Our homeschool conference last week was very inspiring. There were so many great ideas, so much encouragement, such a depth of wisdom, and so many wonderful people! My teens and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Then, afterwards, I came home, tired, to all the household things I had not done that day: laundry, dust piles, and two little girls who felt all out of sorts after the unusual day. In the past, it was much worse, because the children were younger and more out of sorts after missing mama all day, and there was more housework that only I was responsible for. So after a conference, my habit is to get right to work to catch up and patch things up… and all too soon—or too late—it is bedtime, the next day is Sunday, and by Monday life is back to normal.
Understandably, then, is very easy for all that inspiration and learning from the conference to somehow disappear into the vague world of good intentions and half-forgotten sermons.
I challenge myself and you to not let that happen. Let’s set aside an hour or two to go over our conference notes and ponder the most helpful ideas. Of course, we cannot implement them all, but we can make a list of the ones that seem to suit our children, budget, and energy level. And out of that list we can choose a few that would benefit our family most right now and figure out how to make them work in our lives.
That short time spent distilling the best out of our conference learning could well be the most impactful hours we spend on our homeschooling this year.
Right now it’s Monday morning, time to cook the porridge, get the books out, and begin our week. The sun is shining, and it’s also time to begin our garden. There is just too much to do, it seems, and the conference is already a distant memory.
But as one of my top five goals for this week I have written: Go over conference notes and choose 3-5 things to do, improve, or change.
I don’t want to come across my notes a few months from now, staple them together, and put them on a pile of things to deal with eventually…you know, that pile that we all know will only gather dust.
Instead, I want to make a few low-energy tweaks, read a few of the recommended books, and let the conference make a difference in my life.
So, I challenge you like I challenge myself: Let’s take the time to apply what we learned at our homeschooling conference, for the well-being of our children, the smooth running of our homeschools, and the glory of God.
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This post is linked to Finishing Strong and Trivium Tuesdays as well as the Carnival of Homeschooling.
Thank you. I’m planning to get to a home education conference in a few weeks. It will be my first and is a fair way up country. I will get home late and there will be loads to do so this was a helpful reminder to make time to review. I’m hoping that I might get time on the train home to plan those “low-energy tweaks”.
We went to the conference last week as well. It was wonderful and so much great info! Our CC group is planning a mom’s night to discuss our favorite speakers and takeaways, since we couldn’t all attend everything. Found you on Trivium Tuesdays!
Glad you got to go!
Home ed conferences are few and very far between over here but I’m a note-taker and if I’m sensible, I’ll rewrite what I’ve noted soon after when it’s still fresh in my mind or it will be lost completely before long.
I’m so glad you get to go to a conference, Sarah Elisabeth! It can be such an inspiring experience. I hope you will be able to review on the train home before life gets really busy again.
What a great idea, Katie, to get together with friends to discuss the conference!
I had such a good time, Jenn, and I’m thankful that I could go. I’m having a hard time narrowing down my to do list after going over my notes.
Yes, Carol, but I so often forget to be sensible! LOL That’s why I wrote this post–as a reminder to myself, and then I thought other people might benefit too.
Glad you had such a good conference.
Good for you, Annie Kate! We just returned from a conference as well. It was such a nice time. I hope to get a post up about it this week. I want to get something written before it slips my mind, too! (I do have notes, but I want to condense them for a post.) My husband and I took an hour to talk about all the different sessions we had attended, and that time was so beneficial! Thanks for sharing this at Trivium Tuesdays!
Great challenge, too often we forget our great post conference intentions.
Amy, it’s so wonderful that you could go with your husband and then discuss it together. That is truly the best way to go and to review.
Yes, Kyle, life is so busy it is easy to forget, isn’t it. I aim not to let that happen this year.