The Benefits of Attending a Homeschool Conference

Posted by Guest | 0 comments

Each summer my husband and I head to Denver to attend our state’s homeschool convention. The weekend is always a time of encouragement and renewed vision, as well as a fun time for the two of the two of us to get away together. Numerous speakers and workshops are available as well as a curriculum sale, which makes it easy to inspect books and lesson plans prior to purchasing them.

One of the most exciting aspects of a convention is seeing the multitude of homeschooling parents gathered in one place. The attendance at our conference numbers about 6,000, and it is great to see familiar faces and lots of new people each year. Fathers attend in large numbers, along with their wives, making this a perfect time for couples to make goals and specific plans for their families. Many fathers are surprised to find that there is an important role for them in their homeschool, and that this way of raising children is best done with dad in the lead.

The curriculum fair is like the biggest and most amazing bookstore ever. Most of the items you have read about in catalogs are generally available to look at, and this makes curriculum selection simple. It is easy to avoid the “Ooops, this isn’t what I expected” syndrome that comes from catalog shopping. My husband and I have found, however, that we need to stick together when buying books because the one year that we split the list and shopped separately, we ended up spending double the budget! Big mistake!

Attending your state’s homeschool convention may seem like a hassle or an unnecessary expense, but I can say from experience that it could be one of the most important parts of your school year. The encouragement you receive from the speakers and other homeschooling parents, as well as the chance to rethink your goals and plans for the year, make the weekend worth it.

To find a convention in your area, click here, or simply google the name of your state and “homeschool convention or conference”. You should find what you are looking for.

Happy homeschooling!