Passions, Pressure, and Letting Our Kids Let Go

Passions, Pressure, and Letting Our Kids Let Go

When my son was about 5 years old, he fell in love with birds. I can’t remember now how it all started, but suddenly, he was a tiny John James Audubon, pointing out species and identifying calls. He spent hours emerged in bird books, and once, when he met a volunteer...
Great Gifts for Fortnite Fans

Great Gifts for Fortnite Fans

You’ve seen groups of kids erupting into spontaneous dances. You’ve heard the cries of the kids across the street, screaming into their headsets about “Battle Royale” and “Top 10”. You see the faint blue light under the door and...
Surviving the Elements | Think Outside Boxes

Surviving the Elements | Think Outside Boxes

Any time the kids are outside long enough, either in a backyard, a park, or out camping, they start gathering sticks and scouting locations for shelters. Maybe it’s all those episodes of Alone we watch on the History Channel, maybe it’s the number of...
RLL #44: Rooted Childhood with Meghann Dibrell

RLL #44: Rooted Childhood with Meghann Dibrell

If you scroll through your Instagram feed and wish for slower, more meaningful days, or dream of better connections with your kids like those gorgeous images, this is the episode for you. Meghann Dibrell talks to us about cultivating a rooted childhood for your kids,...
I Hate My Son’s Headphones

I Hate My Son’s Headphones

My son has a sensory processing disorder. He is an avoider – sounds, smells, textures. There’s a lot in our world that hurts him, a lot of situations that are overwhelming for him, a lot of sensations and stimuli that you or I take for granted related to...
Using Time4Learning with a Busy Middle Schooler

Using Time4Learning with a Busy Middle Schooler

A few months ago my eleven year old asked me if she could try something new for her homeschool lessons. She’s always been a box-checker, someone who wants a clear-cut list of plans and a chance to hole up in her room and just get it done so she can get on with...
Why You Should Keep Attending Homeschool Conventions

Why You Should Keep Attending Homeschool Conventions

Okay, so you’re a pro by now. You’ve been homeschooling for years now, you’ve got your systems in place, your preferred curriculum selected, and you are living in the sweet spot of a homeschool veteran who knows what they’re doing. You’ve...
Come Meet Me (and Many Others) at Great Homeschool Conventions!

Come Meet Me (and Many Others) at Great Homeschool Conventions!

Winter is fading. The snow is melting (a little), the birds are singing, and Spring is just around the corner. I love this time of year not just because of the warmth that is headed my way, but because it signals the beginning of convention season with Great...
RLL #43: Getting Your Kids Outside with Justin Wren

RLL #43: Getting Your Kids Outside with Justin Wren

Sometimes it seems difficult to get our kids outside when all they want to do is lounge around inside the house. But, studies show that time outside increases creativity and cognitive functions, so it’s important to get kids outside as much as we can. Today...
Fix It Yourself | Think Outside Boxes

Fix It Yourself | Think Outside Boxes

“You can’t use up creativity: The more you use, the more you have. Make sewing and fixing things your new superpower!” This month’s Think Outside Boxes Repair Box might just be the best one yet. I keep saying that, but I’m not sure how...
All Tied Up in Knots | Anxiety and Think Outside Boxes

All Tied Up in Knots | Anxiety and Think Outside Boxes

Has your child ever told you that she feels like her tummy is all tied up in knots when she’s feeling anxious about something? Childhood anxiety is real, valid, and so, so tough for kids — and their parents, and I loved that our Think Outside Boxes...
RLL 41: Homeschooling “Fringy Kids” with Heather Boorman

RLL 41: Homeschooling “Fringy Kids” with Heather Boorman

Raising kids “on the fringes,” or gifted, 2e, etc can be isolating and confusing. Therapist and author Heather Boorman joins Colleen on today’s episode to talk about how helping kids see their differences can help them be the amazing people...
The Secret to Homeschooling THAT Kid Successfully

The Secret to Homeschooling THAT Kid Successfully

Earlier this school year we made drastic changes in our 10th grader’s schooling. He’s been homeschooled since the February of his first grade year, so we should have had things pretty well in hand as we’d been doing it awhile. Right?  Wrong....
RLL 39 Sara Hall: Trusting Your Child’s Lead

RLL 39 Sara Hall: Trusting Your Child’s Lead

  It can be scary to homeschool an outside-the-box learner. Differently-wired kids beat to the tune of their own drummers, and that can be problematic when we go into it with a set expectation for how things will be. It is hard to trust our kids AND ourselves...
Strewing in Your Homeschool to Spark Curiosity

Strewing in Your Homeschool to Spark Curiosity

I walked into the kitchen to find my youngest two kiddos (9 and 6) deep in concentration at the table. Glancing at the pile of tiny clay food, it was clear that they’d been up awhile. These two are early risers. I’m not. For my own sanity, and to keep them...
Is Homeschooling Ruining Your Differently-Wired Kiddos?

Is Homeschooling Ruining Your Differently-Wired Kiddos?

The laptop was fired up, art tutorial queued, four canvases and easels stood in their places on the table, and soft music played on the bluetooth speaker in the kitchen. I set out some snacks — everything was always more fun with pretzels, veggie sticks, and...
RLL 38: Happy New Year

RLL 38: Happy New Year

  It’s a new year and I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to tackle it head on and enjoy my kiddos and our new puppy, all while making this podcast and site the place where you can find all you need to help you parent and homeschool those...
The Anxious Parent of the Anxious Child | Using Social Stories

The Anxious Parent of the Anxious Child | Using Social Stories

You know that old saying about apples and trees and how they don’t fall far? As the parent of an anxious child you are most likely looking in a mirror as you watch them tense up, explode, or collapse under the weight of their very overwhelming feelings. You...
Embracing Art and Its History for Kids With Sensory Issues

Embracing Art and Its History for Kids With Sensory Issues

Gifted kids, while they share real estate on the far right side of the IQ bell curve, don’t tend to share much else. “If you’ve met one gifted kid, you’ve met one gifted kid,” right? Some love math and science, some love music and...
Homeschooling Because of Mental Illness

Homeschooling Because of Mental Illness

It’s no secret – homeschooling is on the rise. It’s becoming wildly more popular, accommodating, varied, and even – dare I say? – mainstream. Gone are the days of stereotypes and denim jumpers, homeschoolers are as different as they are...