A Life of Service: Training Your Child in Servant Leadership

Jesus is the best example of servant-leadership. Dara will teach you how to raise up servant-leaders in your home starting from the very young up through young adulthood. Service is about selflessness and humility. Leadership is about authority and being in charge. How do the two interact and how can you be both? Dara will share ideas and examples from history and from her own life as a homeschooling mother of five.

Anger Management and Forgiveness

Anger is not a sin, so what is it? How we deal with our anger is important to God. Dara will explain God’s gift of emotions, including anger and how to glorify God with those emotions. She will look at forgiveness: What it is? Too what extent we should give it; What excuses we use to justify not forgiving; and healthy ways to forgive.

As They Sit and Stand: Teaching Your Child the Bible

Whether you have toddlers or teenagers, you can teach them the Bible! It doesn’t require a degree in Greek, a Bible college degree, or years of studying to teach your children the Bible. Dara will share creative ideas for teaching all ages the wisdom of God’s word. She will cover teaching Bible stories, Bible memorization, prayer, Biblical discipline, family devotions, and service. Being a Christian is a 24/7 life and learning to commune with God through every part of every day is critical. Hear how you and your children can bring God into every area of your life.

Boy Oh Boy! - Raising Godly Men

Tracy and Dara Halydier raised 5 boys and now have two grandsons! Dara will share the joys and challenges of raising boys. She will encourage parents of boys to embrace their manliness, their energy, their passions, and their dreams. Boys are different than girls, and parents need a different tactic to understanding and raising their boys. Dara will share experiences from being a mom of boys from toddlers through to adulthood. She will help you look to Biblical examples as well as historical and literary figures of the good and the bad giving you resources to take home and employ in your efforts of raising Godly men.

Building a Healthy Self-Esteem in Your Child

“Self-esteem” can have a negative connotation among God’s people, but it is really about a right relationship with God and a true perspective of Who God is and who we are. As parents we have the responsibility to raise kids with a positive understanding of who God says they are. Claiming these truths can change attitudes and actions. Are you aware of how your words and actions can help or hurt your child as they find out who they are? Is communication in your home healthy and honoring to God? Dara will speak about the importance of words that build up and emotions that are handled carefully. Learning and teaching how to take every thought captive, how to replace Satan’s lies with God’s truths, and how to give praise to our Amazing God will give you tools towards building a healthy and Biblical self-esteem within your child’s heart.

Experiencing Joy in the Midst

Homeschooling is such a joy! We get to spend time with our kids, see the light come on when they learn a new skill, experience life with them from a child’s perspective, and rejoice in the victories! There is also laundry, and dishes, and dust, and extended family, and sickness, and moving, and unemployment, etc. How does a homeschooling family keep moving forward in the midst? Can they experience joy when life’s circumstances are anything but joyful? YES! Come hear Dara give personal and Biblical advice on finding Joy in the Midst.

Gracefully Letting Go: Preparing Teens for Life on Their Own

You've raised them to know right from wrong. You've schooled them through history, math, reading, and science. You've driven them to practices and games, competitions and reward ceremonies. You've fed them, wiped their tears, and showed them the way. You have introduced them to Jesus and encouraged them to have a relationship with their Lord. Now it is time for them to fly on their own. How do you let them go? Are they ready? Are you ready? Dara will address concerns of teens and their parents as they enter the next phase of life called adulthood. There is a way to prepare your teen for what is to come and to prepare your heart for this different relationship with your child. Dara and her husband have homeschooled 5 boys who are successfully launched but continue to be great friends and a real joy to their parents.

High School Fun! – All Subjects Without All the Textbooks

Text books have their place, but all textbooks and no fun makes a lot of homeschoolers want to throw schooling out the window! Dara will share ideas about how to carry on the spontaneity of homeschooling fun through the high school years without compromising on the necessary knowledge needed to get into college. Having five boys in or through college, she has insight and experience about what is really required to attend college. She will inspire your creative genius to think outside the textbook box and enjoy the last few years your teenager will be home.

Kids and Emotions

Emotions! They can be our downfall, our nemesis, or our friend. We were made in the image of God and that includes our emotions. Dara will present Biblical instruction on the proper placing of our emotions and God's truths. She will give practical examples of learning to deal with emotions and helpful insights to teaching your kids about their emotions.

Marriage Matters

Romance, Passion, and Negligees - for too many homeschoolers these are things of the past. Dad goes to work, Mom is busy from sun up to sun down with the house and kids, and there are still obligations outside of the home such as getting kids to activities, volunteering at church, and meeting with friends. Everyone falls into bed exhausted! But marriage is still the bedrock of the home and must be nurtured! Dara will give you some creative ideas on keeping your marriage a priority and maybe even a little bit steamy!

