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It’s almost time to head up to Sandusky, Ohio for the Teach Them Diligently Convention, my last homeschool convention of the year. Ben and I are both excited for this one. For Ben, there are a few reasons — this will be his first and only convention this year, the awesome teen program, the indoor waterpark, and the discount tickets to ride roller coasters at Cedar Point (we’re leaving a day early to do that!).
I’m happy for him. But my reasons for being excited about Sandusky are a little less exciting from his perspective — some of my favorite homeschool companies will be there! I know, this is my 4th convention this year, you would think I would be sick of the vendor hall. But, what you have to understand is that the other 3 convention were mostly working conventions for me. And while I will work some in Sandusky, I have carved out time to visit my favorite companies and hear a few workshops.
Since I’m known as quite the curriculum junkie and the most common question I am asked is, “what curriculum do you use?” (in fact someone messaged me just tonight with that question), I am going to share with you the top ten exhibitors I want to visit in Sandusky.
(be sure to read all the way to the bottom where I have a curriculum giveaway and some exciting news to share with you!)
Home School Adventure Company
Visiting this one won’t be hard because I’ll be spending time working at this booth. But HSA is one of my very favorite homeschool companies, and if you’re going to Sandusky, too, I want you to know where to find me.
If you are in the market for biblical curriculum for your middle and high school students that is different from all the rest, HSA is your company. So be sure to stop by. Also, plan to hear HSA’s author, Stacy Farrell speak. She has 4 sessions on the schedule.
A Journey Through Learning
Whether you’ve used lapbooks in the past or not, be sure to stop by and meet Nancy and Paula. They are a hoot and a wealth of homeschool information! While you’re there, take a peek at what they have to offer. If you use Apologia Elementary Science, Diana Waring History, or Classical Conversation, you’ll for sure want to stop by to see the lapbooking and notebooking resources they make for those curricula.
Raising Real Men/Great Waters Press
If you have not had the opportunity to meet Hal and Melanie Young (or their children), hear them speak, read their books, or participate in their webinars about raising boys, do yourself a favor and stop by their booth. If your sons are with you, bring some extra cash because they also have some great toys just for boys!
Lamplighter Publishing
This isn’t the first time Lamplight has made it onto one of my favorites lists. This is one of my favorite exhibitors and Mark Hamby is one of my favorite speakers. If you want great literature for your kids (of all ages), or incredible radio theatre, you’ll want to make a stop by the Lamplighter booth. Just try to time it so it’s not right after Mark speaks. His booth is always busy, but it get flooded every time he speaks.
Nature’s Workshop Plus
Okay, so this one is really Ben’s favorite booth. He loves to explore all of the science stuff they carry. He’s earned some money to spend and I feel certain this is where that will happen. If I can convince him it’s a good thing, I may purchase some specimens for dissection here.
YWAM Publishing
YWAM has long published some of our favorite books for missionary stories. We have ready many of the Christian Heroes Then and Now series and Ben is ready to move up to the International Adventure Series (a series for older kids and adults that describes the hardships a bit more graphically than Christian Heroes). I want to look at those a little more closely.
United Art and Education
This isn’t a curriculum store, but it is one of my favorite brick and mortar stores for purchasing art supplies. The closest one to me is over 100 miles away, so I was thrilled to see they will be in Sandusky!
Memoria Press
Ben has been diving headlong into history for years, and this year he discovered some of the history books from Memoria Press (The Book of the Ancient Romans, Famous Men of Greece, etc) and now he wants them all. I am not one to deprive him of books when he is passionate about a topic, so we’ll be stopping by here to see what we can find.
Currclick
Ben has taken a few online courses lately and really enjoys them. I’ve heard rumors that Currclick offers some pretty great classes, so I want to stop by and chat with them about what they offer for high school credit. It’s so weird that I have to think about things like high school credit now, and I really don’t have a good grasp on it yet. I trust that Leah at Currclick can help me sort that stuff out!
Creating a Masterpiece
Ben loves art and so far all I’ve done is throw a few art books at him. I’d like to be more intentional in this area in the upcoming school year. I’ve noticed this company at a few conventions and it always looks like kids are having fun creating their own masterpieces, but I always seem to be in a hurry and miss taking the time to stop and see what they have to offer. This time, I’m going to take Ben and make sure we look closely here.
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