Homeschooling IRL

When Cindy West reached out to us and asked to talk about something she's seeing in the homeschool community at large, we jumped at the opportunity. And it's this: Some homeschoolers feel they must adhere so closely to a particular homeschool philosophy that they have lost all their homeschool joy. Essentially, their homeschools are owning them. So what's the remedy? Tune in to "When Your Homeschool Owns You" to find out! SHOW NOTES: Recommended Resources: Cindy West can be found here: Our Journey Westward. Get Social With Us: Follow Fletch/Kendra: Fletch Twitter Kendra Twitter Follow the Studio Dogs: Betty the Surf Dog - Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Website Rasta The Chocolate Lab - Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Website     Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor - Unseen Film After finding his grandson Owen preparing to end his own life, Alexander takes him along on an errand. As the day unfolds, Owen learns new information about his grandfather’s past and unlocks the secret to facing his own future. Click Here to Download the Film for Free and get Resources for Your Family

We are talking about Family Devotions for the Real Family on this podcast. You know REAL family devotions. The families with the toddler hijacking the deep discussion, and the teens are daydreaming, and mom is falling asleep because it's been a long, long homeschooling day. Can you relate to family worship that looks like this? Family worship can be trying for most families, and on this episode of Homeschooling in Real Life, we talk with a dozen dads about what it looks like in their homes. But we won't leave you feeling like a failure! We want to encourage you to discover God's glory with your family in a way that suits you best.     Special Thanks to our Network Sponsor, Kiwi Crate!   We'd like to thank our Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network sponsor, Kiwi Crate! KiwiCo has monthly subscriptions of hands-on projects that make learning fun! Their core offering is projects that make learning about STEAM -- science, technology, engineering, art, and math -- accessible and are designed to spark creativity, tinkering, and learning. Some recent favorite crates are the Slime Lab, Physics Carnival, and Paper Circuits. Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network is excited to be able to offer you the chance to try them for FREE. To learn more about their projects for kids ages 2 to 16 AND to redeem this exclusive offer, click here to get your first month free today (just pay $4.95 for shipping)  

On this week's special back to school replay with Fletch and Kendra, they talk about Extracurricular Overkill.  When is enough too much? On this episode of HomeschoolingIRL, Fletch and Kendra answer a letter from a listener who is wondering how to filter extracurricular activities into your homeschool. When should you say yes? When should you say no? We invite good friends Nate and Ali Miller into the studio to talk through the topic of extracurricular overkill. Listen in as we discuss how they made the decision to pull back from gymnastics, swimming, baseball, and choir in their family of three pre-teens. We hope you are encouraged by this discussion of choosing extracurricular activities in your homeschool family. SHOW NOTES: Recommended Resources: Joann Kraft - Just Too Busy Betty The Surf Dog Twitter Feed - Home of Betty the Surf Dog Fletch Twitter Kendra Twitter Previous Episodes Mentioned: Music clips used on this episode: Breathe In Breathe Out Move On - Buy it on iTunes Here     Special Thanks to our Network Sponsor, Kiwi Crate!   We'd like to thank our Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network sponsor, Kiwi Crate! KiwiCo has monthly subscriptions of hands-on projects that make learning fun! Their core offering is projects that make learning about STEAM -- science, technology, engineering, art, and math -- accessible and are designed to spark creativity, tinkering, and learning. Some recent favorite crates are the Slime Lab, Physics Carnival, and Paper Circuits. Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network is excited to be able to offer you the chance to try them for FREE. To learn more about their projects for kids ages 2 to 16 AND to redeem this exclusive offer, click here to get your first month free today (just pay $4.95 for shipping)

Moms of teen boys, this episode was made for you! What happens to those boys when they become teenagers and why are they so hard for moms to manage? Fletch and Kendra have raised three teen boys so far and they have lived to tell the tale . . . Fletch pokes a few sticks at dads on this episode who have turned all the schooling over to their wives. Kendra also has some definite opinions on the subject of moms, homeschooling, and teen boys. She thinks the teen years can be extra great for moms, particularly if a mom can learn to do a few things to grow that relationship in a positive direction. What are they? You'll have to tune in to find out! SHOW NOTES: Recommended Resources: Raising Real Men - Hal and Melanie Young Previous Episodes Mentioned: Music clips used on this episode: Song for My Sons- Sara Groves - Buy it on iTunes Here LISTEN HERE Are you ready to listen to Fletch and Kendra get real about homeschooling? Press the PLAY button below. Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor -Time 4 Learning Time4Learning provides the tools and resources students need to build skills and confidence in the core subjects like math, language arts, science, and social studies. No matter how long you’ve been homeschooling or whatever your current situation, Time4Learning is a flexible, online curriculum that can be tailored to your child’s individual needs. The comprehensive, award-winning curriculum allow students to study confidently and excel at their own pace, making it ideal for all kinds of learners, whether they are mainstream, gifted or special needs. Click Here to Visit Time 4 Learning!

