Dollars & Sense

By Carol ToppEducation Parenting Kids & Family

Dollars & Sense episodes

November 15, 2018How to Have Happy and Thankful Homeschool Co-op Members
Are your homeschool co-op members happy and thankful? Or maybe they are complaining to you. Can that be changed?
Homeschool mother Becky Abrams started a homeschooling co-op from scratch which included finding people to help her lead the group. She finds her co-op members are thankful to be a part of something. Many want to have a voice and they are invited to help lead.
In today’s podcast Carol Topp interviews homeschool leader Becky Abrams who started and leads a homeschool co-op in Oregon.
In this episode of the HomeschoolCPA podcast Becky explains:
How she went about finding help
How her co-op’s board came together
How to have happy and thankful co-op members!
How Becky invited new board members to join the leadership team
How to let co-op members have a voice
My favorite quote from Becky in this episode is “If we’re going to do this…we want to be organized and have a board!”
In the podcast, Carol mentioned the I Am a Homeschool Group Leader Facebook Group. It is a closed group (meaning you have to request to join) of 530 homeschool leaders from across the USA. You can join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/72534255742/

Featured Product:
Help your homeschool group get organized and run smoothly!
Author and homeschool advisor, Carol Topp, CPA, has created a Homeschool Organization Board Manual. It is a template to create a board member binder. It has:
A list of important documents to keep in your binder
Section dividers so you can organize the important papers
Tools to help you run your meetings smoothly including
A sample agenda that you can use over and over again
A calendar of board meetings
But this is more than just a few cover sheets for your binder. It is also a 55-page board training manual with helpful articles on:
Suggested Board Meeting Topic List
Board Duties
Job Descriptions for Board of Directors
What Belongs in the Bylaws?
Compensation and Benefits for Board Members
Best Financial Practices Checklist
How to Read and Understand Financial Statements
Developing a Child Protection Policy
Read more about the Homeschool Organization Board Manual

The post How to Have Happy and Thankful Homeschool Co-op Members appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
15 min
November 08, 2018Necessity Leads New Homeschooler to Start a Homeschool Co-op
Homeschool mother Becky Abrams started homeschooling out of desperation. “By October homeschooling was a disaster!” she said. Her 3 sons were miserable and lonely, and Becky had a newborn and was lonely herself! She tells host Carol Topp how desperation and necessity drove Becky to start a homeschool field trip group and later launch a homeschool co-op–all as a brand new homeschooler herself!
In today’s podcast Carol Topp interviews homeschool leader Becky Abrams who started and leads a homeschool co-op in Oregon.
In this episode of the HomeschoolCPA podcast Becky explains:
Why she started homeschooling her 3 sons
What drove her to start meeting other homeschool families
How she connected with other homeschool families as a new homeschooler
What she did when her sons needed to find friends
My favorite quote from Becky in this episode is “I was a brand new homeschooler and I’m leading a group?!”
Carol and Becky met online at the I Am a Homeschool Group Leader Facebook Group. It is a closed group (meaning you have to request to join) of 2500 homeschool leaders from across the USA (and internationally as well). You can join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/homeschoolgroupleader

Featured Product
Homeschool Co-ops:
How to Start Them, Run Them and not Burn Out
Have you ever thought about starting a homeschool co-op like Becky did? Are you afraid it will be too much work? Do you think you’ll have to do it all by yourself? Starting a homeschool co-op can be easy! This book Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out will give you ideas, inspiration, tips, wisdom and the tools you need to start a homeschool co-op, run it and not burn out!
Click Here to request more information!
The post Necessity Leads New Homeschooler to Start a Homeschool Co-op appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
13 min
November 01, 2018Are You Helping or Hindering Parents to Homeschool?
You lead a homeschool group to help parents successfully homeschool, right? But could your homeschool program actually be hindering their success as a homeschool parents?

