
Advertise on podcast: 90-Minute School Day
Rating
4.8from
This podcast has
66 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
KellyExplicit
No
Date created
2023/07/29
Latest episode
2026/10/06
Average duration
63 min.
Release period
27 days
Description
Not your typical homeschooling podcast! Support for your out-of-the-box, neurodiverse kids. Here you will find real talk from the trenches of parenting and homeschooling. This podcast elevates the stories and voices of parents like you who are also looking for training, tips, tools and testimonies to learn, try out and thrive in this brave new world of learning at home!
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Check latest episodes from 90-Minute School Day podcast
Ep. 65 – How Do Children Learn To Read Without School? with Elizabeth Schroder
2026/10/06
How long does it actually take a child to learn to read when they aren't learning to read at school?
Reading is one of the areas where homeschool parents can carry the most worry, especially when a child's timeline looks different from what we see in school.
Earlier this year, families inside the Day in the Life community completed a survey about their children's reading journeys. We wanted to know what happened between the earliest signs of becoming a reader and independent reading: how long it took, what support children received, how often they practiced, who led the process, and what parents noticed along the way.
In this episode of the 90-Minute School Day Podcast, DITL member Elizabeth Schroder joins us to share and discuss the results of our community survey on how children learn to read outside of school.
Elizabeth brings a particularly interesting perspective to the conversation. She has a background in elementary and early childhood education, has worked with children both individually and in classrooms, and watched her own daughter learn to read English entirely outside of school while learning Japanese literacy through traditional schooling.
Together, we unpack the survey results and talk about:
The three stages of learning to read
Why reading develops on a spectrum rather than a single timeline
How long children in the survey spent as emerging readers
What reading support looked like in real homes
Who initiated reading practice
Why learning to read outside of school can look so different
The worries parents often carry when reading takes longer than expected
This conversation is part 2 of 4 of our Rethinking School and Learning series and connects with Heidi Steel's chapter "How Children Learn to Read in the Real World" from School Isn't for Everyone.
If your child's reading journey doesn't look like the one you expected, this conversation offers a chance to step back, look at the whole process, and consider what might actually be happening.
Learn more and find resources:
DITL is an online community for parents supporting one another as they raise neurodivergent children outside of school. Doors open three times a year, in late October, late March, and late July. Join the invite list at 90minuteschoolday.com/day-in-the-life/
90-Minute School Day private coaching is currently available if you need support now.
57 – I’m Not Reading, But Everyone Else IS with Carrie De Francisco
53 – What If School Creates DYSlexia? with Je’anna Clements
52 – Becoming Brave Writers with Julie Bogart
36 – Reimagine Reading: It’s Not A Race
See Jo Isaac's 2018 Survey on Reading Age In Unschooled Kids
Jo's 2016 survey published on Sandra Dodd's website
Heidi’s book, School Isn’t For Everyone
Ep. 64 - School Isn't For Everyone with Heidi Steel
2026/09/14
What if your child’s struggle with school isn’t a sign that you need to find a better way to make school work?
What if you leave school altogether for Neuro-Affirming Unschooling?
In this episode, I’m joined by Heidi Steel, author of School Isn’t for Everyone (And What You Can Do Instead), for a conversation about neuro-affirming home education, unschooling, school refusal, burnout, trust, reading, screens, teenagers, and learning outside of school.
Heidi was a primary school teacher before becoming an unschooling parent. She has unschooled her four children for more than a decade and brings both professional experience and lived experience of neurodivergence to this conversation.
This episode is especially relevant if your family is navigating school refusal, school anxiety, burnout, behavioral reports, a child who is struggling to attend school, or the uncertainty of wondering whether homeschooling or unschooling could be a better fit.
We talk about:
what happens when trust has been damaged by school experiences
how children learn when reading is separated from school
the role of screens and digital play
what teenagers need from the adults around them
why relationship matters so much in learning
Heidi’s book was our DITL community summer book study, and this conversation grew out of nine weeks of parents reading, questioning, discussing, and applying these ideas to their own families.
Connect with Heidi Steel:
Live Play Learn: https://liveplaylearn.org/ (Horizon Mentoring)
Book: School Isn’t for Everyone
Podcast: Unschooling Conversations
Instagram: @liveplaylearn1
Facebook: Live Play Learn
Connect with 90-Minute School Day:
DITL is an online community for parents supporting one another as they raise neurodivergent children outside of school. Doors open three times a year, in late October, late March, and late July. Join the waitlist at 90minuteschoolday.com/day-in-the-life/
Private coaching is currently available if you need support now.
