2021 Online Sessions
All sessions will held on the Zoom platform, and will be recorded and made available after the conference to all registered attendees.
Times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
Thursday - April 8th
All - Thursday @ 3:30pm
Welcoming Remarks & Prayer
w/Fr. Noah Bushelli
Join us for a time of prayer, welcome and introduction to the Zoom platform. We are grateful for your choice to attend the ONLINE Conference, and pray that it will be a blessing to your family!
Adults - Thursday @ 4:00pm
Homeschooling 101: Getting Started
w/ Sh. Shell Keim
HomeSchool 101 workshop will cover things from the beginning. When do I start? What curriculum do I use? Starting your homeschool with a firm foundation is very important. We will ask the hard questions and try to figure out the answers. This workshop will look at the why of homeschooling as well as the logistics. Many families are overwhelmed by the beginning of such a huge task so together we can figure it out and help each other on the path to a successful homeschool journey. If you already homeschool but would like to look back at the beginning and rethink your homeschool, this workshop can be helpful too. "Of all the holy works, the education of our children is the most holy" St. Theophan the Recluse
Young Children (3-5yrs)
Thursday @ 4:00pm
Singing
w/ Laryssa Doohovskoy
In this session, Ms. Laryssa will begin by warming up the vocal chords with singing games and exercises. Then she will lead the children in singing the troparion of St. Emmelia.
Young Children (6-8yrs)
Thursday @ 4:30pm
Singing
w/ Laryssa Doohovskoy
In this session, Ms. Laryssa will begin by warming up the vocal chords with singing games and exercises. Then she will lead the children in singing the troparion of St. Emmelia.
Adults - Thursday @ 7:00pm
Virtue in Sickness
w/ Andrew Kern
In this talk, Andrew will explore ways in which sickness has the potential to grow virtue in each of us.
Middle Children (9-12yrs)
Thursday @ 7:00pm
Relax, Laugh & Play a Game
w/ Cade Scott
Cade will moderate a game that everyone can get in on.
Adults - Thursday @ 8:30pm
Gab Session with Purpose
The purpose of this session is to mimic virtually what tends to happen naturally when we meet in person: the gab session. When we come together informally, we chat or gab; naturally, we end up in little groups discussing topics dear to us. The moderator will invite adults to share questions, ideas, or concerns freely in a group. In order to facilitate the discussion, the moderator may create breakout rooms for the following topics:
New to Homeschooling moderated by Sh. Shell Keim
New to Orthodoxy moderated by Fr. Nikolai Meyers
Homeschooling High School moderated by Sh. Angela Weaver
Homeschool Dads moderated by Fr. Noah Bushelli
Everyday Homeschool moderated by Presv. Eleni Kallaur
Teens - Thursday @ 8:00pm
Listening and Responding to God's Calling
w/ Fr. Chris Shadid
Whether you are considering a trade, college, marriage, the priesthood, or pursuing your dreams in becoming a world champion fly fisherman, how do you know if it is God's will? Fr. Chris will discuss with teens how to listen to God's calling, and perhaps even more importantly, how to respond to God's calling.
Friday - April 9th
Adults - Friday @ 10:30am
Repetition is the Mother of (Restful) Learning
w/ Monique Neal
As every parent knows, children desire repetition, always saying, “Do it again!” As adults, we fear being monotonous, yet this desire for repetition is mystically present in all of us at all ages. This session will explore how practices of repetition lead to restful learning for both the student and the teacher. Much of the session will be devoted to practical suggestions for incorporating repetition in home schools throughout the day, week, month, and year.
Young Children (3-5yrs)
Friday @ 10:30am
Theater Activity w/ Elina Pelikan
Theater with small children is all about learning to think outside the box, be expressive, and communicate the wild imaginative world inside their minds to the outside world. In this session, Elina Pelikan will guide the children in improvisational exercises which are fun and ideal for the age.
Young Children (6-8yrs)
Friday @ 11:00am
Theater Activity w/ Elina Pelikan
Theater with small children is all about learning to think outside the box, be expressive, and communicate the wild imaginative world inside their minds to the outside world. In this session, Elina Pelikan will guide the children in improvisational exercises which are fun and ideal for the age.
Adults - Friday @ 1:00pm
Standing Up to Your Kids in Anxious Times
w/ His Grace Bp. JOHN (Abdalah)
When trapped at home with children in anxious times, we need all the support we can get negotiating.
Middle Children (9-12yrs)
Friday @ 1:00pm
Rejoicing in God’s Animals
w/ Nick Papas
Together with iconographer and grandfather, Nick Papas, the children will explore animals in iconography. Participants will draw a realistic and an abstract version of an animal (which they have chosen ahead of time). Materials needed: paper and drawing tools (colored pencils, watercolors, pencils, pastels, paint, markers, etc.). Also note, Mr. Papas will request that participants snap a pic of their final drawing and send it to him. He will merge all the participants' drawings into one collaborative piece and share it with parents.
