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Cheryl Bastian
Member since 10/2009

Cheryl Bastian attended Illinois State University majoring in Early Childhood Education. After leaving the classroom, Cheryl became a full-time, stay-at-home-mom; the best hands-on training available. In 1993, Cheryl began home educating her children and co-founded and led a local home school support group working with a board to plan monthly meetings, schedule educational opportunities, and create a cooperative for upper elementary through high school students. Cheryl and her husband Mike have graduated two of their seven children from home and are currently teaching the remaining five, toddler through high school. They also spend their summers evaluating the educational progress of home educated children. Cheryl understands the challenges and the benefits of hard work on difficult days. As an author and speaker, she uses her experiences to encourage parents as they embrace the education and training of their children. In addition to penning articles for local and national publications, Cheryl has written four books and a thematic unit study. Her resources are available at www.cherylbastian.com

My Mission Statement

I purpose to be faithful, sincere, and steadfast where God chooses to use me whether fostering family relationships, cultivating a love of learning, teaching a lesson, reading aloud, listening to a teen, chatting over tea, mentoring future leaders, editing an article, sharing practical tips with a mom and teen beginning the high schooling journey, or speaking to a large audience. In these roles, I strive to walk alongside individuals with compassion and understanding, hoping to impart courage and refreshment for the soul.

Honorarium

Travel expenses including hotel as needed. Honorarium negotiable.

Past Engagements/Seminars

"Math Never Tasted So Good!" FPEA S.T.E.M. Conference, Tampa, FL - 8/2013

"Unforgettable Science" FPEA S.T.E.M Conference, Tampa, FL - 8/2013

"Transitions and Decisions" Finish Well Conference, Sanford, FL - 3/2013

"Essentials of Home Education, Preschool through High School- with Mike Bastian" Books and Beyond Conference - 2/2013

"Eureka! Teaching History, Geography, and Science With Living Books" Books and Beyond Conference - 2/2013

"You Can Do It!: Highschooling Under Florida Law" Books and Beyond Conference - 2/2013

"InJOYing Motherhood" H.E.R.I. Jacksonville, FL - 7/2012

"Stepping Out of Boxes and Into Freedom" H.E.R.I. Jacksonville, FL - 7/2012

"Teaching Precious Preschoolers and Little Learners" 2012 FPEA Convention, Orlando, FL - 5/2012

"Tips for Turning the Home Education Tassel" 2012 FPEA Convention, Orlando, FL - 5/2012

"You Can Do It! Highschooling Under the Florida Law" Learning and Families, Sarasota, FL - 4/2012

""Celebrate High School"" FISH, Brandon, FL - 2/2012

"You Can Do It! High Schooling Under the Florida Law" 2011 FPEA Convention, Orlando, FL - 5/2011

"Flip Three Pancakes With One Spatula" 2011 FPEA Convention, Orlando, FL - 5/2011

"Essentials of Early Home Education" 2011 FPEA Convention, Orlando, FL - 5/2011

"High School 101 and the Florida Law" Finish Well High School Conference - 3/2010

"When Parents Listen, Teens Talk" Finish Well High School Conference - 3/2010

"ABCs of Transcript Writing" Finish Well High School Conference - 3/2010

"Flip Three Pancakes with One Spatula" Melbourne, FL - 2/2010

"The Year My Library Card Became the Curriculum" Books and Beyond Conference, Winter Park, FL - 1/2010

"Getting It On Paper" Sanford, FL - 7/2009

"High School 101" Sanford, FL - 1/2009

"Books Can Teach" Books and Beyond Conference, Winter Park, FL - 1/2009

"Flip Three Pancakes with One Spatula " Books and Beyond Conference, Winter Park, FL - 1/2009

"Homeschooling High School" Lake Mary, FL - 1/2009

"Books for Infants and Toddlers" Baby Steps Class, Winter Park, FL - 12/2008

"Celebrate High School" Winter Park, FL - 11/2008

"Flip Three Pancakes with One Spatula " Lake Mary, FL - 11/2008

"Raising a Contagious Reader" Longwood, FL - 10/2008

"Read Aloud Rewards" Melbourne, FL - 10/2008

"Raising a Contagious Reader" Altamonte Springs, FL - 9/2008

"What is a Genre Anyway? " Library Parent Program - 7/2008

"Books Can Teach" Library Parent Program, Winter Park, FL - 7/2008

"Look At That Art!" Library Parent Program" Winter Park, FL - 7/2008

"Hooray, It's Library Day!" Library Parent Program" Winter Park, FL - 3/2008

"Perfect for Preschoolers" Library Parent Program, Winter Park, FL - 2/2008

"Read Aloud Rewards" Library Parent Program, Winter Park, FL - 1/2008

"You Be the Judge" Books and Beyond Conference, Winter Park, FL - 1/2008

"Books Can Teach" Books and Beyond Conference, Winter Park, FL - 1/2008

"Read Aloud Rewards" Orange City, FL - 9/2007

"Read Aloud Rewards" Winter Springs, FL - 9/2007

"Books Can Teach" Northeast Georgia Education Conference, Blairsville, GA - 7/2007

