Starting A Homeschool Group Part 2
by Lee Wirebaugh
So, you have found some other homeschoolers and you have all met. Great!! Now your saying what do we do. Good question, and I hope I can help you out. This is what our group is doing and hopefully you can get some ideas from us.
The first thing we did was set up an email group at egroups. This has made communication within our group very easy. No one has to make long distance phone calls and in one email everyone in the group knows what is going on. Plus you can use other features like calendars and databases.
Then we set up regular meeting times. We found that every two weeks works best for most families. We meet at the park for now, but have had to look for other places to meet once the weather turns. I have found that libraries are a good place to start and often do not charge for the use of there rooms. Just a note our group has chosen to make a donation in the name of the group once a year for the use of the room. This is something your group would have to decide. Another place to check is with your local religious school. They often except homeschool students an a part time basis and would be happy to let use there gym on nights they have no functions. If neither of those are available check with your church, mall (they often have a community room), and local park district.
Great you have the people and the meeting place. Give yourself a big pat on the back because half the battle is over. As a group you now need to decide what sorts of activities you want to have. Every group is different and you can make the group as structured or unstructured as you want. We have decided to have activities for the kids at each meeting, and mothers take turns planning them. This is the fun part!! We are planning many different mini sessions. Here is a list of what we have in the works:
Learn to play the recorder
Intro to French
Learning to play the spoons
Juggling
Child first aid
Babysitter clinic
Sign language
Trash to treasure crafts
Local area history
This is just a sampling and I am sure you can come up with many ideas that we have yet to think of. One important thing is to get others to help. Have sign up sheets and encourage everyone to participate. Running a homeschool group can be very time consuming and overwhelming at times so spread out the work to all members.
I am sure you are very excited to get started planning your next meeting so I will not keep you any longer!! Just remember the whole idea is make it fun and educational for the children and the parents.
...Continued at Part 3 …
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