Homeschooling while dealing with challenges – learning, health, or more – is challenging! Seriously, it can be tempting to quit and let the “experts” take over, but homeschooling offers some benefits that no school can match at any price. Hal & Melanie have homeschooled through learning disabilities, children with chronic medical conditions, and bouts of serious illness themselves. They’ll give you hope and practical encouragement to leverage the flexibility of homeschooling to bless your family.

Are you longing to find predictable points in your day to bring all your children together around the table rather than distractedly jumping from child to child? This course will provide tips to keep children of all ages and abilities engaged as well as help us to set realistic goals specific to our kid’s needs.

This presentation will examine the benefits and disadvantages of homeschooling with an Individualized Education Plan and the steps required by law. Additional topics will be discussed that should be considered as you homeschool students with special needs including: testing, graduation and diplomas, and resources for support.

How do you teach math effectively to a child with learning challenges? How do you bear tackling math facts again? How do you move beyond the times tables when your child has not mastered them? What are your options for high school math? Veteran homeschooler and math teacher Kathy Kuhl discusses working with children with difficulties in math, and shares strategies you can incorporate into any math curriculum.

What do you do when you know your child is bright, but school is way harder than it ought to be? We’ve been there! One of our boys didn’t learn to read until he was eleven, but he’s a very successful college graduate and entrepreneur now. One of our kids had migraines that lasted weeks, sometimes making school impossible, but is able to use her God-given gifts in amazing ways. This encouraging session discusses how to keep hope alive in you both, how to adapt your homeschooling to the child in front of you, how to help them through the social embarrassment that can come with being a struggling learner, how to know when and how to get help, and how this trial can ultimately bless your child. Get hope for the future!

1-2-3 Eyes on Me- Many of us were told we weren’t taking in information unless we were showing it with our whole bodies. However, many children need to move to learn. This course will delve into the times that children benefit from sitting and how to engage our moving, wiggly learners.

Your child struggles with some part of learning, or perhaps has given up. How do you help them begin again? How do you establish wise goals? How will you tell when you’ve reached them? Learn how to work around areas of weakness, strengthen them, and adapt curriculum. Get tips on how to keep going and to help your child keep going.

We may hope our kids are really smart, but what happens when they are? It’s intimidating homeschooling a kid who’s racing ahead and seems to need more. Can you really meet his needs or would he be better off with professionals? How can you help her fit in socially? Should he graduate early or not? Hal & Melanie both went through gifted programs in school and now, having raised precocious children of their own, they have the insider’s perspective about the academic, social, and spiritual needs of talented kids. Learn how to teach, parent, and enjoy your bright kids!

Executive Functioning are defined as the “brain-based skills needed to effectively execute or perform tasks and solve problems.” As with most skills, there is a range, not everyone needs to complete the same tasks on a daily basis. But, there must be a match between the environment, expectations, and abilities of a person. This class will 1) define executive functional skills, 2) explain why they can be hard for some people, and 3) give helpful solutions to use the homeschool to help your children build these skills.

Screen time, smart devices, social media, and online learning offer opportunities and challenges for all families. But for families with children who learn differently—learning disabled, gifted, and/or other special needs—the pros and cons differ. Considering the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual aspects, Kathy Kuhl offers insights and resources to help you navigate the best course for your family.

At eleven, one of our boys was just learning to read and at fourteen he still struggled to spell three letter words. Little did we know that he’d be reading ancient philosophers for fun at seventeen and that he’d go to college on a full academic scholarship! In this workshop, we’ll talk about how to help your struggling learners through high school (and give them a love of learning!), how to get accommodations on the SAT and ACT, and how to find out what help a college can give them – and you’ll be surprised just how much they can do! Our struggling learner was on the Dean’s List at his college and getting accommodations that really help. Find out how!

Do you hate to wear a certain type of clothing? Does the sound of a person chewing really bother you? Do you tap your leg or repeatedly fidget during the day? These are all “sensory quirks”. When these quirks impact your or your child’s participation in what they need and want to do, we need to address it. This course will discuss the 8 sensory systems, and ways to help our children organize information from them all.

Homeschooling is a demanding commitment that can be complicated when children have special needs to address. This presentation will review creative ideas to make the experience easier. Topics that will be addressed include - schooling on the run, accommodations/modifications for various needs, and the importance of self-care and balance.