MId West Great HomeSchool Convention - who went, what'd ya think?

[Another Lynn]

Anyone home from the Mid West HomeSchool Convention in Cincy? 

 

How was your weekend?  Who or what did you hear that you enjoyed?  Any resources you were excited to find? 

 

(Also feel free to add if it was your first time to go, etc.)

 

 

[Another Lynn]

I got back a couple hours ago.  (Tired!)

 

I was surprised that a number of regular vendors weren't there (Timberdoodle, MFW, Peace Hill Press - though I knew SWB wasn't speaking this year - among others...)  So you think it's because of cost?  Or because convention just isn't much of a money maker?

 

I enjoyed hearing Adam Andrews, Jay Wile, Dr. Inge Auerbacher (Holocaust survivor), John Stonestreet, Brett Kunkle.  But there weren't as many big name speakers as I remember from prior years.  

 

I found a new (new to me) resource for vocabulary called Marie's Words http://www.marieswords.com/ They remind me a bit of IEW's vocab cards in their theme based writing books. 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2016 by Another Lynn

[cbollin]

 

 

I was surprised that a number of regular vendors weren't there (Timberdoodle, MFW, Peace Hill Press - though I knew SWB wasn't speaking this year - among others...)  So you think it's because of cost?  Or because convention just isn't much of a money maker?

 

I'm too far away to have gone this year.  But with mfw and conventions, they aren't doing any conventions/conferences/hotel events this year in any city.  They have something on their website on it about taking a sabbath rest from conventions or something like that.    That's a big change for them.   I don't know about other vendors. 

 

anyway, looking forward to reading this thread and listening to the fun.  We don't have any convention near enough to us anymore so it's fun to listen and remember the good ole days when it was exciting to be there.  all ears.. :)

[Mom28kds]

I went on Friday. I only went to the vendor hall.  I didn't realize ahead of time that several of the bigger vendors wasn't going to be there. I felt it showed. It was fine but probably won't go next year for what I would need. 

[Tenaj]

Timberdoodle isn't traveling this year either . . I think they had an accident last year that totaled their truck and trailer so they are regrouping.

 

I'm not home yet . . one more night at the hotel and home tomorrow. I enjoyed the conference. I especially enjoyed several of Monica Irvin's Etiquette talks this year along with others.

 

I really didn't see much new in the vendor hall. I did enjoy seeing some of the older companies expanding their offerings. Veritas Press is one that I was drawn to more than I have been in the past. Also Memoria Press is continuing to expand. They are on my naughty list though for revising Latina Christiana yet again ( fourth edition). I told the nice guy in the booth that I've purchased every version if that program! At least he was sympathetic.

 

I've been going to this conference since the beginning.

 

 

It felt like attendance was down when I was in the vendor hall. Did anyone else feel that way?

Edited April 2, 2016 by JanOH

[kbutton]

My husband loved John Stonestreet and the holocaust lecturer too, Another Lynn.

 

I really enjoyed Carol Reynolds (Professor Carol). I attended two of her sessions. We bought her middle school DVD series. 

 

Mr. D's talk on prime numbers was very good and so was the talk by the Cedarville U. math profs. (The CU one was more elementary than what I needed, but it was excellent.)

 

I really missed Jim Weiss! 

 

A lot of my favorite speakers are slower to come up with new talks (though they update familiar ones to some extent), so I had less to go to, but I enjoyed it anyway. 

 

I had been hoping to attend more talks about SN and exceptionalities, but I have heard enough of one veteran speaker that I think I know what she has to say (though she's very, very good), one spoke about stuff outside of our particular need, and the one that would have been most relevant might have been fine, but in checking her out ahead, she seemed more "alternative" than I was looking for. I wanted more evidence-based ideas than what she had to offer.

 

I had a couple of time slot conflicts also; otherwise I would have attended at least one more session, maybe two.

 

The difference in vendors didn't hit us too much. We were able to get what we needed. I will be ordering some things later, but that's not for lack of ability to get it at convention.

[kbutton]

Did anyone get to hear Kathy Kuhl? (my sil)

 

She was on my list, but I had two sessions that I wanted to go to, and I've heard her several times. 

