HOMESCHOOL CONFERENCE & CURRICULUM FAIR
Celebrate 40 years with us!
March 6-7, 2026 | KCI Expo Center | Kansas City, MO
What to expect at the Conference
More Information
REGISTRATION
- Admission is free to both the conference and the vendor hall for MPE members whose membership doesn’t expire until after May 1 (No registration necessary.) Check your membership expiration date here.
- At-the-door – Admission is $75 per family. This includes access to more than 60 conference workshops and the vendor hall. Cash and check will be accepted at the door. Credit cards will be processed online and verified at the door.
- Vendor Hall Only Pass – Admission to the Vendor Hall is $35 per family, which covers both days. Click here to pay by credit card online, or you with cash or check at the door.
- See more about admission here
WORKSHOPS
- Please click here to see our list of 2025 workshop titles and a schedule. Also included is a printable PDF of detailed workshop descriptions.
NOTE: Download our free app for the most customizable, convenient experience!
UNIQUE LEARNER'S LEARNING SCREENINGS
In addition to our Unique Learner’s Workshop track, we offer learning screenings to equip parents to teach their unique students at home. Our 2025 conference offered learning screenings in three areas – speech, sensory-motor, and reading – as a conference add-on for parents and students.
VENDORS
SILENT AUCTION
Our Silent Auction keeps getting better and better!
RECORDINGS
MPE offers workshop recordings hosted with Alliance Recordings. Our dedicated Audio-Visual volunteers are able to keep our recording costs down by creating all of our recordings in-house. Click here for more information.
MPE KIDS PROGRAM
The MPE Kids Children’s Program for 5 – 12 year old children.
Pricing is only for the first two children per family.
- Early bird registration: Early December: $25 per child, per day
- Regular rate registration: January and February: $30 per child, per day
- Late rate Registration: Mid-February to Conference: $35 per child per day
- *Dates and prices are subject to change.
For more information, please visit the MPEKids website.
POLICY ON CHILDREN
- 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:
- All children accompanied by parents are welcome in the Vendor Hall.
- 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.
- Parents with children under 5 are encouraged to pre-arrange for child care in order to attend conference workshops.
- Children between the ages of 5 and 12 can be enrolled in MPE Kids – Children’s Program.
- 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.
YOUTH VOLUNTEERS
Homeschooled students and graduates ages 13 and up are invited to volunteer either as part of our Youth Leadership Team (YLT) or with the MPEKids program.
ADULT VOLUNTEERS
Interested in partnering with us to bring a great Conference to the Midwest?
We need your help during the conference as well as on the committee. Check back for more information on specific positions.
Please fill out our volunteer application!ACCOMMODATIONS
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 will negotiate blocks of rooms for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at the following hotels:
Orangewood Inn and Suites
- Support MPE and enjoy a comfortable room! Orangewood hosts our volunteers’ meals in their banquet hall.
- 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.
- Full Breakfast 7am-9am M-F; 8am-10am S/S
- Check-in at 4pm, Check-out at 11am
- Reserve online or Call 816-464-2423 to book. (MPE reservation code coming soon.)
Holiday Inn
- Join us in thanking The Holiday Inn for hosting several of our workshops in their conference rooms.
- 11728 N Ambassador Drive, Kansas City, MO 64153
- Our guests enjoy complimentary parking with overnight stays and can dine at our Burger Theory restaurant. We offer guest rooms with both walk-in showers and shower-tub combos. Each room has mini-refrigerators, microwaves and single brew Keurig. Amenities include a heated indoor pool and fitness room.
- Check-in at 4pm, check-out at 11am
- Call 816-801-8400
- Refer to the website for more information.
Testimonials
“Victoria and I went to conference sessions, together and separately and compared notes! 📔”
“This was Zivah‘s first year being old enough to come with us to the homeschool convention! 📚
It started out years ago as my trip to plan things for the school year, so all children had to stay home. 🏠
But now, once they are old enough, they can come to attend classes or help in the children’s area. 🎉 convention! 📚”
“The Kids area had a space theme! 🧑🚀🪐Zivah divided her time between the kids area and the vendor hall, getting to know the vendors, and their children, and bringing home all kinds of cute souvenirs! ✏️🐡🍬🍭🍫”
“Katie and Sawyer were team leads with the kids and were in the skits 🎭 and Katie helped lead worship! 🎶 This is one of her favorite places to be!
@mpekids”
“We stayed in a hotel because the conference center is up by the airport, and went out to a nice dinner one of the nights, and Alex joined us for dinner! 💖”
“We had such a great time! …
The - @mpeinkc homeschool convention marks the end of each school year for us. Then we restart school a week later. We do a light version of school through the summer so that when mid-August rolls around, we’ve already gotten a good start!" Instagram, @suzannelovesgreen”
Date
- Mar 06 - 07 2026
Time
- 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Local Time
- Timezone: Europe/Paris
- Date: Mar 06 - 08 2026
- Time: 3:00 pm - 12:00 am
More Info
Location
- Kansas City
-
Website
https://kciexpo.com/
Hi David! To submit a vendor application, please go to this webpage: https://midwesthomeschoolers.org/2025-conference-vendors//
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.
-A week before the Conference, the Family-tier membership rate increases to $75.
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
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
Hello! Next year my daughter will be beginning her 9th grade year. She has autism and some learning challenges. I wanted to see if there was a way yet to find out what kind of special needs track there might be? Would love to hear from/talk to other moms who have gone through the high school years with their special needs student!
Thank you!
Hi. I was wondering typically when will the speakers and workshops be posted?
Typically 2-4 weeks before the conference!
Hey there! Do you have a printable pdf schedule of the workshops?
Yes! It’s been posted to this page: https://midwesthomeschoolers.org/conference-workshops-schedule/
Shanxi
Hi, the description indicates that there are special tracks re: special needs in addition to the workshops. Are those listed in a separate location from the workshops? Or are they just listed with all of the workshops? Thanks!
The track for homeschooling with special needs is called “Unique Learners.” It features eight workshops:
-Overcome Writing Roadblocks: Strategies to Create Success and Fun in the Writing Process
-Yes, You Can Homeschool a Child With Special Needs
-Creating a Sensational Homeschool – Using Sensory Processing as a Foundation
-The Shift From Learning to Read to Reading to Learn
-Multi-Sensory Reading Strategies That Work
-Navigating the World of Dyslexia
-Supporting Your Child’s Speech and Language Development
-Connect and Learn
All these eight workshops are listed online and in the conference program.
Shanxi
Hi!
Is there a vendor interest form for the 2025 conference? Thank you for letting me know!
Yes, the vendor interest form is available on this page!
Shanxi
Hi how do I become a vendor for this event?
Hi Carmina! If this is your first time becoming a vendor, we recommend reading the information on this page first, then filling out the Vendor Application Form linked on that page as well.
Shanxi