Session 1: I have nothing scheduled

Session 2: Learning Styles
This is a new session where we’ll chat a little bit about what goes on during the learning process, and how different types of people might experience the same situation from completely different perspectives. There are almost 200 recognized learning styles models, but the one I’ve always found gave me the biggest bang for my buck was the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Although some think of it as a personality typing tool, it was originally designed with learning and education in mind.

This session isn’t about learning disabilities or abnormalities. All types are “normal” and “normal” learners can be any type!

Rather, it aims get us thinking and talking, through the use of just one of several possible models, about topics such as:

* how different learners may respond differently to the same learning environment.

* what happens when a student and teacher (teaching parent, facilitator, guide, mentor, etc.) have different styles

* balancing the conflicting notions of playing to strengths and improving weaknesses (both yours and your child’s!)

By understanding some very specific ways in which factors such as attention, motivation, engagement, perception, decision-making and work habits differ from type to type, I hope you’ll walk away from the session with something that helps you in your day-to-day homeschooling.

Session 3: University Admissions for Homeschooled Applicants
I’m thinking of reorganizing this session slightly, and adding a tiny bit of information on some new topics like admission to colleges (but remember, this session is still primarily about universities!), when you might or might not consider getting an OSSD (high school diploma) and academic alternatives to a university education itself.

But basically, this will still explain the university admissions process in Ontario and where homeschoolers fit into that process. You’ll find out what you need to know about what the policies are, how to apply, the different paths you can take to acceptance and if you’re so inclined, I’ve always got suggestions about how early to start, what to do to prepare academically and how to structure a high school level program of studies.

I do try to take lots of questions, so take that into consideration. If you want to ask a question, you might appreciate the session. If you don’t want to sit through others’ questions, you might choose to just read the handouts instead. (But don’t worry – I’m very attuned to the needs of the audience as a whole and avoid most rabbit holes.)

Session 4: Standardized Tests for University Admissions
Another session from past years, but one I like doing a lot. In this session you’ll try some practice questions from the SAT and ACT and through those, I hope to give you a sense of the task of preparing for a standardized test for university entrance, including where, when and how to write them. We’ll also discuss who tends to be more successful at which exam so you can think about which exams you may want to prepare for, or whether you even need them at all. Other tests we will discuss include Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations, SAT II tests (Subject Tests) and CLEP. I’ll also explain why I won’t be discussing the IB program, nor the GED.

Shameless plug

If none of my topics are particularly relevant to you at this point in your homeschooling, maybe you’ll find one of my cousin’s sessions more to your tastes. Jason McGibbon is a church planter, pastor, lecturer, worship leader, singer/songwriter and most proudly a home school father of four. After many experiences and experiments, some successful and some not, Jason has a passion to share the things he has learned and to encourage others who seek to bring the Bible alive at home. He’ll be presenting in Session 2 and Session 3 and a speaker I highly recommend, family connections aside. (Please don’t hold it against him!)

There’s a good possibility this will be a recurring trip for Joe and I, so I’ve tentatively agreed to speak at the KWCHEA conference again this coming year on both University Admissions and Standardized Testing, my location permitting.

It’s hard to believe that the University Admissions talk is going to be 8 years old (!), and while I’ve tweaked it from year to year, my goal is to revamp it for 2011.

And you can help!

If you’ve attended the session before, please feel free to send me any comments about what you did/didn’t find useful in past versions of this session. Now that some people who have seen the talk will have gone through the university admissions process with their children, what else would have been helpful to know at the time? What is the most valuable piece of information you took away from the session? What would you like people just beginning this process to know?

If you’re just getting into the whole university/college planning stages with your children, and all of this material will be new for you, please feel free to send me questions (both general and specific) ahead of the conference and I will try to design the talk around current concerns. Don’t worry, the session itself provides for lots of Q & A, and I love to be put on the spot with challenging questions! The only questions I delicately push to the side during the session are ones that I don’t think will be of interest to enough of the larger audience. So do feel free to tell me in advance what you hope to get out of the session, and what your most pressing concerns are.

And if you missed the Standardized Testing for University Admissions session in 2008, but are considering tests like the SAT as part of your homeschooling strategy, you might want to think about planning for it this year. I’m pretty sure as a session we both (a) had the most math content and (b) laughed the hardest of any at the 2008 conference. You’d think that must have to be some strange coincidence, because surely the two couldn’t possibly be related. But I assure you, it’s all part of my master plan.

Most of you know me as the Crazy Compiler of Information, but for 18 years I tutored Math and English to mostly high school students. The homeschooling community has been so gracious and accepting of me as a speaker at conferences, but the truth is that most people over the age of 20 have never seen me at work in my true calling: making academic content (particularly math) easy, meaningful and fun! (… without watering the material down, I might add.)

I love that I get to share actual tips and tricks in this session, as well as deconstruct the tests, help people decide which one(s) are most appropriate for their own situation and most importantly, present these tests as tools of empowerment for your family rather than obstacles to overcome.

I’d be honoured to have you join me in one or both sessions on April 2, 2011. Details will be posted at http://www.kwchea.ca as they become available. Hope to see you there!

We just checked into our hotel in Hamilton and are preparing to take a look around this afternoon.

