We’ve compiled the ultimate list of 2020 homeschool conventions, along with a planner to help you organize your weekend and keep track of workshops and vendors!
If you are a convention organizer, or just know of one that should be on this list, please send us a quick note and we’ll add it!
Teach Them Diligently attendees — Use coupon code Mission10 for $10 off registration!
With everything becoming connected online, is there really any reason to physically attend a homeschool convention? After all, that comes with the added expense of travel, and then you can’t just shop online in your pajamas…
There’s just no substitute for community and face-to-face contact, and a homeschool convention offers benefits that you won’t find anywhere else!
Finding Your Tribe I can’t prove it, but maybe the reason homeschool conventions begin in early spring is because they know we’ve been cooped up all winter, and most families are suffering from ‘February Fever.’ We have to break out, find other homeschooling families, and shake off winter!
An Ounce of Encouragement It can be lonely homeschooling, whether you live in a big city or a rural area. Getting into a crowd of people who have made similar life choices can be affirming. Plus, you’ll be able to bounce ideas off of others, get new ideas, and remember that we’re all in this together.
Information from the Source It’s one thing to read a book. It’s another to actually sit down and talk with the author and get personalized information. You can actually do that at conventions! Reap the benefits and wisdom of experienced homeschoolers. You can do this in the vendor hall, in a one-on-one setting, walking around the hotel (but be mindful of their limited free time), or within the workshops themselves.
Workshop Paths Many conventions these days are creating ‘paths’ of workshops, meaning they have a series for new homeschoolers, those with special needs children, and those preparing for college. You’re not confined to those workshops, but by following the path that fits your family best, you have a pre-set schedule that will allow you to maximize what you learn from these experienced speakers. Oftentimes, there are special discounts offered within the workshops, too! J
Curriculum Discounts The exhibit hall is packed full of vendors offering fantastic discounts on their curriculum. There are usually some pretty nice extras to supplement the curriculum that you won’t find anywhere else, too! If you’re in the market for something new, you can actually flip through and examine various selections, talk to the publishers (or authors) about them, and make a well-informed decision for your family. You can maximize your time by looking ahead to see which vendors will be represented and make a note to visit their booths. (There’s a page for this in the convention planner!)
It’s a Family Affair There seem to be two types of convention-goers….those who take the whole family, and those who make it a girls’ weekend. (Having done both, my preference falls toward the latter…everybody needs to cut loose with friends sometimes, right?!) If you take the whole family, though, you’ll have a (typically) rare opportunity to get Dad involved.
Usually the dads are off working full-time so that moms can stay home and homeschool. Both parents care about education, but Mom is the one fully-entrenched. Taking Dad to a convention will give him a different perspective, and new appreciation, for the daily grind of homeschooling. As for the littles, there is usually some sort of day camp set up for them to enjoy time with other kids while Mom and Dad get some one-on-one time to either attend workshops or go sleep in the hotel room…
One of the hidden costs of homeschooling is time. It takes a lot of time and focus to properly homeschool, which makes working a full-time job difficult. There are, however, many homeschooling moms (or dads) that work part-time or seasonal jobs.
HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association) estimates that homeschooling families spend approximately $300 to $600 per year, per child, on educational needs. This can really add up! There are ways, however, to save money…
Curriculum
The biggest chunk of change you’ll notice right away is the
cost of curriculum. There are so many
different types of curricula out there that we recommend doing a little bit of
investigation before investing money into one.
If you have access to one, attending a homeschool convention is an excellent way to get your hands on several types of curricula, flip through the pages, and see which ones will or won’t work for your family. Personally, when we started homeschooling, my husband and I started ruling out which ones we didn’t like for our family, as that helped narrow down the shortlist to about six that we wanted to check into further.
You can check curriculum websites for samples, often
full-module downloads to try out you’re your family. If you’re near Oklahoma, you can come by the
Book Shack and take home some different types of curricula to try. Mardels or a used bookstore are also good
options for this, though you won’t be able to take them home (free) to try out
with the kids.
If you choose curriculum carefully, you should be able to
reuse it for subsequent children or resell it.
For example, we use Saxon Math and only had to purchase each textbook
once. We purchased one student book for
each child to use (and could have had them write on notebook paper, but student
books aren’t that expensive, and it was easier for the kids to write in the books).
Co-ops, Classes & Extracurricular Activities
Foreign language, homeschool band, physical education, debate
classes – these are things that work best when taught in a group setting, and
are often covered in cooperative settings…but that costs money. It is, however, cheaper than weekly lessons!
For some families, especially at the high school level,
science or math classes get outsourced to a ‘real teacher.’ Not everyone feels comfortable teaching at
those advanced levels, particularly for a child who is preparing to attend
college.
All of these expenses cost money, but should be included in
the homeschooling budget, because they are a necessary part of education.
Field Trips
When we were roadschooling, nearly 90% of our homeschool
budget went toward field trips. After
all, if you’re only going to be visiting a place once, you make the most of it,
right?
We still spend money on field trips each year because
experiential learning is a fantastic way to cement concepts and foster a love
of learning! There are many options for
frugal and free field trips if you just dig a bit.
Follow your local museums on Facebook, and you’ll see when they post free days for educators, homeschoolers, families, or just the general public.
Visit the fire station, police station, or town mayor for a lesson in civics and emergency management.
Most new homeschooling families spend more money than
experienced ones. This is partly due to
needing to purchase curriculum and all of the materials upfront (whereas more
experienced ones tend to have leftovers on hand, or purchase in bulk during
back-to-school sales).