Upcoming Episode: Inspired by Heidi’s statement, “You have learned to worry about your child’s reading because of school,” We're sharing what DITL members told us about how their children actually learned to read outside of school. You don't want to miss it!
Ep. 63 - Microdosing Our Regulation with Katy Murdock
2026/07/15
When your child's burnout becomes your burnout, how do you care for yourself when there isn't time (or space) to "practice self-care"? When you feel trapped?
In this final episode of our three-part series on capacity, we sit down with Day in the Life member Katy Jo Murdock to explore what happens when parenting a neurodivergent child stretches your own nervous system to its limits.
Together we talk about the tiny moments that help us stay connected to ourselves when life doesn't leave much room for us. Katy Jo shares her family's journey from checklist homeschooling to trusting her child, about “microdosing” regulation in the middle of intensive caregiving, burnout recovery, unschooling, shutdowns, externalized behaviors, and long days at home.
Whether you're supporting a child through autistic burnout, school refusal, demand avoidance (PDA), anxiety, or another season of overwhelm, this conversation offers genuine encouragement and practical, tactical ways to rebuild capacity one small moment at a time.
In this episode you'll hear:
Katy Jo's five-part framework for finding your microdose agent
Why capacity changes from day to day—and even hour to hour
What happens when your child's burnout affects your own nervous system
The connection between joy and regulation
How to finish a stress response in everyday life
The difference between expectations rooted in fear versus reality
Why educating ourselves is part of trusting ourselves
How every member of the family can discover their own "microdoses" of regulation
This is Part 3 of our Capacity Series:
Part 1 - Not Everything Is a Discipline Problem with Sunita Kapahi Theiss
Part 2 - Mothering Ourselves in the Homeschool Years with Missy Willis
Part 3 - Microdosing Our Regulation with Katy Murdock
Resources Mentioned
Connect with Katy Jo Murdock
Katy Jo's Instagram
Day in the Life Community
90-Minute School Day Training
If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another parent who could use the reminder that they're not alone.
Ep. 62 - Mothering Ourselves in the Homeschooling Years with Missy Willis
2026/06/14
What happens when you've been needed for so long that you've lost touch with yourself?
After years of caregiving, homeschooling, co-regulation, appointments, accommodations, and carrying the invisible labor of family life, many parents find themselves running on empty.
Resentful. Exhausted. Overstimulated. Disconnected from their own needs, interests, and identity.
In this episode, unschooling mom, educator, and writer Missy Willis joins me for a conversation about mothering ourselves in the homeschooling years.
We explore why so many parents disappear inside caregiving, where the need to control often comes from, how grief shows up in home education, and what it looks like to reconnect with ourselves when we can't remember what lights us up anymore.
This is Part 2 of our 3-part series on capacity.
In this episode, we discuss:
• Why parents lose touch with themselves in caregiving
• The difference between self-care and mothering ourselves
• Grief, identity, and capacity in homeschooling
• "Pre-planning your breakdown" and what it reveals
• The connection between control, safety, and overwhelm
• Reconnecting with your needs, interests, and inner life
• Creating a family culture where everyone's needs matter
This is Part 2 of our Capacity Series:
Part 1 - Not Everything Is a Discipline Problem with Sunita Kapahi Theiss
Part 2 - Mothering Ourselves in the Homeschool Years with Missy Willis
Part 3 - Microdosing Our Regulation with Katy Murdock
CONNECT WITH MISSY:
Website
Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning without School
Educating the Uniquely Wired Child Workbook
Instagram
Substack
CONNECT WITH KELLY:
Learn more about 90-Minute School Day Training
Learn more about Day in the Life (DITL) Community
Ep. 61 - Not Everything Is A Discipline Problem with Sunita Kapahi Theiss
2026/05/17
What if the behaviors we’ve been taught to correct are actually signs of overwhelm, sensory overload, burnout, or nervous system distress?
In this episode, we’re joined by Sunita Kapahi Theiss. Sunita is a writer, low-demand coach, unschooling parent, and neurodivergent advocate. She joins us for a deeply honest conversation about what’s really happening underneath behavior in neurodivergent children and adults.
