The Homeschool Sanity Show

Hey, homeschoolers! How will you homeschool through the holiday season? There are many approaches that can work for you, but you’re most likely to feel good about the season when you’re intentional about it. I invited guest Katie Trent back to share with us some ideas for adjusting our homeschooling during the holidays. I also asked her about her new book that is a must-add-to-cart title.

Before I get to our interview, I want to thank NOW Programs for sponsoring the podcast.

http://nowprograms.com

How to Homeschool Through a Move with Katie J Trent

A Merry & Bright Adventure

KatieJTrent.com

Katie on Instagram

Katie on Facebook

Have a happy homeschool week!

The post How To Homeschool Through The Holidays appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Hey, homeschoolers! When I began homeschooling, I thought I would have to teach reading on the couch. That’s a lot more comfortable for kids than at desks, but I didn’t know that I could do better–especially for my boys. Before I introduce my guest, I want to share this message from our sponsor, NOW Programs.

https://www.nowprograms.com

Stefanie Hohl is an experienced educator specializing in early literacy and movement-based learning. She is passionate about finding innovative ways to save parents’ sanity while still engaging young learners. She developed a fun and effective program called ABC See, Hear, Do. This program is designed to help children develop essential reading skills through a multi-sensory approach that incorporates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles.

I really enjoyed hearing her ideas, and I know you will too.

Resources

ABCSeeHearDo.com

Stefanie on Facebook, Instagram

Have a happy homeschool week!

The post Teaching Reading The Active Way appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Hey, homeschoolers! When it comes to seeking a more relaxed homeschool, we can find numerous tips for adjusting our schedule and curriculum. But there is only one source for true rest. My guest today is going to share how we can find it.

Before I introduce her, I’d like to thank our sponsor: CTC Math.

Are you looking for a new Math Curriculum?

CTCMath specializes in providing online video tutorials that take a multi-sensory approach to learning. Favorably reviewed in Cathy Duffy’s 102 Top Picks and The Old Schoolhouse Crew Review, the lessons are short and concise to help your children break down concepts and appreciate math in a whole new way!

The lessons are taught the traditional way, not to a “test”.

Each one of the video tutorials is taught by an internationally acclaimed teacher, Pat Murray, who is renowned for teaching math concepts in a simple, easy-to-understand way (and in only a few minutes at a time). Using a multi-sensory approach having the combination of effective graphics and animation synchronized with the voice of a friendly teacher together with practical assessment. This three-pronged attack makes learning so much easier and more effective. Even students who struggled with math are getting fantastic results! And ones who were doing OK before are now doing brilliantly.

Visit c-t-c-math.com today to start your free trial.

My guest for this episode is Amy Sloan. Amy is the host of the long-running Humility and Doxology podcast, where she shares her passion for classical homeschooling, family discipleship, and joyful, restful learning. As a second-generation homeschooler, Amy brings years of experience not only as a student but now as a mother of five, navigating the ever-evolving journey of home education.

Today, Amy will be sharing her insights on how we can find true rest in the gospel, especially in the midst of our busy lives. I know you’ll enjoy getting to know her as I did.

HumilityandDoxology.com

https://www.youtube.com/c/HumilityandDoxology

https://www.instagram.com/humilityanddoxology

Have a happy homeschool week!

The post Finding Homeschool Rest In The Gospel appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Hey, homeschoolers! I was so excited about heaven as a little girl that I wasn’t afraid to die. My mother was freaked out and realized she needed to change her approach. What are you teaching your kids about heaven? As believers, we want what we teach to be biblical, but which aspects of heaven should we emphasize?

I chatted about this topic with former guest Jordan Raynor, who has authored a new picture book for kids called The Royal in You. The YouTube version of our interview includes some beautiful artwork from the book. Before I share our discussion, I want to thank NOW Programs for sponsoring the podcast.

https://www.nowprograms.com

Takeaways

Many Christians dread the thought of heaven due to misconceptions.
Cultural views of heaven often misrepresent biblical truths.
The new earth will be filled with the best things from our current world.
We will work and reign with Christ on the new earth.
Understanding our future in the new earth gives us hope today.
The Bible emphasizes a physical resurrection and renewed earth.
Work in the new earth will be fulfilling and joyful.
Parents can cultivate hope for eternity in their children.
Scripture provides clarity on the nature of heaven and the new earth.
Engaging activities can help children understand their faith better.

Resources

The Royal in You

Jordan’s Podcast

Jordan on Instagram

Have a happy homeschool week!

The post What To Teach Kids About Heaven appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Hey, homeschoolers! As we are solidly into the school year, you may be experiencing some challenges. I want to share the top five struggles I dealt with in my 25+ years of homeschooling and how I dealt with them or would deal with them today. My hope is that you will feel normal if a psychologist and mother of six had the same issues that you do. My hope is also to encourage you that you can overcome these difficulties. You absolutely can!

1. Keep the house in order

My first struggle, as most of you know, was keeping my house in order while actually homeschooling. When I started I was accomplishing neither. I cared for my three kids, but it seemed like that was all I could handle.

I knew I couldn’t homeschool or have any more children the way it was going. That’s when FLYLady changed the way I thought about routines. I thought they were enslaving when they were really liberating. Doing the same things in the same order in the morning and evening in particular helped me feel on top of my house and my homeschool. I’ll put links to some episodes on this topic in the show notes.

But today I want to stress one aspect of our routine that helped me keep our home in order over the years: kids doing chores. I don’t have a specific chore system to recommend to you. I tried them all–chore boards, badges, apps and various approaches. And they all worked for a while. What I learned was that it wasn’t the specifcs of the chore plan that mattered as much as expecting and needing my kids to help. Without their help, our house would have been a disaster and I would have been stressed out. But with their help, everything else in our homeschooling went more smoothly. I reminded them constantly that I needed their contribution.