[Another Lynn]

Timberdoodle isn't traveling this year either . . I think they had an accident last year that totaled their truck and trailer so they are regrouping.

 

I'm not home yet . . one more night at the hotel and home tomorrow. I enjoyed the conference. I especially enjoyed several of Monica Irvin's Etiquette talks this year along with others.

 

I really didn't see much new in the vendor hall. I did enjoy seeing some of the older companies expanding their offerings. Veritas Press is one that I was drawn to more than I have been in the past. Also Memoria Press is continuing to expand. They are on my naughty list though for revising Latina Christiana yet again ( fourth edition). I told the nice guy in the booth that I've purchased every version if that program! At least he was sympathetic.

 

I've been going to this conference since the beginning.

 

 

It felt like attendance was down when I was in the vendor hall. Did anyone else feel that way?

 

Yes, I thought so too!

 

(Sorry to hear that about Timberdoodle!) 

 

[Another Lynn]

I'm too far away to have gone this year.  But with mfw and conventions, they aren't doing any conventions/conferences/hotel events this year in any city.  They have something on their website on it about taking a sabbath rest from conventions or something like that.    That's a big change for them.   I don't know about other vendors. 

 

anyway, looking forward to reading this thread and listening to the fun.  We don't have any convention near enough to us anymore so it's fun to listen and remember the good ole days when it was exciting to be there.  all ears.. :)

 

Totally understandable!

[Another Lynn]

My husband loved John Stonestreet and the holocaust lecturer too, Another Lynn.

 

I really enjoyed Carol Reynolds (Professor Carol). I attended two of her sessions. We bought her middle school DVD series. 

 

Mr. D's talk on prime numbers was very good and so was the talk by the Cedarville U. math profs. (The CU one was more elementary than what I needed, but it was excellent.)

 

I really missed Jim Weiss! 

 

A lot of my favorite speakers are slower to come up with new talks (though they update familiar ones to some extent), so I had less to go to, but I enjoyed it anyway. 

 

I had been hoping to attend more talks about SN and exceptionalities, but I have heard enough of one veteran speaker that I think I know what she has to say (though she's very, very good), one spoke about stuff outside of our particular need, and the one that would have been most relevant might have been fine, but in checking her out ahead, she seemed more "alternative" than I was looking for. I wanted more evidence-based ideas than what she had to offer.

 

I had a couple of time slot conflicts also; otherwise I would have attended at least one more session, maybe two.

 

The difference in vendors didn't hit us too much. We were able to get what we needed. I will be ordering some things later, but that's not for lack of ability to get it at convention.

 

My ds went to both of Mr. D's talks and enjoyed them. 

 

I also missed Jim Weiss!!

 

I know what you mean about the same talks, so some people I alternate years.  But by the time it's been two years, there's plenty I can benefit by hearing again. 

[Another Lynn]

I really wish the vendor hall would have a little bit more organization to it - like all the colleges together, T-shirts, toys and fun stuff together, specialized subject vendors, generalized curriculum vendors, etc.  I know there are lots of reasons they don't want to do it that way.  Most of the "Classical" vendors were together this year which was nice. 

 

(I forgot to say, I haven't been to all the Cincy conferences because I think I was still going to CHEO the first year or so, but I've been to most of them.)

 

(Other vendors I didn't see this year - All About Spelling, Saxon, Gravitas Press..... I think there were others.)

[lovinmyboys]

I wasn't able to stay as long as I would have liked this year, but I was still glad I went. I think just getting away and being able to look at stuff and think was helpful to me.

 

I listened to a talk by Janice Campbell, the classical historian, Christopher Perrin, and the lady from celebrate kids.

 

I also talked to Justin Richards from youth digital and that went well. My ds has taken a couple of his classes and thinks he is a celebrity.

 

I finally broke down and bought AAR for my 6yr old and got a few things from critical thinking company and hickory grove press.

[PeterPan]

I was there.  Only did the vendor hall, didn't buy much.  I'm sort of post on everything, I guess.  Bummed I didn't connect with you!  Little fun surprise was the Zondervan vendor with everything at half off.  That was good.  Found some cute things in the Nature's Workshop booth.  The others already explained why Timberdoodle wasn't there.  I kept meaning to write them and suggest they do a we're not at the convention, free shipping sale.  That would have been fun.  In fact, if vendors were smart they'd do that and skip the hassle, lol.

