Homeschool Mama Self-Care: Nurturing the Nurturer Teresa Wiedrick

Stephanie Sewell is an Alternative Education Consultant based in Chelsea, Quebec,working with families and educators around the world.







She helps parents, teens, and children to identify and navigate the education path that works best for them – in school, as a homeschooler, or something in between. Her work is heart-based, informed by research, training, and experience.







Stephanie Sewell’s encourages us to own our learning so we can own our lives. She builds supportive, guiding relationships with parents and their children or teens, allowing the family to get back on track.

















Book a no-obligation conversation with Teresa, the Homeschool Life Coach

































School is not the only option. The very requirements of the school make it more difficult for the children to exist. The way it’s been done, in many cases, is doing harm.

















In this episode, Stephanie Sewell & I discuss:









* The post-high school mothering phase.







* How we relate with our kids can enable their agency and independence.







* How Stephanie moved into alternative education.







* Why she thinks outside the educational box.







* Transitioning from the homeschool mom to the next phase of our lives.







* How we homeschool moms are learning about learning, learning child development, learning to organize, and learning about home education throughout our homeschool lives.







* What it’s like to homeschool in Quebec.







* How do we support our adult kids to choose the next steps in their life?







* How we support our adolescents when they want to attend high school.







* Our responses to our kids’ discussions on grades and testing.







* We want to deschool to live our lives on purpose.









Finally, you can find Stephanie Sewell and her resources at:









* About Stephanie and what she offers.







* Learn more about Stephanie Sewell here.







* The resources & consulting that Stephanie Sewell offers parents.







* How to directly connect with Stephanie.















Wellness Guide: Homeschool Help for MomsIntroducing Your Ultimate Wellness Guide, an ideal guidebook for homeschool moms seeking effective strategies to maintain physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. This comprehensive guide offers practical tips, actionable steps, and easy-to-follow instructions to help you prioritize self-care, manage stress, and enhance your overall homeschool experience. Get your copy now and take the first step towards a healthier and happier homeschool mom life!

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There are many resources available for parents who are homeschooling their children. Some options include planners, curricula, apps, books, and educational websites.







Additionally, there are many virtual homeschool communities and support groups that can provide guidance and advice (I’ve got one too).







But do you know what there isn’t enough? Customized homeschool help for parents. Help to get personalized, one-on-one support.







A life coach can offer individualized support, guidance, and gentle accountability to empower homeschool parents to navigate challenges, cultivate well-being practices, and implement positive changes in their homeschooling journey and change their lives.

















Book a no-obligation conversation with Teresa































Let me introduce you to Valerie, a homeschool mom who pursued meaningful homeschool help for parents through a life coach.







Valerie is a competent, clever, organized, creative, homeschool mama who has been doing this homeschool thing for more than a decade.







Someone might call her a veteran homeschool mom.







Valerie is no longer worried about choosing the “right” curriculum (she probably owns a little bit of everything anyway), she’s not concerned that she can’t plan her homeschool lessons well (she has learned how to do them on the fly), and she’s no longer concerned what other people think about her homeschool or life choices (she’s had enough practice with that challenge and learned to let that go a long time ago).







However, Valerie is challenged by…









* A mountain of things to do,







* Unrealistic expectations of what she can do in a day, or even a week,







* Trying to fit it all in,







* Aware of her perfectionistic tendencies,







* Feeling burned out,







* Feeling scattered & overwhelmed post-pandemic,







* Motivated primarily by finishing her to-do list,







* Feeling stuck in life,







* Occasional surges of overwhelm & emotional outbursts (hers, and also the kids),







* Guilt about not being the same homeschool parent to her younger kids as she was to her older kids.









When Valerie & I met, she didn’t know what homeschool help for parents I offered.

When you first step off the beaten path, leaving the conventional schooled path, you might have uncertainties and doubts; you might research & read more than Wiki itself.







Of course, it is a rite of passage for all new homeschoolers to do that, as one should (we are taking responsibility for our children’s education and that’s a big responsibility).







