In this workshop Marian will share from her personal experience of spiritually investing in the lives of her children. She will share a very important decision she and her husband Kirk made that greatly influenced all of their homeschool years. Come glean some creative, inexpensive and practical ways to study and memorize God’s Word with your children. Discover how to intentionally plan for a consistent time in God’s Word with your children each school day. Kristen, one of Marian’s daughters will share about the impact spending time in God’s Word as a child has had on her life. This workshop is for mothers.

Does your son or daughter seem to be faltering in their efforts to learn to read? Is it the curriculum? Is it you? Based on current research, this workshop is designed to help parents better understand the most essential elements of the reading process, along with those critical ingredients that must be emphasized to produce a successful, capable reader.

For decades, learning specialists have understood the power of multi-sensory teaching. Often associated with learning disabilities, this dynamic teaching strategy has found a home in many non-disability settings as well. This workshop is designed to explain the research-based thinking behind multi-sensory teaching methods. Practical suggestions will be given for adding this powerful strategy in your own home.

Teaching the way we were taught is almost inevitable. It’s what we know ... what we’re most comfortable doing. Not everything we experienced in the classroom as children was wrong, but there is so much more we can bring to our own children. Come and learn what research, and experience, have to say about the most effective way to teach in a homeschool environment.

Learn how to manage the chaos of homeschooling and keep a heart of hope and joy through chores, messes, markers on the wall, and diaper changes!

When a homeschooled child seems to flounder for no easily identified reason, parents often exhaust themselves in their search for answers. At some point a parent may wonder if there might be a learning disability at the root of their child’s struggle. Kristen has designed this workshop to help parents sort out the difference between routine struggles and those that could well be a learning disability. We will also explore reasons you may or may not decide on formal testing and how to go about doing that.

In today’s technology culture the enemy’s lure of our young people’s minds to escape into an artificial world is great. As the line between reality and simulation blurs, the stronghold of escapism becomes more and more powerful. Apathy and self-indulgence are two destructive consequences that lead to broken relationships, broken homes, and broken hearts. Find some practical tools you can implement to help keep your children from getting caught in the snare of escapism.

Are you new to homeschooling or new to Pennsylvania? Are you thinking about homeschooling at some point in the future? Do you have questions about what homeschooling might look like and how to get started? This session is designed to encourage and equip you to homeschool your children. Topics include: Why homeschool?, how to get started in PA, a typical day, curriculum, record keeping, testing, portfolios, and evaluations. There will also be time for questions.

How can a mom homeschool while her children constantly vie for her attention or bicker whenever her back is turned? Simply put, she can’t. But the Razvis understand that situation because that’s what it was like for them just after their first adoption of a sibling group of five children. Come and hear how they have conquered that sibling rivalry and forged strong bonds between siblings. They will share the tremendous impact sibling relationships have on Mom’s ability to teach. This workshop will leave you encouraged that you can truly have peace in your homeschool.

With over a decade of experience teaching high school level math, Kathryn Gomes knows the end game. What are the essential parts of an elementary math program that will set your child up for success in middle school, high school, and even college? This session will highlight the crucial skills that must be mastered and the experiences that will shape your child as a future mathematician. Kathryn fleshes out each point with resource suggestions and helpful tips to make math something your child looks forward to each day.

We are called to disciple our children. But what a beautiful thing it is to get to the place where our children are wishing to be discipled by us, coming to us to ask for prayer and counsel over sin struggles in their hearts. Do you know God’s vision for your family? Do your children know it? Are you headed there together? Are you connected to your child’s heart? If your child is a toddler, now is the time to begin paving the way to family unity. If he is already a teenager, don’t miss this workshop. If God’s love can conquer unity challenges in the Razvi’s family of 13 children (8 adopted and 5 birth children), He can conquer those challenges in any family. Come hear our story and take away practical tools for developing family unity.

For 20 years, Debby has been teaching this workshop based on the the biblical virtues of honor and respect. Both moms and dads rave how this teaching has created a peaceful home environment they were missing. Come ready to learn 8 standards with practical application ideas for training the heart attitude of your preschoolers.

Come listen to Debby Sjogren share how God gave her creative ideas to train up children (even as early as 3) to serve others by starting in the family then expanding to their church, the broader community, and the world! Age-appropriate chores, serving the elderly, baking for “new mothers”, tutoring in the inner-city, and taking the Good News of Jesus Christ to a waiting world are just a few of the practical ideas you will leave with when attending this inspiring workshop based on the life of Jesus.

You’ve been blessed with this amazing bundle of energy. He has spent the first years of his life climbing anything vertical, “shooting” anything that moves, turning every serious moment into a wrestling match – and doing it all at top speed. And now you want to put a book in his lap and convince him that reading word lists and adding columns of numbers is fun??? Yeah, right. Homeschooling is the PERFECT learning environment for this child! Susan, a mother of nine children (including 7 wiggly boys) shares with you ideas on how to homeschool these distractible little bundles of energy (who’d rather be doing anything other than school)in such a way that you’ll be enjoying and utilizing their boundless energy instead of quenching their fire. And, of course, we’ll look at our own heart issues which are so quick to well up and spill out on those energetic little heads. This is a grace-filled workshop that will keep you laughing.

