

Homeschool Unrefined
Maren Goerss and Angela Sizer
Are you ready for a homeschooling experience you can enjoy? One with less stress and more fun? Are you ready to think differently about homeschool? Join Maren and Angela every Monday as we encourage each other, laugh, and get real about homeschool.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 12, 2018 • 1h 9min
97: Simple Holiday Gift Guide
Do you tend to overthink Holiday shopping? Us too! This year, we've done all the hard work for you. We've asked our kids, looked around our houses and reviewed our Amazon histories to bring you a curated list of gifts our kids have LOVED over the years. So sit back and enjoy knowing your shopping experience can be a little bit less stressful this year. All of the items mentioned can be found in our Amazon shop at www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined Below you will find links to each individual item mentioned in our episode. To make it easier, you will find all of the items in our Amazon Shop at www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined In our Amazon Shop, you will also find our very favorite Holiday Books. Click here for those books. We recorded a special Holiday Gift Guide episode for our Patreon supporters where we talked about our favorite gift subscriptions, gifts for parents (and what we're asking for this year) and our favorite homeschool-specific books for kids. To hear that episode and many more we've recorded just for supporters, go here. Play Legos - aircraft carrier, architecture buildings here, here and here. Magic Set Tumble Trax Magnetic Marble Run Citiblocs Rain Cloud Tub Toy Army Men Play Bucket Dress Up Clothes - Capes, Capes, Playsilks Indoor Gym Mini Trampoline Snap Circuits Fidget Spinner, Fidget Cube Microscope and Prepared Slides Bacteria Plates Kit Harrisville Designs 10" Potholder Loom Kit Magnetic Poetry Kit Manic Panic Hair Dye Art Fine Line Markers Sharpies Coloring Books - Gretchen Rubin, Harry Potter Washi Tape Hot Glue Gun All In One Art Kit Oil Pastels Paint Brush Kit Charcoal Pencils Sketch Books - 9x12, 5x8 Slime Ingredients - Gallon Glue, Shaving Cream, Contact Lens Solution, Baby Oil Spirograph Play Dough and Kit Spin Art Candle Making Kit Paint By Sticker - younger kids, older kids Sun Print Paper Kit Tech Walkie Talkies Karaoke Machine Compose Yourself Camera Stand Selfie Stick Osmo (*often goes on sale on black Friday) DSLR Camera Echo Dot Games Skiwampus Mancala No Stress Chess Wooden Tetris Puzzle One Person Puzzles - here, here and here. Blokus Outdoor Spider Swing Swiss Army Knife Bow and Arrow Sets - here and here Slackline Big Scooters Pogo Stick Butterfly Growing Kit Hammock Kitchen cutting boards soda stream cast iron pan apple slicer vegetable peeler food chopper food processor panini grill tea - here and here tea kettle water bottle Music ukulele, picks, case, holder and strap harmonica music stand egg shakers Loving This Week Angela: This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philipps Maren: Billie Razor Visit our website Support us on Patreon here. Join our closed Facebook group: Unrefined Homeschoolers Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube Angela on Instagram: @unrefinedangela Maren on Instagram: @unrefinedmaren Email us any questions or feedback at homeschoolunrefined@gmail.com Visit our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Nov 5, 2018 • 50min
96: Where We Follow Their Interests
Ever wonder how interest-led learning even works? Ever wonder what it even is?!? We’re here for you! We define it (in our own Homeschool Unrefined words), we walk through how it benefits our kids and can be an ideal way to learn, and as usual, we work through the challenges we have with it every single day. It’s a beautiful, wonderful, challenging, amazingly effective, and sometimes daunting way of homeschooling. We’ll walk you through it. Busy Tonight Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Loving This Week Angela: Athleta Salutation Stash Pocket Tights, Sperry Saltwater Rain Boot Maren: GoodPup App Visit our website Support us on Patreon here. Join our closed Facebook group: Unrefined Homeschoolers Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube Angela on Instagram: @unrefinedangela Maren on Instagram: @unrefinedmaren Email us any questions or feedback at homeschoolunrefined@gmail.com Visit our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Oct 29, 2018 • 57min
95: Where We October Check-In
It’s check-in day, which is quickly becoming our favorite! This week we update each other on past all-important LTWs. We also get real about what’s going well, what needs tweaking, and how we’re doing at self-care. We do this, because so much growing happens in the processing. We don’t have all the answers, and even if we did, they might not be the answers you need! Processing helps us all feel good about what we’re doing today, gives us clarity, and reminds us we’re all in this together. Check-in here, if you’d like! We’d love to hear from you.😊 What we're listening to on Audible: This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philipps, The Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik Get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/homeschoolunrefined @juliebravewriter on Instagram Prodigy Math CTC Math Kiwi Crate A Star Is Born A Gracious Space Renee Tougas on Homeschool Unrefined Part 1 and Part 2 Do you have a question for us to possibly use on a future episode? Send us a dm on social media or email us at homeschoolunrefined@gmail.com Loving This Week Angela: OurStory App from We Need Diverse Books Maren: The Nineties on Netflix Visit our website Support us on Patreon here. Join our closed Facebook group: Unrefined Homeschoolers Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube Angela on Instagram: @unrefinedangela Maren on Instagram: @unrefinedmaren Email us any questions or feedback at homeschoolunrefined@gmail.com Visit our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Oct 22, 2018 • 57min
94: Where We Break Out the Non-Traditional Resources
In this episode, we enjoy talking about all the ways our kids learn outside of traditional curriculum. We want to give value to all this learning by talking bout how we support it. We share a talent for supplying kids with the resources to learn in a very natural way, and we want to share them with you here! Loving This Week Angela: Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides Maren: The Exile Podcast Visit our website Support us on Patreon here. Join our closed Facebook group: Unrefined Homeschoolers Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube Angela on Instagram: @unrefinedangela Maren on Instagram: @unrefinedmaren Email us any questions or feedback at homeschoolunrefined@gmail.com Visit our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Oct 15, 2018 • 1h 7min
