Foundations of Leadership Education
Summit Keynote:
Gender Identity & Sexuality: How to Navigate Today’s Culture as a Christian Mom, by Dannah Gresh
Thirty years ago, we wouldn’t believe our culture is talking about changing genders, but that’s where we are. How do you navigate these issues with your tweens and teens? Dannah Gresh, of True Girl, offers encouragement and practical advice you can use immediately. We discuss your tweens/teens identity in Christ, preparing your children for future conversations in the world, and even pronouns to use. If you have children of any age, you need to watch Kerry’s interview with Dannah. You will walk away with tools to help your kids stand up for Truth and build their heart on God’s plan.
Leadership Education (Monday)
Guarding Your Mind As A Christian Homeschooler, by Kelly Warner
Let’s dive into how you can guard your heart & mind as you homeschool family and why this often overlooked task is vital to getting out of survival mode. Join me for some homeschool help, hope, & humor as we tackle a the pivotal topic of guarding your mind as a Christian homeschooler.
Gospel-Powered Mindset, by Pauline Cook
In this workshop, you’ll learn what that means and how foundational it is for Christian leadership today. A gospel-powered mindset isn’t just the success or growth mindset that is touted in this world, but one that operates through the framework of a Big Story perspective; one that ultimately cultivates a heart of both humble discipleship and intentional mission in our children. A gospel-powered mindset supports the cultivation of important leadership and life skills, like:
– Having both self-awareness and empathy for others
– Thinking critically and making good decisions
– Being both teachable and resilient
– Listening well and communicating effectively
– Stewarding time and resources with intentionality
– Pursuing a gospel-centered marriage and running a biblical home
Character Building & Parenting (Tuesday)
Building Godly Character In Your Kids, by Kathie Morrisey
Godly character is the foundation for academic success, as well as success in life. Discover how character is learned and how to establish a plan for teaching it to your children. Kathie will give several creative ways you can encourage your children to develop in this important area. After hearing this, you will be motivated, and full of ideas to use with your own children.
Good News for Earnest Parents, by Steve Demme
Believing the good news in our innermost being is transformative and restorative. We can only give to our children what we have received ourselves. As we comprehend God’s care and affection in new ways, we will be able to minister the same to our families.
Loving God’s Word, by Pauline Cook
How do you cultivate a love for God’s world in your children without forcing them to read the bible or memorize scripture? For Pauline Cook and her family, it all starts with laying the foundation of a Big Story perspective. Learn what that is and how it has helped her children pursue God’s word for themselves.
Love of Learning & Lifetime Learners (Wednesday)
Scheduling the Feast of Subjects: How to Schedule Your Homeschool Week, by Ana Willis
Teaching Bible, math, history, science, reading, and writing keeps you busy enough. How can you make time for art, foreign language, literature, music, poetry, folk songs, hymn, Plutarch, and even Shakespeare too?
In this workshop, you’ll learn practical steps for teaching all this and more, through implementing Charlotte Mason’s concept of spreading a feast of ideas.
The Art of Lifelong Learning: Inspiring a Passion for Knowledge at Home, by Christy Gandara
Are you a homeschool mom seeking to transform your current homeschooling approach into a journey of lifelong learning? This workshop is for you. Join educaiton specialist Christy Gandara for this empowering session to learn how one simple mindset shift helped education come alive in her homeschool – and can in yours too!Your children will easily connect academic concepts to the world around them, understanding the practical value of what they learn.
In this workshop you will:
- Discover strategies to promote self-directed learning, giving your children the tools to take charge of their educational journey.
- Learn to develop activities and practices that nurture critical thinking and problem-solving abilities in your children.
- Embrace a positive attitude towards mistakes and setbacks, turning them into powerful lessons that fuel your children’s growth.
- Leave with actionable steps you can take to make an immediate impact on your homeschool.
Living Books Preschool to Graduation, by Meredith Curtis
Stories take us to faraway places and time periods. Timeless tales allow us to dream and plan possibilities unlimited. Take your children on a glorious adventure from preschool to high school graduation with timeless classics, exciting literature, and picture books for all ages. Novels grow strong readers! Reading increases our attention span, cultivates our imagination, and is the #1 tool of learning. Let Meredith help you to understand the process from prereading to literary classics the easy way so you can guide your children smoothly through the years and help struggling readers enjoy books. Meredith also gives tips on how to build a living book and audio book library in your home and on your tablet.
Homeschool Can Include Video Games, Using Your Child’s Interests, by Cynthia Heren
Homeschool allows you to learn about what you want when you want! Embrace the freedom of homeschooling to use your child’s interests in their learning. YES, video games can provide all kinds of sneaky learning opportunities and make them want to do their homework!
