Kevin Boden, Esq.

The battle to protect your right to homeschool is entering a new phase. A new model bill that is hostile to homeschooling freedom urges legislators to impose archaic restrictions on home education in every state. The bill’s authors and advocates claim that homeschooling is used to hide child abuse, despite a growing body of research that says homeschooling and abuse are not correlated. In this presentation, we will analyze both this model bill and the worldview on which it is based, and tell you exactly what you need to know about the Make Homeschool Safe Act. We are eager to inform and equip your family now so you can respond quickly and knowledgably to these emerging threats.

As Ronald Reagan once remarked, freedom must be fought for, protected and handed from one generation to another. Homeschool freedom is no different. If we don’t pass it to them, they won’t have it. Let’s look at where came from, where we are, and the risks ahead so that, together as families, we can hand the torch of homeschool freedom to our children and grandchildren.

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world.” Homeschooling is certainly no exception. In this session, Kevin will examine four reasons why home education is the most powerful weapon we have to build a strong nation and change the world.

The fight for homeschool freedom in the US does not exist in isolation. Despite our great successes, there are global movements that undermine the gains made over the past 40 years. Come learn about the ideologies, global alliances and movements that could restrict American homeschool freedom in the coming decades.

Curious who HSLDA is and what we do? Who works there and what services do they offer? Why would I join or encourage anyone else to? This session focuses on the core mission of HSLDA and why we believe it is just as needed today as it was over 40 years ago.

Educations Savings Accounts may have come (or are coming) to your state. The passage and celebration of these ESA’s have left many homeschool families with questions. What is an ESA? Are these programs good, bad, or just the latest fad of school choice? Should I get involved in them? This session looks specifically at the ESA programs found around the country and examines the pros, the cons, and the many issues in-between.

Hi, I’m with the Child Protective Services, is this the Johnson home? CPS, DCS, DHR….it goes by various names, but it’s almost always unexpected and uninvited. Most families never expect a social worker to show up and knock on their door requesting to enter their home and speak to their children. But it happens, and perhaps more often than one might think. In this session, we examine some considerations to think through in advance, the state of the federal law surrounding the 4^th amendment, and issues to consider should this unexpected event occur.

We believe that parents are best positioned to make educational decisions for their children; we think school choice is right and good. But with this choice comes the potential muddying of the water as public schools operate full-time virtual programs, as private schools offer distance learning, and as vouchers and scholarship accounts become the norm. Where does homeschooling fit within this ever-changing landscape? Has “homeschool” lost its meaning when so much education is conducted at home? Is school choice the promise or peril of homeschool in the future?

Homeschool has a history and it will have a future. But the landscape of home education is changing. Micro-schools, learning pods, traditional co-ops, online learning, accredited programs…the options for homeschool seem to be endless. This session briefly looks at the trends and movements in homeschooling. We are reminded as homeschooling families that while the face of homeschool may have changed or expanded, the heart and building blocks of homeschooling has not. Moms and dads continue to homeschool for a variety of reasons, and no matter the external shape of the school, there are commonalities that unite homeschooling families. Let’s not lose our history as we move into the future.

Screens impact all of us and they are here to stay. But what do we about them? How much “screen time” is too much?  What ages are appropriate for screen privileges? Fortunately, there are principles we can examine that help us determine the answers to these questions. In this session, join Kevin as he shares that the heart of the matter is often a matter of the heart.

Resting and homeschooling may feel like polar opposites at times. In the rush of everyday life, we can tend to forget that busyness doesn’t equal learning, that rest doesn’t equal laziness, that learning doesn’t equal books. We all need to be reminded to guard the quiet moments of the day and focus on the most important things. In this session, Kevin looks at the significant of rest for the entire family.

You won’t hit a target you’re not aiming at, so what is the target of your homeschool? We all have targets for our kids and reasons we started homeschooling. There are reasons we started, reasons that keep us going, and goals for the future. Unfortunately, the central target in our homes often gets lost in the shuffle of math, reading aloud, sports practice, and even AWANA or youth group. This session reminds us what is central and encourages us along the journey.

We all have reasons we homeschool our children. There are reasons we started, reasons that keep us going, and perhaps reasons that drive us even somewhat subconsciously. But, what ought to drive the Christian parent is the desire to glorify God in our homes and to teach our children the wisdom that holds eternal value. Too often, in our homes, the central vision gets lost in the shuffle of math, out-loud reading, sports practice, and even AWANA or youth group. This session reminds us of what is central and encourages us along the journey.

Many working dads find it challenging to get involved in the homeschooling of their children. After all, when you’re gone for upwards of 9 hours a day, how much time is really left? And do we really want to “do school” when dad is off work anyways? This session focuses in on how and why the involvement of dads in the homeschool family is so vital. It examines the common reasons dads tend to be less involved, and some tools that may help them to become an integral part in their family’s homeschool journey rather than a mere bystander.

Homeschooling in the military brings a unique set of challenges. Our family moved with the Air Force five times in ten years, helping us to understand some of the uniqueness of homeschooling in the military. Short-notice changes of stations, lengthy deployments, mid-year moves to another state, navigating new homeschool groups, understanding state laws–the list abounds with issues that military families face. This session explores some shared experiences of military families and some concrete ways that homeschool military families can thrive in their environment.