Joyfully Homeschooling

One of the biggest things I hear when I talk about homeschooling with other Christian parents is that their kids go to school to be the salt and the light.  I have heard that our local public school would be a better place if I let my kids go there because they could be a light in a dark place. Both make me want to vomit. Because it's not my child's job to be the salt and the light.

Today is Apraxia Awareness day and I am so excited to share with you our story with Apraxia, what it means to me, the struggles that Apraxia has brought to our family, and how we have learned to look past the diagnosis into the beautiful gift that is our son. 

Homeschooling with special needs can be difficult, defeating, and at times overwhelming. But, special needs homeschooling doesn't have to be a drudgery. It can be a gift. I am tackling the topic of special needs homeschooling today with my friend Shawna Wingert. Even if you are not homeschooling with special needs you will get a lot from this episode because all of our children have quirks, they all learn in different ways, and we can celebrate the child God has given us.  

One question I get a lot from moms is how to deal with homeschool criticism. This was a difficult episode to record, but one that needs to be discussed. I hope it leaves you encouraged and ready to joyfully homeschool. Even if your family is against homeschooling. 

One of my favorite blogging friends is Emily from Table Life Blog. She has such an encouraging heart, and spirit. That is why I am so excited to share with you this interview. Emily and I catch up, and chat about how you can take those rough homeschool days, and find God moments in them. Because, believe me, every day, even the bad ones, have God in them. Finding those moments, recognizing them, and embracing them, can help you have more joy in your homeschool! 

One of biggest struggles homeschool parents have is over curriculum. Think about it, every spring you see catalogs upon catalogs of curriculum come through your mailbox. There are homeschool conventions and curriculum fairs every weekend across the United States. Through the years, I have used a variety of different curriculum. Today, I am sharing the different curriculum we have used over the years, what we thought of each of them, and what we plan to continue using in our homeschool. 

I love homeschool conventions. I really do. Last year I attended my first but I had been eyeing them for years. There is something about being around a large group of like-minded individuals. These people are our PEEPS! As we all prepare for homeschool convention season I wanted to share some of my best homeschool convention tips and tricks!

Today's episode is our first fess up Friday interview! I am chatting with my friend Dachelle about homeschooling, tea time, poetry, and confessing some homeschool secrets. Like the fact that I’ve never considered poetry or tea fun. BUT, as I was chatting with Dachelle she shared how these two things have brought joy into her homeschool.

 When I first began considering homeschooling I may have gone a little crazy in the homeschool books department. Out of all those books, there were some really great ones that are still on my shelf and/or kindle. Those are the must-have books for homeschool moms. Those are the ones that I allow moms to borrow, and the ones I recommend to moms regardless of where they are on their homeschool journey. Those are the ones I am sharing in this episode today. 

Is homeschooling hard? Of course, it is! In today's episode, I'm sharing some of the benefits homeschooling will provide you and your kids, as well as tips to help you get through those hard moments in homeschooling.  If you have every thought homeschooling was too hard, and been tempted to flag down that yellow school bus you won't want to miss this episode! 

In today's episode, we are chatting about why homeschool moms need homeschool friends. When you decide to homeschool, your friendships will change. This is a natural occurrence, and you need to be prepared for it. You also need to make friends with other homeschool moms. We are talking about why that is important, and how you can prepare yourself for the changes that will happen to your friendships. Particularly those with your public school friends.

On today's episode, we are talking about our homeschool story. I share a bit of why we continue homeschooling, and why  I believe it is SO important to remember your why. If you have ever considered homeschooling, or have ever thought about quitting homeschooling you won't want to miss this episode.