2012 CHAP Homeschool Convention


* Click here to download the 2012 CHAP Homeschool Convention Program (8MB)

Parents of Preschoolers Special Offer

SOME OUTSTANDING REGULAR AND SPECIAL FEATURES

Practical, hands-on, and encouraging!

THE HOMESCHOOL EVENT OF THE YEAR!
May 11-12, 2012 • Pennsylvania Farm Show and Expo Center
Harrisburg, PA
Maps, Directions, and Parking Information

CONVENTION RECORDINGS

Convention Information

Convention Fees:
CHAP’s Family Friendly Pricing: Early bird registration to $30 per person to a maximum of $55 per family – must be postmarked by 3/31. A family will consist of parents and their children living at home and grandparents. CHAP will once again be offering optional teen and children’s programs for an additional fee.
For easier reading:
Convention Entry   Postmarked by 3/31/12   After 3/31/12 & At the Door
Individual $30 $38
Family $55 $65
POPs (Parents of Preschoolers)
To qualify,
-this must be your first CHAP Convention, and
-all of your children must be 4 or younger.		 FREE
Additional Costs   Postmarked by 3/31/12   After 3/31/12
Teen Track Registration will be closed when it reaches its maximum number of 300.
Children’s Program Registration Cutoff is 11:59pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012.
Teens Attending the Teen Track
(parents are welcome to attend by paying the fee)
The Teen Track is recommended for 12 years and above.		 $15 each $15 each
Children’s Program
(parents are welcome to attend by paying the fee)		 $15 each child per day $15 each child per day
CHAP Membership Fee: $25/year(optional)
(Includes CHAP Magazine subscription, discount for HSLDA, & $10 off convention registration)
CHAP Magazine subscription: $10/year (optional, included with CHAP Membership)

Facility and Food

Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center – Featuring more than 200 shows and events each year, and utilizing nearly one million square feet of indoor floor space, the complex is one of the premier event locations in Pennsylvania. The flexibility of the complex allows it to host major events around the entire facility, a private meeting, or anything in between. This facility welcomes us with lots of elbow room ~ spacious Exhibit Hall and newly remodeled rooms for workshops and seminars.

The Farm Show concessionaire will have a variety of food available in a Food Court – everything from a cafeteria line with multiple choices to fast food stands for a quick bite to eat. Prices can be similar as amusement park pricing. No food or drink may be brought into the Farm Show building by order of the Farm Show. You are also welcome to bring your own food to be stored in a cooler in your car, and there are also restaurants in the vicinity, but please be above reproach and respect the rules of the facility (This is not CHAP’s rule but the Farm Show’s policy). We encourage you to bring a cooler for an afternoon picnic outside while you rest between workshops and the Exhibit Hall.

The Farm Show has several ATM machines inside the complex buildings and also a drive-up machine outside the Cameron Street Lobby. Please consult your complex map for exact location denoted “$.”

Parking is available on site for $8 per vehicle. If the main lot becomes full, overflow parking will be available off-site for $8 per vehicle in the parking lot at the corner of Elmerton Avenue and Sycamore Drive (watch for signs off I-81 and Cameron Street) and includes shuttle bus service to the Farm Show Complex and Expo Center. This parking fee is the Farm Show’s policy and a requirement.

Farm Show Complex Information:

The emergency phone number for the Farm Show Complex during the hours of the convention is 717-783-2815      .
Here is a printable version of the Farm Show Map (189k, PDF format).

New to Homeschooling?

Plan to visit the CHAP Booth Table in the the Exhibit Hall where experienced home educators will be happy to assist you as you start your homeschooling journey!

Young Adults, Teens and Pre-teens

We are thrilled when your pre-teens, teens and young adults attend the Convention with you! Their hearts are stirred and their vision solidified when they see hundreds of families who are walking the same path. We applaud parents who are striving to give their children a vision of being adults rather than the cultural norm of prolonged irresponsibility. We desire to have the next generation gain a vision for their future and what the Lord wants do in their lives!

Teen Track – Each year CHAP offers a teen track especially geared for young adults. Be sure to watch our Convention page for details as the Convention registration draws near.

Children & Nursing Infants

Our goal is to educate parents! We feel that children will benefit more in the long run from having parents attend the convention than from being there themselves. If you do need to bring your children under 11 years of age, please help keep the convention enjoyable and peaceful by abiding by these rules:

  • Nursing infants (15 months & under) may come free with their parents. Due to our roomier facility, strollers are permitted, but large suitcases, wagons and large carts are not permitted.
  • Nursing Mothers’ Room – Facilities will be available for nursing mothers, but baby-care products are not provided. Only very young children may accompany their mothers into the Nursing Mothers’ Room, located in the Vendor Hall.
  • Children (16 months through 12 yrs) may attend with their parents and must always be accompanied by an adult
  • Workshop & Keynote Sessions: Please be considerate! Young children or nursing infants and their parents should sit near the door of the room, and children who fidget or talk and babies who make disturbing noises—even happy ones—should be removed immediately! Young children under 13 are not permitted to ask questions during any of the sessions. This is an opportunity for educators to educate themselves.
  • Children under 13 cannot be left unattended and must be supervised by an adult at all times.

