Preston and I went on Thursday night so that we could look around at all the vendors together, bouncing ideas off one another for the direction we should go in with certain subjects. It was great to get a first glance of everything, drinking it all in before the craziness of the weekend got started!
Friday, I loaded up all my bags, dropped the kids off at my dad's house, and headed out to meet up with my girlfriends for the weekend! We listened to some fabulous speakers, had lots of time to fellowship together, and plenty more time to look around at the endless amount of curriculum choices that are available.
My main focus this weekend was MATH. I just have not felt satisfied with anything I have looked at thus far. The "spiral" maths were just overkill with repetition and not enough reasoning behind it (at least for us) and the mastery programs didn't have enough review in them to keep learned areas at the forefront of their minds! But after scouring the entire math selections at the convention, talking with various vendors, attending meetings on learning styles, etc.. I feel like I've made a wise decision over what we plan to do next year. I'm way excited and eager to get started (come August!) with our new Math approach! Woo Hoo!!!
Since I'm continuing with Heart of Dakota I didn't have to purchase a whole lot of other things but I did get my Phonics workbooks for both boys, loads of lined paper and the teachers manual to the grammer we are doing. I did get a few different Critical Thinking workbooks that help to develop critical thinking, logic and reasoning skills. Some are riddle based, some are workbook based, but both look really fun!
Convention NEVER disappoints me. It is such a great time of encouragement and fellowship with like minded parents. I was AMAZED at all the people I know (and the abundance of them) that are all now bringing their own kids home to school....especially the ones who said (just as I did) "Oh...I could NEVER homeschool my own children!" Be careful what you say...you may have to eat your words one day...I sure did! :)
My husband is a doll for giving me this time away for rejuvenation...from what I hear though, they had an equally fun time! I'm already looking forward to next years convention.
2 comments:
I am so thrilled that you not only have your children's education in your heart but also that you enjoy it so much. You're "dolls" would be so proud of you. Mom
Can't wait to chat and hear all about it;)
I'm so excited that your math quandry is resolved!
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