Is it possible to have well-educated kids without drowning in a sea of drudgery? All six of Hal & Melanie’s homeschool graduates were offered academic scholarships to great colleges, even though (once Melanie got her feet under her) they’ve been very relaxed homeschoolers. Learn the difference between learning and schooling—hear what’s important that you get done and what’s not! This workshop will lift your burdens and free you up to enjoy these years with your children and prepare them well for their future.

What do you do when you know your child is bright, but school is way harder than it ought to be? We’ve been there! One of our boys didn’t learn to read until he was eleven, but he’s a very successful college graduate and entrepreneur now. One of our kids had migraines that lasted weeks, sometimes making school impossible, but is able to use her God-given gifts in amazing ways. This encouraging session discusses how to keep hope alive in you both, how to adapt your homeschooling to the child in front of you, how to help them through the social embarrassment that can come with being a struggling learner, how to know when and how to get help, and how this trial can ultimately bless your child. Get hope for the future!

We may hope our kids are really smart, but what happens when they are? It’s intimidating homeschooling a kid who’s racing ahead and seems to need more. Can you really meet his needs or would he be better off with professionals? How can you help her fit in socially? Should he graduate early or not? Hal & Melanie both went through gifted programs in school and now, having raised precocious children of their own, they have the insider’s perspective about the academic, social, and spiritual needs of talented kids. Learn how to teach, parent, and enjoy your bright kids!

The turmoil of the tween/preteen years between nine and thirteen usually catches parents by surprise. Diligent students become addled and distracted. Kids raised in church start questioning the existence of God. Sweet children seem to climb on an emotional rollercoaster – and then invite you to join them. Don’t get a ticket for that ride! Instead, learn to resist the temptation to lose it yourself and to shepherd our children through this challenging age at this funny and all-too-real workshop — and lay a foundation to make the teen years great!

Homeschool veterans toss around terms like unit studies, classical education, Charlotte Mason, and more, never dreaming how confusing it can be for someone new. Understand the different approaches available and get practical help in making this next year of homeschooling enjoyable and effective!

Many purity resources these days focus on girls, but purity tends to be a much larger problem for young men, and many parents seem hopelessly naïve about the battles their sons are facing. In a time when over 90% of teens have been exposed to Internet pornography, how can we teach our boys to keep their way pure? What can we do when temptation is lurking on friends’ phones and beckons just a click away? How can we give them a Biblical contact for sexuality–from their toddler years to adulthood? Come hear the parents of six sons give you frank, practical advice on raising your son to be a virtuous knight.

Find out why Thomas Jefferson wrote at a standing desk, how a whiteboard can turn on a light bulb, and why your son does the things he does. Make school more fun for everyone and equip your boy with the learning he needs for manhood.

In spite of what the culture is telling us, boys and girls are different. Have you ever had a war break out in the middle of History, or had a single math lesson take three hours? Then you’re probably raising boys! If the world seems intent on gender-bending and forcing our sons into a feminized mold, Hal and Melanie, parents of six boys, explain the Biblical way out – and a better way to turn wild little dirt-lovers into strong Christian men!

With the average age of first marriage approaching thirty, how can we make sure Christian young people are really prepared for marriage and parenting? It doesn’t happen overnight. How can we navigate the confusing years of singleness and honor God and each other? Should young men and young women be friends? Will I ever get married? Will my children ever marry? Hear Hal and Melanie’s own courtship story and get practical encouragement.

It makes no sense to pour our lives into homeschooling only to stumble at the finish line. We’ve got to pass the baton of Christian adulthood to our children, and it can’t happen overnight. Hal and Melanie talk about this critical time in our children’s lives, and how to transition from the benevolent dictator our eleven year-olds need to the trusted advisor of our adult children. Let’s all finish well and prepare our sons and daughters to be responsible adults and servants of the Most High, even when we can’t make them anymore!