GHEA in review

Jon and I (and the kids, of course) attended the annual GHEA conference this weekend and had a wonderful time.  We started Friday morning out at the Used Book Sale.  There were a few things that I REALLY wanted to find there...I started at the History tables, but had no luck finding the one gem I was hunting.  So I got over my discouragement and moved on to the Science tables.  There were two books I was desperatley looking for...to no avail.  I must say here that I have never had trouble finding things on my list at the Used Book Sale.  So, you can imagine my frustration and discouragement.  But, I kept telling myself, "It's okay.  There will be other book sales.  And there's always Ebay."  And then, I found it.  It's been on my list of 'wants' for two years now because I'm too cheap (I mean 'frugal') to pay full price for it.  And there it was, in excellent condition, calling to me.  I couldn't believe it was still sitting there.  I mean, this is a gem of a book.  So I reached across three people (which, in hindsight, was probably pretty rude) and snatched it into my empty, longing arms.  What was my prized find, you wonder?  Story Starters by Karen Andreola.  A good friend of mine has this book and I've coveted it for a long time.  That was all I needed to renew my zeal and continue my search in the Used Book Sale.

So, I moved on to the Readers tables and had a little better luck.  Still, though, the selection wasn't nearly what it usually is.  And the crowd was much smaller than normal.  But with each book I found and crossed off my list, I was filled with more hope and satisfaction.  We left with a suitcase full of books and the check I wrote was astonishingly small.  (Just ask Jon...he was extremely happy with the deals I found!)  Jacob was able to find a Lego set and a spy kit that looks interesting (yes, at a used book sale).  Abbi found a great American Girl book that is actually a telescript.  She also got one for her best friend and hopes they can coordinate a play this summer.  Poor little Caleb searched high and low for a book about rocks.  He looked through every single Science table with no luck.  Well, he did find a few Geology books, but they weren't 'cool.'  He left the book sale just a little disappointed.  

After the Used Book Sale, we were STARVING, so we headed out to the van for our wonderful homemade lunch of sandwiches and apple slices.  I knew we'd have to go out for dinner that night and I just couldn't fathom spending $20 on lunch too.  (That's where my cheapness, I mean 'frugalness' comes into play.)

We went back to the conference center and headed to the Vendor Hall.  Those of you who have experienced it know the feeling...'where do I begin?'  We decided to start with a walk-thru so we'd know who was where and what booths we wanted to come back to.  In the middle, we came to the Championship Chess area and the boys asked if they could stay there to play chess.  So we left them there and continued our journey.  By the time we finished our walk thru, it was time for the first class to start, so we rounded up the boys and headed off.  The kids program, Little Patriots, didn't begin until 5:30, so the kids got to attend some of the Friday classes with us.

This post is getting longer than I intended, so let me just say, the classes were AWESOME!  I know some people didn't attend the conference this year partly because they hadn't heard of most of the speakers, but WOW, did they ever miss out.  We went to three classes taught by Andrew Pudewa.  I will share my pages of notes with you in coming posts, but he was terrific!  He knows his stuff...writing, music, kids.  He was a great, entertaining presenter (which was important early Saturday morning).  If you ever get the chance to hear him, go!  I also went to a class with Rebecca Powell that was just for mom's, while Jon went to her husband's class.    The last class I attended on Saturday was with Brain Balance, and it was fascinating!  We recently (and finally) discovered that Caleb is a struggling learner and are using some techniques and resources from Dianne Craft to help him (which I will also talk about in a coming post).  I went to this class to try to learn more about the way  Caleb's brain works.  Wow...the brain is just fascinating.  I've recently been on a U.S. History kick (thanks to the kids curriculum) and have been reading various books about it.  The more I learn about our history, the more things make sense in our present state of politics.  Now I feel a brain kick coming on.  There is just not enough time in the day to learn about everything I want to!  

Before I sign off, and just so you're not feeling bad for me, I found those two science books I was desperate for at a vendor booth for more than 50% off!  And 10 minutes before the vendor hall closed for good on Saturday, Caleb found an awesome Geology book that he is most excited about!  YAY!!