Annual Homeschool Conferences & Conventions - We want to hear from you!
8:25 AM, Jan. 24, 2006
I spent Sunday afternoon reading through the Winter issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and one of its main features is on Homeschool Conferences and Conventions. There are almost 25 pages of great articles about how the annual conferences have grown, what it's like to attend one, what products are featured there, etc. Then, there is a listing of some conferences by state. We are currently work on a trip schedule for Paul Suarez for May-July (and maybe August) as he will be traveling to as many conventions as he can to spread the word about TOS and to meet homeschoolers and talk to them. We'll share his schedule with you once it's finalized so you can look for him if he is coming to YOUR area!
To see what conferences and conventions are taking place in YOUR state, you can go to this site. The questions for the day are do you go to these annual events? If so, why? If not, why not? What do you like about them? What isn't so great? What would you like to see more of at conventions? I personally have never attended one, but I will be manning the TOS booth with my husband at the FPEA Florida Homeschool Convention in May and so will get my first taste of what it's like to "go to convention." So, leave a comment below and share your experiences with attending these conferences - the good and the bad!
The first five to comment will receive the "Featured on the Front Porch" button. To make it quicker for us to award you your button, we'd like to ask you to include your email in your comment in this format (so that it will not easily be grabbed up by those email-seeking programs) - yourname-at-yourserver.com ... or you can email me letting me know you commented (my email is below: just replace the -at- with the @ symbol!)
I've attended the Christian Homeschoolers convention in Harrisburg PA. It's held Mother's Day weekend each year, and is HUGE. It's a really great experience for our family, and we plan to go again this year. THOUSANDS attend. I especially enjoy the workshops - last year Maggie Hogan, Diana Waring and others were wonderful. There are many great vendors and displays. It's encouraging to just see the sheer number of people in our state that are homeschooling, and also the wide range of curriculum and services that are available. The food is awful...expensive, and huge long lines to buy it. If you go...pack your own cooler and keep it in the car! I'd like to see more workshops for kids. A couple of places (science vendor and camp facility) did little 1/2 hour workshops for a dozen kids or so right at their booth, and I thought it was a great idea. I think it would really boost sales for vendors too, to have kids experience their product, hands on, and have a "keeper" to take home. Hope I've answered all your questions. Eleanor Joyce email jseajoyceatcomcastdotnet.
I have waited all morning for more comments, so here are my comments. LOL
Yes, I do go to our annual state conference/bookfair. I have gone every year since we started homeschooling. It is such a pick-me-up at the end of the year, and I love being able to look at the books I am considering purchasing. Some great tips I got from one of Diana Waring's books was to come to these bookfairs ready to purchase. If I take the time of the vendor asking a lot of questions, I should honor their time by buying from them and not going home to get it off the internet or out of a catalog.
I like the selection of vendors we have at our conference. It is overwhelming when you are a brand-new homeschooler, but it is so worth the time spent in looking. Also, I enjoy the speakers. If there is a particular speaker I want to hear, but I can't get there, I buy the tapes at the conference. I love that I can buy all the tapes that focus on the homeschool dad for my DH.
One thing that struck me in the magazine this month was Crystal Paine's article about going to the conventions as a child. I have not taken all of my children to the convention. First of all, this is my time for professional development as a teacher, and the children get quite bored. Second is that my 2nd born child is ADHD, and he just cannot take the atmosphere at a large convention. It is too stimulating for him. I have taken him to smaller bookfairs, and he has done fine. It is just this one big convention that is too overwhelming. I have taken the two youngest ones when they were babies, and I have taken my oldest child when she was a teen. It is really a personal preference for me, but as long as I can work out child care for the children to remain at home, then I will take them as I feel they are ready for the experience. My state conference has started offering a children's program for them to go to during the day. Cost has been prohibitive for us.
My DH is unable to go to this conference due to his work schedule. It is the same week-end as his inventory, and it cannot be changed. This year, he is hoping to come on Saturday, if the inventory is complete.
I HIGHLY recommend going to conferences and bookfairs. My state bookfair is one of the largest in the country, and you can see lots of pictures from it in this edition of TOS.
Have a blessed day! Tami
Homeschool Nation Coordinator for NC
fiveblessings-at-bellsouth.net
We were vendors at the conventions all around the country, and got to see conventions from both angles---that of an attendee and that of a vendor. I love both, I must admit.
As an parent attending conventions, I went to hear the speakers and attend the workshops primarily---what an eduation you receive from these! Secondly, I went to see all the neat new materials that could be used in our homeschool. And of course, there was all the fun of meeting other hs parents, attending graduation ceremonies, and having a weekend away from home. I loved to buy the workshop tapes afterwards, because there was no way to hit them all, and listen to them over and over throughout the year and keep right on learning from the convention.
As a vendor, I loved being able to help other hs families. We carried products that we had used and loved ourselves, and it was wonderful to be able to explain all the little details about these wonderful hs materials to other hs families. I also loved doing workshops, and being able to mentor hs parents, as I had been mentored. The most fun part of all was sitting around the exhibit halls during sessions, and just talking with the other exhibitors. Finding out that all these "famous people" were actually just real hs parents like us. I remember meeting DIana Waring and her family for the first time when her booth was beside ours, and when the hall was empty, she just plunked herself down on her table, and sat cross-legged there talking to me. I had to call a friend back home and tell her that I had met Diana, and that she acted just like a real person....lol. I told Diana about this recently, and we still laugh about it.
I think that TOS folks will LOVE attending these conventions. As soon as we get our business back to the point that we can afford to go on the road again, I certainly intend to do so, and can't wait to go to all of them again!
Don't forget the little shows---some of them are more fun AND more profitable than the big ones!
Kathy
I go to our state convention every year. It's very convenient because it's only about 20 minutes away. I enjoy the vendor hall as long as it's not too crowded. Our convention has Thursday night shopping, which is very nice. I also enjoy going to the used curriculum/book sale to see what kind of bargains I can find.
The one thing I don't like is trying to find cheap parking!! There used to be a lot of $3 a day lots around our convention center but those have been replaced by more expensive parking garages. Last year I had my husband drop me off. It was nice not having to find a parking space and he picked me up right at the door. I'm planning on doing that again this year.
The main reason I go is to be encouraged and refreshed. It is always wonderful to see other homeschooling moms and to know that we are all in this together. The speakers are motivating and challenging. I always come back ready for another year!!
--
Elaine <><
servingHimathome(at)comcast.net
The Nebraska Christian Educators Association's annual conference is coming up soon. There is a deadline for the early registration discount coming up...I only mention this because poor Nebraska's listing on that site is from last year...more details either in my blog's calendar or from nchea.org.
but i still have yet to get to a convention! i have been told that my former state, NJ and my current state, PA, both have the BEST conventions of the country....
ummm, i guess i don't really NEED an excuse to spend more $$ on supplies...isn't that what the internet is for??? plus i can just keep entering JenIg's blog contests and get all my needs met that way ;-)
LOLOLOLOLOL!!!
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