I attended my first Homeschool Conference this last weekend. I had been meaning to go for a few years but several things, including a severe mental block whenever the word “homeschooling” came up, prevented me from ever attending. Now that I have learned a little about life, school and relaxing I no longer feel like dry-heaving whenever I think of school and I’m able to relax and enjoy myself.
The exhibition hall was daunting, but I didn’t have any money to spend so I didn’t feel any obligation to purchase anything. There is much to choose from but at this point my kiddos are too young for me to worry about curriculums, so I felt no pressure. I just looked around for people I knew. My daughter rode happily on my back in my Babyhawk Mei Tai, and I walked around complimenting other women on their carriers.
The keynote speaker was Todd Wilson of Family Man ministries and boy, was his message something I needed to hear. He poked fun at many of the homeschooling myths, legends and conventions that we are so used to. His main focus was the idea that no one is living the perfect homeschool life, that all of us are screwing up in a million ways and that it doesn’t really matter in the long run. As someone who spends a great deal of time comparing myself to others it was a huge blessing to hear someone be funny and candid about having a messy house and eating cereal for dinner. He emphasized transparency and vulnerability, something a couple of my other friends are trying to do with each other. I feel many of my intimidations melting away.
At one point during the day I felt really tired and I rolled up my Babyhawk and used it as a pillow. I sat Alice on the ground and let her tear up a catalog while I closed my eyes for a few much needed minutes. Every once in a while I would open them and she would still be sitting in the same spot, just ripping away. I might not have been comfortable enough to do that before, but I felt no need to impress anybody. It was kind of fun to feel that free!
The teachable moments continue. The other day right as I was scolding Jarvis he suddenly looked up and said “Mommy, what kind of bird is in that tree?” I looked up from my vantage point at the van door expecting to see a sparrow or a robin and instead I was surprised to see a very LARGE bird roosting in the neighbors tree! I couldn’t see it’s head but something about the bluish color and white spots on the wings made it look very familiar.
Later we googled it and low and behold, there was a Pileated Woodpecker in my neighbors tree, in the middle of the city! My grandmother is surrounded by woods on three sides of her home and the site of a Pileated Woodpecker in one of her trees is a rare and celebrated occurrence! I asked Jarvis if this bird looked like the one he saw and he agreed that while he had not seen the birds head the body did look like the picture.
We looked at a few pictures of woodpeckers, and listened to some audio files of woodpeckers calling and the sound of them hammering on the trees. I asked Jarvis if he knew why woodpeckers peck at trees and he said he didn’t know. I gently pressed him to think about it. “To get a worm?” Exactly! We read the Wikipedia entry on woodpeckers, which I then explained in plainer language, and we ended our session by watching some Woody Woodpecker cartoons on You Tube.
It is my prayer that I will always treat his curiosity with such reverence, that I will take hold of every teachable moment. I am also determined to keep trying to be the best that I can be, even if my best is cereal for dinner.
Comments
Apr. 7, 2008 - Homeschooling Convention
Posted by kcmyworld
Ours is coming up in about 10 days and Todd Wilson is a featured speaker for us, too. I'm looking forward to hearing him, because I (like you and so many others) have that dreaded comparison bug.
Glad to hear the thought of homeschooling no longer causes the dry-heaves. I have to confess a frequent thought as of late. I began homeschooling my kids for their sakes. (You know, wanting them to learn about Christ, avoid unwholesome peer influences, protect their innocence, etc). But now I think I homeschool more for myself than for them. I can't stand the thought of sending them off for someone else to get more of them than I do - more of their time, energy, wit, emotions, loyalty, etc. So yes, now I homeschool for me. Selfish? maybe, but it's a win-win all the way around.
Robin
Apr. 7, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by tawtenere
Wow, I've just read your posts, sort of from front to back, and loved them! "Childcraft encyclopedia" caught my attention because we had the whole set (or most of it anyway) when I was growing up. I loved them!
The list you made in your first post describes me perfectly, though I have never sent my child to preschool. I live for the teachable moments even though he is only six months old. And I pray daily that the Holy Spirit will make me sensitive to the everyday events that I can turn into life lessons as he grows.
I'd like to be friends. :)