Rabbit Trails and Real Life: One Mom’s Journey
Homeschool Better Together with Pam Barnhill
Pam Barnhill
4.9 • 683 Ratings
🗓️ 12 August 2025
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Are you homeschooling a neurodivergent child, or just feeling like the “typical” homeschool advice doesn’t fit your real life? This episode is for all the mamas who secretly (or not-so-secretly) wish for a blueprint, but end up building a rollercoaster every single day.
Today, I’m joined by Amie, a veteran mom of one, homeschooling her neurodivergent son, and living proof that “just one kid” does NOT mean it’s always a walk in the park! (Try keeping up with a high-speed Wikipedia page who only wants to talk about trains and Japanese sailing. It’s an Olympic sport.)
Amie opens up about her journey: from the failed attempt at “Best School in the System” to finding a unique family rhythm at home, letting go of expectations, and embracing a blend of Montessori, Charlotte Mason, and good old, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants adaptability. We dive into what school looks like for a wildly curious, deeply-focused teen and how Wonder Studies (yes, still with her high schooler!) has become a lifeline for jumpstarting curiosity and keeping herself sane.
Wonder how to juggle rabbit trails, box-checking, and your own perfectionist guilt? Amie and I get real about dropping the Pinterest boards and finding peace in the “messy middle.” If your homeschool feels all over the place. Spoiler: you’re in good company.
What you’ll learn:
- Why letting go of “school should look like school” is the first step to real joy
- Exactly how Amie balances deep-dive interests with actually “doing the school things”
- Why unit studies + living books + rabbit holes are magic for neurodivergent and neurotypical kids alike
- Tips for Morning Time with a single, high-intensity learner (and why baskets save everyone’s sanity!)
- How Wonder Studies gives teens independence and mamas instant relief
- Letting go of perfectionism, surviving “no core subjects this week,” and still raising an amazing kid
- Why curiosity and joy matter just as much, if not more, than checking the boxes
Resources mentioned in this episode:
For full show notes and a transcript of today’s episode, head to pambarnhill.com/hsbt44
Mentioned in this episode:
Wonder Studies Annual Access Now Open
Doors close August 15. Don't miss this budget-friendly option for connected learning.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before we get started today, I have a little announcement for you. If you are a homeschool mom |
| 0:05.6 | who wants to cover most of your subjects for grades 1 through 6 without spending a fortune or |
| 0:11.6 | planning for hours, I have the answer. And it's wonder studies. It's our once a year subscription |
| 0:18.6 | that gives you full access to our best family style units, |
| 0:23.7 | covering history, science, geography, language arts, music, and more. |
| 0:29.5 | Yes, the morning time plans are built right in to the unit study, |
| 0:34.6 | and it's all in one easy-to-use bundle. Wonder Studies are designed for grades |
| 0:39.9 | 1 through 6. They work fabulous with multiple ages, and best of all, it's super budget-friendly. Get all |
| 0:47.4 | of your subjects except for math and reading for just $160 for the entire year, for all of your kids. But here's the catch. Wonder Studies only opens up |
| 0:58.9 | once a year and enrollment closes August 15th. So don't wait. Head on over to pamparnehill.com |
| 1:05.4 | slash wonder and get ready for a year of beautiful, connected learning. |
| 1:15.7 | Are you ready for homeschooling to feel joyful again? |
| 1:20.4 | Do you long for support as you learn alongside your kids? |
| 1:28.9 | Welcome to Homeschool Better Together, a podcast about building a homeschool experience that works for your family. |
| 1:34.6 | I'm Pam Barnhill, and it's time to step out of the overwhelm and into the wonder. |
| 1:36.5 | Let's do this. |
| 1:46.2 | And welcome today. I am joined by this Amy Needham on the podcast, and we are going to be chatting all about kind of an interesting situation. Amy, you have a neurodivergent child that you |
| 1:53.4 | homeschool. So tell us a little bit about your homeschool. All right. Well, we've been homeschooling |
| 1:58.3 | since the very beginning. There was like a little blur where Miles went to kindergarten for like six weeks. And we were like, yeah, we're definitely not doing this. So we have Miles. He is going to be 15 on Saturday. And he's our only child. So we only homeschool one child. but he is nara divergent. He doesn't have any |
| 2:21.2 | like official diagnosis or anything, but we definitely know what's going on. And homeschooling |
| 2:27.3 | was really our only option. You know, we, for his preschool, we did a lot of Montessori stuff |
| 2:33.7 | and a lot of Charlotte Mason stuff before |
... |
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