"Choosing Books to Fuel a Literary Fire" Northeast Georgia Education Conference, Blairsville, GA - 7/2007

"Finding a Homeschool Evaluator" Longwood, FL - 9/2005

"Educational Philosophies" Longwood, FL - 9/2004

"Homeschooling with Preschoolers and Toddlers" Longwood, FL - 10/1998

"Finding Treasures in the Local Library" Longwood, FL - 9/1996

"You Can Teach Math" Longwood, FL - 9/1995

Presentations

Blessed with Preschoolers

Editing a middle school research paper while trying to occupy an energetic preschooler? Preschoolers are a blessing. Their joy is infectious, their smiles salve for the soul. How do we embrace their jubilation while teaching our older children? Cheryl, mother of six children and eighteen years of homeschooling with busy preschoolers, shares ten never-fail-experience-proven ideas to engage the minds, hearts and precious hands of our youngest family members.

Celebrate High School (half or full day seminar)

Whether fresh out of the blocks on the first leg of the high school adventure or heading toward the finish line, high school is a time to be celebrated. Cheryl will answer common questions asked by students and parents as they work together toward turning the tassel. Topics include planning ahead, understanding graduation requirements, building credits, grading assignments, calculating grade point averages, writing effective course descriptions, preparing transcripts and supporting documents, tailoring paperwork to the student's strengths, college admission testing, submitting college applications, and finding scholarship money.

Choosing Books to Fuel a Literary Fire

Books stoke the literary fire. Learn how to choose books that build a literary fire ignited by the artistic merit and rhythmic text of picture books, and later kept aflame by the thickening plots, well-developed characters, and eloquent literary styles of timeless chapter books. Cheryl encourages participants to consider developmental abilities, reading level, and worldview when choosing literary material, with the intention of fueling a literary fire that will burn brightly for generations.

Creating a Flexible Four-Year Plan

Plan well to finish well! This hands-on, interactive workshop (yes, high school workshops can be hands-on) walks parents through the process of developing a flexible, working four-year plan for their high school student.

Flip Three Pancakes with One Spatula

How do you get it all done? As a mom of six, Cheryl has been asked this question many times. In this hands-on, interactive presentation, Cheryl reveals her secrets to teaching math, extending lessons to language arts, social studies, science, and life skills, while preparing meals. Oh, and bring your spatula!

Getting It On Paper

High school is not a one-size-fits-all experience. High school is a time to refine the skills needed to polish a student's God-given gifts and talents. But what does that look like on paper? How do you tailor courses which will prepare your child for what God has planned for their future? Cheryl walks parents through the paperwork needed for employment and college entrance, explaining how to write course descriptions describing your student's strengths, how to develop a transcript people want to read and how to write supporting documents to reflect a student's educational experiences and character.

High School Crash Course (Don’t worry! I Don’t Have Your Car Keys.)

Credits. GPA's. Transcripts. Where do I start? Cheryl navigates the basic nuts and bolts of home educating through high school. Attendees learn the high school lingo, how to establish goals and create a four-year plan, how to award credits, and how to organize records. Practical tips for keeping a clear vision while on the high school journey.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity, Jig: Essentials of Early Home Education From Preschool Through Third Grade

Young children have an insatiable curiosity to learn and a natural desire to work alongside people they love most. How do we utilize these innate qualities to maximize their early learning potential at home? Early childhood educator and home education mom of six, Cheryl challenges parents to look beyond societal and educational pressures to the emotional and developmental needs of young children. Parents will be equipped with practical ideas.

Hooray! It's Library Day!

Hooray! It's library day! Children jump and shout when library day appears on the calendar. Cheryl shares ten practical ways to be intentional about making library day an exciting highlight in a child's schedule. A child who feels at home in the library will use the library life-long.

InJOYing Motherhood

What are the tools and traits needed to build out homes, equip our children, and serve our community of influence? Cheryl leads an interactive workshop sharing from her mothering and leadership experience how to avoid the elements which cloud our days, prohibit our building, and limit our potential to serve from our abundance. Come away with practical tools for building a home that is inJOYable to live in!

