Walking in Memphis Part One

As you may already know, the MidSouth Homeschool Convention was this weekend in Memphis!!

Kayce, from Pastorette's Progress, and I left for our road trip early Thursday morning and arrived in Memphis around lunch time.  We unpacked and headed to Beale Street to see the sights and grab some lunch.  We immediately fell in love with the city of Memphis and the soul that just oozed out of the people. It is an amazing place!  But our tour ended pretty quickly as we rushed to the Memphis Convention Center to check in, get a game plan, and get ready for back to back workshops, a HUGE exhibit hall, no wi-fi, no coffee, overpriced food, 30 degree weather, and rain!!!

And for the next 2 days we wouldn't see the light of day...And every second was worth it!

While the lack of wi-fi and overpriced gross food {think JUMBO HOT DOG} were both equally devastating, the workshops and exhibit hall did not disappoint.  We learned so much!!!  Tomorrow I will be back to tell you what I bought in the Memphis greatness!!

To start though, I think I should just tell yall what sticks out with me the most out of the whole weekend.  What I learned this weekend could never be summed up in 3 sentences, but I will say, this is what I walked away with!  Some was taught to me in a workshop, some was taught to me while I chatted with vendors, and some I learned while Kayce and I laid in our hotel beds chatting at 3 am.  Here are the highlights...

1.  Whether they choose Harvard or home, our children should be ready!


2.  Shyness is not a disease, it is a by product of a very unique package of wonderful qualities that God is going to use!


3.  We must expose our kids to the wrongs of this world NOW...while we  are with them all day to defend what we believe.


Maybe these 3 things don't sound like rocket science to you, but for me, it was like I had never thought about them before in the way that I think of them now.

The very first thing that the very first speaker said was that her family's homeschooling goal was whether her children chose Harvard or home, they would be ready.  That was like the "ah ha" moment of the weekend for me...and it happened in the first 20 minutes of the first speaker.  I have just not been confident in my homeschooling philosophy so far this year.  One minute I am on the Susan Wise Bauer train, the next I am nature studying in the backyard, and a week later I am all about unit studies.

AND THAT IS OKAY!!

How about that?  Its okay that I want my girls to be prepared.  That doesn't make me an overachiever, it makes me a Momma.  Sure, I almost always wish my day looked like someone else's but truly, my goal is for my children to be prepared.  Period.  And if that means that our day may look different from yours, that is okay.  I learned this weekend that as much as I wish we could just read all day and somehow math would just evolve, that isn't reality.  Its not reality for the girls, and its not reality for me.  I am very hands on...I am very visual, I need manipulatives, and so do my girls.  And what is my goal?  For them to be prepared for whatever comes their way.  So, what should I do?  Fill my day with as much of those things as I can.  I don't want my girls to just know 3+3.  I want them to understand math concepts.  I want them to be able to think mathematically.  I want them to be confident in this subject.  And they can be!

So empowering huh??  Im telling you, I was just amazed at some of this stuff.

So tomorrow, I will be back to tell you all about what I bought and what Im starting when!!  Mr. UPS should be paying us a visit on Thursday and I can't wait!!!

I am so thankful for this weekend and for all that I learned {and bought}!!!  And I can't wait to tell you all about it!!!  But its late and I'm rambling so it will have to wait until tomorrow!!!!