Episodes

So, what’s the deal with charter schools? We received an email from a listener who works in a local charter school that serves homeschooling families, and he has been surprised by the suspicion homeschoolers tend to bring to the table when the conversation turns to charters. Yes, we’re having that conversation, and we’re having it with a husband and wife who have worked in and homeschooled through the charter school system in California. What are the pros of homeschooling with a charter school? ...

We all have those people in our lives who prove to be a challenge to love: a grumpy toddler, a brooding teen, an irritable spouse, a controlling parent. How do we love them in spite of their unloveliness? What does the gospel tell us about our own unloveliness, and God’s love for us? Tun in to this episode of Homeschooling in Real Life for a touching and deeply meaningful conversation about loving the unlovable. EPISODE TIMELINE :50 – Fluff : Birthdays, Sickness and Real Life with a live guest i...

During a recent homeschooling convention where we were speaking, an older gentleman approached the Homeschooling in Real Life booth and asked what we might know about grandparents who homeschool. He was planning to help his daughter homeschool her children, and he was there to gather information. The topic of grandparents who homeschool is an exciting one! The possibilities for how a grandparent might help out in the homeschool setting are endless, and the opportunities for discipleship are inde...

We have big dreams when we begin parenting: how many children we’ll have, what we’ll do together, how our relationship will be when they are adults. It doesn’t take long for us to realize that we’re not in control of who or how our children are, and soon we can find ourselves disappointed that we didn’t have a child like X, Y, and Z. How do we respond when we finally acknowledge that we are disappointed? How does the gospel inform our choices, our conversations, and our relationship to our kids?...

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters . . . except when they’re not. Sister relationships come with their own unique dynamics and drama. On this episode of Homeschooling in Real Life, the three Fletcher sisters join Kendra in the studio for a lively chat about what’s difficult about being so close in age, what’s fun about sharing a room, and the best way to encourage each other. Grab your daughters and listen along! EPISODE TIMELINE :50 – Fluff : Camping, MightyJoe visits, Avoi...

What would it look like to homeschool under the palm trees and island breezes of Hawaii? Attention HIRLers! We have arrived at the center of Fletch’s dream. Actually, this is not a dream. We do love Hawaii, but this time we have a studio discussion with Dave and Amy Jordan who homeschool their 7 kids on the island of Maui. What is unique about island life? How do you get school done and build relationships when so many people come and go from a vacation destination? Join us this week as we con...

The Great Fletcher 1970’s Summer is coming to a close, so we are taking a break this week to celebrate Labor Day as a family! Listen in for a quick message and we will be back next week! Fletch and Kenj SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE AN iTUNES REVIEW: Allow the magic of the internet to deliver Homeschooling In Real Life to your tablet or smart phone. Let us show you how easy it is: Follow this link to our iTunes page. IMPORTANT STEP: Under our big red HomeschoolingIRL logo, just click on View in iTune...

DISCLAIMER: WE DEAL WITH MATURE TOPICS ON THIS EPISODE; DECIDE IF YOUR LITTLE ONES SHOULD LISTEN ALONG. In Episode 115, we answered a listener’s email and discussed sex education for parents with Barrett and Jenifer Johnson. Your emails and comments started pouring in. We are realizing that there are many couples out there who just don’t know how to talk about sex in a healthy, informed way. To that end, we are diving back into the topic of sex and marriage and asking ourselves a few more questi...

Are you starting your school year? We are! Let’s gather around the teacher’s lounge and gear up for another year of teaching our kids at home. Fletch and Kendra are starting their 19th year of homeschooling with a bang and letting you in on the fun. On this episode, they are also imparting 5 questions to ask yourself as you head back to school this year. Join us and let’s get the school year rolling! EPISODE TIMELINE :57 – Fluff : Fletch shares his opinion about weddings and baby deliveries. 9:...

DISCLAIMER: WE DEAL WITH MATURE TOPICS ON THIS EPISODE; DECIDE IF YOUR LITTLE ONES SHOULD LISTEN ALONG. On previous episodes we have encouraged you to talk with your kids about sex, but how do you have that conversation if you don’t know how to talk about it as a couple? How do you have emotional conversations out loud with your spouse? How do you voice dissatisfaction or discouragement with your sex life? What do you do when you are too embarrassed to talk about intimate subjects with each othe...

DISCLAIMER: WE DEAL WITH MATURE TOPICS ON THIS EPISODE. DECIDE IF YOUR LITTLE ONES SHOULD LISTEN ALONG. What do you do when your kid stumbles upon pornography? Most of us homeschool for a reason, but we assume that the vast majority of us are homeschooling because we take our responsibility of shepherding our children very seriously. With all of the safe guards in place it is nearly impossible to protect your children from pornography in this sex saturated culture. On this episode we tackle a q...

