Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all PAACH homeschooling families. I hope your family is doing well as we celebrate our Savior’s birth. 2025 has brought a lot of changes for my family. We have lost a loved one, change in jobs, and changes in relationships. With all these changes, I know that one thing is constant and that is God’s love for us. These changes that he puts before us help us to grow and trust in him more. They help us to be thankful for opportunities and trails that we are led through. As PAACH has placed the family focus on worshiping together, we are able to include how thankful we are in all he gives. The Christmas season is the perfect time to start or ramp up your worship with the one and true living God. I want to outline a few ways that my family uses.

Family Devotional

First, we start the season with a devotional. This can line up with the Advent calendar and be a countdown to our Savior’s birth. Our favorite is the use of the Jesse Tree. Daily we pull out the ornament for the day that represents the story and bible passage. Our children take turns placing their ornament on the tree. In our devotion, we read the devotion and take turns reading the bible to create involvement. We discuss the story and answer some basic questions that helps relate the Bible stories to God.

Singing As a Family

Second, we sing songs of praise. Our devotional does include lists of songs. I will have to admit that we have been hot and cold doing this over the years. Last year, we would look the songs up on You Tube and sang along with the words. On average we sang about two to three songs a night.

Family Prayer

Finally, we would end in prayer. We would pray from the devotional and add the things that were in our heart. We started a prayer wall last year that again has lost sight in the business of life but are going to revive and plan to continue over the year. My oldest convicted me during our last visit with him. He had a prayer wall for all his college friends and family that he would pray over. I see that he continued it while at school while as a leader at home I let life snuff it out.

With the New Year, we tend to wipe our slates clean as a society. As Christians, we know the only thing that truly wipes us clean is the blood of Christ. Take this season and help it reignite his flame in your heart and in your family worship, and to carry that on past the new year.

The PAACH board desires for you lean on God and His Word, and to know that you have a community of homeschool believers that are here to help and support you throughout your journey. We also desire to help you disciple your children by providing encouragement, wisdom, and resources that will enable you to be Godly parents who lead your children towards Christ. We pray that your family learns together, grows together with others in community, and glorifies Christ in everything you do. You are chosen to be a part of his family and to worship him.

Carlos Gonzalez
PAACH Vice President

 

We have been busy planning another great PAACH Convention for next year in April! Check out details on our website. Our theme this year is, "Made to Worship!" focusing on family worship of our Creator and Savior!

Keynote Speakers

We have a great line-up of keynote speakers including:

1. Todd Wilson, whose humor and gut-honest realness have made him a favorite speaker at homeschool conventions across the country
2. Kevin Swanson, whose passion is to strengthen and encourage families all over the world
3. Kirk Smith, Executive Director of ICHE

Friday morning Kevin Swanson will discuss Family Worship, Family Economy, and Family Life for homeschooling families. Then, Saturday morning, Todd Wilson will describe the FOUR Homeschool Temperaments. Finally, Kirk Smith will challenge us all as we depart with A Leap of Faith session on Saturday afternoon.

Vendors

Come check out BJU Press, Teaching Textbooks, Math with Mrs. Brown, and other great curriculum providers! We are adding more each month as we approach convention. Please let us know if you have a curriculum provider you would like to see there by emailing us at peoriapaach@gmail.com.

Kids Classes

Some exciting kids’ classes include:

• Terri Gambetti – Painting the Masters, Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa
• Carla Estell – Paper Art Class
• Forest Park Nature Center – Reptile Discovery

Teen Classes

Paul Larson’s teen’s classes include:

• Geological Evidence for a Global Flood and a Young Earth
• Did Jesus Claim to be God?
• Are the Four Gospels Reliable?
• Do we have the Right Books in the New Testament?
• Memorizing Whole Books of the Bible

For Parents

• Encouragement for the homeschool mom or dad include:
• The Success Factors that Matter Most
• Exploring Homeschool Methods
• Teaching Your Child the Bible
• Homeschooling Through High School
• Nurturing a Healthy Mind and Happy Home
• 10 Things You Need to Teach Your Daughter Before She Graduates
• Maximizing the Power of Mentorship
• Homeschooling the College-Bound Teen
• And many more!

We can’t wait to gather together on April 10-11th for our next amazing homeschool convention and fellowship with other homeschooling families who are going through the same joys and struggles that come with home educating your children.

Early registration opens January 12th. See you there!

Stephanie Irwin
Convention Committee Chair

New to Homeschooling Night

January 8, 2026 at Bethany Baptist Church

7422 N Heinz Ln, Edwards, IL 61528

New and first year homeschoolers are encouraged to attend this FREE event to learn more about homeschooling. More details and registration are coming soon.

2026 Homeschool Convention

Early Registration Opens January 12, 2026

Info & Registration

Career Fair

January 31, 2026 at Resurrection Presbyterian Church

905 S Maxwell Rd, Peoria, IL 61607

Is your teen curious about which careers don’t require a college degree? If so, your teen should attend the PAACH Career Fair to explore careers in entrepreneurship, trades, and more.

