Planning Your Homeschool Year

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

September 7, 2017 by Sharon Rice Leave a Comment

Planning Your Homeschool Year

Podcast #34

In this episode, Florida Parent Educators Association’s (FPEA) Chairwoman, Suzanne Nunn talks to Hannah Kartagener about planning the homeschool year. Listen in for tips and advice on how to play your year from veteran homeschool moms.

Planning some times involves planners! Something we love at FPEA. This year, FPEA introduced a new homeschool life planner – the Live Free Planner. It sold out quickly! Be sure to pick one up at the FPEA Store in the Convention hall in May!

Please join us as we travel along this journey on our podcast adventure. Let’s get connected! Learn more about the Florida Parent Educator’s Association and homeschooling in the beautiful state of Florida.

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

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Filed Under: FPEA-Connects Tagged With: advice, homeschool planner, homeschool year, planner, planning

Roadschool Plans for Next Year

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

September 4, 2017 by MaryBeth Leave a Comment

Roadschool plans for next year is the hot topic for Episode #143 from the Roadschool Moms team. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, broadcasts live from on location along the banks of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Across the country, Mary Beth Goff, the Road Trip Teacher calls in from Cahokia RV Parque near St. Louis, MO.

The over the road duo reflects on last week’s Great American Eclipse 2017 and recaps upcoming events for the rest of the year. KT is the first to reveal her roadschool plans for the next year. While she has considered many shiny new avenues of curricula options, she decides the time is right for TJEd (Thomas Jefferson Education,) a curriculum that she has had her eye on for a few years. Timing is everything and this year the Travs will be using Tjed to guide their upcoming learning adventures. KT points out this method of homeschooling is a classical one. It employs leadership skills and other key foundations for an education rich in history and other key elementars to this philosophy. In addition, lesson plans in KT’s rig this coming year also include Mystery Science and Saxton Math.

Next up is the roadschool plans for MB’s crew. Morning Time will play a big role in the Road Trip Teacher’s school day for the upcoming roadschool year. Plans are mapped out for bible, character building, geography, music, art, and foreign language. The rest of the roadschool day in this rolling homeschool will be customized to each kiddo. The highschooler will be using Exploring America for 4 full credit this year covering history, geography, bible, and American literature. Teaching Texbooks will be used for Algebra 2 while science will be covered with the Experience Astronomy course that was highlighted in an earlier Roadschool Moms podcast. On an elective note, this roadschooler is building a business plan for a t-shirt design business that will receive a full credit after its completion (that includes a semester’s worth of economics from Notgrass History.) Two middle schoolers in this rig will follow a similar schedule using America the Beautiful in its full capacity for the study of history, geography, bible, and American literature. Teaching Textbooks will be used for math and the Apologia Creation series for science. The Road Trip Teacher is a big fan of Evan Moor and will use different workbooks to focus on certain areas specific to each student. The third grader on the Roadschool 101 crew will be using Time4Learning for much of next year’s lessons plans. She uses interactive notebooks and notebooking binders for each of those elementary subjects.

Looking for a roadmap for your next learning adventure? Scroll through the RSM library on iTunes to find more than 130 podcast replays.

Homeschool enrollment is on the rise. More and more families are moving into a home on wheels. As a result, the Roadschool Moms record this broadcast to present resources that meet the challenges of today’s roadschooler. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, and Mary Beth Goff, the creator of Road Trip Teacher, team up every week to offer listeners a fresh take on homeschooling while traveling full time across America’s backyard.

Roadschool Moms: Season 11

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Filed Under: Road School Moms Tagged With: curriculum, homeschool, independent learner, learning adventure, next year, planning, roadschool, roadschool ahead, roadschool moms, what's next

Wrap Up a Successful Roadschool Year

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

August 8, 2017 by Kimberly Travaglino Leave a Comment

Wrapping up a roadschool year is a snap with these tips from the Roadschool Moms team. Episode #139 comes to you live from the the State of Washington as well as southern Indiana. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, recaps her roadschool week from the Evergreen State. From across the country, Mary Beth Goff, the Road Trip Teacher looks back on their roadschool week in the Hoosier State.

Listeners hear a few words from the Season 10 series sponsor, Time4Learning. The comprehensive K-12 online curriculum is a favorite from the Roadschool Moms Approved resources. Both KT and MB use T4L in their own rolling homeschools. The coupon code “roadschooler” is shared for those who want to test drive a trial run of the online resource.

This special season ending episode takes a look back at the 12-episode journey to plan a successful roadschool year.

