Been Away at the Great Wolf

I spent the last two days at the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City with many, MANY homeschoolers. I think it’s safe to say that a great time was had by all. This is the third year I have organized a get-away. The first year we just had 15 attendees from our local homeschool group. The second year we ended up with 43. This year, via KSHomeschool.net, we opened the invite to unschoolers and homeschoolers across the state and we ended up with 128 138 people!

I have to admit I was feeling a little nervous before the event. Since I’m the organizer, I think I was feeling a few “hostess” butterflies, but they were completely unwarranted. We had a wonderful group of people and everyone was so friendly. Everywhere I turned there were moms just chatting it up, and we had a lot of dads there, too. I don’t think I saw a single kid without a smile until late the second day when sheer exhaustion began to take its toll. That was my key to call it a day–when my son arrived in tears saying, “My legs are burning [it's all the chlorine, one negative to an indoor waterpark] and I’m ready to go home now.”

Part of the fun was in meeting so many people that I’ve interacted with online for a few years now. Many of our attendees are regulars on some of the e-loops I participate in. It’s always interesting to put faces with voices you already know. And it’s kind of funny the things it makes you think. Some faces match up exactly as you imagined them. Then with some people you find yourself thinking things like, “I expected her to be taller or older,” or “Shouldn’t she be wearing glasses?” I wonder what it is about a person’s voice that makes them seem tall…

I’m already looking forward to planning next year’s get-away.