I wrote last week about inspiring your children.  Well, sometimes adults need to be inspired, too.  We need to be encouraged by like-minded individuals and our spirits need to be refreshed.  Every year for the last five or six years I have left the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC) State Convention and Family Conference in The Woodlands feeling renewed and convicted of my purpose for home-schooling my children.

Seven years ago, I was first introduced to the greatness of home-schooling by my sister-in-law.  I was definitely interested, but cynical.  My biggest obstacle was that I was a certified public school teacher.  The only homeschooling families I had encountered worked the system in my opinion.

They would pull their child out of the school system when he/she got into trouble.  Weeks or months later they would enroll their child back into the school.  The student would honestly tell me that they did little to nothing while being home-schooled.  Needless to say, I was not impressed.

True homeschooling families, like my sister-in-law, fascinated and excited me.  I was intrigued.  So, I agreed to attend a Southeast Texas Home School Association (SETHSA) conference in Houston with my relative.  By listening to the different seminars and speakers, I was able to gain a good grasp on what homeschooling was about.  I also enjoyed seeing all the vendors.

After attending the conference, I quit my job and the rest is history.  I also joined THSC to support their efforts to keep the right to home school legal.  They serve, inform, and protect homeschooling families in Texas.  THSC hosts a large state convention in The Woodlands and I have attended every year since.  As a bonus, members get in free.

You can always count on dynamic speakers, inspiring tales, and good fellowship during the three day convention.  I have not even mentioned the shopping.  Have you ever seen a book or curriculum in a catalog, but we just not sure it was worth the money?  I bet a vendor is selling it there.  You can flip through it and hold the book in your hand before making your purchase.

This year the convention is July 29-31.  It is still held at the Woodlands Waterway Marriot and Convention Center.  I am lucky to live within driving distance, but many families come from all over the state.  If you live in the area and have never been, I recommend paying the small entrance fee to attend.

If you do not live in Texas, then I suggest finding a group that is working to protect parental rights, including the right to home school,  in your area.  Find and attend a Home School Conference.  Make like-minded friends and encourage each other because we can all use it from time to time.

You can email me or leave a comment if you have any recommendations for support groups and/or conventions in your area.  Texas is huge, and I know that there are plenty of different conferences held all over the state as well as the rest of our nation.

Tags: home school conference, homeschooling in Texas, SETHSA, THSC, Woodlands Waterway Marriot

This entry was posted on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 6:11 am and is filed under Homesteading, Texas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.