A lot of Christian homes don’t have experience with family devotions. Where do you even start? What’s appropriate for our kids at their ages? This episode, we’re following up our previous show about why to have devotions – now, we’re looking at

Having Family Devotions Even When It's Hard

Mar 2nd, 2024 20m 38s

One of the most critical responsibilities of Christian parents is to teach our children to know and love the God we serve. One of the best ways is to have regular times of family worship and Bible study – but honestly, life is busy and kids are

Encouraging Your Teen Driver – MBFLP 301

Feb 2nd, 2024 17m 41s

Encouraging Your Teen Drivers More and more Gen-Z’ers are delaying their driver’s licenses … but we’re helping our eighth child through the process right now! This is a step toward adult independence and a big help to the family right now … as

Dealing with Selfishness – MBFLP 300

Oct 26th, 2023 22m 15s

It is perfectly natural for our children (and ourselves) to be self-centered. It’s also perfectly wrong! But how do we overcome this tendency in our children? Can we do it without constant nagging and scolding? What can we do to encourage our f

MBFLP – Homeschooling In Hard Times

Oct 2nd, 2023 1h 2m

So many of us began homeschooling out of conviction that God wanted us to do it. Our commitment can be shaken if we come on hard times. We’ve homeschooled through job loss, high-risk pregnancy, financial challenge, and stage IV cancer, and we l

Reading Fiction as a Christian – MBFLP 299

Sep 20th, 2023 25m 15s

We’re both avid readers, and we’ve raised a whole nest of readers – our house is full of books — and not just the parents’! We’ve talked about some our personal favorites, but this episode we’re looking at whole genres of fiction. How should we

What To Expect Senior Year – MBFLP 298

Sep 18th, 2023 21m 2s

It’s an exciting milestone in a homeschooling family – high school graduation just around the corner! Or maybe it’s on the horizon and approaching fast. Either way, what can you do to prepare yourself and your student for this big transition? W

Homeschooling with Babies and Toddlers Around – MBFLP 297

Sep 11th, 2023 22m 57s

Homeschooling doesn’t (and shouldn’t) look like a classroom school. One big difference is multiple ages together – and sometimes, the younger ones aren’t even school-age yet! How do you manage to teach your older kids while you have nursing bab

Bringing History to Life! – MBFLP 296

Sep 4th, 2023 21m 1s

We’ve seen that understanding history can help us navigate the present, too! The question is, how can we help our children learn to appreciate history like we do? What can we do to spark their interest, to make it memorable, and bring it to lif

MBFLP – Homeschooling With Special Needs | Replay

Sep 1st, 2023 29m 53s

Homeschooling with Special Needs This week we talk about homeschooling when your student has special needs–and why home education is a blessing to them. Our guests are the special needs consultants from the Home School Legal Defense Association

Why Teach History? – MBFLP 295

Aug 24th, 2023 19m 21s

Here in the technology-driven 21st century, why should we bother our kids with names and dates from the past? Shouldn’t we be looking forward, not backwards? Does history really have much bearing on the world our children will inherit, and how

Don’t Skip the Picture Books – MBFLP 294

Aug 24th, 2023 27m 51s

Do you have a precocious reader? We’ve had some! And when they’re being homeschooled – and around grownups all day – their vocabulary can be surprisingly rich. So should we move them on into the youth books, and skip over the picture books and

A Healthy Marriage, Day to Day (with Roger and Jan Smith) – MBFLP 293

Jul 22nd, 2023 24m 5s

What makes a marriage last? How do you build a strong and stable relationship for hard times and good times? Is it something more than just being “lucky in love”? This episode, we’re talking with our friends and fellow teachers, Roger and Jan S

Parenting with Influence with Roger and Jan Smith – MBFLP 292

Jul 14th, 2023 23m 21s

This week, we’re talking with our friends Roger and Jan Smith, veteran homeschool leaders and speakers, about Roger’s new book, Parenting with Influence. The parents of four adult children, Roger and Jan share the principles they found helpful

Graduation – Early or Late? – MBFLP 291

Jul 6th, 2023 24m 49s

Homeschoolers have the blessing of flexibility on so many issues – and graduation timing is one of them. Should you plan to graduate your student at 18? What about the precocious kids who might earn a diploma by 15? Or kids with health or learn

Different Rules, Same Family – MBFLP 290

Jun 27th, 2023 28m 57s

“You never would have let me do that,” says the older child. “Why can’t I do the same thing as my brother?” demands the younger. Parents may find themselves caught between competing complaints! But the fact is, many of our family rules can an

Rules and Relationship – MBFLP 289

May 2nd, 2023 21m 50s

Rules are a good and necessary part of running a home and raising a family. Why do our best efforts sometimes breed resentment or even rebellion, when it’s all so well-intentioned? This episode we’re looking at the crucial balance between rules

Valentine’s Day on a Budget – MBFLP 288

Feb 7th, 2023 21m 38s

Like it or not, February 14 is just around the corner. Maybe you’ve got big plans, but maybe you don’t have the funds for a romantic getaway. With eight kids and a limited budget, we’ve been there! This episode we’re talking about ways to make

Surviving the Break with Your College Students – MBFLP 287

Dec 5th, 2022 18m 24s

The holidays are upon us and we are looking forward to having our college students home again! But to be realistic, there’s always a transition to bringing our young adults back into the household – and often both the student and the family end

Kids and Chores – MBFLP 286

Oct 31st, 2022 20m 3s

Part Three of our series on work – Your kids and their chores! We have eight kids and with some health challenges around, it was really necessary that everyone contribute to running the house. This episode we deal with some common questions: Sh

Getting Schoolwork Done – MBFLP 285

Oct 23rd, 2022 20m 18s

Part 2 on getting our kids to work – What about school work? That’s really the daily job for our children – whether it’s homeschool or any other educational system. What can we do to overcome their natural resistance to school, and how can we e

How Can I Get My Kids to Work? – MBFLP 284

Oct 14th, 2022 30m

It’s one of the most common questions we get – “How can I get my kids to work?” Surveys find that a large number of families don’t expect their kids to do chores – and many that do, have a running battle over getting them done cheerfully. This

Things We Learned When Times Were Tight – MBFLP 283

Oct 5th, 2022 22m 9s

A lot of families are struggling during this economic downturn. It’s not the first time we’ve been through it, either. How do we respond in a positive, faith-directed manner to the undeniable challenges of the day? What can we learn and what ca

Homeschooling a Bunch of Levels at Once – MBFLP 282

Sep 2nd, 2022 22m 17s

There are a lot of new homeschoolers this year, and many families may be wondering, “How will we ever manage to teach two, or three, or six grade levels at the same time?” It’s possible – Melanie has taught six students with a toddler underfoot

Homeschooling When YOU Have a Chronic Illness – MBFLP 281

Aug 22nd, 2022 21m 19s

It’s one thing when you’re homeschooling a child with a chronic illness – sometimes that’s the only way they’ll get an education! But what if Mom’s the one who’s struggling? What if you’re a parent with health issues, but you’re convinced that