Tell me about your homeschool group.

[ChristusG]

What type of group do you attend? Do you like it? Why or why not?

 

We are currently members of a kids place called O2B Kids. They offer all sorts of classes, have after school care, a homeschool group, run a preschool, and have all sorts of fun kids activities. We only do the homeschool group. The monthly fee includes the group and as many classes as we want to take (things like karate, dance, bake shop, etc). However, my kids don't want to take classes.....and honestly, we don't really have the time either. So we are paying a ton of money for a weekly homeschool group.

 

That being said, the homeschool group is awesome. It runs from 10 AM - 2 PM each Wednesday. The kids are divided into age groups. And they have the same teacher each week. They change classes every 30 minutes and get to participate in different things. They do a science class, book club, recess, lunch time, group game time, history, etc. Us parents get to do whatever we want....we can stay, we can leave, whatever. Every few months there's a parents meeting so we can discuss field trips, upcoming events, etc. Sometimes they bring in special speakers like a person and dogs from the humane society, a folk band, a science guy, etc. We do montly field trips as a group. We celebrate birthdays each month with a cake. It's a really great group. But it's expensive. Very expensive.

 

We were thinking of changing to another type of group, but I just can't get excited about joining one. There's a group that goes on monthly field trips and such....but you don't get to see the same people every week or participate in classes, etc.

 

Tell me about your group.....what do you like about it?

[VBoulden]

Our group is an online "meetup" group.

 

"Meetup" is an online site (like Yahoo groups) where people in an area can go to find other people interested in the same things... I typed in "homeschool" and the name of my town and that's how I found the group.

 

I pay $12 a year through pay pal (a dollar a month) to be a member of the meetup group. As a member, I can visit the group's meet up site and the various members (including me) post field trips, activities, co-ops, hikes, events, etc. The other members can RSVP, ask questions (through email) and discuss the various activities. We can also share what we re doing through Facebook, etc. You can see who is coming to the meet ups and who is not and who hasn't decided whether or not to come (like an evite invitation). There is also a group calendar with all the activities at a glance. This works really well for us.

 

The members will often post activities that other homeschool group's are doing in the area, so in that way, we stay connected with what's going on in a broader sense. And, we don't really have to pay anything unless we go to the specific activities.

 

Next week, for example, we will be starting a class at a nature center with several kids/ families in the group. It's $3 per class and the class goes for ten weeks... It's great because we only really pay for what we do. :D

[Dmmetler]

Ours has weekly park days, occasional field trips, and is trying a once a week co-op, with parents rotating. Unfortunately, there's a big push from a specific group of parents (more the ones on the Unschooling side) to make the younger age groups into free play as well-and if they do that, my DD and I will probably stop doing Co-op, because it's simply too far to drive on a day she already has dance classes for another park day-particularly since, due to DD's age, she's separated from many of the kids she really likes playing with during Co-op.

[mom2denj]

We have an O2B Kids too. Do you know if you can join the homeschool group only? I have looked on the website, but they do not list prices/catergories. I have thought about joining next year when my now 4 yr old is in K. I am also going to look into Classical Conversations that is offered at a nearby church. I have heard that is also VERY expensive. There is not much offered where I am as far as homeschool groups. We are going to CBS, which stands for Community Bible Study, on Thursday's. We love this and they have a homeschool class for my preschooler as well as my middle schooler. I wish I had more options.

[Ellie]

I hsed back in the day when there were only support groups. :-)

 

My first support group met once a month at the park. We had a wonderful time--the mothers talking about hsing and whatnot, the children free-playing. Some of us became close friends and did things together during the month, informally. Sometimes there were field trips, but mostly I didn't attend those.

 

My second support group did a monthly park day and a monthly Moms' Night Out. We also had two field trip planning meetings a year to organize two field trips a month.

 

Co-ops were "invented" after I finished hsing. I would not have been interested in them, especially not if they met on a day other than Friday, as my schedule would have been trashed if I'd had to leave the house every Wednesday (or Monday or Tuesday or Thursday) for several hours. :-)

[NanceXToo]

I love my group. We're on meetup.com too. We usually have things planned two or three times a week at least for people to pick and choose from.

 

We plan field trips, educational tours, craft days and holiday celebrations at a local community building, "community helper" days, park days, sometimes a member will volunteer to do some sort of fun 'class' or game day or something at their house, we have annual group picnics and other potluck events, we post special events that are going on in the community, and all sorts of things.

 

It's a lot of fun!

[Rosy]

Mine has class days on Friday like what you described, but the classes are all parent-led. We meet in a church and have 4 class periods with lunch in the middle. We also have field trips, mom's nights out, missions projects, park days in the summer, etc. Parents get one period off per day if they're there all day, we have volunteer assignments for the rest of the day (teaching, TA, hall monitor, floater, etc.).

