Flourish At Home

Training Your Children

Curious about training your children? People often ask me how I manage to homeschool and run a home business as a single mom. One of the most important factors is that I have taught my sons how to run the household. In this episode, I’ll talk about how to train your children to be independent and responsible, how to take initiative, and how to serve others cheerfully. These four things will prepare your children well for adulthood and contribute greatly to building a balanced life for your whole family now.

These sample chore charts will give you an idea of how I allocated housework and other responsibilities among my sons at different stages of our family life:

Sample Chore Charts

How do YOU teach your children responsibility, independence, initiative, and service? After you listen to the podcast, please leave a comment and share your best tips with us!

Listen to these podcasts for additional resources:

Homeschool Lifestyle
Last Minute DIY Tips
Money Saving Field Trips
All About Teaching
Raising Spiritually Strong Kids
Six Homeschooling Insider Tips
Best Staycations for Kids
Avoid Curriculum Pitfalls
Top 10 Parenting Secrets
45 Family Date Night Ideas

Thanks to our sponsor, Harper Collins Christian, and the Kingdom Girl’s Bible

Girls will discover the power of faith in this beautiful Bible that features women of the Bible. This is the ideal Bible for girls on their journey of faith! This special Bible is specifically crafted to highlight the stories and lessons of the inspiring, famous, and sometimes infamous women of the Bible. With over 400 engaging features, colorful illustrations, and helpful notes, this Bible is perfect for girls ages 8 to 12 as they learn about the strong and faithful women who came before them. Visit the website for more information.

The post Training Our Children – Flourish at Home appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

It’s Time for An Attitude Adjustment

Me? An attitude?

Homeschooling moms are sometimes so busy training our children that we can forget to examine our own hearts. Do you ever struggle with guilt or fear? Are you paralyzed by perfectionism? Are you ever tempted to complain  about your own life or to envy someone else’s? On this episode of the Flourish at Home show, we’ll be talking about how we can make a choice every day to honor God with our thoughts, attitudes, and emotions as well as our actions.

Thanks to our Sponsor: Harper Collins Christian:   Kingdom Girls Bible

Girls will discover the power of faith in this beautiful Bible that features women of the Bible! Here is the ideal Bible for girls on their journey of faith! This special Bible is specifically crafted to highlight the stories and lessons of the inspiring, famous, and sometimes infamous women of the Bible. With over 400 engaging features, colorful illustrations, and helpful notes, this Bible is perfect for girls ages 8 to 12 as they learn about the strong and faithful women who came before them. From Eve to Ruth, Esther to Mary, this Bible brings the stories of these women to life and shows how their faith and strength can still inspire girls today. Featuring a beautiful design and easy-to-read text, this Bible is a great resource for girls as they grow in their own faith and learn about the women who have impacted the world.

The post It’s Time for an Attitude Adjustment – FAH Replay appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Laundry and dishes and dust–oh my! Laundry and dishes and dust!

Do you ever feel like you’re navigating a dark, eerie forest? Imagine, instead of facing the unknown threats of lions, tigers, and bears, you’re up against a relentless onslaught of laundry, dishes, and dust.

Thanks to our sponsor, A Fanthom Presents Film – The Ark and The Darkness – Movie Trailer here: NoahsFlood

In theaters March 20-21! Noah’s Flood is preserved in ancient writings from every major culture around the world. Recent discoveries confirm what the Bible has said all along. Sevenfold Films and Genesis Apologetics present: The Ark and the Darkness.

Laundry and Other Never Ending Chores

Life’s busyness often overwhelms us, tempting us to overlook our work’s profound significance as homemakers. In this episode, we dive into the importance of homemaking with a grateful heart. We’ll share practical tips for housework, organization, and cooking. Plus, we’ll highlight the real significance of even the smallest daily tasks.

Navigating through domestic challenges can feel like trekking through an unyielding mountain range. The endless chores can cloud our vision, making us forget the true value of our roles at home. Yet, these tasks, mundane as they may appear, are extraordinarily significant.

Importance of Homemaking

We dedicate this episode to the beauty and importance of homemaking. We aim to equip you with practical skills for mastering housework, organization, and cooking, making these tasks manageable. We’ll also explore how to find encouragement and fulfillment in recognizing the importance of every task, no matter how small.

Homemaking is more than cleaning and cooking; it’s creating a sanctuary of warmth and love. It involves stewarding our spaces with care and intention, recognizing that each act of service contributes to a happy, healthy home.

A Grateful Heart

Join us as we journey through the dense forest of homemaking, armed with gratitude, practical wisdom, and a renewed sense of purpose. Let’s uncover the beauty in the everyday, celebrate quiet victories, and remind ourselves of our work’s profound impact on our loved ones.