In this episode of the HomeschoolCPA podcast, Carol Topp will share:
How homeschool groups take on responsibilities that belong to the parent
Do you assume your parent, especially new ones, don’t know how to homeschool? Some homeschool program undermine confidence of homeschool parents
Some homeschool programs foster dependence on their program to homeschool successfully
Is your group too controlling?
Are your parents dependent on your group or program to successfully homeschool?
How to identify if you are helping or hindering parents
Here’s a quote from the podcast:
“If your group is taking over the education of the children then you are not helping that parent, especially that mom, to homeschool successfully. You are actually hindering her. You are making her dependent on your group.”
Instead you should empower her to homeschool her kids on her own
If one of your parents says, “I couldn’t have homeschooled without your group!” you should reflect on this question:
If my group closed tomorrow would our parents still continue to joyfully and confidentially continue to homeschool?
I hope so!
Share your thoughts on the I am a Homeschool Group Leader Facebook group!
Featured resource

Do you have questions about running your homeschool group?
Start by reading the Articles or search the blog. For more detailed information visit the bookstore and listen to HomeschoolCPA’s podcast.
If you want individual help, consider a phone consultation with Carol Topp, CPA
Phone Consultation: A pre-arranged phone call to discuss your questions. My most popular service for homeschool leaders. It’s like having your own homeschool expert CPA on the phone!
Cost: $75/hour to nonprofit organizations. $100/hour to for-profit businesses. $60 minimum.
Q &A by Email: I am willing to answer questions by email, but it is very time consuming to read and reply to emails. I charge a reduced rate of $50/hour to read and reply to emails. Minimum $25.
Contact HomeschoolCPA, Carol Topp, CPA, to arrange a telephone consultation.
Click Here to request more information!
The post Are You Helping or Hindering Parents to Homeschool? appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
13 min
October 25, 2018Are your Homeschool Group’s Financial Reports Confusing? Webinar for you!
Are you confused by the financial reports from your homeschool group?
Do you avoid asking questions because you don’t even know what to ask?
You’re not alone!
In this short podcast episode (8 minutes) Carol Topp, the HomeschoolCPA, will tell you about a webinar she is hosting on Monday October 29, 2018 at 8 pm ET.
Financial Reports for Homeschool Groups: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
During this webinar you will learn:
How to read a financial report
Know what red flags to look for
What are the two most important reports for your board to see regularly
What mistakes treasurers make
Use the financial report to make decisions and set goals.
You will be shown the good, the bad and the ugly of financial reports.

Join Carol Topp, CPA on Monday October 29 at 8 pm ET, 7 pm CT, 6 pm MT and 5 pm PT for a one-hour webinar
Financial Reports for Homeschool Groups: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The webinar will be recorded, so please Register so that you will be emailed the link to the video.
The advantages of attending live:
Time for your questions and answers from Carol (Carol charges $75/hour for a private phone consultation, so this is a bargain!)
Interact in the chat room with other homeschool leaders
It will get done! I know you have good intentions to watch the video later, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen.
Register now and join us on Monday October 29, 2018 at 8 pm ET, 7 pm CT, 6 pm MT and 5 pm PT
Featured resource

Do you have questions about running your homeschool group?
Start by reading the Articles or search the blog. For more detailed information visit the bookstore and listen to HomeschoolCPA’s podcast.
If you want individual help, consider a phone consultation with Carol Topp, CPA
Phone Consultation: A pre-arranged phone call to discuss your questions. My most popular service for homeschool leaders. It’s like having your own homeschool expert CPA on the phone!
Cost: $75/hour to nonprofit organizations. $100/hour to for-profit businesses. $60 minimum.
Q &A by Email: I am willing to answer questions by email, but it is very time consuming to read and reply to emails. I charge a reduced rate of $50/hour to read and reply to emails. Minimum $25.
Contact HomeschoolCPA, Carol Topp, CPA, to arrange a telephone consultation.
Click Here to request more information!
The post Are your Homeschool Group’s Financial Reports Confusing? Webinar for you! appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
9 min
October 18, 2018Knowing Your Social Style Can Make Leadership Easier!
Knowing Your Social Style Can Make Leadership Easier
Sometimes leading a homeschool group means you are working with people who are very different from you.
They want to socialize and you want to get a meeting started.
They want to discuss every possible option and you want to make a decision.
They want to hurry up and vote and you want to make sure everyone has input.
How frustrating!
In today’s episode of the HomeschoolCPA podcast, host Carol Topp explains what she has learned about social styles.
Social styles are based on research and classify people into four quadrants: Analytical, Driving, Amiable and Expressive. The quadrants are based on our tendency to be more assertive or responsive (the horizontal axis) and our tendency to be emoting or controlling.

