...More power to you if you can!
I had it all worked out in my mind that we would tackle the Exhibit Hall on Thursday night from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. (after tossing and turning the night before because I was too excited to sleep, the two hour trip to the Convention Center and attending the afternoon workshops). After all, my "must-see" vendors were circled so why else would I need to stop at all the other vendors? ...little did I know...At 5 p.m., we walked into the Exhibit Hall and I was slightly overwhelmed yet really excited to be surrounded by "everything-homeschool". Armed with my circled map, we started down the back wall. I've never seen so much homeschool "stuff" all in one place outside of the Rainbow Resources catalog!
About three full rows into the Exhibit Hall, I started passing up looking at books and I love books but I was determined to visit all the Exhibitors by 9 p.m. At four rows in, my eyes began to glaze over as I couldn't make sense of what the vendors were telling me. My stomach was growling, my mind was still reeling from the afternoon sessions (Colin Gunn challenged my thinking during the IndoctriNation sessions) and my body was thinking about the luxurious Embassy Suites hotel room that was awaiting us. Halfway through the Exhibit Hall, hunger and the need to rest won out. It pained me to leave knowing that I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I knew I had a big weekend ahead of me and pacing myself (which is hard for me to do) was absolutely necessary!
However, I learned that it's okay to take all three days to visit the Exhibit Hall even if you have all of your curriculum and aren't on the hunt for something specific. And, it really paid to have an open mind and visit vendors who weren't circled on my map. There are some great alternatives to the big "name brand" companies that I had no clue existed!
I also learned that it was okay to think about purchases (surprisingly, the vendors weren't pushy at all) and to even take info home and pray over it! That's what I did about supplemental Bible Curriculum because I was torn between two great options and price points. As I was pouring over their brochures in my hotel room, I felt God asking me to wait and trust Him to show me how to teach the Bible to my child. A few days later, Positive Action Bible Curriculum (one of the companies I was praying over) called to say that I was their door prize winner and won "Enjoying God's Gifts", their first grade Bible curriculum!!! Awesome!! God was already in the details waiting to provide in His time and in His way!
I loved seeing the variety of vendors! Sampling homemade ice-cream, watching a lasso demo (which made me homesick for my family back home because my son would have loved to see a "real" cowboy), discovering Lego accessory packs that line up with our history units, seeing companies who focus on old-fashioned boyhood fun as well as having access to hundreds of companies that serve homeschoolers made for such a neat first-time Exhibit Hall experience! Kudos to HEAV for putting together an awesome Exhibit Hall--definitely a Convention highlight!!!
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