Homeschool Coffee Break

Kerry Beck
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Homeschool Coffee Break helps you stop overwhelm and gain confidence so you know you're doing enough with your kids' education. Our top-notch interviews, practical tips & tricks, and real solutions will give you confidence in your homeschool.

  1. 5 HR AGO

    183: Stop Overwhelm With These 2 Homeschool Tools

    Is your homeschool stuck in the explain-assign-check cycle? You're drowning in curriculum choices, trying to do all the activities, worried your kids are just going through the motions. The problem isn't that you need more homeschool tools—you need better purpose. This episode reveals the 2 simple homeschooling tools that stop the overwhelm and raise your kids to be thinkers, not followers. These aren't random homeschool tools that add to your pile of things to do. They're the foundational homeschooling tools that shape character, build critical thinking, and make learning engaging, effective, and enjoyable for the whole family. ✅Why the explain-assign-check cycle doesn't raise thinkers (and what to do instead) ✅The 2 homeschool tools you can use today in any subject at any age level ✅How one homeschooling tool builds vocabulary, shapes worldview, and creates shared family experiences ✅Why the second tool slows learning down so kids actually understand and own it ✅How these homeschool tools give you confidence and stop the frantic forever feeling Ready to simplify your homeschool with the right homeschooling tools? Grab the free Read Aloud Magic eBook and Notebooking Pages to start raising thinkers this week! Resources for You: Read Aloud Magic eBook (free)  Notebooking Pages (free) Raising Leaders Not Followers VIP Waitlist Show Notes: Two Simple Homeschool Tools That Actually Teach Your Kids to Think Does your homeschool feel like one long cycle of explain, assign, check, repeat — wash, rinse, repeat? If that's all you're doing is explaining, assigning, and checking, you're not raising your kids to be thinkers. You're just expecting them to regurgitate a lot of information. Most homeschoolers are drowning in all the what to teach. They're not thinking enough about how kids actually learn. Today we're going to talk about two tools you can use this week — easy tools — so your kids are actually learning. You Don't Need More Stuff. You Need a Better Purpose. I don't know where you are right now in this part of the year, but some of you are finishing up your school year. A lot of you are already planning what curriculum to buy next. You're overwhelmed. There are so many choices. You're trying to be faithful to your kids and to homeschooling, but you're scattered. You want your kids to love Jesus, to think well, and to live life with confidence. But how do you do that in the midst of cooking three meals a day and chauffeuring your kids everywhere? You don't need random homeschool stuff. You don't need a bigger pile. You just need a better purpose. Here's what we do — and I say this on a regular basis. We leave the school but then we copy the school at home. We are tied to checklists. We are in a productivity mindset. We've got to go, go, go, check that off. Memorizing facts but not thinking. And I know you want your kids to be able to think for themselves, evaluate, and make wise decisions. But they don't become wise thinkers just by consuming a lot of information. Leaders are shaped by the right tools, habits, questions, and reflection. So let's talk about those tools. Tool #1: Read Aloud and Questions One of my favorites. It is so simple. You can do it today. And it is reading aloud as a family. Reading aloud strengthens your relationships because it happens together. It's like taking a trip together just going through a book. Quality fiction helps your kids learn empathy, compassion, and how to evaluate different circumstances — to see if this is the right way to live or not. They can discern between good and evil. It builds vocabulary. It exposes your kids to big ideas. It's going to help shape their worldview. And it creates shared reference points for conversation. I remember when we were reading the Little Bridges series. Steve was reading it at night for our kids, and we were somewhere in the van and they started talking about that grumpy old grandpa. We're so glad we don't have a grandpa like that. And we had a great discussion just driving down the road. That meant they had entered into the story and were participating in it on an emotional level. When you're finished reading — and I do not stop in the middle of reading aloud and analyze all the parts — just let it soak over everyone and ask, what stood out to you? What do you remember most about this part of the story? And just see what they say. You might suddenly realize they're learning things you didn't even know they had paid attention to. You don't need a lecture. You don't need a guidebook. You don't need a perfect discussion plan. You don't even need a degree in English. You just need a heart for your kids and for God — and then ask questions. Questions are such an easy way to learn. When you ask questions, learning becomes alive. This is how homeschooling feels less like school at home and more like formation — discipleship, life skills. I created a Read Aloud Magic bundle that has an e-book with all sorts of things about how to read aloud and a list of our family's favorite read aloud books. It's free in the show notes at howtohomeschoolmychild.com/readaloudmagic. Tool #2: Notebooking A lot of you are familiar with Charlotte Mason, but you don't really think notebooking is important so you don't do it. And yet it is one of the ways you can stop the overwhelm and stop the stress. I have moms that have said — when we started using this tool, things got better in our homeschool. So what is notebooking? It gives your kids the freedom to express their understanding and be creative. It could be a written notebook. They may draw pictures. But it allows your kids ownership and responsibility for their own education. I like to say they take leadership in their own education. That's what I wanted. I didn't want my kids to just do whatever I told them to do. I wanted it to be what they were learning — when we read a book or when we studied a topic. Notebooking is not busy work like worksheets and textbooks. Notebooking is thinking on paper. It helps your kids process, reflect, and connect ideas. Thomas Edison didn't sit around memorizing facts and hoping an invention would happen. He kept notebooks full of sketches, ideas, and experiments. His notebook was not just a record — it was part of his thinking process. He didn't separate thinking from writing. And that is exactly why I think notebooking matters so much in your homeschool. It slows the learning down. Are you rushing your kids just to finish that checklist? Notebooking slows the learning down so your child can really understand it, learn it, and own it for themselves. It becomes a part of them. Worksheets just check recall. Notebooking builds ownership and understanding. It takes the pressure off getting the right answer and just getting through it. When Hunter was about seven, he would tell me what he learned and I would type it out and then he could copy it into his notebook — because he may not have been ready to get all the thoughts on paper yet. But as they get older, they should be able to do this on their own. I had one mom tell me — homeschooling wasn't working out as I envisioned. I felt like a slave to the curriculum. After six years of schooling that way, she discovered notebooking. It cut the busy work from their day and helped her take the reins of their homeschool with confidence. Don't you want that confidence? What to Do This Week Pick a book and read it out loud, then ask one question — what stood out to you? That's it. For notebooking, grab the free notebooking pages linked in the show notes. Then find one worksheet you were going to use — and get rid of it. Replace it with a notebooking page. Or better yet — let your children pick a topic from the notebooking pages. They are taking ownership and leadership of their own education. They are growing into a leader and not a follower that just does what someone tells them to do. For younger kids, they may not be able to write sentences yet — but they can draw pictures. Put the pages together in a notebook, staple it, or get a binder. Super easy. Read aloud encourages them to enjoy reading and learning. Notebooking allows them to follow topics they are actually interested in. Your homeschool does not need to feel frantic — not forever, and not even now. When you use the right tools, your kids become thinkers, not followers. Grab the free Read Aloud Magic e-book and the free notebooking pages — links are in the show notes. Both of these can help you step out with confidence in your homeschool. And if you want help building a homeschool that actually forms your kids, I've got two exciting events coming up in a few weeks. Get on the waitlist and I'll tell you exactly what's going on. In the past, this has helped moms stop the overwhelm, stop the guessing, and start homeschooling with a purpose instead of a checklist.

