Looking for a California homeschool conference? The week before last, we went to the Homeschool Association of California 2016 Conference. We go every summer and we love it. I think this was our fourth time to attend. If you’re a homeschooling family in California, you should consider attending next year.

California Homeschool Conference: Homeschool Association of California 2016

When you go to a conference like this with a toddler, you don’t really get a lot “done”.

Ollie will be two in October. At this age, it’s pretty much a cycle of eat, poop, Elmo, play, nap, eat, pet the doggies, play, swim, eat, Elmo, sleep.

Ollie watching Elmo and playing with his toys.

We spent a lot of time in the little kids’ playroom, mostly playing with the trains.

Ollie made some friends.

Gidget is one of his best friends. She’s nine, but she loves little kids more than anything in the world. She loves to change Ollie’s diaper, push him in the stroller, feed him. Anything as long as it involves Ollie.

I had a lot of big plans for the weekend. But I only got to two lectures.

Sandra Dodd was AMAZING, as always. I left her talk feeling inspired-to-the-point-of-tears (those kind of happy tears) and all charged up and ready for the fall semester.

I also got to see Jane McGonigal, gamer, brainac and all-around-awesome lady, and author of one of my favorite books of all time, Reality is Broken.

If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend [easyazon_link identifier=”0143120611″ locale=”US” tag=”cheeseslave0e-20″]Reality is Broken[/easyazon_link]. Especially for those of you who struggle with your kids and the dreaded “screen time”. This book will change your whole perspective on computers, gaming, and learning.

Mostly we just hung out and played.

We spent every afternoon at the pool.

After they swam, both kids were cold and tired and starving. Like refugees, crying for blankets and room service.

We’d wrap them in warm towels, rush them back up to the room, order food, shower, and get cozy.

Ollie and me, watching Harry Potter in the hotel room.

The most special moments of the weekends were the ones that happened when we were just hanging out.

If you’re a California homeschooling family, I look forward to seeing you at the conference next year.  It happens the last week of July every year in Northern California. Bookmark the website and put it on your calendar: Homeschool Association of California Conference.