Cincinnati (Midwest) Homeschool Convention

[K in MI]

This was my first year attending. I don't have anything to compare it to other than MI's INCH convention, which I have attended at least 12 years.

 

I don't know why the complaints about the Millennium -- we had a great stay. Each and every employee was happy, helpful, and kind. The room was great, the food was great. I'm glad we decided on the convenience of the close hotel. DS, DD and I walked around downtown during the day, and had no problems. We used taxis and the buses, both of which were convenient. I'm glad we came early, as we didn't have to deal with the crowds at check-in time. We used the parking garage there; yes, it was expensive, but we had a place for the car, and didn't need to use it at all while we were there. The trips to the zoo and aquarium were wonderful.

 

Meeting other WTMers Thursday night was nice; forum names were put with faces. You are a great group!!

 

The convention center was HUGE. I, too, wish that a map of the center had been included in the guide, instead of all the advertising. Since I'm hsing my high schooler "caboose," I was pretty much there just to browse the vendor hall. I attended Julie Bogart's Friday class on the stages of writing; I found it very helpful in understanding where ds is, though I'm not using the Brave Writer stuff. The vendor hall was very crowded, but I expected that. I liked the way that most of the music and math vendors were grouped together. I thought there was a overabundance of college booths. I walked through once to look; when I went back the next time to purchase, I noticed a big decline in inventory -- others must have bought on sight! :) The things I wanted, however, were still available. I noticed that many vendors are bringing inventory for inspection, but not for purchase. Though it is nice to not have to worry about lugging things around, there is something nice about instant gratification! :) I appreciated all the tables/chairs in the vendor hall!

 

Lots of children!!! I'm pretty tolerant, so it didn't bother me at all; the children I saw were very well-behaved. It was different, though: INCH only permits nursing babies and high school teens in the sessions and the vendor hall. I know the children's program was full before the convention started.

 

The Tim Hawkins program was great! We laughed so hard!! Attending his performance would have been reason enough for the trip.

 

Was it worth it? Very much so. Will I attend again? I'll have to decide that next year.

[radiobrain]

That area was NOT the worst area of downtown.

 

The worst area of downtown is several blocks away. The convention center is only 3 blocks from Tiffany's and Saks Fifth avenue!

 

Any jerk can walk around and bother people.

 

I wish the Convention center wouldn't book another "big" thing on the same weekend... the everything pets expo ended up helping screw up the parking.

[angela in ohio]

That area was NOT the worst area of downtown.

 

The worst area of downtown is several blocks away. The convention center is only 3 blocks from Tiffany's and Saks Fifth avenue!

 

Any jerk can walk around and bother people.

 

I wish the Convention center wouldn't book another "big" thing on the same weekend... the everything pets expo ended up helping screw up the parking.

 

:iagree:

 

And if we could get the Reds to schedule their games around us, that would be great, too. :D

[Harriet Vane]

That area was NOT the worst area of downtown.

 

The worst area of downtown is several blocks away. The convention center is only 3 blocks from Tiffany's and Saks Fifth avenue!

 

Any jerk can walk around and bother people.

 

I wish the Convention center wouldn't book another "big" thing on the same weekend... the everything pets expo ended up helping screw up the parking.

 

:iagree:

 

I thought the area was quite nice and am a little perplexed as to why folks say it was not the best area of town.

[ekarl2]

Angel! Check your e-mail ... just printed your label and your box will go out in the morning.

 

Enjoy!

[Holly IN]

About this being in the bad part of town.....Did you know there was an armed robbery at Walgreens on Friday afternoon during the convention???? The walgreens on 6th street near the Millenium Hotel.

 

Holly

[radiobrain]

That area is one of the safest in the city. Robberies, and other crimes can happen anywhere, anytime. I once had my purse stolen on a college campus, in a room full of people who I knew, WHILE in the room 2 feet from my purse.

 

There are some pretty shady areas in any metro area, and that is just not one of them. Sorry, I am originally from Chicago... this place is just not very bad. ;)

 

Can I vent a second? I was in a fight with my husband all weekend, and ended up not really going to anything, looking at anything... etc... as I thought he was pulling the "I want our kids to go to school next year" so I didn't have much interest. I even gave away my Tim Hawkin's ticket. Last night, we have the talk and it ends up that he totally didn't mean it the way I took it... so I totally wasted my time!!!:banghead: Fine, I saved a lot of $$$, but now I can't look at things and thumb through books I've only heard about and now will need to order off the web anyway!

 

I only got my 2 next singapore workbooks, 1 goofy cursive book and my MCT level 3. :tongue_smilie::cursing:

 

All that good time wasted, by that and my needing to bring my kids the last day...

 

oh well.

 

It was nice to meet the few of you who said hello (as I missed the Thursday get together).

