Is it just me, or does everyone else feel as good when they finish both days or even just one day? My girlfriend and I went for two days without hubby and kids! The homeschool fair that we decided to go to was 3 hours away. There are ones in Houston, just 50 miles away. However we liked the selection of vendors and speakers at the other one. Anyway dh and I will go to to Houston probably 1/2 day or so. The first day was for curriculum and BOOKS,BOOKS,BOOKS! But the second day was nothing but workshops, one after the other! The fellowship was so invigorating! It was a true renewal of spirit! The update for Texas is that there are over 100,000 homeschooling families with 300,000+ students based on averages. This as close as they can get from the information received from membership statistics to the Texas Homeschool Coalition. Our *state watchdog group*! Not to mention that the scores are in, we (ALL OF US IN EVERY STATE) are consistently testing higher by 5% above the national average on the ACT college entrance exam. Also, 80 points above the national average on the SAT college entrance exam!!! It was truly a testament to the atmosphere created by loving, devoted, spiritual families! Above all, the character of the children was not being sacrificed, but fed and trained! They were not being just taught academics but devlopment of the heart! A truly more *motivating force* that will stick with them the rest of their lives! Ok......I could go on and on! It was truly the nice boost that I needed at the end of my year and refocus for the very reasons that most of us homeschool!! Blessings TinaTx
Blessed your heart. I am so happy to hear more and more good things about homeschooling. It really encourage me more that homeschooling our children is the choice. I also would like to ask, how do you know if there's any homeschool fair in our area?..I live in Champaign,IL so if there is a way for me to find out please let me know thank again Randa
Hi Randa! YES, YES there are book fairs going all over! Homeschooling is basically set up by local and state groups. It can also have regional groups. For example our local group is small and we might do field trips,etc. However, the groups in Houston and San Antonio are regional. They will hold spelling bees, debates, any kind of tournament, science fairs,etc. So its very important to not only be connected to your local group but to a much bigger regional or state group. I clicked over real quick to www.hslda.org and clicked on Illinois for you, and there are two state groups. Here is the actual page I found your state groups on............... http://www.hslda.org/orgs/default.asp?State=IL These state groups more than likely will have state bookfairs/homeschool conferences. At the state fair you will have access to a number of vendors and homeschool workshops. Workshops are on everything from learning styles, getting started, college, organizing homes, what to do with little ones, burnout,etc. These should be free and should be included in the price of registration. Any of the ones I have been too have been anyway! Each region or state sets up their own regulations and bookfairs. For example, one state may have a spring fair and winter fair. A smaller group may have only a spring fair. So what I did when I first started hsing was to find the state/regional website and get on the mailing lists.You will receive in the mail usually a brochure or pamphlet ahead of time letting you know you can preregister at a discounted price. It will also have list of vendors that will be there. You don't have to preregister to go. You can pay a little more at the door. Thats what i do because sometimes I don't know what might happend at the last minute. The whole family can go. Each fair will let you know ahead of time if they have like a babysitting service, how they feel about strollers and *loose children*, book room to hold your books while you walk around and or food service,etc. Here in Texas, we have one in May, one in June, one in August. So I look ahead and see which speakers/workshops and vendors that i want to see and schedule a *Home Educators Weekend* for Mom I generally, take a fanny pack and backpack just in case there is not a bookroom. Also you should be able to come both days for the one registration fee and come in and out as much as you need. I will generally make a trip to the car with a load of *goodies* and then come back for more Always wear comfortable shoes! hee hee Each place that I have attended has been different. Some real comfortable, others not.One didn't even have any drinks, and it was sooo hot even though the a/c was on. So I usually have a small cooler with drinks and snack and an extra shirt,etc to change for the JUST IN CASE.. If you want to go, check pretty quickly because now is the time that most are going on! Generally after school starts back they slow down. Most groups are active in the Spring! Hope this helps! Tina
Ohio's CHEO (Christian Home Educators of Ohio) Conference is coming up in Columbus next month. If anyone from Ohio is interested, their web site is www.cheohome.org. Early registration must be in THIS WEEK.
We just had our fair/convention here in PA. Hubby and I went for the weekend - no kids and a hotel room!! It was great and Tina I am just like you! I get so pump up after these fairs. We did our shopping the first day for books, workbooks, new ideas and such things. The second day we hit the workshops. It is just what I need at the end of a school year. Crystal
Okay, Tina I logged on here specifically to ask how the convention went and I see you've already shared. So, did you see any Rod & Staff, Calvert or WTM stuff that you can report on? What was your favorite find? Share! Stacy
Stacy I was in absolute *curriculum heaven* I bought some powerglide spanish that I went crazy over! Yes I saw Calvert and Rod and Staff AND WTM stuff. I saw prima latin. The only problem with some of the vendors is that the curriculum was ALL wrapped. So you couldn't really open up Prima Latin and see it displayed. Rod and Staff and Calvert had their books loose and displayed for handling on forward facing shelves. So I was able to peruse the 4th and 5th grade books of both Calvert and R/S. I knew exactly where to go at in the books to compare the writing. I am staying with Calvert's writing this year I think some of the best deals were the curriculum suppliers who had Usborne books and readers marked by 50% off. I already came with my list, so i didn't really see a lot of the books that I needed. I did find one for the Usborne Earth Science next year! Also, edupress and dover coloring books and activity sheets were everywhere for a steal. So I picked some of those up. I found some laminated 8 1/2 x 11 colored *name that body part* sheet. The front had the names. The back had only the body with lines provided for you to name. Some local vendors had some neat laminated *at your fingertip* type of information sheets. Like metric measurements, latin verbs, highest mountain, weights and measurements, conversion charts.. You don't know how many of those type of *cheat sheets, information sheets* I have printed off only to lose them. These were all neatly compiled in a small booklet for easy reach. Of course, I saw a lot of stuff that I wasn't impressed with either. Some publishers claiming that their worbooks are meant for the child to work independently through each grade, even the younger grades! Sounds good in theory, but not when they are real young. Starting in 6th grade or so they can take responsibility for their own learning, but they need mom until then. Even after that, they still need mom's supervision. I think they just want to get in on the *growing homeschool market* and not really interested in how or what a child should learn. I saw some of the Institute for Excellence in Writing. That was the last hour we were there so i watched a little bit. It looked like its something doable if the parent has time to sit down and learn themselves. Anyway, I think the workshops were the best! They updated us on the law. Also the number of homeschoolers grew dramatically. There was even some talk about how Texans are helping other states fight some battles from the schools to *leave us alone* because two attorney generals tried to repeal and LOST the infamous case that gave Texas private school status. There are still two more to go to! YES YES I can hardly wait! Like Tammy said, there is nothing like a group of passionate, dogmatic homeschoolers to get you stirred! Tina
TinaTX, Thanks for sharing. My state is so regulated compared to Texas. Teaching here with all the hs regulations and red tape, I'm keeping an eye on Texas; and wishing we had similar laws. The proof will be our kids. I'm glad to hear how Texas hs are helping in other states. Tammy
