2025 Delaware Home Education Convention
March 29, 2025
Hosted by Tri-State Homeschool
A homeschool convention
right here in Delaware
Join fellow homeschoolers in the Diamond State for:
Engaging Content
Multiple speakers, workshops, breakouts and panel discussions on a variety of homeschool topics.
Wide-ranging Resources
Multiple educational resource companies, exhibitors, homeschool businesses and educational organizations, plus a used curriculum sale.
Face-to-face connections
Meet up with other homeschooling families from across Delaware and nearby states.
Registration
Digital Program
Schedule
8:00 - 9:00am - Registration and Welcome Breakfast
9:00 - 10:00am - Opening Keynote Address, The "Why" of Homeschooling: a Homeschool Graduate’s Perspective
10:00am - Noon - Breakout Sessions
10:00am - 10:45am
Auditorium - Getting to Know Delaware's Homeschool Law
Breakout A - How to Teach Astronomy - The Lost Art of Wonder
Breakout B - Teen writing workshop 🟦
Breakout C - 4-H in Delaware
11:00am - 11:45am
Auditorium - Literacy, Logic, Life!
Breakout A - How to Start a Homeschool
Breakout B - Making Math Fun
Breakout C - Visiting High School Students/SEED 🟦
Noon - 1:00pm - Lunch, with options from Bagels and Boba Cafe, a homeschool family run business (select options during registration)
Noon - 4:00pm - Exhibitor Hall and Used Curriculum Sale Open
1:00 - 4:00pm - Breakout Sessions
1:00pm - 1:45pm
Auditorium - Finding and Choosing a Curriculum
Breakout A - What is Unschooling and How Does It Work?
Breakout B - Overcoming Homeschool Discrimination
Breakout C - Learning Through Stories & Places 👪
2:00pm - 2:45pm
Auditorium - Stop Worrying About...
Breakout A - Cybersecurity & Your Homeschool
Breakout C - Fun With Fossils 👪
3:00pm - 3:45pm
Auditorium - Pushing Your Ducks Back Into a Row (Teaching multiple kids and levels)
Breakout A - The Why and How of Helping Middle Graders learn the Basics of the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, and Classical Thought
Breakout B - Life After Homeschool: A panel discussion with homeschool graduates
4:00 - 5:00pm - Closing Keynote Address: What Does the Future Hold for Homeschool Freedom?
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🟦 - Teen interest
👪 - For parents & kids together
Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Indya Rennie
Indya Rennie is the operations manager for Delaware Strong Families and Delaware Family Policy Council, which are dedicated to helping Delawareans live out a Biblical worldview in the public square. Indya was homeschooled through all 12 grades, and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Government Policy and a Masters' Degree in Education by age 23. Indya is also a speech and debate teacher and helps oversee the annual Delaware Leadership Congress. During her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends and playing the piano.
Opening Keynote: The "Why" of Homeschooling: a Homeschool Graduate’s Perspective
Amy Buchmeyer
A Wisconsin native, Amy was homeschooled K–12 along with her four younger siblings. She developed a passion for politics while involved in Generation Joshua in high school and eventually double majored in politics & government and criminal justice at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee. Upon graduation, Amy worked as a field director for Americans for Prosperity. She later received her JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she served as president of the Federalist Society and articles editor of the Wisconsin Law Review. Now, at HSLDA, Amy serves as the contact attorney for eight states and one US territory. Amy loves to travel, and has lived in Wisconsin, Tennessee, Idaho, Colorado, England, Thailand, and now Virginia. When not at work, you can usually find her buried in a book (she averages over 200 a year), traveling, or failing to kill her 9 jade plants.
Session: Getting to Know Delaware's Homeschool Law
Closing Keynote: What Does the Future Hold for Homeschool Freedom?
Breakout Speakers
Nancy Head
Nancy Head has taught English for 25 years at middle school, high school, and college levels, including tutoring homeschooled students and teaching English for two summers in China. She has a master's degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is a Distinguished Toastmaster, and a Colson Fellow. She previously worked as a radio and newspaper reporter. She is the author of a non-fiction book, Restoring the Shattered: Illustrating Christ's Love Through the Church in One Accord and the recently released middle grade novel Wandering Swallow, A Young Girl's Quest for Freedom.
