Kris Cox – Speaker
Kris Cox has a Bachelor of Science in Social Work and 17+ years of experience in home educating their four children. After her youngest graduated from their high school, she felt led to encourage and help homeschool parents by becoming a homeschool consultant, blogger, writer, and speaker (www.krismcox.com).
In all these endeavors, Kris emphasizes developing a love for the Lord and a love for learning in your children as you educate them. She also encourages seeking God for guidance, believing that the key to successful homeschooling is depending on Him. Kris is inspiring and knowledgeable and has a passion for helping parents succeed in this incredible journey called ‘home schooling’.
Kris is the author of The Homeschool Life All-in-One Planner, Homeschooling with Confidence, and co-author of Growing the Fruit of the Spirit, a Bible-based Unit Study.
Speaking Topics 2023
Understanding the Homeschool Lifestyle
Are you considering homeschooling but just not sure it’s right for you? Do you need some assurance that homeschooling really works? This session will cover the positive aspects of homeschooling as well as some of the challenges, giving you a better picture of what homeschooling is all about and how it will affect your children long-term. We’ll also talk through the key ingredients of a successful homeschool.
Homeschooling: Starting Off Right
There are so many details and things to learn as you get started in homeschooling your children! This session will cover the most important things to know as you get started, such as the homeschool laws for your state and details on how to follow them, making learning a lifestyle rather than just “doing school”, the importance of discipleship, building relationships while homeschooling, the value of the team approach, and also how to foster a love for learning and a love for the Lord.
Understanding Your Child’s Learning Style
Although most children can learn in a variety of ways, we all have preferences that can be capitalized on. Knowing your child’s learning preferences can help you choose curriculum and teach your children more effectively. This workshop will help you determine your child’s learning style preferences plus you’ll be able to figure out your own learning/teaching style!
Choosing Curriculum to Fit Your Family
How do you choose the best curriculum for your children? This session will give you a better understanding of what to consider when choosing curriculum. We’ll also go through the most popular teaching methods out there to help you determine which ones might work best for your family. The goal of this session is to help you make the best curriculum choices for your family.
Raising Children who Love to Learn
Do your children seem engaged and interested in learning each day, or do they tend to complain and whine about having to “do school”? As homeschoolers, many of us strive to raise lifelong learners who love to learn. This is an excellent goal, but how do we bring it to fruition? In this session you’ll learn some practical ways to foster a love for learning in your children, so they ultimately become lifelong learners!
Managing Your Home and Homeschool Well
Home educating your children requires some forethought and planning to make things run smoothly and efficiently, both in your school day and in your home. This session will provide suggestions for organizing your school plans and schedule to fit your family best. You’ll learn some tips on keeping the house up by having children do chores, plus ideas for meal planning and organizing your home. Routine and planning can make your home life calmer and more relaxed, with children knowing what’s expected and parents feeling less overwhelmed and stressed!
Helping Your Preschooler Build Reading Readiness Skills
The preschool years are a great time to build the skills your child needs to prepare them for reading. Awareness of the letters and their sounds are not the only things you can work on at home to help your child prepare to learn to read. I’ll share some simple and fun things you can do with your child to help them ultimately be more successful when it comes time to start reading.
Firm Foundations
This informative 3-hour workshop is designed to help you build a firm foundation for your homeschool. We’ll discuss many important aspects of homeschooling such as current MN and ND homeschool laws, teaching tips, choosing curriculum, scheduling, planning, dealing with resistant learners, understanding learning styles, and ideas for developing a love for learning in your children. A great workshop for the beginning homeschooler but also perfect for the homeschooling parent who needs renewed vision and guidance in any of the areas listed here. You’ll leave this workshop encouraged and inspired.
What do I do with a Resistant Learner?
We all have bad days, but when your child is frequently defiant or frustrated with school, what do you do? Their resistance could be due to willful disobedience, character issues, developmental issues, learning style issues, or even a learning struggle. Sometimes it’s a combination of several of these things. Whether your child is frequently defiant or just struggling with disliking school, this workshop will help you identify what is causing your child’s struggles and give you insights into what to do to help them.
