I am a Christian saved by grace, married to my high school sweetheart, and a thankful mom to ten incredible kids. I'm a former public school teacher who never thought I would someday be a homeschool mom!
On my channel, I love to share homeschooling encouragement for everyday moms: simple ideas, homegrown kids, and learning as a lifestyle. Drawing on our 14+ years of homeschooling experience, you can find help for getting started, tried and true homeschooling advice, life skills learning, simple Morning Time ideas, and interviews with everyday homeschool moms just like you!
I would love for you to follow along with our family and homeschool life by hitting that subscribe button!
Want to learn more about homeschooling? Check out the blog! ourlifehomeschooling.com/
Thanks for this. I have 3 7 and under and am pregnant on 4th and find the fighting exhausting. My two younger girls fight all the time and they’re very young, 2 and 4, so I don’t even know if I can reason with them over that. Most of the time my own attitude is the problem and I turn into a drill sergeant. Doesn’t help I’m generally exhausted! I think putting Jesus first is the answer, life at the moment is rolling out of bed and getting straight into it, but I probably need to try prioritise quiet time with the Lord first to fill me up.
Your videos are so lovely, and inspiring. I am going to start homeschooling in January, I have 4 children under 5, your videos are so helpful and stick with me through my day since I have started watching ❤ Bless you Michelle, Far North remote QLD, Australia
Wow please thank Joe I’m a homeschooling mam of 4 7 and under (pregnant still with 4th) from ireland and I find her honesty so refreshing and relatable. I completely agree with her and have adapted a practical system for us that can be done good days, bad days, etc. I’ve found your philosophy of just making progress every day to be the best benchmark for me. For anyone interested that is in a similar situation with littles, I have a 7 yo boy with special education needs, a keen 4 year old girl, needy 2 year old girl and term on my 3rd girl. We do only Bible, maths and phonics every day and I try to do a read aloud of a book also. Our Bible most days is a family chapter a day at breakfast (my husband works remotely from home) and if not we will do a devotional dipper or a short teaching from a kids book I have about proverbs. We probably should be doing more but I have a lot of Christian kids books for them to read and flick through throughout the day and when the time comes I do have a Bible curriculum I want to do, but for now this just works! For maths I follow a 7 workbook series by their school year and we do 1-2 pages a day. In their phonics, they similarly have workbooks to solidify phonics to get them reading well. They individually do a word sound a day and a work page for that and a short associated reading. We revise each day with flash cards. The curriculum I use jolly phonics is multi sensory which is great for all my kids but especially my boy with sensory issues. There is a hand motion, song, sound and visual for each letter sound/letter groupings and we’ve learned them off and combine them to remember the phonetics when reading. And then we leave it there! My son needs a lot of breaks whereas my 4 year old could do her work all day and my 2 year old just wants my attention constantly but most days I can keep her occupied and try to help her feel involved too. I have a lot of books on the shelves that encompass Bible, science and history and we have a sort of unschooling approach to those. I try to get them to help me out at home as much as possible but to be honest with pregnancy some days are more organised and idealistic than others! I try to point them to Christ every day. I fall short often and yes there can be tempers and sinful behaviour. I’m thankful for God’s grace and need to prioritise seeking Him more every day. But I love homeschooling and I’m thankful for my kids and opportunity I have with them.
Also for anyone wondering our lessons are super short. We don’t spend hours doing this because we can’t with kids being so little. We adopt a sort of Charlotte mason philosophy where as long as they give their full attention to something and complete it (and literally be only 10 minutes a subject sometimes) then I’m happy. I do sometimes feel guilty and feel like I should be doing more but then the way I’m doing it like Jo said means I can practically keep it up and I’m seeing fruit from it, they are progressing, so I’m sticking to it! Hope this helps other mothers in a similar situation that maybe feels guilty unsure about how much they should be doing with their kids.
