Adult

Presenter	Workshop Title	Description
John Bennett	Braingames!	In Braingames!, we'll explore how to incorporate logic puzzles and abstract strategy games into your homeschooling curriculum. The games and puzzles introduced during this session will open a door to an accessible and fun way to enhance analytical and mathematical reasoning. These games and puzzles seem to appeal to brains that are 8 and up.
Catherine Bratton	Inspired Learning: Finding and Feeding the Passions of Young People	This workshop takes parents through the process of observing, recording, reflecting , and adjusting learning situations to take advantage of the natural talents and passions of the learners in their lives. This is a step by step process that produces immediate results. New, not so new, and old timers are encouraged to attend.
Becky Brown	The Unschooling Life	Thinking about unschooling? What is unschooling? Does it really work? What does it look like in real life? Becky will share her experience as an unschooling mom to her three, always unschooled children. She will also share resources that are helpful and supportive to those new to unschooling and long-time unschoolers alike. Bring your questions and concerns. This session will be interactive. Unschooling adults are encouraged to attend and share their experiences as well.
Leslie Buchanan	Beginning Homeschooling -- It's All About Trust	Are you new to homeschooling? Are you still considering it? The wide array of products, packages, methods, and schools can be daunting to someone just starting out. At this workshop we will talk about the most important tool you need to be sucessful in homeschooling- Trust. We will also talk about the various resources available to homeschooling familes and how to seek out the very best for your personal needs. Please come with questions!
Heddi Craft	Learning Styles	Learning Styles can be described in a number of different ways.  This overview will help participants understand the various models of learning styles and how an understanding of learning styles can help them in their homeschooling journey.
Heddi Craft	Setting Goals for Your Homeschooling	This workshop is for families who wish to clarify some of their goals on their homeschooling journey. We will discuss both creating an overall mission in homeschooling as well as creating yearly goals for each homeschooled child. We will spend some time writing and sharing beginning drafts of missions and goals.
Heddi Craft	Starting an Educational Lending Library	Heddi will describe her experiences in starting an educational lending library in Santa Cruz. She will give practical tips on finding and organizing materials, check out procedures, and spreading the word. Come with your questions on this unique reduce, reuse, recycle system for sharing learning materials among many families.
Kimberlee Davison	When Mom Can't Get Off the Bed...or the Phone:  Plan B Days	For new and experienced homeschoolers alike, this workshop is an idea-extravaganza for ways to keep the kids directed when Mom is unavailable. From home-made educational games to "Read in Your Pajamas" Day, this workshop aims to reduce guilt and encourage planning ahead for days when life interferes with best laid plans. Attendees will create one personalized game during the session to take home.
Kimberlee Davison	Write Me Some Math:  How to Teach Math Without a Text	Whether a child is extremely gifted or has learning differences (or both), finding a math curriculum that moves at just the right pace, includes just enough review for the child, and fits the child's often-uneven conceptual skills can be a challenge. Once the confines of a text are gone, a child will often make months of progress in weeks and with far less stress. This workshop, appropriate for any parent whose math skills are at least a small step ahead of their child's, explains the rationale for doing math without text, methods for challenging a child with uneven skills, strategies for ensuring nothing essential is missed, and organization techiques and materials for simplifying the process.
Kimberlee Davison	More, More, More:  Ways to Find and Accept Your Limits	A workshop for any homeschooler who finds himself loving every curriculum package he sees and wanting to cover every possible subject at the maximum level of thoroughness. Using techniques to discover what matters most to you, this session will help overcome homeschooling guilt and learn to recognize how much you are already doing well.
Val Gray	Understanding and Adapting to the Needs of Gifted and Talented Students	"Gifted and Talented Students" is a presentation which focuses on ways in which home educators can adjust their teaching style and resources in response to the needs of students who appear to be especially advanced in their thinking skills. The presentation will focus on developing strategies and resources which will stimulated, challenge and enrich each child's learning.
Val Gray	Understanding and Adapting to Students with Special Needs	"Special Learning Needs" is a presentation which focuses on ways in which home educators can adjust their teaching style and resources in response to the needs of students who are specially challenged in their learning. The presentation will focus on understanding the vital role of structure, support and scaffolding, and providing participants with skills and strategies to comfortably adapt their resources and teaching style to meet their student's individual learning needs.
