It is with a mixture of trepidation and excitement that I accepted the invitation to speak at the Heart of the Matter Conference this year. They even have a page up for me already. 🙂 The conference will be held on-line February 23-24. I don’t know all the ins and outs yet, but it looks like the organizers do a wonderful job recruiting a variety of speakers and planning an event that will be accessible, affordable, and beneficial for homeschool families across the country. It’s only $12.95, but they have given me 5 tickets that I’ll be giving away here on the Pajama School Blog in February. So, stay tuned for details on that!
Even though I’ve done lots of workshops over the years, they have primarily been in character education and music education settings, so this will be a new experience. However, the Lord has laid it on my heart to encourage homeschool families and I am trusting that He will help me know the best approach to take and what to share. The workshop I am putting together for the Heart of the Matter Conference was prompted in large part by the survey that I conducted at the CHEC conference last year and the subsequent conversations that I had with numerous homeschooling parents. Here’s the title and synopsis for my workshop:
Everything Your Child Needs to Know and How to Teach it to Them
In this encouraging and sometimes humorous workshop, homeschool graduate Natalie Wickham reflects on the four aspects of her homeschool education that she appreciates the most. Drawing on her own experiences, observation of and conversations with other homeschool families, insightful survey responses, and biblical principles, Natalie’s heart is to inspire the next generation of homeschoolers. The number one question in the minds of many homeschool parents is whether they are teaching their child everything they need to know. Natalie highlights an important distinction that must be made when asking this question, and provides practical suggestions that will benefit every homeschool family.
I’ll be fine-tuning this over the next several weeks, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know!