Practical Tips for Attending a Homeschool Convention

Why should I go?

Homeschool conventions are helpful because they create community, I can see the materials in person, and I can listen to great speakers. I am able to see friends I have made, make new ones, and connect with other homeschoolers from around the state. My favorite convention is AFHE: Arizona Families for Home Education. This year it is meeting at GCU on July 16-17, 2021.

The convention serves as my professional training and support for the year. I need those resources and I benefit from the experience all year long. After all, Homeschooling Is a Job and I take it seriously. 🙂

The curriculum shopping experience is so valuable to me. I find it helpful to browse through the materials before spending money ordering them. I have my questions answered by the professionals who work with the curriculum. I find all sorts of treasures at Miller Pads and Paper and the Rainbow Resource Booth.

There is so much wisdom found in listening to great speakers. Homeschooling can be a fun experiment in education and learning. These experts guide me in their encouragement and motivating ideas. I often find that there is a message that feels like it was written just for me. I leave feeling seen and understood.

Tips for Attending a Homeschool Convention:

Here are some of the ways that I make the most of my time. I want to soak in as much learning as I can. I want the experience to be motivating and helpful to me in the next year. It can easily become overwhelming. I often say it is like drinking from a fire hose!

Here are my lists in chronological order:

Planning for Convention
Staying Focused and Feeling Comfortable
Curriculum Shopping
Building Community
Getting the Most out of my Learning

1. Planning for Convention:

Lecture Schedule – Plan out what talks you will attend and which ones sound interesting. Circle the ones you must attend and the ones that look interesting.
Lunch – Write out a list of places to go for lunch or bring your own lunch. Decision fatigue is a real thing!
Parking – know where you are parking, how much it costs, and how to pay for it.
Hotel? – Consider staying at a nearby hotel to extend your convention into a getaway weekend. This is a great way to slow down, make space for your learning, and soak in the most content. Also, it is a much-needed break from home which we all need!

🙂 April’s packing list : What To bring:

Comfortable Bag – for notebooks, wallet & important papers bag. Something you can wear all day. I like messenger-style bags or lightweight backpacks.
Reusable bags – to carry books you buy or cool manipulatives you find.
Easy Snacks (my favorites: granola bars, Chex mix, trail mix, apple slices, almonds, crackers, and grapes)
Water bottle – these are my favorite. They keep water cold all day.
Cash – $$ for vending machines, coffee, booths that only do cash, and parking garages.
Sweater – Convention centers in Arizona love to crank down the a/c and freeze all the people. Bring a light sweater (and I always wear pants).
Shoes – make good shoe choices. You will be on your feet most of the day and walking downtown. Please be comfortable.
Notebook & Pens – Bring pens to write with, a notebook for lecture notes, curriculum notes, and general lists you want to keep track of. I also bring some cheap folders (to keep all the little handouts) and a clipboard (to write on).
Your Husband or a Friend – Convention is way better with a buddy!

2. Staying Focused and Feeling Comfortable:

Movement – take walks, stretch, roll your shoulders, and take deep breaths.
Snacks & Water – bring snacks and lots of water. You will loose focus if your basic needs are not met.
Notes – write notes, take pictures of the slides, and read the notes afterwards.
Walk Out – If you are in a lecture that does not make sense for where you are at, then politely walk out. Your time and energy matter too. You do not need to sit in a talk for an hour that does not help you. Have a back up plan or go browse the curriculum hall.
Check-In – Pay attention to how you are feeling and what is grabbing your attention. Slow down, look over your planning notes, read the descriptions for the talks, and make decisions for right now.
Variety – Plan to change the type of activity you are doing every hour or two. If you attend 3 lectures back to back you will most likely not be able to focus on the last talk. Spread it out, add in some movement, time in the Curriculum Hall, snacks, and talking with friends.
Know Thyself – How do you learn? Are you a visual learner? Auditory? Tactile? Lean into that strength.
Quiet – Allow yourself some space and time to have some quiet. Sit in a spot alone and process all the information. Do a brain dump in your notes. Let yourself stare off into space and think about all the things. Then write down what you figure out.

