Monday, April 26, 2010

Midwest Homeschool Convention

Wow! Can I just say that again? Wow! Miss a year, miss a lot. I attended this convention the first two years, but then skipped in 2009 because my little one was still nursing. Boy, did things change! What started out as a small, cozy convention with a load of great speakers turned into a massive, unbelievably huge convention of home school families galore, with even more great speakers mind you!

I have to admit, my first thought upon arriving at the Duke Center and seeing the masses, was "This is way too much, I want to go home - sniff, sniff!" But after collecting myself and getting over the initial shock of the change in size and venue, I was able to carry on with my heavy duties of shopping and sitting back listening to awesome speakers :)

It's quite hard to decide who to go see with so many great folks to choose from, but I opted for three (or rather time, schedule, location and capacity limited me to three) - Andrew Pudewa (I'd never miss the chance to hear him!), John Rosemond (after his first workshop, I was hooked and went to the rest of his), and one other, whose name eludes me (sorry!).

Oh, but Tim Hawkins had to be *my* weekend highlight! I laughed until I cried. (and I really needed to laugh!) He was funny and entertaining from the minute he took the stage and had a delightful, disturbing sense of humor that I could have giggle to for hours! Whoever thought of adding this awesome break for the attending families deserves a gold star! I'd go back just to see him!

Shopping - wow again! There were SO many vendors it was difficult to give them each adequate consideration. Instead, I found myself "waiting" to buy this or that so I wouldn't have to lug it all weekend (or in case I found a better deal, lol!). Then I missed out on a few deals :( But overall, an excellent selection of vendors, and even many new ones to consider!

Some of the sessions were very spread out, and often classes were full to capacity, so other than the enormous size (which may or may not be a negative depending on your personal preference) these were the two biggest drawbacks.

Overall, I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars!

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