Workshops

Amber O’Neal Johnston

Relational Living, Learning, and Loving

Interacting with living books, things, and people. Learning amid the mundane. Loving our family, friends, and community well. These are the relational aspects of home that fuel growth and contentment. Home education blurs the lines between home and “school” and offers a unique opportunity for connection with and among our children. When we approach our days as opportunities for relationships to flourish (and be tested), we’re able to experience the fullness of educating our children at home. This session will guide parents in curating a home atmosphere rooted in relational living, learning, and loving.

Art Reyes

Coming Soon

Renton Rathbun

How to Create Thinking Habits in Our Children: Worldview Down to the Lesson Plan

Let's face it, biblical worldview has been ethereal for too long. If biblical worldview is to have any legitimacy, it must be practical. In this talk, we develop the lost art of reading, writing, and arithmetic in our teaching. We establish that every subject taught in the home involves these three skills. We then develop how Worldview work is at the heart of 1) organizational thinking in reading, 2) critical thinking in writing, and 3) conductive thinking in arithmetic.

Jonathan Brush

Rebuilding Western Civilization: A Call to a Bigger Vision

What if homeschooling and the homeschool movement was about more than education, but was the training corps for the special forces whose mission is to take and hold the cultural anchors of our civilization? What if your local church was more than a building to worship in once a week, but was the headquarters for an army whose mission was to rebuild a civilization? What if we understood that this army doesn’t build walls and fortifications to keep the barbarians out, but builds homes and communities that lower the bridge, open the gates, and invites those outside in, to a better world? This session will challenge you to think big, think long, and join the mission.

The Importance of Taking Action & Doing Real Things

In a bygone time plans were paramount, caution was king, and deciding was marked by deliberation. In that old world knowledge trumped experience. We don’t live in that world anymore. In our world iteration is better than planning, action holds the throne, and deciding is marked by doing. In our world knowledge is still necessary, but knowledge without experience holds little value. This session will teach you how to adapt to this new world and use project based education to train students to take action for the real world.

Principles Based Parenting: You Don’t Need a Formula, You Need a Foundation

Ever notice that everyone has a very specific opinion about how you should, or shouldn’t, raise your children? There’s no magic formula to parenting, and you should be very cautious listening to anyone who tells you there is, but there are principles, things that are true no matter what. If you understand those principles then, since we are made in the image of an infinitely creative God, there are an infinite number of ways you can teach your children those principles, reflecting your unique skills and family. This session will give you the foundation to build your own parenting plan.

What You Really Need to Know: What Students Should Learn Before They Launch

Strip away everything else and, at the end of the day, your goal is to make sure your child progresses from sleeping on your couch to being an adult sleeping on their own couch. What does a student really need to learn between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two to be ready for “real life”? Many focus on academics, but you need more than academic ability to be fully equipped for the challenges and responsibilities of adulthood. This session is based on over twenty years of watching young adults launch and carefully observing what works and what doesn’t. This is what you really need to know.

The Success Crisis: Why Misunderstanding Success is Destroying our Young Adults (Thursday Life After High School Mini-Con) 

Many love to beat on the current young generation for their lack of work ethic and say they will never be “successful.” This is odd when you consider that the entire formal education system and culture is designed and optimized to make people successful. What if learning to thrive – defined as owning your purpose, serving others through healthy relationships, and living with resilience – was far more important than becoming successful - defined as being rich, famous, and/or powerful? What if becoming successful actually runs directly against what is necessary to thrive? What would we need to understand and do to equip our children to thrive instead of equipping them to be successful?

Kristi Clover

Choosing Curriculum - & Not Breaking the Bank! (Thursday Nuts & Bolts Mini-Con)

Tired of spending hundreds (or even thousands) on curriculum only to feel like it’s not a good fit for your family? Discover how to confidently choose the right homeschool materials—without draining your bank account! With so many options (and price tags), it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. In this session, you’ll learn a simple approach to picking curriculum that fits your family’s unique learning and teaching styles, budget, and interests. We’ll also explore creative ways to homeschool without formal curriculum, using real-life resources and flexible tools that keep things simple and affordable. Walk away with a clear strategy, fresh ideas, and the confidence to teach your children with joy and peace.

Making Your Homeschool Days Special with Traditions & Fun!

