The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are playing an episode from a couple of years ago, where Charlene Notgrass joined us from Notgrass History. She is an author, speaker, and a homeschooling veteran! She has a passion for helping homeschooling moms be happy! She has a ton of encouragement and wisdom to share!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We are getting closer to Homeschool convention season, which is one of our favorite times of the year! So this week we talk about why homeschooling conventions are amazing, and why you should attend. We also give our insider tips on how to have a great experience!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homes...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! Today we are talking about standing strong against the world's philosophy in homeschooling. There is so much wrong thinking about what matters and also when it comes to learning and raising our kids. There is constant pressure from so many different people. So we have some encouragement to share that will help you withstand these pressures in your homes...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! My name is Ben Wilson, and we have a great episode for you this week! We are joined by Todd's wife,  Debbie Wilson, to check in on how her year of homeschooling has gone so far. We discussed what has worked, what hasn't, and when it is okay to change homeschool curriculum. She also gave us her favorite part of the school year and she shared some encoura...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are discussing what homeschooling can do, and what it can't do. This episode was inspired by a couple of emails we received from listeners, and we think this is an important topic to cover. We hope you finish this episode encouraged!  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 our topic of discussion is extracurricular activities. There are so many options and pressures out there when it comes to these types of activities, so we talk about whether or not they are important, and how you can approach them.  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We wo...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We are back with our first episode of 2024! So to start this year off, we created lists of the top 10 most important things we have EVER learned! It was fun for us to put together our lists, and we would encourage you to try this as well!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler We are taking a short Christmas break, so this week we are playing an episode from a couple of years ago. We discussed the fact that homeschooling and parenting go hand in hand, and are the same thing! This was a fun episode, and we hope you enjoy it!  Before we begin we want to thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We w...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week join Todd for a short Christmas episode! We hope you enjoy this quick shot of encouragement and Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  We also want to thank Teaching Textbooks for helping make the smiling homeschooler possible! They are an amazing math curriculum, and the one our family uses! We would encourage you to check out their free...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! It is less than 2 weeks until Christmas! We can hardly believe it! This week we want to keep with the festive Christmas spirit, so we talk about our Favorite Christmas Tradition, and read some of our listener's favorites as well! This is a super fun episode. Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week are talking about the fact that although we believe homeschooling is amazing and something that everyone can do, the reality is that there are some pitfalls that we see homeschoolers fall into. We discuss some of the most common, and how to get out of them or avoid them. We think this is another encouraging episode!  Before we begin we want to...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are talking about what really matters, Math or science? History or Spelling? Cursive, or print? and a lot more! There are no wrong answers for many of these comparisons, but there is one theme that does matter: family and relationships. So we hope you enjoy this episode and leave encouraged!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbo...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we were joined by homeschooling veterans and the creators of CrossWired Science, Don and Renita Miller. They have a passion for homeschooling and teaching science, and they created an amazing curriculum because of this. They share how they started this journey and the unique approach their science curriculum uses. We think you will enjoy their...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are joined by a veteran homeschooling mom of four, Renee Miller. Renee and her husband Rand started Miller Pad's and Paper many years ago and she has been running it with her family ever since. She is an important part of the homeschool community, has seen the fruit of homeschooling, and has a ton of wisdom and encouragement to share.  Befo...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are going to answer the most frequently asked questions by Homeschooling Moms. Over the years we have had hundreds of homeschooling moms ask us questions, but many of them revolve around the same topics! These are great questions and important, and we hope you find our answers encouraging!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbook...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We are back with a new episode! After a great family vacation, we've been thinking a lot about the speed at which time passes and the importance of making memories with our children. Family and homeschooling are so hard, but in the midst of the hard, we can create memories that last a lifetime. This is a great episode and we hope you enjoy!  Before we b...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We just got back from vacation today, so we are currently recovering! So we are replaying an episode from a while back. We had Todd's wife, Debbie, on to talk about how to prevent homeschooling burnout, and what to do when your child isn't learning something quickly. She always has wisdom and encouragement to share, and we hope you enjoy!  Before we beg...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We are on vacation this week, so we are replaying an episode from a while back. If you homeschool, then chances are tears have been shed at some point. This is part of almost every mom's homeschooling journey, so this week we are talking about what to do when you are brought to tears!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to m...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week our topic is the fact that every child will have learning "gaps" and that is okay! This is one of the worries that we hear most often from homeschooling moms. So we talk about how to deal with the worry of the dreaded learning gap!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We wo...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! Today we have a fantastic episode for you! We were joined by Ashley Wiggers with Homeschooling Today Magazine. We talk about what homeschooling with young children realistically looks like, and how to break free from the feeling of failure. Every time Ashley is on our show it is encouraging, and this week is no exception!  Before we begin we want to Tha...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! Our topic this week is a major aspect of life, interruptions. We talk about how to handle them, and whether or not there is such a thing as a bad interruption. We hope you 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 th...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week talk about whether or not your child should have a say in how you homeschool them. We receive questions about this topic frequently, and we hope you find our answers encouraging! 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 o...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are joined by homeschooling veteran, speaker, and leader, Jan Smith. She shares her wisdom and encouragement to take the leap of faith from the workspace and stay home with the kids. If you are already able to stay at home, then this episode will still be encouraging since she shares how important what you do is!  Before we begin we want to...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! Today we are talking about what you can actually expect when it comes to homeschooling. Whether you are new homeschool mom, or a seasoned veteran, having realistic expectations is essential and can help you smile more! We hope this encourages you, and that you are having a great start to the school year, if you have started!  We want to Thank Teaching T...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we have a great episode for you! We discuss what the actual priorities look like for each subject that we teach and what actually matters! We are sure this will be encouraging!  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 on...