Conference Questions- New to Homeschooling

[JNW]

Background:

 

-I'm new to homeschooling.

-We are a Christian family.

-I like the concept of classical education, but I'm not sure how it will actually play out.

-My daughter will be in first grade. She's an only.

-I live in WV near VA, PA, MD.

-I am seriously confused about curriculum. But I am trying to keep it simple by mostly starting with what is recommended in WTM. If I need to make changes later on, I will.

-I plan on joining a local homeschool group and so far I've heard that some of them use Sonlight, Christian Light, and stuff from Timberdoodle. It's not a big deal if my curriculum doesn't match up with the majority of the group, is it?

 

Questions:

 

-What are the pros and cons of attending a conference?

-What conferences have you enjoyed?

-Will I be more confused than ever after seeing all of the curriculum options?

 

Thank you all!

[Farrar]

Pros of conferences:

You get to lay your hands on things you've only read about. There may be speakers with thought-provoking or useful ideas. You can network with others and meet new people.

 

Cons of conferences:

Many won't have good speakers or enough curriculum to make it worth your time. Prices at the conventions may not be the best ones.

 

But I think the biggest con is that some conferences are as interested in defining the "right" way to homeschool and the "right" way to be Christian than anything else. There are a lot of internal homeschool political squabbles around conferences - people invited and uninvited, religious values litmus tests for speakers and dealers, a focus on side issues instead of education... All not good. :(

[UrbanSue]

I find conferences are good for two reasons:

 

1) If I'm feeling uninspired/burned out/discouraged, a few good speakers can set me up for awhile.

2) If I'm considering a particular curriculum and want to flip through it/ask questions.

 

I would see what conferences there are that work with your budget/schedule and ask for specific feedback about them here.

[Garga]

The first year homeschooling, it's kinda fun to allow yourself to be overwhelmed at a conference. After that, it's up to each person whether they like to go or not. I think it's worth going at least once.

 

For me, I go to a curriculum fair (vs a conference) every year. All the curric I want is there, but there are no speakers. I find it beyond invaluable to flip thru the curric before buying it. The online samples aren't always enough. I walk into the fair convinced (convinced!) that I'll buy A, but when I look at it, I find I don't like it at all, and that B is much better.

 

Note: I've never bought a curric from a fair without investigating it at home first. So, in the example above, I didn't choose B curric on the fly...no...it was my Plan B should curric A be a bust.

 

Edited because typing an on ipad stinks.

 

P.S I saved $50 this year at my curric fair due to finding a few items discounted for the fair and not having to pay s&h.

[2_girls_mommy]

I have chosen not to attend a co-op that is classical in nature. Many of the people at ours have very different priorities and methods than I do, but some are classical like us. We get what we need out of co-op at a much cheaper price than a classical school or co-op and make it work for us. I choose the extra curriculars that I can get there, sometimes using them as our only coverage of that subject that year and sometimes as a supplement. I have been blessed as my kids get older that there are more core subjects being offered, and it is a good mix for us. I can choose not to do the science class if it doesn't line up with my plans for the year, but still put my kids in art and P.E. and teach a class for them and their friends of my choosing. We moms talk to each other and discuss what we are all looking for for the next year and who is thinking of doing what. It works great for us. I hope you have as good luck with yours as we have had with ours.

[PeterPan]

You know it's hard for me to fathom people who don't love conventions and get energized by them, but those people are out there. They tend to be people who are introverts or overwhelmed easily. If you think that's going to happen to you, don't go this year. You're within a few hours of Cincy, so if I could suggest, what you might do is plan on coming to the Cincinnati homeschool convention next year (April 2014). SWB will be there, and it will blow your mind. That WILL be worth the effort. Whether your local one will be to you or not, I can't say. For me they are, because I like the comraderie of knowing thousands of other people are doing what I'm doing. But if you have your things in order already, that's your decision. I will say though what you might do is look at the speakers. If Pudewa is there or some of the other favorite speakers, you might really enjoy it and find it encouraging.

 

You didn't mention it, but you might add Veritas Press to your consideration. They're what you're saying (classical + christian). We did the VP elementary history and a lot of their recommendations, and it has been great for us. I use skills and inspiration from WTM and apply them to the curriculum that works for us. No, you don't have to use the same as everyone else in your area. It's kind of weird when you realize NO ONE around you is doing what you're doing. But don't let that phase you. It's better to do what you find fits your family than to try to blend in and realize you've been growing someone else's garden. Everyone does their own thing. Don't be afraid to do yours. :)

[Garga]

Oh, and yeah--Nobody at my co-op does exactly what I'm doing and some of us are polar opposites. Doesn't affect me in any way.

[Brooketopia]

-I'm new to homeschooling.

When I was new to homeschooling, I really enjoyed going to my first homeschooling conference because it was the first time I was surrounded by a bunch of other people who thought homeschooling was totally awesome. I hadn’t been on the receiving end of overt anti-homeschooling opinions, but felt like people were just being polite when I talked about the subject. Not so at the conference—these people were living and breathing the choice to homeschool. It was great to see all the different people and see that homeschooling didn’t condemn me to a stereotype that was forming it my mind. And the homeschooled teens that were milling about really impressed me.

 

-We are a Christian family.

Unless you’re attending a conference that specifically states it’s against Christianity (I don’t think I’ve ever seen one), I think you’ll be OK. A previous poster mentioned that some conferences “preach†a specific type of Christianity or lifestyle, and I’ve seen that. Just because a handful of people who were able to get a conference together think you should be living your life and your religion one way, doesn’t mean they’re correct. You’ve got a brain, use it. I live in Utah, and I’m a Mormon...my local conference is very much geared towards the Mormon/LDS faith—but wow, they always seem to find the really “enthusiastic†and (in my opinion) “unnecessarily strict about adhering to literal translations without regard to the day and age we live in†Mormon folk to give workshops dealing with Mormon issues. I actually usually skip all those workshops because I know they don’t line up with what I’m looking for at conference. I get my religious instruction on Sundays at church; I go to homeschool conferences for information about the educational aspect of homeschooling, thankyouverymuch. (But that’s me...you might be different, and that’s totally fine.)

