Episodes

Have you ever wanted to pack up your kids and take them on the road for a homeschooling adventure? On this episode we interview a family who spent 3 months on the road adventuring in Alaska. Corey and Jessica Hulen and their 4 children drove from their home in California and spent the summer traveling the Alaska Highway. We interview them about how they made this adventure happen, why they did it, what it looked like and the blessings and challenges of traveling and homeschooling for a few mont...

Welcome to the 100th episode of Homeschooling In Real Life! Did you know that most podcasters lose steam and stop at 7 episodes? Not only have we kept going, but we have shows planned that will push us past the century mark! Thanks for joining us as we hit this symbolic landmark in podcasting. On this episode of HomeschoolingIRL, we took the time to consider everything we’ve said in the previous shows and attempt to share the THREE main things to remember when homeschooling your kids. You will...

In this final installment of our three-part series on financial fear, we’re returning to our roots and discussing how hope shifting can factor into our fear when it comes to finances. More regularly described as idolatry, “hope shifting” simply means that we’re putting our hope in something other than God for our well-being and care, a habit that comes easily to many of us living and working in first-world countries. How does the idea that we can and should provide for ourselves and our familie...

Part two of our series on financial fear, Affording College hits the topics we’re all nervous about if we have a student who is eyeing a college career: How do we help them pay for four years of schooling? What things can we do to assist with the application process? And finally, should every kid even go to college? Fletch and Kendra speak from their own experiences with their oldest 4 college-bound students and offer ideas about how to think beyond writing a check or taking on massive student ...

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. EPISODE TIMELINE :51 Fluff Time (Hollywood, Head Shots, Whip and Nae Nae) 9:34 Par...

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-teen...

Join us on this episode of Homeschooling in Real Life as we talk about the ins and outs of traveling with kids. On this episode we are NOT talking about vacation planning. Instead we are talking about giving your family a love for travel, a love for God’s world and a love for taking your love for Jesus around the world as a family ambassadors living on mission. Live from the Teach Them Diligently convention floor in Nashville, TN, Kendra interviews family travel expert Jen Reyneri from WordTrav...

Homeschooling. Health food. Small church. Mom stays home. KJV only. Dresses. Youth group. Public school. No TV. Our convictions, or the things we strongly about, can drive so much of our lives and end up being the choices by which we define ourselves. They can bring like-minded believers together and set the tone for our families and homes. But what happens when your convictions are different than mine? As soon as you discover that we don’t have the same non-negotiables in our home as you do in...

Are you homeschooling for the short term? Committing to a brief season of educating your children at home? This episode, encouraged by an email we received from a Homeschooling in Real Life listener, is just for you. Don’t let the short title fool you, though. We quickly get into quite a lively discussion and face some mighty large homeschooling sacred cows this week. Tune in and listen to what Fletch and Kendra say that just might rock your homeschooling world! You won’t want to miss this epis...

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, p...

Do you ever feel like there just isn’t enough time in your life to take care of yourself? In the midst of your life do you fail to remember to do the things you want to do? Do the demands of parenting and homeschooling make you feel guilty if you take time for yourself? We think this is an important discussion to have out loud. Join Fletch and Kendra on this episode of HomeschoolingIRL as we welcome Dr. Melanie Wilson, Christian psychologist and homeschooling mom of 6, into the studio to chat a...

On last week’s episode, we sat down with Dale and Jonalyn Fincher from Soulation/Freedom Builders to begin an important discussion on the topic of spiritual abuse. We just scratched the surface of the discussion by talking about how homeschoolers are prime targets for “movements.” On this episode, we continue the conversation, but we focus on the practical issues surrounding the topic of spiritual abuse. During our interview, we not only define what spiritual abuse is, but we warn the listener ...

Spiritual Abuse. It doesn’t just happen in South American cults. If we are not careful, we can find ourselves involved in movements where the focus quickly turns to behavior modification or blind obedience to personalities and personas. On this episode of the podcast, we sit down with Dale and Jonalyn Fincher from Soulation/Freedom Builders to discuss spiritual abuse in the homeschooling world. We split the interview into two parts, on this week’s episode we begin the discussion with a discussi...

