Winner!

It's exciting to *win* a drawing, is it not?  Well, guess what!?  I won a drawing at the Southeast Homeschool Convention last week!

I received a kindle edition of Relief Notes:  Encouraging Letters for Tough Times by the Christian Authors Guild.

Inside the book are 52 encouraging letters from caregivers, the financially challenged, and even addicts (everyday folks who have experienced the highs and lows of overindulgence).  Their homespun messages offer encouragement, inspiration, and glimpses of victory.¹

Cynthia L. Simmons is a speaker, author, and Bible teacher who uses history to encourage women and illustrate biblical truths.²  She contributed two of the letters in the book:  "Mom of a Special Child" and "Financially Challenged."

I met Cynthia at the homeschool conference, and I attended one of her workshops as well.  (You can view a list of the workshops I attended here.)  I discovered her to be a kind and encouraging person with a heart seeking to help women learn Bible study techniques.

Cynthia also generously gave me a complimentary copy of her study guide, Women in History Who Overcame.  This 12-week Bible study uses the stories in her companion book by the same title, and compares their dilemmas to Scripture.  I'm looking forward to delving into it.  :)  (You can view all of the books written by Cynthia L. Simmons here.)

sources:
   ¹Amazon
   ²Relief Notes:  Encouraging Letters for Tough Times

Southeast Homeschool Convention

I mentioned yesterday that I attended a homeschool conference.  It was the Southeast Homeschool Convention.

I love to attend homeschool conferences.  It's exciting to browse the many curriculum options.  It's informative to listen to various workshop speakers.  Here are some of the workshops I attended this year:

Thursday (March 20th)

• Movers and Shakers:  Curriculum and Teaching Strategies for the Active Child (by Kimberly Kulp)
• The Secret in the Sunset -- Grumble Much? (by Heidi St. John)
• If Mary and Martha Had Been Homeschool Moms (by Joanne Calderwood)
• How to Homeschool and Keep Your Sanity (by Cynthia L. Simmons)

Friday (March 21st)

• Run the Race (by Becky Browning)
• Improve Attitudes, Learning, and Relationships by Discovering Roots of Problems (by Kathy Koch)
• Cultivating a Love for Learning (by Ashley Wiggers)
• Lies Homeschoolers Believe (by Todd Wilson)

Saturday (March 22nd)

• Restoring Joy in Your Journey:  I Choose Joy! (by Candace R. Hansford)
• Habit Training:  A Charlotte Mason Approach (by Sandi Queen)
• 12 Genius Qualities to Encourage in Your Child (by Kathy Koch)

All of the workshops were very good; some were excellent!  :)

By the time the conference was over, I was physically exhausted.  However, I came away from the conference spiritually uplifted and feeling mentally and emotionally energized, motivated, more "centered" and more "focused."  I mean, it's always a good thing to be reminded (1) of some of the reasons why I am homeschooling,
(2) to keep Christ in the center of my homeschool, and (3) to teach to the heart of my child.

Possibly one of the most satisfying moments of the conference for me was when I had a revelation about homeschooling T.  I realized that just because I never had a "being hit on the head" light switch moment when I thought, "Aha!  Yes, I am being called to homeschool!" didn't mean that I wasn't called by the Lord to homeschool. For many years, I kept hearing the phrase "called to homeschool" and I wondered, struggled even, with whether I actually was "called" to homeschool or simply had decided that was what I was going to do.  (Are you still with me?)  Here's the story.

The Lord brought to my mind a conversation I had with my sister, as follows.
Several years ago, my sister reminded me of something I'd said to her years before that in response to her question of whether or not I would be willing to raise her daughter if anything happened to her (my sister).  At the time, my sister was homeschooling as a single mom.  I agreed that I would raise my niece, if ever needed.  I added that I wouldn't homeschool her, but that I definitely would put her in a Christian school.  I never planned to homeschool.

We didn't know of T's special needs until after he was born.  (You can read more about that story here.)  From the very beginning, I wanted the best for T -- the best life I could give him.  His special needs coupled with my teaching background began to evolve into my realizing by the time he was school-aged that homeschooling was best for him.  The Lord knew my major in college would be elementary education, my spiritual gift would be teaching, my passion would be teaching, and my son would have Down syndrome.  He worked it all together...for the good of all of us!

Do you see where the enemy was able to gain a foothold in all of this?  My doubts stemmed from never having had that aha moment that I thought being "called" was all about.  But the Lord revealed to me in a moment at the conference that as my background and my desires for T were knit together and culminated in a decision to homeschool T, that WAS my calling!

I shared all of this with my husband and asked him if he thought it constituted a "calling" to homeschool, and he said YES!  Oh, happy day.  :)  I feel so relieved...so content.  My doubts have been swept away!  I have joy and new purpose in my heart.

Did I say that I love to attend homeschool conferences?  :D

Homeschool Convention

I was able to attend the SouthEast Homeschool Convention in Greenville, South Carolina this past weekend...actually, last Thursday through Saturday.

I am so grateful to my husband for taking vacation days from work in order to watch T.  The convention did offer a children's program, but it was so much easier for me...and less expensive  ;o)  ...for my husband to take care of him.  They had a good time together.  They went to the zoo and did all kinds of other fun stuff.

Anyway...back to the convention.  It was awesome!  I attended some terrific workshops:
   o  Stop the Yelling, Lecturing, and Power Struggles
   o  Overcoming Being Overwhelmed
   o  Beginning Reading:  How to Make Sure Your Child Succeeds at Reading
   o  25 Ways to Significantly Cut Your Grocery Bill Without Clipping Coupons
   o  Tuning In to Your Homeschooler's Unique Learning Pathway
   o  Help!  It's 5:00, and We're Still Doing School!
   o  Active Child?  ADHD?  Laying the Groundwork for Solutions
   o  Helping Our Kids See the Glory of God
   o  Mary and Martha Decide to Homeschool:  A Workshop for Mary's Only!
   o  Discovering My Child's Learning Style

I also was able to purchase CDs for the workshops I wanted to attend but wasn't able to...because of too many "good" workshops in the same time slot, or because of a need to browse the exhibit hall.  :)

The exhibit hall had a massive number of exhibitors...170+, I believe!  I enjoyed being able to talk with the vendors and to view their products.  Also, all of the vendors offered some sort of "event special" or discount...a terrific way to save some money on the cost of curriculum or other materials.

Amazingly, I won a drawing for a book from EI School of Biblical Training.  How fun is that?!!

Amazingly, another attendee offered me her ticket to the Tim Hawkins comedy performance.  Apparently, she is a nurse and was called in to work on Saturday evening.  ~How kind of her...and how wonderful that she chose me to whom to give her ticket!  I had never seen Tim Hawkins before; it was a sold-out show, and I saw why.  I laughed for a solid hour and a half!  :)  He was so funny.

I received an e-mail yesterday from Sonlight with the link to an article:  Homeschool Convention Survivor's Guide.  Ummm...it might have been helpful to have had that before the convention!  ;o)

I'm so glad I attended.  Now all I need to do is find the time to:
   o  review the spiral-bound notebook I filled with notes, and
   o  wade through the colossal pile of catalogs, brochures, etc. I picked up/was given!

I love conventions!!