THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

SILVER
HOWARD PAYNE UNIVERSITY

BRONZE
TELOS ONE DAY ACADEMY

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

John and Cathy Heckendorn

Cathy Heckendorn is a Homeschool Survivor. She loves that term because she went into homeschooling kicking and screaming, but after graduating all four of their children, she says it was the best decision ever made for her. Cathy has lived the challenges, comedies, struggles, joys, tears, and victories that home education has to offer, and now, she desires to encourage and empower other parents to embrace all those things as they set out on their own calling to “train up their children” and to share that not only can they survive, they can also watch their children thrive!

Cathy has been married to her high school sweetheart, John, for 36 years. They have raised and graduated all four of their children and now enjoy watching them take the reins of their own lives as they marry (two married and another engaged) and have children to train up themselves (one spunky granddaughter and baby grandson, so far). Besides serving on the CAPE-NM Board, Cathy enjoys all the amenities that living on a ranch provides, reading books, playing games with friends and family, leading a homeschool support group,  and curling up on the couch with a hot cup of tea and a friend.

Raising Critical Thinkers Using Books and Media
By Cathy Heckendorn

Ideas have consequences, and most of the ideas in books, movies, music, etc., have ideas that may go against the worldview you are trying to instill in your family. Do we just avoid them? Is that even possible in this day and age of media everywhere we look? Instead, come learn different ways to use these tools to our advantage as parents and prepare our children to start seeing the ideas that are being thrown at us daily.

Adventure in the Journey
By Cathy Heckendorn

Sometimes we get so caught up in math and English and handwriting and science and, and, and.....and if we’re not careful, we’ll miss the actual journey of this homeschool life we’ve chosen. How do we take off the hat of teacher and remember we’re still Mom at the end of the day. How do we still teach our children what they need to make their way in the world but still make memories that they can take with them? Join Cathy as she shares some of the lessons she learned about balancing the Martha and Mary life of a homeschool Mom.

Marriage Matters....Well, Duh! 
By John & Cathy Henckendorn

I bet if asked what your most important relationship is, after God, we would say our marriage. Yet, how many of us put most of our effort into maintaining that relationship? With the demands of work, raising children, homeschooling, volunteer service, extended family, and friends, who has time? Right? John and Cathy like to say they are the poster children for how to take a struggling marriage and let God transform it. Come spend an hour laughing, crying, and maybe even nodding your head as they share some of the struggles and triumphs or making your marriage matter while you are in the trenches.

When the Why is Big Enough, the How Doesn’t Matter
By John Heckendorn

We might begin the homeschool journey for various reasons, but sooner or later, we all have to decide what will keep us going when the days get difficult, the budget gets tightened, a rebellious child tests our patience, or the world, and often the church, asks why we are keeping them “isolated”. Knowing WHY you are homeschooling is the biggest thing that will carry you through these various trials. Join John as he shares his journey from being an evolutionary agnostic to a Believer who began to embrace his calling to lead his family with a vision based on GOD’s Word.

Got Vision?
By John Heckendorn

What’s your vision? Do you have a purpose? Where do you want your family to be when you’re done homeschooling? All of these questions run through our minds, but for most of us, we only have vague answers, at best. Instead, we ask ourselves, “Where do you begin? How do you determine where to focus?” In this session, John will share how he and his wife created their family vision. He will share how they then used their Family Vision to direct their decisions for their family for school, activities, and business decisions.

WORKSHOPS

Working & Homeschooling Without Burning Out: A Practical Guide to Managing Your Time & Energy For More Joy, Peace, and Presence
Yasmine Gilbert

If you feel like you’re drowning, always behind while working and homeschooling or if you feel like you are just getting by and can’t fathom adding homeschooling to your work schedule  (vice versa), this talk is for you. Yes, you can work and homeschool while still being a present and loving parent, spouse, and friend. 

There is no sugar coating it: this path is challenging, but it doesn’t have to lead to burnout. In this session, you will learn the key mindsets that will set you up for success, practical strategies for scheduling homeschool around your work and other responsibilities, and how to identify the 2-5 daily or weekly practices that will keep your cup full — without a spa day, elaborate rituals, or adding more to your to-do list. 