In this episode of the HomeschoolCPA podcast, Carol Topp will share:
What is a social style
The 4 types of social styles
How knowing your social style can help you have a better meeting
Understanding others’ social style makes teamwork easier

From visiting SocialStyle.com and viewing their videos I know I am a Driving personality. Driving people are results-oriented, don’t like things that waste time, and prefer getting to the point and staying on target. They prefer others to show respect for time by sticking to a schedule.
But another board member is the Amiable style who tends to move slowly with less time discipline. They want time for small talk and socializing before moving to the matter at hand.
That pretty much conflicts with my desires!!
What to do?
Well, I need to learn to adapt to her style and maybe tone down my driving style a bit. Hear how I did that in the podcast.
Maybe you can adapt what you learn to your next homeschool board meeting. Tell us about it on the I am a Homeschool Group Leader Facebook group!

Featured resource
Another tool to help you run a smooth and efficient board meeting is having an agenda. The Board Manual for homeschool organizations has sample agenda for you to use. I think you’ll find it helpful to organize your board and run your homeschool organization successfully!
The Homeschool Organization Board Manual has:
A list of important documents to keep in your binder
Section dividers so you can organize the important papers
Tools to help you run your meetings smoothly including
A sample agenda that you can use over and over again
A calendar of board meetings
But this is more than just a few cover sheets for your binder. It is also a 55-page board training manual with helpful articles on:
Suggested Board Meeting Topic List
Board Duties
Job Descriptions for Board of Directors
What Belongs in the Bylaws?
Compensation and Benefits for Board Members
Best Financial Practices Checklist
How to Read and Understand Financial Statements
Developing a Child Protection Policy
Read more about the Homeschool Organization Board Manual
The post Knowing Your Social Style Can Make Leadership Easier! appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
14 min
October 11, 2018Deliberately Mentoring Leaders: How Do You Do It?
One of the best things about being in a homeschool group is the community of support you can receive. But do you know how to build a sense of communit
In today’s podcast Carol Topp interviews homeschool leader Sheri Payne from Virginia. Sheri is the Director of Leader Support for HEAV, the Home Education Association of Virginia. She shares advice on many topics including how she deliberately trained and mentored other leaders.
In this episode of the HomeschoolCPA podcast, Carol Topp and Sheri discuss:
Holding regular meetings of leaders
The importance of being constantly in communication
Asking hypothetical questions to train your replacement
Let your leaders make mistakes and learn from them (just like parenting!)
My favorite quote from Sheri in this episode is, “We were constantly in communication.”
Be sure to tune into the other HomeschoolCPA podcast episodes with Sheri Payne including:
How to Start a Virtual Homeschool Co-op #143
Why You Can’t Lead Alone # 142
In the podcast, Carol mentioned the I Am a Homeschool Group Leader Facebook Group. It is a closed group (meaning you have to request to join) of 530 homeschool leaders from across the USA. You can join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/72534255742/

Featured Product:
Phone Consultation with Carol Topp, CPA
Do you have questions about leading your homeschool organization? Carol Topp’s website, books and this podcast are a great way to learn the basics, but maybe you need advice specific to your group. Carol Topp, CPA can arrange a private phone consultations with you and your board members.
Phone Consultation: A pre-arranged phone call to discuss your questions. My most popular service for homeschool leaders. It’s like having your own homeschool expert CPA on the phone!
Cost: $75/hour to nonprofit organizations.
We can arrange a conference call so all your board members can call in from their own homes. The call can be recorded for those unable to attend.
Contact HomeschoolCPA, Carol Topp, CPA, to arrange a telephone consultation.
Click Here to request more information!
Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor – Change is in the Air Movie
This story embraces the imperfections that make us human, offers a way to set ourselves free and asks us all to take a good, long look at the wild birds in the sky.
Watch the trailer here!
The post Deliberately Mentoring Leaders: How Do You Do It? appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
12 min
October 04, 2018Why You Can’t Lead Alone
What’s the biggest mistake homeschool leaders make? It’s trying to be a lone wolf and do everything by yourself.
In today’s podcast Carol Topp interviews homeschool leader Sheri Payne from Virginia. Sheri is the Director of Leader Support for HEAV, the Home Education Association of Virginia. She shares advice on many topics including the mistakes she made in leading a homeschool organization.
In this episode of the HomeschoolCPA podcast, Carol Topp and Sheri discuss:
Her biggest mistake as a leader: doing everything by herself
The importance of getting a team
Finding people who are good in areas you lack
Peace-making and conflict resolution
Training you successor and deliberately mentoring leaders
My favorite quote from Sheri in this episode is “I can’t be a lone wolf because I have deficiencies in my personality.”
Be sure to tune into the other HomeschoolCPA podcast episodes with Sheri Payne including:
How to Start a Virtual Homeschool Co-op
Deliberately Mentoring Leaders. How Do You Do It?
In the podcast, Carol mentioned the I Am a Homeschool Group Leader Facebook Group. It is a closed group (meaning you have to request to join) of 530 homeschool leaders from across the USA. You can join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/72534255742/

