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No more Silence!
How To Start Your Own Homeschool Support Group
The best advice available on the net.
It can often take a great deal of time and effort to hook up with a local homeschooling support group in your area. Trust me I sympathize. Our family lives in the California Sierra Mountains, in an area seemingly dominated by church homeschool groups and charter schools. Independent homeschool groups can really start to feel like social outcasts in a climate such as this.
Shay Seaborne, Synergy Field offers assistance in choosing a group that fits your families needs:
How to Choose a Homeschool Group
There are two basic types of homeschool support groups: general, and those with a specific focus. Within these, there are myriad variations. Understanding the variety can help you find the one that is right for you.
If you can't find a good fit, what do you do? Start your own group of course. I could share with you my own personal experience...can you say boring? I am not the socialite of our area to say the very least. In fact, I work from home for a very good reason. Besides wouldn't you rather hear what the experts have to say?
Here is the best advice available on:
How To Start Your Own Local Homeschool Support Group
Just Mommies by Shauna Smith Duty says, "Prioritize":
Don't let starting a support group interfere with teaching, family, church, or other responsibilities. If the support group needs to take the backseat during Christmas, be upfront with your members and tell them you cannot commit to anything during December, but they are welcome to plan events without you during that time. If you have to miss a park day, do it. Keep the number of events minimal. A bi-monthly park day and one outing per month are enough for most groups. Maintain a balance that makes your family and your homeschool group compliment one another.
What Type of Group Should I Start?
More Support Group Advice
Homeschool Christian provides guidance:
Will your support group be Religious, Inclusive, or Secular? - Ultimately that answer will have to come from you. Here are some factors you should consider. Are there other homeschooling support groups in your area? If so, are they Religious, Inclusive, or Secular? What effect might your decision have on relations within the homeschooling community? Ultimately, most importantly, what is the vision God is giving you?
Home Education UK offers:
If you have older children, you might prefer a more organised groups with craft activities, or field trips. Or you might like a group so you can study certain topics together, or do projects. If there are some activities which your children would like to do, but which are not easily available locally, this might be possible in a support group. Perhaps they would like to learn another language, or make clay pots, or start an orchestra. Nothing is impossible, but you will need to do some local research to find out what is available.
How to Get the Word Out?
Shay Seaborne, Synergy Field writes:
We chose a name and began to spread the word. - I made a one-page flier, announcing our group, giving an idea of its "flavor," and providing contact information. The name and contact information are repeated in tear-off tabs along the bottom of the paper. These have proven popular with for busy homeschool parents.
Each month, I take copies of the flier to the library. For greater coverage at slightly more cost, post the fliers at area bulletin boards at community centers, groceries, gymnastics and dance studios, karate dojos, bagel bakeries-any place that be frequented by children. I keep a small stack of fliers-and some tape-in my car, for impromptu postings.
Navigating the Legalities
CHASE SC offers a wealth of information:
You, and perhaps some of your friends have one or more needs for support in homeschooling that are not being met. You have chosen to start your own play group, support group, co-op, 4-H or other educational and/or social groups to have more interaction with other homeschoolers and to enjoy a more diverse homeschooling experience. I say way to go Mom, way to go Dad, as your children will remember all of these great experiences for the rest of their lives, and so will you.
I have provided much more than most folks will ever need to start their support group, so don't let it scare you. There are personalities that want all their i's dotted and their t's crossed, and knowing this I have tried to supply everything they will want and need to get started. Please keep in mind, you can make your group as simple and easy going as you'd like, or you can get all the i's and t's dotted, and then have fun. You and those helping you to organize your new group will decide how loose or defined the structure will be.
