Homeschool Convention Experience

Yes, I completely forgot to post about this, but I did, at last, after 10 years of homeschooling, go to an actual, live, real homeschool convention!  There were people and everything lol!  It was a small affair (at least compared to the big state convention in Orlando) and I was unaware of it taking place until the day it started!  It was held at our local fairgrounds and was geared toward NW Florida and neighboring Alabama communities.  Why I never heard about it I don't know. :(  But luckily I saw a post on a local yahoo group about it and was able to go.  It was on a Saturday morning, and my parents visit us on Saturdays for lunch,  so of course we spend those mornings getting the house in order.  My wonderful dh insisted that I go and he would be in charge of the preparations!  An actual hour and a half in a car by myself, and a morning alone browsing vendor tables and conversing with fellow homeschoolers?  You bet I was out the door in a flash lol.  Anyone attending said convention will now understand my un-showered, unkempt appearance.  Please forgive.

There were a few speakers scheduled, but not only did I not have the time to spare, but the topics had either been covered by the "virtual" conference I had just attended or didn't interest me.  I passed by a few small vendor tables and then stopped cold at this beautiful display of dozens of books!  It was an Usborne display and I was in heaven.  They were having a special where if you bought 4 books you got a 5th one free...no problem at all for me. ;)  I found a terrific resource to go along with our human body study this month.

It's one of their internet-linked books and has been so much fun for my boys.  It had a small crease on the cover that I did not even notice, and the vendor gave it to me for 1/2 price!  I then spotted a book about sharks that would be perfect for my 3yo and asked if they had any shark books that would be better suited to my 7yo (i.e more scary, less "happy" as he puts it lol.)  She was sold out of the book but offered to ship a copy to my house, free of shipping charge!  It arrived in less than a week and my ds loved getting a package in the mail.

They had some boxes of discounted books and I found this cute volume for my 3yo...you know how they love baby animals and lifting flaps lol.  It was only $3!

Finally I picked up this book for our future studies of animals.

I highly, highly recommend buying Usborne books, and buying them from a vendor.  At least mine was knowledgeable, friendly and very willing to secure a good deal for me.  I got these 5 books for less than $30.  And they had plenty more that I could have bought.

I strolled around more vendor tables, stopped and talked to or listened in on a few, and had fun meeting people from the local yahoo groups I am part of.  I even signed up for a seminar by the Maxwell family, as they are coming nearby.  There was talk of having another convention next year...I will gladly be in attendance.  I had already established our curriculum for the year and ordered or bought most of our supplies before this year's convention, but I may put off starting school next year until afterward.    It certainly was a fun and informative morning. :)