How Did You Find Other Homeschoolers?

[mariposa]

Or did you find other homeschoolers in your area? I'm in my second year of homeschooling and I still don't feel like I really know what's out there.

 

Compounding my frustration, we are moving to a new area in the fall and as far as I can tell, there aren't any homeschoolers in the town! There are so many groups all over the state but there doesn't seem to be anything close by. At least, if there are groups, they are underground or something!

 

So, maybe if a couple people shared how they found a group I can try some new tactics - maybe I'm just going about it wrong? I looked up all umbrella groups registered in the state and I've searched the internet but so far, nada.

 

What if I wanted to start a group? Has anyone done that? Where are all the homeschoolers? :)

Thanks!

[WTMCassandra]

Hmmm. Each time I have moved, I have started with the state organization, who usually keeps a list of local groups. Could you call your state organization and ask? Or, perhaps you could post your state here and someone might be able to point the way for you.

[Elaine]

By their shoes, of course!:D

[Stacia]

Asking the local children's librarian might let you know if there are some other hsers in the area. If so, you could always put up a little flyer about setting up a hs group or leave your name & email w/ the librarian to pass on to other hsers.

 

Go to a local park or playground during 'school' hours. People w/ older kids there (age kindergarten+) are often hsers.

[Hillary in KS]

We've moved 5 times in the past 7 years. Each time I've found homeschoolers by asking around.

 

Call the state organization and ask who the contact person is for your area. Call the closest one, even if it's not in your city. They may still know someone in your area.

 

Maybe call one or two of the large churches in your area and see if they have a group of homeschoolers. Maybe they would be willing to pass along your phone number.

 

I've had great success asking at the library. :)

 

I've also had someone ask me if we homeschooled. We were walking down the sidewalk in the middle of the morning, and someone stopped their car to ask. Turns out she homeschools, and was thrilled to find out there were more hsers in the neighborhood. :)

[JWSJ]

By their shoes, of course!:D

 

Can't you just spot them?

 

They all wear those denium jumper outfits.

[elegantlion]

By their shoes, of course!:D

 

Homeschoolers wear shoes? :D

 

To the OP, we are sort in the same position again (long story). I'm looking in home school support group get togethers, age related lessons for ds, and planning some local field trips.

[Ellie]

I started hsing in 1982. There were no groups to speak of. I had one weird hsing neighbor, and a friend who lived nearby had a weird hsing neighbor, so there were then there were three of us.:D

 

Although having hsed friends is fun, we didn't *need* them. We had friends at church, and sometimes even friendly neighbors.:) It was enough.

[Closeacademy]

I found the state organization who had an e-mail for the regional people. There was no information that I could find online for my local area. So I e-mailed the regional people and after the second e-mail and waiting for about 3 months, I got a local e-mail. Another 6 weeks or so and I got to meet my first homeschoolers.

 

It did take about 3 years before I found a group of homeschoolers with whom we hang out on a regular basis but it is wonderful now.

 

Parks, libraries and grocery stores during school hours is a good place to find homeschoolers, as well. We have approached people at places like this to see if they are homeschooling and if they need a support group and I help them link up locally if they are.

 

Good luck and I hope you find a wonderful group of people where you are moving to.:001_smile:

[LaxMom]

You're right. It's crazy trying to find other homeschoolers. We actually advertise in the paper and on the local library bulletin boards, and hold informational meetings for new and prospective families. We now have a website for our area and a number of people have found us through that, as well, but all that seems to be way outside the "normal" (read: word of mouth) way of doing things.

 

When we were first starting out, I found other homeschoolers by searching Yahoo groups for MD homeschool lists. Once I'd joined the lists, I found information about a new co-op forming in the area, an umbrella group that does field trips, and other activities, but it was really daunting for a while.

 

It's a shame that more people and groups aren't putting themselves out there publicly.

[sparrow]

Compounding my frustration, we are moving to a new area in the fall and as far as I can tell, there aren't any homeschoolers in the town! There are so many groups all over the state but there doesn't seem to be anything close by. At least, if there are groups, they are underground or something!

 

 

It sounds like you're moving to our area. We moved here 2 years ago and ran into the same thing. There are huge groups all over the state, but our area is a Dead Zone :). I asked at the library and found our group!

[kewb]

meetup.com and yahoo groups is how I found homeschoolers near me.

[dragons in the flower bed]

If your children's librarian is very nice, you could leave cards with your home phone number or e-mail address on them with her, so she can give them to the other homeschoolers who surely come in, if they exist.

[mcconnellboys]

You can check at sites like HSLDA or Homeschool A to Z and find listings by state. Contact some groups in your state if you don't see groups nearer to you and ask them if they know of other, small groups that might not advertise online.

 

You might also check at your local library. Our branches keep listings of info on homeschooling and homeschoolers in the area to help folks who are new. Likewise, your local 4-H might be able to hook you up with other homeschoolers.

 

Good luck!

[luna]

The group that our family belongs to and that I now lead support group meetings for, was started by a mother who had come from a large, active group near a city. We live in a fairly rural area in a school district made up of 4 towns. She was eager for company for herself and her children, having been a part of a group of 60 families. She went to the school district with stamped letters asking them to send them to the families that homeschooled. (In NH, we have to report to the superintendent.) They were happy to do that for her. The letter invited parents to a dessert tea to meet one another. I am happy to say, that was over 6 years ago. The few families that arrived at her meet and greet are still a part of that group. We have grown to about 30 families, not bad for our area. You could also post something in your local paper and have a get together at your library. Or, as others suggested, ask your librarian for help. Good luck!

[swellmomma]

I found a yahoo group of local homeschoolers a few years before I started homeschooling. At that time I was on several local parenting groups so I just put homeschool and city name in the search. I started talking with them, asking questions, hanging out etc. By the time I started homeschooling I was an oldtimer on the list. From that list a new support group for Alberta began, and now they offer a lending library, co-op classes, etc which draws lots of new homeschoolers in.

[Sharon H in IL]

Offer snacks on the fliers you put up for get-togethers. Food always lures them out of hiding. :D

[Margo out of lurking]

Church.

 

We moved from a vibrant hsing community to the sticks. We joined our little county hs group, and it was a flop. While our larger "close" city (an hour away) has many hsers, the groups don't really do much together, instead just passing out information. We weren't in a position to join either of the far co-ops.

 

We were feeling pretty lost.

 

Meanwhile, we began attending a church up in the larger city, which we loved, and several weeks later, we discovered that ~80% of the families homeschool. That was just one more indication that it was "our" church. :)

 

It seems like an odd thing, but there is also a giant hs rec league in the larger city. (As the population is 90,000, it's hard for me to call it "large," lol.) We'd heard about the league for a year, and although my kids weren't big on playing soccer, they joined last fall. 270 hsed kids played in the league. It was a great way to meet other hsers and their families, and we've signed up for spring soccer too.

 

In the meantime, we've--okay, *I've*--embraced the fact that we don't have as many social options as before, and this is a great time for our family to draw more tightly together and appreciate what we do have.