Did they do the chores perfectly or even well every time? No. Did they ever complain about their chore assignments for the day? For sure. But having the kids help carry the load allowed me to overcome this challenge in my homeschooling life. It had other benefits including preparing my kids for a job, living with a roommate, and running their own home in the future.

A routine and having my kids do chores enabled me to focus on teaching. For help with this, I recommend the Organized Homeschool Life. After getting my home in order, I ran into another challenge:

2. Fit it all in

Trying to fit it all in. I wanted to teach everything in part because I wanted to learn everything. Learning along with your kids was one of the unexpected blessings of homeschooling for me. I wanted to learn how to make new kinds of bread. I wanted to learn how to code. I wanted to revisit calligraphy. And I wanted to learn all of these things on top of the core subjects this year. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fit it all in. Can you relate?

At first, I thought we had to do school longer. That was a separate challenge I’ll discuss in a minute. Loop scheduling was a big help. I could do multiple subjects by not trying to do them all every day. I had a block of time devoted to three subjects. We would do the next subject in line, rotating through them.

But I needed more than that. I couldn’t loop schedule 20 subjects! I had to accept that I couldn’t do everything this year. One thing that helped was realizing that some subjects like science and history don’t have to be explicity taught every year. You’ll always be learning science and history along the way, but you may not have to have a formal curriculum if you have other priorities this year.

Hindsight allows me to see that we only accomplished a fraction of what I wanted to do, but it was enough. With God as our Guide, it will be enough books read, enough skills practiced, enough experiences had. I’m still accepting that I won’t be able to learn all the things, but as I grow in this area, I have more peace and joy.

One way to fit math in to your school day is using CTC Math, the sponsor of this podcast.

Are you looking for a new Math Curriculum?

CTCMath specializes in providing online video tutorials that take a multi-sensory approach to learning. Favorably reviewed in Cathy Duffy’s 102 Top Picks and The Old Schoolhouse Crew Review, the lessons are short and concise to help your children break down concepts and appreciate math in a whole new way!

The lessons are taught the traditional way, not to a “test”.

Each one of the video tutorials is taught by an internationally acclaimed teacher, Pat Murray, who is renowned for teaching math concepts in a simple, easy-to-understand way (and in only a few minutes at a time). Using a multi-sensory approach having the combination of effective graphics and animation synchronized with the voice of a friendly teacher together with practical assessment. This three-pronged attack makes learning so much easier and more effective. Even students who struggled with math are getting fantastic results! And ones who were doing OK before are now doing brilliantly.

Visit c-t-c-math.com today to start your free trial.

3. School in the afternoons

As I tried to fit more school and activities in, I tried extending our school hours. With more kids in our family and more commitments, we would just have to add more to our afternoon schedule, I thought. When I was homeschooling two kids with a little one who napped, I could fit a science experiment or a craft in the afternoon. But as our family grew, I found I was able to do less and less formal schooling after lunch.

On days we had outside classes in the mornings, I would be determined to get afternoon lessons in, and it just never happened. I would tell myself it was because I was pregnant or it had been a particularly busy morning or because I was lazy. I would surely fit afternoon school in the next time. But it rarely worked.

I finally realized that with young students in particular, we needed to get our critical work done in the morning. Our attention and energy didn’t support doing book work in the afternoons. What we could do in the afternoons was co-op. The social energy kept the kids motivated. We could also do field trips and educational videos.

When my kids became independent learners, they chose to do more work in the afternoons. Even with my own work today, I find that if I keep hitting resistance to working in the afternoon, I need to make a change. I now do my creative work in the mornings and leave easier tasks for afternoons.

Instead of berating yourself and trying harder, my advice is to experiment with different schedules. Be curious about how you and your children respond and you’ll achieve more with less stress. For help with this, I recommend A Year of Living Productively.

4. Deal with sibling squabbles

Getting chores and school done was often impeded by my children’s arguing over whose turn it was to have the easy chore or get the preferred blanket for school time. Precious time was taken discussing this, which in hindsight I see was probably my children’s attempt to delay work.

I not only struggled with the lost time but I found it demoralizing. I wanted an orderly home and educated kids, but even more than that, I wanted them to love one another. Their squabbles were evidence that I was failing in this most important goal.

I used practical approaches to deal with these issues and they were successful in large part. I either rotated sets of chores through all the kids or randomly assigned them to stop the “it’s not fair” grumbling. Of course, the kids would complain that one child wasn’t really doing their chore which I will discuss as a next challenge. The other thing I did was assign my kids a day of the week to have as their priority day. That meant they got to choose a seat, a blanket, and even a restaurant if we were going out. One of my favorite memories is of my daughter as a preschooler. When she woke up on Friday, she would gleefully announce, “It’s ma day.” If I were doing this again, choice of restaurant would not have been part of a child’s day. Too often we went out on the same day of the week.

Next, a child’s day was when I spent special time with them in an activity of their choice. We often played a game. One child loved having me play a racing video game with him because I was so bad at it. Another wanted me to play Typer shark because I’m a fast typist. He just enjoyed watching me win! Having time alone with me during which we could discuss how things were going with siblings was a big help to reducing sibling rivalry.

But the most important way I dealt with this particular challenge was to surrender to it. I wanted to get to our Bible time, our math, our history. But my children obviously needed social, emotional, and character training instead. We would discuss it, air grievances, and brainstorm possible solutions. And while I know I was not perfect in this area, I also don’t regret focusing our school time on these skills when the situation called for it. I do wish I had had a curriculum like Training Aliens as an organized approach to teaching them. But you can grab a free sibling rivalry sample of it at FunToLearnBooks.com/siblingrivalry.

5. Review kids’ work

Another challenge for me in homeschooling was my reluctance to review my kids’ work. I did not like going over their homework with the exception of their writing. To me it was boring busywork. So I put it off. You heard me describe in previous episodes how not checking resulted in my son not doing his math for months.

