Great New Home School Event!
Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>
I thought you all might like to see this announcement which I received
from Bob and Tina Farewell of Lifetime Books and Gifts
(http://www.lifetimebooksandgifts.com) . Even if you can't attend this national
home school conference in Orlando next month, I know you'll be blessed by
reading the interview with organizers Dave and Joan Exley.
Blessings,
Virginia Knowles
http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html
--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "bobandtinaf" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 15:41:21 -0000
Subject: [Lifetime Treasures] Great New H'school Event!
Dear Friends,
Yea!! The Farewells are now heading back east! We had a
fantastic time both in California and in Arizona. How wonderful it
was to see dear friends after so many years of serving in both
states and to be met with such love and joy! We are truly blessed to
travel and to be able to do what we absolutely love to do
encouraging home educators around the country!
Thanks to many of you who brought us heavenly tasting treats!
The tiny oven in our bus burns everything, so the bread, cookies,
and muffins are a real blessing!
We have done fourteen presentations of Have Books Will Travel,
mostly Bob's Gettysburg, The Second Day performance, but several
other workshops also. It's been great fun sharing meals together,
and getting to know one another. We'll keep you up to date about
our upcoming Have Books Will Travel engagements. Our next large
conference is in Plano (near Dallas), Texas, then we head towards
the National Christian Homeschool Conference in Orlando
.then
home!
At the moment we are camping beside the beautiful Pecos River
near Glorieta, New Mexico. We are having a delightful time of
relaxation and prayer, asking God to renew our vision for our family
and for our ministry and business. We appreciate your prayers!
All summer we have handed out brochures for the National
Christian Homeschool Conference that will take place on August 28-
30, 2003, at the Orlando World Center Marriott. We have known Dave
Exley, the producer of the conference, and his lovely wife Joan for
many, many years.
Dave developed and produced the Florida Parent Educators'
Association Homeschool Convention from 1992 through 2000. Last year,
after a two-year break from managing homeschool organizations and
events, he was inspired to get back in action for the benefit of
homeschooling families.
We hope you enjoy getting to know Dave and Joan through the
following interviewand catching their vision for homeschooling
and for their conference!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TINA: Welcome, Dave, and thanks for taking the time to answer our
questions.
DAVE: Tina, I always enjoy talking with you. But first, is it okay
to include Joan in this? I am the front man, but Joan is my
important and beloved advisor. Just like homeschooling our children,
we are in this together.
TINA: That's fair! Why are you putting on this National
Christian Homeschool Conference (NCHC)?
DAVE: People are hungry for such an event. Over the last 5 or 6
years many people have approached me who wanted to see such an event
come about. After waiting a few years to take action, I believe now
the time is right.
TINA: So the idea isn't yours alone. Who were some of those
people who encouraged you to start this event?
DAVE: Instead of giving a long list of names, I will simply say
they are people I respect. Both new homeschoolers and
"old-timer" homeschool parents have been asking me to produce a new
national Christian homeschool event.
Plus, I've had that same request from many well-known
homeschool speakers who travel the nation and come in contact with
thousands of homeschool parents.
The common denominator in all the requests is the recognition
that so much of the content at many of the larger events has drifted
away from the reasons those pioneer Christian parents got involved
in homeschooling. That really got my attention and got me motivated.
JOAN: Many of our contemporaries who helped make homeschooling
legal, and who now have finished their families' homeschool days
are concerned that the vision of the so-called pioneers is in danger
of being lost. Over the years they and we have seen many church-
going Christians homeschool their children, but lose their children
to the culture anyway. Every time that happened, it was evident
those well meaning parents got diverted from the main focus in
raising their children.
DAVE: We stand firm on our belief that Jesus Christ is the way, the
truth, and the life toward which we are directing our children.
Homeschooling is the best vehicle the best tool we know
of to accomplish that goal. So our main focus is not on
homeschooling and academics those are just part of the big
picture.
Don't misquote me we do believe academic excellence is
important but most important is focusing on Christ and His
Kingdom. We view the rest as detail to raise children to become
wise adult Christians. That's the core message and purpose of
this National Christian Homeschool Conference.
