The pandemic made large gatherings almost impossible for two years, but an education organization plans to re-connect people this weekend who share the goal of homeschooling their children.
The Saskatchewan Home Based Educators (SHBE) is holding its annual conference in Caronport from May 13 to 14 at Briercrest College and Seminary. The theme is “Connecting Forward” through homegrown education.
Session topics include parenting with a purpose to reach children’s hearts, a panel for moms and dads, toddler to teen years, homeschooling in high school, new to homeschooling, engaging in a learning journey, and other related sessions.
Plenary speakers include Jenn Dean, Kerby Court and MP Andrew Scheer.
Dean is a parenting coach from Regina who founded Families Matter Most, an organization that helps families thrive. Court is from Moose Jaw and is the co-founder of HumbleStrong, Inc., which helps teachers, coaches, and parents understand how to transform daily challenges into character, growth, and hope. Scheer is the MP for Regina-Qu’Appelle and will discuss how to be involved in communities.
There is still time to register, so visit shbe.ca.
Lori Dunbar, southwest director for Zone 2, which includes the school divisions of Prairie South, Holy Trinity, Sun West and Chinook, expressed excitement about meeting in person after two years.
“It’s wonderful. I think connection is incredibly important and people need to be encouraged with one another,” she said. “Even some of the panels that we’re having, like just being able to hear some different ideas from different people and be encouraged, it’s so important for mental sanity.
“As homeschooling families, we pour a lot into our families and into our communities … .”
The focus for youths is on college and careers, she explained. The goal is to help them explore career options, talk to colleges and acquire the tools to launch into adulthood by learning about issues such as finances and character.
For adults, the conference will focus on engagement and equipping parents with the tools to help their children succeed.
Normally the conference attracts 250 to 300 families from across the province, but about 200 will attend this year, said Dunbar. That’s an exciting number considering society is still moving out of the pandemic.
There are 300 to 400 families in the Prairie South School Division who homeschool their children, while the SHBE Moose Jaw chapter has 156 members on its private Facebook page, she continued.
“It’s a large community,” she remarked.
Dunbar estimated that roughly 3,000 families across the province homeschool their children. That number was about 2,000 pre-pandemic but doubled during the COVID-19 situation. Now, she is unsure how many homeschooled children have returned to school.
There are many reasons why parents choose to homeschool their children, said Dunbar. She was homeschooled for 12 years, and has chosen to homeschool her children because she enjoys the flexibility, can direct their education and be a private tutor for them, can choose the curriculum based on her children’s interests, and help them explore their gifts and abilities.
“It’s really personalized education, which is amazing if people can make it work,” she continued. “It’s really a fantastic step up in the world for the kids.”
With a laugh, Dunbar admitted plenty of work and commitment goes into homeschooling. She noted that parents make sacrifices to ensure it can work, with some staying home to teach their kids.
“A lot of famous people throughout history have been homeschooled, actually, a lot of brilliant people,” she said. “Because, they’ve been able to personalize their education and explore the areas they’re interested in. And really, the sky’s the limit (with homeschooling), so they can go as far as they want.”
If parents are considering homeschooling, Dunbar added, the conference is a good time to look into it.
