It’s coming! It’s coming!

HEAV’s convention is very very soon!!!

It’s time to make that last minute to-do list of everything you need to get done before hopping in the car. If you’re curious, mine at the moment includes things like “make ask hubby to get a hair cut” and “find mini cassette recorder to use for interviews.” 🙂

While you’re making your plan, I wanted to share with you some advice I’ve been gleaning from some of my homeschooling friends with WAY more homeschool convention experience than me!

And here are my tips from previous years!

Advice for Homeschool Conventions

There were a few overwhelmingly common pieces of advice from pretty much everyone I spoke to. I would even say these are non-negotiable:

1) Wear Comfortable Shoes. Absolutely no one cares what your feet look like. You’re going to be walking the equivalent of a marathon around that convention center, so take care of your feet! Your little piggies will thank you by the end of the day.

2) Take a Cart on Wheels! You can get these a number of places, from Amazon, or even some grocery stores. Others have suggested a rolling suitcase, or a stroller even. I learned this lesson the hard way. I’ll actually be using on of my Thirty-One Gifts bags, which is actually an insulated rolling cart-type thingee. Oh well. My purchases will stay “cool” at least, AND it will be easy to spot amongst the crowds!

3) Return Address Labels. Pre-make labels with your address and contact information on them. This is going to save you from massive writer’s cramp all weekend. Really.

4) Prepare for OVERWHELM. Really. It’s not that the crowds are “Black Friday” or “Disney” bad, but they’re there. For me, it wasn’t the people, it was the STUFF. So much information, so many choices, so much to look at. It was just A LOT on input coming at you.

Everyone had several tips to cope.

• Just order the mp3s right when you get there. That way you’ll be able to rest in the fact that you won’t have to worry about missing anything. Or, if some of the events are full and you can’t get in, it won’t be such a big deal. You can re-listen to the sessions at your leisure all summer long.
• Don’t buy anything the first time through the exhibit hall! Do a complete walk through the first time, getting an eye for the different vendors, perhaps checking prices on your first choice items. Talk to the different vendors, get advice and information, that sort of thing. Make your list, and THEN go buy.
• My advice: If there are particular items that you already know you HAVE to get, I’d at least go ahead and get that out of the way first. Then you’re done and can focus your time on the “extras” or items you need to spend more time thinking about. And, you don’t have to worry that the vendor runs out of your “must have.”
• Many even recommend leaving your wallet at home and not even purchasing anything at your first convention. If you can do that, then you have mountains more willpower than I do. At the very least, come with your budget in mind. Or, failing that, come prepared with a detailed list of what exactly you MUST have, what you need but aren’t sure what to get, and what your wish list would be. That will be very useful in both the Exhibit Hall and the Used Curriculum Sale.
• Carry as little as possible with you, because, again, it means carrying it with you. And that is going to get old very quick. However, a water bottle, notebook, pens, protein bars, your return address labels, wallet and cellphone are all great things to have. Just be sure to turn off the ringer to your cellphone during sessions! Hubby and I mainly use our cellphones to find each other when we get separated, etc. If you’re in a hotel nearby, you should be able to run back to the hotel and dump things to start fresh during lunch breaks!
• Just focus on what is best for your family. No need to deal with all the sessions and vendors that don’t pertain to you. (Such as, we don’t have boys – I don’t go to the booths that sell “boy” paraphernalia. Or the sessions on raising boys. While I’d love to, I have to set boundaries and focus on what my family needs right then. Also, I don’t go to “high school” sessions when we’re only teaching second grade. That sort of thing.)
• If you don’t have to have your kids with you, I wouldn’t. Use the awesome kids programs, get a babysitter, etc. It’s too hard to keep them entertained and also hear what you need to hear. If you do though, be sure to bring items to keep them occupied. Remember, in order to record the sessions and have decent quality, “vocal” children should be taken out of the room.

5) Have fun! Goodness gracious, after all that it might sound like Homeschool Conventions are stressful events. Why would anyone want to go? Well, they can have stressful moments, but last year was also wonderfully inspiring and motivational. I can’t figure out another way to say it, other than I left with my heart completely full.

Talk to people. In this building, for three whole days, you are going to be surrounded by homeschoolers who just want to do their best for their children — JUST LIKE YOU. Make new friends. In this day and age, there is no reason you only have to be friends with the people who live right around you. Bring “business” cards, or those address labels and exchange information. Chat with the folks next to you in line. Be sure to meet the parents of the kids your children make friends with in the kids’ program – you already have a lot in common!

I’m looking at this convention weekend like it’s my mini “homeschool” vacation! Mommy event on steroids!

So, what is my plan?

