Homeschooling IRL

DISCLAIMER: WE DEAL WITH MATURE TOPICS ON THIS EPISODE; DECIDE IF YOUR LITTLE ONES SHOULD LISTEN ALONG. In Episode 115, we answered a listener’s email and discussed sex education for parents with Barrett and Jenifer Johnson.  Your emails and comments started pouring in. We are realizing that there are many couples out there who just don’t know […] The post Talking Sex With Sheila...

Are you starting your school year? We are! Let’s gather around the teacher’s lounge and gear up for another year of teaching our kids at home. Fletch and Kendra are starting their 19th year of homeschooling with a bang and letting you in on the fun. On this episode, they are also imparting 5 questions to […] The post Back To School – HIRL Episode 116 appeared first on Ultim...

DISCLAIMER: WE DEAL WITH MATURE TOPICS ON THIS EPISODE; DECIDE IF YOUR LITTLE ONES SHOULD LISTEN ALONG. On previous episodes we have encouraged you to talk with your kids about sex, but how do you have that conversation if you don’t know how to talk about it as a couple? How do you have emotional conversations out […] The post Sex Ed For Parents, Part 1 – HIRL Episode 115 appeare...

DISCLAIMER: WE DEAL WITH MATURE TOPICS ON THIS EPISODE. DECIDE IF YOUR LITTLE ONES SHOULD LISTEN ALONG. What do you do when your kid stumbles upon pornography? Most of us homeschool for a reason, but we assume that the vast majority of us are homeschooling because we take our responsibility of shepherding our children very seriously. With […] The post When Your Kid Discovers Porn – HIR...

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 us are great writers and love to write, […] The post I Love Homeschooling, But I Hate Teaching Writing – HIRL Episode11...

Most of us have at least one subject we don’t love to teach, and that’s a tricky thing to reconcile when we’re in charge of all the subjects. So what’s a homeschooler to do when there are core subjects that must be covered but mom or dad either aren’t motivated to get that subject done every […] The post I Love Homeschooling, But I Hate Teaching Science –...

What happens when classroom teachers decide to homeschool their own children? How do they make the transition from classroom management to managing the personalities around their kitchen table?  If you are a classroom teacher considering homeschooling your own kids, you’ll appreciate this episode and the conversation with former classroom teacher Jolanthe Erb, who brings ten years of [&#8230...

Tragedy. In terms of media and social media, tragedy has become a staple of our daily diet. The world seems to be going crazy and the news is full of stories that are difficult for kids to process and understand. How do we talk to our children about race issues, murder, terrorism, and other tragic current events?  […] The post Talking With Kids About Tragedy – HIRL Episode 110 appeared...

Tired of trying to make your family seem as if you’ve got it all together? Exhausted by external standards that seem unreachable or even crushing?  The Christian life is not about being less of a mess. It’s about admitting that we need to be saved from trying to clean ourselves up. Guest Kimm Crandall frees you to […] The post Beloved Mess – HIRL Episode 109 appeared first on Ult...

Kendra is on the road this week, leaving Fletch home to run the 1970’s summer adventure with a handful of Fletcher kids. In between sugar cereal, grilled cheese and episodes of Scooby Doo, Fletch popped into the HomeschoolingIRL studio to make an executive decision and a quick announcement about what’s happening this week at Homeschooling In […] The post Quick Announcement &#8211...

How does a homeschooling parent possibly educate older kids while at the same time juggling preschoolers, toddlers, and babies? Is it even realistic to think we could do a good job while spinning so many homeschool plates? On this episode of Homeschooling in Real Life, Fletch and Kendra talk about how they’ve managed to homeschool 8 kids, […] The post Homeschooling Multiple Ages &#8211...

Is there a way to give our kids a global perspective and a heart for people living very different lives all across the globe? Author and homeschooling mom Jamie Martin not only believes so, she’s written the guide! Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Children One Book at a Time is the ultimate book list […] The post Give Your Child The World – HIRL Episode 107 appe...

