Sonya loves to give workshops and speak to homeschool groups as her family and home responsibilities allow. Here are descriptions of the workshops she presents. You can also get more information about having Sonya speak to your group, read Sonya’s biography, and check her speaking schedule for open dates.

Charlotte Mason Workshops

Laying Down the Rails—Discover the secret to smooth and easy days: habit training. Learn how to instill good habits, which habits Charlotte Mason encouraged parents to cultivate in their children, and practical tips for cultivating the Top Three. (1 hour presentation) Available on DVD or CD. handout

Charlotte Mason and Her Methods—A practical and encouraging overview of the methods used in the Charlotte Mason approach, including living books, short lessons, fine arts, history, geography, dictation, narration, copywork, poetry, and more. (1 hour presentation) handout

Learning with Living Books—Good living books feed our children a feast of ideas, not just dry facts. Join Sonya for a look at this simple, yet effective, approach to true education. Learn what makes living books “living,” and practice using them in a way that makes learning stick. (1 hour presentation) handout

Fine Arts the Charlotte Mason Way—You don’t have to be a music major or an art aficionado to teach fine arts to your children. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll discover an easy yet effective way to give your children music appreciation and art appreciation that will enrich their lives and yours! (1 hour presentation) handout

The Early Years: Homeschooling Your Preschooler—Give your child what is most important. Instead of academic or social pressures, Charlotte Mason encouraged mothers to give their little ones a full six years of developing good habits, getting acquainted with nature, exploring with the five senses, growing in their spiritual lives, and more. Learn how to give your child a quiet growing time. (1 hour presentation) handout

The Quiet Schooling of Nature—We all have a fascinating science resource right outside our doors, but we often overlook it because it is so quiet. Come learn how nature study lays the foundation for science lessons, how to get started, and how to keep a nature notebook, plus fun and simple nature study ideas for the whole family. (1 hour presentation) handout

Language Arts the Charlotte Mason Way—Teaching language arts doesn’t have to be complicated. Charlotte Mason taught all the skills with just a few power-packed methods. Discover what exactly is included in language arts and how to teach it in an enjoyable and simple way—the Charlotte Mason way. (1 hour presentation) Available on CD. handout

Homeschooling and Parenting Workshops

The Five Flavors of Homeschooling—The world of homeschooling is a lot like the world of food. You know that you want to provide nutritious meals for your children’s minds, but there are so many possibilities for what that food could look like and taste like. Join Sonya for a simple overview of five main approaches to homeschooling: traditional, classical, Charlotte Mason, unit studies, unschooling. Find your preferred “flavor” and learn how to shop for a successful homeschool “menu.” (1 hour presentation) handout

A Lesson from Frog and Toad—Toad wants a beautiful garden just like Frog’s, but he soon runs himself ragged because he forgets some basic principles of how things grow. Are you running yourself ragged and trying too hard to force growth in your children? Come regain your perspective, remember how things grow, and be refreshed with a lesson from Frog and Toad. (1 hour presentation)

Flexible Homeschooling with Planning and a Bit of Technology—We’ll walk through 5 easy steps for making a plan—from your Big Picture goals down to your daily activities. Then we’ll discuss how to keep that plan flexible with the help of our favorite online planner. Break free from feeling behind, because there’s more to life than the calendar! (1 hour presentation)

Discipleship Is…—Learn how to implement the three essential elements of discipleship in your home: (1) the atmosphere of your own relationship with the Lord; (2) intentional teaching through spiritual disciplines; (3) pointing out God’s work in everyday life. Plus, get all the details on a simple Scripture Memory System that really works! (1 hour presentation) Available on CD. handout

Lessons from the Valley—Biblical encouragement for parents dealing with special needs; includes spiritual lessons learned while dealing with autism. (1 hour presentation) Available on CD.

Reaching Your Child’s Heart—A mommy-to-mommy challenge about priorities in your home school. Looks at six ways to reach the heart—taken from Elizabeth’s example in Luke 1—and three obstacles that can keep us from reaching the heart. (1 hour presentation) Available on CD. handout

Looking Past the Fear—An encouraging look at God’s response to five fears that homeschooling moms face: fear of what God is calling you to do, fear of being inadequate for the job, fear of what might happen in the future, fear of ridicule or rejection, fear of our weak areas ruining our children. (1 hour presentation) Available on CD. handout

All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminars

A Charlotte Mason All-Day Seminar—Includes an introduction to Charlotte Mason and a detailed look at her methods, plus the Laying Down the Rails workshop on habits described above for hours of encouragement and practical how-to’s. Sixty-page seminar notebook provided. Available on DVD.

Books & Things All-Day Seminar—Charlotte Mason taught that children can be most fitly educated on books and things. Includes how to select good living books, how to use living books in a CM way, which “things” Charlotte recommended we use and how to use them, plus Four Ways to Destroy Your Child’s Love for Knowledge. Sixty-page seminar notebook provided. Available on DVD.

2-Day SCM Conference—Put the two seminars together for a great weekend of refreshing and practical help. Enjoy the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar (with Laying Down the Rails) on Friday and the Books & Things Seminar on Saturday.

Read what others are saying about Sonya’s workshops.

Contact Sonya about speaking to your group!