Beating Boredom This Summer – MBFLP 249

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

July 1, 2020 by Hal and Melanie Young Leave a Comment

Summertime is always a challenge – with the change of routine, it’s easy for our kids (or ourselves) to feel adrift. This year, with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, even our backup program may be on hold or cancelled. What can you do to make the most of summertime with your family, when vacation may be postponed, summer camp or youth sports shut down, and even the local pool or gym is off limits? This episode, we talk about things you might consider with your kids and mate, to make the most of the enforced time together this year!

Who knew, when the schools and universities closed in March, that we’d still be home in June and July, with summer vacation upended as well? Camps and programs for missions, music, sports, and more, have been closed by the virus. Travel is still restricted. Entertainment facilities, beaches, parks, and more are shut down or curtailed. Our own son had his honeymoon reservations canceled by the hotel the week of the wedding! (Thankfully, he was able to make other arrangements!)

So many of the things we take for granted and do every summer are in jeopardy – or already gone. Last week, we spoke with a radio host about ideas for “engaging our kids” during this time. There are ways to build memories and build skills – and there are also opportunities to build (or rebuild) relationships, if we’ll take the step.

A New Feature for the Program

Hal was inspired by World Radio’s program “The World and Everything In It” and their listener participation in the daily news podcast. This episode, we’re pleased to announce a new opportunity on our own program – our new “Listener Response Line” at (919) 295-0321. This is our voice mail where you can leave a comment, a question, or a suggestion. We’d love to hear from you!

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Filed Under: Making Biblical Family Life Practical Tagged With: Covid-19, family relationships, memories, pandemic, stay-home, summer, summer vacation

COVID-19 and Homeschooling High School

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

July 1, 2020 by Vicki Tillman Leave a Comment

This week on the Homeschool Highschool Podcast: COVID-19 and Homeschooling High School.

COVID-19 and Homeschooling High School

This week Sabrina has encouragement and resources to help you and your family get through the COVID-19 pandemic. She is especially interested in helping out those who are new to homeschooling high school, either after homeschooling middle school OR if you are a “suddenly homeschooler” due to the quarantines.

Please share this episode with friends and colleagues who will be starting homeschooling high school in the fall.

How do you get started homeschooling high school during COVID-19?

Homeschooling high school can look different ways:

For those of you who are “unintentionally homeschooling” due to the affects of COVID-19, but are still registered with a local high school. The responsibility for instruction will continue to rest on the school. Your student will simply follow the scheduled online classes provided by the school and follow the assignments given. However, you parents will probably find that you are supervising more of the educational process than before the quarantines.
If you are homeschooling high school, (whether a homeschool middle school graduate or a new to homeschooling family), you now have something you did not have much of in the past: choice! This might sound intimidating but do not worry. Sabrina will share four practical ways to make these curriculum and format choices!

Here’s a bit of encouragement: Homeschooling high school is just an extension of the parenting you already do. You now get to extend your family’s interests, values, and goals into a truly purposeful education for your teen.

So what are Sabrina’s four steps for homeschooling high school during COVID-19?

First off, there’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school, so do not allow anyone to pressure you that you MUST follow their “philosophy”. For COVID-19 and homeschooling high school, give yourself permission to explore and learn about how your teens learn best. Here are four steps for handling COVID-19 and homeschooling high school.

Step 1: Find out about your state (or international location’s) homeschool laws. Find out the requirements for high school graduation.

The easiest way to do this is check out Homeschool Legal Defense’s website. This is a marvelous organization that, decades ago, helped make homeschooling legal in all states. (We always suggest joining HSLDA. There are lots of worthwhile benefits. (BTW- We are not affiliates, just thankful for the work they do.)

Step 2: Check out your local homeschool community.

There are homeschoolers almost everywhere!

Check for Facebook groups for your community or state. (Hey, join our 7SistersHomeschool Facebook group and ask ALL the questions you want. There are so many 7th Sisters who want to help. 7th Sisters? Who are they? Well, there are 6 of us in 7SistersHomeschool. The 7th Sisters are all our homeschool friends, including YOU!)
Google support groups in your area or state.
Google *umbrella or hybrid schools*, diploma programs or group classes for homeschool high school.
Sabrina points out that these local homeschool groups are the places that we 7Sisters met! We homeschooled our kids together with these groups. Our a couple of our kids fell in love and got married. As our kids graduated from homeschooling high school, we began publishing the curriculum that we developed for them and the local homeschool group classes at 7SistersHomeschool.com

Step 3: Check out online community for homeschool high schoolers.

There is SO much available online! It can be overwhelming. Invite your teens to help choose.

