Juggling Big Life Changes and Homeschool

Homeschool Better Together with Pam Barnhill

Pam Barnhill

Kids & Family, Christianity, Education, Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 683 Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Are you in a season where homeschooling just feels… well, impossible? Juggling toddlers, moving houses, job changes—or maybe even facing heart surgery for your baby? Deep breath—friend, this episode is proof you really can keep going, even in the crazy!

Today I’m joined by my friend, marketing pro, and veteran homeschool mom Tracey Matney. Tracey’s not only teaching her 8-year-old son (since Pre-K!)—she’s also wrangling a busy toddler after a wild couple of years filled with moving, house fires, a not-quite-soon-enough home build, having a newborn in a borrowed back-house, and that earth-shaking moment when her baby needed open heart surgery at just four months old.

If you’ve ever thought, “How am I supposed to homeschool through THIS?”—Tracey’s story will encourage you and give you a good reality check on what truly matters. (Spoiler: Perfectionism is out, “the main things” are in.)

What You'll Learn About Homeschooling While Under Pressure

The only subjects that really matter during a crisis season (and what to ditch)
How to build resilience—even when chaos reigns at home (hint: Bible, breakfast, and deep breaths)
The power of homeschool community and leaning on others when you simply can’t do it all
Practical ways to pivot your plans, release perfection, and keep going—even when you want to quit
How Autopilot planning (and a clear homeschool vision) transforms your confidence and sanity—not just your lesson lists
Why letting your kids see you grow is its own kind of homeschool win

Links and Resources From Today’s Show

For full show notes and a transcript of today’s episode, head to

Transcript

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0:00.0	Are you ready for homeschooling to feel joyful again?
0:05.4	Do you long for support as you learn alongside your kids?
0:10.3	Welcome to Home School Better Together, a podcast about building a homeschool experience that works for your family.
0:18.2	I'm Pam Barnhill, and it's time to step out of the overwhelm and
0:22.0	into the wonder. Let's do this. Tracy Matney is a work-from-home mom of two, and she's homeschooling
0:33.4	her eight-year-old son all the way from like creakee and now she's doing that while chasing a 14-month
0:41.6	old baby. The last couple of years have been a whirlwind for her family. They've been displaced
0:47.3	from their home while a new one was being built. They had to have a home birth at somebody else's
0:53.8	home because they weren't in their own house,
0:56.8	which is just crazy. They moved with a two-week-old, and then they needed, the two-week-old
1:03.2	needed open-heart surgery at four months old. So like Tracy, everything has been absolutely
1:08.9	crazy for you. Home schooling has looked different in each season, but like you're finding your stride,
1:15.0	you're staying flexible, you're committed, and you're learning to let go of perfectionism
1:19.4	and welcome to the podcast.
1:21.3	It is so good to have you.
1:22.9	Thank you.
1:23.6	People always say, you've been there a lot.
1:25.3	And I'm like, yeah, when you read all that back, I'm like, yeah, I kind of have, I guess.
1:29.3	Right.
1:29.7	And when I reached out to you, you're like, oh, we were displaced because of a fire, but it wasn't like the most recent round of fires.
1:35.4	This was a couple years ago, right?
1:37.0	No, it was in September.
	...

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