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The Sociable Homeschooler — Kids & Family
The Sociable Homeschooler

Have you ever wondered how people just like you manage to homeschool their children and apparently love every moment of it? Are you ready to give up the formative years of your children’s lives to a stranger? Do you think homeschoolers are weird? Does the word, homeschool, bring to mind Birkenstocks, jumpers, and hairy legs? Honestly half my family fit the hairy leg stereotype…so who cares? I’m here to help you let go of any pre-conceived notions you may have about home educators. Forget all the excuses ever made under the sun for not homeschooling and listen to my show which is a generous mix of my life as the oxymoron, Sociable Homeschooler, international guests from all walks of life and light hearted views and comments about education and basements. I will also bend your ear with excerpts from my soon to be published book, also entitled, The Sociable Homeschooler, which chronicles many good causes for why my blue eyed cowboy and I chose to go off the deep end hand in hand with God and have everyone talking about us behind our backs and in the end winning them over. Come and be won over on Toginet Radio Live on Fridays, if only to get a weekly taste of Britain.

Latest Episodes:

The Aussie Outback:Rick Turk Nov 29, 2013

Show notes

Many years ago when my children were still too young to mind about homeschooling a colleague brought me a cassette and picture book from down under called Lizard Gully. It became an instant hit for the munchkins. Years later when choosing a song to dance to with my son at his wedding my heart returned to those petal picking critters in the Aussie Outback! During my quest for a more digitally friendly version of the song, I met Rick Turk who composed this popular children’s musical. Rick agreed to be a guest on my show to talk about his career, one day, and that day has come! He makes a living doing what he loves most, writing and performing music. He admits that the key to success in this industry is pure luck. His parents wanted him to have something to fall back on so he was packed off to University to earn a law degree, which he did. Music prevailed and between the U.K. and Australia Rick has blazed quite a musical trail. Come and hear all about it from Rick who lives in Bucketty on the Central Coast of New South Wales with his wife, a recording studio named Big Ears Music, Bandicoots, Wombats and Possums! You’ll want to get your tea and join me this Friday.

American Royalty 2: Janie Scanlan Nov 22, 2013

Show notes

My guest today is Janie Scanlan who talked with me last week about homeschooling and the lead up to her daughter’s winning of The Miss America crown in 2011! We will be continuing our conversation from where we left it on the stage in Las Vegas. Janie is a homeschooling mother of six ranging in age from 13-26. She lives in Gehring, Nebraska and has just bought a coffee shop in her small town, which she runs with one of her daughters. Her husband is a child and adult psychiatrist and Janie says he leaves his job at the office. Praise the Lord! This week we will be talking about creativity, the tools she uses to ensure her children are well equipped for life and touch on her dreams to be a writer. Janie is a first generation American whose children are growing into outstanding citizens as you will hear. Tune in this Friday with your coffee and listen to what Janie has to say about keeping your children close.

American Royalty: Janie Scanlan Nov 15, 2013

Show notes

My guest today is Janie Scanlan homeschooling mother of six ranging in age from 13-26. Janie lives in Gehring, Nebraska. Janie's husband, Mark, is a child and adult psychiatrist who leaves his job at the office. Praise the Lord! We are going to be talking about good old fashioned homeschooling, how we responded to our children’s bursts of independence, the roller coaster ride of raising teenagers especially when we’ve never done it before and the changing face of our homeschool as the years pass and we get older. Janie is a first generation American whose children are growing into outstanding citizens as you will hear. Tune in this Friday with your coffee and be prepared as we bust that stereotype!

Moving Back Home: Larry McNeny Nov 08, 2013

Show notes

I’m thrilled to welcome back my Blue Eyed Cowboy this week to chat about the events that have been going on our life. Making the transition from hands on parents to empty nesters has been quite a ride as he’ll tell you! Father of the four children we homeschooled he brought his guitar, his imagination and his unique way of telling bedtime stories to the kitchen table. His glamourous life caught the children’s attention a whole lot quicker than anything I was trying to do with them! “What was it like travelling on a private jet with the Bee Gees?” is a must know for young, impressionable teens and my cowboy spent many a happy hour regaling them with wild and exciting stories from his career. Today though we’re not going to be talking about his job, or how he fell in love with me on first sight, you can find those conversations in the archives, today we are going to be exploring the question, “are we ever too old to move back home?” Tune in this Friday at 12 noon CT for an amusing and light hearted look at our homelessness!

