The Homeschool Sanity Show

The Homeschool Sanity Show

By Melanie Wilson, PhDEducationParentingKids & Family
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The Homeschool Sanity Show episodes

  • Family Entertainment

    Hey, homeschoolers! I recently chatted with a guest about the conflict Christian homeschoolers can have with Hollywood’s content.

    But we can also use the media we consume as a family to deepen relationships and teach our values. This week my guests are Nathan and D’Lytha Myers. Nathan is a set designer for The Chosen, and D’Lytha is a trained musical theater performer. Together they have created a God-honoring kids’ film that combats today’s culture of confusion, rebellion, and moral drift—not with lectures, but through story, music, and truth. Aria Appleton Shines has already won a prestigious award from International Christian Visual Media.

    We discuss several topics I am passionate about, including:

    The significance of family movie nights

    Using storytelling to teach values and lessons

    The need for open conversations about difficult topics Ready to use movies to grow closer to your kids? Listen or watch now!

    Watch on YouTube
    Read the Transcript
    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). CTC Math uses 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 ctcmath.com today to start your free trial.

    Family Entertainment Resources

    https://www.ariaappleton.com/

    https://www.ariaappleton.com/trailer/

    https://www.facebook.com/ariaappletonfilm/

    https://www.instagram.com/ariaappleton/?hl=en

    http://funtolearnbooks.com/shop Use code PRIME 7/8-7/11/25 to save 15%

    Have a happy homeschool week!

    The post Family Entertainment appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

    42 min
  • How to Gamify Your Homeschool (Special Replay)

    A homeschool mom wrote to ask me where my episode on gamifying your homeschool was. The problem is I don’t have one! But I thought it was a fantastic idea. This is The Homeschool Sanity Show, the episode where we talk about making our homeschooling more like a fun, motivating game.

    Sponsor

    Finding a math curriculum that works for your family can be a challenge! With CTCMath, all of your kids from K-12 can learn at their own pace with one family subscription. That’s right! With a CTCMath membership, you have access to all grades and lessons, which means your children can work at whatever level is best for them. Whether your kid needs to catch up, keep up, or move ahead, with CTCMath they can finally understand math and work at their own pace. CTCMath is offering listeners a half-price discount plus a bonus 6 months when you register for a 12-month membership. Yep. That means you have access to a complete online homeschool math curriculum for all your kids for 18 months!

    Gameschooling

    You might have heard of gameschooling. There are some excellent online influencers who share games for teaching just about every topic. I’ve shared games for teaching language arts as well as holiday games. I’m a huge fan of games as a break from traditional teaching. Kids love them and depending on the games, we parents do too. Not only are games fun learning, but they can create family memories you will cherish.

    I incorporate games into Grammar Galaxy as well. I particularly like active games because they’re a welcome break for active kids. The fun involved in a game releases dopamine in the brain which aids in retention of the material.

    Language Arts Board Games

    Free Grammar Games

    Free Vocabulary Games

    Gameschooling: The Waldock Way

    Gameschooling: My Little Poppies

    Gameschooling: The Mulberry Journal

    Gameschooling is great. But there is more to gamifying your homeschool than simply adding educational, fun games to your curriculum.

    Gamifying Your Homeschool

    Gamification means adding game principles to your homeschool life so that you and your family are more motivated.

    Let me share an example to explain. Imagine that you were invited to play a card game. There are many rules: you must play certain cards for points but there are other cards that will cost you points. You begin trying to play to earn points. But you forget and play some cards that cost you points. There aren’t any written rules to refer to.

    After some time goes by, you ask how you’re doing in the game. Are you ahead, behind, winning, or losing? You’re told to just keep playing the game and you’ll figure it out. New rules seem to be added to the game every turn that cost you points. When you make what you think is a play that will earn you lots of points, you’re told that you can’t make that play now.

    My kids have had me play a card game just like this. I reminded them of this game over Thanksgiving and asked them for the name of it. They couldn’t remember. Maddening! I hated the game and never wanted to play it again.

    Sometimes our homeschooling is just like this. Our kids do some schoolwork. They feel good about it. But they made some mistakes. They didn’t show their work. They didn’t put enough effort into it. And we let them know. We make them redo the work. We may even give them extra practice work if they didn’t understand a concept.

    Or they did very well. They did the work so quickly that we worry we aren’t challenging them. So we ask them to do more advanced work. We ask them to read more or to move on to another subject. We might even add a curriculum to their workload.

    The same process can happen with chores. Didn’t do them well enough? Do them again. Get extra chores added on. Do them well but fast? You can handle more chores.

    Are you getting the picture? Our kids may feel like they’re playing a game where the rules aren’t clear but what is clear is that there’s no way to win. That isn’t motivating. For anyone.

