I decided I'm going to that convention instead of Houston this year. I just couldn't make the big convention with the move and all... :shock: So was trying a *long shot* here to see if anyone * I knew* was going too? :wink:
:lol: :wink: Oh Jackie..I wished we could shop together <sigh> CHEO and CHEACT don't seem that far apart :lol:
Tina when is it. I would love to go and I am sure there are some other mothers down here that would love to go. Thanks :lol:
Only 1168 miles!!! Just around the corner, right Tina? Oh, BTW, do you know of a place called Serenity House? It's a B&B that specializes in Craft Retreats (quilting, scrapbooking, etc.), mother/daughter retreats, husband/wife get-aways..... The lady who runs it is a hs'er that posts on the MOH board. She held an MOH retreat there last year, where the author and publisher had workshops. There's another one in the making. I'm upset, because I need to take Rachael on a Mother/Daughter retreat (she's 11, and we need to have a more formal "talk"), and I sure wish there was a place here with the same Spirit I found at Serenity House's web site!
No..Jackie I have not heard of it. Is it close? ...There are so many B&B's around here.. Matter of fact we had thought about staying one this weekend for the covention..But *I* have one BIG problem..its getting harder and harder to share ONE room with 4 men. :lol: Momma can't run around anymore like I would like too Boys are growing up and Mom needs to think about modesty.(it goes against every inch of me :lol: ) I like less clothes and no shoes..comfort first :wink:
Hey Kris... CHEACT is Austin's homeschool convention.. you can find info at www.cheact.org. It is at the Palmer Convention on Barton Springs just outside of Austin..I will be there on Saturday only.. We are going to work in Schillterbahn for a couple of days :shock: The kids are so excited. Last year Schillterbahn was voted the #1 water park in the world.. And its right in our backyard... Oh well, hope that helps...is that too far you.I can't remember how far South you are? Blessings Tina
Tina, this is the web site: http://www.simplicityhouse.com/ She has an incredible story there about her daughter's courtship. VERY interesting! You just feel a real sense of peace just looking at the web site! I know what you mean about raising men..... When I was first married (13 years ago, this past Monday!) I became a full-time mom to boys in 5th and 7th grade. First thing I did was go out and buy a bathrobe!!! It's not as big a deal right now, since the boys are out of the house, and my only son is just five. But DH sleeps in his underwear, and while he usually doesn't go all over the house in them, he WILL go into the bathroom when the girls are still up, and Rachael just turned 11. I'd like to train him to stop that practice, but you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks! I'm lucky in that our convention is close enough for me not to have to stay. Let's see...what am I getting? MOH II...that's the big thing! I'm not done with Vol. I yet, but the author will be there with Vol. II at the introductory price (similar to Rainbow's price). So I'd rather buy directly from her. She's a HS"ing mom with a husband involved in ministry, and she gets more money from each sale bought directly from her. I'd like Volume II of "English from the Roots Up", but am not sure I can get it right now. Science and Math are under control. So is language, reading, etc. Maybe a language book of somekind for Faythe, but I may just stick with the LLATL that I already have. I've two different Total Language Plus guides for Rachael, plus "Simply Grammar" and "Wordly Wise 3000". Oh, I do want a Wordly Wise book for Faythe..... My MIL tried to buy me a book at Christmas I wanted for the kids...."Tales of the Restoration". It's the third in a series, and we have the other two. She wasn't able to get it, so I'll be buying it from the Lamplighter site. I wish I had the money to buy Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's "Chronicles of Narnia"!!! But am afraid that will be out of my price range right now. I told DH I wanted it for Christmas for the kids. If it's really cheap, I may talk him into letting me get it anyway, and save it for Christmas! I think that's about it! Of course, ask me again tonight after I've had three hours of straight looking........