Homework wasn’t the only thing I didn’t review. I absolutely hated checking the kids’ chores. In this case it wasn’t just because I felt it was boring. The truth is I didn’t want to be unhappy when I saw that chores were skipped or not done well. If they were, I would have had to take more time to supervise my child and train him or her to do it correctly.

I tried using willpower to get myself to review their work and sometimes I was successful. Making it a part of my routine worked even better. But this is a challenge that I would handle differently if I could. Here’s how. I would have rewarded my kids for coming to me to have their work reviewed. I used an app on my phone to give kids a spin for a randomized reward. You can set this up too, using a randomizer app. That would have been very effective. It would have had two positive effects. First, the kids would have pestered me to check to get the reward, so I would have been prompted to do it. Second, they would not have asked me to check unless the work had been done and done well. I could have made this more rewarding for myself by giving myself points every time I checked a child’s work. What I wanted most at this time in my life was personal time to do what I enjoyed. The added advantage of this is my personal time would have been guilt-free because I knew I had checked my kids’ work.

Conclusion

Today I discussed five challenges I had in homeschooling: keeping the house in order, fitting it all in, school in the afternoons, sibling squabbles, and reviewing kids’ work. I shared with you how I dealt with those challenges or would deal with them now. What I didn’t share is that I’m thankful for these challenges. They taught me to be more organized and productive. They grew my character, my parenting skills, and my dependence on God. And they also allowed me how to serve homeschoolers like you. Do you have a challenge I didn’t mention? Screenshot this podcast episode and tag me at homeschoolsanity on social media. I’d love to chat about it.

To find the links to CTC Math and the resources I mentioned, visit the show notes page at homeschoolsanity.com/5challenges.

Have a happy homeschool week!

The post My Top 5 Homeschool Challenges appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Hey, homeschoolers! If you’re not where you expected to be in your homeschool, I’ve got you. In this episode, you’ll learn why we find ourselves on a detour, how we can get even more off track, and 5 tips for reaching our destination quickly.

Watch on YouTube

Detours for our purposes can be taking the same route we planned, but it’s taking far longer than we thought. This was the most common detour for me. I experienced a version of it every one of my 25 years of homeschooling. We didn’t get through the curriculum as quickly as we thought we would. Or we didn’t even start it. That happened more times than I’d like to admit, too. The character issues that I thought my kids would master right away were still being learned in high school.

A classic detour, though, is taking a different route to the destination because the intended route wasn’t available or workable. Homeschool detours can be anything new that you weren’t planning: classes, schedule, approach, baby, job, home.

One obvious reason that applies in the wake of Hurricane Helene is events out of our control. Illness, a facility closure, a job loss.

Other detours are more the result of a family member’s choice: your spouse needs you to work, your teen wants to go to school, your child wants to compete at an elite level.

Finally, there are detours that are the result of our choices. I do think detours can have all three characteristics at once. Something happens that’s out of your control. Your spouse wants to do something about that. And your choice solidifies your direction.

Years ago, I was driving my family home from the beach, a 12-hour drive with stops. I entered our home address into my phone’s GPS and was on my way. My husband was in the back of our van, watching movies with the kids. After the movie was over, he said, “I don’t recognize this town.” I waved him off, telling him that I was taking the route the GPS told me. But the truth was I didn’t recognize it either. I figured I just hadn’t paid attention on our last trip or the GPS was taking me on a better, faster route.

The first reason we find ourselves on a detour of our own making is because we aren’t paying attention. I wasn’t looking at the surroundings as I drove. I also didn’t check my son’s math homework for weeks, only to realize he hadn’t been doing it. I wasn’t checking my son’s laundry, so I didn’t realize he’d been putting his clean laundry in his dirty clothes hamper just so he wouldn’t have to put it away.

I was on a coming-home-from-vacation detour primarily because I wasn’t paying attention. But the second reason we find ourselves on a detour of our own making is because we trusted but didn’t verify. I trusted my GPS to navigate me home but I didn’t verify that it was giving me the fastest route. I trusted my kids to do the right thing and didn’t verify. But I also trusted homeschool and parenting experts that if I did everything they said to do that my kids would be giants of the faith with full-ride scholarships. You won’t be surprised to hear that I haven’t yet arrived at that destination.

The third reason we find ourselves on a detour of our own making is our pride. “I know what I’m doing!” I thought, as my husband expressed doubt in our direction. He didn’t know what was going on, I thought. He’s too busy watching a movie! When someone questions our homeschooling or parenting, we may dig our heels in and do even more rather than admit to our weakness.

A few more hours went by on our drive home and my husband piped up again. “I don’t recognize this town either. Are you sure we’re on the right route?” Actually, I think he was a lot more forceful than that, but I’m giving him grace in the retelling of it.

“Uhhh,” I stammered. I couldn’t study the map as I was driving and my husband didn’t know how to use my app. I kept driving.

The first way we can get even more off track on a detour is avoidance. I got on a detour home by not paying attention. I got even further astray by avoiding the issue. I didn’t look at the route GPS had mapped out for us. When something in our homeschool isn’t working, it can be frightening to think about. So we may choose to do anything else but think about it. Meanwhile we’ve gone even further off track. You might avoid discussing a child’s learning disability or what you’ll do if a potential layoff happens. Meanwhile the fear gets bigger and the potential consequences worse. You want to avoid dealing with the issue even more than before.

The second way we can get even more off track is blaming others. In my mind, the only problem with our route home was my husband complaining about not recognizing it. He didn’t understand GPS like I did. If he wanted to drive, then he could choose the route! When the doctor, the co-op teacher, or your child is to blame for your detour, you can continue avoiding it. It’s someone else’s problem to solve. But if that person doesn’t act to get you back on track, the problem will grow.

