In Cahoots

Join Corinna as she chats with Erin about homeschooling a large family, books, Mum guilt and burnout. Erin shares from her many years of experience homeschooling with a literature focus even giving hints to help non-bookish type children to fall in love with reading. Burnout has been something Erin has dealt with and she discusses this openly, sharing what she has learnt to keep homeschooling for the long haul. 

Lacey spoke with Anthony from Living Book Press about being a homeschool dad, Ambleside Online and some of his favourite book recommendations. Don’t miss the special discount code that Anthony shares with In Cahoots listeners.

Show Notes:

At the beginning of a new school term, Lacey and Corinna check in and share what's happening with them. Homeschooling in Lacey's family is looking very different for the second half of 2020 while Corinna is just flowing with what's working while tweaking a few things to incorporate some 'extra' subjects in the week. They talk in depth about planning and how they approach it now compared to seasons past and would love to chat with someone who doesn't plan their homeschooling. So if that's you, let us know!

Join artist Clare Dunstan as she shares her journey as a second generation homeschooler. She tells about her escapades setting fire to her kitchen while making an engagement ring and how this kick started her career as an artist. We discuss the pros & cons of homeschooling in this age of the internet as both Clare & Corinna (your host) were homeschooled themselves so have experience as both students in pre-internet days and as parents now. 

Clare's most heeded advice is, 'Don't compare your family with others. Gain inspiration from other families then pick and choose what works for your own family.'

Join Corinna as she chats with Jen, the lovely host of the NT MumHeart retreats. Jen shares some keys points from the NT retreat held in March 2020, which was serendipitously themed, 'Redeem the Time' and held just weeks before we all found ourselves with the reality we often wish for - extra hours at home with our families. Jen also shares about her own homeschooling journey straddling two countries and giving her most valued advice to simply relax more in this homeschooling lifestyle. 

We have a very special guest to introduce you to in this episode. Jacqui Wakelam leads Mum Heart
in the UK! Barb met Jacqui in London two years ago and discovered a kindred spirit mum friend.
Jacqui is from Hampshire in Britain and came to Australia in her early 20s. She met her husband Michael in
Melbourne. They lived in Victoria for 17 years and their two children, Zoe and Jonathan, were born
here. They have been back in London for 11 years. Jacqui started Mum Heart UK after meeting Sally
Clarkson in 2016. Jacqui loves writing and photography.

Show Notes:

Join the Mum Heart team in a discussion about why it's important to maintain connections with likeminded people during this time when our normal social interactions aren't happening. We share many ways we have been reaching out to others and maintaining friendships for ourselves and our children. We also talk about practical ways to be building relationships within the family while we have time at home. 

Show Notes: 

With so many families finding themselves unexpectedly thrown into homeschooling, Lacey and Corinna share a whole bunch of resources, ideas and encouragement for you at this time. We talk about what our priorities would be for different ages, how growing the relationships within your family is more important than book work, why you should work to your strengths as a family and the importance of being gentle on yourself (and your family) in this time. 

Peta Goddard talks to Corinna about her experience of transitioning between homeschooling, school and back home again, their beginning adventures travelling and ministering to country churches and communities and how she manages homeschooling with babies and toddlers in the mix. She shares encouragement and tips for those considering homeschooling especially those who may have unsupportive people around them.

Show Notes:

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Join us as we meet Renee White from the Sunshine Coast. This creative mum of seven creative children brings God's words to life through her beautiful artwork. She shares about the difference between choosing what refreshes us and what sustains us. Her journey into the Bible showed her the truth of who she is and who we all are in Christ. Renee chats with Corinna about the transition from the time intensive early years to the logistical challenges of the middle stage with her youngest now nine. 

Show Notes: 

Renee's favourite books are:

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We are back for Season 3! This year look for a new episode every second Monday.

Marie Viljeon is the brain behind Nature Study Australia and she joins us in this episode to help encourage homeschool families to get outside more. We talked about how she began homeschooling, her family’s favourite resources and what nature study does for kids.

Show Notes

Have you ever wondered if combining work, further study and homeschooling can be a successful option? Listen as Jo chats about how her family has made this work for them. In a nutshell – it’s a team effort – as is a lot in her family including studying Latin over the summer, star gazing, bushwalking and keeping their brains active. She also gave some good book recommendations for any homeschooling Mum who needs a boost of encouragement or who is just starting out.

Show Notes:

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Belinda Letchford is one of our Mumheart team members and we got to chat with her about W.A. living, the joys of adult children, some pivotal moments in her homeschool ‘career’ and the best time of day to wake up in the morning (warning: it’s intense).

Show Notes:

If you have ever thought about jumping into homeschooling midway through your child’s education, this episode is for you. Mel Moody is Mum to 6 gorgeous kids & has just begun educating at home after many years in mainstream schooling. We loved hearing how she came to that decision, how it’s going for their family & the realities of jumping into the deep end. Spoiler alert: they didn’t drown!

Show Notes

Mel referenced a few books that they’ve been exploring as a family this year:

We are back for Season 2, and we've set aside some time to talk through where each of our families are at. Lacey's kids have had a monumental curve ball thrown at them, while Corinna and her family are providing the stability portion of this episode! Listen in as we chat about our two wildly different lifestyles right now.

Show Notes:

"We were fascinated by talking to Rebecca Anderson this week, as she gave us a little peek into the life of a multicultural family with a single child. You’ll hear all about her bookclub, pick up some information about Chinese culture and why she thinks it’s important for children to struggle with something that challenges them. There are loads of show notes for this episodes, because Rebecca drops book references into all that she does!”

Show Notes:

Is it possible to homeschool without the roots of home and community? Brooke Pipes is a military wife who has navigated the challenges of homeschooling through decades of regular moving and stretches of single parenting. She’s also familiar with the challenges of mothering children across a broad age range, with a large gap in her children’s ages. We talk to Brooke about starting again, keeping a positive attitude, and how her homeschool graduates were able to achieve recognition for their work for university entrance. 

Barb Somervaille is the founder of MumHeart Australia and a friend to many homeschool mums. We get to ask her about her 26 years of homeschooling, her highlights, her many hobbies and the way she has been able to make and sustain friendships while mothering 8 wonderful children.

Show Notes:

In our very first episode, we take a chance to ask each other some questions about our history, our families and what homeschooling looks like for us. We also talk about why In Cahoots exists and where we are headed.

Show Notes: