HOMESCHOOL CONFERENCE
Our next MPE Conference & Curriculum Fair will be April 5-6, 2024, at the KCI Expo Center.
Registration
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- Registration Options:
- Admission is free for current MPE members whose membership doesn’t expire until after May 1, 2024. At-the-door registration is $75 per family and will be available at the door. This includes access to more than 60 conference workshops and the vendor hall. Cash, card, and check will be accepted at the door.
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- Admission to the Vendor Hall only will be available at the door for $35 per family for the two days. Cash, card, and check will be accepted at the door.
- Registration Options:
See more about registration here
Hotels and Meals
No outside food is allowed to be brought into the KCI Expo Center according to their policies. Food purchased inside the KCI Expo Center (from vending machines or the cafeteria) is allowed. The cafeteria is located off the main Lobby. Cafeteria Hours: Friday 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
We have negotiated blocks of rooms for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at the following hotels:
Orangewood Inn & Suites 11828 NW Plaza Circle, Kansas City, MO 64153
Newly renovated throughout! Enjoy a free full breakfast, free to-and-from airport shuttle, indoor pool and hot tub, free Wi-Fi, 24-hour fitness center and 24-hour business center. Each room includes free bottled water, free toiletries, a 50-inch television with premium service, fridge, microwave and more. Call 816-464-2423 to book. More details on a discount block of rooms coming soon.
Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott 11820 NW Plaza Circle, Kansas City, MO, 64153
Enjoy this fully furnished hotel, complete with a pool, brand new fitness room, free Wi-Fi, and Free Continental and Buffet and Grab-n-Go and Hot Breakfast. Call 816-464-2424 or Click here to reserve your room.
$107 per room per night (+tax)
Last Day to Book: March 15, 2024
Check-in at 4pm, Check-out at 11am
Breakfast M-F 6-9am, S/S 7-9:30am
Limited adjoining rooms
Holiday Inn and Suites KCI Expo Center
More details coming soon.
Vendors
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- Please click here for more information on being a vendor.
- Please click here to fill out a conference vendor interest form – for individuals or companies interested in having a booth at the 2024 Homeschool Conference, who have not had a booth before, are not ready to pay their deposit, or would like more information about being an exhibitor.
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Speakers
Interested in speaking at our conference? Please click here to submit your application!
Workshops
More information will be posted as it becomes available. NOTE: Download our free app for the most customizable, convenient experience!
Many of the conference sessions & workshops (but not vendor demonstrations) are recorded and are available for purchase by mail following the conference. To order CDs following the conference, please contact Resounding Voice.
Recordings
Special pre-order discount pricing is available for our members at the Family Tier and higher. Recordings will also be available to purchase at regular price. Click here for more information.
Children
The MPE Kids Children’s Program for 5 – 12 year old children (4 year olds accepted if attending with an older sibling). For more information, please visit the MPEKids website.
Our Policy on Children at the Conference
Children are very important to MPE, since it is for their benefit that we exist to encourage and equip parents as educators. The MPE conference, however, is intended for parental enrichment. The general policy is that children under 13 not be in attendance at the conference workshop sessions (except nursing babies). This is due to seating limitations and to keep potential disruptions to a minimum during workshops. As always, parental discretion should be used throughout the conference to preserve the conference experience for other attendees. MPE reserves the right to dismiss unruly attendees.
MPE has made the following accommodations for children:
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- All children accompanied by parents are welcome in the Vendor Hall.
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- Nursing babies are welcome in the conference workshops. However, if your child is fussy or disruptive in any way, you should quietly exit the workshop so that the others will not be disturbed. A room will be available exclusively for mothers to nurse and diaper their babies.
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- Parents with children under 5 are encouraged to pre-arrange for child care in order to attend conference workshops.
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- Children between the ages of 5 and 12 (4 year old children accepted if they are attending with an older sibling) can be enrolled in MPE Kids – Children’s Program.
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- Children age 13 and up are encouraged to attend the workshops and visit the Exhibitor Hall with their parents; they are admitted for free when accompanied by a parent at Registration.