Homeschooling is more than lesson plans—it’s the beautiful, messy, memory-making moments in between. If you want to add more joy, creativity, and meaningful traditions to your homeschool, this session is for you. We all know the pressure of trying to “keep up” with academics, but homeschooling is about more than just lessons—it’s about family culture. In this session, I’ll share practical and simple ways to create lasting traditions that make your homeschool days meaningful, faith-filled, and fun. Whether it’s themed learning days, seasonal celebrations, or Bible-based traditions, you’ll walk away with easy-to-implement ideas your kids will beg to do again.

Training Kids to Help (Without the Whining!)

You weren’t meant to carry the whole load alone—your kids can help (they might just need a little training). In this uplifting and practical session, you’ll discover how to gently and consistently train your kids to take ownership of age-appropriate tasks—everything from daily chores to helping with meal prep, tidying, and household routines. We’ll explore strategies for building responsibility, cultivating a family team mindset, and handling pushback without turning into the drill sergeant. Whether you’re just getting started or need a reset, you’ll walk away with fresh motivation and tools to create a more peaceful, cooperative home.

Amber O’Neal Johnston

Sparking Curiosity & Delight in Childhood

When children show strong abilities in one area or another, the adults in their lives often encourage them to pursue hobbies and careers that play off those strengths. That may certainly be an advantage, but sometimes the strategy can leave children feeling incomplete. In this session, we’ll explore a path that supports academic growth while sparking curiosity in childhood. Learn how to spread an inspiring feast of ideas and come alongside your kids as they dive deeply into the passions and interests that make them come alive!

Books as Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors

When children lack occasions to examine similarities and differences between themselves and others, they miss out on valuable opportunities for recognizing the shared humanity that binds all people together. A mirror is a story that reflects your own culture and helps build your identity, a window is a resource that offers you a view into someone else’s experience, and a sliding glass door invites you to enter another’s world. In this session, we will examine the use of all three types of books in our homes as we educate our children while embracing their individuality and honoring others.

Delighting in the Early Years

With children of various ages and stages – middle school, upper elementary, lower elementary, and a tagalong – Amber has faithfully shepherded multiple children through the difficult and delightful early years. In this session, she will share her journey through the first years of her children’s home life while highlighting the beautiful aspects that she relishes, the not-so-great things she wishes she’d done differently, and the ways that birth order and family circumstances have impacted each child’s experience.

Renton Rathbun

Homeschooling Gen Z: How They Think & Why It Matters

Young people continue to consent to and even affirm culturally acceptable sin. Sometimes we think, "My kids will never get tangled up in the LGBTQ+, and Social Justice movements." But do we understand this generation enough to know how to protect them? In this talk, we discover the root of the thought process that has groomed Gen Z into doubting God, redefining Christianity, and ultimately walking away from the faith. We discuss three biblical principles to respond with as we educate, train, and prepare this generation for a world that hates God.

What Should a Bible Program Look Like When We Homeschool?

Although many homeschool in order to teach their children from a biblical perspective, surprisingly, many homeschoolers are not engaging the Bible with the same rigor and attention as they do other subjects. This presentation demonstrates that all these issues can be overcome when we develop an intentional, biblical worldview of Bible curriculum, in its scope, relevance, and rigor.

Calling All Men! We Need a Better Definition for Servant Leadership

Today, more than ever, we need strong, reliable men, husbands, fathers. At the heart of Biblical leadership in the home is a hierarchy of a love for God that then determines how we will love others. The higher the level of responsibility and the weight that accompanies decision making in the home, the greater the temptation is for men to either become like a child to their wife or become a bully in the home. In this talk, we will discuss practical, biblical acts of headship in the home, and how to make a real difference in the next generation.

Rachel Zwayne

Moms Night Out! (Special Friday night event: Moms Night Out)

Rachel Zwayne and her oldest daughter, Julia, can’t wait to spend an evening with you all sharing about their homeschool experience as mother and daughter. They’ll talk about some of their fondest memories, recount humorous stories, and encourage you with all that the Lord has done in their lives through home education. Don’t miss this special night that will be sure to stir your heart and motivate you in your journey with your own precious children!

The Profound Impact of a Mother’s Influence

The influence that a mother can have over her children is profound. Homeschooling provides even more opportunities for her to impact the lives of the precious souls God has entrusted into her care. Rachel will explore specific areas of focus and highlight how intentionality can translate into massive effectiveness. You will learn how to inspire your children to love and serve the Lord and others with every fiber of their being.

Top 10 Tips for the Homeschool Mom

With 25 years of experience, Rachel is delighted to share what she has learned on her journey through all the joys and challenges of homeschooling. Her desire is to put wind in your sails and free you up to truly enjoy all the amazing benefits of education at home. Come and be encouraged towards trusting the Lord as well as implementing wise and practical tips. You are sure to come away with an excited heart!

