• Back to School 2023: Passionate Teaching and the Joy of Homeschooling

    “I think ultimately what God wants is to refine us in this homeschooling process. It’s not like we’re the ones that have it together and we’re teaching these children to get it together. It’s that we’re all people that need refined, and we’re all people that need to depend on the Lord. And it’s just something we’re all working through together.” Aby Rinella This week on the Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast, Yvette Hampton welcomed Aby Rinella back to share her enthusiasm for teaching and the joy of homeschooling – in our 2023 Back to School series. Aby Rinella is a former public school teacher and passionate homeschooling parent who believes in…

  • Embracing Your Purpose: Insights from A Working Homeschool Mom

    I recently sat down for an insightful conversation with Katie Hornor, a working homeschool mom with a unique journey and inspiring perspective on finding God’s purpose in work. Hornor shares her experiences as a mom, wife, missionary, entrepreneur, and creator of a Spanish homeschool curriculum. Through her stories, she encourages mothers to trust in God’s timing, embrace their gifts, and find joy in the work they’ve been called to do. Embracing God’s Unique Timing and Purpose: “God had a specific purpose for our family in Mexico, but it wasn’t exactly what we had expected. He used our gifts and talents in ways we couldn’t have anticipated.” Katie Hornor One of…

  • Let’s Send 2020 Out in Style (Kirk Cameron Style!)

    There is no question 2020 has been full of challenges, but it has also been another year where the sovereign God of the Universe was still at work. One of the greatest things he has done this year has been to bring millions of children home from school – many for good (read more here and here). While this has created a year of chaos for many and required many families to make tough decisions very quickly, this single event will have positive effects for many families that will last for generations. Through this tumultuous year, as so many new families have experienced the world of homeschooling, God has grown the…

  • A Guide to Celebrating Advent

    Christmas is just around the corner! How are you preparing your heart, and the hearts of your family, for this important season? Does the busyness of the Christmas season overwhelm you? Does your family end the season focused on its true meaning or does it end in a state of exhaustion and a missed opportunity to point everyone to their Savior? Yvette Hampton spoke with Lara Molettiere from Everyday Graces Homeschool and author of A Gentle Advent about the joy of celebrating Advent. They discussed what Advent really is, how and why you should celebrate it with your family, and how to incorporate it into your homeschool.  No Black Friday Here… In this season of amazing…

  • Coronavirus and Common Core: The Future (and Past) of Public Education

    2020 has been a year of critical changes in education. Will virtual school and social distancing be the new normal? Will the millions of students who have begun homeschooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic continue as classroom learning returns to normal? Should they? One of the major effects of millions of students doing public school at home is that the heart of public school education is being revealed to parents who are paying attention to their children’s Zoom lessons. At the same time, our culture has been in a state of upheaval, in near civil war, and the roots of this culture war have been nourished in the public schools.…

  • How Can We Homeschool and Show Hospitality?

    God tells us in I Peter 4:9 to “show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”  If you’re like me, you want to obey the Lord and practice hospitality, and we as homeschooling moms know how much we desperately need relationships with other moms.  We also know that our kids need healthy, strong friendships, and that all of these relationships are built through the practice of hospitality. We bless others and are blessed abundantly when we offer the gift of hospitality.  But how can we open our days to more people when our homes are already always filled up with children? I tend to feel overwhelmed on a lot of days…

  • How Do I Make Sure my Advanced Reader is Really Learning?

    It’s time for the next installment of our homeschool Q&A discussion with Yvette Hampton and Aby Rinella! Today’s conversation discusses what is important for your child’s reading development and offers some helpful resources for those who are trying to find age-appropriate material for their advanced reader. Yvette Hampton: We are back, and we have a mom asking for advanced reading help. She says, “My now-second-grader is reading chapters and I want to continue to make sure she’s deciphering the words properly. She’s comprehending what she is reading, so I’m thankful for that.” You want to jump on this one, Aby? Aby Rinella: As long as she’s comprehending what she reads,…

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    How Can I Find a Homeschooling Mentor?

    Yvette Hampton and Aby Rinella continue their homeschool Q&A series with a discussion on homeschool parent mentors. Where can you find a mentor? What are the benefits of having one? Is the internet really enough, or could in-person interactions be even more valuable? Yvette Hampton: This question says, “I need a Christian homeschooling mentor that can walk me through and help me step by step.” Oh, I love this question. Aby Rinella: Yes, you do. We all do. Yvette Hampton: Yes, we do. And let me just say that is so much of the reason why we do what we do at Schoolhouse Rocked. Aby and I do not spend…

  • Equipping the Next Generation to Transform Culture

    “We found ourselves in a situation where we were at this impasse where we realized that our kids were being discipled away from us. Because whenever there is influence, whenever there is training, whenever there was teaching, there was discipleship.” – Meeke Addison Yvette Hampton recently had the opportunity to interview Meeke Addison for The Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast about the importance of preparing our children for the ongoing culture war. Meeke Addison is the Assistant Director of Special Initiatives at the American Family Association and co-host of Airing the Addisons on AFR. Her work with AFA began in 2007 as a stay-at-home mom in Louisiana. Since then she has primarily…