This episode is the first in a brand new 5-part series on the podcast: Start Where You Are.

This series is designed to meet you wherever you are in your homeschooling journey, offering the resourcing you need to move forward with meaning and acceptance. And to begin, we’re going straight to the foundation—by naming the elephant in the room: grief.

Grief isn’t only about death. It’s about the losses, big and small, that come with parenting and homeschooling—especially for families raising neurodivergent kids. It’s the grief of unmet expectations. The invisible grief of constant adaptation. The grief of medical interventions, school refusal, autistic burnout, and family rhythms that look nothing like we imagined.

Too often, grief is dismissed, mislabeled, or buried under burnout. Grief is not an enemy to fight—it’s a friend to make room for. It’s a teacher that invites us toward healing, wholeness, and connection.

In this conversation, I’m joined by my friend and Day In The Life community member Emily Souder—therapist, author, homeschool mom, and parent of neurodivergent kids. Emily knows this territory intimately, both through her personal story and her work in the world of neonatal loss and grief.

Together, we explore what it means to befriend grief and create space for it in our families—because tending to grief is not only vital for our own healing, but for the well-being of our children.

What grief is and how it shows up in our nervous system

Why the 5 stages of grief are often misunderstood

The Dual Process Model of Grief and how it helps us balance grieving and living

What happens when we suppress or avoid grief

Supporting our children in their own experiences of grief

Practical ways to tend to grief in our family rhythms

Learn more about Emily Souder on her website

Pre-order Emily’s newest book, Your NICU Story

Join us for the next Day In The Life Community Open House 

In this final episode of our four-part series on technology and learning, we're tackling a topic that feels like the "Wild West": artificial intelligence + kids.

Is this a threat, a tool, or something else entirely?

Join us for a grounded and thoughtful conversation with Andrew Dugan, a former teacher and software engineer who created Aris.chat, a customizable AI designed for kids. He helps us demystify what generative AI and large language models (LLMs) actually are, offering a critical and creative look at how these tools can be used for learning.

Andrew shares his unique perspective as a parent, teacher, software engineer, and consumer, exploring the promises and pitfalls of AI, especially for neurodivergent kids. We'll discuss how to use AI for self-directed learning, the importance of maintaining human connection in a digital world, and what red flags to look for in a tech tool.

This is a must-listen for any parent trying to make sense of AI. Tune in for an engaging conversation that tackles the tough questions about AI's role in children's lives, offering guidance, hope, and practical tips for navigating this brave new world.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Ready to talk about this and other topics with other parents?

Looking to catch up on the other episodes in this Tech + Learning Series?

This quick pop-up episode is here to remind you—

Day In The Life is open for enrollment through Saturday, August 2!

Day In The Life (DITL) is a virtual community for homeschooling parents raising exceptional, neurodivergent, or resistant kids. It’s a space to deschool, reconnect with your values, and build rhythms that support thriving kids and joyful parents.

Inside DITL, you’ll find:

Weekly Zoom gatherings on meaningful monthly topics

Daily connection through the Marco Polo video app

Small life groups + topical discussion groups

A growing library of written, video, and audio resources

A supportive space to be real, reflect, and grow

🎉 August’s theme is “Slow Starts Bring Joy” — and we’re welcoming guest expert Leslie Martino, author of Joy of Slow, to help us ground in nervous system health and resist the pressure of the back-to-school frenzy.

This episode (and enrollment!) will disappear soon. We won’t reopen again until November.

🎥 Click below to watch the Open House replay and join us:

Ready to join now? Click Here.

We hear it all the time: “But what about socialization?”

Socialization for homeschooled kids isn’t just same-aged peer associations and blindly following rules. It’s about nervous system safety, real relationships, and being known and accepted for who you are. Especially for neurodivergent kids, socialization must be safe enough to be meaningful.

But that’s not the socialization we’re here to talk about today.

This episode is about you—the homeschooling parent. The one navigating the invisible labor of parenting and educating kids with complex needs, while trying to re-parent yourself, manage burnout, and build a life that actually works.

And maybe feeling deeply alone in it.

If you've ever thought, “Where are the people like me?” or “Why does no one talk about how lonely this is?”—this episode is for you.

You’ll hear:

Let’s stop pretending we can do this alone. Let’s talk about the kind of socialization you need to thrive.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Come to our next Day In the Life Open House and see what it looks like to support your homeschool life with a community that gets you.

Save your spot for the Open House

We’ll show you what a real-life, sustainable, child-honoring homeschool actually looks like.

Stay connected:

At the end of the day, trust your instincts and explore alternatives to what isn’t working!

I’d love to connect personally, find me on Instagram.

Want to help another parent?

Friend, is your homeschool driven by the fear that your child is falling behind?

Do you find yourself itching to double down on academics—despite your neurodivergent child’s resistance—because that’s what society says learning looks like?

