No matter how early or late into your homeschool journey you are, how old your kids are, or how much time you spend homeschooling each day – it is never too late to start a family morning time routine in your homeschool!

Our morning time is our favorite time of day in our homeschool and something we do whether we have a lot planned or barely anything planned for our homeschool.

My daughters are currently 9, 6, and 3, and we have a baby on the way, but I foresee us doing morning time until all my kids are graduated even when they are doing a lot of their school work on their own because it has so many benefits!  Today I’m going to share what we love about morning times, how you can start your very own to fit with your family’s needs, and what our current routine is!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Alphablock Book
• Activity Bins Highlight
• Menu Covers
• Homeschool Morning Menus

We learned in late May we are expecting baby #4.  This was definitely a surprise baby as we had convinced ourselves we were happy with three kids because I get SO sick during pregnancy.  Well, God had other plans and now we are having a baby in early January!  I’m now 12 weeks when this podcast is released and despite horrible nausea and exhaustion, baby 4 is doing amazing and we are looking forward to hopefully having an easier time soon.

I had a very clear picture of what our next homeschool year would look like, but having a baby in the middle of the school year definitely changed things!  So, I thought I would share what changes we will be making and some things I’m very grateful I already planned!

The reality of homeschooling for an introverted mom, or just being a mom in general, with so many needs, so many sounds, so many behaviors to help regulate, so many emotions, so much touching, and being pulled in a million directions can be EXCRUCIATINGLY HARD on the hardest days if I’m being honest.  Needing time alone to recharge as a mom, especially a homeschool mom where you are with your kids usually 24/7, can be a recipe for anxiety and depression.  However, it doesn’t have to be that way.  I’ve gone through seasons of overwhelm adapting to motherhood and being home with my kids since our first child was born 9 years ago, but as someone who thrives off creating solutions to all of life’s difficulties, I want to share my top 10 tips for homeschooling as an introverted mom with you today!

Juggling the demands of homeschooling and homemaking (and many time working) can be a real circus act sometimes if I'm being honest!  As a former daycare provider who used to watch 10 kids (including my own) 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, I got really good at structuring our days and creating a 2 hour naptime for the kids and a quiet time for me.  We have carried this practice into our homeschool days and it has been so essential to not only our success as a homeschooling family, but it has allowed me to work so we can homeschool our kids, and it's also been a wonderful break in the day for our kids.

In this episode, I share why we implement quiet time, what we do during that time, and why I think this part of the day can be very beneficial to all homeschool families if they are able to make it work!

Last week, I shared a recap of our homeschool choices we used this current school year and shared what we will be using for next year, but we have a solid 3 months in between the school years.  So, what are we doing this summer in our homeschool?  Listen to find out!

• Summer Scholé Podcast Episode
• Summer Scholé Blog Post

If you haven’t figured out a plan for next school year – why are you here listening to me?!?  Just kidding – whether you’ve figured out your plan for next year or not, I always find it fun and interesting to learn about what other families did during their homeschool year and how that affected their choices for the upcoming year.  So, today, I’m going to be recapping what we did this year, sharing my thoughts on each subject and what we used, and then sharing what we are using next year!

 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Third Grade + Kindergarten Recap + Review Blog Post
• Fourth Grade + First Grade Homeschool Choices Blog Post
• Family-Style Learning Blog Post

Homeschooling can be really hard.  There, I said it.  Sure, it can be magical, it leads to some amazing moments, we get to bond with our kids, we see things we wouldn’t see if they were away from us 7 hours a day.  But, it can also be really difficult at times!  I have struggled through toddler antics interrupting our lessons, bad attitudes (the kids and my own), homeschooling through incredibly trying life circumstances, feeling like I don’t know what I’m doing, and worrying that I’m not doing enough.  However, there are many changes we can make as the teachers and moms in our homeschools to make the experience easier on everyone.  In today’s episode, I’m sharing 6 things I have done to make our homeschooling journey a little easier!

Check Out our Activity Bins

I’ve apparently struck a chord over on Instagram with what I guess are my controversial views on education.  I have some reels skyrocketing in views and comments that I didn’t anticipate and it has led to some – shall we say – lively discussions in the comments.  Because I can’t say everything I want to in one IG comment, I thought I would discuss 5 of the most common misconceptions that have been brought up in the comments section of my IG account recently and what my thoughts on them are.  In short, they are all WRONG and I get pretty spirited in this episode talking about them, but I'm here to give a voice to homeschool parents who receive these kinds of comments all the time.

REELS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• “My Response to this comment will ruffle some feathers” 
• “When a mom says I could never homeschool” 
• “But your kid will be weird and won’t fit in with other kids” 

Join in on the discussion: https://homeschoolglue.com/blogs/homeschool-glue-blog/podcast-everything-society-believes-about-homeschooling-is-wrong

There are SO many benefits to homeschooling year round, but for many of us homeschooling moms, we want a BREAK!  I am one of those moms, trust me!  But I also don't want my kids to experience the end of summer dread heading back into the school year (or at least not on a grand scale) and I want to keep the love of learning alive all summer!  In today's episode, I am sharing the pros of schooling year-round, a few different options for making that work, and then the option we are going with that doesn't feel like we are actually schooling all year!  I get a bit of a break, my kids still continue learning - it's a win-win situation!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• To try a FREE WEEK of Seashore Science!
• Learn more about Summer Scholé on the Homeschool Glue Blog!

If you’ve been listening for a while, I’m sure this podcast looks and sounds just a little bit different than you are used to!  That’s because I have rebranded and today I’m going to be talking all about why and what this new launch and rebranding means moving forward!  I can’t wait to share with you the story behind this change and what I’m launching to go along with it!

 Welcome to the Homeschool Glue podcast!  I’ve been Work Life Glue for soooooooo many years that it’s going to take my 30-something brain that doesn’t process change well to adapt, but please bear with me.  

 You may be wondering, why the change?  What a wonderful question!  Well guess what? I will answer it for you.  In today's episode, I'm sharing why I changed my business name, what Homeschool Glue means, and what the pillars are that this new rebranding stands on!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Homeschool Glue Website
• Seashore Science