Homeschooling Outside the Box
Homeschooling Outside the Box is the podcast that encourages and equips moms who homeschool an outside-the-box child. Join the host, Cindy Rinna, as she talks about Charlotte Mason education, the joys and challenges of homeschooling Outside-the-Box kids, and creating a homeschool that fits your unique family.
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Replay: Homeschooling High School with Melissa McMahan
03/09/2025
Replay: Homeschooling High School with Melissa McMahan
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. Melissa McMahan – YouTube host and mother of five lovely daughters – has homeschooled from the beginning and is still going strong with high schoolers in the mix and she’s here to tell you…don’t give up. High school can be a really wonderful and rewarding time with your children despite the extra weight that it brings. Join us today as Melissa encourages us to find the joy in homeschooling our children during high school and use it as a time of connection and preparation for their launch into the world. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL HEAR: Why you should take the high school years seriously…but not in a fearful way How humility is the secret trick to homeschooling high school How mom’s role shifts in the high school years How to have a “together time” in the high school years How the high school years look when you have younger ones The value of car time Why homeschooling high school is ideal for OTB kids Why you shouldn’t quit before the harvest All about the coolest field trip Melissa ever took her girls on How to get prepared to launch your kids into the world
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On the School Years: The K-8 Episode
02/23/2025
On the School Years: The K-8 Episode
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 cultural opinion. For the sake of this article let’s agree that we’re talking about kids who have started formal schooling, around age 6 or 7, or . The high school years are a different animal in many ways, the lens often focused on the future. More complex subject matter, heavier work loads, afternoon jobs, friends, formals, sports, hobbies, dual enrollment classes, prep for the ACT, and post-high school plans disrupt what was previously a lovely and semi-predictable homeschool routine. While it’s a good, healthy, and necessary thing to grow, the bittersweet truth is your homeschool will begin to feel different as you have less control over everyone’s schedule. Don’t get me wrong; I love both the precious moments of the pre-school years and the independent nature of the high school years but when most people think of homeschooling — at least the homeschool of Instagram reels — I’m sure images from the K-8 years are what come to mind. And not without good reason. Read more on Follow me on Check out my for archives and more
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Replay: Why Effective Communication Matters with Andrew Pudewa, Director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing
02/07/2025
Replay: Why Effective Communication Matters with Andrew Pudewa, Director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing
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 challenges - to become a more effective communicator and to understand why it's so important. In This Episode You'll Hear: how you can help your children to grow in their thinking and communication skills how the Four Arts of Language will make you think differently about Language Arts why age and ability have little to do with each other why IEW's products work so well with all children, no matter what their challenges Show Notes
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On Rhythms & Routines: The "How to Run Your Day" Episode
01/30/2025
On Rhythms & Routines: The "How to Run Your Day" Episode
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
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Replay: Reclaiming a Wild + Free Childhood with Ainsley Arment
01/07/2025
Replay: Reclaiming a Wild + Free Childhood with Ainsley Arment
In case you missed it... Join me for the replay of a fantastic interview with Ainsley Arment. Childhood is a unique growing time for our children; educators, parents, and experts have known this for years and yet childhood often gets swept under the rug at the expense of rigorous academics and a schedule full of structured activities. Children are, for the first time in history, busy. Schedules have largely replaced curiosity. Organized programs have taken priority over free play. And if we're really honest, I think us mamas can admit...it's just too much. What would happen if we embraced a more "wild and free" approach to childhood in our homeschools? What type of atmosphere might we be able to create for our families? The Wild + Free movement had its humble beginnings about six years ago when Ainsley Arment started an Instagram account to gather and inspire other moms in quest of this "wild and free" type of childhood for their children. What began as a few moms sharing experiences and tips on the internet has grown into an online and in-person community of over 177,000 mamas strong. Wild & Free is not a method; it transcends - and therefore welcomes - many homeschool philosophies and makes room for all mamas to educate their children in a way that works best for their family. Join us today as Ainsley and I explore the benefits of living Wild + Free in your homeschool. In this episode you’ll hear: Ainsley's journey to becoming a Wild + Free homeschooler What a Wild + Free education looks like Why childhood matters & how we can preserve it Ainsley's favorite parts of homeschooling, as well as the most challenging What we're reading right now How to balance it all...or not ;) How to be a Wild + Free mama Show Notes
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On Principles 11-15: The Curriculum Episode
12/29/2024
On Principles 11-15: The Curriculum Episode
This is it, guys. The final episode of the series. We made it. It’s a big one, too — five principles jammed into one article but they all have to do with wonderful, wonderful curriculum. Read and subscribe on . Connect with me on .