    So how can we fix this to properly gamify our homeschools?

    First, the rules for winning at school and chores need to be limited, clear, and preferably posted. We aren’t motivated by a game that tells us to “play cards,” so our kids won’t be motivated to “do school.” They need to know exactly what must be done to earn credit.

    If you’re worried that what I’m sharing contradicts with getting kids to take initiative, please don’t. When kids know exactly what is expected of them, they’ll be more likely to take initiative to learn or help more.

    But for that to happen, the rules have to be limited and winning has to seem possible. If there are so many rules to remember that I don’t know who to do first, I’m going to want to quit the game before I even get started. If our students have so many assignments that they can’t remember them all, they will feel defeated before they begin.

    In addition, winning has to seem achievable. I have started to play video games where the high scorers are listed as motivation for us to compete. I just have to play once and get a paltry score to realize that I will never reach that level, nor would I want to spend the time necessary.

    When we have students who are underperforming, our tendency is to want to fill up their lesson plan with work to help them catch up. What happens instead is they feel hopeless and don’t want to even try. Instead, we want to help our kids see that they are winners in school and life. We want to do what we are good at–even if that thing requires time and effort.

    In my How to Motivate Any Student class, I share that the first time I played on a part-3 golf course, I hit a flag with my ball on the drive. I was convinced I was a great golfer, and I wanted to keep playing. That was true even though golf is a time-consuming game. We see people spending consider time and effort developing skills in all sorts of areas of life, most likely because they initially believed they had some talent or ability in it.

    We can give our kids that initial confidence by making the work easy enough and quick to complete. We know this when it comes to habits and life changes for ourselves. We know we can’t run a 5K without first walking and jogging short distances. We won’t be motivated to organize if it’s going to require weeks and hours of effort. That’s why we work in short, timed bursts.

    To use that gamification strategy of making winning possible for our kids, we may have to do some experimenting. Keep cutting down the workload or reducing the level until your child is agreeable. Grammar Galaxy‘s mission steps take just 10-15 minutes each to complete. Some homeschool parents are concerned that this just isn’t enough time. But what happens when you require just 5 minutes of reading a day or 10-15 minutes of language arts a day is kids think it’s doable, so they’ll start. They’ll keep reading because they enoy it. They’ll want to do a second and even a third step in their mission because it was easier than they thought.

    Third, a gamified homeschool requires visible progress. Imagine playing a board game where you can’t see how close you are to winning. You have no idea where your marker is. Sometimes our homeschooling is like that. We’re just “doing school” and not even a calendar date indicates the end of the work because Mom feels we need to continue into the summer. I am not suggesting there is a problem with schooling year-round. I AM saying that kids need a finish line to be motivated. I’ve mentioned before how my kids became super motivated to finish their work at the end of the school year when they had a list of everything needed to do before having a long break.

    Quarterly Checklist

    Have a chart posted in a visible spot (like on the refrigerator) that shows progress in books read, math lessons completed, or chores done. Research shows that without any rewards (even without praise), public progress charts improve performance.

    Kids also need to know that their work is meaningful and can’t be minimized in an effort to get them to do more. Here’s what I mean. The games of Sorry and Candyland can be so frustrating to play specifically because all your forward progress can be wiped out in one turn. Homeschooling shouldn’t feel like that for our kids. To that end, we should avoid having them redo a whole curriculum. Instead, we might consider switching to a new curriculum or adding supplementary work to shore up the learning. The only reason I would ignore this advice is if your student is on board with redoing the curriculum. We also don’t want to add chores for a student who finishes work quickly and thoroughly.

    The final thing a gamified homeschool requires that I’ll discuss today is the unexpected. If you knew you would never win or would win at Solitaire every time, you would not want to play. Variety is the spice of life and it’s what makes games fun. I’m a big believer in routine. We do our best work and are likely to be well rested with a predictable schedule.

    But we all need some spontaneity too. Instead of having a regular game day, you could announce that you’re going to spend the afternoon playing board games. Cut your student’s workload in half after assigning it. Go on a surprise field trip. Watch educational movies instead of doing the scheduled lessons. Do fun science experiments. Invite friends over to play. Do your school routine backwards. Even have kids put their clothes on backwards if you like. Put one of your students in charge for the day. Use shopping and cooking as school. Turn your chore list into a randomized game. Roll the dice and do the chore with that number. List some topics your kids are interested. Roll the dice and study the subject that comes up for the day. Have slips of paper with surprise activities or breaks in a jar and let your child choose one when the mood strikes. You can also use a randomizer app on your phone for this purpose.

    As long as these surprises don’t become routine, kids will feel like they are playing a game in being homeschooled. Of course, learning is its own reward. But some of our habits can minimize the natural motivation of homeschooling.

