Among parents raising children in today’s culture, it is hard to believe that words penned by Charles Dickens in 1859 could ring so true:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Unfortunately, with the worst times come foolishness, incredulity, darkness, and despair in our news, neighborhoods, and schools; parents more than ever need the best times  wisdom, belief, light, and hope!

Illinois Christian Home Educators (ICHE) Family Conference, May 19 – 22 at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, is such a beacon of light and hope for today’s families!

This year’s theme, Stand Grounded in Christ, promises to provide the focus Christian parents and grandparents need to challenge their thinking and equip them with Biblical truths to direct the children and young people entrusted to their care “in the way they should go.” Centered on Eph 6:14, at the heart of this theme is the fact that,

“We can stand grounded because our faith is not rooted in the sinking sands of man’s vain philosophies but is built on the solid foundation of God’s character and word that never changes.”

And the conference is so much more than a place to pick up a few tips and supplies for homeschooling. It is

“a God-ordained time to pull away from the everyday cares of  homeschooling life and be energized with visionary teaching, refreshing fellowship, Biblically-based resources, and Christian joy.

It is a time for your children to meet other like-minded homeschoolers, so they can understand there is a growing army that God is preparing.”

Workshops:

At the heart of the conference are the keynote and workshop speakers–men and women from all walks of life who have a specific voice relevant to the needs of today’s homeschooling and Christian families. Sessions on the agenda include:

• Living on Borrowed Time: The Nine Practices of The Proactive Parent
• Culture Proof: How to Grow the Resistance
• How to Homeschool High School (Key: It’s an Education, Not a Rat Race)
• The A to Z of a Character-Healthy Homeschool
• Identifying and Correcting Blocked Learning Gates

It is easy to see there is something for everyone whether new to the concept of homeschooling or a seasoned homeschool family.

Exhibit Hall:

In addition to the plethora of workshops to attend, one of the attractive features is the Exhibit Hall. Filled with everything from curriculum and educational games to homeschooling t-shirts and bumper stickers, upon entering the hall, one is likely to feel they just stepped into an Amazon warehouse! It’s a great chance to get your hands on materials, flip through pages, explore what is and isn’t included so whether you purchase then and there or order it in the future, you will know exactly what you are getting.

Fellowship:

Whether meeting up with friends or making new ones, this is the place to find the type of like-minded support many homeschoolers are seeking. What’s more, with the opportunity to affordably stay right on campus, newly formed or established bonds can be enhanced by attending the evening events.

Extras:

Included with the reasonable registration costs are:

• Planetarium shows
• Swimming
• Rock climbing
• Up to 4 non-homeschooling grandparents OR up to 3 non-homeschooling pastors and their spouses may attend with primary registrant – FREE!

Tips from previous attendees:

• Be prepared to walk between campus buildings
• Dress for the weather
• Facility provides easy access for strollers
• Event is definitely kid-friendly – Check out these activities!
• Musical performances in lobby

The best recommendation for any event are the satisfied words of those who have attended in the past:

If you’ve only been to the ICHE conference once and came away feeling overwhelmed, know that a repeat attendance at the conference is a much different experience. Contributing to this is the fact that not everything is shoved into one building providing the incentive to walk outside between classes. Because of this, there is a more campus-like feel and this literal outdoor space provides for head space, too! The speakers I listened to left me not feeling overwhelmed or pressured, but inspired.”  ~Sara Williamson (homeschooling mother of 3)

“The ICHE conference ministers to me as a wife and mother. Not only does it reinforce the goals my husband and I have for our family, it casts a vision for the days ahead. It leaves me feeling energized and encouraged and renews the reasons that we do homeschool. Most importantly, at the end of a homeschooling year, it allows me to look ahead to the next school year feeling prepared! I will definitely be returning and bringing my friends!”  ~Allison Earl (homeschooling mother of 4)

Written by Diane O’Burns

Illinois parents, along with millions of other parents across the nation, were tossed into an at-home learning environment this past spring that the public school coined “Homeschooling.” The public schools were ill-equipped for this change-over, despite years of “e-learning days” when public school children learned how to use the software during snow days and other days off.

During this time of COVID-19 homeschooling, many parents reconnected with their children, enjoyed the time spent with them, and heeded the words of Bible teacher Dr. Tony Evans: “Don’t waste the Covid.”

This parent-child reconnect helped foster additional learning opportunities when parents realized that they really are the best teachers for their children. Many parents actually threw the public school busy work paper packets into the trash and began teaching their children themselves.