The post Laundry and Dishes and Dust–Oh My! FAH Episode 8 (Replay) appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

A special replay in honor of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network’s 10th Birthday!

Are you committed to homeschooling but finding it hard to get it all done? Join Mary Jo Tate as she shares 6 of her best practical strategies developed over 18 years of homeschooling.

Check out these podcasts, too!

• A Letter From a Veteran Homeschool Mom to the Newbies\
• Streamline Your Homeschool

And this resources:

HOMESCHOOL CALENDARS & GOAL SETTING BUNDLES

The post REPLAY | Flourish at Home – Introduction to Homeschooling, Part 2 appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

How do you respond to the word organization?

• Does it make you cringe? Do you feel guilty because you’re hopelessly disorganized and wish you could be more organized?
• Does it make you smile, with a happy sigh that all’s right with the world?
• Do you think a certain amount of clutter is a sign of a happy home?
• Do you resist the whole idea of organization—maybe because it reminds you of a neat-freak friend who labels everything in her household, uses color-coordinated storage containers, and alphabetizes her spices?

Whatever your reaction, this episode is for you.

Organization is the sixth tool in my FREEDOM toolbox—7 tools for making the most of our time so we can live balanced, peaceful lives. Here’s a quick review of the tools:

• Focus
• Reflect
• Educate
• Eliminate
• Discipline
• Organize
• Multitask

Organization is essentially self-discipline applied in an orderly way to free you to focus on what’s most important to you. Organizing your time, tasks, thoughts, and things helps you overcome and prevent obstacles to focusing on your priorities.

How organized you are has a powerful effect on the atmosphere in your home. Disorganization creates chaos, while organization promotes peace. Which do you prefer?

If one aspect of your life is unorganized, it spills over into every other aspect of your life. For example, if you can’t find your car keys, you’ll get flustered and be late for your appointment. If you’re sleep-deprived or running late, you’ll be much likelier to forget things and drop things, which will make you even later.

Organization even affects your relationships. If you’re running late and feeling frazzled, you may become irritated and impatient with your family.

It’s important to remember that there’s no one right way to organize. What helps you function effectively may be completely different from what helps your best friend or your mother-in-law function effectively. Isn’t that a relief?

Ironically, it’s possible to over-organize—to spend so much time on organization that it keeps you from focusing on your priorities instead of facilitating them.

Take some time to reflect on your life to identify areas that hinder you, and commit to becoming more organized if it would help your life run more smoothly.

If you struggle with managing your time and organizing your life to focus on your priorities, you’ll find many more strategies in my book, Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms, available at online retailers and through my website at www.FlourishAtHome.com.

The post Replay | Organization – FREEDOM Tools part 5 – FAH episode 18 appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

There are millions of books available today. How on earth can you choose what’s best to read? In this episode, we’ll consider how to choose good books—both for yourself and for your children.

This is part 2 of a series on why, what, how, and when to read and why and how to build a home library.

Three Types of Books

To be able to choose good books, you need to understand the different types of books. Apart from the usual categories of fiction and nonfiction, there are three main types of books:

1. Living Books – A living book is written by an author who loves the subject; it is challenging and inspiring. Focus on these!
2. Reference Books – Atlas, dictionary, almanac, etc. These are useful to have on hand even if you also look things up online.
3. Twaddle – This is Charlotte Mason’s term for dumbed-down, diluted, silly, easy-reading books with poor writing and sometimes tacked-on morals. Avoid these.

What Is a Good Book?

1. In general, older books are likelier to be living books. New books are often politically correct and likelier to contain offensive material.
2. Great books feature excellent writing and thought-provoking ideas. They often have an impact on other literature and culture.
3. “Safe” does not equal “good.” All great literature involves conflict; otherwise there’s no plot. Literature can provide both positive examples to emulate and negative examples to avoid. Use books to teach your children discernment.
4. It’s OK to read non-Christian authors (even ancient pagans). All truth is God’s truth.
5. Include a mix of challenging books and easy books.
6. Every person’s and family’s standards and tastes will differ. Choose good books in accordance with your own standards.

Guides to Help You Choose Good Books

Here are some of my favorite guides to help you choose good books:

• Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
• How to Grow a Young Reader by Kathryn Lindskoog and Ranelda Mack Hunsicker
• Who Should We Then Read? (Volumes 1 and 2) by Jan Bloom
• Read for the Heart  by Sarah Clarkson

For a longer list of my favorite books about how to choose good books, as well as my favorite books about homeschooling, visit my blog for booklovers at EclecticBibliophile.com. That will also put you on the list to be the first to find out about my new e-book about books, coming soon.

