Toddlers, Tweens, and Teens, OH MY! Do you have a houseful? Are you planning on having a houseful? If so, then this is a great workshop for YOU! Heidi and Jay St. John are the homeschooling parents of seven perfect, never messy, always obedient, very sweet, usually tidy, generally obedient, always energetic, very curious children. They have homeschooled all the way through high school.

One of the most challenging aspects of homeschooling a houseful is figuring out how to teach them all while finding time to manage the rest of your day! Moms are always wondering if they are “doing enough” and finding the time to teach individual subjects, well, individually… can be overwhelming.

In this workshop, Heidi will share seven secrets of multi-level teaching that will empower, encourage and enlighten you! If you’ve got a houseful, then you’ve got your hands full! Let’s laugh together, and rediscover the JOY of homeschooling with a full heart AND a full house

Volunteers are the backbone of nonprofit organizations. Without volunteers, visions crumble. How do you recruit qualified volunteers? How can a leader strengthen a volunteer to go the distance? How do you inspire your volunteers to serve with passion? Forrest and Beth Mora will share ten key principles to help you form a team that will thrive and create a lasting impact.

Having a productive day is so much more than buying a planner or a tool for organization. In this workshop, Rebecca, the Well Planned Gal, takes listeners a few steps back, helping them begin with a philosophy and understanding of the uniqueness God has created in each family. From there, Rebecca explores ten essentials for having a Well Planned Day.

This is a “potpourri” of topics and attendees can bring up any subject they wish to discuss. Carol Topp will lead off with her Topp 10 tips for running a homeschool organization. Included are tips on bylaws, boards, avoiding fraud, hiring workers, buying insurance, and conducting fund raisers. A handout of tips for leaders to share with your board back home will be provided.

Unless you live in a mansion, we all know the challenges (with having scads of homeschooling resources, library books, and science or art projects in our home) of keeping our physical home in order…but is the answer a larger home, or is it managing the space that we already have? A humorous session aimed at helping the most disorganized person learn how to de clutter one’s home and take back control of one’s life, possessions, and time. A recovering ‘Messie’ will reveal her 10 secrets to setting limits, getting rid of unneeded treasures, and learning to appreciate relationships over things.

Feel overwhelmed with your child’s unique needs? Think you cannot possibly homeschool with these challenges? This presentation is all about offering encouragement to parents who homeschool (or desire to homeschool) their special-needs children. We will discuss the why’s and how’s of homeschooling our special-needs child, record keeping, resources and planning for the future.

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” ~ Benjamin Franklin. As a homeschool parent, it is imperative that you have a plan in place for the success of your homeschool. Veteran homeschool mom, Linda Crosby, will show you how to lay out your year, month, week and day with schedules that will allow for flexibility in your homeschool. This practical session will get you started on the right foot with a workable schedule to keep you aimed in the right direction at the areas that are most important to you. Linda will present a variety of schedules to give you planning ideas, as well as helpful hints for dealing with interruptions, housework and chores, keeping the toddler occupied, fitting it all in, eliminating time stealers, setting goals for your child, plus more. Come join Linda and plan to succeed!

Homeschooling high school can seem intimidating. This is an informational session for those with children approaching high school or in high school. Basic information about transcripts, credits, tests, course descriptions, and some of the options available for high school courses and curriculum will be presented. This overview is designed to provide insight and encouragement as you enter this new phase of the homeschooling adventure.

The story that must be told about the view from the front lines as God delivered homeschoolers in Idaho from incarceration to their unlikely “Promised Land” of liberty.

Sample Four—Year Plans How do you plan a program for your high school homeschooler? What subjects do you teach and when? Do you follow a basic high school plan, a general college prep plan, or a rigorous college prep plan? How do you evaluate credits? Determine grades for a course? What about the need for a transcript and diploma? If you are just beginning to think about homeschooling during the high school years, this seminar will help you organize your thoughts and begin laying the groundwork for a viable four—year plan.

What are the legal responsibilities of Michigan home educators? Are there certain things home educators should or should not do? What are the two options under which families may choose to homeschool in our state? David will help you be informed, not intimidated, when it comes to answering questions, filling out forms, and dealing with school officials.