    18 min

  2. 14 APR

    182: Why Homeschool Moms Should Do Less, Not More

    What if adding more to your homeschool day is actually hurting your kids' education? More activities, more workbooks, more subjects — it sounds like the right move, but it may be doing the opposite of what you think. There's a better way, and it's simpler than you'd expect. In this episode, we dig into why doing less in your homeschool can lead to more real learning — and how to start making that shift today. Here's what we cover: ✅Why piling on more subjects and activities produces less actual education (not more) ✅How to replace a workbook with 1 simple question that builds real thinking skills ✅The power of going deep into one topic — and why your kids will actually enjoy learning again ✅Why you need to stop asking "did we finish everything?" — and what to ask instead ✅The Charlotte Mason method that helps kids retain more with shorter, focused lessons You don't have to do it all. Listen to this episode and walk away with a simpler, more intentional homeschool day — starting tomorrow. 👉 Grab the free Read, Write, Discuss chart in the show notes and start using it this week! Resources for You Free Read, Write, Discuss Chart How to Simplify Your Homeschool (free 3-day video course) Show Notes: What If Doing Less Actually Gave Your Kids a Better Education? What if the reason you feel overwhelmed as a homeschool mom is because you're trying to do too much? And what if doing less actually gave your kids a better education? Today we're going to talk about a problem that I think many homeschool moms have. They want their kids to have the best education, so they just keep adding and adding and adding. And all you're doing is strangling your kids' love for learning and setting them up to have a bad attitude. We Left Public School But Brought It With Us Here's what happens. We leave the public school system, but we bring it with us. We don't like what they did or are doing, but we bring it with us anyway. Traditional schools are designed to cover material. They produce followers. They produce workers. The Industrial Revolution changed education. They wanted workers. They wanted people that would follow. They didn't want thinkers, they did not want leaders — they wanted workers to come to work and not question. And that's the model you're following when you do the same things as the public school or the traditional grade-level model. It's not designed for deep understanding. People say, oh, that one-room schoolhouse — they didn't learn hardly anything. But they learned a lot more in the one-room schoolhouse than I think our kids do today. They had kids at different levels, and an 8-year-old might hear something that a 12-year-old was learning and pick it up right alongside them. Charlotte Mason Had It Right — Go Deep, Not Wide Charlotte Mason emphasized short lessons, but go deep. Her students retained more because they engaged deeply. How about today? Are you just trying to get through the checklist and get through everything? Or do you focus on one topic deeply? Especially with older kids and teenagers — and this is something we talk about in our Raising Leaders course — they need to pick a topic and dive deep into it. Maybe for a whole month. If a kid likes motorcycles, he can do the science of motorcycles, the math of motorcycles, the history of motorcycles, he can draw some motorcycles. There's a lot you can do with one topic. And when you let them choose, they take ownership. They dive deep. And they're going to learn their math, they're going to learn science — all of it. With younger kids, you can still do the same thing. It's called a unit study. Read some books, do some hands-on activities, watch some videos. Because here's the thing — we think if we give them a whole lot to do, they're learning. But that's not really the case. Your kids take a test on Friday and forget it by Monday. That's not real learning. More Activities Can Actually Produce Less Education When we have a lot of activities and a lot to cover in a day, more really produces less education. Kids are rushing to get it all done. They're not taking time to think about it. They're in information overload and they're not retaining the information. It's just a checklist. It's the conveyor belt. It's a productivity system — and I know you want something better for your kids. You want a true education. My son Hunter didn't do math from 1st grade to 5th grade, and he caught up in a year and a half. When we put him in private school in 10th grade, he won the math award for the whole school. So go figure. It's okay to not do every subject every day. Even when I was a public school teacher, we didn't do every subject every day. I taught social studies, the teacher next door taught science, and we would flip-flop every three weeks. My kids got social studies for three weeks, then science for three weeks. Practical Things You Can Do Right Now First, if you've got a bunch of workbooks — stop the workbooks. Use real books, like Charlotte Mason talks about. Read together, use it for copy work, use it for dictation, notebooking, narration back. Narrate orally. If you've got younger kids, let them write a narration in a notebook. As they get older, keep a reading journal where they write about whatever they're reading. It's very simple and you can do it in any subject that you have a book. You could even do it with a movie you watch together or a newspaper. As your kids get older, I really encourage you to use our Read, Write, Discuss method. Every day they read. Every day they write one page in their journal. And once a week, you have a discussion about whatever book you're reading together. Another thing you can do is cut one assignment today. No workbook page, no nothing. Instead, replace that one assignment with — tell me what you learned, and what do you think about it. Let them talk. Most kids would rather sit and talk about it than do a workbook. Those workbooks strangle them and bring bad attitudes, I think. Stop Asking "Did We Finish Everything?" That question puts pressure on your kids. That is a source of bad attitude. I'm a Labor Day to Memorial Day schooler, and wherever we were at Memorial Day, we took the summer off and picked right back up on Labor Day. We still learned. My kids were still being educated — they just weren't doing the formal reading and writing, but wherever we were in our subjects, we just picked it right back up. Instead of asking, did we finish everything — ask this instead. Did my child think today? If they didn't, they're just regurgitating information. At dinner tonight, ask — what's the one thing that stood out to you today? Or what was your high and your low? Even a 3-year-old can answer that. When you hear what stood out to them, you begin to see inside your child's mind and their heart about what they are truly learning. And you might be able to pursue it in ways you didn't even think about. Leaders think deeply. They don't need to think widely. Focus on fewer subjects, but go deep in each one of them. Quit doing more. Do less subject areas, and go deep. In the show notes, I have our Read, Write, Discuss chart — grab that here. I also have our How to Simplify Your Homeschool three-day video course. They're very short videos, less than five minutes each, and each one has an activity you can do. It's for you, Mom — to help you simplify and stop the overwhelm.