So you love the idea of homeschooling, but you are totally disorganized? Is this a deal killer? Should you pack up your kids and send them off to the local school house where they will be kept on track by rigid teaching plans that maintain scope and sequence? It's time for us all to get real with one another. Is your lack of organization thwarting your efforts at homeschooling? At the end of the day, the week, the month, are you constantly playing catch-up and putting out the fires caused by disorganization? If so, this is the episode you will want to listen to. What about the other side of this issue? As a busy productive homeschool parent, have you forgotten along the way that relationships need to come before agendas? Are you such a task-master that you forgot the children God gave you to develop loving relationships with? Organization in the homeschool can be both a blessing and a curse. On this episode of Homeschooling In Real Life, join Fletch and Kendra as they get transparent with their listeners and have the discussion out loud about balancing the need to bring organization into your family and preventing that same organization from destroying relationships.   Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor -Time 4 Learning Time4Learning provides the tools and resources students need to build skills and confidence in the core subjects like math, language arts, science, and social studies. No matter how long you’ve been homeschooling or whatever your current situation, Time4Learning is a flexible, online curriculum that can be tailored to your child’s individual needs. The comprehensive, award-winning curriculum allow students to study confidently and excel at their own pace, making it ideal for all kinds of learners, whether they are mainstream, gifted or special needs. Click Here to Visit Time 4 Learning!

Are you starting your school year?  In this Best of HIRL, we gather around the teacher's lounge and gear up for another year of teaching our kids at home. When this episode first ran, Fletch and Kendra were starting their 19th year of homeschooling with a bang and letting you in on the fun. On this episode, they also imparted 5 questions to ask yourself as you head back to school this year. Join us and let's get the school year rolling! SHOW NOTES: Recommended Resources: None Follow Fletch/Kendra: Fletch Twitter Kendra Twitter Follow the Studio Dogs: Betty the Surf Dog - Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Website Rasta The Chocolate Lab - Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Website Previous Episodes Mentioned: None Music clips used on this episode: What Did You Learn In School Today? by Pete Seeger - Buy It Here On iTunes     Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor - Unseen Film After finding his grandson Owen preparing to end his own life, Alexander takes him along on an errand. As the day unfolds, Owen learns new information about his grandfather’s past and unlocks the secret to facing his own future. Click Here to Download the Film for Free and get Resources for Your Family

The Homeschool Budget is part one of a series of three podcast episodes dealing with the topic of financial fear. With a family of 8 kids, Fletch and Kendra know that homeschooling can get expensive. On this episode, they share tips and tricks they have used over the years to save money and homeschool well within a budget. Along the way, they talk about homeschooling within and out of the charter school system. SHOW NOTES: Recommended Resources: The Wired Homeschool - Homeschooling with Netflix M.I.T. iTunes University KHAN Academy HOOPLA - Free audio/video through the local library Homeschool Creations Betty The Surf Dog Twitter Feed - Home of Betty the Surf Dog Fletch Twitter Kendra Twitter Music clips used on this episode: Watch Me - Buy it on iTunes Here   Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor - Well Planned Gal Rebecca from the Well Planned Gal understands the challenges of working within a budget, managing multiple children, and trying to keep up with a variety of information. That is why she created popular planner bundles! Combine organizational tools with year long encouragement by bundling Well Planned Day planners with the popular Family Magazine. For a limited time, Save 30% with one of her popular planner bundles. Each bundle contains 2 planner products with a one-year subscription to Family Magazine. Click Here to Go to Well Planned Gal  

Can you afford to homeschoool? What if your budget is already at its max, and you feel you're barely scraping by just to provide the basics for your family? Join Fletch and Kendra as we sit down with our Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network colleague and CPA Carol Topp for a lively and quick discussion of how to make homeschooling work on a small or non-existent budget, the realities and expenses of homeschooling older kids, and the need to examine our hearts when it comes to finances and what God is calling us to do.   Show Notes HomeschoolCPA Dollars and Sense podcast, with Carol Topp Microbusiness for Teens Dave Ramsey, Financial Peace University   Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor - Well Planned Gal Rebecca from the Well Planned Gal understands the challenges of working within a budget, managing multiple children, and trying to keep up with a variety of information. That is why she created popular planner bundles! Combine organizational tools with year long encouragement by bundling Well Planned Day planners with the popular Family Magazine. For a limited time, Save 30% with one of her popular planner bundles. Each bundle contains 2 planner products with a one-year subscription to Family Magazine. Click Here to Go to Well Planned Gal