Sometimes, the opportunity to homeschool is squelched by real financial barriers. The temptation is for both parents to work outside the home and place their children in public school. Beth Mora, mom of eight kids and wife of one hardworking man is no stranger to managing a large family. Learn how she whittled their family food budget down to $500.00/month while her family (One husband, who burns a lot of calories as a contractor, six VERY hungry teenage boys, and two girls) still ate like kings and queens! Her frugal ways saved over $1000/month! Yes, it was work but embracing a fabulous and frugal lifestyle enabled the Mora’s to keep on homeschooling! Are you ready to carve out a part-time job in your home by becoming a top-notch home economist? Your employment application is waiting for you at this workshop! All who are willing will be hired!

The education of a child should be a work of great beauty, like the building of a magnificent cathedral. Years of planning, though, and hard work are poured into both endeavors. In this workshop, we will explore the ideas of cultivating beauty in our homeschools; in ritual, the five senses, and in ourselves as teachers and parents. Packed with both big ideas, and practical advice, parents will leave energized and inspired for the years ahead.

Linda discovered and used unit studies as a public school teacher and later exclusively used them during her years as a homeschool mom with four children since 2001. She will explain what unit studies are, how to effectively use them, where to find them, how to make your own as well as the benefits they provide for teaching several children at the same time. Other helpful hints Linda will provide include: connecting with each learning style, teaching with a toddler in the house, organizing your schedule around the unit, keeping God at the center of each unit, and expanding the lessons beyond the front door. If you want to simplify your homeschooling days, unit studies will help you succeed and thrive as a homeschool mom.

EXHIBITOR WORKSHOP Having a productive day is so much more than buying a planner or a tool for organization. The Well Planned Gal, takes listeners a few steps back, helping them begin with a philosophy and understanding of the uniqueness God has created in each family. From there, Rebecca explores ten essentials for having a Well Planned Day.

One of the most important things we can do as homeschooling parents is have set goals and priorities for our home school. It is equally important to have a way to measure how we are doing with those goals — questions we can ask ourselves at the end of the home school day to see if we are keeping those priorities in place and accomplishing the goals that we set out with. Kathie will give you 10 things to ask yourself to see if you are staying on track with your priorities.

Disorganization affects every area of life—and it seems to be on the rise. Good news! Executive function skills can be taught! Learn ways to encourage change and make learning achievable.

You know you need to let the children be more involved in helping at home, for training them in character and in practical skills, AND for your sanity! But where do you begin? This foster mom to almost 50 children will share tips and practical helps that have enabled her to homeschool 17 children and still be able to open the front door to guests.

The handout for this session is available at http://www.oceanetwork.org/2016handouts.pdf

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” ~ Benjamin Franklin. As a homeschool parent, it is imperative that you have a plan in place for the success of your homeschool. Veteran homeschool mom Linda Crosby will show you how to lay out your year, month, week, and day with schedules that will allow for flexibility in your homeschool. This practical session will get you started on the right foot with a workable schedule to keep you aimed in the right direction at the areas that are most important to you. Linda will present a variety of schedules to give you planning ideas, as well as helpful hints for dealing with interruptions, housework and chores, keeping the toddler occupied, fitting it all in, eliminating time stealers, setting goals for your child, plus more. Come join Linda and plan to succeed!

The handout for this session is available at http://www.oceanetwork.org/2016handouts.pdf

This is a new era for the Maker. A maker is anyone who loves to build and figure out how things work. How can the parent with the kinesthetic learner keep a stash of supplies and activities readily available for that creative mind?

For many of us homeschooling our children is one of our greatest blessings. But it is also a lot of work! And what if you as the homeschooling parent also need to earn an income? There are so many of us facing this situation. If you find yourself trying to balance these responsibilities, please join us for this discussion group.

You had a wonderful plan at the beginning of the school year for a well-rounded education, envisioning academic excellence and character development in your smiling, well-adjusted offspring. But then . . . life happened. How do you find “normal” again? In this workshop, Vicki helps you focus on the essentials when you’re on the frontlines, especially in a crisis situation.

A recurring theme among homeschoolers is: Help! I’m committed to homeschooling, but I’m feeling overwhelmed just by everyday life! For many of us, standard organizing suggestions don’t “stick,” and we wonder what’s wrong with us. In this workshop, Vicki shares some tools that have helped her (and other busy moms) to homeschool and get dinner on the table. . . on the same day. (If you were “born organized,” you may find yourself in this workshop anyway, to possibly pick up one more idea!)

Homeschooling doesn’t have to cost hundreds of dollars per child. Vicki homeschooled seven at a time while their family was without a full-time income for four years, sometimes spending less than $100 per year.

