I just got an email with a $5 coupon for the IEW/Excellent Resources table for Kitchener. Let me know if you want it emailed to you by giving me a private message.
In light of Joanne's message about the need to have some kind of a cart on wheels I have a white grocery cart with wheels we used for delivering papers if anyone would like to borrow it for the conference.
A few cloths bags placed inside could hold books etc..
Just let me know as you could pick it up anytime of day.
I am unable to go this year. Last year, I was even newer than you are Alicia because we hadn't even started yet! You are much wiser than I was at that time! Here's what I learned from being there:
most important - look through the schedule ahead of time and decide on your 1st and 2nd choices for each time slot. Some of them fill up fast and if they are full you will not be permitted in the room due to fire regulations. The "Homeschool 101" or "first time homeschoolers" sessions fill up fast to capacity. It takes you a minute to figure out where the classrooms are. Don't be afraid to line up before the doors open. Sometimes the line ups were 30 deep and there were likely only 50-60 seats. By the time the doors opened, the room was full within 5 minutes.
Louise House was the name of a presenter - she is wise and I would recommend her session if you are new to homeschooling and if she is there this year - she runs what I believe is the closest homeschool store to London. She did a conference on homeschooling kids with learning challenges in the fall. They homeschooled kids and her husband is a prof at Ridgetown College (he may be there too).
When you arrive, you will need to stand in line to check in. The lines I believe were in alphabetical order by last name and were as much as 10 people deep so allow time for that before your first session. The parking was terrible (along the side streets) so allow time for a walk and bring a raincoat if it's a downpour.
There isn't much room in the sessions for your coat, bag, purse, books you bought etc (kind of like in a movie theatre) - so don't dress with something you may have to take off later. You should bring a sturdy cloth bag (or suitcase with wheels) for transporting your books and catalogues. You think I`m joking - I`m not. I took 4 bags to OCHEC and wished I had gone the suitcase route.
you may want to skip a session time and use it to focus on the vendor hall. It is very crowded at lunch time. I went through the vendors just collecting catalogues. This took me 30+ minutes. Not all vendors had their catalogues out where I could see them and JOY`s in a DVD and another one had it in the middle of a novel etc. After I got the catalogues, I started to learn about each company. For example - Tree of Life offers high school diploma etc.
The wise counsel I was given before I went to my first convention was twofold - First, to prepare myself that it would be overwhelming(and it was). Second, to bring a list of what I wanted to purchase and then stick to it. For myself, I went committed to not purchase anything and then took my list with me to OCHEC (a much bigger convention) and I made my purchases there. You can spend a huge amount of money at these things and so should have a plan. Also, taking your smart phone or tablet may be a good idea so you can check pricing elsewhere. The alure of `pay no shipping`is definitely a good thing, but not if you can get it considerably cheaper elsewhere.
in addition to curriculum, you may be able to purchase christian t shirts, foreign language bibles, family games, colouring books, maps, novels, etc.
Math U See sold out of older level's of curriculum (geometry etc), this is the only convention that Rod & Staff attends, I found that the books on maturing (physical development, purity etc) were disappearing reasonably fast. If you call Math U See they will send you a catalogue with a DVD that explains their teaching. IEW (Excellent Resources in Canada) will not give you a catalogue, but if you send an email to their US address, they will mail you one. They offer Canadian resources, but these are not facilitated by Andrew Pudewa and I would not recommend them until you watch some of Bev`s seminars on youtube so that you know what you`re getting.
even if you don't think you will use a program like Sonlight or Tree of Life, you may wish to get their catalogues because they have great lists of readers (then you can borrow them from the library.)
it is a big enough place that you should may want to set a meeting place and time to end the day - there were good friends of ours who went last year that I didn`t even see. The facility is like a large public school.
lunch was good, but the line up was so long you would only go through once so take what you want the first time around.
lastly, there are about as many ways to homeschool as there are homeschool families. Listening to all the counsel you get is a great idea, but then throw out what doesn`t fit your family, age of kids, budget, faith, focus etc........ This is not easy though
I am excited for the upcoming homeschooling conference in Kitchener as this will be my very first one!
I'd like to offer my shuttle bus (van) services to any who would like to carpool down with me for some good conversation and great fellowship. My van can seat 8. If anyone would like to come down with me, I'd LOVE to experience this conference with you ladies.
I'm a newbie though so some organizing and departure suggestions would be appreciated.
It starts at 8 am I see and the driving map shows it takes 1 hr 8 minutes. Would it be a good idea to leave 2 hours or is leaving 1 1/2 hours enough time do you think?
If anyone would like to come with me just let me know and we can co-ordinate timing and pick-up times for everyone depending on who comes and where you are.
Can't wait to spend an entire day with you.
Thanking the Lord every day for each and every one of you!