We talk about PDA, autistic burnout, executive dysfunction, nervous system safety, low-demand parenting, and the profound shift that happens when we stop asking:
“How do I stop this behavior?”
and begin asking:
“What’s actually going on underneath?”
This conversation is especially for parents who feel exhausted, confused, isolated, or stuck in cycles of escalation with their children. It’s also for the adults who are beginning to recognize themselves in these conversations too.
Inside this episode:
Why not everything is a discipline problem
What sensory overload, shutdown, and executive dysfunction can actually look like in daily life
The difference between support and permissiveness
PDA, burnout, and reducing demands
What “building capacity over time” really means
How overwhelm in adults is often misunderstood too
Why nervous system safety changes everything
Shifting from compliance and control toward connection and trust
Whether you’re brand new to neurodivergent parenting or deep in the trenches of burnout and unschooling, this episode offers language, validation, and practical reframes for families whose children don’t fit traditional molds.
This is Part 1 of our Capacity Series:
Part 1 - Not Everything Is a Discipline Problem with Sunita Kapahi Theiss
Part 2 - Mothering Ourselves in the Homeschool Years with Missy Willis
Part 3 - Microdosing Our Regulation with Katy Murdock
CONNECT + RESOURCES
Sunita Kapahi Theiss:
Website
Low Demand Coaching
Instagram
Writing Workshops
90-Minute School Day™
Private Coaching
90-Minute School Day Training
DITL Community
FREE Learning Translator
Ep. 60 - Math Anxiety is a Trojan Horse with Dr. Sarah Eason
2026/04/29
What if your child's resistance to math has nothing to do with math?
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Sarah Eason, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science at Purdue University, whose research on family math engagement and math anxiety reframes everything we think we know about why kids shut down around numbers.
This episode is for the parent who dreads math time, who carries their own wounds around numbers, and whose kid has decided math is not for them. What Sarah's research reveals is both surprising and deeply relieving.
We talk about:
How math anxiety travels from parent to child without a single word being spoken
What actually counts as math learning that most families are already doing
Why formal instruction may not be doing the heavy lifting we think it is
What predicts long-term math success (it's not worksheets)
How parent beliefs and emotions shape a child's math identity from a very young age
What to do if you feel like you've already gotten it wrong
Sarah's closing invitation: "Let go of what you think math should look like and reclaim it for you and your family."
LINKS + RESOURCES
Sarah Eason
https://hhs.purdue.edu/directory/sarah-eason/
WORK WITH 90-MINUTE SCHOOL DAY
Training
https://90minuteschoolday.com/guide-training/
Day in the Life Community
https://90minuteschoolday.com/day-in-the-life/
Free Learning Translator
https://90minuteschoolday.com/am-i-doing-enough/
Ep. 59 - Unschooling to University with Judy Arnall
2026/03/18
What if the years your child and teen spent playing, exploring, and following curiosity weren't wasted time — but exactly the preparation they needed?
Come sit down with Judy Arnall, internationally recognized child-development specialist, bestselling author of Unschooling to University, and mother of five self-directed learners. We talk about what children genuinely need to thrive, why chronic stress is shutting down learning in our kids, and how unschooling can be a legitimate, research-backed path all the way to post-secondary education.
You'll learn:
What children and teens actually need for healthy development and how that foundation prepares them for adult life
The central problem with modern education
What self-directed learning looks like in a real, everyday family
The "three intentional years" concept: why university prep doesn't require 12 years of schooling
The neuroscience of chronic stress and educational burnout and how play and felt safety reopen the capacity to learn
What the research actually says about screens, gaming, and digital communities
How to tell if your urge to "do something" is coming from genuine facilitation (or parent anxiety)
Practical pathways into university and post-secondary for students without a traditional transcript
Real hope for families of neurodivergent children recovering from burnout
Whether you're just starting to explore unschooling, deep in the deschooling process, or parenting a teenager who is done with traditional school ... this conversation will meet you right where you are.
Resources & Links:
Judy Arnall's book: Unschooling to University
Connect with Judy via her website
Read Judy's non-punitive parenting blog
Join the 90-Minute School Day DITL Community invite list
If this episode resonated with you, share it with a family who needs to hear it. And if you haven't yet ... please leave a review. It helps more families find this show.
Ep. 58 - Unschooling Students with Disabilities with Dr. Gina Riley
2026/03/01
What happens when school is not a match for a learner?
For many disabled and neurodivergent children and teens, traditional school environments create anxiety, shutdown, and loss of self-trust.
