Reflections on the VA 2009 Homeschool Convention, Part 2

I'm back again - this time to finish publishing my notes from day 2 of the convention.

It came to my mind a few days ago that I didn't tell you about our time outside the convention center on day 1. Before I go into details about day 2, I have to finish day 1.

Driving around Richmond is always fun; so much to see and stare at. We don't exactly live in the country, but we're not from a huge city. There is a definite element of drama in visiting the big city. I wouldn't want to live in the downtown of any city, but I like visiting. It reminds me that the world isn't made up of all country folks.

I like walking the crowded sidewalks with my family (particularity my brothers and Dad) beside me. I like looking up at skyscrapers, so high they make me dizzy even when my feet are smack on the ground. I like the sidewalk shops, with doors open to the breeze, giving me glimpses of colorful merchandise packed on the shelves.

I like seeing the people. Many of them have bored, hopeless expressions as they slump on benches waiting for a bus. Teens in black clothes and silver jewels compete with each other in goofiness and bragging. Business men in dress clothes hurry across the crosswalks toward the skyscrapers. Ladies still in their nurses' uniforms park by the sidewalk to stop in a store on their way home from work. If you see another family with children, you know they are headed for the convention center, same as you.

The sidewalks near the conventions center are mainly red bricks. I love brick sidewalks - they're so quaint and sturdy. We did a lot of sidewalk-walking this trip, because on day 1 we got to the convention center late, so the parking garage was full, and we had to park several blocks away.

At first we thought we'd never find an empty parking space, but we finally pulled into a crowded public parking area, and paid for a space. We had driven around so much in looking for a parking space, that we were rather disoriented, and we had to get directions to the convention center from the man in charge. He told us the quickest way was through the alley and out to another street, then to turn left, walk two blocks, cross a crosswalk, and we'd be there.

Through the alley.

This was an experience.

Do you like mystery stories? I do - most of the ones I've read, anyway. You know how they always contain dark alleys and masked men? This alley would have been a perfect story setting.

No - there were no masked men there. And it was broad daylight. But it was mysterious, just the same.

Brick buildings, several stories tall, formed the human-built canyon. The space we entered was about five feet wide - just big enough for a car to squeeze through, if it wanted to.
Above our heads, rusty fire escapes were attached to the buildings, but there were no windows near the ground level. The alley had evidently been paved with asphalt many yeas ago, but in places the tar had worn away, and the old stone road was exposed to our feet. Here and there were puddles of gray water, giving a damp feeling to the cool shade of the buildings. The place smelled like a garbage disposal.

The alley twisted and turned, like the worn pavement under our feet, and took us around a left-hand turn, toward the sunlight. We passed a wide cement stairway going down below the street level, with a chain-link gate blocking the entrance. We wondered where it led. Further on, four brick steps led up the side of the wall on our left, to an antique door that was painted black. A wild sign had the name of some shop on it in bright colors. I wondered what the front door looked like.

And then we spilled out onto the brick side walk that bordered the street. Several people lounged about, waiting for the bus. We turned left and passed several shops on our way down the street. The sun was shining, the heat was reflected from the road, and everything was normal.

Strange.

But kinda interesting. It was an experience.

Well, what do you know? I've taken so long telling you about where we parked on day 1 that I don't think I have time to record notes from day 2. And I still want to post about what's been happening in our garden! So much to say, and so little time. And I'm not really sure why I posted this little tale about an alley. I just thought that perhaps you'd find it interesting.

...I can't think of a way to end this blog post, so I'll say bye for now and get on later to - ahem - record my notes from day 2 of the convention.

Us at the convention with a family from our church. They are on the left, and we are on the right. Center guy in the black jacket is my brother Curtis (he graduated one week later!), then Mom is to the right of him, Tiffany is in front of her, Lezley is beside Tiffany, Dad behind Lezley, Heather next to Dad in the red, me behind Heather in the pink, and Justin beside me in the green. (Sorry about the poor photo quality. Dad's camera is not working very well lately.)

