Conference goers had the option of attending 30 workshops. Identical workshops were held both days. The workshops consisted of general sessions by well-known speakers Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis, Tim and Lyndsay Lambert of the Texas Home School Coalition, Zan Tyler of Apologia Educational Ministries, Rosie Watson of The Center for Home Education and Todd Wilson of Familyman Ministries.

Special workshops included topics like “Which Way Do I Go? by Smoothing the Way spokesman Mary James, “Homeschooling Only One Student” by Donna Conner and “Special Needs Kids Fellowship” by Doug and Patsy Arnold. Vendor workshops were led by:

  • College Prep Genius
  • Excellence in Writing
  • Gravitas Publicantions
  • Homeschool Math
  • Homeschool Travel
  • Homeschool-How-To’s
  • Joyful Living Distributors
  • La Clase Divertida
  • Latin Road/Phonics Road
  • National Academy for Child Development
  • Olive Tree Home School Resources
  • Razzle Dazzle Learning Company
  • RightStart Mathematics
  • Scripture Memory Fellowship International
  • Sonlight Curriculum
  • Writing Strands

I visited the workshop “Give Your Children the Advantage in Science” by Patty Myers of Gravitas Publications and Real Science-4-Kids. I’ve been on the lookout for good science curriculum, and after visiting the company’s site and reading that its curriculum had received a 2009 Practical Homeschooling Reader Award, I was intrigued.Real Science Chemistry

Curriculum author Rebecca W. Keller, Ph.D.’s approach to teaching Chemistry, Biology and Physics, (Earth & Space is coming this summer) is logical and interesting. I previewed the material online before the conference and was impressed that although it broke scientific concepts down into easy-to-understand lessons, it didn’t talk down to the student, something I had found in other texts. I also liked that the experiments used everyday items.

Real Science-4-Kids begins with Pre-Level 1 for grades K-3, then continues with Level 1 for grades 4-6 and Level 2 for grades 7-9. Each level revisits the previous level’s material but in greater depth. Myers admitted that by the end of Level 2, students will have covered high school level material and could CLEP out of taking any more science courses. The levels are sold in Real Science-4-Kids Bundles consisting of a student text, laboratory workbook and teacher’s manual.

Additional online resources and support are available through the publisher’s Club Services. It includes online testing, videos of Dr. Keller teaching a class, conducting an experiment and giving talks at conferences. There are also additional experiments offered online, something that one conference attendee who had used the curriculum admitted she would use.

Another mother, who had used multiple levels and books, admitted, “I understood science, and I am not a science person.”

While I eventually decided to wait another year before introducing my child to the curriculum, I look forward to using it in my homeschool.

Next time, I’ll share about the vendors I met and share my interview with Sonya Shafer of Simply Charlotte Mason. So be sure to check back.