The Homeschooling Handbook_ From Preschool to High School - Mary Griffith [82]
Some groups restrict their membership or their leadership positions. You might be required to be currently homeschooling rather than just considering the idea. To serve as an officer, you might have to have been a member for some minimum period or agree to some kind of statement of philosophy. Most commonly, a religiously oriented group might require a signed statement of faith, although there have also been a few groups that require acceptance of a statement of educational philosophy. Such requirements can definitely help you decide whether that particular group is for you.
You may find that the first group you contact doesn’t suit you. Maybe the members feel a bit too free to tell you all that’s wrong with the way your family homeschools, or there’s an unstated philosophy you don’t agree with. Maybe you feel pressured to participate more than you’d really like, or perhaps you just don’t like the people much. Don’t hesitate to try other groups; you may find that some are targeted more to specific ages of children or to particular approaches to homeschooling.
If you are unhappy with the existing groups in your area or can find none, you can always start your own group. Post notices in likely places around town: libraries, food co-ops, churches, teacher supply stores, and so on. Send a notice of your group to your local paper’s community calendar editor. (Again, don’t forget those free parenting monthlies.) It might turn out that there are several homeschoolers in the area who’ve just been waiting for someone else to take the initiative in starting a new support group, or you might attract just one or two responses. Don’t get too discouraged if you don’t get a huge response; one or two new friends may be all you need.
The support group that I started when we first began homeschooling is still going strong more than a decade later, but we moved after the first year. There were two existing support groups in our new city, neither of which suited my family’s needs. We helped to start another one that has been wonderful for us. The group is organized as a cooperative, and since it grew rapidly, we have had lots of energy and talent contributed by the members. We have co-op classes, field trips, family gatherings, skating and park days, but most of all, friends for me and the girls.—Barbara, California
I gave a luncheon talk about homeschooling to a local [community] group and met a like-minded homeschooler. She and I started Wildflower Homeschoolers; she did the newsletter and I helped host the meetings. Over time, our support group has developed two sides—the homeschooling side and the food co-op side. Most of the people are in both groups. We’ve done many field trips that were fun … but park day has disappeared as an officially organized event. The group is at a bit of a crossroads: too much geographic mobility and overextended schedules. Constant turnover as jobs take families away has been the hardest obstacle. The group is evolving.—Carol, California
If local groups turn out to be completely unavailable or unsuited to your needs, check into some of the publications and Internet resources described later in this chapter.
State Homeschooling Organizations
Far too few homeschoolers take advantage of the services offered by state homeschooling organizations. Basically, state groups are watchdog organizations, formed to monitor the legal status of homeschooling within a state and to keep members informed of potential changes that might affect them. Most also provide