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Encouragement > Starting A Homeschool Support Group
The Watering Place
Come and be filled with encouragement for homeschooling.
Starting A Homeschool Support Group
By Harriet Yoder
Check with your state support group. You can find it by
putting your state name and the words, “homeschool support group” in your favorite
search engine. You should be able to find a group nearby.
If not, then you can start a new one! All you have to do is find one other
family. Plan a get together for an educational purpose and you have a group! It is amazing how fast word gets around. In another ten years you might have
a group that is large enough to have a high school basketball team.
If
you live in a remote area, you will have to drive a distance to meet with your
group. Maybe you can plan activities at the halfway point. You can email
other parents for support between meetings. It is worth the trip even if it
is only once a month. When we moved into our area fifteen years ago, there
were about six known families. Half of them drove an hour to get to the
events. Today, there are groups in all major towns in our county. We still
have families that commute from even smaller remote towns to attend homeschool
group events in our area.
That is a little more difficult and will require a little more effort but it is
still easy if you are patient. Pray with your children and ask the Lord to
show you other homeschooling families. Then read the next question.
- Name your group (Your Town Homeschool Support Group or Christian
Homeschoolers of Your Town or County, etc.)
- Find a meeting place. You could start in your home if you feel
comfortable with entertaining folks. Churches are usually willing to let
you use their facilities for free—unless it is a large event that requires
services in which case there may be a small fee.
- Set a time and date.
- Select a meeting topic. It could be as simple as: Starting a homeschool
support group!
- Plan for coffee, herb tea, and some munchies. This gives folks some
time to fellowship and bond!
- Plan for no children at your first meeting; though nursing babies are
usually welcome at most homeschool events I have attended. Later you
can make arrangements for allowing children if you like. Some groups
like making this a parents night out.
- Advertise the event. There are lots of free possibilities.
- Leave flyers at your local bookstores, churches, grocery stores, etc.
- Send an announcement to your local newspapers and radio stations. Have contact information
in case folks want to call for directions.
- Contact the folks at
your state homeschool support group and let them know you are starting a
group. They will usually post it on their website. You can use your
phone number or set up an email address for the contact information.
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If
you can do this you are now a leader! It is not that difficult. I wasn’t a
“leader type” when I started homeschooling. The last thing I ever thought I
would be was a homeschool motivational writer and speaker, and yet that is
what I do! I have learned that being a leader means that you are usually the
one who is willing to serve and do.
One
thing leads to another. If you do one little step at a time, you won’t
realize that you have climbed that huge mountain named, “Impossible Thing I
Haven’t Ever Done Before” until you are there and realize it wasn’t so hard
after all.
Ok,
so no one shows up at the first meeting. Enjoy your coffee and quiet time,
submit another request to God about raising up homeschoolers in your area, and
plan the next meeting.
It
is not about numbers. It is about being patient. Maybe the people God means
to add to your group are presently in the “thinking about home-schooling”
phase. We knew one family who wanted some homeschooling families in their
large church. They prayed about it for a year to two. A few years later
their church had the most homeschooling families of any church represented in
our group!
Permissions:
While this is copyrighted material, you are granted permission
to copy it for your own use and not for resale. If you wish to
use it in your support group newsletter, we ask that you include
the following information at the end of the article:
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Copyright © 2000-2008
Wynne
and Harriet Yoder All rights reserved
Lamp Post Publishing, Inc.
1741 Tallman Hollow Road
Montoursville, PA 17754
800-326-9273
570-435-2804
www.LampPostPublishing.com |
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Revised
03/20/08 |
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