In this conversation, we sit down with Dr. Gina Riley, educational psychologist, Associate Professor of Special Education at Hunter College - School of Education (CUNY), researcher, and unschooling parent to unpack the first peer-reviewed study on unschooling students with disabilities.
We explore why families of autistic, ADHD, learning disabled, and neurodivergent children are moving away from traditional school and toward self-directed education
This episode covers:
Why families leave school (and it’s rarely ideology)
Unschooling as a healing environment
Intrinsic motivation and self-determination
Nervous system safety and learning
How unschooling functions as built-in accommodation
Caregiver fatigue and lack of respite
The need for unschooling-informed doctors, therapists, and educators
Why research matters for advocacy and legitimacy
Dr. Riley brings both academic research and lived experience as an unschooling parent to this conversation, offering insight for:
✔ Parents of disabled and neurodivergent children
✔ Pediatricians, therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists
✔ Educators and special education professionals
✔ Anyone rethinking what meaningful learning can look like
Unschooling is not the absence of education.
For some learners, it may be the least restrictive and most developmentally appropriate environment available.
Resources Mentioned
Dr. Riley’s study: Unschooling Students with Disabilities
Learn more about Dr. Riley
Join Day in the Life Community
Learn more about the 90-Minute School Day
Share This Episode
If this conversation gave you language you’ve been needing:
Send it to the friend who needs to hear this.
Send it to your co-parent.
Send it to a concerned family member.
Send it to your child’s care team.
Send it to an educator who wants to understand.
Research and advocacy matter.
And conversations like this move us toward educational models that respect both learning and humanity.
Ep. 57 - How Many Friends Do Kids Really Need? with Missy Willis
2026/02/15
How many friends does your child actually need?
We’ve normalized early peer immersion.
We worry about socialization.
We measure childhood against birthday party invites and best-friend status.
But what if we’ve absorbed a story that deserves to be questioned?
In this conversation, I sit down with Missy Willis of Let ‘Em Go Barefoot to unpack:
Peer orientation
Attachment theory
Mixed-age play vs. peer culture
Playmates vs. real friendship
And the question underneath the question: what do children actually need to thrive?
Influenced by the work of Gordon Neufeld, Gabor Maté, and Peter Gray, this is a paradigm-shifting look at friendship that challenges cultural norms around socialization.
If you’ve ever felt that quiet pressure, “Is my child social enough?” this episode will help you slow down and look again.
Connect + Resources
Missy Willis:
https://letemgobarefoot.com/
Peer orientation + attachment:
Hold On to Your Kids book by Neufeld and Maté
Should We Rethink the Idea of Friendships for Our Kids? By Missy Willis
Mixed Age Play:
The Special Value of Mixed-Age Play by Peter Gray
Laughter + connection blog:
Laughter Sparks Learning in Homeschool by Kelly Edwards
Join the Day in the Life community:
https://90minuteschoolday.com/day-in-the-life/
Ep. 56 - I'm Not Reading, But Everyone Else Is with Carrie De Francisco
2026/01/26
“I’m not reading, but everyone else is.”
If you’ve ever heard your child say this (or felt it echo quietly in your own head) this conversation is for you.
In this episode, I’m joined by Carrie DeFrancisco for a live conversation inside Day in the Life (DITL) community. Carrie is a longtime homeschool parent, former classroom teacher, homeschool coach, and podcaster. And she’s also an accidental homeschooler and the mother of a neurodivergent, dyslexic learner.
Together, we talk about what really helps when a child’s reading timeline looks different.
Not from a place of fixing or rushing.
Not from a school-based lens.
And not by pathologizing kids who learn differently.
Instead, we explore:
what’s actually happening when a child notices they’re “behind”
how to respond without layering adult fear onto a tender moment
what supports dyslexic and late-reading kids over time (and what creates more friction)
how true learning develops through story, meaning, relationship, and interest
what success can look like when decoding comes later, including into the teen years
This conversation is about reading, yes … but it’s also about trust, identity, and what happens when we let development unfold without a stopwatch.
If you have a dyslexic learner, listen closely.
If you don’t, still listen … because every child has a place where their timeline looks different.
This is a conversation for parents who are done chasing benchmarks and ready to notice what’s already growing.