 

And yes, attendance was visibly down.  Many lecture rooms were only partially filled.  I didn't go in but just noticed while walking by.  Vendors were bored in the booths and many didn't show up.  But I haven't heard official counts.  I decided I wasn't going to the sessions when I saw they brought in Gurian.  I got some of his books from the library, and he just seemed like a quack.  I suppose someone else loved him, lol.  I'm just tired of the whole thing, with the king-making, throwing out good orgs, bringing in others, blah blah.  A LOT of the booths in the hall were just worthless. It used to just be a percentage.  

 

I don't know what they'll do to revitalize.  I don't know how TTD/CHEO is doing.  It may be that the downturn for GHC is related to that.  You always have this bizarre situation where people fly in and make great effort to come, while people who are local don't go at all.  Some people don't like the crowds.  I've also heard Indy has gotten their act together and improved their convention to make it more appropriate to the market.  I think I heard Indy had 5,500 last year.  That's pretty big!  So that would be a lot of people not bothering to go to Cincy anymore. 

Edited April 3, 2016 by OhElizabeth

[reign]

I just got back! It was my first conference and pretty fun. I went to mostly the classical talks and two of Sarah Mackenzie's talks. Lots of further reading lists for myself, which is great! I picked up Teaching The Classics and Latin for Children. Both of which I am super excited about. I do wish Bravewriter had been invited. Would have loved to hear SWB in person too! I did meet S. D. Smith and he was very nice. My youngest especially loves his books and he signed stuff for her so that was a big deal when I got home!

[Tenaj]

 

And yes, attendance was visibly down.  Many lecture rooms were only partially filled.  I didn't go in but just noticed while walking by.  Vendors were bored in the booths and many didn't show up

 

 

I had a different experience in the lecture rooms.  I was in four sessions that were standing room only . . . every seat filled.  Now, granted that was in the smaller rooms but even when in the Grand Ballroom which, of course, never fills up, I was in two sessions where there were a lot of people.  One of those was the holocaust survivor and she had already spoken 2 previous times by the time I went, so her sessions were evidently well-attended.    

 

Do they ever release the attendance numbers?  I've never heard or seen official numbers.  It seemed like the lectures were pretty normally filled to me but that the vendor hall was noticeably less crowded at times.  Maybe there weren't less attendees, just less congestion in the hall because of the big vendors missing.  

 

It was sad to see the desperate vendors who were bored.  I hate to say it but I got good at avoiding eye contact because I kept getting sucked in by vendors whom I had no interest in.  One lady was scary aggressive and was insisting that my kids could not possibly be successful in life unless I purchased her books  - LOL!  That was a weird experience on Thursday night and I steered a large and wide path around her area for the rest of the weekend!    Most of the vendors were very helpful and it was kind of nice in a way that the vendor hall was less crowded because it gave me time to really research the items I had wanted to look at.  On the other hand, the vendors won't be back next year if they didn't get enough sales.  

 

I think the organization has really hurt themselves with all the picking and choosing and bridge-burning they've done in the past years.

[kbutton]

I had a different experience in the lecture rooms.  I was in four sessions that were standing room only . . . every seat filled.  Now, granted that was in the smaller rooms but even when in the Grand Ballroom which, of course, never fills up, I was in two sessions where there were a lot of people.  One of those was the holocaust survivor and she had already spoken 2 previous times by the time I went, so her sessions were evidently well-attended.    

 

Maybe there weren't less attendees, just less congestion in the hall because of the big vendors missing.  

 

We were in some crowded sessions as well.

 

I think your observation about congestion might be spot on. I know we had head counters in many sessions. With having a homeschool 101 track as well as a teen track, SN track, etc. it might actually be that they've relieved congestion just by highlighting and suggesting a blueprint for some families to follow. I noticed that instead of seeing slow times and frantically busy times, the attendance and traffic seemed more of a steady stream (in the hall and in the sessions). It could be better planning or a different approach to planning than attendance.

