why on earth would you Home School? March 14-15 2014

why on earth would you
Home School?
March 14-15 2014
Providence Renewal Centre
3005-119 St. Edmonton, AB
Western Canadian Catholic
Home School Conference
Schedule
-Sign Up for an Adoration TimeAdoration will continue day and night
Thursday, March 13
5:30
Supper
6:00
Registration
7:00
Holy Mass (Main Chapel)
Fr. Paul Moret
Evening Prayer and Benedictionw/ Fr. Goutier & Fr. Jacobson
8:30 to 10:00
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament begins
Confessions
Friday, March 14
7:30 to 8:30 Registration, Rosary
8:00
Breakfast
8:45
Conference Opening
MC Glenn Spiess
9:00
Home Schooling Simplified
Bonnie Landry
10:00
Break
10:30
Holy Mass (Main Chapel) 11:30
Vendor Display Opens
12:00
Lunch
12:00 to 1:30
Confessions
12:30 to 1:15
Panel Discussion: Beginning to Home School
Fr. Joseph Jacobson
w/ Fr. Joseph Goutier & Dcn. Paul Croteau
·Sandra Taillieu
·Wendy Novakowski
Moderator: Christine Aalbers
1:30
Teaching Canadian History via Historical Fiction 2:30
Break
3:00
My Conversion Story
Bonnie Landry
Fr. Joseph Jacobson
4:00
Break
4:30
Waltzing Through Writing 5:30
Supper
5:30 to 7:00
Confessions
7:00
Parenting and Home Schooling Panel (& popcorn) Social time (Social Room, 2nd floor)
9:30
Vendor Display Closes
·Fr. Joseph Jacobson
·Paul van den Bosch
·Therese McDonald
·Barb Moroney
Bonnie Landry
Moderator: Glenn Spiess
Saturday, March 15
7:30
Rosary
8:00
Breakfast
8:00
Vendor Display Opens
9:00
Strengthening Marriage
10:00
Break
Melissa Guzik
10:30
Holy Mass (Main Chapel)
Archbishop Richard Smith
Deacon Guy Germain, MC
12:00Lunch
1:30
Home School Dad On the sidelines or in the game?
1:30
Used Curriculum sales close
3:00
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament ends
Jean Duteau
Strengthening Family for the Cross Fr. Joseph Jacobson
3:00
4:00
Vendors Close
4:00
Conference Closing Remarks
Glenn Spiess
Conference will be recorded by Northern Rain Studios
Speaker Bios
Bonnie Landry
Bonnie Landry lives in the little hamlet of Cobble Hill, Vancouver
Island, with her husband, Albert, and their family. For the past
22 years, home schooling has been a way of life for them and
their seven children, aged 26 to 7, and they still have a few more
years to go. Bonnie presents several workshops each year on various topics,
but her main goal is sharing ideas on simplifying the home school journey.
Writing is one of many passions, which include motherhood and family life,
hospitality, gardening, and ballroom dancing. She’s written Great Books to
Study Canadian History and has published a book, just out on Kindle and
available soon on Amazon as hard copy: Homeschooling Simplified: Dictation
Bonnie has started a blog to support her writing and speaking. www.ohthatssimple.blogspot.com
Home Schooling, Simplified: Staying focussed on what really matters
Defining “what really matters” in family life enables us to stay focussed
on the big reasons for home schooling. Parents are concerned primarily
with what kind of people they will raise: People of faith, integrity, honesty,
empathy, compassion. Busy-ness and distraction is one of the ways we
lose sight of what we really want for our families. The “tyranny of the
urgent” should not be the state in which families are run. This talk is about
recognizing the pitfalls that create disorder and discord in our day and
practical advice on how to actively change chaos and clutter (emotional,
spiritual or temporal), into a more joyful, peaceful environment.
Teaching Canadian History Through Historical Fiction
Historical fiction is a delightful way to engage children in history. Reading
beautiful literature aloud brings the whole family into any book and into
any era. This talk is about how to read a book so it becomes the curriculum,
with specific examples from Canadian history, and suggestions for the “tools
of the trade” in order to make the most out of historical fiction. Bonnie’s
book, Great Books To Study Canadian History is published by Excellent
Resources.