Resources + Links
Connect with Carrie DeFrancisco and explore her work here
Listen to Carrie’s podcast featuring her son Joe
Learn more about Day in the Life (DITL) and be notified when doors open again
Explore coaching with Kelly 1:1 if you want support meeting your neurodivergent child where they are and navigating self-directed education with confidence
Ep. 55 - Brushstroke to Breakthrough with Cyrielle Tignard
2026/01/11
Winter can be a hard season for homeschooling parents...
Especially if you are raising neurodivergent kids while navigating burnout, nervous system exhaustion, and the pressure to “reset.”
In this episode, we explore how watercolor can support nervous system regulation, deschooling, and gentle self-care in real life.
Meet artist and unschooling parent Cyrielle Tignard to talk about releasing perfectionism, creating with interruptions, and giving yourself permission to pause, play, and care for your own nervous system alongside your child’s.
In This Episode:
Watercolor as nervous system regulation and burnout recovery
Deschooling as a practice of process, not performance
Parenting and learning alongside neurodivergent children
Letting go of perfection and trusting growth beneath the surface
Why creative self-care matters in homeschooling families
Resources & Links:
Free 3-Day Introduction to Watercolor Mini Course (Cyrielle Tignard)
Learn basic techniques, color mixing, and complete a small project
Day In The Life Community (DITL)
Supportive community for homeschooling parents focused on nervous system safety and living well
Private Coaching with Kelly Edwards
Deschooling support, nervous system healing, and sustainable homeschooling
(Limited availability)
Enjoying the podcast?
If this episode met you where you are, please rate and review The 90-Minute School Day. Your reviews help other homeschooling parents find support and encouragement. Thank you!
Ep. 54 - Boundaries + Belonging with Rachel Rainbolt
2025/11/18
Let's explore how boundaries and belonging work together to create safety, connection, and authenticity in our families. Especially for those of us parenting and home educating neurodivergent and PDA children who need spaciousness, autonomy, and felt-safety to thrive and learn.
Rachel Rainbolt is a therapist, unschooling mother, family guide, and founder of Sage Family. In this episode, Rachel shares grounded, practical tools for navigating real-life relationship dynamics during an emotionally complex season. With her warm, compassionate wisdom, she helps us understand boundaries not as lines drawn to control others, but as choices we make to care for ourselves while staying connected.
Together, we talk through:
What it actually means to set boundaries—and why these are more effective, nervous-system-safe, and sustainable than requests focused on changing someone else.
The Venn Diagram of Needs as a way to reduce conflict, increase collaboration, and honor everyone’s humanity.
Accepting people as they are so we stop fighting reality and start navigating relationships with clarity and compassion.
Responding to words at face value to reduce anxiety, avoid mind-reading, and create more emotional safety for children and adults alike.
Navigating gatherings, expectations, and complicated family systems—and how to prepare yourself, your kids, and your boundaries for a season that often comes with heightened sensory, emotional, and relational demands.
Co-regulation and hard conversations in families recovering from burnout, especially within PDA profiles where pressure, demands, and social scripts can feel overwhelming.
Belonging as celebration—how to create a family culture where every person is welcomed as themselves, not molded into someone else’s comfort.
This is a gentle, insightful guide for moving through the next season with more clarity, compassion, and confidence.
Connect with Rachel Rainbolt
Website: sagefamily.com
Instagram:@rachelrainbolt
Connect with Kelly + The 90-Minute School Day
Invite me to Day In The Life Community
Subscribe to the 90-Minute School Day Newsletter
Learn more about our Guide Training™ Program
Taking a Break — Recommended Episodes to Revisit
As we take a holiday break from releasing new podcast episodes, now is an ideal time to revisit or check out a few favorites that align beautifully with today’s themes of boundaries, belonging, connection, and preparing for the season ahead:
Episode 11: “Play, Homeschool & Holiday Hooky” — A refreshing take on how to lean into play and freedom during the holidays instead of stress and obligation.
Episode 12: “Chaos to Clarity: The Craft of Personal Retreats” — Dive into the power of stepping away, re-centering, and returning to your family and season with greater calm and intentionality.
Episode 30: “Boundaries 101: Raising Confident Learners with Liana Francisco” — A rich discussion on boundaries in the unschooling context—what they support, how they protect, and how they set the stage for confident, self-directed learners and families.
Ep. 53 - [Bonus] What If School Creates DYSlexia? with Je'anna Clements
2025/11/02
The conclusion of the “Start Where You Are” series
Dive deep with us into the idea that conventional schools might be contributing to the very struggles many people associate with dyslexia.
