Friends of Cabrini

Ep.25 What Is The Purpose of Schooling? feat. Lauren Cain Welcome back! This week I chatted with Texas native, wife and homeschooler of three, Lauren Cain. Lauren is the proud owner of Crunchy Boutique, a natural lifestyle store. Lauren was led to natural parenting and homeschooling when she found out that she was pregnant with her son August. She shares tips on how to improve your homeschooling e...

Ep.24 Living Black And Free feat. Aimbriel Lasley Welcome back! This week I sat down with Aimbriel Lasley, an accomplished lactation expert, wife, and holisitic homeschooler to discuss what it means to live black and free. Mrs. Lasley successfully educates and supports families and parents to reach their goals by increasing black breastfeeding rates and decreasing infant and maternal mortaily. As...

#23 Hey friends! This week, I interviewed London native and proud Founder of The Brainy Chef Club , Maria Jessica Michael. Maria Jessica Michael is a food scientist, baker and cake decorator and the head chef and food science teacher of The Brainy Chef Club . Maria is a self confessed science geek with a professional background in life science and food. She holds a degrees in biochemistry, biochem...

Ep.22 Nutrition & Holistic Unschooling feat. Moji Yai Hey friends! When using a holistic approach to education, we should always consider our children as people that are growing everyday and not just focus on the specific learning goals. Holistic homeschooling speaks to the development of emotional, social, spiritual, nutritional skills and community connectedness. Tune in this week as our host ch...

Ep.21 My First Year Unschooling feat. Brenee Wright Hey friends! You're just about at the first day of unschool and piling a stack of books in front of your children doesn't seem like the best approach. You've been told that your unschool should be different from the public school system. Well, you're not alone. Listen to my interview with first time unschooler Brenee Wright. Brenee Wright is a wi...

Ep.20 How We Learn History In Our Unschool History is one of the main subjects that many people find hard to connect with. History is filled with wonderful stories that people of all ages can relate to. This makes it a great subject for children to learn about, both at home and on-the-go. Today I'm discussing how a creative approach to helping children learn history in real time. I'm keeping it cr...

Ep.19 Unschooling While Black So many of you are tired of the daily struggles, fears, biases, boredom, and lack of progress that your children experience in the United States public schools. I understand. Many of you are searching for advice about unschooling, so I've decided to share why I decided to unschool at our home. I'm on a mission to help you make the best choice possible for your child a...

Ep.18 Having Black Joy As Unschoolers It's time that we become intentional about our children's educational experience. We need to protect our children's innocence and their love for exploring and learning. Unschooling doesn't need to be scary. Support your child in changing the narrative of their experience. In This Episode In this episode I'm sharing how to identify joy within our children and t...

Ep.17 Remember When We Told You To Gameschool feat. Tira Hunter Hey friends! Did you know that playing games support both academic and soft skills? Interested in becoming a gameschooler? This week, I'm talking with veteran unschooler and consultant, Tira Hunter, on how she discovered gameschooling as a creative method for learning. Tira has successfully graduated her daughter from unschooling. Her...

Ep.16 The Unschool Formula Is there a formula for unschooling? We've always been told there wasn't one. However, I think there is. In This Episode In this episode, I'm revealing why there is an unschool formula and why we need to know it. It's important that we are confident in the honorable and courageous decisions we make for our family and those our children make for themselves. When's the last...

Ep.15 Where Ear Reading Counts (Audiobooks) "Do audiobooks count?" I'm here to shout it from the rooftops. YES! Listening to audiobooks, or "ear reading" as it's also known, is a valuable and legitimate form of reading. Ear reading offers some unique benefits not found with eye reading. Let's demystify the idea of eye reading superiority and celebrate all the amazing things about ear reading and a...

Ep.14 Raising Free Thinkers feat. Rev. Christina Mooney Hey friends! You will absolutely love this week's episode. Join us as I chat with the beautiful and wise Reverend Christina Mooney, as she shares her family's experience with public school, deschooling and unschooling. Reverend Christina Mooney is a native Californian and veteran unschooler with over 20 years of experience in independent educ...

Ep.13 Curriculum? Here's What We Think feat. Jennifer King Hey friends! This week I'm chatting with veteran unschooler, Jennifer King, to discuss curriculum choices, budgeting, and so much more for first time unschoolers. We understand that it can be challenging to find the best curriculum for your family, so we're sharing our take on a few options. Now that you’ve decided to unschool it's the per...

