Homeschool Conference Recap

Wow...it's been a week already since the Apologia Live Homeschool Mom Conference. I'm going to review the conference and the speakers in separate posts, so please bear with me. There is just so much to share.

Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc set their sights on fulfilling a very tall order. They promised to encourage, refresh and renew the tired homeschool mom. We all know February tends to be a rough month. Our thoughts turn to summer and the idea of taking a long break and starting fresh in the fall can be such an overwhelming one. It's easy to lose your focus mid-year, especially after dealing with cold, short days and the many illnesses that tend to float around. The staff at Apologia felt that they had an answer to cure the winter blahs. After attending their first ever Apologia Live Homeschool Mom Conference, I have to agree with them.

They did not miss a thing in setting up. We were handed bags of materials when we arrived. Included in the bag was a small spiral notebook that held all the information you needed to know for the conference. You could find the schedule, speaker bios and outlines for their talks. We were offered chocolate before the conference even started! How's that for setting the tone!? At the tables we found paper, pens, ice water and some hard candies. We were set!

Saturday morning we were given a light breakfast to start our day. Lunch was also included in the registration. Chicken, ham or vegetarian options were provided. One friend that chose the vegetarian option gave it two thumbs up and my ham sandwich was quite tasty.

Throughout the conference we took breaks for some praise and worship music. This was led by Anne MacCallum. (you can hear some of her songs here) She did an absolutely beautiful job and this time served as a wonderful way to refocus our thoughts after having a break between speakers. After each praise and worship session, I felt the room was all settled and ready to listen.

I know in leading ministries and throwing a successful event you need to not let the attendees see you sweat. I can honestly say I have no clue if anything did not turn out as expected or planned...and in my book that is a success. Sure there may be things they will tweak or put into their folder to remember for next year.....but as a homeschool mom coming there for some recharging, I was never bothered with any issues. That allowed many women the luxury of sitting back and soaking in the wise words offered up by the speakers. That was truly a blessing!!

One of the best parts is knowing that they have already scheduled next year's conferences! That's right! They will be hosting one in Baltimore and one in Chicago. So, if you missed this conference or made it and can hardly wait til next year you can register now. Just check it out here.