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Join the Sonlight community for this online event to gather tips on navigating challenges, hear advice from expert homeschoolers, draw from the experiences of Sonlight veterans, and be encouraged to navigate the new year successfully.
Your take-away? Realistic suggestions for wrestling with academic frustrations, insights into homeschooling struggling learners, tips and tidbits for addressing behavior issues, and reassurance and confidence for starting 2021.
With two days of exciting workshops and mini sessions where you will:
To say that 2020 was a challenging year is an understatement! Whether you were brand new to the homeschool idea, or a veteran homeschooler struggling to keep moving forward during the pandemic panic, we want to invite you to join us. Our opening session features Sarita Holzmann and Amy Lykosh in conversation with Stephanie and Judy about the struggles and triumphs any homeschool year might dish out, but especially 2020.
Topic: Refresh and Recharge, Live
Speakers: Sarita Holzmann, Amy Lykosh, Judy Wnuk, Stephanie Rose
Math is listed as one of the top subjects that parents hate to teach! That’s because the world is divided into two types of people … those who find math fascinating, and those who have an adversarial relationship with numbers. If you are one of the latter, you will want to carve out some time to sit in on this down-to-earth presentation by Gretchen Roe of Demme Learning (the creators of Math-U-See).
Topic: Academics - Math
Speaker: Gretchen Roe
Picking up your curriculum and making any setting a classroom is one of the benefits of homeschooling. Whether you are homeschooling on the go or traveling the countryside in an RV, this session provides great ideas and tips on integrating field trips and travel into your homeschool. Join Ana Willis as she draws from personal experience to share how easily you can homeschool on the go, incorporate field trips that help bring history to life and add travel to your education journey.
Topic: Faith and Family Homeschooling
Speaker: Ana Willis, Stephanie Rose
Dr. Karen Holinga and Amy Lykosh discuss an alternative reading program for beginning readers of all ages. Find out why Sonlight founder Sarita Holzmann looked for this program for 15 years, what makes it effective (even if other programs haven't worked for your children), why Dr. Karen is perfectly suited to help your children learn to read, and much more ... including why it's called "Happy Cheetah"!
Topic: Academics - Reading
Speakers: Dr. Karen Holinga, Amy Lykosh
Organization is a very important tool when homeschooling. Join Kristi Clover, author of M.O.M.—Master Organizer of Mayhem: Simple Solutions to Organize Chaos and Bring More Joy into Your Home, as she talks all about how to get started, how organization can lead to a joyful life and why it’s even important. Kristi will talk about tackling household chores with ease, how to come up with age-appropriate chores to get your kids involved and her top rules for home and homeschool organization.
Topic: Encouragement, Finding Joy
Speaker: Kristi Clover, Stephanie Rose
Everyone gets angry but teaching a child how to express their anger appropriately is an important and necessary task. Join Tricia Goyer, author of Calming Angry Kids, as she talks about what inspired her to write the book, provides some guidance on why relationships are more important than rules and what might be going on in a child’s brain when they are angry.
Topic: Learning Challenges, Finding Joy
Speaker: Tricia Goyer, Stephanie Rose
Join Pam as she talks about the importance of building relationships in your homeschool and how quality morning time can help ensure your family builds lifelong bonds.
Topic: Faith and Family-Focuses Homeschooling, Finding Joy in Your Homeschool and Refresh and Recharge
Speaker: Pam Barnhill
Join our panel of veteran homeschool moms as they settle in around the fire for a heart-to-heart conversation about their biggest mid-year struggles. Listen in to pick up practical suggestions for finding the motivation to keep moving forward in spite of whatever the year might dish up!
Topic: Refresh and Recharge, Live
Speakers: Amy Parsley, Johna Lawrence, Lisa Fountain, Karen Brundieck, Stephanie Rose, Judy Wnuk
Sometimes you just know that something isn’t working in your homeschool plan, but you have no idea what it is. Or perhaps you know which part isn’t a good fit, but have no idea how to “fix it”. Join our Thursday morning conversation as Stephanie and Judy chat with four veteran homeschool moms on the topic of making a mid-year course correction.