Do you struggle with teaching writing to your homeschool kids? This is the episode for you. As homeschool parents, some of us were not given great tools for writing in our own education, so when it comes to teaching the subject, we already feel ill-prepared. Others of us are great writers and love to write, but we have no idea how to teach our kids how to take great ideas from their head and put them into words on paper. We are joined in the studio by Kim Kautzer who developed Write Shop writin...

Most of us have at least one subject we don’t love to teach, and that’s a tricky thing to reconcile when we’re in charge of all the subjects. So what’s a homeschooler to do when there are core subjects that must be covered but mom or dad either aren’t motivated to get that subject done every week or they feel unqualified to teach it? On this episode of HomeschoolingIRL, we’ll discuss what it looks like to homeschool science when you don’t love the sciences. We hope to free you up in the elemen...

What happens when classroom teachers decide to homeschool their own children? How do they make the transition from classroom management to managing the personalities around their kitchen table? If you are a classroom teacher considering homeschooling your own kids, you’ll appreciate this episode and the conversation with former classroom teacher Jolanthe Erb, who brings ten years of homeschool experience to the discussion. We talk about issues unique to the classroom, how homeschooling is differ...

Tragedy. In terms of media and social media, tragedy has become a staple of our daily diet. The world seems to be going crazy and the news is full of stories that are difficult for kids to process and understand. How do we talk to our children about race issues, murder, terrorism, and other tragic current events? On this episode, we dive right into modern events and take on the headlines of the day. We discuss ages and appropriateness of content and conversation, how to address our children’s fe...

Tired of trying to make your family seem as if you’ve got it all together? Exhausted by external standards that seem unreachable or even crushing? The Christian life is not about being less of a mess. It’s about admitting that we need to be saved from trying to clean ourselves up. Guest Kimm Crandall frees you to live with the assurance that God loves you right here, right now. He’s not waiting for you to clean up your act before you’re worthy to come to him. In fact, he wants you to stop trying...

Kendra is on the road this week, leaving Fletch home to run the 1970’s summer adventure with a handful of Fletcher kids. In between sugar cereal, grilled cheese and episodes of Scooby Doo, Fletch popped into the HomeschoolingIRL studio to make an executive decision and a quick announcement about what’s happening this week at Homeschooling In Real Life. Thanks for tuning in! SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE AN iTUNES REVIEW: Allow the magic of the internet to deliver Homeschooling In Real Life to your table...

How does a homeschooling parent possibly educate older kids while at the same time juggling preschoolers, toddlers, and babies? Is it even realistic to think we could do a good job while spinning so many homeschool plates? On this episode of Homeschooling in Real Life, Fletch and Kendra talk about how they’ve managed to homeschool 8 kids, how to structure a day so that schooling actually gets done, and how mom can survive and thrive during the demanding years of homeschooling multiple ages. EPI...

Is there a way to give our kids a global perspective and a heart for people living very different lives all across the globe? Author and homeschooling mom Jamie Martin not only believes so, she’s written the guide! Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Children One Book at a Time is the ultimate book list and living room sofa travel guide for families who desire to broaden their horizons together. Jamie joins us to talk about how to give your kids an education that includes many cul...

Is there a role for art in the curriculum for every homeschool family? What should you do if your strength is not art or art education? We know that art most often reflects the current state of culture, so how do we decided what sort of art to expose our kids to? On this episode of Homeschooling in Real Life, Fletch and Kendra discuss music, movies, dance, and art with Artios Academies founder Lori Lane. Drawing on the music degrees and performance experience of both Lori and Kendra, our discuss...

Have you ever heard that sound? The rhythmic whirring of blades as they chop through the air? That is the sound of a helicopter parent hovering over their homeschooled child getting ready for college. That’s right, we are back at it again with an interview and discussion about college admissions and the need to keep your hands off as your teach your high school graduate to make life choices. Join us as we spend time in the studio with Aimee Stauf. Aimee is a homeschool graduate, and then she wo...

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 a...

Join us for this week’s episode as we chat with Kathy Lee, mom of many and co-author of The Homegrown Preschooler. Kathy is a child development specialist who has homeschooled and raised kids and now speaks all over the country to parents (often with several of her kids in tow!) We discuss the growing trend of high academic expectations at younger ages, play-based preschool, and developing relationships with our young kids and teens that last well into their adulthood. EPISODE TIMELINE 3:10 Flu...

Are you homeschooling a struggling learner? Fletch and Kendra share three practical ideas for you as you consider homeschooling a child who struggles. Join us for this week’s episode as we answer a listener’s question about how to give a struggling learner the time and attention they need. EPISODE TIMELINE :50 Fluff – shout out to John Wilkerson 6:33 Homeschooling the Struggling Learner 23:25 Wrapping it up 25:41 The show is over. Goodbye! SHOW NOTES: Recommended Resources: Betty the Surf Dog...