These are the session descriptions for the 2023 APHEA Convention. This page will be updated as we continue to finalize everything! When we have the final schedule, we will also be posting it here on the website.
Keynote Speaker – Heidi St. John
Founder of MomStrong International, Homeschool Mother of 7
Homeschooling Held Hostage
In the past twenty years, we’ve seen a lot of changes in the homeschool community. There is much more pressure being put on homeschoolers to excel academically. We’ve gone from a few brave moms who, without access to mainstream “curriculum”, managed to give their children an excellent education—but we’ve forgotten what made it excellent.
It was excellent because these moms had a vision for homeschooling—they weren’t trying to re-create school at home. They were simply being obedient to the One who had called them to be different. They knew that if He had called them, He would equip them. And they were right.
If you’re struggling to find joy in your calling as a homeschooling parent, if you’re looking for more LIFE in your homeschool, this is one workshop you won’t want to miss. join Heidi as she talks about her journey away from curriculum-driven, workbook based homeschooling and into delight-directed learning. What she learned will bless and inspire you.
The Busy Mom’s Homeschool Survival Guide: Because It’s a Jungle Out There!
“I’m overwhelmed!”
“My kids are going to have gaps in their education.”
“Everything depends on me.”
“I’ve failed too many times.”
“I can’t do this right.”
“I’m screwing up my kids.”
“Everyone else’s kids are doing better than mine.”
Have you heard the lies, too? Join Heidi as she talks about her own experience of homeschooling seven children over 23 years and shares what will keep you in the race til the finish line. The key? Preparing your heart before your homeschool. You’ll want to bring a friend to this one!
Light a Thousand Fires
Right place. Right time. Right team. We’re raising a generation of Daniels as America becomes a modern Babylon. The Lord has set us apart for such a time as this and He has a purpose for each of us and each of our children. Heidi St John lays out the rules of engagement for winning the culture war that seeks to destroy your children’s future and offers encouragement for the days we are living in. Listen. Learn. Leave with purpose and confidence.
Biblical Discernment in an Unbibilical Age
Our grandparents were bombarded with Christian values in a world firmly grounded on faith and family. Our parents were a part of a cultural revolution in which faith became laughable and families were disassembled on a wholesale basis. And now we find ourselves awash in a world where what is good is called evil and what is wicked is called good. Learn why nurturing Biblical Discernment is an essential lifeskill for any parent hoping to navigate the treacherous cultural waters of the 21st century.
Keep the Gas Tank Full and Other Lessons We’ve Learned from Thirty Years of Marriage-A Workshop with Jay and Heidi St. John
“Transparent. Honest. Funny. Real.”
That’s what people say when they hear the St. Johns speaking about the ups and downs of their union. If you’ve never heard Jay and Heidi speak together, now’s your chance. Join them for an hour that will encourage and inspire you as they share wisdom from 23 years of homeschooling and 30 years of marriage. This workshop is rated “M” for marriage. Bring your spouse if you can!
Featured Speaker – Andrew Pudewa
Founder of Excellence in Writing, Homeschool Father of 7
Conquering Corrupt Culture by Raising Christian Communicators
Today, many of us have an intuitive sense that major changes are coming. When this happens, our lives may become very different in ways not necessarily convenient or comfortable. At the same time, we must live each day as though things will continue pretty much as they are. Resolving this cognitive dissonance requires that we carefully contemplate our circumstances because we are in a cultural war, fighting the “non-gospel” of aesthetic and moral relativism on three fronts: personal, familial, and social. What should our priorities be? How can we prepare our children to be culture warriors?
Preparing for Persecution – A Curriculum Proposal
In the future is it imaginable that freedom of speech and freedom of religion could be suppressed where we live? History indicates so. Andrew Pudewa discusses ways to prepare for such a contingency, which may include persecution and even martyrdom. He also explains how to cultivate necessary virtues without sparking burdensome fears. Although this is not a pleasant subject to contemplate, it is an important one.
Nurturing Competent Communicators
Many teachers and parents assume that good readers will naturally become good writers. Others think that writing talent is a natural ability. Some have it. Others don’t. Both are myths. History and modern research demonstrate how good writers develop the two most critical skills needed for a high level of aptitude in writing. With humor and insight, Andrew Pudewa explains these two easy but powerful skills, which build language patterns and nurture competent communicators.
Paper and Pen – What the Research Says
Recent years have seen an enormous increase in the use of technology in education for even the youngest students. But is technology really the cure-all that many believe it to be? While traditional skills such as cursive penmanship are seen as unnecessary in the modern world, the actual research tells a different story. Join Andrew Pudewa to learn the compelling reasons to read paper books instead of electronic devices, handwrite instead of type, teach cursive instead of printing, and grab a pen instead of a pencil. Discover how to unleash creativity that goes beyond technology.
Teaching Boys and Teaching Girls – Toward a Better Understanding
Boys and girls hear differently, see differently, and handle stress and pain differently. Join Andrew Pudewa to gain an in-depth understanding of these neurophysiological distinctions and the implications of these differences. This workshop is packed with research, humor, and practical stories that will enlighten teachers and teaching parents.
The Three Best Things I Did as a Homeschool Dad
While there are many, many things I could have done better as a homeschool father, there are three distinct things that I did try to do as consistently as possible during our years of homeschooling that were the most helpful according to my wife. Join me to discover the three best things I did and to glean some ideas for making your homeschool years the best they can be. Moms are welcome as well!
Featured Speaker – Kevin Boden
HSLDA Attorney, Homeschool Father of 8
School Choice and Home Education: Peril or Promise?
