Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We are back with a great new episode this week! Todd just got back from a convention in Fort Worth Texas, and while he was there he had some great conversations with homeschooling moms. These included questions about whether or not you should homeschool your child even if they want to go to school, whether is it okay to just graduate your child even if they haven't finished everything, what counts as 180 days of school, and more!  This should be...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! Todd is speaking at a homeschooling convention in Texas this week. So we are replaying an awesome episode. We were joined by Genny Yurich, of 1,000 Hours Outside! She has a mission to encourage families to spend more time outside, together, enjoying God's creation, playing, and learning. She was a great guest to have and had a ton of encouragement to share. We hope you enjoy!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! My name is Ben wilson, and today we are playing an episode from a while back, where we were joined by Kathy Koch. She is a speaker, and author, and she joined us to share her encouragement that each child is "smart" in their own way! This is something every parent should listen to, and we hope you are encouraged!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! My name is Ben wilson, and this week we asked our listeners, what is the hardest part of homeschooling for you right now? We received some great responses, and we discussed some of these answers and provided some encouragement.  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the best and helps more homeschoolers smile. Go...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! Ben had his son this past week, so he starts the episode to talk about how the birth went, and trying to savor these short days we have with our kids! Then Todd talks about understanding our children's unique personality types. We hope you enjoy it!  Before we begin we want to thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the best and helps more...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! On this week's episode, our topic is equipping your child to find their own way as they grow older, and being their biggest cheerleader. This is something that every parent will have to deal with and gives you an amazing opportunity to impact your child's life. We think this episode will encourage you!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! It is currently National Women's History Month, and because of this, we decided to talk about how important moms are, and the necessity of raising our daughters to value the gift of being a woman. Our world has put so much pressure on women and attempted to change the definition of what that means and what is important. Because of this, we think this is a critical topic to discuss! We think you will finish this episode encouraged!  Before we begin...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We are replaying a great episode from a few years ago. We had a great discussion about how to equip and encourage your children as they start to think about their future. We think this will be encouraging! We want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the best and helps more homeschoolers smile. Go support them, and check out a free trial...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! In this episode we are talking about a question we hear often from our listeners,  how do you know the difference between when your child is stuck because they don't get it, or is just acting lazy? How hard should you push them to keep trying in a given subject? We had a great conversation about these topics and we hope you feel encouraged by it!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! In this episode, we talk about homeschooling during hardship. It is part of every person's life, and having the right approach to homeschooling during these tough times is important!  We want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the best and helps more homeschoolers smile. Go support them, and check out a free trial over at...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are playing an episode from a couple of years ago, where Charlene Notgrass joined us from Notgrass History. She is an author, speaker, and a homeschooling veteran! She has a passion for helping homeschooling moms be happy! She has a ton of encouragement and wisdom to share!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We are getting closer to Homeschool convention season, which is one of our favorite times of the year! So this week we talk about why homeschooling conventions are amazing, and why you should attend. We also give our insider tips on how to have a great experience!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the best and...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! Today we are talking about standing strong against the world's philosophy in homeschooling. There is so much wrong thinking about what matters and also when it comes to learning and raising our kids. There is constant pressure from so many different people. So we have some encouragement to share that will help you withstand these pressures in your homeschooling.  Before we begin we want to thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! My name is Ben Wilson, and we have a great episode for you this week! We are joined by Todd's wife,  Debbie Wilson, to check in on how her year of homeschooling has gone so far. We discussed what has worked, what hasn't, and when it is okay to change homeschool curriculum. She also gave us her favorite part of the school year and she shared some encouragement on how to deal with the winter doldrums. It is always a great episode when Debbie is on,...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are discussing what homeschooling can do, and what it can't do. This episode was inspired by a couple of emails we received from listeners, and we think this is an important topic to cover. We hope you finish this episode encouraged!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the best and helps more...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week our topic of discussion is extracurricular activities. There are so many options and pressures out there when it comes to these types of activities, so we talk about whether or not they are important, and how you can approach them.  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the best and helps more homeschoolers...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! We are back with our first episode of 2024! So to start this year off, we created lists of the top 10 most important things we have EVER learned! It was fun for us to put together our lists, and we would encourage you to try this as well!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the best and helps more homeschoolers...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler We are taking a short Christmas break, so this week we are playing an episode from a couple of years ago. We discussed the fact that homeschooling and parenting go hand in hand, and are the same thing! This was a fun episode, and we hope you enjoy it!  Before we begin we want to thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the best and helps more...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week join Todd for a short Christmas episode! We hope you enjoy this quick shot of encouragement and Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  We also want to thank Teaching Textbooks for helping make the smiling homeschooler possible! They are an amazing math curriculum, and the one our family uses! We would encourage you to check out their free trial over on their website, teachingtextbooks.com.    Lastly, thank you to Homeschool Today...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! It is less than 2 weeks until Christmas! We can hardly believe it! This week we want to keep with the festive Christmas spirit, so we talk about our Favorite Christmas Tradition, and read some of our listener's favorites as well! This is a super fun episode. Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe their curriculum is one of the best and helps...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week are talking about the fact that although we believe homeschooling is amazing and something that everyone can do, the reality is that there are some pitfalls that we see homeschoolers fall into. We discuss some of the most common, and how to get out of them or avoid them. We think this is another encouraging episode!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we are talking about what really matters, Math or science? History or Spelling? Cursive, or print? and a lot more! There are no wrong answers for many of these comparisons, but there is one theme that does matter: family and relationships. So we hope you enjoy this episode and leave encouraged!  Before we begin we want to Thank Teaching Textbooks for helping to make the Smiling Homeschooler possible. We work with them, because we believe...

Welcome to The Smiling Homeschooler Podcast! This week we were joined by homeschooling veterans and the creators of CrossWired Science, Don and Renita Miller. They have a passion for homeschooling and teaching science, and they created an amazing curriculum because of this. They share how they started this journey and the unique approach their science curriculum uses. We think you will enjoy their encouragement and what they have to share! This is the week of Thanksgiving, so we hope you are...