 

Korin

[Mom2boys]

:iagree:

 

And if we could get the Reds to schedule their games around us, that would be great, too. :D

 

Since they are moving the convention dates up next year, I think it will be before opening day. Therefore, no Reds conflict. :D

[angela in ohio]

Since they are moving the convention dates up next year, I think it will be before opening day. Therefore, no Reds conflict. :D

 

ACK! I just looked at the dates. It has ALWAYS been the week after Easter. Now it won't be during dh's Spring Break, and he won't be able to go. :sad:

[Sugarfoot]

DH and I enjoyed the conference, for the most part. At one point, it took us 12 minutes to get from a table outside the vendor hall (where we were resting with a Diet Coke) to a speaker room because of the crowds coming out of the afternoon Tim Hawkins concert. The constant lines of people getting on and off the escalators made me nervous. There were so many people taking baby strollers on with them, and those rolling carts and suitcases, and I even saw a big wagon with kids in it getting on. My DH said, "Surely they're not taking that on the escalator." I kept thinking that something was going to get stuck or caught, and all of those people would go tumbling down... We took the stairs a lot...:)

 

I enjoyed meeting everyone from here on Thursday evening, and I loved every talk that I heard. At this point, I know what I want to see in the vendor hall, so I go with a purpose.

 

One of our most memorable moments was being evacuated from the Hyatt during lunch on Friday. I didn't even get to taste the potato skins that had just arrived.:glare: The fire alarms went off, and we were all escorted out. We went back the next day, and it turned out that there really was a small fire. Apparently, it could have been much worse. We took a picture of the fire truck for our DC, who of course wanted to know if there really was a fire.

 

I'd love to go back next year! We'll see. My DH kept saying how relaxing it was!:D We never go to a conference overnight without the DC! We stayed in a room with ONE bed, went out to dinner without worrying about what was on the kids' menu, and watched Leap Year on pay-per-view. Neither of us had Play-Doh in our tote bags. Yes, it was a good trip...

[tkeller]

I had a great time! I live in the area so I had no problems with hotels or anything we just drove home every night. Of course we did get lost on the way home the first night, lol! I'm not used to driving around downtown!

 

We go to several wedding shows at the convention center each year, and have never had trouble with crime or anything. I'm sure it can happen, but it's never happened to us. As big as this convention was I'm not sure where else they could host it? I've only been the past 2 years and it was at Duke Energy, but I hear it used to be at a large church. That must have been TIGHT!

 

I'm super excited to get my CDs! My sister and I went in together to buy the entire cd set, so we will have most of the presentations! Such a relief not to have to worry about making it to every talk you want to hear!

[Sherri in MI]

Anybody attend this? I've been going since it began several years ago. This is the worst year by far. I have always come away encouraged and inspired, but this year the convention was oversold in my opinion! The sessions were so full of people it was a fire hazard. People were crowded in sitting on the floor around the chairs. Packed in like sardines. It was really sad to me. I didn't even go back today for the last day. :( Oh well, a friend of mine called it my pep rally each year that I went... I've been homeschooling long enough that I don't need my pep rally anymore I guess. Anyone else feel this way?

 

 

I really NEED my pep rally this year! I soooo wanted to go to the Cincinnati Convention because it had all of the speakers I love, but I just didn't have the money! We're broke and unemployed. Can't wait to read all the posts about it!

[Sherri in MI]

I think that sounds terrific! Thanks for the info.

 

...

 

I do think that one way to possibly help gauge room size need might be to have those who sign up identify which classes they are thinking of attending. It would not limit them to attend just those classes, but it might help better gauge interest....? I'm thinking a poll of some sort, that would tally the results for the organizers so they don't have to do that by hand.....

 

 

 

This is what they used to do at the CHEA Convention in California. When you register you pick your workshops. You are not committed to them - they just use everyone's choices in room planning.

[Haiku]

This was my second year (and my second homeschool conference ever). I had a good time and enjoyed seeing some WTMers. However, I noticed a huge increase in the number of non-homeschool-related vendors, and I didn't like that at all. I also don't like that they sold booth space to political organizations. I think it presents an unfriendly tone.

 

I didn't get to hear as many speakers as I would have liked because my dh was with me and I didn't want to drag him to (what would be to him) session after session of blabbing people, but he REALLY enjoyed Jim Weiss (enough that he went to a second session alone, while I was doing something else).

 

Tara

[Harriet Vane]

However, I noticed a huge increase in the number of non-homeschool-related vendors, and I didn't like that at all. I also don't like that they sold booth space to political organizations.

Tara

 

:iagree::iagree:

[PeterPan]

Just wanted to pop in, since I missed this thread. I didn't find the kids a problem, but then I brought mine. I COULDN'T leave them in the children's program, because they had no accomodations (even with an accompanying sibling) for toddlers. So I HAD to bring my nursing toddler and almost 11 yo. And frankly, it was the pokey adults looking glazed and bewildered (or my screaming toddler) that slowed us down more than anything.

 

That said, they should have gotten the WHOLE vendor hall and had much wider aisles. At CHEO the aisles have typically been much wider, which would have eliminated the problem entirely. And yes, there was so much non-academic clutter in the hall this year, it was rediculous.

 

Well I'm flabbergasted about the 4 conventions thing for next year, but wowee! Guess if people can't make one, they can drive a little farther and make another. The only question I have is how that impacts the conventions already going on in those states. Some might be fine, but others will tank with this. But such is life.

