Spring Flower Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 I coordinate field trips and activities for our small homeschool group (5 - 10 families) each week. I am thinking of scheduling a monthly "show and tell" for the children. All of the children are age 8 and under and I think we will focus on sharing a favorite book, poem, or story each month. The goal is to practice public speaking. I would like to meet indoors at the same location each time. I live in a small condo and it is not possible to accommodate the group at my house. I don't think it would be possible to do it any one else's house, either. Most of us have babies and toddlers in tow as well. I hoped that we could possibly meet at our local library but they charge $200 to rent their multi-purpose room. Any other ideas of where we could do this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Does anyone in your group belong to a church or similar which might offer a small room free of charge for this group? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Our library has free rooms and our church would offer free rooms. The local community center has rooms at a fee, but the fees are less than that. The library in the next town over has rooms for a fee, but the fees are less than that as well. I would check churches - any church that anyone in the group is a member of could be an option. If no one is a member, they will probably charge a building usage fee, but it might still be less expensive. Also, other libraries if they aren't too far away or community centers. Sometimes restaurants have meeting rooms they will reserve free, but you'll have to buy food while you are there, which isn't necessarily cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 We use a church that used to have a school, so it's a really great facility for us. We do pay them something for it, though. One of the townships around here also has a facility that used to be a school, and it has a nice space. We've used other churches in the past too, so I would start there. One of the grocery stores around here has a big community room too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Our library system also has free meeting rooms available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshin Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 A few options off the top pf my head: Public schools -- You can rent the multipurpose room in our public schools on weekends or in the evening for $15 a pop. Retirements comunitites (not homes, but the gated condo or twonhome communities) -- some of these have meeting/party rooms and they allow people to rent or use them for free. You may need to approach a homeowners' board for permission. Hobby/comic/gaming stores -- we have a hobby/gaming store that allows us to use their game room for all sorts of meetings during weekdays. They only use the room on weekends and in the evening for card and tabletop gaming, but they enjoy have the kids back there when it's not being used. Parks and rec department -- they may have a free/low cost option they can point you towards. Local community colleges -- at least one of ours has a community room they rent for a low cost. A local 4-year univeristy allows free use of some rooms outside of class time if a staff member vouches for you. It can't hurt to call around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Some fire stations have community meeting rooms that are free. If anyone works at an office or has a spouse/significant other that works at an office, they or the office building might have a conference or meeting room they'd let you use. Some of our local condos/apartment communities offer free community rooms as a bonus for living there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Flower Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Unfortunately we are the only church goers in our group and our church does not allow us to use the building for personal group activities like this. I may try calling around to other churches in our area. I know there are a few homecshool groups and coops in our area that meet at churches but a fee is charged by the church. I'll see what I can do, though Thanks for the ideas. I already have a few places in mind to call but I'm open to more ideas. Keep them coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Our library has free meeting rooms, but the catch is that it has to be a meeting "open to the public."The upside of this is that (if you were in our community), you would get your meeting listed on the Library Calendar as "Homeschool Books and Poems" and you may draw in a few more homeschoolers to the group.Our library also has a "homeschool liaison" (one of our children's librarians who has this as one of her MANY duties). SHE has hosted activities like this in the past. If your library has a homeschool liaison, he/she may be willing to coordinate this for the benefit of the wider homeschooling community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Other thoughts... yoga and dance studios sometimes rent during the day, some coffeehouses and restaurants have cheap spaces, and while your apartment building may not have a community room, see if anyone else does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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