AFHE Annual Home Educator's Convention

Tony and I went again this year.  It was very inspiring and motivating last time, and who can't use a boost of those on a regular basis?  This year was just as good.  Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis was the keynote speaker and had workshops throughout the day.  Tony went to most of his workshops, and I attended other great ones. 

My schedule on Friday looked like this:

• Keynote:  Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World by Ken Ham
• Mother, More Than Just the Heart of Her Home by Rachael Carman
• Smart Kids Who Hate to Write by Dianne Craft
• The Angry Child-What Ticks Johnny Off by Mike Smith
• Education is Discipleship:  A Vision for Homeschooling by Brad Melton

On Saturday I attended:

• Keynote:  How Do We Measure Success in Homeschooling?  by Mike Smith
• Learning to Think Biblically by Ken Ham
• Incorporating the Charlotte Mason Method in Your Homeschool by Carol Shippy
• Missional Homeschooling by Heather Haupt and Colene Lewis
• Creating Your Family's Best Learning Environment by Carol Gary

Tony was able to attend these workshops on Friday:

• Keynote: Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World by Ken Ham
• Genesis:  Key to Rebuilding the Foundation in Family Culture by Ken Ham
• The Power of Praise with our Children by Mike Smith
• The Origin of the Races by Ken Ham

Saturday looked like this:

• Keynote: How Do We Measure Success in Homeschooling? by Mike Smith
• Learning to Think Biblically by Ken Ham
• How to Reach Today's World with the Christian Message by Ken Ham
• I'm Not Ashamed of Natural Selection:  Do Animals Change?  by Ken Ham
• Strengthening Your Marriage by Hal & Melanie Young

During the breaks we strolled the aisles in the Exhibitor Hall exploring the gazillion options available to Home Educators these days.  There are so many that I would thoroughly enjoy, but Goober Gus wouldn't even want to sit down with me to work on them, so they'd be a waste since I've already completed kindergarten!  We did buy a few things and learned about a mission that saves you money on cell phone services and then asks that you use the difference to support orphans in Tijuana.  After we verify motives and legitimacy, we'll be joining that.

We learned of a free movie that can be watched online called Divided.  It appears to be a discussion on the merits of separating youth from their family during church service.  It's something we're exploring, as the Bible does not mention age segregation.  Is it Biblical?

We bought 2 DVD's produced by home educating families, but haven't been able to watch either one yet.  One is the first of a series that uses the Indiana Jones adventurer style to teach character traits with Scriptural reference.

One thing I noticed and wondered how common it is at other state homeschool conferences is that our governor, a US congressman and state senator all showed up to address the audience of approximately 5000.  Does this happen at your homeschool convention?