So, from this graduated homeschool mama to one just beginning her journey, here’s my guide to get started homeschooling…







I’m here to equip you to get clear and confident as you get started homeschooling so you don’t have to ride the tsunami waves of uncertainty, grapple in angst with other people’s concerns, or feel alone in your choice to do this thing: you really can do this homeschool thing confidently (and enjoy it too).







And a big warm welcome to you!







In the podcast season dedicated to new homeschoolers, here are a few common concerns that new homeschool families have:









* Tell me where to start: A Beginner’s Guide to Your First Year of Homeschool







* the surprising transition from school to homeschool







* What about gaps in my child’s home education?







* What do homeschoolers want to deschool from: let’s get specific.







* What Does Homeschool Cost: What I Wish I Knew Before I Homeschooled







* A Homeschool Life Coach Help Near Me







* Three Things I Wish I Knew Before I Homeschooled







* homeschool philosophies and why you don’t need to care







* How to homeschool with confidence in 5 (not-so-easy) steps







* A Homeschool Mama Will Benefit from Coaching for Homeschool (& Life)









And if you’re intending to Homeschool in Canada, I’ve got two episodes you’ll want to listen to as well:









* Can I Homeschool in Canada?







* Start Homeschooling in British Columbia: How to Decide









If you have any questions as you get started homeschooling, you’re welcome to send a message here or book an appointment with me to chat…

Andrew Pudewa is the founder and director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing and a father of seven. Traveling and speaking worldwide, he addresses teaching, writing, thinking, spelling, and music issues with clarity, insight, practical experience, and humor.







Although Andrew Pudewa is a graduate of the Talent Education Institute in Japan (Suzuki Method) and holds a Certificate of Child Brain Development, his best endorsement is from a young Alaskanboy who called him “the funny man with the wonderful words.”







He and his wife, Robin, have homeschooled their seven children and are now proud grandparents of fifteen, making their home in northeastern Oklahoma’s beautiful green country.

















Book a no-obligation conversation with Teresa, the Homeschool Life Coach

















Andrew Pudewa Unraveling the Art of Learning on the Homeschool Mama Self-Care podcast with Teresa Wiedrick, Homeschool Life Coach















What I’m trying to help people do is to get free of this compulsion to compare children with other people’s children based on their age.

















In this episode, Andrew Pudewa & I discuss:









* The origin story of the Pudewa family homeschool & the Institute for Excellence in Writing







* Value of writing to form your thoughts & clarify your sense of self-expression and purpose.







* The value of across the age and grade spectrum learning together.







* Learn from a music teacher and compare children with themselves.







* How to assess a child and help them learn from themselves.







* Deschooling our unhelpful schooled mindsets & leaning into child-inspired learning.







* A transcript shows that you did time, not that you learned something.







* How to ask better questions so children can have a meaningful education.







* The value of journaling and the introspective life.









Finally, you can find Andrew Pudewa, his podcast, books, and resources at:









* About him & the Institute for Excellence in Writing







* Access so many (free) Conference Talks







* Learn more about The Institute for Excellence in Writing







* Find out where Andrew Pudewa will be speaking near you







* Listen to The Art of Language Podcast with Andrew Pudewa



















If all teachers were music teachers first, we wouldn’t do a lot of dysfunctional and disordered things that happens in most schools today.















Deschool your Homeschool Journaling WorkbookDeschool your homeschool journaling workbook that aids in your self-exploration, to get clear on how you can bring freedom & individualization into your homeschool.

$9.99 Original price was: $9.99.$5.99Current price is: $5.99.

If there were any skill I would recommend for the pre-parent, it would be the one I discuss today: counseling 101, a homeschool parent’s most important skill (how to kindly, authentically, and diplomatically deal with people).







Really. Tough. Work. Trying to figure out how to co-exist in the world with other people (especially our little people, and our little people trying to coexist with their siblings: one of the hardest aspects of homeschooling).







However, because we weren’t put in this world alone, we need to learn to empathetically engage in our social sphere. Hence, I offer you: Counseling 101: a homeschool parent’s most important skill.

