    11 min

  3. 7 APR

    181: 3 Homeschool Lies You Need to Ditch Now

    Are you constantly wondering if you're doing enough — or panicking that your kids are falling behind? The stress and overwhelm you're feeling as a homeschool mom may not be a "you" problem. It's 3 sneaky lies you've been believing, and it's time to let them go. In this episode, we break down the 3 biggest lies homeschool moms believe and how to flip the script so you can finally homeschool with confidence. Here's what we cover: ✅Why "I'm not doing enough" is keeping you stuck in busywork that doesn't actually help your kids ✅The truth about "falling behind" — and why your timeline is the only one that matters ✅Why chasing the perfect curriculum is costing you peace (and your kids' love of learning) ✅The simple 3-step process that replaces overwhelm with intention — no perfect curriculum required ✅1 question to ask yourself this week that changes how you see your whole homeschool Stop second-guessing yourself. Listen to this episode and walk away with a simpler, more purposeful way to homeschool. Grab the free Read, Write, Discuss chart in the show notes and start using it this week! Resources for You Free Read, Write, Discuss Chart How to Simplify Your Homeschool (free 3-day video course) Show Notes: The Struggle Is Real Are you ending your school day thinking, did we even do enough today? Or even worse, you're thinking, am I messing this up completely? What if I told you the problem isn't you? It's the beliefs that you've been handed over the years and through your own schooling. Today, we're going to be talking about the 3 biggest lies that homeschool moms believe, and how we can correct them. Because a lot of times, the stress and the overwhelm that we feel, we are putting on ourselves. And it all starts up here in our mind. Lie #1: I'm Not Doing Enough A lot of y'all are really worried. Am I doing enough? Am I doing the right activities? You feel behind, so then you add more, and more, and more, and you live right there, constantly second-guessing yourself. This belief comes from the public school mindset. You left a school system, and yet you're bringing it with you, and you're comparing yourself to the school system. And that's not going to help you whatsoever. Thomas Edison was labeled difficult in school. His mom pulled him out and taught him at home differently. She did not do the same kinds of things they were doing in school, and he actually became one of the greatest inventors in history. He didn't need more and more school. He didn't need more and more activities. He needed a different kind of education, a better kind of education. Here's something I want you to do — today or tomorrow. Ask yourself about your activities. Is this helping my child think? Or is it just completing something? Checking off that checklist that someone else gave you. I am not opposed to a checklist, as long as it's your checklist — not a curriculum scope and sequence where you gotta make sure you get everything done every single day. If your kids have bad attitudes, that's probably one reason. So stop checking off someone else's list. If it's just a completion activity, that means it's optional. It may not even be helpful. Ask yourself: does this build character in my kids? Does it help them think? Does it help them learn? If it doesn't, maybe get rid of all that busy work, because they're not retaining much of it anyway. You don't need more school. You just need a different kind of education. Start looking at ways you can develop your kids into thinkers. Lie #2: My Kids Are Falling Behind Behind whom? Seriously. The public school system should not be your standard. Other homeschoolers should not be your standard. Don't get on social media and start comparing yourself. Your kids are all unique. Your family is unique. You need to look at what is best for your kids. My youngest, Hunter, did not do a formal math curriculum until sixth grade. When he started in 6th grade, he caught up in a year and a half to grade level. He did not do math for 5 years, and he turned out okay. We did send him to a private Christian school in high school — his first year in 10th grade, he won the Math Award. He wasn't falling behind. I was doing what was best for him. He needed to focus on language. He didn't like reading, and we were going to work on that. My daughter, Gentry, we took off of math for a whole year around 7th grade. Her attitude was not good, she didn't like it at all — but no math. For a year. Did she fall behind? No. She finished in time. In fact, in college, she would help her friends do their math homework and tutor them, because she knew the tools. Abraham Lincoln had less than one year of formal schooling. He was self-educated through reading and discussion. He wasn't behind, because they didn't really compare. He just had a different and more powerful path of education. You care enough to homeschool your kids. They are not going to fall behind. When I think about Abraham Lincoln, it reminds me of the process that we teach our moms — Read, Write, Discuss. It's so simple. You don't even need a curriculum. You can use any book — a book about music, history, science, even math. You read about it every day, you write in your journal or do narration, and then you discuss it once a week. Super simple. I have a free chart in the show notes you can download to help you get started with our Read, Write, Discuss process. Lie #3: I Need the Perfect Curriculum I know a lot of you — this is coming out in April — you're getting ready for the next school year and you're like, I don't know what to do. I'm not opposed to all curriculum, but just have a reason. If all it is is checking off the boxes, that's not a very good reason to get it. And for many of you, you bought, you switched, and then you tried again, and you're just constantly in flux and not really sticking with anything. Curriculum doesn't educate. Curriculum doesn't create leaders or prepare kids for life. Thinking does. What are you doing to encourage your kids to think well? One of our goals in homeschooling was to think biblically and to think critically. You don't need the perfect curriculum. You have the freedom to do whatever. What to Do This Week Stop searching for new. Use what you already have. But in the process, ask better questions, or let your kids narrate back what they learned. That encourages a thinking skill. Here's another secret — don't answer your own question. Give your kids time to think. There is a completely different and better way to homeschool that removes all three of those lies. Take a step back and start asking questions. You can do it. You don't need a curriculum, and you don't need a checklist. You just need the right tools and the right process to go along with what you're already doing. Resources Mentioned 📥 Free Read, Write, Discuss Chart — Download it here free to get started with our simple process right away. 🎥 How to Simplify Your Homeschool — This free 3-day video course goes right along with everything we talked about today. Grab it at here and see if it gets you going!

