"Then were there brought to him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 19:13-14

Several years ago we went for the first time to a church where the pastor's were very involved in homeschooling.  It was the first time we had been to this type of church and we were amazed to see all the families sitting together, enjoying God's word.  Some of the little ones were coloring or drawing, but none of the parents were feeding their children candy to keep them quiet, as this young and uninformed mom was doing.(I can't believe I did that!) We were encouraged to see that families could work together, and we enjoyed having our own children with us for the service, especially singing together as a family.

We just received the brochure for a large homeschool conference in California, and my husband was amazed to read that they will not be allowing children in their sessions.  Personally, I really enjoy going to a conference by myself so that I can take notes and enjoy the speaker, but I have never felt imposed upon by other children at conferences and am discouraged that the practice of separating families, which is becoming so common in churches, is carrying over into homeschool conferences as well.  For some families, I am sure the option of a kids club (they are providing one) is helpful, but to not have a choice where your children will be, or to be forced to leave your children in a class with caregivers you are unfamiliar with, shouldn't happen in the homeschoool world.  A homeschool conference should be the one place where families are sovereign, and can make the decision about where their children will be most edified. 

There will be some wonderful speakers at this conference, and some of the sessions would really minister to my 7 and 10 year-old boys, but unfortunately they wouldn't have the chance to hear them.  Discovering this, makes me thankful for local conferences, where families are generally welcome to come together, and learn together, a core value of homeschooling.

Jennifer Pepito-TOS Chapel Editor

Jennifer will be speaking at the CFS conference in San Diego, California on May 10th.  CFS welcomes entire families.