Some of the online group classes that are taught by our friends include:

True North Academy (check them out and our friend, Lisa’s podcast Soft Skills 101)
FundaFunda Academy (check them out and our friend, Meryl’s podcast Homeschooling with Technology)
Dreaming Spires Home Learning (Language Arts, high performance)
Music in Our Homeschool (lots of great self-paced Music Appreciation courses with our friend, Gena)

Step 4: Check out curriculum.

Curriculum is fun! Give yourself some time:

Think about your educational style:
What do you like? Do you remember high school or college? What did you like or not like?
What does your teen like or not like as far as classes and subjects they have already done?
Try to concentrate on things (subjects, interests, talents) your teen loves. Here are some posts that help develop interests and capture them on the homeschool high school transcript.
Remember there’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school! There is never a mistake. If you choose a curriculum or philosophy that you try out and you or your teen hate it, toss it and get another! It is okay.
Here’s a post about our informal philosophy…but there’s not ONE right way!
Here’s a post and a download we developed to help you choose curriculum.

BONUS Step 5: During COVID-19 and homeschooling high school…Pray! As our 7Sister Kym, says: Pray first, last and always. Ask God for guidance and to help your build wonderful relationships with your teens!

Need some help and encouragement in the practical parts of homeschooling high school? Check out 7Sisters Authoritative Guide post series. (We have TONS of posts just waiting to help you right on 7SistersHomeschool.com.)

Join Sabrina for hope and encouragement as you homeschool high school with your teens during these crazy times!

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO HSHSP VIA COMPUTER

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IMPORTANT STEP: Under our Homeschool Highschool Podcast logo, click on View in iTunes
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COVID-19 and Homeschooling High School

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Filed Under: Homeschool Highschool Tagged With: Covid-19, The Homeschool Highschool Podcast

Break New Ground: 2020 Victory Gardens

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

May 11, 2020 by Sharon Rice Leave a Comment

Victory Gardens – Episode 85

We are living in interesting times. Take a look a Victory Gardens with Suzanne. We talk about the history of the gardens and reasons your family should consider digging up your own garden!

Learn More Here

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter

Please visit www.fpea.com to learn more about who we are!

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Filed Under: FPEA-Connects, Uncategorized Tagged With: covid, Covid-19, Florida, floridahomeschool, garden, gardening, homeschool, homeschooling, pandemic, victory garden

Planning for College Even During COVID-19 – MBFLP 246

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

April 22, 2020 by Hal and Melanie Young Leave a Comment

How can you hunt for a college in the midst of a global pandemic? Colleges want students who demonstrate interest in their college. But how can you demonstrate interest in a college when you are sheltering in place under a “stay at home” order? Join us for this special conversation with Lee Binz, “The HomeScholar”!

With our older kids (all five of them so far!), we spent a lot of time visiting colleges, touring campuses, interviewing professors and campus ministers … but emphasize, on campus.

And now, there are very few people on campus to visit – if the campus is even open, still.

Needless to say, suddenly the rules have changed! But have they?

Colleges still want to meet you, get to know you, and make an estimate whether you’d accept an offer from their school. In normal times, you take the opportunity to meet the admissions staff, walk around campus, and if they invite, absolutely positively show up for scholarship or honors college events!

So during this time of quarantine, shelter-in-place, and stay-home orders, those in-person visits just aren’t going to happen.

Lee Binz has years of experience counseling and advising homeschooled high schoolers and their parents, on how to prepare for the college application process and how to maximize your chances of success. This episode, we talked with her about how the move to remote meetings and online gatherings has changed the traditional interview process. You’ll hear some surprising advice and some brilliant ideas how you can adapt to this strange, disrupted world, in some of the most traditional institutions.

About Our Guest

Lee Binz, The HomeScholar is a dynamic speaker and author of over 40 books on homeschooling high school, available on Amazon. She is an expert on homeschool transcripts and getting scholarships. Lee’s mission is to encourage and equip parents to homeschool through high school. Her free monthly homeschool e-newsletter is a great help, and she has marvelous homeschool freebies on her website HomeHighSchoolHelp.com. You can also find Lee on Facebook at Facebook.com/TheHomeScholar.

A Free Offer from Lee Binz!

Anxiety and feelings of insecurity can come and go. When you are faced with feelings of inadequacy, you may start wondering how to become a better homeschool parent. How do you become successful? Lee has a free ebook that she would like to share with you! Download How to Be a Better Home Educator and you can build a better homeschool with tools (and teens) you have around the house. Whether you are a newbie or veteran, this short ebook can help you become a better homeschool parent.