Mom & Dad Encouragement (Thursday)
The Three Best Things I Did as a Homeschool Dad, by Andrew Pudewa
While there are many, many things I could have done better as a homeschool father, there are three distinct things that I did try to do as consistently as possible during our years of homeschooling that were the most helpful according to my wife. Join me to discover the three best things I did and to glean some ideas for making your homeschool years the best they can be. Moms are welcome as well!
How to Prevent and Recover From Mom Burnout, by Sarah McCubbin
TBA
Call to Active Duty, by Christian Horstmann
This workshop was created primarily for Christian husbands and fathers, sharing some practical thoughts and advice for taking an active role in leading, shepherding, and defending their wives and children in light of the spiritual warfare that today’s modern families are caught up in. Christian’s hope is that this will be at least the beginning of an action plan for husbands and fathers to fulfill their role as their family’s spiritual leader with courage, conviction, and love.
Moving to Independent Learners (Friday)
My Middle-Schooler Is Driving Me Crazy!, by Leilani Melendez
As a mom and former middle school teacher, I will share with you some insights that will change your attitude toward this precious group of kids. We will discuss how the middle-schooler’s brain works, what they are thinking and feeling, and how you can learn to enjoy these fleeting, emotional, but pivotal years with your kids.
Filtering Truth from Deception: Christian Discernment in a World of Information Overload, by Lisa Garrison
This presentation equips families with essential tools to navigate the vast sea of information inundating our daily lives. With a focus on maintaining a Christian worldview, participants will learn practical strategies for critically evaluating media, research, and news sources. The session delves into the nuances of discernment, offering insights on recognizing and resisting deception while upholding core Christian values. Attendees will leave empowered to sift through the noise, making informed decisions rooted in biblical principles amidst the challenges of our information-saturated society.
Your Homeschool Plan For Raising Independent Learners, by Amber Smith
Independence is hard wired into our children, but will that lead to them doing their math without being asked? That is the question! So, how can we get our kids to take a lead in their learning and grow in their independence in positive ways? In this workshop, Amber Smith, a mother of ten, shares how she raised a crew that loves to learn. She gives simple examples of how they shaped their homeschool to encourage both independence AND cooperation.
Bright Spot Of Homeschooling Teens, by Cynthia Heren
Homeschooling the High School years can seem overwhelming with the thought of doing enough for them to be prepared to launch to a career or college. But there are some bright spots to homeschooling teens including more time for conversation, being connected to their peers, and the flexibility to build a high school curriculum and experience that is unique to your child!
Explore the Foundation of Western Literature with Teen Leaders, by Meredith Curtis
It is exciting to discover plot lines that are thousands of years old repeated in our modern books and movies! We’ll look at the Lion King (Shakespeare’s Hamlet), She’s the Man (Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night), and Jesus’ sacrifice (Tale of Two Cities). JRRR Tolkien and Marvel both use Scandinavian legends in their exciting works. Yet, the morals and beliefs of the foundational cultures (Hebrew, Greek, Roman, and Christian) penetrate classic literature. As an example of this, Meredith compares two of the oldest known writings: Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh. How can you introduce children to all the classics in a wholesome way? And what about literary analysis?
Life Skills for Leaders
Our Summit Partners are True Girl and Born to Be Brave. Both groups work with parents of tweens & teens. Our Keynote on Monday is from Dannah Gresh, founder of True Girl. Dannah will offer helps for parents as they navigate gender identity and sexuality. . . a much needed life skill today.
Life Skills Leadership Summit will donate 5% of their profits to these two groups. Some speakers will also donate 5% of their commissions, while Kerry matches their 5%.
True Girl help moms and daughters grow closer to Jesus and closer to each other!
True Girl is a community of moms here to remind you that you are not alone in your desire to raise your daughter according to the Truth of God’s Word. We create mom + daughter connection tools to disciple tween girls to know and love the Truth found in the Bible.
Born to Brave helps dads discover the simple things they can do to go from being an active father to a strategic father. Most importantly, instead of more “to do’s”, dads will know what’s already been done for them, so they can be the role model they’ve always wanted to be for their son.
Spiritual & Body Care (Monday)
Power Tips for Making Teaching and Learning Easier at Home, by Andrew Pudewa
We carefully choose and use the best curricula for our home school. However, several factors have a far greater impact on day-to-day teaching and learning than the differences in materials or methods of instruction. From schedule to diet, exercise to environment, you can implement simple lifestyle adjustments to make home education less stressful, more joyful, and more effective.
