The Durenda Wilson Podcast

I remember when our kids were little and people would say, "Just wait until they are teenagers".  It made me mad that they assumed my kids would grow into impossible teens, but it also cast a seed of doubt in my ability to parent teens. Our culture encourages us to give into one extreme or the other when it comes to our teens:  set super tight boundaries OR let them do whatever they want.  As beli...

I've been interviewing each of our adult kids who were homeschooled from the beginning. They each share their experience and their perspective as adults on homeschooling! I encourage you to listen in to this one with your boys! It will be an encouragement! This is the sixth and final in the series. I am talking with our son, Sam, who is 18 and just graduated less than two weeks ago. I always love...

I've shared many experiences with you all including my struggles with anxiety.  I think it's important to be transparent and real with each other.  We need to know that we are not alone. Anxiety is real and it can come in all different forms for many different reasons.  This is why it's crucial that we can get ahold of TRUTH and truth is found ONLY in God's Word and by His Spirit. Today I'm sharin...

You all told me that you wanted to hear from each of our adult kids who were homeschooled from the beginning and we are now on our FIFTH episode!  I have had so much fun chatting it up with my kids either in person or online.  Sometimes their answers surprise me, but they ARE honest and I love them for that! Today I am talking with Luke who is 20 years old.  He is currently working a job/internshi...

There are a bazillion books and plentiful advice on parenting. Discipline is a very real part of parenting and its ramifications are far-reaching. For homeschooling families, discipline is a more frequent interaction with our kids than the average parent and can often begin to feel like an obstacle. It can quickly wear us down and cause us to become discouraged, but the lack of it can do the very...

Welcome to the 4th in my series talking with each of our adult kids! Today I'm chatting with Ben who is our fourth child and second son. Ben is almost 22, works at a Bible camp and is a volunteer firefighter. Even though Ben was 9 before he was reading well, he is one of our most avid readers!  He was given time and space to develop at his own pace and learn in ways that worked for him.  We discus...

In today's podcast, I am talking with our oldest son, Jake. He is 24, started college at 16 (dual enrollment) and graduated at 21. He is in his 3rd year working as a software engineer. Having gone to college at a young age and straight out of homeschooling, he shares an interesting perspective. At age 12, Jake discovered what he was passionate about and the career he wanted to pursue, but much of...

In today's podcast I am talking with Jenna, our 2nd daughter (of our 8 homeschooled kids) about her homeschooling experience and where she is today.  As a wife and mom of two littles, she shares the unique perspective of having been homeschooled from the beginning and now heading into the homeschooling years with her own children.  I'm having fun interviewing each of our adult kids per your reques...

A dyslexia diagnosis can feel overwhelming, especially for the homeschool mom, but take heart!  Dyslexia (or any diagnosis for that matter) doesn't have to negatively define you, your child or your homeschooling!  Today I am talking with Sarah Brown, homeschooling mom of 15 (yes, you heard me right), several of whom have dyslexia and you will be SO encouraged! I know many of you want to take a mor...

I asked you all if you would like me to interview each of our grown kids to talk with them about their homeschool experience and their perspective as adults.  The response was overwhelming, so today is the first of several.  I am talking with our daughter Brittney who is 28, pregnant with her fourth and heading into the homeschooling years with her own kids now! I was NOT a perfect mom or homescho...

"You aren't qualified to teach your children.  Only a professional can do that" Today I'm sharing the lie that every homeschooling parent is constantly facing and confronting it with the TRUTH of God's heart toward education and most importantly, His heart toward us as homeschooling parents. Our daughter once said, "Common sense isn't so common anymore".  She was right. It's time for we as parents...

We are engaged in a battle for our children and our right as parents to determine what is best for them. We are constantly being told in blatant and more subtle ways that we are inadequate for the job and encouraged to abdicate those decisions to those who “know better” than we do. This is nothing short of a frontal attack on God's good and gracious plan for families. God has given US these childr...

