Tales From The Bonny Blue House

Refresh!

Maureen Wittman had a genius of an idea. An online  midwinter homeschool conference.  It's ongoing through February. There were some sessions in January but don't worry, you can sign up and listen to them.  I am going to have to since they took place while I was tending to my husband while he was in hospital.

I'll be speaking on Thursday, February 9th about socialization.  I do hope to see some friendly "faces" there.

Did I mention this was all free?

Did I mention Maureen is a genius?

 

CHAPLET Conference

Wonderful, encouraging, fun...

Those are just a few words to describe the CHAPLET Conference  in Berlin, New Jersey. The ladies and gentleman of New Jersey are so welcoming and warm, with such generosity of spirit. They are really blessed in that community. I felt so honored to have been part of the day.

Did I take pictures? I did not. I felt like such a dope driving home but I was having such fun and buzzing around speaking to  old friends, some of whom I had not ever met in person before but have known for years online.

It was such joy!

The day began with Latin Mass in one of the most beautiful Churches I've been in. It was like a small jewel tucked away in suburban New Jersey.

If you wish to hear any of the talks given they will be available for purchase on the conference website and when that is all arranged I will link to it here.

Thanks again New Jersey! 

CHAPLET Conference

Are you going?  I will be there. This is one of those conferences I have wanted to attend for a while and when they were crazy  kind enough to ask me to speak it was a wonderful bit of serendipity for me.

So I will be leaving this afternoon, the children in the capable hands of their father, and traveling to the wilds of New Jersey all by myself. I can't remember the last time I was on my own for twenty-four hours. 

I do hope that you can spare a prayer that I do a good job and don't make a complete ninny of myself, always a distinct possibility, and that people are blessed my my words.

I also hope that if you see me there you come over and introduce yourself, I would love to meet everyone!

 

IHM Conference

I had such a lovely time.  Really! First off I was with some great ladies. Four of us traveled down to Virginia and we had a very pleasant ride. It's nice to travel with the girls, between us we've had twenty-nine children, so there was no issue about stopping for bathroom breaks. :). Whenever someone needed to stop, we stopped. 

Kudos to the organizers of the conference. In particular a gracious lady named Mary Lou Warren who booked speakers. She did an extraordinary job. Here is a list of speakers and even though I was there I ordered the MP3 set of recordings because it was all that good and I wanted to share it with Dave. 

I would like to specifically recommend Colleen Billings talks if you are thinking of buying any of the recordings. She owns a business called Peaceful Interiors and spoke about organization in one talk, which is a favorite subject of every homeschool mom I have ever met, and stress and burnout in another. She was a lovely lady and had a lot of good advice to offer.

I was able to see some old friends, Michele (who was selling planners like mad, did you get yours?), Ruth who somehow gets more beautiful every year (how do you do that?), Heather whose baby is beyond, beyond beautiful, Maryan who is blooming (let's stop and say a quick Ave for her unborn peanut, shall we? Let's include all unborn peanuts :))

I'm sure there are more I'm blanking on at the moment. I was able to see some non-blogging friends and I was able to meet lots of new people which is always a blessing.

I can't wait until next year.

The Word Made Flesh

 Good morning friends.

I wanted to make everyone aware of a wonderful event that is to take place here on Long Island in June at which myself and many of my writing colleagues will be found .

Drum roll please....

The Catholic Writers of Long Island
presents

“The Word Made Flesh: A Day of Encouragement and Enrichment for Catholic Writers.”

A full-day conference at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, 440 West Neck Road, Huntington, New York, on Saturday, June 19^th, 2010 from 9:30-4:30pm.Keynote Speaker: Rick Hinshaw, Editor of The Long Island Catholic.  Mr. Hinshaw will also receive the Catholic Writers’ Guild’s “Lily” award for Meritorious Achievement in Catholic Arts and Letters.

It is going to be wonderful. I have the great good fortune and privilege to work for Rick. He is the best of mentors, a talented writer and editor as well as a lifelong tireless worker in the pro-life movement. It is truly an honor to work for him.But wait, there's more...
Other speakers include: award-winning author and publisher, Josephine Nobisso; author and composer, Alexander J. Basile; retreat leader and host of “Among Women” podcast, Pat Gohn; and author and seminary rector, Msgr. Peter Vaccari. Msgr. Charles Fink, Director of Spiritual Formation for the seminary, will be the homilist.
Signed copies of good Catholic books, theater tickets, and other valuable prizes will be raffled off and proceeds will benefit Catholic Relief Services, which is a 501[c]3 organization.

All are welcome, including nursing mothers with their babies.   The event emphasizes connectedness in the Body of Christ and supports professional networking via breaks with refreshments and a special bonus; early-birds will have bios and contact information listed in ¼-page sections in the program, an added value worth $15. Mass, Rosary, and buffet lunch included. Tickets before June 1^st: $25 for adult early-birds and $17 for student early-birds. From June 1^st-June 15^th, tickets: $35 for adults and $25 for students. Meal head-count closes June 15^th.  

Register at: http://materetmagistramagazine.org/store/ and click on the “Catholic Writers of Long Island” link in the left sidebar under "Important Links." Add your 100-word  [max] bio in the “comments” section, or mail check and typed bio to: mater et magistra, P.O. Box 251, Hamlin, PA 18427 and put “LI Writers” in notes section. To learn more, see Facebook page for “Catholic Writers of Long Island” or contact chapter president, Lisa Mladinich, at lisamladinich@optonline.net

We have people coming from all over the country and I would dearly love to see you there. If it's possible please come to the conference and do not forget to introduce yourself!

Webinars

Do you know what these are?  They are like mini-conferences or seminars that you can participate in right on your computer. Live. It is totally cool.

