OnTheBrink Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I'm seriously considering attending this convention instead of the one in Chicago. Do they have a lot of academic workshops? I'm not interested in the churchy workshops I see at so many conventions. I want to pay before the early bird registration expires, but I don't want to waste time and money if the majority of workshops consist of how to family church or how to sing, iykwim. Are there workshops or events for 11 year olds? I noticed a new teen track, but what about kids a bit younger? Veterans? Is it worth a 5 hour drive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I am going because of the diversity of topics. I feel it is much more academic in nature than preachy. You can go online to Midwest homepage and look at the speakers. SWB will be there (not sure what day though). I am excited about it. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 bump Anyone? Bueller? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 I am going because of the diversity of topics. I feel it is much more academic in nature than preachy. You can go online to Midwest homepage and look at the speakers. SWB will be there (not sure what day though). I am excited about it. Holly I saw the list of speakers, which has ignited my interest! Do you know if there are activities for kids? I'm trying to work this to include a trip to the Creation Museum, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 No activities for kids but they are welcomed to go to the workshops with you. My dh is taking the kids to the Creation Museum while I am at the convention. We are going on Friday and staying over night then go home Saturday evening. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Debbie Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 As far as I'm aware, there is nothing for the younger kids. They are certainly welcome to come, but there will be no activities for them. I'm leaving my kids at home because after a couple of hours I know I'd be hearing, "How much longer do we have to sit here?!" My kids are 8 & 10 BTW. Maybe others have good ideas to keep kids busy. I went last year and I did see some kids. They were mostly reading or doing activity books. All that being said, it can be done, but you know your child best. Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 It is an excellent convention! Great speakers, great vendors. I don't take the kids because there isn't much for them to do and I like to do this kind of thing alone or with another homeschooling mom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy in Indy Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 It's definitely academically oriented--so many wonderful speakers this year!!! The hardest part is choosing which workshops to go to.... The teen track is being led by John Stonestreet. He is a wonderful, inspiring speaker who relates well to kids. If you want to bring a teen to something, this is it. I'm leaving my kids at home. There really isn't anything for the younger set to do. (Perhaps that's something they need to consider. I know Indy has a kids program available.) There's a conference in Indy but I'm driving two hours to Ohio instead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Hi Michelle, I definitely find it worth the drive. I was hesitant the first year I went but powerfully motivated by the fact that SWB was speaking. (Her seminars alone were well worth the drive, IMHO.) I have found that the Cincy convention is very academic, especially compared to others I have attended over the years. The vendor hall is also impressive. There are not options for children, though I have seen kids running around there. If I had to go with a kid, my own dd would probably do fine reading books and occupying herself with the contents of a backpack. She would also have fun buzzing around the vendor hall for an hour at a time with a cell phone so I can reach her (and vice versa) if need be. My ds, on the other hand, would give me pause as he is quite active and still young enough that I would not feel comfortable letting him be alone anywhere. If you get a hotel room right at the convention you could consider allowing your dd to watch a movie in the room with a Do Not Disturb sign on the door??? I forget how young she is--mine is almost 12yo. I am going to both the InHome Conference and Cincy--I'd love to meet you at one or the other and put a face with your name. I know two conferences is decadent. My kids really love the InHome Conference kids' stuff, and I learn different things at that convention than at religious ones. I am going to the Cincy convention for the academics, for SWB, and for the vendor hall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Strider, Are you comfortable leaving your dc at the kids workshops? I've never attended a non-sectarian convention, so I was a little concerned about what's presented. EX is considering going, so that will determine if DD goes with me to that one. If I choose Cincy, I'll most likely take her so we can do the Creation Museum at the same time. She'll just be 11, and I told her she can take my laptop and head phones and watch movies if she wants during workshops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Strider, Are you comfortable leaving your dc at the kids workshops? I've never attended a non-sectarian convention, so I was a little concerned about what's presented. EX is considering going, so that will determine if DD goes with me to that one. If I choose Cincy, I'll most likely take her so we can do the Creation Museum at the same time. She'll just be 11, and I told her she can take my laptop and head phones and watch movies if she wants during workshops. If I had to choose between the InHome Conference and the Cincy conference, I would choose Cincy because SWB will be there. However, Andrew Campbell will be at InHome this year so that would be a tough decision. JMHO Yes, I am comfortable leaving my kids at the seminars at the InHome Conference. If you browse through the workshop offerings you will see that most of them are art or science or games. There are also a fair number of historical offerings (life in pioneer days kinda stuff). It is hands-on stuff, and therefore I don't worry about content as much. I have sat in on a few of the kids' seminars also, and it has never veered into territory that was religious or philosophical. For example, my dd will be taking dodgeball, two cooking classes, scriptwriting, scrapbooking, pottery, dollmaking, and an herbal spa class (mixing your own lotions and such). Last year dd took an herbal first aid class too--it was all purely instructional for making teas or using aloe for wounds, etc. My ds is taking historical farm chores, making fishing lures, breaking secret codes, origami, and four science classes. They also try to enforce some child safety protocol. The first time I went the child safety stuff was not very good, and I actually complained about it. They have tightened up considerably since then. Kids who are allowed to roam (older kids who have specific parental approval) have to have a special stamp on their ID. When a seminar ends kids with the special stamp can go, but the other kids have to be signed out. Also during seminars workers roam the halls--if a kid is loose, their ID is checked. Every kid's ID includes their parent's schedule so that the parent is easily found. On the subject of child safety, last year I allowed my dd limited roaming permission. She had permission to go from one seminar to the next seminar. We met together at certain points in the day to be sure she knew where she was supposed to be. I then surreptitiously checked on her, peeking in the room to make sure she had made it to her class. Well, my dd got confused at one point and didn't make it to a class. I looked all over for her (checked the next class, checked the previous class, checked the vendor hall, etc.). I could not find her anywhere. The security staff were fantastic. They had walkie-talkies to communicate her description. We did find her--she was just confused about the schedule. In my searches she and I had just missed each other. The point is that I was pleased with the security response. I did attend one adult seminar, two years ago, that veered into some humanistic kind of philosophy. It was more along the lines of self-actualization, with a guided meditation to help you set goals. The seminar did not bash religion in any way (or mention religion at all). In fact, I find this conference to be uber-tolerant--it's a very relaxed environment. The seminar I referred to was more of a general self-actualization kind of thing. I have found since then that this conference does usually offer one or two seminars like the one I attended, but the majority of seminars are focused on academics and on specifically educational philosophy. I have a couple evangelical Christian friends who have gone to the conference--we have all felt comfortable there and just choose not to go to the 1-2 seminars that I have described. If you go to the website and browse the workshop offerings you'll see what I mean. Finally, it is an unschoolers conference. As such it is very relaxed. However, it is the very best of unschooling, with a lot of solid information on teaching and learning. Many of the seminars are formatted more towards traditional education, and some are more consistent with unschooling philosophy. I have always found that this conference offers a nice balance to my own rigorous classical leaning, and I often appreciate the many good ideas presented here. One final word--the vendor hall, while fun to browse, is not that great. I would not be able to stock up on my year's curriculum at this conference like I would at ICHE or at Cincinatti. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mamaweso Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I second the recommendation to go to the conference where John Stonestreet will be speaking and/or heading up the teen tract. He's the executive director of Summit and is an amazing speaker. The teens and adults both enjoy his sessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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