Sessions: Literacy, Logic, Life! and The Why and How of Helping Middle Graders learn the Basics of the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, and Classical Thought
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Tony Ceraso
Tony is the creator the popular Home School Astronomy curriculum. He has a master’s degree in education and has written astronomy curriculum for the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC and for NASA’s educational outreach programs. He currently helps run the planetarium and the exoplanet exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum.
Session: How to Teach Astronomy - The Lost Art of Wonder
Lee King
L.S. King is a science fiction author with novels published in two series to date, with more in the pipeline. Also, she worked as a submissions editor and a copy editor on several magazines, authored a column for new writers, and was a founding editor of the online magazine, Ray Gun Revival, now on hiatus. Her short stories have been included in two anthologies of the best short stories and poetry from Double-Edged Publishing, and also in Inkd Publishing's Hidden Villains. Various online magazines have published her stories including Deep Magic, The Sword Review, Dragons, Knights & Angels, Digital Dragon Magazine, and Residential Aliens. The fact that several of the publications which have released her stories are now defunct has nothing to do with her. Honest. Lee also was a homeschool mom for over two decades, as well as helping to homeschool some of her grandchildren for a period of time. Do not ask about trigonometry; it's not pretty to see an old woman melt down.
Sessions: Stop Worrying About... and Teen Writing Workshop
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Melissa Layfield
Melissa Layfield is a life-long learner, an avid nature-lover, and a graduate of the University of Delaware. She is a mother of three children who have always been homeschooled/unschooled. She has worked to create mindful education programs for adults and children for over 15 years, including the local secular homeschool cooperative: Walnut Grove Coop. Prior to developing this community she worked in the Finance Industry leveraging Consumer Behavioral Science to direct Marketing Programs and User Interface Design. She loves to inspire people to learn new skills and find new tools to fuel their genius.
Session: How to Start a Homeschool
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Jason Zerbey
Jason started homeschooling his sons 11 years ago. He grew from a school-at-home model to one that eschews the concept of being a "teacher" at all. That journey led him to find Christ in his heart, become a political anarchist, and evangelize for the unschooling method.
Jason credits the unschooling mentality with carrying him through widowhood, healing his alcoholism, and inspiring him to open a tattoo studio with his new fiancé.
​Session: What is Unschooling and How Does It Work?
Elizabeth Stevens
Dr. Elizabeth Stevens discovered her passion for music at an early age, when impactful mentors from the vibrant arts community in Central Florida inspired her study of the oboe and love of teaching. After earning graduate degrees from Northwestern University (MM) and Michigan State University (DMA), Dr. Stevens taught on the faculties of the University of Michigan–Flint, the University of Windsor (Ontario), and the University of Delaware. Her research interests are in the areas of oboe performance, early childhood music, arts advocacy and gifted education. Most importantly, she is a wife to Daniel Stevens, music theorist and Interim Director of the University of Delaware School of Music, and a mom/teacher to seven beautiful children ages two to seventeen.
Session: Pushing Your Ducks Back Into a Row (Teaching multiple kids and levels)
Jeff Hague
Jeff has been a homeschool dad for 10+ years and has worked in various IT positions for 20+ years across software development, architecture, cybersecurity and mobile device management. More recently, Jeff switched to being the primary home education facilitator in his home and also began serving as the President of Tri-State Homeschool.
Session: Cybersecurity & Your Homeschool
Lindsay Rhein
Lindsay Rhein graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and a minor in Theater. Upon graduation, her love for learning and reading in all the liberal arts led her to accept a job at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Wilmington. When her oldest son was born, she left to begin a career as a mother, homemaker, and home educator.
An active volunteer in her homeschool and church communities, she’s taught Shakespeare, music theory and appreciation, elementary science, drama, and currently directs the Elementary choir for Mount Sophia Academy where her older children are actively involved.
Lindsay has homeschooled her five boys and two girls exclusively and has a special love for the educational philosophies of Charlotte Mason. She serves on the board for Mater Amabilis, a free Catholic Charlotte Mason curriculum, and loves introducing children and families to all the good, true, and beautiful things in God’s creation. Lindsay offers her services as a home education consultant at Vignette Home Learning Solutions.