    9 min

  4. 31 MAR

    180: Character Education Is the Real Homeschool Win

    What if your child graduated with straight A's but had no wisdom, no courage, and no character? Grades were never meant to be the real goal — and this episode is going to challenge everything you thought homeschooling was supposed to accomplish. We are breaking down why character education is the foundation your homeschool actually needs, and sharing 3 practical ways to start building it in your home this week: ✅Why curriculum delivers information but character determines everything else ✅1 question to ask at dinner tonight that builds character, ownership and leadership ✅How to focus on just one character quality for 3 to 4 months without overwhelm ✅Why a single Bible verse can do more for your child than any curriculum can ✅The tool that helps your whole family work on character together every single day Grab the Character Training Toolkit mentioned in this episode and start building what really matters in your homeschool. Resources for You Character Training Toolkit (charts, e-book, videos) Free Character Mini Chart Show Notes: The Real Goal of Homeschooling: Raising Kids with Godly Character If your child graduates with straight A's but lacks wisdom, character, and courage — have you really succeeded? Grades were never meant to be the goal of education. Today I want to talk about the real goal of homeschooling. God Uses Young Leaders — Not Just Good Test Takers When we go back and look at Scripture, we see repeatedly that God does use young leaders. But these leaders aren't necessarily ones that just passed the test. It goes so much deeper than that. David led Israel as a young man. He killed Goliath with some rocks. Daniel influenced kings through wisdom and character. They both had godly character and they had faith. We have the freedom to raise thinkers, leaders, and disciples. And that is exactly what we should be doing. Here's the thing. Curriculum delivers information. Character determines how that information is used. Let me repeat that. Curriculum delivers information. Character determines how that information is used. The Story of William Wilberforce I want to tell you a little story about a man named William Wilberforce. His dad died when he was 9, so his mom sent him to London to live with his aunt and uncle. They were believers, and there was a lot of Christian influence in the home. He was exposed to a man named George Whitfield and became a believer himself at the age of 12. He also became friends with John Newton — for those of you who don't know who John Newton is, he wrote Amazing Grace. He was a slave trader who turned pastor. Wilberforce started seeking spiritual counsel from John Newton. And he said this: God had set before me two objects — the suppression of the slave trade, the reformation of manners. This took a lot of courage. Christian worldview drives out slavery — it is an anti-slavery mission. But this cause was very unpopular in Parliament back in the day. Wilberforce became the target of ridicule, political attacks, and even assassination threats. People wanted to kill him because he wanted to get rid of the slave trade. Admiral Nelson was so irate that he actually pummeled Wilberforce on the street. Twenty Years of Perseverance He began in 1793. He introduced an abolition bill. It failed by 8 votes. Then he had a new bill banning British ships from the slave trade. It failed by 2 votes. His political allies began to abandon him, but he continued to introduce abolition bills year after year. Twenty years of influencing public opinion. And he began to see the tide turn against the evils of slavery. Fast forward to February 23, 1807. He's in the House of Commons. The room rose to its feet, turned to Wilberforce, and began to cheer — three rousing Hip Hip Hoorays — while Wilberforce sat with his head bowed and wept. He was so overcome. The vote passed 283 to 16. They had abolished the British slave trade. That's the kind of person I want my kids to be. And I'm sure you want your kids to be strong in their faith but also strong in character. That is the character of a leader — faith-driven purpose, moral courage, perseverance despite failure after failure, a long-term vision, and a leadership stand that protects millions of lives. How to Build Godly Character in Your Kids So how can we take this story and apply it to you? I believe we need to be raising our kids to have courage, perseverance, and endurance. And I think we take it off of our shoulders and put it on God's shoulders to train our kids in godly character. It was godly character that got Wilberforce through 20 years. I wouldn't try to tackle every character quality at once. I would choose one character quality that your kids need to work on and spend 3 or 4 months on it. Find a verse that reinforces that godly character. Let your kids memorize it and say it every morning at breakfast. And then, when they struggle and they don't do it, you bring them back to that verse. It's always back to God's words — not my words. One of the things we have put out is our Character Training Toolkit. There are three charts, and they all have the positive and the negative — for example, truthful and cheating. There's a space to write what happens when they're truthful and what happens when they're cheating, a verse, and you've already decided ahead of time what you're going to do. It also comes with mini charts you can put on the refrigerator, so everyone in the house is working on it together. I'll put a link to that in the show notes. Simple Dinner Table Questions That Develop Character Another thing you could do is at dinner tonight ask, what is one good decision you made today? This trains your kids to think about their character. It trains them to take ownership and leadership of their character. It forces them to think about how their day went. A low could be that they sinned and they need to confess it. A high may be that they were truthful and received a blessing. These types of activities develop ownership and leadership — and that's what I want in my kids. They didn't need to be dependent on me for the rest of their life. The Question to Ask About Every Curriculum Choice As you look at resources for your homeschool — whether it's curriculum or whatever — use this question: Will this help my child become wiser? Or just busier? Is it just checking off a checklist so they can get a grade? Or are you truly building wisdom in your children? Great homeschooling parents protect curiosity, character, and independent thinking — which leads to ownership and leadership. Your homeschool is not just preparing your kids for college or a job. You are raising thinkers, leaders, influencers, and disciples. Character was one of the most important things for me. Besides a relationship with God, that is what I wanted for my kids — to think biblically and critically, and to act according to the Bible as well. Check the show notes for links to the Character Training Toolkit, the Leaders in Training series, the e-book on manners, and the other resources mentioned in this episode. If you got one thing out of this episode, would you please share it with another homeschooler or Christian parent who could use it? And wherever you're listening, leave a review or a comment — that would mean the world to me.

