Feeling isolated on your homeschooling journey because you live “out in the boonies”? Worried your kids will miss out on friends—or that you’ll never meet another mom who “gets” it?
Today Ginny and Mary Ellen tackle the unique challenges of homeschooling with little local support. Drawing on decades of experience, they share concrete ways to build community, keep kids socialized, and stay sane—no matter how many miles lie between you and the nearest neighbor.

Challenges many rural (and not-so-rural) homeschoolers face

1. “Will my kids have any friends?”

   • Sparse population, long drives, fewer ready-made peer groups

   • Kids everywhere spend more time indoors/on screens—urban life isn’t automatically better

2. Lack of parental support or local mentors

   • Few (or no) other homeschoolers nearby

   • Fear of feeling “weird” or being criticized for homeschooling

3. Mom-level loneliness & burnout

   • No extended family close at hand

   • Temptation to compare yourself to picture-perfect online families

Practical ways to build real community

1. Leverage existing institutions

   • Parish life – altar-serving, CCD, youth groups, Sunday coffee-and-bagels hospitality

   • Little League, scouts, dance, music – shared interests trump age gaps

   • Public library – ask librarians to connect you with other homeschool patrons; book rooms for classes

2. Host & invite

   • Post-Mass brunches or crock-pot chili after Sunday-evening Mass

   • Team pizza parties, park picnics, backyard “bring-your-own-blanket” days

3. Find (or create) online bridges

   • Facebook groups: “Catholic Homeschooling Moms,” local “[Your-Town] Homeschoolers,” curriculum-specific groups

   • Program-specific networks (e.g., Seton’s My Seton family locator; Catholic Harbor for teens)

4. Special-needs bonus

   • Mixed-age homeschool culture often embraces kids with disabilities—fosters compassion and confidence

5. Mind your manners

   • Share positives; avoid trash-talking neighbors’ schooling choices

   • Simple, non-confrontational answers when asked, “Why do you homeschool?”

Key takeaways

• Community rarely arrives on your doorstep—but it can be built.

• Mixed-age friendships and adult role models are an asset, not a deficit.

• A little strategic hospitality (and a lot of prayer) goes a long way.

Resources mentioned

• Seton Home Study School & Seton Books

• Catholic Harbor (teen discussion platform for enrolled Seton students)

• Local parish ministries, scouts, sports leagues, public libraries

Thanks for listening!

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Remember when you started homeschooling your oldest in kindergarten? People would ask, "What will you do when you have to teach trigonometry?" No worries, that was years away.

Then high school arrives. But fear not—Mary Ellen and Ginny homeschooled through high school and produced great adults. Here’s how they did it and how you can, too.

8 Steps to High School Success

1. Set an alarm and get an early start in the morning, the same time every day.

2. Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Your student needs a lesson plan.

3. Have a daily appointment with high school students to ensure they stay on track.

4. Figure out shortcuts or solutions to getting bogged down.

5. A Good High School rule of thumb is about an hour each school day for each course.

6. Train your kids in practical life skills. This rule is essential!

7. They must be a good example, especially for younger siblings if so blessed.

8. Dress modestly and speak nicely to others and about others. People will judge homeschoolers and Catholics by what your kids do.

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Homeschooling Resources

• Seton Home Study School

• Seton Testing Services

Why do we homeschool? Don't like the public schools in your district? Can't afford the Catholic school? Or there is no Catholic school? Family togetherness? Better academics?

All are good reasons, but today, Ginny and Mary Ellen discuss why most of us need to start and keep homeschooling our children. If this were Star Trek, we would call it The Prime Directive.

Show Notes:

There are days when sainthood is not our first thought when we see our kids squabbling, being lazy, or sneaking a snack. How do we produce these saints in our homeschools?

• Use Catholic materials. Most homeschool materials seem wholesome, but wholesome is NOT the same as daily learning about the sacraments and the saints.
• Fill your home with prayer. Prayer doesn't have to be long, but it needs to be regular. As soon as they can talk, teach children a morning offering.
• Say grace before meals, short night prayers to their Guardian Angels, and a simple Act of Contrition.
• Fill your home with sacramentals. Statues in the garden and on the mantle; holy water fonts; crucifixes in the bedrooms
• Get the whole family involved in your parish church. Encourage your kids to join the choir, serve Mass, and even help clean up the pews after Mass.
• Make a big fuss over family sacraments—even in the extended family. Throw a party, invite people over.
• Make Pilgrimages. When you travel, visit a cathedral or some other holy site.
• Attend daily Mass when you can. Daily rosary: Pray the stations during Lent. Try to make a novena.

