10 reasons to attend the conference?
There are likely dozens of great motives
for going to the
"event of the year"
for Iowa homeschoolers.
Our conference keynote speaker,
Kevin Swanson, from Generations,
shares his top 10 reasons
for you to come to the
Homeschool Iowa Conference.
I’ve been helping out with homeschool conferences since 1986, when I was asked to encourage the folks at the Paso Robles, California conference. Wow! That’s exactly forty years ago this year!
And my wife, Brenda, and I have been attending and helping out at the Colorado homeschool conference for the last 33 years.
After all that time has passed, I'm still convinced that homeschooling is the most important development for the cause of strengthening faith, family, and freedom in this country. This burgeoning movement is still expanding.
Thank you for being a part of it,
or even for just checking it out!
My friends, let me encourage you with ten reasons to attend the homeschool conference hosted by the fine folks at Homeschool Iowa.
1. There is a war going on over the hearts and minds of our children. There is an enemy. You need to get equipped spiritually, as well as academically, for this major challenge!
2. As Christian parents, there is no more important thing in your life than raising these precious children for Jesus. How about a little wisdom from a few experienced counselors to set the right direction and help you make the wisest choices for the most important decision you’ll ever make?
3. "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately," as Benjamin Franklin once said. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and homeschool freedoms are hanging by a thread in many states right now. A homeschool conference offers a good way to hang out at a great event while hanging together too!
4. This is a good way to “understand the times,” so we will know what to do (1 Chronicles 12:32). Without a vision, the people perish. Without a vision, the family perishes. Conferences usually provide some heads-ups, for families who are figuring out where they’re going to go with college, future careers, and future marriages for kids.
5. We all get discouraged from time to time. We lose our way. We can’t remember why we’re doing this. Isn’t it helpful to get a shot of inspiration and encouragement now and then for that reason? If anything, don’t we all need to hear some cheerleading (“Keep going, mom! Do not be weary in well doing. In due season; you will reap.”)?
6. Check out the curriculum. You want to find the best stuff for your family, and there’s nothing like getting your paws on it and looking through it. Also, I encourage dads to get involved at this level. True, dads usually don’t carry the homeschooling burden day to day. But, it’s good for dads to get behind the program a little bit at the early stages of purchasing curriculum for the family.
7. You can meet new people and make connections at a homeschool conference that you wouldn’t be able to anywhere else. These friendships may last a lifetime, and who knows but your children may run into their future mates.
8. We’re always on the search for super-wholesome books for our children and grandchildren. You won’t find this stuff at regular bookstores and libraries. The conference exhibit hall is a great marketplace for these treasures!
9. Where two or three, or twenty or thirty, or two hundred or three hundred are gathered together. . . who knows? God might be there in a special way, and the Holy Spirit can provide some extra refreshing for all of us!
10. And. . . if that’s not enough, we’re going to be there! Generations is coming to Iowa! Brenda and I are looking forward to meeting you, praying with you, and encouraging you along the way this June at the Homeschool Iowa Conference!
Kevin Swanson is a second-generation homeschooler, a published author, a radio personality, and the director of Generations, a ministry dedicated to strengthening homeschool families across the country.
Kevin and his wife, Brenda, have homeschooled and graduated five children, and continue to run an active family economy out of their home.
Kevin has authored over 30 books, including Upgrade: The 10 Secrets to the Best Education for Your Child, Family Life, The Story of Freedom, Epoch: The Rise and Fall of the West, and Worldview: What We Believe, What They Believe and Why They are Wrong.
He is a nationally recognized speaker on home discipleship and education, and hosts the daily Generations Radio program heard by homeschool families around the world.
