You can't do everything, be everything, buy everything — nobody can. So why do homeschool moms feel so guilty about it?

Believe it or not, a well-chosen mantra can help you turn around a bad day—or at least your perception of it. And while it’s not a cure-all for challenges in your homeschool, a mantra can be just the perspective shift you need when your homeschool hits a bumpy patch.

The work we do as homeschoolers matters, and we should see it that way.

Happiness comes more from our actions than our circumstances: about 40 percent of the average person’s happiness comes from things they do. So to get out of a rut, do something different. It’s almost too easy.

One of the most effective ways to feel happier and more productive? Working with your hands. Winter is the perfect time to start a new project.

You don’t have to do huge renovations to make your learning spaces feel brand new. Here are a few simple ideas that will breath new life into your school space this winter. 

Sometimes when you feel stuck, setting a series of goals can help you break out of the blah.

There is no secret to making your homeschool life more of the life you want — the only way to get there is one change at a time.

Sometimes quitting is the key to homeschool happiness.

Sometimes, homeschooling is easier when I get out of my own head and try to see things through my children’s eyes.

Silence feels like a rare commodity in my life right now, and I miss it.

It’s not just okay to let go of being perfect — it’s essential.

What brings you homeschool joy?

Homeschooling isn’t always easy, but you’re probably doing a better job than you give yourself credit for.

I like to turn my worries into what Patricia Zaballos so eloquently called wondering in her first column. Not all wondering is bad, and it comes with the territory of homeschooling.

“Tell yourself that you and your children have all the time in the world to learn whatever you want.”

A key to happy homeschooling is learning to recognize the creativity, imagination, exploration, learning, and joy that's happening amid the mess and noise.

Lauren’s excited to go back to work—but she’s not ready to give up homeschooling her two kids. We help her find a way to have it all.

There are pros and cons to giving your full attention to homeschooling — here are three questions you should ask before you pull the plug on outside work.

There’s no “typical homeschool day” in our house, but here’s a representative day from 2019, when my oldest was a senior in high school, my youngest was a 6th grader, and I was juggling homeschooling with a full-time job outside the home.

Jenn’s been struggling to find a balance between the structure and academics she needs and the fun, laidback vibe she wants her homeschool to have.

When the going gets tough, how do you juggle life and homeschooling?

We recently found a homeschool group that my kids love. The problem: The moms are super clique-y and not very nice. Is it worth continuing in a group where I’m miserable, even if my kids are happy with it?

Your official last day of school can be whenever you want—so pick a date that matches your family’s homeschool rhythm (or don’t pick a date and have a year-round homeschool).

What if you planned a field trip and nobody showed? For homeschoolers, this happens more often than you might think.

My middle schooler’s homeschool community is shrinking right as friends are more important to her than ever, and it’s taking a toll on our homeschool happiness. What can we do?

How do you break up with your kid’s teacher?

We’re new homeschoolers, and we’ve already had a bad experience with a group that turned out to be super-religious when we attended an event. How can we tell in the future if a group is religious or secular?

When procrastination is starting to get in the way of a student’s academic success, your support can make a big difference.

A reader was thrilled to start homeschooling but finds the adjustment period harder than she expected.

My 7-year-old needs to move all the time. That’s fine with me, but I’d love to find a few ways to make movement part of our everyday learning activities.

From yoga stretches to fresh air, these quick tricks will help you turn around a homeschool day that's taken a turn for the not-so-great.

Book or movie? With so many Christie adaptations and books to choose from, we’ve rounded up the cinematic cream of the crop and the stories that give the most mystery mileage.

It’s the end of the world as we know it — and sometimes that’s not as bad as it seems. These 10 books about the end of the world are great for starting big conversations with your high school homeschooler.

Modern Gothic, hopeful speculative YA, classic kids lit mash-up, and one of my favorite new book discoveries made May an awesome reading month.

Here’s an action-packed, steampunk-inspired YA series for teens that is great for kids who love historical fiction or books about World War II. Suzanne explains why Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series is summer binge reading material.

If Suzanne had to pick one book series for a desert island, the Fairyland series is the one she’d choose. Here’s why.

Teen horror, Native American mythology, and prejudice in history class are highlights in this book review roundup.

We all hope 2021 brings fewer worries, more freedom, and a return to normalcy — but much of that lies outside our control. Our reading list, on the other hand, is completely within our control, and we’ve made ours all about comfort and joy.

Some big hits (Vanderbeekers! Hilary McKay! Mexican mythology!) and misses (a 90s YA novel set in the mall that should have been awesome but wasn’t) from our late summer reading list.

It’s been a June full of light and fluffy reading fun.

Here’s what we’ve been reading lately, including a new-to-us series, a delightfully quirky new middle grades fantasy, and a grim fairytale continuation.

My reading list for May was heavy on Asian history and physics, but I also made time for some vintage discoveries, twisty (but ultimately unsatisfying mysteries), and a favorite from childhood.

What have we been reading lately? Immersive sci-fi, delightful fantasy, alternate history, and more.

It’s not as though you need an excuse to read more books, but a reading challenge can be a surprisingly fun way to mix up your regular reading list — and you can be as ambitious as you like: Complete the whole card by reading 25 books, or just score Bingo. Your 3rd grader can tackle the challenges, your high schooler can fill out her own card, and you can take this challenge on yourself. Keep your scorecards on the fridge and plan celebrations when you hit major milestones or offer prizes for the first person to get three in a row or another accomplishment you choose. 

