My Weekend
This is my official report of last weekend. As some of you may know, I met up with Canadagirl and we spent Friday and Saturday at a homeschool convention.
It was great to meet her and see the person behind the blog. It was a good reminder that there are real, live people, with life stories, thoughts and feelings, behind what we see on these blogs.
Anyhow, Mary(Canadagirl) is a very nice person(which is easy to tell from her blog!) and she graciously shared her beading hobby with my dd, who is now eager to take up the trade! (If you scroll down you'll see the necklace dd made.) She also blessed me with a bookmark....
It was great to meet her and see the person behind the blog. It was a good reminder that there are real, live people, with life stories, thoughts and feelings, behind what we see on these blogs.
Anyhow, Mary(Canadagirl) is a very nice person(which is easy to tell from her blog!) and she graciously shared her beading hobby with my dd, who is now eager to take up the trade! (If you scroll down you'll see the necklace dd made.) She also blessed me with a bookmark....
and some her handmade votives, which I've already put to use on my kitchen table centerpiece.
Our kids only met for a short while, but they seemed to hit it off really quickly, even though two of her sons are older than mine.
The conference was good, but I have to admit that it was exhausting. Especially for me, being pregnant and on my feet for two days!
I always go to these things with a list of what I'm looking for so I'm not wandering around aimlessly, even so it can be pretty overwhelming!
You think you've seen all the books there is to see and then you find a little gem that you may have never found if you hadn't stopped to look!
These are the books I bought for my homeschool support group library:
In case you can't read all the titles, they are:
The Orchestra by Peter Ustinov, this is actually a CD, we used to have it on tape and my kids love it. He narrates through all of the different parts of an orchestra and the instruments and for each one, there is a piece of music that highlights that instrument.
Hold on to Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld Ph.D and Gabor Mate MD, I've heard alot about this book, but haven't yet read it. The subtitle reads "Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers". Hmmm...very intriguing indeed! I think I'm going to like what they have to say already!
The Myth of Ability by John Mighton , This subtitle says: "Nuturing Mathematical Talent in Every Child". I'm looking forward to getting into this book, because I did not do well in Math growing up. Apparently, neither did the author, but he now has a degree in Mathematics! He discovered that children who struggled in Math, struggled because of the way it had been taught. He has since written his own Math curriculum and it's becoming very popular with homeschoolers.
JUMP Math
How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren , I thought this was a great title because it's a book on how to read a book!
Somebody recommended it and so I'm going to check it out.
Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World by Jeffrey Leed,M.A.T. and Laurie Parsons , "Unlocking the Potential of Your ADD Child", this caught my attention because I think I have one of these and I want all the help I can get in how to approach learning with him.
Learning in Spite of Labels by Joyce Herzog , Canadagirl actually recommended this book to me and I hope others in our group will find it helpful.
Mr Pipes Comes to America by Douglas Bond , this author was recommended to me as well and in this book he tells the story of some famous American hymn writers.
Duncans War also by Douglas Bond a histrical fiction novel that takes place in the time of 17 century Scotland, this is the first in a series, I'm hoping it will appeal to my son.
Season's of a Mother's Heart by Sally Clarkson , I love the writing of Sally Clarkson and it's always good to have something for us as moms, for encouragement.
The Hear of Wisdom by Robin Samson Canadagirl recommended this book as well and I've heard a lot about it in the last year or two. I've already started to skim through this one and even if you don't follow the Heart of Wisdom teaching approach, there is still good stuff in here!
So, I have all Summer to review these books, guess I better get started!
If you've read any of them, let me know!
As for the seminars I went to, I heard
Pat Farenga speak on Learning Without Curriculum (gasp!), Allan Garneau
speak on The Erosion of Childhood (a very good message that I wish more could hear!) and Thomas Armstrong speak on The Myth of Add (very informative!).
I had a good weekend, and the conference gave me lots to think about. As I mentioned in a post below, one of the main things that came to me was that God gave me the children that I have and He knows what they need. I am ultimately accountable to Him for how I teach and raise them and I need to rely on Him to show me what we need to be doing in our homeschool.
Thanks for stopping by today,
blessings to you!
