With so many schools nationwide making the switch to virtual at-home learning for the upcoming fall semester, it’s not surprising to see so many parents opting to homeschool their children instead. These parents join the countless others who’ve been doing it for years now. Of course, the switch to homeschooling is not an easy one — No parent can do it without a little trial and error first. That’s why we’re taking the time to amplify voices in education, specifically podcasts that tackle homeschooling. From helpful tips and tricks to success stories to simple ways to improve the day-to-day with your kids, these nine homeschooling podcasts help to make the job a little easier on homeschool moms and dads.
The Homeschool Sisters
Cait and Kara are not that different from any other homeschooling moms — They’ve made the switch, they’ve seen the hardships, they’ve faced the challenges. Now, after all they’ve been through with their respective families, they’re deciding to share some of their first-hand experience with podcast listeners. Co-hosts of The Homeschool Sisters podcast, the two know how much better it feels to have a support system by your side when making major life changes like pivoting to homeschooling. Their podcast is richly informative, full of the kind of need-to-know info that all homeschooling families should hear.
Listen to The Homeschool Sisters here and amplify your favorite parts across social media using the sharing feature on the Backtracks Player.
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Exploring Unschooling
Let podcast host and blogger Pam Laricchia be your guide on your homeschool journey: Her podcast Exploring Unschooling is the perfect map for those just beginning their transition to homeschooling or those who’ve already been through the thick of it and continue to perfect their homeschool curriculum. Providing homeschooling families with interviews, information, and inspiration for their real life home education is the goal here, and the success of Pam’s show seems to prove that the goal has been reached. While she might not have all the answers to listeners’ homeschool challenges, she welcomes the task of trying to find them.
Listen to Exploring Unschooling here and amplify your favorite parts across social media using the sharing feature on the Backtracks Player.
The Homeschool Sanity Show
Dr. Melanie Wilson’s podcast The Homeschool Sanity Show seeks to solve common problems in the homeschool curriculum one issue at a time. Each new episode covers a specific homeschool challenge by diving in-depth into the problem at hand and addressing it with real life psychology and real life anecdotes from Dr. Melanie Wilson’s own home. A homeschool mom herself, Dr. Wilson knows from her own personal experiences the highs and the lows of educating your children in the home. Not only does The Homeschool Sanity Show provide the thing the title suggests, but it also brings some much-needed encouragement to moms and dads everywhere.
Listen to The Homeschool Sanity Show here and amplify your favorite parts across social media using the sharing feature on the Backtracks Player.
Live Without Training Wheels
Podcast host and blogger Lynna Sutherland delivers her weekly homeschool advice two ways: Over a livestream on Tuesday nights, and over a recorded version of the stream typically uploaded the next morning. Her show, Live Without Training Wheels (a little play on words of sorts, considering she’s both broadcasting live and giving advice to help her listeners live better), is the perfect way for homeschooling families to hear helpful advice in podcast form. She’s got the experience and the know-how to instruct her listeners to perfect their homeschool curriculums and teach without fear.
Listen to Live Without Training Wheels here and amplify your favorite parts across social media using the sharing feature on the Backtracks Player.
Homeschool Unrefined
Co-hosts Maren Goerss and Angela Sizer want to work toward destigmatizing homeschooling with their podcast Homeschool Unrefined. They feel far too many people have the wrong idea or the wrong approach to home education and that the only way to combat this is through real, honest conversation that seeks to completely change the way people think about homeschooling altogether. Frequently funny and just as often encouraging, Homeschool Unrefined is real talk about the real hurdles that homeschool moms and dads face on a daily basis as they embark on their homeschool journey. The practical tips to be found here are worth seeking out for anyone in home education.
Listen to Homeschool Unrefined here and amplify your favorite parts across social media using the sharing feature on the Backtracks Player.
The Homeschool Solutions Show
Popular homeschool bloggers Pam Barnhill, Sarah Mackenzie, Brandy Vencel, and Mystie Winckler have come together to create what is essentially the Avengers of homeschooling podcasts: The Homeschool Solutions Show, a long-running series that brings the best of their blog posts to the world of podcasting. Full of all sorts of premium content you simply can’t find anywhere else, The Homeschool Solutions Show is home to a plethora of different programs and guests to help amend your homeschool challenges and improve your homeschool curriculum with ease. With so many different voices, you can be certain that — no matter what your preferred homeschooling method may be — there’s something here for you.
Listen to The Homeschool Solutions Show here and amplify your favorite parts across social media using the sharing feature on the Backtracks Player.
Your Morning Basket
Pam Barnhill’s homeschooling podcast Your Morning Basket focuses in on one specific aspect of the homeschool routine: the morning time. Her show provides a comprehensive, step-by-step approach to perfecting your homeschool morning time, your circle time, your morning basket — whatever your homeschooling family calls it, Pam Barnhill brings on experts and “mentor moms” to discuss all the top concerns over this very important part of the daily homeschool schedule. After all, this morning time sets the tone for the entire day, so getting off on the wrong foot just isn’t an option.
Listen to Your Morning Basket here and amplify your favorite parts across social media using the sharing feature on the Backtracks Player.
Raising Lifelong Learners
One of the best aspects about homeschooling is a parent’s ability to encourage lifelong learning. Host Colleen Kessler and her podcast Raising Lifelong Learners goes deep into the process of motivating differently-wired homeschool students to continue learning, exploring their passions, cultivating their creative impulses, and maintain a curiosity about the world around them long after each school day is done. It’s geared toward homeschool students, but the information Kessler presents here on Raising Lifelong Learners is truly beneficial for all students, not just the homeschooled ones.
Listen to Raising Lifelong Learners here and amplify your favorite parts across social media using the sharing feature on the Backtracks Player.
Off-Trail Learning
At the end of the day, all a parent needs is a little homeschool encouragement. Thankfully, the podcast Off-Trail Learning can provide just that. Full of all sorts of interviews with educators, trailblazers, and outside-the-box thinkers from the world of homeschooling, Off-Trail Learning is ideal for the homeschool moms and dads who need that extra push to go outside their comfort zone with their lesson plans and pursue innovative and creative learning opportunities with their kids. Host Blake Boles makes this task a whole lot less daunting than it sounds, filling each new episode with the kind of information parents need to be off-trail educators themselves.
Listen to Off-Trail Learning here and amplify your favorite parts across social media using the sharing feature on the Backtracks Player.
Further Listening
Whether you’re a parent hoping to find more educational podcasts or you’re just someone looking to discover a completely different kind of podcast entirely, Backtracks has got you covered. There’s a never-ending supply of great podcasts on our website in addition to many great curated podcast collections like this one over on our blog. For further educational listening, check out our other entries in the Amplifying Voices in Education series: Science Podcasts for Kids and Higher Education Podcasts. For other kid-friendly educational shows, scroll through our post on popular podcasts for kids or take a peek at our Kids & Family Charts. Also, consider taking a look at our recent series Amplifying Black Voices in Podcasts, which includes Women, Society & Culture, Comedy, Health & Wellness, and Black Perspectives, or our series on Amplifying Queer Voices in Podcasts series, which focuses on Black queer podcasts, trans voices, and queer comedy.