Wow please thank Joe I’m a homeschooling mam of 4 7 and under (pregnant still with 4th) from ireland and I find her honesty so refreshing and relatable. I completely agree with her and have adapted a practical system for us that can be done good days, bad days, etc. I’ve found your philosophy of just making progress every day to be the best benchmark for me. For anyone interested that is in a similar situation with littles, I have a 7 yo boy with special education needs, a keen 4 year old girl, needy 2 year old girl and term on my 3rd girl. We do only Bible, maths and phonics every day and I try to do a read aloud of a book also. Our Bible most days is a family chapter a day at breakfast (my husband works remotely from home) and if not we will do a devotional dipper or a short teaching from a kids book I have about proverbs. We probably should be doing more but I have a lot of Christian kids books for them to read and flick through throughout the day and when the time comes I do have a Bible curriculum I want to do, but for now this just works! For maths I follow a 7 workbook series by their school year and we do 1-2 pages a day. In their phonics, they similarly have workbooks to solidify phonics to get them reading well. They individually do a word sound a day and a work page for that and a short associated reading. We revise each day with flash cards. The curriculum I use jolly phonics is multi sensory which is great for all my kids but especially my boy with sensory issues. There is a hand motion, song, sound and visual for each letter sound/letter groupings and we’ve learned them off and combine them to remember the phonetics when reading. And then we leave it there! My son needs a lot of breaks whereas my 4 year old could do her work all day and my 2 year old just wants my attention constantly but most days I can keep her occupied and try to help her feel involved too. I have a lot of books on the shelves that encompass Bible, science and history and we have a sort of unschooling approach to those. I try to get them to help me out at home as much as possible but to be honest with pregnancy some days are more organised and idealistic than others! I try to point them to Christ every day. I fall short often and yes there can be tempers and sinful behaviour. I’m thankful for God’s grace and need to prioritise seeking Him more every day. But I love homeschooling and I’m thankful for my kids and opportunity I have with them.
Thank you for sharing. I always find one week of the month super difficult! My mood and patience is so low and I really do find it hard to keep up the pace and keep our routine going! its something i am trying to work on but its a challenge for sure
After you have a child reading fluently, what do you do next for language arts? Do they continue to do copy work and is there anything else you add to that?
After they are reading fluently, I assign them books to read (in addition to the ones they read on their own for fun). Yes, they also do copywork and narration. Sometime around 4th grade, I add Abeka Language workbook for them to learn grammar. I share our Language Arts curriculum in this video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qG4p2G3znMo.htmlsi=G2qGmXdgGYsWfyJb
Beautiful colors out there, thank you for the well-made video and the encouraging advice. I felt discouraged the past few days as well and knowing I'm not alone helps. My get away moment (little one is napping, eldest is with dad) I took it to finally watch your video. Thank you.
You're welcome! I'm sorry to hear you have been discouraged, but glad this video lifted your spirits. So nice to have those little breaks to regain our footing. I hope you have a great week this week!
I appreciate that in your busy life, you take time to encourage us younger moms. I have 5 right now. My oldest just turned 8 and my last two are 1 yr old twins. I often feel overwhelmed. It helps to watch other people live it out with even more in the mix. I wish i knew you in real life 💕 but wanted to take time to say thanks! It is helpful!
Thank you so much for such a sweet comment! I completely relate to being in that stage of life! Having lots of littles! Very familiar territory! Keep your chin up and keep relying on the Lord. Blessings to you and your family!
I have one person a day assigned to be the kitchen helper and that person has no other chores on that day, but that is mostly for cleanup. For cooking, I don't have a plan. The kids ask randomly enough that I haven't needed one. The only rule I have for cooking is that only one helper. Too many helping with cooking gets stressful quickly! Here is a video I did explaining our house cleaning plan. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GZU_C57Lvl8.htmlsi=wuTkgnEw1I2ttRor
Hi, I would like the link to the 50 history book you mentioned in this video please. Also interested in the blocks shown in the video please. Thank you 😊
I had the absolute worst day yesterday in our many many years of homeschooling and now I have lost sleep over it. It feels good to hear your voice at 251 this morning. Blessings to you, Sherri. Thanks for your peaceful message today.
Slow down....don't put so much pressure on one day of homeschooling. Look at the bigger picture. You are probably doing an amazing job 🎉 and you don't even know it. Here's your reminder mama. You got this!!!
My mother in law (mom to 9 veteran homeschooler to all) once told me, the worst day of homeschooling is better than a week of public school. I have had public school teachers turned homeschool moms tell me she isn't wrong! You're doing a great job. Not all learning comes from books. You've got this❤
Thank you for posting this. Timing was perfect as my kids just got over being sick and now my oldest has a sprained ankle. These past 2 weeks have been discouraging to me and my.mind starts to wonder about public school. I will accept your challenge today and take some time to be alone and with God. Thank you!
I really need this. I've had a rough few weeks 😢 my kids have been fighting me every step of the way, telling me the school work or Bible study is boring, trying to run around, telling me I don't want to etc. I am so tired 😢
I appreciate your constant reminders to rely on God. Ever since I found your Chanel I have been in Gods words every day with my children and on my own. “Is anything too hard for the Lord.” Genesis 18:14
I think you have posted the best comment I've ever received here on YT! I'm so glad you have been encouraged to depend on the Lord and his Word. What an encouragement to me that my videos are having that effect. Thank you for taking the time to comment! "He is able to do far more abundantly above all that we ask or think." Eph. 3:20 :)
Excellent, thankyou. Not homeschooling at the moment, but the next generation has just been born, with another due in 6 months, so l'm keeping my hand in, and looking forward to granny -schooling! (A new term l just made up... Hah!) God bless you all. I have subscribed from Australia.😊❤️✝️
Keep trying! It took me several YEARS (and tears) to get homeschooling working as it is today. I had to work on myself while working on and with my children. We ALL had to grow and accept the stages of each of us. Thank you for this video! I am grateful for the hard times. Homeschool allows for these times (if we give it permission) and the fruits are abundant!
