The first year we went to the MACHE conference I was a little overwhelmed at all my seminar choices. There was literally a class on everything you could imagine. Thankfully I had the thought to sit down and figure out what it was I was needing to hear.
The first year I took classes on organizing our home, how to help my husband and my relationship stay strong in the midst of homeschooling, and how the basic how-to classes. These classes have been foundational to helping us build a firm foundation for our family. When emotions and academics fall a part, which every homeschool families has days and weeks like these. Knowing how to get back to the basics has been key.
The second year I felt like we had a fairly good handle on the basics of keeping our home running smoothly. I found it helpful to take classes in how to make learning fun for our then preschooler, how to teach to kids who can’t sit still (which from my experience is pretty much every person on the planet).
The third year we started thinking more seriously about the direction we wanted to go in our math curriculum. Math-U-See, one of the programs we were considering was giving several classes and it was super helpful to sit in on the sessions and hear first hand how their curriculum works.
The fourth year we began thinking about adding another kid to our family. I wanted to know how to teach unit studies to help keep my sanity. Learning how to make busy boxes and keeping the baby entertained while I was working one on one with our big kids.
Each year we have gone to the conference there has been classes on exactly what we needed to learn that year! I encourage you to pray about what your up coming year will look like, pray about it, and then pick out your top three in each session.
Spending one on one time with husband and gaining encouragement keeps us going back year after year!
What has been your favorite class at the MACHE conference?