10 Minutes to a Better Homeschool

Katie Kimball chats about the benefits of teaching your kids to cook real food. She shares her tips and tricks on enjoying time in the kitchen with your kids, as well as using this special time to connect.

With lots of laughs and a few tears, Jennifer Brockman shares the challenges, as well as the blessings, of homeschooling a child with down syndrome. Her experiences and tips come from a humble heart and offer inspiration and encouragement to families in similar situations. Jennifer also gives us a sneak peek into large family homeschool life on a cranberry farm.

Misty Bailey has a flair for homeschooling with joy. Despite a busy work-at-home schedule, Misty uses her faith to remain positive on her homeschool journey. She shares her experiences and tips to help other homeschool moms keep the joy in homeschool life.

As your kids get older, the idea of homeschooling high school can feel intimidating. Lisa Nehring, head of True North Homeschool Academy, shares her experiences and tips from homeschooling her five children. She also explains how you can make the most out of homeschool high school years and how online homeschooling can be just the help you need.

STEAM-Based learning is such a hot topic in the world of education! Karyn Tripp of Teach Beside Me shares her best tips and experiences for boosting your homeschool with creative activities. Discover the benefits of STEAM-based learning and how it can help all homeschoolers.

Tricia Goyer shares her myriad of experiences homeschooling her 10 kids. She knows what it's like to homeschool from the beginning, as well as helping her adopted kids transition from public school to homeschool. Tricia's faith shines through as she reveals how she balances her busy life as a wife, mom, homeschooler, prolific writer and speaker. Find inspiration & delight as she chats about homeschool basics & staying motivated.

Wonder what life is like while homeschooling overseas? Katie Hornor shares her experiences as a working homeschool mom living in Mexico with her family. Find out how this second generation missionary lives with intention and praise as she rocks her homeschool.

Does the thought of homeschooling the teen years & beyond keep you up at night? Many homeschoolers wonder how to handle more rigorous academics, busy schedules, & raging hormones. Connie Albers shares her experiences & wisdom with wonderful encouragement & insightful tips. Sit back & be reassured that you can survive & thrive homeschooling middle school, high school, & beyond!

Does the thought of nature study make you cringe a bit? Don't worry-you're not alone! In this episode of the podcast, Amy chats with Holly Giles who shares her tips and tricks for customizing nature study for your family. Holly talks about how nature study has helped her home educate her special needs child and strengthen her homeschool. She also shares creative ways to incorporate nature study into your everyday life. Get inspiration to get outdoors and experience nature with your kids!

Meet Selena Robinson, a second generation homeschooler with ADD who is homeschooling kids with ADD and ADHD. She shares her tips, tricks, and resources for successfully homeschooling with attention deficit disorder.

Nadine Dyer talks to Amy about her experiences with life as a secular homeschool living in Canada. She provides tips and resources for a secular approach to homeschool. Also, if you are a homeschool mom who struggles with anxiety, you won't want to miss Nadine's personal story and how she continues to make homeschool happen.

Homeschool life can be busy. It's easy to feel like a not-so-fun mom. Would you like to become a more playful mom? Christy Thomas shares her secrets for building connections with kids through play. Don't miss her valuable tips & awesome resource for helping moms relax & enjoy their homeschooling adventures.

Are you an on-the-go homeschooling mom? Rarely ever home between your kids' sporting commitments? You're not alone. Today, Colleen talks to Amy Milcic, sports mom supreme, who gives tips and tricks for manging it all while injecting loads of fun and family-building into your homeschool life. Make sure you listen to this one, folks. There are a few fun announcements coming your way!

Homeschooling a profoundly gifted child can bring lots of challenges others may not completely understand. Want to take a peek into the world of homeschooling gifted kids? Don't miss this conversation with Gina Munsey -- second generation homeschooler and mom to the brilliantly asynchronous Aveline.

So many homeschoolers start down this alternate education path to break free from the traditional schooling mode, then find themselves recreating school-at-home and getting frustrated with themselves and their kids. Cait Curley has the answer for you, and she and Colleen talk all about gameschooling for fun AND learning this week. You don't want to miss this episode!

Homeschooling can be a challenge for the most organized mama, throw in some extra schedules and running around, and it's easy to see how one can get lost in all the details, forgetting to get math in for the day. Today Colleen talks to an inspirational homeschool mom who not only juggles her family activities with homeschooling, but fosters to adopt medically fragile kiddos, taking on all the therapies and visits that go along with special needs.