As soon as I heard you’re a Christian mother of 10, instantly subbed! Thank you for your God glorifying honesty. Mother of soon to be 4, second year homeschooling (had my oldest with special education needs in a Christian school but God called us to homeschool) and I love it but find it challenging keeping all the plates spinning. I get overwhelmed and distracted from the bigger eternal picture too often. I’m just coasting in survival mode right now while waiting for baby in a few weeks and still have the toddler in the bed! But I see God has been so gracious and faithful. Will be pouring over your videos whenever I can for inspiration! It’s a delight to learn from seasoned mothers like you. My oldest is 7 and I still feel so new to motherhood.
Thanks for subscribing to my channel and all your kind words! I'm so glad my channel has inspired you! Yes, God is faithful! One thing I wish I would have known when my kids were all young is that it gets easier. Homeschooling through pregnancies, all little kids, and days with infants was really challenging for me. I took a lot of naps! It looked a lot different back then than it does now. It's like anything else that you work hard at over time.You put in a couple of years of foundational work. In the beginning, you're learning and building, but after you are a few years in, it gets so much easier. (Not easy, but easier!) Keep up the great work you are doing in your home and blessings on your precious baby!
Hello. First time visiting 🙂 I enjoyed this video/encouragement. I am a mom of a 1 1/2 year boy who loves the outdoors. With winter coming up, could you do a video on how your kids get their energy out during this season?
Thanks so much for commenting on a video on your first visit! :) I will definitely keep that in mind for future videos! In the meantime, here is a video I did on homeschooling boys and another on winter homeschooling day in the life. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-02ONbKN3QNA.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZrareZi0ViI.html
I adore your homestead! 🦆 🌷 It takes a lot of persistence and figuring out the balance of having time to be peaceful and rest. A big lesson for me has been how important rest is; I've struggled to remember it's one of the Commandments/Utterances! ❤️ I have a severe special needs child and it's been rough meeting so many people that judge me for homeschool because they don't recognize the progress, they haven't been here. My husband and I do, I'm so greatful the Lord has blessed us with this opportunity and to see the rewards for our children. Even if others do not.
So true! It's hard for us moms to stop and rest sometimes! I think children with special needs benefit the most from homeschooling. What can be better than one-on-one individualized instruction from a loving parent? Since you and your husband agree that you have picked the best option for your child, I say put blinders on and keep up the great work you are doing!
Off topic of your excellent video…I saw your daughter using her fingers for what seemed like math. Do you allow that? I’m new to homeschooling and we are using math with confidence. It seems most math requires using mental math and not fingers 🫣 this is so hard for my a few of my kids! I feel like we may never move on. It makes us feel stuck.
Hi! ☺️ My eldest is special needs but we have done pretty well with math using StarFall (a game on the iPad I supervise). We also have math manipulatives I got for a good deal. Cubes in 1s, 10s, and hundreds, with a cube of 1,000. It's been a real help! I think for some mental math comes later. But it's reinforced by talking about the math/reviewing when the manipulatives aren't there. Then using a whiteboard or whatnot to write out the equations (I have a panel of glass that I put on the wall with mirror brackets because it's healthier than a whiteboard). 💜 And some people have a weakness in math but strengths in other areas. It's easy when we have been raised in public school or even private school to underestimate how powerful it can be to use a child's preferred characters etc when it comes to school. If need be get creative with different things they like if they like goldfish count goldfish (If they won't eat them first lol 😆) If they like balloons draw on balloons for math with a sharpie ....If they like Peppa pig you can find Peppa pig educational videos or games or even make your own with the characters perhaps. Just drawing your own versions of a Peppa pig style flower or duck or something... To get them to pay attention to early counting skills and writing etc. Just a few examples. I hope this helps.
As they get older can phase out whatever characters or methods as those skills lead into new skills. They can use math more with practical application, when building things or baking, whatever might hold their interest helps! My special needs child is 12 and he sees many educational games as a reward. I just make sure to make our goal obtainable. 😉 They might even do a non-preferred workbook with me, or a tablet game then they will get "free choice" with their tablet etc. It's handy to be able to use guided access mode on the iPad so I can do work while they practice skills. Then I assist with the hands on, my other needs less help with that and understands the iPad is for my child due to special needs so they get more educational books and hands on activities since they need less active supervision and leadership in that way.
Yes I let them use fingers. I don't stress over it. I do try to teach them strategies to help them figure it out without fingers, but I also try not to interrupt whatever way they are making it make sense in their heads.
