Homeschool Convention Follow Up

Thursday evening I attended the greatly anticipated Homeschool Convention solo.   The scheduling of this day didn't work out exactly as I had planned, but I did hear a lot I needed to hear.  My first session pick was entitled "Overcoming Being Overwhelmed" not the meat and potatoes I was looking for.  I think the reality is no one can give you this plan except the Holy Spirit once you slow enough to hear Him and trust enough to believe Him. Believe that He is in control and you really don't have to (and certainly can't) do it all.  Then the "refresher coarse" from John Rosemond.  I heard John Rosemond speak two years ago and was blown away by the things he says about discipline.  What blew me away was not that what he said was new (honestly its pretty much my dad's handbook of tough parenting put into words) it was how far I tend to stray from the basics. 

Then came my favorite day of all...

 Hesitant of how the day would go, my crew and I headed into the convention center.  Our first session was by Linda Hobar, the lady that brings our history to life and allows us to see how the Bible timeline and our "history" timeline are actually one beautiful timeline intermingled.  Even though we had talked about who was leading the session Mackenzie looked up from coloring about ten minutes into the great history lesson and said, "Mom! That sounds just like our history lady!"  

Then the favorite moment of the day for my girls.  This man that enters our home up to three times on any given day came walking around the corner.  "Mr. Math!"  My girls were giddy as they waited for him to finish speaking with someone so they could say hi.  Steve Demme spoke with them for a bit before he moved onto his next speaking session.  He asked us to come by his booth so they could visit some more and he could give them a book or CD.  I am convinced they will never watch their math lessons the same again.

This next man is more of a behind the scenes guy to my girls.  We use a lot of his curriculum but they really haven't seen him much in action.  However, we often listen to his voice on CD as he recites a collection of poems that we are working to memorize.  He also has "bonus status" because he trained directly under Dr. Suzuki to learn to play the violin.  (The same program Sophie has been following for six years on violin, and recently, Haleigh and Mackenzie on piano.)

 

 So with all that "star status" you may think, he has a bit of an odd expression on his face.  Yes, that would be because my precious middle child, honest as the day is long, middle as middle can be asks this oh so knowledgeable man, "Can I tell you something?"

"Yes," as he leans in closer to hear what this precious student has to say.

"We listen to this disk of poems, and at first I thought you were a girl!"

He graciously explained he gets that a lot when he answers the phone too.  I muttered that we really appreciate all he has done to pave this learning road we are on as I mentally prepare my speach of what is appropriate to say and not to say.

It was a precious meeting none the less.

Finally we soaked in a session by Jim Weiss.  He is an amazing story teller who presents history in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat.  This particular session was not a story however, but discussed "Throwing Light on the Dark Side: Good vs. Evil in Contemporary Youth Literature."

It was not exactly the one I would pick for the girls to hear but it was their only opportunity to hear him speak before they wrapped up their time at the conference.  As I scribbled notes and passed out the roasted garbanzo beans I was struck by how neat it was that Sophie was so enthralled by all this.  She couldn't soak in enough.  

After a lap around the exhibit hall and not nearly enough time to see all they wanted to see I made run to get our sweet sitter and drop the girls at home for the rest of the conference.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed having them with me at this event.  It was so fun to see that sparkle in their eyes about the people they met, the books about the ancients as they couldn't decide which would be better Egypt or Rome.  It all went by so quickly.  

The rest of Friday and Saturday I was solo.  I found myself focusing more on the parenting sessions and heart issue sessions over the academics.  It was a sweet time.  Although I attended several of the sessions for cues on raising my girls with a heart focus, the Holy Spirit spoke to me a lot about my own heart as I live out this homeschooling track that God has called us to.  

So thankful for such encouragement!

Homeschool Convention

It seems I just found shelf space for the great finds of last year's homeschool convention, yet it's already time to enter the great convention hall again.  

This year will be a bit different...

The first year the convention was held in Greenville my oldest sister joined me for a weekend that was unbeatable.  (I just read the wrap up post after that great weekend and I may be a bit teary.) A flood of great information, eye opening inspiration, an overwhelming display of homeschooling materials that all seem like a must have.... above all it was a sweet time together learning, being refreshed and laughing a lot!

The second year was fantastic also.  The number of attendees in our "shuttle" to the convention grew a bit.  My middle sister, having one year of homeschooling under her belt, joined us to complete our "sister act,"  we also had my precious niece and nephew along to soak it all in.  It was a blast watching these young minds excited about different sessions available to them, seeing them genuinely excited to meet certain speakers who have impacted their learning over the years.  The laughs and fun increased just as our numbers had.

This year, I'm just not sure what will happen as this grew are the ones in the "shuttle" with me as I embark on the great hall.  I am positive there will be a huge void of tender sister moments (of my generation at least) and oh will I miss my nephew and niece (did I mention they are super special and the fun they added was over the top?)  Both of my sisters have calendars too full this month to make the trip.  Our calendar is pushing the limits also so Mark is unable to take time off to have special fun with the girls and allow my hands and brain to be completely kids free.  However, I am still excited for what will be.  My girls have heard me talk about all the fascinating folks I have had the pleasure of meeting at the conventions.  Many of these folks  are "in our home" almost daily via DVD, audio books or downloaded to bring us solid curriculum at the push of a button.  It is funny how you feel as if you know these people personally.  