Tina: We are in Corpus Christi not to far south. But, I don't think we will be able to go this Saturday. Hubby is layed up and waiting on another surgery. Oh Tina we have gone to that water park. There are two of them in Texas and one is on Parde Island which is about 20 mintues from us and we have gone it's alot of fun. Oh by the way get on there home web site you can get some discount tickets. Might help. Enjoy your self. :lol:
Hey you guys, how were the HS Conventions? My dh and I went to one a long time ago, but none since. Maybe next year my friend will want to go with me, and the guys can stay home and take care of the kids! That'd be fun! :lol:
OH DEENA....I had a blast ALL by myself!!! I always make sure hit at least one convention each year. That is the only way I can put my *hands on* the curriculum since I usually know exactly what I'm looking for. Its so nice to compare curriculums,kwim? :wink: Sometimes the website just doesn't do it justice,kwim? Well this is what I got...... :shock: Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Picks in Curriculum... Real Science 4 Kids -Prechemistry Level Prima Latin and Christiana Latinia..(both of those are EXTREMELY teacher friendly compared to Martha Wilson Latin that I am doing now..) The prima latin tells you specifically when you are DECLINING and CONJUGATING :wink: something I was still trying to figure out.. All Through the Ages (this is a resource book for book lists history in chronological order AND reading level) WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL..This has been the hardest part for me personally in putting together my reading program on history. To be able to get a 6th or 7th grade reading level in one book and a second grade in another on the SAME time period without me having to dig through the library constantly is a God Send in my book :wink: Various books in the Landmark and American Kid Series Write Source books for writing... This is terrible, but I had order the Calvert for me this year with the move and all thinking I would need to fall back on something laid out because of my time,schedule,etc. Thinking I could tweak a little,BUT all its managed to be in the first few lessons IS a big pain in the ????? :lol: Once you have done your own curriculum, its hard to do it any differently. Oh well, let me go look through my shopping bags some more and see what else I got :lol:
This is probably the one time I came home and felt that just about ALL the workshops I went to were helpful. Usually there's one or two that were good, and the others were nice but I could have lived without them. This year, I got something out of all of the ones I attended! I have mentioned before a website of a woman here in Central Ohio that is a speach/language pathologist and HS's her three kids, two of which have special needs. Well, Thursday ngiht I went to her booth and asked her some rather direct questions concerning Faythe's spelling. She had some very helpful ideas...sounds a lot like her oldest son! Then on Friday, I went to her workshop. WELL!!! I've decided Faythe is DEFINATELY a soul-mate to her kids!!! One thing she has done which sounds interesting is to let them do their work sitting on an exercise ball. It allows the child to move around some, rather than sit on a "rigid" chair where they tilt on it, then their feet up under them, then swing their legs, then are up on their knees...... (My first question was how do you keep the kid from ROLLING OFF the ball...knowing my daughter. She gave me a big grin, and said that first of all, you had to have the proper size ball, where the feet can be planted firmly on the floor and the elbow rest comfortably on the table. AND...at first, she actually sat BEHIND her daughter, holding her on until she got use to it! She also said that it IMPROVED handwriting, which she hadn't anticipated. Becasue now she was sitting properly with feet and arms in correct position. (My Faythe often tries to write with her feet in the chair, rear end higher than her head :roll: ) She also made a suggestion for a spelling book, but it costs $50 . BUT...the local library carries it, so I have a reserve on it! Oh, and she has these really cool things...frames with see-through colored "windows"...that you put over your reading. I guess studies show that different colors trigger different parts of the brain. ONe color increases reading comprehension, another has a calming effect, and green (which I bought!) helps increase memorization. She also has colored, REMOVABLE highlighting tape you can put on a text book or library book to highlight spelling words, key ideas, etc. I have already mentioned the "Keepers of the Home" workshop in another thread. The lady doing the speaking I ran into later after I left a session early that wasn't what I expected. We talked for a LONG TIME!!! The third workshop was about how pre WWII, kids did much of their learning at home, even if they attended school. People would read instead of watching TV, and parents were the major influence in children's lives instead of peers. He was going into greater details of these three groupings at laater workshops, which I found frustrating. I got the reading/TV pretty much under control in my house, but would have been interested in what he said about parents/peers. And, of course, THAT workshop was going to be the next day and I only had a 1 Day Pass :? The Key Note Speaker was Mike Smith from HSLDA. Inspirational. But before he got up, someone made a VERY INTELLEGENT political move. Ken Blackwell, who is Ohio's Secretary of State, has his eye on being governor. He'll be running against Columus' (rather inept, but popular) mayor. Blackwell has a reputation for being conservative, and I was impressed with how he handled the controversy concerning the supposed "discrepencies" in Ohio's presidential election. So here he comes and speaks to a group of conservative group that has a VERY HIGH voter turnout....... Tina, I looked at Prima Latina! DH decided Rachael needed Latin a few years back, and we bought "Latina Christiana". He taught about three lessons and quit :roll: . I'm ready to go back to it, but am wondering if I shouldn't start with "Prima Latina"..... I went in with all my decisions made about books for next year...and came away with all kinds of titles I want to try instead :wink: . One in particular was "Language for the Thoughtful Child" (which the library also has!) for Faythe, and the VERY EXPENSIVE spelling book (though it lasts through grade 12!) suggested for Faythe. I had a nice talk with Linda Hobar, who wrote MOH. Oh, and I took Rachael with my on Thursday; she was amazed at the Vendor Hall! The one booth missing, I'm sorry to say, was "Tobin's Lab". I'm wondering if it's still too much right now for them to go too far from home after their fire last fall..... . They were missed! Now, Tina, was that more than you wanted to know :wink: ?
I'm still talking about my homeschool convention and it was way back, the first weekend in May! I absolutely loved it! Of course, it helped having Crystal and her dh Rod there for help/support/fun!!! Anyway, Jackie, I just wanted to tell you that Tobin's Lab was at our convention. So, they must be making it out to the conventions; maybe not as many as before. I had Tammy autograph a book I bought from them. She's a sweetheart!
Heidi, I took Tammy's workshop on lapbooking I think two years ago. She's absolutely wonderful! It may be that they had to pick and chose which conventions to go to this year. Am glad they're back up and running! This year I went ALL ALONE :cry: !!!! It's so much better when you have someone there you can talk with and bounce things off of!