Featured Product:
Help your homeschool group get organized and run smoothly!
Author and homeschool advisor, Carol Topp, CPA, has created a Homeschool Organization Board Manual. It is a template to create a board member binder. It has:
A list of important documents to keep in your binder
Section dividers so you can organize the important papers
Tools to help you run your meetings smoothly including
A sample agenda that you can use over and over again
A calendar of board meetings
But this is more than just a few cover sheets for your binder. It is also a 55-page board training manual with helpful articles on:
Suggested Board Meeting Topic List
Board Duties
Job Descriptions for Board of Directors
What Belongs in the Bylaws?
Compensation and Benefits for Board Members
Best Financial Practices Checklist
How to Read and Understand Financial Statements
Developing a Child Protection Policy
Read more about the Homeschool Organization Board Manual
The post Why You Can’t Lead Alone appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
12 min
September 27, 2018Leading a Virtual Homeschool Co-op
Homeschool families are pretty familiar with homeschool co-ops. It’s a gathering of homeschool families to cooperate together in teaching classes. They usually meet once a week at a location close to the participating families. But have you ever heard of a virtual homeschool co-op?
In today’s podcast Carol Topp interviews homeschool leader Sheri Payne who runs a virtual homeschool co-op that meets online. Participants attend from across the globe!
In this episode of the HomeschoolCPA podcast Sheri explains:
How the virtual co-op works
What technology is used
How to operate it without cost to the parents
The advantages of a virtual co-op
The disadvantages of co-oping online remotely and online
My favorite quote from Sheri in this episode is “Using technology even Socratic discussions are possible!”
Carol and Sheri met online at the I Am a Homeschool Group Leader Facebook Group. It is a closed group (meaning you have to request to join) of 530 homeschool leaders from across the USA (and maybe the globe soon!). You can join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/72534255742/

Featured Product

Homeschool Co-ops:
How to Start Them, Run Them and not Burn Out
Have you ever thought about starting a homeschool co-op? Are you afraid it will be too much work? Do you think you’ll have to do it all by yourself? Starting a homeschool co-op can be easy! This book Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out will give you ideas, inspiration, tips, wisdom and the tools you need to start a homeschool co-op, run it and not burn out!
Click Here to request more information!

Special Thanks to our Network Sponsor, Kiwi Crate!
KiwiCo has monthly subscriptions of hands-on projects that make learning fun! Their core offering is projects that make learning about STEAM — science, technology, engineering, art, and math — accessible and are designed to spark creativity, tinkering, and learning. Some recent favorite crates are the Slime Lab, Physics Carnival, and Paper Circuits.
Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network is excited to be able to offer you the chance to try them for FREE. To learn more about their projects for kids ages 2 to 16 AND to redeem this exclusive offer, click here to get your first month free today (just pay $4.95 for shipping)
The post Leading a Virtual Homeschool Co-op appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
19 min
September 20, 2018What’s a Good Way to Handle Conflicts in a Homeschool Group?
Conflict, hurt feeling, gossip, even bullying. Does it happen in your homeschool group Probably!
What can you do about it?
In today’s podcast Carol Topp interviews homeschool leader Anjoli Gallo. Anjoli runs a group in southern Florida and she shares insight into dealing with conflict. But she also shares some great tips on how she manages her time so leading a group doesn’t take over her life.
In this episode of the HomeschoolCPA podcast, Carol Topp and Anjoli discuss:
Challenges she faced as a new leader
What to do when members blame you!
Merging two groups together
How she limits the time she works on group stuff
Dealing with conflict (get them alone to talk about it)
Why being a leader is like being a school principal
Remember: you don’t know what is going on in peoples’ lives
My favorite quote from Anjoli in this episode is “Don’t call them out in front of everybody, you just speak to them privately… they will appreciate you not embarrassing them.”
In the podcast, Carol mentioned the I Am a Homeschool Group Leader Facebook Group. It is a closed group (meaning you have to request to join) of 530 homeschool leaders from across the USA. You can join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/72534255742/

