Welcome to the 2:1 Speakers Tour!

Hi! If you haven’t “met” me before, I’m Deb Chitwood, the founder of Living Montessori Now and Raising Figure Skaters blogs.

If you’re a Christian homeschooler, you’ll want to check out the 2:1 Conference speakers and fun Facebook party tonight at 8:00pm EST! I’m excited that I’ll be a keynote speaker at the 2:1 Conference April 12-14 in Herndon, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.). The 2:1 Conference will be a great conference for both Christian homeschooling inspiration and blogging help and inspiration.

Following God Through Life’s Twists, Turns, and Miracles

I’ll be speaking on the topic of “Following God Through Life’s Twists, Turns, and Miracles” at the conference. When I look back on my family’s life and direction, I’m continually amazed and extremely thankful. God led my family in surprising, and often miraculous, directions in our homeschooling and life in general. I was a former “band geek” and Montessori preschool teacher who, through God’s direction, became the mother of two international athletes and successful homeschool graduates.

Thanks to homeschooling and a Montessori emphasis, both my kids earned bachelor’s degrees with straight As and have kept their love of learning. In my speech at the 2:1 Conference, I’ll talk about my Montessori emphasis on following the child and my husband’s and my belief in following God’s direction.

The two beliefs worked together, and God’s direction was often revealed through our children’s interests and talents. I’ll tell how our experiences deepened my family’s faith and led us on adventures around the world. Despite my many imperfections as a homeschooler, God even used my imperfections as a vehicle for the direction of our homeschooling (“relaxed, Montessori-inspired homeschooling”) and as a way to reinforce my children’s self-direction and motivation.

I’ll also talk about seasons of life and how God used my own talents, interests, and experiences to lead me to writing and blogging. I truly love writing, blogging, and social media! Even though my husband and I are now empty nesters, God’s direction continues to give me (and us) direction each day.

What My Main Blogs Are About

I’m a certified Montessori teacher with a master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies from Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, England. I use my love of Montessori-inspired education to share information and activities that can be used at home or school. I often write about preschoolers through early elementary, although I do have posts about homeschooling through high school as well. You’ll find links to many of my main Montessori posts on my Montessori Resources page. You’ll find links to lots of my main homeschooling posts in my Homeschool Resources post. And I’m a real lover of unit studies. You’ll find links to all my unit studies posts (there are a LOT) along with links to all my holiday activities in this post: Should You Use Unit Studies?

If you’re wondering if Raising Figure Skaters is just for parents of figure skaters, it isn’t. In fact, I don’t write about figure skating very often. My husband and I viewed figure skating as a way to follow our children’s life paths and teach character traits. Those are the sorts of concepts I talk about at Raising Figure Skaters. I also share motivational quotes, word-art freebies, and inspiration that’s typically appropriate for anyone. Many homeschoolers use inspirational stories and quotes to help encourage positive character traits, especially in their older children. At Raising Figure Skaters, I also share some of my favorite ways to make a difference.

The 2:1 Speakers Tour and Facebook Party

Please check out the blogs of the 2:1 Conference speakers:

Deb Chitwood of Living Montessori Now
Amy Roberts of Raising Arrows
Ashley Pichea of Life by Ashley Pichea
Daniele Evans of Domestic Serenity
Jenny Herman of Home Educating Family
Sherri Barth of From Our Front Porch Lookin’ In
Tara Ziegmont of Feels Like Home

Be sure to visit the official 2:1 sponsors as well:

Apologia
Home Educating Family
Bright Ideas Press
Grapevine Bible Studies
Lexercise

And join us tonight, 8pm ET, for our Homeschool Blogger Social Media Scavenger Hunt! There will be lots of great prizes and an announcement from Homeschool Blogging you won’t want to miss! More on the 2:1 Tour and Facebook Party at 2:1 Conference!

UPDATE ON JANUARY 16: Even if you missed the Facebook party, you still have 6 days to enter a giveaway for a chance to win a free ticket to the the 2:1 Conference or a month to try for a sponsorship from Homeschool Blogging: Go to the 2:1 Conference with Homeschool Blogging.

If this is your first time visiting Living Montessori Now, welcome! If you haven’t already, please join us on our Living Montessori Now Facebook page where you’ll find a Free Printable of the Day and lots of inspiration and ideas for parenting and teaching!