Creating Nourishing Routines and Rhythms to Grow Heart, Souls, and Minds, by Julie Ross
We often can become so focused on “covering the basics” that we forget the importance of filling our homeschool days with truth, beauty, and goodness- then we wonder why homeschooling can feel so draining! In this talk, Julie Ross, the creator of A Gentle Feast, will explore how we can easily add more beauty in our days through nourishing routines and rhythms that will breathe life into our homes. Julie will show you how poetry, art, music, etc. are just as vital as any other subject in the educational feast. In fact, they are absolutely essential if our goal as homeschoolers is to develop students that are whole persons and magnanimous citizens that can bless the world with living ideas and love to learn for knowledge’s sake through the rest of their lives.
God’s Pharmacy: Homeopathy and the Biblical Foundations of Health, by Amanda Pelser
Using homeopathy for personal and family wellness care: What is homeopathy? Is it biblical? Is it scientific? The importance of talking to your kids about your philosophy of health and wellness. Some basics for how to get started using homeopathy for acute care.
Relationships & Social Skills (Monday)
Helping Your Children Find And Build Good Friendships, by Sarah McCubbin
Some kids make friends anywhere they go and others STRUGGLE no matter how hard they try. Friendship is a foundational to eventually becoming leader. Let’s talk about how to help our kids build real friendships and learn valuable social skills along the way.
Build Resilient Teens: Shape Their Relationship with Failure, by Amber Smith
How is success defined? Is success achieved in the moment of the win or is success nurtured into life by the willingness to try and fail one thousand times? If we want our teens to be leaders, they need to be willing to risk, fail and try again. In this workshop, I will share four of the things you can do to help shape your child’s reaction to failure and help them lead without fear.
Entrepreneurship & Business Skills (Tuesday)
How Busy Homeschool Moms & Creative Teens Can Bring In A Side Income With an Etsy Shop, by Abby Banks
Are you a creative homeschool mom? Or maybe you have a entrepreneurial teen who loves to design, shop for vintage, or create handmade products? Selling on Etsy may be the perfect venue to do what you love, learn new skills, and bring in some extra money. Abby Banks has been selling on Etsy since 2012 and has taught hundreds of homeschool teens to do the same. Join us to learn best practices and expert advice for starting out.
Raising Future Entrepreneurs: Unlocking Your Child’s Potential Through Teaching them How to Start a Business, by Dana Susan Beasley
This presentation, given by mompreneur Dana Susan Beasley, will provide parents with an introduction to the benefits of teaching entrepreneurship and how it can help children reach their full potential in becoming business owners. We will discuss the importance of teaching entrepreneurial skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity, at an early age. We will also discuss the advantages of homeschooling and entrepreneurship, such as providing a flexible learning environment, allowing children to learn at their own pace, and exposing them to a variety of resources and activities to help them become successful entrepreneurs. Finally, we will discuss how parents can create a successful homeschool entrepreneurship program for their children and provide tips for setting up a successful home business. This presentation is designed to help parents unlock their child’s potential through teaching them entrepreneurialism and help them become successful business owners.
Etsy – Abby
Money Skills (Tuesday)
Raise Kids Who GET Money, by Molly Christensen
Dream of raising financially savvy kids who not only grasp the value of money but also know how to earn it, even from a young age? Join me in this eye-opening workshop where I share my family-tested strategies that have transformed my 7 kids into money-smart individuals! Our financial curriculum is real life – including teaching them to purchase their own needs starting at age 8 to saving thosuands of dollars and going to college debt-free. Discover practical techniques with real-life stories and leave with tools and ideas you need to empower your children with lifelong financial skills. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to shape a financially secure future for your kids!
Tech Skills (Tuesday)
A YouTube Channel IS Homeschooling!, by Annette Breedlove
Do your kids enjoy watching YouTubers? Do they want to become the “next big YouTuber”? Statistically speaking, we know most of our kids won’t become a big star in the YouTube world. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use YouTube to your advantage. In this session, Annette will share about how and why she allowed her daughter to start a YouTube channel for herself – and why having a YouTube channel IS homeschooling!
Trello for Teens: Organizing Studies, Memories, and Futures for Homeschool Teens, by Lisa Garrison
In this session, homeschooling preteens and teens will discover the transformative potential of Trello as a powerful tool for structuring their academic pursuits, preserving cherished memories, and planning for a successful future. Tap into the complete potential of Trello, ensuring a homeschooling journey that is well-organized, memorable, and geared towards a future of success.
Hands On at Home (Wednesday)
3 Secrets to Building Confidence for Your Kids in the Kitchen, by Katie Kimball
We know our kids will continue having to eat every day of their lives, and we all want to raise independent adults. Come learn about the vast benefits your kids will experience when they learn to cook and get strategies to make it work in your busy life. From therapeutic creativity to the exposure bucket that banishes picky eating, from the biggest mistake parents make when bringing their kids in the kitchen to the 3-step superpower process to build skills safely, your parenting toolbox will be overflowing after this session.