The third way we can get even more off track is guilt. I secretly felt guilty that I had not looked at the route my GPS chose before I took off. I hadn’t verified it and to make matters worse, I had ignored my husband’s concerns. I worried about what it would mean if I was responsible for making our long ride home even longer. And even though I blamed the boys for their dishonesty with math and chores, I felt responsible. If I had allowed my guilt about it to make me fearful and avoid the issue, the problem would have continued and gotten worse.

Homeschool moms often feel guilt about every aspect of their family’s lives because they feel overly responsible. In addition to more avoidance, guilt can also lead to rash course correction. Turning around and heading back to the beach so I could take a better route would have been crazy, but so would dropping our math curriculum that had been working well and choosing to put away all my kids’ laundry myself.

I’ll share what happened when I finally admitted I was on a detour after this message from our sponsor: CTC Math.

Before we dig in, I want to thank our sponsor: CTC Math.

Are you looking for a new Math Curriculum?

CTCMath specializes in providing online video tutorials that take a multi-sensory approach to learning. Favorably reviewed in Cathy Duffy’s 102 Top Picks and The Old Schoolhouse Crew Review, the lessons are short and concise to help your children break down concepts and appreciate math in a whole new way!

The lessons are taught the traditional way, not to a “test”.

Each one of the video tutorials is taught by an internationally acclaimed teacher, Pat Murray, who is renowned for teaching math concepts in a simple, easy-to-understand way (and in only a few minutes at a time). Using a multi-sensory approach having the combination of effective graphics and animation synchronized with the voice of a friendly teacher together with practical assessment. This three-pronged attack makes learning so much easier and more effective. Even students who struggled with math are getting fantastic results! And ones who were doing OK before are now doing brilliantly.

Visit c-t-c-math.com today to start your free trial.

I finally pulled over and studied the route GPS had me on. I couldn’t deny that I didn’t recognize the route any longer. The shocker was realizing that it had me go two hours out of our way on top of a 12-hour trip. I would love to say it was because of a road closure or an error in the app. But the truth was I wasn’t paying attention, blamed my husband out of pride, and avoided dealing with the issue out of guilt.

When you realize you’re on a homeschool detour, here’s what to do to get to your destination quicker.

We get on homeschool detours when we don’t pay attention, trust but don’t verify, and are prideful. We can get on an even longer detour when we avoid dealing with the issue, blame others, or feel guilty about it. The quickest way to get back on track after a detour is to take stock of where you are, determine the best way forward, ask for help, Trust God, and have a sense of humor.

I have a postscript to this. Last year I was driving four hours to visit a friend and then continuing on a couple hours to stay with my mom. I had driven more than three hours when my husband called. He asked me if I had seen the new bridge on the drive. “No,” I said. “You know I don’t pay attention to that stuff.” My ADD is in high gear when I’m driving. He asked me

I would love to hear about any funny detours you’ve taken. Screenshot this podcast and tag @homeschoolsanity on social media. Thanks again to CTC Math for their sponsorship. Have a happy homeschool week!

The post How To Handle Homeschool Detours appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Hey, homeschoolers! September and all of its new-school-year excitement is behind us, leaving us to face a longer October. If you struggled to complete your plan (or to get your kids to complete the plan), you may be feeling a bit concerned. How will this month be better? Should you rely on push motivation? Do you need a new system? These are both issues I’ve discussed in recent episodes.

Today, though, I want to help you determine if you truly have a motivation problem. If not, the solution may be much, much simpler to implement.

Before we dig in, I want to thank our sponsor: CTC Math.

Are you looking for a new Math Curriculum?

CTCMath specializes in providing online video tutorials that take a multi-sensory approach to learning. Favorably reviewed in Cathy Duffy’s 102 Top Picks and The Old Schoolhouse Crew Review, the lessons are short and concise to help your children break down concepts and appreciate math in a whole new way!

The lessons are taught the traditional way, not to a “test”.

Each one of the video tutorials is taught by an internationally acclaimed teacher, Pat Murray, who is renowned for teaching math concepts in a simple, easy-to-understand way (and in only a few minutes at a time). Using a multi-sensory approach having the combination of effective graphics and animation synchronized with the voice of a friendly teacher together with practical assessment. This three-pronged attack makes learning so much easier and more effective. Even students who struggled with math are getting fantastic results! And ones who were doing OK before are now doing brilliantly.

Visit c-t-c-math.com today to start your free trial.

If you didn’t get things done in your homeschool this month the way you hoped and planned, one of the first culprits to suspect is motivation. You’re just not motivated. Or your kids aren’t. You don’t wake up passionate to learn and create and clean. You’re not brimming with energy and enthusiasm and you can’t blame it on Seasonal Affective Disorder. And after you carefully chose curriculum and activities and a schedule, that’s just not acceptible. So…

You think you have a character problem. You need to study diligence in the Bible with the kids and memorize Scripture. And you need to actually read one of the many books you’ve purchased for yourself about self-discipline.

You may also suspect you chose the wrong activities or classes. They seemed great and the reviews were glowing, but they may not be a good fit for you and the kids after all. You have to go back to the drawing board and find new ones that will keep the motivation flying high beyond September at the least!

You probably also need to rework your schedule. You may need to start earlier since things tend to fall apart after lunch. Or you need to start with the least favorite subject. Or try loop scheduling. Maybe you should start school in the afternoon?

Or maybe you need to toss the curriculum and schedule and try Unschooling or Charlotte Mason or unit studies. You’ll want to watch some more YouTube videos on that to be sure.

It could also be that you or the kids have an undiagnosed condition or learning challenge that is the real culprit. You should have them take an online diagnostic quiz and talk to friends whose kids have learning issues so you aren’t missing anything. Maybe it’s ADD and you’re going to have to change everything about your homeschool to accommodate it.