Summertime Favorites - this month replaying some of Homeschooling IRL's best episodes for the summer! Enjoy! ----This is not the first time we have tackled the topic of girls on the podcast. On Episode 10, we talked about many of the common pitfalls we have observed in homeschool families raising daughters. From restrictive environments to preventing any access to higher education, we dove into tough topics. On this episode, we are getting very practical, especially as it relates to raising daughters into the pre-teen years. Join us as we dive into the discussion on how to navigate the tricky years of hormones and body changes as we sit down to talk about girls, again. SHOW NOTES: PREVIOUS PODCASTS: HomeschoolingIRL Episode 10: Girls MUSIC USED: Thank Heaven For Little Girls by Maurice Chevalier - BUY IT HERE ON iTunes ARTICLES REFERENCED: Your Daughter's Hormones - Homegrown Mom Blog   Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor - Well Planned Gal Rebecca from the Well Planned Gal understands the challenges of working within a budget, managing multiple children, and trying to keep up with a variety of information. That is why she created popular planner bundles! Combine organizational tools with year long encouragement by bundling Well Planned Day planners with the popular Family Magazine. For a limited time, Save 30% with one of her popular planner bundles. Each bundle contains 2 planner products with a one-year subscription to Family Magazine. Click Here to Go to Well Planned Gal

Back in Episode 9, we sat down with our friends and fellow podcasters, Hal and Melanie Young from Making Biblical Family Life Practical, to discuss the topic of boys. We talked about how these rambunctious little piles of energy can completely undo the unprepared homeschool mom. From peeing on the carpet to falling from the top of the trees, we discussed how the overload of testosterone is a God-given gift to young men who need discipling and direction from both parents, especially as you prepare boys for adolescence and young adulthood. On this second episode, we dive back into the topic of raising boys. We begin by reminding our listeners that in the midst of basic school curriculum, we need to also address basic life lessons. We also answer a listener's question about living in a small space with boys full of energy. We finish our by discussing how to raise boys with a sense of adventure and how sometimes we need to let life teach the hard lessons to stubborn boys. Also in this show, Fletch and Kendra share a few more of their favorite items as they throw them into the HIRLer's Treasure Chest. Show Notes HIRLer's Treasure Chest Fletch: Life is Good.com Kendra: Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt In Your Mouth Cookies MUSIC USED: The Boys Are Back In Town by Thin Lizzie - buy it here on iTunes Boys by The Beatles - buy it here on iTunes ARTICLES REFERENCED: My Teenage Sons Are The Smartest People I Know   Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor - Well Planned Gal Rebecca from the Well Planned Gal understands the challenges of working within a budget, managing multiple children, and trying to keep up with a variety of information. That is why she created popular planner bundles! Combine organizational tools with year long encouragement by bundling Well Planned Day planners with the popular Family Magazine. For a limited time, Save 30% with one of her  popular planner bundles. Each bundle contains 2 planner products with a one-year subscription to Family Magazine.   Click Here to Go to Well Planned Gal

On this episode of the HomeschoolingIRL podcast, we answer a question from a listener who wants to know about switching roles. What happens when circumstances dictate that mom is the primary breadwinner. What does it look like when dads choose to stay home and do the homeschooling? Fletch and Kendra interview two homeschool dads who did just this. Listen in to Steve Wilkins and Dr. Jay Wile and hear their stories and how it worked in their families. Also on this show we dive into a discussion about reunions, high school friends, homeschool conferences and when it is okay to publicly criticize homeschool or parenting ministries that teach legalism. Tune in for a great show. SHOW NOTES: Recommended Resources: Dr. Jay Wile Betty the Surf Dog - Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Website Rasta The Chocolate Lab - Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Website Fletch Twitter Kendra Twitter LISTEN HERE Are you ready to listen to Fletch and Kendra get real about homeschooling? Press the PLAY button below. We’d like to thank our Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network sponsor, Like Arrows! FamilyLife’s first feature film LIKE ARROWS, explores the joys and heartaches of parenting with a story that spans over 50 years. Join us in theaters across America for a special 2 night showing of LIKE ARROWS followed by exclusive after-show content with the film-makers, including celebrated faith-based film-makers Alex and Stephen Kendrick as well as FamilyLife Today’s Dennis and Barbara Rainey and Bob Lepine. You’ll leave encouraged and equipped with powerful next steps to make Christ the center of YOUR parenting. LIKE ARROWS will be in theaters for two nights only, MAY 1ST and 3RD. To view the trailer and find theater info, visit the link below. If you missed the movie in theatres be sure to check out the Digital, DVD and Blueray versions on the website, LikeArrowsMovie.com Visit here to learn more.

