Strengthen your homeschool with renewed purpose and confidence at our Pittsburgh Homeschool Fall Refresh! This event is designed to Equip, Connect, Encourage, and Protect families so that they can fulfill their calling and desire to homeschool their children at any stage. Whether you’re a first-year homeschooler or a seasoned educator, you’ll leave refreshed, inspired, and ready to thrive.
When?
Fri-Sat October 2-3, 2026
Friday
Saturday
Where?
LifePointe Alliance Church Franklin Park Campus
2298 Rochester Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Cost?
* Free Dad Friday: Homeschool Dads can attend for free when accompanying their Homeschool Mom with a paid Friday or Friday & Saturday Ticket.
Topics
You Are More Qualified Than You Think – 5 Strengths Every Homeschool Parent Brings to the Table
Whether you’re a homeschool veteran or just getting started, it’s easy to wonder if you’re really enough for the job. This workshop uncovers five strengths every parent already brings to the table that no classroom teacher can match — and why you may be more qualified than you think. Join veteran homeschool mom and advocate Zan Tyler as she shares the encouragement — and the evidence — every homeschool parent needs to hear. Come ready to see yourself, and your calling in a new light.
We will conclude this session with a Q&A panel of experienced homeschool moms from different ages and stages.
A gift for those that register early! Those that register by September 18th will receive a copy of Zan’s book: Refined: A Homeschool Moms Call to Trust
Two by Two: What Noah’s Ark Teaches Every Homeschool Family
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.
Running the Homeschool Marathon: How Not to Quit at Mile 18
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
Cultivating Your Child’s Strengths, Gifts and Purpose
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
Presenter
Zan Tyler
Host of the Zan Tyler Podcast
Zan’s homeschool journey began in 1984 when homeschooling was illegal. The State Superintendent of Education threatened Zan with jail for insisting on homeschooling her son. For the next eight years, she and other homeschool families battled for homeschool freedom and the establishment of landmark homeschool legislation in South Carolina. To this day, her legislative success in South Carolina has spearheaded legislation to ensure homeschool freedom in other states. In 1990, she founded the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools and served as its president for ten years. Her fight for homeschool freedom has led her to serve as the National Grassroots Director for ParentalRights.org, to advocate for homeschooling in the media (appearing on NBC’s Today Show) and at the nation’s capital, and to write profusely about the benefits of homeschooling.
Zan’s deepest desire is to encourage parents to raise children who love the Lord, understand their callings in life, and become active citizens who understand the freedom principles undergirding our great American heritage. She is an inspirational speaker and author, a consultant for BJU Press and the Home School Legal Defense Association, and the founder of the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools (SCAIHS). For sixteen years, Zan worked with Christian publishers to develop homeschool curriculum and resources. She considers the twenty-one-years she and her husband, Joe, spent homeschooling their own three children from kindergarten through high school to be one of the greatest privileges of her life.