ChildLightUSA CM Conference

I'm back from this conference, which takes place every year in Boiling Springs, NC. I love these conferences because there's always so much CM information shared. Whether you're new to the method or experienced, there are lectures and workshops that people at every level can learn from, and the teachers are dedicated CM students who have earned doctorates in CM study, or are familiar with her books so that the information is usually solid. There are both homeschoolers and school teachers there, and it's neat to see both working together to further their own understanding of the CM method.

Last year a couple of teens were there with their homeschooling parents and met and had so much fun talking about their favorite books and sharing music that they decided to plan their own activities for high school/colleg-aged offspring of CM homeschooling moms. They talked about Jane Austen over tea, read Sherlock Holmes and Poe together, dressed up and had a Regency ball, recited Shakespeare, had a Tolkein discussion with one of Gardner-Webb's teachers, hiked, and played Beatles Monopoly . The Monopoly game was an unplanned event. ;) They're already thinking ahead to next year's conference.

For the kids, I think the experience of finally finding others who were into the same things as them was validating and exhilarating - one mom said it reminded her of the CS Lewis quote on friendship, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one!" And for the adults, the conference was compared to coming home to Rivendell. I suspect that the CM method attracts a certain type of person, so when you meet with CM moms, you already have things in common. At least that's been my experience with online CM friends, my local CM group and those I've met through these conferences.

I took notes on a few of the sessions, which I'll be typing to post here in the next few days. The highlights were a day-long session on narration, and a lesson about the history of education and where CM fits in with that.