The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We are back with a brand new episode! We are getting close to starting the school year, so this week we talk about ways to inject fun into the school day! Our goal is to help you have to an amazing school year, and we hope this episode is encouraging!  Before we start we want to thank Teaching Textbooks for all of their support of the Smiling Homeschool...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We promise this will be the last week for a while, but Todd is currently on his way to Arkansas, so we are replaying an episode about the different homeschool personality types. We thought this would be a great topic to revisit since the school year is just a few weeks away! If you want to take the homeschooler personality test, visit our website, thesm...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are talking about how to avoid a bad homeschooling experience. It breaks our hearts when we talk to a mom, graduate, or child who didn't like their homeschooling experience. Since we are getting closer to the school year, we thought we would discuss the most common causes of a bad homeschooling experience and how to avoid them!  Before we s...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are playing an episode from a couple of years ago where we discuss how to encourage your child who is thinking about the future and loving them for who they are, not what they do. It was a great episode and we hope you enjoy it!  Before we start we want to thank Teaching Textbooks for all of their support of the Smiling Homeschooler. They a...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! Today we are discussing our listeners' highlights from the summer so far. This includes trips to Disney World, the fair, pool days, and relaxing! There are so many ways to make memories with our kids, and those memories help make us who we are! This was a super fun episode to record, and we hope you have as much fun listening to it!  Before we begin we...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week Todd is flying solo! He talks about how it is up to you when and how you homeschool, the County Fair,  and his favorite summer foods. It was a fun episode, so enjoy!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the be...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! My name is Ben wilson, and during the summer months, we are going to be talking about some topics that aren't focused entirely on homeschooling! So this week we are joined by a homeschooling dad, and founder of Verse Chocolate, Scott Walker. He has a passion for healthy Chocolate and has created an amazing product that we think every homeschooling mom w...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! My name is Ben wilson, and it is now officially summer and our goal is to help you and your family enjoy these short summer months! So on this episode, we give our suggestions for some safe summer movies and fun activities you can do as a family!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible....

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are talking about the joy of making memories as a family during the summer, and celebrating Kid's Day! Summer provides so many opportunities to spend time as a family and make memories that will last a lifetime! This was a fun episode to record, and we hope you enjoy it!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to ma...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week Ben is joined by his mom, Debbie Wilson, to talk about wrapping up the school year. She shares how she finishes the curriculum and picks the last day. Also, they discuss how she handles keeping transcripts for the older children. Finally, they talk about some of their listener's favorite online homeschool resources. It was a great episode and...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are joined by Chad and Kayla Stewart. He is a former Disney animator, and she is a homeschooling mom of 8 kids, and together they started The Animation Course. They offer classes to help teach any kid from the age of 11 to 18 how to draw and animate. They have a great approach to the process, and they have some fantastic advice and encourag...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! Todd, is in North Carolina for a homeschooling convention. So we are replying an amazing episode from many years ago, where we interviewed Zane Tyler. She is a speaker, an advocate for homeschooling, and a mom. She was integral in the fight to help make homeschooling easy and possible and has a ton of encouragement to share.  We want to Thank Teaching T...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are celebrating the 300th episode of The Smiling Homeschooler! We can't believe we have been doing the show for almost 5 years, and we couldn't do it without you! Thank you for being part of our team! On the episode, we talk about some of our favorite moments, and read some of our listener's favorite episodes as well. Join us for the celebr...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we were joined by homeschooling mom, and mother of three, Kelsi Ard. We met her at a recent homeschooling convention, liked her story, and thought she would be an encouraging guest to have on the show! We discuss her highs and lows from the first few years of homeschooling, and her thoughts after attending her first homeschool convention. We h...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are talking about what to expect after graduation. Our role as parents doesn't end the minute our children graduate. So we discuss whether or not you should allow your child to live with you until a certain age; if you should pressure them to get a job, go to college, or pay you rent? These ideas are important and relevant whether you have...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We are back with a great new episode this week! Todd just got back from a convention in Fort Worth Texas, and while he was there he had some great conversations with homeschooling moms. These included questions about whether or not you should homeschool your child even if they want to go to school, whether is it okay to just graduate your child even if...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! Todd is speaking at a homeschooling convention in Texas this week. So we are replaying an awesome episode. We were joined by Genny Yurich, of 1,000 Hours Outside! She has a mission to encourage families to spend more time outside, together, enjoying God's creation, playing, and learning. She was a great guest to have and had a ton of encouragement to sh...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! My name is Ben wilson, and today we are playing an episode from a while back, where we were joined by Kathy Koch. She is a speaker, and author, and she joined us to share her encouragement that each child is "smart" in their own way! This is something every parent should listen to, and we hope you are encouraged!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teachi...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! My name is Ben wilson, and this week we asked our listeners, what is the hardest part of homeschooling for you right now? We received some great responses, and we discussed some of these answers and provided some encouragement.  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them,...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! Ben had his son this past week, so he starts the episode to talk about how the birth went, and trying to savor these short days we have with our kids! Then Todd talks about understanding our children's unique personality types. We hope you enjoy it!  Before we begin we want to thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possibl...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! On this week's episode, our topic is equipping your child to find their own way as they grow older, and being their biggest cheerleader. This is something that every parent will have to deal with and gives you an amazing opportunity to impact your child's life. We think this episode will encourage you!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbook...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! It is currently National Women's History Month, and because of this, we decided to talk about how important moms are, and the necessity of raising our daughters to value the gift of being a woman. Our world has put so much pressure on women and attempted to change the definition of what that means and what is important. Because of this, we think this is...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We are replaying a great episode from a few years ago. We had a great discussion about how to equip and encourage your children as they start to think about their future. We think this will be encouraging! We want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! In this episode we are talking about a question we hear often from our listeners,  how do you know the difference between when your child is stuck because they don't get it, or is just acting lazy? How hard should you push them to keep trying in a given subject? We had a great conversation about these topics and we hope you feel encouraged by it!  Befor...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! In this episode, we talk about homeschooling during hardship. It is part of every person's life, and having the right approach to homeschooling during these tough times is important!  We want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the best and he...