Great Homeschool Conventions, Inc. - Chino Hills, California

Mark & Rebecca Holmes

Here is my review of the Great Homeschool Convention in Ontario California for 2023.

First, there are a lot of sessions worth attending and multiple specialized tracks. But, this is not like the NSTA convention where you have the same session offered 2+ times. It was impossible to attend all the sessions I wanted because they were held only once and often in the same time slot. The online schedule did not match the paper schedule which caused confusion. All sessions were recorded, but that means on top of the price I paid for the conference itself, I had to pay for recorded sessions to get all of what I wanted. This nearly doubled the conference price. Recorded sessions also cost around $10 each which was higher than I paid per session at the CHEA of CA conference. The recorded sessions won't arrive for around 3 months, so I hope they are quality.

Second, this conference has no opening or closing sessions. These are important to set the tone for the entire conference, communicate issues or updates, give a platform to the sponsors, and introduce local homeschooling organizations in California (like CHEA of CA, HSLDA, Family Protection Ministries, etc.). Not having these on the schedule is a huge missed opportunity for Californians to be united in our homeschooling effort and frankly reveals this is an outside organization not invested in our actual state.

Third, the conference does not start first thing on Thursday morning, it starts in the afternoon, so the conference limits itself to 2.5 days instead of 3 full days. This squished the sessions into less time slots and kept lunch breaks too short.

Fourth, there is NO hour-long lunch break. Sessions only have a 30 min break between, so if you need to eat, you better buy it at the conference and bring it to the sessions. If you have food allergies and cannot eat the food they offer, then you have to choose to go hungry or skip a session that you wanted to attend. No outside food or drink is allowed at the Ontario Conference Center. If ghc just offered an hour lunch break, then I could pick up the kids at Giant Cow, get back to my hotel for allergy free lunch, and make it to the next session on time.

Fifth, the Children's Conference by Giant Cow was NOT in the Ontario Convention Center's building. It is a separate event, separate cost, and is in the hotel down the street. So every time you need to give your child a snack, do a lunch break, pick them up, or drop them off - you have to walk all the way down the street to the Double Tree Hotel. It was too much walking with the kids at a separate location. Ghc should figure out how to SHARE the conference space with Giant Cow so that parents don't have to walk that much. CHEA of CA convention is able to do that, so you can too. FYI, Giant cow does not allow food and most kids cannot go from 7am to 12:45pm nor 2:10 to 6:30pm without one. Having the kids nearby would really help parents give them snacks.

Lastly, this conference does not show both sides of the age of the earth debate. They pretend that Christians can only believe one way. I think Christians need to stop pretending they know the age of the earth and that age is necessary to to hold up the Bible, because your interpretation could be wrong. Bring in Reasons to Believe too so you present ALL the differing viewpoints on science, the age of the earth, etc. That way beliefs on the age of the earth will not undermine our belief in God nor the Bible. Have we learned nothing of what happened during the time of Galileo? Offer all perspectives so the church will be informed and wise and not easily ripped apart by something that is not primary doctrine. If you are not comfortable with that, then do not give a platform to either side of the debate.

Positives were: the Slugs and Bugs concert, comedian night, variety of sessions offered, parenting track not just homeschooling, exhibit hall vendors we wanted to buy from and bought those items at a discount. Closeness to the Residence Inn we stayed at. Clean, useful, and only 1.5 hours away.

Gary Rottier

Quick answer to registration and convention questions. Great program