6packofun Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 We've been in Northeast Ohio for several years now and know of one co-op that refused to return my emails and one that is quite a hike from our house that is basically radical unschoolers. *sigh* We are feeling very isolated as we enter the last years of homeschooling for our family. Where do you start when trying to find a homeschool group? Is this area just awful for finding a social group or co-op for enrichment? Ugh. My teens would like to have some friends in their high school years! Help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Have you tried the Ohio Homeschoolers Yahoo Group? There seem to be a fair number of posts on that group about activities in northeastern Ohio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I'm in NW PA. My advice to your teens is to look outside of homeschooling groups for friends. There are plenty of perfectly nice people who don't homeschool who would make great friends! My now adult kids actually never met another homeschooler the entire time they were homeschooled through high school. It's only now with the youngest kids that we've actually made contact with other people who homeschool, LOL! And that group is about an hour's drive away from our home......maybe in a decade or so we'll have actual other homeschoolers in our own zip code! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewe Mama Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 We're in NE Ohio, too, and I have given up on finding any like-minded homeschooling families near us. We have both side of the spectrum in our neck of the woods, and don't click with either. We mainly socialize with our church family, but can't do that as often as we would like due to driving distances. We are trying to decide if we want to stay where we are, or if we should move back to civilization soon for the exact considerations you have right now. I think there's a Catholic group in Middleburg Heights, but don't know much more than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Maybe you could join the "Ohio Homeschooling Parents" Facebook page and ask there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I'm in NE Ohio too! There is an active meetup.com group that regularly posts activities. I haven't found a group either. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebeccaS Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I'm also in NE Ohio. I'm part of a yahoo group for organized activities and such. Otherwise, I've not bothered with any co-ops. Any that I've found require me to sign a statement of faith which I do not agree with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katydid Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I'm in NE OH, too. We have a few other homeschooling families that we are friends with, but I don't really like formal co-ops. We have participated in a homeschool gym class at a local rec center that is really good, but the time stopped working out for us and we haven't been in a while. Most other homeschool moms I talk to locally have never even heard of TWTM, though, so I never have high expectations for finding anyone like-minded. I like local groups mainly for socializing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 I'm in NW PA. My advice to your teens is to look outside of homeschooling groups for friends. There are plenty of perfectly nice people who don't homeschool who would make great friends! My now adult kids actually never met another homeschooler the entire time they were homeschooled through high school. It's only now with the youngest kids that we've actually made contact with other people who homeschool, LOL! And that group is about an hour's drive away from our home......maybe in a decade or so we'll have actual other homeschoolers in our own zip code! In what VENUE, though? We cannot afford tons of outside activities and our church youth group is huge and yet the kids are not uber-friendly. :( I have absolutely no reservations about our kids making friends with non-homeschoolers. But we don't live in a neighborhood and we don't just meet friends at the grocery store, etc. lol I'm pretty sure we're just doomed to be those isolated homeschoolers that people talk about. We ARE the stereotype. Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrhodes Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I'm in Cleveland too. Not homeschooling yet since my son is only 1, but I've tried looking around for preschool type groups for when the times and it's hard. There's a Lake County homeschool group on Facebook and a NEO Homeschool group, but most of that group seems to be around Akron. I know of 2 libraries that do homeschool programs, but I think they are either elementary or middle school so that won't help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. A Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 The only two I know of in the area are ARCHERS which meets in Middleburg Hts and the Catholic one, which I don't know anything about except that it's there. I wish there were a way to find out more about other groups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I think there is a CC in the area now. ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 There's a secular co op on the west side too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weintz8 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I'm in Brunswick and have been SO disheartened by the co-ops. My three year old has some issues and we've become shut ins! There is a place on rt 18 in medina called romp n stomp. It's a big indoor inflatable place. She said she would let me do a homeschool day if I could get enough people, but I could never get enough people!! Any interest??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 In what VENUE, though? We cannot afford tons of outside activities and our church youth group is huge and yet the kids are not uber-friendly. :( I have absolutely no reservations about our kids making friends with non-homeschoolers. But we don't live in a neighborhood and we don't just meet friends at the grocery store, etc. lol I'm pretty sure we're just doomed to be those isolated homeschoolers that people talk about. We ARE the stereotype. Ugh. We are on a really tight budget, but the one thing I do have is a subscription to the local newspaper. It isn't much of a paper, on most days it's about ten pages total if that but it does run daily. I find all kinds of free things to do that are of course particular to my area. For example, I found a local fish hatchery that has a free community education day (believe it or not there were other people with kids there), a nature center that offers free classes pretty much every week, and lots of stuff like that. I found out that there is a local arts council that had a showing for photos taken by area photographers and we went on a whim just to check it out one weekend and ran into some kids there. We volunteered for clean up on the local bike trail and there were kids there. Check out if you have a local theater group and see if your kids can participate. Maybe they can be in the chorus or maybe they can work backstage. We found a local children's theater group in our rural area that I had no idea existed. Scouts and 4H aren't free but they do offer scholarships and financial assistance if you need it. I found that out when I called up and asked. Even the local YMCA offered us a scholarship so that we could afford a membership. For elementary age kids it's pretty easy to find the favorite park or playground in the area and just show up after school or on Saturdays. We are secular and avoid church related stuff so we don't even go to those types of events but if you are okay with religion you don't have to be limited to the events at the church you attend. Most churches that are having youth related events will advertise that in the paper. Is there a local swimming place that people go to in the summer? I know not all areas have local lakes or swimming holes but it can't hurt to ask around and see if there is one in your area. We have a couple lakes that have free swimming areas and those are packed with kids in the summer. Our tiny local library now has a teen book club, some kind of pokemon club, and offers kid's crafts in the summer. During the school year you'll still find other kids there on a Saturday, so maybe instead of visiting during school hours you could stop by on the weekend and see if there are kids there. Mostly though I scour the newspaper and make note of any free community activities or events that could possibly have kids there or be of some kind of educational interest for the kids and I have usually found I'm not the only parent that has dragged out her kids to whatever event it is. I'm still waiting to run into another homeschooler but hey, at least we are out of the house and meeting other kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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