Reflections on the VA 2009 Homeschool Convention, Part 1

I've decided that every day is busy, so I might as well get on with that blog post I keep putting off until "things quiet down a little"...so here I am!

On Saturday my brother Curtis graduated from high school. My grandparents were in town, and we celebrated Father's Day together. Tomorrow is my father's birthday, and in this "in between" day we have green beans to can, sewing to do, and all the little things that make up a busy household. Life is life!

But that isn't the blog post I keep planning. Today I want to share some of my notes from the VA homeschool convention we had the pleasure of attending last week.

When I hear people talk about "sharing their notes" I often prepare myself to be bored, but I hope that these fragments of what struck me during the workshops will be of some help, amusement, profit, or encouragement to you. I don't take notes like most normal people - I don't really write down the main points of the speaker (usually). Instead, I write down things that I want to research when I get home, interesting trivia tidbits, and the like. So please bear with me, and just take whatever bits of this interest you.

We were blessed to be able to spend two days at the convention, and there were three workshops each day, plus a keynote session which everyone attended. I volunteered during one workshop, so I listened to five speakers plus the keynote speaker. To avoid hard choices, I'll simply share my notes in the order I attended the sessions:

Workshop #1: "Finding Hope in the Valleys of Life," by Mr. Steve Demme

My brother Curtis and I attended this workshop because it was our first chance to hear Mr. Demme in person. I wasn't sure what exactly he'd be speaking about, but the title sounded good, and I knew I wanted to hear him speak. For those of you unfamiliar with his name, this is the founder of the math curriculum, Math-U-See - a program I only used my last two years of high school, but which I fell in love with and plan to use with my own children some day. I knew Mr. Demme was an excellent math teacher, but through this session I got a glimpse into his personal life. He has a special-needs son, and this session focused on what to do when life gets tough. I had been having a very hectic and emotional week, and this was a breath of fresh air. You can see from my notes that I did a lot more listening than I did writing.

Notes:
~ The wise man and the foolish man both got rain. (This may seem simple, but it was the first time this thought had presented itself to my brain. Profound!)
~ "God does not exempt us from suffering - He transforms us in it."
~ Learn how to breathe! Just let go and let it out. Psalm 55:22
~ When in the valley, we need three things: we need the body of Christ, we need to pray, and we need to read God's Word.
~ Note to self: check out thefamilythatstaystogether.org, joniandfriends.org. and "When Robin Prays."

Workshop #2: "Building a Family Based Business"

This workshop was geared more towards the business man or engineer who wants to work from home, as opposed to the cottage industry family, but we still were able to take some nuggets of profit away. You'll notice I have more of an "outline" in these notes, because I was basically just copying things off the screen instead of writing my own thoughts down.

Notes:
~ To build a business, you must UNDERSTAND the customer
~ Entrepreneur Guidelines/Steps:
* Define your business views, principles, values, etc.
* Define your own skills, gifts, passions, experiences. List them.
* Evaluate your resources; money, time, physical, family
* Know what you're aiming for - think about the future, how the business might grow, and what that will mean for you.
* Analyse the following: Industry, Financial, Operation, Product/Service, Customer
~ Identify unmet needs, services to meet those needs, and resources to help you.
~ Are you going to buy a business, build a business, or franchise?
~ DO IT! Try, adjust aim, try, adjust aim, and try again. Don't spend all your time aiming and never firing!
~ Write a financial model. Talk to experts in your field.
~ Write market strategy.
~ Check out NewVentureLab.com

Workshop #3: Days of Old Herb Farm

This was a lot of fun. The speaker is a fairly new business gardener; a man who lost his job and turned to his hobby (gardening) to make a living. He now sells books he's written and travels to a few places to speak. I was impressed by his combination of knowledge and humbleness and eagerness to learn and try new things. I loved looking at the photos of his backyard in the presentation.

