In this week’s Summer Tech Challenge, learn how to turn Google Slides into an interactive choose-your-own-adventure story. This activity combines creativity, planning, writing, and technology while giving students a fun way to present what they’ve learned.

Create a summer-themed choose-your-own-adventure story using Google Slides.

Your story could include:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-vZt5zOVmY

Share what you did in the challenge on one of the FundaFunda Education Instagram or Facebook posts or in one of these Facebook groups:

If you are not on social media, email your entry to [email protected], and it can be shared on your behalf.

Each week, one participant will win a FundaFunda Academy unit study of their choice worth $20. Everyone who participates during the summer will also be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $50 gift card.

Subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any episodes!

🧮 This episode is proudly sponsored by CTCMath — an online math program designed to help homeschool families build confidence and mastery, one lesson at a time.

Try CTCMath →

Hey, homeschoolers! In this episode, I’m sharing my top tips for getting more done.

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.

Developing a devotional habit can provide wisdom, focus, and peace of mind. Creating routines can help homeschoolers stay organized and reduce stress. Developing an exercise habit can increase energy levels and improve overall health. Planning your week and day can help you stay on track and avoid feeling overwhelmed. Envisioning your day and using loop scheduling can increase motivation and productivity. Randomizing tasks and using truth journaling can help overcome procrastination and negative thoughts. Stopping worry and trusting God can reduce stress and improve mental well-being.

The Organized Homeschool Life

The Organized Homeschool Life Planner

FLYLady on Routines

A Year of Living Productively

Great Homeschool Conventions

Random.org

Truth Journaling

Freedom from Procrastination

Trust Project

Have a happy homeschool week!

🧮 This episode is proudly sponsored by CTCMath — an online math program designed to help homeschool families build confidence and mastery, one lesson at a time.

Try CTCMath →

VINTAGE HOMESCHOOL MOMS  •  EPISODE 435

Math the Easy Way: 7 Tips for Teaching Math to Kids of All Ages

with guest Pat Murray of CTC Math  |  Hosted by Felice Gurwitz

About This Episode

Does your child love math or dread it? In this episode, Felice Gurwitz sits down with Pat Murray — a math teacher and coach of more than 36 years and the founder of CTC Math — to share seven practical, doable tips for teaching math to children of every age. From short, clear explanations and the power of rote learning to smart lesson sequencing and avoiding frustration, Pat unpacks what actually works after decades in the classroom and at home. He also serves up a couple of memory “magic tricks” (including a clever way to keep circle formulas straight) that make math genuinely fun.

Whether you have a struggling learner or a strong one who just needs reinforcement, these are ideas you can put to work right away.

Pat Murray has been a math teacher and coach for more than 36 years. The programs and courses he and his company have developed have helped students and families in the tens and hundreds of thousands across more than 72 countries. Pat is the founder of CTC Math, which offers self-paced online video tutorials that take a multi-sensory approach to learning math. Pat and his wife, Mari, live in Sydney, Australia, and have 10 children and seven grandchildren (soon to be eight).

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 ctcmath.com today to start your free trial.

🧮 This episode is proudly sponsored by CTCMath — an online math program designed to help homeschool families build confidence and mastery, one lesson at a time.

Try CTCMath →

Happily Married and Homeschooling, podcast episode of Making Biblical Family Life Practical with Hal & Melanie Young.

Everyone tells you that homeschooling isn’t an educational choice, but a lifestyle! Should we be surprised if we discover that homeschooling has an impact on our marriage? It’s true, and if we’re not watchful, our marriage could be a weak spot in our family’s new endeavor. Hal and Melanie have been married for 27 years and homeschooling for 20, and this week they share some ideas of stumbling blocks to avoid and how you can make both your homeschool and your relationship strong!

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.

We’re Hal and Melanie Young. We’re not just authors and speakers, but we’re the parents of six sons (in a row!) and two daughters. The experience of raising this van-full has proved two things – you need God’s wisdom to raise a family, and you need help to make it practical!

That’s our goal and message—start with Biblical foundations, then share how to put principles into practice.

