Our First Homeschool Conference

My husband and I recently attended our first homeschool conference. I don't know what I expected, but this was more than I bargained for.  I planned ahead by preparing a shopping list and marking the schedule with the sessions I wanted to attend.  We did OK the first day with the schedule, but the shopping list didn't fare as well. My husband found many books that he wanted to share with the kids, so we got them.  The curriculum that I was eagerly looking forward to perusing was not available at the conference to my dismay (I could write a whole entry about that disappointment).  The second day was a big day for us.  One of the speakers we listened to on Day 1 spoke of CDs he created for dads.  We went to his booth so we could check out these CDs for my husband who is always looking for something good to listen to while driving. We had no idea what we were in for.  While talking to one of the ladies at the booth, she asked if we had looked at their curriculum.  Not only had we not looked at their curriculum, I crossed all of their sessions off on my schedule.  I had chosen my curriculum, or so I thought.  Since my #1 choice let me down, I decided to take a look at what this program had to offer.  My husband and I spent three hours at this booth, looking through their materials and talking to the people who have used it with their families.  We brought friends over who looked at it with us so we could discuss it with them later. You'll have to read tomorrow about our curriculum choice. Then we encountered surprise #2 of the weekend.  As I walked away from the booth, a woman came over to me.  As soon as I saw her, I realized that she was a friend we hadn't seen for ten years.  She was at the conference with her husband and four children.  It was such a blessing to see this family whom we were so disappointed to lose contact with.  All in all, we were so glad that we attended the conference.  My husband felt reassured about homeschooling, we found an excellent curriculum and our family reunited with old friends.  Who could ask for more?