Anyone bringing kids/family?

[millerjm]

Trying to plan things out - I probably want to bring husband and 5 year old girl.  Anyone else bringing family?  She is an only child and would love to be around some other kids at some point during the week!

[kona]

 @millerjm , in the past there have definitely been families at InstructureCon. For the last three years it's been me, my husband, daughter, and my Mom! In addition I know  @kmeeusen ​ makes it a family affair and brings his wife and granddaughter along every year as well!

InstructureCon is a lot of fun and it's even more fun to share it with those you love.

[millerjm]

Thanks everyone for the info.  I think I'll be bringing my husband and the girl.  She is 5 so if anyone else is bringing kids and spouses not involved in conference she would love a few friends to play with.    She will get to have a ton of daddy time. 

[kmeeusen]

InstructureCon has always been a very family-friendly event - or at least since 2012.

The venues provide many attractions and activities that family members can engage in while you are getting educated, and Instructure holds great receptions in the evenings that family can participate in if you purchase a Family Member Pass for them. In fact, if you purchase guest passes, it even entitles them to food and swag! My wife and granddaughter consider it one of their favorite excursions each year, and my now 14-year old granddaughter starts asking about next year's just after we get home from the current year's.  We attended four InstCons at Park City, and I am just guessing, but my Granddaughter must have ridden the free (to guests) gondola more than 100 times - heck, maybe that many times just last year.

We see more families every year, so there are even lots of other folks for your families to socialize with. The cost of Guest Passes have gone up each year, but when you consider all they get, it is a vacation bargain.

I hope this helps,

KLM

[victor]

Unfortunately I read that there won't be any SWAG for guest passes this year.

I was thinking about brining my 3 yr old, but not sure there would be enough to entertain younglings. 

[kona]

victor​, granted this is the first time for Colorado, but my daughter has gone to InstructureCon when she was 1, 2, & 3! And yes, every year there was plenty to keep her busy. There's always swimming, and in previous years there was mini golf, plenty of places to walk/play, gondola rides, a playground, and even the activities at InstructureCon! Here are a few (ok, more than a few, but it was hard to choose!) pictures from the last three years showing the fun we've had!

[kmeeusen]

Hey, I remember that beautiful little girl!

Think I'll change out my profile pic to the one of my Granddaughter at the 2012 InstCon.

[kmeeusen]

Bummer on the swag, Victor, but it is as it is. My Granddaughter has a great collection of the jackets, and wears last year's almost every day. In fact, we got home last year to a record hot Summer, and she still wore that heavy hoodie every day for a month.

HEY ALL YOU INSTRUCTURECON PLANNERS - READ THIS! You are helping to grow a new generation of academics, and perhaps even a few future Instructure employees. My granddaughter has asked me what it would take for her to get a job with Instructure. So reconsider this decision, please!

I know that at The Canyons in Park City, they had a great daycare center for the younger folks, with lots of great activities, but am unsure about the new venue!

KLM

[millerjm]

 @kmeeusen  , my 5 year old girl is going to grow up to be a computer scientist and teacher like mommy when she grows up.  Giving her some swag would just help prepare a future canvas user or employee!

[kmeeusen]

Agreed!

I would love to say, "small investment, huge return", but I know that Instructure's swag investment is gigantic.

kLM

[kwoolley]

 @jasond ​ usually bring his kids! I'm pretty sure he's brining them again this year.

[lknott]

Hey Everyone,

It looks like there will be plenty of things to do around Keystone for family members. If you have smaller kids that require daycare, here are the options at the resort:

Local babysitting services are:

Resort Sitters: 970-513-4445

http://www.resortsitters.com/summit-babysitters/

Mountain Sitters: 970-331-1763

http://mountainsitters.com/summit.html​

[jasond]

Deactivated userWe bring the munchkins! We anchor our family vacations visiting National Parks around the conference.

It's also helpful that our girls (14 and 10) are STEM enthusiasts, so they had blast at InstructureCon 2014 & 2015.

They loved Park City and are looking forward to Keystone, CO.

     2014                                                                                  2015

[tbunag]

We'll be going and bringing our daughter, who will be almost one.  Those child-care rates seem insanely high!  It'll cost almost as much per day as we normally spend for a week!  Is this just me?  It looks like it could be much less expensive per child to coordinate with someone else who is bringing a little one.  I'm open to other suggestions or ideas, as well.

[kona]

We found it better to just bring our babysitter with us.

In this case it was my Mom (three years running) and it worked out great because she could meet up with us in between sessions or at lunch and then when we needed to be off again it was no big deal. It was also nice for the evening stuff because that way we could fully participate and when my daughter got tired/cranky/bored, my Mom could just take her back to the room. I will also say that my Mom had a really good time at InstructureCon (all three years!) and overall it made for fun family time when we were all together!

[tbunag]

I wish this was an option for us!  It sounds wonderful. 

[kona]

Yep, it was the best of both worlds. Sorry it wouldn't work out for you!

[tbunag]

Maybe your mom wants to watch another little person?

[kona]

Unfortunately we can't make it this year otherwise I would definitely ask! I'm going to be 38 weeks pregnant the week of InstructureCon and figured while giving birth there would be memorable (for everyone), it might not necessarily be the best idea. Yet, we're planning on bringing the whole family next year!!

[tbunag]

Last year, I was 7 months along at InstructureCon (one week shy of my doctor's cutoff for travel).  It was a bit of an adventure!  I wish you well in this last stretch of pregnancy. 

[kmeeusen]

Is that your Mom in that picture Kona? She's beautiful!

For our first couple years, we also brought an extra person to help keep track of our granddaughter. Worked out great for us.

KLM

[kona]

Thanks  @kmeeusen ​! She'll love to hear that, especially since she just retired after 38 years of teaching!

[tbunag]

I think I may have found a better option.  We'll be renting a car, so we should be able to drive to other facilities, so it looks like there are some other daycare and childcare centers in some of the nearby towns that may work and are much, much less expensive.  I'm still looking at all the options, since there's a waitlist for infants right now, but I thought I'd post this here in case anyone else is struggling with the same challenge.  It sounded like it would be much easier if our daughter was just a little bit older...

[abunag]

Next year!  By then, maybe she'll be old enough to actually attend.

[admin]

I'm bringing the family along. 12 yr old and 9 yr old,this will.my first year attending instructurecon and am already excited about the family atmosphere encouraged. We are driving up from CA so plan on hitting the some national parks on the way out.

[tbunag]

Does anyone know if there's a charge for non-eating, non-participating family to be in attendance?  Our daughter is going to need to be with us in the evenings, during the receptions and such.  She obviously won't be eating or drinking, since she'll just be 11 months old, so I'm assuming she wouldn't need a guest pass or anything.  Anyone with little ones in past years who can comment?  I do remember seeing babies at the conference last year, and I'm kicking myself for not asking then.

[kona]

 @tbunag ​, I've had my daughter at previous InstructureCon's when she was 1.5, 2.5, & 3.5 and never paid for her and was never questioned about her needing a pass. Granted she never really ate much, just off our plates, but she still enjoyed the games and some of the activities and it wasn't a problem. 

[tbunag]

Unfortunately, it looks like our attempts at getting into a drop-in daycare are striking out.  Is there anyone else needing a babysitter who would like to share costs?  The in-room babysitters cost an arm and a leg, but if we could share with someone, it would be much more reasonable.  Looking more and more like we might be bringing a very well-behaved baby to a bunch of sessions...

[jasond]

And bring the munchkins I did!

Another InstructureCon with the munchkins! #InstCon pic.twitter.com/OlMvHaxClS

— Jason Diehl (@professordiehl) July 20, 2016