Conference Details Register Now Presentations Exhibitors Resources Schedule
This schedule subject to change.
Click the timestamps for longer descriptions!
Friday
1:00 Registration
1:30 Welcome and Announcements, First session begins - Socratic Discussion event or High School Goal Setting session
3:30 Coffee & Muffins Conversation
4:00 Depart for supper (on your own)
7:00 Doors open/Registration (coffee, tea, water, juice)
7:30 Evening Sessions
- Adults | Dr Brian Ray on Let’s Flip the Question: Why Would You Ever Stop Homeschooling, Not Why Would You Homeschool?
- Youth | Mr. Nicholas Pierlot on Navigating Your Temperament
9:30 Closing
Saturday
8:30-9:00 Check in for pre-registered and new registrations, Coffee, tea and icebreakers
9:00 Door Prize
9:05 Welcome and Announcements
9:15 Know Yourself and Know That Homeschooling Works: Charting a Course Part 1 - Dr Brian Ray
10:25 HSLDA ONE Minute Careers and Colleges Guide for Homeschoolers
10:30 Needs Break
10:40 Post-Secondary & Employment Opportunities - ONE Minute “How can homeschoolers enter your institution?”
11:25 Charting Your Course
11:40 Lunch
Noon Exhibit Hall opens
1:55 Door Prize
2:00 There is No One Best System But There Is Your Future: Charting a Course Part 2 - Dr Brian Ray
3:00 Coffee Break
3:15 Panel/Round-Table Discussion with Home Schooled Grads, Parents, Experts & Dr. Ray
4:15 Chart Your Course
4:30 Closing remarks
Friday
1:00 Check in (for pre registered and new registrations) at Spruce Grove Alliance Church.
1:30 Welcome and Announcements, First session begins - Socratic Discussion event or High School Goal Setting session
The Socratic Discussion event is an opportunity to spend time thinking about and discussing meaningful ideas with other conference participants. Participants will read a short story of enjoyable fiction and enter into a purposeful conversation to gain a deeper understanding of its content, guided by one of WISDOM's Socratic Dialogue Online Program tutors or WISDOM staff. The WISDOM Socratic Dialogue Online Program has offered courses in the classical tradition to home educated students for over 20 years. Covering a subject span of excellent literature, history, philosophy, theology, politics, logic, language, and writing, the Online Program aims to introduce and immerse students in the ideas of the great thinkers of the Western tradition and to help them understand these ideas as aimed at knowing the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. The short reading will be sent to participants ahead of time.
Ready to turn your dreams into reality? The High School Goal Setting workshop will help you do just that! Setting goals is like giving your future a map or GPS—without them, you’re just cruising without a direction! But when you embrace a growth mindset, you start seeing every challenge as a chance to grow. Failing? It’s not a setback, it’s part of the journey to success! And here’s the secret: a vision board is like your personal roadmap to the future you want. It keeps you on track, motivated, and ready for whatever’s next. Whether you're aiming for a better grade, mastering a new skill, or totally leveling up in life, your goals, mindset, and vision board are the tools that’ll help you crush it. Let’s make your dreams happen together—join the Mediated Learning High School Goal Setting workshop and start mapping out your future today!
The Socratic Discussion event and the High School Goal Setting workshop are great opportunities for the High School Conference attendees to meet each other, for students to connect and enjoy discussion and activities in person, and for those who are new to the idea of socratic discussion or Mediated Learning to get a taste of what the experience can offer. Please choose which session you will attend when you register for this event. Parents and students alike are welcome to participate.
2:30 Break (coffee/muffins)
3:30 Coffee & Muffins Conversation. Enjoy a hot beverage and muffins while visiting with conference attendees.
4:00 Depart for supper (on your own)
7:00 Doors open for evening session by High School & Beyond Conference keynote speaker, Dr. Brian Ray. Registration available for those who were unable to attend the earlier session. Enjoy a beverage (coffee, tea, water, juice) before the session starts.
7:00 Doors open for evening session by High School & Beyond Conference keynote speaker, Dr. Brian Ray and youth session by presenter Mr. Nicholas Pierlot. Registration available for those who were unable to attend the earlier session. Enjoy a beverage (coffee, tea, water, juice) before the session starts.
7:30 Evening Sessions
9:30 Closing
Saturday
8:30-9:00 Check in for pre-registered and new registrations, Coffee, tea and icebreakers.
9:00 Door Prize. You need to be in your seat to win!
9:05 Welcome and Announcements
9:15 Know Yourself and Know That Homeschooling Works: Charting a Course Part 1 - Dr Brian Ray
Dr. Ray will build your confidence about your future by first building your certainty about parent-directed home-based education, as opposed to institutionalized schooling. He will give you some educational history and then pack your head full of research facts and statistics on the learner outcomes of homeschooling. The goal is for the information to go beyond your head to touch your heart, give you conviction about the future, and point you in a positive direction. There will be plenty of time for discussion and Q and A.
10:30 Needs Break
10:40 Post-Secondary & Employment Opportunities - ONE Minute “How can homeschoolers enter your institution?”
Colleges, universities, and employment opportunities will have just one minute to give you their elevator pitch! This exciting session keeps representatives on their toes as they deliver only the most important information on the stage. After lunch, you have the opportunity to talk to them at their booths for more information.
Guided reflection time on charting your course through high school and beyond.
11:40 Lunch
Visit each booth and collect information on post secondary options, career opportunities, and more. Talk to high school subject specialists, WISDOM facilitators, the Mediated Learning and Socratic Dialogue Online Program teams, and get inspired for the journey through high school and beyond!
1:55 Door Prize
2:00 There is No One Best System But There Is Your Future: Charting a Course Part 2 - Dr Brian Ray
Dr. Ray has many formal education degrees but he knows that those are not necessary for the pinnacle of the good life. What pressures are on you as teenagers for your future? What are Dad and Mom saying? Your friends? Your culture? Dr. Ray will help you step back, assess some options and realize that the sky and wide-ranging field are the limit. One of the beauties of home education is diversity, options, alternatives, efficiency, relaxation, and being out of the norm. Why go to college, why not? How is debt good, or bad? How might you capitalize on the advantages of home education? Dr. Ray has some ideas for you based on 40 years of doing research, raising 8 children, and meeting homeschoolers all over the world. Bring your head, your heart, a notepad, your parents, and some laughter. There will be plenty of time for discussion and Q and A.
3:00 Coffee Break
3:15 Panel/Round-Table Discussion with Home Schooled Grads, Parents, Experts & Dr. Ray
Applying what you’ve learned from the conference to your journey through high school and beyond.
4:30 Closing remarks