Some communities across the country seem to be gleaming with large homeschool groups, offering everything from co-ops to casual play times to regular meetings. Groups can be based on religious commonalities, academic goals, teaching strategies, curriculum choices, or location.
Finding Homeschool Support Groups
For families who are contemplating homeschooling or who have already chosen the journey, homeschool support groups offer a myriad of positive options and opportunities for parents and children alike for socialization, sharing, and friendship building. Some groups are strictly online and are focused on the needs of the parents. Ideas, concerns, and questions can be shared among people from California to New York and all stops in between.
While these types of networking groups are valuable, they may not serve the full range of needs of the family. Local support groups with actual physical interactions can provide outlets for parents as well as children.
If a family is searching for a homeschool support group and does not know of anyone in their own community to whom they can turn, the internet is an obvious possible way to connect with others locally. There are Yahoo! Groups, web sites, and online forums which are often searchable by city. Many state run support organizations keep records of local support groups and work to connect families in search of them.
Starting a Homeschool Support Group
If all else fails and no search group can be found in one’s area, it does not mean that there are no homeschoolers in the area. It may mean that there are pods of families who have connected, whether by church, friends, or family members, and have not felt the strong need or ability to move further beyond that realm.
Once a homeschool parent takes the initiative to form a homeschool support group, families might seem to appear out of the wood work and crave the same types of possibilities and opportunities.
While beginning a support group might sound like a daunting task, there are several reasonable ways in which to proceed:
- Place an advertisement in a local paper seeking other families with whom to share the adventures.
- Hang posters at the libraries with a park day planned for area homeschoolers.
- Form a group online specific to a geographical location.
- Contact churches, mothers’ groups, and other family oriented organizations.
- Create a web page that includes the keywords homeschool support group and the name of the city.
- Be persistent and patient.
Even if the group only begins small in number, it is still the beginning. The facilitator of the group should be prepared to answer questions from families inquiring about the plan and purpose. Some of the possible questions might include:
- Is this a secular group?
- For what ages is the group intended?
- Will this include a co-op?
- Will there be a fee to join?
- What types of activities are going to be included?
There are bound to be many more questions than these, but if the group facilitator is prepared with as many scenarios as possible it will extend the credibility and the possibility of success. As the group grows there will likely be transformations in size as well as philosophies and purposes, so it is important to remain flexible. It is also important to remember to register the group with a state run support group so that anyone else who is travelling a similar journey can find the needed support.
Finding a homeschool support group may not be easy, but the benefits of belonging to one that works well can be far reaching. If there are no available options, starting a new homeschool support group is sometimes the best solution and it can be done in many ways.
Resources
Duty, Shauna Smith. "Starting a Local Homeschool Support Group"
Chris Oldenburg - The homeschooling mother of four children, I am also a freelance technical writer. After more than 10 years of homeschooling I enjoy the ...
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