Session: Finding and Choosing a Curriculum
Melissa Pheasant
Melissa Pheasant is an Academic Counselor at Delaware Technical Community College. In her 23+ years at Delaware Tech, she has served in a variety of roles. She was an instructor in the English Department for 15 years and has taught a variety of courses. She has been an Academic Counselor since August of 2021. In this role, she provides academic and career advisement to students and prospective students. As a member of the recruitment team, Melissa enjoys participating in school and community events to promote the programs and services that Delaware Tech has to offer.
She received her Bachelor's degree in Communication with a minor in English (1993), her Master's degree in Educational Technology (2015), and her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) (2024) in Educational Leadership from the University of Delaware.
Session: SEED Program
Mavryn Cooper
Mavryn Cooper has been a homeschool mom for 13 years. She loves seeing students grow in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. In her homeschool journey, she has tutored many students in mathematics and writing from elementary to high school. Her passion is teaching students to learn how to learn for themselves using natural ways to learn. She has worked with Classical Conversations as a tutor and director for 12 years redeeming her own education while helping her children learn how to learn. She and her husband have adopted four children and homeschooled all 4. Their family has homeschooled alongside and through issues like ADHD, ODD, autism, developmental delays, hearing loss, and trauma, neglect, food issues, and more. They've graduated 3 daughters and are still homeschooling a special needs son. Her passion is to help families know that homeschooling and in particular math is possible and even fun!
Session: Making Math Fun
Kelli Barsony
She is an "accidental" homeschooling mom who had been an elementary classroom teacher and had originally thought that homeschooling was a ridiculous idea. But after a frustrating and stressful kindergarten year of her oldest child of four, she decided to give homeschooling a try. It proved to be one of the best decisions she ever made. However, as her youngest child graduated and went on to cosmetology school she found herself in a legal battle with the NJ State Board of Cosmetology because they denied her daughter a cosmetology license simply because the Board refused to accept her homeschool high school diploma. Her daughter had completed the required hours of classroom experience, had passed both the written and practical exam, yet the Board stated that only those who went to "approved" high schools could receive a license. The Board offered the option of taking the GED or the HiSet test to "prove" her education was sufficient, but both Kelli and her daughter, Morgan, felt this was discrimination, as the State of NJ’s Department of Education authorized homeschool parents to certify high school diplomas. Therefore, her daughter’s diploma should be acceptable for issuance of her cosmetology license. With the help of HSLDA the Barsonys began what ended up becoming a three year battle to get Morgan her NJ State Cosmetology License.
Session: Overcoming Homeschool Discrimination
Plus:
Brenda Shaffer, Ed Rowse.
Plus, an "Ask Me" table ~ Bring your questions on any homeschool topic to be answered by seasoned homeschoolers!
Location
Bible Fellowship Church
808 S. Old Baltimore Pike, Newark DE 19702
Free parking
Exhibitors & Sponsors
Be sure to thank our list of exhibitors and sponsors:
FAQs
Do you accept applications for booths for vendors/clubs/organizations?
Yes, if you offer a product or service that serves the needs of homeschool families and are interested in being an exhibitor in our resource fair or an advertiser at our 2026 convention, please review our exhibitor guidelines and submit an Exhibitor Application.
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Can I come if I don’t live in Delaware?
Yes! While sessions on starting a homeschool will focus on Delaware’s law, the conference is open to anyone.
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Do I need to be a Tri-State member to attend?
No, the conference is open to anyone.
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Can I attend for part of the convention?
You are free to attend as much or as little of the convention as you are able. Registration is not prorated for partial attendance.
Will child care be provided?
No, child care is not provided. The convention is oriented toward homeschool parents, although children are welcome to attend with their parents. Parents are responsible for their children throughout the convention.
Can I request a lunch to fit my dietary restrictions?
Yes, when registering see each available meal selection and select the best option for you.
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Where can I request a table to sell at the Used Curriculum Sale?
You can review details and request a table on the Used Curriculum Sale signup page.
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Do you accept applications for speakers?
If you are interested in being a speaker at our 2026 convention, please review our speaker guidelines and submit a Speaker Application.