The Homeschooling Handbook_ From Preschool to High School - Mary Griffith [85]
Political groups, which may focus on education reform from a homeschooling perspective (e.g., Alliance for Parental Involvement in Education) or concern themselves with broader political concerns (e.g., Homeschoolers for Peace and Justice).
Support groups for homeschoolers with physical or learning disabilities (e.g., the National Challenged Homeschoolers Association).
Conferences, Workshops, and Curriculum Fairs
Conferences? Yes! They are fabulous, absolutely essential!—Barbara, California
I haven’t seen a need [to attend any]. I don’t want a curriculum and I don’t have to worry about meeting requirements yet, and that seems to be what most of these events are geared toward.—Pam, California
I have attended a number of conferences and curriculum fairs. I really enjoy these. I have learned a lot in the workshops I have attended. I love browsing the fairs and seeing what is available. My favorites are the book stalls by companies like Greenleaf and Lifetime Books & Gifts. I have an extensive library and love discovering new books.—Beverly, Nebraska
I love curriculum fairs and have driven as far as 250 miles to go and work at one. I usually get paid in materials or wind up using my pay to buy curriculum.—Peggy, Oklahoma
I try to attend two every year. SETHSA (Southeast Texas Homeschool Association) has the Gulf Coast Home Educators Conference every year. It’s huge, with nine or so workshops going on all day for two days as well as an enormous exhibit hall. I love it! I also attend the Christian Life Workshops every year. The exhibit hall is smaller, but Gregg Harris brings in a great many products himself and the actual sessions are always helpful. Between these two conferences, I am usually able to get the vast majority of what I will need for the year.—Tammy, Texas
I’ve been to a ton of them. Most have been really fun, overwhelming, exhausting.—Shari, Alabama
My wife and I have attended two conferences; they have both been enjoyable experiences for us. The greatest benefit has been the support and assurance that we were doing the right thing with Emily. These conferences were attended by almost a thousand people each, and the sense of healthy community was strong enough to feel. We walk away more certain and committed to the idea of homeschooling than when we entered.—Doug, California
It’s hard to overstate the value of the feeling Doug mentions. Even the most experienced and confident homeschoolers are often surprised at the boost in morale that seeing a thousand (or five thousand) homeschoolers together in one place can give. Knowing intellectually that thousands of homeschoolers are out there somewhere does not have quite the same impact as actually seeing a good number of them in person.
Just to have a couple of days during which most of the people you see and talk to are people who believe that homeschooling is an obvious and natural educational choice is surprising. The effect is astonishing—just find a nice, comfortable seat somewhere and listen to bits of the conversations passing by. You’ll hear stories and debates and jokes and ideas and more stories, and underlying every one of them is the basic assumption that homeschooling is an effective and reasonable educational choice. The lift you get from that kind of affirmation is exhilarating.
And if you’re one of those of us who occasionally begin to feel like something of a community oddball—either the only homeschooler or the only “different” homeschooler in town—the right conference can be extremely comforting. No matter how offbeat you feel, there will always be someone whose approach to education and learning you’ll think is even more outlandish than your own.
There are several categories of gatherings I refer to loosely as conferences. Let’s start with the more modest affairs and work our way up to the really