 

Our group isn't terribly expensive, and if someone teaches they get a small honorarium per student. For me, teaching 2 classes basically pays for my kids to go. This semester I'm teaching 3 and that also paid our registration fees and more. There isn't pressure to teach if someone can't or doesn't want to.

 

I love my co-op. It is the highlight of my kids' week and a great time for me to connect with other homeschooling moms.

[kiwi mum]

Our group is an online "meetup" group.

 

"Meetup" is an online site (like Yahoo groups) where people in an area can go to find other people interested in the same things... I typed in "homeschool" and the name of my town and that's how I found the group.

 

I pay $12 a year through pay pal (a dollar a month) to be a member of the meetup group. As a member, I can visit the group's meet up site and the various members (including me) post field trips, activities, co-ops, hikes, events, etc. The other members can RSVP, ask questions (through email) and discuss the various activities. We can also share what we re doing through Facebook, etc. You can see who is coming to the meet ups and who is not and who hasn't decided whether or not to come (like an evite invitation). There is also a group calendar with all the activities at a glance. This works really well for us.

 

The members will often post activities that other homeschool group's are doing in the area, so in that way, we stay connected with what's going on in a broader sense. And, we don't really have to pay anything unless we go to the specific activities.

 

Next week, for example, we will be starting a class at a nature center with several kids/ families in the group. It's $3 per class and the class goes for ten weeks... It's great because we only really pay for what we do. :D

 

My current group is similar to this but we also have a monthly park day and monthly Mom's night out (my favorite). I like being able to pick and choose what we participate in as my Aspie doesn't do well with things like unstructured park days.

[EthiopianFood]

We recently left one group and joined a new group. We meet once a week for what basically amounts to a big play date. There are occasional field trips. I think this will work well for us. I definitely am not interested in a co-op.

 

This is me and mine, except that I just joined this group as my first attempt at finding a community for dd. I really just want her to have friends. Supplemental stuff isn't a big priority for me right now.

[Closeacademy]

My group meets at the park every Friday. We have picnic lunches and then the children run off and play for a few hours while the parents sit and talk.

 

The park is great because there are pathways to ride bikes/walk, a playground, a field, trees, baseball diamonds, basketball and volleyball courts all within view of a picnic shelter where we sit. Sometimes we bring balls, chalk, bubbles, etc.

 

The parents exchange ideas, encourage & support each other. Currently, there are several of us working on handwork projects.

 

It is really a wonderful thing. This is our 4th fall and many of us have developed close friendships so much so that when one of our moms sent her kids to school we told her that she still needed to come and bring the little ones that are at home. We also started a 4-H group together and at one time had a little educational co-op but it got to be no fun so we quit doing it.

 

Over the years we have also helped the children work through various social problems--clicks, bullying, teasing, leadership, taking turns, sharing, being a friend, etc.

 

:001_smile:

[TXMomof4]

Our group meets every Friday - we have art class (taught by KSU students), choir and we're doing Presidential Fitness right now. Swimming is also going on, but I didn't want to do too much. Bowling may be starting soon. If a parent has an idea - go for it. We also do monthly field trips. I love it, the classes are good, quality classes, it isn't expensive - we only pay for what we attend, and it's with a pretty diverse group of people.

[mom2att]

My group started as just a few moms with young kids getting together for park days and field trips. Now our "young kids" are high schoolers and we're still meeting together, though we are now way more than a few.

 

Here's our intro, fyi:

http://www.homeschool-life.com/fl/cchs/

[mom2denj]

My group started as just a few moms with young kids getting together for park days and field trips. Now our "young kids" are high schoolers and we're still meeting together, though we are now way more than a few.

 

Here's our intro, fyi:

http://www.homeschool-life.com/fl/cchs/

 

I have tried several times to get into this group, but they are always full! It looks wonderful.:) I wish that thier OP campus had a homeschool group.

Edited October 17, 2010 by mom2denj

[happyWImom]

Our group started a little over 3 years ago, with just a few families, and now we have 18! It is a Co-Op that meets 2 times per month, for classes, with dc broken into age groups. Moms teach. There are also several field trips per semester. I really like it, except I'm the head of the group this year, and there is the stress and pressure to get the volunteers organized.

 

There is another group in the area that I think is fantastic, and if we lived "in town", and not over 40 minutes away, I would be part of. They meet the first Friday of every month for a set program-science, holiday themed meetings, etc... And all ages are together. But, they also have at least one field trip per month, and there are many off-shoots of the main group, like a monthly library club, a once a week gym class, toddler groups, boys club, hs choir, spanish class, etc..... They have a forum on Big Tent where all activities are posted, and people can just chat-like here-only you're all from the same area. So, it would be a great group where you could easily form close friendships. However, we live too far away to take advantage of most of it. But, it would be my idea type of group, because you don't have that commitment, and can go when you're able. And, if you miss one thing, there are many others.

 

I am thankful for the group I am part of, though, because it's a caring, nice group of ladies.