Other Resources We Mentioned

Lee Binz: Coronavirus and College Admission

Lee Binz: High School Tests During Coronavirus

Lee Binz: How to Prepare for a College Interview (with practice questions)

Hal and Melanie: Our free COLLEGE DECISION RESOURCE PACKAGE

Hal and Melanie: Paying for College with No Debt and No Fortune

Hal and Melanie: The Unexpected Benefits of Graduation

Hal and Melanie: Entrepreneurship and College

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Filed Under: Making Biblical Family Life Practical Tagged With: admissions, college, college applications, coronavirus, Covid-19, financial aid, High School, high school juniors, high school seniors, quarantine, stay-home

9 Creative Ways To Turn Covid-19 Into An Out-Of-The-Box Learning Adventure

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

April 20, 2020 by Laura 2 Comments

9 Creative Ways To Turn Covid-19 Into An Out-Of-The-Box Learning Adventure

In “9 Creative Ways to Turn Covid-19 into an Out-of-the-Box Learning Adventure” episode #111, Meredith Curtis takes a look at how exciting it is to live through a time that you will be telling your grandchildren about. It’s a great teaching/learning opportunity. Meredith shares 9 creative ideas to explore, investigate, and research all aspects of Covid19 and have fun doing it! Learn history the fun way!

Powerline Productions, Inc.

Being World Changers, Raising World Changers!

Show Notes

Do you realize that we are living through a time that will be written about in history books?

We will be telling stories from 2020 to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

That is exciting stuff! So, I was thinking it would be awesome to use this time to have some out-of-the-box homeschool learning adventures. I came up with 9 ideas!

Time Capsule

Create a time capsule with the whole family. You can bury it in the back yard or tuck it away in a hidden place, agreeing to open it again in a certain number of years (10, 20, 30).

Here are some things you might include:

Photos of family, pets, lockdown, grocery stores, streets
Journal of this time
Clippings from newspapers or magazines
artwork created by family members
recordings by family members
Letter from each family member to future self
Mask
Pair of Gloves
CDC Poster
Toy
DVD
Clothing

Journal

Keep a journal throughout the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. You don’t have to write every day. Write about things that are happened in your home and current events.

News Reporting

Become a news reporter and family news team. Role play different key figures in the worldwide pandemic while one family member interviews them. Be sure to capture it all on videotape.

Unit Study

You can do a unit study on Covid-19. There is so much to cover!

Faith–passages on God’s protection & healing (e.g. Psalm 91, Psalm 103), Churches streaming services, benevolence, national days of fasting & prayer
Anatomy–Respiratory System, Pneumonia
Health –handwashing, germs, social distancing, nutrition, healthy habits, vaccines
Machines–Ventilators
Business/Money –businesses that are stepping up–who are they and what are they doing
Economy–stock market, unemployment, stimulus package
Government–what state and local leaders and agencies are doing to fight Covid-19. How are Constitutional rights being protected, CDC, FDA
Careers–medical, trucking, grocery stores, banking,
Geography–countries and states unique experience with Covid-19
Art –Covid-19 Posters
Homemaking–sewing masks
Other–Army Corps of Engineers

Scrapbook

Make a scrapbook on Covid-19 with fancy scissors, cardstock, and stickers. Include lots of photos and news clippings. Be sure to include photos of you face-timing friends and relatives. And don’t forget to write captions under all the photos.

Picture Book

Create a picture book for younger children that explains what the coronavirus is, how to stay healthy, what happened around the world, or how your family experienced the pandemic.

Dictionary

Create your own dictionary of Covid-19-related words like epidemic, pandemic, coronavirus, quarantine, immunologist, etc. Be sure to add pictures.

Round Table Discussion

You’ve seen these on TV where a bunch of people sit around and discuss current events. Firing Line, The View, and The McLaughlin Group are good examples. Another way to spice it up is to pretend to be different people who hold very diverse opinions.

Fine Arts Project

Paintings, sculpture, poetry, music, and drawings express our feelings about the Covid-19 experience. These creative outlets don’t just allow us to express our emotions, but lets viewers and listeners connect with Covid-19 on a deeper level. Art is a gift to the world!

Covid19 Research Journal

Here is your bonus idea!

I have created a Covid 19 Research Notebook E-book just for you! You can use it for the whole family–just print the pages you need for everyone in your home school. 100 cheerful & colorful pages of information and research questions will keep your children busy investigating all aspects of Covid-19. You can purchase Covid-19 Research Notebook at PowerlineProd and TeachersPayTeachers.

