What's the purpose of a homeschool convention?

There's nothing like a homeschool convention to get parents excited about their children's learning. Conventions offer motivational speakers, workshops and exhibits that help parents plan and organize their homeschooling goals. It's not only a time for parents, as graduation ceremonies and other activities are planned for children. The experience brings together people who are pioneers of homeschooling, eager to share their wisdom with those who are still rookies, or maybe just entering their first year.

Speakers at a homeschool convention are carefully chosen. They are veteran homeschoolers who can enlighten and inspire others. Hearing their message leaves the listeners with the determination to rise to the challenge of giving their children the best opportunities homeschooling has to offer. It makes the assignment that home educators have taken on become an exciting journey of life. It's comforting to discover that others have survived similar struggles and hearing their testimony can make challenges easier to conquer. The best teachers are those who have years of experience to share, which is why it is enlightening to hear the speakers at a homeschool convention.

Homeschool conventions offer workshops for vendors to share products and ideas with parents. This forum is helpful in considering curriculum choices. Listening to vendors present their materials in a workshop can help parents decide if the product will help them achieve the family's eductional goals. Workshops present a range of materials for academic subjects, organization and teaching strategies.

The exhibit hall is the place where vendors can display their products and services and answer parents questions about individual items. The exhibit hall allows parents and children to browse a wide range of curriculum products for all subjects. It is often difficult to find these products in our local communities, so it creates a lot of excitement to have all the choices available in one place.

There is much offered for children at a homeschool convention. For teens, it can be a recognition of graduation with a formal ceremony. For younger children there are fun, action-packed adventures for them to explore interesting facts, points of interest and other great discoveries combining geography, culture, history, music, art and games.

Attending a homeschool convention is an exciting step into the next year of home education. Parents and children arrive with eager anticipation and depart with an excited hope for a fantastic homeschooling journey and a trunk load of goods.

Top 5 Homeschool Books

Parents who are considering or have recently decided to homeschool can be overwhelmed with information. My oldest son had attended six years of Catholic school before we made the transition, and all my experience with schooling was developed through the institutionalized system of education. I sought any and all resources that would aid the transition into our new homeschooling journey. Though I learned a great deal, I was overloaded with too much information.

These are the top five homeschooling books that I believe to be invaluable resources to homeschoolers, particularly in the beginning stages. Each veteran homeschooler has his/her personal favorites and would have varying opinions on which books are the best resources. These five outstanding titles are concise and cover the topics of philosophy, organization, curriculum, resources and fiction.

I SAW THE ANGEL IN THE MARBLE is a collection of articles by homeschool pioneers Chris & Ellyn Davis that have been written over the course of many years. The Davis' offer insight & wisdom they have gained over 20 years. Their experiences help us understand reasons to homeschool and methods & styles of homeschooling.

100 TOP PICKS FOR HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM is the most comprehensive guide to homeschool curricula. Cathy Duffy helps parents match their child's learning style to the curriculum consistent with his/her educational philosophy. The most popular homeschool curricula are summarized, then laid out by subjects in a table for parents to compare. The table rates each material according to key features or characteristics of resources, which include: child's learning style, prep time, ease of use, grade level, amount of writing, availability of teachers manual, religious perspective and if it supports Charlotte Mason's philosophy or Classical Education. When it comes to comparing educational materials, I've never found another of this caliber. This book rates & reviews the most popular curricula among homeschoolers.

HOMESCHOOLING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE helps homeschooling families learn to balance school, family and the real world. Marilyn Rocket offers the solution for maintaining order in your home and school in this step-by-step guide to making choices about priorities, de-cluttering the home, organizing papers, and important life skills. The book includes a CD-ROM with the author's easy and versatile File-a-Plan organizing system. It includes record keeping forms for attendance, chores, tracking expenses, field trips, health & vital info, transcripts and much, much more. This book is the best for learning to manage your homeschooling day and keeping records organized.

THE HOMESCHOOLER'S BOOK OF LISTS is more than a reference book. Sonya Haskins has compiled more than 250 lists about great people, important dates, government, geography, mathematical formulas, art, word origins, award winning literature and much more. Topics are organized by academic subjects and can be used according to your child's interests and needs. Another great feature is that any list from the book can be printed from the CD-ROM which is included. The Homeschooler's Book of Lists is an awesome resource to supplement any homeschool curriculum.

SURVIVING THE APPLEWHITES, by Stephanie S. Tolan is a title you may not find on other lists of homeschool books to read. It is a fictional story about a troubled teen who has "burned all his bridges." His only place left to go is to live with an eccentric, unstructured family, the Applewhites. The educational philosophy of this family is a thought provoking example of what homeschooling could be like. It raises questions in the reader about his/her philosophy of education. Surviving the Applewhites is a humorous and endearing story of transformation. I recommend it for parents, and children alike, to spark ideas and discussions about your homeschooling perceptions and goals.

A search in "books"on Amazon.com for homeschool turns up 2,452 results. Sifting through those titles for the best of them is quite a challenge. This list is a quick reference to those I have found to be among the top, which cover homeschooling philosophy, curriculum, organization, resources and fiction.

