Information Overload?
I have spent the past 2 days at the Oklahoma Homeschool Convention. All I can say is "WOW"! I never knew there was THAT much information and materials available! Somehow I also know that THIS wasn't even the tip of the iceberg!
I have been reviewing curriculum online for the past few weeks. I went to the convention with an idea of what curriculum I would use, and I walked away with none of what I started out with. Once I saw the materials for myself, I knew which ones I would like and which ones I would not. I basically have chosen to use curriculum that I will participate with along with my girls. There are programs that gear towards the "self teaching" aspect, and I decided that is not what I wanted to do. I figure that if my kids are putting in all that effort to learn, I could "relearn", too! I want to make learning a family effort and not just something they do and I don't. Even though I have been out of high school for many years now (hard to believe,yeah?) I still love to learn. I have many projects on my list of things I would love to learn to do--now I can do them with my kids!
Kiahna and I went by ourselves yesterday. That is when I did all my curriculum reviews. She did pretty good, but by the end of the day, she had enough! I went home and looked online for the things that I was interested in getting--I wanted to see if I could get a better deal online, or if the best deal was actually at the convention.
Today, we all went together as a family, and Mimi (TJ's mom) came also. She says that they do not have homeschooling in France, so this seemed to be interesting to her. She was amazed at all the things to look at and to examine. I spent all my time at the vendor booths--TJ went to two of the classes. I think that probably next year I might actually participate in the classes more since I now have my curriculum foundation. I didn't want to miss my opportunity to review the curriculum hands-on vs. online surfing. I did discover that for the most part, the convention had the best prices--mostly because they offered free shipping plus a discount. The only exception would be DVDs or software that Amazon or Ebay would carry used but in good shape.
The girls are VERY excited about learning. Niah even asked if we could go ahead and start now! All the materials I got are fun, but very proficient because they utilize the four neurological components for learning--hearing, speaking, seeing, and writing/doing. This makes learning much more fun--even for me!
The Harris Academy of Higher Learning will be doing fundraisers throughout the year. We thought that we would integrate that aspect of schooling into our school. Besides... we need the love and support as much as public or private school systems--if not more!
I have been reviewing curriculum online for the past few weeks. I went to the convention with an idea of what curriculum I would use, and I walked away with none of what I started out with. Once I saw the materials for myself, I knew which ones I would like and which ones I would not. I basically have chosen to use curriculum that I will participate with along with my girls. There are programs that gear towards the "self teaching" aspect, and I decided that is not what I wanted to do. I figure that if my kids are putting in all that effort to learn, I could "relearn", too! I want to make learning a family effort and not just something they do and I don't. Even though I have been out of high school for many years now (hard to believe,yeah?) I still love to learn. I have many projects on my list of things I would love to learn to do--now I can do them with my kids!
Kiahna and I went by ourselves yesterday. That is when I did all my curriculum reviews. She did pretty good, but by the end of the day, she had enough! I went home and looked online for the things that I was interested in getting--I wanted to see if I could get a better deal online, or if the best deal was actually at the convention.
Today, we all went together as a family, and Mimi (TJ's mom) came also. She says that they do not have homeschooling in France, so this seemed to be interesting to her. She was amazed at all the things to look at and to examine. I spent all my time at the vendor booths--TJ went to two of the classes. I think that probably next year I might actually participate in the classes more since I now have my curriculum foundation. I didn't want to miss my opportunity to review the curriculum hands-on vs. online surfing. I did discover that for the most part, the convention had the best prices--mostly because they offered free shipping plus a discount. The only exception would be DVDs or software that Amazon or Ebay would carry used but in good shape.
The girls are VERY excited about learning. Niah even asked if we could go ahead and start now! All the materials I got are fun, but very proficient because they utilize the four neurological components for learning--hearing, speaking, seeing, and writing/doing. This makes learning much more fun--even for me!
The Harris Academy of Higher Learning will be doing fundraisers throughout the year. We thought that we would integrate that aspect of schooling into our school. Besides... we need the love and support as much as public or private school systems--if not more!
--Heidi
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