5 Reasons You Should Go to a Homeschool Convention

There’s no question about it: you can have a happy, fully successful homeschool year without ever attending a homeschooling convention.  You can provide your children with a solid education and be a positive, focused, contented homeschooling mom or dad, all without ever setting one foot into a homeschool convention.

So why am I so adamant that homeschoolers make the effort to attend one?

The fact is, I know how much my first visit to a homeschooling convention impacted me and my homeschool, and how all my visits since have encouraged and inspired me as a homeschooling mom.  How could I not want to share that with others? 

Here are 5 reasons I think every homeschooling mom, (and dad!) should try to attend a homeschool convention:

1.  It is so encouraging to see you’re not alone on your homeschooling journey.

I have friends who homeschool — several of them, in fact — and yet it is still so easy to begin feeling like I’m all alone, or at least that we’re all alone, like we’re an incredible minority in a world that so often views us as either superhuman or super-peculiar for our decision to homeschool our kids.

But when you walk into a homeschooling convention and see all those families — lots of other moms and dads from all sorts of places and backgrounds who have made the same decision for their children —  it is so incredibly uplifting!  And I can’t tell you the times I’ve been blessed by a random conversation with another mom who I quickly learned had questions or struggles similar to my own.

 

2.  You can come away with fresh ideas and much-needed inspiration.

I don’t care how long you’ve been homeschooling or how successful you’ve been in it, I don’t think any homeschooling mom or dad ever reaches the point they couldn’t still learn a thing or two from someone else.  Sometimes people with other personalities, gifts, and experiences can offer suggestions that can be a tremendous help in your homeschool.  I’ve learned simple things, like helping my son focus by allowing him to stand up while he does his math, and much bigger things, like when and where to seek help for learning disabilities.  And again and again I’ve heard messages that motivated me and strengthened my resolve to keep up what I was doing and to do it better than before.


3.  You can learn ways to strengthen your family.

I would think most of us could agree that our homeschools are only as strong as our families.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the number of sessions I’ve seen at homeschool conventions aimed at strengthening marriages, parent-child bonds, and even sibling relationships.

Maybe you’ve got it all figured out, but sometimes I need encouragement in these areas.  I need advice for how to be a better wife and mom.  When I improve in these areas, it will inherently affect my homeschool in a positive way.

4.  You can receive spiritual encouragement.

I could write an entire post about the workshop my husband and I once attended about family devotions.  Yes, it offered creative suggestions and ideas for family worship, but one of the speaker’s simple object lessons ministered to us in ways I can’t begin to explain.  Given some personal circumstances we were dealing with at the time, it was an unbelievably timely source of help and encouragement to us!  That same sort of thing has happened over and over when I’ve visited homeschool conventions. 

While there is a growing secular arm within the homeschooling movement, it’s probably safe to say most homeschooling conventions are still overwhelmingly Christian.  That means Bible-based teaching and resources are abundant, and spiritual encouragement is available to those in need of it.  

 

5.  You have access to LOTS of curricula and other homeschooling resources, often at a discount.  

I never can decide which excites me more — interesting workshop sessions or the exhibit hall!  I’ll read websites and pour over reviews, but there is nothing like holding a curricula in my hand before making a judgement about its purchase.  And I’ve stumbled across some incredible resources at homeschool conventions I would likely never have discovered any other way.

Be warned that conventions don’t always offer the best prices on curricula, (this is where a smartphone comes in pretty handy for quick price checks before you buy,) but you’ll often find very good deals on new or used books and materials.  I don’t normally make all my curriculum purchases at homeschool conventions, but I always take away notes and information to help me make my choices later.