let alone understand. After a short time, you...
Oct 27, 2017•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast When my family started doing Morning Time my kids were little and it wasn’t quite the homeschool buzz word it is now. There was very little Morning Time pressure in those days — we just liked learning together. Now, it seems that everywhere you turn people are talking about all the riches they are doing in Morning Time. Which is great — except when it starts to stress people out. Listen or read more at https://pambarnhill.com/successful-morning-time/...
Oct 20, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast I’m about to tell you my dirty secret. I’ve kept swallowing this one back down for the past year. Sometimes (more often than not?) I don’t enjoy homeschooling. There. It’s out. Listen or read more at http://smarttereachday.com/find-homeschooling-joy/
Oct 13, 2017•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast As a teacher, I’ve noticed one factor that consistently holds students back in the classroom: fear of failure. When my students are afraid to fail, they typically respond to challenges in one of two ways. Listen or read more at https://biglifejournal.com/blogs/blog/help-your-child-overcome-fear-of-failure
Oct 06, 2017•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast It almost seems incongruous. Morning Time, the bastion of great literature, beautiful music, truth, goodness, beauty… and high-tech gadgets? But, oh mama, it is true. There are ways moving into the 21st century can enhance the Morning Time habit you are building in your family. Here are three ways some easy Amazon purchases can make your Morning Time better. Listen or read more at https://edsnapshots.com/technology-morning-time/...
Sep 29, 2017•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast As homeschoolers, we all know the value of teaching our kids how to become independent learners. We work hard to pass the mantle of teacher from ourselves to our students. And we thrill as we see them picking up this mantle and running with it. They are checking items off their lists, reading books, doing research, and filling their minds with lots of amazing information about science, history, geography, and more. Or are they? What if your independent learners aren’t learning at all? What if th...
Sep 22, 2017•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Does the word schedule make you break out in hives? Do you picture yourself harried and deflated at the end of a day on a schedule? Maybe for you, like me, that’s a vivid memory, not a theoretical picture. There’s a lot of visceral reaction against schedules in the homeschool world, and I totally get why. I mean, can I schedule diaper blowouts and my doorbell ringing and the toddler pulling an open bag of powdered sugar onto herself? Where does that go in the schedule? Listen or read more at htt...
Sep 15, 2017•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast When she was six, my daughter told me she didn’t want to learn to read because then I might stop reading to her. Nothing could be further from the truth, but then six-year-olds aren’t known for their logic, are they? Lucky for her it wasn’t too long after that I stumbled upon Andrew Pudewa’s talk, Nurturing Competent Communicators . Listen or read more at https://edsnapshots.com/read-aloud-mistake/...
Sep 08, 2017•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Homeschooling parents love literature lists. love. love. love. Quality literature is an important part of our homeschools. Historical fiction. Classics. Biographies. Non-fiction. The list goes on. and on. and on. Till we finally narrow down the titles we will attack for the school year. Listen or read more at http://www.notbefore7.com/2016/08/23/innovative-homeschooling-lets-talk-literature/...
Sep 01, 2017•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Homeschooling a middle school kid? We are and, I'll be honest, it's been a bit of a roller coaster. This letter I'm writing is really to myself - reminding me that these years are just as precious and probably even more important than our early homeschooling years. Listen or read more at https://happyhomeschoolnest.com/blog/mom-with-the-middle-schooler
Aug 25, 2017•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dear Self, I am here today with some tough love. Because I do love you, and I know this homeschooling your kids thing is important to you. And yet, you struggle with homeschooling consistently. Often. Listen or read more at https://edsnapshots.com/homeschool-consistency/
Aug 18, 2017•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast There’s this false dichotomy that pops up in the homeschool world. “You shouldn’t have a schedule, you should have a routine.” It sounds all well and good, a wonderful idea for folks who have an established routine or are not easily distracted. Not so for many of us. Not so for me. Listen or read more at https://edsnapshots.com/why-i-need-a-scheduled-routine/
Aug 10, 2017•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast * Contains Christian content “My child will never have a job where he needs to know algebra. We’re just teaching consumer math and being done with it.” “I know God isn’t preparing my child for college, so I don’t plan to worry too much about high school requirements.” “As long as my kids know the Lord, the rest of it doesn’t really matter.” “Neither my high school children or I are interested in history. I think we’re just going to do a quick lapbook (*written for elementary students) and count ...
