Vermont Homeschool Convention: What to Expect and How to Prepare

Vermont's homeschool convention is the largest annual gathering of Vermont home study families in the state. It's worth attending at least once — ideally in your first year. The combination of curriculum vendors, legal workshops, and peer networking is difficult to replicate through online research.

Here's what the convention offers, what to do before you go, and how to make the most of the experience.

What Vermont's Homeschool Convention Typically Includes

Curriculum vendor hall: This is the primary draw for most families, especially those in the planning stages. You can walk the floor, handle physical curriculum materials, and compare options across math programs, language arts, science, history, and more. Most major homeschool curriculum publishers — Sonlight, Classical Conversations, Well-Trained Mind Press, Saxon, Master Books, and others — participate or are represented.

The vendor hall lets you answer questions you can't answer from websites: Does the workbook font work for my child? How thick is this book? Is this science curriculum lab-heavy or text-heavy? Is this math program hands-on or drill-based? Experienced Vermont convention attendees recommend bringing a list of specific curriculum you're considering and making vendor comparison your first priority.

Workshops and speakers: Vermont conventions typically include sessions on:

• Vermont home study law — Notice of Intent requirements, assessment options, portfolio vs. standardized testing
• Educational philosophy and approaches (classical, Charlotte Mason, unschooling, hybrid)
• Subject-specific workshops (teaching writing, math approaches, science labs)
• High school planning, transcript development, and college admissions for Vermont home study students
• Special needs and neurodivergent learners in home study

Networking: Shared hallways, lunch breaks, and informal gatherings before and after sessions are where families exchange contact information. This is often where co-op connections form and pod groups begin. Come prepared to talk about where you live, your children's ages, and what you're looking for — it's how every useful conversation at a homeschool convention starts.

Used curriculum exchange: Some Vermont convention years include a used curriculum sale or exchange. Bring curriculum you've finished with or want to sell; buy curriculum from other families at 30-60% of retail. Check each year's convention details to confirm if this component is offered.

When and Where

Vermont's annual homeschool convention is typically held in late April or May — after mud season, before summer activities ramp up. Location varies by year; central Vermont locations (Montpelier, Barre, Stowe) have hosted in past years.

To find current details: check Vermont Homeschool Society (VHS) communications, search "Vermont homeschool convention [current year]" in January or February, or ask in the Vermont homeschool Facebook groups (particularly "Moms Homeschooling Vermont Chat Group" and "Vermont Homeschoolers & Unschoolers Unite").

Registration typically opens 6-8 weeks before the event. Early registration is recommended — workshop slots and the vendor hall can fill.

How to Prepare Before You Go

Know Vermont's home study law basics. Going into the legal workshops with a baseline understanding means you can ask better questions. Vermont requires a Notice of Intent before beginning home study, coverage of 10 prescribed subject areas, and annual assessment. See Vermont homeschool laws for the foundation.

Make a curriculum list. Write down what subjects you need curriculum for, what approaches you're already committed to, and what's not working. Bring this list to the vendor hall. Without it, you'll buy things that look appealing but don't solve your actual problems.

Bring a budget — and stick to it. The vendor hall is full of materials that seem essential in the moment. Curriculum costs add up quickly. Pre-set a spending limit per subject and don't exceed it.

Bring a notebook. Workshop sessions move fast. Notes on Vermont-specific information (assessment requirements, co-op recommendations from speakers, local contacts) are worth capturing.

Come with specific questions. "What do you recommend for a strong-willed 8-year-old who hates worksheets?" is a better vendor hall question than browsing aimlessly. Vendors who run their programs know their audience and will give honest guidance if you're specific.

What to Do After the Convention

The convention's value compounds over time if you act on the connections:

Follow up with families you met. If you exchanged information with another family from your region, send a message within a week. Connections that seem obvious at a convention can fade quickly if you don't act on them.

Order curriculum with what you learned. Convention discounts from vendors are often available the week after. Buy the curriculum you decided on while the purchase decision is fresh.

Join the Facebook groups. If you weren't in the Vermont homeschool Facebook groups before the convention, joining now puts you in the ongoing community conversation that sustains through the year.

Apply what you learned from the legal workshop. If you attended the home study law session and learned something about assessment requirements or record keeping you weren't doing correctly, fix it promptly.

Vermont Convention vs. National Conventions

Vermont home study families sometimes ask whether attending a national convention (Great Homeschool Conventions, HSLDA conventions) is worth it. For Vermont families, the answer is usually: Vermont's convention first, national convention as a supplement.

Vermont's convention includes Vermont-specific legal workshops that a national convention can't replicate. The vendor selection at national conventions is larger, but the community connections at the Vermont convention are locally useful in ways that national networking isn't.

If your child's learning profile is specific — giftedness, dyslexia, autism, 2e — national conventions often have stronger specialist content than smaller state conventions. For those families, a national convention once every few years is worth the travel.

Vermont's annual homeschool convention is a one-day investment that can save weeks of online research and introduce you to the families who will become your co-op and pod community. For families in the planning stages, it's the best single day you can spend on getting Vermont home study right. The Vermont Micro-School & Pod Kit at /us/vermont/microschool/ complements the convention by providing the operational documentation and templates that workshops describe but don't have time to provide in full.

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