My Adventures At The Midwes Parent Educators Conference

Last Friday, April 4th, I had the opportunity to attend my  first homeschooling conference. Each year the Midwest Parent Educators Association (MPEA) holds an annual conference and curriculum fair in Kansas City and each year, the association opens the conference for free to parents of preschoolers thinking about homeschooling. This year I attended the conference hoping to have a better understanding of homeschooling as a potential option for my family. Here is a peek at my experience. Sorry, I forgot my camera, so no pictures from the event.

Due to childcare arrangements, I was only able to attend two workshops. However, I  was richly blessed and encouraged.  This years theme, Raising Daniels: Leaders with Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom, the MPEA offered three tracks; struggling learners, beginner's, and teens. As the mother of a 2 year old and 5 week old, I attended two workshops in the beginner's track.

The first workshop I attended was, "Where Do I Begin?" by Nancy Bjorkman of Heppner's Legacy Resources. I thoroughly enjoyed this workshop. Nancy workshop helped better define the reasons why my family should home school, set reasonable foundational goals, and provided resources for the beginner.  We discussed common roadblocks to successful homeschooling and covered state-specific legal requirements.

The second workshop I attended was, "HeartSchooling" by Antoinette Williamson. This was by far my favorite workshop. Mrs. Williamson directed parents to Christ, the heart of homeschooling.  There were discussions on how to impart values and how to train our children. The focus was on creating godly character which then lead to academic success.  Mrs. Williamson had a quiet spirit and it was like her words spoke directly to me and some of the challenges I've been having with my 2 year old. Needless to say,
I was blessed.

If you are seriously considering homeschooling, I highly recommend attending a conference. The conference is a great place to meet other moms, get new ideas and encouragement in parenting and schooling. I plan to attend the full conference next year.