Raising Exceptional Children: Geniuses to Those with Learning disabilities

This is our personal story of raising five boys with various needs. Let Dara encourage you that God has a purpose for your child just like he/she is and that God did not make a mistake! She will cover how to accept each child and their individual challenges and how to help them reach their potential. Dara and Tracy raised two boys with genius IQ’s and homeschooled them successfully! One of these children also had ADHD, dyslexia, and Asperger’s syndrome. The other three boys were of average intelligence and successfully graduated in spite of dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADD and ADHD. Each is on a very unique path, but all are becoming the men that God created them to be. They have good self-esteem and are excited about life and love and follow God. What more could a parent ask for?

Raising Godly Kids vs. Perfect Kids

What does a godly child look like compared to a perfect child? Trying to raise a perfect child will lead to rebellion, low self-esteem and other problems, while raising a godly will lead to grace, joy, and freedom. How did God raise His kids? First came the law, then grace. We, as parents, need to start out with law and then move through faith to grace as our kids get older. Scriptural basis is Galatians 3:22-26 and 4:1-7. We will walk through aspects of the law that can be incorporated into our family (written out, concise expectations, rewards and punishments, etc.), and then we will give ideas of moving the child to grace as they mature and grow.

Shoestring Budget Homeschooling: Creative Ideas that Cost Less

Homeschooling doesn’t have to cost hundreds of dollars each year. With some extra time and energy, you can teach on a budget. Tracy and Dara Halydier started homeschooling while Tracy was in seminary and without a job. They continued on a minister’s salary while homeschooling 5 children through high school. Dara will share ideas from K – 12 on bargain buying and teaching without the textbooks.

Taking Care of Mom: Avoiding Burnout

“When Mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.” So how can you keep Mommy happy? By making sure that her needs are met! What are those needs and how can she take the time to meet those needs without feeling guilty or leaving something else undone? Dara will give helpful ideas to meeting the needs of Mom so that she is filled up and able to meet the needs of her family.

What Homeschoolers Won't Talk About

Do you sometimes wonder what in the world you were thinking when you signed up to homeschool? Do you tend to compare yourself and your school and your children with others and find that you are lacking? Dara will address issues like insecurity, feelings of inadequacy, being overwhelmed, not having perfect children, not being a perfect mom, etc... Dara uses a Biblical base to her talks and many personal stories and humor. She wants to encourage homeschooling moms that God is able when we are not!

What is Homeschooling Success?

Success is not high scores, perfect children, or a clean house! Success is about obedience. What is it God is calling your family to be about? What are your goals and desires for yourself, your marriage, and your children? Do they line up with God’s word? Dara will share how to be a success in homeschooling your children in spite of shortcomings, feelings of inadequacy, life’s interruptions, and the world’s influence.

When It Hurts to Homeschool

Life happens - even to homeschoolers. Dara will share her story of homeschooling against the norm of the '80's and her parents' wishes. She tells of homeschooling through difficult pregnancies, the birth of twins, 5 major surgeries, a child with a broken back, 4 children with learning disabilities, 27 moves, and chronic pain. Dara tells her story with humor, God' grace, and joy in the midst. Sometimes it hurts to homeschool, but with God all things are possible!

As They Sit and Stand: A Resource and Guide for Teaching Your Children the Bible

This book lays out the Biblical mandate that all parents have to teach the Bible to their children. The author discusses the way children learn and different approaches to learning. There is a chapter for each age group with creative ideas to teach: Bible stories, Bible memory, Prayer, Biblical discipline, Family devotions, and service. The appendix is full of Biblical worldview resources broken down my age.

self-published 2014

Wisdom, Work, and Wealth

This 12 week study is great for 5th graders through adults. It contains lessons pertaining to work ethic and money management. Contentment, giving, diligence, budgeting, etc...

self-published 2012

Practical Proverbs for Younger Students

This book is suggested for 3rd - 8th graders and can be used individually or in a group. There are 36 lessons followed by worksheets such as crossword puzzles, word finds, art projects, an obstacle course, and more. subjects include Biblical self-esteem, consequences, our words, anger, contentment, money, truth, and more.

self-published 2011

Practical Proverbs for Older Students

This Life Management Curriculum can be counted for 1/2 or 1 high school credit. It takes the student through the book of Proverbs in 80 lessons with discussion questions. Proverbs 1-9 is covered sequentially and Proverbs 10-31 are covered topically. The author uses the whole counsel of God's word as the student learns life skills, choices and consequences, and the importance of the day to day walk with God.

self-published 2010