Homeschool Better Together

I am joined today by Colleen Rein who is a member of our Your Morning Basket Plus membership and a mom who has been doing Morning Time for a number of years in her homeschool. What I love most about Colleen is all the practical insights she has into making homeschooling work for her family. Today she shares insights and tons of good ideas on how Morning Time can support a diverse group of learners...

It is getting tougher and tougher to find good picture books that align with your values these days. How do you find ones that tell a quality story and have the kind of language and art that your family enjoys? How can you make your librarian your ally and know just which books to choose in the bookstore to add to your home library. I am joined today by Sarah Mackenzie from Read Aloud Revival to a...

Every year there are new moms dipping toes into the waters of homeschooling by starting with a preschooler. Every year these same moms ask their more veteran homeschool mom friends for advice and come away disappointed by the response they get.  In this episode Mystie Winckler and I have a message for these new moms that start with "We will not roll our eyes at you!" and continues with practi...

Summer is for fun and what is more fun than a summer reading program and Morning Time. In this episode Pam and member success manager Laney Homan talk about the Traveling Through the Pages FREE summer reading program that encourages your kids to stretch outside their comfort zones and read widely this summer. Laney gives a number of great ideas of how to use the program and the accompanying Mornin...

 Morning Time gives us a gift. It gives us a time in our day where we can enjoy the music, poetry, and art of a culture -- either our own or the culture of others. Today I am joined by Amber O'Neal Johnston who talks about why exploring both are important, and she has a ton of examples and ideas of how we can do that in our Morning Time. For podcast show notes and episode downloads, visit pam...

 So often we set ourselves up to fail when we have unrealistic expectations and expect a perfect Morning Time. Sometimes we don't even realize that perfectionism is the problem we are fighting. In this episode Pam breaks down what perfectionism can look like in your Morning Time and gives some tips on how to beat it so you can your kids can enjoy Morning Time together for years to come. For s...

 Maybe you want to do memory work with your kids but you are worried that it will become a drill and kill time that nobody loves. I used to worry about that too but the reality was far from that. Today I am joined by Abby Wahl and we chat about different ways you can make memory work more enjoyable to do -- even if you don't consider yourself a "fun" mom. For show notes and episode downloads,...

 You enjoy Morning Time but you sometimes wonder if it will really have the outcomes that you hope. When you have little ones, how do you keep pushing through the messy moments when the results of your efforts are so far away. I am joined by Heather Tully and Brittny Bailey today to talk about just that topic and together we offer the perspectives of a newer homeschool mom, one in the messy m...

 Sometimes history texts can be a little dry and uninspiring, but what can homeschoolers do to bring history to life? My guest Amy Sloan eschews the textbooks altogether and simply uses real living books to teach history to her kids. Worried about how to make it happen? Amy breaks down how to do it, where to find the books, and some of the benefits that can come from taking a more interesting...

 Today I am joined by Jeanette Pascua, homeschool mom of four, who has always used a Morning Basket as preschool in her homeschool. Jeanette and I chat about how Morning Time is the perfect way to accomplish preschool goals of language development. We also chat about how Morning Time with preschoolers looks different when your preschool child is your oldest versus when he is your youngest chi...

. It happens to all of us. We cozy up with our kids and a good book expecting a blissful Morning Time of family learning when all of a sudden, "He hit me!" erupts from the couch. How are we supposed to focus on truth, goodness, and beauty with bickering, punching, and yelling are going on in our living room? is it even worth the effort when all our kids want to do is duke it out in Morning Time? L...

 One of the things I love is hearing about how other families work Morning Time into their homeschool days. How did they get started? What is their journeys like? Today on the podcast veteran homeschool mom Laney Homan is here to share here Morning Time story. She started about seven years ago and she keeps adapting Morning Time to meet her needs. Enjoy! For show notes and episode downloads,...