One of the absolute greatest gifts we can give our children is a schedule. Studies show that keeping our children on a schedule & creating routines produces stability, calm, trust, discipline and most importantly, happiness. Yes, we’re busy. Yes, we don’t want to be burdened down with trying to stay on a schedule, but wait…you’ve got to come and see and hear why scheduling gives us the freedom to have fun and to accomplish great things. You will walk away from this workshop with wonderful ideas to implement in your home that will be a gift to the whole family.

Learn how to create an atmosphere of service instead of one that is dominated by selfish desires and division. This presentation will help any group, church, business or family develop a spirit of unity. Great for large families.

Maybe you haven’t always homeschooled. . . you’re starting a few years in, or even mid-year. Can you really start mid-stream? What does homeschooling look like? Where do you begin? What should you expect? How can you ease the transition for all of you? We’ll cover these topics and more. Q&A time included, so bring your questions.

Does the idea of homeschooling a high school student strike fear deep into your heart? Or are you ‘in the trenches’ of homeschooling high school and looking for direction. Join us in this practical workshop designed to provide you with a road map for navigating high school. High school record keeping, graduation requirements, transcripts, apprenticeships, and PSAT/SAT and ACT testing will be explored. We will also journey across the myriad of college and military opportunities available to our young adults a they reach their final destination in the homeschool expedition. Q & A time will be specifically set aside to get your questions answered!

How do you plan a program for your high school home-schooler? What subjects do you teach and when? Do you follow a basic high school plan, a general college prep plan, or a rigorous college prep plan? How do you evaluate credits? Determine grades for a course? What about the need for a transcript and diploma? If you are just beginning to think about homeschooling during the high school years, this seminar will help you organize your thoughts and begin laying the groundwork for a viable four-year plan.

Debra Bell will review the 20 Power Tools of Learning and the brain science behind them. This session is for teens and their parents. Debra will help you cut your study time in half, remember what you learn, and recall it when you need it.

For preventative maintenance during the high school years, learn what important "to—dos" and deadlines to keep in mind. Major pit stops will include information about various tests, benefits and sources of outside classes, college search and application tips, alternatives to traditional college, and career and post high school paths.

You are not only your child's teacher, you are also his guidance counselor! Find out how to maneuver through the entire college admissions process, from narrowing down the selection of colleges to filling out college applications, applying for financial aid, and asking the right questions that will help you discern whether your child is spiritually, academically, and emotionally prepared for college.

Why is documentation of high school course work important? Keeping good records does not need to be time consuming or burdensome; it will actually save you time and effort in the long run. Learn what, when, and how to track your student's progress through high school.

Are you in a quandary as to what tests your teens need to take during high school? Do you know the array of possible tests—from college admissions tests; to tests for college credit, placement, or military enlistment; to tests necessary for certain scholarships; to even career tests? When should they be taken? Where? How can your teen prepare for them? Come with your questions and receive answers and new confidence.

Does the idea of homeschooling a high school student strike fear deep into your heart? Or are you 'in the trenches' of homeschooling high school and looking for direction. Join us in this practical workshop designed to provide you with a road map for navigating high school. High school record keeping, graduation requirements, Transcripts, Apprenticeships, and PSAT/SAT and ACT testing will be explored. We will also journey across the myriad of college and military opportunities available to our young adults as they reach their final destination in the homeschool expedition. Q & A time will be specifically set aside to get your questions answered!

Join Donnie for a fast-paced workshop that combines foundational principles with current marketing tools and trends. For those who own a small business or a home business, this great workshop will provide important information while challenging business owners to achieve more.

You love homeschooling your children, and you get so excited for planning your child's education. But then, you sit down with all your joy, and you freeze. All of a sudden you start to sweat. Lesson planning involves so many details and suddenly you're hiding in a closet wondering if you will be able to do this homeschooling thing after all! Plus crafts. You are terrible at crafts! How do all the other homeschool moms make homeschooling look so...perfect? You, my friend are not alone. Sarah Mae is a fellow Type-B mom and she wants to encourage you that you can homeschool your children well and with confidence. No crafting skills required.

A love for learning is a blessing God has for His children-- one that is meant to enrich our lives, give us purpose and draw us into a quest to know the Creator. This workshop will give you a biblical foundation for safeguarding a child’s natural curiosity and joy of discovery; and suggest ways to approach homeschooling that keeps this important element alive and growing in your child.

Do you want a lifelong learner who initiates studies on his own? Then let go of the wheel and start giving your kids responsibility for their education. Here are practical, inexpensive steps that will encourage children to pursue their own learning, and prevent parent burnout as well.

