Homeschooling IRL

For the rest of the year, we will be running a “Best of” series of the Homeschooling IRL episodes. Many of these episodes were earlier episodes that you might have missed. Enjoy! How important is it for us to practice transparent parenting with our children? What should you do when your children ask you questions that are just […] The post Best of HIRL: Transparent Parenting appe...

On this episode of the HomeschoolingIRL podcast, Fletch and Kendra begin a new series called, “I Love Homeschooling But…” and discuss the topic of having your kids with you All. The. Time. We really do love this aspect of homeschooling, and many of us want to spend the best hours of our kids’ days with […] The post I Love Homeschooling But My Kids Are With Me All the...

On today’s episode of Homeschooling In Real Life,  Martha called in to ask, “How Do I Make My Homeschool Fun?” We loved this question, so both Fletch and Kendra take a stab at answering. As you have come to expect, their answers line up perfectly with the “have to” parent and the “get to” parent.  Tune in to make […] The post How Do I Make Homeschool...

Hard times! As much as we might like it to be, life is not all ponies, rainbows, and watercolor daisies. On this episode of HomeschoolingIRL we discuss the issue of homeschooling when life gets hard. Difficulties can look different in every family – marital stress, tragedies, health challenges, financial loss – and we’ll consider how each […] The post Homeschooling Through...

For the rest of the year, we will be running a “Best of” series of the Homeschooling IRL episodes continuing with Homeschooling and Marriage. Many of these episodes were earlier episodes that you might have missed. Enjoy! You are going to want to grab your spouse for this episode! Fletch and Kendra dive right into […] The post Homeschooling and Marriage appeared first on Ultimate...

For the rest of the year, we will be running a “Best of” series of the Homeschooling IRL episodes, starting with 5 Ways to Rock Homeschool. Many of these episodes were earlier episodes that you might have missed. Enjoy!       Need some motivation? Encouragement? Tips? Join us for 5 Ways to Rock Your […] The post 5 Ways To Rock Homeschool appeared first on Ultimate...

This week on the Best of Homeschooling IRL:  Do you struggle with teaching writing to your homeschool kids? This is the episode for you. As homeschool parents, some of us were not given great tools for writing in our own education, so when it comes to teaching the subject, we already feel ill-prepared. Others of […] The post Best of Homeschooling IRL: I Love Homeschooling, But I Hate Teachin...

In this Best of Homeschooling IRL episode, Fletch and Kendra chat with Kathy Lee, mom of many and co-author of The Homegrown Preschooler. Kathy is a child development specialist who has homeschooled and raised kids and now speaks all over the country to parents (often with several of her kids in tow!) We discuss the […] The post Best of Homeschooling IRL: Unrealistic Expectations appeared fi...

This week on the Best of Homeschooling IRL:  Sheila Gregoire is the author of the book, The Good Girl’s Guide To Great Sex. She is also a popular speaker and blogger at To Love Honor and Vacuum. Sheila joins us in the studio again this week as we discuss the phenomenon that is the “purity culture” […] The post Best of Homeschooling IRL: The Purity Culture with Sheila Gregoi...

For the next few weeks, we’re playing a few episodes of Our discussion on this episode comes right out of the current headlines. Homeschool graduate and reality TV star, Josh Duggar, has fallen from the spotlight due to his confessions of struggling with adultery, pornography and a history of molestation. We jump into to discuss the […] The post Best of Homeschooling IRL: What Josh Dug...

All good things must come to an end, and as such, this is the final episode of the Homeschooling In Real Life podcast. Thank you for hanging in there with us through 155 episodes. It was a great run and we even slipped a final episode in last week before saying goodbye! Celebrate with us […] The post HIRL Episode 156: The Goodbye Show appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network .

In 1997, 21-year-old Joshua Harris wrote a revolutionary book on dating. The book would go on to be an international bestseller and catapult Joshua into the Christian spotlight. I Kissed Dating Goodbye was embraced by the homeschool community and the Christian church at large, and continues to shape the consciousness of how Christians view singleness, dating, and relationships. […] The post...