- Strollers, wagons and other wheeled carriers are welcome in the Vendor Hall during the conference. However, strollers are not allowed in any of the workshop rooms, including the hallways. Please feel free to leave your stroller outside the Nursing Mother’s Room, which is near the Children’s Conference (MPEKIDS) Registration area. This area will not be monitored, so please do not leave any valuables with your stroller. We recommend baby carriers or backpacks to transport nursing babies.
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Youth Volunteers
Homeschooled students and graduates ages 13 and up are invited to volunteer as Conference Pages and with MPEKids.
Please check back for applications as they become available!
Just a few reasons why you need to come to the 2024 conference:
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- More than 120 vendor booths. Come get all your questions answered about homeschool curricula, learning techniques and so much more in our vendor hall.
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- Homeschool workshops with special tracks. Learn from more than 60 workshop presenters who share personal, practical insights from their homeschool experience. Workshops include time-tested favorites such as how to homeschool, homeschooling high school, household management, family nutrition, and small-business entrepreneurship. Exclusive tracks are available for homeschool beginners as well as those homeschooling children with special needs.
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- Help for new homeschoolers. Learn more about setting up a homeschool in your state, compare curricula, and more through our workshops and vendor booths.
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- Children’s program. Want to bring your kids, but not sure they can handle the workshops? We’ve got you covered! Our children’s program is for ages 5-12, and registration is available at the door.
- Mentor Moms. In all the busyness of daily (homeschool) life, we can forget the reason we’re doing all this – for our children! Spend quality time with a homeschooling mom who’s gone before you and is happy to share her stories of homeschooling and life with little ones.
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Updated 5/8/23
Date
- Apr 05 - 06 2024
Time
- 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: Apr 05 - 06 2024
- Time: 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
More Info
Location
- Kansas City
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Website
https://kciexpo.com/
Hi David! To submit a vendor application, please go to this webpage: https://midwesthomeschoolers.org/conference-vendor-interest-form/
Shanxi
You can register anytime for the homeschool conference! The earlybird rate is anytime before March 15 (two weeks before the conference date). Just sign up as an MPE member for $50 at the Family tier (or $25 if you’re a First Time Family), which will give you complimentary admission to the conference (a more than $75 value).
If you miss the earlybird rate, you can pay $75 at the door.
Hope this helps,
Shanxi
We don’t have a curriculum sale during our conference, but we usually have a used curriculum sale in the summer. Check this page for more details as they become available!
Hello. I have a high energy autistic 5yo that would need extra attention in the children’s program. Is that something you could accommodate?
Yes, the MPE Kids program always seeks to accommodate children with special needs to the best of their abilities. Since the program’s role in the conference is to come alongside the parents and not to take over parenting, we do ask parents to be reachable by phone in case an issue arises that would require parental authority. As with any child at the conference, if an issue arises where a child’s actions may put themselves or others in danger and they are unwilling to listen to instruction, we will ask for the child to be picked up by the parents. If you have any further questions or concerns, please reach out to the MPE Kids team at mpekids@gmail.com.
So if I just singed up as a new MPE member, do I also have to register separately for the conference? I don’t see where the conference sign up is, only the MPE membership link. Thank you!
Hi Kim,
If you’ve just signed up as a new MPE member, then no, you don’t have to register separately for the conference. All current MPE members (with an expiry date on or after May 1, 2023) are automatically pre-registered for the conference.
When you arrive at the conference, please go to the “Pre-Registered” desk. You and your spouse will receive a conference wristband that must be worn both days for admission into the workshops and vendor hall. There is a $5 charge for lost wristbands.
Due to lack of space in the workshops, children ages 5-12 (4-year-olds are accepted if attending with an older sibling) should be registered in the MPEKIDS program: https://mpekids.com/
No childcare is available for children 4 years and under. Nursing babies are welcome, but please bring a sling or backpack as wheeled carriers are not allowed in workshops due to lack of space.
Hope this helps!
Shanxi
Thank you!
Is there a schedule breakdown per day? I am arranging childcare for my kids and would like to plan ahead.
My main question is what time we start and finish each day.
Hi Kate,
The schedule is loosely structured around the vendor hall opening/closing times, as well as the workshop sessions.
On Friday, March 31, the vendor hall will open at 9 a.m. and close at 6 p.m.
On Saturday, April 1, the vendor hall will open at 9 a.m. and close by 5 p.m.
Workshops are staggered throughout the two days, starting at 8:45 a.m. Friday for a special keynote and then continuing into the morning and afternoon, with a break for lunch.