From the perspective of a mom who raised four teens, long time high school level teacher and evaluator of numerous high school homeschool programs. The high school years are your child's resume for the future. Here's how to maximize his time, prepare him for a changing job market, get doors to open, and facilitate non-traditional learning experiences.

Working with other families who are homeschooling can be a huge blessing! What makes for a better working relationship in a co-op situation? What are some potential pitfalls to avoid? You can successfully put one together to meet the needs of your students. Come and get ideas to get started!

Do you struggle with motivating your child to complete his or her work each day? Are incomplete workbook pages and teardrops a regular part of your homeschool experience? Free both yourself and your child from drudgery by discovering and using the "lost tools of learning". This workshop will help to explain what Classical Education is and why it works. We will demystify the concept of "classical" and explain its three learning stages. We will hone in on the “Grammar Stage”, and discover methods that motivate and recharge your homeschool, no matter what curriculum you use.

Are you drowning under piles of papers? Weren’t computers supposed to make managing information easier? Learn techniques for dealing with the mountain of school papers and your many household documents. Develop a process to move them out of the to-do pile and into the done pile. Determine what documents (paper and electronic) to keep and ways to file or store them.

Homeschool mom, if you’re struggling with trying to do it all, you will enjoy hearing Heidi’s favorite tips for managing homeschooling and homemaking and still finding time to fit in other things… like alone time with your husband. Learn how two words can make a difference in managing your home and homeschool. Bring a friend and leave your preconceived ideas at the door because real moms sometimes serve Cheerios for dinner!

Many of us dream of a simpler life, but are just too busy to actually do anything to make it happen. We have so much on our plates. How can we balance it all? Together we’ll consider ways to make life simpler and how to put them into practice in your daily routines.

Disorganization in your students’ bedrooms can create a mess that’s a nuisance, but disorganization in their studies can affect grades, future work habits, and success. Knowing your students’ organizing style and learning to set up a process that works for them will give them organizing skills to use in their studies and many other areas of their lives. Unfortunately, we can’t promise they’ll use them to create a tidy bedroom.

Too often we’ve just accepted how busy our lives are supposed to be, but many of us are running through life in a frenzied fog. We have a nagging sense that it shouldn’t be this way, but don’t know how it should be. With a bit of laughter and an unabashed challenge of the status quo, you’ll learn to take control of your family’s lives.

As moms, we wear a lot of hats. Sometimes, it’s hard to know which one to take off and which one to put on. Learn how to free yourself from the expectations of others and quit struggling to do it all. Heidi’s favorite strategies and tips for managing the competing demands on your time will make a huge difference in your relationships.

Explore the advantages of teaching your preschooler in a preschool environment that is also a family environment. Choices abound for educating our youngest and in this session you will hear from moms who have operated a family-based preschool co-op for three years. Learn basic information and tools that will help you start your own family-centered preschool co-op.

Homeschooling is more like a 26-mile marathon than a 100-yard dash. If you want to complete the race successfully, you must develop a training strategy that builds your strength, stamina, and vision and enables you to persevere until the end. Zan Tyler, who homeschooled her children for 21 years, provides training tips that will help you complete the God-given task of homeschooling and help you “run with endurance the race that lies before us.”

God has created each family and each family member to be unique. When we, as parents, embark on this adventure we call “home schooling,” we need to realize that we cannot have a “one-size-fits-all” mentality. What works well for another family may spell disaster for yours. The success your first child enjoyed with your original curriculum choice may not be mirrored by your second child. We’ll touch on a variety of ways you can educate your children, from kindergarten through high school, without getting stuck in an educational rut. We’ll also explore some of the many opportunities that await your child after graduation. Join us as we learn to “Think Outside the Box.”

"If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." The ability to be organized, or lack of it, sets the mood in families. When families are disorganized they don't feel in control and when they don't feel in control, their stress level rises, and this alone can be the biggest enemy of our homeschool efforts. Organization has no room for procrastination. This workshop will give you some tricks of the trade to be more organized and to feel more organized. (There is a difference.) Come prepared to take home lots of encouraging ideas.

In this workshop, Tracy Klicka will discuss the wisdom of doing “all things decently and in order,” and will highlight principles of ordering one’s day and organizing the home for the glory of God.

