Raising boys and raising kids with special needs have been the most challenging parts of my parenting journey. Don’t get me wrong. I love parenting, and I love my boys. But I’m not male, and never will be, and quite frankly boys think differently than girls do. At least mine do.
And then add in the special needs that both my sons and oldest daughter have, and well, let’s just say I spend a great deal of time and energy trying to find the best way to help my kids succeed in who they are and in the world around them. And I love it, but it also helps to talk with others who have already been down the road.
Well, in this episode of the Living Life at Home podcast, I got to pick the brain of another mom who has been down this road of parenting boys and boys with special needs and emerged the other side – successfully! And she is generous enough to share her lessons learned with those of us who are still on the journey.
Kayla Fay is the mom of 4 boys, three of whom have ADHD Inattentive, and one with a learning disability and the mom behind the wonderful parenting site about raising kids with ADHD Inattentive, GoAskMom.com.
Listen in as Kayla and I discuss what it’s like to parent boys to adulthood, and how to help our children who have special needs succeed through their school years and into adulthood. Some of the topics we covered included:
How we can help our children focus, whether they have ADHD or not
Tips for working with teachers and other extracurricular activity leaders
The importance of routines and transitions, but also the importance of teaching our kids to be flexible, especially when they aren’t inclined to be
How to get to school activities, church, and sports activities with as few battles as possible
How the food our children eat affects their focus and self-control.
How time outdoors impacts our children’s ability to focus and succeed in school.
What battles are worth fighting and which are not.
Memorization tips for students who have difficulty with spelling, bible verses, and other facts
Might want to grab a pad of paper and pencil though, Kayla’s got some great tips and insights. Several of which I implemented right after our call – with results.
To listen in, simply click the play button below. To download the recording to your computer, right click on download link below and choose ‘Save Target As’.
P.S. For those of you with children who are traditionally schooled or who take outside classes, be sure to check out the Planner for Kids that Kayla developed and used with her boys and see if it might work for you too.
P.S.S. Prefer to read? Be sure to subscribe to our email list and I’ll be sure to let you know when the transcript for this episode is available.
Balancing life as a busy at-home mom is an interesting juggling act. Between managing a household, planning meals, getting the kids to where they need to be, and being a wife, there’s not a lot of time left over. Add in working from home, and possibly even homeschooling, you’ve probably got more on your plate than time to do it all in. I know I do.
Jennifer Tankersley from ListPlanIt.com with her family
In this week’s podcast episode, I had a fun chat with Jennifer Tankersley, a busy work at home mom to three kids, ages 5, 7, and 9, on how we can be better organized as busy at-home moms.
Jennifer is not only a busy mom and wife, but she is also running an online business from home.
Jennifer’s website, ListPlanIt.com, shares planning and organizational tips for professional organizers and moms a like, and she has over 500 lists and worksheets for her members to use to be better organized in all areas of their lives.
In our interview, Jennifer and I talked about:
How she turned her natural talents as a planner into an online business
Ideas on how to plan your time and manage multiple schedules and priorities
How you can to save time and energy with menu planning and shopping lists
An idea for budgetting on a 26 week schedule
Overcoming the guilt and anxiety of not having a perfectly “clean” house
Goal setting and defining success as an work-at-home mom
Ideas on how to manage your plans and lists, and keep it all organized
Jennifer gave us a great glimpse into how she manages life as a busy work-at-home mom with three kids in school, and I shared a few tips on how I manage life, business, and the household as a work-at-home, homeschooling mom. I hope that you enjoy meeting Jennifer and learning from her as much as I did chatting with her.
To listen in, simply click the play button below. To download the recording to your computer, right click on download link below and choose ‘Save Target As’.
Is it really possible to make money working from home and homeschool at the same time?
Absolutely! I’ve done it for over 11 years, and so have many other homeschooling parents. In this episode of the Living Life at Home podcast, Teisha Shelby-Houston (aka LadyT) and I share our insights into working from home while homeschooling.
