Tomorrow I am off to one of our local homeschool conventions. We are blessed here in the Lou to have a few annual convention from which to choose. The Expo has always been a favorite of mine. The speakers are informative, the vendors are plenteous and kind, the location is nice and cozy.
Finding the gems
Each year we attend, I find myself going back to the same vendor booths. Homeschooling is much like a hobby in some ways. When first starting out, you think you need everything. Everything. Little to no discretion is placed on contents – just collect. You can purge later. Of course, you quickly find out what’s fluff and what’s food for the mind. One by one, curriculums, books, manipulatives are tossed aside and gather dust on a book shelf or in a closet. Years later you show up at the used curriculum sale with enough material to educate a small village… or a large one.
While weeding through the field of educational resources there are those gems you pick up along the way. Even when you’ve exhausted their usefulness for your brood, they’re just so hard to let go of. Convention is a great place to search for gems. Websites, samples, reviews – these are all great resources when searching for material. But visiting a vendor booth, talking with a company representative, looking through the materials… it’s an experience with exclusive insight you will not get from a website. Oftentimes at least a handful of vendors or companies will hold seminars for further education on their products. I cannot recommend enough the benefits of attending convention.
My Favorite Vendors
If you’re attending the Greater St. Louis Area Home Educators Expo this weekend, here’s my list of favorite vendors to visit. Many of these are travelling to conventions around the country so look for them at an event near you.
My Father’s World
We switched to MFW a few years ago and have really enjoyed it. We will be continuing on with it as our core curriculum for at least the next few years. I don’t see any reason at this point that we would give it up. Similar to Sonlight (my first love), MFW is heavy on reading, multi-age learning-friendly, and is built on a Biblical worldview framework. All things we loved about Sonlight. To me, MFW is a little less rigid and fits our laid back learning style just a tiny bit better.
As in years past, I will be doing a Supplement Resource post for the My Father’s World core we will be going through. These resource pages have been wildly popular and I continue to get requests for more of them, so hopefully this will be a benefit to some. Look for a supplement page to appear in the next month or two for My Father’s World – Exploration to 1850.
Rainbow Resources
This is just a seriously fun vendor. Think of Rainbow Resources as a big buffet of homeschooling. There’s a good amount of everything in this booth which is always one of the largest at Expo. If you’re looking for supplements, you’re sure to find some here. Be sure you ask about the convention specials. Most likely, you’ll walk away with a free item.
You can pick up a catalog to take home, but I’m warning you, it’s the size of Cleveland.
For a book lover, reader, writer, paper crafter, artist of any kind really, this will be the best spot in the whole place. Miller Pads & Paper provide quality paper products at really great prices. Blank books, journals, drawing supplies, grid papers, craft books, drawing guides, pens, pencils, paints – you name it. If you’re looking for something to do with papercrafting of any kind, you’ll find it here.
Confession: this is where I will not stick to my list and I’m okay with that. I will walk into this rather smalling booth and spend a long while in silent reverie. It will be glorious. My papercrafting self will delight in all the fun things I find to incorporate in future projects. I will leave with several items for both my kids and myself. And I’ll walk out feeling like I just had a caramel latte and a chocolate bar.
Sonlight
Sonlight is one of those companies that will always have a special place in my heart. It was with Sonlight that our family developed a love for reading aloud. This has been precious time together as a family none of us will soon forget. It has certainly developed their vocabulary and comprehension skills and even helped them form the habit of sitting quietly. I know that doesn’t necessarily seem like a skill but you have no idea how much of a skill it is until you are in a position where wiggly, fussy children are a distraction and/or nuisance.
While I won’t be buying anything at the Sonlight booth, I will take a look at what they have and keep up with the changes to their cores. There’s a good bet my youngest will be using Sonlight until she’s in 2nd grade.
Nature’s Workshop Plus
We like to pick up a couple fun things for the kids when we attend Expo. This is a great place to find games and fun learning activities as well as science kits if you’re in need of that kind of stuff.
Do you have any favorite vendors at your local convention? What are the gems you’ve discovered homeschooling? Please share your homeschooling secret treasures!
-Sara O’