What’s Influencing Your Parenting as a Mom?

Being aware of what influences our parenting is extremely important. This message will touch on common influences—both positive and negative—that impact Christian mothers. Rachel will challenge us to evaluate where we turn for advice and if we’re being unintentionally influenced by the wrong sources. She will seek to encourage us in the right direction so that we can experience confidence in our parenting.

Jack Hibbs

TBD (Thursday Intro to Homeschooling Mini-Con)

Jodi DiPaola

Math Games: Laughter and Learning All in One

Bring joy to your math lessons with games. Engaging and exciting math card games will teach math and reinforce the facts. Instead of solitary and isolating worksheets, games create a social, interactive experience where children of all skill levels can learn together. Join us for a fun-filled workshop where we’ll show you how to play some addition, multiplication, and fraction games to boost math skills, promote critical thinking, and infuse learning with laughter and joy.

Carrie de Francisco

Homeschooling with Dyslexia: It’s a Gift

Did your child have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad (homeschooling) day ... again? Whether your child is dyslexic, has attention issues, or is just a late bloomer, homeschooling parents often feel inadequate. Dyslexia is not a deficiency; it is a gift. Kids with dyslexia learn differently, so they need to be taught differently. Carrie shares the struggles, challenges, triumphs, and miracles she experienced homeschooling her dyslexic child, as well as possible teaching strategies.

Homeschooling for FREE (Well … Almost Free)

Carrie shares how to teach PreK-4th grade for free (or for almost free), keep God and His Word at the center of your studies, protect your child's childhood from academic overload, and more. This session will help you keep the WONDER years WONDERful, and on a budget! If you are a parent of a PreK-4th grade student, a family on a strict budget, or a homeschool mom wanting to simplify her schedule, this workshop is for you.

Dr. Lisa Dunne

Homeschool Models that Heal GenZ Misattachments

Today’s students are known as the most anxious, depressed, suicide-ideation-prone generation in U.S. history. What can we do to turn the tide? Through her work in universities over the last 20 years, Dr. Dunne has honed an educational methodology that helps inspire trust, build relational connectedness, and nurture critical-thinking skills. You will find practical ways to add these strategic elements of hope and healing to your homeschool. Get a free copy of Dr. Lisa’s book, Guide on the Side, when you attend this workshop!

Climate Change: How Your Communication Climate Impacts Your Child’s Success

What seeds of discontent from your own childhood are bearing a harvest in your home? In The Secret Garden, author Frances Hodgson Burnett tells the story of a young orphan and her cousin. Raised without godly discipline and steeped in narratives of unforgiveness, both children ultimately make peace with their past, allowing hope to enter their hearts and love to enter their lives. The power of forgiveness sets them free from a life of bondage. Don’t let your past determine your children’s future.

Dr. Douglas Frank

Making Science & Math Fun and Memorable

Workshop description coming soon.

Julie Goodman-Bowling

Navigating Changing Relationships through College

Becoming an adult changes one’s relationships with their parents, church, and friends. Additionally, learning how to communicate with maturity, especially with professors and potential employers, is a critical part of establishing dependable relationships. In this discussion, we explore some helpful tools to guide students to how to navigate their new-found independence, establishing church relationships, and navigating changing relationships as distance and life-stage affect how students engage with parents and friends.

Navigating Working Outside the Home While Homeschooling

My colleague Yvonne Thai (homeschool mama, author, and teacher) and I may offer some wisdom from our experiences as being full-time working mamas and homeschoolers. We address how we prioritize, organize, and balance our callings - a primary calling (wife and mother) and secondary calling (teaching). We’ll share how rewarding both experiences are, but also how the danger of immediate gratification from work can be tempting; homeschooling and investing in my family is for the long-term … and results take time.

Betsy Pierce

Essential Recordkeeping for the Private Homeschooler (Thursday Nuts & Bolts Mini-Con)

Benjamin Franklin forgot paperwork when he declared death and taxes to be the only certainties in life. But you don't need to be afraid of drowning in a documents. Betsy has kept her school records for thirteen years and will walk you through the mandated records we are required to maintain as private homeschoolers and briefly touch on a few popular methods for lesson planning and keeping track of your child's learning.

