Wow! I actually learned quite a bit at the conference yesterday. First, I learned that god is everywhere. At least, he is at one of these events.
Religion aside, I really got a better feel for how to start tackling the homeschooling thing. First, there was a workshop on understanding Virginia homeschooling law. I had read the law itself and a couple of summaries, but the hour-long presentation really answered my questions about small details. There were also a couple of “how to begin” type courses which ranged from mind-numbingly boring to mildly helpful, and a course on the major types of homeschooling: traditional, classical, unit studies, “the living book,” the principle approach, and unschooling. None of the categories struck me as exactly what I want to do, but it’s nice to have a framework when searching for materials to use.
The exhibit hall was 90% Christian. I know a huge amount of homeschoolers do it for religious reasons, but I was still shocked. I managed to find six or seven interesting vendors out of the hundreds there. I also got a great tip from a woman selling a grammar program. When I joked that it would be a long time before my 2-year-old would be ready for grammar, she suggested that I buy a set of those accordion files that are numbered 1-12 for the months, but use them to file away ideas for each grade level. I thought that was a great idea, as I’m quickly outgrowing my current system of pasting ideas into a single Word document with no organization whatsoever.
I managed to buy only one thing: a book called Slow and Steady Get Me Ready by June R. Oberlander, which is just a collection of weekly activities for birth to age 5, using common household items. I doubt that I’ll follow the week-by-week structure of it, but I’m always looking for ways to do fun, challenging things with Sam.
Wow! I actually learned quite a bit at the conference yesterday. First, I learned that god is everywhere. At least, he is at one of these events.
Religion aside, I really got a better feel for how to start tackling the homeschooling thing. First, there was a workshop on understanding Virginia homeschooling law. I had read the law itself and a couple of summaries, but the hour-long presentation really answered my questions about small details. There were also a couple of “how to begin” type courses which ranged from mind-numbingly boring to mildly helpful, and a course on the major types of homeschooling: traditional, classical, unit studies, “the living book,” the principle approach, and unschooling. None of the categories struck me as exactly what I want to do, but it’s nice to have a framework when searching for materials to use.
The exhibit hall was 90% Christian. I know a huge amount of homeschoolers do it for religious reasons, but I was still shocked. I managed to find six or seven interesting vendors out of the hundreds there. I also got a great tip from a woman selling a grammar program. When I joked that it would be a long time before my 2-year-old would be ready for grammar, she suggested that I buy a set of those accordion files that are numbered 1-12 for the months, but use them to file away ideas for each grade level. I thought that was a great idea, as I’m quickly outgrowing my current system of pasting ideas into a single Word document with no organization whatsoever.
I managed to buy only one thing: a book called Slow and Steady Get Me Ready by June R. Oberlander, which is just a collection of weekly activities for birth to age 5, using common household items. I doubt that I’ll follow the week-by-week structure of it, but I’m always looking for ways to do fun, challenging things with Sam.