Olympia 2015...

We're having fun traveling up and down the I-5 corridor this school year.  First it was the Portland area in December then Olympia last week for a Speech tournament.

We participate in the homeschool speech club as a supplement to our Language Arts curriculum.  Most aspects of speech club are difficult and challenging but the results of the time spent doing it are good and rewarding.

 The difficult parts include; trying to help my students pick a topic, then organize that topic, then write about that topic, and finally get up and read what was wrote about that topic in front of others.  The whole process can be quite painful.  But once they DO read it in front of others, somethings happens, something amazing.  They earn self confidence.  The kind of real confidence that can only be worn from doing something truly hard and challenging.

 There are a few ways to be challenged.  One can be physically challenged, mentally challenged or personally challenged.  Speech club, in my opinion, challenges a student in all three aspects.

When you get up and speak in front of others you must have physical control over your breathing and the flight response to anxiety.  You must give your topic your full mental attention multiply times in order to produce any results.  And finally, you have to get over yourself and what you think you are or how you think people see you.   You must put yourself in a vulnerable position.

After it's all done they breath a sigh of relief.  Then they start asking for the judge feedback forms.  They can't wait to see what the judges said.  They want to know what they did well on and what they need to work on.

Few things I do as a parent produce the results that speech club participation produces.  And as the parent of a speech participant I am the supporter, the helper, wardrobe assistant, cheerleader, drill sergeant, and in the end, the proud Mama.  I'm proud of my kids' ability to persevere, to get through a very difficult task and to succeed.

And they were rewarded with a night at Great Wolf Lodge!