Catholic homeschooling families have a unique opportunity to produce saints for America, the world, and eternity. Do not let this chance go by! Homeschooling is worth your best efforts, to the very limit of your energy. How great will be your reward in heaven.

Thanks very much to Seton Home Study School for sponsoring our podcast. We would also like to thank our producer, Jason Loughry, our social media director, Beth Egan, and Jim Shanley, who do all our show notes and generally keep us on task.

Homeschooling Resources

Seton Home Study School

Seton Testing Services

Isn’t it funny that one meal seems to take up 9/10ths of our brain daily? Dinner or meal planning is one of our most requested topics. We’ll answer these questions and more:

· What are easy meals?

· How do I plan for meals?

· How much should the children be helping?

Dinner is the big kahuna in terms of time, expense, and general stress but this will help:

8 Rules to Cook By to organize and streamline for healthy economical meals.

1. Meal Prep Plan: Having a set plan is a lifesaver. Mary Ellen prepares once-a-month, Ginny once a week. You decide which is best for your style.
2. Know what you are going to make by 10:00 a.m. so you can work on it in free moments during the day. Even better, if you know before school starts, make a slow cooker meal!
3. Double batch - When you make a meal, double the recipe and freeze one meal.
4. Make a Sunday sauce, turkey, or roast, and use it all week in different meals. Chicken can be enchiladas or quesadillas, beef can be shepherd's pie, sauce can be pizza or meatball heroes. A ham on Sunday becomes a ham, potato, and cheese casserole on Tuesday, and pea soup on Thursday.
5. Go to the library or online and look up some simple recipes—one-pan recipes, 30-minute recipes, and 5-ingredient recipes.
6. Allow for the occasional pizza/take-out night.
7. Put older children in charge of one meal a month. Teach them a specialty. Even younger kids can put together a salad or cut up veggies and dip. A big bonus is that kids are more likely to eat healthy foods if they or a sibling prepares them.
8. Spend one day a month prepping meals. I do this after one of my daughters has a baby. Stock the fridge with frozen homemade meals. It's even better if you can make this a family project.

Please share how you get dinner on the table and your favorite recipe on our Facebook page.

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Homeschooling Resources

Seton Home Study School

Seton Special Services

Online conversations about how challenging homeschooling can include some version of, "They just don't listen to me," "They dawdle all day" or "They argue constantly."

If this sounds too familiar and is not what you expected from your homeschoolers, join Ginny and Mary Ellen in a crash-course in teaching good attitudes and better behavior. These lessons will last a lifetime.

Show Notes:

Often, homeschooling succeeds or fails based on student behavior. This can be the reason parents hesitate to homeschool or even stop homeschooling. Discipline can be tough to enforce, but it is not complicated to understand. Here are five simple ideas to get you started.

Step 1 – Start Early

+ Around 18 months: Some parents use sign language to communicate with babies this age.

+ As soon a baby understands you: Start instilling good habits; Put your diaper in the trash, please. Let's put your toys in the toy box.

+ 3 years-old: instill obedience as a virtue. Constantly repeat, "You have to obey Mommy right away." Reassure them, "You will never get in trouble if you obey Mommy."

Step 2 – Insist on Courtesy and Refinement at all times – from the start

+ Always use the magic words: “please”, “thank you”, “if it's not too much trouble.”

+ NEVER give something to a child who has not said, "Please."

+ Always recognize someone who has entered a room.

Step 3 – Have a Clear, Consistent Daily Schedule

+ Children do best when they know what is expected.

+ Same wake-up time and morning routine: brush teeth, get dressed, make bed, put PJs under the pillow, eat breakfast.

+ Schoolwork starts at the same early time every day.

Step 4 – Take Every Opportunity to instill virtue in your children

Use the words: “I expect you to be kind, generous, polite, and to put others first.”

Be honest: “It is a sin to show your temper, hit your brother, or throw things at people.”

Praise generously: “You cleaned the kitchen while I was shopping? That's terrific!”

Step 5 – Deal with Problems before they become big concerns.

Don't give out delayed or extended consequences because you'll forget!

Let consequences flow naturally from offenses. "No TV tonight, Billy. Remember you gave me a hard time getting started this morning. We have to have earlier bedtimes for a while until you get a handle on your mornings."

Summary: If you put in your time when the kids are little, things will go much easier as they get older. Not only for you – but for them. Self-discipline, courtesy, setting schedules, and virtue will help them in college, in professional life, and as they raise their own families

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Homeschooling Resources

Seton Home Study School

Seton Testing Services

Staying healthy as a busy homeschool mom is not easy, mostly because moms put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own. In the hustle and bustle of life, it is easy to neglect your own health, and that will eventually catch up with you. Let’s talk about ways to stay on top of your health and wellness to keep up with your busy life.

