Joyfully Homeschooling

I've seen the photos of huge curriculum piles. The homeschool rooms that make me think mine is less adequate. I dream of being able to take my kids anywhere they want to go for a field trip. And all these things make me lose sight of the big picture.

They zap my joy, steal my energy, and make me want more. Without realizing what I already have.

You see, it's not about the material possessions. It's not about what we have to use in our homeschools. The best gift we can give our kids? The answer may surprise you!

Blog Post

How Comparison Almost Ruined My Homeschool

We Wear Joy Everyday~Tangible reminder to choose joy!

Today's episode is with my good friend Latonya Moore.

Latonya Moore homeschools her two daughters in Middle Tennessee with her husband. She also teaches regularly on Outschool.com while managing her blog and podcast, Joy in the Ordinary.

She and I chatted in episode 29 about homeschool planning, struggles, and fears. And today we are talking about a difficult season she had in her life where instead of keeping on homeschooling, her kids attended school for awhile.

She talks about what lead up to the decision, how the transition went, and whether or not she deals with regrets over the decision. She also talks about the internal obstacles she faced, questioning whether or not staying home and homeschooling was "all" that she should be doing.

If you have ever thought the grass was greener on the other side of the school choice fence, this episode is for you.

Be sure to listen to the whole episode. This is just a small snippet of our conversation.

If you liked this episode be sure to leave a rating or review. These serve as a notice to iTunes that I'm not speaking to myself. It will also give you a chance to have your review read online and win a gift from me. Not sure how to leave a review? Here are instructions for iTunes and Stitcher users.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Podcast sponsor, Teaching Textbooks
• Latonya's website
• Episode 29 with Latonya Moore on Homeschool Planning
• Follow on Instagram
• Follow on Facebook
• Subscribe for weekly encouragement emails AND a coupon to my store
• Joy in the Journey store

In today's episode, we are chatting with June Doran about the sensitive topic of postpartum depression. I wanted to talk with her because I feel this is a topic many women don't talk about.

June is a minimalist, homeschooling, work at home mom of 5 kids, ages 9 to 5 months. When she's not juggling all the things, you can find her in a cozy corner, sipping a cup of a hot beverage and reading a non-fiction book on minimalism, parenting, or homeschooling. You can find June at thissimplebalance.com where she helps moms simplify their lives and their homeschools.

Topics we discuss are:

• Symptoms? What helped?
• What would you say to a mom who thinks she may have PPD?
• What advice would you give to someone who recognizes the signs of PPD in a woman they love?

June shares her story with PPD as well as the symptoms, what helped her, and how you can encourage a mom in your life who may be suffering from PPD. I almost guarantee you that someone you know has dealt with this, and we can all encourage that momma on her homeschool journey.

Be sure to listen to the whole episode. This is just a small snippet of our conversation.

If you liked this episode be sure to leave a rating or review. These serve as a notice to iTunes that I'm not speaking to myself. It will also give you a chance to have your review read online and win a gift from me. Not sure how to leave a review? Here are instructions for iTunes and Stitcher users.

• Podcast sponsor, Teaching Textbooks
• June's post on Minimalist Homeschooling
• June's post on Relaxed Homeschooling
• Follow on Instagram
• Follow on Facebook
• Subscribe for weekly encouragement emails AND a coupon to my store
• Joy in the Journey store

As part of overcoming obstacles to homeschooling series, we will be discussing Sandwich Generation and Homeschooling. Today, I am chatting with Natalie Mack.

Natalie Mack is a mom of five, home educator since 2001, Navy Chaplain's wife, field trip coordinator, soccer mom, Scouts BSA Merit Badge Coordinator, business owner, and newbie blogger. A graduate of George Washington University and Spelman College, she is an Independent Consultant with Paparazzi Accessories, selling gorgeous nickel and lead-free $5 jewelry. Her very new blog, Life in the Middle, is a forum for discussion about the Sandwich Generation as well as other topics.

In this episode, Natalie and I chat about the sandwich generation and her families experience with taking her mother in law into her home. We chat about how we can recognize the symptoms in our own parents, making a plan ahead of time for difficult decisions and homeschooling through the process.

Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we will all face this season in our lives at some point. When it comes, we should be prepared.