Library Etiquette and Book Borrowing Basics

Children can become enthusiastic library patrons, eager to learn from the books that await them on the library shelves. Cheryl offers participants suggestions regarding regular library visits, library etiquette, book borrowing, and home storage of library materials.

Look at That Art!

The art mediums, techniques, and styles used in books encourage children to turn the pages. Cheryl uses picture books to highlight the works of notable illustrators and their techniques, teaching attendees how to choose books with artistic merit, how to use the books to spark a child's creativity, and how to teach older children to compare, analyze, and appreciate illustrations.

Mining Literary Gems

We know books encourage reading, but what about mathematics, language arts, social sciences, natural sciences, fine arts, and character? This interactive session will challenge participants to use the precious gems in literature to enrich content areas, inspire minds, and speak to hearts.

Perfect for Preschoolers

Learn how to choose perfect picture books for preschoolers, speaking to their hearts and minds. Books highlighted will be packed with the elements children birth through age six love: rhyme, rhythm, and repetition.

Raising a Contagious Reader

Passionate about helping parents raise contagious readers, Cheryl shares five keys which unlock the doors of reading and five practical tips for nurturing reading once the reading doors have been opened.

Read-Aloud Rewards

Read-aloud time returns great gains, from language development to vocabulary development, from understanding the rudiments of oral language to building the propriety of conversational skills. Learn how to reap the rewards of read-aloud time by personalizing reading adventures. Includes practical suggestions for use before, during, and after read-aloud times.

Stepping Out of Boxes and Into Freedom

Educational methodology. Daily schedules. Parenting. Lots of little (and not so little) boxes, each confining or redefining what God intended for our families. Applying the boundaries and intentions God has for other families can leave our own family bound and tied; struggling for the very life He placed in us. Cheryl, mother of seven from ages 23 to 1 year, shares how she tried climbing into boxes intended for other families. As a result, her family suffered. Hear how Cheryl recognized what those boxes were and then stepped out of them and into the uniqueness God fashioned for her family.

Teaching Precious Preschoolers and Little Learners

Young children have an insatiable natural curiosity, a captivating wonder, and an innate desire to learn alongside people they love most. How can these characteristics be a catalyst for successful, enjoyable early home education? Cheryl Bastian, mother of seven children, enthusiastically shares practical examples about how to use read-aloud time, life-experiences, and play to learn foundational skills, foster relationships, and nurture young hearts while keeping a child’s natural curiosity and wonder alive and flourishing.

The Cumulative Folder

Cumulative folders are only useful to students educated in a traditional school setting? True or False. False. Families who are home educating high school students benefit greatly from keeping cumulative high school records. These records help write a resume for employment and the supporting documents to accompany a transcript for college admission. Cheryl walks parents through a simple process for setting up the cumulative high school folder, giving concrete examples of valuable paperwork and explaining why each document is important. (Want to involve your high school student in this process? Ask Cheryl about parent-student workshops. Participants provide a three-ring binder and tab dividers for workshop format.)

Tips for Turning the Home Education Tassel

Tassels turn. Caps are tossed in the air. Cheryl Bastian, mom of two Florida home education graduates, shares valuable tips for creating unique educational high school experiences, many of which are often overshadowed or lost in the pressure of academic rigors and course requirements. Come listen and be encouraged as Cheryl explains how high school courses can be dynamically tailored to the interests of each student.

Transitions and Decisions

“Help! I NEVER thought I would homeschool high school!” Have you pulled a child out of traditional school? Or, perhaps you’ve been homeschooling several years but thought you would put the children in school for high school. Suddenly, you find yourself homeschooling a high schooler. Cheryl Bastian guides attendees through the transitions and decisions involved in home educating a high school student including bringing children home, planning the path to graduation, choosing or tweaking curriculum, designing classes, counting credits, building transcripts, working on relationships, and preparing for college admission.

What is a Genre, Anyway?

Cadence, folk tale, tall tale, fable, biography, historical fiction, poetry. Fancy names for types of literature. Cheryl familiarizes participants with the characteristics of genres suitable for the ages and stages of preschool toddlers, elementary children, and middle school teens.

When My Library Card Became the Curriculum

A flood. Great-grandma's health needs. Budget cuts. These three simultaneous situations and the circumstances leading to them challenged Cheryl’s thoughts about "curriculum". In this presentation, she shares how a pivotal year influenced the amount of money her family spent on curriculum and how her library card became the answer to the questions she didn't know she had. Confused? You may find yourself walking beside Cheryl as she shares practical ideas about how library resources can rekindle a love of learning in your home.

Publications

Measurement

One month of purposeful concept-specific, multi-sensory opportunities for children preschool through second grade, designed to teach and reinforce aspects of foundational measurement. Nurtures a child’s innate curiosity about how the world works while inviting questions, engaging thought, and applying understanding. A complement to any math curriculum or program.