If you have a hyperactive or easily distractible child, you won’t want to miss this informative and sometimes humorous message shared from the perspective of a homeschooling father who was once a hyperactive homeschooled child himself. You will receive practical and Biblical insights into ADD/ADHD and encouragement that there is hope for your child!

Many parents say that one of their biggest struggles in home schooling is the bickering and fighting that occurs between their children. In this session, Sarah and Grace Mally, co-authors of the book Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends, will share how they have worked through pride, offenses, and irritations in their relationship, and learned to become best friends. This presentation, including ideas, insights, stories, and personal testimonies, is recommended for the entire family.

Whether you are new to homeschooling, or a veteran of many years, the methods of Miss Charlotte Mason are worth checking into! In this seminar, Sue Pruett will introduce you to the gentle, natural, successful methods developed over a century ago by a woman dedicated to seeing that every child receive an excellent education. Sue will hit the highlights of a CM education in this introductory session.

Nature Studies sound so wonderful – and intimidating, don’t they? We are blessed to have a wonderful guide for us in Miss Charlotte Mason! She advocated getting children into the out of doors every day, in all kinds of weather and in all kinds of spaces. Whether you have no yard of your own at all, or you have acres of land right outside your door, it IS possible to give your children an excellent education about God’s creation. Join us at this session to discover how!

When embarking upon this exciting journey of home education, figuring out which curriculum to choose for your child can seem daunting. In this very practical workshop, Linda will give an objective overview of the different learning styles and help you understand the most common teaching approaches including textbook, living books, unit studies, classical, Charlotte Mason, eclectic, unschooling, and more. Let Linda help you narrow down your choices and take the guesswork out of choosing curriculum. This workshop will boost your confidence in making educational decisions for success in your homeschool.

Picasso claimed, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Does your homeschool dust need to be washed away with some invigorating art ideas? Come and glean from Linda Crosby’s 30+ years of art education. Knowing that art captures the visual learner, entertains the kinesthetic learner, and awakens language learning skills, Linda determined to use art in every area of their homeschool to meet the varied needs of her children. Through her humor and life experiences, she will inspire you to branch out and experiment with art history, techniques, supplies, and ideas.

“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!

You can read to your kids about Gutenberg’s moveable type printing press and they might remember it. Or the kids can glue macaroni letters backwards onto their own presses and print Bible verses themselves… and they WILL remember it! Hands-on learning is not simply to keep hands busy, it is a valuable tool to teach children various skills, help them retain information, and relate to the subjects and people they are studying. Linda addresses this issue using humor, anecdotes, and wisdom from her 25+ years of teaching. She is a veteran at keeping her children learning through doing and can show you how to be a fun parent and teacher. This seminar is especially for the mom who feels non-creative, unorganized, and ill-equipped to teach her kids! Don’t fret! You will leave with easy ideas to implement at home.

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.

Marilyn Boyer has taught all fourteen of her children at home, so she has plenty of experience with any age group you can name. But her very favorite age to teach is those eager, curious, exciting, challenging munchkins we call preschoolers. This, Marilyn says is the time when we lay the foundation for greatness by pouring love and acceptance all over them—instead of treating them like a nuisance. Preschoolers aren’t just little interruptions to be kept “occupied” while older siblings study. This season in a child’s life is the time to tap into his huge potential by maximizing his natural love for learning and helping him to see that God is preparing him for a lifetime of important service. Come and learn from Marilyn how to make your little ones a valuable part of the team!

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.

Do you ever have those moments of panic when you wonder if you are giving your children everything they need to succeed in life? Do you worry that you are inadequate for all that homeschooling requires of you? Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night plagued by the long list of important things that still need to be done—and know there will never be enough time in the day to accomplish them? In this session, we will discuss five areas that pose particular challenges to homeschool moms and be reminded that He always holds us in the palm of His hand. This workshop contains many practical tips for solving problems and overcoming obstacles. It also encourages a biblical vision for what you are ultimately trying to accomplish in your children’s lives through homeschooling—a vision that will sustain you through the hard times and difficult days that are sure to come.

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.

Did you know that Mathematics has parts of speech and sentence structure, just as does any spoken language? Did you know that understanding the “grammar” of Mathematics greatly helps student understanding of problem-solving and applications? In this workshop, Tom Clark, founder of VideoText Interactive, and author of “Algebra: A Complete Course,” and “Geometry: A Complete Course,” clearly and humorously demonstrates this quality of mathematical language. At last, you will truly understand the roles of all types of mathematical symbols, and you will see how easy it is to translate between Mathematics and English, enabling you to improve your understanding, and teaching, of “story problems” at all levels.

When you had one child, it seemed easy, but adding more children sometimes makes homeschooling feel like a zany plate-spinning act. Vicki shares ideas for keeping the homeschooling “plates” from crashing to the floor! Practical tips for teaching multiple ages—from a mom of 17 homeschooled students (seven school-age at a time).