Be sure to listen to the whole episode. This is just a small snippet of our conversation.

If you liked this episode be sure to leave a rating or review. These serve as a notice to iTunes that I'm not speaking to myself. It will also give you a chance to have your review read online and win a gift from me Not sure how to leave a review? Here are instructions foriTunes and Stitcher users.

• Podcast sponsor, Teaching Textbooks
• Natalie's website, Life in the Middle
• Natalie's Paparazzi Store
• Natalie's article mentioned in the episode from The Homeschool Magazine
• Follow on Instagram
• Follow on Facebook
• Subscribe for weekly encouragement emails AND a coupon to my store
• Joy in the Journey store

Today we are kicking off a brand new series on overcoming obstacles to homeschooling. This series will be about my guest's stories regarding obstacles that for many, would stand in the way of homeschooling. Hard moments. Emotional ones. Stressful ones. That leads to a family questioning whether or not they should even continue homeschooling. I want to thank each and every one of my guests in advance for being willing to share these difficult topics and moments in order to encourage other homeschool moms who are on a similar journey.

Throughout this podcast series, we will talk about things like Postpartum Depression, Anxiety, rebellious teenagers, burnout, overwhelm, aging parents, tragedy and so much more.

The reason I wanted to do this series was because in my own life I have had seasons of overwhelm. Seasons where I thought it may be better to put the kids in public school. I am sharing some of those moments, as well as a particularly hard season we went through last fall that I have never shared before.

If you liked this episode be sure to leave a rating or review. These serve as a notice to iTunes that I'm not speaking to myself. It will also give you a chance to have your review read online and win a gift from me :) Not sure how to leave a review? Here are instructions for iTunes and Stitcher users.

• Podcast Sponsor Teaching Textbooks
• Fear TShirt
• Follow on Instagram
• Follow on Facebook
• Subscribe for weekly encouragement emails AND a coupon to my store
• Joy in the Journey store

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 69 of the Joyfully Homeschooling podcast. Today, I am SO excited to introduce you all to my REAL LIFE friend, Davonne Parks.

As a homeschool graduate who's homeschooled her own children for a decade, Davonne Parks is going to help you relax a bit so you can actually enjoy this time with your kids and rest in knowing that God is bigger than your chaotic day. Davonne blogs over at davonneparks.com, but you can find her most often on Instagram (her Instagram handle is davonneparks) or on Facebook with the same name, where she shares daily-ish devotionals about trusting God in everything we do, including the way we mother our kids.

In this episode, Davonne and I chat homeschool regrets, what we were like when we first began homeschooling, and how we have changed through the years. Guys, this episode will give you a peek into what I was REALLY like as a new homeschool mom. We also chat what it is like to be a working outside the home, homeschool mom, and how you can homeschool when your life is in chaos. Literally.

Davonne is offering a coupon code for her Simplify Your Homeschool Routine video masterclass. Get 50% off with coupon code JOY19

If you liked this episode be sure to leave a rating or review. These serve as a notice to iTunes that I'm not speaking to myself. It will also give you a chance to have your review read online and win a gift from me :) Not sure how to leave a review? Here are instructions for iTunes and Stitcher users.

• Podcast Sponsor Teaching Textbooks
• Simplify Your Homeschool Routine video masterclass. Get 50% off with coupon code JOY19
• Follow Davonne on Instagram
• Davonne's Store
• Davonne's Fixer Upper
• Follow on Instagram
• Follow on Facebook
• Subscribe for weekly encouragement emails AND a coupon to my store
• Joy in the Journey store

I remember years ago when we had the WORST first day of school ever. Since then bad days have come and gone, but how we overcome them have remained the same. Having a bad day of school doesn't mean the homeschool year will be a failure, choose joy moms and things will get better!

Resources:

• Blog post
• Joy in the Journey T-Shirt

Today's topic is going to be all about how friendships change between homeschool moms and public school moms. Once you've begun homeschooling many of us are so excited to start this journey and can't wait to share it with your friends…. But, those friends who are NOT homeschooling, they aren't that excited to hear about all the curriculum options out there. The weekly lunch dates you used to have aren't happening as often now that your kids are home with you. Those midday phone calls and text chats aren't quite the same when teaching interferes with your ability to answer…

I dealt with all of this when we first began homeschooling. I struggled with it a lot and wondered how in the world I could maintain my friendships with your public school friends while homeschooling?