Topic: Refresh and Recharge, Live
Speakers: Amber Severance, Jennifer Price, Sheila DelCharco, Stephanie Solodovnikov, Stephanie Rose, Judy Wnuk
Science doesn't have to be a chore. Sonlight's Science makes everything approachable and fun. A hands-on approach to science lets kids see science in action and is exemplified in the fantastically fun Discover and Do videos. Join us as Amber and Luke talk to Judy about why science is so important as well as what makes the combination of literature-based and hands-on so great. They dive into what is unique about the new Discover and Do products and even share some fun "bloopers" from their recent video shoots.
Topic: Academics - Science
Speakers: Amber Baker, Luke Holzmann, Judy Wnuk
In this workshop, Faith defines what dyslexia is (and what it is not), discusses the different types of dyslexia as well as levels of struggle (mild, moderate, severe), and then offers hope by sharing the types of necessary teaching methods, research-based interventions, and programs that you can implement in your homeschool. Faith offers hope and encouragement in addition to tricks and strategies to add to your teaching toolkit!
Topic: Learning Challenges
Speakers: Faith Berens
Based on the book, Homeschool Basics, authors Kristi Clover and Tricia Goyer join us for this session to provide encouragement for parents who are just getting started on their homeschool journey and veteran homeschoolers alike. Learn how to shape and plan your homeschool year, get organized and keep your family motivated. They give practical advice on how to get everything done and help your kids develop a lifelong love of learning. Don’t miss their top tips for a successful homeschool year and your chance to win a copy of their book. You can find Tricia at triciagoyer.com and Kristi at kristiclover.com to learn more about these fabulous homeschool experts.
Topic: Homeschool Decision Making
Speakers: Tricia Goyer, Kristi Clover, Stephanie Rose
Join this discussion for invaluable large family homeschooling advice. Learn how Sarah and Deana structure their homeschool to teach multiple children in multiple Sonlight levels. They will provide advice on their family schedules when homeschooling a large family, teaching multiple children at multiple levels and how a typical day might look. Whether you are a veteran homeschooler or just getting started, this session will provide invaluable advice for navigating a large family homeschool.
Topic: Faith and Family Homeschooling
Speakers: Sarah Mwania, Deana Wood, Stephanie Rose
How would you like to sit down and chat with a group of homeschool moms who have successfully home educated their own children? Imagine the amazing take-aways from mining their collective wisdom. Join us for an encouraging conversation with Sonlight’s Advisor team as they discuss the most common questions they hear from homeschoolers, and share their “cures” for January homeschool doldrums.
Topic: Refresh and Recharge
Speakers: Marci Kyle, Debbie Miller, Barbara Walsted, Margaret Criscione, Stephanie Rose, Judy Wnuk
Peggy Ployhar, SPED Homeschool Founder & CEO, is a leader in the special education homeschooling community and a frequent writer and speaker on special education homeschooling issues. Her session today is going to focus on the practical and nitty-gritty aspects of homeschooling students with learning challenges. If you have children who struggle with learning, you won’t want to miss her insights and suggestions.
Topic: Learning Challenges
Speaker: Peggy Ployhar
The holiday break may be the first time you’ve had to stop and think or breathe since the pandemic jump to homeschooling happened in early 2020. A mid-course evaluation is a good idea. What’s working? What definitely isn’t? How have you adapted? How are your kids doing with the change? We polled a number of new Sonlighters to get their comments and questions and will sit down with some of our veteran Sonlighters to hear their responses.
Topic: Learning Challenges
Speakers: Ann Kuebler, Christie Cook, Karen Brundieck, Rhonda Helmreich, Stephanie Rose, Judy Wnuk
We all have to eat, right? What better way to make memories with your kids than to have them join you in the kitchen! Join Judy as she highlights some super-easy, delicious recipes from "Kid's Cook!" (found in Sonlight's Electives line-up) and gives you some practical suggestions for sharing a love for cooking with your children.
Topic: Finding Joy in Your Homeschool, Mini Sessions
Speaker: Judy Wnuk
For those rainy afternoons when you'd really like someone else to read aloud to your children, let them cozy up on the couch and listen to Luke read through a Sonlight classic - "Mary Jones and Her Bible." Five 15-20 minute installments for your kids to enjoy.