Feel free to come and go as your other obligations and time commitments allow! We also have a special MPEKIDS children’s conference program, with a schedule running concurrent to the main conference so parents can have maximum access to workshops and the vendor hall.
Shanxi
How do I suggest a speaker?
Hi Merry,
At this point we already have all the speakers we need for this year’s conference. Please check back sometime in July. By then we should have an application form going for next year’s conference speakers – we’d love to hear your suggestions for 2024!
Shanxi
When will you be updating the vendor list?
Hi Erica,
You can see an updated list on this webpage.
As of today we have 88 listed, and we are working to add more each day.
If you have a vendor in mind that you’d like to see at our conference, please encourage them to submit the following form. Often vendors will pay more attention if you contact them directly rather than if they hear from our vendor coordinator.
Hope this helps!
Shanxi
Thank you so much!
To Whom it May Concern:
I am interested in attending this event (I live nearby, in Kansas) but I am not a MPE member. Would that be possible? If so, how may I register? This is unclear to me.
Hi Marion! Yes, it’s possible to attend this event even if you’re not a current MPE member. However, by attending the conference, you will get a complimentary MPE membership that’s good for one year.
This membership comes with many benefits, including a discount on HSLDA membership, access to our high school graduation ceremony, discounted seller rates at our used curriculum sale, and more. However, people who live outside the KC area often use their membership just to attend the conference.
Let me explain further:
-You can sign up for our earlybird conference rate, which ends March 15. The earlybird rate is either $25 for a First Time Family membership, or $50 for a Family membership for those who have already attended our conference in the past.
-After March 15, we’ll take down the online membership options temporarily from our website while we process all the memberships in time for the conference. You can still pay the at-the-door registration rate of $75 per family. (This includes an MPE annual Family membership.)
Hope this helps!
Shanxi
Hi,
Will the talks be recorded and available to listen to later, as I may be unable to attend this year?
Thank you!
Hi Mary! Yes, the talks will be recorded.
We have a pre-conference recordings special where the FULL MP3 pre-order price is only $49 for members at the First Time Family tier and higher and $79 for everyone else. All orders must be received by 5 p.m. on March 29.
At the conference, the full MP3 session recordings will be $90. CDs will only be available by mail at $7 per session and a flat $5 shipping fee will be added to the order.
Resounding Voice will offer individual MP3 sessions at $6 per session to be purchased at the conference. They will send each customer an email link after the conference, whether it’s a full set or an individual session ordered.
Members at the First Time Family tier and higher need to log in to receive the discounted price.
Go to “My Menu/Conference Access + Recordings.”
In addition, members will be able to see a livestream of ONE workshop room through their online account. Once you’ve logged into your membership account on our website, you should see a “My Menu” option in the main navigation bar. Click on the “Conference Access + Recordings” tab to watch the workshops online.
Hope this helps!
Shanxi
I see in earlier comment you mentioned strollers (bringing a nursing infant with me) are not allowed in workshops. Will there be places to park strollers outside the workshop rooms and is there room for strollers in vendor hall? It’s a tough expectation/safety concerns for infants to be in a carrier for long period of time, so wanting to ensure strollers are able to come into conference.
Strollers are welcome in the Vendor Hall during the conference. However, strollers are not allowed in any of the workshop rooms, including the hallways.
Please feel free to leave your stroller outside the Nursing Mother’s Room, which is near the Children’s Conference (MPEKIDS) Registration area. This area will not be monitored, so please do not leave any valuables with your stroller.
Thanks so much,
Shanxi
Who is the vendor that had a curriculum that was to help
guide kids towards a career? I can’t remember the name!
Hi Monica,
We’re guessing it was either Melissa Eiserer, Career Coaching (Booth 904) or Career Coach Kerin Groves (Booth 705, https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerin-k-groves-phd-career-coach-a3baa116/).
Hope this helps!
Shanxi
Hello, Is there a deadline to apply to be a speaker and/or a vendor for the next conference?
Right now we don’t have a deadline, but all applications are considered on a first-come, first-served basis.
We will take down speaker and/or vendor application forms if/when all the available openings are filled. For that reason, we encourage you to apply as early as possible!
Hope this helps,
Shanxi