I am asked frequently about pain – Do you have anything for headaches? Do you have anything for backache? Toothaches? Do you have anything for bladder infections? Do you have anything for Earaches? The list goes on!

Yes! We have remedies for all these things specifically, but for the sake of simplicity, I made this two part mini-training for my members – Homeopathy for Pain Relief.

This week I share part 1 on the podcast – a great introduction to the common, go-to type remedies and how to use them.

The rest of the mini-training inside our Members Corner is more detailed about how to zero in on certain “Types” of pain and then how to find the best remedy, specific to the patient. You can join the Members Corner for access to this and over 70 other in-depth mini-trainings on the Members Corner. Click here to see what we have inside: https://members.homeopathyformommies.com/mini-trainings/

Join now: https://members.homeopathyformommies.com

In this episode, Meryl talks with Sophia Alvarez de la Hoz, a former student in Meryl’s AI for Teens class. Sophia shares what she knew about AI before taking the course, what surprised her, and how her understanding changed as she learned about topics such as large language models, AI ethics, red teaming, and responsible use.

Sophia also explains how she currently uses AI tools for schoolwork and personal projects. She discusses using NotebookLM to study and an AI image generator to develop the design for her eighth-grade graduation cap.

The conversation addresses an important question for homeschool families: How can students use AI for support without allowing it to do the thinking for them? Sophia shares practical strategies, including asking AI to explain a concept without revealing the answer and recognizing when the tool is completing too much of the learning process.

Other topics discussed include:

• Why using AI to cheat ultimately harms the student
• The risk of becoming overly dependent on AI
• How AI may affect future careers
• The importance of understanding how AI works
• Future AI tools that could assist people with disabilities
• Why teens need a balanced understanding of AI
• The skills students should develop as AI becomes more common

Sophia’s central message is that AI is a tool whose value depends greatly on how it is used. Students need opportunities to understand its capabilities, limitations, risks, and ethical implications so they can make informed decisions.

AI for Teens class from FundaFunda Academy: AI for Teens is a one-semester, half-credit elective designed for students in grades 7–12.

NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google.com/

Take a look at show sponsor, FundaFunda Academy to see what they offer for online classes and web-based unit studies.

Join our Facebook Group especially for the listeners of this podcast! You can ask questions and get advice as you try integrating technology in your homeschool.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and give a rating and maybe even a review! Subscribing will help you make sure you never miss an episode

As homeschool parents, we 7Sisters know a win when we see one! How about life skills, cooking, and food science combined for a fun and meaningful high school elective credit?

That’s what we found with Angela Smith at Inquisicook!

• Angela Smith’s story
• Inquisicook’s story
• How Inquisicook works
• Find Inquisicooks
• Learn more about electives

Angela likes to say that she is “actually a native member of the homeschool tribe”. Her family started homeschooling in 1992 and continued until their last child went to college. These days, Angela is helping with the homeschooling of her twelve grandchildren.

The Inquisicook online program combines food science, life skills, and culinary arts into hands-on courses that put delicious food on the family table.

The Inquisicook online program combines food science, life skills, and culinary arts into hands-on courses that put delicious food on the family table.

These practical, elective courses include science labs that wind up as a prepared dish for the family table!

When her youngest child was about ten or eleven years old, she informed Angela that she wanted cooking to be one of her homeschool subjects. They were already cooking together as part of their family lifestyle. (Angela’s family loves to exercise hospitality.)

However, being a homeschool mom, Angela wanted to incorporate a science-driven approach to cooking. She thought it made sense to study the science that’s literally under their noses and that they were engaging with daily.

Angela believes that anybody ought to be able to prepare a tasty dish based on what’s in season, what’s on sale, or what’s in the fridge. She wants teens to be free from the tyranny of an ingredients list that says, “I’ve got to buy, you know, this and this and this, and if I don’t have those things, I can’t make this recipe.”

Angela could not find a curriculum that taught comprehensive, science-based cooking, so (being an industrious homeschool mom), she created her own. It took years to finally have the course in the form she wanted to launch, but it’s ready, and you can get your teens started now!

Inquisicook offers two courses. Each of the courses is divided into five units with fifteen lessons. Also included are optional recipes that we call “for further eating”, and teacher resources.

Inquisicook 1 covers eggs, quick breads, salads and dressings, yeast breads, along with herbs, spices, and seasonings. This is combined with soups and stocks.

• Knife skills,
• How to use a double boiler
• Recognizing signs of doneness

Students also conduct sensory evaluations for every recipe they re-prepare, rating it based on appearance, flavor, texture, and aroma. This guides them to think specifically and analytically about their outcomes. It also gives them a pathway to craft improvements or variations for future attempts at the recipes, because we want them to be intuitive cooks, not recipe followers.

These skills help students figure out what the version two of that recipe might look like for their family’s tastes.

Of course, all of the units are packed with science. For instance, they learn about egg protein molecules and how those molecules are transformed when heat is applied to them. They learn the physics of whisking: what is happening to egg proteins as they unfurl and then collect around bubbles to create an egg white foam.

In the science of custards, students learn special techniques to trap moisture droplets within the protein network.

In the quick breads unit, they learn the differences between biological leaveners, physical leaveners, and chemical leaveners. They learn about the different types of wheat, different protein contents of the wheat, and the different ways to capture those little air bubbles that cause bread to rise.

During the soups and stocks unit, students learn about extracting flavor through long, slow cooking and the science behind different flavoring agents in terms of herbs and spices

Inquisicook is an applied science that’s super tasty!

This course would be a good choice as an elective on the high school transcript!

Thanks to Seth Tillman for editing the podcast.

• Inquisicook.com
• Facebook Inquisicook
• Instagram Inquisicook

• Conservation Project with Nathaniel Mack
• Fine Arts Electives
• Filmmaking Elective

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Have a bright child who suddenly refuses to do schoolwork? You’re not alone. In this episode, I share the surprising reasons intelligent, capable students stop trying—and why the problem usually isn’t laziness.

After homeschooling six graduates and researching motivation, I discovered five hidden causes that can keep bright kids from giving their best. More importantly, you’ll learn practical ways to help your child rediscover their love of learning.

• • Why your child’s goals matter more than your goals

• • How “busy work” can destroy motivation

• • Why bright kids need meaningful challenges

• • The hidden cost of constant correction

• • How self-control becomes exhausted—and how to restore it

• • Simple strategies you can use right away to help your child start trying again

⭐ Free Grammar Galaxy Sample Discover story-based language arts that turns reluctant learners into enthusiastic readers and writers.

⭐ Free Training Aliens Lesson Help your child build self-control, communication, and other essential social-emotional skills through engaging stories.

???? Find both free resources here: https://funtolearnbooks.com

Reluctant Learners: How to Motivate Them

Helping Students Take Initiative

Homeschooling Smart Kids

If this episode encouraged you, be sure to:

• • ???? Like the video

• • ???? Leave a comment: Which of these five reasons do you think best explains your child’s lack of motivation?

• • ???? Subscribe for practical homeschooling advice, motivation strategies, and curriculum tips every week.

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Have a happy homeschool week!