Teisha is a work-at-home, homeschooling mom to 5 kids, four boys and one girl, ages 17 to 3. And she is passionate about helping moms, like you and I, stay at home with their kids.
In today’s podcast, Teisha shares her heart and experience on how it is possible to earn money working from home while homeschooling your kids. Some of the topics we talked about included:
What the first thing is you need to do if you want to make money from home
How your interests, passions, and God’s plan for you factor into how successful you will be
The question you should ask your friends and family that will help you find identify which options are best for you
What prayer can do for your work-family balance
What homeschooling looks like in her household
What it means to set our kids up for success
How to balance kid activities with family needs and work
What your children learn from your example
Teisha and I had such a fun converstion, I wish we had more time than the hour to talk ‘cuz Teisha is really generous with her experience and expertise and so passionate about helping moms like you and I succeed in both our personal and professional endeavors. I hope you enjoy listening in as much as I did recording it for you.
To listen in, simply click the play button below. To download the recording to your computer, right click on download link below and choose ‘Save Target As’.
Insights on How to Make Money Working From Home While Homeschooling Your Kids [1:01:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
P.S.S. Want a free transcript of this episode? Be sure to subscribe to our email list and I’ll let you know as soon as the transcript is available. Thanks!
In honor of Father’s Day I have another special dad to share with you on the Living Life at Home podcast.
Today our guest is a businessman, a parenting educator, and the creator of the BioSocial Cognition Model, Thomas C. Rector.
He and his wife Shelly are the parents of 5 children, ages 38 to 14, and have six grandchildren. After nearly 39 years of parenting, they have developed a unique view point on raising children, education, and what it means to be a parent.
Formally opposed to homeschooling, they came to realize its advantages (and disadvantages) and on two separate occasions have opted to homeschool their children. Both times, working while homeschooling.
What makes this podcast really special to me is that Tom also happens to be my dad.
So I invite you to meet Tom and listen in while we discuss:
How his perspective on parenting has changed over the last 38 years
Why he believes parenting is the most important responsibility we have
His take on intentional parenting and why creating memories is so important, and
Where homeschooling fits (or doesn’t fit) into the education of our children
Intentionally creating memories with the grandkids
As a parent, a former foster parent, an adoptive parent, a Court-Appointed Child Advocate, and an employer, Tom Rector has developed a new methodology for interpreting human behavior and developing human potential – the BioSocial Cognition Model. So he also shares with us, what that is, and what it means for us as parents.
We got into stories I have never heard before, and discussed topics that he and I had never discussed before. I invite you to listen in to meet the most influential parenting mentor of my life, and gain another point of view on this journey we call parenting.
To listen in, simply click the play button below. To download the recording to your computer, right click on download link below and choose ‘Save Target As’.
Intentional Parenting & the importance of creating memories with our children [1:05:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Enjoy!
…Shannon
P.S. To request more information about BioSocial Cognition, visit BioSocialCognition.com.
In honor of Father’s Day, we’re taking a twist on the Living Life at Home podcast and looking at homeschooling, parenting, and the role of a wife from a father’s point of view.
For the last couple months I’ve had the honor of working with Scott wrapping up some of the final details for his new book, and have come to really respect the message Scott brings as a dad and a person to empower others to live life with passion and purpose and to make family a priority.
I invite you to listen in on our conversation, as we discuss:
homeschooling and embracing our children’s gifts
raising special needs kids,
the lessons he has learned from his son Gabe, who has both down syndrome and autism,
the powerful role fathers have in a child’s life,
the importance of leaving a legacy, and
how we as wives can support our husbands through the challenges and life changes that arise.
To listen in, simply click the play button below. To download the recording to your computer, right click on download link below and choose ‘Save Target As’.
Kayla has also written several parenting books including Focus Pocus: 100 Ways to Help Your Child Pay Attention and Waking Up from the Homework Nightmare.
Raising Boys & Kids with ADHD Inattentive & Special Needs [1:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Teisha is 
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