Summer Sun & Roadschool Fun: Sunglasses are on and homeschool calendars out for this episode. Listen to seven sweet suggestions for planning summer learning adventures.

Vision for a Successful Roadschool Year: Roadschool Mom Mary Jane Williams joins MB to talk about having a VISION for your homeschool plans. MB reminds listeners that “Comparison is a thief” and every family’s goals are different. Listen to the seven questions to ask yourself when formulating a homeschool vision.

Choosing Roadschool Curriculum: KT and MB take apart their roadschool tool box and talk about the different ways to build a roadschool curriculum.

Record Keeping Made Easy: Dave from Homeschool Tracker joins this special episode with all the expert advice on keeping track of your homeschool records. KT reminds listeners “The best system is the one you will use!”

Roadschool Moms at FPEA: The RSM team broadcasts live from the FPEA Convention in Orlando, Florida, from the beautiful Gaylord Palms Hotel. Special guest, Andrew Pudewa joins the show with rich and useful information needed to train your homeschoolers up to be effective writers.

Morning Time by Nature: A favorite past guest, Holly Giles from The Giles Frontier, joins the show to share insight on using Morning Time for the next roadschool year. The homeschooling trio share their tips and advice on using nature for easy Morning Time plans.

Independent Learners by Nature or by Design: A podcast filled with specific examples for training your kids to be independent learners by looking at the characteristics in your kiddos: self-motivation, curiosity, persistence, critical thinking, responsibility.

Growing Successful Readers: Stephanie Simpson, a teamleader for Usborne Books joins the Roadschool Moms team to share top tips for growing successful readers in your rolling homeschool. Lots of great information is broken down into nuggets for emerging readers as well as early, fluent & expert readers.

Experience America the Beautiful: American history & geography are front & center for this episode. An up close interview with Charlene Notgrass, the creator of the fabulous curriculum, is the feature for this week. Textbook, maps, timelines, and lesson plans! It’s U.S. History for your middle or high schoolers – Ready, set, go!

National Holidays as Roadschool Opportunities: An episode that reflects on how to use your surroundings, the time of year, and national holidays to feed your roadschoolers fresh, new information. Take out the calendar, there’s never a shortage of ways to celebrate the day.

Building a Strong Math Foundation: Dennis “Mr D!” DiNola has all the facts about math. He reminds listeners to keep kids learning the math language. His best message is “doing math can be like eating vegetables, you might not necessarily like it but you CAN learn to appreciate it.”

Hands-on Science: Luke Gilkerson, Intoxicated on Life, shares information about his Experience Astronomy curriculum. Luke shares his best advice “to teach roadschoolers how to think” by the process of observing, testing hypothesis, finding a conclusion. He encourages roadschool moms everywhere that science is all around us and is easy to work into a roadschool schedule.

Icing Your Roadschool Cake: Tricia Hodges gives great tips on letting your roadschoolers be creative. Chalk pastel art projects are so easy and fun to use anywhere, anytime. This episode reveals three things you can easily access to get started today.

The Roadschool Moms breaks down seven steps to wrap up a successful roadschool year:

Celebrate the year
Review accomplishments
Create a portfolio
Analyze interests
Plan summer learning adventures
Record transcripts
Honor family traditions

“That’s a WRAP”

Looking for a roadmap for your next learning adventure? Scroll through the RSM library on iTunes to find more than 130 podcast replays.

The Official Sponsor for Season 10 of Roadschool Moms

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Filed Under: Road School Moms Tagged With: america the beautiful, art, chalk pastel, creative, homeschool, independent learner, learning adventure, Math, morning time, music, notgrass, planning, reading, roadschool, roadschool moms, science, time4learning, vision

Art & Music Ices a Roadschool Cake

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

August 7, 2017 by MaryBeth Leave a Comment

Art and music are two ways to ice next year’s roadschool cake. Episode #138 comes to you live from the the State of Washington as well as somewhere in middle Tennessee. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, recaps her roadschool week from the Evergreen state. From across the country, Mary Beth Goff, calls in from on the road in Tennessee. Further, The Road Trip Teacher crew reveals they stopped to call in but still have miles left to travel on their way to the Midwest.

This episode features special guest, Tricia Hodges, who lives by the words You ARE an Artist! She begins her interview with one of her other favorite mantras, “Creativity is great theology.” The love Tricia has for chalk pastels as an art medium shines through the candid interview as she answers the Roadschool Moms questions. She talks at length about the importance of art as a regular part of your homeschool program. Tricia encourages roadschoolers to take brain breaks with short art projects when facing hard lessons such as math. Her reminder to think of smiles as rewards also encourages homeschool moms to incorporate art whenever possible. Tricia suggests that art for just 10 minutes weekly will make a positive impact in a homeschool schedule.

