Invite Author Karla Akins to Speak at your Next Conference of Event!
Karla Akins is the author of A Pair of Miracles, the story of raising her twin sons with autism.
Akins is also the author of several history books for homeschoolers including O Canada Her Story, Sacagawea, and Jacques Cartier. Her work has also been published in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and she currently writes for Happy Sis Magazine. Her first novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was published in 2013.
With more than 35 years of experience as a pastor’s wife and teacher, 26 of those as a homeschool mother, twelve as a private school administrator, and five working in the public schools, Karla brings inspirational expertise to your church, business, education, or homeschool event. She is the mother of twin sons with Autism, ADHD and cognitive and speech disabilities. She’s also Mom to two other adult sons with ADHD, one with dyslexia and schizoaffective disorder: bipolar type, and is married to a husband with ADD and dyslexia. Her mother-in-law with Alzheimer’s lives with them along with three furry dogs and two persnickety cats. When Karla’s not writing, teaching or speaking, she rides her motorcycle and looks for treasure.
Ministry Speaking Topics
Don’t Drown in the Fishbowl: Survival for Pastor’s Wives, Ministers and their Families
This is a great presentation for pastor’s wives retreats, minister’s conferences, or any women’s retreat. Karla shares her life as a struggling pastor’s wife of 33 years. How does/did she cope? Why is life so hard? When things get overwhelming, what does God Word tell us we can do? How do we overcome hurts in the church? How are we to respond to gossip? These and many more issues can be addressed depending on the needs of your group.
Loving the Prodigal: Overcoming the Pain
You raise them in the Word of God from the moment they’re conceived. You teach them as you walk along the way. And yet, they decide to reject God’s Ways to try life on their own terms. Karla shares her journey through disappointment and feelings of abandonment. Does God still care? Why does God allow our children to stray so far away? Where is comfort when all is lost? How do you respond to so-called friends who say hurtful things? How do you cope with the fear for your children’s salvation? What do you do now?
Supernatural Dangers: Workshop(s) for Teens & Adults
Walk in any bookstore or library today and you’ll find shelves overflowing with books dealing with the paranormal. And it’s not just the Teen or Young Adult/Adult bookshelves anymore. These books are abundant for all age groups. Kids and teens are hungry for the supernatural. Unfortunately, to satiate their appetites for the paranormal, they’re drawn into dangerous realms that God very much wants to protect them from. This workshop explores the dangers of toying with the supernatural thereby opening portals to the devil’s realm. You will learn why dabbling in the supernatural gives Satan a legal right to wreak havoc in your life.
Reaching The Harry Potter-iPhone-iPad-3-D-movie Generation: Children’s Ministry Workshop
Have a handful of teachers but lots of kids of different ages? Karla shares her tips on teaching multiple levels in one room! With a doctorate degree in Christian Education and over 30 years of experience teaching (many of them in small rural churches), she has a lot of tips to share on how to reach this distracted generation for Jesus Christ! What should we be teaching our children in churches today? How should we teach and why? Is Sunday School really all that important? What about mid-week services? What’s the point?
Teaching and Ministering to Children with Special Needs
The child with special needs has a healthy spirit that needs nurturing! Get practical tips on helping special needs children and their families attend church classes and services successfully. Learn how Karla taught her own children with autism, ADHD, intellectual disabilities, speech disabilities and dyslexia and countless other children with disabilities. Handouts include practical tips for parents, therapists and teachers.
Teaching and Ministering to Children with Autism
A child with autism has a spirit that we as Christians are called to nuture. Get practical tips on helping the child with autism and their families attend church classes and services successfully. Learn how to shepherd children who struggle with fearfulness, have difficult social skills, and abstract thoughts about God. What can teachers do about aggressive, oppositional behavior? Learn how Karla taught her own sons with autism and how her church helped nurture them toward acts of service. Handouts include practical tips for churches, parents, and teachers.
The Church’s Call to People with Disabilities
One of Karla’s favorite stories in the bible is found in Mark 2. Jesus was teaching in a house “so packed with visitors that there wasn’t room for a single person more, not even outside the door. And he preached the Word to them. Four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They couldn’t get to Jesus through the crowd, so they dug through the clay roof above his head and lowered the sick man on his stretcher, right down in front of Jesus” (Mark 2:2-4, TLB). Churches should have a vital ministry to those who are unable to get to Jesus without help. This workshop shares Karla’s vision of reaching the disabled who are in need of Christian love and outreach. Learn how to start a disability ministry in your church and why doing so is the heartbeat of God.
