Homeschooling Outside the Box

Are you ready to homeschool? Whether you're a newbie starting from scratch or a veteran wanting to be sure you've built a firm foundation, I want to encourage you on your homeschool journey. I'm not sure what led you to this decision to educate your child at home but I am pretty sure of one thing – you want to do your best. You want to give this thing your all and provide your child with the best...

Do you ever feel like your homeschool - and life - are falling apart? Whether it's a big move, a long holiday, a new baby, or an accumulation of "off days," we all have seasons where our homeschool - and life - seem to be completely falling apart. Doubt, guilt, and pity can overtake us but there's a better way to handle these seasons. Join me today as I talk about a season in my life (when we made...

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 themselves are not excited about poetry - they consider it either intimidating or boring or have had such a bad e...

Are you ready to homeschool? Whether you're a newbie starting from scratch or a veteran wanting to be sure you've built a firm foundation, I want to encourage you on your homeschool journey. I'm not sure what led you to this decision to educate your child at home but I am pretty sure of one thing – you want to do your best. You want to give this thing your all and provide your child with the best...

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 children who have differences we really didn't expect. We then have the choice - do we push against these diff...

Are you ready to homeschool? Whether you're a newbie starting from scratch or a veteran wanting to be sure you've built a firm foundation, I want to encourage you on your homeschool journey. I'm not sure what led you to this decision to educate your child at home but I am pretty sure of one thing – you want to do your best. You want to give this thing your all and provide your child with the best...

Are you loving the preschool years? According to Charlotte Mason, the preschool years were intended to be "a quiet growing time" but for many families, those years have turned into a time of pressure and unrealistic expectations. It's hard to drown out all the voices in today's culture telling you to "do more" and find a way to provide that simple time for your little ones. Today I chat with Sonya...

Do you want to inspire language in your child with autism? So often there seems to be an unspoken time limit placed on our autistic children when it comes to language. A sort of "now or never" attitude that implies if our child doesn't talk by a certain time, that window closes forever. Join us today as Kate Wilde, Director of The Son-Rise Program® talks about how you can inspire your child to spe...

Are you in the Early Years Stage? If you have a 0-6-year-old, you are living in what Charlotte Mason referred to as "the early years." In her first volume, Home Education, Miss Mason urged mothers to "secure for them a quiet growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it spent for the most part out in the fresh air." If you think that's a challenge in our hectic po...

Does the idea of homeschooling year round overwhelm you? School's out for summer…unless you live in the Rinna home. Don't get me wrong – we're not plugging away at the table working all day instead of playing outside in the sprinkler. We still soak up all the benefits of summer and we even take a few weeks off. I debated over this for a while – I mean, who wouldn't want a three-month vacation? (Es...

Are you starving yourself? Brandy Vencel wrote an article a few years ago that challenged parents to consider if they were starving their children's minds which made me consider, also, if I was starving my own mind. Mothers are commonly attributed with being self-sacrificing, but in terms of the mind, we must remember that we cannot pour out from an empty well. I'm so excited to share Brandy's enc...

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 writing - have helped to shape our homeschool over the years. I'm excited to share with you today some practical and thought-provoking ideas on how to help your child - no matter wh...

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 those limitations. Join us today as Bryn Hogan, Executive Director of the Autism Treatment Center of America® talks about how the program came to be and what makes it i...

The idea of being thankful in all things can be a strange sounding one when you're faced with challenges but in today's episode, I hope to show you how I arrived at the statement "I'm thankful for autism."

Join us today as Steve Demme of Math-U-See talks about how the program came to be and why it seems to click with so many Outside-the-Box kids. So often I hear moms say, "We're so behind in math." Math-U-See will free you of that mindset and help your child to be successful in math. How to Love Math: A Look at Math-U-See Math-U-See Stewardship Building Faith Families Podcast Dyscalculia Free Homesc...

The tests have been done. The evaluation complete. Diagnosis announced. Prognosis assumed. Your child has  _________…fill in the blank. All of a sudden, you are forced to flip your life upside down to better understand it. Somebody took your rose-colored glasses and exchanged them for a pair of lenses that expose you to blinding light. The life you thought your child would have suddenly begins to...

Cindy West is a blogger, speaker, veteran homeschooler, and curriculum writer. On this episode, she talks about her homeschool journey as well as how she found out about a great program called "Brain Training." Brain Training can help many of our Outside-the-Box kiddos overcome their challenges as well as encourage their typical siblings to thrive academically. Be encouraged and equipped as you li...

I could feel it coming. We had visitors in town, the twins had two birthday parties, and then Valentine's day came. All of this celebration led to a gross overindulgence of sugar and screens. By Valentine's Day, we were cranky, wired, over-tired, undernourished, overstimulated and sliding frantically down a slippery slope. Screens and sugar – and especially their toxic combination – bring out the...

Ever wonder how Charlotte Mason's principles translate from the classroom to your homeschool? Many of Charlotte Mason's principles were written with a classroom in mind so how does that work when you factor in the laundry, lunchtime, and toddlers? Join me as I welcome my first guest, Kristin Rosin, former CM teacher turned homeschool mama.  In this episode, you'll hear: how CM's principles play ou...

I've always been a pretty nostalgic person - always made it a point to reflect and look at life as one big story - so it makes sense that New Year's is my favorite. Every year I like to reflect back and dream forward but this year I had so much more material to work with. Looking back, thinking of where we were a year ago at this time - in Michigan quite literally at the end of our rope - it blows...

"Come share this with me! Delight with me! Teach me! Tell me more!" That's what children are really saying. Children are generally better at nature study that adults; their fresh perspective is a gift they have that we get numb to as we get older. Nature study reminds us that we don't have to be seeing something for the first time to be excited about it. "Look, mom, look!" And that's essentially w...

Explore another cornerstone in a Charlotte Mason education - the Great Outdoors. I'll discuss the benefits of being outdoors as well as practical tips to getting over obstacles like the weather. 

Reading great books is a cornerstone to a Charlotte Mason education, but just what is a "great book?" How do you choose one? And what should you avoid? This episode we'll discuss living books and their nemesis, twaddle. Be sure to grab a copy of the Booklist for the Well-Read Child in the notes.

The other day I recalled a conversation I had with a friend when the boys were really little. A question had been burning in my mind for a while and I needed to ask it… "What do you do all day? I mean with the kids? What do you  do ?" At the time I was a mom of twin toddlers and an infant so believe me there was plenty I  could  do. Yet every day, I found myself wandering around the house haphazar...

Nurturing your pre-schooler's mind and body are important parts of raising your child but nurturing your pre-schooler's  soul  is the most crucial piece of the triad. Without a well-fed soul, the mind would become arrogant and the body would become reckless. The soul is the link that makes a strong mind and body worth having. Without a well-fed soul, your child cannot truly thrive.