Another quote from Tricia’s art box is Pablo Picasso’s, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” With this thought, she describes how chalk pastels are a great choice for all ages. Further, using pastels is not complicated. As a matter of fact, you can start using chalk pastels today with only three things:

A good starter set of chalk pastels (soft pastels)
Paper that is on-hand (construction, copy paper, etc.)
Art tutorials (easily accessed online)

MB talks about the Road Trip Teacher crew’s favorite resource from chalkpastel.com, the American Landmarks ebook. Tricia reveals it is one of the courses now offered as an online video tutorial. Using this one resource, this affiliate talks about how easy it is to integrate an engaging art project into destination unit studies or projects.

Looking for a roadmap for your next learning adventure? Scroll through the RSM library on iTunes to find more than 140 podcast replays.

The Official Sponsor for Season 10 of Roadschool Moms

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Filed Under: Road School Moms Tagged With: american landmarks, art, chalk pastel, creative, homeschool, independent learner, learning adventure, music, planning, roadschool, roadschool moms, squilt, time4learning, tricia hodges

Learning How to Budget Your Time

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

July 22, 2017 by Lindsey Stomberg Leave a Comment

Take control of the time God has given you to have a more productive homeschool year and to cultivate a more peaceful environment at home. Join Lindsey this week on this podcast from Talking Mom 2 Mom.

Helpful Link from the Talking Mom 2 Mom Podcast’s Blog:

5 Ways to Declutter Your Schedule: Stop Being Busy and Start Being Productive

Other Talking Mom2Mom Links:

Talking Mom2Mom Website

Facebook Page

Podcast Homepage

From the Blog:
5 Ways to Declutter Your Schedule: Stop Being Busy and Start Being Productive!
by Lindsey S
I joke that my days are fueled on coffee, stress, and the grace of God, but honestly, that isn’t too far from the truth. I find myself rarely feeling content to just be still because my mind is always racing to the next thing on the list. If I am sitting with my husband in the evenings, I am thinking about how messy the house is. If I am homeschooling the kids, I am obsessing over all that needs to be completed at work. When I am working at home, I feel guilty because I would rather be with my kids.

I do many things, but I never do any of them well, because I am doing too much.

As women, wives, and mothers we have an unrivaled ability to manufacture guilt about the things we can’t control and we have a debilitating habit of adding more to our plates that only exacerbates the chaos.

Maybe you are struggling with all of the same emotions and thoughts that I have. Have you tried for years to fix whatever is deficient within you to make yourself manage your time more effectively? Do you awake with grand plans for your day but the moment your schedule is diverted you are scrambling for a grip as your day slips through your fingers? Do you battle regret, anxiety, discontentment? Do you feel like your health is failing due to years of unfettered stress?

Busy moms everywhere want a dose of the Proverbs 31 woman’s initiative, a schedule that works, and a nap, am I right? Here are 5 ways to inject some more discipline in your life to render the results that your heart longs for. (Continue…)

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Filed Under: Talking Mom2Mom Tagged With: homeschool routine, organization, planning, routine, schedule, Time Management

Hands-On Science

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

July 17, 2017 by MaryBeth Leave a Comment

Hands-on science is on the agenda for roadschooling families everywhere who are planning a successful roadschool year. Episode #137 comes to you live from the the State of Washington as well as Central Florida. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, recaps her roadschool week as they have traveled into the Evergreen State. From across the country, Mary Beth Goff, calls in from on the road to reveal the Road Trip Teacher crew is traveling north towards the Midwest.

The highlight of the week for KT is the revelation that Half Price Books is not only a website but also a resource with store locations! She is enamored to find that she is located within just miles of an outlet store! Her most fabulous find on her recent trip there was a book she remembers from her childhood titled From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The book is next in line for the Travaglino family read-aloud. MB admits she is playing catch up as her family is still reading The Twenty-One Balloons. For those keeping score, it’s KT-3, MB-1 on the summer books reading list of accomplishments.

Listeners hear a few words from the Season 10 series sponsor, Time4Learning. The comprehensive K-12 online curriculum is a favorite from the Roadschool Moms Approved resources and used by both KT and MB in their own rolling homeschools. The coupon code “roadschooler” is shared for those who want to test drive a trial run of the online resource.

