- Learn how to start homeschooling: Free how-to-begin-homeschooling workshops will be held on Thursday, and parents of preschoolers who are first-time convention participants may attend the convention for FREE!
- Be equipped to affect the culture for Christ with Focus on the Family’s The Truth Project: This special three-hour training session at the convention will equip you to live out a Christian worldview in everyday life.
- Be inspired by nationally known speakers: Come hear Michael Farris, chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association; Ken Ham, president/CEO and founder of Answers in Genesis-U.S.; Dr. S.M. Davis; Cynthia Tobias; and many others. Learn about the legal threat to parental rights, and about why so many youth are abandoning the faith.
- Find used curriculum at bargain prices: The Used Curriculum Sale offers thousands of pre-owned educational resources at discount prices, with opportunities to buy and sell.
- Save on shipping: Get the resources you need from the Exhibit Hall where you’ll find more than 310 booths of every type of curriculum and educational resource imaginable, from textbooks to unit studies to educational games to science experiments!
- Obtain the information you need from more than 125 workshops: Topics include education, homeschooling, business, childrearing, time and home management, parenting, and more.
- Change the life of your family: Be inspired not only in homeschooling, but also in your marriage, in parenting, in networking, in your business or work, and in your spiritual life. Get a vision of life done in a way that honors God, prioritizes family, and prepares children for their future.
- If you have children registered for the Children’s Program, be sure to fill out the Children’s Program Information Sheet and the Consent Form. Note: If you did not pre-register for the Children’s Program, please note that the program is full on Friday. Limited space MAY be available for Saturday; please inquire in the registration area at the convention. Children are welcome to browse the Exhibit Hall and UCS with you, but only registered children 10 and older and infants are allowed in workshops.
- Print Maps and Directions.
- Bring your Box Tops and Used Printer Cartridges to turn in when you come.
- Input any material you want to sell at the Used Curriculum Sale before the barcode system closes on Wednesday, June 9, at 4 p.m.
- Remember to pack a sweater and a blanket for baby as the Convention Center can get cold.
- Print speaker handouts for any sessions you plan to attend.
Top Seven Reasons to Attend the Virginia Homeschool Convention
June 10-12, 2010, Greater Richmond Convention Center, Richmond, Virginia
The Virginia Homeschool Convention, presented by the Home Educators Association of Virginia, is one of the largest homeschool conventions in the nation. Come and be challenged, encouraged, inspired, and equipped to make a lasting difference in your family. Don’t miss out! See www.heav.org/convention for details.
Blog @ June 8, 2010 | Convention | Comments (0)
For Convention Attendees…
For those of you who like lists, here’s a list of things you may want to do before convention. Of course, you may just want to get in your car and come–and that’s okay too!
Remember, you can view convention information, including workshops and exhibitors, and preview the program at www.heav.org/convention!
Articles to Help You Prepare for the Convention
Making the Most of Convention
Navigating the Used Curriculum Route
Homeschool Conferences: To Attend or Not to Attend, That Is the Question
Katherine Loop @ June 7, 2010 | Convention | Comments (0)
Help Protect Homeschooling in Sweden
This letter recently went out to state homeschool leaders. Please take a moment to read it and to sign a petition saying you support preserving home education in Sweden.
Hi all,
Please forward this link to the petition page of the Swedish HS association. The petition page is in English.
The Swedish parliament is supposed to vote about this bill on 21 and 22 June, 2010. A YES to this bill will not only mean the virtual abolishment of homeschooling in Sweden (the law will essentially become German), but also an end to the freedom of education for private schools.
A million of NO’s from all of us over the world is now necessary!
http://rohus.nu/en/?English_information:Petition
Kind regards,
Peter van Zuidam
Blog @ June 7, 2010 | International Homeschooling | Comments (0)
Take Time to Eat
Have you ever gotten so busy you’ve forgotten to eat until you are feeling faint and sick from hunger? Though we might forget to eat at times, we all need “refueling.”
As homeschool parents we need “refueling,” too. We need time to take a step back and reflect on what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, and then, with the Lord’s help, time to plan a “tasty menu” for the upcoming year.
The convention offers the perfect opportunity to refuel, recharge, and do some creative “menu” planning! There’s vision, encouragement, instruction, and resources — food for your heart as well as your mind.