3. Curriculum Shopping:

Know Your Inventory – before you go to convention get out every book and material you have for each grade level. Know what you have before you go so that you can avoid buying 2 science curriculums. (oops!..)
$$$ – stick to your curriculum spending budget. Decide ahead of time how much you will spend and then stick to that amount. (This is super hard!)
List – make a list of specific curriculum you need for next year or what you are looking for.
- Ex: 2nd grade handwriting book, 7th grade Science text, or piano books for practicing at home
Delay – write down everything you can on the “To Buy Later” list. Then wait 2 weeks before purchasing any of it. This will prevent you from coming home with too much or the wrong things.
Focus – do not give in to shiny object syndrome and loose focus of what you need
School Schedule – Make your weekly school schedule ahead of time, be ready to change it, but use it to remind yourself how much time is available.
- Ex: “That online chess class looks cool but it will conflict with our Tuesday PE class.”
- “I need one more Spanish class and I am hoping to find a resource for it.”
Skip Booths – If there is a booth that does not apply to what you need this year, skip it. You do not need to feel guilty. Your time is valuable, the volunteer’s time is important, and you do not have the energy to see every booth.
List – Know what you want to look at and what you want to buy.
Weight – Pay attention to when you are buying stacks of books. Where will you put those books? Will you have to carry those around for the next few hours? Did you bring bags to put them in? Can you go to your car to drop off your stack of materials? Do they have a bag check-in?

4. Building Community:

Be Bold – Introduce yourself to other homeschoolers. These are your people! We are all looking to make connections and learn more about this lifestyle. Other wards, they would not be here.
Invite a Friend – Meet a friend at convention, walk the curriculum hall together, or meet up for lunch.
Message Boards – Go online before convention and see what people are talking about on the Facebook group. Or ask if anyone in your area wants to get together to meet in person.
Mentor Moms – The AFHE convention has a mentor moms booth. Go and talk to someone about concerns or questions you have. These women are volunteers who love to talk about homeschooling. (I will be there in the afternoons!)

5. Getting the Most out of my Learning:

Evaluation – talk with a friend or write out your highlights after the weekend is over.
List – make an action list of things to do, websites to look up, people to follow on Instagram, and material to look at.
Continue – learn more from favorite speakers and presenters by looking up websites a month or two later.
Apply – What can you do to apply your learning this week? Next month? This semester?
Change – Where can I make a small change to improve our homeschool experience?
Inspiration – Look up information that I found at convention and get fresh ideas.
Use It – Get out the fun board games, the calligraphy set, the Unifix Cubes, or the handwriting books and make use of them! They do not help anyone gathering dust in the closet. Better to do something badly than not at all.
Be Brave – Reach out to someone you met at convention and get together for coffee. Make connections and keep them going. We can not homeschool alone!
Enjoy yourself – Make some time to do something fun in that area. Go see a cool restaurant downtown, walk around, or have a fun dinner out. Enjoy the experience outside the convention hall. (thank you Mary for this tip!)

Questions:

What can you bring to make your experience more enjoyable?
What do you need to do ahead of time to prepare?
How can you make use of your time in the curriculum hall?
What are you looking for this year?
Who are you hoping to get ideas from?
What are you going to eat for lunch and where?
Why are you attending the convention? What questions do you need answered?
How can you lean into your learning style and meet your needs in the flood of information?
Who can you take with you that will help you learn more and be effective next year?
What is your curriculum budget and what do you need to buy?
How will you get there and how long will you stay?

Resources List –

What do you hope to get out of your convention experience? What type of event makes the most sense for this year? Each year I have different needs and that is okay.

Conventions & Events I have attended and enjoyed:

AFHE – Highly recommended for those who are in the Arizona area
Great Homeschool Conventions – There are a variety of locations and meetings for these. (I attended the one in California a few years ago and we made it into a weekend retreat at the beach. Yay!)
Wild + Free – This is more of an encouraging retreat and a meeting of moms. Absolutely worth it if you can get tickets.
Local Events & Curriculum sales – Here is my favorite: HSF Used Book Sale
Online events – I have attended a variety of online only events and have gotten great information!
Schole Sisters – This is an online community with a virtual retreat in the summers.

More articles that you might find helpful:
- AFHE: What to Expect Your First Time at the AFHE Convention
- Pam Barnhill: Don’t go to the homeschool convention without this handy tool!

Encouragement –

You do not have to go every year. You do not need to absorb the information from all the different topics. Choose what matters to you, acknowledge where you are at on your homeschool journey, and apply your learning. Focus on getting your questions answered. Each year your needs will be different and your outlook will change. Gather what you can and use what ideas you come across.

Homeschooling is all about trial and error. It is a lifestyle, an experiment, and a journey. My prayer for you is that your convention experience encourages you to move forward in confidence and boldness. That this next school year will be stronger than the last. That you will have ideas and motivation to move in the direction that is right for your family.

Come say “Hi” if you see me around!

Blessings, April