Tag Archives: Giveaway!

Congrats to my HEAV Giveaway Winner!

16 Monday Apr 2018

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Congrats to the winner of my HEAV Family Convention Pass Giveaway! Congrats to Deanne L. – check your email for more information!

 

Previous posts about HEAV Conventions that you might enjoy:
HEAV’s Used Curriculum Sale
Getting Dad Involved in Your Homeschool
Other Ways Homeschool Dads Can Be Involved
HEAV Convention Wish List Tip!
HEAV From the Dad Perspective
Lessons Learned from Past Conventions
My Biggest about the HEAV Convention!
Getting Ready for HEAV???
Last Minute HEAV Convention Survival Tips

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HEAV- Home Educators Association of Virginia – website
“I am excited to be a blogger for HEAV this year. In exchange for sharing my honest opinion about this convention, I was provided with a family registration at no charge.”

HEAV From The Dad Perspective

20 Sunday Mar 2016

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Today is very special because I talked, badgered, convinced, asked my hubby to write us a post about the HEAV Convention from HIS point of view. I know I’ve written posts before (here and here) about how Dads can be involved in homeschool, but I thought it might be good for the Dads themselves to HEAR IT FROM ANOTHER DAD. I know how important hearing it from other men was for him (and therefore US.) 🙂 So, feel free to pass this post along to the homeschool dads/men in your lives!

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I attended my first HEAV convention in the summer of 2013. This experience would break my stereotypes on homeschooling and most of all motivate me to help our family continue to homeschool. This is the story of my first HEAV conference, from a dad’s perspective.

I remember my wife describing her first experience at a HEAV convention in 2012. I was out of town on business and received a call after the convention ended. Her tone was of joy and awe. She was excited to have a large community to lean on for general advice to curriculum material.

But there was more. She said she could just be relaxed with the homeschool parents and our homeschool decision or parenting not questioned. (We had just moved to the Northern Virginia suburbs, an area known for an individual’s collection of graduate certificates and pecking order in the corporate or public sector ladder, as much as their unsolicited advice in politics, social issues and parenting.) The conference provided reassurance. We didn’t know many homeschoolers, and not many supportive of our homeschool choice. She was in awe of the diversity of the families at HEAV.

This I had to see to believe.

Three days prior to our drive down, my wife handed me the program guide and asked me to pick some workshops to attend. I looked through this large pamphlet of workshops and placed a star on a couple. I would give this a try and I would have at least counted at as participating in homeschooling and would have a rack of BBQ ribs by the end of the weekend (The BBQ rib dinner is now a staple of our trips to HEAV).

I got an insider’s view into HEAV with my wife as an official blogger to the Convention. I witnessed a sea of vendors preparing for a crowd. The first full day of the conference was not what I expected, as the Richmond convention center was flooded with homeschool families large and small and with a surprising diversity of backgrounds. There were teenagers with Mohawks walking next to a highly conservative dressed couple with pants and dresses to the ankles. But most homeschoolers were somewhere in the middle of this spectrum.

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Homeschool T-Shirts!

The next three days were probably one of the most exhausting and entertaining weekends I had with my family. This is what I learned from HEAV from Dad’s perspective:

  • You are not alone: There is a growing and active homeschool dad community. In the last couple of HEAV conventions there has been more dad sessions to attend.
  • The HEAV Convention is more than education: Yes, homeschooling objectives are to educate children but it is beyond the books. The HEAV Convention is about how families strengthen themselves spiritually and become one strong unit to teach their children mind, body and soul.
  • The HEAV Convention is fun: Can you imagine a group of people just as crazy as you to homeschool? Now, add tons of resources, workshops and mostly well behaved kids, and it is better than Disneyland.
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Hubby Chatting Up Michael Farris, HSLDA

Now three years later, I am asking my wife to make sure we confirm hotels and participation at HEAV months in advance. I am perusing the website for the workshops I plan to attend. And of course there is our annual stop in Richmond for ribs and BBQ.

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Dads, Heavy Labor is a HUGE Help, Too!

