Episode summary January is the perfect time for a mom's personal retreat. In this episode Jessica will share tips and tricks of hosting your own personal homeschool mom retreat. With a little bit of creativity, you can benefit from taking the time to rest, pray, plan, and goal-set for the second half of the school year. Host biography Jessica is a wife, homeschool mom of three, author, and blogger. She lives in sunny North Carolina on a big family farm with chickens, goats, cousins, and lots of mud. Connect Jessica Smartt | Instagram | Facebook | Website Homeschooling.mom | Instagram | Website Thank you to our sponsors! Medi-Share: an affordable Christian alternative to traditional health insurance Have you joined us at one of the Great Homeschool Conventions?  We hope to see you there! For more encouragement on your homeschooling journey, visit the Homeschooling.mom site, and tune in to our sister podcast  The Charlotte Mason Show. View full show notes on the blog.

308 | Planning Your New Year's Personal Retreat (Jessica Smartt)

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Fathers, like mothers, are busy, but our kind of busy has a way of pulling us away from our family. There just is no let up in all the things they have to do, but if we're not careful we'll wake up one day and realize that all those to-dos took us away from the duty to influence the lives of our children for good. This episode is a call to be more deliberate in turning away from the demands of the present to engage in the perishable privilege of spending time with our children. About Sean Sean Allen is the founder of The Well Ordered Homeschool, husband to his beautiful bride Caroline and a proud father of eight. He has a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design and is passionate about creating materials to assist parents in the incredibly challenging, yet surpassingly beautiful, work of schooling and training their children at home. Resources   The Well Ordered Homeschool Planner - 2024-2025 Edition Find a Great Homeschool Convention near you! Connect Sean Allen | Instagram | Facebook | Website Homeschooling.mom | Instagram | Website Thank you to our sponsors! Medi-Share: an affordable Christian alternative to traditional health insurance Tuttle Twins: children’s books to help you teach your kids how the world really works Have you joined us at one of the Great Homeschool Conventions?  We hope to see you there! For more encouragement on your homeschooling journey, visit the Homeschooling.mom site, and tune in to our sister podcast  The Charlotte Mason Show. View full show notes on the blog.

428 | A Call to Fathers (Sean Allen)

Sudden and unwanted changes in our familiar homeschool activities and social circles can send our confidence skidding off the road. We can cry on the side of the road, or use these sudden exits to get on a new road to the undiscovered interests and opportunities God is preparing. About Jennifer Jennifer Cabrera, the Hifalutin Homeschooler, is the writer of homeschool truth, humor, and inspiration.  Jennifer lives in Salado, Texas with her husband and three brilliant boys.  She is a licensed Physician Assistant/MPH, but set aside that career for her ultimate life's work.  She is also the author of  Socialize Like a Homeschooler: A Humorous Homeschool Handbook and  Revolting Writing, a hilarious writing, vocabulary, and illustration journal for reluctant writers.  She is a featured speaker with Great Homeschool Conventions and her memes and witty insights are widely shared on social media. Resources  Gross-Out Grammar and Revolting Writing - Humorous, Colorfully Illustrated, and Engaging Language Arts Series Connect Jennifer Cabrera | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | Website Homeschooling.mom | Instagram | Website Thank you to our sponsors! Medi-Share: an affordable Christian alternative to traditional health insurance Tuttle Twins: children’s books to help you teach your kids how the world really works Have you joined us at one of the Great Homeschool Conventions?  We hope to see you there! For more encouragement on your homeschooling journey, visit the Homeschooling.mom site, and tune in to our sister podcast  The Charlotte Mason Show. View full show notes on the blog.

427 | What Do We Do Now? When Favorite Homeschool Pastimes Abruptly End (Jennifer Cabrera)

In this episode, Jessica interviews Megan Ross, who amazingly juggles both homeschooling five children AND running an impressive homesteading operation. We talk about all the things - balancing schoolwork and farm chores, butchering animals (yes), growing fruit trees, and which homesteading ventures offers the biggest ROI. About Megan Megan Ross is a first generation homeschooler and homesteader in North Carolina. She raises five children, along with goats, rabbits, chickens, and lots of crops on her two-acre well-maximized space.  About Jessica Jessica is a wife, homeschool mom of three, author, and blogger. She lives in sunny North Carolina on a big family farm with chickens, goats, cousins, and lots of mud. Resources   Chore and Allowance Chart Connect Jessica Smartt | Instagram | Facebook | Website Homeschooling.mom | Instagram | Website Thank you to our sponsors! Medi-Share: an affordable Christian alternative to traditional health insurance Tuttle Twins: children’s books to help you teach your kids how the world really works Have you joined us at one of the Great Homeschool Conventions?  We hope to see you there! For more encouragement on your homeschooling journey, visit the Homeschooling.mom site, and tune in to our sister podcast  The Charlotte Mason Show. View full show notes on the blog.

426 | Homeschooling and Homesteading (Jessica Smartt with Megan Ross) | REPLAY

When Jessica Smartt realized that what her seventh-grade son needed more than anything was to love reading, she created a little challenge for him. It has transformed him into a reader. She shares how to run a Book Challenge for YOUR family - summer reading, or in the school year! About Jessica Jessica is a wife, homeschool mom of three, author, and blogger. She lives in sunny North Carolina on a big family farm with chickens, goats, cousins, and lots of mud. Resources  50 Book Challenge Download Connect Jessica Smartt | Instagram | Facebook | Website Homeschooling.mom | Instagram | Website Thank you to our sponsors! Medi-Share: an affordable Christian alternative to traditional health insurance Tuttle Twins: children’s books to help you teach your kids how the world really works Have you joined us at one of the Great Homeschool Conventions?  We hope to see you there! For more encouragement on your homeschooling journey, visit the Homeschooling.mom site, and tune in to our sister podcast  The Charlotte Mason Show. View full show notes on the blog.

424 | How To Help Kids Love Reading: The 50 Book Challenge! (Jessica Smartt)

Real friends don’t let friends complain alone. Best good homeschool friends are for keeping it real, a safe space to complain. They can be the best defense against the homeschool blues and burnout. Let’s talk about why you need one, how to find one, and some truths and laughs about the perks of having your very own best good homeschool friend. About Jennifer Jennifer Cabrera, the Hifalutin Homeschooler, is the writer of homeschool truth, humor, and inspiration.  Jennifer lives in Salado, Texas with her husband and three brilliant boys.  She is a licensed Physician Assistant/MPH, but set aside that career for her ultimate life's work.  She is also the author of  Socialize Like a Homeschooler: A Humorous Homeschool Handbook and  Revolting Writing, a hilarious writing, vocabulary, and illustration journal for reluctant writers.  She is a featured speaker with Great Homeschool Conventions and her memes and witty insights are widely shared on social media. Resources   In a Moment of Weakness We Joined a Co-op Homeschool Nightmares  10 Things I Hate About Homeschooling Connect Jennifer Cabrera | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | Website Homeschooling.mom | Instagram | Website Thank you to our sponsors! Medi-Share: an affordable Christian alternative to traditional health insurance Tuttle Twins: children’s books to help you teach your kids how the world really works Have you joined us at one of the Great Homeschool Conventions?  We hope to see you there! For more encouragement on your homeschooling journey, visit the Homeschooling.mom site, and tune in to our sister podcast  The Charlotte Mason Show. View full show notes on the blog.

308 | Planning Your New Year's Personal Retreat (Jessica Smartt)

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