Another pitfall is purchasing several different types of
curriculum. Sometimes things don’t work
out as intended; sometimes they’re just not a good fit for your family. Many times, new homeschoolers aren’t ‘in’ on
where to get curriculum at a reduced price.
Bibliomania – This homeschool consignment store is one of the Book Shack’s biggest supporters, and we love to support them, too! They have a walk-in store in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where you can come and visit with the proprietors and thumb through all kinds of curricula. They also have an online store at Amazon. You can also call the store directly, or private message through Facebook, and have the option to pay with Paypal or credit card over the phone.
ChristianBook – If you hit ChristianBook at the right time (sign up for the email list, and they’ll tell you when this is), you can get curricula at deep discounts. They also have books, craft kids, home décor and stuff for adults, and (my favorite!) “surprise boxes” — $100+ in books for only 9.99.
Amazon – Not surprisingly, since they sell everything but the kitchen sink (actually, the probably sell those, too!), Amazon is a great resource for finding books, supplies, science kits, craft kits, and even curricula…sometimes at cheaper costs since you can buy them from a third-party vendor.
SchoolhouseTeachers.com – This online resource offers all core classes, plus several electives, for every grade level…up to adult learners! Use code TRIAL to get the first month for only $5. By doing so, you’ll have an automatic, ongoing monthly discount but also will get your first MONTH as a member for only $5. If you don’t love it, just cancel it after the first month and all you will have lost is a skinny latte. Find out more about ST here.
Worried about getting all of the pieces right in the high school homeschool puzzle?
Through the Door will help you with what you need, from a homeschool perspective, to confidently face high school and college.
This book & worktext set will help you and your high school student breeze through the steps of college and scholarship applications, as well as brushing up on study habits and life skills. The worktext includes activities, worksheets, and planning pages, and accompanies the book.
FAQ Who am I? With 20+ years experience in education and counseling, I have a passion for helping other homeschool moms. I’ve worked in elementary, middle, and high schools in both a teaching and school counseling capacity. For the past seven years, I have been homeschooling our two boys – one gifted and one special needs – and understand the struggles that many moms face.
Who is the online self-paced workshop for? It’s for parents and students in middle and high school. Many of the modules are for the college-bound student, but it is helpful to the career-bound student as well.
How will it be delivered? This is a downloadable book and accompanying workbook.
Parents of special needs children have a difficult row to hoe…one fraught with worry, sleepless nights, and a seemingly never-ending list of doctor and therapy appointments. Some hope that public schools will help address their child’s needs. Some avoid the school system and go for the tailored education approach. There is no right or wrong path to take…only the one that is right for your family.
If the special needs student attends traditional school, they will be given an IEP – an individualized education plan. This is a legal document that defines what a student needs according to his or her diagnosis. It outlines a special education program that provides tailored instruction and support services, such as speech or occupational therapy.
Within the homeschool, an IEP can also be a valuable tool. By sitting down and taking stock of the student’s needs – really taking stock and writing it down – you can evaluate where you’re at, where you want to be, and design a plan for how to get from point A to point B.
Crafting the Individualized Education Plan
When crafting the IEP, consider the following:
What are your student’s biggest struggles? Include academics, motor skills, and life skills.
What is your student’s preferred mode of learning? Visual, audio, kinesthetic? How can you tailor lessons to that learning mode?
Realistically, where is your student today? Where would you like your student to reach? (Be realistic.) Which ONE goal would make the biggest difference in your student’s performance, either in the classroom or in daily life?
The first thing you’ll want to do is take an honest look at where your student is performing. It doesn’t matter how many grade levels behind that may be, just record the level of current performance in each subject. This will give you a realistic picture of where you are.
Second, list any support services that you will need, such as speech, physical, or occupational therapy. This plan is appropriate for students with mild to moderate special needs, as students will severe special needs most likely have been working with a provider since shortly after birth. Also address any life skills you’d like to see addressed.
Create academic goals for your student. Make them realistic, or you’ll be setting both you and your student up for frustration. For example, if he is six grades behind in reading level, aim for growth of two grades per year. You might be surprised and find that you have a ‘jumper’ – a late bloomer who ‘jumps’ six grade levels in one year! Write down your goals, and include strategies for how you will meet them.
Create life skills and support services goals for your student. Write them down, addressing strategies for how you will meet each. For example, ‘Speech Therapy, 30 minutes three times a week’. Some of these skills and goals may seem basic, but when you’ve identified the need and written it down as a goal, you’re more likely to address it!
At the end of the school year, reassess your student to see which strategies worked. Given the informal nature of homeschooling, feel free to continually reassess and alter therapy / strategies as needed. This is one of the perks of the individual attention you can offer at homeschool.
Some homeschooling families are fortunate enough to have speech and occupational therapy services offered through the school. For these families, they have created an IEP with the public school as part of the process for obtaining these services. Oklahoma is not a state, however, that provides educational support services to homeschoolers.
Once you have determined your student’s needs, see if your medical insurance (including state insurance) will cover any of the services. If they will, your family doctor can refer you to a provider. If they will not, you can begin working with your child at home until the situation changes. Check out Speech Therapy for Homeschool and Occupational Therapy in Homeschool for free / frugal therapy ideas.
Once you’ve explored homeschooling styles a bit, you’ll probably set off looking for curriculum. Here are some places where you can score curriculum and materials for free!
Many of these are digital resources and require no extra resources or use books you can check out from the library. Just remember that you’ll still need to pay for any printing. Here is one of our favorite places to print!