    Conclusion

    When we make the rules for winning clear; when winning seems achievable; when kids see visible progress; and when they regularly experience the unexpected, we have gamified our homeschools and will likely have more homeschool sanity.

    Thanks again to CTC Math for sponsoring the podcast.

    Have a happy homeschool week and a very merry Christmas to those listening this third week of December.

    The post How to Gamify Your Homeschool (Special Replay) appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

    16 min
  • The Power Of Parent-Child Book Clubs

    Thank you to the Harper Collins NIV Application Bible for sponsoring the podcast.

    Hey, homeschoolers! So often I learn about great ideas that I wish I’d had when I was still homeschooling. Today’s topic of starting or joining a parent-child book club is no exception. If you’re using Grammar Galaxy or would like to, starting a Grammar Galaxy book club is a fantastic idea. Make sure you’re subscribed to FunToLearnBooks.com so you’re notified of our Prime Days sale for significant savings on Grammar Galaxy, July 8th-11th.

    Today, my guests will tell us the many benefits of parent-child book clubs and how to make them work with creative ideas for multiple ages. Stefanie Hohl has been a guest on this podcast before. Along with her sister Meghan Voss, she is the author of Mother-Daughter Book Club Guide. They both join me for this inspiring and practical conversation.

    Watch on YouTube
    Read the Transcript
    Book Club Resources

    Mother-Daughter Book Club Guide

    https://amzn.to/44hVUcM

    Stefanie’s reading website

    http://abcseeheardo.com

    Stefanie’s website

    http://stefaniehohl.com

    Stefanie’s Instagram

    https://www.instagram.com/abcseeheardo

    Meghan’s Instagram

    https://www.instagram.com/meghanvossstudio

    Have a happy homeschool week!

    The post The Power Of Parent-Child Book Clubs appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

    29 min
  • My Top 5 Homeschool Challenges

    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!

    Watch on YouTube

    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.

    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.

    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.

    18 min
  • Christian Parenting Of Tweens: What You Need To Know

    Hey, homeschoolers! If you have a tween son or daughter, you may wonder what happened to your baby! I know I had that experience. If you need wisdom and encouragement for parenting tweens, there is no better place to turn after praying than my friend Tara Lee Felix. Lee is a champion of others, a certified conversion copywriter, and a hybrid homeschooling mom of five. As the founder of Created Social and Like Minded Musings, she blends nearly two decades of parenting with over a decade of experience in authentic marketing, writing, and relationship-building to help others lead with purpose, connect deeply, and communicate with clarity.

    As a passionate youth group leader and curriculum writer/editor, she serves 400+ teens each week, infusing biblical truth and relational discipleship into everything she does. Through Like Minded Musings, she also empowers moms with Christ-centered encouragement and practical tools to navigate the beautiful, messy, meaningful work of imperfect parenting.

    Lee and I discussed:

    The critical mindset shift you need to make

    The impact of technology and social media on your tween

    Why hiding your parenting challenges isn’t a good idea

    Sponsor: Harper Collins NIV Application Bible

    Your next Bible is the Harper Collins NIV Application Bible. Learn more here.

    Watch on YouTube
    Parenting Tween Resources

    Whether you’re growing a business or raising the next generation, Lee’s mission is simple: to help you build what truly lasts. Ready to create a life or business filled with purpose? Explore her free resources for clear steps, practical tools, and inspiring encouragement.

      • Visit her Private Imperfect Moms Facebook Community
          • Get access to her FREEBIES Hub of Biblical Resources
              • Connect on Social Media! Facebook I Pinterest I Twitter I Instagram
              • Have a happy homeschool week!

                The post Christian Parenting Of Tweens: What You Need To Know appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

                38 min
              • Hebraic Bible Study For Homeschoolers

                Hey homeschoolers! I knew that reading the Bible in the context of its Hebrew roots could make it come alive. But I was still surprised by my reaction to what I learned from my guest on this topic. If you long for you and your kids to be more engaged with scripture, you’ll want to hear from him too. David Necruitman is the founder of Biblical Excavations.and an advisor to The Chosen. He is a renowned speaker, author, and teacher, bringing a fresh and insightful perspective on the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith.

                Watch on YouTube
                Resources for Hebraic Bible Study

                Bible Excavations

                Free Bible Study

                David @ theIsaiahProject.com

                Have a happy homeschool week!

                The post Hebraic Bible Study For Homeschoolers appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

                44 min
              • Children Grandparent Relationships

                Hey, homeschoolers! Are your kids connecting with their grandparents and other elders? There is so much to be gained from intergenerational relationships as my guest can attest to.

                Grandparent Podcast Guest: Isabel Tom

                Isabel is a mother of three, the author of The Value of Wrinkles, and a professional serving the older adult population.  She was raised in an intergenerational home and is passionate about improving these family relationships.