Is there a role for art in the curriculum for every homeschool family? What should you do if your strength is not art or art education? We know that art most often reflects the current state of culture, so how do we decided what sort of art to expose our kids to?  On this episode of Homeschooling […] The post Art, Films, Naked Statues and Hitler – HIRL Episode 106 appeared first on Ult...

Have you ever heard that sound? The rhythmic whirring of blades as they chop through the air? That is the sound of a helicopter parent hovering over their homeschooled child getting ready for college. That’s right, we are back at it again with an interview and discussion about college admissions and the need to keep […] The post College Admissions and the Helicopter Parent – HIRL...

On this episode of the HomeschoolingIRL podcast, we answer a question from a listener who wants to know about switching roles. What happens when circumstances dictate that mom is the primary breadwinner. What does it look like when dads choose to stay home and do the homeschooling? Fletch and Kendra interview two homeschool dads who […] The post Dads Who Homeschool – HIRL Episode 104 a...

Join us for this week’s episode as we 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 growing trend […] The post Unrealistic Expectations – HIRL Episode 103 appeared first o...

Are you homeschooling a struggling learner? Fletch and Kendra share three practical ideas for you as you consider homeschooling a child who struggles. Join us for this week’s episode as we answer a listener’s question about how to give a struggling learner the time and attention they need. EPISODE TIMELINE :50 Fluff – shout out to John […] The post Homeschooling The Struggl...

Have you ever wanted to pack up your kids and take them on the road for a homeschooling adventure? On this episode we interview a family who spent 3 months on the road adventuring in Alaska. Corey and Jessica Hulen and their 4 children drove from their home in California and spent the summer traveling the Alaska […] The post Homeschooling In Alaska -HIRL Episode 101 appeared first on Ultimat...

Welcome to the 100th episode of Homeschooling In Real Life! Did you know that most podcasters lose steam and stop at 7 episodes? Not only have we kept going, but we have shows planned that will push us past the century mark! Thanks for joining us as we hit this symbolic landmark in podcasting. On this episode […] The post Celebrating 100! – HIRL Episode 100 appeared first on Ultimate H...

In this final installment of our three-part series on financial fear, we’re returning to our roots and discussing how hope shifting can factor into our fear when it comes to finances. More regularly described as idolatry, “hope shifting” simply means that we’re putting our hope in something other than God for our well-being and care, […] The post Finances and Hope Shi...

Part two of our series on financial fear, Affording College hits the topics we’re all nervous about if we have a student who is eyeing a college career: How do we help them pay for four years of schooling? What things can we do to assist with the application process? And finally, should every kid […] The post Affording College – HIRL Episode 98 appeared first on Ultimate Homescho...

The Homeschool Budget is part one of a series of three podcast episodes dealing with the topic of financial fear. With a family of 8 kids, Fletch and Kendra know that homeschooling can get expensive. On this episode, they share tips and tricks they have used over the years to save money and homeschool well within a […] The post The Homeschool Budget – HIRL Episode 97 appeared first on...

When is enough too much? On this episode of HomeschoolingIRL, Fletch and Kendra answer a letter from a listener who is wondering how to filter extracurricular activities into your homeschool. When should you say yes? When should you say no? We invite good friends Nate and Ali Miller into the studio to talk through the topic […] The post Extracurricular Overkill – HIRL Episode 96 appear...

Join us on this episode of Homeschooling in Real Life as we talk about the ins and outs of traveling with kids. On this episode we are NOT talking about vacation planning. Instead we are talking about giving your family a love for travel, a love for God’s world and a love for taking your love for Jesus […] The post Traveling With Kids – HIRL Episode 95 appeared first on Ultimate...

Homeschooling. Health food. Small church. Mom stays home. KJV only. Dresses. Youth group. Public school. No TV. Our convictions, or the things we strongly about, can drive so much of our lives and end up being the choices by which we define ourselves. They can bring like-minded believers together and set the tone for our families […] The post When My Convictions Aren’t Your Convictions...