Get your Thought Care Tips so You Don’t Lost your Mind Managing Kid Conflict































This is a homeschool parent’s most important skill if she doesn’t want to lose her mind.







Counseling, conflict management, and communication will likely be a lifelong lesson for all of us as we continue to discover why we (& others) do what we do.







Our children have differing natural-born penchants for navigating these things, but we know intuitively that our kids learn to navigate relationships by watching us navigate our relationships.







First, let me establish a few of my beliefs about relationships:









* We are happier when we live in authentic harmony (with others and ourselves).







* Also, we feel more connected and are more creative when we do.







* We like our lives more when we’re living in harmony.







* Therefore, we must have a plan to address conflict when it arises. Because on this topic, I don’t agree with Forest Gump’s mama: you know that quote: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.'” In a relationship, you definitely do: if you’re living alongside humans, including yourself, you’ll get into conflict).









ps I did a little research on chocolates at this point, and I discovered that I could probably eat every single Purdy’s chocolate available to Canadians? Do y’all have Purdy’s, when I did a rabbit trail of unsavoury international chocolate offerings, I discovered Heinz ketchup, vegemite, and insect flavoured? What even? Just no.







I’d love to hear about your least favourite chocolatier and oh also, send me a sample of your most favourite, haha.







The sibling relationship, especially in a homeschooled home, where continuous contact is present, requires an energetic, proactive parental approach.







Teaching kids that they have relational power to influence and affect others is important. They have the relational power to build up or tear down others.







Teaching our kids empathy, learning to actively listen, expressing their feelings and needs, empowering (theirs and others) choices, learning collaborative problem solving, setting clear boundaries, and practicing patience…all of this doesn’t happen overnight.

“The Charge” by Brendon Burchard explores how individuals can activate their passion, purpose, and drive to live a more fulfilling and charged life, providing practical strategies for personal growth.







I want to incorporate the concepts from The Charge so you can live the charged homeschool mom life too!







In “The Charge”, Brendon Burchard argues that the only way to improve the quality of your life measurably is to learn how to activate the ten drives that make you human.







These drives are your desires for more control, competence, congruence, caring, connection, change, challenge, creative expression, contribution, and consciousness.







Also, these drives shape everything you think, feel, and do in life, so understanding and mastering them is critical to your success and happiness.







Strategically activating these drives consistently is the fastest path to living the charged homeschool mom life.

















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Sometime in January, our home power was out for a few hours. (This isn’t unusual during a snowstorm in the mountains where I live; in fact, sometimes this isn’t unusual in mid-summer with above-ground electricity and 100-feet coniferous trees).







Back in January, we dug out the candles, reminded ourselves how much stored water we didn’t have on hand, and my husband made grilled cheese on the natural gas single burner on our verandah.







I discovered what an enjoyable evening it was without the “buzz” of electricity and artificial lights. 







Naturally, I read, of course, I always read;) But I read by candlelight. Charming.







Later, when I got bored, I kidnapped my 15-year-old son’s cellular and we watched Netflix for an hour in front of the lit Christmas tree (yeah, well, not lit because no electricity, but the tree was still up).







It was delightful. 







Why am I sharing this with you? Because it was a powerful recharge evening.







WITHOUT sensory stimulation.







I highly recommend turning off all the lights, dishwasher, dryer, and your tree lights (ha, I’ll assume your tree is no longer up now in April) and discovering the quiet (oh, and the desire to go to bed at 7:30, ha). It was a retreat from the charge of electricity.







In our homeschool mom lives, though, we don’t want the electricity to go out.







We don’t want to lose our verve, our energy, our charge, because we have stuff to do.







Ultimately, we want to make this a meaningful life filled with interesting learning opportunities and Instagram-worthy memories. We want to enjoy it. And we want fuel to continue feeling fully alive, purposeful, and present in each of our days.

















In our homeschool mom lives, though, we don’t want the electricity to go out. We don’t want to lose our verve, our energy, our charge. We have stuff to do. We want to make this a meaningful life filled with interesting learning opportunities and Instagram-worthy memories.