(Tracks before the thaw)

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This past weekend I had the rare opportunity to swim in an indoor/outdoor pool at Pheasant Run while feeling my hair freeze. As if that weren’t enough, I was attending the 11th Annual In-Home Conference with a hundred or more of my best friends. We’ve been going for years and have delighted in it always. In the past, I’ve focused on the workshops, the bumper stickers in the parking lot and the strange feeling of knowing the names of 35% of the people you see in a huge crowd, but this year I’d like to note some of the area resources that were to be found in the exhibitor hall. For what it is worth, here is a complete list of the exhibitors that attended and/or sent stuff to put in your goody bags.

I will just be showcasing the ones that have something to offer to Chicago families in particular or that otherwise seem interesting to me.

The Buehler YMCA is now offering a nice set of homeschooling sports classes. Looks like sports and wellness activities on mondays and gymnastics and aquatics on Wednesdays. Contact Kathy Huffman for more information at 847-410-5213.

Emily Oaks has put together a nice program promoting their work with homeschoolers but that still doesn’t mean a clickable website, does it? You can visit the Skokie Park District website for basic info, but here is a heads up: Tuesdays and Wednesdays there are outdoor skill building classes for kids ages 6 and up. Call 847-674-1500 ext. 2500 for specifics.

For fans of Frank Lloyd Wright or books by Blue Balliett (The Wright 3 and Chasing vermeer) there are a couple of tours of the buildings involved in the popular tween literature through the Oak Park Area Arts Council. Every Saturday at 1:30pm you and the kids can choose to tour the Robie House in Chicago or the Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park, geared towards connecting with the book of course. Tickets can be purchased here.

There may be more as I browse through the piles of debris…