Strong Girls: Workshop for Teen Girls
Does being a Christian woman mean you can’t be strong? How are young women to respond to the messages they receive from today’s feminist culture? Young women live in a dangerous time both physically and spiritually. Karla shares hope and encouragement for teen girls who want to make the choice to follow Jesus. She sheds light on misconceptions of God’s expectations of women and what God’s Word has to say about being a Strong Girl. (See Karla’s Facebook Page for Strong Girls here: https://www.facebook.com/StrongGirls4Jesus/
Time Management (for Busy Ministers or Writers or Entrepreneurs or Homeschoolers or…)
If time is an illusion, why do we have such a difficult time keeping track of it? Karla is a busy mother, caregiver, pastor’s wife, minister, church pianist and vocalist, writer, Women’s Ministry Leader, Children’s Bible Study Teacher, substitute teacher for the public school system and a full-time college student pursuing a degree in Special Education.
Learn how Karla gets it all done!
Homeschool/Education Workshops
Homeschooling Children with Special Needs
Do you ever feel as if you’re in over your head? Worried that you aren’t qualified to teach your special needs child? Learn why you’re the expert on your child and their condition. Get practical tips on helping them succeed through finding the right resources, building a supportive network, and accessing the right therapies. Learn what therapies worked and didn’t when Karla taught her own children with autism, ADHD, intellectual disabilities, speech disabilities and dyslexia. Handouts include practical tips for parents, therapists and teachers
Homeschooling Children with Autism
Has God called you to teach your child with autism at home? Do you wonder what the most important skills are to teach? Get practical tips on coping with tantrums, learning social skills, and leading your child to God. As children with autism grow up, what life skills are important to teach them? What can a parent do about aggressive, oppositional behavior? Learn how Karla taught her own sons with autism. What were the most valuable lessons of all? Handouts include practical tips for parents, therapists and teachers.
Homeschooling Children with ADHD
Is your child’s active personality really ADHD? Learn what ADHD really is, why homeschooling is a valid choice for children with ADHD and why parents are qualified to teach their ADHD children. Learn how to create behavior plans that work, the ins and outs of sensory processing and other helpful teaching tips. Handouts include practical information for parents and teachers.
Homeschooling the Difficult Child
Are you dealing with a difficult child? Karla is the mother of five adult children, two with autism, one with ADHD and bipolar. She shares tips for tantrums, loving your difficult child unconditionally, creating effective behavior plans, and tips for dealing with the emotional backlash other children in the home experience. How to deal with negative feedback from church friends, family and community and creating a network of support. She provides handouts that offer practical tips for homeschooling the child with behavior challenges.
Cottage Schooling
Would you like to start a cottage school? Then this workshop is for you! Learn how Karla started her own cottage school and why it’s a great alternative for families with special needs children, gifted children as well as typical children. This workshop answers questions such as: “What are the elements of a good cottage school?” “Why start a cottage school?” “How do I teach so many grades and abilities at once?” “What curriculum do I use?” “How do I differentiate the curriculum?” Handouts include practical tips and references to resources.
Homeschooling Multiple Levels
What teaching strategies work best for teaching a preschooler, first grader, fifth grader and 10th grader all at once? Which curriculum lends itself well to teaching multiple levels? How does the teacher/parent keep all levels and abilities meaningfully engaged? When is it not acceptable to teach all levels at once? This workshop answers all these questions and more. Karla shares her experience of teaching in a one-room K-12 classroom as well as homeschooling her own children of various ages and abilities. Handouts include practical tips and references to resources.
Homeschooling Using History as Your Curriculum “Spine”
Tired of worksheets and countless books that having nothing to do with one another? Learn how to integrate all school subjects and objectives with history! Karla shares creative ideas for family projects and performances including creating your own live “wax museum!” She will share ideas for teaching the same era of history in a multi-level household, her favorite resources and will provide practical tips and references to resources.
Homeschooling History Using Historical Fiction and Narrative Biographies
Can children really learn about history by reading fiction? Published author, Karla Akins, shares why narrative biographies and historical fiction help students remember historical details. She’ll share how to choose the right books, what to read about, and her own love of writing historical fiction and narrative biographies.
Design Your Own Curriculum/Unit Studies Using State and National Standards
Want to learn how to homeschool your child for free? In this workshop you will learn how to access local and national standards for each subject in your homeschool. Is it a good or bad idea to do so? Do you have to follow the standards in your homeschool? What are they for? Karla shares her experiences using the standards as a guideline for each year of a child’s academic career and why you don’t have to spend a lot of money to homeschool successfully.
Technology and Your Homeschool
Is technology really all that important? How should you use it in your homeschool? When should you not use it? Learn some creative ways to integrate technology in your homeschool and have your eyes opened about dangerous technological advances you and your family need to know.
Creative Writing in the Homeschool
Have a gifted writer in the family? Learn from published author, Karla Akins, how to foster that gift with practical tips and creative writing ideas. She will also share the climate of publishing today, and a brief introduction to self-publishing in today’s market.
Music
Karla is a skilled pianist and singer. She has written many songs that she sings from the piano. She also has a wide repertoire of hymns and contemporary music she performs with accompaniment music. To learn more about her ministry with her husband go to EddieAkins.com.