 

I don't mean this in a negative way at all, but I do think that some of the speakers need more new topics. I don't mind hearing some things more than once, but some of my favorite speakers are giving talks that are the same as in previous years. As my students get older as well, I would like to hear more about high school stuff, but not just transcripts. I think that some long-time attendees, particularly local ones, have just heard everything their favorites have to say, but the new families continue to need to hear it, and so the talks linger.

 

It must be hard to balance the interests and needs of such a diverse group. I know a few local people that have started doing TTD over the local convention have gone to TTD because they are more into the parenting tracks. I am more about academics and how-to. 

 

Oh, I have also seen more SN families, I think. They have continued to offer more SN topics in recent years. 

[cintinative]

 

 

It felt like attendance was down when I was in the vendor hall. Did anyone else feel that way?

 

 

Yes. Thursday night when it was free, it seemed more busy.  The other days I felt like traffic was less than what I was used to.

 

I missed having Peace Hill there and hearing SWB speak. She is amazing.

 

It was interesting that a few of my fave speakers weren't there this year. Also I have some friends that are just starting to look at homeschooling and I was bummed Cathy Duffy wasn't there. Her talks are so great for when you are just starting out to learn the lingo, learning styles, etc.

[cintinative]

  

I think the organization has really hurt themselves with all the picking and choosing and bridge-burning they've done in the past years.

 

I am out of the loop on this--can you let me know what you mean?

 

 

NOT related to this comment, but someone mentioned missing All About Learning press--to my knowledge they haven't been at convention in maybe three years??  I work in one of the booths and we happen to sell AAS and people always come looking for AAR and I have to tell them to go to Rainbow. I feel bad about it because there is quite literally no room at Rainbow to look through the AAR curriculum. =(

 

ETA: I actually emailed All about Press a couple years ago to ask why they weren't at convention and they said it wasn't something they were focusing on at that time (or something equally vague).  I just feel bad for all the folks who like to hold and touch something before they buy it.

Edited April 3, 2016 by cintinative

[Tenaj]

I am out of the loop on this--can you let me know what you mean?

 

 

NOT related to this comment, but someone mentioned missing All About Learning press--to my knowledge they haven't been at convention in maybe three years??  I work in one of the booths and we happen to sell AAS and people always come looking for AAR and I have to tell them to go to Rainbow. I feel bad about it because there is quite literally no room at Rainbow to look through the AAR curriculum. =(

 

ETA: I actually emailed All about Press a couple years ago to ask why they weren't at convention and they said it wasn't something they were focusing on at that time (or something equally vague).  I just feel bad for all the folks who like to hold and touch something before they buy it.

 

I was just referring to a few people who are not being welcomed.  It started way back when with the Ken Ham thing (kerfluffle - LOL!) and a lot of the speakers left and haven't been back since having migrated to the TTD conference.  I'm particularly thinking of the Lamplighter guy who hasn't made an appearance and was one of my favorite speakers back in those days and I don't think he's the only one.

 

On the other side, I seem to remember that the author of Bravewriter isn't invited either which has to limit on the other side of the issue.  I feel like they are trying to please everyone and have hurt and variety of speakers because of it.

 

I don't mean to bring up all the old controversies with that statement but I do think the conference has been changed in the years since that event and I don't think it's been an improvement.  I would love to go to the TTD conference in Sandusky but they have it so late that I'm not really interested.  I need the break about this time of the year and the renewed sense of purpose that the conference gives me.  By June I'm just ready to be on vacation and really digging into planning for next year not just beginning to shop.

 

I was amazed that I was actually able to get through the Rainbow Resource booth a couple of times and was even able to get almost everything I needed.   

 

All About Learning Press seems to think that having a tiny bit of product at the Rainbow Resource booth takes care of the convention for them but their resources are not displayed together . . the AAS and AAR were in completely different areas and I don't think there were samples available to flip through just packages so that if you knew what you wanted you could get it and if you were just browsing and wanted to look there was no way to see what was inside.  They should re-think this and either have Rainbow display things differently for them or travel themselves.  Maybe they think that online samples take care of the issue but I like to see and feel the actual books and materials.  Logic of English was there which probably cost some sales among new homeschoolers for All About Learning.

 

I hate to see the Cincinnati conference seeming to dwindle but am wondering if the virtual conferences will  be the way of the future.  If vendors aren't willing or able (financially) to make a go of doing the conference circuit, it's hardly worth it to have the physical building.  Seminars online would be cheaper and more flexible.

