Convention Information

Facility and Food

What a blessing to be at beautiful Calvary Church in Naperville! This facility welcomes us with lots of elbow room ~ the auditorium is more than sufficient with accommodating workshop areas, a spacious Exhibit Hall and wonderful, affordable food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Calvary’s delicious food service includes a café, several snack stations and a coffee shop ~ now serving Starbucks! You are also welcome to bring your own food, and restaurants in the vicinity are numerous. Food and drinks are permitted anywhere in the building except the Sanctuary and Seminar Room. Parking is abundant ... and free! Many agree ~ there’s no better place to be!   Download the Calvary Cafe menu...

What could make Calvary even more beautiful? Music! Between sessions the atrium will be filled with the melodies of musicians from our homeschooling community. What a treat! Extra special music preceding keynote sessions, too, including the King Family Band!

 


 

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!  Read more...

 


 

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 ... free! 

 

Look for the special sessions being prepared for them on the workshop schedule.  Read more...

 

 

 

 


 

New to Homeschooling?

Plan to visit the Homeschool Oasis in Room 130 or the ICHE Book Table in the lobby where experienced home educators will be happy to assist you as you start your homeschooling journey!  Read more...

 


 

Questions About the Convention?


Please do not call Calvary Church as they are not able to answer questions about the convention. 

For questions or information call ICHE at 847-603-1259 or send an e-mail to info@iche.org.

 


 

Stay Connected

It's easy to be informed about all the exciting happenings taking place this year! Three ways to stay in the loop are:

  • Email ~ Receive our periodic emails by clicking on Contact Us and sign up!
  • Online ~ The website will be updated with any changes and late-breaking news about this convention as it becomes available.
  • Blog ~ The ICHE blog 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!  Read more...

 


 

 

Map & Directions



Calvary Church
9s200 State Route 59
Naperville, Illinois 

If using a GPS unit to navigate to the church, use the following address:
Illinois Route 59 & 83rd Street
Naperville, IL  60564

 

Accommodations

Please make your own arrangements and book early! There are many hotels in the Naperville area. The best pricing can be found online directly through the hotel website of your choice. Some of the most convenient locations are:
 
Courtyard by Marriott/Naperville: 630-505-0550
Hampton Inn: 630-505-1400
Fairfield Inn: 630-548-0966
 

 

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 everywhere, even the Exhibit Hall.
  • Children (16 months through 10 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 11 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.

 


 

Registration Options and Pricing

Three-Day covers all shopping and workshop opportunities, keynote sessions, funshops and movie night.

Two-Day covers all shopping and workshop opportunities as well as keynote sessions for any two day combination (Thursday/Friday, Friday/Saturday or Thursday/Saturday).

Thursday Only covers all workshops, funshops and the keynote session.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Applies only to an actual husband and wife. It cannot be applied to a parent and a child, two friends, etc.

**Maximum fee for pre-teens, teens and young adults is $50 per family.

 


 

Working Scholarships Available

Working scholarships are available with compensation of $10 per hour, up to four hours – returned from the registration fee. Young adults over 13 attending with a parent may work alongside that parent for $5 per hour, up to two hours per young adult – maximum four young adult hours per family. Please check the appropriate box on your registration. If you sign-up to help, please be faithful to your commitment.  We will be counting on you!  

One to two weeks before the convention, the coordinator will contact you by phone and schedule your times of service. Because we make every effort to contact these workers in the order in which their registration is received, early registrants have a better choice of service opportunities. If your time of service prevents you from attending a keynote session, or a workshop you hoped to attend, ICHE will provide you with a free MP3 download of that talk.

 

Setup Crew

We need help on Wednesday evening setting up the Exhibit Hall and Thursday morning helping vendors unload their products. This job is one of heavy lifting and physical labor.  Please do not volunteer to do this if you have health problems or are pregnant.  We need general set-up help, too, unloading and distributing folding chairs throughout the building.  On Saturday, take-down help is also needed.

 

Registration

We need help with this everyday beginning early morning.  Also, on Thursday we need help putting up signs and getting the area set-up.  On Saturday afternoon, we need help packing things away.

 

Hosting Keynote and Workshop Sessions

This is an area where we need a lot of help.  It involves checking in with the speaker (except keynotes), maintaining order during the session and making sure exits are kept clear.  You must be willing to ask people to quiet their children for the sake of the recordings being made or to relocate their strollers if they are blocking exits, which is a violation of the fire code.  Due to the nature of the job, this is a PARENTS ONLY position.

 

Exhibit Hall Monitors

This position is needed during the hours that the Exhibit Hall is open.  It involves checking for name badges before allowing admittance and referring attendees without a badge to the registration desk.  Please note the Exhibit Hall is open during workshop sessions.

 

Other Assistance

The Volunteer Coordinator can talk to you about other jobs, such as parking and greeting at the beginning of each day – both great jobs for parents and teens to perform together.  We also have a job available as “café monitor” helping to keep the lines moving during the lunch break.

 


 

Making the Most of the Convention


Attending the ICHE 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 info@iche.org 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 Home School Oasis, located just outside the Exhibit Hall in The Ministry Center Training Room 130, 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.