Your Personalized Podcast Playlist

I have something a little different here for Episode #140 of the Art of Homeschooling podcast. Your personalized podcast playlist!

So that you can find episodes that speak to you, right where you are, right now.

I was recently perusing comments in a homeschooling Facebook group. And someone asked for recommendations of podcasts or blogs to follow for inspiration and ideas. I loved seeing the Art of Homeschooling Podcast recommended over and over again ~ that is so touching to me.

There was one comment that caught my attention.

“It’s worth starting at the beginning
and listening to every episode.”

So heartwarming to see this little podcast I started back in 2019 helping so many homeschoolers. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be creating a new episode every week for coming up on four years and seeing it reach 85,000 downloads and counting! It’s a joy and an honor to speak to you all every single week!!!

So I thought it would be helpful to have a look back at all the episodes so far and make some recommendations to you, dear listener.

Here, I’ve come up with six categories of interest to homeschoolers and recommended several episodes for each.

The show notes below are going to be particularly valuable to you as that’s where you can find a summary of each categories and the links to click through and listen to your personalized podcast playlist.

New to Homeschooling

The first playlist is for beginning homeschoolers! Welcome!

It can all be a bit daunting, I know! Even for me, as a trained classroom teacher, I found homeschooling to be A LOT!

For me, the best way to handle these emotions was to realize that classroom teachers feel this way too. And that we actually have lots of time to allow the learning to unfold gradually.

I’ve recorded lots of episodes on this subject. Here are a few for the personalized podcast playlist for beginning homeschoolers:

EP #3: Relax Into Your Homeschool Rhythm
- Rhythm is all about organizing the activities of your homeschooling day. Discover how to create a rhythm that can help you stay focused, feel more productive, and yes, even relax. This is the most popular episode on the Art of Homeschooling podcast so far with over 1,000 downloads!

EP #48: What I Wish I’d Known When We Started Homeschooling
- In this episode, I share my reflections along with ten things I wish I’d known before we started on our homeschooling journey.

Others include:

New to Waldorf

The second playlist is for you if you’re new to Waldorf education.

It can sure feel like a lot of moving pieces and parts sometimes!

I want you to keep in mind that the core idea is to look at the children before us and bring them what they need. That’s really the starting point for Waldorf homeschoolers.

Believe me, you can take your time learning all the unique aspects of Waldorf. Remember to just focus on one thing at a time. Here are some podcast episodes that can help you on your way…

EP #43: The Top 10 Lessons from Steiner’s 1919 Seminar Course
- This is a great place to start! Steiner prepared the first teachers in only two weeks. And I love taking those lessons and applying them to homeschooling. Lessons like “preparation can be brief” and “main lesson blocks & books make for efficient teaching and learning.” This is an enlightening episode!

EP #79: Child Development and Neuroscience
- The Waldorf approach was created over 100 years ago. Steiner had a lot of theories and beliefs about how children develop and learn best. Now we have new technologies such as MRI brain imagining and brain science. We have more sophisticated ways of exploring how the brain works and develops. What’s so amazing to me is that today’s neuroscientific discoveries match Steiner’s theories in many, many ways. Tune in to explore how hands-on holistic homeschooling really works because it helps children’s brains develop in healthy ways. Understanding how the brain develops can help us to make important decisions in our homeschools but also can help us to feel more confident in the hands-on approaches we’re using with our children.
EP #126: Thinking, Feeling, Willing ~ 3 Ways Children Learn
- You may have heard the phrase Thinking Feeling Willing to describe the Waldorf approach. When we consider these ways of learning ~ through thinking, feeling, or doing ~ we also want to consider the age and developmental stage of the child. Listen in to how Steiner described the stages of child development and how these three ways children learn apply to each stage.

And here are a few other episodes you might want to check out if you’re new to the Waldorf approach:

Weaving in the Lively Arts

The lively arts are one of the best parts of Waldorf education in my opinion!

Here’s a personalized podcast playlist to inspire you to weave the lively arts into your teaching.

I’ve seen the magic in my own children and so many others ~ as Steiner said, the arts bring us joy as humans and make the learning more memorable.

Starting with stories and weaving in movement, music, poetry, drama, painting, drawing, and modeling can really help bring your lessons alive in amazing ways.

Check out these episodes to hear more about how to bring the lively arts to your homeschooling lessons.

