Speaker Bio
Lesli Richards is the award-winning author of The Homegrown Preschooler, A Year of Playing Skillfully, and A Summer of Playing Skillfully. As a mother of five, she enjoys encouraging other homeschooling families to cultivate wonder in their children through intentional play. Lesli is a strong advocate for special needs families as they navigate the best educational opportunities for their children. With over 20 years of homeschooling experience as a teacher and 12 years as a Classical Conversations Challenge Director, she brings knowledge, humor, and a passionate voice of encouragement to her sessions. Lesli lives with her husband and children in northern Georgia.
Speaker Workshops
Invisible
The Homegrown Preschooler 101
In this fun and creative workshop, you will learn how to create an amazing preschool experience while keeping your child at home. From the latest in scientific research to the organization of supplies, this information packed workshop will help you prepare your child for lifelong learning and make wonderful memories along the way.
Beyond Preschool - Continuing the Hands-On Learning Process in the Elementary Years
The value of hands-on sensory experiences is still significant for the early elementary years. While our attention turns more to building phonics skills and learning math facts, most children don’t love the transition from all fun to more traditional schoolwork. This workshop will help you balance structured lessons with the sensory input and engaging learning activities children need to love school.
Where the Wild Things Are - How to Motivate, Educate and Guide Your Spirited Learner
Wouldn’t it be great that instead of being overwhelmed by your wild child’s spirit, you could embrace all that they are? In this session, we will share our personal experience and knowledge in hopes of encouraging and providing practical strategies that will meet the needs of your child while keeping your sanity.
A Wonder-Filled Math and Language Arts for Preschoolers
Math and Language arts are two of the most important building blocks in the early education of our children. In this research-based workshop, Parents will learn to approach these topics playfully with their children, while watching for readiness for next steps. Handouts will include useful developmental guidelines, resource suggestions, and book titles.
The Resilient Child - The Value of Including Character Development in Your Lesson Plan
Intentionally teaching character traits and habits, while encouraging emotional growth will help your child thrive, overcome, and adapt in what is often a turbulent world. Combining the latest neuroscience research with biblical truth, this workshop will equip parents to confidently nurture their child’s emotional well-being and character development.
Homeschooling Through the Hard
Despite our best laid plans, sometimes life is hard and messy, and there is no perfect homeschool family. Many homeschool families deal with hard things, such as special needs, marital struggles, adoption, illness, loss of a child, mental illness, eating disorders and addiction. All of these things can be very isolating and paralyzing for parents. If you have ever felt alone in your hard times, while everyone else looks perfect, this session is for you. In this workshop, we explore the things that no one talks about, and provide encouragement and resources.