Waltzing through Writing
Writing can create a lot of angst in children, and parents, too. Writing
requires ideas: What to write about, what words would say it best. When
people are young, the most difficult thing about writing is developing ideas
and how to get them down on paper. We need to model and foster good
reading, thinking, and analyzing skills in order to increase a child’s ability
to actually write. Bonnie’s book, Homeschooling, simplified: teaching
children writing is available on amazon, kindle or paperback.
Speaker Bios
Father Joseph Jacobson
Fr. Jacobson was born in Milwaukee in 1940, the son of a Lutheran pastor.
He studied theology in Strasbourg and was ordained in 1965 for service
in Alberta. That same year he and Carolyn were married, and they
subsequently were blessed with two children, Brad and Theresa. In 1985,
after serving four parishes in Alberta and home schooling for 2 years, Pastor
Jacobson was elected the first Bishop of the Alberta Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Canada, serving 150 parishes and 200 clergy. During this time, he co-chaired
the Lutheran-Catholic Theological Dialogue for Canada. In 1994 Bishop Joseph and
Carolyn retired to a small farm in Central Alberta, where 6 years later they were received
into full Communion with the Catholic Church, later followed by Brad and Theresa’s
families.
Through the special provision of Pope John Paul II, Fr. Joseph was ordained to the
Priesthood in 2007, serving as Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan and
Parochial Vicar of the Cathedral Parish.
My Conversion Story
Father Jacobson will recount the compelling story of his journey to Christ, first through
his family life, his study and work as a Lutheran pastor and bishop and then realizing
that through all this he was being drawn into full communion with the Catholic Faith.
Strengthening Family for the Cross
Father Joseph alerts parents to the serious challenges facing families and provides
clear direction for being faithful, positive, and consistent; contrary to so much of the
world around us. In a theme introduced by Pope Benedict, developed by Father
Jacobson, and recently echoed by Pope Francis, grace confronts evil, and provides 1
source of great hope and joy in 4 areas of significant trial. Father Joseph provides a
template by which parents may be successful and grow into role models for others
who are facing trials.
Melissa Guzik
Melissa received her Masters of Arts degree in Counselling Psychology
from McGill University and is licensed as a Canadian Certified Counsellor
through the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. She
has worked with addictions and mental health over the past 10 years,
and currently runs a private practice, working with adolescents, adults,
and couples. Melissa is the co-author of To Know, Love & Serve: A Path to Marital
Fulfilment, a Catholic book designed to assist couples in strengthening and healing
their marriage. Melissa also provides group counselling for the spouses of individuals
with addictions related to sexuality. She is the founding President of the Catholic
Psychotherapy Association of Canada. Melissa has been married for over 10 years and
has been blessed with three children.
Strengthening Marriage
Melissa Guzik, MA, CCC, will talk about faith-filled and practical ways couples
can strengthen their marriage as a foundation for strengthening their family, all in
the midst of the busy-ness of homeschooling. Contact: Melissa Guzik, MA Counselling Psychology, CCC
Individual, Marriage, & Family Counsellor
780-996-5750 melissa@melissaguzik.com www.melissaguzik.com
Speaker Bios
Jean Duteau
Jean Duteau is a homeschooling father of three: Marc, 18; Katherine, 13; and
Jomari, 11. He has been married to his wife Barbara, for 21 years and hopes
for many, many more. He works out of his house as a computer consultant
and thus the entire family is together 24/7. This brings its own rewards and
challenges. He has tried to “help” his wife homeschool in many different
ways throughout the years and hopes that other fathers can learn from his experiences.
Home School Dad: On the Sidelines or in the Game?
As a Dad who has one homeschool grad attending college and two more still learning
at home, Jean has “helped” his wife in a number of ways throughout the years. Some of
those ways have been more helpful than others, so Jean wants to inspire other fathers to
realize what dads can bring to the home learning experience. He says: “If we are a part
of our family, then we need to do our part; we can not sit on the sidelines. However, we
also can’t take over like we are wont to do. If we ‘get in the game’ and recognize what
our position on the home schooling team is meant to be, we can help make the experience
smoother and more fruitful for our wives and children.”
