What are handicrafts? How can you teach handicrafts if you don’t feel creatively qualified? In this workshop we’ll discuss these questions and more. Learn what Charlotte Mason had to say about handicrafts in the home and their value in home education. Discover how to realistically and practically implement handicrafts within your life and homeschool routine. You and your children can learn to enjoy the satisfaction of creating with your hands. No art experience required!

Lindi Cowan is a wife, mother, artist, and homemaker. She has been homeschooling her five children for eleven years. Lindi teaches Handicrafts and “The Riches” (Artist/Composer study, Hymns, Folksongs, and Poetry) part time at Kingsway Christian Academy, a Charlotte Mason Cottage School in Balmoral, Ontario. She is passionate about teaching the “slow arts“, and enjoys watching students discover the satisfaction of creating with their hands. Besides homeschooling and teaching, Lindi spends her time leading worship at Church, restoring her old house and painting heritage toys and heirloom pieces. She blogs about her historic home and creative projects at BlytheHouse1860.com

Grateful Heart Motherhood is an encouraging, faith-filled workshop that challenges the cultural mindset of simply “surviving” motherhood. Rooted in Scripture and real-life experience, this session invites parents to pursue a joy-filled, Spirit-led posture that remains grateful even in the midst of chaos. Drawing from the heart behind her Grateful Heart Motherhood podcast, Chelsea Dyan explores how gratitude shapes perspective, rhythms, and relationships within the home, and offers tangible, easy-to-implement practices that help cultivate joy, presence, and purpose in everyday family life. Participants will leave refreshed, equipped, and inspired to nurture a grateful, Christ-centered atmosphere in their homes.

Chelsea Dyan is a creator and mom of four who believes faith is often formed in everyday moments – sometimes even before the coffee kicks in. She and her husband Andrew have been homeschooling their kids for the past six years, learning alongside them and embracing the joyful and loud reality of family life. Serving as Director of Children’s Ministry at her local church, she partners with parents and volunteers to help point the next generation to Christ. She is also known through Grateful Heart Collective for her practical and creative Mom Hacks, sharing simple ideas to help home rhythms run smoothly and joyfully.

From the kitchen table to the nations. Parenthood isn’t a pause in ministry — it *is* ministry. In the midst of daily homeschool life, it’s possible to lose sight of the eternal impact happening within our own homes. This breakout session will encourage you to cultivate a missional mindset in your family, drawing from personal experience on the mission-field, behind the scenes of international organizations, and leading homeschool co-ops locally. Discover practical ways to cultivate a passion for making a difference, praying for the nations, engage in meaningful outreach, and raise children who shine brightly for Christ in their communities and beyond.

Stacy Foresteri is a devoted wife, and homeschool mom of three boys, who believes that raising children with strong character and unwavering faith can change the world. As the founder of Forest Kids, Stacy hosts learning co-ops and other outreach programs to support families in her community. Her heart for children also extends into her volunteer work in children’s ministry at her church, where she joyfully invests in the next generation. As an author, Stacy has written seven children’s devotionals that help kids engage in Scripture and experience God in a personal way.

In this session, Tracy Fast will encourage homeschoolers to embrace the Arts: poetry, picture study, music, Shakespeare, and drama, which are sometimes treated as extras but are essential to a full and vibrant home education. Drawing on Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, she will show why the arts matter, how we need beauty, and how they cultivate a full life and wide interests, while offering practical ways to make them a natural and joyful part of family life.

In this session, Tracy Fast will encourage homeschoolers to embrace the Arts: poetry, picture study, music, Shakespeare, and drama, which are sometimes treated as extras but are essential to a full and vibrant home education. Drawing on Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, she will show why the arts matter, how we need beauty, and how they cultivate a full life and wide interests, while offering practical ways to make them a natural and joyful part of family life.

In this workshop, we will explore how Scripture memorization shapes the Christian mind and trains our children to think biblically. You will learn practical memorization techniques that fit naturally into your homeschool routine, along with Charlotte Mason-style methods of review and repetition. We will also take a brief look at how memory works and why repeated recall is so effective. Most importantly, this workshop is not about cramming as much Scripture as possible into the early years, but about inspiring a lifelong love for God’s Word and giving your children a plan for memorizing and meditating on Scripture long after they leave your home.

Wesley DeVries has had the joy of pastoring Sweets Church for over 30 years. Sweets Church meets each week on a beautiful 50-acre campground right on the shores of Lake Erie. Wesley is married to his wife, Angela, and together they have two sons, two daughters, and four grandchildren. They homeschooled their children, strengthening their conviction that faith must be taught and lived out daily in the home. Wesley’s passion for Scripture memorization began in eighth grade, growing into a lifelong emphasis on Joshua 1:8. In his free time, he enjoys kite surfing, mountain biking, and time outdoors with family.