Notes:
~ A website about a family who produces a $2,000 worth of food on 1/10 acre: pathtofreedom.com
~ If I plant pea seeds and get only 2 or 3 pods, I'm dissatisfied - what about spiritual seeds? Am I happy with low production?
~ Compare prices; grow the most expensive stuff, buy the cheap stuff.
~ Check out Bill Mollison
~ Raise In-Demand Dogs for money
~ Plant corn in circular heaps - the way Indians did
~ Check out John Jeavons "How to Grow More Vegetables."
~ Hexagon planting spacing
~ Have 2-4 hens in a "chicken tractor."
~ Check out "Victory Egg Garden" by George Lansing
~ Use "water glass" for preserving eggs. (This point really fascinates me. Anybody have experience with using water glass? I'm all ears.)

Keynote Session to end Day#1: by Voddie Baucham

Our favorite sessions were those by Mr. Voddie Baucham. Being encouraged academically is great, but being lifted spiritually is so much better. God's hand was on these sessions. My notes don't do it justice; I was too busy listening. This was our first time to hear Voddie Bachaum in person, and we loved it. We even got to speak very briefly with him afterwards.

Notes:
~ Luke 6:40. The disciple will be like his master. (This thought, this promise, holds so much thought packed into one phrase. I will be like my master. This is good if my master is Jesus; it's an encouragement to not give up, and to remind me that He is faithful to complete what He starts. But this is also a warning; those whom I treat like my masters I will become like. It's also a sobering thought as I look ahead to being a parent someday. My children are going to be like me. Whoa! I'd better be following Christ!)
~ People make the right moral choices "not because they heard sermons on this topic, but because they have a biblical worldview."
~ The three foundational skills in education: Read! Write! Reason!
~ Worldviews are formed:
* Informed
*Uncritically
*Inter-generationally
*Intra-generationally
*Over time
~ Elements of a worldview:
* View of God
*View of man
*View of truth
*View of knowledge
*View of Ethics

That sums up my notes from day 1 at the VA 2009 Homeschool Convention. I wanted to share both days in one post, but it's getting late, and I don't have the time to do day 2. I'll have to try again later. I guess you have plenty to digest in this post for awhile. Hope you enjoy at least a little of this!

Virginia Homeschool Conference

Are any of my Virginia-resident readers planning on going to the annual Virginia Homeschool Convention in Richmond? We'll be there, Lord willing!

Yes - the day after I finish farm-sitting we'll be heading off to Richmond. This year we'll actually be spending the night and staying for both days of the convention - something we've only done once before.

To tell the truth, my family has only been to the convention twice in past years. I find it amusing that I've lived all my life in Virginia, been homeschooled through all 12 grades in Virginia, and only went to Virginia's homeschool convention once while actually in school. After this weekend, I will have gone twice while out of school.

Many of the families who go to the convention are younger, just starting out on their homeschooling journey, but there are some families there who, like my own family, have members who are out of school and yet come with their family because they have younger siblings who are still in school. Though I love meeting people of all ages, I have to admit I'm hoping to get to meet some other homeschool graduates at the convention - and isn't making new friends one of the best parts of travel?

And of course it will be delightful just to spend time with my own family as we travel together - 'specially after such a busy two weeks. I've had moments in the past few days when I felt as though I hadn't said "hello" or "good morning" to half my family before it was time to say "goodnight!"

The speakers at the convention this year (Vodie Baucham will be there!) and the topics of the sessions all seem to promise a time that is not only fun but also spiritually-lifting and educational - many of the sessions are focused on entreprenurialism and family-run agricultural home businesses, which I am really excited about. My parents are excited about those sessions, too. :)

I wish I had time to update you on our garden; the tomatoes are around 5 feet high, the corn is almost waist-high, (except for the plants we had to replant), the squash bores seem to be visiting again this year, the beans are loaded with blossoms, the brocolli is almost finished, the peas are yeilding better than we thought they would after collapsing the trellis under their own weight...lots of stuff going on.

But I really don't have time to go into all that. In a little while I need to go finish spray-painting another layer of paint on a trashcan I'm dressing up. I've been cleaning my sewing area and I wanted a brightly-colored trash can to match my red-and-white theme. My sewing area sure needs the makeover! I considered taking before and after pictures to share with you, but truly didn't have the nerve to share "before" pictures. It was that bad.

But it's starting to look good now! Maybe I'll have it done before the convention.

