June 30, 2010

Catholic Home Education Conference set for July 9-10

Inspiring talks, group discussions, and an exhibit hall of services and resources will be highlights of the annual Rocky Mountain Catholic Home Educators Conference July 9-10 at St. Thomas More Parish in Centennial.

Catholic parents, whether currently homeschooling, considering it for the future, or wishing to supplement their children’s current faith and academic education, will find support, information and resources at the annual event.

This year’s guest speakers include Danielle Bean and Andrew Pudewa.  In addition to being a homeschooling mother of eight, Bean is also a popular blogger, author and senior editor of Faith & Family magazine. Her most recent book, “Small Steps for Catholic Moms: Think Pray Act Everyday,” was released this spring. Bean specializes in encouragement and support for other Catholic moms. She said she speaks to other homeschool mothers “from the heart and from the trenches.”

Bean knows their worries and their struggles because they have been her own.

Pudewa is the director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing and is a popular speaker at home education conferences around the country. He and his wife are recent converts to the Catholic Church. The conference will open with Mass. Confession and eucharistic adoration will also be available during the conference. 

Breakout session speakers include several local favorites: Augustine Institute president Tim Gray, consecrated laywoman Celeste Thomas, Scripture professor Edward Sri, and Catholic Charities Denver president Jonathan Reyes. 

“This year we have several sessions focusing on teaching language arts—particularly reading and writing—as well as ones to help parents nurture and preserve the faith in our domestic churches,” said Mary Machado, conference vice-chair.  

While the conference itself is for parents, a special feature of the 2010 conference is the High School Essay Intensive for students, presented by Pudewa from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. July 9. The workshop is intended to help high school students prepare for the SAT/ACT and college application essays and receives high praise from past participants around the country.

Machado is looking forward to the return of the conference to the Denver metro area. The last one was held in Colorado Springs in 2008.  Local Catholic homeschooling parents expressed a strong desire to make sure the conference took place in 2010. 

“There are hundreds of Catholic home educating families in the Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Cheyenne dioceses,” Machado said. “Not only are the conferences helpful for re-energizing home educators and giving them a chance to see a variety of home education resources, there is so much benefit to coming together as parents who have embraced a particular lifestyle in home education and supporting each other.”

The conference runs from 3 p.m.-8 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday. Cost is $35 per person, $45 per couple, if pre-registered.

For more information, visit online at www.rmchec.org or call 303-759-9522.