PSA: Kids Don’t Need School to Learn

It’s undeniable that we’re living in extremely troubling times. Businesses are closed, schools are closed, and people are just plain scared.

I’ve been extremely saddened to see some parents in complete despair over the fact that schools are closed. A few have even outright said that now their kids will be “stupid.” (I wish I were joking.) It doesn’t help that people associated with the NEA have been tweeting sentiments that support these fears, so today I’m going to set the record straight…

KIDS DON’T NEED SCHOOL TO LEARN

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About Your Messages and Emails…

Today’s video was short and sweet and was made with everyone who has emailed and messaged me in mind. If you’ve messaged me in some format and are still waiting for me to respond, this video is for you.

Vlog: Giving Thanks During a Spiritual Attack

Today I publically posted another archived Patreon video. I recorded this about 6 months ago when I was smack in the middle of one of the worst periods of my life. A day or two after I made this, my daughter was hospitalized for the second time in 6 weeks.

I really debated about whether or not to make this video public. This was very personal for me, and I honestly didn’t want to relive it.

But…I decided to go ahead and do it for one reason – to encourage people. Even when you’re going through some really terrible stuff, if you’ve got Jesus, there will be an unexplainable peace and strength that can come from nowhere but Him.

If you’re going through a crisis, trust in Him. Believe that He is with you, because He is. Instead of saying, “You’ve got this,” I’m going to say, “He’s got this.” Lay it at His feet. You are blessed.

Using Curriculum As Your Tool Rather Than Your Master

Having the right curriculum can either make or break your homeschool. Am I right? Getting sucked into the belief that your homeschool resources of choice must be used as written is one of the most debilitating things that can happen to your homeschool routine.

Don’t do it.

While some homeschoolers feel perfectly at home using life as their curriculum, most of us prefer to at least have something we can fall back on. Unfortunately, it can be far too easy to get so hung up on staying on track, doing every single activity, and covering every single page that the freedom that homeschooling should bring will feel like an unattainable feat.

Introducing “This Week on There’s No Place Like Home”

What do relaxed homeschooling, ADHD, public school, and Konos all have in common?? They were all topics on my YouTube channel, “There’s No Place Like Home,” this week.

Several days ago – before I was hit hard by a serious case of the flu – I came up with the idea of sharing a weekly Friday night post with my readers showcasing the YouTube videos I had published throughout the week. (I sure am saying “week” a lot. Bear with me!)

You see, if there’s one thing I’m not good at, it’s social media. I hate it. The problem with that is that, consequently, I never really seem to follow through with letting my peeps know what I’ve been up to on my channel.

So here’s what I’m going to do: every Friday night, I’ll publish a short post with links to any videos I published that week (there it is again!) plus one link to an older video that you may have missed. If you find yourself looking for weekend homeschool encouragement, advice, or a productive way to veg out, my videos may be just what you’re looking for. 🙂

My Most Popular Homeschooling and Education Posts from 2018!

Yikes! Another year has come and gone. Am I the only one who noticed that it was gone in a flash?! This past year has been a bit of a whirlwind for me, as I’ve been spending a bit less time here on my blog and a bit more on my YouTube channel.

As always, it seems that my more controversial posts are those that have garnered the most attention. Without further ado, here are…

Are You Overcomplicating Your Homeschool?

When it comes to homeschooling, there are many temptations that come with it, both good and bad. Unfortunately, as is often the case, we parents will ignore our God-given instincts about what’s best for our children and, instead, try to stick with the status quo of what school is “supposed” to look like.

Think about it.

How often have you been tempted to take the day off and just do something fun, only to give in to guilt and continue with your homeschool routine as planned?

How many times have you suppressed the urge to just let your kids sit and play together quietly in order to interrupt an intense period of play so that your kids could learn about consonant blends?

And how many times have you gone against your instinct as a parent to keep your homeschool simple, and alternatively jammed as many things as possible into your everyday routine?

If you’re anything like I am, probably quite a bit.

Today I just wanted to talk to you about that last one: the oh-so-common pitfall of becoming obsessed with covering everything, only to find that not only does it not work, but it’s likely to impede a child’s learning as a consequence.

When Your Homeschooled Child Isn’t a Prodigy

(This post contains affiliate links.)

Yesterday my kids and I watched Wonder for the umpteenth time. As with what usually happens when I’ve watched something once too many times, my mind started drifting and ended up – you guessed it – focusing on how this movie perpetuates some common homeschool stereotypes.

If you’ve seen this film, you might be assuming that I’m referring to the fact that August’s mother has decided to send him to school for “socialization,” and while that does irritate me just a bit, that’s not what I’m referring to today.

Traditional Schooling Is Nothing More Than “Educational” Multitasking

Did you ever notice how everyone today seems to be singing the praises of multitasking? Articles, blogs, and books are completely dedicated to the “art” of doing several things at once as if it were actually a good thing.

I beg to differ.

Gone are the days of considering multitasking to be something as simple as answering the phone or changing the baby’s diaper while making dinner. If only that were the case.

5 Common Reading Mistakes Made by Homeschool Moms

I love books. Are you with me? Chances are, if you’re a homeschool mom, books are as much a treasure to you as they are to me. Let’s face it. When a child learns to read, it opens up an entire world of knowledge to them.

Today I’m going to help you not to sabotage that. 🙂

One of the hardest things for us homeschool moms is to realize that you simply don’t have to replicate school in order to give your children a quality education. Unfortunately, that mentality is often all-encompassing and can potentially turn a child’s love for reading into a loathing of reading.

Take it from me. I’ve been there.