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On Christmas Cheer: December Everything
12/10/2024
On Christmas Cheer: December Everything
Ah, Christmas. The lights. The music. The traditions. The bustle. The gatherings. The Reason for the season. Starting this month, I’ll be gifting my paid subscribers with a bundle of rhythms to help celebrate the season from month to month. They’re called “Everything” guides. If you’ve been around for a while, these are the classic everything guides reimagined and much improved ;). In the spirit of Christmas, I’ll be giving access to everyone this month only. I hope this resource blesses you and — if you’re not already — that you’ll consider coming along next month as a paid subscriber. I hope you find some great ideas to help you savor December and celebrate this time of year in a way that is simple and special at the same time. Click here to enjoy . Merry Christmas to you and yours, Cindy Rinna Read and subscribe
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On Principles 18 & 19: The Reason Episode
12/10/2024
On Principles 18 & 19: The Reason Episode
Principle 18 & 19: The Way of the Reason We should teach children, also, not to lean (too confidently) unto their own understanding because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration of (a) mathematical truth and (b) of initial ideas accepted by the will. In the former case reason is, perhaps, an infallible guide but in the latter is not always a safe one, for whether the initial idea be right or wrong reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs. Therefore children should be taught as they become mature enough to understand such teaching that the chief responsibility; which rests upon them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of ideas presented to them. To help them in this choice we should afford them principles of conduct and a wide range of fitting knowledge. Reference: Volume 6, Chapter 9 If there is one principle that could have a ripple impact on our current culture, I think it’s this one. Understanding the importance as well as the place of reason is crucial and I think it’s a gift we can give our kids, especially in their teen years. Read it on and see all the links
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On Principles 16 & 17: The Will Episode
10/22/2024
On Principles 16 & 17: The Will Episode
Principle 16 & 17: The Way of the Will We may offer to children two guides to moral and intellectual self-management which we may call ‘the Way of the Will’ and ‘the Way of Reason.’ The Way of the Will: Children should be taught (a) to distinguish between ‘I want’ and ‘I will.’ (b) That the way to will effectively is to turn our thoughts away from that which we desire but do not will. (c) That the best way to turn our thoughts is to think of or do some quite different thing, entertaining or interesting. (d) That after a little rest in this way, the will returns to its work with new vigour. (This adjust of the will is familiar to us as diversion, whose office it is to ease us for a time from will effort that we may ‘will’ again with added power. The use of suggestion as an aid to the will is to be deprecated, as tending to stultify and stereotype character. It would seem that spontaneity is a condition of development., and that human nature needs the discipline of failure as well as of success.) Reference: Volume 6, Chapter 8 “The great things of life, life itself, are not easy of definition,” Charlotte begins and true, we must ponder, ‘what is the will?’ As it concerns us here, her definition of its function is sufficient: “Its function is to choose, to decide, and there seems to be no doubt that the greater becomes the effort of decision the weaker grows the general will.”
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On Grief: The Interruption Episode
10/20/2024
On Grief: The Interruption Episode
I’m supposed to be working on my next episode of the “Summer with Charlotte” series that I’ve been slogging through this summer these past few months but after wrestling through fits and starts in my head I realize the answer is, as usual, simple and honest, if not immediately obvious. I can’t. Not, I can’t ever. I just can’t yet because something has happened and writing anything before you, dear listener, know about it feels incredibly dishonest.