Edited April 3, 2016 by JanOH

[kbutton]

I was just referring to a few people who are not being welcomed.  It started way back when with the Ken Ham thing (kerfluffle - LOL!) and a lot of the speakers left and haven't been back since having migrated to the TTD conference.  I'm particularly thinking of the Lamplighter guy who hasn't made an appearance and was one of my favorite speakers back in those days and I don't think he's the only one.

 

On the other side, I seem to remember that the author of Bravewriter isn't invited either which has to limit on the other side of the issue.  I feel like they are trying to please everyone and have hurt and variety of speakers because of it.

 

The big kerfluffle happened before I started attending, so I haven't seen a big difference overall. 

 

It's interesting that BW is not there--she's local. She does retreats, so maybe that is more up her alley.

[northcoast]

I went and echo everyone's comments here:  missing good speakers that have been there in that past not to mention some of the vendors.  I like Kathy Koch.  I went to her session on "Focus Children's Thinking to Improve Efficiency and Learning". That session was mostly full.  However, she is one that will probably need to come up with some new material after 3 years of speaking there.  I also liked Heidi St John but she won't be back next year.  :(   I have been a regular attender this conference being encouraged spiritually along with learning how to better homeschool.  A friend heard Jessica Parnell's session, "How the Brain Works"  and said it was a good session. 

 

Next year will probably be my last year only because my daughter has expressed interest in the teen track.  I miss what the convention use to be.  I am at the point in my life I don't need to look at too much curriculum.  Unless some of the old favorites mentioned earlier come back, my conference days are probably winding down.  That said, I was encouraged and heard good speakers this year.

[reign]

The big kerfluffle happened before I started attending, so I haven't seen a big difference overall.

 

It's interesting that BW is not there--she's local. She does retreats, so maybe that is more up her alley.

I also would have really appreciated Bravewriter being there. Such good information and so up lifting. Julie replied to a post of mine saying they do not allow her to speak anymore. I emailed them giving her my support and asking them to ask her back.

[Rachel]

I really enjoyed Sarah Mackenzie and Adam Andrews. The other sessions I sat in weren't bad but not great (I only attended one Sat). I missed SD Smith Thursday night by getting in too late. We did accident crash a party at a bookstore wth him and Sarah Mackenize. Most of the sessions I was really interested in were on Saturday but we needed to travel that day and I missed them.

 

I noticed Cathy Duffy and Jim Weiss missing and was also surprised Julie from Bravewritter wasn't there.

[Rachel]

I also would have really appreciated Bravewriter being there. Such good information and so up lifting. Julie replied to a post of mine saying they do not allow her to speak anymore. I emailed them giving her my support and asking them to ask her back.

Why don't they want her to speak? Did she do or say something controversial?

[reign]

I really enjoyed Sarah Mackenzie and Adam Andrews. The other sessions I sat in weren't bad but not great (I only attended one Sat). I missed SD Smith Thursday night by getting in too late. We did accident crash a party at a bookstore wth him and Sarah Mackenize. Most of the sessions I was really interested in were on Saturday but we needed to travel that day and I missed them.

 

I noticed Cathy Duffy and Jim Weiss missing and was also surprised Julie from Bravewritter wasn't there.

I was at the bookstore too! Lol

 

I loved the Adam Andrews talk and finally bought Teaching The Classics. The Classical Ed talks were all really enjoyable and usually funny.

 

She didn't mention why they are not inviting her back and I didn't want to pry. She said they didn't think she meet their guidelines but never told her why.

[RootAnn]

The first session I made it to was all about Buy Our Stuff. It didn't look like it was going to be that way from the description and I was hoping to steer clear of those. (I don't mind the push at the end of the talk to come by the booth & buy something. It is when the WHOLE SESSION seems to revolve around their stuff instead of the question they said they were going to answer.)

 

Margaret - I went to one of Kathy Kuhl's talks (about Word Problems) and said I "knew" you through WTM boards. Of course, I was flustered & called you by the wrong name.  :blushing:

 

I think my favorite part was just chatting up other people there.

