Do you know what you need to know to evaluate your student's writing skills? Can you recognize quality writing when you see it? Most professional teachers use a set of objective standards, known as a rubric, to fairly evaluate student's written work and to pinpoint areas that need improvement. You can use this valuable tool also! Come to this workshop and learn how to recognize well-written work, and how to use a rubric to evaluate writing skills, including content, organization, style, word choice, sentence fluency, and mechanics. [Parent Training, Middle-High School]

What if you could teach in a way that not only helped students remember, but also helped them understand how to learn anything else they ever want to know? You can make it happen, and it doesn’t take extra time or fancy technology. All you need are living books, learning journals, and some classical study skills that work from kindergarten through graduate school and beyond. No matter what your student plans to do after homeschooling — college, military academy, technical school, art or music school, or an apprenticeship program — being a great learner will make it easier to succeed. [Focus: Parent Training, Basics, K-12]

In this age of keyboards and touch-screens, does your students really need to know how to use pen and paper? Join me to learn what the latest science shows about penmanship and brain development and what the act of writing does for learning. We’ll talk about how to teach penmanship from pre-writing through your choice of a beautiful italic or cursive handwriting style. You’ll be able to try out a bit of italic penmanship, and will leave with tips you can use today. [Focus: Parent Training, Basics, Homeschool 101, K-12]

Whether you're just beginning to homeschool or have been teaching for a few years, choosing curriculum can seem like navigating New York City without a map. How do you make sense of all the choices and find the best options for your family? Join us to learn how to work with teaching and learning styles, three skills you must teach, how to evaluate curriculum for the things that really matter, and ways to adapt almost any curriculum you buy (and what to do with the rest). [Focus: Parent Training, Basics, Planning, K-12, Encouragement]

If you're an ordinary homeschool mom with an ordinary education, you might not feel fully equipped to teach your children well. The good news is that homeschool moms have a unique opportunity to learn not only what we missed in school, but also anything we’ve ever wanted to know! Join me to learn how to set personal learning goals, keep a learning journal, cultivate a beautiful memory, and more. No matter what you study — genealogy, horticulture, Latin, or art — your children will benefit from seeing exactly how to make learning a lifelong joy. [Focus: Parent Training, Basics, Homeschool 101]

Once you have committed to teaching your students at home, what is the next step? A peaceful, effective homeschool begins with a vision, simple plans, and a routine for getting the right things done. We’ll talk about how to set appropriate academic goals; how to do simple, streamlined planning and record-keeping; how to create a simple 12-year master plan (scope and sequence) for what you need to cover each year; and how to create routines that can help you stay relaxed and on track. [Focus: Parent Training, Basics, Planning, Encouragement, Audience favorite]