I received a phone call this week from a 30-year-old mom of two who was looking for information about home schooling. Her oldest, she said, was ready to begin kindergarten.
As a fourteen-year home school veteran who served on the local support group’s Board of Directors for a decade, I have fielded dozens of calls over the years from those wanting information about educating their children at home. The difference in this latest inquiry? It was a home school friend’s daughter calling … a daughter whose mother had taught her and who was now preparing to home school her own children.
If you home school or even if you are just thinking of home schooling, the 27th Annual Home Educators Association of Virginia (HEAV) convention is the place for you. With over 10,000 expected to attend from 20 states, it is one of the country’s largest gatherings of home educators.
The home schooling movement has grown 37.6% since 2002 as parents turn from traditional education for a variety of reasons including academic, faith, and individualized instruction. The most phone calls I ever received asking for information immediately followed the Columbine tragedy in Colorado when a teacher and 12 students were shot and killed by two students.
Curricula, science projects, manipulatives, art supplies, demonstrations, workshops, lectures, used curriculum sale … there is much available at the convention. Over 125 workshops provide information about everything from how to begin home schooling to time management to dealing with a variety of learning styles to home businesses.
The highlight of the convention weekend is Saturday afternoon’s graduation of over 200 home schooled high school students from throughout the Commonwealth and beyond. Both my children participated in the HEAV graduation in Richmond which brought closure to that portion of their educational experience before heading to college.
Check out this year’s convention program to pre-plan your day(s), learn more about speakers, and map out where your favorite vendors are located in the 67,000-square-foot Exhibit Hall. Perhaps you saw a textbook in a catalog … there’s nothing like talking with the vendor and actually handling the curricula to see if it fits your needs.
Held Thursday through Saturday, June 10-12, 2010, at the Richmond Convention Centre, this annual event provides friendship and the resources that provide strength, encouragement, information, and the tools necessary for a successful educational experience.
