If you belong to a great local homeschool group...

[mskelly]

What makes it great?

[LillyMama]

There is a forum on the website, which you can pay $5 a year to be a member of. It's not just active like this one, but it's a great place for exchanging resources (I've given away my printer, a toddler bed and a scooter just in this past month) and ideas that are just better when they come from locals.

 

Our group was started by moms who now have graduates and teenagers. They've set up the structure but have made it very open to the new of us moms.

 

They have monthly family meetings, Monday evenings, so that entire families, with the dads, can be involved. The nights have themes. I think this is slowly burning out these moms, and they are looking to pass it along.

 

The older kids stay involved, mostly voluntarily, which makes such a nice treat for our younger ones.

 

There are no requirements to be a member, aside from the $5. This does make some of us feel like we do all the work. At the same time, it also makes for a lot less entitled group. If you don't like the field trip planned for this month, well, then plan your own.

 

The best part, I think, is that it was started by two mom best friends who are VERY different from one another. VERY different, in everything. This has helped create a very diverse and open-minded group of home-schoolers who don't "eat their young." :D

[littlebug42]

The parents and kids are an extremely diverse group of people but it is completely all inclusive. Everyone is so warm and welcoming and completely accepting of the diversity within the group. I enjoy all of the other Moms so much and I am glad I finally caved to some peer/child pressure and joined.

 

The kids in the group are also great and many of them are the same ages as my daughters. We all have such a great time.

[mandymom]

Tons of activities for all ages...so many that there is NO WAY that we could participate in all of them. We are involved in Chess Club, and we have done the Scripps Spelling Bee, Park Days, Barn Dance (for the middle/high school kids), and Kindergarten graduation. While it's a Christian group, there are many different kinds of beliefs involved and no one (at least in my experience) is told they have to believe one certain way (I believe you do have to sign a SoF for leadership).

 

We also have an academic organization that provides academic classes, as well as enrichment classes. It is very high quality. While it is a separate entity (and staff gets paid where as the support group is parent volunteer), it works very closely with the support group. There is also a sports league and a service organization that are also separate but are loosely connected with the support group.

[Ellie]

My favorite support group (I didn't do co-ops) had just the right level of activities so that the members' own homeschooling was given priority:

 

Moms' Night Out once a month, held at someone's home; whoever was the hostess decided on the agenda, and it was never announced ahead of time.

 

Park day on the first Friday of each month. No business, no organized activities, no calling around to see if it was being held or where, just a relaxed park day, at the same park every month.

 

Two field trips a month, always on the second and fourth Fridays. The field trip committee consisted of whoever showed up at the planning meetings twice a year. All the planning was done on that day; any field trip which could not be confirmed right then, or which could not be scheduled on the second or fourth Friday wasn't considered. No one planned more than two field trips. We made sure there were a variety of outings: different ages, some more organized, some more casual, some free or low cost, some more expensive. The organizer was the leader at her field trip. We paid for all field trips in advance, by a deadline--no phone calls, no e-mails, just show me the money. No refunds, either, unless the field trip was canceled. We charged $1 per person for "free" field trips if we'd had to make any arrangements with anyone.

 

One business meeting per year, to discuss things like continuing park day or MNO and when/where. At that time we passed around a sign-up sheet with possible holiday parties (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc.). People signed up for the ones they wanted to do, and did all the planning on her own (as opposed to spending a MNO with 30 people discussing what to do...); if no one signed up for something, then we just didn't do it. No pressure.

 

And that's what I liked about it: painless organization, no pressure on people to plan a field trip, no furrowed brows about what the topic should be for MNO, no time-sucking for the leaders or the members.

[The Girls' Mom]

Our group in TX was awesome, and I miss everyone so much. It was a very diverse group of people, who had the good sense not to get offended by every little thing. We could talk about religion AND politics without issue. The kids ranged in age from 4 to 18, and they all treated each other well. Other than a few minor tiffs amongst the kids (and I mean VERY minor) there weren't any arguments.

 

We didn't have a set of rules to follow. We planned stuff to do, but it was very relaxed. If you wanted to do something you planned it, and it wasn't a big deal if everyone showed up or not. (and for things that needed a commitment, people didn't flake on you) Everyone was pretty open about sharing their home with the group as well. The kids hung out together at each other's homes a lot. I'm so sad, because I know I'll never find another group like it where I am now. There we fit in because we were a little different. Here we never will, for the same reason.

[LibraryLover]

Great diversity of approach, kindness, respect, creativity, nearly everyone with a wicked sense of humor, and nobody trying to 'out parent'.

[mskelly]

Thanks. This is very helpful. I've only belonged to one group so I have nothing to compare it to, but I think it would be nice to have more of that feeling of belonging.

[Angel]

Funny, my reply is totally different!

 

I love our group because it is NOT an academic, school-type setting. I love that we are more laid back and actually allow the kids time to socialize and play and just be together. I love that when I am not teaching, I can hang out and chat with other moms (no one just drops and goes). I love that I do not have to add a TON of extra homework to my own homeschool days because the co-op is so focused on the academic. I love that we are small and therefore the classes are small. I love that it is really inexpensive and that we only meet twice a month. I also love that we are similarly minded. I love that my kids, especially the younger social butterfly loves going.

[Lady Florida.]

The parents and kids are an extremely diverse group of people but it is completely all inclusive. Everyone is so warm and welcoming and completely accepting of the diversity within the group.

 

This sounds just like my group. I joined mainly as a way to help my only child meet other homeschoolers, and 8 years later we've both made some good friends. Even if we never did another thing with the group, we'd still do things with the friends we made. There are plenty of field trips which ds really loved when he was younger. Now we mostly do the social stuff. There are other groups in my area that are also busy with field trips and activities, but what I love about mine is the true inclusiveness. As long as someone is accepting of diversity, they're welcome in our group.