Show Notes:

Let’s talk about ways to stay on top of your health and wellness to keep up with your busy life.

1. Living a healthy lifestyle is protecting your health, which is the key to feeling well. This means eating well, moving a lot, and resting.
2. Set realistic goals and baby steps first. Eat one healthy meal per day or change your snacking situation. Start with trying to get 5,000 steps a day or three glasses of water.
3. Rest when you can. If you are getting up with a baby at night, try to rest when the baby naps.
4. Prioritize moving. Go to the park and play with the kids. Do some gardening, go for a walk. Get a fitness watch or band to tell you to get up and move if you’ve been sitting too long. This actually works well in a homeschool setting. Kids NEED recess, even if all you do is put the baby in a stroller and take a walk around the neighborhood. Make it a science class if you want, identifying trees and flowers.
5. Meal plan. It’s the best way to stay on budget and healthy. Do some meal prep on the weekends. It saves time and gives you the opportunity to be ready, so you are not getting junky takeout or reaching into a bag of chips.
6. Get the kids involved. Kids HATE to do the dishes and mop the floor, but they seem to really like meal prep. Teach them how to wash veggies and make a simple salad. Every meal should have at least one fruit or veggie or both. It could just be carrot sticks, cucumber slices, a cut-up apple, or a bowl of grapes. Whatever was on sale at the grocery.
7. Resting can certainly mean getting a good night’s sleep. But it also means learning to handle stress. Some people manage stress by meditating. Others take what is called a “forest bath” – walking outside in nature. We Catholics have a real leg up here. My favorite meditations are the mysteries of the rosary. There are books and online sites to help keep your mind focused on the mysteries. Or you can read scripture. Or buy a book of prayers – some specifically written for moms. Pray when you are nursing the baby or before bedtime. You may find it is worth getting up half an hour before the kids, pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and pray.

Summary: It’s easy to put off doctor and dental appointments when you have small children. Bringing them along or getting a sitter can seem overwhelming, but it is essential to get your appointments done. A yearly physical, dental cleaning, gyn appt., and mammogram should be the minimum you try to achieve within a certain amount of time. At different ages, the priorities change, but make sure to be in touch with your physician at least once a year.

Thanks to Jennifer for the idea! Send us a message and tell us what you want to hear about.

Homeschooling Resources

Seton Home Study School

Seton Testing Services

Jennifer contacted us and asked for any tips we have about raising teens. It's a tough time to be raising adolescents, and there is little support for a Catholic lifestyle. In addition, the Internet and video games dominate the lives of many of them.

We thought we were doing a great job homeschooling them, but they roll their eyes like their public school counterparts. What is a Catholic parent to do? We tackle that in today's podcast.

Show Notes:

Teens have lots of energy. If you do not channel it into wholesome, enriching activities, they will find less wholesome activities to occupy themselves. Here are our tips to raise good kids while retaining your sanity.

Every Teen Should Have:

1. Regular household responsibilities - You choose the chores.

2. A Job - Start with babysitting, snow shoveling, lawn mowing, whatever.

3. An after-school activity - sports, dance, theatre, or church group. Something wholesome.

Don't Argue – You Will Never Win.

1. Explain your rules simply." Sitting around playing video games with your friends does nothing to make you a better person." You do not have to defend that point of view.

2. If a kid makes a rude demand - It does you no good to argue. Tell the kid to leave the room, gather her thoughts, and come back and speak in a civil tone. And then turn your back!

Use Good Judgment with Electronics

1. Give your teens flip phones – no internet. Consider smartphones when they begin to drive.

2. Unlimited Internet access is not a good idea. Have your kids hand over phones at a particular time to a family "charging station."

3. Unlimited Access to laptops and Chromebooks is also not a good idea.

4. Limit video games and encourage board games.

Remember - You Are Guiding Them into Adulthood. They need increasing Independence.

1. Strict curfews make less sense than "Come to me with a plan…"

2. Tell them if they do something dumb to call you – encourage honesty. Let them know you are on their side.

3. Allow friends of the opposite sex to come to family gatherings or other public events – strict "no dating until you are ready to get married" rules lead to lying.

4. Teens need to acknowledge their actions have consequences for which they're responsible.

Thanks to Jennifer for the idea.

Send us a message and tell us what you want to hear about.

Homeschooling Resources

Seton Home Study School

Seton Testing Services