The Homeschool Solutions Show

I'm not going to lie. Having multiple people in the room all at once is often the hardest part of homeschooling. Harder than choosing curriculum. Harder than keeping up with the laundry. Harder than teaching math. (I know, right?) Not only are you dealing with personalities and relationships but also with multiple levels and multiple subjects. And it never fails that everyone seems to need you all the time and all at once. Listen or read more at https://pambarnhill.com/juggling-multiple-kids/

I asked a question in my It's Not that Hard to Homeschool K-8 Facebook group recently: "Do you feel like a success as a homeschool mom? Why or why not?" As you can imagine, there was a wide range of answers — but more "no's" than I expected. But as I think about it, it makes sense to me that we don't feel confident that we're doing a good job. I think we've got an idea stuck in our heads about what makes a "successful" homeschool — and it's the WRONG idea. Listen or read more at https://www.annieandeverything.com/homeschool-mom-failure/

John and I have a combined 30 years of homeschooling experience, and more like 40+ years if you count each of our children's education separately! Some of that is our own experience as homeschooled students, and some comes from our perspective as homeschooling parents. We are a team, but we definitely have our own perspectives on homeschooling, both the big picture and the day to day reality. What if you could ask us a series of questions about homeschooling to see the similarities and differences between Dad's and Mom's perspective? We've taken on that challenge in this post! Listen or read more at https://humilityanddoxology.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/dad-mom-perspectives-homeschooling/

If you've got struggling or reluctant readers, this one is for you. I hope this post inspires you take a break from your everyday reading instruction and read the world around you. Don't worry! Learning will move forward. You just have to think outside the book. Teaching a child to read is an amazing experience. I've been lucky enough to work with over 100 children learning to read in my career teaching first and second grade. Each child was different, and each one prepared me to teach my own son. Listen or read more at https://thehomeschoolresourceroom.com/2017/06/18/think-outside-the-book-10-other-ways-to-get-your-child-reading/

This is part four in my series on memory work. Find the other parts here: Help Your Kids Memorize Anything Recite, Recite, Recite Sing Me A Song Up to this point we have largely focused on the auditory elements of memory work. This is mainly because learning memory work is largely an auditory skill. This is not to say, though, that there are not some helps to offer kids who have a visual learning preference. There are a few things you can do to add visuals to the memory work to help those kids along. Listen or read more at https://pambarnhill.com/visual-learners/

"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you." "I might as well be talking to a brick wall!" "In one ear and out the other." Clearly, kids who don't listen is a thing. We have tons of cultural idioms about not listening, and they're often used to describe children. Some of this probably comes from a combination of immaturity and the fact that they are still developing habits like attention. But in my own family, I notice it's something I do that actually teaches my children not to listen. Listen or read more at https://mylittlerobins.com/2018/01/if-you-want-your-kids-to-listen-stop-repeating-yourself/

I do not think it necessary to expound on why we want to avoid overwhelm in our homeschools. Overwhelm equals stress, chaos, and uncertainty, none of which complement a healthy lifestyle. Overwhelm can be a rather quiet beast, creeping in gradually until one day you just CAN'T. I find keeping overwhelm at bay starts with intention. We first need to believe it is important and recognize that it will take life-long effort. In our homeschools, our children are constantly growing and changing, and so we must adapt. Avoiding overwhelm on a practical level may look completely different from one year to the next. The important thing is that you have go-to tools to help you avoid it, and if it hits, pull life back into balance. Listen or read more at https://www.jumpintogenius.com/avoiding-overwhelm-from-the-inside-out/

For some kids all it takes is to hear something set to song just a few times, and it becomes embedded in their memory. Olivia is a kid like that. I think she can learn just about anything if we set it to a tune. So using songs for memory work is something we do all the time. Many times there are already songs written for a topic we want to memorize. We use songs from Classical Conversations even though we are not in a community. The skip counting songs, timeline song, and Latin chants are all available on their CDs and are superb. Listen or read more at https://pambarnhill.com/songs-for-memory-work/

Is sibling conflict a problem in your home? Maybe you think that question is just a joke. Maybe you think it's a nice way to begin a post by making everyone feel normal and right at home because DUH! of course sibling conflict is a problem. In everyone's home. Always. But it may not be for the reason you're thinking. Listen or read more at https://hswotrainingwheels.com/sibling-conflict-problem/

It must be kind of hard to be J.K. Rowling. I had that thought the other night as I tucked into the first in her crime series, which she wrote under a pseudonym. I think if I were her I would do everything under a pseudonym.* I'd grocery shop under a pen name. Because she has already kind of done The Most Amazing Thing … Can you imagine that pressure? It must be crushing sometimes. Listen or read more at http://www.karasanderson.com/youre-not-homeschooling-for-likes/