Well, another state homeschool convention has come and gone.  Guess who was there?  Some FIRST Lego League teams and FIRST Robotics and FIRST Tech were all there.   I met people from team Overdrive and Power Surge.  They are the high school team.  I saw the teams Say Watt? and Robot Rangers which are the FIRST Lego League teams.  It was exciting to meet  and talk to some of the old team members from Built on the Rock.  That was exciting.  There also may be an opportunity for more things to come with FIRST Lego League.

There were other groups that were there also.  Historical Happenings did the Children's Program for the convention this year.  What an outstanding job they did at not only taking care of our children, but also putting on a great show at the end!  The team for the children's program was about history.  Friday night , I know that they played like knights from the Middle Ages.  Saturday morning, they ate beef jerky like a British soldier in the American Revolution.  The afternoon session, they played games like in the 1800.  And the evening session, they dressed up like soldiers in the Civil War.  They marched around the whole convention hall.  I did not know that this was going to happen.  So, I did not get a picture of my boys in their army outfit.  I am upset with myself.

I want to tell you that the keynote speaker on Saturday morning moved me to tears.  She shared how we place these unrealistic expectations on our children and our homeschool.  So many times we try to do it our way when we know that was not what God intended.  Basically, my interpretation of her message is we tend to try to control the situation too much when we need to step back and let God mold and shape our children.  It was a hard message for me because I know I needed to hear that.

I attended a class that was my favorite.  Mark August, who is ENOCH's legal liaison, did a class about homeschooling teenage boys.  The class was important for me because I am about to embark on pre-teen years.  I figured that this was a good class for me to be in.  He spoke about how many mothers give up and put their sons in public or private school once they are teenagers.  He said, "the reason you homeschooled them when they were 6 years old, still applies when they're 16 years old."  He said that they are really young men.  So, for the rest of the session, he called them young men.  It put things in perspective for me.  They learn differently from girls, but that does not mean that mom cannot do it.  I have heard  of nightmare stories of mothers and their sons.  I have also heard of the great success stories.  I don't think that it is impossible just a greater challenge.  If God has called me to it, then I need to step up to the challenge.

The convention was wonderful.  If you missed it, I would suggets, to please try  to support our state's homeschool convention. It is inspiring.  It is great to be around other homeschooler.  It is nice to hear others encourage homeschooler to keep moving forward.

Blessings!