Grades and graduation may be part of school, but should they be part of your school? Are we limiting ourselves by thinking in these terms? Should we really care about grades in a classroom of one? Or is there another way to think about academic, spiritual, and emotional progress? HSLDA Staff Attorney and homeschooling father of seven explores the freedom and flexibility homeschooling offers you and your children.

Homeschooling doesn't have to cost hundreds of dollars per child. Vicki homeschooled seven at a time while their family was without a full-time income for four years, sometimes spending less than $100 per year.

Have you ever experienced a series of days, weeks or even months when you felt like you just could NOT get on top of all that you had to do? Most moms struggle with finding a balance when it comes to homeschooling and staying on top of the rest of your day. Homeschool mom, if you're struggling with trying to do it all, you will enjoy hearing some of Heidi's favorite tips for managing homeschooling and homemaking...and still finding time to fit in "other things" (like alone time with your husband!) Bring a friend and leave your preconceived ideas at the door because real moms sometimes serve Cheerios for dinner!

When you walk into the Exhibit Hall you are blown away by all the choices. How do you make sense of it all? How do you find that "perfect curriculum"?

Our children are precious gifts from the Lord but sometimes they can interfere with our human plans. Many homeschooling parents are in distress because they find their little ones seeking attention at all the wrong times. Let Paige share with you creative ways to prepare these young “sponges” for school while keeping them creatively occupied at times when the parent needs to concentrate on the older ones. The workshop is full of practical suggestions for educational toys and common household items that can be used to educate and occupy young ones. Homeschooling with young ones can be easier than you think!

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your things? Do you get stressed just walking into your living areas? Come hear how to overcome the clutter that so often invades our lives and living spaces. Find out how to organize your space while learning what works for your personal organizing style. Discover how to fix common organizing trouble spots and maintain this new order in your space. Leave ready to bring order into your home and peace of mind back into your life.

It always seems like we have too much of one and not enough of the other. Learn tips for managing the influx of papers as well as setting up a paper flow that works for you. Find out what papers you need and which you can get rid of. See how to make your calendar match your priorities and learn tips for better time management.

Is your homeschool day made up of demanding toddlers and emotional teens, six subjects to prepare for each child, co-op demands, music, sports, falling behind, tears, chores, skipping chapters...ultimately the question, "Where is God in all this?" Learn to work together as a family to achieve attainable goals with a fresh outlook and easy-to-implement organizational ideas. Bring sanity and success back to your home, and enjoy the process. Your homeschool chaos can come to an end!

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the demands of parenting? Life is certainly a challenge for parents, and especially those who accept the added responsibility of home education. But there are ways to make life easier and more productive, and this workshop discusses some of those. Marilyn Boyer, mother of fourteen children and a veteran home educator of twenty-seven years’ experience, shares her techniques for accomplishing a mammoth amount of housework while giving her children a superior education at the same time.

This is for all the other moms who have been futilely asking for a maid every year for Christmas. How do you do more than is humanly possible? (which most of us are trying to do!) or justify not doing it? (which is an easily acquired skill!) You will be challenged to determine priorities as you seek to organize your time.

Why do we start for the kitchen to get a drink for a child, get sidetracked by a paperclip on the floor and end up weeding in the garden with no idea why our child is still thirsty? Why do library books constantly disappear into black holes in our homes, never to be seen again?...at least not before the fines add up? Why do we have 25 great educational programs or projects started and only 2 or 3 are ever finished? As a self-proclaimed "Gloriously Unregimented Mom", Carol shares stories and strategies from the heart (and from the trenches!) about a home run by a highly distractible mom. She brings to light the many "truths" distractible moms must own if ever they are to develop strategies that work. Best of all, Carol shares her firm conviction that the highly distractible mom has a real and God-given edge over the naturally organized mom. Come and learn and laugh as you find REAL help for the highly distractible mom.

If you have ever worried about keeping the house clean, meals prepared, and the laundry caught up, all while keeping your lesson plans current, the papers graded, and the rest of your homeschool running, then this session is for you. Drawing from her 15 years of homeschooling, Vickie will share insights on how she keeps things running smoothly in her house.

Does your school day lack pizzazz? Is the topic too big for you to cover well? Do you want your children challenged and motivated to do their very best? If so, then maybe co-opping is an option you should examine. Three home-schooling moms will share how they have been blessed by the benefits of co-opping together the last 13 years. Come learn the how-to's and more of starting a co-op.

Come plan your own unit study with Gini & Teri, veteran homeschoolers and seasoned co-opers. Bring paper, pencil and your passion. This will be a session to organize & equip you for a fun & successful co-op study.