LDS Home Educators - My First Experience

For the first time ever, I attended the LDS Home Educators conference in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  And I can't help but wonder...why haven't I gone to this conference before now?  I had a positive experience with the conference and its people ever since my mom and I arrived at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center, where the homeschool conference was taking place.

Image from ldshe.org

I was immediately impressed by the youth attending the conference.  I am so used to seeing the majority of homeschoolers being a little extreme in their clothing and accessories.  I am a conservative when it comes to appearances, so I usually stick out like a sore thumb at homeschool conferences.   Due to the LDS dress code, however, most of the young men and women at this conference looked - how should I put this - normal.  I admit, it made me feel more at home.  Beyond their appearance, however, the youth were just like the homeschoolers I'm used to: authentic, geeky, and totally awesome.

Image from ldshe.org

My mom, Cindy Gaddis, was also having a first-time experience alongside me.  In her case, she was running her first vendor booth, and I was her helper.  She was advertising her book, "The Right Side of Normal," which will be published this summer.  Click here for more info on her life-changing, revolutionary book!

I'm caught in a really awkward place between being too old for youth classes and being too young (and childless) for adult classes, so I volunteered to run the booth while my mom went to some of the classes.  To be honest, I was bored to tears, even with my DSi and Kindle Fire.  There was barely anyone wandering the halls, and the few people that were around weren't interested in my mom's booth.  For three hours I sat, impatiently waiting.

 Image from icanhascheezburger.com

After my mom gave her two classes, however, tending the booth wasn't boring anymore!  Tons of people showed up at our booth, asking questions and taking pamphlets.  Most of the people wanted to talk to my mom, but I also answered questions and/or explained what my mom's book was about.  It was fun, made me feel proud of my mom, and inspired me to have a book ready to sell for next year's conferences! 

As for me, I was on two different panels: "How to Be a Successful Homeschooler," and "College Prep 101."  I got to meet some really cool people who were also on the panel with me.  We all had different experiences with college and life, and gave different perspectives and advice.  I was a little bothered by some of the questions, or more like, the way some of the questions were worded.  The question "what do you wish you could have known in high school" bugged me because it implied that being a homeschooler disadvantaged me at college.  Sure, I had some weaknesses going into college due to being homeschooled, but I also had a lot of great strengths.  In fact, being homeschooled really made my college experience an amazing one.  Instead of answering the question, I challenged it by saying I could not have prepared for college anymore than I could have prepared myself for becoming a teen, or getting married, or one day having a baby.  You can't expect to study ahead and be perfectly prepared for anything in life.  The best thing (and basically the only thing) we can do is go forward and relish the experience of living.  I have no regrets about the way I prepared for college, or anything, because I could only learn and grow through doing.

Image from Freefallingforever on Deviantart

Don't get me wrong, though.  Just because I didn't like a choice of words in one or two questions does not mean I didn't enjoy myself on the panels.  On the contrary, I loved sharing my insights along with the other confident and wise individuals.  The youth who attended the panels were also respectful and interested in what we had to say.  Almost everyone had pen and paper in hand!  I didn't attend any of the adult classes, but I'm sure they were all wonderful, too.  Of course, my mom's classes were the best, but that goes without saying.  ;)

On a random note, there was a really cool grocery store within walking distance of the Frederickburg Conference Center called Wegmans.  It was really huge and really cool!  Not only did they have the variety of a Walmart, but they also had little restaurants in the store, including a sushi bar!  But what I was most impressed with was their customer service.  I only had a few items (i.e. Virginia peanuts, a request from my husband), and was stuck behind a mother with a huge cart full of food, so one of the managers took me to the customer service desk and checked me out on the spot.  I felt like a VIP!  I had a very positive experience with Wegmans, so I hope to shop at one again soon.

When the conference was over, I felt satisfied.  My mom and I both had great successes in our classes, the people were great, the atmosphere was pleasant, and our booth's debut went fantastically well.  I found myself wishing my mom had signed me up to go to the LDS Home Educators conference when I was a teen.  Now that I know how great it is, I hope to come back year after year.  And if it's still around when I'm a mother, I want to share the great experience with my children.  Hooray for LDS homeschoolers!