This summer, I will attend my fourth HEAV Convention. My first HEAV Convention was when I started to come to the realization of:

  • I can participate in homeschool and be more than the other adult in the house receiving the daily progress (sometimes) report. I am motivated to be involved.
  • I don’t have to be great to be involved in homeschooling my kids.
  • Involved means any of the following: Field trips with kids, reviewing school work, participating in Bible verses, giving your spouse a day off to homeschool, supporting your spouse just by listening, or picking up the most random thing for a science project on your way home from work, listening to your spouse and not providing an opinion when she says this was the worst homeschool day and the kids are going to public school tomorrow.
  • My wife is amazing.
  • What I enjoy most of homeschooling is that I get to spend a great amount of time with my kids.
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See? We Look Fairly “Normal!”

So dads, the HEAV Convention isn’t that scary, it’s just the opposite. The HEAV Convention is one of the best experiences you can share with your family.

And there are smoked ribs not too far from the convention center on the way back home.

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Dad Reward That Mom Enjoys Too!

 

 

 

Sign up for my HEAV Convention Pass Giveaway!! HEAV’s convention is June 9-11th this year!

Yes, you can win a pass so you can attend HEAV’s convention for free! (Leaving more money to spend on stuff! WAHOO!) Optional Programs are not included, and if you have already registered and you win, HEAV will credit you for the amount of the free pass! This giveaway ends March 24 at midnight, so sign up now!

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Go to this Rafflecopter Giveaway And Good Luck!

 

HEAV- Home Educators Association of Virginia – website

“I am excited to be a blogger for HEAV this year. In exchange for sharing my honest opinion about this convention, I was provided with a family registration at no charge.”

 

 

Mom Encouragement at HEAV

17 Thursday Mar 2016

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One thing I am really looking forward to this year is the “Chocolate with Encouragement Pajama Party” for moms this year! In fact it was one of the first things I signed up for!

Here is the description: Get your pajamas, get comfy, and join Heidi St. John for a delicious time of gourmet chocolate, coffee, and sweet fellowship–and, of course, encouragement.  Don’t miss this chance to laugh, share, and enjoy yummy desserts with other homeschool moms! (And yes, Heidi will be wearing pajamas!)

Especially since I saw that Heidi St. John is going to be there, and we are best buds. Because of course I once interviewed her for this blog and got my picture taken with her at a previous HEAV convention!

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And CHOCOLATE. Need we say more?

Now, if you miss the Pajama Party, there are plenty of chances to still hear my “bestie” share! HEAV recently announced the speaker sessions, and Heidi St. John will be giving these talks:

The Distracted Mom (iMom)
Better for Best: Keeping Christ as the Center of Your Home
Biblical Discernment in an Unbiblical Age
The Busy Homeschool Mom’s Guide™ to Daylight: How to Fit Your Size-16 Day into a Size 10
The Secret in the Sunset

Whatever you do, be sure to check them out!!!

Sign up for my HEAV Convention Pass Giveaway!! HEAV’s convention is June 9-11th this year!

Yes, you can win a pass so you can attend HEAV’s convention for free! (Leaving more money to spend on stuff! WAHOO!) Optional Programs are not included, and if you have already registered and you win, HEAV will credit you for the amount of the free pass! This giveaway ends March 24 at midnight, so sign up now!

conventionspread1

Go to this Rafflecopter Giveaway And Good Luck!

 

HEAV- Home Educators Association of Virginia – website

“I am excited to be a blogger for HEAV this year. In exchange for sharing my honest opinion about this convention, I was provided with a family registration at no charge.”

 

 

 

 

Making My Convention 2016 Plan, Part 1!

11 Friday Mar 2016

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Homeschool Convention always puts me in a reflective mood. I guess because it’s because you really can’t DO Convention well if you don’t know what you’re keep/let go/ add on in next year’s homeschool plan!

So, as I’ve been working on prepping these articles for this Spring, I’m already trying to mentally trying to make that annual Homeschool plan, so I could share with you my annual curriculum planning! I thought this would be a good time to share with you my own “steps” through this – perhaps it will help you or give you some ideas!

Step 1: Define Your Situation for Next Year

Before I make any decisions, I find it very helpful to look ahead and make a note of any particular “situations” I already know are coming up in the next year. (Perhaps for you it might be a new baby, transition, or already scheduled trips in the works.) I think it is very helpful to keep these in mind as you plan for the upcoming year.

For us, I know that next year will be our last year in our current location, and we will probably move as soon as the summer begins. God has not told us where we will be after that quite yet, and where we go after that year is mentally affecting me in what we do NEXT year. As in, if we’re going overseas – should I spend next year doing American History (ya know, while we are in the US?) Wouldn’t that make sense?