Ep.12 Create Your Own Educational Philosophy feat. Michele Holmes Welcome back! This week I invited homeschool guru, Michele Holmes, to share how parents can support their children's experience in a non-traditional, individualized way. Michele has over thirty years of experience with homeschooling teens and graduating them to productive and prosperous lives. She is the Founder of Homeschool Direct...

Ep.11 Be The Boss Of Your Unschool If you're new to unschooling, it can be insanely overwhelming, and you can struggle through seasons of worry, fear, comparison, and even guilt. But, it's okay. Be the boss of your unschool experience. Give yourself and your child permission to research and discover without being overwhelmed. Interest-driven learning works best when you let go. With over five year...

Ep.10 Don't Rest. Sprint! Hey friends! So we're at the end of the academic year, and you're wondering what should you children be doing now. Maybe you've ran out of ideas for them. This episode is going to help you navigate the remaining months of learning and prepare you for the next year. I'm here to tell you that there's a variety of options for children to do self-directed projects including: ...

Ep.9 Let's Debunk Unschooling Myths There are so many misconceptions and myths about unschooling. We've talked a bit about what unschooling is. Let's talk about what unschooling is not. Self-directed education better known as unschooling is authentic, organic and unique. We always hear so many conflicting ideas about what it means to be an unschooler. However, these myths and misconceptions usuall...

Ep.8 Yes Homeschoolers Are Weird If you’ve ever been part of a discussion about homeschoolers, you’ve probably heard people discussing how weird we are. Well, I’m glad it’s true. Homeschooled kids are weird. So, let’s talk about why. It’s weird not to do the same thing that everyone else is doing. So being homeschooled is weird just because it’s differenfromto the forced beliefs and thoughts of so...

Ep.7 Burnout Is Real: Are You Exhausted? Sometimes homeschool burnout goes completely unrecognized for what it really is. Sometimes we don't know it exists. We don't see it coming. It can be passed off as hormonal changes or even depression. But the fact is, is that this is exhaustion. Parenting exhaustion. Homeschool burnout is very similar to parenting exhaustion. It's simply when you're investi...

Ep.6 Surviving The Long Days As a first-time homeschooler and/or unschooler, it can be challenging to determine what your days should be like. In This Episode In this episode, I'm sharing a few keys that will help you navigate through the long days and struggles of homeschooling and/or unschooling. If we're being honest, every day of learning is not always the greatest. Let's talk about how we can...

Ep.5 How To Guide Your Child's Interest So you're thinking about unschooling? Make the decision, because it's absolutely the best choice for you. There are many benefits to unschooling compared to the compulsory ways of learning. Many people that experience unschooling are currently experiencing high-quality lifestyles through educational, entrepreneurial, spiritual and personal interests. In This...

Ep.4 How To Start Homeschooling Hey, yall! This week, I'm sharing a few helpful tips to get you started on your homeschool journey. If you're looking for coaching or simply a few pointers to get started with homeschooling, head over to Friends of Cabrini for a consult. I'm here to help you start your journey the right way. In This Episode In this episode, you will learn about key steps you need to...

Ep.3 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Hey, friends! This week, I'm answering all questions that were posted on the Friends of Cabrini social media page. In This Episode In this episode I'm answering a few questions that were shared on our Instagram page from followers and supporters. It's important to know that these questions are being answered from my personal experiences and opinions and not t...

Ep.2 You Don't Need A Schedule! Welcome back! This might be hard for you to hear if you’re a recovering type-A planner, but you don’t need a unschool schedule. The pretty color-coded timed plans are gorgeous and I’m guilty of falling for them too. The truth is, those timed schedules are unrealistic for most families.  Schedules are strict and hard to keep, resulting in overwhelm and frustration wh...

Ep.1 Welcome to Friends of Cabrini Hey, friends! Welcome to our new podcast, where I'll share tips and bits for you to thrive in your homeschooling and/or unschooling journey. Tap in now because you don't want to miss what's coming next! In This Episode In this episode, you get to know a little about me, your host, Jaleesa Smith, and my family's unschool journey. Unschooling will prepare my son fo...