Dual enrollment allows students to earn high school and college credits simultaneously, fast-tracking their education while saving time and money. This workshop will break down, in simple terms, how it works, key institutions offering courses, GPA calculations, and transcript conversion. Learn how to navigate course selection, manage high school and degree requirements, and avoid common pitfalls. We’ll also discuss real-life benefits, including financial savings, early career opportunities, and academic flexibility. Whether for university, college, or alternative learning paths, discover how dual enrollment can work for your child.

Catherine Dellerba is a wife of 27 years, mother of four (ages 16–23), and a dedicated homeschool leader. Born in South Africa, she lived there for 30 years before moving to Canada as a missionary. After 12 years in corporate upper management, she chose to homeschool her children, 2 received their degrees by age 19. She leads a GTA homeschool group serving 140 families, has experience in Dual Enrollment (DE), and has run for provincial and municipal office. Passionate about justice, she works with human trafficking survivors, serves in a National Pro-Life group, and currently works part-time for a Christian non-profit.

Overcoming discouragement is something most, if not all of us, will have to battle at some point in our lives. As a seasoned homeschool mama of 7, who has walked through long bouts of depression, parenting disappointments, and homeschool burn out, this mama will share, honestly, how, in some seasons, one step in front of the other-all while clinging to Jesus- was the way forward. With moving true-life stories full of hope, scripture and practical steps- it is a reminder that no matter what our journeys may bring, God is always with us.

Rachael is a mother of 7 precious children and now a grandmother to 3. She has been married to Jeff for over 20 years. Greatly motivated by a love for teaching children about Jesus and the Word, she serves as a leader and teacher in her church children’s ministry team. Part-time, she is a Forest School teacher. Rachael has a passion for prayer that grew while walking through numerous challenging life circumstances over the past few years, including the diagnosis of various special needs in several of her children, marital challenges, a traumatic joint injury, and seasons of battling severe depression. She remains thankful for God’s continual faithfulness and care.

When your systems fail, your peace of mind is the first thing to go and everything can become overwhelming. Organized for Good is more than an organizational session; it’s a moment to reclaim peace in your day to day. This workshop provides a gentle, step-by-step roadmap to quiet the noise and build a year that feels spacious instead of suffocating. In this practical workshop you will take the time to map out the events throughout your year that you build your homeschool schedule around. You will walk away with tools to manage your calendar and move from striving to thriving.

Melanie is a devoted daughter of God and a homeschooler for life. As a wife to Dan and mama to five children, she has spent the last 23 years building a life centred on faith, family, and lifelong learning. Melanie is widely recognized within her community as a passionate advocate for rich curriculum and an unapologetic connoisseur of quality literature. When she isn’t deep in the Word or curriculum research, you can find her surrounded by her family, Starbucks and her ever-growing library.

This workshop is for working parents starting to homeschool and for homeschooling parents who are adding paid work to their lives, either in-home or outside the home. Rowan shares practical ideas to help working homeschool parents, especially moms, manage this juggle from years of experience as a working homeschool mom. She will also show you how to look at the big picture and to get on the same page with your spouse. While the focus is on moms, dads are welcome to attend to gain understanding as well.

Rowan is a second-generation homeschool mom of four children, now grown-up. She is the creator of the Headphone History Canadian history curriculum, as well as Canadian history and geography courses for high school, and the author of ‘Enough Already! Real Help for Homeschool Burnout, Freak Out and Zone Out’. Rowan hosts the Canada Homeschools podcast, and lives in beautiful Southern Georgian Bay with her husband Chris. Rowan likes to garden and spend time with her baby grandson.

Since the Renaissance and the rise of Humanism, STEM subjects have come to the forefront in our culture, while the Humanities (Literature, History, Philosophy and Art) have been relegated to a back seat. We will discuss why this has happened and explain why it is so important that these subjects be included in our children’s education for the sake of our society.

Rowan is a second-generation homeschool mom of four children, now grown-up. She is the creator of the Headphone History Canadian history curriculum, as well as Canadian history and geography courses for high school, and the author of ‘Enough Already! Real Help for Homeschool Burnout, Freak Out and Zone Out’. Rowan hosts the Canada Homeschools podcast, and lives in beautiful Southern Georgian Bay with her husband Chris. Rowan likes to garden and spend time with her baby grandson.