Homilies
Thursday Mass and Evening Prayer
Father Paul Moret spent his formative years as a member of a large family, living in the
Edmonton Cathedral Parish. As a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton, he has
very successfully applied his own early formation to his work with young people and
families, through Our Lady of Victory Camp, Living Water College of the Arts, Legion
of Mary, Live-In, and Youth Mannafest. He is a strong supporter of home schooling
families and currently serves as the pastor of St. Matthew’s Parish, Edmonton.
Friday Mass
Father Joseph Jacobson
Saturday Pontifical Mass
Archbishop Richard Smith
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Archbishop Smith studied at St. Mary’s University and
at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax. Ordained to the priesthood in 1987, he
pursued further studies in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome,
earning a Licence in 1993 and Doctorate in 1998. He served in priestly ministry until
being ordained Bishop of Pembroke in 2002. Archbishop Richard Smith was formally
installed as seventh Archbishop of Edmonton on May 1, 2007, Feast of St. Joseph the
Worker. He is past president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Panel
Panel: Beginning to Home School
Christine Aalbers is a mom who has graduated from home education. 18 months ago
the last of her 3 children went on to further education beyond home schooling. She will
be guiding the discussion for the New Homeschooling Panel and brings experience:
as a mom that brought children home from school, as a parent whose children have
completed their education at home and moved on to the big wide world, and as a mom
who cherishes helping others to love their kids and constantly get better at teaching
them.
Sandra Taillieu is a full-time home educating Mom who lives on an acreage in central
Alberta with her husband Richard and their four daughters (ages 4, 7, 9 and 11). The
girls have always schooled at home and it’s been an adventure all the way. Sandra is a
prairie girl who was raised on a farm in Saskatchewan where she developed her passion
for family, music and food. She went to public school for years, but all the important
stuff she learned at home from her Mom and Dad.
Wendy Novakowski and her husband Paul have 6 children and a 3-year-old
granddaughter. They presently live in Fort Saskatchewan, although Paul’s work and the
flexibility of home schooling have allowed them to live as far afield as Australia. Among
the many initiatives undertaken by their family during their 20 years of home schooling,
Wendy has made presentations on the importance of strong parent-child relationships.
Panel: Parenting and Home Schooling
Glenn Spiess has been pleased to be part of the WCCHSC planning team for the past 3
years. He has spent the last 20+ years working in the education field and has worked
extensively within the home school community as a home school facilitator. He and his
wife Susan have 3 children whom they have always home schooled.
Father Joseph Jacobson brings to this panel discussion a wealth of pastoral background,
combined with his own family life. Before home schooling was well known or respected,
he and his wife, Carolyn, home schooled their children, and they have watched with
admiration the effects of home schooling in their grandchildren.
Paul van den Bosch and his wife, Mary, have been married more than 30 years and
have been home schooling for 20 of those years. They live in Red Deer and have seven
children, three adults and four still at home. In addition to his work as a home school
Facilitator, Paul is one of the directors of the Alberta Home Education Association
(AHEA).
Therese McDonald and her husband have been home schooling for 20 years. She has
deliberately chosen to let curiosity loose in the lives of their four children. Therese says,
“Once I’ve inspired my children, offered guidance, infused relevance, and imparted
faith and reason, I get out of the way and let a holy wind carry the seeds of learning in
many directions.”
Barbara Johnson Moroney and her husband Paul live with 3 of their 8 children in
Calgary, and have been enjoying becoming grandparents 3 times in the last 18 months.
Before becoming a home schooling mother, over 25 years ago, Barb was educated as a
dramatist and a lawyer, both of which have come in handy. She and her family love the
classical approach to home education and have developed their own version of it. They
focus on the long haul, and try not to let the current challenges distract from their long
term goal of raising strong Catholic adults.
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