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HEAV Leader Letter
March 15, 2010
Dear ,
Spring will soon be here, and we're looking forward to
sunshine and mild temperatures greeting us as we're out sharing
information with homeschool parents around the state.
We'd like to invite you to join us in several exciting opportunities, including a statewide Barnes and
Noble outreach, a new "Speed
Mentoring" convention workshop, free support group
listings, and more! You'll find all the details below.
This is a busy time of year as parents are finishing up one year and looking forward to the next. We are here to serve you, so please don't hesitate to contact us if we
can
assist you in any way. We have resources we would be glad to share.
With warm regards,
Yvonne Bunn
Director of Homeschool Support
Home Educators Association of Virginia
From our sponsors... Is Reading a Struggle?
Does your child:
- Skip words, reread lines, or lose track?
- Have problems with comprehension?
- Have a short attention span?
- Take longer to do assignments than he or she should?
Find out how we can help! Samuel C.
Smart, OD, FAAO, Wm. Mitchell Powell, OD,
Angela Tsai, OD
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~:~ BARNES AND NOBLE OUTREACH
Reach out and touch someone!
Your Local Barnes and Noble, April 12-15 Here's a great opportunity to let people in our communities know
about home education! Barnes and Noble has invited HEAV to share
information
about homeschooling during their Education Week, April 10-18, 2010. Of
course, we don't have enough people to be in every store-- we need your help!
Interested parents and moms of preschoolers are eager to learn about the
benefits of home education--can you help us tell them?
Would you or someone in your group be willing
to invest an hour at
your local Barnes & Noble to do a brief homeschool presentation and
Q&A? We are hoping
to enlist a leader or good homeschool spokesperson to present home
education at
each B&N store. You can present on the day of your choice (Monday
through
Thursday, April 12-15) during a morning, afternoon, or evening
that works for both you and the store.
This is an informal presentation, usually held in the children's
department with a small audience. I'll provide notes for a brief
presentation
(about 20 minutes). Afterward, there will be about 20 minutes for Q&A.
Most questions are easy to answer by an experienced homeschooling
parent. You
could even bring a friend to help you!
Discounts - During
Education Week, B&N will offer 25-30% discounts on
educational books and select items in their music center. What a great
time to buy
the items you've been wanting!
This is also a wonderful opportunity to connect new parents with your
support group. You can let them know about your meetings, e-groups, newsletter, and
services. Please contact me at support@heav.org
if you are willing to participate in this exciting outreach opportunity.
I'll
quickly send you more details. ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~
~:~
SPEED MENTORING Be part of a fun, new convention workshop!
Richmond, Friday, June 11, from
3 to 4 p.m.
An
innovative Fredericksburg support group shared an idea with us that
inspired a
new type of workshop at the HEAV convention. You may even want to try it
at
your support group! It's called "Speed Mentoring."
"Speed
Mentoring" will be a fun way at convention to connect with new
homeschoolers who
are overwhelmed with questions about everything related to home
education. During this session, new
parents will sit down face-to-face with an "expert" who can answer their
questions--that's you!
This
first-ever, fast-paced convention workshop will allow new homeschoolers
to tap
into a treasure-trove of information from veteran homeschool moms. New
parents will
sit in a circle facing 10 mentors. They'll ask a question, then, after
an
allotted time, a whistle will blow, and they'll move to the next mentor
to ask
the same questions or shift to another topic. This fun, lively way of
sharing information will take no preparation on your part. You'll simply
share
what you know.
As a
thank-you for volunteering for this Friday afternoon session, you'll
get to be part of the first group of volunteers to go into the Used Curriculum Sale on Friday
morning! This means you'll have the opportunity to get the best
buys at the convention!
Let me
know if I can count on you to help me with "Speed Mentoring" by sending
your name,
or the names and e-mail addresses of those in your group who are willing to help, to support@heav.org.
NOTE: Participants
must be registered for the convention (either full convention or Friday
only). "Speed Mentoring" is scheduled from 3 to 4 p.m. on Friday, June
11--the
same day as the Leadership Luncheon and the volunteer shopping time at the Used
Curriculum
Sale.
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~:~
FREE SUPPORT GROUP LISTINGS
Are you listed on our website?
Every year, the
HEAV website has tens of thousands of visitors. Whether new
homeschoolers
call us or come to a Homeschool Success Seminar, we always encourage
them to
connect with a local support group, and direct them to the HEAV website
to
locate a group that meets their needs.
Please
take a minute to make sure
your information is listed in all the areas you serve, and to double-check
your
contact information and website link.
We are happy to
update your
information so families can find you! Please e-mail any changes to office@heav.org. If
you're not listed at all, you can submit your information here.
Check your support group information now!
~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~
~:~
E-MAIL CONTACTS - ARE YOU
GETTING THEIR MESSAGES?
Just this week a parent who moved to Virginia was looking for a
group. I recommended he check our support group list. He e-mailed me
back to
let me know he had sent an inquiry twice and had received no response. I
felt so
badly for him. Many new homeschoolers are eager to connect with a group,
but
are very disheartened when no one responds to their e-mail messages.
If you are listed as the support group contact, please check your
e-mail regularly and respond to the inquiries you receive. If you
find you are
not able to fulfill this important job for your group, consider
delegating the
responsibility to someone else. We will be glad to post the change on
our
website. You can send contact e-mail address changes, as well as any
other changes, to office@heav.org.
~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~ ~:~
~:~
HOST A HOW-TO-BEGIN SEMINAR
FOR YOUR GROUP
We can help!
Interested parents and new homeschoolers need
basic information to
get started. As a support group leader, you are willing to answer their questions on the law
and
choosing curriculum, but it can take a LOT of your time. So why not let us help?
To save you time and effort, HEAV would
be glad to present a How-to-Begin
Homeschooling Success Seminar for your support group. We'll
explain curriculum
choices, how to get started, the Virginia law, and more. Not only does
this
help new homeschooling parents, but an informational event like this
also
encourages veteran homeschoolers, keeping them on the cutting edge of
new
information. Call me at 804-278-9200, or e-mail me at support@heav.org, if you would like more
information on scheduling a seminar in your area.
We look forward to partnering
with you to serve and equip parents!
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