The Sociable Homeschooler

I’m thrilled to have Katie Sullivan join me on my show this week, where I believe homeschooling to be a unique lifestyle.

Featured in both Hobby Farm Home Magazine and LuckyMag online, Katie Leigh Sullivan is an award winning blogger who has been curating inspired, online spaces since 2009.

Katie has been with me before but it was so long ago her life has completely changed! She’ll tell you all about it I’m sure. What hasn’t changed is she is still a speech language pathologist with 19 years experience teaching both typical and atypical learners and still homeschools her five children, going on 7 years now. She has twin boys with special needs who are now teenagers so she will be talking about them and encouraging those of you facing similar challenges to take one day at a time with a positive heart.

Katie is married to her Mr. Darcy who grew up in England and is an incurable romantic, like my Cowboy. She is a lover of fabric, good design and even better books, she encourages others to live an inspired life and reminds readers that their best years are ahead of them and not behind.

Katie's latest projects include turning her 3,800 sq ft house with "good bones" into her own French Pemberley. She can be found writing about homeschooling at www.mysweethomeschool.com. and at her French Pemberley home blog, www.katieleighsullivan.com.

Come along with your macaron and a delicious cup of coffee and listen to my guest this week, Katie Leigh Sullivan.

I'll see you soon.

My guest this week was recommended to me by one of my regulars here on The Sociable Homeschooler where I believe homeschooling to be a unique lifestyle. Sandy Fowler of Heartfilled Holidays made the introduction and Tarla Gernert and I made it happen. Tarla earned her B.S. Degree in Elementary Education at Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia. She has taught in public and private schools and later homeschooled her own children. The hats she has worn over the years include university academic advisor; administrator of a large, multisite homeschool organization; advertising sales executive; piano teacher; guitar teacher; sewing instructor; real estate investor; and entrepreneur. What we are going to be covering today is her creation, over the past 13 years, of Homeschool Connections, a successful, full-service educational program serving over 500 students each week at five campuses in southeast Michigan. Homeschool Connections specializes in high quality academics for all grades with special focus on high school level classes and preparation for college. Classes range from digital movie making, outdoor survival skills, sculpting, and tennis to robotics, Shakespeare, research papers and physics. I am thrilled to be bringing Tarla to my show this week to talk about her true passion, helping people figure out how best to educate their children and prepare them for the rest of their lives. We’ll be live this Friday at 12 noon Central.

I am excited this week to be talking to Renee Tougas who lives on the side of a mountain in the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec in Canada. She and her husband, Damien, who has a site featuring barefoot and minimalist footwear, homeschool their three children ages 15, 13 and 11. They are location independent, which means they can both work from home wherever they are. Together they are a family of outdoors enthusiasts, artists, adventurers, programmers, homemakers, and followers in the way of Christ. Renee is self confessed creative spirit with a practical perspective and down-to-earth approach. She excels at getting things done and managing the details but doesn’t forget to smell the daisies by appreciating and capturing the beauty around her. However, that’s not why I’m excited to feature Renee on my show this week. Last month I managed to record a conversation we had before things got too busy for her to take a break in her local café to chat with me. Too busy doing what you may ask? Renee and her family are preparing for the adventure of a lifetime, thru hiking the Appalachian Trail. I’ll let Renee tell you all about it herself this Friday so bring a cup of tea to my show and get to know this fascinating woman whose blog is an acronym for Fun in My Back Yard.

Here on The Sociable Homeschooler I believe homeschooling to be a unique lifestyle.