93: Where We Relax Into High School With Renee Tougas, Part 2
In this part 2 of our amazing interview with Renee Tougas, we dive into what is great about having high schoolers and touch on a challenge or two that might go along with them. We ask Renee how she handles our ever-changing world of technology with her teenagers. Finally, we dip our toes into a conversation about Renee’s sense of adventure and how it drew their family closer together. This conversation fired us up, not only about having high schoolers, but about loving this adventure called homeschooling. 92: Where We Relax Into High School With Renee Tougas, Part 1 How to connect with Renee: Blog: http://renee.tougas.net/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reneetougas Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reneetougas/ My part-time work: content writer, community, marketing, and media manager for B-RAD Podcast & https://bradtoews.com/ Renee's Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Information on her blog and Youtube. Loving This Week Angela: Venus to Mars Maren: A Star Is Born Visit our website Support us on Patreon here. Join our closed Facebook group: Unrefined Homeschoolers Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube Angela on Instagram: @unrefinedangela Maren on Instagram: @unrefinedmaren Email us any questions or feedback at homeschoolunrefined@gmail.com Visit our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Oct 8, 2018 • 52min
92: Where We Relax Into High School With Renee Tougas, Part 1
Need a Pick-Me-Up no matter what the age of your kids? Renee Tougas is the answer. Renee is a homeschool mom to 3 teenaged and young adult children. She is a talented blogger and adventurer. Her words are profound, inspiring and beyond encouraging. You could not ask for a better person to turn your homeschool from frustrating to flourishing! We walked away from this conversation feeling great about what we’re doing now to prepare for life with teenagers. Listen now! How to connect with Renee: Blog: http://renee.tougas.net/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reneetougas Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reneetougas/ My part-time work: content writer, community, marketing, and media manager for B-RAD Podcast & https://bradtoews.com/ Loving This Week Angela: Accuweather App Maren: Y Weave Rectangle Storage Bin - Room Essentials Visit our website Support us on Patreon here. Join our closed Facebook group: Unrefined Homeschoolers Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube Angela on Instagram: @unrefinedangela Maren on Instagram: @unrefinedmaren Email us any questions or feedback at homeschoolunrefined@gmail.com Visit our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Oct 1, 2018 • 55min
91: Where We Werk!
In this episode, we navigate the ups and downs of being a working parent, especially when it comes to homeschooling. This gig isn’t easy, but for so many of us, working is an important part of our lives. If you think this episode isn’t for you, think again! We are all working and parenting. We could make a list a mile long of the many tasks we all do that hold our house together. Let’s give ourselves credit for the many hats we wear. How do you balance working and parenting? Loving This Week Angela: Grain Free Pumpkin Bars (also mentioned this pumpkin bread) Maren: Forever Visit our website Support us on Patreon here. Join our closed Facebook group: Unrefined Homeschoolers Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube Angela on Instagram: @unrefinedangela Maren on Instagram: @unrefinedmaren Email us any questions or feedback at homeschoolunrefined@gmail.com Visit our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Sep 24, 2018 • 53min
90: Where We September Check-In
We loved our summer check-in series so much, we decided to make it a monthly reoccurring episode. We’ll check in with what’s going well, what needs tweaking, and how our self-care is going. If you have a friend who can do this type of check-in with you, go for it now! If not, we’re here for you. What’s going well, what needs tweaking, and how is YOUR self-care going? Loving This Week Angela: Slow Burn Season 2 Maren: Fatboy Spray Putty Visit our website Support us on Patreon here. Join our closed Facebook group: Unrefined Homeschoolers Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube Angela on Instagram: @unrefinedangela Maren on Instagram: @unrefinedmaren Email us any questions or feedback at homeschoolunrefined@gmail.com Visit our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Sep 17, 2018 • 43min
89: Top 10 Things We've Learned in 21 Years of Homeschooling With Pam Barnhill
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. Loving This Week Maren: Hello Activated Charcoal Toothpaste Angela: Beloved Cami Visit our website Support us on Patreon here. Join our closed Facebook group: Unrefined Homeschoolers Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube Angela on Instagram: @unrefinedangela Maren on Instagram: @unrefinedmaren Email us any questions or feedback at homeschoolunrefined@gmail.com Visit our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Artwork

Sep 10, 2018 • 50min
88: Where We Empower Kids To Self-Evaluate
This week, we dive into the vital skill of self-evaluating. We hone in on why it’s so good and how we do it (or how we WANT to do it more). We also think of some good examples of what it looks like when there is successful self-evaluation happening. As always, we have a fun chat to start out the episode, and we end with our LTWs (Loving This Weeks). Loving This Week Angela: Doterra Past Tense Maren: GT's Unity Kombucha Visit our website Support us on Patreon here. Join our closed Facebook group: Unrefined Homeschoolers Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube Angela on Instagram: @unrefinedangela Maren on Instagram: @unrefinedmaren Email us any questions or feedback at homeschoolunrefined@gmail.com Visit our Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/homeschoolunrefined We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.