|
|
|
The Homeschool Book Shop Newsletter>
Conference Season
March 7, 2009
Conference Season
Whenever folks ask how long we have been homeschooling, my mind goes through the same calculations: 1. How old is my oldest? 2. When did we start him? 3. When weren’t we teaching him?
The result of this internal dialogue always results in the same conclusion, when the baby took its first breath, training and education began. Perhaps it began long before when the baby heard my voice and my husband’s voice while still in the womb. The baby hears the voice, feels the heart rate and begins to associate pleasure with a happy mother or anxiety from mother’s increased pulse and high pitched voice. Formal education is the more mature extension of this natural and unavoidable process. What a glorious journey to observe in a young soul.
During the spring, homeschoolers begin to see a light at the end of the annual tunnel of academic pursuit and thoughts for what to do about next year begin to flit through their minds. Our eldest child is 12 (almost 13) and we ask the same questions year in and year out (and sometimes daily). Is this working? What do we need to change? Is there something better? Do we need a different math program? Should we participate in a co-op this year? Are we providing adequate social opportunities? How will I find the energy to do this another year?
That is why most homeschool conferences happen in the spring. For the first 10 years of our home education journey, we did not go to a conference. The reasons were plentiful; we didn’t have the budget for a conference, we had a baby or toddler to care for, didn’t have a babysitter or couldn’t leave them, yet, didn’t have time for both myself and my husband to go, didn’t think we needed any “encouragement,” didn’t think we could afford the books we might find to purchase, didn’t think the speakers could help with what we really needed (self-discipline in child-training or focus).
Three, almost four years ago, a friend encouraged us to go to a conference that was just getting started (first year). The circumstances at that time were less than ideal. Our budget was tighter than ever, Jeff was working and commuting an insane number of hours, I had a less than placid four year old (exaggerated understatement), and had begun to think that public school sounded pretty good. My nine year old was learning beautifully, but had a rather severe speech dysfluency and I was absolutely ready to give up! That is when we decided to attend our first homeschool conference.
We have attended the same conference every year with nothing but pleasure and excitement. In fact, I now start telling myself in late January or early February, “Hold the course. You are almost there! Encouragement is just around the corner! The conference is in 8 weeks and 3 days!” We normally only attend this one conference for the entire year, but we are making an exception beginning this year.
Before I tell you about this year, let me list the blessings we have received as a family from the conferences and how we resolved some of our dilemmas.
First the blessings...
• Encouragement from guest speakers on subjects near to our weary, wondering hearts
• Meeting many other families working through the same issues or who have already worked through our issues and can offer input
• Curriculum demonstrations by folks who have used and know the curriculum best
• Encouragement for husbands in their role as the father of a homeschooling family
• Interaction for the kids with other homeschoolers
The challenges...
• We take our kids with us everywhere we go (and always have) and support their needs by taking snacks, books and art pencils and paper. We also give them a small budget with which to shop for books or food at the conference.
• We take breaks as a family for regrouping (even if we miss a session or shopping this relieves the expectation that we have to do EVERYTHING.
• If the conference requires travel, we do whatever we can to stay with friends. If we don’t know anyone, we can ask a supportive church if there is anyone who can host us.
• Take a camper and park in a nearby R.V. park or a church parking lot (ask permission first).
This year, we are making a slight change. We will be attending two conferences. The first is Inland Northwest Homeschool Conference. It is being held in Spokane Valley. It is the largest gathering of home educators in the Spokane area and by all accounts, they have added some wonderful things this year. The will be having the used curriculum vendor hall, but they have added a vendor hall for new materials. It will be a great opportunity to meet and speak with an expert personally! Vendors often have special conference prices or offer other discounts. We will be there under two roles. The first is as a vendor. We are trying to get the word out that we are here! The second is that our children are part of a homeschool band which is hosting the lunch on Saturday as a fund raiser. It is thrilling to be with so many like-minded folks all at the same time! Perhaps we will see you there!
The second conference we will be attending is the Christian Heritage conference on the west side of the state. It has had around 1,500 attendees in the past years. This conference has amazing, AMAZING speakers! It may seem pricey, but it is absolutely worth the money and time! Our children enjoy this conference, too.
With the school year on its last legs (if you are 9 monther), it can be hard to find the time for conferences. If you are needing a breath of fresh, clear air, consider one of your local or state conferences! For more on what is available, please, visit our links on the website!
for The Homeschool Book Shop
A.
|
|
