Let's Talk Homeschool

On June 2, 2022, I called Rachael into my office, sat her down, and took her hand. Then with tears in our eyes, I clicked "confirm" to officially close our homeschool after 26 years of operation. 

Apologia publishes a 4-volume series called the What We Believe series. It's a worldview study endorsed by the late Chuck Colson. The second volume in the series is titled, Who Am I? In that text, several stories are included to illustrate the lessons. This podcast is the THIRD of an 8-part series where you can listen to the story titled: THE WOODEN BIRD.

In the first 142 days of the 2021-2022 Charlotte-Mecklenburg public school district, there were 290 reports of students attacking staff members. One result is that teachers are leaving the profession in record numbers creating a teacher shortage. Will this be yet another reason parents wake up, realize the water is boiling, take their kids out of the system, and start homeschooling?

Apologia publishes a product line of digital Self-Paced courses. In this show, online instructor Dan Martin joins me to explain how these work, what makes them unique, and how a student can get the most out of them.

Service companies are experiencing a staffing shortage, which means they can't take care of customers as fast as they would like. Unfortunately, many customers are rude and impatient. However, we can smile and treat people well with respect, patience, and a friendly attitude. And this is an opportunity to teach our children the importance of our Christian testimony in the marketplace. We even shar...

Apologia publishes a 4-volume series called the What We Believe series. It's a worldview study endorsed by the late Chuck Colson. The second volume in the series is titled, Who Am I? In that text, several stories are included to illustrate the lessons. This podcast is the SECOND of an 8-part series where you can listen to the story titled: THE POCKET KNIFE.

This is a super short devotional (barely 3 minutes long) based on Job 33:4.

The wide world of education has been changing through the years. Once upon a time, the issues school-age students faced weren't nearly as formidable as they are today. With the aggressive woke, anti-God, anti-life, anti-American agenda in today's public schools, a Christian family simply must take this educational option off the table. That leaves only two options: private Christian schools and ho...

With the not-so-secret news that Disney is going full-blown woke, many people have cancelled their Disney+ subscriptions. This is well and good, but we want to challenge these same families to also cancel their woke public school memberships.

When working with people, you should expect that conflict will be inevitable. But combat is optional. So what are some practical tips? I believe that every leader can be more effective by learning and practicing the four leadership lessons presented in this episode.

Apologia publishes a 4-volume series called the What We Believe series. It's a worldview study endorsed by the late Chuck Colson. The second volume in the series is titled, Who Am I? In that text, several stories are included to illustrate the lessons. This podcast is the FIRST of an 8-part series where you can listen to the story titled: SASHA'S CHOICE.

You are a homeschool hero. As a matter of fact, you are “da bomb”! (That’s a good thing.) Your family believes in you. Now it’s time to start believing in yourself. You can to this thing called home education. And it's good for your kids. Now go save the day.

Today is your day: Home School Teacher Appreciation Day. Listen to this presentation that Davis gave in April 2015 titled: Homeschool Teachers Are Da' BOMB. (That's a good thing.)

In this episode, I interview Kathryn Gomes, the author of a new elementary level math curricula published by Apologia. It's called: Exploring Creation with Mathematics. It’s been field tested and is designed specifically for homeschooling families. It contains strong science and faith connections, which makes it unique. And the reviews are outstanding.

This is #4 in a 4-part series where we are asking questions about culture. In this show, we ask what is bad or evil in culture that we need to stop or resist. No surprise, we look at it from the perspective of our wheelhouse - education...and more specifically...home education.

A large number of families have opted out of public school, which we believe is good. Many parents made a decision to send their kids to private school. But here’s the deal. Private schools rely on brick-and-mortar buildings to provide classroom space. And this is a limited commodity with a very real cap. In other words, private schools can only accept so many new students before they must stop en...

Many families start their homeschooling journey with a providential two-by-four over the head. In other words...by force. Then doubts and fears creep in. What does it look like to make a transition such that you are homeschooling by faith? 

Jeannie Fulbright is the author of 7 elementary level science textbooks published by Apologia. In this show, Jeannie answers several questions about the series so that homeschooling parents can help their kids enjoy exploring God's creation.

This is the 3rd in a 4-part series in which we look at questions related to culture. In this episode, we ask what is broken in culture that we can work to restore? IOW, what was good, is now broken and no longer working -- we want it in our life, but something has to change and improve to make things right again, maybe in a whole new paradigm-shifting way? We'll discuss an answer we believe to be...

Do you even remember what your opinion on vaccines was prior to COVID? In this show, we take you back to June of 2019 when the New York City school system removed the provision for religious exemption with regard to vaccines. Then we recount the 2020-2021 school year, which was a complete disaster. Schools developed a COVID response plan that included tase masks, social distancing, plastic barrier...

This is the last in an 8-part series on missionary biographies. I think we saved one of th best for last. In this show, you will hear about the life of Jim Elliot who was prepared to give his life for tribal Indians in South America. This is a must-hear message from Pastor Jerry McCaghren.

In this show, Rachael explains how The Ultimate Homeschool Planner works. They are authored by Deb Bell and published by Apologia specifically developed with the homeschool mom in mind. Which of the four color options will you choose?

This is the second in a four-part series where we are asking what's good, missing, broken, and evil in our culture. In this episode we focus on what is missing in culture that we can creatively contribute. We share three things that we believe are missing. These are things we also believe are possible for Christians and homeschooling families to add or contribute to the culture of our families, ch...

Americans tend to like things to be quick and easy. This certainly applies to meals (think microwaves, cereal, and "instant" oatmeal). What about homeschooling? Does the realization that educating your kids at home will be long and hard strengthen your resolve to stick with it? We certainly want you to persevere because the sacrifices are well worth it.

This show is part of a series of missionary biographies presented by Pastor Jerry McCaghren (Rachael's dad). This one is on the life of Amy Carmichael.