    10 min

  5. 23 MAR

    179: Is Real Learning Happening in Your Homeschool

    Does your child pass the test on Friday and forget everything by Monday? That is not real learning — and this episode is going to show you exactly how to tell the difference. We are breaking down 2 powerful tools that reveal whether real learning is actually happening in your homeschool, and why ditching the test might be the best decision you make this year: ✅Why tests measure short-term memory, not actual understanding ✅The 2 tools that reveal what your child is truly learning ✅How ONE simple question after any lesson builds thinking skills ✅Why https://howtohomeschoolmychild.com/177younger and older kids need different assessment approaches ✅The one daily habit that turns reading into deep, lasting learning Grab the free resource mentioned in this episode and go even deeper into the process that makes real learning stick. Resources for You Free 3-Step Thinking Process ChartRaising Leaders, Not Followers Course Factory Model Education: Why Homeschool Moms Feel OverwhelmedHow to Break Out of the Homeschool TrapShow Notes: Do Kids Really Need Tests? How to Know If Real Learning Is Happening Hey, let's be honest — your child could pass the test on Friday and forget everything by Monday, right? So if that's true, how do we know if real learning is even happening? That's what we're going to talk about today. Some of you really do worry: Are my kids learning anything? Are they going to turn out okay? Will they be prepared for life? Testing Measures Memory, Not Wisdom We tend to think tests are the way to go. We just need to give them a test and find out. But testing often measures short-term memory, not wisdom — not long-term memory. One of my goals for our kids was to think wisely, to think critically, and to think biblically. I think wisdom is so important. Albert Einstein struggled in traditional schooling environments that emphasize memorization. And yet, his curiosity and his questioning produced breakthroughs in physics — the general theory of relativity — because of curiosity, because of questioning. Not because of memorizing something and taking a test. Real learning shows up as curiosity, connections, and insight. It allows your kids to go deep instead of surface learning. The Power of Discussion I have two powerful tools I want to share with you. The first one is discussion. Discussion activates the brain in ways worksheets can't. It encourages open questions, conversations, and thinking out loud. This is so important because it prepares our kids for life and gets them to start thinking. And did you know writing is just thinking on paper? So you could be discussing this around the dinner table, or you could have the kids writing. One of the things that we teach is our Read, Write, Discuss method. We go deep into this in Raising Leaders, Not Followers, but basically every day your child reads something, they write one page in their writing journal — not a narration, but about how questions and why questions — and then discuss it once a week. That works well in any subject. You can do it in science, in history, in literature, in music. You could even do it in math sometimes. I encourage families to use your family read aloud. Whatever book you're reading out loud, everyone hears it. Every day you're reading it out loud, and then you write in your reading journal. This is especially true for older kids, because that is when those thinking skills really kick in, around 12 and 13 and up. They're going to write one page, and then once a week, you'll discuss it. Don't discuss your family read aloud every day — it sort of takes the fun out of reading. But once a week, have a discussion and ask open-ended questions and let them talk about it. The Power of Narration for Younger Kids For younger kids, I would say the power of narration. Narration is a powerful tool. Charlotte Mason has really made that popular, and for people that follow the Charlotte Mason approach, this is their primary learning assessment. You can have a narration out loud, or you can have a narration on paper — a narration notebook where they write their narration. I would say younger kids, you could even do this with 4- and 5-year-olds, up to maybe 3rd grade, always narrating out loud. But as they get older, they should be able to write a paragraph about whatever they remember from the story. It's just telling back what they learned in their own words. It strengthens their memory, it improves communication, and it reveals to you their understanding of what was read. For moms that have multiple kids, it's hard to read everything that everyone's reading. So I say start with your read aloud, just to get started and get into a rhythm — discussion for older kids, and narration for younger kids. One Simple Prompt That Reveals Everything After reading anything, just say: Tell me the most interesting thing you learned or remember from that book. That works in any subject. You're not adding more to your schedule. You're taking what you're already doing and instead of giving them a test — and I know a test is easier for mom, print it out and let them do it — but ask them, what's the most interesting thing that you learned? And then let them tell you. This simple prompt reveals attention, comprehension, and curiosity. You can evaluate if they are learning. You don't need a test. For what it's worth, I didn't keep grades until high school. I paid attention to what they were doing and what they were learning, and we would have conversations. Even when they were in elementary school, one by one they would come right to the kitchen table and sit in that chair, and we would talk about whatever they were working on and what they were learning. That is how I evaluated them. I did not give them a grade on their writing ability. The only purpose for that reading journal is to get their thoughts out of their head and onto paper. So don't even grade complete sentences. It's a journal — they're just getting their ideas out. Frederick Douglass and the Power of Real Learning Frederick Douglass was born into slavery, and around the age of 12, his owner's wife started teaching him the alphabet. It was illegal to teach slaves to read. The owner found out and forbid his wife from doing it, because he didn't want to make Frederick Douglass unmanageable. But secret learning began. He started trading bread for reading lessons with poor white boys. He learned everywhere he could — in the streets, from neighborhood children, from scraps of books. He began to read newspapers constantly and became very curious about the world and what freedom was. He started reading a journal called the Columbian Orator, and this reading awakened his opposition to slavery. It wasn't a bunch of tests. It wasn't a bunch of workbooks. It was reading — deep into his soul. Education became leadership for him. He started sharing his knowledge with other enslaved people, and eventually started a secret Sunday literacy class where he taught slaves to read the New Testament, with dozens attending. His literacy brought about confidence, critical thinking, and leadership. His early self-education was the foundation for what he became — an abolitionist, a writer, a national speaker. And I think that's what we want for our kids. To give them a foundation in reading and writing and discussing is the perfect foundation to learn about any subject area. The One Question to Ask After Every Lesson So what is the one question that you're going to ask after any lesson? What did you think about that? Or, what did you learn about that? When you do that, it develops thinking skills. It builds confidence. And it reveals what real learning is taking place. That's what we want. We don't need tests. We just need to read, write, and discuss. Free Resource: I have a free chart you can grab — our three-step thinking process chart. You can find it at here. When you're there, read the blog post I've written because it dives even deeper into this Read, Write, Discuss process and moves you even further into independent learning — so that your kids begin to have the tools of learning, and they can learn anything in life.