Val Gray	Creative Teaching	"Creative Teaching" is an exciting, fun, fully interactive workshop for parents, teachers and professionals. Participants have the opportunity to learn about and take part in experiences which  stimulate and challenge children. This workshop shows how educational resources can be adapted to meet each student's individual learning needs, challenging each student to achieve his or her own best. All participants will receive a selection of resources to take home and enjoy. This workshop relates well to the needs of students from pre-school through to junior high school.
Catherine Levison	An Overview of the Charlotte Mason Method	Want happy children who are thoroughly educated? Tap in to how children naturally learn while you avoid burn out. Go beyond the three R’s and enrich your lives with the humanities. Learn how to use narration—a powerful, effective, and free technique. With this method you can improve your children’s level of observation and knowledge by replacing expensive curriculums with the finest literature, poetry, art, and music.
Catherine Levison	History and Science in the Charlotte Mason Method	Retention is everything! Stop wasting your time and money—replace those boring workbooks with real life. Learn how to improve your children’s power of observation in an effective, thorough, yet loving way. Find out how to combine well-chosen literary books, direct contact, and sketching for the desired result . . . lasting knowledge. Nature notebooks and a homemade book of the centuries will be covered.
Catherine Levison	Language Arts for (Almost) Free	So many language arts, so little money. As with most things, there is a boring way to teach children, and there is a more interesting way. Charlotte Mason’s techniques bring an end to the tears and complaints for both parent and child while drastically reducing the cost! This workshop covers foreign language, composition, handwriting, literature, poetry, spelling, and dictation.
Catherine Levison	Balancing Act:  To Structure or Not to Structure	Only YOU know if you need to loosen up or tighten up your home school efforts. Achieve the long, sought-after balance between unschooling and planned academics by implementing Charlotte Mason’s "short lessons." Replace dawdling with good habits so that everybody has more free time to enjoy life.
Mary Ann Malkoff	The Grand Adventure	"The Grand Adventure" is the Malkoff Family story of how we came to live full-time in an RV. It is an exciting story of having a dream; selling it to our families; deciding how to implement it by changing our priorities; selling our home and letting go of our 4,000 s.f. worth of beloved possessions, books and treasures; learning how to step past my fears to drive a 39' RV and tow car; and the experience of our life as a family on the road seeing the 49 states and 10 provinces and 3 territories in Canada as an alternative to high school.
Mary Ann Malkoff	Living Your Dream	"Living Your Dream" (How I learned to create and follow my dreams and strategies to help you follow yours!)  Everyone has a dream -- going back to college, adopting a baby, downsizing your home so you can save more money, starting a business, moving to a different part of the country, changing your style of schooling, writing a book, etc. and obstacles that get in the way. The dreams we follow may be different, but the barriers are surprisingly similar. There are plenty of dreams and they require the same start up planning. Pursuing dreams require compromises by weighing importance and meaning to members of the entire family and a willingness to let go of other plans. There are plenty of steps that are in common to all of us.
Scott Noelle	Papa Power:  Authentic Fathering for the 21st Century	Authoritarian fathering is way too "20th century" to fly in these times of creativity, rapid change, and decentralizing power. But the alternative, so-called "authoritative" approach often amounts to "authoritarian *lite*." In this session, exclusively for fathers, Scott Noelle will deconstruct outdated modes of fathering and facilitate an exploration of Authentic Power as it expresses in a *partnership-oriented* family value system.
Scott Noelle	Lighten Up!	How to stop worrying and start enjoying your homeschooling adventure.
Scott Noelle	Transcending the 'Un' in Unschooling	The label "unschooler" describes what you are *not*, but there is much more to gain by clarifying who you *are* as an unschooler, a parent, a human being. Therein lies the hard inner work (or play, if you prefer) of the unschooling parent. The path is fraught with contradictions which, rather than frustrating you, can be used like Zen koans to enlighten you. (This talk is a LOT less serious than it sounds!)
Scott Noelle	Pleasure-Driven Learning -- The Three P's:  Pleasure, Presence, and Power	This workshop involves experiential exercises through which you can learn to *feel* your authentic Power, centered Presence, and creative Pleasure. Dress comfortably!
Kathy Smith	Strengthening Sibling Bonds	A brother or sister is a gift to your child. The relationship that will last for life, and feeling of closeness that goes beyond childhood. How do we raise our children to understand that they truly are gifts to one another? How do we deal with issues of rivalry, privacy, property and autonomy such that we support this longterm gift, and meanwhile keep peace in our home.