The first webinar I listened to was the lovely and talented Danielle Bean. It was an evening thing and I sat in bed with my cuppa tea and my laptop and joined Danielle's live presentation which included a bit of discussion among the participants. It was easy and fun.

On Monday of this week I listened to Maureen Wittman's Bringing Joy to Math and Science (that's two separate links). It was wonderful. Maureen is an engaging speaker, interesting and knowledgeable, and the subject matter is one that often baffles the homeschool mom. She gave tons of suggestions for living books to make math and science less intimidating. Chris and I were both listening with the Amazon window open and we both made several purchases. We were IM'ing each other through the webinar as well.

Ahhh technology.

Check out the Bringing Joy link above, the webinar is still available to listen to for free and there are others both archived and coming up. Check it out and join us all next time.

Family-Centered Learning Conference

It was wonderful. It was such great fun to get to see some old friends and meet some new ones. I, of course, took almost no photos. I have a mental block about taking pictures. I would so much rather be talking to people.  However at the very end I managed to dig my camera out of the bag and snap a few.

Alice, Meredith, and Margot did a brilliant job as speakers. I was a speaker as well but there were some tough acts to follow and precede.  I'm not so sure I measured up.

There was a lot a fun to be had all weekend.  The conference unofficially began on Friday with an informal pot luck picnic. My children had to be dragged from the park at the end they were having such fun with all of the other kids. We also had the great good fortune to be staying at the same hotel as the Edmisten's and the Cottage crowd  as well as the two fun families we enticed from home to vacation with us. It was pretty much kid heaven and all the dads had an easier time of it Saturday while all the moms soaked up the wisdom and support at the conference.

My buddy Michele is to be congratulated on doing such a beautiful job. the venue was perfect. It was a real conference center, not a school, so it was beautifully decorated, air conditioned (a little too much) and wired for sound. It was all very prfessional. There was a nursing baby room and even a quiet room with small cots set up if a toddler needed to nap. Michele thought of everything. The tables looked summery and pretty with floral baskets filled with colorful bouquets and the food was simple and scrumptious. Sally and Yvette should set up shop as caterers, they made it all seem so effortless.

If you were unable to attend but would like to hear the talks then please go over to Family-Centered Press and  order the CD's. They are already made up and available. Michele's son Kyle recorded the talks for her and, believe it or not, was actually able to make them available at the conference about 15 minutes after the speaker finished. How he did this I have no idea.  They are a very efficient family.

Thanks again to everyone who had a kind word to say to me and who encouraged me in my speaking, writing and blogging. Your thoughtful words and assurance of prayers mean the world to me and I promise to keep you all in my prayers.

Have a blessed day.

Family Centered Learning Conference

Earlybird registrataion is now open for the Family Centered Learning Conference.  Please go over to the site and take advantage of the offer.  The price is quite low!

My dear, dear friend Alice Gunther is the keynote speaker.  I have the advantage of being able to speak to Alice on a pretty regular basis, so when I tell you that you do not want to miss anything she has to say, you know that I know what I am talking about.  She's wonderful, her upcoming book is wonderful and her two talks will be wonderful. Her topics:

A Garden Well Tended: Living the Liturgical Year in the Catholic Home

and

What about Socialization?

The sweet and talented Meredith Henning will also be speaking. I had the opportunity to see Meredith at the Real Learning Conference and to sit in on her talk. She is a wonderful speaker, very easy and natural.  You feel like she's sitting at her kitchen table, sharing wisdom with friends.  The talk flew by.  Her topic:

Bringing Sweetness to Early Childhood Education: The Preschool Learning Corner

Then there is Margot Davidson. Margot is Hillside Education, the publisher bringing us Alice's book. Margot publishes wonderful books that you are all familiar with (Nancy Brown's Father Brown, Cay's Catholic Mosaic and many more). This gives Margot a unique perspective on literature so her topic:

Purposeful Literature Study: Making Good Readers Great Thinkers

will be really useful to those of us using great literature to teach our children.

Then there's me.  My topic is: Tending the Wildflowers in Your Garden: Cultivating Love and Acceptance for Your Special Needs Child.  I have some experience with this :). This talk will be of interest to more that just parents of disable children. There are so many special needs children in the world that even if you don't parent one, you are likely to know one. You may also have a child that, while not disabled, does not fit into the mold that your other children sprung from.   Hopefully I can bring some perspective and some ideas to have a loving and peaceful life with these children.

I have also not forgotten my promise to make sure there is coffee and chocolate. 

So a day of prayer (we start with Mass), meeting some wonderful moms, supportive talks and conversations, coffee and chocolate. You're in, right?

2008 Family-Centered Learning Conference

You're coming right?  Of course you are!!  It's going to be great.

Michele Quigley, of The Family-Centered Life, Mater Amabilis, and The Catholic Woman's Daily Planner, is hosting what will be a fun and dynamic conference on July 26, 2008, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Alice Gunther is the featured speaker, and there will also be talks given by Margot Davidson, Meredith Henning and me. 

There is going to be a curriculum fair with lots of great vendors.  So we can shop. There is going to be food, so we can eat and I personally, will make sure there is coffee and chocolate.

How can you not come?

Lancaster is a wonderful little city. There is so much to do for the whole family. There is also Gettysburg, Hershey Park, Dutch Wonderland and Strasburg Railroad all within a stones throw.  It could end up being a wonderful faith filled family weekend for your whole family.  A little mother culture for mom, a little battleground fun for dad and wild, stomach churning rides for the children.  You are also in the heart of Amish Country which provides so many opportunities to learn and shop!

I really hope to see you there. I would love the opportunity to meet some of the kind and lovely women who read this blog. 

More pictures

of the conference up at Michele's blog.