The season break is over! We are kicking things off with an episode that answers the question: Just what is Homeschooling in Real Life? We have noticed over the years that new listeners come to our show wanting us to answer practical questions about homeschooling. Once they listen to an episode, most of our listeners realize that we are not your “typical show” about homeschooling, so we’ve dedicated this entire episode to reintroduce ourselves to old listeners and remind new listeners who we are...

The HomeschoolingIRL team is taking a break between seasons to prepare and produce new shows. In the meantime, we are rebroadcasting our most popular and most downloaded episodes. On this week’s episode, we are replaying our 2nd most downloaded episode. This is our story. It is very personal, but very important to share. We discuss how our family of 8 kids went from living the “perfect homeschool life” to one that learned to rely daily on the grace of God and the love of Jesus. Step right up an...

The HomeschoolingIRL team is taking a break between seasons to prepare and produce new shows. In the meantime, we are rebroadcasting our most popular and most downloaded episodes. On this week’s episode, we are replaying our interview with radio personality and author, Brant Hansen. Brant is the author of Unoffendable, where he discusses how the gospel takes the fuel out of our anger and reminds us that it is okay to begin at a position of forgiveness and no offense. We hope you enjoy this epi...

The HomeschoolingIRL team is taking a break between seasons to prepare and produce new shows. In the meantime, we are rebroadcasting our most popular and most downloaded episodes. On this week’s episode, we are replaying our discussion about Black Sheep Homeschoolers. What do you do when you have ‘that kid.’ You know, the one that just doesn’t fit in with the homeschool co-op you just joined. How do you handle the critics when you are the homeschool family that doesn’t look like everyone else? ...

The HomeschoolingIRL team is taking a break between seasons to prepare and produce new shows. In the meantime, we are rebroadcasting our most popular and most downloaded episodes. Join us this week as we replay our interview with Kimm Crandall, author of the book Christ in the Chaos. Kimm walks us through her story and reminds the listener what happens when we shift our hope onto our behavior and outward performance. Listen in again as she shares her struggles and remember what it means to find...

Wait! This is NOT a rebroadcast of an old episode! Homeschooling is a Buzzkill has been one of our most popular downloads, so we decided to sit down and record a completely new episode. After more than two years of podcasting, it was time to discuss again one of our favorite topics: how homeschooling can be a “buzzkill”. The first Homeschooling is a Buzzkill was one of our favorite episodes to record, but as we listened to it we both thought the actual recording just stunk. Since then we have n...

Are you stuck in holiday traffic? Are you locking yourself in the bathroom at your family get-together to avoid Crazy Uncle Larry? Are you sick of hearing Christmas music? This quick episode is just for you! Merry Christmas HIRLers! Join Fletch and Kendra on this short and fun episode as we share some Christmas laughs with you. You might find out a few things that you didn’t know about Fletch and Kendra. (No, she really doesn’t like Italian Christmas music!) Find out more facts as we play a qu...

After 80 episodes, we are finally returning to the topic that has defined this podcast since the very beginning. Join Fletch and Kendra as they sit down in the studio with Jim Applegate to discuss the topic of Hope Shifting. Jim is the lead pastor at Redeemer Church in Modesto, CA and the author of the new book, Hope Shifting: Finding Our Acceptance, Security, Purpose, Value and Significance. We use this episode to define and clarify Hope Shifting and how it relates to both idolatry and the gos...

On this episode, HIRLer Chris calls in and asks us: “How can I be a good homeschooling parent raising kids and still take time for the things that feed my soul and bring me joy?” We jumped on this topic, because we love to remind homeschoolers not to “lose themselves”in the midst of schooling the family. We answer the most important question: “How can you be a good care-taker if you are not taking care of yourself?” The short answer is: You can’t! You will need to tune in for the rest of the di...

Does Santa have any place in the celebration of Christmas? If you listen to some homeschoolers talk about it, event the mention of Santa Claus associated with Christmas will land you in the “loner’s corner” of your co-op. Yet, others celebrate good ol’ jolly Santa Claus right next to the baby Jesus. There is also a third category of homeschoolers (like Fletch) who enjoy stirring the pot and cracking off remarks like: “You know…if you rearrange the letters in Santa…it spells S-A-T-A-N.” Fletch ca...

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...