How to Find Balance in the Busy Homeschool Life
We live in a very fast-paced society that often pulls us in many different directions. As parents, there’s always someone who needs us, something that needs to be cleaned or fixed, or someone who needs to be fed. For homeschoolers, we also have the many facets of teaching our children not only the basics of life but also their ABC’s and more. How do we find balance in the midst of these demands on our time? How do we find rest? This workshop will talk about setting priorities, learning to abide in Christ, discerning His leading on how we use our time, and also how to find moments of rest on those stressful and busy days.
Finding Joy in Your Homeschool Journey
Homeschooling is a full-time job and can be exhausting! Unfortunately, burnout is a common problem because we work so hard at schooling our children well, that we end up not taking care of ourselves like we should in the process. Whether you’re struggling with burnout or wanting to prevent it, this workshop is for you. My prayer is that if you’re feeling burned out, you’ll come away from this workshop encouraged, refreshed, refocused, and inspired to rest in the Lord as you teach.
Tired of Being a Referee in Your Own Home?
Does it feel like you’re spending too much time dealing with conflict between your children? Homeschooling offers the opportunity to build family relationships, but with all the togetherness there is also the possibility of more conflicts! This session will give you insights into how to help your children get along better, build conflict resolution skills, and even become great friends with one another!
Helping a Child With Mental Health Issues
Many of us know of someone or have someone in our own family who struggles with depression, anxiety, or some other form of mental illness. Because of the stigma behind mental illness, many families suffer quietly and hide their struggles. It’s time we talked more openly about this challenging illness so people can get the support they need. This session will cover potential warning signs of mental illness, ways to help your child if they are struggling in this area, the importance of self-care for you as a parent, and some resources available to help. With a BS in Social Work and a son who struggled with mental health issues, Kris has a passion to help families who are dealing with this difficult illness.
Homeschooling Through High School – You Can Do It!
What are the benefits of homeschooling through high school? How do you make a four- year plan, and what are the key things you need to do while your student is in high school? This session will help you think through the logistics of home educating your child through high school and give you the confidence to do it.
Homeschooling Through High School and Getting College Credit too!
Many important high school courses our students need to take are often also general education requirements for college. Why not “kill two birds with one stone” so to speak, and complete college-level courses while in high school and get credit for both high school and college at the same time? Come and learn about the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) and how to navigate it, plus CLEP, DSST and AP testing as well… there are lots of great ways to challenge your student while they are in high school.
Homeschooling Through High School – Grading, Transcripts and more!
This session will cover grading guidelines, figuring out a GPA, making a transcript, and what to do about a diploma. All those details that can feel a bit overwhelming as you approach the high school years, but they really aren’t that hard! You’ll come away equipped to confidently do record-keeping for the high school years.
The Nuts and Bolts of Homeschooling Through High School (2 hours)
Homeschooling into the high school years can feel a bit intimidating, but it really is doable! In fact, the high school years can be some of the best years of homeschooling with your child as you help them find God’s purpose for their life and mature into adulthood.
This workshop will help you learn how to make a four-year high school plan for your student, including key tests and things your student needs to do over the four years. You’ll also learn about grading guidelines, how to calculate a GPA, what’s important to include on a transcript, and what to do about a diploma.
Many important high school courses our students need to take are also general education requirements for college. Why not “kill two birds with one stone” so to speak, and complete college-level courses while in high school and get credit for both high school and college at the same time? Come and learn about the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) and how to navigate it, plus CLEP, DSST and AP testing as well… there are lots of great ways to challenge your student while they are in high school.
This two-hour workshop will give you the nuts and bolts of homeschooling through high school and help give you the confidence to homeschool your child through to graduation!
Making a High School Plan for the Child Who Doesn’t Want to Go to College
Does your student have little to no interest in going to college after graduation? Maybe they want to do an apprenticeship, go to a trade school, join the military, or maybe they want to be a stay-at-home mom. How do you help them find the purpose for which God made them? This workshop will address planning the high school years for those students who are NOT college bound, helping you make a solid high school plan that will meet their needs and prepare them for whatever their future might hold.
You’ve Finished Your Homeschool Journey: What’s Next?
Is there life after homeschooling? Many moms who have just finished the journey of homeschooling their children feel like displaced home educators. It’s almost an identity or mid-life crisis experience – after investing so much time into educating our children, we suddenly don’t know what we’re supposed to do! How can we make this transition go more smoothly? This workshop will help you work through some of the emotional struggles that come with finishing your homeschooling career and will help you find direction for your future.
Contact me at krismcoxconsultant@gmail.com if you’re interested in having me speak for your group!