How to Attend a Homeschool Convention

I’ve just begun writing for Texas Home School Coalition. The May issue of their Review, my first month writing for the magazine, focussed on Homeschool Conventions. So, I submitted an answer to a question posed on the Home Education community of facebook. I had answered the question briefly there, but I went into more detail for the article.

Last year I attended my first home school convention. That is shocking since I am a home school graduate and have been homeschooling my own children their entire lives. I simply never realized what a plethora of knowledge and resources these gatherings are. Now that I have experienced the wonder for myself, I am hooked.

Recently someone asked me how to get the most out of her first homeschool convention. The following are seven tips I gave her:

1. Make your list, and check it twice. Conventions are overwhelming sources of information, resources, and materials. Your shopping list should be divided into two parts:  needs and wants. Needs should include any curriculum, textbooks, or resources you and your children must have for the coming school year. Wants are resources you already know you would like for your home library.
2. Budget your spending money. Save up for shopping. Homeschool conventions are an ideal time to do your curriculum and resource shopping for several reasons. First of all, you save on shipping, and many publishers offer convention specials. Second, you can handle the materials before you purchase them to make sure you are getting what you really want. Best of all, you can, in many cases, meet the authors and publishers of the books and curricula, asking questions and establishing personal relationships.

You can read the rest of the article here. And subscriptions to THSC Review are free here.