Several “programs” I had mentally put on my checklist really are “multi-year cycle” (history) programs, and I am very hesitant to commit to several years when I don’t even know where we will be. So, what was my plan before really is currently tabled, if not scrapped altogether.

Of course, God has me at the point now where I am making decisions without knowing the future, and it’s probably on purpose! (Proof God has a sense of humor!) I’m not a huge fan of that,  but I am still trying to take deep breaths and just trust and muddle through somehow, but also knowing I am making these plans with a pencil at this point and not with a pen. As in, I’m trying to go with the flow and be flexible. (You have to know me, I guess to find the real humor in this!)

So, in thinking about this next year in our current location, I realized that it’s a Presidential election year. What a perfect topic to focus on for the fall! And what fun we can really have with that topic now that the girls are a bit older! So, I really want to take advantage of it.

Step 2: What worked this year? What stays?

I’m a huge fan of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and with that in mind, there are several things I want to keep on doing next year. These decisions are made after chats with both kids, both together and individually, and also with the hubby.

MATH — We’ll be sticking with Teaching Textbooks for our core math. I already have everything I need for this next year, so that is great news! We also use several math games on their tablets and math songs and math keys to reinforce their math facts. And we have had a blast over the past year playing all the math-based board games we got a HEAV exhibit hall last year! My youngest has become quite the Monopoly and PayDay expert!

CONVENTION PLAN– I won’t need to worry about purchasing anything for math, unless something just catches my eye, or if I find the miracle math cure!

GRAMMAR AND WRITING — This past year we’ve been using Growing with Grammar and Winning with Writing. It’s workbook-based, and I thought it would be a little too dry for my girls, but surprisingly they really like it. It is a very straight-up traditional, in-depth and methodical approach to both, which I really appreciate. Plus, it’s self propelled so my girls can now do it on their own, with only a bit of assistance if they don’t understand the directions. So, we’ll stick with that this year as well.

CONVENTION PLAN– Unfortunately last year I couldn’t find this at HEAV. So unless I find a magical replacement, I’ll have to order it during the summer.

HANDWRITING — My youngest will be finishing up Handwriting Without Tears‘s cursive program this year, and my oldest will “graduate” a full year of cursive copywork practice. I’ve already warned her that starting next year all of her assignments must be done in cursive, so she will no longer need to do separate handwriting assignments. My youngest will, though, so I will use random free copywork projects for her.

CONVENTION PLAN– Maybe keep an eye out for “Presidential Quotes” copywork, or something similar?

SPELLING — The girls really want to continue using SpellingCity.com. As I have already added in a daily writing worksheet to this, I’m happy to let them. (The worksheet is very simple – look up one word in the dictionary and define it, write sentences with three words, and copy 3 words five times each. I let them choose which words they want to do each day).

AMERICAN HERITAGE GIRLS — My girls LOVE American Heritage Girls. LOVE it. I LOVE it. Hubby LOVES it. And it has become a “required” part of our homeschool curriculum. Several of those badge ideas have given us ideas for unit studies!

DANCE — The girls take dance once a week, this year being hip-hop and jazz. (Sigh, I know. I let them choose. It’s cute, and the teacher really works hard to use “clean” music.) This counts as our PE for homeschool. Very lucky for me, their classes happen at the exact same time, and their dance school is attached to my gym. So, I have a built-in weekly time to work out at the gym!

SCIENCE — We’ve been doing science as unit studies this year, and that has worked out well, so far. Over the past few years, I’ve collected way too many science “kits”, so we’re still working through that huge pile!

CONVENTION PLAN — I do have a running idea list the girls have expressed interest in. Unless I find a kit that will help them earn a badge for AHG, or something that will help them learn about one of those topics on that list, I am not planning on purchasing science stuff. We probably have two-three years worth of items sitting here already!

Step 3: What didn’t work? What needs to change? What needs to go?

The eclectic, delight-led, unit-based studies are working for us, but we’ll be wrapping up our World Geography – World Literature (Girl Power!) plan that we’ve been working on for two years. It’s time for us to move on to something new – and that is my current issue. Move on to what?

Since we know we have at least next year in the US and it’s the election year, I currently have this crazy idea to have next year be a “civics”-themed year. I think this will be an especially good idea if we do end up overseas the following year – I really want my girls to have a good grasp on what makes us American and how that will most likely differ from somewhere else.

