On Planning Your School Year: The (Almost) Back to School Episode
Release Date: 07/22/2025
On Reflection & Expectation
Homeschooling Outside the Box
Thank you for joining me for my 100th episode! This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. It’s the “already, not yet” week. We have already experienced most of the year — we’ve made it through Christmas morning, decking the halls, singing carols, and slowly, slowly, we are emerging from our cocoa coma to realize a new year is upon us. This new year is a gift full of anticipation and though there are no guarantees, we make our plans, say our prayers, set our goals, and hope for a tomorrow better than yesterday, as good as yesterday may have been. Yet those of us who have lived...
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Replay: 10 Favorite Family Christmas Traditions
Homeschooling Outside the Box
Christmas is no ordinary time of year. It intoxicates our senses; the air smells of pine and sugar. The days are filled with music and stories. The soft, warm sleeves on our arms and thick mittens on our hands and hat on our head triggers our mind to think cozy thoughts despite the biting cold. Our taste buds crave cocoa and peppermint. Our children’s eyes glow with the sparkle of twinkle lights reflecting in them. And our hearts yearn for something…something more…something transcendent…something that seems just beyond our reach yet simultaneously living inside us. The “Christmas...
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Replay: Embracing Your Child's Differences with Nathan Clarkson
Homeschooling Outside the Box
I am not doing interviews right now, but I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Enjoy! Do you find it easy to embrace your child’s differences? As new parents – or even “not yet” parents – we can have many dreams and ideas about what our children are going to be like. Sometimes we are accurate about personality traits or hair color or interests but often God blesses us with children who have differences we really didn’t expect. We then have the choice – do we push against these differences or press into them? Join us today as actor, author & filmmaker,...
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On Memory Work: Homeschooling by Subject
Homeschooling Outside the Box
The phrase “memory work” is one that can carry baggage for people. The act of memorizing something may bring to mind a collection of facts you memorized as a child that you now deem useless such as the planets or the names of the bones in the body. You may think of learning scripture verses in exchange for candy or cramming gobs of information into your head the night before an exam. You may think of your phone number or address and yes, memory work can include these things, but the heart of memory work is a very different thing than mind-numbing memorization.
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Replay: Poetry & Teatime with Julie Bogart
Homeschooling Outside the Box
I am not doing interviews right now, but I want to bring you some great talks from past seasons. Enjoy! Do you consider poetry to be a staple of your homeschool? Oftentimes when the subject of poetry comes up with other parents, even the most enthusiastic homeschoolers will admit that they shy away from this subject. When I press to understand why that is, the answer is usually that they themselves are not excited about poetry – they consider it either intimidating or boring or have had such a bad experience with poetry that they loathe it entirely. Join me today as I talk with Julie Bogart...
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On Poetry: Homeschooling by Subject
Homeschooling Outside the Box
Do you consider poetry to be a staple of your homeschool? Of your life? Oftentimes when the subject of poetry comes up with other parents, even the most enthusiastic homeschoolers will admit that they shy away from this subject. When I press to understand why that is, the answer is usually that they themselves are not excited about poetry. They consider it either intimidating or boring or they have had such a bad experience with poetry that they loathe it entirely. But poetry matters.
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On Folk Songs: Homeschooling by Subject
Homeschooling Outside the Box
This is going to sound familiar; a lot of what I had to say about applies to folk songs, as well. Of course, there is a sacredness that goes along with hymns that you don’t find in folk songs but that doesn’t mean we should skip them. Folk songs pass culture from one generation to the next and help us learn about certain time periods, people, and places. They’re also a pretty trustworthy source of entertainment for your kids. Like I said , singing has been a part of humanity for all of time and it’s only recently that we’ve consigned it to the “experts” and you really only hear...
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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...
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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