Zakron’s Adventure by Logan

A boy learns to treat others how you’d like to be treated after a surprise trip to space!

The Magic Within by Garrett

Luke is summoned to fight in the King’s army. Thinking he needs magic, Luke goes on a quest to find magical items to help him win the battle, but then Luke has to learn the hard way that magic is not real.

Homeschoolers and Teachers can also set up a Classroom account (also free) to manage multiple student’s writings.

FETC  is one of the largest, conferences in the United States devoted to educational technology.   The purpose of the conference is to to provide an opportunity for educators to learn more about the latest technologies available in education and how they can implement them effectively across the curriculum.  The conference covers K- College!

With over 200 concurrent sessions, 150 professional development workshops, keynotes and over 275,000 square feet of exhibit space, the conference is at first glance a little intimidating for a newbie.  However, I found the staff, speakers, & exhibitors to be friendly and professional.  Everyone who attends this conference is serious about changing education through technology.  I didn’t want the conference to end.

Tips for attending FETC

Download the App.  Most conference apps are hardly worth the time and effort it takes to download and set up the app. Not so with the FETC app.  I found myself referring to it constantly and saw many others doing the same.  Everything you need is on the app, and it even sends you alert messages throughout the conference.

Stay in a hotel that is directly connected to the Orange County Convention Center.   It makes getting to/from the conference that much easier and if you need a break it’s a simple walk back to your room.  I stayed at the Orlando Hilton and had a great experience.

 What to pack for FETC

Bring Snacks.  While there are a lot of various food and beverage options inside the exhibit hall, it’s slim pickings in the conference area.  So bring something to snack on in-between sessions.

BYOD.  Bring your own devices.  Some of the workshops require you to BYOD.  My suggestion is to bring an iPad and a laptop (along with all your charging accessories) as some presenters had presentations using Flash (so not accessible on iPad) while others gave presentations that utilized apps from an iPad.  Be prepared for both and you’ll do great.

Don’t forget your Smart Phone.  You’ll want to scan QR Codes, snap pictures/video of interesting things in the exhibit hall, access the FETC App and of course connect with others at the conference, or at home, during breaks.

Bring a Backpack or Rolling cart.  During the conference you’ll get handouts, catalogs, and giveaways that you’ll need to stash along with your electronic devices and snacks.

Cash.  Bring Cash for the vending machines and food stations in the exhibit hall.  There are ATM’s conveniently located throughout the Orange County Convention Center for your convenience.

My goal for the 2013-2014 school year was to stop thinking of myself as a homeschooler and to start thinking of myself as an educator who chooses to teach my own children.

Thinking outside of the box

While I have enjoyed being a member of the homeschooling community I have also have come to realize that it can be as limiting as some  criticize the traditional school system of being.

I want to think outside of the ‘homeschool box’ (and you know there is one).  I don’t want to limit my education or my children’s education to just what can be found inside the curriculum halls or conference rooms of a homeschool convention.  I want to open my mind and my homeschool classroom to new innovative ways of thinking, teaching and learning.

I want to challenge myself to be the best teacher I can be, so that I can provide the best education I can to my children.

This means I want to network, collaborate and learn from others who are doing the same thing, even if they are doing it in a traditional classroom.

Unlike traditional educators I don’t have to follow Common Core or answer to a school administrator.  I can adopt practices that work best for my students and drop those that don’t.

Educating the Educator

In homeschooling circles we give a lot of lip service to the idea of  ‘creating a lifestyle of learning’  or  “developing a love of learning’ but do we actually model that for our children?

Do our children see us learning new skills or hobbies?

More than just buying the latest curriculum, do we invest in the education of our children by investing in the education of the person that is teaching them?

Do we have a desire to learn and grow as educators?

I want to consider everything that is available and choose the best for our family with our resources.

I want to learn about the resources that are available to educators, not just homeschoolers.

I want to learn from some of the  leading educators in the US, and not just those who have homeschooled their kids.

6 (non) Homeschool conferences to attend in 2014

January

Florida Educational Technology Conference

April

National Conference on Science Education

NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) Annual Meeting and Exposition

May

2014 STEM forum and Expo

June

ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education)

July

SDE (Staff Development for Educations) Singapore Math National Conference

How do you feel about homeschool conferences?  Are you ready to think outside of the homeschool box?

One of my favorite homeschooling blogging traditions is to participate in the Not Back -to-School Blog Hop.  This year, I’ll admit that it kinda snuck up on me and here I am in Philadelphia on a business trip with my husband and kids where we are enjoying jam packed days of fun and field trips.

