Rachael Alsbury

Well we went to the Grand Canyon and no one fell off! 👍🏻😀 I’m all for kids practicing their tree climbing and balancing skills unless we are four feet from the edge of oblivion, you know? Between shoe changes, bathroom stops and poorly timed naps we still made it to Yavapai Point for sunset! The colors were incredible. The park was really easy to get around, even on a weekend. If you ever go, do bring a picnic for sunset. Also Libby would like credit for getting the family into the park for free with her fourth grade pass. She had to very officially sign her pass card at the entrance and said “I really enjoyed that.” 😂 Who is using a fourth grade pass to see national parks this summer? @everykidinapark #grandcanyon #unschoollife #unschooling #homeschooling #nationalparks #americathebeautiful #everykidoutdoors #wildandfreechildren #1000hoursoutside

Merry Christmas from the Alsburys! 🎄 📆 2023 was such a big year of building—in our businesses, our home, and our community in KC. 👨‍💻 After a year and a half of working for a Kansas City media company, David is back working full-time at Alsbury.com with more projects than we’ve had yet! 👧🏼👧🏼👧🏼👦🏼 All four kids are in a weekly homeschool co-op that they love. We have a houseful of readers, writers, and makers. God has blessed each one with precious friendships. 🚙 We took the ‘ol family minivan on some great road trips to Colorado, California, and Georgia to see family and enjoy nature. We finished big house projects. We did a garden. We got chickens! 🐓 😮 There have been some plot twists and some forks in the road—but I woke up with renewed HOPE for 2024. More to come on our goals and plans for the upcoming year in my newsletter—I send out a juicy New Years update soon! (If you want to read it, just tap the link in my profile to get signed up! 👆🏻) Tidings of comfort ☕️ and joy 🎁, Rachael, David, K.K., Libby, June, and Levi

✨October Highlights! ✨ What a time 😊 🍭 First year trick-or treating was a success also how is my daughter wearing my old cheerleading uniform and it fits!? 🍂 Autumn walks every day and the first rains of the season 📚 Made a big move from unschooling to...an academic co-op! ☕️ After church brunch at our favorite place 🪴Mom & dad came to visit and dad (aka the Yard King) helped me rip out my overgrown plants and restore my beloved garden boxes I hope to send out a big life update in my newsletter this month on my new Substack because a lot has changed since this summer! What are your October highlights?

✨September Highlights✨ 🍇I got my grandma Seibel fruit pictures hung so my dining room feels homey and I'm ready to switch out of paper plate mode into real dishes and...activate *soup mode* 🥣 ⛺️We camped with friends at a beautiful mountain lake. 🚗 We've been visiting all our favorite places around home 🐶 Someone got her first hair cut! 😭 The kids think it's sad because she's not fluffy anymore but I think she looks quite regal 👑 🖼️ A living room work in progress ✏️ Started back with school routines! Math, daily writing, independent reading, Story of the World and Bible for history. And a first for us-- @thegoodandthebeautiful unit study on safety for science because does anyone in our house know how to use a fire extinguisher? 🧯 Of course everyone is working on their unschoolish projects too. 🍁To welcome October I'm taking everyone to the dentist today so keep us in your prayers thanks! 😂🙏🏻

✨August highlights! ✨ Homeschool kick-off beach day with our Wild + Free group, an epic thrifting trip in Nashville for my sister’s 40th (that’s me holding up a “five” for our fifth store. We did 15 💅🏻), fancy coffee on a date night, a fresh hair chop! ✂️ Not pictured—painting my room green, moving my newsletter to Substack (yay!), easing (and I do mean *easing* back into our school days), going down a rabbit hole of research for getting a campsite in Yosemite 😵‍💫🫠 🏕️ 🏔️ (If you’ve done it, tell me about it!) This summer was a beautiful homecoming—cheers to a fresh school year with no mistakes in it. (Just give us 10 minutes tho 😁)❤️ @rebeccapowell @cristajchildress 📸

A June photo dump! ☀️ We are home and settling in. We got the best welcome from our friends with good food, coffee, and lots of pool time. Oh how I missed the sun and the flowers! Why do flowers and constant sunshine make everything easier? I don’t know why, but it does. 😁

Are you a newsletter subscriber? It’s my favorite place to connect to my readers and write about things you care about! A juicy spring issue hits inboxes Thursday! 🌸 Here’s a sneak peek: 🚐 An update on our move back to California (plus thoughts on halving our beloved children’s library 📚) 👙 A link to the magic bathing suit that everyone feels good in (you know I don’t gate keep when it comes to jeans and swim wear!) ✍🏻 A full review and coupon code for a FREE the Eat Your Words writer’s box from @writeonworkshops 📺 What I’ve been watching and reading lately ➿ Products I’ve been loving for styling my natural curl If you want tips, resources and inspiration without the endless scroll, the newsletter is for you. To get signed up, just tap the link in my profile! 👆🏻

Goodwill has free books 🤷🏻‍♀️ Tell me your homeschool mom math equations in the comments!👇🏻 #homeschool #homeschoolmom #charlottemason #unschooling #kidlit #homeschoollife #homeschoolroom

First of all, Chessy is an icon. Second, here’s a secret: Homeschooling is a lot more fun when you start to be the homeschool mom YOU are. Why yes, I do mill my own grains and diffuse essential oils. But I also unschool, never ask my kids to do memory work, and enjoy wearing platform Converse with my Chessy outfit. (If you don’t know who this is I’m going to need you to watch the 90’s Parent Trap tonight. Go go go…) When I first started homeschooling I thought I needed to find the right Homeschool Mom Persona. What I didn’t realize is that what my kids needed more than the perfect read aloud or seasonal craft was for me to show up as ME. What are you doing to show up as the homeschool mom you are? What makes you YOU? Let’s fill these comments with your contrarian opinions! ⬇️ #homeschool #homeschoollife #unschooling #charlottemason #homeschoolmoms #homeschoolmom

Come with me to the Bloom & Blossom Conference at The Old Glass Place in Springfield, MO! This year’s theme : Unconventional I talked about The Power of Unconventional Systems! 💥 We got to hear homeschooling and motherhood inspiration from: @authenticjoyinthejourney @show.me.homeschool @kindredhomeeducation @flourishministrieskc @larissa.darter And more! I came home with coffee, handmade soaps and new friends. ☺️ Thank you for another memorable weekend @bloom.and.blossom.conference!

Math does not have to be the worst! One of my favorite ways to take a playful, non anxious approach to math is through engaging picture books. Try introducing math concepts through story and illustration with my free curated book list: the Ultimate Math Picture Book List. I love to strew these around the house and grab one or two to throw into our reading basket. In this list you’ll find 50 of our favorite books about: 🧮 Skip Counting ✖️Multiplication 💯Place Value ➕Addition ➖Subtraction 🧩 Sorting and Patterns ➗Division 🥧 Fractions 🔺Geometry 💰Money 🕰️Telling Time Our favorite is One Grain of Rice! You can atap the link in my profile to grab yours! Have you ever used picture books for math? Let me know if you’ll try it and share this reel if you found it helpful! #math #picturebooks #naturallearning #unschooling #charlottemason #literaturebasedlearning #homeschooling

Wild + Free Franklin 2023 ✨ #wildandfreeconf #wildandfreefranklin #wildandfreemamas