    11 min

  6. 16 MAR

    178: ONE Mindset Shift Changes Everything: What Is Leadership Education & How It Breaks the Homeschool Trap

    Are you homeschooling to escape the traditional school system, but still following its exact blueprint without realizing it? There is a trap that most homeschool moms fall into, and it quietly keeps your family stuck on the same conveyor belt you were trying to leave behind. This episode breaks down what is leadership education, why it is completely different from the traditional (public school) model most of us grew up with, and how simple shifts can change everything about how you homeschool: ✅The ONE question you can ask your kids this week that sparks real critical thinking ✅3 signs your child is actually growing that have nothing to do with a test ✅The surprising historical reason schools were never designed to raise thinkers ✅Why finishing the checklist-curriculum is actually working against your child's growth ✅Why this approach pulls the best from 5 different homeschool methods into one clear purpose Stop letting someone else's curriculum tell you what kind of homeschool mom to be. Hit play and find out how to take back the reins. Resources to Help YOU Raising Leaders, Not Followers Course. How to Simplify Your Homeschool Course (3 daily videos, 5 minutes or less) Factory Model Education: Why Homeschool Moms Feel Overwhelmed Show Notes: You Left the School System — But Did You Leave Its Blueprint? Did you know many homeschool moms believe they have escaped the school system, but unknowingly they're still following its blueprint? The trap? They are focusing on information instead of transformation. Why do so many moms follow the traditional school model? Now, this isn't traditional over thousands of years — it's just the last 150 years. Why do we follow it? Because it's what we know. We grew up on the conveyor belt. It feels comfortable because it's what we know, and we don't know where to go to get off it. The traditional system was built during the industrial revolution. What was its purpose? To train workers for factories. They needed people that could not think. They needed worker bees that would do what they were told. And let's be honest, that's really where our society is. Most people don't know how to think. Where This Model Came From — And Why It Was Never About Your Child Horace Mann was an education reformer who helped popularize the Prussian model of school back in the 1800s. This is what Charlotte Mason was so totally opposed to. That model treated a child as if they were a container that you just poured bits of information into and then let them regurgitate it. And that's a lot of what we do today in a traditional school — whether that's a public school or a private school. Horace Mann's goal in moving this from Europe to America was uniformity, obedience, compliance, and efficiency. It was not leadership. It was not innovation. It was not freedom. They wanted to control society. Industrialists were pouring billions of dollars into the education system, and Horace Mann went right along with it. Homeschooling, if we do it a different way, gives us the freedom to pursue a completely different goal. And Christian homeschooling does the same thing — just with a faith-based foundation. What Is Leadership Education — And Why Does It Matter? Instead of asking what information should my child memorize — which is teaching our kids what to think, a checklist mentality that isn't even your checklist, it's someone else's — leadership education asks a completely different question: what kind of person is my child becoming? Do they have the tools of learning and the desire to learn anything they need? Leadership education, or freedom education, teaches our kids how to think instead of just what to think. That's what I wanted. I wanted my kids to know how to think critically, how to think in wisdom, and how to think biblically. We homeschooled for 10 years. Halfway through, I started with Charlotte Mason, then moved to classical and interspersed some unit studies. But then I found leadership education and I was all in — because I believe it integrates all the best things from different approaches. The best of Charlotte Mason, classical, the Christian principal approach, unit studies, delight-directed learning — all put together with the purpose to raise kids to lead. And y'all are like, "Well, my kids aren't going to be a leader." Well, they may not be CEO or mayor of the city, but they're probably going to have kids someday and they will need to lead their family. From Information to Transformation: A Shift in Perspective When we quit asking about information and we start looking at transformation, we make a shift — a shift to character, thinking, initiative, responsibility, and so much more. George Washington had little formal education. What shaped him the most was mentorship. Lord Fairfax helped shape George Washington as a man — full, well-rounded mentoring. Thomas Jefferson had George Wythe mentoring him. They were all there at the same time during the colonial period. And what were they using? Reading, being responsible at a young age, writing about it — Benjamin Franklin talks about that in his autobiography — and then discussing it. Read, write, discuss. This is how we can mentor young people to lead. These are the leadership qualities that allowed George Washington to lead a nation right in its very beginning. What You Can Do This Week I'm just giving you the tip of the iceberg here. But what are some things you could do this week? Start asking your kids leadership-type questions. What do you think about that? Don't tell them what you think. Let them think. Too often, moms, we answer our own question and don't give them the opportunity to think. And they catch on — Mom's going to answer it anyway, so I don't have to think. Try: Why do you think that happened in the story? What would you have done if you were that person? These questions get them to think and open the door for discussion. Discussions grow thinkers. It's just one mindset shift that can bring instant clarity. Shift away from "did we finish the lesson?" — that's checklist productivity and it's not what you want — to "did my child grow today?" That is where they begin to take ownership of their own education, and you begin to take ownership of your homeschool instead of letting some curriculum tell you what to do. Growth might look like curiosity, deeper questions, moral insight, responsibility, perseverance, or even kindness to a sibling. There are a lot of ways that growth can look. Instead of just having a test to check off, we want to look at their growth on a regular basis. Free Resource: How to Simplify Your Homeschool I know this may feel overwhelming, but I have created a free course called How to Simplify Your Homeschool. It's three short daily videos — five minutes or less each. It gives you ideas to simplify your homeschool and to think beyond the textbook and beyond the conveyor belt, so that you can see your child actually growing. Grab the free course at howtoschooolmychild.com/simplify.

