Beach Vacation.... I mean..... Homeschooling Conference Notes

Is there anything harder than taking off a couple of days from motherhood to go up to Virginia Beach with a friend to attend a homeschooling conference?  Goodness gracious.  There was all this sun in my face, and the water felt great, and Jen and I had a hotel right on the beach.  It's tough work but someone's got to do it.

*Sigh*

In all seriousness though, it was great.  And while I truly enjoyed being at the beach the real highlight was the conference itself.  The area that we live in is surprisingly starting to boom with more families choosing to homeschool.  It was great being in an environment where people don't look at you like you're insane for choosing to homeschool or like you're "that one family that so-and-so used to know who homeschooled and was crazy."  

On that note, ever since I wrote this post I have had several people interested in our journey, so I thought I'd write down some of my notes from the conference.  I was given an inch-thick booklet that is full of notes, so consider this a small taste of what I learned.  In other words, if you're thinking about possibly homeschooling, go to a conference.  You'll get so much more info there with people who are real.  So here they are in no particular order:

• The most important way to teach is with love.  If you're not doing it with love, start over and do it a new way.
• It doesn't matter if you have a child who's super ahead of behind.  Once they're adults, they only remember 5% of what they learned in school.  Homeschooling gives them the freedom to move at their own pace and doesn't make them feel like a failure around peers.
• Homeschoolers have a much lower chance of experiencing depression.
• Don't feel pressured by others saying that your child isn't going to be well-socialized.  They will be socialized.  And do you really want them to be socializing with all the kids at their school anyway?  Is that who you want your children to turn into?
• When you're an adult, you don't just hang out with people who are within 1 year of your age.  Homeschooling gives kids the chance to learn how to learn with people of all ages and make them feel comfortable together.
• If you spend more than 2 hours a day helping your child with schoolwork, you're ALREADY homeschooling!  Homeschooling only takes a few hours a day.  
• One myth is that homeschoolers don't socialize.  There are several ways that they can socialize -- co-ops, jobs, church, and neighborhood functions on top of the typical hanging out with friends.
• To make sure that everything gets done in the day, do the most important thing first.
• Just be cheerful.  If kids are struggling with their emotions, ask them if they're being a rock (strong and stand their ground) or a bulldozer.
• Have a "runaway day" when you're having a tough day or a great day.  Go to a museum or the park or the beach or wherever.
• Have kids set their own goals of what they want to achieve by the end of the year.  Then focus your curriculum to help them meet that goal.
• Think about what you want your children to be like as adults and then give them the education that will get them there.
• Each specific curriculum is most likely not going to work for each of your kids.  They're probably all need something slightly different.
• Choose something that works for both you and your kids.
• It will not be peaceful and perfect every minute of every day, but in the end your kids will love each other so much more.
• Don't feel bad if you have a failed day.  Guilt is for criminals -- not you!
• Have a routine with young kids --  not a schedule.

I still have a lot to learn, but I'm excited to start figuring this out.  I have a year before we get down to business but I know that I want to make my own homeschooling system/schedule and find the right curriculum for our family.  And once again, let me state that I 100% believe that homeschooling isn't right for everyone and that I'm not stepping on a soapbox by posting this.  I know that parents always know what is best for their children and this just so happens to be what Ben and I feel is best for ours.