We believe that parents are best positioned to make educational decisions for their children; we think school choice is right and good. But with this choice comes the potential muddying of the water as public schools operate full-time virtual programs, as private schools offer distance learning, and as vouchers and scholarship accounts become the norm. Where does homeschooling fit within this ever-changing landscape? Has “homeschool” lost its meaning when so much education is conducted at home? Is school choice the promise or peril of homeschool in the future
Workshop Descriptions
Jerusalem to the Ends of the Earth – Significance Through Simple Steps
How to raise our kids for global significance for Jesus and for us parents to be OK with it! We’ll talk about our local lives that will lead to global effects creating tsunamis for the Kingdom of God.
Join us as we hear from Ed Aw, a Perspectives instructor from Gilbert, AZ, who spends his time helping believers live purpose “full” lives for Jesus.
How to Protect Your Children Physically, Emotionally, and Spiritually in the Digital Realm
Our children, from birth, are surrounded by technology. They are constantly being fed a message, the questions is what exactly is that message? Unfortunately we can not trust big tech and big media, they have proven they do not have our kids, tween, and teens best interest in mind. Our youth are being physically, emotionally, and spiritually harmed with increased access to pedophiles, pornography, obscenity, and dangerous ideologies – all one click away on the very phones, tablets, and video game consoles they are surrounded by. Attend this seminar to learn about the dangers of the digital realm and how to keep your child safe.
Porcupine Ambassador with the Alaska Zoo
Meet zoo porcupine Sasha! Learn her story as well as porcupine natural history. This will be a positively prickly program.
Center Shot
Come find out what Centershot is and how beneficial it is to any church and/or community and learn how and why we “make Christ the target of our lives.” Learn the 11 steps of archery success and safety. Demonstration and hands on with string bows and more!
How to Buy a Car!
Buying your first car, or ready to upgrade and need some tips on how to negotiate? NIT Personal Finance Workshop is great way to get some insider car buying tips!!
Tales from the Mission Girls
Doris Hagedorn is an author who has served as a missionary in Alaska since 1960. Children and adults will enjoy these stories from the Alaskan mission field.
Painting with Brush and Glaze (pre-registration required)
In this painting, a happy little fox greets spring! Artists will explore basic painting techniques, color mixing, brush positioning, and equipment care over the course of this workshop.
5 Tools to Help Your Children Think Well and Develop Understanding
Come hear about the tools that teach your children how to think well and develop understanding of any
subject, topic, or trade. Using the Seven Wonders of the ancient world as a springboard, we will model these tools allowing you to experience them yourself!
Raising our Boys to be True Gentlemen, Who Live with Honor
Parents, I know you want to raise sons who live with honor, but our society continues to strip away opportunities for our children to do honorable things. Here’s the great news…you can make sure that
you are creating opportunities for your children to practice living with honor, but it requires parenting with purpose. Come and listen to master motivator Monica Irvine, inspire your family with lots of ideas of how to teach your sons the skills of honor through small simple acts of generosity. It truly can change their lives and yours as well. You don’t want to miss this!
Be Rooted in Your Homeschool: How to Survive, Sustain, and Succeed for the Long Haul
When we see the eternal picture, we are less likely to get distracted by the temporal. This workshop helps audience members define (or refine!) their purpose for homeschooling, ultimately saving them time, money, and energy. Parents will receive practical tools to help them “be rooted” so that they can not only survive but also sustain and succeed at homeschooling for the long haul. This is a great session for those new to homeschooling, but it is also designed to encourage those who feel they need a “fresh start” when burnout or discouragement starts to set in.
Discovering with God (George Washington Carver)
Follow George Washington Carver’s life from his capture by slave thieves as a young child to his conversion to Christ, his daily walk with God and his famous achievements.
Learning Styles – Teaching Both Sides of the Brain
Understanding how your child learns and adapting your teaching method to that learning style can make all the difference in your homeschooling journey. This workshop explains the different learning styles, gives you steps to help you figure out your child’s learning style, and demonstrates how personality impacts learning.
Multi-Age, Multi-Grade? All Together without Mom Losing her Mind!
Spend some time with Julia Nalle as she shares numerous practical helps for teaching history, literature, writing, Bible, geography, art, science and more across multi‐age levels drawing from both a classical style and a Charlotte Mason approach.
AWANA Games
Kaleb King leads AWANA games at Faith Bible Fellowship. He will lead the kids in the best of the best Awana games. Be ready to run fast and have fun!
Whole Grain 101 ~ Come & See!
Whole Grains are delicious, economical, easy to prepare & an opportunity to involve the whole family in preparing your meals.
B.T. Higgins- Author Visit. Writing and Living the Creative Life.
In this workshop, Author B.T. Higgins uses stories from his life and writing to teach how to live a creative life and why you should discover, embrace, and develop your talents. Living your best creative life brings many benefits. Contentment. Purpose. Joy. Adaptability. Generosity. B.T. loves playing with words and ideas. Whether you’re a language artist or not, a kid or an adult, this presentation will give you a deeper understanding of the richness of living a creative life.
Infant Child Adult Choking
This will be an overview of what to do and what not do to when you are assisting an adult, child, or an infant who is choking. We will also discuss self-rescue, and allow time for practice with hands-on skills.
Story Time and Self Publishing
Alaskan author Temple Christiansen will share information and answer questions about self-publishingChristian literature. Then she will share her recently published children’s story, “The Making of Sir Vant,” a coming of age story in a medieval setting about a squire becoming a knight- a boy becoming a man.