Getting Ready for a Homeschool Conference

Last year I wrote a post about getting ready to attend a homeschool conference.  I decided to update that post with some of my newer thoughts on conferences.  So if some of it sounds familiar, don’t think you are losing your mind…..I did write about this before, lol! 

I am once again attending a homeschool conference here in southwest Missouri.  It is not the largest one in the state, but it is the closest.  It is not a secular homeschooling conference, but there is usually sessions I’m interested in.  Please let me know if you know of a great conference geared towards those who homeschool for academic reasons from a secular point-of-view.  I would love to plan a trip or twelve to homeschool conferences for next year. 

If you haven’t ever gone to one before, I encourage you to attend one or ten. Each conference has its strengths and weaknesses, so while you might not find a lot that interests you at conference A, you could have have a ball at conference B.

Here are a few tips to help your conference be more enjoyable

~ Go with a friend or your hubby. I personally have always gone with friends to our local one because there is not a program for children. Heathen Dad is on kid duty while I am at the conference. The kiddos enjoy the extra time with their Daddy and I love having the adult time with other homeschool moms.  There are some conferences that I am considering going to that will have events for children. Woohoo – mini-vacation in the name of homeschooling.

~ Plan a nice lunch. The expo center where our local conference is held does not allow outside food to be brought in. They want you to pay for the overpriced food that they sell. I find it much more enjoyable to just head out of the expo center and go to a nearby restaurant. That way we don’t have to wait in a huge line and we get better food. 

~ Decide which workshops you are attending before you arrive. My program has marks on every page. I cross out the ones that I absolutely have zero interest in attending. I mark the ones that I want to attend or buy the cd of the session. This allows me to go directly to my next room instead of having to decide where to go next. This is great for conferences where seating is not guaranteed.  Reading the descriptions also allows me to figure out which sessions I just need to stay far, far away from, lol! 

~ Print out address labels with your name, address and email. These make signing up for door prizes in the vendor hall much quicker.

~ Take notes. You will attend so many workshops that your notes might be the only way you can remember who said what. I share my notes with my friends who are in different sessions.

~ Bring something to carry your vendor hall purchases. Our local conference allows rolling carts. I am so happy about this! It makes it so easy to carry my loot without breaking my back. Two years I had a bunch of pioneer craft supplies shoved in the outer pockets of my rolling cart. It looked hilarious! Last year I had enough clay to sculpt a life size statue – but hey, the clay was cheaper than I could find online and I didn’t have to pay shipping.  If the conference you are attending doesn’t allow rolling carts, bring a big bag and plan to go dump your loot in your car when it gets too heavy.

~ Speaking of the vendor hall….
I go through the vendor hall the first time without buying anything, ok fine – I try not to buy anything. I take a look at what all the booths are offering. If I see something that I like, I mark the booth on my program and write a note about what I need. I have a clipboard where I take a million notes about things I want to look at again, questions to ask, etc. If the vendor is a little pushy and wanting me to purchase right away, I just tell them that I’m on my look through and I’ll be buying later in the conference. Most are quick to encourage me to come back. If someone continues to be pushy, I won’t return to their booth.

~Make a budget so you know how much you can spend at the conference. We are not a workbook family, but there is still loads to buy for each school year. At the conference I have found lots of great deals on books, games, puzzles, art supplies, science tools, crafts and more.  People are always amazed that a non-prepackaged curriculum/workbook mom like me can find lots to buy.  What can I say, I’m gifted in shopping. 

~ I make sure to plan for impulse buys. I know it sounds silly to plan to overspend, but hey, I know me. I can use up to half of my impulse buy money on each day. This plan to overspend method has worked for me over the years. I have also picked up some really cool things with the extra money.

~ This year we plan to make it a weekend for us moms just like last year.  A few moms are staying at a hotel near the expo center. Last year I enjoyed being able to go out for dinner with the other moms.  It really did make the conference more enjoyable. It will be nice to be able to have a fun weekend again this year.  It is always nice to not have to leave so blasted early each morning.

~ Bring business cards listing the details for Heathen Homeschoolers. Give them to all the homeschoolers you meet that use a secular point of view. Hey – can’t blame a girl for a shameless plug advertising her blog. But seriously, let me know if you want some and I’ll send you a stack.

~ Don’t be afraid to politely excuse yourself from a workshop. Sitting in a workshop that you are not getting anything out of is a waste of your time. As long as you can do it without being rude, I say go ahead and leave. I did this last year and was able to pop in another workshop since it was just a few minutes into the session. My reason for leaving? The speaker completely changed what the workshop was compared to the description. I was not interested in the new topic she was going to discuss.

~ Don’t be surprised if your hubby isn’t as excited about the things you discover at the conference. I have learned that it is best to hit the highlights with my hubby and not try to recreate every workshop for him. I give the information in bite size chunks. This helps him get a taste of what I do in the homeschooling world. Heathen Dad freely admits that he is glad I’m in charge of homeschooling our children instead of him. Smart guy I say