TINA: What will make the NCHC different than large statewide
conventions?
DAVE: It is a focused conference, not a convention as people
commonly expect a homeschool convention to be. I will list some of
the main differences.
1. We will have some how-to presentations for parents beginning
to teach young children as well as presentations for high schoolers
and their parents. However, our major emphasis is to feed
parents' spirits and souls, not just their intellects. Most of the
how-to-homeschool information will be presented in the context of
Christian character development and development of good family
relationships that will last a lifetime. Plus, the encouragement
will be huge.
2. Most homeschool conventions have an overwhelming collection
of exhibits. NCHC will have a select group of excellent exhibitors
with plenty of enrichment materials to help parents do their best.
3. We won't promote any organization or conduct organization
business, and we won't cover local legal issues or how-to-get-
started information in detail. So much of that is now available on
the Internet and in local support groups or is a function of state
conventions.
4. This will be a more like an activities-filled retreat than
attending a large state convention, which can be exhausting.
TINA: Tell me more about what you mean by "activities-filled
retreat"?
DAVE: We want to provide a time and a place for Christian parents
to retreat from their daily cares and focus on their God-given roles
as parents.
The "retreat" part is the program we are providing for
the children who attend plus the Marriott recreation facilities
available to the whole family. The swimming pool is unbeatable, and
there are golf, tennis, beautiful gardens all around, places for
quiet conversations, wonderful dining, etc.
JOAN: Also, my husband Dave has long had a burden to help turn the
hearts of the fathers to the children, therefore, admission to our
convention is structured to encourage fathers to attend you pay
for one parent, but there is no extra charge for the other
parent's admission!
Turning the hearts of fathers to their children is so
important, and only by turning away from the world's ways and
renewing our minds in Christ will fathers turn their hearts to the
children.
TINA: I love the idea that you are not charging for a second
parent! That is fabulous and shows your heart!
DAVE: Over the years, many homeschoolers stayed off premises the
first few years they attended our resort-based homeschool events.
But they tell us that when they began to stay at the host hotel
their conference experience became significantly better for the
whole family. Since we know that, we have secured a great price for
Marriott hotel rooms and have structured this event to encourage
families to stay at the Marriott. We want families to have the best
chance to experience a refreshing and life enhancing retreat so they
can go home with a "WOW!" feeling.
TINA: I agree. It really does help to stay at the same hotel. I
also think it is extremely beneficial to schedule an extra day to
think and pray about everything that you have learned before getting
right back into the routine of daily living. There is so much to
process at a conference like this!
JOAN: We hope that parents' enjoyment of a few days in a
pampering atmosphere refreshes their bodies as well as their souls.
Children are welcome. Wonderful activities are available for the
children, but the Conference is first and foremost for parents.
Most important, it will be intimate and Christ-centered. The
NCHC will not be as large as many state conventions are. The
speakers and exhibitors will be focusing on the heart of the
matter: "Why do we do this?"
Unless we are homeschooling to raise disciples for the Kingdom
of Christ, rooted and grounded in His truths, we might as well not
start. That was why we got involved in this in the first place.
Though many homeschoolers say that is why they are homeschooling,
many do not look any different than the schools they just have
extremely small student/teacher ratios. We want to counteract
that.
TINA: That's a wonderful concept, Joan! I heard something about
hosting Fireside Chats at the conference. What do they entail?
DAVE: Working around the edges of our presentations schedule, some
of our speakers, including your husband Bob, will each have about 60
minutes in a smaller meeting room for an informal question and
answer session on specific topics. For instance, Bob's topic will
be "Ideas and Q & A About How to Be a Great Homeschool
Father."
We first hosted a fireside chat in 1992 at the Florida Parent
Educators Association Conference with John Taylor Gatto and all who
attended were richly blessed.
TINA: Homeschoolers always like to peruse the exhibit halls and
find some of their best information and help there. The expertise
and encouragement of veteran homeschooling parents who are authors,
speakers, and exhibitors is invaluable! Can you share some of the
folks who will be in your Enrichment Exhibits Hall?
DAVE: Of course, you and Bob and your children will be there with
Lifetime Books and Gifts, displaying all your wonderful books and
ministering to families.
