Workshops

Rosie Boom

Well known inspirational speaker and author Rosie Boom has a wealth of wisdom and experience in home-education and raising godly children, with her own six adult children all successfully carrying the fruit of the seeds she has sown in them. Come soak in all the warmth, humour, love and life lessons Rosie has to offer. Be prepared to be blessed and encouraged in your home-schooling journey.

Rosie is a Christian author, living on a small homestead in New Zealand with Chris, her husband of 35 years. They have six adult children, whom were home-schooled for 23 years, and currently three beautiful grandchildren, with more to come! Her passion is to encourage and inspire others through songwriting and singing, public speaking and writing. She’s the author of 12 books—family read-aloud books, children’s picture books, devotionals, and parenting books.

www.rosieboom.com

Workshop 1 : Teaching kids to love the Word: Bible Study in the Homeschool

Making Scripture memorisation and devotions engaging for children; using the bible as a foundation for character training and academics.

Workshop 2 : Cultivating a joyful home: The atmosphere of Christ-Centred parenting

How the mother’s heart sets the tone for the home. Encouragement for weary mums to lead with joy and peace.

Jenny Waldron

Jenny (Waikato Tainui) and her husband, David, live in Christchurch, where David recently retired from full-time ministry. Jenny and David homeschooled their seven children and enjoy seeing them flourish in adulthood. Jenny is now a qualified counsellor and works in private practice as well as an educator for Vision College’s counselling degree programme. She is on the Executive Board for the NZ Christian Counsellors Association. In her spare time, she walks their dog, paints, draws, writes, speaks, and follows where her ADHD takes her.

Workshop : Help! How do I help?

As Christians we become hard-wired by God to love our neighbour. We desire to sincerely help those who are struggling, and yet we sometimes feel at a loss as to what to do, how to do it, and wonder if it is effective. This workshop will delve into different scenarios that may require different types of help and some ways of helping that are universal to all types of affliction and suffering. We will also explore helping the helpers from becoming overburdened and stressed.

Lilly Minnich

Lilly is a passionate career and leadership coach with a heart for helping individuals discover their unique strengths and calling. With a background in management, business, and coaching, she has guided hundreds of clients in Germany and New Zealand toward fulfilling career paths that align with their personality and purpose. Holding a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Management, Lilly combines professional insight with deep empathy — whether in career coaching, leadership support, or homeschooling her own teens. Based in Ruby Bay, Tasman, she enjoys beach walks, time with family, good conversations with friends, music and church activities.

Workshop : Becoming your Teen’s Career Encourager

As parents, we’re called to nurture the gifts God has placed in our children — and that includes guiding them as they discover their purpose and path. In today’s world of endless choices and rising pressure, many teens feel unsure about their future. That’s where your encouragement and God-given wisdom can make all the difference.

In this heart-centered seminar, I will invite you to explore how you can support your teen with grace, clarity, and confidence. You’ll learn how to recognise the unique strengths and personalities God has woven into them, understand key factors that influence career choices, and discover how faith and practical tools can work hand in hand to lead your teen toward a fulfilling future.

Through reflection, real stories, and hands-on activities, you’ll walk away better equipped to encourage your child in both faith and action — helping them grow into the person God created them to be.

Gwenda Smithies

As the homeschooling Mother of twelve children, and more than 25 years of non-stop nappies (true) and teaching, Gwenda Smithies knows what it’s like to be stretched as flat as a flounder and utterly dependent on the grace of God to make it through the day with optimism and sanity still intact!  Her greatest joys are her friendship with the God of the universe, seeing her adult children all walking with Him, evangelism, and encouraging mothers as they serve the Lord by loving those around them. In recent years she has also been enjoying the fun of writing their family story and experimenting with homesteading.

Workshop : More Hours In My Day

Ideas for more effective ways of doing things in order to free up time. These are things I wish I had known when I started out with six children aged 6 years and under (and more to come!) I will also be sharing how to eliminate some common energy (and joy) stealers and how I eventually discovered that a peaceful heart is possible no matter what the day brings – even when your hopes for the day are completely unravelled!

Lennie Harrison

 I have four children, now 40, 36, 26 and 19 years old. They were homeschooled right through pre-, primary- and secondary schools. My 8 grandchildren are being homeschooled. I help a little bit with the schooling of my grandchildren, which is very exciting and an amazing blessing 😊. My approach started with ‘schooling at home’ for the first two years, when I suddenly realised I needed to change my whole idea of what education is and what it should look like.

Charlotte Mason gave me some really useful ideas, and because I’m not a particularly organised person (definitely somewhat hap-hazard) I used a large chunk of unschooling/teachable moment/relaxed approach. But at the same time I did (and still do) believe in discipline, (some) routine, character training, tools of learning, etc.

‘Dead Boring’ was my local homeschooling support group – that group is still going now (it was started as a writing group in 1996 by Jenny Barkley). I’ve served for many years by being part of Canterbury Home Educators, based in Christchurch, as Ministry of Education liaison and information evening helper. I have delivered a good amount of workshops in the early 2000’s (most often the ‘Beginner’s Guide to Home Education’) and helped a good amount of homeschoolers prepare for their ERO review (and sometimes a second review after they were ‘declined’).

Workshop : Building a Christian Worldview In Homeschooling/ Free-play

I see it as really important to cultivate a Christian worldview in our children. It acts as a solid foundation for their walk through this life. I believe it’s what they’ll need most when they start their adult lives in this raging world, and, these days, often when they’re a lot younger.

We’ll discuss various worldviews, what the general Christian worldview looks like in a practical sense, what to aim for as it pertains to the education of your children (and yourself). I’m hoping for an interactive workshop where we can all contribute, help and encourage one another. I’ll also bring a few books that I’d recommend.