I dipped a toe into the zombie-infested waters and am having a great (and terrifying!) time exploring the genre. If you’re not typically a horror reader, I recommend giving it a try—there are books all up and down the scariness/goriness scale, and everyone can find something to suit their sensibilities.

Suzanne’s favorite graphic novels of 2019 so far include a new Lovecraft-ian horror classic, a heartwarming chronicle of … wedding planning?, and more.

School’s out for summer, and Suzanne’s reading list just keeps getting bigger.

Suzanne’s recent reads includes a Gothic-ish murder mystery, children’s literature from Isabel Allende, Lizzie Borden, and a few hyped books that just DID NOT do it for our Book Nerd.

Look! Suzanne is back! And she’s got a big list of her favorite 2019 reads so far.

I am here to tell y’all that we are living in a Golden Age of Novellas and if you haven’t yet discovered the awesomeness of these short-but-still-substantial reads you are in for a treat.

These are the books that have been giving my library card a workout recently.

Steampunk, Scoobies, spooky hotels, and more books crossed off my TBR list recently.

Metafictional madness, snarky reimagined classics, time-traveling historians, lots of classic mysteries, and more new books to start the New Year.

If you, too, are looking for a way to organize your (endless) reading lists for 2019, consider our Reading Challenge Bingo — it’s flexible enough to work for you and your younger readers and a fun way to keep track of what you’re reading throughout the year. 

Intergalactic music competitions, royal biographies, and more in this week’s Library Chicken.

Middle grades screwball comedy, YA Victorian steampunk mysteries, and a little historical fiction were highlights of this week’s reading list.

Vampire bonding stories, middle grades mysteries, U.S. history, and more in this week’s Library Chicken roundup, brought to you by Amy.

The science-fiction/fantasy genre has never been more exciting — or more inclusive. Suzanne examines the new directions of an old favorite and highlights the genre’s new must-reads.

A reading roundup from our homeschool family.

Homeschooling isn’t a competition — so why do we feel so compelled to compare our kids to other homeschoolers and traditionally schooled kids? (Hint: It’s probably more about us than about them.)

When your homeschool starts to feel like more work than fun, it’s time to make a change.

5 surprising ways to build a homeschool life that works for your whole family — including you. “If your homeschool isn’t giving you personal satisfaction most of the time, something needs to change.”

We all want our homeschools to produce curious, creative kids, but we shouldn’t forget that our children copy what they see us doing. If we want our kids to love learning, we have to show them that we love it, too.

The way I garden is the way I homeschooled. I planted seeds, added plenty of supplies, space and time, and hoped for the best.

When you shift your focus from WHAT to learn to HOW to learn, magical things can happen.

There’s no “typical homeschool day” in our house, but here’s a representative day from 2019, when my oldest was a senior in high school, my youngest was a 6th grader, and I was juggling homeschooling with a full-time job outside the home.

What you can do is engage in the process of putting the spark back in your homeschool exactly the same way you started your homeschool in the first place: with patience, trial and error, and a little expert advice to get you started.

My friends are all excited about homeschooling right now, but their definition of homeschooling turns out to be pretty different from mine.

When you get that stuck-in-a-rut feeling — and we all do sometimes — these simple-to-pull-off changes can make your homeschool feel bright and shiny again.

Don’t let the fact that intersectional homeschooling is a work in progress deter you from making it part of your own homeschool.

Choosing homeschooling when your friends are on a different path can mean part of the path is a little lonely — and that’s okay. Finding your community takes time.

Thinking beyond a single learning style can open up the possibilities in your homeschool. Maggie explains how it works for her.

For our family, spring is when we emerge from hibernation.

New friends for myself was not a perk I expected when I started on this journey so many years ago, but it’s one I would encourage every mom who makes a commitment to homeschooling to look for. Make sure you take some time to make friends with parents who are embarking on similar journeys.

What happens to homeschool life when financial crisis strikes? We talked to three families who've been there, done that, and survived to share the strategies that are seeing them through tough times.

Loneliness is one of those weird pieces of becoming a homeschool parent that we don't always talk about, but maybe we should.

We recently found a homeschool group that my kids love. The problem: The moms are super clique-y and not very nice. Is it worth continuing in a group where I’m miserable, even if my kids are happy with it?

Building homeschool community in the age of COVID-19 requires creativity and flexibility — but you can do it. Here’s how.

My middle schooler’s homeschool community is shrinking right as friends are more important to her than ever, and it’s taking a toll on our homeschool happiness. What can we do?

How do you break up with your kid’s teacher?

We’re new homeschoolers, and we’ve already had a bad experience with a group that turned out to be super-religious when we attended an event. How can we tell in the future if a group is religious or secular?

Choosing homeschooling when your friends are on a different path can mean part of the path is a little lonely — and that’s okay. Finding your community takes time.

Changing the world is no easy task, even if you didn’t also have to get dinner on the table, make it to co-op classes on time, and occasionally do a little math, too. But it may not be as hard to make a difference as you might think—even when your days are already packed full. 

This week’s library chicken is heavy on comfort reading, plus a little middle grades horror, some snarky steampunk, and a little YA superhero romance.

New friends for myself was not a perk I expected when I started on this journey so many years ago, but it’s one I would encourage every mom who makes a commitment to homeschooling to look for. Make sure you take some time to make friends with parents who are embarking on similar journeys.