Adults - Friday @ 2:30pm
Preparing for Life after High School
w/ Angela Weaver
Does a high school student ALWAYS go to college? When is college not the right answer or not the right answer yet? What are other paths that a high school graduate could take into the world of adults? Need a few answers? Would you like to hear from others that have walked down different paths? I will try to help you see the light at the end of the high school tunnel!
Teens - Friday @ 2:30pm
“Understanding Mental Health: The Church’s Perfect Response to Anxiety, Stress, and Loneliness"
There are things we can do to impact the effects of anxiety and chronic stress in our lives. We can learn ways to cope with stress and anxiety and seek help when we need it. Most importantly, through our relationship with God and other people, we can impact not only our mental health, but also our inner life as well. This session will allow participants to understand key differences between stress and anxiety. It will also help them explore the unique ways they currently experience and cope with stress and anxiety. Finally, using the Church’s Wisdom and examples from the Saints and the Holy Fathers, teens will discover healthy ways to manage both when they arise.
Adults - Friday @ 4:00pm
Homeschooling: Preserving Cultural Memory In A Time Of Forced Forgetting
w/ Rod Dreher
Totalitarians have always known that if you control a culture's collective memory, you can control the culture. We live in a time in which our history is denied and our heroes are denounced, in the name of progress. This talk will discuss why preserving cultural memory is vital, and how homeschooling is akin to a strategy employed by Christian dissidents under Nazi and Soviet totalitarianism.
Adults - Friday @ 8:00pm
Regional Discussion Groups
The purpose of this session is to mimic virtually what tends to happen naturally when we meet in person: the gab session. When come together informally, we chat or gab; naturally, we end up in little groups discussing topics dear to us. The moderator will invite adults to share questions, ideas, or concerns freely in a group. In order to facilitate the discussion, the moderator may create breakout rooms for particular topics.
EAST - Moderated by Monica Klepac
MIDWEST - Moderated by Kh. Kristina Gillquist
NORTH - Moderated by Anita Novratidis
SOUTH - Moderated by Cheryl Floyd
SOUTHEAST - Moderated by Maryanne Romano
Teens - Friday @ 8:00pm
What it Means to be Shallow
w/ Joshua Gibbs
What makes a person shallow? The parable of the sower by our Lord not only tells us all we need to know about shallowness of spirit, but depth of character. The meaning of the parable is harrowing, though, for Christ confronts our petty desires and our preferences for simple things.
Saturday - April 10th
Adults - Saturday @ 10:30am
St. Benedict Vs. Soft Totalitarianism: The Benedict Option in 2021
w/ Rod Dreher
It has been four years since Rod Dreher's bestselling "The Benedict Option" appeared. Since then, the conditions Dreher warned about in that book have grown more dire for Christians. In this talk, Dreher will discuss changes in the church and the culture that herald the coming of "soft totalitarianism," and explain why we need the Benedict Option now more than ever.
Young Children (3-5yrs)
Saturday @ 10:30am
What Do You Hear, Angel?
Read by Elizabeth Crispina Johnson
What Do You Hear, Angel?: Annie's going for a walk in the woods with her angel. For everything Annie hears in the woods, a frog, a bird, a brook, a breeze the angel hears a corresponding song of praise in heaven. Through this story, the author shows young children that heaven and earth are not so very far apart, after all.
Young Children (6-8yrs)
Saturday @ 11:00am
In the Candle's Glow
Read by Elizabeth Crispina Johnson
In the Candle's Glow: The bees do their work. The beekeeper does hers. And little Felicia, with the honesty and faith of a child, takes the fruit of the bee and the beekeeper's efforts and lights her candle and prays. She prays once, she prays twice, she prays three prayers, then watches the breeze from the window carry her prayers from the candle heavenward.
Adults - Saturday @ 1:00pm
Helping Your Children Have Good Taste
w/ Joshua Gibbs
Our culture is inundated with shocking, sexy, sensual, spectacular art that dulls our minds and corrupts our ability to seek after the transcendent beauty of God. In this lecture, Joshua Gibbs helps parents establish simple, meaningful standards for what sorts of films, music, and books they should allow into their homes.
Middle Children (9-12yrs)
Saturday @ 1:00pm
Ask Abouna & Khouria
w/Fr. Peter Jon Gillquist
& Kh. Kristina Gillquist
In this session, the children have the opportunity to ask Fr. Peter Jon and Kh. Kristina questions focused on the Miracles of Jesus and the Raising of Lazarus through Holy Week.
Adults - Saturday @ 2:30pm
Holding Fast the Word of Life Everyday
w/Fr. Nikolai Meyers
In this talk we will discuss some of the temptations homeschool families face and how we might progress in overcoming these temptations so as to hold fast to the Word of life. About 20 minutes will be dedicated to presentation and the rest of the time will be open for discussion.
Teens - Saturday @ 2:30pm
Relax, Laugh & Play a Game
w/ Cade Scott
Cade will moderate a game that everyone can get in on.
All - Saturday @ 3:30pm
Closing Remarks & Prayer
w/Fr. Noah Bushelli
Thank you for join us for the 2021 SEM ONLINE Conference. Keep an eye out for a follow-up survey coming in your email in a next couple of weeks. We would greatly appreciate your feedback so that we can serve you even better in the coming year!