This weekend I had the privilege of attending Minnesota’s big annual homeschool convention, MACHE (Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators). I have attended four of the last five years, but this year was my first time going alone while my husband stayed home with our kiddos. I’m not gonna lie, it was so nice to get away for a few days! (The reality of solitude slapped me HARD on the way home, though, as I was forced to drive home in a record-breaking April blizzard, which dumped over a foot of snow across Minnesota.) Here is a collection of my highlights and key takeaways from the event.
#1 HOMESCHOOLING IS A HIGH CALLING
One of the speakers at the conference emphatically declared that we, as homeschooling moms, have answered the “highest calling.” My first reaction was cringe a bit at what I interpreted as an overstatement, but as I allowed myself to ponder the idea it became more sobering. We have such a tendency to treat this crazy life of ours apologetically, or from a place of disheveled resignation. But in actuality, we should stand a bit straighter (even with a baby in our arms and a toddler around our legs) and know that this calling is no less admirable or empowering than that of the women to whom we inevitably compare ourselves. We meet our children’s every need on a daily basis and we should feel incredibly empowered by the influence we have over our families and the legacies we are creating.
#2 NEVER FORGET FOR WHOM OR WHAT YOU ARE HOMESCHOOLING
“From the minute your feet hit the floor in the morning, you are on assignment.” – Bonni Levy Greiner
As homeschoolers we have an unavoidable tendency to sink into the daily mire of assignments, behavior, chores and meals and it’s so easy to lose sight of the “big picture.” In fact most days, we would probably have a hard time identifying our big picture goals. Side note: Just surviving the day, is NOT a big picture goal. There are many reasons we have embarked on this journey: quality of education, time with our children, flexibility of schedule, a prompting from God, or many many other reasons. For me, it was completely a prompting from God. My oldest had a bad experience in his public school kindergarten; I had recently transitioned to staying home full-time and it just seemed that everything was pointing us in this direction. (Don’t mistake this for a desire on my part to homeschool, because I assure you that was NOT the case.) But, whatever our driving force, we need to remain focused on that driving force. Let it guide our decisions, both long-term and immediate; and we can at least rest assured that we are treading on the path carved out specifically for us.
#3 HOMESCHOOLING IS A MORE THAN AN EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY; IT’S A LIFESTYLE
This wasn’t a new realization for me, as I’ve written about this idea before. But, it was helpful for me to be reminded amongst this group of like-minded weirdos. Because your school day happens at home and because you spend 24 hours a day with your children, your entire life and home are changed by the pursuit — and that’s ok. One of the speakers mentioned that as homeschoolers, we are given thousands of extra hours with our kids, which is not something to be resented, but something to be celebrated. We are given the opportunity to instill values, shepherd hearts and cement bonds with our kids which will serve them, and our family legacies, for generations to come.
#4 PRIORITIZE AN ANNUAL RETREAT TO CLEAR YOUR HEAD AND PLAN FOR WHAT’S NEXT
I realized something very important during my 36 hours of focused alone time — as the primary educator for your family, it makes tremendous sense to carve out a time for you to get away and spend focused time thinking about your goals for the coming year and meditating on what this journey means to you and your family. School teachers have multiple “in services” each year to learn, plan and discuss, so as homeschooling moms shouldn’t we afford our schools and students the same focused planning opportunities? Maybe you can’t attend a convention, or you can’t get away overnight, but I bet everyone can figure out how to get away for a day, or even just an afternoon, to separate yourself from your daily schedule and spend some time in strategic planning mode. My advice would also be not to simply spend this time digging through curriculum catalogs, but to spend time thinking and praying about your heart, your kids’ hearts, and some of those larger issues which often go unaddressed, but are so important to our success.
#5 DON’T SKIP THE EXHIBIT HALL
When at a convention like MACHE, the exhibit hall can be overwhelming at first, but I was reminded this year of how fun it can be! I made a list of exhibitors I wanted to speak with before attending the conference, which helped me to avoid the meandering which can sometimes add to my sense of overwhelm. (I’m weird, I know. I don’t like crowds…or people…all that much.) The conference sported TWO separate halls this year due to volume of exhibitors, which covered the gamut of curriculum offerings, supplies, toys and games, and even some awesome lifestyle vendors!
The exhibit hall is also your opportunity to speak directly to the moms and mentors who use given curriculums, which can be very helpful if you’re exploring some new ideas for the coming year. I spent at least 45 minutes speaking to a wonderful woman in the Sonlight booth, who answered all of my questions and helped me come up with a plan for next year, which I feel great about. (More about my intended switch to Sonlight coming in a later post.) I also spoke with a representative from Spelling-U-See, who gave a helpful overview of their program, which I plan to use with my oldest next year. I bought some really fun Usborne books as a treat for my kiddos and treated myself to a few books and my first Thirty-One bag!
For more of my thoughts on MACHE 2018, check out my Facebook Live video.
So, how about you? Do you attend an annual homeschool conference in your area? Thinking about attending for the first time? Drop your thoughts in the comments below or on my Facebook page; I’d love to hear about it!