The reality is that God gave each family a mix of parents, children, and personalities, in a particular time and circumstance. They’re all unique, so every family’s “practical” may be a little different, and still be totally Biblical. That’s why we focus on principles instead of checklists. Instead of more law, we need more grace!

And it’s grace that drives us to Jesus Christ, the one who ultimately makes our family what it ought to be. We want to help families find practical ideas, but the risen Savior as well.

Did you know you can create your own interactive Google map?

In this episode, you will learn about Google My Maps, a free Google tool that allows you to create personalized maps with locations, notes, photos, videos, colors, layers, and routes. Whether you’re planning a family vacation, documenting your travels, or creating a homeschool project, custom maps are a fun and practical way to organize information visually.

As part of the Summer Tech Challenge series, this week’s challenge is to create a Google My Map on any topic that interests you.

Create a custom Google My Map on any topic that interests you.

Ideas include:

Share what you did in the challenge on one of the FundaFunda Education Instagram or Facebook posts or in one of these Facebook groups:

If you are not on social media, email your entry to [email protected], and it can be shared on your behalf.

Each week, one participant will win a FundaFunda Academy unit study of their choice worth $20. Everyone who participates during the summer will also be entered into the grand prize drawing for a $50 gift card.

Subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any episodes!

🧮 This episode is proudly sponsored by CTCMath — an online math program designed to help homeschool families build confidence and mastery, one lesson at a time.

Try CTCMath →

In “Our Patriotic Songs,” Episode #258, Meredith Curtis challenges you to learn and teach your children 5 patriotic songs, all written before this century, bursting with patriotic pride and a trust in Almighty God. She shares the story behind each song and includes a link to a lyric video for each one.

Bringing Homeschool Joy to Families Everywhere!

This is a great time to listen to or sing patriotic songs. And learn the stories behind them.

Frances Scott Key at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.

Star Spangled Banner with Lyrics, Vocals, and Beautiful Photos on YouTube.

Katharine Lee Bates on Pike’s Peak, CO, 1893.

America the Beautiful with Lyrics on YouTube.

Pastor & Hymnwriter Samuel Frances Smith in Boston, MA, 1831.

My Country ‘Tis of Thee on YouTube.

Popular composer Irving Berlin wrote the song in 1918 and tweaked it in 1938.

God Bless America Plaza Singalong on YouTube.

Lee Greenwood on a tour bus somewhere between Little Rock, AR, and Texas, 1983.

Lee Greenwood – God Bless the USA (Lyrics) on YouTube.

Sign up for our updates and get your copy of US Living Books & Movies List (57 pages) and Sons of Liberty FREE. Sign up here.

Thank You to our Network Sponsor – CTC Math!

Hey, homeschoolers! I intended to publish this episode last week but ended up giving you a chance to practice patience in waiting for it. I want to share what I’ve learned about being a patient mom, but first, I want to thank the Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network. They are celebrating their 10-year anniversary, which is amazing to me. I can’t believe it’s been that long since the kind and generous Felice Gerwitz offered me the chance to have my own podcast.

Some weeks (like last week), it’s challenging to get the content out, but most of the time I love sharing encouragement with you, some of the most committed moms on the planet. The network has some special plans to mark our anniversary, so I hope you’ll check out the website or my social media to participate. Finally, I want to thank you for giving me the honor of listening to this podcast and other podcasts on the network. I don’t take it for granted.

Now let’s jump into the topic of the week: patience. I was surprised to learn that I haven’t done a podcast on this topic when a mom asked me for resources. I’ve done episodes on anger (Anger episode 2 Anger episode 1). But impatience is the precursor to anger. If we can manage our impatience, we are much less likely to lose our cool.

Just as with anger, I believe that only Jesus can rescue us from a real stronghold of impatience. That rescue usually isn’t immediate. When I started homeschooling, I learned I was an impatient mom. I had this image of what homeschooling would look like. My son didn’t share that image. My impatience in response was a nasty surprise. Many moms would have said I had no business homeschooling with that kind of impatience. But I’m glad I persevered. Homeschooling was the fire that God used to refine my patience.

I think we can cooperate with God to develop patience. I’m using the acronym PATIENT to share how.

