New Features and Special Items of Interest for 2010

This year's convention will have many new benefits in addition to improved features from previous years. There are so many exciting changes to list.

More Workshops Than Ever Before

There will be a new record total of 102 workshop sessions. Some of the topics will be of special interest to POPS (Parents of Pre-Schoolers), special needs, high school, support group leaders, beginning the homeschool journey, getting started homeschooling, how to be an homeschool evaluator, completing the homeschool journey, after high school choices sessions for dads, seesions for moms, issues threatening the right to homeschool, and many more.

Free Sessions Open to the Public

Friday early morning 8:30 - 9:30 A.M.
          &
Friday Evening 6:30 - 8:00 P.M.

All are welcome to these free, informative and inspiring sessions. In the early session, Dr. Bruce Eagleson will deliver his informed speculation on The State of the State. Dr. Eagleson will discuss the challenges on the horizon for homeschoolers. These are challenging times; how will they impact us?

There will also be a free open-to-the-public Friday evening session with multi-facets. The awards for the CHAP Writing and Art Contests will be presented and the Scholarship Award. Plus you will be entertained by George W. Sarris who will be performing his one-man performances of The World's Greatest Stories. Mr. Sarris employs the art of a dramatic storyteller using the actual Biblical texts to bring to life in the mind's eye the characters and events of some of the world's most exciting stories.

Check the grid schedule here. Check the workshop summaries here.

Children's Program

For the first time ever, we will have a Children's Program. Parents can register their children ages 5 to 12 for a program which will run on Friday and Saturday mornings. It will be limited in size so be sure to register early. Nathan and April Elliott of The KnightLights will be leading the first ever Children's Program. The program which will be presented at this year's CHAP convention will include excerpts from the series entitled "Construction Zone: God at Work." As the name implies, the lessons taught will incorporate a construction theme. The Bible lessons will be from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Parents are able to register and pay to attend the Children's Program if they wish to attend with their child.

Teen Track

This year's dynamic and thought-provoking Teen Track will be lead by Bill Jack of Worldview Academy. Bill has been a frequent speaker at CHAP and this year he will bring a special program for the teens age 13 and up. Bill Jack is an educator with ten years' experience in secular schools and 14 years with The Caleb Campaign, a creationist youth ministry. Currently, Bill Jack is faculty advisor for Worldview Academy, an academic leadership program that seeks to train Christian students to think and live in accord with a Biblical worldview so that they will serve Christ and lead the culture. Bill has appeared on numerous national radio and television programs and is the producer of several apologetics and worldview training DVDs. Bill's passion is to raise up a generation who has the vision to reach their culture with the gospel, who have the valor to engage that culture with the truth and who rely on the virtue of the Word of God. Bill and his wife, Tabby, and their three children live in Colorado.

Used Curriculum Sale - NEW THIS YEAR!

An opportunity for attendees to buy and sell used curriculum. Start gathering those no longer needed educational items and watch for the details of how you can sell them at the CHAP Convention. Sellers will enter online all items for sale, prepare the items with the required labels, and bring them to the convention during the drop-off times on Thursday and Friday. CHAP will process the items and do all the sales work for you. Sellers will have the option of reclaiming any unsold items on Saturday afternoon at the end of the Used Curriculum Sale or they will be able to donate unsold items. The seller will receive a check within 60 days of the convention for 75% of the selling cost of all their items. Check out the CHAP website for the Used Curriculum Sale information link.

Parking Rebate

CHAP is offering the vendors the opportunity for the vendor to rebate to you your parking fee when you purchase a minimum amount of items at their vendor booth. The minimum purchase is determined by each vendor who wishes to participate in this program. CHAP will post a list of participating Vendors on the convention website as the convention nears, in convention enewsletters, and in the Convention Program. Atendees simply show their parking ticket (which you receive when you pay the parking fee) to the participating vendors when checking out.

Sponsorship

This year, CHAP is introducing advertising sponsorships for the convention. Businesses that wish to partner with CHAP through advertising sponsorships receive the benefit of several avenues of advertising to a large number of homeschoolers while their sponsorship helps to support the ministry of CHAP and the CHAP Convention. If you know of a business which would like more information about being a CHAP sponsor they can read more on the Sponsorship Packages page. In this introductory year, we are offering the sponsorships at 50% off their regular amount.

CHAP Contests

Last year's essay contest was such a success and showcased the quality writing of homeschool students. This year we will once again be having the Essay Contest and we will be adding an Art Contest and Scholarship Contest. Presentation of the winners of the scholarship, art, and writing contests will take place at the Friday evening free open-to-the-public concert. There will be displays of the art and writing contest finalists at the CHAP Convention. Go to http://www.chapcontest.com for more information and to check on the deadlines. The finalists in the Art Show and Essay Contest will be on display during the two-day convention.