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On Principles 9 & 10: The Mind Episode
09/18/2024
On Principles 9 & 10: The Mind Episode
Principle 9 & 10: How We Make Use of Mind “We hold that the child’s mind is no mere sac to hold ideas but is rather, if the figure may be allowed, a ‘spiritual organism’ with an appetite for all knowledge. This is its proper diet with which it is prepared to deal and what it is able to digest and assimilate as the body does food-stuffs. “Such a doctrine as the Herbartian, that the mind is a receptacle, lays the stress of education, the preparation of food in enticing morsels, duly ordered, upon the teacher. Children taught on this principle are in danger of receiving much teaching but little knowledge; the teacher’s axiom being ‘what a child learns matters less than how he learns it.’” Reference: Volume 6, Chapter 7 Charlotte combines these two principles in one chapter and it’s pretty impressive that she felt so strongly against his approach that she calls out one particular educational guru of her day in her actual principles. So who was this guy?
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Beyond Morning Time: A Conversation with Cindy Rollins
09/03/2024
Beyond Morning Time: A Conversation with Cindy Rollins
Cindy Rollins homeschooled her nine children for over thirty years. She is the host of podcast and a co-host with Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks of the popular . She also curates the “Over the Back Fence Newsletter” at . She is the author of ; , and . I had the privilege of meeting Cindy at a conference here in north Alabama this past spring and I’m thrilled to share our conversation with you today. She has so much insight to offer to the homeschool community and loves to encourage moms so I know you’re going to love this episode. Join us today as Cindy and I discuss a variety of ideas near and dear to homeschoolers’ hearts. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL HEAR: Cindy’s journey from her blog to Morning Time for Moms Why it’s important to encourage the next generation of homeschoolers even when it’s hard About the joy of learning alongside your child instead of giving in to insecurity Why you should give the humanities a chance even if they’re not your preference The importance of poetry Tips for the high school years with teen guys Ideas for a Charlotte Mason Sunday School How to connect with Cindy SHOW NOTES Be sure to subscribe to my to be notified of new articles. Follow me on . If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, subscribe, or share :) When you do, it helps to spread the word and encourage other moms just like you.
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On Principles 5-8: The Instruments of Education Episode
08/29/2024
On Principles 5-8: The Instruments of Education Episode
Principle 5: Three Instruments of Education Therefore, we are limited to three educational instruments - the atmosphere of environment, the discipline of habit, and the presentation of living ideas. The P.N.E.U. Motto is: “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline and a life.” Reference: Volume 6, Chapter 6 We saw last time that there are quite a few wrong paths to take when approaching education that may be not only be our knee-jerk reaction but also taken with the best of intentions. These paths may even “work” but today Charlotte will show us a better approach. She says, “there are but three left for our use and to each of these we must give careful study or we shall not realize how great a scope is left to us.” These are not the three measly options left over but three perspectives that open a wide lens for us to see education through and gift our child with. These three ideas together are the legs of a stool that will stand strong when used together. Listen in to hear the three instruments of education. Join me next time as we cover principles 9 & 10. Be sure to subscribe to my to see all the links and be notified of new articles. You can also follow along right here on my podcast as well as on my . If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review :).
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On Principles 3 & 4: The Posture Episode
08/03/2024
On Principles 3 & 4: The Posture Episode
This is the third article in my “Summer with Charlotte” series. If you missed the first two, you can read and . Let’s jump in. Principle 3: Authority and Docility The principles of Authority on the one hand and Docility on the other are natural, necessary, and fundamental. Principle 4: The Sacredness of Personality These principles (i.e. authority and docility) are limited by the respect due to the personality of children which may not be encroached upon whether by the direct use of fear or love, suggestion or influence, or by undue play upon any one natural desire. Join me next time as we cover principles 5 - 8. Be sure to subscribe to my to read the article, see all the links, and be notified of new articles. You can also follow along on my podcast, , and my . If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review :).
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On Principles 1, 2 & 20: The Defining Episode
07/09/2024
On Principles 1, 2 & 20: The Defining Episode
Principle 1: Children are Born Persons “No sooner doth the truth…. come into the soul’s sight, but the soul knows her to be he, first and old acquaintance.” “The consequence of truth is great, therefore the judgment of it must not be negligent.” Reference: Volume 6, Chapter 2 Here Charlotte quotes Benjamin Whichcote, who was the founding father of Cambridge and a puritan divine (an archaic word for theologian). I won’t attempt to unpack his words but I will say that with these quotes she is setting the stage to highlight the importance of truth and its inseparable affiliation with the soul. To understand Charlotte’s first principle you have to know who she was talking to. The Victorian era may have been coming to a close by the time she published A Philosophy of Education, but she originally said this in her first Home Education volume and was very much talking to Victorian educators and parents. To say a child was “born a person” carries a distinction that we take for granted today. Of course a child is born a person, we think. What else would he be born as? “But truths get flat and wonders stale upon us,” Charlotte said and isn’t that right? We read our bibles every day and skim the details, “yes, yes…the garden, the flood, the gospel, and so on…” but take the gravity of that truth lightly and while small children wonder at the world around them we stroll carelessly past a robin’s nest. How quickly we breeze past what is too familiar.
