Need help learning how to set up homeschool monthly meetings

[Michelle My Bell]

I am going to be in charge of our homeschool groups meetings this year and I need help figuring out WHAT to have the topics be, HOW to run the meetings so they are fun, educational and beneficial, WHAT the format should be, roundtable, break-out sessions, lecture, interactive etc... and WHO should be giving the talks, (members or outside sources?)

 

Does anyone have any advice from their own experiences or websites you could direct me to?

 

Thanks!

Michelle

[Sarah CB]

Our group put out a call for those who were interested in coming to a planning session. Then we all sat down and put our heads together to plan out the meetings for the year. We have had a mix of meetings - sometimes we bring someone in, sometimes we break out into small groups to discuss various topics, etc. Having 8 of us involved in the planning ensured that a wide variety of needs were being met with the meetings.

[Ellie]

I guess it depends on what your definition of "monthly meetings" is.

 

In my world:D there are two kinds of "monthly meetings" which support group members attend: Park days, which are informal and include children, and Moms' Nights Out, which are also informal and do not include children.

 

I prefer MNO which are in someone's home, on a regular basis (e.g., the second Tuesday of each month). The hostess decides on the agenda, which is not announced ahead of time. Whoever shows up is whoever shows up--no RSVPs, no e-mails, just y'all come. I would be in favor of a more formal meeting quarterly, with an Official Speaker or topic, but not monthly.

 

In my last support group, we had one Official Meeting every year in August, when we decided things like when to do MNO and park day. We passed around a sign-up sheet with group activities such as a Not Back to School Picnic, a harvest party, a Thanksgiving dinner, a Christmas party, Valentines' Day party, etc. People who were interested in organizing any of those signed up, then did the planning at home; we'd plug in the dates they gave us.

 

You didn't ask this, but field trips were planned a couple of times a year by the Field Trip Committee, which consisted of whoever showed up :-) We planned two field trips for most months, always on the second and fourth Fridays so people could plan in advance; no one organized more than two field trips, so if only 2 people showed up, there were only 4 field trips...but that never happened. Field trip information was written up in detail, including Official Registration Forms (we charged for almost *all* field trips) and deadlines for registration, and passed out at park days and MNO. Easy peasy.

 

So, our support group was organized but never painful for anyone; no one was burned out from being in charge, no one was nagged to participate (or felt as if she were being nagged), no worries, everyone was happy.:D