Podcasts
Want to raise your kids to love learning? To become lifelong learners — children who know that they can find the answers to anything they’re curious about? This is the podcast about all of that and more! Grab a cup of coffee or tea, and listen to how others help inspire kids to view their world with play and passion and fascination…
RLL 18: How to Lure the Kids Away From Screens | A Listener Question
Cristy asks how lure her kiddo away from the screens -- her sweet daughter just wants to play video games. This is a challenging question that comes up in homeschool circles often. Colleen tackles it from a few different perspectives. What about you? Do you limit...
RLL 17 Shawna Wingert | Building on Your Child’s Strengths
Homeschooling special needs children can be really tough. When your child has several special needs and is very asynchronous, too, things get even more challenging. One of our absolute favorite moms of special needs kids is Shawna Wingert from Not the Former Things....
RLL 16: Homeschooling Gifted Kids on a Budget | A Listener Question
Maleeha is concerned. Following a student-led, self-directed model of homeschooling can definitely add up, cost-wise, and when you're homeschooling insatiable gifted learners, it can be even more costly. These kids seem to eat programs and materials for breakfast....
RLL 15 Dayna Abraham: Calming Chaos and Raising Superkids
Whether you homeschool your quirky kiddo, send him or her to school, or change it up depending on the year and the situation, you're doing exactly what you need to do for your child when he or she needs it most. In today's episode, Colleen talks to Dayna Abraham all...
RLL 14: What if I Fall Behind | A Listener Question
Connie worries that her kids will fall behind if they follow an unconventional homeschooling schedule. Her family finds themselves out of the house several days a week, and they're all exhausted by the time they get home. Is it possible to make a three-day homeschool...
RLL 13 Misty Bailey| Homeschooling, Finding Joy, and ADHD
Parenting and homeschooling differently-wired kids can be a challenge, and it's even harder when faced with choices about medication, therapies, and following one's parenting gut. In this episode, Misty and Colleen talk about homeschooling, finding the great...
RLL 12: What About Relaxed and Interest-Led Homeschooling for Gifted Kids? | A Listener Question
Angie worries that she's not doing enought to challenge her gifted kids because of something a well-meaning pedatrician said to her at a well-visit. Her family enjoys a relaxed and interest-driven, self-directed type of homeschool environment, but she's concerned...
RLL 11 Kara Anderson: Doing Things for You… Even if it Means a Cleaning Challenge
Conversations with friends who get you, understand (and still love) your quirky kids, and are honest and real are so important in life -- especially when you're homeschooling. Chatting with Kara Anderson is always a chance to be loved for who you are. She's real,...
RLL 10 Sarah MacKenzie: Building Connections Through Books
Want to make the most out of your parenting -- in just ten minutes a day? Listen in to find out the super (not so) secret way Sarah MacKenzie connects with her kids, builds meaningful relationships with all six(!) of them, and cultivates a passionate love of...
RLL 09 Pam Barnhill: Better Together
Strengthening your family, simplifying your homeschool, and savoring the subjects that matter most is a piece of cake when you take a moment to soak in the wisdom of today's guest, my friend Pam Barnhill. She has a knack for putting things into perspective and...
RLL 08 Melissa: Following Their Joy
Raising creative, loving, and inquisitive kids is a goal of mine, and so many other parents out there -- homeschooling, afterschooling, traditionally schooling, and everything in between. Today I'm talking to Melissa, a friend from the interwebs, about herself, her...
RLL 07 Alicia Hutchinson: Homeschooling and Learning Well
Simple ideas + Easy routines = Homeschooling with confidence... That's the philosophy behind the beautiful community that is Learning Well with Alicia Hutchinson. In this episode, Alicia and I talk about the beauty of an ever-evolving homeschool life and that all...
RLL 06 S.D. Smith: Cultivating Creativity Through New Stories with an Old Soul
Author of the fantastically popular series The Green Ember, S. D. Smith is here today to talk about honesty in storytelling, how igniting your own learning helps keep your tank filled as you homeschool and ecourage creativity and learning in your kiddos, and what it...
RLL 05 Aurie Good: Roadtripping and Following the Child
Homeschooling foster and adoptive mama, Aurie Good, is here today to talk with us about all the ways she follows her kiddos' lead and balances the structure of a program like Classical Conversations with a more free-flowing, child-led approach to learning. We'll...
RLL 04 Amy Milcic: Keeping Things Fun While On-the-Go
Keeping up with homeschooling, parenting, and all that goes into keeping a family going is tough enough when you're home all the time. For Amy Milcic and her crew, they're (more often than not) out and on the go at tournaments and other travel sports events. In this...
RLL 03 Gina Munsey: Keeping Up With a Profoundly Gifted Kiddo
Do you ever feel like you're barely keeping up with your child's learning? Like you could keep throwing materials, supplies, and activities at him or her all day long, and it would never be enough? That's what it feels like to be raising an insatiable learner like a...
RLL 02 Caitlin Curley: Diving Down Rabbit Holes and Following Kids’ Interests
Diving down rabbit holes with your kiddos can lead to some pretty amazing learning and fun adventures. In this epsiode, Cait Curley shares some of the ways she embraces learning adventures with her kids, and how she cultivates their curiosity while buildng a family...
RLL 01 Colleen Kessler: What Does it Mean to be a Lifelong Learner?
What does it even mean to be a lifelong learner? How do we, as parents, cultivate a love of learning and curiosity in our kids? In this -- the inaugural episode of the Raising Lifelong Learners podcast -- we'll chat about exactly that, and you'll hear from the...
Have a Question?
Got a question for Colleen that you hope she answers on an episode of the podcast, a post, or a live video? Maybe you’ve got a story about how you encourage a love of learning in your kids. Or maybe your kiddos want to share what THEY love to learn about and the cool things they’re doing right now. Now is your chance to share!