                I loved our chat and wished I had met Isabel when my kids were younger. I hope you enjoy it.

                Sponsor: Judson College

                Thank you to Judson College for sponsoring this episode of The Homeschool Sanity Show. If your student is interested in a biblical college education, click to learn more.

                Watch on YouTube
                Grandparent Resources

                Grandparent Investigator Kit

                Grandparent Kit & Opt-in for Free Mission

                Isabel on Instagram

                Isabel on Facebook

                The post Children Grandparent Relationships appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

                20 min
              • Homeschooling As Life

                Hey, homeschoolers! It’s finally summer here. If you’re anything like me, you use the summer to review your homeschooling approach. What worked, what didn’t, and what will you do this year?

                One approach that I was interested in (and I know many of you are too) is homeschooling along the way, less dependent on curriculum. If you are interested in unschooling, I know you’ll enjoy hearing from my guest, Danielle Papageorgiou.

                Podcast Guest: Danielle Papageorgiou

                Danielle is married to Jon and together they have two homeschool graduates and a 13-year-old. She has been homeschooling, or “lifeschooling,” for 23 years and has a passion for helping other moms learn how to homeschool in a way that enhances rather than competes with family life. Through her Lifeschooling book, blog (www.LifeAsALifeschooler.com), resources, and community, she helps parents see the educational value in everyday life and focus on developing their child’s God-given gifts, so they can raise world-changers. You can find her book, Lifeschooling: Learning to Think Outside the Curriculum Box, at www.LifeschoolingBook.com. Here’s our chat.

                Watch on YouTube
                Podcast Sponsor: Judson College

                Have your student prepare for their calling in biblical community at Judson College.

                Summary of Discussion of Homeschooling As Life

                In this episode of the Homeschool Sanity Show, Melanie Wilson interviews Danielle Papagiorgio about her approach to homeschooling known as life schooling. Danielle shares her journey into homeschooling, the philosophy behind life schooling, and how it differs from traditional educational models. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing children’s God-given gifts and nurturing them through real-life experiences. The conversation also addresses common critiques of unschooling and offers practical advice for parents looking to adopt a life schooling approach. Danielle shares personal stories and insights, encouraging parents to embrace flexibility and faith in their homeschooling journey.

                Homeschooling As Life Resources

                Lifeschooling Book

                Lifeschooling Blog

                Lifeschooling Group

                Have a happy homeschool week!

                The post Homeschooling As Life appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

                34 min
              • New Homeschool Community
                Sponsor

                Thank you to NOW programs for sponsoring this episode of the Homeschool Sanity Show.

                Hey homeschoolers, you can homeschool apart from a community, but why would you want to? Although online communities have helped connect homeschoolers around the world, most of us desire a local community.

                Local communities can answer our questions about activities and services, and they provide a source of friendships for us and our kids. My guest today is Morgan Bergstrom, founder of BaseCampEd, a new app that is helping homeschool parents make connections in their area. We have an interesting discussion of how community building has changed in homeschooling and how families like yours can connect today, even if you aren’t an extrovert. Here’s our chat.

                Watch on YouTube

                Morgan on Facebook

                Morgan on Instagram

                Have a happy homeschool week!

                The post New Homeschool Community appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

                36 min
              • Moms And Anger

                Thank you to NOW Programs for sponsoring this episode of the Homeschool Sanity Show.

                Hey, homeschoolers! One of my most popular talks at Great Homeschool Conventions was “The Anger Antidote for Homeschool Parents.” I understand why. My anger was a stronghold in my life that I just couldn’t seem to overcome. Although I believe this talk is chock full of inspiration, it’s light on tools.

                That’s why I was excited to connect with Amber Lia. Amber is a certified independent health coach, a homeschool mom, and the author of multiple bestselling books including Food Triggers and Parenting Scripts. Her newest release is Untrigged: 60 Days of Transformation for Moms Who Struggle with Anger. I won’t blame you if you push pause to grab your copy of this devotional right now. But I hope you’ll return to hear the wisdom and grace Amber has to share. Be sure to listen to the end because I have a free gift just for podcast listeners.

                Watch on YouTube

                If you struggle with anger, I want to gift you The Anger Antidote class for free. Use code PODCAST to make it free.

                Amber Lia’s Resources

                Amber’s Books

                Amber’s Blog

                Amber’s Instagram Amber’s Facebook

                Have a happy homeschool week!

                The post Moms And Anger appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

                34 min

              About The Homeschool Sanity Show

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              Your prescription for happier, healthier homeschooling. Christian psychologist, author, and homeschool mom of six Dr. Melanie Wilson shares research-backed, doable strategies for the things that steal…

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