There are a lot of options out there for families this year, but few are taking the same approach as Michelle Marine's. Her four children are taking part in four different types of school this year. She has a junior attending school face-to-face full time, a 7th grader that is homeschooled, and a 9th grader and 5th grader in "virtual school."

As a former homeschooler, she knew what that entails, and said, "When faced with the prospect of homeschooling again, I thought, 'No, no, no, no. That ship has sailed.'" However, she found out quickly that using the school's online curriculum was not a good fit for all of her children, and quickly pivoted to other approaches, including homeschool for one of her kids.

In this episode, we talk about what led to the Marine family's hybrid approach to school, and the things she's had to "let go of" (like PE) in order to focus on what's most important to her and her family.

Find Michelle online at:

Blog: Simplify, Live, Love

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For several years, Caci Nance and her husband discussed homeschooling their four children. They also discussed expanding their dairy farm. "We decided the middle of a pandemic is the time to open an on-farm creamery," she says with a laugh.

With an incredibly busy schedule and a Charlotte Mason philosophy, Caci began homeschooling in July and recently finished the first 12 week quarter of the school year. Even as a former teacher, Caci recognizes that homeschooling doesn't have to be a carbon copy of traditional schooling, and she discusses how she's had to adjust her mindset to make it work.

"It is very, very doable for parents to work full time and homeschool," Caci says, "but you have to be willing to think outside the box. It's not going to look like a classroom setting. You're not bringing school home. You're homeschooling, which is a completely different concept, and it's one that's been very hard for me to wrap my mind around."

In this episode, Caci and I talk about the flexibility provided by homeschooling, and some of the challenges teachers and parents who are doing "school at home" through a traditional school district are facing. Plus, we get to hear a little about dairy farm life!

Links:

Caci's book recommendation: For the Children's Sake

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Hybrid schooling, homeschooling, roadschooling, Outschooling - Cris Goode has done it all!

Her 8th grader has been doing some form of non-traditional school since kindergarten, and Cris has some great advice for moms.

In this episode, we talk a lot about attitudes that make learning successful. We chat about helping kids who struggle with math, focusing on the learning process, making school fun, and getting out of a "funk."

Cris and her husband run the popular website, Recipes that Crock, and share their RV and cooking adventures on their youtube channel, As Goode as it Gets, where they promise to laugh often, eat goode food, and speak life. We didn't eat anything on this podcast, but we certainly laughed a lot!

Links:

MathPapa

Outschool

Everything You Need to Ace Math in One Big Fat Notebook

Find Cris here:

Recipes that Crock

As Goode as it Gets (Youtube)