This episode features special guest, Luke Gilkerson. Luke and his wife, Trisha, are behind the plethora of resources to raise strong families from Intoxicated on Life. He shares his thoughts on the importance of science in a homeschool plan. By including science, Luke advises roadschoolers will learn “how to think” by the process of observing, testing a hypothesis, and finding the conclusion. He advocates learning by experience. This homeschool dad of four boys, reminds listeners how easy it is to incorporate science into daily routines (like when his 8-yr old made slime last week.) He suggests that by weaving areas of science that are naturally interesting to your kids, it is simple to integrate the subject into the core curriculum of the 3 Rs.

The creator of Experience Astonomy, Luke also brings all the details of this hands-on science curriculum available for all ages of roadschoolers. The elementary level is designed to engage young minds and put the fun back into the homeschool day. The upper level of Experience Astronomy is best suited for ages 12 and over. High schoolers can earn course credit with the Advanced Mastery option for the course.

Engaging Video Lessons
Hands-on Activities
Recommended Reading List
Weekly Opportunity for Outside Observations (upper level)

The Roadschool Moms team shares their favorite hands-on science resources with listeners from their combined OTR years of over a decade. Mary Beth reminds the audience that two of her roadschoolers used Experience Astrology last year and loved it. Other resources the dynamic duo recommends include these Top 3:

Looking for a roadmap for your next learning adventure? Scroll through the RSM library on iTunes to find more than 130 podcast replays.

The Official Sponsor for Season 10 of Roadschool Moms

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Filed Under: Road School Moms Tagged With: astronomy, experience, explore, gilkerson, hands on, homeschool, independent learner, intoxicated on life, learning adventure, notebooking, planning, roadschool, roadschool moms, science, time4learning

Facing the Fall

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

July 14, 2017 by Kathy Lee Leave a Comment

Since Ashley and I were talking summer, we thought we would also talk about the thing that comes right after summer… THE FALL. It seems that as soon as July 4th passes, my brain immediately turns to the fall and making plans.

Over the years I have learned a few things that help me as I face the next school year. We talked about that today on the show.

1. Pray – Get alone and reflect on last year… what worked, what didn’t. What was challenging for the children? For you?
2. Prioritize – Set priorities for your family this year. What will you focus on? What will your kids focus on? Anything unusual happening in your year such as; building a house, having a baby, moving to New Zealand?
3. Plan and prepare – Know how you work and plan according to that. Gather materials, create spaces and work on a routine your family can follow.
4. Pass on the rest!!! Say it with me…. NO, NO, NO. So many people grab at homeschool moms because it is assumed that homeschool moms have tons of free time on their hands. You must so know to the extra noise… making meals, babysitting, leading bible studies, etc… There is a time for all of that, but it isn’t now.

Fall will be here before we know it. I hope you are looking to this new school year with your blessings, I sure am!

Find a way to #sayyes today.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my podcast and leave a review on iTunes!!!

Thank you to The Homegrown Preschooler for sponsoring this Podcast! Check out the blog post Kathy mentioned, Farmhouse Schoolhouse, to read more about A Year of Playing Skillfully.

Also, to thank you for listening, you can receive a 10% discount on any purchase at

The Homegrown Preschooler by using the code, THEREALKATHYLEE.

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Filed Under: The Real Kathy Lee Tagged With: homeschool, lesson planning, planning, the real kathy lee

Building a Strong Math Foundation

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

July 12, 2017 by MaryBeth Leave a Comment

Math is on the minds of the Roadschool Moms team as they look forward to planning another successful roadschool year. Episode #136 comes to you live from the Oregon coast as well as the SouthWest Florida coast. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, recaps her roadschool week in the pacific NorthWest. From across the country, Mary Beth Goff, calls in from Gulf Coast Florida.to catch up with the Road Trip Teacher crew.

Listeners hear a few words from the Season 10 series sponsor, Time4Learning. The comprehensive K-12 online curriculum is a favorite from the Roadschool Moms Approved resources and used by both KT and MB in their own rolling homeschools. The coupon code “roadschooler” is shared for those who want to test drive a trial run of the online resource.

This episode features special guest, Dennis “Mr. D” DiNola who brings the scoop about building a strong math foundation. The creator of the Mr. D Math program talks specifically keeping your kids learning the math language. He reminds listeners that doing math can be like eating vegetables, you might not necessarily like it but you learn to appreciate it.

Mr. D reassures homeschool moms everywhere that it’s ok to take time off for summer. But if summer is a good time for roadschoolers in your rig to focus on math, he gives great summer options. Further, he encourages that students of all ages should be helped as little as possible with their math work. Hit the replay to learn all the details of this revelation that left both Roadschool Moms celebrating in the background.