In today’s myth-busting episode, we unpack one of the most pervasive homeschooling fears: that more academic work = more learning. We’ll examine why this belief is misleading, what it overlooks about how learning actually works (especially for neurodivergent kids), and what to do instead when your child is in burnout, shutdown, or full-blown resistance.

If you feel like you’re walking a knife’s edge trying to wear both the “parent” and “teacher” hats, this episode is for you.

What You'll Learn:

Come to our next Day In the Life Open House and see what it looks like to build a homeschool that works with your child’s nervous system—not against it.

🗓️ Save your spot for the Open House

We’ll show you what a real-life, sustainable, child-honoring homeschool actually looks like.

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Trying to stick to the plan? Maybe that’s the problem. In part 3 of our mini-series answering the most common homeschooling questions, you’ll hear a no-nonsense episode at what’s really underneath the question of “What should our homeschool schedule look like?”

If you’ve ever built a beautiful schedule only to abandon it two weeks later, you’ll want to tune-in.  Don’t worry, you’re definitely NOT failing—you’re just trying to meet too many needs without enough margin. Let’s talk about why rigid plans rarely work (especially for neurodivergent families), how to shift toward rhythm, and how to start noticing what’s already working in your home.

You’ll also hear how the 90-Minute School Day framework helps families create a flexible container for consistent connection, story, and shared learning—without pressure, overwhelm, or performance.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Links & Resources:

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Know a friend who’s overwhelmed by homeschool planning or stuck in the schedule spiral? Send this their way. It’s a breath of fresh air—and a much-needed mindset shift.

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You don’t need a better curriculum. You need a better question.

If you’ve been wondering which curriculum is best for your child—this episode is for you.

Homeschooling parents often carry the weight of making the “right” choice when it comes to planning, materials, and structure. But what if that whole line of thinking is leading you away from what your child actually needs?

In this second episode of our mini-series answering the most common homeschooling questions, we reframe the search for the perfect curriculum—and offer something far more valuable than a product recommendation: clarity, confidence, and a new approach to homeschooling that honors your child and your real life.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Mentioned in this episode:

Join our Day In The Life Open House →

Get helpful tools + support when you RSVP!

Stay connected:

“What do I legally have to do to homeschool my child?”

In this clarity-packed mini-episode, Kelly answers one of the most common (and anxiety-inducing) questions from homeschooling parents:

Whether you're just getting started or deep into deschooling, this episode delivers no-nonsense insight into what most laws really require—and why the language is often intentionally vague. Kelly shares how to translate everyday life into valid documentation, why curriculum isn’t always the answer (especially for neurodivergent kids), and how deschooling builds your confidence as an educator and parent.

Plus, she introduces the Day in the Life (DITL) community and invites you to the upcoming Open House on July 29.

What You’ll Learn

Mentioned in This Episode

Related episodes:

Join the DITL Community

This is part 3 of our 4-part series on screens, technology, and learning. In today’s episode, I’m joined by my client-turned-friend and founding Day in the Life (DITL) member, Emily Biolsi.

Emily is a former public school teacher with a master's in curriculum design and instruction who now homeschools her two young children with an unschooling, interest-led approach.

Like many of us, she found herself wondering: How do I keep track of all the rich, real learning we’re doing—especially without a curriculum?

Enter: AI.

Listen-in as Emily walks us through exactly how she’s been experimenting with AI as a tool for documenting learning in her homeschool.

She shares with us:

This conversation is an invitation to think creatively about tools that might support your homeschooling.

If you’re craving more real-life stories and strategies like this, join us inside the Day in the Life (DITL) community. We continue these conversations weekly and store them in our growing member library.

Want to see what that feels like?

Come to our next Day in the Life Open House.

We’d love to have you.

Click here to RSVP

Part 1 and 2 in the Tech & Learning Series:

The 90-Minute School Day Framework: Self-Paced Course

Be a Guide Not a Teacher, Learn About Guide Training™: Group Coaching

“I did everything they tell you, and I did it perfectly—and it failed me and almost destroyed my child.”

Amanda re-joins the podcast (Ep. 13) for a conversation that challenges everything you’ve been taught to fear about screentime. 

This episode was recorded live inside 90-Minute School Day In The Life (DITL) homeschool community, where Amanda dropped in straight from the soccer field and jumped into a vulnerable, grounded discussion about screens, shame, and agency.

Together, we explore:

You’ll also hear anonymized responses from DITL community members about how screentime looks in their homes—showcasing the rich diversity of approaches, and the shared heart of parents trying to lead with love.

This is Part 2 in our 4-part Tech & Learning series, so make sure to check out the other episodes where we explore mindsets, boundaries, using AI in our homeschools, play, and learning in the digital age.

🔗 Links & Resources:

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