 

Some of the people talking had technical difficulties (Professor Carol, the Analytical Grammar lady) and/or showed up late (Analytical Grammar lady, again). Some talks were well-attended (Sarah Mackenzie's, at least one of the Notgrass lectures) and others were pretty sparse (Kathy Kuhl, unfortunately). Missed a lot of the talks I wanted to be at, for a variety of reasons.

 

It was my first homeschool convention & might be my only. I didn't actually have anything to buy. I went because I wanted to go at least once and DD really wanted to work the booth with her spanish teacher. (She had fun with OhE's daughter on Thurs night.)

 

DH went to a lot more of the speakers than I thought he would. He was surprised that it wasn't more of an academic conference. (He's used to Engineering Conferences with papers being presented.)

 

Small town girl here:  We had people give us bad directions more than once. Most people working the businesses did not seem to be very nice. Number of pan-handlers was large.

 

Funniest reaction was the Purdue "gifted" booth after they asked if I'd be interested in their material and I told them I didn't have any kids smart enough to be part of their program.  :P

[kbutton]

The first session I made it to was all about Buy Our Stuff. It didn't look like it was going to be that way from the description and I was hoping to steer clear of those. (I don't mind the push at the end of the talk to come by the booth & buy something. It is when the WHOLE SESSION seems to revolve around their stuff instead of the question they said they were going to answer.)

 

Two years ago, I went to an Adam Andrews talk that was listed as helping you develop a scope and sequence. He talked about how they do lit in their home, and then he told us to come to his booth. There was no scope and sequence talk at all. Made me so mad that I've never bought any of his products or gone to any other sessions of his.

 

I don't mind people hawking their stuff if you can tell from the description ahead of time that they will be. Most speakers who are primarily promoting their product give descriptions that hint this will be the case. I don't like bait and switch either, but outright product selling is okay with me as long as that's not what the majority of the sessions are like. I wonder if they are not supposed to be giving an extended sales pitch, and a few do it anyway, which is why their descriptions are not accurate.

 

I filled out the online survey and told GHC that they need to clear up some of the confusion around popular speakers, people being invited and uninvited, etc. It's making people talk about them in a way that is defeating their purpose. I didn't mention WTM forum, but I did say that their reputation on internet homeschooling forums is tanking.

 

I really want the convention to be successful long-term. I've learned a great deal from it in the past.

[mschickie]

I went for the first time this year and had a blast.  Normally I would just attend our state convention but that is not happening this year.  I know many conventions are struggling, folks are just not going to them the way they used to.  Many people are just buying things on line.

 

I was very impressed with the speakers.  I know most of the sessions I went to were packed and only a couple had plenty of open seating.  I had the issue where many of the sessions I wanted to go to were all happening at the same time and at other times there was nothing I really needed to go to. I really enjoyed Professor Carol and Dr. Perrin.  My dh went to a bunch of the science/creation sessions and really enjoyed those.   

 

I was also impressed with the vendor hall but if folks say it is not as large that is a concern. That is what started happening at our state convention about 7 years ago.  I wonder if the TTD conferences are having an impact.  I know a few people who were planning on going to one of those because the drive was a little less.  It would be interesting to hear what the number in attendance was.

 

 

 

[lovinmyboys]

Two years ago, I went to an Adam Andrews talk that was listed as helping you develop a scope and sequence. He talked about how they do lit in their home, and then he told us to come to his booth. There was no scope and sequence talk at all. Made me so mad that I've never bought any of his products or gone to any other sessions of his.

 

I don't mind people hawking their stuff if you can tell from the description ahead of time that they will be. Most speakers who are primarily promoting their product give descriptions that hint this will be the case. I don't like bait and switch either, but outright product selling is okay with me as long as that's not what the majority of the sessions are like. I wonder if they are not supposed to be giving an extended sales pitch, and a few do it anyway, which is why their descriptions are not accurate.

 

I filled out the online survey and told GHC that they need to clear up some of the confusion around popular speakers, people being invited and uninvited, etc. It's making people talk about them in a way that is defeating their purpose. I didn't mention WTM forum, but I did say that their reputation on internet homeschooling forums is tanking.

 

I really want the convention to be successful long-term. I've learned a great deal from it in the past.

