A Mother's Journal ~ A Bit of Birdsong

Visit this really cool page to see what our very current number is.  My children thought this was cool!

population clock us

Lynn

The Healthy Homeschool June 2008 Newsletter is now on line.

Lynn

Getting away, all by myself, to the North Carolina Homeschool Conference is like a little mini-vacation for me.  There’s not been a year yet that I haven’t wanted to go, though it has not worked out for me to go every year.   I was glad when this year, it did.

How Does It Make Me Feel?

I arrived in Winston-Salem and felt a little giddy at the thoughts of all that homeschool stuff in one place, and just mere minutes from where I was parking.  (Only a homeschooling mom could relate.)  It was a gorgeous, sunny day and I had a rush of feelings as I entered the Benton Convention Center.   Memories, hopes, and dreams, all tied to my children. 

I immediately scanned the Convention Center for any faces I knew.  None yet.  Then I started looking at the faces of homeschooling strangers and guessing, I wonder what style she uses to teach.  Her dress makes me think Charlotte Mason.  Or, no, classical.  And her demeanor seems more unschooling.  (Smiling.)  There’s really no way to tell, and I felt the urge to ask people in line, so what do you use to teach your kids?  People were busy registering, however, so I stifled the urge.

First Things First

After registering and finding the room of the first lecture I wanted to hear, I had 30 minutes to kill.  First, the ladies room.  Then I went downstairs and — be still my wildly beating heart — the books!!  Ha Ha, I thought I might have a few minutes alone down here.  The aisles were already packed!  Rainbow Resource’s booth was really packed.  So was the Book Peddler’s.  I could not even maneuver through RR.  The used books vendors were packed too, with people hoping to find an OOP they’ve been wanting.  I decided to walk around the whole place once, just scanning so I could come back after the couple of lectures I wanted to hear and then be set to shop quickly.  (Yeah, right.)

The Lectures I Attended

Each year, as soon as I receive the NCHE Conference Issue of the Greenhouse Report, I look at “what’s playing” on the days I can go.  This year was perfect!!  I heard Debbie Mason speak on Homeschooling High School and then Preparing for College.  She has very, very successfully homeschooled four through high school.  She knows what she’s doing and is well situated to help others.  She has a vast amount of knowledge, she’s funny, and she’s a great, engaging speaker.  Just to hear her two lectures was well worth the 55 dollars I paid to get into the conference. 

What Did I Come Away With?

When Debbie Mason first started to speak, I felt so encouraged.  Like a homeschool super woman!  As always, though, there were also the comparion-type thoughts and the burning question, am I doing enough?  Finally — and this is the reason we need these kinds of things — I settled on a mindset of going home and getting to work! 

I spent at least 2-1/2 hours walking around and around the vendors’ booths.  Rosetta Stone Japanese will soon be on the way.  (You merely talk with the rep while at the conference.) 

I came across some video tapes I’ve really been wanting.  Put out by Nest Entertainment, I purchased three in “The Artists’ Specials” (Goya, Rembrandt, and Mary Cassatt) and five in “The Inventors’ Specials (Newton, Galileo, Leonardo, Edison, and Marie Curie).  We already had one on Winslow Homer, and I had purposed that if I ever saw anymore in the series I would jump on them.  And I did. 

I renewed with HSLDA for a year and got a little leather binder that’ll be good for my desk.

I found several picture books on Japan, an Usborne book on Asia and an Usborne reader called Samurai.  We are starding our Japan reference books for Joseph’s 12th grade studies.  He’s very excited. 

So that was the conference and my experience there.  Before leaving, I did run into one good friend who used to live closer to me.  I also met a new contact person for some co-op activities.  I left happy but exhausted, and  very glad to be going home!

Lynn

On my little stroll through the garden this morning, I spied some pink carnation petals in Sarah Elizabeth Gramble’s apron.

It looks like she placed them there herself.  Maybe she did. 

There’s so much to do in the flower garden!  There are plants that need thinning.  Two very invasive plants (arrrgh) need to be aggressively dug out and thrown away.  There are seeds that need planting.  Nevertheless, other, more important things simmer on the front burner right now.

For example, the North Carolina Home School conference which starts tomorrow and goes on through Saturday.  I’ll be there, looking for items to make up Big Joe’s 12th grade year.  He wants to study Japan intensely, including the language.  It will be a lot of fun.

I cleaned the house up today.  The whole entire house.  With four children and a busy schedule it’s not a piece of cake.  Oh, I might find a dried-up piece of cake in one of the boy’s rooms, but it’s not a piece of cake to have all rooms clean at one time.  

Last night before I went to sleep, I was remembering my interactions with each child when they were infants and toddlers.  Each child was different, so I interacted a bit differently with each one.  Oh, I loved each one fiercely, but some babies wanted more cuddling than others, some nursed more, some walked or talked early — or late…  Well, you get the picture. 

I’m sure that each little one knew how much he or she was loved.  I got a bit tearful (I’m sure it’s my age) thinking about those sweet, short years of infancy.  My, they go by fast!  Hubby tells me not to worry, grandkids are around the corner.  Makes me smile to think of all the neat things I’d like to do for grandkids!

Life gets chaotic at times and I was a little stressed over some things last evening, so Princess of the Universe, in an effort to cheer me up, traced her own and each of her brother’s toes onto a piece of paper and brought them to me. 

You’d have to see these papers to realize how funny they are.  My boys have big feet.  No, these are not little delicate baby toes that were traced, but great big, teenaged boy toes.  The tracings are currently glued into my journal as part of today’s entry.  She did indeed make me smile. 

I am thinking that this year at the NC homeschool conference I will focus on attending workshops geared towards teaching high school and preparing for college.  I know it will help me to pull things together next year.  And, as usual, I’ll be on the lookout for good books of all kinds and for any homeschooling buddies I might run into. 

Lynn