I’m not homeschooling right now, but I still went through this process. I am working on a reference book to go with Grammar Galaxy. Or should I say I wasn’t working on it. Obviously a motivation problem. I needed to listen to one of my books on self-discipline and meditate on related Bible verses.

But I also wondered if the book was the wrong project for me to work on right now. If it was the right one, I would be looking forward to it, wouldn’t I? I needed to look again at all the projects I could be working on and rate them all. I should ask my writer friends what they think.

Then again, maybe I wasn’t working on the reference book because I had it in my morning schedule when I’m working on Level 2 of Training Aliens. Perhaps I would get it done if I moved it to afternoon or evening.

I could also just wait until I felt inspired and passionate to work on it. Maybe the problem was that I was trying to force it. If I was inspired, I could get the project done quickly. I should wait for Pull Motivation like Mark Forster describes.

Then again, I am perimenopausal (yes, still at my age) and that is killing my motivation. Maybe it’s impossible to do this project until my hormones are in balance.

This is my real thought process. I am not trying to bore you to death, promise. I am trying to show you how focusing on motivation can lead us down many dead-end trails that don’t result in homeschool progress.

I am not saying that you don’t need to focus on any of these motivational issues. Perhaps you do. But before you do, allow me to share an alternative to motivation for your consideration.

I began planning the final quarter of the year, something you might want to do as well. You have three months to achieve your homeschool goals and that can give you a fresh start, even though you’re already a month or two into a new school year.

As I planned, I decided that I really did want to complete this reference book this quarter. Every quarterly planner will take a goal like that and ask you to break it down into smaller goals with deadlines. Uhhhhh. I had no idea what those smaller deadlined goals should be. I had to evaluate the project and get a rough estimate of what I had completed in the hours worked. I hadn’t worked many hours on it and the reference book is already organized into entries. I determined that I was completing ten entries per hour. That allowed me to estimate the number of days I would need to complete the entries. But that was based on a schedule with no missed days. I decided to add 20% more days than I needed to the deadline to account for the unexpected. I had to plan more than this to finish the project, but I came up with several intermediate milestones until the end of the quarter.

The day after creating the plan, I worked on the project in the morning as before. I wasn’t super inspired by the project. It is a reference book after all and not story-based like my curriculum. And my hormones have been as wonky as ever. But I accomplished three days’ work in one day. Now I should get the project done ahead of schedule, barring any major interruptions. How did that happen?

While I did not have motivation, I did achieve clarity. Unbeknownst to me, the project felt like a huge amorphous blob that would never be done. Anything I did accomplish felt like a drop in the bucket. When I thought about the project or even sat down to work on it, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do in that work session.

When you or your kids lack clarity, you are likely to respond in the same way. If your child doesn’t know what “done” looks like or what a good school day looks like, they are unlikely to make progress. Imagine playing a video game that has no finish line and no indication of progress. Most people would quit playing that game very quickly. That’s why I had quit working on my project. I was spinning my wheels. I didn’t know when I would be done or how much, if any, progress I’d made.

Although you may have a motivation problem, I would argue that it isn’t fair to determine that until you’ve produced clarity. Do you know exactly what you have to accomplish today or this week in order to be on track? In order to finish your curriculum and activities by the end of the semester? If not, that is the first step.

Determine the number of school days you have this semester to achieve a particular goal. I recommend that you use 80% of this number to allow for unforeseen circumstances. Then divide the number of lessons or pages or minutes for the goal by that 80% number. To use a very clean example, say you have 100 potential school days left this semester. Using 80% of that means 80 days. If you have 80 pages of history to read together, that is one page to read per school day. Easy peasy. In fact, you’ll be done ahead of time if you happen to have an uneventful semester.

But let’s say it’s not easy peasy. Perhaps you have a very ambitious goal. When you do the math, you realize that your student has to read 100 pages of literature per day to get through all the books you’ve assigned. While you now have clarity about what has to be done, you don’t have confidence. Your student will likely feel overwhelmed. If I had struggled to complete ten entries an hour, I likely would have given up on the goal. The answer is to adjust the goal so it feels achievable. Adjusting can be disappointing. If I had to admit to myself that I couldn’t complete the project this semester, I wouldn’t like it. But I would get it done faster by moving my goal back three months than I would by expecting too much of myself.

Do you really have a motivation problem? If you’re unhappy with your progress, don’t automatically assign your kids and yourself diligence memory work. Don’t immediately research new curriculum, homeschool approaches, and WebMD. Instead, get clarity about what you want to accomplish this semester. Make sure you and your kids know exactly what they need to do to achieve the goal and that you and both feel confident you can do it.

If you use this approach, please screenshot this episode and tag me or email me at melanie at homeschoolsanity (dot) com. I would love to hear about it.

Thanks again to CTC Math for sponsoring the podcast.

Have a happy homeschool week!

The post Is It Really A Motivation Problem? appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Hey, homeschoolers!

In 2019, I started a monthly podcast series I called the Trust Project. I wanted us to focus on how to trust God in multiple areas of our lives.

Today, though, I’d like to check in with you–not by asking whether you’re trusting God in your homeschool, for your kids, for your health, and so on–but by asking you WHAT you’re trusting in. Life can be very difficult when we trust in something other than God. We may live in constant fear. We don’t have peace or joy. And we are unlikely to be successful in what we undertake.

I want to begin our discussion of trusting God with the account of King Asa from 2 Chronicles 15. If you end up believing that you’re like Asa and not putting your trust in God, I’ll have a suggestion for changing that.

https://www.nowprograms.com

2 Chronicles 15:1 reads, “The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law.”

The Israelites were not following God at this time. Homeschooling also became popular again at a time when fewer people were following God. Certainly fewer were following God in public education. And parents like me were distressed about it.

