Favorites from the Homeschool Convention

I took the guinea pigs twins to the Great Homeschool Convention in Ontario, CA last weekend, while I didn’t attend the lectures, I did walk the floor and talk to many of the vendors! So many wonderful products, but I wanted to list just a few of our favorites.

The first was a nutrition curriculum book that was written by an N.D., and three homeschool moms. The cost is $79, but it could be used with multiple children at multiple ages. So if you have several children, it could really save some money. Along with the dozens of tasty, healthy recipes in the book it looks to be one that could be kept and used for years as a reference book.

The authors host workshops regularly, and they can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nutrition-101-Choose-Life/127328157285624.

The next item is amazing for kids who must have something in their hands. This isn’t for kids who are very rough on things, but if they can be gentle, the Tangle is a perfect busy item to keep keep them focused. We bought them at the convention for $3.50 a piece, and they are wonderful! Different textures to touch, the Tangle’s twists and turns move smoothly and quietly so that your fidgety child can focus and get more done. Many of you know that my boys are very active and are often found moving while answering math questions, but sometimes we need to sit down to write or read together. This is a life saver for them!

WriteShop has multiple levels and is very tactile for those kids who simply must touch the red button. Lots of lap-book style activities with hands-on and visual options for a variety of learners make this a winner. The price varies depending upon which level you choose, and they’re very happy to help you! The ladies in the booth were very knowledgeable and nice.

There were a couple booths that  were offering microscopes of one type or another. Our favorites were those from www.homeschoolmicroscopes.com. They started at $99 for a very nice microscope with fine focus and a light. A far cry from the little ones with mirrors we used to use as kids, this thing is pretty amazing. There were multiple samples to look at using the scopes, and tho boys loved it.

There was one product that my plant loving boy adored. It was the Tower Garden by Juice Plus. This was pretty amazing, an aeroponic garden in which you can grow herbs, veggies, etc. It comes with all the supplies you need to get started and they’ll take payments too. It was a great idea, and looked like it would be fantastic for space conscious people, but the price tag was hefty – $545.

All in all, it was great to get up there and visit with people, vendors and learn about everything. Oh, there was one more thing I needed to mention…the star of the convention!

The boys fell in love with these silly puppets early in the day, but I made them wait until the afternoon before I would buy them. I saw at least a dozen of these little things running around with the kiddos – adorable beyond belief, they are well made little puppets!