Homeschool Expo not just for homeschoolers
It’s that time of year again – the hunt is on for school clothes, shoes, notebooks, pencils and a long list of other supplies.
For many parents in the Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia area, that list is a lot longer. It includes math books, language and science curriculum, maps, globes, art supplies and more. The go-to place for these parents is the annual homeschool expo at Camp Jordan in East Ridge, Tenn.
More than 80 exhibitors will be set up to show and sell their wares and services at the 35th Annual CSTHEA Curriculum Fair & Home Education Expo. CSTHEA, or Chattanooga Southeast Tennessee Home Education Association, has served Tennessee and Georgia homeschoolers for nearly four decades.
The yearly curriculum fair has grown from a small event in its early days, in which parents showed their own material and offered advice, to an expo that takes 175 volunteers to pull off and features major suppliers of textbooks and education supplies from around the country.
Homeschooling mom Nilesen Cross, who recently moved from Fort Oglethorpe to Chickamauga, attends the expo every year. “This year, I’m looking for new math books for all my kids,” says the mother of four. Last year, says Cross, she stocked up on things like maps and educational games.
Janell Bontekoe has been coordinating the expo for 15 years now. “My youngest child was four days old when he attended his first expo,” she says.
Bontekoe begins planning the next year’s expo before the current one is even over. “I like to get the right mix of exhibitors – ones that offer materials to suit teaching and learning styles ranging from very formal to more relaxed.” Bontekoe also makes sure that homeschoolers can find resources for extracurricular activities for their children.
Among the 80 exhibitors this year, parents will find some of the big names in the world of homeschooling: BJU Press, A Beka, Rod and Staff. They’ll also find vendors selling everything from classic literature and biographies for young people to science kits, maps, games and art supplies.
CSTHEA sets up its own booths to help inform people about its athletic association, which sponsors baseball, basketball, cross-country running, soccer, girls’ softball, volleyball and track teams. There’s also a homeschool band, a mock trial team, a theatrical troupe, a spelling bee, and parents can learn more about the organization’s annual yearbook and graduation events and services. Homeschoolers from Georgia are free to join CSTHEA and participate in all the group’s activities.
At Camp Jordan this year, parents and young people will be able to talk with representatives of 4-H, Civil Air Patrol, American Heritage Girls, Trail Life, YMCA of Metro Chattanooga, Chattanooga School of Language, Scenic City Children’s Choir, High Point Climbing and Fitness and a number of art and dance studios. “The expo is a good place for homeschoolers to find tutors and classes, too,” says Bontekoe.
For students close to graduation, four colleges will be present to share what they have to offer: Chattanooga State, Bryan College, Berry College and Pensacola Christian College.
Also on the slate for the twoday expo is a host of workshops that are included in the $8-perfamily admission fee. A few of the workshops parents can attend are: Teach Your Kids to Think, Teaching the Way Kids Learn, Promoting Wonder, Navigating Through High School, and Seven Keys to College Admissions & Scholarships.
CSTHEA secretary Jeannette Tulis recommends that those new to homeschooling stop at the CSTHEA booth and pick up the organization’s “Quick Start Guide.”
“One great thing about the expo,” says Tulis, “is that you recognize you’re not in this alone. We had over 3,000 people come to last year’s expo. You can get information about support groups, co-ops and classes and mingle with hundreds of other families who homeschool.”
“We are really blessed in the Chattanooga area,” says Bontekoe. “The homeschool community is very supportive and there’s a lot of opportunity.”
Bontekoe says that over half the volunteers who help make the expo happen every year are young people. “The sports teams, American Girls, Trail Life – they all come out to help set up. They help exhibitors unload their materials. We provide two meals a day for our vendors, and the kids deliver those to them – that’s hundreds of meals, then they help them load back up when the expo is over.”
“The expo is not just for homeschoolers,” says Bontekoe. “It’s a great place for any parent to find materials to supplement their kids’ education, and teachers love it, too. It’s even a good place to shop for Christmas.”
Nilesen Cross offers some advice for parents thinking about attending the expo this year: “It’s overwhelming. There’s so much to choose from. It’s good to go the first day and just look around. Then go home and think about it and come back to buy the second day. And get a babysitter, if you can.”