2 Chronicles 15 continues…4 But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. 5 In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. 7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

When we first begin homeschooling, we need that encouragement to be strong and not to give up because it rarely goes the way we hope and expect. Those of us who persevere believe that our work will ultimately be rewarded.

Continuing with 2 Chronicles 15:

8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of[a] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side. 17 Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. 18 He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated. 19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

When we made the decision to keep our kids home, where we could teach them God’s Word, I was relieved. Like Asa, I felt a lot more secure because of God’s blessing of our family. But as time went on, a temptation entered.

2 Chronicles 16 reads: In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. 2 Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 3 “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”

King Asa had to deal with a rebellious king of Israel. Sometimes when we have a rebellious child or another challenge that God doesn’t seem to be handling, we think we have to take control. We need to lean on our own understanding. We are willing to let go of what should be sacred in our homes. Continuing with 2 Chronicles 16:

4 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim[a] and all the store cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work. 6 Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah.

It seems like King Asa succeeded in his efforts. And often when we rely on something other than God to help us, we see initial success. But what’s the long-term implication? We read in 2 Chronicles 16, beginning in verse 7.

7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites[b] and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen[c]? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

Uh-oh. It honestly didn’t seem like a foolish thing at first, did it? And so often our choices in response to trouble seem wise. But if we aren’t trusting in the Lord, we will likely live to regret it.

Like Asa, we may trust in political power rather than God. We may put our trust in our country’s bill of rights, our state’s favorable homeschool laws, or a pro-homeschooling leader. But even though these are blessings we want to support, they are not what we want to put our trust in. This election season, we want to remember that God is ultimately in control. Romans 13:1-2 reminds us: “There is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” and Proverbs 21:1 explains, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

Politics aren’t the only foolish choice for our trust. We can place our trust in classes in curriculum. We may believe if we just choose the right ones, our kids will be sure to succeed. We want to consider the options and pray over them, of course, but there is no class, curriculum, or college that will guarantee our kids’ success. Deuteronomy 8:18 says, “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”

We may also trust our alternative healthcare approach, our money, or our prepping for our health and safety in these tumultuous times. Yet Psalm 4:8 encourages us: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Despite the truth that we should trust God with every aspect of our lives, we are constantly being tempted to trust in other things. From the beginning, our enemy Satan has questioned whether we can trust God. Now we are bombarded by media with the same message.

When what we are truly trusting in is gone, we may panic as Asa did. That’s how we know we were trusting in it. Ask yourself what besides God gives you security for the future. Of course, we don’t have to eliminate these things! But we do need to put more trust in the One who can truly deliver us from any disaster.

How can we do that? My number one tip is what I’ve already demonstrated in this episode: spend time in God’s Word. Asa quickly forgot how the Lord had delivered him despite being outnumbered. Had he often reviewed God’s character and actions, he likely would have sought the Lord first and avoided war in the future.

How much time do we need to hear from God? Consider the ratio. How often are you hearing from the enemy? I know for me it’s constantly. Here are some practical tips for increasing your time in the Word.

This single approach of spending more time in God’s Word is simple to implement, but we will experience resistance to it. We will be interrupted, too tired, or just bored. But at these times, pick up a dollar bill and read our country’s motto that is still In God We Trust. We must fight the good fight to keep living that motto out.

Have a happy homeschool week!

The post What Are You Trusting In? appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Hey, homeschoolers! I love systems. When I started my series for A Year of Living Productively, I thought I would come up with the perfect productivity system for me and my readers. I have also looked for homeschooling systems, parenting systems, and cooking systems to make my life easier.

I know I’m not the only one who loves systems. They sell. If you search for system and its synonyms like approach and program, you will find thousands and thousands of options that promise to deliver a blissful life of ease.

But I recently read an article that changed my mind about systems. In this episode, I want to share why we search for systems, why they so often fail, and what we should do instead.

First, we want to change or improve. We want an easier way to homeschool. We want a meal-planning approach that takes less time. We want a step-by-step plan for getting into shape that guarantees success.

But what drives us to want to change or improve? The same thing that drove me to beg for an epidural for my first labor: We have some kind of pain that we want to do away with. We are struggling to motivate ourselves or our kids. We feel like we’re failing. We or our family members are unhappy. Or we feel that we lack in comparison. Our friend’s child got a college scholarship. Comparison may lead to fear of the future if we don’t change direction. If we don’t increase the rigor of our high schooler’s courses, study prep, or extracurricular activities, they not only won’t get a scholarship, they won’t be accepted, we fear.

So we seek out a system that promises to help us change or improve and alleviates the pain or our fear for the future.

We think it’s the system’s fault. And sure, some systems aren’t realistic or sustainable. I’m thinking about the 75 Hard system that has you working out twice a day (once outside), eating clean, and drinking a gallon of water for 75 days in a row. Most systems we attempt, however, are not this obviously unrealistic. We’re pretty sure the system will work for us. But therein lies the problem.

As soon as we contemplate using a new, shiny system, we feel better. The pain decreases. That’s true even for my system—The Organized Homeschool Life. When you think about using the plan to get your homeschool and life in order (15 minutes at a time), your stress level goes down. You know what to do. And you can easily organize for an hour a week. Whew! You buy the book and that’s one more stressor you can cross off your list.

You don’t need to buy anything to make The Organize Homeschool Life system work for you. But many systems require products. You need the equipment, the apps, the books. When you purchase or acquire products, your anxiety goes down. You not only have a plan; you are putting it into action.

Sometimes when we choose a system, we feel we need to spend time planning how to implement it. We need to decide when and where to work out and with whom. We need to decide which area needs the most organizational help. We need to get the new curriculum lesson plans entered into our planner and our kids’ planners. We may spend time thinking about this and even working on it, with more stress relief as a result. Or we may wait for the perfect, uninterrupted time to work on our implementation time. I’ve had moms tell me they need to make time to read The Organized Homeschool Life at some time in the future.