This week Leigh Attaway Wilcox, Children’s Book Author, Freelance Editor & Writer, Small Business Owner and Homeschool Mum is joining me. Lots of proper nouns there to describe her unique lifestyle! Leigh’s love for crafting stories paired with the motivation to get them published led her to join groups, societies and workshops to further her enjoyment of networking with other aspiring and published authors. She is a charter member of an online critique group, the Serendipity Sisters and much as we would both love to spend our time together talking about writing our goal for our visit on Friday is to talk about her passion for homeschooling. In 2012, Leigh began homeschooling her Twice Exceptional son (who lives with Asperger’s Syndrome and is also considered Gifted & Talented) when it became clear that the public school system could not adequately meet his needs. Together they began a new educational journey and her only regret is they didn’t begin the adventure sooner! Leigh has spoken on the local news as an advocate for children with special needs and has received awards from advocacy organizations for her parenting and advocacy efforts. She enjoys presenting, speaking and attending conferences, workshops, seminars and conventions. Leigh and her husband live in the same State as I do, Texas, where her son is a constant source of inspiration for her. I am happy to say that amidst all the writing and speaking you’ll also find Leigh in her Texas-sized kitchen cooking and turning out gluten-free baked delights! Bring a treat and come and join us this Friday at 12 noon Central.

Welcome to The Sociable Homeschooler, I'm Vivienne McNeny and I believe homeschooling is a unique lifestyle and invite you to join me this week with my guest Barbara Frank a homeschooling mother of two boys and two girls who have all graduated and are fully-fledged adults. Like our family they spent a lot of time together during the formative years. Barbara’s husband, Tim, worked from home and they were all together in the house for a long time and lived to tell the tale! Also, similar to my family, the debate about whether to go to college or not was aired and the conclusions drawn were varied and respected! Barbara is the author of, Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers, a curriculum she wrote for her teenagers to help them live on their own with a goal of financial freedom. She and her husband started a company called Cardamom Publishers in 2003 to publish this first book and several others followed including, Thriving in the 21st Century, Women of the Old Testament: 14 In-Depth Bible Studies for Teens, and The Imperfect Homeschooler’s Guide to Homeschooling. Don’t ask, we homeschooling Mums know how to manage our time! Barbara often speaks to home education groups about homeschooling, and is also a freelance writer/editor and former newspaper reporter whose work has appeared in Focus on the Family Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. She has a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Today our conversation will centre round letting our teens go, empty nest and the worry about adult children who are rebelling against their parents’ morals now that they have left home. These promise to be a sensitive and timely topics so bring your tea and take a comfortable seat this Friday at 12 noon Central on Toginet Radio.

My guest this week on The Sociable Homeschooler is Suzanne Glover, author, motivational speaker, hypnotherapist, actress and personal development professional. That’s a mouthful when its at home isn’t it? Do you want to get more out of life? Do you want to be your best? Do you want to encourage your children to think positively about who they are? Are you worried about the path you have chosen for your family? Do you think you may single-handedly ruin your child’s life? Are you just too tired to positively overcome those negative thoughts and feelings you keep having? What does letting go really mean? If you have any of those questions running around in your head, then this show is for you!

Suzanne has a unique approach to helping people do the hard work of re-inventing themselves so they can change their unconscious, limiting beliefs about their lives. Suzanne uses positive thinking techniques to give extraordinary tools that work inside and out for better communication, presentation and a successful mindset. Suzanne's life of accomplishments comes from her continued desire to re-engineer herself and those around her. She offers an intuitive approach to finding answer within ourselves and believes that we all have the power to be our best! Join me, Vivienne McNeny, this week at 12 noon Central on Toginet radio.

Joining me on The Sociable Homeschooler today are a couple of writers who live in Austin, Texas. Betsy and George Christian have written two Texas History books that are as lively and irreverent as the characters found on their pages. You’ll find men and women you’d like to meet and some you’ll be rather glad you didn’t! If you think teaching History is dry these books are for you. Betsy is a writer, public affairs consultant, and community volunteer. George, a fifth-generation Texan, practices law and teaches literature at The University of Texas at Austin. They have two school-age and two adult children. Bring along a cup of tea and listen to why History is important and relevant to the world we live in today. Even if you’re not from the Lone Star State you’ll want to know more about why Texans don’t like being told what to do after you’ve heard my conversation with George and Betsy. Tune in this Friday at 12 noon Central.