This workshop is designed to help parent-educators understand the scope, the sequence, and the logic of mathematics instruction from pre-school through adult. Join Tom Clark, founder of VideoText Interactive, as he takes you on a sometimes humorous journey, describing all levels of arithmetic and all mathematics courses encountered in high school and college. In addition, considerable attention will be given to identifying the “why” of the study of mathematics with an emphasis on the development of concepts, instead of rote memorization. (NOTE: This workshop is especially helpful for beginning homeschooling parents.)

Can your child’s future really be boiled down to something as simplistic as whether they are right-brained, or left-brained? Surely, as homeschooling parents, we want our children to believe that they are capable of using “both sides” of their brains. In this educational and entertaining workshop, we will explore the natural and logical connections between Mathematics and Art. We will investigate mathematical principles, and see how they are related to, and illustrated by, artistic applications. Likewise, we will explore several artistic concepts, and see how they are based on mathematical ideas. Of course, throughout, the importance of language and communication will be stressed, as it must play a key role in the understanding of both areas.

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.

Whether you want ready-made unit studies or the tools to develop your own, this workshop could be the answer! Come for an overview and explanation of definitions, comparisons, and resources for implementing unit studies into your home. In this workshop, we will also develop your personal Unit Study P.R.O. skills and provide you tools to create your own unit study at home.

Teaching reading is as easy as A-B-C…or is it? Join us as we examine the popular approaches of teaching children to read, current research on reading success and provide an overview of the wide range of available curriculum. Pre-reading exercises and tips designed to develop reading fluency and comprehension will be shared to equip your emergent reader.

If we homeschool simply to achieve high academic marks, we are squandering the opportunity to influence our children for Christ. Character healthy leaders are those children who have learned to elevate virtues above feelings. If we spend our homeschooling hours simply on academics and activities, we may win the praise of man, but we risk losing the hearts of our children. In our few short years with our children we must focus on the first things first and character is always the first thing! In this session, Megan, a homeschooling mother of eight, will challenge you to use every opportunity to teach your children to serve God by loving others and to love others by faithfully serving God.

Welcome to the digital age. What does the future of education look like, and how can the homeschool community take advantage of this? Here's a look at free tools and free content sites online that can make your homeschool more efficient, more economical, and more powerful. Harness the educational advantage of online learning and give your kids a jumpstart on their future. We will look at how Web 2.0 applications are changing the definition of education - blogs, wikis, Google applications, Skype, VoiceThreads, open courseware, YouTube, Facebook and even Twitter, when used appropriately can really help kids learn.

Are the "Terrrible Twos" eating your lunch? Need help managing your homeschool day with toddlers in the house? In this workshop Megan draws on her many years of homeschooling experience with 8 toddlers in tow to help you craft a plan for success. This workshop is intensely practical and will help you transform the terrible twos into the terrific twos!

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.

Dr. Eagleson draws on his 30 years of homeschooling and twenty years on the CHAP board to introduce the topic of getting started in homeschooling. A summary of the research into home education is provided. Curriculum, schedules and record keeping will be covered. Dr. Eagleson takes questions from the floor both during and after the presentation. Many homeschoolers comment that they heard this talk when they were just starting.

Have you wondered, "How can I afford to homeschool" or "Am I capable of teaching my children?" You and thousands of parents these past 30 years have wondered the same exact things and have homeschooled their children successfully. There are so many options today, so where do I start? You can homeschool on one income and do it very well! Homeschooling is a journey for the whole family, one in which you will all grow individually and together. Come and glean from the 30 plus years of experience as Renee Miller shares hundreds of ideas to save you money as you teach your children and raise them to love the Lord with all their hearts.

Are you new to homeschooling or new to Pennsylvania? Are you thinking about homeschooling at some point in the future? Do you have questions about what homeschooling might look like and how to get started? This session is designed to encourage and equip you to homeschool your children. Topics include: Why homeschool?, how to get started in PA, a typical day, curriculum, record keeping, testing, portfolios, and evaluations. There will also be time for questions.

Ages 2 to 7, are critical years that help form your child's ability to comprehend and do well later in their educational process. Come learn why and how to help your "little blessings", gain the most from those early years and increase their success and love for learning. Renee Miller will share many ideas that will help make these years truly fulfilling.

Art is the forgotten subject for many families. But what has been missed is not just the "Art Lessons". Come learn why art is important, how to incorporate it into core subjects, and how to make learning fun! You'll leave with hundreds of ideas to make learning more enjoyable, refreshing and fulfilling. Best of all they will retain what they learn!

Picking curriculum can be an overwhelming, confusing, and a surprisingly expensive venture. If you are starting out on the homeschool journey, or if you are a curriculum junkie who has struggled with completing curriculum, this talk might be for you. Sarah Mae gives you the confidence that you can give your child a wonderful education without spending hundreds of dollars.

Food engages the senses and intrigues our minds, so why not add it to your curriculum! Join Sara Rask as she offer suggestions and resources for incorporating cooking into your classroom. Learn how to make your curriculum truly multi-sensory in this tasty workshop!

It gets better! You will not always be sleep-deprived or brain-depleted! If you are a mom of little ones, Sarah Mae will offer you some clarity and perspective on the often exhausting years of baby and toddlerhood.