Maybe.

Pioneer Cooking

Wow. It's Friday. I'd forgotten.

Honestly.

I forgot it was Friday until I sat down to write.

Where did this week run away to? Are you certain we didn't miss a day somewhere? Maybe someone sneaked in and bumped our calendars ahead while we slept.

Or maybe I forgot because I was busy.

I wish I had pictures of this afternoon to share with you. For today's history, my younger siblings got to study pioneer life skills - in particular, cooking.

I had SO much fun in the kitchen with them. Justin, though he loves to cook on ordinary occasions, declared that only the pioneer women cooked, ...but he later relented and whipped up some absolutely delicious fried cornbread.

The girls (Tiffany and Lezley) and I made pumpkin butter, hasty pudding, syrup, and fried mush. We are also letting some milk sour so we can make cottage cheese tomorrow.

Everything was done the old-fashioned way...with the exception of an electric refrigerator and cook stove. The girls really got into their efforts, and I was as pleased as I could be to hear them pretending to be certain pioneers that we have studied. Tiffany said "Hey, I'm going to be Narcissa Whitman, feeding the people on the wagon trains!" to which Lezley promptly replied "And I'm going to be Lewis." ...as in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. I hid a smile, and refrained from asking her what Lewis was doing in a kitchen.

Everything turned out edible - and we sampled everything. I don't think I need supper. But I'll eat it anyway - can't refuse pizza! :)

Actually, the hasty pudding, syrup, and pumpkin butter were quite yummy, but my favorite part was observing my siblings as they worked.

The girls giggled and laughed as they dug fistfuls of pumpkin seeds and goo out of the medium-size pumpkin. They roasted uncomplainingly as they took turns stirring the hasty pudding - and then smacked their lips over the results.

I let them do as much as possible by themselves. I had to restrain my natural assertiveness, but it was worth it. I think they really enjoyed themselves, and felt the sense of actually doing something, not just being in the way. Their pride in the food was justifiable - they did a lot of real work.

The recipes, due to their pioneer sources, were quite simple. Here are the recipes for the hasty pudding, and the pumpkin butter. If you have some little people in your life, and would like to nurture your relationship with them, try rolling up your sleeves and getting in the kitchen together!

Hasty Pudding:

Bring 3 cups of water and 1/2 tsp. of salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Add 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal in a steady stream, stirring constantly so that the mixture will not form clumps. (This is very important.) Cook for 15-20 minutes on medium heat, stirring often (or constantly, if your sister insists:).

When done, ladle into cereal bowls. Pour a little cold whole milk over each serving, then top with syrup. (See below.)

For the syrup, mix 1/2 cup honey, 2 TBS molasses, 1/8 cup water, and 1 TBS brown sugar together in a small pitcher. Use this on your pudding. (This is actually what I use on everyday pancakes, waffles, french toast, etc. I don't like store-bought "fake" syrup. Only fresh maple syrup from my grandparents beats this syrup recipe!)

Eat pudding while it's still warm. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Butter:

Use one medium pumpkin. Wash it, and remove seeds and goo from center. Then cut into small pieces and peel the rind from each piece.

Place the pumpkin pieces in a pot of water and boil until soft and mushy. Drain, and mash with potato masher (or food processor, if you're being modern) until VERY smooth.

Measure how many cups of the pumpkin mixture you have. Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar for every 1 cup of pumpkin. Also add 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. of allspice for each cup. Mix well. Put in a saucepan and cook until thick. Remove from heat. When cool, place in a container and store in the refrigerator.

This is great on bread!

Teaching is in my blood!

It must be. 'Cause I love it.

Yesterday, I started the school schedule with my younger siblings. This year, I've been allowed/promoted/asked/requested/permitted to take over an entire subject! The fact that I love the subject may have something to do with my eagerness.

History.

I'm teaching it Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Under Mom's instructions, I'm using a unit-study style approach, to incorporate in all three of my youngest siblings. For this month, we're studying the Pioneers.

