Are you are interested in homeschooling but don’t know where to begin? In this latest podcast, Times Tales sisters, Marillee and Jennie, give a 20 minute crash course that will get you started on your homeschool journey.

1. Know your state and local laws and how to quickly find local resources to help you get started.
2. How to determine an outline for your homeschool objectives and goals based upon if you are planning for long or short term.
3. Getting the whole family on board by having a family discussion about the rules and guidelines of home education.
4. How to choose the right curriculum that fits the individual needs of each child.
5. Create an academic plan for school year benchmarks such as: holiday breaks, school day hours, testing, etc.

CLICK to get the FREE printable homeschool checklist discussed in this episode!

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In this podcast, veteran homeschool moms, Marille and Jennie, discuss five things they would do differently in how they homeschooled their children. In this episode the Trigger sisters discuss the areas they both feel they failed their children or could have been better when they homeschooled their children. 

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CLICK to try a FREE Sample of the Trigger Sisters' Times Tales Program!

Want to start a home business but don’t know where to begin? In this podcast the Trigger Sisters discuss how they turned a wacky idea into a business during a family trip to Marillee’s house. They discuss how they developed their popular multiplication program Times Tales, had it printed at a local copy shop, and by the end of the three-week visit, had made their first sales on Ebay. This is an uplifting story and encouragement for others wanting to try a home business

Visit the Trigger Sisters' website to see more of their fun, out-of-the-box, products! 

The Trigger Sisters Discuss:

• Marillee discusses how a short conversation about the correct way to tackle the times tables turned into Jennie sharing her wacky story method she came up with to teach her boys their facts.
• They discussed how they developed the program in complete chaos surrounded by eight children and all the noise that comes with them.
• Marillee talks about how her husband was almost in tears laughing at how silly we sounded coming up with the Times Tales stories. He said, our business might make enough to each buy a coffee mocha.
• They discuss how the very first copies of Times Tales were pen drawings they copied at the local copy shop with a $60.00 initial investment in the business.
• Jennie discusses how word of mouth by moms on message boards were their grass roots advertisers and they would not have a business today if it wasn’t for those moms.
• How Jennie was shocked to see the very first sales the first day Times Tales was listed on Ebay
• Jennie discusses how they were surprised to discover that their program was highly successful for children with learning disabilities.
• The sisters discuss how over the past 17 years they developed and refined their Times Tales program and learned along the way about operating a thriving educational publishing company.
• How their company has grown to a niche of providing unconventional, visually-enriched learning products for children.

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CLICK to get our Free Schoolwork Check-Off printable discussed in this podcast!

Do you worry that you aren’t spending enough time each day on schoolwork? Should you do school during the summer months? How do you handle sick and snow days? In this podcast, the Trigger Sisters discuss how each took a very different approach to holidays and day-to-day scheduling. They discuss their daily routine as a homeschool family and how they switched to a different routine during the summer months.

Visit the Trigger Sisters' website! www.TimesTales.com

Talking Points:

• Marillee and Jennie talk about what a typical homeschool day looked like in each of their families and how much time their children spent doing school work each day.
• Jennie discusses how a homeschool lifestyle enables children to have time to volunteer or have a job in the afternoons and how her children logged over 200 hours of volunteer work by the time they were 18.
• Jennie discusses how she created a school work par sheet at the beginning of the week for her children. This gave each child the ability to decide each day what school work they would work as long as they completed everything on the par sheet by the end of the week. (Free printable available)
• Marillee discusses her system for daily homeschool scheduling and how she made the first day of homeschool special for each child.
• How they incorporated vacation and summer breaks into their homeschool schedule.
• Jennie discusses how she created summer packets made from workbooks for summer schoolwork and her summer reading system of turning books into cash.

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Click to get the FREE Printable discussed in this podcast!

Are you an exhausted mom that needs a break from meals, cleaning and noise? See how the Trigger Sisters devised a system to ensure a mommy break for two full days each month. Chaos one Friday, peace and quiet the next. Listen as Marillee and Jennie talk about the benefits of keeping this system going for four years and how you can set up your own “mommy break swap” with another family.

Free Mom Break Swap & Rule Agreement printable discussed in this podcast available!

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The Trigger Sisters Discuss:

• Marillee discusses how many homeschool moms rarely get time alone in their house with peace and quiet and how a break swap with another mom creates a balance to the chaos.
• How the sisters came up with this system that their families used for over four years.
• The sisters discuss how they created rules of kid drop off and pickup, meals, and what to do in an emergency.
• How the sisters were very different in what they provided as fun activities and memories for the children when they were the “mom on duty”.
• How you can create a mom break co-op with another trusted homeschool mom. How to set up a system of rules to alleviate any misunderstandings of what is expected. FREE Break Swap & Rule Agreement printable!

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CLICK to get a FREE copywork printable!

Have you found yourself thrust into the world of homeschooling? Are you looking for answers and encouragement and don’t know where to start? In this week’s Teaching with a Twist Podcast, the Trigger Sisters talk about how to tailor your homeschool experience to fit your family needs.

Visit the Trigger Sisters' website! www.TimesTales.com

The Trigger Sisters Discuss:

• What is “homeschooling lite”?
• The various ways to homeschool.
• What is “carschooling”?
• Homeschooling on the cheap.
• Expect homeschooling to be messy.
• How to switch hats from mommy to teacher.
• What to do when you feel like quitting.
• Focusing on the core subjects during the Covid-Crisis.
• When you realize your child has gaps in what they know.
• Online homeschooling vs. parent-taught homeschooling.
• Testing out homeschooling to see if it’s a good fit.