I will post our curriculum choices here on August 9th when I update this post.  In the meantime I didn’t want you to miss out about knowing about the Back-to-School Blog Hop.

You can participate by linking up to Curriculum Week or just reading about what other homeschoolers are using.

Because it’s always fun to gather and dish curriculum, isn’t it?

I’m over at the Homeschool Classroom this week with a post on: How to Celebrate Children’s Book Week May 13-19th with your children.

I’ll be posting a Linky during Children’s Book Week if you’d like to link up your own posts on how you celebrated with your kids.

If you haven’t already done so please check out all the nominees in this year’s Homeschool Blog Awards. It’s the best way to find new blogs to follow.

In case you didn’t know, you can also vote ONCE daily for your favorite blogs!

We have been charter members of the Creation Museum since it opened.  So many additions have been made to the museum since it first opened and it’s always fun to visit. Each time we seem to learn something new and it’s been wonderful to watch the kids grasp new truths each visit.

If you’ve never been there is a virtual tour that is worth previewing online, although it’s impossible to truly give it justice in photos or a blog post. It is something that you have to visit.

Currently construction is underway for the upcoming Ark Encounter which should open in 2014.  We are very excited to be Lifetime Members of the Ark Encounter and hope to make it out opening week.

Exciting things are happening in the homeschool community. It’s time for the Homeschool Blog Award Nominations again!  This is your chance to nominate your favorite homeschool blogs in various categories.

Homeschool Encouragement:

Are your children socialized? {Hodge Podge Mom}

Keeping preschoolers busy so you can homeschool {Sprittibee}

My Biggest Homeschooling Mistake {Simple Mom}

 

Join us October 15-19 and 22-26 for another round of over 300 posts full of homeschooling activities and advice, Biblical encouragement, and much much more!

The iPad follows the teaching method (with the exception of the prompt, “Frog jump up”) for writing Capital Letters and Numbers using the Wet-Dry-Try board.  First, the instructor demonstrates Number/letter formation using a wet sponge.  The child then follows the outline with a dry sponge and then chalk.

The program allows you to enter the names of multiple students and it will save/track their progress and earned Stars.  The starting board lets you pick your Capital Letter or Number to practice or to follow the recommended HWT’s Winning order for learning proper letter and number formation.

Once a child masters the letter formation 3 times they get a star and a letter card displayed on the page.

The Wet Sponge is used to model the correct letter formation by the “instructor”.

The child is then asked to repeat making the letter/numeral with a dry towel.

The child then completes the letter again using a piece of chalk.

(Once one stroke is complete the chalk automatically jumps to the next position to continue)

We are using this as a learning center activity in our homeschool.  Although we have the Wet-Dry-Try board and materials I like that Pixie can work independently using the iPad and has a visual record of her progress.  The only tip I would mention is to encourage your child to continue the letter all the way to the bottom (or top) of the board.  Otherwise it will count as an error and in our case, that resulted in quite a few tears!

Disclaimer:  I was selected as an existing user of the program to receive a complimentary copy of  the Wet-Dry-Try App for review.  All opinions are my own.  We have been using the program (and blogging about it) since 2008.

 Friday Links is a new feature on the Passport Academy Homeschool Blog.  It is the place where I will share things that I think may be interesting to other homeschooling parents.  Things that are bigger than a Tweet, but aren’t enough to be their own blog post.  I hope you will share your own interesting finds in the comments. I’m also combining this feature with the iPhone Photo Dump Link-Up. So please feel free to link up below.

The links:

Ever wonder what to say to someone who is just starting out homeschooling? Jenn from Daze of Adventure has some How to Homeschool Tips that I think are useful to new homeschoolers and great reminders for the seasoned ones too.

If you’re a new homeschooler you might be curious about How to start a homeschool routine {Hodge Podge}

Edie from life {in}Grace shares: Why I (almost) gave up homeschooling.  We’ve all been there (or will be there) sometime. It’s nice to hear the keeping it real stories.  Even from those who decide to drop out of homeschooling.

Have you heard about the Learning Genome Project? As a homeschool parent I’m especially excited about it, but it is really something that EVERY Parent, Teacher and Home Educator should know about.

Our Homeschool Week in Photos:

I feel like I lived in my car this week. A Starbucks Caramel Frappacino was my constant passenger.

Pixie found herself inside a Great White at the Science Museum

Decorating Operation Christmas Child Boxes

The boys had their first Taekwando competition and somehow Bean ended up with their medals!