As a homeschooling mother of seven and the widow of HSLDA attorney Chris Klicka, I’ve been speaking at homeschool conventions for over 20 years. After all this exposure, you would think I became an expert at attending one of these events. The reality is, for most of our homeschooling years, I was so busy speaking, I had no time to attend other speakers’ workshops and cruise the exhibit hall, other than make a beeline to my speaker booth after one of my talks or run to the bathroom!

A few years before I started speaking at homeschool conferences, however, I still remember the first homeschool convention I attended as an ordinary homeschooling mom. At the time, I had four kids, six and under, and life was more about whether my kids ate three meals a day and had changed diapers or clean underwear than it was about teaching reading or math. I was in survival mode! Who had time to go to a homeschool convention?

Local fellow homeschooling moms who kept telling me how much good it would do me, finally convinced me to go to our state convention that year. Carting around a nursing baby who didn’t let me sleep much that weekend, I tried hard to listen as one speaker after another shared their expertise, knowledge, and experience. I wish I could say I came away inspired and energized! Sadly, all I remember thinking was, “I will never be able to homeschool like these super moms. I’m such a failure!” And looking at one booth after another in the exhibit hall filled with vendors providing dozens of curriculum choices, all I remember was feeling overwhelmed. That weekend, I decided to not attend homeschool conventions anymore. It was just too stressful!

However, I came away from the experience learning some valuable lessons, some of which may surprise you:

1. I needed to listen to God first and foremost for what He wanted us to do in our homeschooling – I learned that weekend that I was vulnerable, very vulnerable to the opinions of others. I had tried to take what EVERYONE said and implement it into my homeschool. Big mistake! This created an impossible situation I couldn’t possibly sustain, and it made me feel like a failure even more. After a homeschool convention, I needed to pray first, and act second, and only on what my husband and I felt God leading us to do.

2. Homeschooling conventions have a lot to offer when it’s the right time – In the early years of teaching my children, I didn’t need to know everything about homeschooling. With a bunch of little kids, most not even school-age, my primary job was to be my children’s mommy. I read a lot to my young kids, played games, went on stress-free field trips to engage their minds and senses, and provided the stability of a normal daily routine that laid a good foundation for our later homeschooling years. As they got older, homeschool conventions served me well to help prepare them for more rigorous academics.

3. When it is the right time for you, mom, a homeschool convention is a life-giving experience – by providing the valuable insight and experience of others who are veterans committed to equipping you to teach your children, by giving you a focused opportunity to touch real books and to interact with the folks who know what their strengths and weaknesses are, and by making it possible for you to do some great research, hear new ideas, and enjoy sweet fellowship with friends for a couple of days.

Only you know when attending a homeschool convention is a good fit for you; my first experience was definitely not the right time. Ever since it was the right season for me, however, I have LOVED going. Watch out, used bookstores, here I come!

-Tracy Klicka

Tracy Klicka, homeschooled her seven adult children and has been writing for over 20 years, encouraging parents that homeschooling is worth the challenges! As the Director of Development for the Home School Foundation, she helps families homeschooling through hard times. She can be reached at [email protected].

Leap Write In! is a book that creates ways for “non-writers” to realize they can write! Many people, children and adults alike, feel like they can’t write. They feel they are no good at writing, and they give up before they even get started. Leap Write In! tells a story. It tells a story that leads the reader on a journey that enables them to tell their own story. And, before they know it, they are writing! 

When you pick up the book for your moment of writing for the day, you start by reading a bit from the author. She may be telling you about how to create the perfect place to write, or the perfect mindset, or she may teach about a particular writing style. Whatever it is, you can be sure it will be done in a fun and silly way! After her section, which is usually only a couple of paragraphs, she lets the student have a turn. In the area where the student gets the chance to write, there will be starters to give them ideas on what to write about or examples to get their creative juices flowing. 

The length of the lesson really depends on the student and what that day’s assignment is, but you can count on it taking anywhere from fifteen to forty-five minutes. As a parent of a child who has never enjoyed writing (not even a sentence!), I am really loving this book! More importantly, though, HE is enjoying the book! When it is time in our day to do our Leap Write In! work, he doesn’t complain. No annoyed look on his face. No silent opposition. This is huge! From his mouth: “I like how the book gives me ideas on what to write about and helps me think in a more creative way.” (. . .)  

(Read the rest of the review.)

YOU can WIN Leap Write In!, Write Back Soon!, and Rip the Page! Adventures in Creative Writing for your homeschool!

TO ENTER: Email Kathleen with your name, mailing address, and phone number for contact purposes, with the subject line, “Karen Benke Writing” for a chance to win* it for your family! 

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