Register Now

January 24, 2026 at All Peoples Fellowship

130 Shawnee Drive Carol Stream , IL 60188

Brook Wayne will be sharing a heartfelt and uplifting message that promises to encourage and inspire you. Come and experience a time of meaningful worship, where we can lift our hearts together in praise. Enjoy a delicious meal as we gather for food, laughter, and fellowship.

The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at All People's Fellowship Church in Carol Stream on January 24. Registration is $45.00 for the primary registrant; other household members may attend with the primary registrant for an additional $15.00. Lunch will be provided. Household members include daughters, grandmothers, etc., who reside with the primary registrant. Daughters 12 years and up are welcome to attend.

Register Now 

Greetings PAACH homeschooling families. I hope your family is finding your rhythm as you march into new school year. PAACH is continuing to focus on encouraging families to worship together daily in your homes. Last month, Vice President Carlos Gonzalez shared some thoughts and ideas about the importance of reading the Bible together. This month, I want to give you some encouragement towards discussing the Bible together and suggest some tools to help in your daily family worship.

First, there are many benefits that come from discussing what you have read. For example, it gives everyone a chance to interact with God’s Word. I try to give each child the opportunity to share an observation about the verse or passage, usually starting with the youngest capable child (starting around age 5 or 6). If they know they get to share, they are more likely to pay attention and thoughtfully engage with scripture. This also helps you to know what they are thinking and to guide the conversation. You may also have opportunity to brainstorm ideas on how to practically apply what you are studying to real life. On Sundays, we discuss our takeaway from the sermon or lesson while we eat lunch. Discussing scripture also grows and keeps unity within your family.

Second, there are several tools that may help your family grow in understanding and sound doctrine. A commentary is an effective way to gain insight into a passage and keep you from misinterpreting or inferring foreign ideas or meanings into scripture. A tool like this can help to teach your family to grow in discernment and how to “rightly handle the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). A catechism is another great tool that will help you to “teach what accords with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). The question-and-answer format is helpful to lay a foundation for sound doctrine, to stir up critical thinking, and to build confidence in what you believe. In my home, catechism has started many good discussions and built us up in our faith. Because of the foundations laid through catechism, I have watched my older kids recognize bad teachings and even seek to challenge them appropriately. Another useful tool is a devotional, which may help your family to tackle a specific topic. My family has at times taken a break from catechism and switched to a devotional depending on what our family was experiencing at the time. A wise leader will be sensitive to the needs of his family and flexible to use different tools according to the season or circumstance.

Thirdly, there are many good times to engage in discussion of God’s Word. Discussing the Bible is not limited to the confines of family worship. The brief discussion during your family worship can plant seeds that will then need watering and eventually come to fruition at later times. God tells his people to “talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way…” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). As your children get older, the Holy Spirit often gives you other opportunities throughout the day to continue a discussion from that morning. Often, mealtimes offer opportunities to continue a discussion after everyone has had time to think through a topic or idea. Your child may have had a moment that day to apply that lesson to a situation outside your home. The Holy Spirit may be working on a specific bent or challenge in your child’s heart that causes them to bring it up again. As Paul encourages, it is important to always be ready and open to discussing God’s Word and be willing to “correct, encourage, and rebuke, with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Tim 4:2).

The PAACH board desires to help and support you throughout your homeschooling journey. We also desire to help you disciple your children by providing encouragement, wisdom, and resources that will enable you to be Godly parents who lead your children towards a relationship with Jesus Christ. We pray that your family learns together, grows together with others in community, and glorifies Christ in everything you do.

James Cox
PAACH President

Creativity is God’s Idea & It’s for Everyone

Have you ever heard someone say—or you have said it yourself— “I don’t have a creative bone in my body”? Or have you recognized that you or someone in your family seems to have a bit more of a creative gift than you seem to have? Or have you realized that you or someone in your family has a creative bent, but are unsure of what to do about it? And furthermore, have you noticed how God has and is working creatively in your life and in those around you?

I feel like my eyes have been opened in recent years to the answers to these questions and more as I’ve sought to study God’s character quality of creativity, the fact that creativity is part of being made in God’s image, and noticed how God works creatively in each of our lives for our good and for His glory.

There are many Bible verses, books and articles that have encouraged me as I’ve pursued this study and as I’ve taught art to homeschool students. Here are a few highlights:

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

“If you are God, your work is to create out of nothing. If you are not God, but like God—that is, if you are human—your work is to take what God has made and shape it and use it to make Him look great." John Piper, from Don't Waste Your Life

“No work of art is more important than the Christian’s own life, and every Christian is called upon to be an artist in this sense. He may have no gift of writing, no gift of composing or singing, but each man has the gift of creativity in terms of the way he lives his life.” Francis Schaeffer, from Art and the Bible

I hope you can join me at the PAACH Mother-Daughter Tea Party on November 15th as I seek to remind us all of the amazingly creative God we serve, how He desires us to reflect His creativity, and how He is continually working creatively in our lives.

Sharon Pittenger

Hello PAACH homeschooling families. I pray that your family has taken time to worship together at home. PAACH has been focusing on encouraging families to worship together. The past two monthsour PAACH President, James Cox, and I have outlined four elements for daily worship: (1) Read the Bible, (2) Discuss God’s Word, (3) Pray together, & (4) Sing together. This month I am going to focus on the reading the Bible.