 

-I like the concept of classical education, but I'm not sure how it will actually play out.

Previous poster mentioned SWB being in Cincinnati—SWB is a great speaker. She came out here a few years back and I immensely enjoyed her keynote address and workshops. My husband doesn’t go to HS conferences as a rule, but I insisted he come listen to her and he was impressed as well. (She was actually that only person he liked—we left after her last workshop and went out for lunch because he couldn’t take the preaching and Birkenstocks anymore!)

 

-My daughter will be in first grade. She's an only.

On the surface, I wouldn’t say this matters too much. When I think about it more, I’d think you’d like the interaction with the other homeschoolers, just to get a feeling for what you’re heading into.

 

-I live in WV near VA, PA, MD.

I can’t help you here. Google?

 

-I am seriously confused about curriculum. But I am trying to keep it simple by mostly starting with what is recommended in WTM. If I need to make changes later on, I will.

I think you’ve got a good plan here. The curriculum fair will be nice for you—you get to read through things and possibly discover other curriculums you haven’t heard of before. At that one conference my husband went to, he found our favorite science curriculum. I didn’t really like the look of it, but he was so excited about it (he’s an engineer—science curriculum matters a lot to him) that I decided to just give it a go; and, of course, he was right. Win-win.

 

-I plan on joining a local homeschool group and so far I've heard that some of them use Sonlight, Christian Light, and stuff from Timberdoodle. It's not a big deal if my curriculum doesn't match up with the majority of the group, is it?

I guess that depends on whether they are homeschool groups or groups dedicated to homeschooling with a certain curriculum. If the former, then it’s not a big deal if your curriculum doesn’t match up (but be prepared to be occasionally brow-beaten with reasons why you should switch!), and if it’s the latter, I don’t see why you’d join if you weren’t doing the same as everyone else.

 

Questions:

 

-What are the pros and cons of attending a conference?

Pros:

• It’s nice to get away from my kids and have some serious “thinking about homeschooling†time.
  
• Lunch, by myself, at a restaurant...so nice.
  
• Curriculum fairs are kind of fun to browse.
  
• Some workshops are excellent.
  
• I usually walk away feeling re-charged and optimistic about the next year.
  
• Depending on who is presenting, you get to hear from some pretty awesome homeschooling gurus. Like I said, SWB is great; and last year Catherine Levison presented at my local conference (Charlotte Mason method) and I really liked her. We had John Taylor Gatto a couple years back as well, and he was...interesting. It’s nice to see these people in person, and you get a lot more out of their books once you’ve seen them talk about their ideas right in front of you.
  
• If you really want to get your hands on a specific curriculum to have a look before you buy, you can usually see what conventions a publishing company will be at listed on their website.
  

 

 

Cons:

• I’ve already mentioned the religious aspect—conferences can get kind of preachy. But it’s OK, if you don’t like what’s being said, or it’s too over-the-top, you can always stand up and leave that workshop and sit in on a different workshop. I’ve had to do it a couple times, and no one gave me dirty looks when I was leaving, and when I walk into another workshop, the presenter usually looks pretty pleased that someone else has shown up to listen.
  
• You won’t run into this if it’s your first time, but after attending the same conference a few years in a row, it can start feeling like you’re just listening to the same ten people every time. I’m not sure if I’ll go to my conference this year because of this situation—I think I’ve sat in on every workshop at some point by now.
  
• Don’t fall prey to salespeople at the Curriculum Fair. It can be costly.
  

 

 

-What conferences have you enjoyed?

I’ve only been to my local conference here in Utah. I’d really like to go to the Memoria Press conference in Kentucky someday.

 

-Will I be more confused than ever after seeing all of the curriculum options?

I’d go in with a list of what I’m planning to use for each subject, with room to write in possible options after you see them at the Curriculum Fair. As a general rule, I do not buy anything at the Curriculum Fair unless I already had it on my list and it’s less expensive than or includes freebies that I wouldn’t get from wherever I had found the best price beforehand. You can generally get a discount code from the vendors that you can use online after you’ve gone home and had time to organize your thoughts away from all the shiny educational toys and games.

[JNW]

Great! Thank you all for the very helpful information. I really appreciate the time you took to respond.

 

I probably won't go out of my way to find plan a trip to a conference this year, but if there's one relatively close to me and I'm interested in some of the speakers I might see about that.

[UrbanSue]

Let me second the discount code to use later thing. Practice saying, "Great! I need to talk this over with my husband. Can I get your website/phone number? And will you be offering a conference discount if I order soon?" Most will say yes. But you can spend WAY too much money at vendor tables really fast.

[2_girls_mommy]

Stay involved in your community as well. I have found that conference speakers often have smaller talks at different times of the year occasionally too. I missed Andrew Pudewa at our convention this year (I had to leave before his workshops, and I love him), but I saw him earlier this year at a bookstore when he had a new book out. Churches and homeschool groups sometimes have speakers throughout the year as well.

[PeterPan]

HEAV is coming up soon: http://heav.org/conv...ool-convention/ There are LOTS of good speakers there this year, including my sil, Kathy Kuhl!

 

 

Ooo, I heard her in Cincy! It wasn't that anything was so lightning bolt new, but the PEACE of it. For her to stand up and say *it didn't turn out like I thought and it's OK*. That was what I needed to hear. Nuts, I think a lot of us need to hear that, over and over. :)