Aug 04, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast I know there are some moms out there whose character voices during read-aloud time rival the work of Oscar-winning actors. I am not one of those moms. Listen or read more at https://edsnapshots.com/better-read-aloud/
Jul 28, 2017•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast It seems like everyone you meet is obsessed with STEM or STEAM-focused activities nowadays. Should you worry about this with your preschooler? There is certainly no need to jump right into formal schooling with a little one, but it never hurts to start incorporating mathematical learning into your everyday fun. Listen or read more at https://edsnapshots.com/everyday-preschool-math/
Jul 21, 2017•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you are like I was when we had our first struggling reader some 17 years ago, and know nothing about the phenomenon called dyslexia, you may be wondering, as I did, how to know if someone you know is dyslexic or not. It is no great mystery. There are quite a few signs of dyslexia that are easy to observe. Listen or read more at https://homeschoolingwithdyslexia.com/dyslexia-signs-dyslexia/
Jul 14, 2017•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast I have never been very flexible — physically or otherwise. I have always envied those people able to do splits (never done one) or be laissez faire about missing deadlines (never missed one in my yearbook adviser days). Then I became a homeschool mom. Listen or read more at https://edsnapshots.com/flexible-homeschool-plan/
Jul 07, 2017•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Homeschooling is hard work. Juggling the daily homeschool schedule with managing the kids, the daily chores, the meal planning, and a few minutes for yourself (most likely hiding in the bathroom with a piece of chocolate) doesn’t leave much time for other pursuits. Part of the problem? Your homeschool schedule. Listen or read more at https://happyhomeschoolnest.com/blog/homeschool-schedule-mistakes...
Jun 26, 2017•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast I recently heard from a mom who was concerned that if she homeschooled her son, she would be judged by other parents for it and that her son would likely be labeled as quirky. I hated to break it to her… but she was right. Even though homeschooling is on the rise across the country, it is still not the cultural norm. If we homeschool our sons they WILL be different than if we send them to school. Listen or read more at https://www.homeschool-your-boys.com/different-if-we-homeschool/...
Jun 23, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chaos is not my thing. Not that anyone really likes it, but some most folks roll with the punches better than I do. The kids are yelling. The dog is tracking mud through the kitchen while he yips incessantly at said children. A pot is boiling over on the stove. And in the midst of this I am supposed to be teaching reading, or math, or the kings and queens of England. I struggle. Oh, I really do. You too? Listen or read more at https://edsnapshots.com/homeschool-procedures/...
Jun 16, 2017•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast “I don’t know how you do it. I know I never could.” The common response when people ask where my kids go to school and I respond with “home.” To which I mutter something back about how it’s not as hard as you might think and we’ve never really known anything different…it’s just what we do. But I get what they mean. When you’re peeking into somebody else’s life that is so very different than your own, our common response is, I have no idea how they do it. Listen or read more at http://www.aliciah...
Jun 09, 2017•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Often the question comes up. Do you school year round or do you take a summer break? It’s a legitimate question that has different answers and reasons depending on who you ask. We school year round, but we don’t keep a regular schedule during the summer. We have a more relaxed Year Round Homeschool Summer Schedule. Listen or read more at http://hidethechocolate.com/year-round-homeschool-summer-schedule/...
Jun 02, 2017•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast The other day, a friend asked me for help with a problem she’d been having in getting her toddler to sit still whenever she read to him. She knows my daughter loves books as much as my husband and I do, and since I taught first and second graders to read during my years as an elementary school teacher, she figured I’d have a few helpful tips to pass along. Listen or read more at https://edsnapshots.com/reading-with-toddlers-and-preschoolers/...
May 26, 2017•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast When I found out about homeschooling, I was shocked. Then I watched and thought and was intrigued. Then I decided that it was what I wanted to do. Then I fell in love with and married a man who was all for homeschooling our future family. Then we had a baby (and two more). I started to study. I read all kinds of books on homeschooling and educational philosophy. I spent hours and hours reading and participating on the Well-Trained Mind Forums. I read lots of blogs - well that wasn't new. Listen ...
May 19, 2017•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s talk about independence. Some homeschoolers want more of it like it’s the Holy Grail of home education. Others counter with the criticism that homeschooling is not meant to be a solitary activity. So, which is it? Let’s explore some ideas in The Myth of Independence. Listen or read more at http://blogshewrote.org/2015/10/08/the-myth-of-independence/
May 12, 2017•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast The perfect homeschool plan is not elusive. In fact it is easy to create the perfect plan for your family if you begin by considering the needs of your family, considering your limitations as a homeschool teacher, and avoiding common pitfalls. Planning means following a series of prescribed steps that will ensure that you have a plan that is going to work. Listen or read more at https://edsnapshots.com/ten-steps-perfect-homeschool-plan/...
May 05, 2017•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast When someone asks about my favorite homeschooling resources, I give the usual list - white board, dry erase markers, lots of notebooks, and a library card. I could share that list of resources today but I think I'd rather take a look at a few different things that you'll need for homeschooling that you can't buy at WalMart or Amazon. These are my homeschooling essentials. Listen or read more at https://happyhomeschoolnest.com/blog/homeschooling-essentials...
Apr 28, 2017•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