I have heard Adam Andrews speak several times and I thought his talks were really helpful. I had the opposite reaction as you. I have not heard the scope and sequence talk though.

 

I don't mind if people are up front that they are promoting a product. I went to a right start talk my first year and it was helpful.

 

I wanted to go hear Kathy Kuhl but it didn't work out.

[Professormom]

This is so interesting. I couldn't go this year because they moved the dates, and I had a family wedding. I've gone off and on for years and it seems to ebb and flow. SWB is a huge draw for me :D so when she isn't there, it doesn't feel worth it.

 

I would agree though with a pp who mentioned they need some more variety in the workshop topics. The convention is always kind of a shot in the arm for me - and a nice girls weekend:-) - so recycled info isn't very helpful.

 

:listening:

[cintinative]

Can someone give me their own take on Professor Carol? I had not heard of her before the weekend and by the time I had, I was stuck in a booth and couldn't wander over to look at her stuff. Is it music appreciation or more than that?

[kbutton]

Music, art, and literature usually rolled up together. She talks a lot about recognizing truth and beauty as well. In one of her sessions this time, she tore it up talking about the Russian author, Pushkin and his influence. There was more to the session, but she was giving examples of topics where you can keep diving deeper and finding ties in the arts to all areas of study. 

 

You never know when you attend her sessions if she's going to talk about Russia, American folk music, or even teach the audience a song. She's passionate and fun to listen to. 

[mschickie]

This is so interesting. I couldn't go this year because they moved the dates, and I had a family wedding. I

 

 

Has it always been the weekend after Easter?  I know change dates can sometimes effect attendance.

[cintinative]

Music, art, and literature usually rolled up together. She talks a lot about recognizing truth and beauty as well. In one of her sessions this time, she tore it up talking about the Russian author, Pushkin and his influence. There was more to the session, but she was giving examples of topics where you can keep diving deeper and finding ties in the arts to all areas of study. 

 

You never know when you attend her sessions if she's going to talk about Russia, American folk music, or even teach the audience a song. She's passionate and fun to listen to. 

 

Okay so now I am upset I didn't buy any CDs of her talks. Bummer. Will have to check out her website.

[Professormom]

Has it always been the weekend after Easter? I know change dates can sometimes effect attendance.

IIRC, it usually hits about the 3rd weekend in April. I think I have gone different dates but they have always fallen between the 15th and the 27th. It seemed so early to me this year, but I guess Easter was early too. That last half of April was nice. We come from a more northern Midwest area, so Cincy was always warmer and in the first buds of spring.

 

It was a good time for me to get out of dodge:-) I am not sure why a few weeks seemed to make such a difference to me, but it did, lol.

[Haiku]

I filled out the online survey and told GHC that they need to clear up some of the confusion around popular speakers, people being invited and uninvited, etc. 

 

I filled out their survey several times with what I considered to be helpful, non-snarky advice. I mentioned some issues with their food vendor restrictions, the conservative political climate that makes some people feel unwelcome, the excessive focus on lifestyle rather than homeschooling, and the fact that many of their speakers don't address homeschooling questions but instead just want to hawk their wares.

 

I realize that GHC is religious in nature, but they acted like they wanted to attract a broad crowd, and they can remain Christian-focused without diverting their focus to non-homeschool-related issues.

 

After the third year, I received an email back basically uninviting me from future conferences. GHC are the WORST.

[kbutton]

I filled out their survey several times with what I considered to be helpful, non-snarky advice. I mentioned some issues with their food vendor restrictions, the conservative political climate that makes some people feel unwelcome, the excessive focus on lifestyle rather than homeschooling, and the fact that many of their speakers don't address homeschooling questions but instead just want to hawk their wares.

 

I realize that GHC is religious in nature, but they acted like they wanted to attract a broad crowd, and they can remain Christian-focused without diverting their focus to non-homeschool-related issues.

 

After the third year, I received an email back basically uninviting me from future conferences. GHC are the WORST.

 

I think the food is probably a venue thing--if they want to use it, they have to take the food restrictions with it. I admit that I do bring some of my own food in addition to walking down the street. I have food restrictions of my own that make eating there very difficult.

 

I know secular homeschoolers that come and find it worthwhile, but I know that not everyone has the same set of things that bother them or that they are willing to put up with.