Many children have difficulty learning to spell, but the difficulty may not be with the student. Often parents and teachers feel ill-equipped to help students who are not natural spellers. Join Andrew Pudewa to learn how spelling information is most efficiently stored in the brain, to gain greater insight into the nature of spelling and neurological function, and to be better equipped to teach students how to spell.

Baking cookies creates a mixture; making ice cubes changes the state of matter, and feeding the dog is an opportunity for a biology lesson. Science, and the opportunities to teach it, are everywhere around us. Learn practical tips for keeping your eyes open to the many ways God has designed our lives and the science to back it up, whether you’re in the kitchen, bathroom, yard, or car. Join veteran homeschooling mom and the author of the Mystery of Science series, Karri Iverson, to learn tips and tricks for putting it all together.

Are we teaching the right things at the right time? Will there be gaps if we teach outside the box? This session is all about fostering a love of learning and creating a flexible, interest-driven curriculum all while meeting the academic needs of your kids and keeping the important things in focus.

As schools have made reading their new god, they believe that producing good readers will solve all their academic problems. As a result, many children—the dyslexic, the easily distracted, the auditorily challenged—are left behind in the rush to improve test scores. What schools do not know (but what many parents and teachers discover) is that reading is not simply being able to rapidly decode symbols with the eyes. With humor and insight, Andrew Pudewa shares stories and strategies for helping students who need to engage the cognitive processes of reading but who are more likely to excel through a wider variety of practical, creative, and imaginative approaches.

Theology, for Christian homeschoolers, isn't just another school subject. It's a lifestyle! Theology affects every subject, and every subject reflects an aspect of Christian theology. Learn how to integrate theology into your homeschool without becoming preachy, legalistic, or burdening your kids with long theological tomes.

“All knowledge is rooted in wonder.” - Sharon Lovejoy. Add wonder to your school year by gardening with kids. Learn how gardening will help your kids learn and will add joy and excitement to your school year. You’ll come away with lots of project ideas and inspiration.

Unpack the frequently asked questions of how to homeschool struggling learners and those who learn differently. Be encouraged and equipped as this workshop shares diagnostic checklists for struggling learners, discusses common roadblocks homeschooling parents face (and how to navigate them), and gives strategies for achieving success with your children who learn differently.

Recent years have seen an enormous increase in the use of technology in education for even the youngest students. But is technology really the cure-all that many believe it to be? While traditional skills such as cursive penmanship are seen as unnecessary in the modern world, the actual research tells a different story. Join Andrew Pudewa to learn the compelling reasons to read paper books instead of electronic devices, handwrite instead of type, teach cursive instead of printing, and grab a pen instead of a pencil. Discover how to unleash creativity that goes beyond technology.

Do you feel like productivity ends after your morning lessons? Are you discouraged with the afternoon slump that hits before dinner? Learn how efficient, intentional scheduling can make all the difference for your family. Be inspired to integrate a simple 15-minute activity into your schedule to defeat the afternoon slump and revive your children's love for learning! "Brisk work and ample leisure and freedom should be the rule of the Home School. The work not done in its own time must be left undone." -Charlotte Mason

You can’t do everything, but did you know that you shouldn’t even try? In this session, you’ll learn how independent learning decreases burn out, helps students excel, and equips them for life. This workshop will give you the tools to guide your child as they gradually transition to learning independently, whether you have preschoolers or high schoolers!

This is a hands-on class! You will leave with a few projects in hand. Handcrafts are great for hand-eye coordination as well as for synaptic growth. Learn about the benefits of handcrafts and actually try some! Kids and adults welcome!

In this session, we'll take a guided tour of the current landscape of tech that homeschool parents need to know about in order to keep their kids safe in an increasingly internet-connected world. We'll cover iPhones, Androids, tablets, computers, online classes, internet filters, parental control apps, screen time, social media, home networks and more. You'll get both a high-level overview of the dangers, tools, and decisions you'll need to grapple with, as well as some opinionated advice and recommendations from a computer programmer homeschool dad. We'll also cover how to test your family’s current internet safety, common mistakes most parents make, and how to evolve and adapt your family's tech security as your kids age and technology continues to change.

Discover, perhaps for the first time, the geology of your own state, using the book of Genesis as a framework.

Learn the steps needed to venture into entrepreneurship in your homeschool and also what the long-term benefits are of trying new things and even of failing! This session will be helpful for student or adult entrepreneurs.

A transcript is a vital part of your teen’s high school records. In this interactive, practical seminar, you’ll create a transcript that can be used as a template when designing your own. The session will guide you through the how-to of transcripts, evaluating credit, and calculating grade point averages (GPAs).