It's easy to feel alone and discouraged when you're homeschooling in the trenches day in and day out. This week, Colleen talks to Mary Jo Dean, a homeschool mom who made it her mission and life's work to encourage moms around the country in their homeschooling journeys by founding the Great Homeschool Conventions. Join us and be encouraged.

We're talking with Mark Tilsher, serial entrepreneur and founder of the Junior Money Makers podcast all about helping kids have a heart for building businesses and lives they can love. Join us to find out how you can inspire the next generation of leaders and innovators, too.

Homeschooling with toddlers and preschoolers underfoot can be tough. This week Colleen talks to Sara McClure who has a new book out all about how to keep those little ones occupied, engaged, and learning while you focus on homeschooling the bigger kiddos. Join us as we learn all about busy bags.

The question of balance comes up often -- especially when a homeschooling mom is a working mom, too. In this episode, the first with a special new guest host, we turn the tables on Pam and hear HER methods for staying on top of it all... homeschooling, podcasting, blogging, raising a family, and staying sane. This is a fun one!

Today we are talking about one of Pam's favorite topics -- getting organized. Kristi Clover is here to talk to us about her systems for homeschool organization and how they might work for you. We are getting things filed away and even cutting the binding off books!! Join us to find out what this madness is all about.

The only thing that might come close to a good book is having a friend who loves to talk about good books. That's Sara Masarik. She loves to read and talk about reading -- for her and for kids. And she's passionate about helping others get together to talk about reading too. In this episode of the podcast Sara and I chat about books (of course!), her homeschool, and how she is helping people connect with books and reading communities online. Enjoy!

We have been asked numerous times to interview a teen for the Homeschool Snapshots show and it's about time we deliver. Today we are talking to 14-year-old Aria Maher about what it's like to be homeschooled, her favorite reading material, and how she found time to write a novel. Enjoy!

Preschool is a time to play and enjoy your little one. Sometimes, though, we get mired down in the details of how to make a great preschool experience for our kids and still enjoy it. This week I am joined by Jennifer Pepito, author of the lovely Peaceful Preschool curriculum to talk about exactly that. Jennifer is a mom of seven kids she has homeschooled since the beginning including three graduates, so in addition to the preschool we cover the gamut of homeschool topics from A to Z. Enjoy! Jennifer is a mom of seven kids she has homeschooled since the beginning including three graduates, so in addition to the preschool we cover the gamut of homeschool topics from A to Z. Enjoy!

Yvette and Garritt Hampton are one adventurous couple. No everyone has the guts to step out in faith, sell everything, and travel the country in an RV while filming a full-length documentary about homeschooling. This week I chat with the couple about homeschooling in a very small space, big changes, and their vision for Schoolhouse Rocked. Enjoy! This week I chat with the couple about homeschooling in a very small space, big changes, and their vision for Schoolhouse Rocked. Enjoy!

Camille Kirksey is joining us today in response to a couple of listener requests for a guest who spoke specifically about what it is like to homeschool as an African-American. How is homeschooling viewed in that community and what are some of the challenges? Camille is a wonderful and vivacious guest. Comfortable on air (don't miss her YouTube channel), she has insights on the title topic and a ton of other homeschool information. This is a fun one.

It's been a long-time coming but we finally have an interview with a dad who is the primary homeschool parent! Chris Tilley did not go back to work after a layoff a few years ago, but his wife did. That left him home to be the house husband and homeschool dad. It's a fun interview with a look at what it's like to homeschool from the dad's side.

It's an age-old question that keeps homeschool moms up at night -- how do you homeschool and get the housework done too? For the most part, you can't do it all. If you do a great job with homeschooling and housework then you really won't have time for anything else -- like a life. As homeschool moms we have to learn the hard lesson of letting our standards down a bit.Having said that, there are strategies we can use to make things easier. Tonia Lyons has figured out a few of those strategies and is here to share them with us today. From kitchens, to bathrooms, to laundry let's find a few ways to keep on top of the chaos.

Welcome back to a new season of the Homeschool Snapshots Podcast! We are kicking off with an interview with Cindy West from Our Journey Westward and Shining Dawn Books. While Cindy is known for homeschool nature study, she is also passionately interested in using a process called Brain Training in her homeschool with some of her wiggly boys. She heard about the techniques years ago and has studied them and how she can implement them into her homeschoolOn this episode of the podcast she shares more about her homeschool, how she got interested in brain training, and some of the techniques she uses with her kids.

