Home Education Network of AZ (HENA) Conference

This year's HENA Conference had a slightly different flavor than last year. There were less attendees and not as many playshops/workshops for the kids, yet the kids had a wonderful time. Our home ed group hosted a LEGO Activity room, which we shared with the Yoga/Movement instructor. It was pretty quiet on our end of the hall, with most of the kids hanging out in the Video Game room. The highlights at the conference for our family were: Nevan's Aladdin performance, Geocaching, Henna tattoos....and Justin hosting a Roundtable Discussion for Homeschooling Dads. I was not able to listen to any of the speakers/presentations this year due to our commitment to provide the LEGO Activity room....but it was fun to watch the kids enjoying their time with friends and Justin having the opportunity to connect with other homeschooling dads to talk about the issues that come up for dads specifically. I was able to pick up some wonderful science resources that will help with Nevan's current penchant for science experiments. These will be a great addition to our collection of science related resources. Nevan has chosen a DNA experiment for our Science Club activity in April. Should be interesting. Maybe we should think about providing some play/workshops for the kids next year...hmmmm.....

Homeschool Family Theatre....Aladdin

Nevan's other passion, besides baseball ; ) this year, has been theatre. He performed in a production of Aladdin with the Homeschool Family Theatre group at the HENA Conference at ASU the first weekend in March. He was Genie of the Lamp's Assistant. It was 3 months of hard work, rehearsals, and a bunch of fun. He did most of it on his own while I was in NJ with Silvio...we are so proud of his dedication to the show and his theatre group. He almost didn't get to perform after putting in all the rehearsal hours....he came down with a bronchial cough so bad we thought it was the highly contagious pertussis. Doctor quarantined him from all contact with others the very same week he had dress rehearsal, 2 performances and a home education conference to attend. We were crushed at the thought that he would have to miss something he worked so long to achieve. Test results came back negative in the nick of time and although he missed his morning dress rehearsal, he was given a green light to attend his performances. We were all relieved and thrilled! Here are some photos of his performance:

The Genies of the Rings (blue) and the Genies of the Lamp (green). Nevan is the one with his arms crossed in teal green.

The Evil Magician has stolen the lamp and has requested the Genies of the Lamp to follow his bidding. The Genies must comply, but the Genie of the Lamp's Asst. (Nevan) is not too happy about serving the Evil Magician.

The Genies perform a Genie rap song singing "We're the Genies!"

The Genies take a bow....

The Aladdin Cast kickin' it at the Cast Party after the Friday night performance in Scottsdale. That's Nevan catching the basketball. The Saturday morning performance was at ASU in Tempe during the Home Education Network of AZ Conference.