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Homeschool Conference High: 7 Ways to Unwind

By April 10, 2018February 28th, 2024No Comments

So you’re on fire after our recent homeschool conference! Now how do you unwind? How will you go back to your homeschool this week and do things differently?

If you’ve ever wondered about the “next steps” after your conference high, we’ve collected some great advice from area homeschoolers just like you!

Plan your takeaways into specific goals with timelines.

One mom shared her strategy for unwinding from homeschool conferences: dividing her ideas and information into short-term and long-term categories.

“I would pick one or two things to implement quickly, and I would put a time line on it (like a certain month or date in a week), then I would look at some more long term things and divide them into middle, long term goals,” she said. “Everything was on one page so I could see it all, but it was prioritized. This helped me so much to not fret about it all, but know that I had a plan for getting there.”

Don’t worry if you don’t get to that stage all at once!

During the conference, just take notes, along with all things you love, remember and want to implement. Then go back and categorize. It may also help to revisit your notes after a few day (or weeks) have passed.

Share learnings with someone close: spouse, fellow homeschooler, etc.

A homeschool mom sets aside extra prayer time with her husband to implement some things they both learned.

If you don’t have a spouse, try to find someone else who understands your struggles. It could be a supportive family relative or other homeschool friend. Whoever it is, they’ll help you remember (and follow through) long after the conference high has passed!

If you’ve bought recordings, choose a time (and place) to hear them. Maybe multiple times!

We’re grateful to have Resounding Voice record most of our conference sessions and workshops (except for vendor demonstrations). If you weren’t able to get all your recordings at the conference, you can still order them online.

One mom shares her reasons for preferring audio recordings as well as notes:

“There was so much packed in I knew I wouldn’t remember it all. It’s a lot to process and remembering to do this while not forgetting to do that. I’m a little overwhelmed trying to figure out how to get from where we are to where I want us to be. I’m going to put the recordings on my phone and listen to them at night and in the car and really try and make some new habits.”

Spread out your purchases (and gifts!).

conference gifts

Don’t give out all your vendor hall goodies at once! Maybe you’ve bought several amazingly educational toys and games for your children, and your home looks like Christmas just hit in April. Your kids can’t wait to try them all at the same time!

Longtime conference veterans recommend a better strategy: space out the purchases over a few months, especially for the summer slump. That way they can have fun … and maybe learn something along the way!

Grow your support network through MPE while your membership is current.

We love to encourage homeschoolers, and a special way to do that is through our community of homeschool families. The great news is that if you paid for full conference admission, you got a complimentary year’s membership into the deal!

Some of the membership benefits that continue after your conference high:

Consider volunteering with (and for) other homeschoolers.

Our organization couldn’t exist without volunteers! We have all sorts of volunteer options available in the following categories, with easy time commitments (starting as low as 1-2 hours a month!):

  • Conference
  • Fund Raising, Marketing and Public Relations
  • Mentoring
  • Social Media
  • Used Curriculum Sale
  • Women’s Encouragement Day

Plan for the next conference!

Our next conference will be April 5-6, 2024, at the KCI Expo Center.

Shanxi Omoniyi

Shanxi Omoniyi (@ShanxiO on Twitter) is MPE's online content director. A homeschool alumna, Shanxi graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in journalism and English. Her company, Wordspire Media, helps businesses and nonprofits share their stories through content marketing, social media management, and email marketing.

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