Following Alicia’s lead, I’m posting the titles of my talks for the Minnesota Catholic Homeschooling conference this May.
I’ve been going to this conference since before I was a homeschooler. My oldest was, um, I think four when I started going. It was held on the grounds of a church in the outer suburbs back then and now it’s held on a college campus.
It’s grown in size over the years, this conference.
I remember sitting there that very first spring, feeling shy and overwhelmed and uncertain if this was what I wanted to do. No, I take that back. I knew that homeschooling was what I wanted to do; I just didn’t know if I could, is all.
I sat on a bench and clutched my bag of materials. Gaggles of happy homeschooling moms passed by.
Eventually a friend from church saw me. She smiled encouragingly and stopped to talk. “Oh, don’t worry, Margaret,” she said in her lovely Louisianan lilt. “It’ll be okay. It’ll be great! You’ll see.”
She told me it’s better to go slow than too fast, and that the best part of Kindergarten (how daunting teaching Kindergarten seemed to me back then!) was spending time with these little ones and sharing their day. “Don’t push them,” she cautioned. “Take it slow. Enjoy the process.”
I guessed that meant no calculus or Latin.
Anyway, all this is to say that I was most appreciative of her encouragement back then. I needed her encouragement, and I hope to be equally encouraging come May.
(Assuming I work up the nerve to actually open my mouth.)
Here are the titles of my two talks.
Talk I: Keep your eyes on your own work! On Guarding your Heart and not Losing Hope
Talk II: Grace for the Baking: A Light-hearted Look at How to Turn those Daily To-Dos into Teaching Moments
Talk I has to do with the importance of keeping our desires in check, especially when it comes to homeschooling. It is easy—too easy—to compare ourselves to others, be it to our “perfect” friend from the homeschool co-op or to that “perfect” blogging mom that you long to be. Satan knows the chinks in our armor, and he will try to derail our efforts in the home by making us anxious, envious, and ultimately incapable of doing the job we are called to do.
Talk II will [attempt to] dismiss the notion that you need to be uber “schooly” in your approach. It’s one thing to have a classroom in your home; it’s another thing to expect your kids to sit at their desks from 9:00 to 3:00. There are many little, lovely moments where we can be teaching our children—and many of them (surprise!) include chores.
What do you think? What would you like most to hear?
Both talks sound great! I schedule chores into the day for our kids… I call it Life Skills (morning, afternoon and night). It will be fun to hear your take on it, though; there's always room for improvement & boredom prevention. Any tips on determining/judging how well a child should be able to complete chores?? What about rewards and kids who want payment vs. parents who believe it should be a contribution to the 'good of the family'??
Hey, Margaret! I just checked out the website for the conference & saw the titles to your talks. I thought they sounded great & they still do. Looking forward to it. One quick phrase that comes to mind that was told to me by a friend (you're welcome to use it), "To compare is to despair!" For whatever it's worth…Grace
I'd love to hear them both…and I think they would both benefit me greatly. Will you post the text on your blog, or maybe a recording of them for those of us who live to far away to benefit from the live performance? I'm sure you will do a great job at the conference. Yous message is important and God will give you the grace to deliver it well!
The talks sound fabulous!!!
I think you will be a natural and the perfect person to speak on these topics!!
I'd like to hear about how you settle in 'for the long haul' without (hopefully) becoming burnt out or progress through school days/years too quickly. I've seen many homeschool moms around me who rarely look like they enjoy it any more and the kids at the tail end of the family seem to just be riding along while mom focuses on everything for the older children.
I'm also with Suzie, if you could fit in Life Skills/chores and how you fit balance into a normal day, that might be helpful.
Either way, whatever you write and speak, I'm sure will be driven by the Holy Spirit and each attendee will take away at least something that will encourage and enlighten them on their homeschool journey!
Have I mentioned how excited I am to hear you speak??!! 😉
I will be looking forward to the conference CDs so I can hear your talks!!!
I can't wait to hear your talks, Margaret! They sound wonderful. 🙂
This will be my first time coming up to the conference(from Iowa) and I think both of your talks sound wonderful and like things I need to hear!
I have to tell you….I've been following your blog for a long time now(and love it!) though I can't remember how I first came across it. However, I am SO quick that I JUST connected you with the conference after seeing you on the list of speakers when I was making plans to go up for it! Looking forward to hearing you in person! 🙂 ~Maria
I wish I lived closer!! I'm not a homeschooling mom, but I admire and appreciate all you moms do. We have chosen a great Catholic school for our kids and have been very pleased, but if we did not have that option, I would be homeschooling. Good luck!
I'm not a homeschooling momma, but I am a mom that works from home so as to keep the little ones with me. It's very hard to sit at the desk all day and look at what needs to be accomplished on the homefront and not get depressed about what all needs my attention. I often just want to go outside and get away from it, assuming everyone else has their life in order, so they must be doing all the fun stuff instead of me 🙂 So, I really needed to see this: "Satan knows the chinks in our armor, and he will try to derail our efforts in the home by making us anxious, envious, and ultimately incapable of doing the job we are called to do." Thank you.
Kristy
I don't homeschool but both talks sound great. I think the first one applies to all mothers of children (whether they hs or not!). It's never a good idea to compare the insides of your family to the outsides of another family.
I know this isn't the subject, but I'd love to hear your views on reading, and teaching a child how to read…I have a reluctant reader over here (she's 7).
I'd love to hear you talk no matter what you have to say! Wish I could be there.
I can't wait to hear your talks! Hey, now that you will be famous, can I get your autograph?