On Planning Your School Year: The (Almost) Back to School Episode
Release Date: 07/22/2025
On Hymn Study: Homeschooling by Subject
Homeschooling Outside the Box
Over the next few months I’m going to break down each subject and look at how we study it and what our favorite resources are. Our family adheres to To truly understand how to teach each subject, check out Hymn study is one of those easy to neglect subjects. We write it off as unnecessary because we feel it’s either archaic or something that belongs in church (that is if your church still sing hymns. I hope you’re blessed to be at a church that does). But I encourage you to do hymn study with your kids. Singing has been a part of humanity for all of time and it’s only recently that...
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On Planning Your School Year: The (Almost) Back to School Episode
Homeschooling Outside the Box
I’m big on when it comes to but at some point we need to stop thinking and discussing and actually do the thing. This is the nuts and bolts of it all. How do we actually homeschool? What is the super practical application of the beautiful Charlotte Mason Philosophy? If your child is under 6, get all thoughts of curriculum shopping out of your head and commit to these three things instead: Read great books, Go outside, Work on habits. (). That said, sometimes we are so excited about homeschooling, we just want to take it out on someone (i.e. your oldest child). If that’s you, ;) If...
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Replay: The Importance of Humor with Betsy Jenkins from Homeschooling with the Classics
Homeschooling Outside the Box
I am not doing interviews right now, but I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Enjoy! Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart. It requires endurance and initiative. It requires sacrifice and diligence. But it also requires something you might not realize…a sense of humor. We homeschool moms can be so serious; the stakes are high! We’re going against the grain! What if we mess up…this is our kids we’re talking about, after all?! But, but, but…we were never meant to completely reinvent the wheel, and one of the best things we can do for ourselves, our...
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On the High School Years: The Beginning of the End
Homeschooling Outside the Box
If you’re just at the beginning of the high school years, it may feel like the end is still far off but I warn you, the ball sure does start rolling quickly once it starts. The end is nigh, my friend. You’ve been working yourself out of a job and when you make it to the high school years, and you should begin to feel that change. It sounds somber to call it “the end,” but remember it’s just the end of a chapter and not the whole book. You’re still your teen’s parent, after all ;). As I said in , the high school years are a different animal in many ways, the lens often focused on...
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Replay: The Value of Teaching Through Stories with Jim Weiss
Homeschooling Outside the Box
I am not doing interviews right now, but I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Enjoy! Stories have been a part of human history from the very beginning and have been used as a powerful teaching tool throughout the centuries. Teaching through stories is a wonderful way to approach lessons in your homeschool, as well. Jim Weiss is a household name among many homeschoolers. He made his mark by doing this very thing – teaching through stories. His seamless delivery and enchanting ability to tell a great tale allows him to weave important character development and historical...
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Replay: Seeing Autism in a New Light with Bryn Hogan, Executive Director of the Autism Treatment Center of America®
Homeschooling Outside the Box
While I am not able to do interviews right now, I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Join me for the replay of a fantastic interview with Bryn Hogan. Are you ready to see autism in a new light? So often the conversation about autism is surrounded by a list of limitations. And let's face it, living the daily grind as a parent of a child on the spectrum sometimes really highlights those limitations. Join us today as Bryn Hogan, Executive Director of the Autism Treatment Center of America® talks about how the program came to be and what makes it is so radically different (in...
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Replay: Homeschooling High School with Melissa McMahan
Homeschooling Outside the Box
While I am not able to do interviews right now, I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Join me for the replay of a fantastic interview with Melissa McMahan. Homeschooling High School…what is it about this phrase that makes even the most confident homeschool mama shake in her boots a little? The expectations seem to go through the roof. The pressure from the elusive yet always present critics “out there” seems to double. And the group of moms who’ve gone ahead of you who have the credibility to cheer you on seems to thin out drastically the longer you homeschool....