Expanded Leaders' Track

This year there will be an expanded Leader's Track. It will stretch over the two afternoons and includes topics such as:

• How to Start and Manage a Homeschool Organization: Boards, Budgets and By-laws
Becoming a 501c3 Tax-exempt Organization: Is Your Homeschool Group Ready?
• True Leadership - The Three Faces of an Effective Leader
• The Total Mama Makeover
• Town Hall Forum - Support Group Leaders Sharing and Helping Other Leaders

Check the color coded schedule for the sessions geared especially for Support Group Leaders and the Workshop Summaries for more information on these topics. Join other support group leaders for a time to share ideas. Don't forget to stop by the CHAP booth (#109 in the vendor hall) to register for the meeting and dessert on Saturday.

New Vendor Sessions

New this year will be Vendor Sessions where you can learn about products and services sold by the vendors. It is a great opportunity for you to get your questions answered and see what vendors have to offer. Check the workshop schedule to see which vendors will be presenting informative sessions.

Focus on the Family's The Truth Project returns

CHAP will once again partner with Focus on the Family® in presenting the optional track, The Truth Project, helping members to reach their families and communities with Biblical Truth. We are offering a special track for one or two family members for an additional $79 (cost of DVD set and materials), to equip your family to be The Truth Project hosts. Attendance is limited so you must preregister by April 23, to allow enough time to send your special pass to the sessions. The Truth Project curriculum is a systematic and comprehensive Biblical worldview study that looks at all of life. This conference track will equip you to make a Christ-centered difference in our culture by applying God's principles to daily life.

Highlights include:

• Understanding and living the Christian worldview in daily life.
• Knowing the nature and character of God.
• God's design for all of life: work, science, family, government, art, ethics, and more.
• How to thrive in a hostile culture.
• Participants will receive the complete DVD set of twelve lessons.
  (These professionally produced DVDs are only available by attending Focus on the Family's The Truth Project training or a small group.)
  © 2006, Focus on the Family

For more information about The Truth Project visit www.thetruthproject.org or our local information page.

CHAP is going Green

CHAP is going Green! Registration is going paperless this year in an effort to keep costs as low as possible (our Farm Show rental rates went up 18% since last year). If you do not have internet access at home, find a friend who does, or go to the public library where you can access the internet free of charge. You can register online, then pay by credit card online or mail a check after entering your information. Registration at-the-door will also be paperless. There will be a computer café where you will enter your registration information and complete your payment by credit card, check, or cash.

The CHAP Convention needs you to volunteer. We require many volunteers to run the convention. We desire and need your help to make the convention a success. The benefits of volunteering include:

• An opportunity to serve fellow homeschoolers.
• Registration rebate equal to the registration of each volunteer.
• Early bird shopping 8:00- 9:30 a.m. on Friday. (Imagine a chance to shop with only three hundred other people.)
• Online orientation, so no early morning orientation meeting to attend.

Volunteering can only take place online. After filling out the registration form, you will be given a choice of volunteer jobs from which to choose. You will know immediately if you received your choice. We do online volunteer orientation as well, so we can expand the actual convention time for everyone. Go to CHAPonline.com, click the Convention tab, then click the registration page to sign up for the convention and volunteering.

The National Alliance of Christian Home Education Leadership is announcing the DVD Exposing a Trojan Horse, which is an exposé of government-funded, public-school-at-home programs recruiting home educators in many states.

Encouraged by the overwhelming support of those Alliance members in attendance at the conference in Glorieta, New Mexico, the Alliance board authorized the production of this DVD.

As you know, public-school-at-home and government-funded programs for homeschoolers often target home educators to try to "bring them back" into the government system. The DVD explores the implications of participation in government-funded homeschool programs and their impact on both families' lives and the homeschool movement in general. Exposing a Trojan Horse presents families with thought provoking interviews with Christian home educators.

This 30-minute documentary can be used at support group leadership training events, support group meetings, and with individual families.

Copies are on sale for $10.00 at the CHAP booth or may be ordered through our website. Mailorder cost is $10.00 plus $2.50 shipping.

Take some time during the convention to watch this most interesting and informative DVD. You can see a continuous loop of the DVD at the CHAP booth.

CHAP has undertaken the It Works. campaign. We have purchased removable, 8" long by 2¾" at its tallest point, 1½" at its shortest point, die-cut, vinyl decals, in an effort to spread the exciting word about homeschooling, raise a small amount of money for all the state organizations around the nation and other countries that do what CHAP does, and raise a smaller amount of money for the National Alliance of Christian Home Education Leadership (NACHEL, referred to as the Alliance). The latter group is designed to assist individuals across the nation who run Christian home education conferences and organizations like CHAP.

The website on the decals is sponsored by the Alliance and when individuals look up beginning homeschooling on the web, they often find this site, which has a map of the United States. If one clicks on a given state, he is linked to the statewide Christian homeschooling organization(s) in that state. All these organizations are affiliated with the Alliance and abide by a solid Christian statement of faith.

The Alliance has voted to support this campaign and all its affiliated state organizations have been invited to take part in this. Prayers for this endeavor would be greatly appreciated when the Lord brings it to mind. Ordering information is available on our website.

Join homeschoolers across the nation and beyond in this awareness campaign!