I had the blessing of attending the Teach Them Diligently Convention in Nashville, May 16-18. If you read my pre-convention post you know that I was both excited and prayerful for the opportunity that attendance held.
We had an amazing time!
The team behind the convention did an incredible time lining up speaker sessions that were nearly impossible to choose between. Some of my favorite speakers were there, and many that I’d never had the chance to see or hear live but knew from their books or online presence that they would be excellent.
However, much of what I learned didn’t happen in the sessions and seminars, it was in observing all these things through my son’s eyes.
There were many times I was tempted to bring him to the things I was interested in for him, but if I stayed back and paid attention to what he was drawn to I found exactly what I needed. I really wanted him to attend the teen track, instead he choose the sessions he was most interested and really soaked it in. I need to remember that I’m training my children according to their bent (Prov. 22:6), not mine. 
Here is a glimpse of what we experienced.
Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some of the curriculum choices I made as a result of this trip and also of the impact the speaker sessions had. It was affirmed for me clearly that a change in direction and manner is needed in our homeschooling to grow together as a family. Things such as hearing about (real) love from Norm Wakefield of Spirit of Elijah. Incredibly powerful words to build into your family. Or Rachael Carman, whose words to moms are sure to transform your thinking and center you in His word to move forward powerfully equipped. Heidi St. John‘s encouragement to moms will help you rock the role of wife, mom, and homeschooler! Tom Clark helped me relax and encourage my children in our approach to teaching math.
If you are a homeschooler (or even if you’re a parent who is curious about homeschooling or need encouragement for discipling your children) I would greatly encourage you to attend a Teach Them Diligently Convention (online registration for Omaha ends today, May 20). If you can attend as a family you will not regret it, it truly is a family-friendly/family-centered event. If the convention is too far for you to travel be sure to check if the Marketplace event is coming to a city near you this summer. It is a one-day event that is incredibly budget-friendly at just $15 per family (you’ll get a $10 coupon to spend in the market hall!) and you’ll have the chance to hear from some of the great speakers from convention!
I’ll be downloading a bunch of the mp3 files for the sessions I missed and those I know I need to hear again. I took many notes and tweeted some highlights over the weekend, but sometimes (often) I need to hear things over again to really soak in the wisdom.
For now we’re unpacking and settling back in at home and looking forward to what this coming school year will look like with renewed vision and goals.
Thank you David and Leslie Nunnery, for following through with the vision God has given you for equipping families. Can’t wait to see you all in Washington, DC next May!!
Go take a look at the #hsttd feed on Twitter, which gem did you find most encouraging?
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Lisa, it was so nice seeing you again. I love that app – and will have to try it out! I also love your post. It’s always great reading how the conference impacted the lives of others. It has definitely transformed my life and my family’s life in many ways. You are such a blessing and I look forward to getting to know you more!
I am incredibly thankful to be part of the TTD team of bloggers, thank you for all you do for us! It was really a blessing to get to chat in person with you. Thankful for the crossing of our paths and hoping the Lord allows us to meet again soon! Looking forward to a slow down in the season so that I can continue to get to know you and the rest of the team deeper.
As for Story, it really is a fun app to play with. I thought it was a great way to balance out what would have been a very photo-heavy post.
How cool to be able to watch your son and see what he is drawn to. I hope you were able to find all the resources you will need for next year.
It was really awesome how God used him being there to speak to my heart. I’m not sure why that surprises me, but it does. It was a sweet blessing for me.
I loved meeting you this past weekend! Your eldest and youngest were so sweet!
It was great to have a chance to meet you. I love making ‘real life’ connections with blogging buddies! Makes it more fun. Thank you for the compliment on my children. 🙂
I just showed Bebop your pictures story (using the story app). He’s really excited to write another story of his own this week.
I was pretty excited to hear about Disney releasing this free(!!!!) app. I’m looking forward to incorporating it in more of my pic-heavy posts.