UHEA Convention.........

Today was the yearly Homeschooling Convention done by the UHEA (Utah Homeschooling Education Association, in case you are wondering what the heck "UHEA" is....). This is the 2nd time I have attended. Last year I was on Trek, so I couldn't attend. The 1st year I went, I had just finished our first year of homeschooling and came home with lots of notes and lots of ideas.
I rode with two of my homeschooling friends and we ended up going to almost all the same classes. We got to pick four this time and I was quite pleased with my choices.

I packed my sack lunch, picked out a nice, new, unwritten-in notebook and even got a cute pen that had four different colors of ink. I felt like I was in junior high again...writing notes in pink, blue, lime green, and purple..... Anyway, here are some things I learned today:

• Unit Studies are something I want to do, in some way this year. (Unit Studies are a way to study a topic that ties all subjects together in one central theme.) For example: Your topic is OCEANS. So, you would study ocean life or weather patterns for science. For literature you could read Treasure Island, Swiss Family Robinson, etc. For geography you could study the different oceans and seas. Naming them and locating them on a map. For history you would learn about different ocean explorers. For language you would create vocabulary lists from the ocean books you are reading.........you get the idea? I love this concept and would like to do this at least a little bit this school year. You can do your own research for your unit studies or purchase them on sites like http://www.homeschoolinginthewoods.com/ . I will be looking into this........Sounds fun, doesn't it??!!



• Another class I loved, and needed to attend was called "Staying Focused". It emphasized the importance of having a mission statement for your family; something to remind you why you are homeschooling. Having your long term goals written down will help you make short term goals, and more importantly, it will help you continue homeschooling during hard times. She brought up: moving, a death, having a new baby, financial troubles and so on. I really needed to hear this and was so glad I went to this class. We have been riding a roller coaster ever since Will had to open his private practice back up, nearly three years ago, and keeping my sights on the reasons why we started homeschooling has been very, very hard. But, having a mission statement will help me keep my focus where it needs to be. Our hard times will pass. But, if I give up on homeschooling, I will never reach the long term goals we have for our family. I think this philosophy can be used for any family, not just a homeschooling one. So, as a family, we will be writing a family mission statement! I am not sure if I will share it on the blog or not.....guess you'll have to wait and see!



• The last class I attended was called: "Myth of Me Time". It was important for me to hear and realize that if my needs aren't met, I can't meet the needs of anyone else very well. Having help around the house, having time for my own interests or hobbies, meeting my own mental health needs are just some of the areas that need to be addressed. Figure out what you need to take care of yourself and make sure you get it done! For example: if it's really important to you to not have any dishes in the sink in the morning, make sure all the dishes are done when you go to bed at night. If you really need adult time, make sure you schedule a lunch date with a girl friend on a Saturday or something. Don't feel guilty about it! One thing she said I loved was, when you are struggling on a particular day, show your kids "how" you are taking a break. "I am feeling a little frazzled today, kids! So, I am going to go read a book for a few mintutes and when I come back, I will be better!" Let them see you doing things to vent, or to calm down, so they will learn to cope with stress better. Lastly, she said if you do need to "get away" you need to realize that when you come back, the same issues will still be there, needing to be addressed. Don't teach your kids to run away when things get tough. Good advice, huh?!

It was a good day and I feel very happy with the classes I attended and have some things I want to work on so next year will be an even better year than this one was. Having a new baby, a toddler, a 1st grader, a 2nd grader and a 5th grader to homeschool sounds completely NUTS to me and at times, I am certain I must be NUTS to even want to homeschool. But, I am going to use our summer break before little Noah comes to get my plan in order, get my curriculum ready to go, and get my mission statement written, so that come September whatever-the-date, we end up calling the first day of school, I will be ready. And if I feel frazzled, you can bet I will announce that to the kids, and find some way to calm down.........any ideas for me on that issue???