If your Morning Time has ever fizzled or you have felt daunted by the idea of starting back in a new semester, this is the episode for you. Dawn Garrett and I chat about getting over the hump of the semester break, how to prepare for the February blues, plus we introduce our brand new Morning Time Journal and planner that we are so excited to share with you. For shownotes and episode downloads, vi...

 Have you ever felt like you were just stuck in a rut with Morning Time? It seems like you are just doing all the same old things and you can't shake things up and make them seem new again. We are talking about exactly that topic on today's episode of the podcast. I hope there is a pointer or two in here for you! Visit pambarnhill.com/ymb106 for show notes and episode downloads.

 If you have ever been in a situation where you were mortified at something your kids did then, well, you are in good company. It happens to all of us at some time or another. That is why my guest today took matters into her own hands and decided that the holiday season was the perfect time to teach some vital manners to her children. She did it each day during the season in her Morning Time...

 I can't wait to share this fun podcast with you. Colleen Kessler joins me to talk all about how to capitalize on your kids' interests and add them to your Morning Time. How do you know which interests to follow? Which ones can you do as a family? And finally how do you stay on track and keep from losing your mind while still honoring their interests. We talk about all that and more in today'...

When you have been homeschooling as long as I have it takes quite a bit to be surprised by a new resources. Before Austen Comes Aesop is a new book that was up to the task of turning my head. This valuable guide for parents not only takes on the misguided idea that our kids need to read the most mature and difficult books at a young age, but also provides parents with the tools they need to create...

How do you manage when you have a number of kids spanning a wide age range? You want your older kids to still be part of your Morning Time, but you aren't sure which activities are appropriate for them? How do you "level up" the activities you do so that little ones AND bigger ones still get something out of Morning Time? This episode answers all of those questions. Whether you make your own plans...

Bethany Stuard has both an extensive knowledge of and great passion for choral music. That is what makes her such a fun guest for this episode of the podcast. In this episode Bethany likens choral music to a great room with doors that lead to all areas of knowledge. It is a fascinating glimpse at a tool we can use in our Morning Time to inspire our kids in ways we hadn't considered before. Enjoy!...

This is it! We are proud to present our 100th episode of Your Morning Basket. Who would have thought that we could do 100 episodes about Morning Time and not run out of ideas? (Hint: At times it was NOT me.) But we have and I am proud of all of them. In this 100th episode I am joined by YMB community manager (and all-around podcast super-fan)  Dawn Garrett for a jaunt down memory lane as we h...

It is always a fun honor to chat with Andrew Pudewa and this conversation was no different. First, this guest comes prepared. In the podcast Andrew dives into three different modes of teaching grammar -- and what we think of as traditional grammar instruction is only a part of one of those modes. We also chat about why grammar (and words and thinking) are so important -- especially in the times in...

Lotus Stuart has always done art with her kids ever since they were little. When she started homeschooling them she began using a curriculum, but what she soon discovered was with using a curriculum they were doing less art and it was certainly less FUN.  In that moment the idea for Art History Kids movement was born. Join Lotus and me as we chat about how to approach art history in a fun, lo...

Today I am joined by my Morning Time mentor Cindy Rollins. We meant to talk about trying to whittle down all the good subjects to choose only the best for your Morning Time but I am not sure we quite succeeded. ;-) We might have created more of an argument on why you should make your Morning Time longer. It's a great conversation and we do end up talking about what Cindy feels like we should prior...

We are kicking off a new season of the Your Morning Basket podcast with a bit of a practical episode for you. Despite all of our years talking about and writing about Morning Baskets we still get the question -- how do I get started doing a Morning Time. That is what we are hoping to answer here. I am joined by the Your Morning Basket Plus Community Manager (and Morning Time Pro) Dawn Garrett as w...

I am joined on this episode of the podcast by homeschool mom and fellow introvert Jamie C. Martin. We are chatting all about how to do group learning in your home when mom just needs a little less noise and maybe a few more breaks. Though aimed at introverts, there are tons of tips here for extroverts too! We also spill the details about our brand new Homeschooling with Purpose course that is rele...