Homeschool Convention and Where Did My Babies Go?

Had an amazing day at the CHAP Convention yesterday and am gearing up to go again today.


When I go, I have my list of books I must purchase to get ready for next year. My first stop is usually at the Queen Homeschool booth to purchase our Math U See books for next year.


So yesterday, I went up to them and said, "I need a complete set of Alpha, a student book for Epsilon and a complete set of whatever comes after Zeta." The very courteous young man helping me said, "Oh, that would be Pre-Algebra".

(Imagine here the scene from Christmas Story where Ralphie's mom called Schwart's mom and told her that Ralphie heard a bad word from Schwartz. ~ What?! What!? WHAAAAT?!?!?!? That's a little glimpse inside my mind at that moment.)


I was shocked! Pre-Algebra!!! I mean, I should have known because I am familiar with Math U See as we have been using it for a few years now. I started thinking in my mind, "Okay, DD12 will be 13 this summer and she will be 8th grade in the fall, so I guess that's right." All of this happened in about a milli-second. I tried to keep it together and not let this guy know what was going through my head - I wanted to know where in the heck my baby went and that I wanted to leap over the table at him for telling me my firstborn is growing up so fast. But, hey, can't shoot the messenger.


After a quick moment, all I could do was look at this poor young man and say, "I'm not emotionally prepared to make that purchase right now. Give me the Alpha and Epsilon books, but I need time to digest 'Pre-Algebra'."



Whew! They grow up right before your eyes, don't they?

Tis the Season...

Listen.......Can you hear it?............It's a convoy of mini vans.............As each van parks, moms jump out and start suiting up with backpacks, baby carriers, strollers, empty luggage, and pocketbooks.

It's spring and the beginning of the Homeschool-Convention-and-Curriculum-Buying season.

As one browses through a homeschool magazine, one of the first things that pops out is an ad. In this ad is a child that is well-groomed, in an orderly home, is smiling (mom is usually looking on and smiling as well) and doing her school work with a joyful heart.

What we must remember is - this is an advertisement that highly paid marketers put together so we will buy their product. I'm not saying the product isn't good. It might be great for your family, but how many used curriculum sales have you gone to where there is curriculum that has the first few pages used or it's not been used at all? Sometimes we get sucked in to thinking that this book, unit study, curriculum, etc. is all we need and things will be sunshine and roses for next school year.

I really think the advertisements of this sort are just as dangerous to homeschool moms as the advertisements we try to protect our teens from. You know the ones with the beautifully, perfect, air-brushed models. When our teens are exposed to that, they think that is how they must look to be happy. The bar is set to an unreachable height.

A good friend of mine started homeschooling her girls just this past January. It is exciting to see her go through this transition with her girls. She has been attending the Charlotte Mason discussion groups and has embraced her philosophy full force. Her observations at a recent used curriculum sale are very insightful and I wanted to share them here.

Thoughts on Homeschool Curriculum

Another friend advises to pray about your homeschool before, during and after purchasing curriculum. I think this is very sound advice.

Finally, I just came across this blog post and wanted to share it as well.

Homeschool Utopia

Don't we all go through this at some point in our homeschooling lives?

Planning for a new academic year can be exciting. You have a clean slate and a fresh start for things hoped for. Do your research and keep in mind that every family is different. For that matter every child is different. Find what fits your situation best and keep in mind that because something works for someone elses family doesn't mean that it will work for yours.

2009 CHAP Convention

The CHAP convention is over - for this year. I look forward to it every year. It's nice to be in a building full of somewhat like-minded people.

Some of my favorite finds at the convention include:
Apologia's Exploring Creation with General Science from My Father's World
Apologia's Exploring Creation through Astronomy Notebooking Journal
Science Experiments in a Tube by Amazing Toys found at Nature's Workshop Plus
Queen Homeschool's Copywork for Girls and The Door in the Wall study guide
Chalcedon Foundation - I met Bruce N Shortt and bought his book The Harsh Truth About Public Schools

I purposefully don't take the kids to the convention with me. I need to be able to think and sometimes it's hard with them there. I see many families at the convention with well-behaved, tidy children and think, "I should have brought my kids". Then I snap back into reality. I know my limitations. Since they don't go with me, I always bring them back a little something.
The Science Experiments in a Tube were fun because the kids could do them right away. Along with these nifty little tubes, I also brought home new T-shirts from Homeschool Mania.

The convention is a time for renewal for me. Going to hear the speakers is both encouraging and inspiring. God always leadd me to just what I need to hear and I love that. I thank God for the freedom to homeschool without fear of persecution. I also thank Him for this opportunity to a front row seat to my children's learning. There is so much I would miss out on if they went to school all day. My prayer is that we are able to keep this freedom for generations to come.