Zan Tyler

Alternate Title: Are You Leading or Just Taking a Walk?

Answering God’s call to teach your children at home can be exciting at first, but it’s easy to lose sight of the vision when you find yourself overwhelmed by the demands of the homeschooling life: teaching phonics, preparing transcripts, refereeing fights, and—oh, by the way—making dinner too. But in the midst of the madness, we must constantly remind ourselves that our work matters because we’re building God’s kingdom! Come hear Zan Tyler share from history and God’s Word. And catch a glimpse of how God is using your family—and the homeschool movement—to usher in spiritual, educational, and family revival in our nation.

You’re totally in on this homeschool vision—building God’s kingdom from your kitchen table, investing in the lives of your children to see them impact the world for Jesus Christ one day. But have you let your kids in on the big-picture plan? Come learn how you can cultivate an understanding and passion in your children’s hearts for the spiritually powerful, innovative education they are experiencing, and see how much more focused and energized your family will be as you pursue the same vision together. 

NOTE: This session includes some overlap with “A God-Centered Revival,” but focuses more on developing a family vision that includes your children.

As a young mom, Zan Tyler’s encounter with powerful truths from the story of Noah’s ark (Hebrews 11) defined and empowered her 21-year homeschool journey. The lessons she learned kept her afloat through times of fatigue, self-doubt, loneliness, and persecution, and taught her to trust God with her family’s welfare. Noah’s ark has amazing implications for us as homeschoolers today, even down to the materials used in its construction. And, like Noah, we live in an age that is often hostile towards God. In this workshop, Zan will share seven principles that can give you vision, energy, and staying power for your own homeschool voyage in these perilous times.

Our children live in the midst of a secular, anti-Christian culture, facing issues and moral dilemmas we never had to deal with at their age. Meanwhile, startling numbers of young adults raised in evangelical homes are abandoning their faith. Training our children with a strong biblical worldview and deep spiritual roots is crucial to our mission as Christian parents and is one of the most important gifts we can give them. In this workshop you will gain insight on teaching your children how to think biblically about all areas of life, including academics. This will equip them to become powerful, faith-filled thinkers and leaders who can stand firm in the face of skepticism and opposition.

When Zan Tyler was threatened with jail in 1984 for teaching her son at home, she was forced to count the costs of homeschooling and decide if it was really worth it. Zan learned powerful lessons about fighting for freedom, family, and faith—lessons we need again today! Our nation is at a crossroads where the liberties we’ve often taken for granted are at stake. We are one lawsuit, bad law, or treaty away from seeing our right to homeschool erode, and we must all work to preserve our freedoms while intentionally raising up a new generation of freedom fighters. This session will encourage and equip you with powerful principles to share with your children and teens.

NOTE: Great for a keynote, leadership event, or Homeschool Day at the Capitol event.

C. S. Lewis said, “There are no ordinary human beings”—including your children! In this session, Zan Tyler will get you started on a treasure hunt to discover the unique gifts, strengths, and purpose that God has given each of your children. We’ll explore learning styles, spiritual gifts, and other dynamic tools to help you cultivate your child’s potential. You will be inspired by the power and grace God has granted your family in shaping the identity and nurturing the future of your children.

Do you want to energize your homeschool? Providing your children with creative opportunities to serve others is just what you need. In Zan’s 21 years of homeschooling, nothing amazed her more than the adventures and blessings her family encountered by serving others together. In this session, Zan Tyler will show you how to build service projects into your school days and everyday lives. She’ll also share practical service ideas. Be prepared to see your children come alive as they walk out the second most important command that God has given us by serving others in both small and big ways.

Conversation is a potent tool that carries with it the power of life and death, and lays the foundation for deep and meaningful relationships. Conversation is an essential tool in discipling your children. Research even indicates that conversation increases intelligence in children and teens. In this workshop Zan Tyler reveals how you can utilize the simple—and free—tool of conversation to help your children become more motivated learners. Learn strategies you can take home and implement tomorrow to increase joy in learning and minimize conflict in your family, too. You’ll come away convinced that conversation IS core curriculum.

Infusing our children’s lives with motivation instead of having to drag them from one lesson to the next—is that even possible? Most of us are just trying to keep them on task in the midst of math anxiety, sibling rivalry, mounds of laundry, and the daily demands of life. Now imagine this: As you lead your children intentionally through their day, they learn and grow exponentially as you work to cultivate their strengths and encourage their faith. This isn’t a dream—it IS possible! Zan Tyler shares four power-packed principles you can use right away to motivate your children and raise a family of mountain movers.

Do you feel at a loss when trying to teach your kids and teens to write? Do you ever dread working on writing assignments with them? Zan Tyler has served as an executive, developmental, and acquisitions editor for websites and traditional publishing companies, including B&H Publishers in Nashville, Tennessee. Join Zan as she draws from her professional experience to give you down-to-earth advice on how to encourage the writing process in your children—while building stronger relationships with them and avoiding meltdowns. It is easier than you think to teach writing like a pro.

Homeschooling is demanding, and expectations—both our own and others’—can be a weighty burden. This often sets us up for intense feelings of failure and disappointment, especially when things don’t go according to plan. Even when we’re doing our best to follow God and love our families, we may suddenly find ourselves in the “fiery furnace” like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Join Zan Tyler for a refreshing talk that will set you free. We’ll cover what causes burnout, how to recover from it, and best of all, consider some simple but strategic steps to prevent burnout from happening.

NOTE: Content for this session overlaps with “When Homeschooling Is Hard.” We recommend choosing one or the other for your event, not both.

Homeschooling is more like running a twenty-six mile marathon than a one-hundred yard dash. If you want to complete this race successfully, you must train in a way that builds strength, stamina, and vision—and enables you to persevere until the end. Fellow homeschool-marathon runner Zan Tyler discusses lofty topics like how to create and sustain vision, but she also shares the down-to-earth need-to-know tips like pacing yourself, choosing curriculum, and developing homeschool mentors and friends. You’ll come away with a plan that will enable you to run with endurance the race that lies before you.

If you’ve been homeschooling for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly had a hard homeschool day (or week or month or season). We’ve all been there. The kids are struggling or lacking motivation, it’s hard to focus, everyone’s feeling cranky, and it seems like you’re getting farther and farther behind. So what do you do when those hard days happen? In this uplifting session, Zan Tyler shares strategies, inspiration, and practical ideas to help you through those hard homeschool days.

NOTE: Content for this session overlaps with “Overcoming Homeschool Burnout.” We recommend choosing one or the other for your event, not both.

Do you have moments of panic when you wonder if you’re failing to give your children all they need to succeed in life? Do you secretly worry that you’re actually ruining their lives instead of blessing and equipping them? Do you wake up in the middle of the night plagued by items on the to-do list that remain undone, knowing there isn’t enough time in the day to accomplish them all? Well, there might be a few other moms who have felt the same way, and Zan Tyler is one of them. But we have a faithful God who is full of surprises, and Zan delights in sharing how God longs to meet, redeem, and empower us in the midst of our weaknesses, worries, and even catastrophes—so that He is magnified through us!

For Moms Only

What does a homeschooling mom have in common with Noah, missionaries through the ages, the apostle Peter, and even her pastor? Join Zan Tyler for this illuminating workshop and come away inspired with a renewed vision for your home and your family. Learn why moms are an important part of God’s plan to build His Kingdom on this earth.