Quarantine School – It gets better from here! – MBFLP 247

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
May 5, 2020 by Leave a Comment


Schools are still out and so’s the jury – could this be a glimpse of your future? To be honest, few people could have dreamed that millions of kids would start learning from home this spring, and nobody consulted the parents whether they felt like giving homeschooling a whirl. The good news is, if you pivot to intentional homeschooling for the fall, you may find it’s much less stress and a lot more interesting. This episode, we’re talking about some of the differences between emergency-level school-at-home and the more routine experience of parent-led home education.

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Planning for College Even During COVID-19 – MBFLP 246

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
April 22, 2020 by Leave a Comment

How can you move forward with college plans during a pandemic?

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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Living through Lockdown – Work and School at Home – MBFLP 243

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
March 26, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Welcome to life during a lockdown! Suddenly a lot of families are unexpected homeschoolers – and a lot of wage earners have “come home” to work near their families. It’s a huge transition, even if you planned it months ahead of time. How can you recognize and start to adjust to the very different reality of working and studying alongside one another? Hal and Melanie have been doing this for over 15 years, and we still have things to sort out and discover. This episode we’re talking about some of that experience!

The first part of this episode, we talk about the transition to teaching at home. There are a lot of resources on this network and the archives of this very program! But the second part, we look at the world of working from home when you’ve been used to an office or cubicle, some privacy and peace, and only adult conversation to distract you.

A Passage We Referenced;

It is vain for you to rise up early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep. (Psalm 127:2 NASB)

Some Other Resources We Mentioned: 

To learn more about Laura Ingalls’ first teaching assignment, check out the book These Happy Golden Years from the “Little House on the Prairie” series.

Want more encouragement about homeschooling in hard times? Check out our workshop on the topic!

Craftsman Crate is our subscription box that gives you real tools, real skills, and an introduction to arts and crafts that can become a lifelong hobby or a home business. Find out more here.

Select episodes of our podcast are also available on YouTube. For a video version, check out our channel here!

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