Weekly Wrap-Up: The One at NCHE

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Weekly Wrap-Up

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week. I’ve had a very busy one! I had planned to tell you all about it, but you know what? I’m exhausted.

I’m writing this post on Thursday night because Friday is going to be so busy I hope I have time to breathe. I’m at NCHE in North Carolina with my friends from Geography Matters. I’m working in the Trail Guide to Learning side of their booth, sharing the curriculum with homeschooling families here.

GM NCHE

By the time you read this I will have already given my workshop talk on Trail Guide. I hope that it went better than I’m thinking it will at the time I’m writing this. There is probably a reason why I write, rather than speak.

The highlights from my week are:

  • We finished up our 2012-2013 school year and are officially on summer break, though now that we’re doing six weeks on/one week off, it will be a short summer break.
  • I got lots of time to enjoy driving my new car on the way to North Carolina.
  • A wonderfully considerate individual put a giant door ding in my brand-new (to me) car the first day of the convention. Nice.
  • I’ve had a wonderful time with “Uncle Josh” (as in Uncle Josh’s Outline Maps) and Denver from Geography Matters. They’re super-nice people.
  • Brianna is packed and ready to leave for Haiti on Saturday. I would love your prayers for her and the entire mission team – from the spiritual (that they’ll bless the children of New Life Orphanage) to the practical (that they’ll be safe and that Brianna won’t lose her passport!).

And that, my friends, is about all I’ve got the energy for today. It was a long day today and will be an even longer one tomorrow. It’s so much fun getting to talk to homeschooling families about the curriculum that I love so much. (I’ve really been impressed with how many homeschool dads are at the convention.) It’s the standing for long hours that’s wearing me out.

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Disclosure: I am the social media manager for Geography Matters, publishers of Trail Guide to Learning. However, I only recommend products that my family has used and enjoyed. The opinions expressed here are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.

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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

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23 Comments

    1. Thank you for your prayers! Hope you make it to a homeschool convention soon. They’re a nice mix of inspiring/encouraging/overwhelming. 🙂

  1. The convention sounds wonderful! I am hoping to get to one this summer. I will keep your daughter in my prayers. Have a great holiday weekend!

    1. Thank you for your prayers for Brianna. I hate that I’m not home to see her off tomorrow, but I’m thinking it might be good that I’ll be busy…not so much time to think and worry. 🙂

      1. Praying for Brianna, that God will keep her safe and sound, but also thinking and praying for you, Kris. I hope the days go quickly for you between now and when Brianna returns, that you are able to keep busy and not worry TOO much!
        Bummer about your car door!

    1. I love the folks at Geography Matters. It’s been a blessing to spend time with Uncle Josh and Denver this weekend. They’re just super-nice people — the real deal.

  2. Our prayers are with Brianna and the Mission team for their trip. I understand the stress of having a kids far away.
    I know about 5 or 6 Homeschooling dads where they are the primary teacher. Were these the primary teacher? I am sure we will gain more in the coming years with the growth of SAHDs but I wasn’t expecting it quickly.

    1. Thank you for your prayers.

      I’m not sure about most of the dads I saw, but I know one was the primary teacher. I talked to him and his wife about Trail Guide to Learning (the curriculum I use and booth I was working) on Friday and they came back today (Saturday) and bought it. He was really excited about using it with his boys. I think that’s so cool. Dads bring such a neat perspective to learning (read: y’all tend to have more fun with things like science than us moms do…lol).

  3. Grrr for the door ding. Every ding and dent on my car, except one, happened when I wasn’t in it. On the plus side, it’s easier to find in the parking lot now, even in a sea of other minivans.

    I hope Brianna has a wonderful time and a safe trip – what a fantastic experience for both sides!

    Also, where are the cat photos this week? 🙂 jk

    1. I’ll definitely have to do more photos next week. It’s been an insanely busy week. I miss those guys. Brian sent me a text today and said he was playing fetch with one of them and couldn’t believe she wasn’t tired of playing. I think she thinks she’s a dog sometimes. She really does play fetch. She’ll bring the toy back to you to throw again over and over. They’re crazy! 🙂

  4. I enjoyed meeting you at the conference, and your workshop was wonderful. I am very excited to begin POS with my 10 year old. I couldn’t wait to show my husband all of the material we would be using and he was very impressed with it. Praying for your daughter, what a wonderful opportunity.

    1. Thank you so much, Tanya! I’ve only had a few speaking opportunities and I always wonder if they were boring, interesting, or at least helpful. It makes me smile to hear that you enjoyed it. I hope you and your family enjoy POS as much as we did. Finding Trail Guide has been such a huge blessing for our family.

  5. How exciting for your daughter & a wonderful opportunity to serve! I am looking forward to a family mission trip one of these years soon. My youngest are now 7 & 8 so it’s not too far away from do-able! Enjoy your week – hope the speaking went well (I’m sure you did a great job) We are a Geo-Matters /Trail Guide family too

    1. Thanks, Kelli. I think the workshop went well. It’s hard to tell sometimes, but no one fell asleep. 😉 What level of TGLS are y’all on? We’ve just finished the first half of POP and will pick it back up when we resume school in a few weeks.

  6. Well done on a successful workshop! Sounds like it went really well. I’d be so nervous doing something like that but it sounds like you’re getting used to it.
    Praying that Brianna has a safe and rewarding trip.
    Lucinda

  7. Wait – someone dinged your new car? That is sooooooooooooo awful!
    UGH. On the other hand, it’s done. The new ding is there and it’s done. lol

    I am so jealous your school year is over. Hugs.
    Em

    1. Not just dinged, more like slammed their door into mine. It honestly looks like it was purposeful. Brian was shocked at the size of the dent. {sigh} We’re going to see how much it will cost to fix it. I can handle some knocks and dents, but this one is going to make me ill every time I see it.

      And, yes, I am SO glad our school year is over for a few weeks. Last night I filed the last state required attendance report ever! Our state (Georgia) isn’t going to require them anymore. Yay!

      1. Shut the front door. That is so wrong.
        Ok – never mind what I said. I was trying to be supportive and all. But wow. I would get it fixed too.
        YAY or no more attendance reports. YIPPEE

        1. I did appreciate the effort to be supportive. 😉 It was a used car (2011) and had a small door ding and a couple of scuffs. Brian wanted the dealer to fix them (they wouldn’t), but I told him I was glad it came “pre-scuffed” so I didn’t stress over the first time something happened…but, this? This just irritates me every time I look at it.

          I’m doing cartwheels (except I really don’t know how) over no more attendance reports.

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