The fall will be fully immersed in the Elections – both presidential, state, and local. I think we will be using Homeschool in the Woods‘s lapbook for this, but there are so many really cool resources out there to choose from!

CONVENTION PLAN — Check out the great HEAV vendors. Is this really the program I want to use? Review reading list and see what I can pick up at the Exhibit Hall and the Used Curriculum Sale!

Once election season is over, I’m still not sure what to cover in our “civics” theme for the second semester. I have had both “government” and “economics” suggested to me, so I’m still mulling that over at this point. Both topics might be too much to cover in one semester. Would one or the other be more age appropriate for and advanced 3rd and 5th grader?

CONVENTION PLAN — This will probably be the topic I spend my time researching and buying for this year. I noticed the HSLDA has a ton of resources on their site, I might stop by their booth and chat with them about it. Plus, many of the other exhibitors will be great to check out as well.

Next post – my plan for taking full advantage of the HEAV Convention Weekend!

Sign up for my HEAV Convention Pass Giveaway!! HEAV’s convention is June 9-11th this year!

Yes, you can win a pass so you can attend HEAV’s convention for free! (Leaving more money to spend on stuff! WAHOO!) Optional Programs are not included, and if you have already registered and you win, HEAV will credit you for the amount of the free pass! This giveaway ends March 24 at midnight, so sign up now!

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Go to this Rafflecopter Giveaway And Good Luck!

 

HEAV- Home Educators Association of Virginia – website

“I am excited to be a blogger for HEAV this year. In exchange for sharing my honest opinion about this convention, I was provided with a family registration at no charge.”

Getting Dad Involved in Your Homeschool

15 Sunday Mar 2015

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We are blessed with a Homeschool Dad that loves to be involved in our homeschool!

It wasn’t always this way. He wasn’t particularly enthused about homeschooling at first. It took encouragement and enthusiasm from other homeschooling dads before he would agree to us homeschooling at first. Now, he is one of homeschool’s biggest salesmen!

So, how can your homeschool dad be involved in your homeschool? How can you encourage him?

First, make sure he feels welcome! My husband has admitted to me that sometimes he doesn’t feel “needed.” I’ve never intentionally shut him out, but it’s sometimes easy for me to get so absorbed that I didn’t realized he wanted to be included.

Also, don’t only show him  the negative! I know many refer to their homeschool dad as “Principal.” But if all he sees of the homeschool experience is having to be the Enforcer or Disciplinarian, how can he enjoy it?

Here are some of the ways our Homeschool Dad participates:

1. Field Trips  – We try to save as many field trips for family activity time, often on weekends, so hubby can join in.

2. Holidays – We are blessed that hubby gets most federal holidays off. He will join in our regular homeschool activities, and often acts as “substitute teacher” while I take the opportunity to get other things done.

3. Take Over Certain Subjects – Hubby has been great about taking over certain activities and lessons for me. I save up games, science experiments, or various parts of lessons that I haven’t been able to get to. He will do these with the girls on the weekends or evenings.  He also works with them on their Spanish – which is good because being a native speaker, he is much better at it!

4. Evening Reading – We save our larger group reading for right before bedtime. If it is a book that I think he’ll enjoy, Hubby will take over the reading of the nightly chapter. It’s great to get a break sometimes, isn’t it?

5. Extracurriculars – Hubby has been willing to very involved in the girls’ activities. He took over a lot of the carpool duties when we were participating in the Upward Sports program, and now he is actively being my “heavy labor” for our American Heritage Girls troop.

6. Support of Me – Hubby wants me to be sure to mention how a Homeschool Dad’s primary job is to take care of the Homeschool Mom! He’s my sounding board to bounce ideas and issues off of, he’s my encourager and motivator. Be even more importantly, he considers it his job to protect me, even from myself. Maybe even mostly from myself! 🙂 He keeps me going and keeps me from burn out. He sometimes plays “bad cop” when I’m too much of a softie.

7. BRING HIM TO A HOMESCHOOL CONVENTION! – Hubby’s first time at the HEAV Convention in his support and understanding of homeschool. He was so excited to realize that homeschooling didn’t make us “weird,” it made us NORMAL! 🙂  He came, expecting to just be “supportive” and be there for me, but participating in some of the “Dad” sessions opened his eyes to the great opportunities homeschool provided.