Reading the Bible

Before reading, be sure to open with prayer. Fathers, pray for God to open his word and soften your family’s hearts. God talks about the power of prayer in James. In James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

When reading, it is easy to get caught up in reading from someone else about biblical principles, but the most important thing to do is to read the Bible itself. The Bible is from God while other books about the Bible are written by man. These are good companions to have to go along with Bible reading, but do not replace what God can teach you through his scriptures.

While reading, consider what it is that God’s word wants you and His family to know. God may have something to teach you or someone in your family. He can show you more about Him, His salvation, and His love. God will also teach us how to love, how to pray, how to repent, how to obey, and more. An important “how to” is in Ephesians 6:1-4, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

In Genesis 18:19, God says, “For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.” God commands us to read His Word and teach our children a good sense of morality. More importantly, it gives us an opportunity to share the Gospel message to give them a chance to believe and teach their children. Just by reading the Word out loud, we are planting seeds.

Let’s continue to urge one another to worship. I am going to repeat myself from the July newsletter. Now is the time to hear the call to worship to plant the seeds of His family tree with those He has entrusted you to care for. Fathers, continue to listen to the call to lead in family worship. Mothers, cherish the opportunity to teach your children about God. God wants you to treasure the time with your family that He has given you, and to share his good news with your loved ones. “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

The PAACH board desires for you to lean on God and His Word, and to know that you have a community of homeschool believers that are here to help and support you in your journey. We also desire to help you disciple your children by providing encouragement, wisdom, and resources that will enable you to be Godly parents who lead your children towards Christ. We pray that your family learns together, grows together with others in community, and glorifies Christ in everything you do. You are chosen to be a part of His family.

Carlos Gonzalez
PAACH Vice President

 

Last month, I enthusiastically shared with you my joy in homeschooling and serving my family's needs. This month, I am writing in great despair as I am overwhelmed with challenges. Sister, if you are suffering and in need of a prayer or more, please let us know how we can pray for and or serve you. Additionally, you can seek comfort with other like-minded moms at our annual Mother-Daughter Tea Party in November.

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed," 1 Peter 4:12-13.

As a Christian, I know I will experience life's sufferings and trials during my short stay on this tragically fallen world. But I also know, I have a true and faithful God who is carrying me through this. I look to Him as my strength and refuge as I seek solace in Him.

"But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love," Psalm 59:16-17.

Praise God in all of your circumstances and pour your heart, your anxieties, your fears, your worries, and your tears to Him. Knowing that He hears our cries brings strength and peace, even in the midst of our trials and tribulations. "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint," Isaiah 40:31.

And Sister, please don't neglect yourself. Take short breaks throughout the day or take a morning off once a week (or more, if needed) to yourself. Enjoy a brisk walk or immerse yourself in a hobby. Also, ask your husband, older children, grandparents, or your community for help (PAACH is here to help, too!). Sabbath is a wonderful experience for full restoration.

Lastly Sister, please recognize that you are loved and cherished. Also, you are doing an awesome job! If you feel like you are failing- please stop those negative thoughts! Please take a break and seek alone time with Him. Take care of yourself, beloved. I'm rooting for you, and I will be praying for you.

"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she can laugh at the days to come," Proverbs 31:25.

Yvonne Wendt
PAACH Board Newsletter Editor

 

The PAACH Convention Committee is seeking volunteers for the following positions: Marketing Coordinator, Vendor Co-Coordinator and Registration Co-Coordinator. Each position has specific responsibilities listed below and are required to attend monthly meetings held on the first Saturday of each month. Contact the Convention Committee Chair Stephanie Irwin at sirwin2006@gmail.com with questions.

Marketing Coordinator

Sending out weekly email blasts advertising different aspects of convention when registrations start. Distributing posters and ads to local homeschool groups, co-ops, and choirs starting in January. Contacting local radio stations (WBNH, WCIC, WPEO) for convention advertising spots. Filling out information on the family calendars of local radio stations. Implementing any other new advertising ideas.

Vendor Co-Coordinator

Communicating with returning and potential vendors for PAACH Convention. Creating and securing the map layout of the convention facility. Being present for set up on convention day and facilitating a smooth vendor set up. Following up with vendors post-convention for feedback, sending out IRS forms, and sharing next year’s dates.

Registration Co-Coordinator

Setting up online registration page in Wild Apricot including additional registrations needed for New to Homeschool Night, MP3 Orders, Kids Classes, and other related items sold each year. Monitoring registration, fixing registration problems and fielding questions from Jan - Mar. Providing sign-up information for meals, classes, and volunteers to the proper Committee Reps. Preparing Convention Name Tags, Registration Table Signage, and Paper Registrations/Sales Forms as needed. Attending Convention to set-up, managing registration area, and equipping registration volunteers.

 

Recordings from past conventions (years 2021-2025) are now available for purchase on our website. We are working on adding more years, so check back periodically. Search  for your favorite speakers or get a full set!