My first guest of the New Year is Stephanie Langford who describes herself as the blessed wife to Ryan. She is also Mum and homeschooler to her four favorite little people, and the grateful recipient of undeserved mercy and love from her Heavenly Father. Stephanie and her husband have spent the last year travelling and hack-schooling on a monumental journey around the world to almost 30 countries in 12 months. While on the road Stephanie has kept up her blog Keeper of the Home, inspiring and educating women on the topics of nutrition, natural homemaking, "greener" lifestyle choices, and frugal, simple living... all from a distinctively Christian worldview. She is the author of three books, Healthy Homemaking: One Step at a Time, Real Food on a Real Budget: How to Eat Healthy for Less, and Plan It, Don’t Panic: A Complete Meal Planning Resource. I caught up with Stephanie a few weeks ago in South East Asia and we talked about life, what she carries in her natural medicine kit on the road and other topics. You’ll have to tune in on Friday to listen to us and be inspired, if not to totally change your life at least to try some of the natural remedies she has adopted over the last decade. Start your New Year off with a few eye opening facts about foods you should be eating.

This week being the last Friday of 2013 I have invited a few friends along to join me as we look forward to the New Year. They will offer some inspirational ideas on what we can do to lead a more fulfilling and brilliant life with our families, encouragement to keep the homeschool fires burning, and to remind us that we are not alone and not to be afraid to accept love. Aadel Bussinger will be talking all the way from South Korea where she is spending her first Christmas and New Year abroad. She is an army wife and Mum to 3 children, all born 5 years apart. She and her husband have homeschooled since their oldest was 4 and plan to continue until their youngest moves out. You’ll want to hear all about her festivities with an Asian flare and can find Aadel over at These Temporary Tents. Mike Donnelly, HSLDA lawyer and a regular visitor here at the Sociable Homeschooler, is going to share a few words of inspiration as we look toward the New Year. As a father of seven he will share with you why continuing to homeschool your family really does allow you to disciple them and give them what they need the most, your love and a personal relationship with their savior. Polly Wright, founder of We Are Cherished, is passionate for women to know their true worth and value, discovering who they were created to be. Her own journey has placed a desire in her to see other women and men fully restored and redeemed and to know that there is freedom from the shame they carry. You may want to share her uplifting message with others who are going through a difficult time this holiday season. Hugh de Burgh will wrap the show up with some tips to begin your own journey towards transforming your daily life one step at a time. Hugh is the homeschooling father of four who has taken his family on an adventure without limits. He is dedicated to the parenting style of living life intentionally every day and blogs at The Passionate Warrior. Come and share my last show of 2013 this Friday at noon and hear how my friends are preparing for 2014.

Today is my 200th show and I have invited a few friends to join me and talk about Christmas, to offer some encouraging words for those who may be alone, or raising children who get bewildered by the change in schedule, to share local customs and some quick fix-its if you are behind with your preparations and to talk about the over arching meaning of this time spent thinking about one another, cooking together, enjoying the outdoors and one another’s company. My friend Renee Tougas who blogs at FIMBY.com will be joining me from a café in the small town near where she lives, works, and learns with her family in their mountain-side home, at the end of a dirt road on the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec, Canada. Julie & Tom Meekins will talk about how to prepare your child for the festivities. They have made a commitment to dedicate the rest of their professional lives to helping families navigate the scary world of raising a challenging child and can be found at Marchforthfamily.com. With us so close to Christmas I hope you haven’t left gift wrapping, baking and decorating until the last minute, but, if you have, Sandy Fowler from Heartfilled Holidays is passionate about helping us design stress free holidays that will warm our hearts and feed our spirits, so drop your panic stations and listen up. My friend Lainie and her son Miro who write at Raising Miro are living the history & culture of foreign lands, encountering amazing people, interacting as global citizens, serving as volunteers and naturally learning along the way. They will be sharing an unusual Christmas custom in the Andes. Polly Wright, whom I’ve known since she was a child will be doing an unusual outreach on Christmas evening and perhaps you will feel emboldened to support her as she steps out to carry the light into many a dark cave. Join us on Friday for Christmas with my friends, at Noon CT.