As a veteran homeschool mom, I was keenly aware of the number of parents entering into homeschool groups asking questions about how to supplement the busy work and get on to some real teaching. These parents lamented the long ZOOM meetings, sometimes 4-5 per day, plus all the busy work in addition to the crying, bored, and bleary-eyed children who stared at screens for way too long each day. These parents reached out for help and found a loving homeschooling community waiting to accept them.

Special online communities were created for these COVID-19 homeschoolers to encourage them in the middle of a pandemic. The Illinois Christian Home Educators (ICHE) started a special Facebook group called Homeschoolers Encouraging Loving Parents (H.E.L.P.), whose mission is to provide “help for those suddenly schooling at home.” In addition, there is a Facebook page called Illinois Homeschooling, seeking to remind parents that “there is nothing better than networking when you homeschool.”

Becoming part of these communities as well as getting involved in local homeschool support groups has helped parents make the decision to leave the public school system for home education. These parents were encouraged to send letters of withdrawal to their child’s school informing them that the child was transferring to a private school. No more information is required.

School Administrators Intimidate Parents

In Illinois, homeschools are legal private schools. Some parents who thought they were on a solid footing with their friendly local public school decided to go in person to the school office instead of sending their letter to withdraw by mail as is recommended. Some of these parents were completely shocked and caught off guard by the hostile environment they found themselves in. For the first time in their lives, they were making educational decisions for their children, and government school administrators were not pleased with this newfound parental right.

Parents were told in some cases that the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) could become involved if they began homeschooling. They were told that truant/resource officers could come to their home at any time to make sure the children were being properly educated. Parents were told that by law they had to register their child with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), which is not accurate. In 2011, a homeschool registration bill SB136 was tabled after more than 4,000 Illinois homeschoolers gathered at the state capitol in Springfield to show their disapproval of this bill. Illinois homeschoolers do not register with the ISBE, the local school, or the Regional Office of Education (ROE).

Some Illinois parents were told they had to bring in their 2020-2021 school year curriculum (books, workbooks, teaching materials, videos etc.) and show complete lesson plans for the entire school year and that these all had to be approved by the school district. School district teachers are not even required to complete an entire school year of lesson plans at one time.

Others were told that all Individualized Educational Plans (IEP) services would be denied if they chose to homeschool their special needs children. Again, this is not accurate information. According to the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), students with special needs may be eligible for services, and “homeschool students with disabilities have a right to enroll part-time in the public school in the district where they reside.”

During a Taylorville school district board meeting, superintendent Dr. Chris Dougherty, PhD, said this regarding the choice to homeschool:

We’re more than willing to work with families who make that decision, then realize they are in over their heads because we are the educational experts. The ROE said really, once they start the year in that status, we can honor it and they can be a homeschool student the entire year. But because of the pandemic and because we run education for the community we will absolutely review them case by case and get kids where they need to be and support to the families (heard on taylorvilledailynews.com).

Here, parents were told that they did not have the educational background and expertise required to homeschool their children. This is coming from a school district in which in 2019, only 35 percent of students met state standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and only 29 percent of the district’s students were meeting the state standards in math. If those numbers are not enough to scare you, then maybe the fact that in 2017 (the most recent year listed), 57.4 percent of the Taylorville High School graduates required remediation in college. That 57.4 percent only includes students that actually went on to attend community college and not the total number of graduates that year.

Think about the 57.4 percent that needed remediation in basic course materials. These students had been in school for 12+ years, and some as many as 15 years when you include kindergarten, preschool or Head Start. Over 57 percent were ineligible to enroll in college level courses such as basic composition or a college-level math course. The Illinois state average is only 44.2 percent of students needing remedial college course work. It would be fair to say that with those low numbers, parents would be wise to homeschool their children and get them as far away from the “educational experts” (as Dougherty calls them) in the Taylorville school district as possible. (Statistics come from illinoisreportcard.com)

This month, the Taylorville CUSD #3 Facebook page, as well as a letter sent to parents, reads,

Homeschooling requires parents to withdraw from school, complete the state form, and inform the school district and Regional Office of Education of homeschooling.*

The Taylorville school district has been known as unfriendly to homeschoolers for many years. In addition to the above statement from the Taylorville superintendent, parents have been told that if they choose to homeschool their child, the child may never be allowed to return to the public school. They have also been told that high school credits earned in homeschool will not count toward graduation if the child returns to public school in high school. The comments to parents differ between superintendent and principals as to whether or not children are allowed back into school after attending homeschool.

