Tonight I’m going to share a bullet list of some of the IN-HOME conference highlights. I didn’t sleep all that well last night (big shock), so I’m not seeing totally straight. I’m sure I’ll have to come back and edit this post later for typos. 🙂
– Yesterday afternoon the three dads in our little group took the kids swimming while us moms had some chatting time. Unfortunately, some kid had put a chunk of dry ice into the really spiffy pool, and the other pool was a bit cold, so that was kind of a bust.
– One of The Muse’s friends got to be part of a flash mob that broke out at lunch today. That was cool.
– The Muse’s workshops mostly had to do with acting. She had a couple of science workshops, too, but she said her favorite was Stage Combat.
– Dolittle’s workshops were mostly about animals. Her favorite was Animal Homes and Habitats.
– BoyWonder went to the Romp ‘n’ Play room for the first two sessions, but then refused to be left there without one of us. So Havarti spent most of the workshops with him.
– I went to a workshop on organization by a real, certified professional organizer this morning. It was pretty good. Mostly stuff I already knew. There was one thing the presenter said that caught my attention: “Decision-making is one of the biggest time wasters in life.” Ouch. I’m notorious for taking forever to make decisions. Her point in saying that was that routines and systems take away unnecessary decision-making, thereby saving time and energy. Good reminder.
– In the vendor hall, there was a used book sale that was AWESOME. I spent less than $50 and got more than a dozen great educational books in almost new condition. The Muse got the full “Lord of the Rings” trilogy in one volume for $6, and I got a hard-cover copy of “The Well-Trained Mind” for $10. I just love a good bargain.
– This afternoon I went to a workshop about teaching to multiple levels. Some useful information about how to approach teaching the same topic to different ages. Excited to try implementing some of it.
– The final workshop I went to was by Sandra Dodd, who’s one of the major voices in the unschooling world. It was okay. I didn’t get a whole lot out of it, but it was interesting to put a face to a name I’d heard so many times.
Overall, it was a great conference. I feel reassured in our decision to take this path, and inspired to examine our educational approach and philosophies in a new light. And it’s so great to have some focused time to discuss all of our discoveries, doubts, worries, and wonderings with other homeschooling families.
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