The problem with this as with any system prep is that it isn’t meant to be read in one sitting. In our effort to eliminate pain by choosing a system and planning to use a system, we may find that we never actually use a system. Of course, no system works if we don’t use it. The bottom line is we decreased the stress of our situation without taking action.

Eventually though, the problem will reoccur and is likely to be worse. We look for a new system that will work this time and we begin the cycle all over again.

Before I share what we should do instead, I want to thank CTC Math for sponsoring this podcast.

Are you looking for a new Math Curriculum?

CTCMath specializes in providing online video tutorials that take a multi-sensory approach to learning. Favorably reviewed in Cathy Duffy’s 102 Top Picks and The Old Schoolhouse Crew Review, the lessons are short and concise to help your children break down concepts and appreciate math in a whole new way!

The lessons are taught the traditional way, not to a “test”.

Each one of the video tutorials is taught by an internationally acclaimed teacher, Pat Murray, who is renowned for teaching math concepts in a simple, easy-to-understand way (and in only a few minutes at a time). Using a multi-sensory approach having the combination of effective graphics and animation synchronized with the voice of a friendly teacher together with practical assessment. This three-pronged attack makes learning so much easier and more effective. Even students who struggled with math are getting fantastic results! And ones who were doing OK before are now doing brilliantly.

Visit c-t-c-math.com today to start your free trial.

Let’s do that with some examples. If you want to get into shape, you can start researching fitness systems. That Couch to 5K one sounds interesting, you think. Off you go to the app store and to running shoe reviews. You can spend hours watching YouTube videos on the topic. OR you can go for a walk now. Today. As soon as possible. Perhaps you can only go 10 minutes. Maybe you won’t be able to fit it in tomorrow. But it sure felt good.

If you want to get organized, you can order The Organized Homeschool Life and look through the challenges to determine the very best place to start. You can look for the best bins to organize your school room and kitchen. OR you can look around you right now at something that could be decluttered and organized. Use Dana White’s approach and set a timer for 5-15 minutes. The gist is to throw away trash and put things away in our spaces as you pull them from the space. Don’t wait and make a mess. Maybe you’ll declutter again tomorrow or this weekend. But either way, you made an improvement.

If you want to prepare your child for college, you can sign up for a webinar on college prep to discover a system. Or you can have your student spend 15 minutes taking some test practice questions online or in a book you’ve likely already purchased. Maybe your student will practice again tomorrow or later this week. But either way, they are more prepared than they were before.

These examples bring up yet another reason we seek out systems that don’t work: perfectionism. We don’t think a 10-minute walk, a 5-minute declutter, or a 15-minute test practice session is enough. In order to succeed, we have to dedicate more, uninterrupted time. Of course, we have to wait to find the perfect system and the perfect time to do it. We wait, and we wait, and we wait and we have done nothing. Meanwhile the person who does 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there has run circles around us.

In conclusion, you don’t have to give up on your systems. You may have invested in one that will work for you if YOU work on it. Start today. Set a timer and spend just 5 minutes making an improvement in an area of your homeschool life that is causing you pain. If you do that, screenshot this podcast episode and tag @homeschoolsanity on social media. I would love to cheer you on.

Thanks again to CTC Math for sponsoring the podcast.

Have a happy homeschool week!

The post In Search Of A System appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

      Hey, homeschoolers!

A homeschool mom posted on Facebook, “I bake homemade bread … but not enough.” I saw in her what I so often see in myself and other homeschool moms: the tyranny of not enough. Whatever we accomplish is immediately invalidated, whether we say it out loud or not.

We might think it’s no big deal. Maybe our “not enough” is just being humble and recognizing that we’re works in progress. But there are three negative side effects of “not enough” thinking that I want to share with you. Then I want to tell you how we can break free from this kind of thinking.

Are you looking for a new Math Curriculum?

CTCMath specializes in providing online video tutorials that take a multi-sensory approach to learning. Favorably reviewed in Cathy Duffy’s 102 Top Picks and The Old Schoolhouse Crew Review, the lessons are short and concise to help your children break down concepts and appreciate math in a whole new way!

The lessons are taught the traditional way, not to a “test”.

Each one of the video tutorials is taught by an internationally acclaimed teacher, Pat Murray, who is renowned for teaching math concepts in a simple, easy-to-understand way (and in only a few minutes at a time). Using a multi-sensory approach having the combination of effective graphics and animation synchronized with the voice of a friendly teacher together with practical assessment. This three-pronged attack makes learning so much easier and more effective. Even students who struggled with math are getting fantastic results! And ones who were doing OK before are now doing brilliantly.

Visit c-t-c-math.com today to start your free trial.

I shared in a previous episode about two kinds of coaches. There’s the “not enough” coach who is always yelling at you to do better and then there’s the coach who looks for any positive actions and praises them. If you’re familiar with the movie Karate Kid, this is Sensei Reese coaching. Some personalities will respond to a “not enough” coach. They will push themselves outside of their comfort zone in response and may believe that this is the best kind of coaching. My husband is one of the people who responds to this.

However, what some people don’t realize is that you can get the same results with a positive coach. Mr. Myagi was a positive coach. Although he had Daniel working hard, he never told him he wasn’t doing enough. Positive coaching also motivates and pushes people outside of their comfort zone. I will work for hours and hours for the positive feedback of a coach I respect.

If you work harder and still hear the “not enough” coach in your head, you might do even more. But if the only feedback you get for giving more is repeatedly negative, you’re going to be discouraged. You are likely to quit.

Let’s use an example. You might decide that to get your schooling done by your chosen quitting time that you need to start school earlier. You manage to start school 15 minutes earlier with your elementary students, which I know from experience is amazing. But you think about what you accomplished and you still didn’t get it all done. “It’s not enough,” you tell yourself. You might decide to start another 15 minutes earlier or go another 15 minutes longer. Under the tyranny of not enough, you will find yourself in a negative spiral where you either burn the candle at both ends or end up defeated in your homeschooling.

