June 3, 2016 EXPOsure

EXPOsure

Your information source for EXPO 2016
June 23 – 26, 2016

2016 CHN Family Expo

Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Conference Center

601 W McKinley Ave

Pomona, CA 91768

Presented by
California Homeschool Network
http://www.californiahomeschool.net/expo/

 

 

 

 

 

ONLY 20 DAYS TO EXPO!
SPEAKER ARTICLE
ANI JANBAZIAN
Speaker and Exhibitor

The Extraordinary Mrs. Henry

Mrs. Henry walked toward me dressed in a long-sleeved, floral-print dress with a blue frill trim around the neckline. She had on a linen apron with a bow tied in the back adorning her waist, and a cream-colored bonnet, tied under her chin. In one hand she carried a wooden bucket with a washboard inside, and some rags soaking in the sudsy water it contained. In the other hand she held a letter, folded and sealed with wax — that looked like it had seen better days. Mrs. Henry sat down on the stool with a sigh. “Waited a long time for this letter, ” she began, “haven’t heard from Edward in months. Been wonderin’ what’s taking my brother so long to get here.” She turned and handed me the letter. “ You read it. I don’t think I can bear it.”

I gulped nervously, but I was honored to peel open the delicate letter. Mrs. Henry leaned over the bucket, and started to push a rag up and down against the washboard.  My eyes strained to decipher the fancy cursive script as I began to read “Dearest Sister, I hope this letter finds you well. My efforts to reach you, it seems, are being thwarted in every direction” Thwarted? I thought. That can’t be good.

Mrs. Henry looked up at me with a furrowed brow and a little nod urging me to continue. “I took ill with fever after arranging June passage on a ship set to sail to the Americas. I was in hospital for some time. Breathless and fevered, this curious ailment took me near death’s door. Had my thoughts not been fixed on uniting with you, Dear Sister, and on meeting my niece and nephews three, perhaps I would have perished.” My voice caught a little even as I read it. Mrs. Henry had stopped washing and seemed to be holding her breath.

I was eager to read the rest of the letter. I wanted to find out more about Edward, and all his thwarted plans. I wondered how this letter appeared to be so old, and why Mrs. Henry was wearing that bonnet. I even wanted to lean into that bucket, and try my hand at cleaning those rags on the washboard too. But then, a sudden “THUD!” shattered the silence, followed by a sheepish giggle from the back of the room from the boy who had accidentally knocked a textbook off his desk. Soon others began to titter, and the room was bursting with laughter. Mrs. Henry was desperately trying to keep a straight face as an early pioneer woman.  But she was no pioneer. She was my seventh grade History Teacher.

Up to this point in my young life, I had never been captivated and engaged in a classroom like I was here. Mrs. Henry changed everything I knew about learning. That fallen textbook? In this class, it was barely opened, because her dynamic and inspiring methods made the cliche of “making history come alive” 100% true for me and every other student that wished upon a star to be assigned to her classroom. Mrs. Henry used drama and theatrics, strong themes, hands-on activities, puzzles, discovery, exploration, role-play, special projects, costumes, art, music, and so much more to deliver our learning…and make it stick! Ask me today what I learned in Middle School in the 80’s (besides how to tease my bangs to achieve optimum lift, and how to keep my leg-warmers up during gym class) and almost all my recollections are about the history lessons she taught me.

In a homeschool environment, we all have the opportunity to do as Mrs. Henry did. My own homeschooling methods endeavor to have my children learn by participating in their education and not become mere bystanders. Sometimes by stepping out of the textbook or boxed curriculum, we can keep children curious, learning subjects in a manner that show rich context and propel greater retention. This can be especially successful to build passion for the subjects your child already loves, and to engage in subjects that are a particular challenge for them.

It takes a little creativity to come up with  “Mrs. Henry” type applications on your own, and that doesn’t come naturally for everyone. Luckily, as Southern California homeschoolers, we have so many out-of-the-box resources available to us. CHN’s Family Expo is the ideal place to explore those resources. I am always on the look-out for vendors who offer dynamic programs to foster meaningful and memorable learning for my own kids.

My memories of one inspiring teacher drove me to develop my own game-based, hands-on learning for my own children, which led to offering out-of-the-box enrichment classes to others in the homeschool community too, for which I am very thankful.

If you’d like to find out how to incorporate more hands-on, dynamic, theme-based learning in your home, join me Friday, June 24 at 10:00am for the “What’s Your Hook?” Speaker Session. I’m also excited to be offering tweens a workshop that will take them around the world with my “Geo-Spy Adventures” on Friday at 2:00p.m. Why not stop by my booth in the Vendor Hall at the Expo to pick up more information about out-of-the box enrichment classes for elementary aged students? Mrs. Henry would be happy that you did!

 

 

Expo Online Pre-Registration Closes on 
June 19th, 2016
In order to put together the registration packets, which includes creating the name badges, Expo online pre-registration closes Sunday, June 19th at 11:59pm, after which registration will be available at-the-door only and prices will increase $20 per person.
Thank you,
Rhonda Hamilton
Expo Registration Coordinator
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Changes throughout the Expo areas of the website!
Updates and changes are all over the Expo areas.
Here are a few sneak peeks:

Check out the changes occurring!!
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