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In this episode we look at tools for fostering relationships and growing in kindness. How to get along, what to do if we are struggling with a particular child, how to regain perspective and ways to simplifying our lives.




1:01 - Importance of getting along
4:12 - Starting in small ways
5:31 - Focusing on one relationship and being present
8:03 - Finding order in our lives
11:51 - Assuming the best of others
16:36 - Time for self-reflection




Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley


The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo


The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson




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My guest today is Julia, a listener with her fourth little one due anytime.  She asks really good questions!  We chat about learning in the early years with just young children, should we do a reading program when our child is already fluently reading and how to respond when moms start talking about what curriculum they use. 

Julia also asks me how I got started on this particular journey of child led learning.  We talk about science with young kids, and working in art and music...and the big question...
What do we do next??

Join Julia and I for a fun conversation about homeschooling in the early years. 




4:07 - Should we supplement dictation with a reading curriculum?
12:19 - Feeling pressure to answer for what curriculum we use
 23:41 - Choosing literature for dictation
24:54 - Creating good reading habits as a family
26:14 - Social studies, History and Science for young children
35:04 - Adding beautiful Art and Music in homeschool
39:48 - How many hours per day should you be homeschooling?
51:06 - Homeschooling with a new baby




 Dictation resources




Science story books:

Over and Under the Pond

A Nest is Noisy

DK Wonders of Nature




Podcast episodes mentioned:

what will you do all day: developing routine with little ones

developing a routine that encourages kids to focus 

homeschooling with a new baby and other charming and challenging times in our lives




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I started binge listening to Fallon and her co-host Kori a month or so ago, when my daughter told me about their work.  Fallon, homeschool mom and a woman who wants to help you to optimal nutrition, shares her story of healing and her passion in the quest for women's health.  Among so many other things, well nourished women have more energy, more stable moods, higher quality sleep...wait...those are all the things you need, am I right? 

But it the middle of it all, the whole point is JOY.  Nutrition should be beautiful, not frustrating.  Joyful, not a chore.  Thank you, Fallon, for your gifts. 

Join us while we overshare. 




2:13 - Welcome Fallon / What brought you to your health journey?
16:00 - Wellness should bring you joy
27:52 - How do we start to make positive changes?
35:23 - Body image appreciation
45:57 - The spiritual discipline of fasting
49:42 - Toxicity, gut health and healing through food
1:01:04 - Is there a solution for anxiety?




Ever Ancient, Ever New:
Art History, Appreciation, Theory and Practice by Catholic Heritage Curricula




fallonstable.com     
@fallondanae




The Freely Rooted Podcast




#makejoynormal #homeschool #real #organic #wholefoods #nourishment #intuition #foodfreedom #wellness #joy




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You will love love love Allison.  Oh my gosh, this interview was just an incredible pleasure and kind of mind shifting.  Listen while Allison and I take turns having epiphanies.  Listen while Allison creates some of the best analogies I've ever heard on the importance of keeping a home.   Beauty, virtue, laundry.  We cover it all.   



00:14 - Welcome Allison!
4:02 - Working and motherhood
5:37 - What brought you to this journey?
8:16 - The heart of homemaking     
29:39 - Decor and intentionality
39:02 - When the task at hand feels like a burden
43:17 - A new Facebook community
48:20 - Where is a good place to start?
54:07 - Pondering the Lord



Married & a House
@marriedandahouse




How do we start to make joy normal? Episode one. (podcast) 




making things beautiful (blog post)




#makejoynormal #homeschool #homemaking #beauty #decor #intentionality #community  #routine #order




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Today I interview Sylvia Dorham, children's author.  The beginning of the interview had a glitch so we miss some of Sylvia's biographical information! 

Sylvia is a Catholic mother of ten, who has a great love of beauty and recognizes that we learn better through rhythm,  rhyme and beauty.  We discuss her "Monks" books and her newest book, Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. 

Sylvia Dorham’s accomplishments are best summarized in the words, "wife" and "mother." She appreciates truth, goodness and beauty and is grateful for skilled artists with whom she can collaborate.