You will leave with a framework to build a life that brings you joy and keeps you grounded even in the busiest seasons, so you can show up for your family, your work, and yourself with confidence. This isn’t about doing more for the sake of doing more, it’s about expanding your capacity to meet life’s demands with greater ease, joy, and presence.

Seven Mistakes Excellent Parents Make 
by Mike Kolesar

Does a fish know it's wet? is a classic rhetorical question that reminds us that, as parents, we can have fundamental assumptions we've never even noticed. They're just habits – unchecked and unverified – and most parents have unwittingly embraced at least one of them. This session looks at these common mistakes, what's behind them, and what to do if you've adopted one of them into your family. 

Formulando Metas para homeschool (Developing homeschool goals) 
By Yoanna Soto

I plan to share the importance and relevance of setting goals across several aspects of life that together impact the homeschool experience. My audience would learn the science behind setting goals, how to set them realistically, and how to encourage or help their children set their own goals.

Classical Approach to Education 
By Janel Barr

Equipping you to provide your children with a high-quality education. What is science? How many words are in the English language? Why is history important?

Inviting Fathers In: Cultivating Meaningful Dad Engagement in Homeschooling

By James Shoemake

Homeschooling often functions as a mother-led endeavor. Not because fathers don’t care, but because expectations, culture, and communication can unintentionally sideline them. This session explores why a father’s involvement in homeschooling matters, what meaningful involvement can actually look like (beyond curriculum decisions), and how parents can cultivate a teamwork mindset at home. Drawing on research, lived experience, and cultural observation, this talk is designed primarily for families who want practical, realistic ways to include fathers in the homeschooling process with clarity and confidence. Participants will leave with a clearer framework for understanding paternal engagement, language for initiating productive conversations, and a renewed vision for homeschooling as a shared family endeavor rather than an isolated task.

Parent, Teacher, Principal: How to Manage Behavior with ABA
By Valerie Arrieta de Saucedo

• The Hat Switch: How to signal when you are "teaching" vs. "parenting."

• Correction vs. Connection: Strategies to correct academic behavior (refusal to work, frustration) without damaging the parent-child bond.

• The Home Environment: Setting up "success zones" so you don't have to constantly correct them.

• Key Takeaway: You can hold high standards for behavior without turning your home into a battleground.

Beyond Bubble Baths: a realistic guide to self care for homeschooling moms
by Yasmine Gilbert

If self-care feels like one more thing you’re failing at — or like it requires spa days, long mornings alone, or escaping your kids — this talk is for you.

Moms are often told that the only way to recharge is to get away from their children, but that advice simply doesn’t fit the reality (or desire) of most homeschool families. In this session, we’ll challenge the common myths about self-care for moms and explore simple, sustainable ways to fill your cup right in the middle of everyday life.

You’ll learn quick, on-the-go versions of restorative practices like breathwork and mindfulness, why feeling your feelings is a non-negotiable part of thriving, and how to turn daily activities into grounding, life-giving practices.

You’ll leave with a practical and realistic approach to self-care that doesn’t add to your to-do list, one that helps you stay present, joyful, and nourished while living and learning alongside your kids.

Developing a God-Given Vision for Your Homeschool 
by Cheryl Kolesar

This talk challenges homeschooling parents to move beyond survival mode and develop a God-anchored vision for their homeschool journey. Drawing on Viktor Frankl's discovery, from living in 4 concentration camps during as a Jewish prisoner, that humans need meaning more than comfort and pleasure. The message addresses the common trap of managing daily lessons and logistics while losing sight of the why behind homeschooling. God designed us to "be fruitful and multiply"—not just educate our children, but to grow, flourish, and expand His kingdom through the unique calling He's placed on our families. The core spiritual principle is partnership with God: "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps" (Proverbs 16:9)—parents bring their vision in humility and prayer, and God confirms and empowers it. Homeschooling families are urged to get clear on their vision across every area (spiritual formation, academics, character development, family culture), write it down, schedule it into their days, and crucially, redeem the inevitable hard seasons by using struggles to help other homeschooling families—embodying Romans 8:28's promise that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." When vision is clear, the daily struggles becomes purposeful, the challenges become opportunities for growth, and homeschooling transforms from exhausting duty into meaningful legacy.