Of course, the tyranny of not enough doesn’t just affect us. It also impacts our kids. Without realizing it, we can communicate to our kids that their efforts aren’t enough. They didn’t get their work done quickly enough, accurately enough, or agreeably enough. We don’t even have to say the words. We can frown or sigh or give them a backhanded compliment like “Well, at least you did better than you did before.” Colossians 3:21 references this: “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.” I believe this is speaking to fathers who have a “not enough” attitude. God is an encourager. Psalm 94:18-19 reads “When I thought, ‘My foot slips,’ Your steadfast love, O LORD, helped me up. When the cares of my heart are many, Your consolations cheer my soul.”

We will never get to a place where we feel that we’re enough. Sometimes that’s because of past experiences. We may have had a parent or a boss or another person in our life who was never pleased with our efforts. Even if that person is no longer in our lives, we may have taken on their role in saying “not enough.”

Another reason it’s perpetual is because we always compare ourselves to people who are doing more than we are. Social research tells us that we sometimes compare ourselves to people who aren’t doing as well as we are. We might compare ourselves to a brand-new homeschooler so we feel more competent. But much of the time we compare up. We choose the homeschool mom we know who seems to have it all together. She has more kids than you and makes healthy meals and runs the co-op. You lack in comparison. You don’t understand why, so you default to you’re just not trying hard enough.

This is especially destructive when we compare our kids. Her kids are readers who excel in sports, win at Bible bees, and have published novels. You may decide your kids could do the same, but they’re just not trying hard enough. Again, even if we don’t say it out loud, our kids can feel the tyranny and end up being discouraged.

A third reason not-enough thinking is perpetual is because it’s a marketing strategy. If we felt that we were and had enough, sales of all kinds of things would plummet. Beauty products, clothing, supplements, cars, home goods, and more are sold on the premise that we are currently not enough. In order to avoid this marketing, you would have to be off the grid. But unless we deal with not-enough thinking, we will always be bearing the burden of it.

I hope you’ve never experienced true identity theft. Whether you have or have not, you know that it’s expensive, time-consuming, and emotionally draining to correct.

My husband has to have his ID scanned to enter some public schools for his job. There is a man with his same name who pops up on the scan every time. The man has been charged with numerous felonies. Because they share a name and the scanning program the schools use is very basic, the administrators take lots of time to verify my husband’s identity before they let him in–even when they have screened him before!

We have an identity theft problem too. The enemy tells us we are someone we are not. And when we think we have made our true identity known, back he comes to question us. 1 Corinthians 6:11 talks about the sinners we used to be–the not enough person we were. And every time that former identity comes back up, we may be discouraged. We might be motivated to clean up that past identity by being better and working harder. But working for a tyrant is always exhausting, even when we are the tyrant.

Imagine how much trouble my husband’s ID problem would be if he wasn’t sure he was not the man convicted of crimes. If he lacked confidence or acted ashamed, the school administrators would probably throw him out. Yet we often lack confidence and have shame about our identities.

I hope you’re motivated to break free. First, we can go from discouragement to encouragement by giving up on “not-enough” coaching. Using a What’s Better List as I shared in a recent episode can be a great antidote. I had gotten away from using it and so my “not-enough” coach decided to fill in.

Be intentional about finding and praising yourself and your kids for any steps in the right direction. Praise is a more powerful motivator than punishment. I started a new and challenging home workout. The instructor has us clap for ourselves at the end and I gladly do it. I am worthy of praise for doing a hard thing. Give yourself a little applause for your efforts. Then envision Hebrews 12:1: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” I like to see my brothers and sisters in Christ literally cheering me on. I and many other retired homeschoolers are cheering you on too. Finally, with respect to discouragement, correct yourself every time you think or say the equivalent of ‘not enough.’ Replace it with “I’m making progress.” When someone compliments you, simply say thank you.

We can break free from the perpetual nature of not-enough thinking by focusing on our own work. Kids who take tests in a classroom are told to keep their eyes on their own paper. In the same way, our eyes need to be on our own work. I love what Galatians 6:3-5 says: “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.” We each have our own work and circumstances chosen by God specifically for us. It’s silly to compare when only God can review our efforts.

When it comes to marketing, many times we are drawn to the promise of a product or approach to make us happy. Watching videos on minimalism has helped me with this by reminding me of the psychology marketers use to convince us we are not enough. When you know the manipulation is coming, it’s much easier to resist. We can also avoid the marketing that really pushes our buttons by unsubscribing and getting offline. I used to love watching HGTV. But I noticed that I started to think that my house was horrible and had to be completely remodeled. Now that I don’t watch those shows, I am content. Do you need to stop watching homeschool influencers who have you feeling like your homeschool needs a complete makeover?

With respect to identity, we want to remember who and Whose we are. We can never be good enough through our own efforts. This doesn’t mean we don’t work. I think of it like playing a game that’s already been won. Many times when I played tennis on a league, my partner and I won the match, but there was more time to play for fun. I found that because I was so relaxed, I played even better when it didn’t count. That’s how we can homeschool. God has already ensured our success by giving us His power. He already has a plan to give our children a hope and a future. Now we can relax and enjoy the process without fear.

When the voice within us or outside of us says we can’t relax or we’ll fail, we must meditate on the truth. Write Scriptures that speak to you like Romans 8:31-39: What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The truth is that without the grace of God, my husband could be the convicted felon. And you and I are NOT enough without the power of Christ in us. But if Jesus is your Savior, you are a new creation and you were created to do good works. He is the strength in our weakness, so we can boast about being not enough as Paul did. I hope this encourages you as it does me to break free from the tyranny of not enough.

Have a happy homeschool week!

The post The Tyranny Of Not Enough appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.