This experienced educator of nearly three decades shares his favorite online curriculum for elementary and early middle schoolers. Moreover, he reveals that his own kids use it with success. In conclusion, Mr. D talks specifics about his math program and the options roadschoolers have to use it self-paced or in a virtual classroom scenario.

Looking for a roadmap for your next learning adventure? Scroll through the RSM library on iTunes to find more than 130 podcast replays.

The Official Sponsor for Season 10 of Roadschool Moms

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Filed Under: Road School Moms Tagged With: America, experience, explore, geography, history, holidays, homeschool, independence, independent learner, july 4th, Labor Day, learning adventure, memorial day, national, notebooking, planning, reading, roadschool, roadschool moms, time4learning

National Holidays as Roadschool Opportunities

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

July 7, 2017 by MaryBeth Leave a Comment

National holidays are on the minds of the Roadschool Moms duo this week as the Independence Holiday approaches. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, calls in from the beautiful coastal location of Oregon. Mary Beth Goff, the Road Trip Teacher, calls in from across the country in Southwest Florida. Episode #135 kicks off with the over-the-road duo who talk about the benefits of the traveling lifestyle as well as the downside, specifically unexpected repairs.

Listeners hear a few words from the Season 10 series sponsor, Time4Learning. The comprehensive K-12 online curriculum is a favorite from the Roadschool Moms Approved resources and used by both KT and MB in their own rolling homeschools. The coupon code “roadschooler” is shared for those who want to test drive a trial run of the online resource.

On this special episode, Mary Beth, shares her Patriot’s Guide as an example of a unit study resource available for holidays such as July 4th. Specifically, she suggests other resources discussed including lapbooks and even notebooking. She reveals that listeners from this episode who email their location for the upcoming holiday will receive a free downloadable copy of the highlighted roadschool resource.

KT chats a bit about the books that her family is reading this summer. That leads into a discussion about a family read-aloud list specifically for holidays such as July 4th. The Roadschool Moms discuss their 5 Tips for Using National Holidays for Roadschool Opportunities.

Holiday Unit Study
Reading List
Role Play
On Location Opportunities
Other Great Location Benefits

In conclusion, this Roadschool Moms episode wouldn’t be complete without the mention of Morning Time. For more details on that idea, hit the replay on the podcast about Morning Time. The RSM team agrees that holidays present great opportunities to roadschool together in a Morning Time scenario.

Looking for a roadmap for your next learning adventure? Scroll through the RSM library on iTunes to find more than 130 podcast replays.

The Official Sponsor for Season 10 of Roadschool Moms

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Experience America the Beautiful

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

June 28, 2017 by MaryBeth 1 Comment

Experience America, it all it’s beauty, so many different ways! Episode 134 from the Planning a Successful Roadschool Year series puts American history and geography front and center. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, calls in from the beautiful coastal location of Oregon. Mary Beth Goff, the Road Trip Teacher, calls in from across the country in Southwest Florida.

Listeners hear a few words from the Season 10 series sponsor, Time4Learning. The comprehensive K-12 online curriculum is a favorite from the Roadschool Moms Approved resources and used by both KT and MB in their own rolling homeschools. Different topics are covered in all different levels of the Social Studies subject from Time4Learning, many used by this Roadschool 101 crew.

On this special episode, Charlene Notgrass, shares her heart for homeschooling mamas. Likewise, she gives listeners the highlights of engaging curriculum resources from Notgrass Company. Specifically, Charlene talks about the inspiration that led her to write the America the Beautiful history lessons for upper elementary and middle school students. She reveals her favorite resource for this age level is From Adam to Us.

MB chats a bit about other avenues for roadschoolers to explore U.S. history and geography with:

State Study Guides
Reading Across America
Notebooking

Moreover, three high school credits can be earned with Exploring America, another Notgrass title.

In conclusion, this Roadschool Moms episode wouldn’t be complete without the mention of Morning Time. This is their favorite element to the roadschool day. For more details on that idea, hit the replay on the podcast about Morning Time. The RSM team agrees that a family unit study or geography lessons are great starting points for Morning Time. Using the Notgrass title recommended by Charlene, From Adam to Us, would be a perfect Morning Time fit with the audio supplement just recently released.

Looking for a roadmap for your next learning adventure? Scroll through the RSM library on iTunes to find more than 130 podcast replays.

The Official Sponsor for Season 10 of Roadschool Moms

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Filed Under: Road School Moms Tagged With: America, experience, explore, geography, history, homeschool, independent learner, learning adventure, notebooking, notgrass, planning, reading, roadschool, roadschool moms, time4learning