For more information about LDS Home Educators, please visit their website.  :)

VaHomeschoolers 2012 Conference

This weekend, my mom and I traveled to our neighboring state, Virginia, to attend the VaHomeschoolers Conference and Resource Fair. I have attended this conference several times in the past, and even though it is small compared to other conferences (about 300 attended), it is very pleasant. This year, the conference was held at the beautiful Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, which alone had many wonderful art displays.There was also a wonderful little shop called "The Atack Family Gift Shop" that had gorgeous jewelry, paperweights, pottery, paintings, and other crafty things. In fact, I bought a beautiful pearl necklace and black-beaded bracelet from there, and love them!

When my mom and I first arrived, we were led by very easy-to-follow signs to the used resource sale and book fair. There were dozens of boxes filled with tons of used books of all kinds: textbooks, fiction, picture books, cookbooks, self-help, science, classics, sticker books, history, and guidebooks just to name a few. There were also new books for sale, many of which had been recommended resources by the conference presenters (including my mom). The sight of so many books gave me chills, and before I knew it, I was pulled in by the alluring power emanating from those paper-bound treasures and quickly acquired a precarious stack to purchase immediately. Thankfully, I know how impulsive I can be, so I forced myself to walk around for a few minutes to shake the magic spell the books had cast over me and to rationally pick from my pile what I really wanted. Most of the books were easy to put back, but one was harder than the others: "Living Color" by Steve Jenkins.

It reminded me of a childhood favorite of mine, "Hailstones and Halibut Bones," which was an exploration of color in the world around us. I love colors, and I wanted to buy "Living Color" for my future child to enjoy. But who's to say that my son or daughter will be interested in colors like I was? They might like robots or something. So I reluctantly put it back. I finally settled on two books: "Confessions of a Slacker Mom," which promised a funny memoir on the imperfections of motherhood; and "The Unicorn Treasury: Stories, Poems, and Unicorn Lore," because Bruce Coville books made a strong impact on me when I was young, so I like collecting his books wherever I see them.

Excerpt: "I think parents probably have better instincts than they know. You don't have to be a pediatrician or a child psychologist or an academician to have some inborn wisdom about raising your child. You just have to be a mom or a dad with a sense of what's practical, and a willingness to listen to your inner voice, instead of bowing to the inevitable pressures of 'perfect parenting' messages. And don't think this book is just one more installment in those endless parenting archives. I'm not going to end each chapter with reference material such as, "The Thirteen Baby Supplies You Really Need" or "The Only Six Toys You Ever Have to Buy" or "The Three Disciplinary Methods That Actually Work." I'm way too much of a slacker to come up with lists like that. But I do hope it'll give you enough to mull over that the next time you hear from some magazine, TV show, friend, or in-law about the latest thing that you, as a parent, are supposed to do or buy, you'll pause. And if you hear your inner voice saying something like 'yuck,' you'll listen."

There were a bunch of vendors in the conference as well. Most of them were advertising local programs or educational resources, but one stood out to me: the chicken vendor. The vendor was run by a nice woman who was passionate about raising backyard chickens. She had several books on the topic as well as a real live chicken named Oprah Henfrey on display. The chicken was huge and beautiful, and very interesting to watch. For more information, see the chicken website: www.chiknegg.com

Saturday was when all the wise and wonderful presenters gave their workshops. Alas, I wasn't able to hear them all, but several workshops were especially good:

"Beginning Homeschooling" parts 1 and 2 by Stephanie Elms

"The Natural Stages of Growth in Writing" by Julie Bogart

"On Homeschooling and Structure" by Jeanne Faulconer

Of course, my mom - Cindy Gaddis - was one of the best, too.

"The Collaborative Learning Process: A Strengths-Based Education Approach"

and "Understanding the Right-Brained Child" (for more information, see my mom's blog!)

For the first time ever, I was my mom's assistant during the workshop because she could not present and run the projector at the same time. My mom did a great job speaking, and many of those in attendance were really moved by what she said. A lot of people talked to my mom after the workshop was over, but some people asked me questions, too. Most of the parents had young children, so they had yet to see if homeschooling was going to work out for their kids. I was proud to be an example of a normal, functioning homeschooled adult. In fact, I felt a little bit like a celebrity. "Yes, even a homeschooler like me can go to college, have a good job, and get married to a hot man!" ;)

The VaHomeschoolers Conference was simple but effective. I wish there could have been more activity-based workshops available, or a place where people young and old could gather to play nerdy cards games (*cough,* Magic the Gathering, *cough*) Despite this, I had a nice, relaxing weekend with my mom and the homeschoolers of Virginia.

For more information about VaHomeschoolers, check out their website: http://www.vahomeschoolers.org/