Hands at Work: Building Fine Motor Skills Through Play
By Claudia Yagel

This interactive workshop explores how play-based activities support the development of fine motor skills essential for learning and daily independence. Led by an occupational therapist, participants will learn practical, easy-to-implement strategies to strengthen hand skills, coordination, and endurance using everyday materials. 

What if Struggle is the Point? Moving Beyond Easy Learning to Deeper Understanding
By Elaine Bobo

Socrates famously explained to his student Plato that “Everything beautiful is difficult.” We’ve been conditioned to avoid difficulty, but in reality, nothing beautiful, good, or noble can be gained without effort. This session will explain why comfortable learning often leads to shallow knowledge and how productive struggle develops resilience, grit, and true understanding. 

You’ll learn how to: 

• Recognize when your child is in productive struggle versus unproductive frustration

• Ask questions that guide without rescuing

• Build your child's confidence to persist through challenge

Stop robbing your children of the satisfaction that comes from climbing out of difficulty on their own. Learn to be the guide who helps them discover that struggle…actually is the point!

Once Upon a Conscience: How Fairy Tales Shape the Moral Imagination
By Elaine Bobo

In Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, young Annemarie reflects on her Nazi-occupied world: "The whole world had changed. Only the fairy tales remained the same." When everything familiar crumbles, fairy tales endure—not as escapism, but as anchors of truth and future hope.

This session explores how fairy tales function as "moral laboratories” (Junius Johnson) where children safely encounter goodness and evil, courage and cowardice, sacrifice and selfishness. Unlike didactic lessons that tell children what to think, fairy tales invite them into enchanted worlds where they experience what virtue looks like—and what it costs.

We will examine several classic tales and discover how these stories present truths through images and metaphors that are permanently imprinted on young imaginations, shaping not only what children know, but who they become. 

In this session, you’ll learn how ancient stories can form character, awaken a longing for the transcendent, and prepare children to live with courage, hope, and wonder—even in a disenchanted modern world.

The Early Years: It’s Not All Fun and Games… But Actually, It Is
By Amarna Kirk

In the early years of homeschooling, it’s easy to feel pressure to “do more,” start a curriculum early, or worry that play isn’t enough. This workshop gently flips that script.

In The Early Years: It’s Not All Fun and Games… But Actually, It Is, we’ll explore why play is not a distraction from learning—but the foundation of it. Amarna will explain how young children naturally develop essential skills through play, including language, problem-solving, emotional regulation, and early literacy and numeracy, all without worksheets or formal lessons.

Participants will learn:

• Why rushing into a curriculum can actually hinder long-term learning

• What meaningful learning through play really looks like

• How to recognize real progress without traditional academic markers

• Practical ways to support learning at home while keeping joy at the center

Whether you’re new to homeschooling or feeling unsure about your approach, this workshop will offer clarity, confidence, and permission to slow down—because in the early years, play isn’t just fun and games. It is the work.

Educación en Casa: Primeros Pasos con Confianza
By Marie Ann Arrellano

Si eres nuevo en la instrucción en casa y no sabes por dónde comenzar, este taller es para ti. La instrucción en casa (homeschool) no se trata de hacerlo todo perfecto, sino de caminar cada día con intención y amor. Esta es una presentación sencilla y alentadora que explica lo básico sobre la educación en casa, los mitos, las leyes en Texas y Nuevo México, los diferentes estilos de aprendizaje, los retos comunes, las finanzas, los materiales educativos y los recursos disponibles para las familias.

Thriving in Babylon: How to Live as a Godly Family in a Pagan Culture
By Phillip Telfer

We are inspired by the stories of Daniel in the lion’s den and his three companions in the fiery furnace, but have we given enough thought to the foundation that must have been laid in their lives to help them thrive in Babylon? They were not only captive in a pagan culture, but their own people had been sent into exile by God on account of their own unfaithfulness and corruption. What made these young men different? Phillip Telfer explores this timely theme and how it applies to our present culture. 

