BONUS episode - What to do when your in-laws come to visit? Put em on the PODCAST

So what do you do for fun?  Around here, we podcast.  Bonus/Visitor edition #1 features my mother-in-law from Brookings, South Dakota, where we discuss her and her family's days traveling the country selling furniture and her own personal hand made craft creations, all while raising 7 kids, all while homeschooling them from kindergarten on, all while managing to DESTROY the perception that homeschoolers are awkward or anti-social, as all 7 seven have gone on to be high-achievers and role models of work ethic.  If you are curious about homeschooling and how Karen can spot a homeschooler a mile away, or about a family dynamic with 7 kids and 70+ cousins is like, this 50 minute session is for you! 

What is some of the top advice we gathered from Karen for raising kids, homeschool or public school?
1) Set boundaries/parameters and have consequences for when the boundaries are crossed.
2) "Readers make great leaders" - encourage reading as much as possible
3) Allow slotted time for both work AND play 
4) Don't be concerned about being overwhelmed
5) RELAX, as parents, don't fret about the decision you make. Keep growing forward.
6) Don't compare yourself to other parents or your kids to other kids 
7) Discipline your kids towards opportunity. i.e. Too much tv? Removing tv time = time to learn new things such as the guitar, as was the way with the Nelson boys. 
8) "If its not prompt obedience its not obedience."
9) Focus on the 3 R's: Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. 
10) Kids in the birth order have different character traits, and often have distinct needs and desires.  Letting them pick out a book, or some other source of entertainment/engagement can often direct you to what their interests actually are, even though they may be hard to see at a young age. 

Tons more to pull from this episode, enjoy!