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On the School Years: The K-8 Episode
Homeschooling Outside the Box
This is the crux of it all. When you are homeschooling kids in the K-8 range, you are in the sweet spot, my friend. are largely spent cleaning up messes and putting out fires (hopefully only theoretically ones, but you never know), and trying to get a handle on how to run a home with littles running underfoot. You’re building (whether you realize it or not) and coming up with routines to create a (mostly) well run home. While I would argue that Kindergarten is really part of the early years and doesn’t need to be lumped with the school years, I understand that’s a pretty counter...
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Replay: Why Effective Communication Matters with Andrew Pudewa, Director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing
Homeschooling Outside the Box
While I am not able to do interviews right now, I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Join me for the replay of a fantastic interview with Andrew Pudewa. Are you raising effective communicators? Andrew Pudewa is a well-known name in the homeschool world and for good reason. His ideas on effective communication and the arts of language - listening, speaking, reading, and writing - have helped to shape our homeschool over the years. I'm excited to share with you today some practical and thought-provoking ideas on how to help your child - no matter what his...
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On Rhythms & Routines: The "How to Run Your Day" Episode
Homeschooling Outside the Box
Isn’t this the best month of the year to talk about this? It seems like January is the time we all want to finally get our lives together and give a valiant effort to do so. Despite our best efforts, though, somehow the new of the year wears off over the months and by the time the weather warms, life is in its lovely, unavoidable spiral once more. So why bother? Follow me on Follow me on
info_outlineI’m big on philosophy when it comes to education but at some point we need to stop thinking and discussing and actually do the thing. This is the nuts and bolts of it all.
How do we actually homeschool? What is the super practical application of the beautiful Charlotte Mason Philosophy?
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If your child is under 6, get all thoughts of curriculum shopping out of your head and commit to these three things instead:
Read great books, Go outside, Work on habits. (Trust me).
That said, sometimes we are so excited about homeschooling, we just want to take it out on someone (i.e. your oldest child). If that’s you, consider this. ;) -
If your child is school aged or high school aged, decide if you want to rely on an all-in-one curriculum like Ambleside Online or Simply Charlotte Mason, or if you’d like to piece it together for yourself.
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Figure out what you want to teach each child (individual work) and what you can combine (group work, aka Morning Time). Or flip these if that makes more sense for you.
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Use a planner of some sort to help you stay organized.
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If you are putting together your own curriculum, plan your year/term/week (this podcast breaks this down).
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Decide where these things will fit in your day (routine).
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Cut the fat (we always want to do too much; make Margin now or regret it later).
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Make your list and collect the curriculum and supplies you’ll need (Borrow, bargain-hunt, or buy).
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Pick a start date. I suggest a Wednesday, not a Monday. You can also ease in and start Morning Time only on Monday, add individual readings on Tuesday, shoot for full day on Wednesday or whatever works best for your family. Make start day fun — cook a big delicious breakfast and take “back to school” pictures afterwards.
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Adjust the plan as needed. Remember, curriculum is a tool, not the master ;)
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Resources*
All six of Charlotte Mason’s volumes, but especially this one
Sarah Mackenzie’s Teaching from Rest
Ambleside Online is a time-tested, all-in-one (FREE!) curriculum
Simply Charlotte Mason, especially the podcast and the curriculum builder
The Lifegiving Home by Sally Clarkson and Sarah Clarkson
Modern Miss Mason, especially her book
Wild + Free, especially their conference, content bundles, and this book
Get Started Homeschooling: Begin
Get Started Homeschooling: Methods, Teaching Space & Routine
Get Started Homeschooling: Subjects to Teach & Curriculum to Choose
Get Started Homeschooling: Organizing & Planning
Essential Rhythms for Busy Days
Homeschool Rhythms: Reading Aloud
Homeschool Rhythms: Individual Work
Homeschool Rhythms: Group Work
Homeschool Rhythms: Narrations
Homeschool Rhythms: Morning Time
On Littles (for those with children age 6 and under)
On Principles 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15: The Curriculum Issue
***The (Very Updated) Get Started Homeschooling Guide ***
If you get stuck, email/message me to find out more about my private or group consultations to help you plan your homeschool year.
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