Impressive kids: Only a few of the participants in either of my team building workshops had ever tried the types of activities I presented. Few of the kids knew each other. But, gathered into teams and encouraged to work together, I was incredibly impressed with their ability to communicate clearly and cooperate without any difficulties. I’ve worked with teams for *months* to get them to that stage.
Manners: I had about 25 people in each workshop session I did, and nearly every one of the participants (mostly teens and tweens) took the time to come to me afterwards to thank me and tell me that they had fun. Nice!
Connections made: I had the pleasure of meeting two internet friends at the conference. I spoke briefly with Ann Zeise – the woman behind the huge A to Z Home’s Cool site – whose son attended the University of Hawaii. Since this is currently B’s college of choice, I listened carefully to absorb any mom knowledge. Pam, another homeschooling parent that I had the opportunity to meet, is a radical unschooler and Destination Imagination team manager full of insights. Her daughter helped me with the DI workshop I did, giving me yet another opportunity to see a homeschooler in action. And again, I was impressed.
Cool moment: Walking through the exhibitor’s room I passed a booth full of books from a store called Aesop’s Room. I did a double take when I spotted Tools of the Ancient Greeks (MY book!) right alongside a bunch of wonderful home education books. I stopped and introduced myself and kind of glowed for the rest of the day. It was the first time I saw one of my books on a shelf in real life.
Lessons learned: Bring a rolling cart. The books I had at the “speaker’s booth” were shipped directly to the conference, so I didn’t have to deal with them. But upon leaving, I had to take any that were left with me. I managed to balance my suitcase, laptop and box of leftover books until I was leaving the rental car place, when the books all came crashing to the floor. (by the way, chivalry is dead)
Inspiration: A panel of grown homeschoolers shared their thoughts on how home education worked in their lives. The panelists all agreed that the family connections and support they received from their parents was by far one of the most valuable aspects of home education. I wish I could have had a certain grandparent participate in the conference; these “kids” had some impressive stories to tell. One had just returned from a summer in Africa, one worked diligently to get just the job she wanted, one is pursuing a masters degree in archaeology and one spent a year working for a state senator and is now going to law school. On an interesting note, the land surveyor told of her determination to find a job that suited her perfectly. She decided that she didn’t want to work a traditional 40 hour a week job – it just didn’t leave her enough time to explore her other passions – and she didn’t feel the need to accumulate more money. After much looking (and many people saying “not possible”) she found a job that fit all of her criteria and then some.
Road rage: Leaving the conference I met a young man on the highway that had issues with my merging abilities (the feeling was mutual). He insisted on showing me his favorite finger repeatedly. When I refused to engage, he swerved his car at me. I do not miss California freeways.
Planning: Under no circumstances schedule a flight for 7 a.m. Especially when there is a high terror alert and the airport is two hours away and you are traveling with two children.