The P is for process. When we don’t process our emotions, it’s like letting trash accumulate. Soon it will overflow the container. We’ll have a blow up.

Not processing our emotions looks like this: Our homeschool friend announces at the last minute that she will not be coming to the co-op party. She is getting her hair done. You are not happy about that. But you push aside that unhappiness because you have a party to get ready for.  You also didn’t sleep well because your husband says there is a chance he will be laid off. You’re tired and you’re worried. But it’s too upsetting to think about, so you focus on the party. If you don’t process those emotions, where will your patience be if another friend forgets to bring the paper goods, or your child drops a jar of pickles on the floor?

Processing our emotions doesn’t have to take a lot of time and is unlikely to make us feel worse. It can simply be a matter of praying about how you’re feeling, truth journaling, or talking it out with someone. In a household of eight, we had to take out the trash daily. If you’re working to overcome impatience, I recommend processing your emotions daily too. As we process, we realize that there are steps we need to take to deal with the things that are bothering us that can prevent negative emotions from occurring in the future.

The A in Patient is for Asking Yourself If It’s Important. Is it important that your friend forgot to bring the paper goods? Maybe not. You can either cobble together something else or she can run home or to the store to get them. I often find myself feeling like I’m in a hurry when I’m really not. When I ask myself if it’s important that the cashier is behaving like a sloth, I have to answer no. But what if it is? What if the subject of your impatience is truly important? You have a loved one needing medical attention or you could be late for something critical? In this case, we don’t have to be impatient. We can be assertive. We can say that we need something to happen in a timely fashion and why. We can’t expect others to know that we’re in a rush if we don’t tell them.

The first T in Patient is for Tell Yourself the Truth. In situations that can lead us to impatience, we tend to awfulize. We make the situation much worse in our minds than it is. I’ve shared the example before of walking into a messy house after being gone for a while. I can tell myself it’s a disaster of epic proportions! It looks like a tornado hit. It’s going to take all day to get the house back in shape. Or I can tell myself the truth that I can set a timer for 10 minutes and with all of us working, the house will be back to normal. When we haven’t processed our emotions or asked ourselves if something is important, we may have difficulty telling ourselves the truth. It’s a good time to talk to someone who can talk you down. They will tell you the truth. Before we’re in a challenging situation, we can also renew our minds with God’s truth. We can meditate on not only scriptures having to do with patience but on who God is. When we’re thinking about our awesome, holy, loving God, the broken jar of pickles doesn’t seem like such a big deal. We can also recall the truth that we have an enemy actively working to make us impatient. That truth annoys me enough that I stubbornly refuse to become impatient!

The I in Patient is just what it sounds like: I. In other words, we’re more likely to be impatient when it’s about me, myself, and I. We are doing the JOY acronym backwards as YOJ (first you, then others, then Jesus). It’s the mistake impatient Martha made. Martha was impatient because she wasn’t getting the help she wanted from Mary. She wasn’t focused on Jesus either. Perhaps she hadn’t processed her emotions, asked herself if getting the meal on the table quickly was really important, or hadn’t told herself the truth that it was not a fact a nightmare if Mary wasn’t helping. Back to our co-op party example: Who is the party about anyway? If it’s not your birthday party, you didn’t plan it for yourself.

The E in Patient is for Expect More Challenges. Much of our initial feeling of impatience is related to our expectations. Your co-op friends have probably skipped out or forgotten things before. Your kids have certainly dropped things at inopportune times, as have you. Pretty much every time I was away from home without the kids, they made a mess. And once one thing happens to hit our impatience button, we can count on more. With the party example, expect something to break, someone to get hurt, or someone to have a conflict. You’re more likely to remain calm and you can rejoice if all goes well.

The N in Patient is for Neglect the Upsetting Memories. Just because you should have known your friend would no-show the party doesn’t mean you should ruminate on that. Doing so will create more negative emotions that need to be processed or they can lead to impatience. Every day is a fresh start with new opportunities to experience joy. We can choose to forgive ourselves and others with the power of the Holy Spirit. One powerful way of neglecting the negative memories is to see the humor in the situation. Your friend bailed on your long-planned party to get her hair done? That’s hilarious! When I’m in the middle of an impatience-provoking situation, I often think about how I can later tell it as a funny story.

