Homeschool Conference 2018

For information or to volunteer, please contact conference organizer Rebecca Yahm.

 

Conference Schedule:

9:00 – 9:30 arrival, registration, and swap set-up

9:30-9:45:  Welcome

9:45-11:00:  Session I:

Panel:  Homeschooling High School (And What About College?)   OR

Educational Materials Share Session

11:00-11:15:   Break

11:15-12:30:  Session II:

Workshop:  Self Care for Homeschooling Parents  OR

Panel:  Homeschooling Multiple Children/Ages

12:30-1:45:  Lunch

1:15-1:45 Curriculum/Materials Swap

1:45-3:00:  Session III

Workshop:  Homeschooling Children with Learning Differences and Challenging Behavior  OR

Panel:  Child-Led Homeschooling

3:00-3:15:  Closing thoughts, feedback forms 

3:15-3:45:  Curriculum and Materials Swap

 

Workshop and Panel Descriptions:

Homeschooling High School (And What About College?) Panel — Some parents wonder how homeschooling will change when their children reach high school age. Others worry about whether they will be able to teach high school level subjects. Some worry about applying to and getting into college. This panel includes homeschooling parents and students, a homeschool graduate, and an admissions person from UVM. They will each address this topic from their own perspective and then answer your questions. Topics likely to be addressed include self-directed learning, taking college classes at the high school level, daily/weekly flow, goals, what colleges are looking for from homeschoolers, documentation and transcripts, and college admissions. Moderator: Lexi Shear. Panelists: Esther Palmer, Cathy Diamond (UVM Admissions), Kiana LaDeau, Rylee Wrenner, Jonah Madhill.

Educational Materials Share Session — This informal workshop is for those of you who want a chance to see other people’s favorite educational resources and share your own. Bring your favorite curricula, resource books, science materials, math manipulatives, workbooks, and more. We will pass them around and talk about what we—and our kids—love about them. This is perfect for those newer to homeschooling, anyone looking for new materials and ideas, and those of us who just can’t resist the chance to look at educational resources. Rebecca has perused oodles of educational materials over many years of teaching and doing year-end homeschool assessments, and she will offer other ideas and suggestions as they come up. Facilitator: Rebecca Yahm.

Session II:

Self-Care for Homeschooling Parents—As homeschooling parents, we are all stretched to the limit at times and it can be a real challenge to find ways to care for ourselves in the midst of our busy days. It is so frustrating to hear from popular bloggers, well-meaning friends and the media at large telling us that self-care amounts to the occasional pedicure, date night, is something you can purchase for your home, or can encapsulate into a catchy hashtag (#selfcare #sundayfunday #metime). Truly taking care of ourselves is something akin to an art form. Using the Multidimensional Self Care Framework originally designed for helping professionals, we will expand our understanding of self-care and work together to come up with practical strategies that we can all implement into our day to day. Crystal Poirier Fisher is an award winning, dually licensed psychotherapist in private practice in Williston whose work primarily focuses on mind-body integration, self-compassion, trauma, attachment and addictions. She is also an unschooling mom of an awesome 10 year old. Facilitator: Crystal Fisher.

Homeschooling Multiple Children Panel—When multiple children are being homeschooled, how do we meet the needs of each child, AND support the interests of more than one person, AND help each child find and follow passions? How do we meet the requirements of the state for documenting learning for multiple kids? How do we establish a rhythm to our days that works for the whole family? We will discuss these concerns, along with the challenges of navigating sibling relationships between homeschooled children, with real life examples from panelists’ experiences, and questions and discussion from attendees. Moderator: Katie Lane-Karnas. Panelists: Lara Madill, Rachel Bennett, Deonne Myrick.

Session III:

Homeschooling Children with Learning Differences and Challenging Behavior— Parenting a child with learning differences and challenging behavior is demanding. For families making the decision to homeschool their child with unique learning abilities and needs, the task can be daunting. The good news is that homeschooling can provide the freedom to adapt and modify to meet your child’s learning as well as social and emotional needs. In this workshop we will discuss what I have learned from my journey homeschooling my twice-exceptional son and offer an opportunity for the group to discuss what has and hasn’t worked in their homeschooling experience. Facilitator: Julie Hehir.
Child-Led Homeschooling Panel— Curious about unschooling? Life learning? Project-based homeschooling? Self-directed education? Wondering how you could let your children direct their own learning? A panel of homeschooling parents will talk about what this looks like in their families and answer your questions. Topics likely to be addressed include the following: using this approach with children of different ages, daily/weekly flow, learning through play, helping children set and work towards their own goals, how much to guide/facilitate, nurturing children’s deep intellectual and creative interests, and documenting self-directed learning. Moderator: Rebecca Yahm. Panelists: Sara Wilkins, Michelle Maitri-Mudita/Haley Barrick, David Fisher.
Other Information