The SMART Homeschool Society empowers you to feel enough, recognize your strengths, and equip yourself with lifelong learning in order to homeschool successfully and confidently.

Do you question yourself constantly wondering if you can actually homeschool?
Do you feel like you have no support in your homeschool journey?
Do you wish you had someone to mentor and guide you through your homeschool journey?
Do you know the kind of homeschool you want to have but struggle to make it a reality?
Do you feel overwhelmed by all the things you could do in your homeschool?
With personalized support and mentoring in the SMART Homeschool Society, you can go from wondering ‘Am I enough?’ and ‘How do I homeschool?’ to feeling empowered and confident to have a homeschool that works for your family.
When I first started homeschooling, I was filled with all the ideals and promises of homeschooling. And faced with a thousand people telling me that their way was “best,” it often left me feeling overwhelmed. Plus, I quickly realized that my ideals were hard to translate into the everyday day to day of homeschooling. Faced with my own children and the realities of daily life, it felt impossible to homeschool in the way I wanted to. After a lot of learning and a lot of trial by error, I finally figured out how to homeschool in a way that was in line with my values – and you can too.
Does this sound familiar?
- You have felt discouraged and wonder constantly if you are doing enough in your homeschool.
- You often feel like support is lacking for you – maybe your friends and family are even openly critical of your decision to homeschool.
- You’re tired of asking your homeschool questions in a Facebook group and getting answers that don’t even apply to you. You wish someone would take the time to get to know you and your family situation and mentor you through this homeschool journey.
- You struggle to create a homeschool life that is inline with your amazing homeschool hopes and dreams.
- You see so many ideas – and you want to do them all – but trying to do them all quickly leaves you overwhelmed, burned out, and aimless.
The SMART Homeschool Society is here to lift you up. Because when you thrive, your homeschool thrives right alongside you too.
Let me come alongside you and mentor you through your homeschool journey. I want to empower you through your own lifelong journey to homeschool successfully and confidently. It is possible to feel enough to homeschool your kids. You have unique strengths – and the SMART Homeschool Society isn’t designed to make you homeschool like me. It’s to help you homeschool like you!
Introducing the SMART Homeschool Society!
With the SMART Homeschool Society, you will:
- Be able to work through and decide goals for your homeschool that are inline with your homeschool values and ideas
- Have gentle accountability and support on a weekly basis
- Get a homeschool mentor you can reach out to for questions and support
- Have access to ongoing workshops with live and recorded options to help inspire and educate you – like professional development for homeschool moms!
- Receive the peace of mind of knowing you are not alone in this homeschool journey

So, what do you actually get?
- Live homeschool workshops once a month, given by myself or an expert guest speaker. Plus, you’ll have access to all past workshops
- Printables that go along with the workshops to help you implement what you’ve learned in your own homeschool
- Mid-Month Encouragement Check-in Video – a few short minutes to motivate and encourage you every month in between workshops
- Twice weekly text check-ins on Fridays and Sundays – to wrap up your week and to help you prepare for the week ahead
- Private podcast feed to listen to all past workshops, encouragement videos (everything!) on the go on your schedule
- Quarterly live office hours and the ability to check in with me whenever you need via text, email, or Voxer
- Google calendar access to seamlessly add all upcoming live workshops and office hours to your calendar
- Exclusive SMART Homeschool Society members discounts, bonuses, and freebies throughout the year
- Bonus: 30-min welcome call, where I get to know you and your family and your biggest homeschool concerns
- Bonus for annual subscribers: An extra 30 minute video consult to be used any time it’s needed!
Just $27 a month or $250 a year!
What are the workshops in the SMART Homeschool Society like?
Peak at this list for an inside look at the SMART Homeschool Society workshops. These are just some of the amazing workshops offered – over 20 so far and counting! You’ll have access to watch the replays of these workshops or listen to them on the go with the private podcast.
- Boundary Setting
- Rest in Your Homeschool
- How to Choose Curriculum
- Handling Your Big Emotions in Your Homeschool with Teresa Wiedrick of Capturing the Charmed Life
- Using Special Days in Your Homeschool for Learning and Fun with Christy Gandara of Happy Hive
- Mental Health and the Homeschool Mom
- Making Unit Studies Your Own
- Start Your Homeschool Year Strong
- Figuring Out the Right Homeschool Schedule for You
- Fostering Good Sibling Relationships in Your Homeschool with Lynna Sutherland of Sibling Relationship Lab
- The Great Letting Go – Helping Your Kid Gain Independence
- Planning, Organizing, and Documenting Your Homeschool the Neurodivergent Way with Amy Bodkin, EdS
- How to Make Book to Life Connections with Your Kids
- Building History Skills Beyond the Textbook with Randi Smith of Peanut Butter Fish Lessons
- Making Nature Study Easy for Your Multi-Age Homeschool with Kelly Dowd of Field Trip Academy
- Teaching Life Skills with Gardening with Alicia DeVore of Create My Garden
- Why Being Intentional In Your Homeschool Matters
- Adding Music Appreciation to Your Homeschool with Carly Seifert of Busy Kids Do Piano
- What to Do When Your Homeschool Isn’t Working
- And more – with a new workshop being added every month!
Encouraging text messages walk with you on your homeschool journey