Even in past years, principals and superintendents in Taylorville have threatened to sic the DCFS on parents inquiring about homeschooling or turning in letters to withdraw their child to homeschool, and they have sent parents to the Christian County Courthouse to fill out “mandatory paperwork to protect against truancy claims.”

Imagine how intimidating that was to that mom who only wanted to make an informed educational decision for her children. She went to the school office that was normally friendly and helpful and was told that she had to go to the courthouse to fill out paperwork to homeschool. She then goes timidly to the courthouse and is put in a room with a supposed truant officer (she never did find out who the man in uniform was that made her fill out papers to be allowed to homeschool). I have seen copies of the papers that she was required to fill out, and they are the homeschool registration form from the ISBE website. This registration paper is not required to be filled out in Illinois to homeschool. It is voluntary, not required, and can be detrimental to homeschoolers.

These lies and others create unnecessary difficulties for parents seeking to homeschool their children in the upcoming school year.

This is Part 1 of an extended article about parents seeking to homeschool their children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diane O’Burns is a veteran homeschool mother from Illinois.

Please consider a gift to the Illinois Family Institute.
As always, your gift to IFI is tax-deductible and greatly appreciated!

Click HERE to learn about supporting IFI on a monthly basis.

One of the unfortunate side effects of the corona virus pandemic has been the cancellation of numerous conferences and other events. With the benefits of technology, many of those events have been able to take place online. The full experience may not be the same, but at least we don’t have to miss out completely!

One such event my wife and I were planning to attend this year was the annual Family Conference hosted by Illinois Christian Home Educators. Aside from fond personal memories—the two of us met each other for the first time at the conference ten years ago—it’s a great opportunity to hear solid teaching, interact with other Christian families, and peruse curriculum and other resources.

This year, the ICHE board of directors made the decision to host the conference virtually. It may not be the same as the in-person event so many families have come to love, but it certainly has its advantages: no commute, no food or lodging expenses, and—thanks to the generosity of ICHE—no registration fee! (Registration is still required, but the cost is waived.)

The conference is much more than just a homeschool event. As Kirk Smith, Executive Director of ICHE shared with me, it’s “a marriage conference, family conference, parenting conference, biblical worldview conference, economic conference, spiritual renewal conference all rolled up into one.”

A review of the event website (check it out for yourself here) reveals a broad lineup of speakers and subjects. Topics range from the practical, to the inspirational, to the philosophical. Here’s a smattering of the presentations you can enjoy:

• Thoroughly Christian Education (Voddie Baucham)

• Time and Home Management: Managing Life and Home While Homeschooling (Nancy Bjorkman)

• When Motherhood Feels Too Hard (Kelly Crawford)

• Homeschool High School with Confidence (Cheri Frame)

• One Race, One Blood (Ken Ham)

• How to Spot Fake News (Carl Kerby)

• Homeschooling 101 (Jeff Lewis)

• Three Things Every Young Christian Artist Must Know (Dan Lietha)

• The 5 Flavors of Homeschooling (Sonya Shafer)

• Preparing Our Children to Navigate the LGBTQ Movement in Truth and Love (Elizabeth Urbanowicz)

• Motivating the Reluctant Learner (Krisa Winn)

• And many, many more!

With schools closed down for the past couple of months, many moms and dads have become unexpected homeschoolers. If that describes you, and if you’re considering homeschooling long term (I highly recommend it!), this event could be a great way to learn more about how homeschooling works in a more traditional context. Of course, as Kirk Smith points out, “There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach with homeschooling. At the ICHE conference, you will be able to hear a variety of approaches and be able to tailor your school experience for what best fits your values and priorities as a family.”

The ICHE Family Conference will be taking place May 28-31. It will be hosted using the event app Whova, and you’ll have access to the conference sessions via Whova for a full year afterward.

There are at least three groups of people who should consider registering for this conference:

• Homeschooling moms and dads who were planning to attend the regular, in-person event

• Parents who have considered attending the event in the past but were unable to do so because of distance, budget, childcare, etc.

• Anyone interested in learning more about homeschooling (parents, grandparents, pastors, etc.)

Homeschooling is really an extension of parenting. It’s the opportunity to teach and disciple our children with a degree of intention unmatched by other options. As Kirk Smith pointed out, “So many dads and moms want to do parenting right, they just lack examples and resources. The conference will give them both.”

So if you want to be a better homeschooler—or a better parent—be sure to check out the ICHE Family Conference! Check it out HERE.

We take very seriously the trust you place in Illinois Family Institute when you send a gift.
We understand that we are accountable before you and God to honor your trust. 

IFI is supported by voluntary donations from good people like you.