• I want to be packed the day before – I know the week leading up to leaving will be insane, so being packed the day before will alleviate a little bit of my stress.
• We plan to arrive on Thursday – I have a meeting I need to attend, and also I really want to check out the the exhibit hall Thursday night and get some of that stuff done then before all of the speakers the rest of the event. If we get there “too early,” we can use that as an excuse to check out the Richmond Children’s Museum before everything gets started.
• I buy my “must haves” right away, then spend time going over and over the “I know I need something but I don’t know what to get” list. And then in between, as things might catch my fancy, I might sneak them in. Or, if they are truly a splurge I might wait until the last minute. Just in case I can talk myself out of it. Or not.
• I’ve got my seminar list ready to go! I’ve highlighted all the ones I want to see
• I plan to plan our meals ahead of time. Since I went gluten-free, eating is an all new adventure for me, and grabbing a slice of pizza in the exhibit hall isn’t going to cut it. (By the way, food IN the convention center? Expensive.) So, we’ll come with snacks and water for the room, but also, I hope to look around and figure out where we’ll eat each evening in advance. At least that way I know I’ll get one good meal a day. Plus, is breakfast added into the cost of your hotel room? Will you have time to eat real bfast? Then we might want to bring something to the room for bfast each morning.
• Beyond that? I plan to take lots of deep breaths and just relax. Absorb what I can absorb, meet who I can meet, enjoy everything I can, and just take in all the inspiration I can to get me through the next school year!

HEAV- Home Educators Association of Virginia – website

Are you following HEAV on Facebook? Do you know there are bloggers giving away passes to the convention?

“I am excited to be a blogger for HEAV this year. In exchange for sharing my honest opinion about this convention, I was provided with a family registration at no charge.”

I thought I better think out write out my convention plan before it gets here!

Of course, when most homeschool moms think of a homeschool plan, they think of the shopping! At least I do! But this year? I’m not sure I’ll be shopping that much. (Don’t pass out in shock!) It’s just that we are a bit behind.

As in a lot.

As in, I’m glad I consider us year-round homeschoolers!

Last year, hubby and I were all about the Exhibit hall. There was just SO much to see and do there, three days was just not enough time! This year? I’m already feeling the homeschool/working/moving burnout coming, so I think I want to focus more on getting my “cup” refilled. I just love that this year’s theme is “A Hope and a Future,” don’t you? (This verse hung on my bedroom wall growing up, and I remember how much it meant to me then.) Have you checked out all the fabulous speakers HEAV has scheduled?

There is no way I can get to all the sessions I want, so buying the recordings will be a must!

And beyond all that – I just want to soak up the lovely atmosphere that is HEAV – hang out with the cool friends I’ve met over the years and meet some new ones, having a bit of fun, and absorbing all the pro-homeschool vibes. Goodness, it’s got to last me all year long!

Still, I do need to think about the shopping  – I need to be prepared for this fall.

Using My Father’s World’s “Adventures in US History” this year was great – and part of the reason this year is going so long – we’re really enjoying it! So, I plan to continue and use My Father’s World’s “Exploring Countries and Cultures” next.

We started last year with Saxon Math, but trying to get two girls through their lessons and worksheets proved to be too much for me. (This is nothing against Saxon Math, I actually really like the program. But, since I am also working, trying to squeeze it in the tight window I have for homeschooling each day was just too much.) Instead I moved my older daughter over to Teaching Textbooks 3’s computer based math mid-year, and she is just flying through the program. I plan  to move my younger daughter to it as well next fall.  We also “supplement” with the math facts set to music (***Note to self: must pick up the multiplication and division CDs at HEAV!***). I also found a fabulous, fabulous deal on Life of Fred through Educents, and plan to add that in as a supplement as well in the fall.

We’ve been using “Spelling by Sound and Structure” and “First Language Lessons” for spelling and grammar with my oldest, and it’s fine. It’s been working okay, and my daughter seems to be enjoying it. However, I personally find it boring!  This fall I really want to try Growing with Grammar and Soaring with Spelling. At least, I think I do. Unless I find something better at HEAV!

Our foreign language will continue to be Spanish. We plan to use Homeschool Spanish Academy as our language base.

So, there ya go. As you can see, not too much to actually shop for right now (hubby will be so thrilled). I’m sure that those vendors in the Exhibit Hall will be trying their best to change my mind though!

I haven’t figured out the extracurricular activities yet – some of that won’t be able to happen until after we move, and I see what is available. We did look into a homeschool co-op, and are waiting to hear if there is room available, and we are hoping the girls can do American Heritage Girls, and Upward Sports again. They’ve been also asking for dance and music lessons. Frankly, it’s kinda hard to actually keep them in one place long enough to do school – good thing we homeschoolers don’t have to worry about that pesky thing called socialization!

HEAV- Home Educators Association of Virginia – website

Are you following HEAV on Facebook? Do you know there are bloggers giving away passes to the convention?

“I am excited to be a blogger for HEAV this year. In exchange for sharing my honest opinion about this convention, I was provided with a family registration at no charge.”