Kathy Smith	Your Teen's Worrisome Friendships	Does your teen have that one non-homeschooling friend that your just know is going to get her into trouble. Let's talk about weathering those friendships. How do we work on keeping our children safe, and our relationships close even when we really don't like their friends.
Pam Sorooshian	Unschooling Teens	You've heard all the warning about those "difficult" teen years. Does it have to be that way? What do you worry about most? Can unschooled kids get into college? How do they handle a job? How do parents help their unschooled children find their passions? How can we create a harmonious relationship between parents and teens? This sessionwill include a question-and-answer segment.
Pam Sorooshian	How NOT to Pass On Math Anxiety	In spite of your own math background, positive or negative, you can learn how to recognize and support the natural interest in math that all children exhibit. Those parents who are math anxious will especially benefit from this talk. We'll look at the reasons for the epidemic of math anxiety in this country, the impact it can have on peoples' lives, and how to avoid creating it in our children.
Susan Stewart	Does Color Have Friction?  Everyday Science	This session on teaching science at home goes beyond what to teach, but how to teach science. Susan K. Stewart, author of "Science in the Kitchen", presents how to incorporate lab sciences in everyday life, how to include all ages in science experiments and projets, and how to get the necessary materials without outfitting a full laboratory. Susan illustrates her workshop with examples from her children and grandchildren.
Susan Stewart	You Tube, Myspace, and Blogs. Oh My.	Parents continue to be bombarded with sensational stories about the evils of the Internet. Can your children be a part of the social phenomena without falling prey to bad things. Susan K. Stewart says a resounding YES! The internet offers a wealth of good experiences, even YouTube and MySpace. Susan shows parents how to guide their children through these new territories, use them for learning experiences, and even join in the fun. Teens are welcome to come and share their thoughts and experiences.
Susan Stewart	Beyond Google	Using the internet in your homeschool can go beyond searching for obsure facts. Building web sites, selling on auctions sites, blogging and moderating groups can be a fun way to incorporate the internet. Your child can learn nearly every subject under the sun by taking part in these activities. Susan K. Stewart has more than 30 years of computer experience and used the internet in her homeschool for most of their teaching years. She is a web content manager and has her own web sites and blogs. She will share some ideas for using the internet beyond Google, along with some simple how-tos. Teens are welcome to take part.
Susan Stewart	Herding Cats	You've been asked, begged, or cajoled into leading a group of homeschoolers. It doesn't need to be a big task that takes over your life. Susan presents how she tackled issues such as the telephone, schedules, and helping new homeschoolers. She will also share how she taught her children leadership skills through family involvement. This session will be of interest to adults and teens, no matter what level of leadership.
Susan Stewart	Raising Influencers	No matter your political persuasion, there are things you can do as a family to teach your children to be responsible and active citizens of their community and nation. You and your family can be influencers in the political process. Whether from home or in the streets, Susan Stewart presents what her family does to be politically active and responsible citizens, all without a government textbook.
Tammy Takahashi	Dealing With Criticism	What are the best ways to deal with criticism from family, friends and strangers? What about self-criticism? How can we protect ourselves from the harsh judgments of others? Learn several tricks to dealing with criticism with love, acceptance and personal strength.
Tammy Takahashi	Deschooling Gently	What is deschooling? It is the transition from school to homeschooling. This isn't just for kids, but it's a transition for parents too. Deschooling gently is a non-radical approach to getting our heads out of school and into homeschooling. Learn some practical ways to make the adjustment without giving up everything you already know about education, in a gentle, pro-active way.
Angela and Craig Usher	For the Parents:  Simple Tools to Strengthen Your Relationship	A fun, practical, activity-based workshop which will provide participants with simple tools they can use to immediately connect in their relationship with their partner or spouse without spending large amounts of time, money or energy. This workshop is appropriate for couples and individuals in or out of a relationship.
Angela and Craig Usher	Choosing to Connect:  Great Family, Great Relationship	A research-based exploration of how to build up and support a couple's relationship within the context of raising a family. This workshop will help participants discover the power they have to make choices to strengthen their relationships and joyfully navigate the grand adventure of life with children. This workshop is appropriate for couples and individuals in or out of a relationship.
Elizabeth Vana Bryant	Homeschooling Legal Issues 101	An opportunity to get informed and updated on legal issues surrounding homeschooling in California.

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