Finding Joy in the Homeschool Journey

​Is the daily reality of homeschooling leaving you more frazzled than joyful? While teaching our children at home can be messy and emotional, it’s also a precious privilege! Nancy shares inspiration for how to find—and keep—joy even on those challenging days. Discover practical ways to create an atmosphere of delight in learning, protect your joy when things get tough, and embrace this beautiful adventure. You’ll leave inspired and reminded of why you started this journey!

Equipped for This Good Work

​Are you weary in your homeschool journey? Wondering if you’re equipped for the tremendous task of educating and discipling your children? While homeschooling requires our whole hearts and steadfast commitment, God hasn’t just called us to this vital work—He has fully equipped us for it. In this refreshing keynote, Nancy Manos shares how the investment you’re making today—though often demanding—yields eternal fruit in your children’s lives. You’ll gain renewed confidence, reminded that the One who called you is faithful to equip you for this good work. Discover how God’s Word and presence make you thoroughly equipped for this amazing adventure with your children.

Ideas for Hands-On Learning

It is a rich experience indeed where learning is a hands-on, multi-sensory, interactive adventure. Nancy will share easy-to-implement, inexpensive, engaging ideas for children of all ages. Do you lack creativity but want to make learning fun and engaging for your kids? Come and get inspired! You can make learning a joy for your child as you incorporate hands-on learning in your homeschool—without a huge investment of time, energy, or resources.

Can be taught lecture style or as a hands-on workshop where attendees create some take-home samples. The hands-on version requires tables for attendees to sit at.

Making Lapbooks to Enhance Learning

Lapbooks are a great way to enhance learning and they allow your child to create a review of what’s been learned in a compact folder. Come and learn the basics of lapbooking in this fun, hands-on, instructional workshop! Nancy will go step-by-step through the entire lapbook making process including covering folding tips for creating a variety of mini-books to go inside the lapbook. You’ll make a sample lapbook to take home with you in this workshop. Lapbooks can be used with many different subjects by students of all ages. They are a fantastic, interactive, educational tool for learners of all types.

Works best if attendees are seated at tables for this session.

Order Promotes Peace:
Organization Ideas for Your Homeschool

Drowning in endless piles of books, papers, and homeschool supplies? Nancy offers practical strategies to create order that promotes peace in your busy household. You’ll gain ideas for simple, doable systems for organizing your homeschool materials, managing daily tasks, and establishing routines that work for your family. Walk away with implementable ideas to tame the chaos and focus on what matters most—honoring God and enjoying the homeschool journey with your children.

Tips for Successful Homeschooling (and Pitfalls to Avoid)

In this encouraging session, Nancy shares tips she’s learned along the way for making the home education adventure more effective and fruitful—and more enjoyable, too! Part of homeschool success is knowing what might undermine your efforts. We’ll touch on several obstacles to success and explore what success might look like for your family. You’ll also glean ideas to help you organize your time, your home, your schedule, and your life in ways that will foster a successful homeschool experience with your children.

Starting a Small Homeschool Co-op:
Enrichment for the Learning Adventure

Looking to enrich your homeschool journey while building lasting friendships? A small co-op might be just what you need! Drawing from her own experience, Nancy shares how partnering with a few families can create an exciting learning environment that motivates both parents and children. Learn practical steps for starting your own small co-op, guidelines for success, and tips for choosing the right families to partner with. Discover how to create a meaningful cooperative learning experience that enhances your homeschool adventure!

You (and Jesus) Are Enough!

Feeling weary? Worried that you’re failing your children? Need a boost of confidence to keep plugging along? Join Nancy as she reminds us that God has placed our children in our unique families and that He has equipped us as to raise, disciple, and educate them. She’ll share encouragement from God’s Word that will refresh you and revitalize you in your mission as a homeschooling mom. In Christ, you are indeed enough!

The Price Is Right

Homeschooling requires a great deal of sacrifice and investment. As an experienced homeschool mom who taught her children at home through high school, Nancy will tell you that the price is absolutely right! When we choose to homeschool our children, we have the opportunity to nurture and develop the unique gifts and abilities the Lord has placed in each one at a much deeper level than if they were in someone else’s care every day. In this session we will talk about the price we pay and remind ourselves why we started this journey and how we can finish strong.

This workshop kicks off with one or more homeschool-related “Price Is Right” pricing games for some interactive fun!

Getting Started Homeschooling

You’ve made the decision to homeschool or perhaps you’re exploring homeschooling as an option for your family. What’s next? Nancy will provide some direction as you embark upon this journey of teaching your children at home. We’ll cover ideas for lesson planning, basic supplies to have on hand, creating a schedule that works for your family, the benefits of joining a local homeschool group, how to balance enrichment activities and family life, and more.

When taught in Arizona, Nancy will include information about Arizona homeschool law and how to file the Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool.

Curriculum Approaches

​Feeling lost in homeschool jargon? Nancy breaks down the most common homeschooling approaches—from traditional textbook to Charlotte Mason to unit studies—making it easier to understand your options. Explore the pros and cons of each method to help you choose what works best for your family. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your approach, you’ll gain practical insights and a helpful resource guide to support your curriculum decisions.

The Price Is Right: Leaders Edition

Leading a homeschool support group requires a substantial amount of sacrifice by the leaders and their families. In this session, we will talk about the various ways leaders pay a high price to encourage others in the home education journey, and why it is a worthwhile investment. But don’t lose heart! With great sacrifice comes great reward. You’ll be refreshed in knowing that the price you pay to serve is a worthwhile investment reaping eternal rewards. We will also discuss ways to keep wise boundaries, recruit and train volunteers, and find a healthy balance as you juggle not only homeschooling your own children but serving and supporting other families.

This workshop kicks off with one or more homeschool-related Price Is Right pricing games for some interactive fun.

Communication Skills for Leaders:
Building Strong Connections

Leadership involves communicating and helping a wide variety of people to connect. Does your communication style help you to win, lose, or draw? In this session, Nancy will share ideas to help you be effective using the tools you have at your disposal to communicate well with your group members, volunteers, and leadership team. We’ll cover social media, email, website, and in-person networking to build strong relationships.

This workshop kicks off with an interactive game of Win, Lose, or Draw to illustrate how important effective communication is in leadership.

Healthy Leadership Habits

Homeschooling your own kids and serving in support group leadership can be a recipe for unhealthy habits—neglecting your own well-being, putting the needs of the group over your husband and kids’ needs, or struggling to keep your own house in order. We’ll explore ways to tackle all of this successfully through healthy leadership habits. You can shed the weight of unhealthy habits that bog you down and thrive while serving others! 

Support Group Leadership

Having served as the AFHE Support Group Liaison for nearly a decade, Nancy has spent a lot of time visiting with and encouraging homeschool support group leaders from across Arizona. In addition, Nancy spent ten years running her own email network to help homeschool families connect and share information with one another. This session will help you as a homeschool group leader to renew and revitalize your vision and focus for your group. Nancy will share advice from seasoned support group leaders for dealing with a variety of issues and challenges unique to running a homeschool support group.