    9 min

  7. 11 MAR

    177: Factory Model Education: Why Homeschool Moms Feel Overwhelmed

    Ever feel like you're running a miniature public school in your living room? You're overwhelmed—not because you're doing too little, but because you're trying to do too much using the wrong model. Most homeschool moms recreate the factory model education system they walked away from. They don’t mean to, but they do. This system teaches kids what to think, not how to think. It, also, turns them into followers, not leaders. But what if doing LESS actually produced stronger learners? In this episode: ✅The 3-question filter to eliminate busy work and focus on what actually matters ✅ONE simple practice to start this week to stop overwhelm ✅75 reasons you’re totally overwhelmed, homeschool mom ✅How factory model education creates followers for the Industrial Revolution—not thinkers ✅Why depth beats breadth ✅How great leaders like Edison and Lincoln learned differently Ready to break free from factory model education?  Grab the free 3-day video course "How to Simplify Your Homeschool" with daily emails, short videos, and printables to help you put it into practice! Resources Mentioned:  Free Course: How to Simplify Your Homeschool Course: Raising Leaders, Not Followers (17 tips on encouraging a love of learning)  Show Notes: Have you ever looked at your homeschool plan and felt like you were running a miniature public school in your living room? Many homeschool moms feel overwhelmed — not because they're doing too little, but because they are trying to do too much and follow the wrong model. The real issue is that, unintentionally, we recreate the system we walked away from. Think about it: three kids, times five lessons a day, times five days a week — that's 75 lesson plans a week. No wonder you're overwhelmed. Most homeschool moms were trained on the factory school model of education. They all come in to first grade, they do all the same things, and they go down the factory line all the way to 12th grade. Everything the same. Tested the same. It's like a factory. This model teaches us that learning must include multiple-choice tests, many subjects a day, and textbooks for everything. We've only had textbooks in the last hundred years — before that, they used real books. This model teaches us that worksheets, grading, and constant assessment is what education is. And even when we leave that school system, subconsciously we recreate it because that's all we know. All that system does is teach your kids what to think, not how to think. Don't you want your kids to know how to think and not just be a follower? That system creates followers — many worker bees. It was built because of the industrial revolution and they needed a lot of workers. So they built an education system that would produce followers. What Thomas Edison's Mom Knew That We ForgetThomas Edison struggled in traditional school. His teacher called him addled. His mother removed him from school and homeschooled him in the 1850s — we're talking almost 175 years ago. How did she homeschool him? Through reading, through curiosity, and through experimentation. That set up Edison to be a leader. He developed the light bulb, but because of curiosity and experimentation and strong character, he said, "I didn't fail a thousand times. I found 10,000 ways to not make a light bulb." He kept experimenting. He kept being curious to figure out an answer. He later credited his mother with giving him the freedom to explore ideas that led to over 1,000 patents — not just the light bulb, a thousand patents. One devoted parent focusing on curiosity can outperform an entire public school system. Why Doing Less Actually Produces Stronger LearnersI think it's not doing less education — it's doing less traditional conveyor belt education and doing more leadership education. Freedom education that gives your kids the freedom in life to pursue whatever they are called to do. One big factor is depth. Depth creates real learning. The brain builds strong connections when ideas are explored deeply rather than just skimmed quickly. Abraham Lincoln had less than one year of formal education. He educated himself primarily through reading a small number of great books repeatedly — what we would call classics. Some of you hear "classics" and you go, "Oh, boring." Well, I consider Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie a classic. I consider The Hobbit a classic. Don't think just because it says classic, it's old and dusty. I remember when my girls were going to read the Iliad. It comes in and it's that thick. I told myself I was reading it with them — if they're in high school and they can understand it, surely as an adult I can read and understand it. It was an awesome book. These books shaped Abraham Lincoln into a great leader. He didn't study a whole bunch of different subjects. He studied fewer ideas and he really dove deeply into them. The Three Question Filter: Cut the Busy WorkBefore you add anything to your homeschool, ask yourself three questions. Does this help my child love learning and think deeply? Does this strengthen their character or their wisdom? Does this move them toward becoming an independent learner with lifetime learning tools? If you say no to one of these, it may just be busy work. And if it's busy work, get rid of it. You can see more learning taking place in 20 minutes than an hour or two of worksheets. I am not asking you to add something to your homeschool. Whatever your kids are already doing, get rid of all the extra stuff if you're overwhelmed and let's just focus on three things this week. Make sure they're reading, make sure they're using thinking skills, and make sure they're growing in their character. What to Do Today: Go Deep Instead of WideAsk yourself this question: if my child mastered three things this week, what would they be? Write them down. If you're driving, say them out loud. What three things could each child master this week? That's what you want to dive deep into. Let your child choose one subject this week — something they are going to go deeper in instead of just passing through and checking off a checklist like public school. If you follow their interest instead of yours, this encourages a love of learning. Let them make a choice of something they're interested in and dive deep into it. Then let them read a short passage about it. Ask them what they learned. What was their favorite part? Have the discussion. For younger kids, start with narration — just let them tell back what they learned. For older kids, ask a question that starts with how or why. How and why questions will get them to start thinking. Reading will produce a love of learning if you can find the right books. Believe me, I had to work hard for one of my children. My son Hunter didn't like to read. I was constantly on the lookout for a good quality book, and it took time and effort on my part. But he's an avid reader now. All of my kids love to read now. What Homeschooling Is Really AboutWhen you simplify your homeschool and you're not trying to do it all, you create space that actually matters — space for a love of learning, for thinking and discussion, for character building, and for leadership development. This is what homeschooling is about for me. I wanted my kids to grow in all four of these areas. Free Resource: How to Simplify Your HomeschoolIf you're overwhelmed and need to simplify, I have a free 3-day video course called How to Simplify Your Homeschool. It comes each day in an email with a short 3 to 5 minute video and a printable of how you could put that into practice. I've had moms say how much this has helped them get off that conveyor belt and start to simplify their homeschool. You can find it at howtoschooolmychild.com/simplify.

    11 min

  8. 16 FEB

    176: Best of LSLS: Raising Readers, Writers & Critical Thinkers Who Love to Learn