Do you have a favorite book/s that you would recommend to a new homeschooler or someone who is considering it? Please share. It's exciting to discover new titles that can aid parents in the homeschooling adventure.

Balancing Books with Living Life to the Fullest

The boys & I went to the Scholastic Warehouse Book Sale and returned with a fair sized box of books. The euphoria I felt when I walked out with our new chest full of treasures is comparable to that of waking up on Christmas morning as a child. It was such a strong feeling that it made me wonder if I have gone too far with my love for reading. In addition to my love of reading is the pride I feel when my boys are so absorbed in a book that they want to do nothing until they've read through to the end.

As parents, one of our greatest concerns for our youngsters is that they will learn to read. From the beginning of their lives we are pointing out letters and teaching them to make sense of the strange symbols that form words. Kindergarten begins and we fret over their progress. By second grade we are either panicked about the "slow" readers or elated that our "genius" is reading Harry Potter. When the children are strong readers, we feel relieved and certain that by reading, anything can be conquered. Books and other media are the key to information and learning. They can teach us about the solar system or take us to a far away fantasy land. A good story can stimulate creativity and teach a lesson. What can be bad about reading?

I digress from reading for a moment to consider the saying that we should "live life to the fullest." Now, that can be defined in many ways according to our perspective. When pondering that thought, I have trouble articulating all the ways to live life to the fullest. Spending time with my family is a start. Next, imagining us on a family vacation hiking in the mountains makes me feel "full." On a spiritual level, it might be to praise and thank God for the blessings in life. Particularly when I find myself standing on the balcony of our vacation cabin looking out at the view of the Great Smokey Mountains as the sun is just peeking over the top. To others "living life to the fullest" may refer to those thrilling moments of flying an airplane (or jumping out of it), skiing in the Alps, running a marathon, scuba diving, rock climbing or motor-cross. To each of us the meaning will be unique.

Would anyone suggest that passively reading the adventures of a fictional character is living to the fullest? When hours are spent tuned into an unresponsive page, what is the gain? Certainly valuable information can be gathered through print, but what is the payoff for the investment of time spent pouring over the print to go on an adventure or learn new information? Do we feel "full" of life when we spend time with books? Does it rob of us of the time we might spend with real live people or going out in the world to see, hear and smell the living breathing natural world?

It seems obvious that there should be a balance between the time spent absorbed in books with that in the real world, but for some it's not that easy. A book is always on time. It will never harm you physically (unless an angry person hurls it at you). If a book is offensive it can be discarded. Books have impeccable manners. The story in a book can warm your heart. Information in a book can teach you which snakes are poisonous or not. The lessons are infinite. The book calls us to read and and hours pass by.

I have yet to come across a book suggests people should stop reading, but have discovered many whose lesson is to teach the reader to live life to the fullest. Where's the balance between reading and recognizing that which is most important in life, the living breathing world?

The next time I shop the Scholastic Warehouse sale and walk away with the chest full of treasure, I'll remind myself that it's a box of dead trees I'm holding.....then, I'll go home, spread a blanket on the grass in the shade of a tree and begin a new adventure after fishing an exciting title from the chest. Sorry, I'm hopelessly devoted to reading. Though, if ever I have to run from our burning home, it will be the family I grab before reaching for any books.

Seasons

We pass through seasons with unique goals in mind. Many of us see spring as a closing of the school year, while summer is a time for vacations and fun. The traditional school calendar has shaped our expectations of spring as the closing of the school year whether we homeschool our children or they attend public or private schools. For homeschoolers, it may be a time for evaluations or portfolio assessments.

Each state has it's own requirements for compliance with it homeschooling requirements. Here in Florida, parents have these five options:

1. Porfolio & student conference
   
2. Nationally normed test
3. FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test)
4. Psychological Evaluation
5. Virtual School Transcript

For parents and children who are new to homeschooling, state compliance requirements can be intimidating, while pioneers of homeschooling have a firm understanding of legal rights and responsibilities as homeschoolers. Through personal contact with homeschooling parents, the discussion of homeschooling requirements always leaves me with the impression that parents who are not certified teachers are intimidated by the process of evaluations & assessments.

As a Florida state certified educator in Elementary Education K - 6th, I am able to help parents meet the requirements for homeschooling by serving as an evaluator of portfolios and administrator of nationally normed tests; however, I am not employed by the local county school board. It is my hope to ease parents anxiety of the compliance requirements, while offering any professional advice they seek. My goal, also, is to help make the evaluation process pleasant for parents and the assessment environment peaceful & comfortable for children.

Homeschooling is a vast, open playing field. As we all have learned, curriculum choices and homeschooling styles are plentiful. Each family has a unique purpose for making the decision to homeschool. The one thing we may all have in common is a law that we must comply with to meet educational requirements. Here in Florida, the end of spring marks the time of year when most homeschool families must submit proof of compliance.

Do you live in a place where you believe the state has strict or loose requirements for homeschooling? How do you meet the requirements and do you believe they are reasonable?

If you are new to homeschooling, it is highly recommended that you become familiar with the Home School Legal Defense Association, which is a nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms. Through annual memberships, HSLDA is tens of thousands of families united in service together, providing a strong voice when and where needed. http://www.hslda.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1