On this episode of Homeschooling In Real Life, Fletch and Kendra discuss what it's like when your homeschool student abandons your family's faith and lifestyle. How can this happen in a Christian home where you have created a sheltered homeschool environment? Christian homeschooling is designed to protect our kids. Shouldn't our children turn out perfect? To answer that question, we interview a young man who has done that very thing, but here is the best part: after being raised in a rigid environment which he ultimately rejected, he is still a huge proponent of  home education and thinks his mom is one of the best teachers around! Homeschooling parents, this is an episode you won't want to miss! We may challenge you to rethink about how you listen to your kids, how to look for and complement their strengths, but mostly we will remind all of us how important it is to just point them to Jesus. We’d like to thank our Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network sponsor, Like Arrows! FamilyLife’s first feature film LIKE ARROWS, explores the joys and heartaches of parenting with a story that spans over 50 years. Join us in theaters across America for a special 2 night showing of LIKE ARROWS followed by exclusive after-show content with the film-makers, including celebrated faith-based film-makers Alex and Stephen Kendrick as well as FamilyLife Today’s Dennis and Barbara Rainey and Bob Lepine. You’ll leave encouraged and equipped with powerful next steps to make Christ the center of YOUR parenting. LIKE ARROWS will be in theaters for two nights only, MAY 1ST and 3RD. To view the trailer and find theater info, visit the link below. If you missed the movie in theatres be sure to check out the Digital, DVD and Blueray versions on the website, LikeArrowsMovie.com Visit here to learn more.  

Answering Homeschool Critics Homeschool critics seem to be everywhere and some of us have had our share of uncomfortable conversations about our choice to homeschool, how we're going about it, whether or not we're qualified to teach our own kids, and even what they're learning. Learning how to answer homeschool critics, especially those who are close to us, sometimes requires us to offer a soft answer. Other times it requires us to be very direct and set firm boundaries in our conversations or interactions with our critics. Either way, we need to remind ourselves of the gospel and remember that our identity is in Christ alone. On this short episode of HomeschoolingIRL, Fletch and Kendra discuss gracious responses and remind us all that we only really have an audience of One. Tune in and enjoy this episode of Homeschooling In Real Life To Go! We’d like to thank our Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network sponsor, Like Arrows! FamilyLife’s first feature film LIKE ARROWS, explores the joys and heartaches of parenting with a story that spans over 50 years. Join us in theaters across America for a special 2 night showing of LIKE ARROWS followed by exclusive after-show content with the film-makers, including celebrated faith-based film-makers Alex and Stephen Kendrick as well as FamilyLife Today’s Dennis and Barbara Rainey and Bob Lepine. You’ll leave encouraged and equipped with powerful next steps to make Christ the center of YOUR parenting. LIKE ARROWS will be in theaters for two nights only, MAY 1ST and 3RD. To view the trailer and find theater info, visit the link below. If you missed the movie in theatres be sure to check out the Digital, DVD and Blueray versions on the website, LikeArrowsMovie.com Visit here to learn more.

What if someone told you that you had no right to be angry? What if you could live a life that was defined as unoffendable? What would it look like to not be offended by the things people say and do, or by the way they treat you? And what if you could smile and relax, knowing that God has covered every offense with his inexhaustible love for you? Homeschoolers, let's face it. We are quick to be offended. Whether it's outsiders who watch us and don't like our educational choices or fellow homeschoolers who challenge our methods or curriculum, we can often take offense at anyone who questions what we are doing. What would your life look like if you were unoffendable? On this episode of HomeschoolingIRL, we're talking with radio host Brant Hansen about his new book, Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better. When the gospel gets involved, it really is your best life, forever. Special Thanks to our Network Sponsor!   We’d like to thank our Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network sponsor, The Miracle Season! Based on the inspiring true story of West High School girl's volleyball team. After the tragic death of the school's star player Caroline "Line" Found, the remaining team players must band together under the guidance of their tough-love coach in hope of winning the state championship. Visit here to learn more.

Barrett Johnson wrote a viral sensation entitled, How to Raise a Pagan Kid in a Christian Home. Writing from his heart on a topic he was keenly aware of in the church, he never expected the speedy response he received from parents in the broader Christian community, many of whom were replying with a hearty, "Amen!" and  a social media engagement. On this popular podcast from Fletch and Kendra, they sit down to talk with Barrett and his wife Jenifer, and discuss exactly what they mean when they say, "We work so hard to shelter our kids, but we can shelter them so much that we don't equip them to have a faith that stands out in this world."   Special Thanks to our Network Sponsor!   We’d like to thank our Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network sponsor, The Miracle Season! Based on the inspiring true story of West High School girl's volleyball team. After the tragic death of the school's star player Caroline "Line" Found, the remaining team players must band together under the guidance of their tough-love coach in hope of winning the state championship.  Film Opens on April 6th. Visit here to learn more.