Bring the Whole Family?

If you are new to homeschooling and thinking about attending the Family Expo on June 23-26, 2016 at the Sheraton Fairplex, you might be wondering if you should bring the whole family or just come by yourself and spend the time learning about home schooling.

Well, I’m here to tell you that you should most definitely bring the whole family.   After all, it is billed as the CHN FAMILY Expo! Here is what took place at last year’s Expo on June 25 – 28, 2015 at the Torrance Marriott.

Sure, you are going to get a lot of info about homeschooling including the legal aspects, information about different types of homeschooling, charter schools, curriculum, activities and so much more.  But, your kids will also get a lot out of the Expo no matter what age they are.  Family Expo has activities and workshops for everyone, there’s even a baby and toddler room with fun things for the littlest ones to explore. There’s the All Ages Area with a multitude of materials and activities to get lost in and an all ages Family Dance Saturday night.  The Tween Lounge is a safe place for 10 – 13 year olds to hang out, meet new friends, have a snowball fight and share their thoughts and ideas. The Teen Room is always packed with a plethora of workshops and crazy fun to get involved with. Plus, there’s the Teen Dance Saturday night.  Besides those age specific places and activities there will also be many great happenings that will interest everyone including the Pine Derby Race, a meeting just for dads, the Used Curriculum Sale, Science and Project Fair, Talent Show, key speakers like Diane Flynn Keith, a showing of the documentary Class Dismissed, and so much more.

Although there is no childcare offered at the Expo we do allow Grandparents to come for free. This means your extended family can learn about this big decision you’ve made and see for themselves that you haven’t gone completely ‘round the bend.  Also, they can add more family support for taking care of the little ones while you’re gathering information.  If that’s not an option, children are welcome in most workshops but we do ask that they remain quiet so that others can hear the speakers.

Best of all you should bring the whole family and experience the wonderfulness that is the homeschooling community.  It’s a rare treat to be in a place where nearly everyone you see is a homeschooler who understands your choice to keep the kids at home and supports your journey whatever path it may take.

 

Article submitted by Bequi Howarth