[ekarl2]

 

Well I'm flabbergasted about the 4 conventions thing for next year, but wowee! Guess if people can't make one, they can drive a little farther and make another. The only question I have is how that impacts the conventions already going on in those states. Some might be fine, but others will tank with this. But such is life.

 

Well, as a vendor I can tell you that SC and TN have SMALL conventions hosted by the state org that don't do very well at all. We've stopped going to those. I don't know of any convention in MA. I think Brennan's done his homework to find areas with plenty of homeschoolers who aren't served by a nearby convention.

[PeterPan]

You know, I really appreciate you clarifying that. The Cincy convention had such a HUGE impact on the CHEO convention (rightly or wrongly, can chew that all day), that I just would have been sick to see it happen in other states. But if they're underserved areas with something new and big coming in, that's terrific! That's one thing they learned for sure in Ohio, that the issue was never possibility but vision.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I attended it for the first time, with my sister who attended for the second year in a row. We were both amazed by the crowds, but had a great time.

I was very uplifted and encouraged by the speakers I saw. I do think they will need to readjust room sizes for next year, but all things are a learning process, and my sister said that at least the food options were better this year than last year.

[radiobrain]

Here is something I would like to point out... I think comparing CHEO & MWHC is not quite fair. They are/were totally different animals. They have/had different visions.

 

I want to go to the BEST convention. I don't think that the Dean's wanted to run CHEO out of business, or make things hard for them. I think that they wanted on put on a professional, well organized, affordable event that showcased some of the HSing movements more influential and important people. I also believe that they deserve to make a profit on it, as it is obviously a full time year round effort. If CHEO didn't have that vision, and it was not successful... that is their mistake. I personally know that other than the cost of CHEO, and the drive, it was just too religious for me. MWHC, while being definately Christian, is not so exclusively so to make secular HSers stay away. I would think that a decent portion of attendees were not specifically HSing for religious reasons.

 

I hope that the 4 convention split doesn't effect the MWHC too much, or at least in a negative way. The Dean's hit on something that I think is bigger than a lot of smaller HS conventions... that you need to expand your scope a bit, that HSers NEED to gather and be encouraged, and that people are willing to show up from all over the place if you put on a really good show. I applaud their vision, even though I wish it was a bit MORE expansive, but I do not fear for the other small conventions this might effect. It will only benefit all the HSers that go.

 

gosh, I am rambling this morning. SORRY! ;)

[ccm]

I don't know of any convention in MA.

 

The MassHOPE convention is in Worcester, MA, centrally located in the New England region. It draws homeschoolers from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, as well as Massachusetts. I am going this Friday and Saturday to hear Andrew Pudewa, Mike Smith, and Tom Clark, just to name a few. Always a great time!

[PeterPan]

The 4 replicated conventions will be in:

 

• March 3 - 5, 2011 – Memphis, TN (Memphis Convention Center)

• March 17 - 19, 2011 – Greenville, SC (Carolina First Center)

• March 31 - April 2, 2011 – Cincinnati, OH (Duke Energy Convention Center)

• June 23 - 25, 2011 – Philadelphia, PA (Valley Forge Convention Center – King of Prussia)

 

Actually, the curiosity to me was PA. With as many homeschoolers as seem to be in that state, I would have assumed they had a vibrant convention structure. But then you could have said the same thing for Ohio a few years back.

[Harriet Vane]

Here is something I would like to point out... I think comparing CHEO & MWHC is not quite fair. They are/were totally different animals. They have/had different visions.

 

I want to go to the BEST convention. I don't think that the Dean's wanted to run CHEO out of business, or make things hard for them. I think that they wanted on put on a professional, well organized, affordable event that showcased some of the HSing movements more influential and important people. I also believe that they deserve to make a profit on it, as it is obviously a full time year round effort. If CHEO didn't have that vision, and it was not successful... that is their mistake.

 

:iagree:

[iquilt]

I had a great time; this was my first year. I didn't have to navigate the crowds with my family and that would've worn on my patience very quickly. My dh stayed home with the kids for baseball opening weekend and I traveled alone. I could be flexible on where and when I found food and I attended a ton of lectures. I even helped La Clase Divertida at his booth while he gave his lectures. My only complaint were the wheeled carts that no one seemed to know how to drive! I came home with serious bruises on my legs from other people wheeling those things, stuffed to the brim with materials. Next time I'll wear my combat boots!

[PeterPan]

To be clear, my point was not to compare CHEO and MHC. The point was to compare the dynamic and what happened to CHEO after MHC started to what could (and will) conceivably happen in other states. You have an organization that has been here a long time, trying to watch the legislation, support homeschoolers (albeit not as inclusively as the market probably would have preferred), etc., but that didn't have a vision. They linked their non-profit and "mission" goals to their convention, couldn't flex, didn't group up, and now they're regrouping in another part of the state. My neighbor, an incredibly nice lady, is the one who heads the CHEO convention, and this whole dynamic just killed me. But it also killed me that they couldn't find a way to make it work.

 

So what happens happens. I just wonder what impact it will have on those states where it's going in.