Homeschool Convention 101

Ha!!  Yeah I have been to ONE homeschool convention!  Last year was the first one I attended and it was super overwhelming.  For one thing we had not started to homeschool yet, and secondly we were leaving our baby, who was 8 months at the time, and didn't like to be left!  We are very fortunate and have a local homeschooling convention about 20 minutes from our house.  Its pretty small, I guess compared to some of the larger ones, but it was still pretty overwhelming for us.

So our strategy last year was to get in and get out, so to speak.  We went for a very short period of time (like 3 or 4 hours), we were able to attend a couple of seminars, do a little shopping and that was it. Last year we also knew, for the most part, before going what our curriculum would be.  So that helped us to not have to wander too much, we found that booth, looked it over and bought it.

Here is what I learned from attending my first homeschool convention, last year.  Make sure you give yourself plenty of time, just to browse.  We were on such a time constraint last year I feel like we really didn't get to look at much.  I suggest at least 2-3 hours just to shop!  We also did not set a budget for ourselves before going, we knew what the curriculum would cost, but didn't figure in any extra stuff.  That is where we blew our homeschooling budget last year.  I also did not write down any questions for our curriculum venders, I think that would have been helpful.  When they asked if we had any questions, I couldn't think of any, until it came in the mail a few weeks later and then I had tons!  So as you are browsing online, jot down some questions that you might have.  Before attending last year I really had no idea what to expect.  I think talking to someone you know who has been before can give you a good idea of what's going to happen that day.

So here are my tips from the newbie to a newbie:
1) Do your research before attending!  Narrow down your choices to about 2-3 curriculums that you want to look at.  Not that you can't look at others, but if you get overwhelmed easily, then I strongly suggest it!

2)  Bring a notebook for taking notes, but also to jot down questions you may have for the venders.  I find it helpful to write the questions down before I attend.  (Last year I did not and felt a little frazzled because I couldn't think of any, until I got home, of course!)

3)  Take your time!!  Really browse and look through stuff, this might be the only time that you will get a chance to page through the books.  Make sure you have at least 2-3 hours just to shop!

4)  Before buying anything, do a walk through of all the booths!  This is so important, because it will save you from buying something and then finding something similar that you like better!  If you look at every booth then you can narrow down what you would like to buy.

5)  Set your budget before going!  This will be helpful, especially if you are tight on money, that way you aren't tempted to pick up any "extra" stuff that looks appealing, because it WILL be appealing!!

Hopefully these tips will help you to not be overwhelmed and really enjoy your convention!

Do you have any other tips that I may not have listed?  I would love to hear them!!

I am linking up at the Homeschool Village today, so hop on over and see what else you might find!