Photo: By G. Castro
The California Homeschool Network Family Expo is scheduled for July 31, August 1, 2, 2009 at the Marriott Hotel in Ontario, California. This is a great experience if you have an interest in homeschooling or are a seasoned homeschooler. They have a wide variety of vendors and speakers with everything to do with homeschooling. You can find vendors that sell curriculum, books, games, and just about anything you can think of related to homeschooling. They even have a used curriculum and a kid’s sale that happens on Sunday only from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm. If you are registered for the Expo you can register to sell your used curriculum as well. The kid’s sale allows children to create and sell their own stuff so as to have an educational experience of what it’s like to make, market, and sell their own products. My wife actually was a vendor selling Barefoot Books a couple of years back. If you’re not familiar with Barefoot Books you are in for a treat as the artwork is amazing and the stories are very multi-cultural from around the world. If you are interested you can order here for a discount.
This is a great place also to begin your search into homeschooling. It is actually here that I first began to seriously give some thought to homeschooling my daughter. One of the reasons for this was a class I took on gifted and special needs children. My daughter is advanced in the art, science, and math and I learned so much by attending this class. Without even knowing my daughter, the speaker had described her perfectly. I felt at home knowing that I was not alone in my search for the educational needs of my daughter.
The vendors range the gamut from math, reading, writing, to musical instruments, and trips to the Amazon. There are a wide assortment of vendors and people from different walks of life. One of the things I find most fascinating about homeschooling is its appeal to many different people for different reasons. Some homeschool because they want to add there religious values to their curriculum, others homeschool to provide a wider range of learning opportunities than are offered in traditional schools. Some don’t want the State to do what they believe is a parent’s fundamental right to educate their children. Still others are not satisfied with the public educational system and want to give their children a better education. Some want to allow their children more time to focus on what they do best and are interested in learning.
Along with the wonderful people, vendors, books, curriculum they have a Family Village where children can do various activities while you or your spouse browse around. They also have lectures that are child-friendly. Children under thirteen must be supervised by an adult. This may be a time to spend some family time with your children. My daughter especially liked the Keva Planks which are sort of like a new fangled block only cooler. I believe they said they have 10, 000 of them so you can imagine all the things kids can build. They will also have a chess room that will be available all weekend.
The California Homeschool Network is a great place to start your search for homeschooling information. You can check out there website here for more information.
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