If you notice me, don’t hesitate to say hello!  And don’t forget about the Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents’ conference next weekend, Sat. May 3, in Toronto!

Close to 1,200 high school students from across Ontario will have the opportunity to experience the living and learning environment of the University of Guelph as part of the annual Interaction Conference running on campus April 24 and 25.

Hosted by Admission Services, the recruitment conference begins at 10 a.m. in Rozanski Hall.

Students can choose two sessions from more than 40 offerings run by U of G students, faculty and staff. Some of the sessions include “Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: A Glimpse at the Very Small”, “Wal-Mart’s Coming to Smallville- What Will Happen to Retail Space?” and “Family Secrets and the History Detective.”

Registration starts at 9 a.m. and includes a $25 fee per student, which also covers the lunch.

For additional information please visit our Interaction website or call 519-824-4120 Ext. 58713.

No indication of a registration deadline, or whether the program is already filled. But, if you’re looking for a last-minute pre-university experience (and, just a reminder that Guelph has a great, detailed homeschool admission policy!) or making a list of things to plan for in future years, this promises to be an interesting activity!

To register, print out the registration form and mail it to the address indicated, along with your payment made out to The Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents.

More information available at the conference website.

Saturday, April 5 – Kitchener Waterloo Christian Home Educators’ Conference

Friday/Saturday, April 25/26 – Ontario Christian Home Educators’ Convention

Saturday, May 3 – O.F.T.P. Diversity in Education Conference

This will be my fourth year of presenting the University Admissions seminar around the province at conferences as well as smaller venues. While it’s not exactly old news, if you’ve seen it before, should you attend again? Here’s how to decide:

• The basic format/content of the presentation is the same. I’ll discuss any news and updates since last year, but essentially the purpose of the seminar is the same: describe the ins and outs of applying to university as a homeschooler.
• I recommend this presentation for families who have (ideally) 3 – 4 years before they need to go through the application process. This allows you to plan your high school studies with the university application in mind. However, if you’re currently going through the process of applying of university, you’ll probably have a lot of questions personal to your specific situation that you never would have had when you were in the general “finding out about the process” stage. I’m perfectly happy to answer these very specific questions in the seminar as well, since these “case studies” can be very informative for the group. So you may wish to attend again if the process is more “real” to you this time. But *please* remember that this is a general information session and the rest of the audience wants to walk away with more than the details of your situation.
• A good part of the session will be answering audience questions, so I never know what I’m going to be hit with, and you never know what you’re going to learn! (Don’t worry — I know how to keep things on topic and relevant to the group.) If you felt that you benefited from the Q&A portions of the session last time you attended, then you may be interested in what pops up this time.

Most of you have never seen the Standardized Tests for University Admission seminar, since it has only been presented once before (KWCHEA 2007 Conference). What can you expect to see here?

• Disscussion of the following standardized tests: SAT, ACT, SAT subject tests, AP (Advanced Placement) and CLEP exams. We will not be discussing the GED, CAT or IB programs because these are not generally used in university admissions for homeschoolers. Some post-secondary schools will have provisions for using other test results, but the “big five” are the ones accepted/recognized (to varying degrees) by all Ontario universities.
• How to choose the testing program that works for your situation including sample test questions
• Test prep strategies and resources
• We will not be discussing university admission in general. This seminar is solely for information about the standardized test path to university entrance.

If your child plans to present standardized test scores for university admission, I would strongly suggest attending this session. Canadians are generally ill-informed on these options because the SAT isn’t a normal part of the Canadian high school experience.

Hope to see you in April or May! Get your questions ready, and feel free to submit any questions to me ahead of time that you’d like to see answered.

Saturday April 5, 2008 – KWCHEA Conference
1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. University Admissions for Homeschooled Applicants
3:00 – 4:15 p.m. Standardized Tests for University Admission

Saturday April 26, 2008 – OCHEC Convention
10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. University Admissions for Homeschooled Applicants
12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Standardized Tests for University Admission

Saturday May 3, 2008 – Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents (OFTP) Conference
Tentative date – schedule not finalized

Due to my hectic travel schedule between now and the conferences, I’ve requested to only give the two admissions related seminars this year. I am planning a couple of new seminars, but I’d rather not be putting the final touches on them in Finland, right before the conference!

The University Admissions seminar will be more or less the same one I’ve given since 2005, just updated to keep pace with the changing times. What ends up being really valuable, I think, in these sessions is the Q &A. Every time I give this session, a question prompts me to add something else to the program for next time.

The Standardized Testing seminar was first given last year at KW and had all the buzz of the U.A. seminar when it was new. Since I know only about 30 or 40 of you have ever seen it, I highly recommend coming if you’ve already seen the U.A. seminar, but yet still want the comfort (and comedy!) of a signature Sarah performance. I don’t pretend to understand it, but I can tell you that people seem to leave my sessions in a good mood, relaxed and with much less fear of the whole university admissions process. If standardized tests such as the SAT Tests, ACT, and/or AP exams are in your future, I highly recommend trying to fit this into your schedule.

When details of the O.F.T.P. conference have been finalized, I’ll post the details. So far, all signs point to May 3, which would give us a great excuse to be back in Toronto for a Blue Jays home series over Joe’s birthday weekend! I have yet to confirm details of my speaking, but so far I think they want me.