Homeschool is such a wonderful blessing to our entire family. In addition to the “educational side,” it’s truly been a vehicle for our family to spend time together and enjoy each other.

TONIGHT IS THE LAST NIGHT TO SIGN UP FOR THIS HEAV GIVEAWAY!!! DON’T MISS IT!!!!!

Sign up for my HEAV Convention Pass Giveaway!! HEAV’s convention is June 11-13th this year!

HEAV

Yes, you can win a pass so you can attend HEAV’s convention for free! (Leaving more money to spend on stuff! WAHOO!) Optional Programs are not included, and if you have already registered and you win, HEAV will credit you for the amount of the free pass! This giveaway ends March 15 at midnight, so sign up now!

Go to this Rafflecopter giveaway And Good Luck!

Dealing with Writer’s Block and a HEAV Giveaway!!

09 Monday Mar 2015

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I have to confess, I’ve been staring at the computer screen for a few days, trying to come up with brilliance.

So until inspiration actually hits, ha ha, I thought I’d share with a few things that we’ve been up to!

Well, first of all, like many of you I’m sure, we’ve been dealing with SNOW. This cruddy, nasty weather has kept us homebound quite a bit.

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Somebody should have taught these girls about salary negotiation! 🙂 They agreed to shovel all the walkways for only a dollar each!

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The cat has taken up residence on every heater vent in the house.

I had a friend just yesterday ask what WE do on snow days. I told her I much prefer to get as much school done as possible while the weather is bad, and save our days off for when the weather is good. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have any fun! (Though my bucket of winter fun ideas is running pretty dry, admittedly.)

First up, we pulled out my scrapbooking supplies and learned how to use them to make our Valentine’s.

20150208_164030 And I started a new craft project of my own! I Finally found the items I needed to create my own Little Free Library, and while it’s still in many pieces and needs multiple coats of paint, my goal is to have it ready to put outside by Spring!

20150214_151524I’ve been trying to complete a few projects around the house. Last weekend, “we” sorted the girls clothes and purged their rooms. It was one of those projects that was supposed to be quick and easy but turned into an all day endeavor. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth of occurred. And the girls did their own whining as well!

After a Mommy meltdown last week, Hubby made the executive decision I have entirely too much on my plate. (Well, duh.) And right now, the only thing that can go is participating in the Homeschool Co-Op group. So we have dropped out of Co-Op. The girls were disappointed because they have made friends there, but I felt completely relieved. First of all, I didn’t have to be the bad guy in the decision. AND, it’s one thing off my plate.  We are still continuing with ballet classes and American Heritage Girls, which we all adore.

Our new “homeschool curriculum” is working out well for us, which is a blessing! It’s more work for me than I’d really prefer, but even with that it’s so much more relaxing and enjoyable than what we were doing before. We’re now using a more eclectic / unit study style, and it seems to be working. Because the girls are more interested in what we’re doing, they’re taking more ownership in what we’re doing, even at the ages of 8 and 6.

I just had to share this picture. You know when you have those moments of genius that seem to be little gifts from God? I had a pile of paperwork I needed to get through, so I handed the girls a box of those fridge magnet words, and had them categorize the magnets by parts of speech. They really got into this and had lots of fun!

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And now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for: it’s my week for a HEAV Convention Pass Giveaway!! HEAV’s convention is June 11-13th this year!

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Yes, you can win a pass so you can attend HEAV’s convention for free! (Leaving more money to spend on stuff! WAHOO!) Optional Programs are not included, and if you have already registered and you win, HEAV will credit you for the amount of the free pass! This giveaway ends March 15, so sign up now!

 

Go to this Rafflecopter giveaway link to sign up now! And Good Luck!

Cool Stuff from the Exhibit Hall and a HEAV Giveaway!

12 Sunday May 2013

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To whet your appetites for the upcoming HEAV convention, I thought I’d share some of my favorite finds from the EXPO Hall last year!  Just to remind you to save your pennies! It’s not all curriculum and books, though, of course, I bought some of those there too.

???????????????????????????????This is a digital microscope. We used it to examine our butterfly cocoons and it pops the picture up on the computer screen. Very cool.

???????????????????????????????Our felt pieces for our new classroom calendar. The girls “decorate” each month and then add the days to it. An added bonus for us, the kit included the months and days of the week in Spanish.

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I also was a total sucker and got the girls felt “dolls” for them to play with. Not very expensive and pretty popular in our house!

