When our oldest was eight, we thought we were pretty great homeschool parents. Then he hit nine or ten and the wheels fell off his educational train! Another child did pretty well until he was eleven, then all-of-a-sudden he couldn’t focus at all or remember things he’d learned last week. Others didn’t struggle until twelve or thirteen, but there seems to be something that makes middle school just plain hard, for nearly everyone. How do you live through it? Is it possible to make the middle school years great? Join Hal & Melanie for doable ideas and real hope for getting through the challenging tween/preteen years and laying a foundation to make high school even better.

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!

Preteens and teens crave connection and acceptance, while media of all kinds are telling them that identifying as a different gender or sexual orientation will solve all their problems. Even kids not tempted by these things are affected by the kids and culture around them, sometimes believing their parents are hateful or unloving in their response to that culture. Find out about the influences reaching out to our kids, learn how to respond in a way that will preserve your relationship, and get practical help in guiding them through the clamoring voices of our society.

Most purity resources these days focus on girls, but purity tends to be a much larger problem for young men, and many seem hopelessly naive about the battles our sons are facing. Today’s young men grow up with challenges to their purity on every side. 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 context 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.

The years from 9 to 12 can be some of the most challenging of all. Long before peach fuzz or body changes, you have to cope with distractedness, tears, outbursts of anger and the “Nobody loves me” blues, but somebody’s got to be the adult around here. Learn how to survive, and make the teen years great!

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.

Most purity resources these days focus on girls, but purity tends to be a much bigger problem for young men and many seem hopelessly naïve about the battles our sons are facing. Today’s young men grow up with challenges to their purity on every side. 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 are just a click away? How can we give them a Biblical context 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.