Planting the Seeds for a Healthier Future: The Importance & Practicalities of Introducing Food Skills to Young Children, by Kris Fleet
Research shows that it’s important to introduce healthy eating habits at an early age and one way to do this is through gardening. This talk will cover the importance and practicalities of introducing nutrition to younger children (i.e., nutrition literacy), how the square foot gardening can be used to encourage healthy eating habits while feeding your family (even if you live in an apartment).
Responsibility > Chores (or Why Your Chore Charts Fail), by Lisa Yvonne
We all want to raise responsible adults who not only do what needs to be done, but also do it with great attitudes and a heart of excellence. And yet we revert to a system that often causes more frustration than results: chore charts. It’s time to toss that headache out the window and instead step into a new way of doing things where kids take on roles and responsibility with joy…and are valued family team members who make meaningful contributions. The beauty of this is not only are they becoming more responsible, but they are building confidence, strengthening bonds, and learning to develop new skills, too!
7 Steps to an Easy Happy Chore Time, by AlinaJoy DuBois
TBA
Prepare for Adult Life (Thursday)
The Sword Ceremony: Entering Manhood, by Mike Curtis
When does a boy become a man? When he gets his driver’s license? Graduates from high school? Can vote? Gets married? Many cultures have ceremonies that mark this major transition in a boy’s life. In western culture, this advent has fallen by the wayside, but the question still lingers in every young man’s mind. The Sword Ceremony is a creative, meaningful way for dads to call their sons to manhood, embracing its responsibilities and joys. But more, it is a celebration of years of training and bearing fruit. What is this vital charge, and, more importantly, how do we help build the necessary character for our sons to become godly young men?
5 Key Pieces of Information — Don’t Let your Kids Leave Home without Them!, by Penny Ross
As you transition your teens into adulthood, what are 5 key details or pieces of information they need to know or how/where to easily find them. We often assume they have absorbed these facts during the regular routine of family life, but have they really? What do they need to know, especially when you are not easily accessible?
Time Management & Organization (Thursday)
Home & Homeschool on Autopilot: A Plan to “Do it All” without Losing Your Mind, by Ana Willis
Is trying to balance homeschooling with cooking, cleaning, laundry, and everything else you do leaving you completely overwhelmed, overwhelmed, and burned out? Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be this way.
In this workshop, you’ll learn practical steps to put your home and homeschooling on autopilot, making your life way easier. Stop just surviving and start thriving!
Productivity Boost: Work Smarter, not Harder in your Homeschool, by Christy Gandara
In today’s world, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. As someone running a school and a household – no doubt you are BUSY but are you PRODUCTIVE? We’re constantly bombarded with messages telling us that we need to be more productive, get more done, and achieve more. Join education specialist and homeschool mom of 3 Christy Gandara to explore the difference between productivity and busyness and how they impact our homeschools.
Scattered to Supercharged: How to Focus for Home & Homeschool Success When You’ve Got Too Much to Do, by Molly Christensen
Tired of feeling scattered and overwhelmed, distracted and all over the place? Too many things to do and you just don’t know where to start? You are not alone! In this workshop, a game-changing technique that’s not only simple but incredibly powerful – a technique that has transformed the focus and success of countless moms. Join us as we navigate through the chaos and uncover the key to reclaiming your focus and achieving homeschool success.
Communication & Public Speaking (Friday)
Great Writing, by Britton LaTulippe
When I was in school, “writing” was synonymous with spelling, grammar, parts of speech, syntax trees, and many other things that made me yawn. And the more classes I took, the less I understood. It was not until I left school that I finally discovered the excitement and secrets of great writing. Since then, I have published many popular books in several genres and mentored students who are now publishing their own works. In this talk on “Great Writing,” I will share some of the secrets that transformed my work and made the process so simple, yet exciting.
The Power of the Pen: How Strong Writing Skills Shape Future Leaders, by Brenda Lane
An enlightening presentation that delves into the profound impact of effective writing on leadership qualities. This engaging session explores the correlation between clarity, persuasion, and strategic communication in writing and the development of essential leadership skills. By examining the writing practices of successful leaders and their mastery of written communication, participants gain valuable insights into the connection between proficient writing and effective leadership. The presentation further provides practical strategies for parents and educators on fostering strong writing skills in children, shaping them into future leaders who can articulate their ideas with confidence, influence, and strategic intent. Join us as we unveil the transformative potential of the written word in shaping the leaders of tomorrow.