1:02 - Delivering truth in writing for children
3:12 - Not another cheesy children's book
11:40 - About Our Lady Undoer of Knots and new book
27:36 - Hymns - Rhyme, Rhythm and Music
28:51 - About the illustrator
33:44 - Best advice for keeping our children close to us




Sylvia's books




How to Pray the Mary Undoer of Knots Novena




Books by Paul Thigpen




Books by Regina Doman




eyes to see (blog post)




#makejoynormal #homeschool #faith # relationships #literature #music #ourladyundoerofknots #prayer




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Kelly joins us today to talk home management skills. She shares valuable insights on keeping a home, building routines and homeschool planning. We talk about creating a rhythm to our day and slowing down to focus on what's important.



0:14 - Welcome Kelly!
2:37 - Simple home management: planning, routines and chores 
11:22 - What's your process for planning?
19:57 - How do you plan for your homeschool year?
25:00 - What kind of planners do you offer?
32:47 - What is loop planning?
38:25 - What do you do for homeschool record keeping?




Simple Home Mom & Etsy Shop
Instagram @simplehomemom




Tyranny of the Urgent




Bullet Journal




Looping: Task Management for the (Recovering) Type A Mom  - Read Aloud Revival




top half full (blog post)




#makejoynormal #homeschool #homemanagement #routine #organize #planning #loopscheduling #relationships 




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In this episode, dedicated and darling listener, Bianca, brings her questions (and her baby boy!) to the show.  We focus on our kid's faith.  When they're little, they just gotta go with what their parents do, but as they get older, what?  We talk about why I don't talk about my adult kids, and building a family culture.  We also address what it's like to be shallow: the pros, the cons.  I know you're dying to know. 



2:14 - Welcome Bianca!  Faith and family background
12:17 - How can faith be maintained for our kids as they get older?
20:25 - What I wish I had done in creating a family culture   
23:06 - Daily mass and when feeling overwhelmed by it



Ever Ancient, Ever New:
Art History, Appreciation, Theory and Practice by Catholic Heritage Curricula




growing alongside our kids in faith (podcast)




my Lord and my God (blog post)





#makejoynormal #homeschool #mentorship #spiritualgrowth #familyculture #prayer 




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To wrap up this little series on creating homes, I'll add part two for record keeping.  This includes some course planning and working with our high schoolers strengths and weaknesses and our own!

If your kids aren't at high school yet, you'll still get a sense of how education happens in all the places. 



3:17 - Write down everything
6:46 - Creating a creditable course   
12:38 - Important conversations to have with our teens
13:47 - We can always be educated
16:18 - Building a course of study
17:36 - Critical thinking resources
18:34 - Developing an English course
21:08 - Read aloud and discuss together as a family
26:19 - Working with our children and working with what they love


creating homes: record keeping and home education, part one

homeschooling high school

high school resources

freebies - planning pages for high school

language arts in high school

questions to foster socractic discussion

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

Teaching the Classics - Center For Lit




#makejoynormal #homeschool #interestbased #flourish #outsource #guidance #readaloud #socraticdiscussion #joy




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Today I interview Elissa Frankham, who has gone through the Woman School program, and recently begun her own mentorship.  She shares with us her journey with honesty and empathy...we've all known moments in our lives where things just "aren't right." How do we get unstuck? 



00:18 - Welcome Elissa!
2:27 - When isolation and overwhelm took over 
7:27 - What was the catalyst for change in your life?
9:36 - How did you come across the Woman School program?
14:17 - Taking an honest look at ourselves and growing in self-worth
22:14 - When did you begin to feel unstuck?
23:23 - Program details and courses offered with Elissa
32:34 - What advice would you give a mom who is feeling overwhelmed?


Elissa's instagram
and free guide for setting a morning routine for busy mamas



The Woman School



deep dark past (blog post)



#makejoynormal #homeschool #wholeness #peace #personalgrowth #resilience #mindset #healing #mentorship




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Elizabeth and I talk about ways to think about plotting out our homeschool year.  We cover organization, lesson planning, the philosophy of planning and how curricula can be used without it owning us. 


2:47 - Planning the school year - start here!
8:38 -  Choosing what you're going to study as a family
11:25 - Planning for individual children and including the child's input 
12:45 - Should kids wake up at a certain time?
15:32 - Getting things ready the night before
20:35 - Things to remember when using curriculum




Mother of Divine Grace School 


three things you learn in 30 years of homeschooling: not even kidding version (blog post)



#makejoynormal #homeschool #planning #familylearning #tenderness #joy  




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