EP #16: Stories Make Great Teachers
- In this episode, I talk with my dear friend and colleague, Alison Manzer, sharing our love of books with you. Two homeschooling moms talking together about how you might use this book in homeschooling lessons. This is our Book Hearth approach describing how you can plan an entire lesson block around one book. With a sample block plan for you to download.

EP #139: The Top 5 Things Children Gain from Doing Art
- The arts are integral to the Waldorf and other holistic approaches. This episode describes what children gain from doing art, how to incorporate the arts, and why. Tune in for examples of what it looks like to incorporate the arts into your lessons.

Other episodes to check out:

Homeschooling Mindset

Next up, the homeschooling mindset!

Our mindset or ways of thinking about ourselves, our children, and all we do is really at the heart of our daily lives. I could talk about this all day!

Mostly because I’ve seen such miracles unfold in my own life as I’ve worked on acceptance and grace.

Here are some Art of Homeschooling Podcast episodes I recommend to help you find more joy and peace on your homeschooling journey.

EP #128: What To Do When You Feel Stuck in Homeschooling
- Welcome to the episode for homeschoolers who feel stuck. Oh, that just might be ALL homeschoolers at one time or another! Amiright? Tune in to this conversation about how to get unstuck ~ 5 ways you can find the peace that is available to you right now.
EP #137: Start Where You Are
- If you ever think you should be further along than you are in your homeschooling journey, then listen to this episode where we dive into an important topic that often holds homeschoolers back: accepting right where you are instead of wishing you were somewhere else. Check out 3 guiding principles to remind you that wherever you are on your homeschooling path, you’re right where you need to be.

And here are a few more episodes to check out:

What About Curriculum?

Here’s your personalized homeschool playlist for all things curriculum.

So often, homeschoolers ask me about curriculum…What curriculum should I buy? What curriculum did you use? What curriculum is the best?

We all wish there was one perfect curriculum that would give us everything we need. But it just doesn’t exist.

Nor should it, honestly. Because our children are unique and we need to find what works for each of them and create our own curriculum to meet them where they are.

Here are some episodes that can help you do this:

EP #88: Can We Homeschool without a Curriculum?
- Let’s face it, our relationship with curriculum is complicated. Heck, even the word curriculum means so many different things. So listen up for some in-depth insights so you can discover all about curriculum and how we use it in our homeschools.
EP #103: The Three Stages of the Waldorf Curriculum
- Here’s a simplified perspective on what we teach our children at different stages of their schooling. As homeschoolers and teachers, we usually start with what to teach in each grade. But in this episode, we look at dividing the elementary years into just three stages rather than 8 grades. This way of looking at what we’re teaching can be really freeing and help you simplify your homeschooling.
EP # 120: How to Make the Waldorf Curriculum More Homeschool Friendly
- As homeschoolers, looking at what Waldorf teachers do in a classroom doesn’t always translate directly to the home environment. So how are homeschoolers supposed to figure this out? It’s almost like translating a foreign language. Home is not school. This episode is full of lots of rich ideas and encouragement for how to translate the Waldorf method to the homeschool setting ~ ways to make the Waldorf curriculum more homeschool friendly. So that you can create YOUR Waldorf inspired homeschool.

Here are a few other episodes for you to check out. You’ll find links in the Show Notes.

Parenting

Our last personalized podcast playlist is all about parenting.

Such a big job and also so constant.

For me, I didn’t have good role models in this area. And I needed all the help I could get when I became a parent.

Here are some episodes that can help you on your parenting journey.

EP #100: Reflections of a Homeschool Mom 26 Years Later
- In this episode, I reflect back on 26 years of homeschooling. I share three distinct qualities that homeschooling fosters in our children and what can be gained from being a part of a homeschooling family for many years. Those three qualities are: loyalty, acceptance, and self-sufficiency. Listen in for insights to encourage you on your parenting and homeschooling journey.
EP #129: Why Children Resist ~ And How Understanding the Four Temperaments Can Help
- Children resist our direction, our lessons, and our suggestions for all kinds of reasons. And understanding the four temperaments or personality types can really help us accept our children for who they are AND learn to work with them instead of against them.

Here are more episodes to help you on your parenting journey.

Thanks so much for listening in. This podcast wouldn’t be where it is today without you, dear listener. And I am forever grateful.

All the best to you on your homeschooling journey and let me know how I can help.💜

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