Convention

Memorial weekend in this part of the country is time for the annual home school convention. Vendors and speakers come in and set up their wares. Families travel from all over the country, and sometimes the world, to come to our convention. I have been wanting to go for the last couple of years, but haven't gone. I got an email at the beginning of the week from a friend of mine that said she really wanted to go and would I go with her. OK.

It was fantastic. I loved every minute of it. There was so much curriculum. We all know how I feel about curriculum. Are you ready for the best part? There were vendors with curriculum that I had no idea existed. As much as I research, you would think that I would know them all. Apparently, I haven't researched enough. We visited every booth and looked and touched and became overwhelmed. We had to take a lunch break at one point to process and get away from the books for a minute or two.

I took the big girl with me, but the boy and the baby stayed with my in laws. Hubby dropped them off on his way to work and picked them up on his way home. My friend brought her daughter, who she recently adopted from Ethiopia. Am understands more English than she speaks, but she and the big girl get along so well. They kept each other occupied and played and giggled all the way there and all the way home. There was an area set up for the kids that had a bunch of inflatables and we let the girls play a bit after lunch. I know they were tired of following us around all morning and they were fabulous anyway. We wanted to let them have some time to play and get their wiggles out before we went back to wander the aisles.

I did finish up our curriculum for next year and got a start on the year after. I wanted a new bible study, and the free ones online always led me back to the one we are already doing. We're a little bored with the same one over and over, so I found one that I think the kids will like. I bought one for each of them, but I think I will do the one I bought for the big girl, and have her and the boy do the one I bought for the boy. The baby's follows along with the other two, but she will have some down days. Those are the days that she will do a color sheet or maze or something while we do the rest of the study. As long as she is involved and sitting with us is what is important to me.

I got the science curriculum we will be using for the human body. I really like the series of books we'll be using. We are using the animal one for next year and I really like the way the curriculum is set up. I also got a really detailed book of the human body that is incredible. The kids and I were looking at it when everyone got home and were amazed at the pictures. A couple in the muscle section are a little creepy. When you see just muscles on a body or a face, it definitely looks different.

We will try to go next year. It is only $40 for hubby and I and the kids can go into the exhibit hall with us for all three days of teh convention. They do have child care, but it is a little expensive for us. At $75 per kid, that would be more money than we like to pay for child care. They do great activities and provide lunch and a snack, but $225 for a day of babysitting is still steep. We would have to find excellent deals on curriculum for that kind of money. I might see if MIL will do an over nighter for us, and we may stay the night. Doesn't that sound great?

That's the wrap up. You know what's next.

Have a great day!