The Homeschool Solutions Show

Tell me I’m not the only one… You spend hours crafting the Ultimate Book List… You incorporate hands-on-projects… You basically make learning awesome and fun… And a few years (or maybe even months or – worse – weeks) later, your children don’t seem to remember any of it. It’s tempting to get a little grumpy about the perceived waste of time and effort. Listen or read more at https://humilityanddoxology.com/why-bother/

Each day as we wrap up school I take a moment to return our table from desk back to gathering place. I stack books, collect papers and brush up the eraser dust from the day’s lessons. Eraser dust. Everywhere. From the small eraser at the end of the pencils that fail to be enough, to the eraser caps we buy by the dozens, to the ‘big guys’ that can handle the jobs the others can’t, erasers are always made available… but are often forgotten. Listen or read more at https://rinellafamilyoutdoors.com/2019/02/01/the-eraser/

I never like to admit when I’m barely treading water, but it happens almost every year as Thanksgiving approaches. The moment the leftover turkey is put in the fridge, it seems that December and its giant to-do list overwhelm me. Besides the regular crazy that we call our day-to-day around here, December kicks it up more than a notch or two. Listen or read more at https://ourjourneywestward.com/take-the-stress-out-of-december/

Today on the podcast I am joined by my good friends Sarah Mackenzie and Colleen Kessler to chat about our new adventure next year -- the Real Mom Tour with Great Homeschool Conventions. We are so excited to share this new event with homeschool moms all over the country.   Join the conversation as we talk about our favorite things about going to the convention, our insider convention stories, and how to get the most from your convention trip. We can't wait to see you there.

Why do we homeschool? Our story to coming to terms with what is really best for our family – and getting over-explaining it to everyone on the street. “You’re homeschooling? How lovely. WHY would you want to do that?” Going against the mainstream opens the door to big questions about big life choices to random strangers at the post office. Listen or read more at https://thehomeschoolresourceroom.com/2017/12/14/pros-and-cons-of-homeschool/

I don't know about your kids, but mine love to bake. There is something about getting in the kitchen and making a mess while making something yummy that appeals. This summer I had the pleasure of meeting Tiffany Dahle who has a brand new baking book out for kids. My favorite thing about it (other than the gorgeous photos)? It makes things easy. It is written in clear, kid-friendly language. I could totally hand this over to my kids and they will actually learn to bake all the things. On this episode of the podcast Tiffany and I chat about the book, but also many of the benefits of baking with kids. You also get to hear Tiffany's story of how she came unexpectedly to homeschooling and what it is meaning to her family. For links and more info: https://pambarnhill.com/cooking-with-kids/

How many times have you heard the phrase that kids just can’t stick to an instrument long enough? Or that kids like to explore music but don’t like to commit to anyone instrument? As a music teacher, I hear this complaint all the time. I hear it from parents and I hear it from other music teachers. They just say things like “Oh well, the child quit again! They have a short attention span, that’s just how it is”. But I’m here to tell you “No – that’s not how it is”! It shouldn’t be that way. It’s a fallacy that kids can’t persevere with music or that they can’t stick to an instrument long enough. Absolutely not true. Listen or read more at https://www.gentleguitar.com/parent-role-in-music-education/

Andrew Stanley was homeschooled through eighth grade and gets it. He knows homeschooling makes the fodder for some funny jokes. Join me and Andrew on this episode of the podcast as we chat about how a finance major ended up as a standup comedian, if his years as a homeschooler somehow uniquely prepared him for his current profession, and other things he might not want his mother to know (as if she doesn't already).

So you’ve been doing Morning Time in your home and that now your kids are getting a little bit older, you’re wondering should I still be doing Morning Time? Can I still be do Morning Time and how is that going to work? Maybe you’ve been doing Morning Time for quite a while and now some of your kids are starting to get a little bit older. They might even become a little reluctant to keep participating in Morning Time.  Listen or read more at https://pambarnhill.com/morning-basket-with-older-kids/

Morning baskets are something that have been taking the homeschool world by storm. Everywhere you look there they are. So you might be wondering what is this morning basket thing and do I want to do one? Morning basket is just another name for a practice that has been going on in homeschool circles for over 30 years now. Simply, it’s a time in the day when everyone in the family can come together and learn together about specific subjects and morning basket is just one of the names for it. Listen or read more at https://pambarnhill.com/homeschool-morning-basket/