Last summer, Geoff and I had the privilege of attending our first ever local homeschool convention. In the past we had showed up only at big state conventions. It was a neat experience. We went to our own regional event. The Smoky Mountain Home Educators Association is a Christian organization open to all homeschoolers and serves 18 counties in Tennessee. It is one of seven regional organizations tied into the Tennessee Home Education Association. They offer a host of wonderful resources and events throughout the school year, including spelling bees, science fairs, and a graduation. We were welcomed by Cory Bennet and Rich Melton. I think they had an attendance right around a thousand this year (over a period of two days). We were glad we attended; there are many benefits to attending a local convention. For one, it does not have the hectic feel of huge conventions. For a newbie homeschooler, especially, a local convention might be a good way to ease into the homeschool scene, as it is not as overwhelming as some of the “mondo huge” events. The convention was held at a local junior high school. It was easy to navigate, easy to find things, and had an overall slower paced, relaxed feel. We were able to spend more one-on-one time speaking with vendors (we had a marvelous time getting to know the Notgrass company better!—www.Notgrass.com). If you have not visited your local/regional homeschool conference, you may want to consider doing so. It is a really wonderful way to connect with homeschooling neighbors and to support the hard-working leaders in your area. For Tennessee homeschool families, you can learn more about SMHEA here: www.smhea.org (they have a very helpful website!).