Pitching a Temporary Tent in Seoul: Aadel Bussinger Nov 01, 2013

Show notes

This week my military homeschooling Mum, Aadel Bussinger, is returning as my guest. The last time we spoke Aadel was all set to pitch her temporary tent in Seoul, South Korea, where her husband is deployed. Today we are going to be talking about her move, with her three children, by herself, with a little help from her military friends. Aadel has been married to her career army man for twelve years and they have three children whom they unschool while moving at the army’s whim! She has a personal blog, These Temporary Tents, writes for Natural Family Day and owns Homeschool Commons where she shares free public domain sources for all who want to partake. You won’t want to miss Aadel talking about living in a culture completely different to America’s as she and her husband choose to live off base in Seoul. Join me this Friday and don’t forget the Kimchi!

The Nomadic Life: Theodora Sutcliffe Oct 25, 2013

Show notes

My guest this week is fellow Brit Theodora Sutcliffe who describes herself as nomad, meaning she and her twelve-year-old son Zac, live anywhere, everywhere, and nowhere and have done so for three years! They travel pretty much all the time after finishing their first year and realizing they couldn’t see the world in 12 short months! Luckily Theodora is a writer which is totally portable and you can read what she writes about the apparent mundanity of leading a life less ordinary at www.escapeartistes.com. She sticks up photos of fabulous, crazy and just plain bizarre places the two of them have visited and rants about topics from politics to books, films to unschooling and the journey through motherhood. Join me on Friday to share a moment of her shouty, screamy, hilarious and at times plain infuriating life.

Discovering God's Attributes: Joshua Williams Oct 18, 2013

Show notes

I always like to have graduated homeschoolers on my show and my guest this week is returning to talk about how his life has taken a change in direction since he was last with me. Joshua Williams is an English, lifelong homeschooler, the oldest son in a family of five boys and one girl. He has taught and worked with children, mainstream home-educated and disabled, in Britain and Italy helping them to build a strong foundation for their futures. Today Joshua is going to be telling us about the ways in which he wants to spend his life expressing creativity as a beautiful gift from and attribute of, God. He will share his journey of self-discovery and his plans for travelling in a camper van when he marries his fiancé next year. Bring a cuppa and join us on Friday to be inspired by this young man who has taken a path less travelled in order to pursue God’s will for his life.

Raising Challenging Children: Julie & Tom Meekins Oct 11, 2013

Show notes

With me today are Tom and Julie Meekins who have a heart for parents, especially those who are raising challenging children. Julie has been a guest on my show a couple of times and you can go back and hear her story about her youngest daughter diagnosed with CHARGE Syndrome as an infant. They were told she would never function as a normal child. Julie and Tom knew that with God all things are possible and today all their children are young adults and doing fabulously! Because of their many blessings they have dedicated the rest of their professional lives to educating, equipping, and empowering parents to reach for the best FOR their children and IN their children while being supported in the process. They also reach out to those who work with families and children, ministry leaders and leaders of Parent organizations and groups. Tom and Julie became certified in child development and health coaching and in March 2012 started a company called March Forth Family LLC to help other families who would need someone who totally understood their challenging situations. Today it is my pleasure to talk to these two dedicated people whose family have a remarkable story of healing that illustrates their message: It is NEVER too late, and there is ALWAYS hope for this child! Bring your tea and come and hear an encouraging conversation with these two inspiring people. Tom and Julie have two teleclasses coming up, on October 16th and October 26th Go to their website and register, www.marchforthfamily

College Rebellion: Jessica Barker Oct 04, 2013

Show notes

My guest today is a graduated unschooler with an innovative outlook on life. Jessica Barker is 23-years-old, an autodidact with a great love for traveling anywhere and learning anything. After two highly successful years spent keeping a blog called Life Without College, Jessica started College Rebellion to reach a wider audience with a greater amount and variety of resources. Jessica also writes for The Unschooler Experiment and offers mentorship through Zero Tuition College. When she is not writing for College Rebellion, she spends her time tending to a grand array of flowers and vegetables, and works as a chef at a local restaurant in Burnsville, North Carolina. Join me on Friday to be encouraged to find out what your dream is and motivated to live it!

Impressive Homeschoolers: Leah Shingleton & Karianne Lisonbee Sep 27, 2013

Show notes

One of my guests this week is a homeschooled homeschooler the other was impressed by a homeschooler she met at college. Leah Shingleton is the mother of five children and the illustrator of two phonics books, A Pretty Girl was Alpha Bette and A Funny Boy was Prince River, both written by her sister and a regular guest on my show, Shannah Godfrey. Her friend and fellow guest with me today is Karianne Lisonbee who also homeschools her six children. She and Leah met at college and have remained friends during their child rearing years. Karianne is a Syracuse City Councilwoman who holds the best interest of her community in her heart. Join us on Friday for some insight into how homeschooling turns out well-rounded, productive citizens who are willing and able to make a difference, in other words, how homeschooling turns out people just like you and me!

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