Teaching With Multiple Ages at Home

How do you teach high school when the baby needs to eat, the toddler needs a nap, and the 8- year-old slips outside the moment your back is turned? It would be easy to teach multiplication if only you could focus for 10 minutes! As a mother of a large family, Betsy will share her experiences, successes, and failures of homeschooling multiple ages at the same time, including practical ideas for scheduling, household management, and curriculum approaches.

Precious Preschool - Loving the Littlest Learning Years

Congratulations! You have a precious preschooler and you have decided homeschooling is the direction for your family! Whether you are excited and eager, overwhelmed by the enormity of the road ahead, or just want some ideas of how to begin with a good foundation, this session will help. Betsy will lay out a vision of a fun and doable approach to teaching the littlest learners, and encourage you to look with joy on this season of school.

What Kind of Homeschooler Are You?

There are as many different approaches to homeschooling as there are families wondering what all the fancy terms mean. Who is this woman Charlotte Mason? How can education be classical? In this session, Betsy will give an overview of some of the most popular approaches to homeschooling. This will help parents get a feel for what method might be a good fit for their family and help direct curriculum choices and priorities.

Nathan Pierce & John McGowan

Legislative Update

Fresh from the battlefront, Nathan and John will update you on major current legislative battles threatening our private home education and parental rights! You will learn how God has been working through FPM & CHEA this year and see the necessity of maintaining vigilance for battles that are on the horizon. As time permits, this perspective will broaden to the underlying worldviews and trends of our culture’s war against the God-ordained family.

Nathan Pierce

Raising Our Children to be Discerning in a World of Error

With eight children in their home, Nathan and his wife do a lot of explaining about what is going on in the world. It can be tempting to give short answers, but doing so shirks our responsibility to train our children in discernment. Studying and growing in discernment is something that we need to model for our children as well as mentor them in. How can we do this in a world that is so confusing?

Charter Schools - Opportunity or Hidden Stumbling Block?

You probably know homeschooling families who have left the fold of Private Homeschooling for the perceived advantages of joining a charter school. Perhaps you yourself have even wondered if it wouldn’t be a solution to some of the challenges you’re facing. So, what are some of the important issues Christian parents should consider before making any decision to enroll their children in a charter school?

David & Shirley Quine

High School—The Final Lap

In the Book of Hebrews, we are challenged to “run with endurance the race that is set before us …” Running a race is difficult. In many ways, homeschooling is like a race in which we pass the baton of Truth to the next generation. High school is the final lap. Be encouraged as David and Shirley share insight from the Word of God on how to finish strong!

Math—According to Abbot & Costello

While practice may make perfect, learn from Abbot and Costello why practice doesn't make understanding! Although a child may get every problem on a math page correct, that does not ensure he or she has any idea of what it means. Learn from David how to instill meaning into each math lesson.

Bringing Together Great Masterpieces of Art & Biblical Truth

Great art has endured over time due to the artists placing Biblical truth onto their canvas. Through the study of art, we can see God's majesty and the beauty of His creation. In a similar way to great literature, art masterworks can take us on a journey to significant historical places and times where they come to life and leave lasting impressions upon our memories. However, the visual nature of art inspires and teaches us in ways that words alone cannot.

Penny Ross

Laying a Foundation (Thursday Nuts & Bolts Mini-Con)

What shapes your education vision? What matters most to you as a parent and a teacher? The more that you think through why you are homeschooling, the better you can establish some guiding principles for your journey. Those principles will help you make important homeschooling decisions both now and in the future, as well as lay the groundwork for writing a Philosophy of Education or Mission Statement. (If those terms sound intimidating, then this is the workshop for you!).

Is Your Student College Bound? (Thursday Life After High School Mini-Con)

If you think your student might be headed to college, this workshop will provide an introduction and overview to the process. We will discuss the basics of higher education including the different types of schools (community college, UC, CSU, private college, Christian college, Bible college, and vocational school), admissions guidelines for homeschoolers, and a short primer on financial aid.

Homeschooling ... When Life Intervenes

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking a quality home education can only happen under ideal life circumstances. It is possible to homeschool while you provide care for a beloved family member or friend, deal with an ongoing illness yourself, lose your spouse to death or divorce. or undergo other major turmoil. We’ll explore ways you can stretch and flex to meet the demands on your time and energy without shortchanging your children’s education.

Home Educating a High-Energy Kid

Do you have one of those kids who can barely sit still – even to eat? Then how is he or she supposed to learn to read, do long division, or write essays? We’ll discuss practical tips and tools for working with kids who have an overabundance of energy and for incorporating movement into their daily learning routine.

