Speakers and Workshops and Vendors - Oh My!

This past weekend was my second time to attend a home school convention.  My first time left me feeling very overwhelmed, yet convinced home school was the option for us.  That was two years ago and Caleb was still a pre-K student.  But, I gleaned valuable information that led us further into the direction of home schooling.  

I wasn't sure that I could fit in two days to attend the convention this year, but I burned some midnight oil and managed to get other responsibilities done, which then allowed me the opportunity to attend.  I was so tired, but very grateful to have made it work.  I came home with valuable information to use going forward.

This time my group of HS mom's (4 of us went together) went to the Woodlands to a convention sponsored by the Texas Home School Coalition / THSC.  If you are a homeschooler that hasn't heard of it - - I encourage you to check it out.  

They are a group founded by home school parents who now provide TONS of information and LEGAL support for those that become members.  For a reasonable fee each year, the home school parent is comforted by the legal defense they will provide if necessary.  They also keep us abreast of all the political "stuff" going on regarding home school.  It's a very valuable resource.

The convention was packed with people wanting to learn all they could to benefit their families.  I have no idea how many people were there, but it was A LOT.  I wish I could find out the number, because I am so curious.  


There were vendors upon vendors offering all sorts of home schooling curriculums and resources.  You name it and it was probably there.  The hall was FULL of vendors.  See?

The attendee had SEVERAL options to choose from for each session time.  There were 6-8, and sometimes more, topics and speakers depending on where your interests were.

I sat in on: 

"Using God's Creation for Evangelism"  

"Walking by Faith" 

"Nurturing Competent Communicators" 

A Mom's only session - "Joy of Faith."  

In most cases there were more than one session I wanted to see being held at the same time.  So, it was such a blessing that the conference provided recordings of all the sessions.  You can go to a booth, choose the sessions you missed and purchase the recordings.  Needless to say I came home with a handful of those as well.  Here's the vendor preparing and coordinating all the CD choices.

I went into this conference knowing we were using MFW curriculum and I left it knowing that was still my curriculum of choice.  I did not feel any pulls or tugs in any other directions.  What I did find were valuable resources to supplement our school day.  

If I weren't going to use MFW for some strange reason, my curriculum choice would be Sonlight.  I am still going to purchase a few of their elementary level readers for Caleb.  I think they will fit nicely with our day.  

To sit here and try to tell you everything I learned over the course of these two days would be, oh, probably too boring for the reader.  But in general, my heart is in a much better place than it was few days ago.  I learned to teach by Faith and that if God is not in it, we'll get nowhere.  We cannot go about "this homeschooling thing" depending on OUR works.  God has to be a part of it, EVERY step of the way.  

Sally Clarkeson said a few things in her "Joy of Faith" session that slid right into my heart:

"The best teacher is the one who's soul is so full people can come draw from it."

"Call on the Power of the Living God in your Home."

"Picture your soul as a garden - whatever you water is going to grow."

"Engage in life."

Something else that just convicted me in a BIG way was technology.  TV for the most part as Caleb doesn't do a lot of the other techie things yet.  I'm going to make some pretty big changes regarding our television once school starts.  I'm being lenient since getting home from the Woodlands because my little man has been very sick.  But, changes are coming...

My second conviction, if I really want to call it that, was reading.  Now, I believe in reading.  I'm a reader.  Always have been.  In MFW-K we were encouraged to read once a week on book day, but I insisted we fit in reading EVERY day we had school.  But, I learned a whole new perspective on reading.

Reading goes hand-in-hand with writing.  Of course, I think I knew that, but when I heard it voiced, aloud and in a different way, it really sunk in for me.  What we want our children to have is Reliably Correct English.  

Where do kids these days get their language skills?  1) Media/TV, billboards, 2) Peers, 3) Parents & other busy adults, 4) Books

So, we can read a lot and still not get Reliably Correct English and that's because many people/children read a book like they watch a movie.  Don't know that word?  Skip it!  Don't understand that phrase?  Skip it!   Don't like all the descriptive words?  Skip them!  You can't tell me you haven't ever done that yourself!

We have to read aloud to our children WITH A PURPOSE!   Have a dictionary on hand and maybe even an encyclopedia to look up those things we don't know.  We shouldn't stop reading aloud to them when they learn to read.  That's when they need us even more!!

We should read aloud every day....yes, every day.  And we should read to them a little above their comprehension level.  

Other than Sally Clarkeson who inspired me from a mom's point of view - Andrew Prudea inspired me from a parents-responsibility-regarding-reading point of view.

Like I said, I'm armed with so much information.  I'm ready to go....

One last thing...I fell in love with a vendor at the convention.  Lamplighter, Building Character....One Story At A Time.  The creator of this, oh, book club I we should call it had never read a book in his life.  He was sitting at a seminar and the speaker called on him and asked him how many books he'd read.  His answer was zero.  0.   The speaker gave him a couple of really good books and it changed his life.

Lamplighter was born.  He goes around the world finding books that have to do with character building.  He publishes books that are no longer being published, to bring the best of the best back for us to use.  I bought one for Caleb called "Teddy's Button, " and I cannot wait until we start reading this together.  

Not only do the titles of all the lamplighter books sound intriguing, but the covers of these books are beautiful.  So, perfectly bound. Nothing flashy and ostentatious, but clearly well thought out.  I hope they are everything the sales reps made them out to be or this HS mom will be very disappointed.

With all this said, are we ready for 1st grade?  As ready as well ever be!!  Keep those prayers coming folks as we move forward in our journey.

God bless,

Pam