Our last episode of the season features Kristen Hochhalter, a secular homeschooler. Kristen never thought she would homeschool, but as soon as some common misconceptions were blown out of the water, the doors of homeschooling possibilities began to open.Kristen talks about all she has learned from homeschooling, secular homeschooling, and finding community. We get real for a bit as we admit failures, talk about asking for forgiveness, and being your kids' first role model.Join us and be encouraged to find community wherever it is you are. Remember, we're all in this together.

At your request, today we are talking to Sue Umezaki about what it is like to homeschool in another culture. An interest in an exotic language led Sue to Japan as a teacher. There she met her husband and the rest is history. She has lived in Japan for 22 years and has homeschooled her four children from the beginning.With one daughter graduated, and three more at home, Sue has her feet on both sides of the homeschooling threshold. She talks about the freedom she experiences with homeschooling, finding homeschooling support, unique opportunities and struggles, living in small spaces, and simply everyday life.

Ever feel like what you do doesn't matter? Do you ever wonder if the sacrifice you made to stay home and teach your children is in vain? Join us for this episode of Homeschool Snapshots Podcast as Diane Lockman encourages us with what really matters.Diane reminds us to let go of subjects and give our children the skills now to learn the content they need for their callings later. She reminds us that the most important thing we can do is teach our children, how to read, write, think, and speak well, equipping them to seek their passions and find their place in the world.But most of all, Diane helps us to see that when moms are equipped through prayer and education then the whole family benefits.Just a quick note on the sound quality of this episode; it isn't great. We do apologize for the fuzzy sounds and want you to know that this is not the norm. It only affects Pam's side of the interview so we decided to run it anyway because Diane is just wonderful! 

In this episode of the Homeschool Snapshots podcast we chat with Charlotte Gleason, a homeschool mom of three, who loves food, literature, and teaching college-level classes.Charlotte began homeschooling because she wanted her children to be able to run and play as well as have time to read. She encourages us to make literature and grammar an integral part of our homeschool as a way to prepare our children for success in college.With a genuine love for teaching that shines through every book recommendation, Charlotte challenges us to find something that energizes us separate from our homeschool. For her it is teaching. What is it for you?

On this episode of Homeschool Snapshots, we enjoy a delightful conversation with Claire Stewart. Claire thoroughly enjoys spending time with her children as they learn through the huge feast she sets before them. She even admits to being the biggest kid of all!Come and listen how Claire tailors each child's education to fit their needs without making herself crazy. She also shares a little bit about her family's homeschooling journey while she was sick with cancer.I had so much fun talking with Claire and hope you will enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

Kortney Garrison has had many adventures. Besides being married for 17 years, which is an adventure in itself sometimes, she has lived in South America, studied in London, and spent a summer in Guadalajara. These adventures have fostered in her a desire for simplicity and contemplation in her homeschool.Kortney offers a down to earth look at homeschooling. Relax, go for the long haul, keep the end in view, and remember that a DIY education requires you to participate with your children as you take life in stride.

Ainsley Arment is the founder of Wild and Free, a community to help homeschool parents connect with others who share the mindset that childhood is an important stage, not just something to grow out of. Noticing the light of wonder going out of her sons eyes, she became a homeschooling mom six years ago and hasn't looked back.Come and be encouraged to trust yourself and your children in your homeschooling adventure by allowing the process of learning to take place naturally.

Missy Andrews is a homeschool mother of six and co-author of Teaching the Classics. She regularly shares her love of literature on the CenterforLit podcast, BiblioFiles, along with her husband Adam, son Ian, and daughter-in-law Emily.Join us as Missy talks about the real goal of homeschooling, the proper place for academics, and most importantly, how to get to the nitty-gritty of a book through a great conversation with your children.

Welcome back to a new season of the Homeschool Snapshots Podcast! We are kicking off with an interview with Lesli Richards, a self proclaimed accidental homeschooler and the author of The Homegrown Preschooler.Lesli shares with us things she wish she had known at the beginning of her homeschooling journey. With one daughter in college and a special needs son, she talks about the important things that made their homeschool successful.With warmth, humor, and down-to-earth truth, Lesli is the perfect encouragement to get your year off to a great start. Enjoy!

We are wrapping up this season of the podcast with an interview from a real homeschool legend: Jane Lambert. Jane is a veteran homeschool mom who is now cheering on her daughters as they in turn homeschool her grandchildren.Jane shares how she used excellent books and simple materials to open up the world to her children. She also tells the story of the birth of her much-loved literature-based curriculum, Five in a Row.After more than 30 years in the homeschooling world, Jane is able to speak with warmth and wisdom about the big picture of home education. Enjoy!