Cheryl A. Bastian 2013

Strategic Scheduling: Redeeming the Nooks and Crannies of Our Days

Homeschooling Today, Fall 2013

Geometry

One month of purposeful concept-specific, multi-sensory opportunities for children preschool through second grade, designed to teach and reinforce aspects of foundational geometry. Nurtures a child’s innate curiosity about how the world works while inviting questions, engaging thought, and applying understanding. A complement to any math curriculum or program.

Cheryl A. Bastian 2012

Math Never Tasted So Good

Spring Issue

The Old Schoolhouse 2011

Support Groups: Cultivating a Garden of Friendship

Feature Article, Winter Issue

The Old Schoolhouse 2010

When Flood Waters Rise: Homeschooling in the Midst of Uncertain Times

Feature Article- May/June

Homeschooling Today 2010

Sailing Through Evaluation Season

FPEA Almanac, Summer Issue

2010

Savoring Life's Simple Pleasures

Homeschooling Today, March/April

2010

Simplicity in Life's Seasons

Homeschooling Today, March/April

2010

Life Lessons and New Friends: Read-aloud Treasures

Article, November/December

Homeschooling Today 2009

Celebrate High School: Finish with Excellence

Our high school students have stories, stories which tell of their character, talents, and education. A student's story is told and unfolds through the transcripts, course descriptions, reading lists, co-curricular activities, and other supporting documents commonly requested by employers and college admissions personnel. Employers and college admissions personnel reading these stories come to know the student, ultimately deciding whether or not to offer employment or admission to the student. Celebrate High School walks with the reader on the high school journey, from developing a four-year plan to writing professional, informative documents. Each step of the process is showered with samples and examples, all with the intention of finishing high school with excellence. Capture curiosity. Invite readers to take a closer look at your student’s individual qualities and the excellence of his/her education. How will your student impact the workplace or college campus? Tell them with words they will understand.

Cheryl A. Bastian 2009

Feature Article: Cradles in Trees: A Lesson from the Creator’s Classroom

Homeschooling Today 2009

Creative Ways to Occupy Preschoolers

Homeschooling Today 2009

Flip Three Pancakes with One Spatula

The kitchen is a living laboratory, demanding curiosity. Cups of water and corn syrup can be measured, heated and transformed into one pound of hard candy. The circular circumference of a pizza can be measured, baked and cut into fractional parts. Cylinders and rectangular prisms sit comfortably on the pantry shelf waiting to be sorted, counted and stacked in geometric sculpture. Children love to experience and experiment with these math wonders. When a child’s desire to help is tapped, math skills and life skills can be taught and will be remembered because of the natural inquisitiveness which saturates the kitchen. Children love the kitchen, a perfect place to be immersed in math. The 85 recipes and additional add-on activities in Flip 3 Pancakes With 1 Spatula have been selected based on the frameworks of mathematical concepts taught to young children between the ages of four and eight.

Cheryl A. Bastian 2008

There’s No Place Like Home for the Contagious Reader

FPEA Almanac 2008

Read Aloud: Inspire Minds, Nurture Hearts, and Build Relationships

FPEA Almanac 2008

Check These Out

Written as a multi-level study, elementary children and middle school students (K-8), can study the same material at various levels, discussing and learning from one another. Content includes lessons in library science, introductions to genres (fairy tales, fables, fantasy, tall tales, legends, poetry, historical fiction, and mystery), information about art techniques used by illustrators (photography, collage, drawing, painting, monochrome, modern art, impressionism, digital painting, and prints), elements of a story, instructions for using the Dewey Decimal System and the Library of Congress, types of binding, careers in book publishing, study skills and more. Books are read, highlighted or discussed for each topic as it is studied. Field trips to the library, book bindery, book store, newspaper and publishing company are incorporated. The unit comes complete with weekly calendars, daily lessons, library lists and check lists of learned skills. Internet links are available at this website on the Check These Out Book Links page. Check These Out is a valuable tool for parents/educators who want to put “hands and feet” to You Have to Read This One: Raising a Contagious Reader.

Cheryl A. Bastian 2007

You Have to Read This One: Raising a Contagious Reader

“You just have to read this one!" How many times has this proclamation been made by a reader who cannot wait to tell the world about his or her latest, greatest literary find? Parents can raise children who make this proclamation. It is not an impossible task. Cheryl’s book will encourage and equip parents with the tools necessary to raise contagious readers.

Cheryl A. Bastian 2006

Special Section: Field Trips

Contributing Author

Teaching Home 1999

Special Section: Organization

Contributing Author

Teaching Home 1998