Spiritual abuse has been alive and well in the homeschool community for years. From early leaders like Bill Gothard/ATI to the deceptive charm of Doug Phillips and the Vision Forum/Family Integrated Church movement, homeschoolers often fall prey to the abuse of misguided leaders. Joining Fletch and Kendra for the last full episode of Homeschooling in […] The post Avoiding Spiritual Abuse &#8...

Ever wonder how to give your kids a healthy love for the world and a desire to know other cultures? How about making missions an every day part of your homeschool and home life? What if you can’t travel far from home but want your kids to develop a view that reaches far beyond your […] The post Heart for the World – HIRL Episode 153 appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast N...

Author Kristen Hatton joins us for an important discussion that encompasses the world our teen girls are growing up in. From eating disorders to the impact of social media on a young woman’s self image, Kristen’s latest book, Facetime: Your Identity in a Selfie World, is a significant guide to pointing our teenaged daughters to […] The post Facetime – HIRL Episode 152 appea...

Raising boys can be tricky business, no? And if we have a heart to see our boys really change the world with solid character, big ideas, and compassionate hearts, we can feel defeated when we see them being goofy and a little out of control as kids. That’s exactly why we wanted to have a […] The post Knights in Training – HIRL Episode 151 appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Pod...

Hey! Hey! We’re once again answering listeners’ emails on a wide variety of topics this week. Want to know how not to be a homeschool whackjob? Or how to choose a different schooling option without caving to judgmental responses? Chances are, if you’ve had a question for Fletch and Kendra, you’ll hear the answers you’ve been […] The post Listener Q&A, Part 2 – HIRL Episode 1...

We’re almost 150 episodes in and the emails keep coming!  On this week’s episode of Homeschooling in Real Life, we’re answering listeners emails on a wide variety of topics. Judgmental homeschoolers? We got that. Homeschooling high school? Yep, that, too. Chances are, if you’ve had a question for Fletch and Kendra, you’ll hear the answers […] The post Listener Q&A, Part 1 – HIRL E...

Our listeners love when we podcast about the process of raising children into adulthood. But every time we talk about raising kids or the transitions into teen years or launching our adolescents out into the world, we are asked constantly for resources. On this episode we introduce our listeners to one of our favorite new resources for young men. Our old friend, Barrett […] The post Boys To...

Homeschooling is a choice born out of the freedom to choose what we feel to be the best educational option for our children. It should follow, then that if a family who has made the choice to homeschool then decides to put a child into a traditional school setting, fellow homeschoolers will support that freedom to choose, […] The post When Homeschoolers Judge – HIRL Episode 147 appeare...

Some of our best episodes have been created as the result of our listeners’ great ideas, and this is one of those episodes! We’re talking all about leaving younger siblings with older siblings in the role of babysitter: the ins and outs, the expectations, and other various aspects of that realty. We hope it sets […] The post Babysitting – HIRL Episode 146 appeared first on...

  Tray and Melody Lovvorn were married for 11 years before his struggle with pornography and sexual addiction tore their family apart. The appearance of the “perfect” Christian life that they both worked so hard to maintain came crashing down all around them. They divorced, but God wasn’t yet finished with their marriage. Tray and Melody […] The post Undone Redone: Marriage and Th...

Sometimes an idea for an episode comes along and we throw the regular recording schedule out the window!  When Cindy West reached out to us and asked to talk about something she’s seeing in the homeschool community at large, we jumped at the opportunity. And it’s this: Some homeschoolers feel they must adhere so closely to […] The post When Your Homeschool Owns You – HIRL E...

Apps! Mobile phones! iPads! Technology! It all moves so fast and changes seemingly overnight. How do we keep up with what our kids are asking to use or are being exposed to, even if we are trying to keep it all in balance? Join us on this highly informative episode of Homeschooling in Real Life […] The post 5 Apps All Parents Should Know – HIRL Episode 143 appeared first on Ultimate Ho...

Parenting formulas tend to make us feel safe: Do it this way, and your children will grow up to be godly/good citizens/intelligent/productive, etc. But is this what God has in mind when he gives us children in our homes? Join us and author Heather Haupt as we talk homeschooling (she’s a homeschool grad), parenting promises, […] The post Parenting: Principles Over Formula – HIRL E...