The Homeschooling Handbook_ From Preschool to High School - Mary Griffith [86]
Curriculum fairs: These can be swap meets hosted by local groups or full vendor exhibit halls sponsored by local, regional, or state groups. Any speeches or other formal presentations are usually made by vendors explaining their products. In addition to formal curriculum materials, the products exhibited can include books, games, toys, and software.
Homeschooling seminars: A number of speakers give workshops on different aspects of homeschooling at various locations throughout the country. Such workshops are usually hosted by a local group; any exhibit hall is usually limited to materials chosen or approved by the workshop presenter. Among the most popular of these presentations are Raymond and Dorothy Moore’s Family and School Seminars and Gregg Harris’s Christian Life Workshops.
State or regional homeschool association conference (small-scale): The smaller full-fledged homeschooling conferences concentrate on workshops presented by experienced homeschoolers and may or may not include an exhibit hall. Typical topics include getting started with homeschooling, learning styles, and college admissions for homeschoolers. Such conferences are often held at small colleges, with dormitory-style accommodations sometimes available.
State or regional homeschool association conference (large-scale): The bigger state conferences schedule two or more nationally known homeschooling speakers to supplement a wide variety of workshops. In addition to a large exhibit hall, you may find a technology room demonstrating the latest in computers and software. Banquets, dances and entertainment, homeschool “graduation” ceremonies, and possibly programs for teens and younger children may round out the program. These larger conferences are usually held at colleges, convention centers, or large hotels with conference facilities, and can attract audiences as large as five thousand.
Conference styles vary as much as any other aspect of homeschooling organizations. To determine whether you’re likely to enjoy any particular conference, consider the organizer or sponsor. Take a look not only at the conference materials but also at the organization’s other literature, especially its newsletter. Odds are, if its publications appeal to you, so will its conference.
The most enjoyable and useful conferences take a smorgasbord approach to designing their program: They offer a wide variety of speakers and workshops with the idea that most people are bound to find something interesting. Here are some suggestions for making the most of a conference:
Don’t expect to agree with everything you hear or all the speakers to agree with each other. If you attend with the idea of finding some new, provocative ideas for your family, you’ll get more out of the experience.
Don’t concentrate so much on the formal program that you miss the opportunity to meet and talk with other homeschoolers. There will often be informal gatherings of special interest groups, and serendipitous encounters can turn out to be the highlight of the weekend.
Do plan your budget. Depending on the companies that choose to exhibit, you could easily spend several hundred dollars cruising the exhibit hall. Try to have a good idea of what you want to find and how much you’re willing to spend. (On the other hand, be flexible. You may find something that is simply unavailable elsewhere, and you’d regret passing it up for months after the conference.)
Homeschooling Support in Print and Electronic Form
If you’re the type who prefers to get your homeschooling support in print rather than in person, you have dozens of magazines and newsletters to choose from. Or you can frequent homeschooling forums online with the major commercial services such as America Online, on independent BBSs, and on Internet newsgroups and mailing lists.
Magazines and Newsletters
In 1980, there were only two or three homeschooling periodicals to choose from. Now at least a dozen good-sized magazines are available, with new ones trying to break into the field every year, along with