2008 InHome Conference

The InHome Conference is one of our family's favorite yearly events.

This years conference was, I think, the best one yet! Conference was held at a new location - Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles IL, which was excellent - and A LOT of exercise! I wish I'd had my pedometer to measure the length from one end of the resort to the other (classes and workshops were held in every area of the huge resort)! I'm quite certain we logged miles and miles and miles of hoofin' it daily - which is a good thing since we also frequented the Ben & Jerry's store within the resort!Here is Hazel at the Kids Flea Market, selling her wares (bracelets). I regret not getting more photos, maybe next year I'll send throw-away cameras with both kids to their workshops...

The kids favorite workshops were: Big Run Wolf Ranch Wildlife Education - where they met a HUGE, beautiful wolf named Oden...

as well as a de-scented skunk & a cougar! The ranch is right in our neighborhood, and we plan to schedule a field trip there very soon!

The kids also attended workshops on Model Airplane Building, Lego Robotics, Comics for Beginners, Hula Dancing, Tie-Dye T-Shirts, Native American Traditions & Music, Irish Dancing, Felted Necklace making, Logic/Math Games & Brain Benders, and the boy's favorite - Barn Building & 1890's chores! They actually built a small scale barn with wooden nails! They also shucked corn with an 1800's tool, made rope by hand & whipped up some home-made ice cream with an authentic 1890's ice-cream making device!

Dad & I enjoyed our workshops, too. His fave was chaperoning with the Wolf Ranch and a "Dads Who Do It" round table where Homeschool dads had some time to share their experiences. I taught two workshops - BREATHE & RELAX - techniques for the Harried Homeschooler (I have a file I'm happy to share with the breathing exercises - just e-mail me or post a comment here & I'll happily send it to you) & KNITTING WITH UNUSUAL MATERIALS, plus attended a bunch of workshops - including a bookmaking session which was very cool. I was kept busy for the duration of the conference with my sign-making & placement duties, as I am the signage chick for the conference...Which is a busy but fun & fulfilling way to help out with this awesome event.

I think the best thing about the conference, from year to year, is the shot-in-the-arm it gives me at the time of year when my enthusiasm is sometimes waning a bit...Being surrounded by so many (1200+ was the estimate as of Sunday) diverse and interesting like-minded homeschoolers is just incredible - and always bolsters my (and the kids' & hubba's) conviction that not going to school is the right choice for us. Plus we see old friends, and make new ones and learn new skills & knowledge...what's better than that?!