The 2023 CHAP Homeschool Convention is in the books. The convention has surely changed over time, but CHAP has never wavered from its goal of encouraging and equipping homeschool families. We are thankful for the many volunteers who have given their time to bless others—the willing volunteers that have stepped up and the faithful volunteers that are stepping down. As a homeschool community, we put on this event to ensure that we all have the tools and support we need to start or continue for another year. If you are nearing the end of your homeschool career, remember those who helped you and consider doing the same for the next generation.
Was this years’ convention a success, and did it make an impact on those attending?
87% of attendees said yes! Here are some responses from our attendees:
“While this was my first time at CHAP, I experienced the whole range of emotions. My love for Jesus was deepened and my passion for bringing the Gospel into our home was intensified. I received some very practical ideas to bring home and learned more about the dual enrollment opportunities that were weighing heavy on my mind. I was extremely blessed by this conference!”
“I came away from the conference having been refreshed, encouraged, and spurred on in my homeschooling.”
“I came away feeling encouraged to keep up the homeschool journey. It was great how much Scripture was used in promoting homeschooling. We can do this! The community was also great!”
What did attendees like best about the conference?
- The great speakers with excellent content and lots of variety. The keynote speaker for this year’s convention was Rick Green of Patriot Academy, and the guest speaker was Dr. Kathy Koch of Celebrate Kids. Both received positive reviews as did many of the speakers this year. Overall, there were 25 speakers and 60 sessions, which included a large number of vendor workshops. Some of the vendor workshops were so popular that they were overflowing.
While the setup for speakers we were forced into this year made it difficult to hear, most attendees still left feeling inspired and encouraged by the messages. One attendee put it this way and we agree: “I would rather have it as it was, than to not have it at all!”
“God used speakers to bring about change, not just in my homeschool, but in my heart. Some unhealthy patterns and baggage that I have were shown to me and now I have the opportunity, with God’s help, to do something about that.”
“The speakers were phenomenal, and I left encouraged and excited to continue in my homeschool journey. I learned so much!”
“I learned a lot from the sessions I went to. I love learning how to better my parenting skills and homeschool skills. Everyone was so helpful and willing to chat about things when I wanted to.”
- The large vendor hall with a wide variety. The number of vendors participating in the convention grew from last year. While there are a number of vendors that have either stopped attending conventions or severely limited their participation due to a reduced workforce and strong online sales, newer vendors are entering the marketplace and desire to be face-to-face with customers. We continue to invite all of the curriculum vendors that have attended our past conventions and are continually on the lookout for new vendors. We know that many have old favorites and enjoy being able to review resources in person and ask questions.
“There was a nice variety of vendors present—offering a range of services, products and resources.”
“I spoke to a lot of amazing vendors. I was pleasantly surprised that many were authors whose books I ended up purchasing.”
- The location and parking. The York Expo Center is an easy to access location with a number of hotels in close proximity. Both the speakers and vendors were under one roof this year, which made things nicer with the rain we experienced on Saturday. The concessions stands were open, food trucks were not available (we tried), and the coffee and free donuts were devoured on Saturday morning. Best of all, the parking was FREE!
“The space was plentiful; location was super easy to find and lots of parking. I love the more rural setting versus the city setting.”
When and where will the convention take place next year?
Now we take time to review feedback from surveys and volunteers, and pay all of the bills. Do enough homeschool families want to attend a single large face-to-face convention to make it worth renting a large facility, or should we look into having several smaller regional events? Some of our key volunteers are stepping down, so will new volunteers come along to fill their place? If you have interest in making sure that face-to-face events continue to happen and are willing to give your time, please reach out to us at staff@chaponline.com
Is it worth it?
The 2023 CHAP Convention certainly made a difference in the lives of these families:
“The shared sentiment was mutual that each of us—the attendees—felt encouraged, challenged, and motivated to continue in our homeschool journey. Refreshed, encouraged, and blessed. Received a lot of information and a lot of our questions were answered.”
“I attend for inspiration, motivation, and resources. I gained all three! I can attest that God led me to some key experts. I was not searching for expert advice, but my curiosity was piqued by some comments made during a presentation with Gretchen Roe. The end result was seeing the need for vision therapy for one, and possibly two of my children, which has already been confirmed by a specialist. Thankful to God that He did ‘gently lead those that are with young.’ Isaiah 40:11b”
“I was very encouraged to be there and listen to several speakers. Being with so many other families who are homeschooling is also a blessing!”
“It was my first convention I’ve gone to for homeschooling, and it was enjoyable. The speakers were amazing. . . . I loved every workshop I attended, and I plan on purchasing some [tapes] I didn’t get to. Will definitely be coming back next year.”
“It was my husband’s and my first homeschool convention. We enjoyed the speakers and vendors. We learned some valuable things and also got confirmation with some things we are already doing.”
“It was a success because we came away feeling refreshed, encouraged, and blessed to have met and talked to so many new friends!”
“My husband and I received a lot of information, and a lot of our questions were answered. We also left with new questions to dig into.”
“This was my first time coming to Convention. We will be starting to homeschool this upcoming school year. The CHAP Convention was so encouraging!”
“While some years have been ‘the year’ to catch a particular favorite speaker and other years we’ve spent A LOT of time perusing the vendor hall for a fresh look and really hashing out learning styles, etc., with vendors, THIS particular year was the year for our family to connect with other families. We now have friends that we met at Convention through the years, that we purposefully schedule time with at Convention. We’d also recommended that one of the vendors from our home community (still learning about the home education world) check out Convention and they came! Not only did they come, but they enjoyed it and learned about our world.”
“Personally, I loved going to a convention with my wife. Attending together. I like the support and positive environment of Homeschool and our choice to homeschool. We feel very supported. The speakers were so accessible and vulnerable.”
It is inspiring to hear what is happening in the lives of other homeschool families and how working to plan an event like this has impacted so many. We encourage you to help someone else just as you have been helped along the way.
Steve Wayde serves as the CHAP Convention Planning Team Chair and the CHAP Board Chairman. He has been involved in homeschool leadership since 2013 and has been an IT professional at Elizabethtown College for over 17 years. Steve and his wife, Ginger, are homeschooling their six children. He enjoys investing his time into the lives of his children and encouraging the next generation to do the same.
