The Stay-at-Homeschooling Mom Podcast

Mary Ellen and Ginny began homeschooling before the age of influencers. They say that was an enormous blessing because there is a lot of bad advice out there. 

The good news is that, using their combined over 50 years of homeschool experience, they have this to share: "The 5 Worst Pieces of Homeschooling Advice." 

Program Notes:

Let's jump into some bad homeschooling advice.

1. If it's hard, you are doing it wrong.  F...

Homeschooling can take a lot of time.  Then, we have to cook meals, clean the house, and do laundry. Oh, and do the shopping and cart kids around to activities.  

It all can seem daunting, but Ginny and Mary Ellen share their proven solution: Take some of those chores off our plates and put them smack on the kids' plates.  

Program Notes:

1. Start early - really early!  As soon as they can walk.  

• When you change a diaper, hav...

Does teaching Shakespeare, the Constitution, or Apologetics terrify you? The fear can arrive even before high school. When my grandkids took 5th-grade life science, my DIL did a way better job teaching it than I would have. She’s a nurse and understands that stuff!

First potential solution:  

Ask among your friends, neighbors, and folks at church. Maybe a mom who quit her nursing job when she had kids wants to make a few extra bucks ...

Motivating our students can be an uphill battle. We want them to focus and work hard, but they are inclined by their nature and encouraged by society to be distracted. There is always something more interesting or fun to do.

Today, Mary Ellen and Ginny open their tool kit of ways to encourage our children to work hard and develop good study skills without it being a constant battle. Hang on, this will be fun.

Program Notes

Motivation ...

Feeling isolated on your homeschooling journey because you live “out in the boonies”? Worried your kids will miss out on friends—or that you’ll never meet another mom who “gets” it?
Today Ginny and Mary Ellen tackle the unique challenges of homeschooling with little local support. Drawing on decades of experience, they share concrete ways to build community, keep kids socialized, and stay sane—no matter how many miles lie between yo...

Remember when you started homeschooling your oldest in kindergarten? People would ask, "What will you do when you have to teach trigonometry?" No worries, that was years away.

Then high school arrives. But fear not—Mary Ellen and Ginny homeschooled through high school and produced great adults. Here’s how they did it and how you can, too.

8 Steps to High School Success

1. Set an alarm and get an early start in the morning, ...

Why do we homeschool?  Don't like the public schools in your district?  Can't afford the Catholic school?  Or there is no Catholic school?  Family togetherness?  Better academics?   

All are good reasons, but today, Ginny and Mary Ellen discuss why most of us need to start and keep homeschooling our children. If this were Star Trek, we would call it The Prime Directive.

Show Notes:

There are days when sainthood is not our fi...

Isn’t it funny that one meal seems to take up 9/10ths of our brain daily? Dinner or meal planning is one of our most requested topics. We’ll answer these questions and more:

·      What are easy meals? 

·      How do I plan for meals?

·      How much should the children be helping?  

Dinner is the big kahuna in terms of time, expense, and general stress but this will help:

8 Rules to Cook By to organize and streamline for healthy econom...

Online conversations about how challenging homeschooling can include some version of, "They just don't listen to me," "They dawdle all day" or "They argue constantly." 

If this sounds too familiar and is not what you expected from your homeschoolers, join Ginny and Mary Ellen in a crash-course in teaching good attitudes and better behavior. These lessons will last a lifetime.

Show Notes:

Often, homes...

Staying healthy as a busy homeschool mom is not easy, mostly because moms put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own. In the hustle and bustle of life, it is easy to neglect your own health, and that will eventually catch up with you. Let’s talk about ways to stay on top of your health and wellness to keep up with your busy life.

Show Notes:   

Let’s talk about ways to stay on top of your health and wellness to keep up with your ...

Brittany contacted us.  She has two younger children in primary grades, a toddler and a newborn, and wants to give them a thorough academic education.  She's willing to do the major subjects separately but wondered if she could combine other subjects, like science and history.  Combining students in different grades is a question we frequently get, and we discuss it in today's podcast.

Show Notes:

Put your kids in community soccer,...

Jennifer contacted us and asked for any tips we have about raising teens. It's a tough time to be raising adolescents, and there is little support for a Catholic lifestyle. In addition, the Internet and video games dominate the lives of many of them.  

We thought we were doing a great job homeschooling them, but they roll their eyes like their public school counterparts.  What is a Catholic parent to do?  We tackle that in today's ...

So often, homeschool days can devolve into tantrums, tears, and recriminations, and that’s just mom.  Meltdowns and bad days happen, and we have to make our peace with that, but there are ways that you can set yourself up for success. To help you, Mary Ellen and Ginny introduce seven rules to set you up, reduce the bad days, and help your children enjoy their studies more. 

Show Notes:

A big part of having a successful homeschool ...

Angela’s child is an auditory learner, and she wanted some tips to help him.  Her request made us think about how most students have a dominant learning style. And how we can fashion our homeschooling to help them succeed. 

Today, we learn about the four major learning styles, how to work with our kids’ styles, and the importance of preparing them not to grow too dependent on their dominant style.

Okay, let’s define four major lear...

Kimberly asked Ginny and Mary Ellen how to juggle homeschooling when you have a huge family. You'll love every minute of their humorous reflections and insightful advice. 

You may have a married kid or two with grandchildren dropping by while you're planning weddings and still homeschooling high school, middle school, and elementary school.  Oh, and you're trying to keep the house clean enough so the Board of Health doesn't put you...

We have discussed institutions of higher learning in another podcast, but today, we will discuss graduating high school students who may have had enough of school—at least for now. A son is not sure if he wants to go to college. A daughter thinks she wants to be a dentist, a hairdresser, or a chef but is unsure what these entail. Today, let's talk about how to help those kids.

Show Notes:

Some kids are great students and have p...

This time of year, many homeschooling parents are dealing with high school seniors who are wondering what they will do with their lives. Join Ginny and Mary Ellen in a lively conversation about post-high school educational options—their pros and cons—for young Catholic adults.

Your hosts' insight and practical advice are always flavored with their inimitable humor. 

Show Notes:

Many homeschooling parents have high school senior...

Every homeschool parent fervently hopes to raise a child who loves to read. Once they find themselves loving a book, a series, or a subject and choose to immerse themselves in the pages of a book, we have won half the battle. 

So, how do we encourage children to read? How do we make it so much a part of life that there is no option but to be a reader? Today, Mary Ellen and Ginny explain ten ways to raise a reader.

Show Notes:

1. Be...

While knowing the Four Rs (reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmatic, and religion) is essential for your child to succeed in life, it is also important to learn certain life skills to function well in the world.

Today, Mary Ellen and Ginny discuss ordinary things your children need to know, like how to manage money, how to really clean a room, and how to plan and cook healthy meals. 

Show Notes:

Did you know that an entire Instagram account is...