A Customized Education

Homeschool parents do not need to teach every subject themselves. How do you determine which subjects would be best taught by you at home and which ones could (or should) be outsourced? And how do you determine the pro’s and con’s of a group class, tutor, co-op, online class, or video program for a particular subject or situation? Penny will help you sort through all these questions to determine what’s right for your family.

Caleb & Leah Schroeder

Homeschooling for a Stronger Marriage

Oftentimes homeschool parents put their marriage on the back burner due to the hectic life of being a homeschool family. This session will focus on why a healthy marriage is the most important element of an effective education. It will offer practical advice for how to maintain a healthy marriage in the midst of the organized chaos of home education.

Homeschool Fatigue

How do you keep going when it seems like you are going nowhere? In this workshop, Caleb & Leah will talk about maintaining endurance through all the various stages of child development from infant to teen and will emphasize both practical and spiritual implications.

Caleb Schroeder

Homeschooling is Discipleship

How is each dad uniquely equipped as the spiritual leader of his family? What are the unique roles that God has given parents to fulfill as they bring up children “In the way they should go?” How does this work for single parents? Practical advice for discipling children at all stages will be given. This seminar will also answer the question: “How can I disciple my children when I don’t have a Bible degree?”

John Paul (J.P.) Thurau

How to Pay for a Christian College

This workshop explores ways to make the private college experience affordable. Topics will include the college search process, how to maximize institutional scholarships, and how to find outside scholarships. The discussion will also include an introduction to the financial aid process, along with real talk about expenses, long-term financial considerations, and critical questions to ask.

To Test or Not to Test? That is the Question!

Testing does not need to be an anxiety-ridden experience. How can you utilize assessments in an edifying way and benefit tangibly from the results? This workshop will address questions related to testing and assessments, their benefits and limitations, and how to use them in your homeschool. The impact and prevalence of testing in society will be considered, along with common terms related to testing and college admissions.

Vicki Stormoen

A Closer Look at Middle School

The junior high years provide a unique two-year “gift” where parents can develop a two-fold vision for their students that involves both looking back at the elementary years and filling in any gaps, as well as intentionally preparing their students for the high school years ahead. In this session, we will look at how to effectively accomplish both of those goals to set 7th and 8th grade students up for success in their final years of homeschooling.

Creating Your Homeschool Mission Statement

What is a Homeschool Mission Statement and why do you need one? In this workshop, we will discuss the importance of having a homeschool mission statement for your family, how it can help you during the school year, and how to put one together. We will look at some sample mission statements for inspiration with the goal of leaving this talk with new inspiration and a clear target for fulfilling your homeschooling goals.

Brian Villanueva

Technology from Toddlers to Teens

How do you safely introduce the web, smartphones, social media, and AI to your children? The Internet is an amazing tool with a very seedy underbelly. Learn how to use internet technology without having it use you. This workshop demonstrates web filtering and phone tracking tools to keep your kids and teens safe(r) online. Because today's online harms can migrate into the offline world.

Julie Walker

Writing Across the Curriculum

Imagine integrating writing instruction into your Bible, history, or science lessons, helping your students become better writers while deepening their understanding of the subject matter. This is not only possible; it is highly effective! Writing about a subject solidifies the content, making it an ideal teaching strategy. Learn a systematic approach to help you incorporate writing into nearly any content area.

The Four Language Arts

When asked what the language arts are, many list numerous subjects: spelling, phonics, grammar, copywork, composition, etc. However, it’s much simpler! For those adhering to the classical model, ascribing to a Charlotte Mason method, or just seeking a commonsense approach, language arts can be distilled into four core components: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Attending well to the first two eases the process of teaching the latter two. Learn to focus on the most important things in the limited time you have.

Roger Wheelock

Biblical Worldview of Education Is Vital

Carefully crafted, wicked ideas are attacking us from all sides and our children will fall if not fully equipped to discern God’s truth from the enemy’s propaganda. Beginning in the home and church, our families must learn to see the world through the eyes of God, and to understand the times we’re in. This presentation will prepare you with the tools you need to not merely survive, but to thrive in our tumultuous culture.

Vital Need to Relate His-Story (History) to Today’s World

George Orwell said, “The most effective way to destroy a people is to deny and obliterate their understanding of their own history.” French writer and communist supporter Milan Kundera wrote: “The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory.” If we don’t know our history, we won’t know the context of our lives today, and we won’t understand God’s purpose for us in the future. Viewing history through God’s eyes is unfathomably valuable and relevant for today.