???????????????????????????????This is an ADORABLE Lego animation movie made by a homeschooling family. My girls love this!

???????????????????????????????Technically, you could call this curriculum, but I don’t tell the girls that. They BEG to play with these paper dolls! (btw, I laminated all these before I let the girls touch them. I’m hoping it makes them last longer.) Oh and these are not the punch out kind, I had to cut them all out. It took forever, but were a still a huge hit!

???????????????????????????????And these are still unopened, but I’m waiting until we get around to reading this book.

???????????????????????????????These are great. We use these for listening with headphones during “quiet time.”

???????????????????????????????Okay, the booth where I bought these were my “splurge.” This I still need to frame, but I want to hang it in my living room. Isn’t it absolutely beautiful?

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This one is in a smaller frame and sits on my prayer bench. I just love the verse. And what are not pictured is one I purchased for my mother-in-law in Spanish, and table runner. As I said, I splurged.

Curious to know what will be at this year’s Exhibit Hall? Check out HEAV’s website here to see the complete list!

Remember, I’m also hosting my very first giveaway and it’s a great one! One Family Registration to the HEAV Conference coming up, June 6-8! (Optional Programs are not included.) This giveaway ends Tuesday, May 14th, so sign up now! Feel free to go to this Rafflecopter giveaway link to sign up now!

My Biggest Question about the HEAV Convention and a HEAV Giveaway!

11 Saturday May 2013

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HEAV-HeaderIf you’re a newbie to the HEAV Convention like I was last year, there was one question I had that I just couldn’t find the answer!

My biggest question last year:

Dress Code!

I will admit, for my very first homeschool convention last year, this was a big concern for me! I hadn’t been around a lot of homeschoolers before. Were they are all going to be in long skirts and the ever-so-stereotypical prairie style?

I even chose our clothes with this in mind, and was SOOOO relieved to realize we fit right in!

Yes, there is the “skirt” crowd. Yes, there is the “skirt to the ground” and even the “prairie print dress” crowd. My girls were fascinated by some of the Mennonite attendees which sparked some interesting conversations about “head coverings.”

Yet, to balance all that out, there was the contingent from what I lovingly refer to as the “granola” homeschooling crowd. You know, with the teenager with purple hair and black leather boots and the funky clothes!

And no one batted an eye.

That very first day, I was sitting in the hall in line (can’t remember what for now) and just breathed a huge sigh of relief. I look absolutely normal! I fit right in! I don’t stick out – in fact, with my jean skirt and blouse, I was smack-dab in the middle of the dress code continuum.

And I can’t begin to tell you how good that felt. After homeschooling for only year with very little “community,” it just felt sooo good to fit right in.

That all being said, I’ll give ya’ll some advice for you newbie attendees:

a) WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES! Really. The miles you will walk that weekend will astound you. No one cares if your shoes match or are cute. And after a few hours, neither will you. So, for goodness sakes, be comfortable!

b) APPRECIATE CONVICTIONS OF OTHERS Obviously what I learned last year was there was not an official dress code for HEAV. But, it would probably be polite to at least take others’ concerns about modesty into consideration when packing! I didn’t go out and purchase a new wardrobe, but I did pick clothes that were on the more modest (not that my clothes are all that revealing, in any case). My skirt came to my knee for instance. My shirt didn’t show a lot of cleavage. My girls didn’t wear spaghetti strap sundresses.  Again, this is not to impose any rules on you, but to just consider others’ beliefs. That’s all.

And for some reason, I feel the need to say we don’t go around wearing super-revealing clothes the other 362 days a year. After re-reading this, I’m not so sure that comes across that well! I wish I had pictures from last year, but I had forgotten to take my camera with me. Oops. Mental note: add camera to your bag for next year!

c) SWEATER. You might appreciate a sweater in some of those seminars and halls. One you can easily take on and off as the situation warrants, and balls up and be stuffed in your purse easily. But I’m a bit of a cold-nature person anyway!

Today I’m also hosting my very first giveaway and it’s a great one! One Family Registration to the HEAV Conference coming up, June 6-8! (Optional Programs are not included.) This giveaway ends May 14th, so sign up now! Feel free to go to this Rafflecopter giveaway link to sign up now!

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“I am excited to be a blogger for HEAV this year. In exchange for sharing my honest opinion about this convention, I was provided with a family registration at no charge.”