There's a lot to be said for hindsight. Our 6th will be graduating in June. The homeschooling finish line is in sight and the process has taught me so much, but in this podcast, I am sharing what I believe to be the 3 most important things that I've learned over the last two decades. From early on in our journey I remember hearing things that I would often "tuck in my hat", realizing that these we...

What should you do when it seems like your husband isn’t taking the spiritual leadership in your family? How can a husband encourage his wife in homeschooling the kids?   In this podcast episode, my husband and I are tackling these and several other questions from our listeners. We’ve been married for almost 30 years and homeschooling for over 23 years.   Other Podcasts with my husband Raising a F...

News, online media, newspapers and a constant stream of information can put us on edge as people, but especially as moms. There are things happening that we never imagined would be happening and they are happening faster than ever.  We can't help but wonder what kind of world our kids will be growing into. Today I want to share HOPE with you...hope that we have as believers and hope that our child...

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU LISTEN TO THE PODCAST! In this podcast, I talk a lot about how to navigate understanding your kids through hormone changes. BUT I want to emphasize that as we try to empathize and work through these things with them, that we make sure that they speak to and treat us respectfully.  We want them to have a voice, but never at the cost of hurting the people around them.  This in...

I like to focus on podcast topics that are important to YOU!  Recently I had a mom ask me to do a podcast on international adoption.  I don't really have much experience with that, but I have a friend who does!  Sarah has 10 biological children and 5 children adopted from Ukraine.  In today's podcast, we talk about how God's plan unfolded in Sarah's family's life, how God knit their family togethe...

We always say that character comes before the curriculum, but that can be easier said than done.  In the day to day, it can be a real struggle to actually lay down the math or reading to deal with the character issues in our kids.  But what if we saw character training for what it REALLY is? In today's podcast, I will be sharing a big picture perspective with a biblical foundation to encourage you...

Many of us are homeschooling because we believe it's a much better choice for our children, but we can easily get caught up in becoming results driven in our approach. Today I am talking to Ashley Wiggers who is a homeschool graduate and now a mom herself.  We are having a great conversation about what can be best described as "homeschooling from the heart".  It's homeschooling from our heart as m...

I don't think there's a homeschool parent out there who would say that getting their kids to enjoy writing is easy. Today I am talking with Dr. Fred Lybrand who has been teaching writing for well over two decades (along with countless other pursuits).  He is ALSO a homeschool dad of 5 grown kids and has a unique and sensible approach to helping our kids with writing. He shares several basic princi...

Most homeschooling families are not actually enjoying homeschooling.  Parents AND kids are feeling all kind of unnecessary pressure and unreasonable expectations.  This is NOT what homeschooling was meant to be and we FEEL that deep down inside. BUT what will it take to get that peace we long for and to enjoy our children again? Today I'm having a conversation with Karen over at Simply Living for...

As homeschooling moms, we've chosen to educate our kids in what most would consider an "unconventional way". We've made this decision carefully and prayerfully and bear the daily responsibility of our choice, which can feel weighty in and of itself.  But often, on top of that, there are outside pressures that bear down on us and can drain the life right out of us AND our homeschool journey. I've b...

I am so thrilled to have Dan Marcone (M.A., LMHC and Clinical Supervisor for Seasons Counseling) back on the podcast! Today Dan is sharing about the importance and how to's of encouraging a growth mindset in our kids!  A growth mindset is a mental attitude that determines how we interpret and respond to things like challenges, obstacles, effort, criticism and the success of others.  Do we have fai...

We all want our kids to have a great start to their education, but what does that REALLY look like? Cheryl Bastian is a homeschooling mom to eight kids ages 3-29 and has worked in the early education field for many, many years. She is a wealth of information and encouragement! We will be talking about what's really important for early education along with simple ways to recognize common potential...

As parents, it can be easy to become disoriented in our parenting...even more so for homeschooling parents!  We are with our kids 24/7 and in the daily busyness of trying to educate our children, we can forget that we are called FIRST to make disciples.  But what does that look like?  What tools do we need to orient our families toward that? We are called as Christian parents to hold out the Gospe...