Episodes

Teaching history can feel overwhelming. How do you cover it all? Where do you start? Karen and Michelle talk about their philosophy about teaching history and what the lessons look like in their homeschools.

Karen and Michelle compare scuba diving to studying history and encourage you to dive deep into your studies to gain a new perspective and open a world of understanding that might just change your worldview.

A candid chat between Karen and Michelle about how the flexibility of Writer’s Workshop can streamline your lesson planning and simultaneously help your young writers grow in leaps and bounds through a series of tiny steps.

Learn all about how to use the Layers of Learning Planner effectively so your whole homeschool year will run more smoothly.

Tips for how to help your kids fall in love with books. Raising readers is possible, even with big families, dyslexia, and a busy family. These are the things Karen and Michelle do to help their kids fall in love with books.

Teaching lots of kids of all ages in one homeschool can be a struggle! In Episode 25, Juggling Family School, Michelle and Karen share what has worked well in their homeschools and talk about ideas for keeping everyone learning together. With a big family, it's not always easy, but it is doable!

When a homeschool day blows up it can disrupt and destroy the feeling and rhythm of your homeschool. Listen in on these ideas and tips for helping to overcome and eliminate homeschool conflict.

Morning time in your homeschool doesn't need to be complicated to be effective. Karen and Michelle share their morning time philosophy in this episode, along with lots of simple ideas for having a gentle start to each day in your family-style homeschool.

If you're a homeschool parent, you've definitely heard criticism from others, whether strangers or neighbors or well-meaning loved ones. Michelle and Karen offer positive ways to interact with homeschool critics to diffuse tough conversations and let you continue your homeschool life without harmful confrontations.

Join Karen and Michelle to hear all about how to take part in the Great Conversation - reading, discussing, and writing about classic literature. You'll learn how to begin with your little ones who are reading fairy tales and build up the conversations as your kids grow.

Teaching resilience can help kids learn to deal with all the problems they face, whether that's a tough math problem, losing a loved one, or facing a major change. Michelle and Karen talk about how to approach problems like a mountain to be climbed rather than a roadblock that will stop us.

Guiding your kids in their homeschool education is a far more lasting approach to learning than just teaching them facts you expect them to remember. Learn about how you can guide your kids and transfer the ownership of learning to them.

Learn all about how the colorful sidebars within the Layers of Learning units can liven up your homeschool. Michelle and Karen talk about this important part of the curriculum and how to make it work for you.

Learn all about how to create an effective homeschool paper trail. From portfolios to transcripts and GPAs to a homeschool resume, you can master this important task of homeschool parents.

Michelle took an opportunity to ask Karen more questions about Writer’s Workshop. We shared lots of fresh ideas about encouraging reluctant writers and talked about how you, as a parent or writing mentor, can help your writer grow in gradual and happy ways.

Going into high school can feel intimidating. Transcripts and credits and requirements, oh my! Here’s how we use Layers of Learning to take our kids right through graduation and get them prepared for college.

Michelle and Karen share their experiences with the path they are taking for their kids as they homeschool in high school. There are lots of paths to choose from and ways to make high school work. We'll walk you through the path we chose.

You spend a lot of time taking care of other people, meeting their physical, emotional, and social needs. It's time to put yourself back into the group of people you care for. Sharpen your saw and make a positive change in your life as a homeschool mom.

In Episode 14 you'll hear ideas for how to help create passionate curiosity in your kids. Passion doesn't have to involve pressure if you approach it with the right mindset. A really successful homeschool will be one where kids can explore their passions and be allowed to be curious.

In Episode 13 Karen and Michelle talk about overcoming the guilt the homeschool moms tend to feel. Mistakes are inevitable, but you can change your mindset so they become a growth experience instead of another way to beat yourself up.

In Episode 12 you'll hear all about ways that you can help your kids take ownership of their education. Your kids CAN become more independent learners who make choices about what and how they will learn in your homeschool and in their lives.

In Episode 11 we talk about all of the benefits you can expect to see when you have a hands-on homeschool. We also share tips on how to make it work. It is worth all of the extra effort you put in!

In Episode 10 Karen and Michelle identify some of the things that will make Layers of Learning harder than it has to be including over-planning, too many hands-on activities, feeling like you have to be an expert and more.

In Episode 9 Karen and Michelle help you create your very own homeschool vision. . . and also talk about how to adjust that vision so it's realistic and doable on a day-to-day basis. Less guilt! More peace of mind!