Homeschooling Outside the Box

We live in an age of cynicism and polarization but a more balanced view can help us think critically and ponder our civic duty as Americans. As we approach the 250th birthday of America, Dawn and I discuss and celebrate the good and beautiful about this land that we love. Dawn Duran has devoted so much to collect what is admirable in and about America and shares her own passion in  A Reasoned Patr...

I've talked about autism a lot on this podcast ( especially in this Autism Everything episode ) but for the first time, I'm bringing my husband in to discuss autism from a dad's perspective. Don't miss this behind the scenes coversation and be sure to share this one with your husband, ladies.  This is Lee's first time on Homeschooling Outside the Box, but you can hear more from him on these podcas...

If your child has autism,  Welcome . Welcome has a very positive connotation; the diagnosis your child received doesn't usually carry that same positivity.  In fact, it probably rocked your world. And will continue to rock your world. The autism grief cycle is real. And yet, I say "welcome." Find all the links on my SUBSTACK

The high school years are a big turning point in your homeschool journey but you don't have to walk through them blindly. Transcripts? College applications? Paths for students not interested in college? The high school "experience?" We talk about all of the myths and realities today.  Rachel Kovac has done so much research and shares her own story in Their Future is Shining Bright , THE homeschool...

Beauty matters. It is not frivolous. It is not an afterthought. In a world that worships all that is utilitarian, I am here to remind you that beauty has a purpose in and of itself. Find all the links on my SUBSTACK

Music has been an integral part of history since the beginning. From the psalms of David to your favorite Amazon playlists or Spotify stations today, every culture in every time period has used music for expression, pleasure, and even a high form of worship. Music clearly carries meaning. Music tells us how to feel. While the words are often important, it is the notes being played that dictate wha...

Thank you for joining me for my 100th episode! This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. It's the "already, not yet" week. We have already experienced most of the year — we've made it through Christmas morning, decking the halls, singing carols, and slowly, slowly, we are emerging from our cocoa coma to realize a new year is upon us. This new year is a gift full of anticipation and though ther...

Christmas is no ordinary time of year. It intoxicates our senses; the air smells of pine and sugar. The days are filled with music and stories. The soft, warm sleeves on our arms and thick mittens on our hands and hat on our head triggers our mind to think cozy thoughts despite the biting cold. Our taste buds crave cocoa and peppermint. Our children's eyes glow with the sparkle of twinkle lights r...

I am not doing interviews right now, but I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Enjoy! Do you find it easy to embrace your child's differences? As new parents – or even "not yet" parents – we can have many dreams and ideas about what our children are going to be like. Sometimes we are accurate about personality traits or hair color or interests but often God blesses us with childr...

The phrase "memory work" is one that can carry baggage for people. The act of memorizing something may bring to mind a collection of facts you memorized as a child that you now deem useless such as the planets or the names of the bones in the body. You may think of learning scripture verses in exchange for candy or cramming gobs of information into your head the night before an exam. You may think...

I am not doing interviews right now, but I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Enjoy! Do you consider poetry to be a staple of your homeschool? Oftentimes when the subject of poetry comes up with other parents, even the most enthusiastic homeschoolers will admit that they shy away from this subject. When I press to understand why that is, the answer is usually that they themselve...

Do you consider poetry to be a staple of your homeschool? Of your life? Oftentimes when the subject of poetry comes up with other parents, even the most enthusiastic homeschoolers will admit that they shy away from this subject. When I press to understand why that is, the answer is usually that they themselves are not excited about poetry. They consider it either intimidating or boring or they hav...

This is going to sound familiar; a lot of what I had to say about hymns applies to folk songs, as well. Of course, there is a sacredness that goes along with hymns that you don't find in folk songs but that doesn't mean we should skip them. Folk songs pass culture from one generation to the next and help us learn about certain time periods, people, and places. They're also a pretty trustworthy sou...

Over the next few months I'm going to break down each subject and look at how we study it and what our favorite resources are. Our family adheres to Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education. To truly understand how to teach each subject, check out my series on Charlotte Mason's 20 Principles. Hymn study is one of those easy to neglect subjects. We write it off as unnecessary because we feel it's...

I'm big on philosophy when it comes to education but at some point we need to stop thinking and discussing and actually do the thing. This is the nuts and bolts of it all. How do we actually homeschool? What is the super practical application of the beautiful Charlotte Mason Philosophy? If your child is under 6, get all thoughts of curriculum shopping out of your head and commit to these three thi...

I am not doing interviews right now, but I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Enjoy!   Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart. It requires endurance and initiative. It requires sacrifice and diligence. But it also requires something you might not realize…a sense of humor. We homeschool moms can be so serious; the stakes are high! We're going against the grain! What if we me...

If you're just at the beginning of the high school years, it may feel like the end is still far off but I warn you, the ball sure does start rolling quickly once it starts. The end is nigh, my friend. You've been working yourself out of a job and when you make it to the high school years, and you should begin to feel that change. It sounds somber to call it "the end," but remember it's just the en...

I am not doing interviews right now, but I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Enjoy! Stories have been a part of human history from the very beginning and have been used as a powerful teaching tool throughout the centuries. Teaching through stories is a wonderful way to approach lessons in your homeschool, as well. Jim Weiss is a household name among many homeschoolers. He made...

While I am not able to do interviews right now, I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Join me for the replay of a fantastic interview with Bryn Hogan. Are you ready to see autism in a new light? So often the conversation about autism is surrounded by a list of limitations. And let's face it, living the daily grind as a parent of a child on the spectrum sometimes really highlights...

While I am not able to do interviews right now, I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons.  Join me for the replay of a fantastic interview with Melissa McMahan. Homeschooling High School…what is it about this phrase that makes even the most confident homeschool mama shake in her boots a little? The expectations seem to go through the roof. The pressure from the elusive yet always pre...

This is the crux of it all. When you are homeschooling kids in the K-8 range, you are in the sweet spot, my friend. The pre-school years are largely spent cleaning up messes and putting out fires (hopefully only theoretically ones, but you never know), and trying to get a handle on how to run a home with littles running underfoot. You're building your philosophy (whether you realize it or not) and...

While I am not able to do interviews right now, I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons.  Join me for the replay of a fantastic interview with Andrew Pudewa.   Are you raising effective communicators? Andrew Pudewa is a well-known name in the homeschool world and for good reason. His ideas on effective communication and the arts of language - listening, speaking, reading, and writin...

Isn't this the best month of the year to talk about this? It seems like January is the time we all want to finally get our lives together and give a valiant effort to do so. Despite our best efforts, though, somehow the new of the year wears off over the months and by the time the weather warms, life is in its lovely, unavoidable spiral once more. So why bother? Follow me on Substack Follow me on...

In case you missed it... Join me for the replay of a fantastic interview with Ainsley Arment. Childhood is a unique growing time for our children; educators, parents, and experts have known this for years and yet childhood often gets swept under the rug at the expense of rigorous academics and a schedule full of structured activities. Children are, for the first time in history, busy. Schedules ha...

This is it, guys. The final episode of the series. We made it. It's a big one, too — five principles jammed into one article but they all have to do with wonderful, wonderful curriculum. Read and subscribe on Substack . Connect with me on Instagram .