This bonus episode originally aired as Episode 38, and we’re bringing it back as the perfect conclusion to our 5-part “Start Where You Are” series (Episodes 48–52). After exploring grief, the joy of slow, learning readiness, math, and writing, this conversation invites you to rethink reading and the ways schools impact children’s learning.
I’m joined by Je’anna Clements, an advocate for self-directed learning and a dyslexic learner herself, to discuss her eye-opening perspective on DYSlexia (school-created) vs. dyslexia (a neurotype).
Je’anna explains how conventional interventions often offer “helpful harm,” leading to poorer outcomes than self-directed educational approaches for dyslexic learners. She shares how shifting our perspective allows all children to thrive in ways that truly honor their unique needs. We also explore the powerful connections between felt-safety, self-determination theory, flow in learning, and consent—and how these elements are key to fostering meaningful, lifelong learning.
We dive into the idea of “inherent wisdom”—the concept that children already possess what they need to find their own learning solutions. Je’anna shares how self-directed learning, rooted in trust and understanding, helps children mature in their own ways—especially those who’ve been labeled as “dyslexic.”
This conversation challenges conventional educational norms and invites you to rethink learning, reading, and the holistic development and respect of children.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
The difference between DYSlexia (school-created) and dyslexia (a neurotype)
Why some common reading interventions might actually be harmful
How felt-safety, self-determination, and flow impact learning
The role of consent in a child’s learning process
The importance of connecting learning to a child’s innate interests and curiosity
Why trusting your child’s natural learning process can be the key to thriving in home education
Connect with Je’Anna:
Website and her books
Patreon and mini-courses
Horizontal Communication
Rights-Centric Education
LinkedIn
Resources mentioned in this episode:
What if School Creates Dyslexia? By Je’anna Clements
Free to Learn by Peter Gray
Successful Illiterate Men study by Roger A. Clark
The Art of Receiving and Giving: the Wheel of Consent by Betty Marin
Join the Conversation!
This episode is a peek inside our Day in the Life community, where parents support one another in self-directed learning and explore homeschooling through play, flow, and nervous system safety.
🎉Doors are open now! (Thru Nov. 4th)🎉
Want to join us for support, connection, and more conversations like this?
👉 Learn more at 90minuteschoolday.com/day-in-the-life/.
Listen to the other episodes in the “Starting Where You Are” series:
Part 1: What Grief Has to Teach Us with Emily Souder
Part 2: Falling Behind is a Myth with Leslie Martino
Part 3: Body Before Brain: Unlock Learning with Sarah Collins
Part 4: What If Math Wasn’t The Problem with Sue Patterson
Part 5: Becoming Brave Writers with Julie Bogart
Follow along at 90MinuteSchoolDay.com or on Instagram @90MinuteSchoolDay.
Ep. 52 – Becoming Brave Writers with Julie Bogart
2025/10/19
Ever wonder why it’s hard to express yourself in writing?
Join Julie Bogart, myself, and the DITL community for a down-to-earth conversation about helping the resistant writer in all of us become brave writers.
In this episode, Julie shares her own journey from homeschool parent to national voice for authentic education, unpacking what writing really is and why so many of us, parents and kids alike, carry writing wounds. Together, we explore how to help our children find their voices through partnership, play, and trust, and how parents and kids can begin to heal their own relationships with writing along the way.
So, if you have a child who hides under the table when the pencil comes out or fills notebooks with stories, this conversation will leave you excited, hopeful, and equipped to support writing as a natural form of expression…not a performance.
**This episode is part 5 of a 5-part podcast series, Start Where You Are. (Be sure to catch up with the rest of the series, linked below.)
What We Talk About
Why writing begins with speech (and what that means for reluctant writers)
The five natural stages of writing development
Why freewriting and messy drafts matter more than perfect sentences
How parents and students can repair their own writing trauma, it’s never too late
What “writing off the page” looks like for kids in burnout or recovery
The role of trust and nervous system safety in a child’s creative growth
Connect with Julie
Book: Help! My Kid Hates Writing by Julie Bogart
More from Julie: juliebogartwriter.com | Brave Writer
Join the Community
Did this conversation leave you wanting more?
Our Day in the Life members stayed on for a live Q+A with Julie, diving deeper into real-life applications and parent questions. In fact, we studied writing together for an entire month.