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On Education: The Charlotte Mason Episode
06/28/2024
On Education: The Charlotte Mason Episode
Where do I even begin? For the better part of twelve years I have been writing (and reading and podcasting and speaking) about Charlotte Mason. I’d like to think I’ve hit that 10,000 hours expert level of knowledge about her but truth be told there is still much to learn. I’m being totally serious when I say Charlotte is in my top five people who I want to meet in heaven. I intend to have many a tea time with her discussing great books. It seems the more you know about something the harder it is to condense that information into something tangible and simple. Something about not seeing the forest for the trees comes to mind and her philosophies have become so beautifully interwoven with our life that it’s hard to separate it out when someone asks about how we homeschool. What is the Charlotte Mason method? Is it narration? Picture study? Music? Going outside? Good books? Yes, but…. Who was Charlotte Mason? A British educator who revolutionized the system in her time but has been all but lost to history and looked over by modern “progressive” educators? Yes, but…. Her legacy, or rather, the legacy of her educational philosophy, is so much more. Her philosophy of education was so influential that it transcended the realms of the Victorian classroom and has been entrusted to homeschoolers and small private schools today. It traveled across the pond from lovely Ambleside in the Lake District to my beloved United States and all the way into my home in north Alabama. How? Listen in to find out
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On Nature: The Great Outdoors Episode
06/09/2024
On Nature: The Great Outdoors Episode
“Never be within doors when you can rightly be without.” It’s one of the first Charlotte Mason adages I learned by heart. I use it all the time to this day. I bet it’ll be one of those sayings my kids will remember when they’re fifty and say with a smile - albeit a slight roll of the eyes - “my mom was always saying…” and I’m so happy to think that. When God made humans, He put them in a garden. Not a house, not a cubicle, but out of doors. We were not created to be inside as much as we are. You hear about “new” ways to be healthy like or beach yoga and it’s important to remember that getting outside is not something we are adding to civilization; it’s something we need to return to. SHOW NOTES:
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To the Pre-School Mom
03/10/2024
To the Pre-School Mom
While becoming a parent is the true beginning of the journey, the preschool years bring a certain amount of well, uncertainty…for those of us who embark on the adventure of homeschooling. When is “the beginning” of their education? What should education look like in the early years? The culture tells us more is better, and the sooner the better. But Charlotte Mason referred to these formative, early pre-school years as “a quiet growing time.” Children learn through play and experience and these years are best spent growing up alongside the example of mom, dad, and older siblings in the most natural and nourishing enviornment – home. SHOW NOTES Don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, or share! Follow me on and
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The Philosophy Episode
03/02/2024
The Philosophy Episode
What is education? What are your family values? What type of family culture are you working to create? What type of people do you hope to help your kids become? Mark Twain once famously said, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” Education means so much more than curriculum; it is the cultivation of a person and a philosophy of education needs to reflect the type of person you hope to help your child become (and the person you are working to become, for that matter).