Help! The Smartphone Ate My Family
By Phillip Telfer

Today’s parents are trailblazers, raising children in a digital world no generation has faced before. Smartphones can connect us, but they can also consume us—stealing time, focus, and relationships. There’s no ancestral wisdom to lean on, no well-worn map to follow. The decisions you make today will set the course for your children—and for generations to come. Phillip Telfer combines over two decades of ministry experience with Biblical wisdom and current research to guide you through the challenges of raising kids in a screen-saturated culture. With his winsome style, Phillip shows you how to find balance, regain focus, and restore relationships in your home.

Affording Homeschool Long-Term: Budgeting Intentionally for what lasts

Julia Novoa

Homeschooling is not a line item in a budget, it's a lifestyle. In this session, we’ll take an honest look at the real cost of homeschooling, including time, income tradeoffs, activities, food, curriculum, and the pressure to keep up with what others are doing. We’ll discuss the often-debated topic of free versus paid resources, and why “free” can sometimes cost more than you expect.

This session is not about extreme frugality or cutting everything out. It’s about intentional spending, learning when to say yes, and when to say no,  so your homeschool remains financially sustainable and aligned with what matters most to your family.

Navigating Dual Credit and Transcripts: A homeschooler's perspective

Julia Novoa

Homeschool high school often feels overwhelming because parents are asked to make many decisions at once, often without clear guidance that actually fits homeschooling. This session brings clarity to dual credit and transcripts in Texas by separating what truly matters from what parents tend to overcomplicate. We will discuss how dual credit can be a supportive, flexible option rather than a pressure-filled requirement, and how homeschool transcripts can be planned intentionally instead of retroactively assembled in panic. Parents will leave with a clearer understanding of their rights, their options, and how to plan high school in a way that supports both their child’s growth and their family’s values.

Texas Education Freedom Accounts

In 2025, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 2 and provided $1 billion in funding to create the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program and give parents greater freedom and flexibility in choosing the best educational environment for their children.

A participating child who is homeschooled may be eligible to receive $2,000 annually. Learn more during our presentation.

HIGH SCHOOL PANEL

Join a panel of high school students, homeschool graduates and parents to see how homeschooling high school and be encouraged to see what homeschool kids are doing beyond high school. Moderated by Lindsay Kronmiller

PLUS WORKSHOPS ON:

SENSORY PROCESSING
CHARLOTTE MASON HOMESCHOOL PHILOSOPHY
PROJECT BASED LEARNING
HOMESCHOOLING IN THE AGE OF AI
STRUGGLE IN THE LEARNING PROCESS
INCORPORATING FIELD TRIPS
ORGANIZING AND MINIMIZING YOUR HOME EDUCATION JOURNEY
PARENTING
+ MORE TO COME!

Conference Schedule

Two full days of workshops and a fantastic vendor hall.

Friday, February 21, 2025
8:00–9:00 Vendor Set Up
9:00–9:45 Registration and Exhibit Hall
9:45–10:45 Opening Session + Keynote
11:00–12:00 Workshops
12:00–1:30 Lunch and Vendor Hall
1:30–2:30 Workshops
2:45–3:45 Workshops
4:00–5:00 Workshops
5:30 Exhibit Hall Closes

Saturday, February 24, 2024
8:00–8:15 Registration and Exhibit Hall
8:15–8:55 Keynote
9:00–10:00 Workshops
10:15–11:15 Workshops
11:30–1:00 Lunch and Vendor Hall
1:00–2:00 Workshops
2:15–3:15 Closing Keynote
4:00 Exhibit Hall Closes

EXHIBIT HALL

FREE + OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Open Friday—9-5:30
Saturday—8-4:00

VENDORS INCLUDE:

Howard Payne University (SIlver Sponsor)
TELOS (Bronze Sponsor)
Desert Sun Chiropractic
The Tuttle Twins
Fort Bliss Homeschoolers
Waymakers Community
4-H
Aspendale Mountain Retreat Center
Dino Therapy
SImple and Bliss
Primerica
Frictionless Families
Texas Education Freedom Accounts
Classical Life Training
Master Gardners
Media Talk 101
Happy Sunshine Academy
Victorious Heritage Homeschool
Westside Co-op
EPCHS Panthers
El Paso Library
YMCA
Upper Strings Suzuki Violin Studio
TPUSA
New Beginnings Pediatric Therapy Services
Premier Studios
Keystone Christian School
Link Homeschool Connections

AND MORE!