Amy Roberts is a homeschooling mom with a houseful of kids ranging from teens to tots. She joins us on this episode of the podcast to give a sneak peek into the life of a large homeschooling family.Amy shares some great toddler-wrangling tips, strategies for staying organized, and some wisdom for homeschooling through grief and other difficult times. Her warmth and humor make this an interview not to be missed!

Dawn Garrett is a homeschooling mother of three and a long-time blogger at Ladydusk, where she is celebrating her 15th anniversary of blogging.Over the years at her blog, she has chronicled precious family memories, significant learning milestones, her own reflections, hopes, and plans, and much more.

Heidi Scovel is a classical homeschooler and book lover who blogs at Mt. Hope Chronicles. She joins us on this episode of the podcast to give us a peek into what school likes like at her house with four extroverted, book-loving kids and a relaxed classical approach to learning.Heidi tells how she spreads a feast for her children by keeping copious numbers of rich books around the house, and she even shares some secrets for how she carves out time for her own reading. Enjoy!

Durenda Wilson is a seasoned homeschooler with eight children who currently range from young adults down to an 11 year old. She is the author of a new book, The Unhurried Homeschooler,  a short little gem all about slowing down and letting go of the burdensome expectations and pressures we often saddle ourselves with as parents.Her message is a much-needed tonic for the burnout and harried pace we sometimes fall into as busy homeschoolers. Durenda joins us on this episode of the podcast to share a little bit about her own story and to tell how and why the "unhurried" philosophy became so important to her. Enjoy!

Marianne Sunderland is a long-time homeschooler who has graduated 3 (soon to be 4) of her 8 children. She joins us on this episode of the podcast to discuss just the tip of the iceberg of what she has learned in over 20 years of homeschooling, about dyslexia, helping kids set goals and pursue big dreams, and more.Her family's journey is an exciting one and listening to Marianne share her wisdom and personal experiences is a treat. Enjoy!

MacKenzie Monroe is a homeschooling mother of four and the host of the Cultivating the Lovely podcast and morning show on Periscope. She tries to savor the beauty in the day-to-day routines of mom life and is on a mission to help other women do the same.On this episode of the podcast, MacKenzie explains how she endeavors to foster beauty in her homeschool through practices like Morning Time, reading and talking about great books, and utilizing traveler's notebooks. Enjoy!

Kara Anderson is a mom, freelance writer, and photography aficionado who writes about homeschooling, mothering, and more at her blog. She is also a contributor to Simple Homeschool.Kara joins us on this episode of the podcast to share about her homeschooling journey with her two children. Her personal story of unexpectedly jumping into homeschooling with an active little boy who was more interested in exploring his world than in "sitting on the line" is one that resonates with many.She has wisdom to share about sifting through philosophies, drawing from different methods, and ultimately making individual choices about what works best for your family. Make yourself comfortable and enjoy listening to this inspiring interview!

Melissa Wiley is an author and a homeschool mom of 6 who blogs at Here in the Bonny Glen. Her novel, The Prairie Thief, is a big hit at my house, and I have a little Laura Ingalls fan who is just itching to check out her two series of books about Laura's ancestors, The Martha Years and The Charlotte Years.

Susan Wise Bauer is a mother of four, a writer, an academic, and a prominent figure in the world of home education. On this episode of the podcast, she shares her own experiences as a second-generation homeschooler and her observations about changes within the homeschooling community in recent decades.Susan has some great insight about homeschooling within the overall context of the parent/child relationship, and she dispenses helpful advice about outsourcing subjects during the high school years. She also gives us the scoop on the upcoming 4th edition of The Well-Trained Mind. So sit back and enjoy!

Dawn Hanigan is a mom to four boys ranging from a college student all the way down to a toddler.In this episode, she speaks with warmth and wisdom about her homeschool journey, her love of nature and seasonal living, and her incredible file crate system, and she shares the perspective she has gained from experiencing every stage of homeschooling, from teaching very little ones to graduating a senior.  Enjoy!

We are joined on this episode of the podcast by Lauren Hill, the "mama" behind Mama's Learning Corner, a fantastic online resource for printables and worksheets on a whole assortment of topics.Lauren shares with us about how she got started with homeschooling and what school looks like at her house with her crew of four children. She has some really good insight about handling a school day gone wrong, as well as excellent advice for beginners who want to delve into unit studies. Enjoy!