Time lines, tracking skills, map-making, the Pony Express, famous traders, trappers, and other pioneers, clothing styles, horse breeds, the Lewis and Clark expedition, Indian tribes of the Great Plains ... you name it. So many subcategories! So much we could study. We also have planned a library outing on Friday, where I'll drill my siblings in their research skills as they decided what subcategories they want to dive into.

Every day after lunch, we gather around the table and spread out the art supplies. Justin, Tiffany, and Lezley are all creating "Lap Books" - manila folders filled with fold-outs, pockets, maps, and other creations to help cement into their minds what they are learning.

Of course, teaching isn't all a bed of roses. There are some thorns in there under the red petals. Siblings aren't always eager to learn. And they don't always feel like being creative and studious.

And I don't always feel properly prepared to teach. Lesson planning takes time. I'm still learning to plan ahead. I'm also learning that creating your own curriculum means a LOT of research and reading. I'm glad we're going to the library on Friday.

But all in all, I'm glad for this experience. I've taught before, but never have I had the lesson planning for a whole year relying a great deal on me. The challenge stimulates me...and also intimidates me ... a little.

I'm sure I'll learn a lot about what not to do. It's good I can learn how to teach long-term while having an experienced teacher like Mom at my side, instead of making all those mistakes by myself some day.

After all: I cook, bake, do laundry, garden, clean, sew, organize, schedule, and do all sorts of things here, to prepare myself for running a house some day. (Besides, they come in mighty handy right now!) My logic in doing such things - besides the fact that they help my family - is that I want to practice, and get as many mistakes out of the way as possible right now, while it doesn't matter so much.

If I burn a supper (not that it happens very often!), Mom is around to whip up a substitute in a matter of a few professional minutes. If I break the toilet while trying to clean it, Dad is around to fix things. If I sew a skirt that doesn't fit, my sister is always around to borrow from. :)

So I'm free to experiment with life more. Ah, the freedom of living under my father's roof!

...And the joys of teaching, with Mom by my side!

I'm so thankful I have younger siblings to "practice" on - and that Mom is letting me practice. I realize that not every girl has that advantage.

I apologize if I've sounded boring and scatter-brained in this post. I have plans rolling around in my mind. That's one thing I still haven't learned; how to multitask well. (The word "well" being the key word.)

Any suggestions? I'm off to accomplish more from the "To Do" list!

...One thing at a time, of course.

Certified?

Have any of you heard about the legal battle going on in California over homeschooling?

I can't believe what America has become. ...In a way I can, however. It's sad when I start getting accustomed to sin, isn't it?

So a child isn't being well-educated unless he is taught by a certified teacher? Hmm...Well, Deut. 6 says that the parents are to teach their children everywhere, and Proverbs contains numerous commands for a son to listen to his father and mother...I would say the Bible commands parents to teach their children, and does not hand that responsibility over to anyone else.

If parents are able and responsible for their child's spiritual well-being, can't they handle the mental education? Which is harder, after all?

My parents chose to educate me and my siblings at home for spiritual reasons. They wanted control over what belief systems were being fed to my young naive mind. That's right and good; I belong to my parents, not the state. Dad and Mom taught me to love my country, and serve her, but to serve God first.

I pray that God would keep me from the sin of having a "holier than thou" attitude, and looking down my nose at public or christian school students, but I am not ashamed to say that I think homeschooling is the best option. I know that I would not have the spiritual foundation I have now if my parents had sent me out into the world to be taught.

I have heard some Christians say "yes, but the homeschoolers could help the public schools - be a good influence, you know." Sorry, but it's like gardening: #1: The weeds grow faster than the plants. #2: You don't set tiny seedlings out in December. You harden them off, and let them mature. Now I am considered an adult, legally, and I spend much more time "in the world."
I have roots now - in my home, and in God. I am not going forth to be taught. I am going forth to witness.

Anyway, I can't help but think of something I've heard my mother say. She went to college and was educated to be a teacher. When she tells folks that they think "Ahh, so you really have a reason to homeschool. You know what you're doing. You're certified."

Mom shakes her head. She's told me that her teachers' education hasn't helped her much at all. It's not her diploma that makes her such a great teacher. It's her love for her students.