Chicago Homeschool Expo

Homeschooling:  Getting Started Seminar

Homeschooling: Getting Started Seminar
9 AM to 4:00 PM

Dates, Times, Costs ::  Register Online

Many parents considering or just beginning to homeschool would like to have personalized help.  The Homeschooling: Getting Started Seminar is a one-day conference where homeschool parents can get individualized answers for their own personal situations from other seasoned homeschooling parents.

• Where do I begin?
• What materials and what style should I choose? There are so many!
• How can I encourage my child to learn?
• How will I fill my child’s time – will he be lonely?

The homeschool lifestyle is so much more than just ABC’s and 123′s. It includes a lifestyle that encourages learning all the time and learning together. Bringing frantic, fragmented family lives back together can seem inviting and at the same time mystifying. Not knowing what to do throws parents into a whirl of confusion and concern. Each parent is uniquely qualified to educate their own child. The Homeschooling – How To Get Started Seminar is designed with extra time and personalized attention for your unique situation. In a friendly and encouraging small group environment, top notch, enthusiastic homeschool parents share their wisdom and pass along lots of information on how you can make the best decisions for educating your own child.

Conference Schedule

9:00 AM – Beginning Homeschooling: Most Asked Questions. Randi enthusiastically helps parents learn how to get started, where to find educational materials, other activities including sports leagues for homeschool children, how to occasionally locate someone else to teach subjects such as chemistry and the value of homeschool support groups.

10:00 AM – Beginning Right: Developing a lifestyle that promotes homeschooling togetherness and a family team for success and load sharing. Homeschooling is so much more than academic subjects like Math and Science. It’s also about raising children to be responsible, honest, hardworking and helpful people. While it’s a lovely thought – having children who happily help out at home, it actually takes some effort on the parent’s part to get this to happen. Learn how to go from chaos to a family team that shares the work.

11:45 AM – Lunch: Enjoy lunch on your own.

1:00 PM – Choosing Materials Like a Pro: Something for everyone! Whether you use textbooks, workbooks, unschool, classically school or have no idea at all! You can save money and time by choosing materials wisely. Learn secrets to determine in advance whether homeschool materials and methods will work for you and your children. Avoid common pitfalls that lead to frustration. Randi demonstrates which books are easy to use and warns which to stay away from. Discussion also includes a variety of homeschool software programs, computer based curriculum, record keeping, and other programs to help students.

2:45 PM – My Homeschool Plan: From Preschool to High School and Special Needs to Gifted with Everyone In Between. Each family’s homeschool needs are unique, yet there are some common techniques that will work for all. A discussion of ways to help all types of children learn and grow and what to do if the going gets tough. Bring all your questions about your particular situation and we will do our best to answer them.

4:00 PM – Homeschooling for Excellence 101 Conference adjourns

Seminar Location

The Homeschooling: How to Get Started Seminar is held at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, located at 1551 N. Thoreau Dr, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173. Phone: 1-847-303-4100.

Click here for directions.

About the Speaker

Randi St. Denis, Director of Home Educators Encouragement Alliance (HEEA), shares personal insights and will offer valuable tools for training and teaching homeschool children. She specializes in counseling parents with difficult to teach children including special needs and gifted children. She also works with parents on preparing their children for college.

Together with her husband, Hank, she has homeschooled all of their seven children from birth. Six are now in college/university.