Life is busy, and there are many circumstances and needs that claim our time. I hope you’ll take time to come to the convention and be renewed and refreshed. You and your family will be glad that you did!
Also, consider helping to “refuel” others by volunteering a few hours while you’re at the convention. There’s nothing like blessing others to encourage our own hearts.
Find more details about the convention at www.heav.org/convention.
With warm regards,
Anne Miller
HEAV President
annemiller @ June 4, 2010 | Convention | Comments (0)
Caution: Public School at Home Programs to Recruit Homeschoolers
Reprinted from HSLDA (www.hslda.org/hs/state/va/201005200.asp)
The governor’s recent signature on SB 738, giving state approval for “virtual school programs,” guarantees that public-school-at-home programs, under various names in different places, will soon ramp up their efforts to recruit homeschoolers.
Participation in these programs—full time or part time—will immediately turn your child into a public school student. Newly enacted Virginia Code § 22.1-212.27.A says, “Any student enrolled in any online course or virtual program offered by a local school division shall be enrolled in a public school….”
This means your child will be required to take the Virginia SOL tests. It means the program’s teachers cannot teach your child about God. It means that the free books they require you to use must not teach about God.
You will be told that the curriculum is wonderful. But pause to think a moment: They are offering the exact same curriculum to thousands of students. One curriculum can’t possibly be best for all of them!
Of course, they will tell you that you can “supplement.” But the demands of the mandatory curriculum may swallow up the time and energy of many a well-intentioned parent who told himself he would supplement.
In other states, public-school-at-home programs have hired recruiters who are well known local homeschool moms. The person who soon tries to talk you into giving up your freedom and joining one of these programs may actually be your best friend.
HSLDA membership services are not available with respect to a child enrolled full-time in a public-school-at-home program.
Homeschool students across the country are achieving outstanding academic results partly because their parents can educate them without public school restrictions and red tape. Your freedom to pick the right curriculum—and change it as necessary—is a key in helping your child do his best. Homeschool parents personally keep educational responsibility—rather than delegating it to a public school program—and the kids are the winners.
And if you want your child to grow up understanding the truth about God, one of the very best things you can do is make sure that your curriculum teaches your child the same truths that you are teaching.
Yvonne Bunn @ June 3, 2010 | General | Comments (0)
Prayer Request for Sono Harris
This letter was recently shared on a homeschool state leaders’ group; we are reprinting it here with permission so you can pray–and give if you feel so led.
“If one member suffers, all members suffer together; if one member is honored all rejoice together.” ~1 Corinthians 12:26
Dear State Leaders,
Many of you are aware of the ministry over the years of Gregg & Sono Harris. Gregg has been a long-time Christian homeschool advocate, speaker, and pastor and has been very instrumental in the Christian homeschool movement. In fact, Gregg’s ministry helped launch many of our state homeschool organizations.
Sono was recently diagnosed with stage IV inoperable cancer. She has been an inspirational presence to many with her energetic, bright spirit and dedication to her family and others. May we, who love this family, now be mirrors and reflect back on Sono the strength of character, tenderness, and courage which she has so brightly shone upon others.
The family is facing many additional expenses that we can share. Curt & Jenny Bumcrot (long-time friends of the Harris family) have set up an account at West Coast Bank to help offset the additional expenses the family is facing. A gift to the Harris family can be made at any West Coast Bank branch in Oregon and Washington. The account number is 1141007201 under Sono Sato Harris. If you don’t live in Washington or Oregon, you can send cards and gifts directly to the Harris address:
Sono Harris and family
6920 S. E. Hogan Road
Gresham, OR 97080
This is not a tax-deductible contribution, but rather a gift of love to a family who has done so much for the Christian homeschool community in America. Because they are gifts to the family, the Harris family will not incur an additional tax liability. 100% of the gift will go to helping them financially through this crisis.
Of course, the most important gift we can give Sono and her family is the gift of prayer. Please pray for her healing. Her hope is in the Lord. She is also following a strict dietary regimen that has helped other cancer patients in the past. Please pray for the pain to be relieved. She has had some very bad days lately struggling with pain. And pray for the family as they work to support Sono.
Dick & Dorothy Karman
The Oregon Christian Home Education Association Network
Blog @ June 3, 2010 | General | Comments (0)