Through the last, nearly a decade I have been homeschooling I have found there are three ways to maintain school choice and friendship, and all three require participation from BOTH parties, so if you have public school friends and this episode resonates with you, please share this with your public school friends as well.

The key to making friendships work when one family chooses a public school and another chooses homeschool lies in one word. CHOICE. You have to choose to respect a friend's educational choice. You have to choose to make an effort to maintain a friendship. You have to choose to bite your tongue sometimes instead of making rude comments. You have to choose to remember that regardless of the educational choice you have one common bond and that is a deep love for your children. You have to choose to be a friend. In doing this you will be blessed to have a friendship that surpasses what some may expect.

Be sure to listen to the whole episode. This is just a small snippet of our conversation.

If you liked this episode be sure to leave a rating or review. These serve as a notice to iTunes that I'm not speaking to myself. It will also give you a chance to have your review read online and win a gift from me :) Not sure how to leave a review? Here are instructions for iTunes and Stitcher users.

• Podcast Sponsor Apologia
• Blog Post related to this post
• Follow on Instagram
• Follow on Facebook
• Subscribe for weekly encouragement emails AND a coupon to my store
• Joy in the Journey store

This week I am chatting on the podcast with Marianne Sunderland from Homeschooling with Dyslexia. Marianne's web site, Homeschooling With Dyslexia, provides weekly articles on homeschooling kids with ADD, ADHD, and Dyslexia that will bless and encourage you.

A few things that I want to mention from this episode is how thankful I am for Marianne. I know Marianne online and actually work for her. She has been such an encouragement to me through our ADHD and Dyslexia diagnosis and her site has been an invaluable resource for me. In this episode, we chat about dyslexia, strengths and weaknesses, intelligence, which method of homeschooling works the best for kids with Dyslexia, curriculum choices for struggling learners, and so much more. I know this episode will be an encouragement to you and can guarantee you that Marianne's wisdom will equip you to have a more joyful homeschool.

Be sure to listen to the whole episode. This is just a small snippet of our conversation.

If you liked this episode be sure to leave a rating or review. These serve as a notice to iTunes that I'm not speaking to myself. It will also give you a chance to have your review read online and win a gift from me :) Not sure how to leave a review? Here are instructions for iTunes and Stitcher users.

• Podcast Sponsor Apologia
• Marianne's website Homeschooling with Dyslexia
• Dyslexia 101 Book
• Curriculum Recommendations from Marianne
• Dyslexia Advantage by Brock L. Eide M.D. M.A.
• WriteShop
• Marianne's Facebook group
• Joyfully Homeschooling Facebook Group
• Follow Misty on Instagram
• Follow on Facebook
• Subscribe for weekly encouragement emails AND a coupon to my store
• Joy in the Journey store

This week I am introducing some of you to Kaleena from 5Hour School Week. Kaleena was a request from a listener.

I had never heard of the five hour school week before, but, began looking into it after my listeners requested. Once I began looking into what it meant, I became enthralled in the lifestyle that Kaleena has built for her family. And I just know that you all will love her as well!

In this episode, Kaleena and I chat homeschool joys, struggles, fears and more. I really enjoyed getting to know her and know why so many of YOU wanted her on the podcast. She reminds us that we need to live life with our children and worry less about traditional academics and focus more on education in LIFE. I know this episode will leave you all with the encouragement you need to have a more joyful homeschool.

Be sure to listen to the whole episode. This is just a small snippet of our conversation.

If you liked this episode be sure to leave a rating or review. These serve as a notice to iTunes that I'm not speaking to myself. It will also give you a chance to have your review read online and win a gift from me :) Not sure how to leave a review? Here are instructions for iTunes and Stitcher users.

• Podcast sponsor, Apologia
• Kaleena's website, The Five Hour School Week
• Kaleena's book, The 5-Hour School Week: An Inspirational Guide to Leaving the Classroom to Embrace Learning in a Way You Never Imagined
• Follow Kaleena on Instagram
• Follow on Instagram
• Follow on Facebook
• Subscribe for weekly encouragement emails AND a coupon to my store
• Joy in the Journey store