9 Secular Podcasts for the Homeschooling Mama (2017)

Here’s the second round of homeschool-related podcasts for your listening pleasure!  These gems of educational ear-candy are in no particular order.  I’ve listed only the ones that have excellent audio-quality and can be found on most podcast apps, like Podcast Addict (my personal favorite), I-tunes, and Stitcher.  If there is one that I missed, please mention it in the comments.  Click the picture to link to the website.

 

A Brave Writer’s Life in Brief

 

If you are a social media-savvy homeschool family, you probably already know about Julie Bogart of Brave Writer.  If not, you should.  She is full of the encouragement you need when those days with the kiddos get overwhelming.  This last season was a series of interviews that focus on the Brave Writer lifestyle.  My absolute favorite was the capstone show with author Melissa Wiley.  Julie has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with you.  The next season just began last week with an excellent guest: Susan Wise Bauer!  She and Julie are 2 of my favorite voices of the homeschool community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off-Trail Learning

 

Blake Boles is a hip, yet straight-to-the-point kind of guy with a passion for high-school age kids and the unschool realm.  He hosts “unschooling adventures” for self-directed learners, typically aged 14-20 and is also the author of Better than College and The Art of Self-Directed Learning, 2 books that are in my Amazon wishlist for the day when my kiddos start thinking about higher education.  The podcast features interviews with awesome unschoolers like Carsie Blanton and innovative educators like Patrick Farenga.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Savvy Homeschool Moms

 

Becky and Tina are like the homeschool-mammas-gathered-in-a-coffee-shop you never had.  In a conversational and laid-back (sometimes hilarious) atmosphere, they share stories about their families’ adventures in homeschooling, TONS of resources like links, books, curriculum, field trip ideas, and websites, and tips for getting through your homeschool day.  While they haven’t been putting out as many episodes as they used to, there is a plethora of information on their 5-year running podcast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Schole Sisters

 

“A podcast for the homeschooling mama who seeks to learn and grow while her children learn and grow.”  I mean really, isn’t that exactly what most of us are looking for?  While these amazing ladies are usually pretty forward about being Christian-based, not all episodes are.  They do an RDA at the beginning of each show and that’s when you’ll hear about the religious books they’re reading.  If that’s not your thing, just skip forward a bit because they talk about some really relevant topics. You’ll be pleasantly surprised if you check out these favorites of mine:

1, 7, 9, 10, 13, 18, and 24.

If you’re a personality junkie like Mystie, you’ll really enjoy Episode 9: “Find the Right Schole for Your Type,” and if you know you need to find your own sisters in homeschooling, check out Episode 7: “Virtual Schole Groups and Tech Tools.”

And, they just gave their website a make-over, so if you haven’t visited them in a while, I recommend you do!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Arts of Language

 

If Classical is your style, Latin studies take up a fraction of your school day, and writing practice is your thing, (or not) then this podcast is for you.  Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker bring tons of information to the table on topics like spelling, grammar, parenting, essays, poetry, literary analysis, memorization, and reading.  You can glean a lot of ideas and assignments from the recorded webinars, without actually buying IEW’s products.  I plan to, in the future, simply because the Key Word Outlines have worked so well to help my 5th grader really own the material.  Kids in the elementary range often enjoy the “Ask Andrew Anything” episodes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homeschool Snapshots

 

Pam Barnhill, along with the many real-life homeschool moms she’s interviewed, has boosted my confidence and laid a foundation for so many ideas for what works and what doesn’t in my homeschool.  I love hearing how moms in so many different walks of life have such similar problems and joys in their day to day with their kids.  To get you started with an episode that serves as a thesis statement for Pam’s excellent interviewing skills, you should check out episode 47 with Jennifer Pepito: “Talking Preschool.”  And one of my favorites in the secular realm is episode 41 with Kristen Hochhalter: “Secular Homeschooling.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Morning Basket

Alright, maybe we should call her the Queen of the Homeschool Podcast.  This is Pam’s other fabulous show all about how to get more into your homeschool day in the form of an easy, well-planned, but brief time, everyday.  It doesn’t have to be in the morning, as a few of her guests have revealed.  They are not all secular, but they are all super-informative.  A few of my favorites are; episode 21 on Shakespeare, 22 on picture study, and episode 10 on narration with Sonya Shafer.   As you can see, Pam has become a virtual homeschool sister to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Luminous Mind

 

This show is nearing 200 episodes, so if you’re going on a trip and need endless hours of education on education, download 10 or 40 of these.  Rebecca Bohman is a go-getter and she gets interviews on a very wide range of topics, from homeschooling dyslexics, to sustainable farming, self-empowerment, marriage, unschooling, to spirituality (without being pushy).  She asks great questions and gets a plethora of answers that serve to educate, empower, and ease us throughout our busy lives.  I don’t hear much about this one on social media, but I highly recommend it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read Aloud Revival Podcast

Sarah Mackenzie has such a knack and voice for this show.  I have continued to listen to this one since it first began in April of 2014.  If you aren’t already building relationships with your kids through reading aloud, she will inspire you to do so, like yesterday!  Her enthusiasm can’t be beat.  This podcast fits into the “nearly secular” portion.  You’ll be able to tell by the titles whether they fit into your belief preferences.  If you’re looking for book recommendations for your kiddos, this is hands-down THE place to do it.  Check out their new and improved book lists.  They’re free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first round of podcasts is here: Top Secular (Or Nearly Secular) Homeschooling Podcasts.

To read about homeschooling off-grid in our earthbag home, check out our Homesteading Adventure Blog.

If there are any new podcasts about homeschooling that you love, let me know in the comments.  Happy Listening!