The Homeschool Solutions Show

I wrote last week about how your quiet time could be sabotaging your homeschool morning. This is so true for moms in particular seasons of life — especially when you are still waking multiple times each night or you have small children still. But what about the mom whose kids are pretty much school age. Why might moms of older kids still be struggling with getting mornings off to a good start? I have a few theories that might explain what is standing in your way. Listen or read more at https://pambarnhill.com/enemy-of-best-morning/

It was dark and rainy outside. I slowly peeled back the covers and eased away from the warm little body bedside me and into the cold. If I woke him, all bets were off. I fumbled around in the dark for my glasses and slippers as I eased quietly from the room to make a cup of coffee. I was lucky. I had groggily slapped the alarm right as it began to beep and my early-morning visitor snoozed on unaware today. Listen or read more at https://pambarnhill.com/how-your-morning-quiet-time-is-sabotaging-your-day/

I saw a photo the other day of a worn out, exhausted mother collapsed onto a chair, hand to forehead. The caption under the picture read “I put my symptoms into Web MD and it turns out I just have kids.” I couldn’t help but giggle. I knew exactly how she felt. Listen or read the rest here: https://rinellafamilyoutdoors.com/2017/07/17/symptoms-of-a-homeschool-mom/

Everyone wants a perfect holiday. The candlelit dinner with the gorgeous turkey and delicious pumpkin pie dessert; the immaculately wrapped presents with bows that were made by a bowdabra;  the family memories of adorably dressed children with matching holiday outfits; they are all part of the Norman Rockwell painting version of Christmas you aspire to create each year. Christmas is the holiday of holidays. Between the presents, the food, the crazy relatives – it can be super stressful to try to make Christmas perfect. How do you manage your visiting family and enjoy the most stressful holiday of the year? Listen or read more at https://www.hidethechocolate.com/perfect-christmas-with-visiting-family/  

I am often asked a lot of things when out and about with my family. Are all those kids yours? Do you know what causes that? You Homeschool, Aren’t you tired all the time? Not only are they all mine and yes we are very aware of how it happens, we like having a big family and I love being at home and educating them. Choosing to homeschool for my husband and I, was one of the easiest decisions we have made for our children. Both of our parents started out with similar foundations and choose homeschooling in a time where it was not as common or idealistic as it is today. Listen or read more at http://ourhalfdozenadventures.com/2018/05/12/my-reflections-as-a-homeschooled-daughter/

Have you looked into the tired eyes of a public school teacher lately? Have you crossed paths with an overwhelmed mom scrambling to cook dinner, do laundry, and help the kids with homework an hour before bedtime? This homeschool life is a gift to so many of us, yet we often take for granted the privilege of homeschooling. If you haven’t recently spent time outside your homeschool walls, it’s possible that you’ve been missing one of the greatest gifts of the homeschool lifestyle. Sure, we’re all thankful for the gifts of homeschool, but have we somehow lost our appreciation for the privilege of homeschooling? Maybe so. Listen or read more at https://tablelifeblog.com/privilege-of-homeschooling/

I’m not going to lie. Having multiple people in the room all at once is often the hardest part of homeschooling. Harder than choosing curriculum. Harder than keeping up with the laundry. Harder than teaching math. (I know, right?) Not only are you dealing with personalities and relationships but also with multiple levels and multiple subjects. And it never fails that everyone seems to need you all the time and all at once. Listen or read more at https://pambarnhill.com/juggling-multiple-kids/

I asked a question in my It’s Not that Hard to Homeschool K-8 Facebook group recently: “Do you feel like a success as a homeschool mom? Why or why not?” As you can imagine, there was a wide range of answers — but more “no’s” than I expected. But as I think about it, it makes sense to me that we don’t feel confident that we’re doing a good job. I think we’ve got an idea stuck in our heads about what makes a “successful” homeschool — and it’s the WRONG idea. Listen or read more at https://www.annieandeverything.com/homeschool-mom-failure/

John and I have a combined 30 years of homeschooling experience, and more like 40+ years if you count each of our children’s education separately! Some of that is our own experience as homeschooled students, and some comes from our perspective as homeschooling parents. We are a team, but we definitely have our own perspectives on homeschooling, both the big picture and the day to day reality. What if you could ask us a series of questions about homeschooling to see the similarities and differences between Dad’s and Mom’s perspective? We’ve taken on that challenge in this post! Listen or read more at https://humilityanddoxology.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/dad-mom-perspectives-homeschooling/

If you’ve got struggling or reluctant readers, this one is for you. I hope this post inspires you take a break from your everyday reading instruction and read the world around you. Don’t worry! Learning will move forward. You just have to think outside the book. Teaching a child to read is an amazing experience. I’ve been lucky enough to work with over 100 children learning to read in my career teaching first and second grade. Each child was different, and each one prepared me to teach my own son. Listen or read more at https://thehomeschoolresourceroom.com/2017/06/18/think-outside-the-book-10-other-ways-to-get-your-child-reading/