Homeschool Convention Takeaways

(First things first: WHY does spell checker not recognize "homeschool" as a correctly spelled word? I assure you; homeschooling is a thing and it is very much a one-word kind of concept!)

Jen, her daughters, and I had the opportunity to attend the FPEA annual homeschool convention last weekend. Before the experience gets lost in the summer happenings, I thought I'd write about some of the things I took away from it.

1. It's always a blessing to retreat a bit and reflect on the life we chose. This school year was our hardest yet, and there were days (weeks, months actually) where I was ready to pull the plug and load my kids onto the big yellow bus the very next day. It's so helpful to remember that there are literally thousands of other moms in the same situation (I had two tell me in person that they felt the exact same way this year). This is hard. This (we believe) is what God has called me to. This is what I'll do with His grace.

2. It was definitely a blessing to stay onsite where the convention was located. Here is a photo of my room as the sun was setting:

It's nice to be able to pick up and thumb through actual curriculum, and then buy it without having to lug its heavy load with you for the rest of the day. An onsite room lets you have a retreat in case of panic attacks (*ahem* more on that another time perhaps) and a place to put All The Things. I have never stayed in a hotel room by myself before, but it was So Nice! I never once turned on the tv, and was able to have quiet and go to bed when I wanted to. I loved it!

3.  I was able to attend several sessions on Dyslexia. I don't think I have mentioned it yet on the blog because it is such a tender subject to me, but I discovered this year that Seth has Dyslexia. Maybe I'll post separately on that subject in the future, but this discovery has left me feeling completely unprepared and inept as a teacher/mom. We had days where both of us would be in tears of frustration because, after much repetition, showing of flash cards, quizzing endlessly, singing of songs, and effort in general, Seth still could not tell me what sound "e" makes (or "i" or many of the others for that matter). It sort of dawned on me one day, "I wonder if Seth might be dyslexic?" I googled the word "dyslexia" and read symptoms and a description that was Seth embodied. The convention offered several workshops on teaching reading to students with Dyslexia, and I found them to be super helpful.

4. I sat in on a session called "Dining Etiquette for Everyone." I loved it! It was so refreshing to be reminded why having good manners is actually a way to show honor and value and preference to others. We'll see if I'm able to succeed at helping our family overcome our sometimes deplorable lack of manners.

5. Probably my favorite workshop I attended was called "How to Love Your Life as a Homeschool Mom." by Sarah MacKenzie. She is the author of Teaching from Rest, which I read last year. She was so encouraging and helped me see my life from another angle. She had these tips/truths to offer:

• Don't think that you have too much to do. You have all the time you need to do what God asks you to do.
• Don't think that if the house were cleaner or the kids behaved, you'd love homeschooling. You're forgetting that this is the job! This is the job you signed up for. If the kids were well-behaved and the house were spotless, you wouldn't be needed here anymore! God has called you to fill this need. Embrace this job. At this point in the lecture, she posted a photo of Mary Poppins on the screen and said "When the kids are arguing and there's laundry piled up everywhere, and you're trying to teach them, and you want to head for the exit, look at yourself in the mirror and in a British accent say, 'Spit-spot! And off we go!" and go do the work you signed up for. (This was my favorite point) Also, make sure you hide chocolate in your bathroom cabinet for emergencies. Check. Already done!
• Stop dwelling on your lessons or day not going as planned or that you never see progress. This is an act of faith. Progress is not usually visible day by day, but only after many days/years of acting in faith every day. Instead, focus on what you did get done! Look at what's working. Cast light on them by writing it down. When you keep a To Do list, you focus on what still needs to be done. Keeping a list of Things I Did today is much more encouraging.
• If you have a toddler (and I do!), do not see them as "in the way" of your homeschooling. They are all part of the lesson! Stop trying to replicate a school experience at home. Remember that "Schooling is preparatory for the home life; not the home life for the school." Sibling squabbles also are part of valuable training if handled correctly.
• Don't think that you have no time for fun. Nurture the relationships you have with your kids and leave them with the impression that you like them and that you enjoy being their mom. Years from now they won't remember the grammar or math lesson, but they will remember how you made them feel.