In addition, there will be specialists in many areas, such as
Rob Shearer of Greenleaf Press for history, Josh and Cindy Wiggers
of Geography Matters for geography, David Quine of Cornerstone
Curriculum Project for math, worldview, and science, and Jay Wile of
Apologia Science for high school science.
They are there to help parents fine-tune their homeschooling in
specific courses of study. Some exhibitors, like Valerie Bendt,
author of a number of activity guides like MAKING BOOKS WITH
CHILDREN, will demonstrate activities parents can do with their
children when they return home. The complete list of exhibitors can
be viewed at our web site http://www.ChristianHomeschoolConference.com
One of a homeschool parent's hardest jobs is selecting
teaching materials that will be best for a particular child. We have
not included full courses of study in the exhibit hall because they
are widely available elsewhere and because new homeschoolers very
easily get swept away with the idea of finding a single curriculum
to take care of their child's complete education. Often this
excludes a host of excellent teaching and enrichment materials and
specialty courses.
You will notice that compared to most homeschool convention
exhibit halls, we'll have a high percentage of math and science
exhibits because those are areas of study that most parents are
apprehensive about teaching.
TINA: In an earlier conversation you mentioned you wanted to have
strong representation of creation science.
DAVE: Yes. We believe Christian parents need to have a better
understanding of the creation science model. Most parents never
studied science from the creation perspective in school. We live in
a world where many people are hard at work to trivialize the Bible,
and one of their best tools is evolution theory falsely presented as
evolution fact.
Christians need to learn about creation science theories
compared to evolution science theories to stand against the
avalanche of statements and ridicule that cause doubt and undermine
faith. We will have a variety of creation science exhibits.
The Allosaur skull, just unearthed in Colorado by Creation
Expeditions and Vision Forum, will be on display with other fossils.
Ocean-focused creation sciences will be represented. A portable
planetarium that seats 70 people will be giving shows for attendees,
pointing out the marvels of God's universe from a creation
perspective.
Plus, one of the programs for children and parents together
will be Catie Frates' creation science workshop. She is turbo-
charged, kids and parents love her, and the content is rich and
thought provoking.
Also Bill Clifton, a very credible scientist who for 7 years
was head of Sea World of Orlando's Education Department, will
have an exhibit and give a presentation to parents and
children: "Creation Science and the Oceans."
TINA: Wow! How exciting!!! I can't wait for our family to
experience all this! Do you have anything else planned for children?
JOAN: Oh, yes! (But if you mean a daycare program, the answer is
no.) Historian Little Bear Wheeler of Mantle Ministries will give
numerous presentations for children, teens, and adults.
God is creative and because we are made in His image, we want
to encourage creativity in our children. The masterful Theo
Williams of Mimeistry will perform and teach children and parents
about mime and its application for Christian ministry. Last year,
world-famous mime Marcel Marceau worked with Theo and stated
"Theo is the future of mime." Theo will also conduct several mime
workshops.
Sharon Jeffus of Visual Manna will offer six different 3-hour
art workshops (three for children 4-8 and three for children 9 thru
adult).
Plus, we will have some wonderful and inspiring musicians and
singers. Music and the other arts are some of the best ways to
plant scripture in memory and share the Gospel message.
TINA: Yes, and I'm amazed at the number of Christian homeschool
graduates who are now penetrating our postmodern culture!
TINA: Do you have a list of speakers and their topics or schedules
available yet?
JOAN: Tina, the outline is posted on our website, and the synopsis
of each presentation will be linked to the outline over the next
several days.
TINA: Tell us about your children.
JOAN: We homeschooled our three sons through high school. Our
oldest, Dan, graduated from Wheaton College (Illinois) 2 years ago
and he and his bride, Rachel, recently celebrated their second
wedding anniversary. Dan is a computer analyst at a large hospital
in Chicago and Rachel just finished her nursing degree at Loyola
Univ. in Chicago.
Our other two sons, James and Eric, followed in Dan's
footsteps and right after our Conference they begin their junior
year at Wheaton College.
TINA: Since you have completed your parental homeschooling career,
what would you say has been most satisfying for you?
