Julie Bogart
Keynote: Raising Critical Thinkers
Homeschooling 101
Our Homeschooling 101 panel discussion will explore different ways to homeschool, discuss curriculum options, and provide tips on how to get started and find community. Our panelists include: The Farm Umbrella School, Dr. Lindsey Weeden from TOPS online school, and several experienced homeschooling parents.
Homeschooling High School
Homeschooling high school can feel like a daunting task event to the most experienced homeschooling parent. Our panelists include The Farm Umbrella School, Kirk Denney from Nossi School of Art & Design, Vol State, and Senae Smith from WEB Tutorial. We will discuss high school graduation requirements, dual enrollment, SAT/ACT Testing, & college/career preparation.
Creating a Family Culture of Story: Homeschooling Through Read-Alouds
As a homeschool mother who has read hundreds of books to and with her children, Kendra Andrus will speak from experience as reading aloud has been the foundation and cornerstone of her homeschool and has had the most fruit of anything else they have done. Her session will include the power of stories to build curiosity and empathy, the neuroscience of reading aloud, practical tips for fitting it in and staying consistent (including audiobooks), and lots of recommendations of specific books that cover certain topics and themes and learning goals. It will be theoretically inspirational and practically helpful.
Thinking About History Critically: How to Disarm Conspiracy Theories & Promote Understanding
It is so easy to present history as the simple story of heroes and villains, or to filter history through the lens of lessons we want our kids to learn. However, history is an incredibly complex subject, touching on so many disciplines that it is easy to miss critical pieces of information and get lost in conspiracies, half-baked stories, and more. In this presentation, Curiosity Chronicles author Vivian Meyers will share how to not only teach history authentically, but how to understand it as a parent and teacher, helping you expand your critical thinking about history so you can share those insights with your learners.
Outdoor Education: Demystifying Teaching Outside
We all want our kids outside more, but figuring out how to accomplish this can be a challenge! Judy Scoville from Nashville Nature Explorers will provide ideas and insight on how to take the learning into nature. Her session will include how to be safe and comfortable in almost all weather, how to transfer everyday lessons outside, and the benefits of outdoor learning.
Homeschooling Neurodivergence
Angela Powell from Mad Charlie, Inc and Chelsi Williamson from Nashville Therapy will lead a panel discussion about homeschooling neurodivergent students.
There is No Such Thing as "Bad at Math & Science"
Teaching math and science in a homeschool setting can be challenging, especially if the parent feels ill equipped and/or the student "hates" the subject. Jansen Gibson will tackle this topic in his session and provide tools that ALL parents can use to be successful teaching these subjects at home.
Note-Taking: Why it Matters and How to Teach It
Note-taking is a foundational and interdisciplinary skill that will serve learners throughout their lives — but it can be really challenging to teach it effectively.
Note-taking is incredibly personal because it is essentially a snapshot of someone’s thinking made visible. What looks like a messy tangle of nonsense to one person can be a roadmap to understanding for another, and that leaves home educators in a tough spot when it comes to making sure our learners are grasping these skills in a way that works for them — even if it doesn’t always look the way we would do it ourselves.
In this presentation, Dr. Michelle Parrinello-Cason will explore a multiplicity of note-taking methods (including Cornell notes, sketch notes, annotation, and guided notes), explore how they apply to different types of texts (written, visual, audio, live, etc.), and give some tips on how to provide instruction and practice while giving your learners room to develop note-taking styles that work for them.