
Homeschool Writing and Then Some
Ever wish you had someone who could hold your hand through this homeschool journey and help you know what’s important and what might trip you up? That’s what this podcast aims to do, especially as it pertains to preparing middle/high school kids to be successful writers. Because teaching teens to write can be tricky. What exactly are you supposed to teach? And how are you supposed to teach it? What if your child hates to write? What if you hate to write!? These are some of the challenges we’ll explore each week. If you’re looking for guidance as well as a little bit of encouragement and a lot of inspiration, you’ve come to the right place.
Episodes
28 episodes
Ep #28 Best Practices for Requesting a Letter of Recommendation
Ep #28 Best Practices for Requesting a Letter of Recommendation How important is a letter of recommendation? Well, it depends. If you’re trying to get a job at McDonald’s, it probably doesn’t matter that much. But ...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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23:31

Ep #27 Writing Dread and How to Handle It
Episode #27 Writing Dread and How to Handle It Things on my dread list:--making phone appointments (I know, I know, a little bit silly, but it’s something I have to force myself to do)--dusting ...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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30:38

Ep #26 The Comparison/Contrast Essay
In this episode, I discuss how to write a comparison/contrast essay, including how to choose a topic, how to organize information, and pitfalls to avoid.Free Downl...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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20:54

Ep #25 Spooky Short Stories That Students Love
Today I am talking about spooky short stories that students love. These are short stories that I love too, and all of them are classics, worthy of being studied as literature. I will tell you what I find valuable about them, and then I will giv...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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32:14

Ep #24 How to Write a Personal Narrative Essay
Episode #24 How to Write a Personal Narrative EssayHave you noticed that stories are everywhere? Everyone loves a good story. Stories aren’t just for entertainment though. They also help us connect with people and make sense ou...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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21:11

Ep #23 ChatGPT and Essay Writing: My Policy Statement
Have you tried out ChatGPT or other Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)? If you have, you know that the things it can do are pretty amazing. I remember my son Ty (PT major, fitness fanatic) raving about its capabilitie...
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27:50

Ep #22 Why Writing Is Important
Have you ever been so busy getting things done that you lose sight of why those things matter in the first place? It’s easy to get caught on the hamster wheel of life and forget our purpose for running. So in this week’s episode, I’m tak...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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17:33

Ep #21 Top 10 Mistakes Students Make in Their Writing
Ep #21 Top 10 Mistakes Students Make in Their WritingWhen you’ve read thousands of student essays as I have during my 20+ years of teaching, you don’t have to be a great detective to notice that the same mistakes keep cropping up...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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29:43

Ep #20 Getting Organized for the School Year
Do you have a plan for how your children will learn and practice writing this year or are you still figuring that out?😕I want to try to help you with that today by talking about some of the ways that people sabotage...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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23:46

Ep #19 Writing the Body Paragraphs
Body paragraphs aren’t as flashy as introductions or conclusions, but they make up about eighty percent of any essay. Eighty percent! That’s a huge percentage, which means that we had better <...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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38:22

Ep #18 Writing the Conclusion
Imagine watching a thrilling movie that suddenly ends without wrapping up the storyline. Frustrating, right? An essay without a strong conclusion feels like that: unsatisfying, incomplete. Maybe your stude...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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33:12

Ep #17 Writing the Introduction
Do you want to know the secret to helping students perform better on writing assessments? Teach them to write strong introductions. Studies in education show that a good introduction helps in...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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23:21

Ep #16 Thesis Statements
Episode 16 Thesis StatementsToday’s topic is thesis statements. I know. Not the most glamorous of topics, but an important one since thesis statements are the workhorses of the essay world. Exciting? Probably not. Essential? Abso...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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18:53

Ep #15 Research Papers Part 3
Ep #15 Research Papers Part 3Show NotesToday’s episode is the last of three parts in the Research Papers series. Be sure to listen to Part 1 and Part 2 first because they lay the groundwork for today’s discussion. In t...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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26:26

Ep #14 Research Papers Part 2
Ep #14 Research Papers Part 2Show NotesAs promised, this week’s episode is Part 2 of how to teach a research paper. I know as a homeschool parent, I was very concerned about making sure my own children were prepared fo...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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27:48

Ep #13 Research Papers Part 1
Ep #13 Research Papers Part 1Show NotesAs a homeschool parent teaching your high school student to write, what would you say is your top concern? If you said anything related to writing a research paper, then I have some good news...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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31:25

Ep #12 Summer Writing Activities
Ep #12 Summer Writing Activities Show NotesI love summer break. Three months of sunshine, ice cream, and baseball. And no school! Bring it on! Everything is great, for a little while, but inevitably, the long day...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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19:51

Ep #11 To AP or Not to AP?
Ep #11 To AP or Not to AP? Show Notes Homeschoolers are often in a quandary when it comes to proving their excellence as students. How do you convince the scholarship committee or the college admission board that you rea...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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34:33

Ep #10 Lessons from Pollyanna
Ep #10 Lessons from PollyannaShow Notes Today’s episode is special because it’s my tenth episode—woo hoo! cue the confetti!—and because I am talking about a book that is near and dear to my heart. You know how sometime...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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17:19

Ep #9 Peer Editing in a Homeschool Context
Ep #9 Peer Editing in a Homeschool Context Show Notes If you want to learn a strategy that will help students transform their papers from mediocre to excellent, then this episode is you! In this episode you w...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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24:28

Ep #8 Writing Thank You Notes
Show NotesIn this episode you will find an overview of my professional writing course plus a close-up look at the ins and outs of writing thank you notes. In this episode you will learn· &nbs...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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17:44

Ep #7 Vocabulary Development
Ep #7 Vocabulary Development Show Notes Did you know that English has well over a half a million words? Let that number sink in for a minute. This is far more than French which has fewer than 100,000 or even German which...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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19:05

Ep #6 How to Have Students Write about What They Read—Part 2: Writing as You Go
Ep #6 How to Have Students Write about What They Read—Part 2: Writing as You Go How often are you having your kids write? If you said, not often enough, then this might be the episode for you! In it, I discuss of a variety of ways t...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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27:57

Ep #5 How to Have Students Write about What They Read—Part 1: Writing at the End
Ep #5 How to Have Students Write about What They Read—Part 1: Writing at the End This year I get to teach so many incredible works of literature: Beowulf, Macbeth, and To Kill a Mockingbird to name a few. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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28:14

Ep #4 How to Teach Writing to Middle School and High School Students: Step 5—Evaluation
Show NotesEp #4 How to Teach Writing to Middle School and High School Students: Step 5—EvaluationStep 5: Have a plan to evaluate student writingWould you rather grade a math test or an English paper? I bet you said math pap...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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24:36