Pastors and Grandparents

 

We desire for pastors and grandparents to understand what we’re doing and why we’re doing it! So …we encourage grandparents and pastors and their wives who are not home educating their children or grandchildren themselves to attend this convention!

 

 

Questions About the Convention?


Please do not call Farm Show Complex as they are not able to answer questions about the convention.

For questions or information call CHAP at 717-838-0980. or send an e-mail to staff@chaponline.com.

 

Stay Connected

It’s easy to be informed about all the exciting happenings taking place at the Convention!

  • Email ~ Receive our monthly emails by subscribing here!
  • Online ~ The website will be updated with any changes and late-breaking news about this convention as it becomes available.
  • Social Media ~ The CHAP Facebook page can be accessed for convention news. Your family will enjoy seeing what’s happening at the convention while you’re away ~ and maybe even you! Encourage them to drop by!  https://www.facebook.com/ChristianHomeschoolPA

 

 

Map & Directions

Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center

2300 North Cameron Street, Harrisburg, PA  |  (717) 787-5373 |  pafarmshowcomplex.com


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volunteers Needed (Money Back Guarantee!)

Welcome! The volunteer system is the heart of the CHAP convention, one of the largest in the world. Without volunteers we could not serve the thousands of home educators who come every year. We thank you in advance for all you do.

Benefits of Volunteering:

  • A chance to serve fellow homeschoolers
  • A tuition rebate equal to the tuition of each volunteer
  • Early bird shopping in the Used Curriculum Sale on Friday morning. 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM.
    (Imagine a chance to shop with only 300 other people!)
  • Online orientation, so there is no early morning meeting to attend

Who Can Volunteer?

You can! You must be 18 or older. We do have limited positions for teens who must be between 14 and 17 year of age to volunteer. For a teen to be assigned, one parent must also volunteer.
Teens registered for the Teen Track are not eligible to volunteer.

How Do I Volunteer?

  1. You must first be a registered attendee.
  2. You must register online and pay with a credit card.
  • After you have done this you will be offered a chance to volunteer.
  • You will be asked to identify which attendees in your family unit will be volunteering.
  • You will then be asked to pick a time slot and finally be given a choice of jobs available.

The jobs are first come first served, so it is to your advantage to sign up early. If there are no jobs available you will be offered a spot on the “stand by” list.

  • General Volunteer Positions
  • Arts & Essay Contests
  • Children’s Program Assistants
  • Host/Hostess
  • Information Booth
  • Medical-Physician/PA
  • Medical-Nurse/EMT
  • Monitor for Children’s Program
  • Prayer Booth
  • Recording Booth Sales
  • Recording Assistants
  • Registration
  • Resource Bag Distribution
  • Security
  • Sessions Recorders
  • Set Up or Tear Down
  • Speaker Booth
  • Used Curriculum Sales Set Up or Tear Down
  • Used Curriculum Sales
  • Used Curriculum Sales Check Out
  • Vendor Booth
  • Volunteer Booth Special Volunteer Positions
  • CHAP Booth
  • CHAP Lounge
  • Floater
  • Guest Speaker Booth Watcher

Making the Most of the Convention

Attending the CHAP Convention can be overwhelming especially if it’s your first time! With so many sessions to choose from, so many people to talk with, so many exhibitors to visit, so many books to look through it’s best to set a plan for your day ahead of time. Here are a few tips from parents who have attended the convention in previous years.

Have any to add?
Drop us an email staff@chaponline.com with “Convention Tips” in the subject line.

  • Pray and ask the Lord to help you get His best from the convention.
  • Seek the counsel of your spouse. Start preparing before you attend the convention? Discuss: What is our purpose for home educating our children? Pray together and ask for God’s wisdom and direction for your family.
  • Plan to pre-register. This takes the hassle out of waiting in long lines on the day of the convention.
  • Come prepared to take notes. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a large tote bag for all your goodies.
  • Attend the keynote sessions. These sessions are designed to give encouragement, vision, and help us to lead our families biblically. Academic resources are easily available. Vision and encouragement are harder to find.
  • If you have questions, be sure to write them down. Visit the CHAP table, located just inside the Exhibit Hall, and talk with veteran home educators.
  • Consider that you and your spouse may want to attend different workshops. Study the schedule and then divide and conquer. If you cannot attend all the sessions you want, plan to purchase MP3′s or CDs at the convention so you can save shipping charges.
  • Decide on a time and a place to reunite!
  • Take some time to study the Exhibit Hall map. If you have a “need list” go to those tables first, since vendors do run out of materials on occasion.
  • As time allows, browse the Exhibit Hall and check the products on your “want list’. Are they as good as you thought? Remember to pick up free samples or brochures.
  • Shop around the Exhibit Hall. Some exhibitors offer discounts. Carry a small notebook and make notes.
  • Look for non-consumable reusable materials.
  • Don’t make any major purchases not on your “need list’. Regret may prove to be a high price.
  • Be fair! If you spend a significant block of time with a particular exhibitor discussing a specific item, repay that exhibitor for his time by purchasing the item from him rather than a competitor.
  • Relax! The convention is planned to serve you. Take a 15-30 minute break each day.
  • Consider purchasing the convention audio recordings so you can listen and be refreshed during the year.