Attend a Homeschooling Conference!

“The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only – and that is to support the ultimate career.” C.S. Lewis

This quote by the great C.S. Lewis was on the welcome page of the program guide at the Great Homeschool Convention event in Texas last month. As soon as I read it, I knew I was in the right place. I see my role as a homeschooling mom as my calling, my vocation, and my profession. I’m often asked by strangers if I’m “qualified” to teach my children. Since I don’t have a teaching degree, this question used to fluster me and leave me feeling, well, unqualified. But after years of reflection, I can confidently assert that I’m qualified. Like a true professional, I’m dedicating thousands of hours to master my trade. I actively engage with veteran homeschooling moms, curriculum creators, and experienced teachers. Undoubtedly, however, one of the best ways in which I invest in my professional development is by attending homeschooling conferences.

But, due to the craziness of life, I had not attended a homeschooling conference in three years. I told myself that since I knew what curriculum to use, I didn’t really need to go. And yet, the last few years have been filled with burnout, sprinkled here and there with an intense desire to quit homeschooling. Heck, sometimes I even wanted to quit parenting altogether. I’ve written about my struggles here. In my calm, rational moments I knew that I wanted to continue to homeschool, but not at the expense of my sanity and our family peace. Therefore it was clear that certain things needed to reset.

After a bit of planning and encouragement from our amazing husbands, my friend Nicole and I ended up at the Texas event. There’s something about being in the physical presence of thousands of other like-minded parents that immediately releases a gizillion endorphins in the brain. There are others like me — others with the same struggles, challenges, fears and hopes. For someone who spends a significant amount of time with my kids, day in and day out, with only my husband as cheerleader, this experience was a much needed jolt of excitement.

The Workshops

There was SO much to take in at this particular conference. Over an intense three-day period, there were about 15-20 workshops taking place every hour from 8:30 am- 8:30 pm, with 30-minute breaks in between. Since I haven’t figured out how to bilocate yet (that would be the greatest superpower ever), I was only able to attend a small percentage of the talks. The good news is that I was able to purchase the recorded versions for my listening pleasure at home. If you check out the Convention’s website, you can take a quick look at a typical workshop schedule. You’ll see that there is nothing that isn’t covered. Nothing. The workshops that I attended opened my eyes to a wealth of wisdom and practical information, such as:

• How the right environment, the right time, the right teacher and the right method are the best ingredients for mastery learning and ability development (Andrew Pudewa).
• How to plan for your academic year so that it’s on “autopilot“. This is especially handy if you are experiencing a major life event, such as a new baby or a move (Pam Barnhill).
• All about the eight executive functions of the brain, how to tell if your child is struggling with any of them, and how to help him/her through it (Colleen Kessler). This seminar had me in tears, as Colleen addressed many concerns that I have about one child of mine. This alone was worth the trip to Texas.
• How to manage your anger so that it doesn’t interfere with your relationships. (Dr. Melanie Wilson). I have no idea why I attended this one…
• How to incorporate games and FUN into your homeschool, including plenty of suggestions for amazing educational board games (Rainbow Resource).
• What and how to teach high school at home, with the aim of going to college (Dr. Jay Wile).
• How to ace the SATs/ACTs to get a free ride in college (Jean Burk).
• How to raise kids well in a sexualized culture (Sam Black).
• Why fairy tales are key to developing the moral imagination — and why this matters (Andrew Pudewa). This was probably my favorite talk.
• How to cultivate language skills at home, with practical suggestions from pre-K to high school (Andrew Pudewa).
• The relationship between grammar and God (Andrew Pudewa). I finally understand why it’s important to learn Latin. Listen to the recorded version to find out why!
• Classical education defined as the “cultivation of wisdom and virtue through the contemplation of the good, the true and the beautiful” (Classics panel). Cue the angels singing.
• The seven habits of highly educated people (Martin Cothran).
• The goodness of memory and how to cultivate a good one (Andrew Pudewa).

As you may have gathered, the list above contains a disproportionate number of talks by Andrew Pudewa. That’s because I attended every one of his talks. Friends, if you ever have a chance to listen to him speak, take it. It doesn’t matter whether or not you are a classical educator or even if you couldn’t care less about reading and writing. Mr. Pudewa is one of the smartest, wittiest, and humblest speakers I have had to pleasure to witness. He could be talking about his favorite color for an hour and it’s going to the best hour you will spend that day.

The Exhibitors

But I digress. Back to the convention. In between the workshops, we had a little time to visit the exhibitor hall. Oh my –homeschooling is alive and well, my friends! There were exhibitors galore, addressing every homeschooling method, style, stage and need. Many of these businesses were started by homeschooling parents who figured out a solution to a problem, then packaged their solution to make it easy for the rest of us. I love supporting these homeschooling-based enterprises. My favorite exhibitor of the conference? Jim Hodges with his vast collection of highly entertaining, historical fiction audiobooks. My most surprising finding at the expo? You can purchase dissection specimens. Wow.

Beyond Homeschooling

This convention, while it’s targeted at homeschooling parents, is so much more than that. It’s really a parents’ conference. After all, homeschooling is simply parenting on steroids. There were workshops on marriage, parenting, faith and character development, self-care, music and athletics, home organization, work-life balance, and even entrepreneurship. Even if I wasn’t homeschooling, I’d still get a lot out of this event. Hopefully there are parenting conferences which non-homeschooling families can benefit from. Heaven knows we parents need all the education, help and support we can get.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of where you are in your journey, I wholeheartedly encourage you attend a conference. There is something for everyone – whether you are just starting to think about it, or just starting, or knee-deep in baby/toddler/preschool/primary school madness, or petrified at the idea of homeschooling in high school (yours truly is right here), or wondering how to help your young adult to launch. You will receive encouragement, enlightenment, and practical suggestions for your specific situation. You will meet parents with whom you can form a community, be it physical or virtual. Last but certainly not least, you will be renewed and refreshed in your mission, and return home with a new spring in your step.

I was thrilled to have shared this trip with my friend Nicole. We made it a girls’ weekend and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, away from the kids. Everyone needs a good break and this is especially true for homeschooling moms. So make it a girls’ weekend or a couple’s weekend and go! I promise that you won’t regret it.