If you’re raising an out-of-the-box, neurodivergent, or special needs child, you’ll find a warm homecoming inside the Day in the Life community. It’s a space for parents practicing flow over force, learning to trust the process, and supporting each other through the hard and beautiful work of homeschooling differently.
Doors open November 1st by invite only.
👉 Join the invite list here.
Stay Connected
One-on-one coaching spots are full for the rest of the year, but you can join our newsletter or connect through the community for ongoing support and shared wisdom.
Self-paced course on the 90-Minute School Day method.
Guide Training™ is our signature live group deschooling program.
Invite Kelly to speak about the 90-Minute School Day™.
Listen to the other episodes in the “Starting Where You Are” series:
Part 1: What Grief Has to Teach Us with Emily Souder
Part 2: Falling Behind is a Myth with Leslie Martino
Part 3: Body Before Brain: Unlock Learning with Sarah Collins
Part 4: What If Math Wasn’t The Problem with Sue Patterson
Follow along at 90MinuteSchoolDay.com or on Instagram @90MinuteSchoolDay.
Ep. 51 - What If Math Wasn't The Problem? with Sue Patterson
2025/10/05
What if math wasn’t actually the problem—just the way we’ve been taught to see it?
In this episode, we welcome longtime unschooling advocate Sue Patterson, founder of Unschooling Mom2Mom, to explore one of the biggest sources of stress for homeschooling parents: math.
Together, we unpack how our own school experiences and fears around math can shape the way we approach learning with our kids—and how shifting that mindset can open the door to curiosity, trust, and genuine growth.
You’ll hear about:
Why so many parents carry math baggage (and how that affects our kids)
What real learning looks like when math happens “in the wild”
How unschooling families handle math resistance and anxiety
Why your child’s reluctance might actually be a sign of readiness
This is part 4 of 5 in our Start Where You Are series, and it’s one you won’t want to miss.
Whether you love math or dread it, this conversation will help you reimagine what learning math can look like when we let go of control and trust the process.
Links & Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Learn more about and connect with Sue at UnschoolingMom2Mom.com
Learning Math WITHOUT Curriculum
Check out Day in the Life (DITL) Community.
DITL is a community of parents who gather weekly to learn, reflect, and support one another as we homeschool with heart. Each month we welcome a guest expert like Sarah, and every day we build community through shared learning, encouragement, and friendship through our asynchronous video chats on Marco Polo.
Kelly offers one-on-one coaching and a self-paced course on the 90-Minute School Day method.
There is also Guide Training™, a live group learning environment, for those who prefer community learning.
Listen to or invite Kelly to speak about the 90-Minute School Day™.
Listen to the other episodes in the “Starting Where You Are” series:
Part 1: What Grief Has to Teach Us with Emily Souder
Part 2: Falling Behind is a Myth with Leslie Martino
Part 3: Body Before Brain: Unlock Learning with Sarah Collins
Part 5: Becoming Brave Learners with Julie Bogart
Podcast reviews
Read 90-Minute School Day podcast reviews
RachelRai 2025/11/19
Quality, Engaging Conversations!
Kelly and her community come together to share enriching and thoughtful conversations that feel both challenging and joyful, in the best ways.
Not satisfied or smiling 2025/08/12
Excellent homeschool podcast
Kelly is a knowledgeable, experienced, and curious homeschool mom with excellent insights. She does a lot of research and preparation, making these ep...
Chough02 2024/12/15
Kelly is such an inspiration and a great source of knowledge!
I first heard Kelly’s voice come across my radio several years ago when she was a guest on a podcast and she immediately resonated with me. Little did...
Aroundtheworld_homeschool 2024/07/05
Jamie P
I’ve been learning from Kelly on Instagram and Clubhouse and NOW through her excellent podcast! There is such a wealth of knowledge here to support na...
Liana Francisco 2024/06/20
Essential homeschool listening!
Kelly consistently delivers the goods! I recommend Kelly, and the 90 Minute School Day, to all my new homeschool friends or veteran homeschoolers read...
Ownyour5to9 2023/09/04
Great podcast be for homeschool tangibles
Learning never ends and Kelly is gifted in providing simple and applicable lessons on how to follow and guide children in their natural environment.
Jack & Simone 2023/08/05
Kelly Rocks!!
Honestly, we first learned of Kelly 2.5 years ago. Right a way we knew that we wanted to implement the 90 minute school day. And still today she’s bri...
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