Have you pulled your child out of public school where he or she used to have an IEP (Individual Education Plan)? In this workshop, you’ll learn the purposes and benefits of an SEP, the homeschool version of an IEP. You’ll receive guidance on drafting your own SEP, explore sample plans, obtain your own template, and leave with a resource list of books to set you and your student up for success.

Listening and reading well, speaking and writing clearly, and thinking and debating effectively are abilities that most parents hope to cultivate in their children. With that goal in mind, Andrew Pudewa explores various environments and activities that accelerate the development of these language skills, beginning with the youngest students and continuing into the high school years.

As a homeschool dad responsible for my family's internet safety, I've got a major advantage over most parents: I've been a professional computer programmer for nearly 20 years. And I literally wrote my own parental controls app because I wasn't satisfied with the available options. Not everyone can (or will want to) replicate all the steps I've taken, but sometimes just hearing a detailed breakdown and retrospective can help parents gain valuable insights and inspiration to tailor their own approach to internet safety for their families. Join me as I delve into a case study of the specific measures I've tried (and rejected) over the years, and get a detailed description of how one homeschool family has navigated internet safety with kids ranging in age from 7 to 18. We'll cover parenting issues, home network, parental controls, phones, and more.

Character is the most important fruit that parents can nurture in their children, and is the foundation for academic learning. Discover how character is learned, and how to make a plan for teaching it to your children. Kathie will give several creative & practical ways you can encourage your children to develop in this important area, and help your kids grow in Godly character.

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.

What is a “living book?” How can “copywork” really be that e!ective?” “How do I fit nature study into our day – and why do I want to?” “What about math, language arts, and other ‘core’ subjects?” Dr. Sandi Queen, award winning author of over 400 books for Charlotte Mason style educators, discusses who Charlotte Mason was, and how her ideas for educating children are as applicable today as they were during her lifetime. Come and learn how implementing the Charlotte Mason approach can lighten your load, increase your child’s retention and attention span, and foster a true love for learning. Also discussed will be how to identify curricula that fits into this style of learning in all subjects. For parents of children of all ages.

Is your second grader building a fusion reactor in your backyard or calculating rates of speed and velocity? Forrest and Beth Mora’s daughter, SmartCookie #1 received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in three short years at 21 years of age and is a state certified teacher. Their son, SmartCookie #2 and twin to #1, received a 104% in Calculus 2 in his senior year of high school and reads C++ programming textbooks for enjoyment. Join Beth Mora as she travels back through time to when their “Smartcookies” were in their elementary years. Beth candidly shares about her journey home educating her two academically advanced children and learn how she kept the wheels of opportunity turning. She will also share the results of an interview she did with each of her “smartcookies” who are now adults. Learn what worked and what didn’t. If you have a “Smartcookie”, you won’t want to miss this unique perspective.

Come and learn how your kids can organize and preserve their work in a compact folder! This is a fun, hands on, instructional workshop where you will learn folding tricks, create several mini books, and make a lapbook to bring home for your children to start using. You don’t have to be a craftsy mom to use lapbooks. Linda will go step-by-step through the entire lapbooking process. Lapbooks can enhance any subject from pre-k to grade 12. The possibilities are endless. They are a fantastic, interactive, and educational tool for every style of learner. Join Linda and see for yourself why lapbooks are a treasure!

EXHIBITORS WORKSHOP A Practical Guide to Getting Over Yourself and Getting Your Kids in the Kitchen will motivate you to WANT to tear down the barrier between the kids and the food, because you'll have strategies to make it a win-win for everyone. Learn our Kids Cook Real Food system for teaching pre-readers measuring skills and giving them independence with recipes, a guide for teaching kids to use (gasp) sharp knives, and a philosophy on sharing kitchen skills that you can use again and again. You'll be able to implement these strategies the second you arrive home and begin to build life skills to help your kids grow into confident, healthy adults.

Have you ever had one of those days when it seems your children are constantly misbehaving, yet they really don’t seem to be rebellious? How do we discern the difference between irritating childish behavior and real disobedience? Here’s a sane, practical and proven method (Marilyn has 14 kids!) to turn irritations into solutions!

Unlock your child’s potential with a lifestyle of learning; educate without workbooks or textbooks. We’ll show you how to bring an outstanding education into your 21st century homeschool using the time-tested methods of Christian educator, Charlotte Mason. You’ll discover why “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life” and learn the essentials of a living books education. We’ll also show you how the books and the method go together, and where to find affordable resources.

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!