90-Minute School Day

How long does it actually take a child to learn to read when they aren't learning to read at school? Reading is one of the areas where homeschool parents can carry the most worry, especially when a child's timeline looks different from what we see in school. Earlier this year, families inside the Day in the Life community completed a survey about their children's reading journeys. We wanted to kno...

What if your child’s struggle with school isn’t a sign that you need to find a better way to make school work? What if you leave school altogether for Neuro-Affirming Unschooling? In this episode, I’m joined by Heidi Steel, author of School Isn’t for Everyone (And What You Can Do Instead), for a conversation about neuro-affirming home education, unschooling, school refusal, burnout, trust, reading...

When your child's burnout becomes your burnout, how do you care for yourself when there isn't time (or space) to "practice self-care"? When you feel trapped?   In this final episode of our three-part series on capacity, we sit down with Day in the Life member Katy Jo Murdock to explore what happens when parenting a neurodivergent child stretches your own nervous system to its limits. Together we t...

What happens when you've been needed for so long that you've lost touch with yourself? After years of caregiving, homeschooling, co-regulation, appointments, accommodations, and carrying the invisible labor of family life, many parents find themselves running on empty. Resentful. Exhausted. Overstimulated. Disconnected from their own needs, interests, and identity. In this episode, unschooling mom...

What if the behaviors we’ve been taught to correct are actually signs of overwhelm, sensory overload, burnout, or nervous system distress? In this episode, we’re joined by Sunita Kapahi Theiss. Sunita is a writer, low-demand coach, unschooling parent, and neurodivergent advocate. She joins us for a deeply honest conversation about what’s really happening underneath behavior in neurodivergent child...

What if your child's resistance to math has nothing to do with math?   In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Sarah Eason, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science at Purdue University, whose research on family math engagement and math anxiety reframes everything we think we know about why kids shut down around numbers.   This episode is for the parent who dreads math time, who c...

What if the years your child and teen spent playing, exploring, and following curiosity weren't wasted time — but exactly the preparation they needed? Come sit down with Judy Arnall, internationally recognized child-development specialist, bestselling author of Unschooling to University, and mother of five self-directed learners. We talk about what children genuinely need to thrive, why chronic st...

What happens when school is not a match for a learner? For many disabled and neurodivergent children and teens, traditional school environments create anxiety, shutdown, and loss of self-trust. In this conversation, we sit down with Dr. Gina Riley, educational psychologist, Associate Professor of Special Education at Hunter College - School of Education (CUNY), researcher, and unschooling parent t...

How many friends does your child actually need? We’ve normalized early peer immersion. We worry about socialization. We measure childhood against birthday party invites and best-friend status.   But what if we’ve absorbed a story that deserves to be questioned?   In this conversation, I sit down with Missy Willis of Let ‘Em Go Barefoot to unpack: Peer orientation Attachment theory Mixed-age play v...

“I’m not reading, but everyone else is.” If you’ve ever heard your child say this (or felt it echo quietly in your own head) this conversation is for you. In this episode, I’m joined by Carrie DeFrancisco for a live conversation inside Day in the Life (DITL) community. Carrie is a longtime homeschool parent, former classroom teacher, homeschool coach, and podcaster. And she’s also an accidental ho...

Winter can be a hard season for homeschooling parents... Especially if you are raising neurodivergent kids while navigating burnout, nervous system exhaustion, and the pressure to “reset.” In this episode, we explore how watercolor can support nervous system regulation, deschooling, and gentle self-care in real life. Meet artist and unschooling parent Cyrielle Tignard to talk about releasing perfe...

Let's explore how boundaries and belonging work together to create safety, connection, and authenticity in our families. Especially for those of us parenting and home educating neurodivergent and PDA children who need spaciousness, autonomy, and felt-safety to thrive and learn. Rachel Rainbolt is a therapist, unschooling mother, family guide, and founder of Sage Family. In this episode, Rachel sha...

The conclusion of the “Start Where You Are” series Dive deep with us into the idea that conventional schools might be contributing to the very struggles many people associate with dyslexia. This bonus episode originally aired as Episode 38, and we’re bringing it back as the perfect conclusion to our 5-part “Start Where You Are” series (Episodes 48–52). After exploring grief, the joy of slow, learn...