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The Winter Episode
01/29/2024
The Winter Episode
Winter has the propensity to bring burn-out for homeschoolers but it doesn't have to be that way. Today I'll talk about ways to avoid burn-out and how to enjoy the coziness of winter. Show Notes Homeschool Rhythms: Connect with Me Don't forget to rate & review :)
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Essential Rhythms for Busy Days
11/19/2023
Essential Rhythms for Busy Days
With the holidays around the corner, there are bound to be some busy days that will rock your normal homeschool routine. Those days are not lost, though. There’s a simple way to stay productive and relaxed when a hectic schedule demands it. Tune in to see how we do it. SHOW NOTES
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How to Read A Lot Even As a Busy Mom
11/07/2023
How to Read A Lot Even As a Busy Mom
If you've ever struggled to fit reading into your life as a busy homeschool mom, this is the episode for you! Join me as I tell you how to fit a true feast into the nooks and crannies of your day. Show Notes
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The Autumn Episode
10/01/2023
The Autumn Episode
Bring on the sweaters and boots and pumpkin spice lattes! Autumn is in full swing by now with falling leaves, crisp mornings, and night creeping in earlier and earlier. I like to take time to reflect as fall begins in earnest; what changes do we need to make in routines and atmosphere to get ready for a new season? Which traditions are we looking forward to the most and are there any we want to let go of? And how can I bottle everything that makes fall the loveliest time of the year? The fragrance of spices, the glow of a candle, goldenrod swaying in a breeze that is still warm but warning of a coming chill. It’s the poem, “Something Told the Wild Geese” and the actual geese flying overhead in the morning. It’s the copper and crimson and buttery yellow leaves as the trees beginning to change, the sound of folksy coffee shop music as the sun sets earlier and earlier. It’s stacks of familiar books mingling with new reads brought by the school year. It’s being ready to say good-bye to one season and welcome another with a full heart. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL HEAR: What autumn looks like for us Rhythms we keep Books we’re reading SHOW NOTES
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How to Grow a Homeschool Group (and if you should) with Danielle Easley, co-founder of Connect
08/04/2023
How to Grow a Homeschool Group (and if you should) with Danielle Easley, co-founder of Connect
If you've listened to Part I of this episode (How to Start a Homeschool Group and why you should), you'll be delighted to hear this continuation on what to do when the group starts to grow and take on a life of its own! IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL HEAR: How teens make a difference for the group How privacy plays into your group's growth Communicating with your growing group Membership fees and insurance All the legal mumbo-jumbo Icky issues like dress code and phone use Should you grow? Picking venues How to build sustainable leadership Working together as a group How events change as you grow Knowing when you're big enough
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The Summer Episode
06/12/2023
The Summer Episode
Doesn’t summertime bring out the child in us all? Swimming in the scorching heat, drinking lemonade, inhaling the wafting scent of the grill, listening for cicadas, watching for fireflies…there is a sense of wonder that comes with summer. Use this month to tap into your inner child: Stop and smell the gardenias and jasmine. Take time. Slow down. Play and explore the great outdoors. Soak in summer and all of its splendor. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL HEAR: What summer looks like for us Rhythms we keep Books we’re reading Why you don’t have to do a summer camp Why being bored is a good thing SHOW NOTES
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I'm Back!
04/17/2023
I'm Back!
It's been a while...but I'm back and I'm so excited to be with you again! Catch up on what's new and what to look forward to. Or, if you're brand new, get to know a little more about You are very welcome here! You can also check out the new and
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Homeschool Rhythms: Rest Time
11/24/2021
Homeschool Rhythms: Rest Time
I know some of you might have the urge to check out right now thinking your children have aged out of this time of day but I assure you, it is for all ages…including you, mama. Rest time is a beautiful hour of the day when you can take a few deep breaths, make a fresh cup of coffee, and reset for your afternoon.
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How to Start a Homeschool Group (and why you should) with Danielle Easley, co-founder of Connect
11/10/2021
How to Start a Homeschool Group (and why you should) with Danielle Easley, co-founder of Connect
For decades homeschoolers have been plagued by the question, “what about socialization” from well-meaning (and let’s be honest, sometimes not so well-meaning…) neighbors, family, and friends. The question chafes at us because it assumes that the minute we begin homeschooling, we hole up in our homes and avoid all contact with any other humans. That’s just not the case though.
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Homeschool Rhythms: Reading Aloud
10/19/2021
Homeschool Rhythms: Reading Aloud
So far in this “Homeschool Rhythms” series we’ve talked about morning time, narration, getting ready, group work, and individual work. We’ve moved our way through morning activities and today we’re going to talk about reading aloud!
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Homeschool Rhythms: Individual Work
10/12/2021
Homeschool Rhythms: Individual Work
When you ask a seasoned homeschooler about structuring the day, you will often hear the same refrain: “combine as many subjects as you can.” Group work is the easiest way to make that happen. But what about those other subjects? The ones that children really need a certain set of skills to master?
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