    What if you could focus on just 7 core areas and know your kids are getting what they truly need? Meredith Curtis discovered the Seven R's during one of the hardest seasons of her life—caring for dying parents while homeschooling five children. This framework helped her "major on the majors and minor on the minors," and it will transform your homeschool too. In this episode, you'll discover: ✅Why relationships are the foundation that makes all other learning possible—and what happens when they're broken ✅The secret to raising kids who actually love to read (hint: it's not assigning book reports) ✅How to teach writing so your kids can communicate clearly, graciously, and persuasively for any audience ✅Why math mastery matters more than moving through a curriculum—and what to do when kids fall behind ✅The difference between Googling answers and true research skills your kids will need for life Ready to simplify and focus? The Seven R's will help you cut through curriculum overwhelm and build confident, capable lifelong learners. Resources Mentioned: Get your FREE Basic Pass to Life Skills Leadership Summit 2026 to give you confidence that your kids will be ready for adult life: The Seven R's of Homeschooling by Meredith Curtis - Practical guide to majoring on the majors and minoring on the minors Who Dun It? Literature & Writing by Meredith Curtis - Teach high schoolers to write their own cozy mystery HIS Story of the 20th Century by Meredith Curtis Meredith Curtis, pastor’s wife, mom to 5 homeschool graduates, and Grand-Merey to 8 angels, loves to read cozy mysteries, travel, hit the beach, and meet new people. She is always learning because the world is just full of mysteries and beauty! Meredith loves to encourage families in their homeschooling adventure because her own was such a blessing. She is a curriculum creator and author of Jesus, Fill My Heart & Home Bible Study and Who Dun It Murder Mystery Literature & Writing. Find Meredith at PowerlineProd.com, along with her online store and blog. You can also follow Meredith on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and on the Finish Well Podcast. Show Notes: Kerry: Hey everyone, Kerry Beck here with Life Skills Leadership Summit where we are going to be talking about an extremely important topic that is tools of learning because I think all of you want your kids to be able to learn as an adult and not be dependent on a teacher or on you. And that's what Meredith Curtis is here to talk to us about. So, welcome Meredith. Thanks for being here. Meredith: Oh, thank you for having me. I'm really excited about this year's conference and I love this topic we're talking about. I either call it tools of learning or the seven Rs and they're just so helpful in staying focused and making the majors the majors and the minors the minors. Kerry: That's a great way to put it. We're going to dive into her seven Rs and how it can apply to your homeschool. But before we do that, could you just tell our listeners a little bit about you? Meredith: Yes, I would love to. So, my name is Meredith Curtis and I am a pastor's wife. I'm the mother of five homeschool graduates and I have eight grandchildren that are perfect angels and I feed them too much sugar. I love spending time with my grandchildren. I love to travel. I love to read. I love Jesus. That's probably the most important thing. And I'm a writer and a speaker. Kerry, I love creating curriculum. I love teaching. I love creating curriculum. I love writing Bible studies, studying the Bible. Probably one of my favorite things is I wrote a curriculum called Who Done It? It's my most popular book, and it basically is a high school English class that teaches teens how to write their own cozy mystery. And I actually started writing a cozy mystery series. I have three books in it so far—Tea Time Trouble, Pumpkin Patch Peril, and Old-Fashioned Christmas Murder. Kerry: Okay, y'all. She has two interviews and we've talked about the cozy mysteries in the last one. So, y'all go listen to that. But I was just fascinated. I knew she taught the kids, but now she's written three of her own mystery books. And so, I just think that is so exciting as well. Plus, her husband, does he have four books out now? Meredith: He does. Well, he actually has a fifth book that's not fiction. It's called Forging Godly Men, and it's about mentoring godly men. Kerry: The other ones are novels. So he's got the four novels plus the one on raising our boys to be godly men. Today we're going to talk about writing, but let's back up. I know you either call it the tools of learning or the seven Rs. How did you discover these tools of learning? How the 7 Rs Were Born from CrisisMeredith: Okay. So, I was in my early 40s and I had a four-year-old, five-year-old, six-year-old. My oldest was already graduating from high school, starting college. And so I had this wide range of five children. And my parents got really sick, Kerry. They were so sick and they live four hours away. So I was constantly taking a trip down to South Florida. I live in Central Florida and I would drive that 4 hours and stay with them a few days and then come home. I had to leave one of the older kids in charge of one or two of the younger ones and bring another older one with me with the younger one. And it was just very challenging. And of course, I was heartbroken because my parents were very sick. So during that time, I had to just ask the Lord, "What is the most important thing for my kids to get done?" Because they're going to be doing school apart from me. And the other one, we're going to be in the hospital or we're going to be in doctor's offices or we're going to be taking care of my parents. And I need to be able to at a glance know that they're getting it. So I really need help, Lord. And that is, you know, this is kind of birthed from that. You think about the three Rs, reading, writing, arithmetic. So, this is kind of what I felt like I discovered as a homeschool mom, that these were the tools of learning, the majors, and that if some of the other stuff fell by the wayside, these tools that I kept focusing on were going to allow them to learn anything at all that they needed. It was a really sad season in my life and my mom ended up passing away. My father moved close to us and then two years later he passed away. So it was a very hard season but out of that the Lord taught me not just life lessons but homeschooling lessons. God always brings good things out of very sad things. Kerry: I'm so sorry for your loss. And yet I see it because you got to take care of the majors and let go of things. And there are seasons in homeschooling, seasons in our lives that you may not go to every activity or every art lesson or whatever. You've got to just take care of the majors. Relationships: The Foundation of EverythingKerry: I know that you and I, there's one thing in particular even beyond academics and that's relationships. So why would you say relationships are so foundational to everything else? Meredith: Well, I think that life is basically number one thing relationship. God says he wants to have a relationship with us. In Revelation, he stands at the door and knocks and if anyone hears his voice, he comes in and eats with them. And you only eat with people you like. You know what I mean? Like that's relationship. So I think we have a relational God. He created people to be relational. And learning, I think when learning is birthed out of strong relationships, it is so different because I love Jesus. So I want to learn because I want to glorify him. I want to know what did he create and how does things work. When I became a Christian at 16, learning was a whole new thing for me. It just fascinated me. What is God doing in history? What is he doing here? And so I think when relationships are strong, that's the vertical relationship, but my relationship with my children, if my children know how much I love them, how much I respect them, how much I want their life to be blessed and fulfilled, they're going to be motivated to learn, not just for me, but with me. I think we learn as a family. I didn't know everything when I started homeschooling. I loved learning along the way. And every time we went back through US geography, I learned more. In contrast to that, when relationships are bad and there's yelling, there's always going to be fighting in a home, especially if you have more than one child. But how you resolve it can be resolved in a way that they can be closer afterward. But if there is constant bickering, if your children don't feel like you're for them, if you don't have a high opinion of your children, you're frustrated with them, learning doesn't really take place well. They might be learning, but so often in those situations, I see kids memorizing facts for a test, but they don't enjoy learning. I have just had some of my middle school classes that I teach online. These kids, they're not shy yet, you know, like some of the high schoolers are shy, but they're just—I love learning. And I think they have a family, a home that's happy, that they feel loved by their family and it always bears it out when they talk about their parents, they talk about their siblings, it's positive. So, I think relationships set the atmosphere, but also all the studies I've ever read, the most confident people know that they're loved. And when our children know that they're loved, it gives them a confidence that they can learn anything. Kerry: So good. And really, relationships are what's going to last forever and ever. I mean, even beyond this earth. And so we want to build those good relationships. Plus sometimes, you know, later in life, your kids, their siblings, they may need their siblings to be there for them. And we need to build that relationship and that security so that when they take that risk to go learn something that they're not really sure if they know how to go

    39 min
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About

Homeschool Coffee Break helps you stop overwhelm and gain confidence so you know you're doing enough with your kids' education. Our top-notch interviews, practical tips & tricks, and real solutions will give you confidence in your homeschool.

Information

  • Creator
    Kerry Beck
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    186
  • Rating
    Clean
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    © 2026 How to Homeschool My Child All Rights Reserved.
  • Show Website
    Homeschool Coffee Break

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