JOAN: Dave and I agree that our present situation is our greatest
reward. All three of our sons are very close to the Lord and our
whole family has a very warm and close relationship. That is the
greatest joy and blessing to us.
TINA: What is your educational philosophy? Do you have any
particular ideas you are encouraging?
DAVE: Wow! A short answer won't take care of both of those
questions. Our education philosophy is tightly bundled with our
Christian walk. We believe God has entrusted us with each of our
children. What a heavy responsibility! We have been given the task
of preparing each child to be a responsible, self-disciplined, wise
Christian adult who can be a good neighbor, good spouse, good
parent, and good witness for Jesus Christ.
All the details of how to do that are driven by those overall
goals--details like making sure each child is academically prepared
for a lifetime of learning, helping the child have a teachable
spirit, and instilling in the child a desire and willingness to work
for worthy goals, all the while teaching the child to have faith in
our Creator and nurturing a desire to follow our Lord, Jesus
Christ.
JOAN: Simply put: Train up a child in the way he should go. For
us, that means that everything we do is approached through the grid
of Holy Scripture. That does not mean we succeed all the time, but
it certainly means that is always our goal.
This method is not found in a text book, but is caught through
the encouragement and teaching of fellow Christians who have the
same goaland, of course, some teaching and encouragement is
gleaned only in the prayer closet.
DAVE: We think homeschooling should be a whole family-whole life
experience. That doesn't necessarily mean we do everything
together. Dad has to earn a living; older children have activities
that younger children aren't ready for; each child needs
individual teaching time from parents, plus lots of time to explore
and think on his own; Mom and Dad need to have some time alone as
couple to keep their marriage strong.
After that, when there is common time to spend together there
should be maximum opportunity to do so. We believe a family should
be involved together in church and community service, but we
encourage parents to reserve parts of every week for private family
time.
We are strong proponents of minimal TV time. Even if the whole
family watches together, that is like being alone in a crowd.
Sharing living books and memory-making experiences is a much better
use of a family's time!
We believe children should be involved in work, service, and
study. They should be contributing members of the family, as they
are able to help. That prepares them for responsible adulthood and
gives them a realistic sense of self worth.
As for academics, we believe each child should be encouraged
and given the opportunity to learn as much as possible. We think it
is good to have high standards for achievement so that the child
will not be denied access to future opportunities for learning and
career, simply because we failed to prepare them for the next step,
whatever that may be.
At the same time (and this is a tough one), we have always felt
the need to be sensitive to know each child's needs, limitations,
and special set of God-given talents and abilities.
All the above are important parts of a first-class education.
We should always remember we are raising a child of God, not just a
worker bee.
TINA: What are your dreams for this conference?
JOAN: Our dream is that all the speakers, all the exhibitors, and
all the parents and children who attend will receive a double
portion of a refreshing touch from our heavenly Father, so that they
can return home happy to face the tasks before them and full of
encouragement that will overflow into their areas of ministry beyond
their own families.
This conference will satisfy Christian homeschoolers' desire
to gather together with like-minded brethren for refreshment and
strengthening of purpose.
TINA: Wow, Dave and Joan!! This is all so exciting! Bob and I have
long respected the excellence of the previous conventions you have
produced.
We look forward to joining you at National Christian Homeschool
Conference in Orlando on Labor Day weekend, August 28-30, 2003.
We've shared the news about it this spring and summer as we
traveled from convention to convention and we hope that folks from
all over the country will come!
For more details, please visit
http://www.ChristianHomeschoolConference.com .
If you don't have web access, contact Dave and Joan at
(321) 951-2612 or [email protected] , but we
suggest telephone and email only for questions the website
doesn't answer.
DAVE: And thank you, Tina, for all the encouragement you have given
Joan and me over the years!
TINA: We look forward to seeing you in Orlando!
God bless you and yours!
In Him,
Tina Farewell
http://www.lifetimebooksandgifts.com
This interview with Dave and Joan Exley about the upcoming National
Christian Homeschool Conference was conducted by Tina Farewell of
Lifetime Books and Gifts. Please feel free to share it in its
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