Rooted to Flourish Home Ed Podcast

Home Ed Co-Ops are groups of home-educating families of a range of ages and stages joining together on a regular basis to learn, share and have fun. Each one looks different - and they tend to change over time too. They can be the highlight of the learning week for children and parents.Listen in and catch the enthusiasm as Mary, Debbie and Molly give us an honest glimpse into their own Co-Ops.Find our show notes in our blog (rootedtoflourish.family.blog)

Listen in as Helen, Ruth and Mary chat about various tactics to gather a group of friends and supporters for you and your children in your home education journey. Find our show notes at our blog - rootedtoflourish.family.blog

How are you coping with darker, colder days of winter? Grab yourself a cuppa and listen in as Molly and Clare have a chat about some of their go-to strategies to make the most of the winter months. Check out our show notes in our blog (rootedtoflourish.family.blog) to follow-up on any links that take your fancy...

In which the team have a chat about what they are looking forward to in the New Year and then think back to their early days and consider some advice they might give to their younger selves. Pour yourself a cuppa and listen in; then let us know what your hopes are - or what advice you might have liked earlier in your home ed journey.

Join us for an interview with Helen and Jenni from Dumb Ox as we find out all about how British young people can benefit from the American approach to exams as an alternative to A Levels. Then Molly and Ruth have a chat about what summertime might look like for home ed families. Check out all the links in our blog - rootedtoflourish.family.blog

This week we’re talking all things maths. Maths can be a little like marmite; you either love it or you hate it. However, with a host of resources compiled by Mary, a genuine maths lover (Helen) and some encouraging stories from all of us, this episode turned out to be one of our liveliest yet. We even had to edit out some of the laughter! Join us as we discuss with honesty and humour the maths journeys we have taken with each of our completely unique children. Be encouraged as you root your children to flourish.

The early years. A season of wide-eyed curiosity, cosy readalouds and carefree rambles. Or of toddler tantrums, constant activity and permanent exhaustion. Caring for our little ones is a full time job in itself so how do we weave home education into our days? These truly are precious years. Ones in which we lay foundations and establish relationships. But we would all agree that they can be hard. The years may be short but the days can seem long. Join us as we share some of what we've learned from our home ed years with younger children. Join in the conversation by leaving a message - we'd love to hear your stories. Be encouraged as you root your children to flourish.

Are you a dreamer? Holding on to firmly rooted ideals or a hard-won vision? We're sure we're not the only ones whose days often fall short of these. So do we just give up on the big picture? Is it possible to hold on to our vision in the midst of the everyday muddles and mess? Join us for this uplifting and practical conversation as we offer suggestions on how we can indeed hold firmly to our God-given ideals while living through seasons of change and challenge. Listen in and be encouraged

Many people worry about whether children who are home educated will learn to socialise and be able to make friends. Grab a cup of tea and listen in as Clare, Molly and Helen have a chat about whether this was, in fact, a problem for their children and what they were able to do about it

As we prepare for Easter, we have a special Easter episode for you. Pour yourself a favourite drink and listen in as Clare, Helen, Molly and Ruth share some encouraging stories, answers to prayer, and home education optimism! Happy Easter to you and your family.

Are you considering home educating but wondering how to continue with paid work as well as giving your children a rigorous, varied, Bible-based education? It sounds a big ask but this is exactly what Clare does with the help of the ACE curriculum. Join her and Molly as they discuss the philosophy behind ACE and the day-to-day practicalities of how it works. It could be the answer for your family! For all the links mentioned in this episode, head over to our blog: rootedtoflourish.family.blog

As this episode airs, you may be whisking up some pancakes all ready for a Shrove Tuesday feast. We hope you enjoy a hearty and fun filled celebration. But what about Lent? How can we observe this season of fasting and of preparation for Easter? Are there any faith strengthening habits we can practice and family enhancing rituals we can integrate into our daily rhythms during the next six weeks? Come and join us as we share some thoughts on Lent, some of our own family traditions and of course, some resources. Find all our show notes and links in our blog: rootedtoflourish.family.blog

We thought about calling this "My teen took no GCSEs - look what happened next" or "10 reasons you don't need any exams". But perhaps that would be too sensationalist! Listen in as 3 of our mums talk about the varied routes their children have taken through the maze of qualifications. Let them help you think about the options you have and which, if any, exams your home educated young people might want to take.

We’d love to be sitting with you around a blazing fire, sipping warm spiced drinks and partaking of mouthwatering mince pies whilst sharing our Christmas traditions and memories. However, as this sadly isn’t possible, we hope our special Christmas episode with Helen, Molly, Clare and Ruth will encourage you as you bake, wrap, make, or grab a few minutes to sit down yourself. May you know the redeeming love of Jesus in the midst of your family this Christmas. We hope you get time to rest, replenish weary souls, laugh, play games, read good books, enjoy plenty of fresh air and eat delicious food.

If you are near the beginning of your home ed adventure, or are considering taking your child out of school and embarking upon home education, this is the episode for you! (Although we think there are nuggets of wisdom which will encourage you wherever you are on your journey). Come and listen to Ruth share her experiences of taking children out of secondary school and watching them flourish not only at home, but later on as older teens and young adults. If you have younger children we hope Molly’s long term perspective will reassure you and encourage you to enjoy this precious time with your little ones. And for those who have children with additional needs, please listen in and know you’re not alone.

With the hectic pace of December it can be really hard to find time as a family to focus on the real meaning of advent.  In this episode we chat about some of our favourite resources that we have used to refocus on Jesus and prepare our hearts for Christmas.  Pop over to our blog (https://rootedtoflourish.family.blog/) to see a list of the resources we talk about.

Join Mary and Ruth as they talk through their “whys” of Home Ed; why they began this journey, why they continue and how they can see the benefits of Home Education in their older children’s lives.

For a few decades we’ve been wondering whether we women can really “have it all”. And now we’ve gone and added educating our children into the mix. How is it possible? How can we juggle the demands of home, family, education and general life? I can’t promise that the Rooted to Flourish team have all the answers. And I think this will be a topic we need to revisit and dig into more deeply. For now, join us as Clare, Helen and Mary discuss some of their top tips for negotiating the busy-ness of a home ed life.  

Join us as we introduce ourselves and say a little about our hopes for the podcast. We’re very excited to be embarking on this venture. We are aware, more than ever, of the profound task we have as mums – raising our children to to be like Daniel: living well in the world, but not of it. It is a God given calling, but not an easy one.   We’d love to be able to come alongside you and cheer you on from the sidelines as you live out your own unique home ed adventure with your precious family.