And if you wish you had more time to read, you’ll find encouragement and practical tips for time management in my book, Flourish.

Stay tuned for our next episode, when we’ll discuss HOW to read.

Other Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Realms of Gold: The Classics in Christian Perspective by Leland Ryken

A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van DeMille

NOTE: This post includes affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you purchase books through my links. Just think of this as an opportunity to help me build MY home library while you build YOURS!

The post What Should We Read? How to Choose Good Books – FAH 24 – Replay appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Ironically, when your family is together almost all the time, it can be challenging to pull away from the demands of homeschooling to just enjoy being together and have fun as a family. But taking a break is good for parents and children alike. In this episode, I’ll share some of my favorite ways to make special family memories, including building family traditions, spending one-on-one time with each child, exploring the world, and enjoying the journey as well as the destination.

I’d love to hear from you. What special family traditions do you enjoy?

Joyful Balance for Busy Moms

Are you exhausted? Overloaded? Teetering on the brink of burnout? Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, work-at-home mom, or homeschooling mom, it’s easy to be paralyzed by an overwhelming to-do list. False guilt only adds to the burden.

Mary Jo Tate—an international editor, book coach, and veteran homeschooling mom of four boys—wants to help you find peace in the space between the ideal and reality so you can stop struggling and start flourishing. Learn how to:

· Stop the juggling act and find a balance you can live with
· Minimize interruptions while being sensitive to real needs
· Take care of yourself so you can take care of your family
· Value and protect your time to do what matters most
· Establish a pace you can maintain for the marathon of life

Visit the show page for replays here

The post Flourish At Home – Making Memories appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

How to Choose Good Books

There are millions of books available today. How on earth can you choose what’s best to read? In this episode, we’ll consider how to choose good books—both for yourself and for your children.

This is part 2 of a series on why, what, how, and when to read and why and how to build a home library.

Three Types of Books

To be able to choose good books, you need to understand the different types of books. Apart from the usual categories of fiction and nonfiction, there are three main types of books:

1. Living Books – A living book is written by an author who loves the subject; it is challenging and inspiring. Focus on these!
2. Reference Books – Atlas, dictionary, almanac, etc. These are useful to have on hand even if you also look things up online.
3. Twaddle – This is Charlotte Mason’s term for dumbed-down, diluted, silly, easy-reading books with poor writing and sometimes tacked-on morals. Avoid these.

What Is a Good Book?

1. In general, older books are likelier to be living books. New books are often politically correct and likelier to contain offensive material.
2. Great books feature excellent writing and thought-provoking ideas. They often have an impact on other literature and culture.
3. “Safe” does not equal “good.” All great literature involves conflict; otherwise there’s no plot. Literature can provide both positive examples to emulate and negative examples to avoid. Use books to teach your children discernment.
4. It’s OK to read non-Christian authors (even ancient pagans). All truth is God’s truth.
5. Include a mix of challenging books and easy books.
6. Every person’s and family’s standards and tastes will differ. Choose good books in accordance with your own standards.

Guides to Help You Choose Good Books

Here are some of my favorite guides to help you choose good books:

• Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
• How to Grow a Young Reader by Kathryn Lindskoog and Ranelda Mack Hunsicker
• Who Should We Then Read? (volumes 1 and 2) by Jan Bloom
• Read for the Heart  by Sarah Clarkson

For a longer list of my favorite books about how to choose good books, as well as my favorite books about homeschooling, visit my blog for booklovers at EclecticBibliophile.com. That will also put you on the list to be the first to find out about my new e-book about books, coming soon.

And if you wish you had more time to read, you’ll find encouragement and practical tips for time management in my book, Flourish.

Stay tuned for our next episode, when we’ll discuss HOW to read.

Other Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Realms of Gold: The Classics in Christian Perspective by Leland Ryken

A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van DeMille

NOTE: This post includes affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you purchase books through my links. Just think of this as an opportunity to help me build MY home library while you build YOURS!

The post What Should We Read? How to Choose Good Books – FAH 24 appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

12 Benefits of Reading

Why should we read? You probably already know some of the benefits, such as education and entertainment, but there are many more.

This is part 1 of a series on why, what, how, and when to read and why and how to build a home library. Why am I doing a series about reading on the “Flourish At Home” show? Because reading is an important part of a flourishing life! Education is one of my 7 FREEDOM tools that we discussed in episode 15, and reading is a great way to take care of yourself by destressing and relaxing.

So let’s dive in to 12 of the most important benefits of reading—for both children and adults!