Take this man for example, before last year's convention he was nicknamed "Mr. Math" in our home.  He is the Math U See instructor who has entered our home for the past six years, now he visits up to three times in any given day.  After speaking with him at the convention and attending a few of his speaking session it is hard for me to refer to him as "Mr. Math" anymore because I have found he is so much more than just math.  His speaking sessions were not even on the subject of math, come to think of it I'm pretty sure he didn't even mention his curriculum in his sessions at all.  His heart and much greater ministry is geared toward building up the family.  Such encouragement of the importance of family and focusing on God while not getting lost in all the "stuff."  OK, I could go on and on but to wrap it up, the chance to see the hearts of these folks makes this journey even more of a thrill.  

This year my girls get to experience that.  They are looking forward to meeting Mr. Demme (Math U See,) Linda Hobar (Mystery of History,) Andrew Pudewa (IEW and much more,) Monica Irvine (The Etiquette Factory).... oh the list goes on and on.  

So the shuffle between babysitters, juggling my girls during the speaking sessions, watching them meet many folks they feel like they already know, asking their opinion of books and activities for next year's learning adventure... it will look  much different then the past two years but it will be exciting.  So here we go...

Gretchen, Becky, Cole and Meg,

I am already missing you greatly and this convention hasn't even started yet.  Pencil us in for next year, please!!  Love you all and I'll be messaging you a lot!

She is settling into 11!

Her big day quickly followed our return from our big vacation.  I had not done a great job preparing since my focus had been on our trip.  I was shocked by the absolute "vacation lag" that grabbed us for at least a week once we returned to the real world.  BUT she gracefully accepted a very low key celebration on her actual birthday.  A touch of school needed to be accomplished (we usually take any birthday and make it school free- not this one, we just had a week off, what could I do?!) After some school was completed we pulled out the mixer and Sophie set to work on her cake.  She really wanted to make this cake by herself.  I only helped out a bit and for her birthday she got a huge dose of that good old  feeling of accomplishment and joy from a job well done!

She narrowed her choices after much self-debating, to Asylan, the lion from Narnia, and went to town. 

 I'm pretty sure  she saw it all in her mind before we had the icing just the right color.

 She worked diligently until she had completed her first self decorated birthday cake.

Welcome to 11 (and the striving for a little more independence:)

Happy Birthday Sophie!  I can't believe you are well into year 11.  I am loving watching God build your character to make you the beautiful young woman He is calling you to be.  I know you will do great things for His kingdom.  Never be afraid to step fully into His story.  He has given you so much to share.  Your heart is tender, sweet, giving and so loving.  Your talents blow my mind. I love you Sophie!!  Happy 11th!!

Where to Start?

It has been a while since I have posted.  There has been a lot going on around here, trips, a birthday, as well as a few curves in the road, and the computer was in the shop for a bit.  To be honest, I'm  not sure where to start.  So let's start with the most recent (because the biggest event I'm still sorting and sorting through literally over one thousand pictures and even more memories.)

Just this past Friday evening our church held its second annual "Pops and Ponytails."  It sounds like it was a blast.  Lots of hard work went into helping the dads of first through fifth graders be intentional about making special time with their daughters.  

 The evening was full of  food, many friends, lots of pink and a good bit of dancing.  Most importantly along with the invitation there was a bit of homework for the dads.  They were to write a letter to their daughter to encourage them and speak truth to who they are in Christ.  

Such a special night for many little girls and their dads.  I can say that is true certainly true for two girls and one daddy that couldn't stop talking about all the fun.  

(No worries that Mackenzie and I weren't  sitting at home being bored.  We headed out to meet some sweet friends and play. Then we had a date at Earth Fare :)

First Field Trip of 2013

 There are a few homeschool families from our church that get together once a month for a field trip.  Our January outing was at Fox News.  We had such a fun time learning about all that happens at the news station,

 trying out the anchor chair,

 practicing in front of the green screen (check the small monitor to the side,)

 and learning some of what happens in prep for the weather report.

A great time was had by all

(and Mackenzie may have found her calling ;)

Major Milestone

 Hours spent close, sounding out each letter one by one.

 The letters slowly blend and become words.

 Words follow one another and become stories.

 Stories both older sisters sounded out in earlier years.  

Stories they heard her work out as they worked out their own assignments, cheering her on one story at a time.

Early the morning of her last lesson,  she was the first of my girls to wake.  I asked if she wanted to slip downstairs and cuddle as she read her final lesson of her reading book.  She had been counting down the lessons.  She surprised me with her hushed hesitant answer,

 "No, I don't want them to be over." 

Oh baby, this may be the final story in this book but there are so many more that just wait to take you on grand adventures.  We'll still sit close and read them instead of letter by letter we'll read page by page, then chapter by chapter, adventure after adventure.

Happy New Year!

 This past week we've been playing hard.

 Stirring up some natural beauty products we've wanted to try for a while now.

 Then, word got out that there was only one more day of this unplanned, unscheduled, unfocused bliss.  They built a fort to hide from reality...

 Then we decided to all play hard that one more day. 

(The blur at the bottom of the pic is Sophie's remote control helicopter with Daddy at the control for the first time.)

We baked "cut out cookies" (the Christmas baking we didn't get around to.)

We heaped on the icing and washed it down with hot chocolate.

 Movies were watched late into the night as we "camped out" to bring in the new year.

 Sophie and Haleigh both pushed through sleepiness for their first experience of the big count down.

What a way to say good-bye to 2012 and 

HELLO 2013!

Happy New Year!! 

 We pray no matter what this new year brings we will see it as blessings that draw us closer and more in love with Him!!