Ever wonder why it’s hard to express yourself in writing? Join Julie Bogart, myself, and the DITL community for a down-to-earth conversation about helping the resistant writer in all of us become brave writers. In this episode, Julie shares her own journey from homeschool parent to national voice for authentic education, unpacking what writing really is and why so many of us, parents and kids alik...

What if math wasn’t actually the problem—just the way we’ve been taught to see it? In this episode, we welcome longtime unschooling advocate Sue Patterson, founder of Unschooling Mom2Mom, to explore one of the biggest sources of stress for homeschooling parents: math. Together, we unpack how our own school experiences and fears around math can shape the way we approach learning with our kids—and h...

Before academics, worksheets, or curriculum—there’s one foundational question: Is my child ready to learn? Learning starts with the body. In this conversation, we are joined by Sarah Collins, homeschool mom and occupational therapist behind Homeschool OT. Sarah helps us step into an OT’s perspective on learning readiness by unpacking retained primitive reflexes, regulation, and how to observe our...

The pressure to “do more” in homeschooling is constant—cover more subjects, check more boxes, keep up with the pace of everyone else. But what if all that rushing is the very thing keeping kids (and parents) from real learning? In this episode, Leslie Martino, author of The Joy of Slow, pushes back on the myths of falling behind and faster is better. She explains why slowing down is not about doin...

This episode is the first in a brand new 5-part series on the podcast: Start Where You Are. This series is designed to meet you wherever you are in your homeschooling journey, offering the resourcing you need to move forward with meaning and acceptance. And to begin, we’re going straight to the foundation—by naming the elephant in the room: grief. Grief isn’t only about death. It’s about the losse...

In this final episode of our four-part series on technology and learning, we're tackling a topic that feels like the "Wild West": artificial intelligence + kids. Is this a threat, a tool, or something else entirely? Join us for a grounded and thoughtful conversation with Andrew Dugan, a former teacher and software engineer who created Aris.chat , a customizable AI designed for kids. He helps us de...

We hear it all the time: “But what about socialization?” Socialization for homeschooled kids isn’t just same-aged peer associations and blindly following rules. It’s about nervous system safety, real relationships, and being known and accepted for who you are. Especially for neurodivergent kids, socialization must be safe enough to be meaningful. But that’s not the socialization we’re here to talk...

Friend, is your homeschool driven by the fear that your child is falling behind?   Do you find yourself itching to double down on academics—despite your neurodivergent child’s resistance—because that’s what society says learning looks like?   In today’s myth-busting episode, we unpack one of the most pervasive homeschooling fears: that more academic work = more learning. We’ll examine why this bel...

Trying to stick to the plan? Maybe that’s the problem. In part 3 of our mini-series answering the most common homeschooling questions, you’ll hear a no-nonsense episode at what’s really underneath the question of “What should our homeschool schedule look like?”   If you’ve ever built a beautiful schedule only to abandon it two weeks later, you’ll want to tune-in.  Don’t worry, you’re definitely NO...

You don’t need a better curriculum. You need a better question.   If you’ve been wondering which curriculum is best for your child—this episode is for you.   Homeschooling parents often carry the weight of making the “right” choice when it comes to planning, materials, and structure. But what if that whole line of thinking is leading you away from what your child actually needs?   In this second e...

“What do I legally have to do to homeschool my child?”   In this clarity-packed mini-episode, Kelly answers one of the most common (and anxiety-inducing) questions from homeschooling parents:   Whether you're just getting started or deep into deschooling, this episode delivers no-nonsense insight into what most laws really require—and why the language is often intentionally vague. Kelly shares how...

This is part 3 of our 4-part series on screens, technology, and learning. In today’s episode, I’m joined by my client-turned-friend and founding Day in the Life (DITL) member, Emily Biolsi.   Emily is a former public school teacher with a master's in curriculum design and instruction who now homeschools her two young children with an unschooling, interest-led approach.   Like many of us, she found...