Printables to help you put into action what you’re learning



2025 Schedule of Workshops
- January – Teaching Kids About the Holocaust with Amy Bodkin, EdS
- February – Creative Classroom: How to Add Theatre to Your Homeschooling with Courtney Riddell of Centre Stage Kids
- March – Mama Just Needs a Minute: 3 Steps When You’re Over It with Whitney Whitten of Sensational Moms
- April – Building a Creative Practice as a Homeschool Mom with Holly Geiger Lee of My Little Brick Schoolhouse
- May – Homeschooling During a Crisis with Amy Sloan of Humility and Doxology
- June – Outside the Box: Ideas for Outdoor Learning in Nearly Every Subject
- July – Organize Your Homeschool for Free: Trello Tips for Digital Planning with Stephanie Iraggi of Mama Shark
- August – Planning Meetings: What They Are and How to Do Them
- September – Kids in the Kitchen
- October – Be Good at What You are Good At: Using Your Unique Strengths in Your Homeschool
- November – Making Peace with the Undone
- December – 10 Things You Don’t Need to Do in Your Homeschool
How do I know if the SMART Homeschool Society is for me?
This is for you if:
- You are a homeschooler!
- You know that homeschooling is a good fit for a family, but you’re struggling to wrap your head around it.
- You feel overwhelmed by homeschooling and you want a homeschool mentor to walk along this journey with you.
- You know that lifelong learning for yourself is the key to your homeschool journey.
- You desire and appreciate gentle accountability.
- You enjoy learning from workshops and/or podcasts
This is not for you if . . .
- You’re not a homeschooler (or thinking about homeschooling ) – this membership is exclusive homeschool focused and oriented
- All of your homeschooled kids are graduated – congrats! You don’t need this!
- You don’t feel like you are interested in learning more about homeschooling.
- You don’t enjoy learning from podcasts or workshops.
- You aren’t interested in homeschool mentoring or guiding – that’s totally fine.
What others say about working with Melissa of Pocket Homeschool
We have found Pocket Homeschool to be an exceptional resource in our homeschool. Melissa is thoughtful, academic and thorough in her research, creating products that are both educational and enjoyable. I have also found the workshops for SMART Homeschool thought provoking and informative, learning new skills as well as thinking about how to approach my teaching methods in new ways.
-A.W.



Hello! I’m Melissa Brander
I’m a homeschooling mom of 2 boys and I run Pocket Homeschool.
I help homeschool moms feel enough, recognize their strengths, and equip themselves with lifelong learning in order to homeschool successfully. I accomplish this by providing SMART resources that are Simple to implement, Meaningful family experiences, Academically oriented, Reasonably priced, Tools for explorative learning.
Through your own personal growth and learning, homeschooling can feel much more approachable and you can grow as a person while you homeschool. This is what my homeschool journey has taught me and what I hope to teach you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most workshops are held on the first Monday of the month. There are occasional schedule changes due to holidays or speaker conflicts. The schedule is published for the entire year so you can note the times of the workshop in advance. If you wish, you will also have access to Google Calendar to make sure you can see the workshops on your calendar.
Life’s busy! I get it. All workshops are recorded. You can access these recordings either through video or through the private podcast.
I host workshops and office hours on Zoom. This is also where welcome calls will take place.
Most workshops are an hour or less. The private podcast makes it easy to take them on the go and listen to as much as you have time for!
You’ll have access to everything as long as you are a member. Once you end your membership, access to text messages, videos, and podcasts will stop. However, any printables you have downloaded are yours to keep forever.
No, this is a digital product. I’m here to help you if you have any questions about the tech!
No account needed – everything comes direct to your email. If you are interested in receiving text messages, you will have to opt into receiving text messages with your phone number.
Definitely not! We have all kinds of homeschoolers in our membership. I prioritize giving workshops that are not necessarily focused towards a single style so that most people will be able to find some ideas that will work for them in every workshop. I also try to bring on a wide variety of guests with different homeschool backgrounds as well.
Any homeschool parent that has a desire to learn and grow in their homeschooling can benefit from this membership. It doesn’t matter if you’ve homeschooled one day or ten years – if you are approaching homeschooling from a growth mindset, you’ll find something here for you.
I don’t know – you’ll have to reach out to your cell phone provider or check the terms of your plan.
No. All parts of the membership are optional. But, I do recommend signing up for text messages as the best way to get the most out of your membership because that’s where gentle weekly accountability will be found.
The private podcast should work with most podcast players. You’ll receive an email inviting you to add it to the podcast player of your choice. Just follow the instructions and it should be added.
The Voxer app is kind of like a walkie talkie. It is free to download. You do not have to use it. It’s just an option to get support for people who might find it convenient or more accessible or enjoyable to leave a voice message instead of writing out the message. Any way you reach out to me, you’ll get the same level of support and care.
The welcome call is there to help me get to know your family. I’ll ask questions and listen to anything you want to share. I design all my resources with the current members in mind, so getting to know your family helps me tailor the workshops to be what you need.
I really want this to be a good fit for you. If you feel like it’s not a good fit for you – no hard feelings! Reach out to me at melissa@pockethomeschool.com if you would like a refund. Refunds will be given on a prorated basis for annual memberships and your most recent month can be refunded if you contact me within 48 hours of the payment processing.
I strive to be accessible to my members. Reach out to me via email at melissa@pockethomeschool.com and I’ll help get it sorted to the best of my ability.