I recently went to the DMV to get my license renewed. I tried to get an appointment online but my office doesn’t have that option. When I got to the office, it took me a number of attempts to get the screen to allow me to check in. Once I did, it said to go ahead and leave and I would get a text message when it was my turn. The room was full, so I thought it could be a while. But I was just about out of the parking lot when I got a message that it was my turn. As I quickly drove back, I got a message that I had missed my turn. When I got back into the office, the clerk was helping someone else. She noticed me though and said that she was going on lunch break for half an hour but I would be the first person she helped when she came back. I did plan to meet someone after getting my license, but I thought I would be okay even waiting half an hour. I went across the street to a thrift store for 15 minutes, figuring that I would go back a little early, just in case. As I got into my car, I got a text message that it was my turn. As I pulled into the parking lot, I got a message that they had gone on to the next customer. I went back to the office and sure enough, someone else was ahead of me. But in a few minutes, the new clerk explained that she had taken over for the woman on lunch break and would be helping me next. I am so glad the Lord gave me patience in this situation and a sense of humor. The new clerk was delightful and I was on my way in plenty of time for my get together.

The T in Patient is for Thankfulness. It’s impossible to be impatient when we are grateful. When you’re in a situation that is provoking you to impatience, find something to be grateful for. If you’re really struggling, start going through the alphabet. A, I’m grateful for our automobile. B, I’m grateful for this healthy body. By the time you’re through the alphabet, you will likely be much calmer. Of course, we want to thank the Lord for helping us resist the temptation to be impatient and for a humorous perspective as well.

I pray that this episode has given you some encouragement and some tools the next time you’re provoked to impatience.

Have a patient homeschool week!

How can you teach children the ideals of freedom and economics in a way they will remember? Join your host, Felice Gerwitz, and Daniel Harmon, the Creator and Showrunner of the Tuttle Twins TV Show.

How often do you get a chance to talk to the creator of a television show? Well, today, I sat down with Daniel Harmon, a homeschooled dad of seven. Daniel is the creator and executive producer of the Tuttle Twins TV show. He is the co-founder of Harmon Brothers and Angel Studios. I’m sure many of you recognize that name. It is the studio that produces a favorite among many, The Chosen. Daniel is the father of seven and says the show for them and what he would have wanted as a kid. He claims his kids are his in-house focus group!

As a fan of the Tuttle Twins novels, I purchased several sets for family and friends; it was my pleasure to bring you this interview.

Sponsored by CTCMath.com

Freedom and Economics Points discussed:

Many believe economics is reserved for someone else to teach. Or it is up to the kids to learn it in higher level learning like college. Yet with the Tuttle Twins, both the book series and the TV show it is something that kids can actually understand. It is put in the context of the principles of freedom of your rights, and it’s not as complicated as it’s made out to be. They overcomplicate it in a way that does a lot of destruction to our economy, but it is not nearly as complicated as some like to make it out to be.

Rights:

You start from a basis. We all have rights, rights to life, to liberty, to property. The things that are enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and in the Constitution. Those rights are defined by economist Frederick Bastia, who wrote the book The Law. These rights are inherent, God-given rights. Kids instinctively know this is true. If they have something that they’ve worked for, you can’t go and take that away from them. That’s unfair, right? That’s their property. 

Freedom of Life:

If someone tries to hurt or kill a person, that is not fair. That’s my right to my life. You can’t take away someone’s life; this does not allow a person to have liberty, the ability to make their own decisions and to pursue their own dreams and passions and things like that. And people can’t also get in the way of that. Then, when you understand that, add economics.

Economics:

A high-level principle is putting policies into place that are beneficial. The policy needs to benefit more than one group. Not only in the short term but needs to benefit all groups in the long term. And kids get that as well. The policy needs to be something that’s not just favoring a given industry or corporation or something similar; it needs to be something that really creates a fair playing field for everyone. 

Freedom, Economics, and Business:

More points discussed: