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BEFORE YOU GO
Planning for the Convention can begin well before the actual event:

Pre-register for the Convention, either online at www.fpea.com or by mail using the form. If you pre-register before May 1, your badges will be mailed to you. That means no waiting in long lines for your badges —don’t forget to bring them!

Make your hotel reservations by April 22. After that date, rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Put on a smile and don’t be shy; you’re going to be with some of the friendliest, most helpful people on earth.

Preview catalogs, marking products you plan to purchase or look closer at. For a memory boost, clip selected ads to take with you. It can help a lot when in the exhibit hall surrounded by products and curricula!

Childcare—you have options! Consider registering for the Children’s Program (click here).  You can bring a teen helper to watch the children while attending lectures and visiting the exhibit hall. You can also pair up with another family, with one parent from one family watching the kids for part of the day, then switching off. Or leave the children with responsible caretakers at home or elsewhere. The key to shopping and learning without distraction is planning ahead.

Look over the Convention schedule, remembering to plan for breaks, lunch and a tour of the exhibit hall.

Prepare for the parking fees.
Shingle Creek charges hotel guests $8 a day to park on-site (non-guests must park off-site; the charge is $5 a day).

 

 Starting the Day
Start the first day of the Convention with everything in order and shipshape!

If you need to register, arrive as early as possible and go to the Registration Desk to obtain your badges. If you pre-registered and are arriving with your badges in hand, be sure to pick up your badge holders located at many stations throughout the Convention Center.

Wear really good walking shoes.

Eat lightly and drink lots of water
(carry your own water bottle).

Be sure to check for any last-minute scheduling changes.
 

Attending Lectures
& Workshops
The lectures and workshops present opportunities to glean from the wealth of information presented by homeschool experts. The following are tips for making the most of this part of the Convention:

Read your Convention program before arrival. Highlight which workshops you will attend. As you read your program, make notes of what is important to see first and which recordings to order. Remember to bring these notes with you.

Attending the vendor workshop for the curriculum you plan to purchase may help you use it more effectively.

Remember to bring a notebook and pens or pencils. It’s amazing how easy it is to forget this.

If you attend a workshop or lecture that gives you lots of much-needed information, go ahead and invest a few dollars to purchase the recording. You will thank yourself later.

If two sessions of interest are scheduled simultaneously, arrange with your spouse or a friend to attend the other, then exchange notes and ideas.

 If you are attending without your spouse and have to choose between two seminars you really want to hear, attend the one that uses more visuals/ demonstrations and buy the recording for the one that’s more of a lecture.

The Exhibit Hall
The exhibit hall is one area of the Convention that can seem overwhelming, especially for new homeschoolers.

Bring mailing labels or address stamps for catalog sign-ups and free drawings. As soon as you make a purchase, mark it to make it easier to reclaim it if lost.

Go through your Convention
“goodie bag,” found at the FPEA
Directors Table upon arrival, to
check out the products offered.

The hall is open on Thursday from
5 -9 p.m, Friday from 9 a.m.–7 p.m.
and Saturday from 9 a.m.– 6 p.m.

Use lists to help you remember important products.

Use your map and a Hi-Liter to
mark those booths you have to see
first. As you go through the exhibit
hall, use another color to mark off
those you have made purchases
from; a third color can mark those
you want to return to after you
think about them. You can also do
this with a simple list of booth
numbers, but visual learners can
remember better with colors!

First visit exhibits with merchandise for sale, then go later to those only taking orders.
 

After the Event
Within a week after the Convention, take time to process all the information you received, and place orders while everything is still fresh in your mind.