Convention Time!

I spent today at the CHAP Homeschool Convention in Harrisburg with two really good friends of mine.  They had never attended one of these conventions before, so I had a great time showing them around.  (I totally geek out over curriculum and books!)  I think they were both surprised and overwhelmed by the sheer range of curriculum available to parents who wish to homeschool their children.  I felt a little bad at times, because I had some definite purchasing missions I was there to accomplish, and I kind of pulled them along on my power-shopping trip, but they were really great sports about it.  I think they both felt like it was okay to go off on their own when something caught their eye. 

I finally made some decisions regarding math.  Prior to the convention, I was looking over the websites of our math possibilities and asking the boys for their input.  When we watched some of the sample lessons on the Math U See website, both boys gasped with understanding they have been lacking on certain topics.  The exact words from one of them were, "Why couldn't the math program we are using explain it that way?  It makes so much SENSE!" 

As I asked for their feedback, Aidan's question was, "Mom, if I want to do Math U See, will you be mad at me?  It really looks good to me." 

Mad?  About my kids not complaining about doing math?  About my kids maybe even enjoying it a little bit?  No, not mad at all!

So, Math U See was my first stop at the convention.  The boys will do Math U See over the summer to fill in gaps in understanding from this year's curriculum, and if they still like it we will stick with it as our primary math curriculum.  If they decide they don't like it, we will try one of the others. 

I always leave the convention inspired and excited to start the upcoming year.  Today was no exception.