Hundreds of parents who home-school their children are expected to attend the 23rd Annual Greater Pittsburgh Home- schooling Workshop and Curriculum Fair on Saturday at South Hills Bible Chapel in Peters.

The conference, which will run from 8:50 a.m. until 2:50 p.m., is organized by Sue Means, a Bethel Park parent who has home-schooled five children.

The first gathering had 35 attendees. Now, as many as 500 parents from throughout the Tri-State area come to take part in the workshops on various aspects of home-schooling.

This year, the keynote speaker will be David Shoremann, a home-school educator from Texas, who specializes in math and science and has created a CD-ROM series of lessons for home-school students.

Dr. Shoremann holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering and a master's in marine chemistry from the University of Texas and a doctorate in the study of freshwater ecosystems from Texas A&M University.

He's also an author, whose works include "The Exchange of Truth, Liberating the World from the Lie of Evolution."

His topic at the conference will be: "Keeping First Things First: The Importance of the Creation Message in the Home School."

His topic is set to appeal to the large number of home-school parents who are Christians and who may have chosen to home-school because public schools teach evolution, according to promotional information on the conference.

Dr. Shoremann also will talk about hands-on aquatic science in Western Pennsylvania as well as his CD-ROM series.

In addition to Dr. Shoremann's presentations, there will be 14 other workshops on various topics, including how to home-school at various grade levels, how to help struggling learners and special needs home-school students and college preparation.

Preregistration is closed, but walk-ins are welcome. For information, go to www.familyinstructors.org.