Featured Product
Is there conflict in your homeschool group? Need help managing the volunteers in your organization? Carol Topp’s book Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and not Burn Out has a chapter devoted to Managing Volunteer and conflict!

Homeschool Co-ops:
How to Start Them, Run Them and not Burn Out
This book Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out will give you ideas, inspiration, tips, wisdom and the tools you need to start a homeschool co-op, run it and not burn out!
Click Here to request more information!

Special Thanks to our Network Sponsor, Kiwi Crate!

We’d like to thank our Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network sponsor, Kiwi Crate!
KiwiCo has monthly subscriptions of hands-on projects that make learning fun! Their core offering is projects that make learning about STEAM — science, technology, engineering, art, and math — accessible and are designed to spark creativity, tinkering, and learning. Some recent favorite crates are the Slime Lab, Physics Carnival, and Paper Circuits.
Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network is excited to be able to offer you the chance to try them for FREE. To learn more about their projects for kids ages 2 to 16 AND to redeem this exclusive offer, click here to get your first month free today (just pay $4.95 for shipping)

The post What’s a Good Way to Handle Conflicts in a Homeschool Group? appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
14 min
September 13, 2018How Can Your Homeschool Group Feel Like a Community?
One of the best things about being in a homeschool group is the community of support you can receive. But do you know how to build a sense of community?
In today’s podcast Carol Topp interviews homeschool leader Angela Weaver. Angela runs a large group in Lynchburg, Virginia and she shares her experience on many topics. Angela had so much advice, that it takes three episodes and this is the third of three parts!
In this episode of the HomeschoolCPA podcast, Carol Topp and Angela discuss:
Having a common vision is key
Ideas on how to build a community
How a fundraiser for others can build community
A sample purpose statement
How the purpose statement gets acted out through activities
How serving others can build community within your group
Are homeschoolers losing a sense of community?
What could happen if we don’t have a supportive community?
My favorite quote from Angela in this episode is “It’s important that everyone is on the same page so you make decisions that stay in line with your purpose.”
In the podcast, Carol mentioned the I Am a Homeschool Group Leader Facebook Group. It is a closed group (meaning you have to request to join) of 530 homeschool leaders from across the USA. You can join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/72534255742/

Featured Product:
Phone Consultation with Carol Topp, CPA
Do you have questions about leading your homeschool organization? Carol Topp’s website, books and this podcast are a great way to learn the basics, but maybe you need advice specific to your group. Carol Topp, CPA can arrange a private phone consultations with you and your board members.
Phone Consultation: A pre-arranged phone call to discuss your questions. My most popular service for homeschool leaders. It’s like having your own homeschool expert CPA on the phone!
Cost: $75/hour to nonprofit organizations.
We can arrange a conference call so all your board members can call in from their own homes. The call can be recorded for those unable to attend.
Contact HomeschoolCPA, Carol Topp, CPA, to arrange a telephone consultation.
Click Here to request more information!
Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor -Time 4 Learning
Time4Learning provides the tools and resources students need to build skills and confidence in the core subjects like math, language arts, science, and social studies. No matter how long you’ve been homeschooling or whatever your current situation, Time4Learning is a flexible, online curriculum that can be tailored to your child’s individual needs.
The comprehensive, award-winning curriculum allow students to study confidently and excel at their own pace, making it ideal for all kinds of learners, whether they are mainstream, gifted or special needs.
Click Here to Visit Time 4 Learning!
The post How Can Your Homeschool Group Feel Like a Community? appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
17 min