Posted in Seminars and Conferences
What a fantastic day! I wouldn't have missed it for anything...well it would have had to be something serious. Diana Waring in person is just as vibrant and engaging as she is in her books and CDs. I'm so glad I took the time to attend. Not that there was EVER a question of missing her! With so few opportunities to attend homeschooling events, every event is exciting and special. When we have international guests it is just the icing on the cake!!I think homeschooling events are important to the health and sanity of a homeschooling mum as well as your homeschool. Where else can you go and spend a day in the company of people in similar positions to yourself? Where else can you go to browse and discuss curriculum options with vendors or mums who are using curriculums you are interested in? Where else can you go to spend the day relaxing, socialising (hey it's important for the mummas too!), and revitalising (often without the children) while becoming motivated and full of new ideas for your homeschooling at the same time?? Who could pass up an opportunity like this? Not me!!
For my American readers (and those for whom homeschooling conferences or conventions are a super-sized event) let me describe the Australian homeschool convention. The word "convention" just does not suit what is on offer to us. We usually call them "conferences" or "seminars" to more accurately describe the intimate nature of our gatherings. They are usually held in a Church or school hall with anything from a handful of people (I was at a seminar with only SIX!! attendees earlier this year) to 100 to 200 hundred people at the most. I'm baffled as to why more homeschoolers don't jump at the opportunity to join in.
The "vendor hall" for us is usually only a handful of fold out tables lined up in an adjoining room or at the back of the hall. Rest assured though, we get equally as excited about seeing all those wonderful books on display. The number and variety of vendors seems to depend greatly on the seminar's vicinity to the vendor's home town. Unfortunately us Brisbanites often miss out on the much larger homeschool suppliers. But never fear, I can always find something to buy. You know me
.Despite the small scale of our homeschooling events they are still incredibly exciting!! We count down how many sleeps we have left and drool over the presenters and vendors websites for weeks and days before the Big Day. A big American homeschooling convention would probably blow my mind...don't get me wrong...I'd be more than happy to try the experience ...repeatedly
. I wouldn't like to give up the intimate nature of our homeschooling events for a super-sized affair though. There is something truly lovely about mixing with a smaller group of people. You are more inclined to introduce yourself to people you don't know and go out of your way to include people who may have come alone to the conference. The atmosphere is very relaxed and people roam around with a tea or coffee in their hand catching up with people they haven't seen for a while. Due to the smaller number of vendors you can fairly easily get around to see everything on offer with plenty of time to stop and chat with stall owners. You also have the opportunity to stop and chat with the keynote presenters. Hey you can sit down on the couch with them over a cup of tea or chat over a barbequed sausage on bread if you'd like. Have you picked on the key features of our events?...Chatting and lots of cups of tea/coffee!
Back to Diana...her presentations were fantastic. I HIGHLY recommend getting yourself to one of her seminars while you have the chance. It's not often that we have such well-known international speakers in the country to speak to us.
On the drive home my car buddies (Hi Susan and Lisa) and myself pondered all number of things that were inspired by what we heard during the day
- adding the "fun" back into our plans
- taking the time to slow down and enjoy exploring topics (in particular history)
- and leaving our dictating and controlling natures behind us to allow God to lead us in His Way.
Homeschooling events always nudge me out of my comfy spot and encourage me to keep moving forward into the fullness of what homeschooling has to offer. So expect to be nudged....but isn't that the beauty of seminars?!