Ladies as you all know we are pretty new at home schooling I have never been to a homeschool convention. Reading all your notes here sounds like they are wonderful. I would love to go. What I would like to know do they have throughout the year or is just once a year or what? Seems like you can buy almost anything there sounds neat. Is it worth our time to go? :lol:
Jackie.. I know what you mean about being my yourself.. I thoroughly enjoyed it, BUT not having one of my girlfriends who could jump and down as I was doing was not fun Oh yes, Jackie Prima Latin is where I am starting with my 10yo..Its easier and I'm not interested in *speeding* through it.. But it starts very remedial.. with the ALPHABET..not to mention I bought the DVDS and the pronunciation cd that has the Our Father prayer and songs...It is SO laid out better than Martha Wilsons..However Martha Wilsons is *take no prisoners, sink or swim*.. Its rigorous good and thorough ,but not ease of use for the TEACHER (thats me :lol: ) I like something that I can sit down and with minimal time prep it....Prima Latin is DEFINETLY written to the homeschooler and more friendly than Martha Wilsons.... Kris.... I can't hardly homeschool without going to a convention...They are SO WORTH it...Even if you just visit one booth or go to a few workshop..The workshops are so useful if you hit the right one.... Most of the workshops at this one I went to were not useful (for most newbies) but last years was.. and the one in Houston was..They had one in Houston about schooling only *1*..So my girlfriend wanted to go to that.... Just to see so much curriculum in the same room next to each other lets me see quick fast and in a hurry what I like and don't like... The last one I know about in Texas is going to be in August in the Woodlands (near Houston) by the THSC..I think its more a family retreat than convention..but there will be some vendors there. But your more than welcome to meet me or join me next year in Houston..I'll probably hit that one next year... The hones that are more bookfairs are Arlington, San Antonio, Austin and Houston..The last one in August is both with more emphasis on family retreat.. Jackie, BTW Which spelling program did she recommend for your Faythe? Spelling is the only thing I'm not completely sold on for my middle guy Trever....... I have heard good things about Keepers of The Home and actually saw the planner/organizer....You know I LOVE stuff like that :wink:
Tina, I had to get on-line to the library to find out the name of the spelling book I reserved...couldn't remember it!!! Anyway, it's called "Spelling Power", and Melinda says it's the only book that made any pprogress with her son. Also, she bought him some electronic device. It works similar to a spell check. You type the word in they way you "think", and it will give you different possibilities of what you meant. It cost about $20 at Target. She says her son was a super reader, with a super vocabulary, but couldn't spell. She would have him "look it up in the dictionary", but his words were too big for the kids' dictionary and he had trouble finding them in the adult one. So he stopped using those wonderful big words, and went back to writing only little words he could spell. This allows him to go back to using the words he wants without the hassles of a dictionary, and she says his spelling has improved since using it! The "Keepers of the Home" was a topic, not a vendor. A rather conroversial idea of whether or not women should be trained to stay home. I was curious what others reaction would be and started a thread under the Christian board.
OH, OH!!! Something I forgot!!! Melinda also sold what looks like bean bag turtles and frogs, only they are filled with something heavier, like sand. She then puts them on her child's lap. They don't slip off, because they are heavier, and if the child goes to stand or remove her bottom from the chair, the weight is just enough of a reminder to stay put. They might be "fingered" some, but are too heavy to actually "play" with. She also keeps a box of appropriate toys to fidget with...various texture balls, pieces of fur and silk, etc. that her active learners can have in hand while she is reading, etc. NOTHING THAT MAKES NOISE :roll: !!!
Kris~ I would HIGHLY recommend going to a convention sometime. I'll tell you what......I homeschooled Ashley for 2 1/2 years and I knew that we had a big convention less than an hour from my house; but I would never go. I was always afraid I'd be too overwhelmed by all the choices. And, besides that, I was pretty set in my ways with what I wanted to use. Then, when I found homeschool boards and got to know more about all the different curriculum choices out there, and different learning styles, etc. I realized that I can't put my kids in a box, like they do in public school. So, this year, I perused many, many catalogs, took lots of notes, and went off to conventions with lists, pictures, prices, etc. I just absolutely loved it, and I think my husband would have to admit that he had fun too. We'll definitely be going back next year, and the year after that, etc. etc. Tina~ I bet you're alot of fun to go to convention with! That jumping up and down sounds like a blast. Crystal and I didn't get quite that excited, though we did have alot of fun. And, next year, I'm anxious to go back and have her little baby to push around and love! (Crystal, if you're reading this, you better be planning to bring that baby along!!!) Jackie~ When we met in Hershey, Jimmie Lu gave me the Spelling Power Activity Cards. Someone had given them to her and she wasn't using them. I bought the book used (as you said- it's expensive). We used it for awhile with Ashley, but she wasn't too fond of the style. She's actually a pretty strong speller and she didn't like the testing daily. If you find you'd like it for Faythe and don't want to spend the money, let me know and maybe we can work something out.........
Heidi, that might be wonderful! Like I said, I got it on reserve from the library. Once it comes in, I'll play with it a bit to see how it "fits". If I think it will work, I'm sure we can work something out!!! Thanks!
