Fear-based parenting drives us to make bad decisions despite the best of intentions. We choose curricula based on what our friends are doing, not what our kids need, because we're scared they'll miss something. We micromanage our teens because we're afraid they'll make mistakes. We stress and worry and can't sleep at night. Why do we fall so easily into the what-ifs? God has not given us a spirit of fear. This eye-opening session will point you to the real source of security and hope and free you to do what is best for your children no matter what anyone else is doing. Step up and take courage!

Does your marriage affect your kids? You bet. It affects them profoundly. It impacts their security, their identity, and their sense of worth. Beyond that, our marriage toolkit will be the one our kids reach for in their marriages. Come, take a look at your own marriage toolbox, pick up a few new tools, and learn five ways to tune up your marriage to make it even better for you and your children. Give them a legacy that will help them build a good marriage, too!

When do you get started, and what do you do first? We've had precocious readers and late bloomers, but every one of them has benefited from being homeschooled from the beginning. Find out how to know when each child is ready for formal academics, how to get started, and what homeschooling looks like for young children. Learn to relax and introduce your little ones to the joy of learning in a gentle and realistic way that will prepare them to succeed academically.

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 roller-coaster—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 with this funny and all-too-real workshop—and lay a foundation to make the teen years great!

When you get to the end of your homeschooling, and your child leaves home, things get real. At that point, the only thing you'll have is relationship: their relationship with God and their relationship with you. Learn about encouraging research that highlights the critical importance of relationships in the spiritual life of our children, find out how to rebuild strained relationships, and get practical help to build the kind of relationship that will last through adulthood. Hal & Melanie's six oldest children have grown up and left home, and are their best friends.

So many parents ask, "Why doesn't my son enjoy reading? I want him to love it!" In this session, we'll look at ways to help your boys read better, enjoy reading more, and find joy in stories and in research. What's more, we'll talk about ways to help your son over his hurdles with writing assignments. Melanie homeschooled all six of her boys from the beginning, and all of them eventually loved to read and won awards for their writing, too.

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!

Over years of calls from brand new homeschoolers, Melanie learned that there were really three things that needed to be accomplished the first year in order for new families to succeed at homeschooling. Learn how to get through your first year without jerking anybody bald-headed, including yourself!

Christian marriages are breaking up everywhere. How can this be? What is wrong when a family at the forefront of the culture war spins apart? If you homeschool, you know you are in a spiritual battle. Don't let your marriage be the weak point in your armor. Find out about challenges your marriage may face, and how to work it through, not just to stay together, but to find joy and strength in each other as you mirror the relationship of Christ and the church to your children – and the rest of the world.

Homeschooling is a challenge at any time. Hal and Melanie have seen God's grace in stage IV cancer, a baby with a heart condition, job loss, relocations, and more! The good news is that God can enable you to teach and learn more through the hard times than you ever thought possible. Find out why it's so important to keep homeschooling in spite of the challenges.

Sometimes homeschooling feels like one of those plate-spinning acts, and you wonder how in the world you're going to meet everyone's needs. The baby needs to be changed, the toddler is playing in the toilet, your high school student is impatiently waiting for you to help with his biology experiment, and two other children say, "I can't do anything without you, Mom!" Melanie Young, mother of eight, shares encouragement and ideas for how to keep all those plates spinning at once without your life spinning out of control. Learn how to raise independent learners, keep the household moving, and make sure the little ones get enough attention.

In spite of what the culture is telling us, boys and girls are different. Have you ever had a war breakout 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!

When do you get started and what do you do first? We've had precocious readers and late bloomers, but every one of them has benefited from being homeschooled from the beginning. Learn to relax and introduce your little ones to the joy of learning in a gentle and realistic way that will prepare them to succeed academically.