Benefits of Reading

1. Changes your life by building wisdom and growing your character.
2. Helps you learn facts and builds your personal storehouse of knowledge.
3. Develops and preserves your mind and your memory and helps prevent or slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
4. Improves your focus and concentration in a world that normally scatters your attention in a million different directions.
5. Builds your vocabulary and improves your grammar skills—almost by osmosis!
6. Helps you become a better writer.
7. Inspires creativity and expands your imagination.
8. Helps you learn by example—both positive and negative examples.
9. Helps you develop empathy and understand real people’s feelings better.
10. Lets you travel to new places—both real and imaginary.
11. Reduces stress and promotes relaxation.
12. Provides a relatively inexpensive source of entertainment. Put simply, reading is a pleasure.

What are YOUR favorite reasons to read? Be sure to leave a comment!

Visit my blog for booklovers, Eclectic Bibliophile, and sign up for a free report with my favorite books about choosing good books and my top ten recommendations for books about homeschooling. That will also put you on the list to be the first to find out about my new e-book about books, coming soon.

And if you wish you had more time to read, you’ll find encouragement and practical tips for time management in my book, Flourish.

Stay tuned for our next episode, when we’ll discuss WHAT to read.

The post Why Should We Read? 12 Benefits of Reading – FAH 23 appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

An important part of living a flourishing life is continuing to learn and grow, so I’m developing an exciting new podcast series about books! I’ll be talking about why, what, how, and when to read, as well as why and how to build a home library. The first episode will air on November 17.

Meanwhile, I thought you might enjoy the story of how I became a bibliophile. It’s my grandmother’s fault!

When you read that story, be sure to sign up (in the top right corner of that blog) for a free report with my favorite books about choosing good books and my top ten recommendations for books about homeschooling. That will also put you on the list to be the first to find out about my new e-book about books, coming soon.

The post New series on reading and building a home library coming soon! appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

It’s hard  to get anything done when you’re constantly being interrupted. You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you? You’re desperately trying to accomplish some task, and the phone rings. The dryer buzzes. The baby cries. You hear a mysterious crash from the kitchen. The doorbell rings. Calgon can’t even take you away because it’s impossible to get 5 minutes alone in the bathroom.

No matter how well we manage our time, our best efforts are often undermined by interruptions. I’m defining interruptions broadly as anything that keeps us from doing what we need to do by distracting us from our priorities and making us lose our focus.

Interruptions can come from strangers, acquaintances, business associates, friends, family…and even from ourselves. They can involve bad or good news, illness, ordinary events, or enticing opportunities.

Whatever the source, they distract us from what we have planned to do, hinder our productivity, and upset our balance. They can trigger bad attitudes and make us frustrated or irritable. Even worse, they can confuse us about what is really important.

Today we’re going to look at ways to handle the interruptions and distractions that come from outside our homes, especially through technology.

Perception of Moms at Home

When you spend most of your time at home, some people assume that you are available anytime.  Homeschooling and working from home are so different from our society’s norms that many people don’t take them seriously. They may call you or drop by your house although they would never call or drop by if you worked in an office.

It’s important to show God’s love by serving people, but you simply can’t be available on demand for everyone all the time without neglecting your own family. It’s essential to establish some boundaries, or your true priorities will be completely undermined.

Telephone and Texting

What’s your most common interruption? For many people, it’s the telephone. Cell phones have made it even worse by creating an expectation that everyone should be instantly available all the time. Here are a few tips for making the phone your servant, not your master:

• Ignore the phone.
• Turn off the ringer.
• Use caller ID.
• Use an answering machine or voice mail.
• Use call waiting.
• Reply to phone messages by e-mail.

Doorbell

• Just ignore it.
• Put a note on the door.
• Use the peephole like caller ID.
• Answer the door with work in your hands.

E-mail and Social Media

The Internet is a wonderful tool, but it can also be a hindrance. Discipline yourself ot use e-mail and social media wisely and intentionally.

• Don’t go online first thing in the morning.
• Create rules to automatically sort incoming e-mail messages into folders.
• Act on most e-mails right away.
• Create a folder for action items.
• Minimize incoming messages.

Technology has made it possible to stay in touch with friends and family and make new acquaintances from all over the world. Used wisely, social media can be a tremendous tool for relaxation, fellowship, business networking, and ministering to others. Used carelessly, it can be a distraction and a hindrance to focusing on your family and other priorities. Remember the value of your time and use your time online with discretion and self-discipline.

On the next episode of the Flourish At Home show, we’ll continue talking about interruptions and what we can do about them. Meanwhile, I want to hear from YOU! What interruptions bug you the most? How do handle them? Be sure to leave a comment and share your best ideas with us!

Remember, you’ll find encouragement and practical tips for managing your busy life in my book, Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms, available at FlourishAtHome.com.

The post Just Say No to Interruptions, part 1 – FAH episode 21 appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.