Topic: Finding Joy: Ideas for When Your Homeschool Day Gets Hard
Speaker: Luke Holzmann
Sitting at the dining room table is not the only way to conquer academics. Children learn through play. While workbooks and textbooks have their place, how much more fun it can be to learn through game play. Join this lively conversation and discover creative ways to make learning exciting!
Topic: Finding Joy: Ideas for When Your Homeschool Day Gets Hard
Speakers: Sheila DelCharco, Lisa Fountain, Stephanie Rose, Judy Wnuk
Need more wisdom? Need more comfort? Ready for breakthrough? Looking for peace? Prayer is the in-plain-sight answer, but because it's so familiar, so obvious--and because so often we feel guilt over our lack of prayer--this is easy to overlook. This workshop addresses all of these concerns (the guilt, the difficulty, the overlooking), and offers easy solutions. Any prayer is better than no prayer, and God delights even in single sentence prayers. We invite you to come and enjoy the blessing and the joy of do-able prayers in the midst of your homeschool day.
Topic: Refresh and Recharge
Speakers: Amy Lykosh
Meet authors of Christian Heroes: Now and Then series, Geoff and Janet Benge. As they are working on the 80th missionary biography, Geoff and Janet sit down to discuss how they became missionary writers, the process of writing about these Christian heroes, advice on how to use missionary biographies to teach as well as advice on how to become an engaging writer.
Topic: Faith and Family-Focused Homeschooling
Speakers: Geoff and Janet Benge, Stephanie Rose
Join as Ana talks about ways to integrate missions in your homeschool and how impactful it can be to teach your children about the lives of Christian heroes.
Topic: Faith and Family-Focused Homeschooling
Speakers: Ana Willis, Stephanie Rose
Learning math facts is an essential foundation for math. Join as Gretchen gives you pointers on how to teach math facts even if you don't love math.
Topic: New to Homeschooling, Homeschool Advice & Encouragement
Speakers: Gretchen Roe
Join as Deana provides advice and practical tips if your child is struggling with writing.
Topic: Enrichment & Electives
Speakers: Deana Wood, Stephanie Rose
Physical Education is an important part of your homeschool. Join us as we talk about ideas of integrating PE in your homeschool.
Topic: Enrichment & Electives
Speakers: Jennifer Price, Judy Wnuk
Technology is a tool, and like many other resources, can be utilized to good advantage in your homeschool. Join Tender and Judy as they discuss various apps and programs that will add value to your academics.
Topic: Enrichment & Electives
Speakers: Tender TenBrink, Judy Wnuk
We invite you to join us as these homeschool veterans—real homeschooling moms, Sonlight homeschool Advisors, and Sarita Holzmann herself—discuss everything from beginning to homeschool, to graduation and everything in between.
No matter where you are in your homeschooling journey, challenges arise. This 2-day event will not disappoint as you garner encouragement and community from the comfort of your own home.
Save the date to cozy up on the couch with a cup of something warm and your computer to join these fabulous homeschool veterans as they help you find joy in your homeschool! You won't want to miss academic workshops on science, math, and reading. Listen to experts talk about homeschooling students with learning challenges. Soak in motivational sessions focused on recharging and refocusing for 2021.
You’ll walk away from Sonlight Connections: Keep Calm and Homeschool Through 2021 rejuvenated and ready to tackle the rest of the school year.
We are at peace with our decision to use Sonlight over virtual learning. No substitute for engagement. Our family will be closer to Christ and each other as a result." The D Family from Indianapolis, IN
Sonlight has enhanced our school experience and given us a beautiful backdrop from which to learn and grow together as a family." The C Family from Fayetteville, AR
This is our first year and Sonlight is giving me the confidence and support to be excited about homeschooling long term!" The B Family from Commerce City, CO
I am so thankful to Sonlight for strengthening the bond between siblings. They have laughed and cried over many books together. Even on the hard days." The W Family from Valley Center, CA
Sometimes I’m not sure if it’s school or just living out loud together. Our school books become bedtime and breakfast stories. Read together. Talk together. Sonlight books are meant to be communal." The P Family from Atlanta, GA