Covid-19 Research Notebook has 9 sections of printables:

Covid-19 Basics
Virus & Immune System
Economy
Government
Faith
Family
Fighting Covid-19 in the USA
State Research
Country Research

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Resources

More Podcasts You Might Find Helpful

Finish Well Radio, Podcast #62, How to Enjoy History

Finish Well Radio, Podcast #057, Why is Algebra 2 So Hard with Meredith Curtis on the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network

Learning with Little Ones Around, Podcast #051, with Meredith Curtis

Finish Well Radio Badge, Podcast #060, 7 Benefits of Reading Classics

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Filed Under: Finish Well Tagged With: Christian, Covid-19, family, Finish Well, homeschooling, Laura Nolette, Meredith Curtis, Parent, teen

What’s Your New Normal? – HIRL Episode 160

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

April 20, 2020 by HomeschoolingIRL Leave a Comment

What’s Your New Normal? – HIRL Episode 160

What does life look like post-pandemic? Which activities are you are eager to return to, and what will you change going forward?

From changing the family schedule, to changing the pace of life, to learning how to connect through the smart use of technology, these are the questions Fletch and Kendra discuss on this week’s episode of Homeschooling in Real Life. Answers will differ from person to person and family to family, but one thing remains true for every single one of us: life will never be the same again.

Join us for another episode of Homeschooling In Real Life!

While sheltering in place during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, Fletch and Kendra have dusted off the microphones and come out of retirement to discuss the pressing questions we are all wrestling with and encourage our listeners to avoid hope-shifting in the middle of a crisis. Need a fresh dose of encouragement? Join us!

SHOW NOTES:

None

Recommended Resources:

Homeschooling Resources for your neighbor
Listen to Kendra LIVE on Zoom

Get Social With Us:

Follow Fletch/Kendra:
Fletch Twitter
Kendra Twitter

Follow the Studio Dog:
Rasta The Chocolate Lab – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Website

Previous Episodes Mentioned:
None

Music clips used on this episode:
Boat Drinks by Jimmy Buffett – buy it here on iTunes

SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE AN iTUNES REVIEW:

Allow the magic of the internet to deliver Homeschooling In Real Life to your tablet or smart phone. Let us show you how easy it is:

Follow this link to our iTunes page.
IMPORTANT STEP: Under our big red HomeschoolingIRL logo, just click on View in iTunes
The iTunes program will automatically launch and take you to our podcast page.
FIRST – Click SUBSCRIBE. Voila! All or our podcasts will come directly to your computer and smart phone.
NEXT – Click RATINGS AND REVIEW. Remember the best reviews are 5-stars (hint hint!).
Thanks for being one of our listeners! HIRLers rock!

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO LISTEN TO HomeschoolingIRL?

You can listen right on this page. There is an audio player below.
You can listen on your iPod, Smartphone or tablet. Open the PODCAST app on your device, search podcasts for “HomeschoolingIRL” and click subscribe. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

ADVERTISERS/SPONSORS:

Kendra Fletcher, Author of Lost & Found

The “right” homeschooling philosophy. The “right” brand of theology. The “right” meal-planning, home-managing, keep-it-all-together parenting. Kendra Fletcher, homeschooling mom of eight, had it all “right,” until it all fell apart. In the course of eighteen months, Kendra found her baby in a coma, ran over her five-year-old, and nearly lost her eight-year-old to a septic ruptured appendix. Lost and Found is the story of how God used those events to transform her family’s self-righteous religion into freedom in Christ.

Fletcher’s debut book is the gripping true story of how God used suffering to save her family from empty religion. As wave after wave of crisis hit, the Fletchers discovered that getting religion “right” wasn’t a good substitute for a living relationship with a loving God. Through their suffering, they learned about misplaced identities and false hope, and they threw themselves wholly into the arms of Jesus—where they found the grace they needed.

Join Fletch (from theMangoTimes) and Kendra (from KendraFletcher.com) for the HomeschoolingIRL podcast as they interview guests and talk through some of the goofiness they have experienced in nearly two decades of homeschooling.

LISTEN HERE

Are you ready to listen to Fletch and Kendra get real about homeschooling? Press the PLAY button below.

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Filed Under: Homeschooling IRL Tagged With: Andy and Kendra Fletcher, Andy Fletcher, coronavirus, Covid-19, Fletch, HomeschoolingIRL, Kendra, Kendra Fletcher, pandemic

Blessed Are The Crisis Schoolers- HIRL Episode 159

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

April 6, 2020 by HomeschoolingIRL Leave a Comment

Blessed Are The Crisis Schoolers – HIRL Episode 159

How can you support your neighbor who is suddenly learning how to school their kids at home? What does it mean to “Love Thy Neighbor” during this Covid-19 pandemic?

We are three weeks into the COVID-19 global crisis and families around us are settling into new routines. For some, this “new normal” is anything but normal or routine. These families are struggling to juggle family, work and this new version of schooling their kids at home.

Following up from last week’s episode about homeschooling during a pandemic, Fletch and Kendra discuss three ways for you to support your neighbors who are struggling to survive through Crisis Schooling.