Workshops and Consults

Our retreat offers two important experiences: an optional paid-on-site consultation with Rita Cevasco about your children's language processing needs, and two workshop sessions (included in the retreat registration fee) where you will get to explore aspects of homeschooling in more depth.

We will take sign ups for both (consultations and workshops) at the retreat itself on the first night!

The Retreat Workshops are going to be a lot of fun! Each session will be offered twice so that you can definitely go to the two you want to go to. Alas, you can't do them all so pick wisely!

Rita Cevasco #

Consultations

Parents can sign up for individual consultation appointments with me throughout the conference weekend. Each consultation session can be scheduled in 20 minute increments. The fee for each 20 minute session is $40.00 (cash or check preferred).

Here is what you can expect within our appointed time together:

  • I will be happy to look at your child’s writing samples and discuss any concerns you have in the area of reading, writing, listening and speaking.
  • I will provide you with my recommendation on the next step in your home school approach, sharing a strategy that I find helpful when addressing similar concerns with my students.
  • I will make recommendations for taking any next steps with your child.

Please know that this is a time for us to problem solve over your concerns, but is not a substitute for direct therapy, either with a local clinician or over Skype. Here is what one Skype parent wrote about working with me:

“Rita has that unique combination of enthusiasm, insight and experience that make her a brilliant practitioner. She had [my children] read to her for 10 minutes and in that short time (I had been working on this for years!) she made a mental map of where the difficulties were and how to solve them. Each child was different. She provided an arsenal of strategies for the differing needs of parents in her course. Everything was backed up by research …” -- Laurie D.


Workshop

"Connecting your child’s language skills—listening, speaking, reading and writing—to your language arts lifestyle!"

Together, we will explore strategies for reading, writing and copywork, creating mini-lessons to be used across age and skill levels.

Outline:

  1. Roots entwined: Language by mouth, ear, eye and hand
  2. Dropping boxes: lending kids a hand through pre-teaching
  3. Below the surface: discovering the writer’s secret messages
  4. Connecting with text—jumping off the page!
  5. Try it together: creating Roots Entwined lessons

Melissa Wiley #

"Books for Breakfast, Literature for Lunch"

How do you fit read-alouds into your day, especially for kids of varying ages? And with so many books to choose from, how do you pick the winners? Children's book author and read-aloud addict Melissa Wiley shares her best strategies for bringing any subject to life with captivating literature, including tips on finding great booklists, doing character voices, and keeping energetic small fry engaged. Melissa will talk about graphic novels, picture books, what constitutes a "living book," and will even share some of her behind-the-scenes in-the-know information about what it takes for a book to be written and published!


Alexandra Dekerf #

"Nature Appreciation—More Than Journaling"

Alexandra lives in one of the most enviable natural settings in the world: Prince Edward Island. Her excursions into nature have included yoga poses on ice floes, hikes in hills with her kids, and moments alone on long beaches. She plans to discuss how spending time in nature, learning about it, and including it in your homeschool routine is simpler than you think, and an essential part of a child's education (and yours as well).

Stephanie Elms #

"The Re-upping Moment: Tackling the Teen Years at Home"

With two boys homeschooled all the way through high school and years of experience coaching other families, Stephanie is a walking treasure-trove of insight and wisdom about homeschooling high school. Stephanie will help you remember why you chose to homeschool in the first place, she will show you how staying tuned into who your kids are is still important, even with the construction of a transcript looming, and she will help you explore the myriad options for hand-crafting a high school experience that satisfies you and your kids, but also prepares them for their next big adventure after high school.

Jeannette Hall #

"How to Make Ballet, Opera, and Shakespeare as Appealing as Minecraft (well, almost as appealing)"

Learn why it's important to include some of the more difficult to appreciate art forms in your homeschool, and discover ways to painlessly introduce your kids (and yourself!) to ballet, opera, and Shakespeare. Jeannette is a master of generating big juicy conversations around these art forms with her kids and they have taken all that exposure and conversation to heart—exploring these art forms on their own, even!