Workshops

Lennie Harrison

I have 4 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’). 

Workhop 1: Help during increases in government regulation

In the past I have helped many homeschool families prepare for ERO reviews and equally often attended as support person. With the latest political wobble – the suggestion of more government involvement – we shouldn’t be too surprised to see possible increases in government regulation pop up in the future.

I am aware that a lot of us are too young to remember the ERO times, and I would like to give some tips and hints in order to be better prepared for possible ERO reviews and/or MoE reporting:

• preparing for a review
• making planning and record-keeping simple and workable, yet sufficient to satisfy government
• explaining your teaching methods adequately – but without unnecessary complication (identifying learning needs, assessing/evaluating, your role as teacher, learning environments, etc.)
• keeping your freedom in spite of more government involvement
• the ERO’s question list

Workshop 2: Home-made educational games tailor-made for your children’s learning needs

I’ll share a small array of home-made games (board- and card games – not the digital variety) that can be made fairly easily and adapted to your child’s needs and interests, in the areas of English, Maths, Science, History, Geography, and Art at both primary and secondary levels.

Lauretta Dunkirk

Lauretta is married to Jair and their life together of 21 years has been an adventure that has seen them move throughout New Zealand and overseas. They have four beautiful children, whom God graciously gave them through adoption, and she is joyfully living out her childhood dream of being a wife and homeschooling mum—with all the panic moments and warm fuzzies that come with it! Her greatest desire is to know Christ more deeply and encourage others to trust Him in the ordinary moments of life. For fun, she enjoys running, reading and writing (not arithmetic—LOL!), relaxing in the sauna, and gardening.

Workshop: Selfcare – Godly Stewardship of Self

Do you feel a little guilty snatching some quiet moments to yourself? Or is Self-care simply not on the To-Do list because the job of being a wife, mum, home educator, house keeper, farmer, chef, HR Manager etc etc is all encompassing. Self-care? What a fantasy! In this workshop, we’ll be looking at whether we can justify taking time for “self-care” and what it looks like to embrace the rest and restoration of a Friend who gladly takes our burdens.

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: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

What does it mean to delight yourself in the Lord?  Also, learning to wait on the Lord for the desires of our heart.

Sheena Harris

How to Start Homeschooling from a Place of Peace

In this workshop, Sheena will be providing those who are new to homeschooling with an opportunity to learn some of the tips and tricks to help you get started. If you have recently started homeschooling or are considering it, then come along to find out how to get going with planning your days, figuring out a routine, what curriculum to use and how to keep things ‘easy plus one’ from the start. Sheena will share some practical suggestions and help you find peace rather than chaos with your homeschool journey.