Thursday, January 22, 2009

Finding Others Who Homeschool in My Area

By Isabel Allen

When you first start thinking about homeschooling, you probably wonder if you'll be the only one in your area. However, with the ever increasing number of homeschooling families, that is not likely. Finding other homeschoolers, however, may not always be easy. You just need to know where to look.

Homeschoolers are likely to be found at local churches. Many homeschoolers are Christians but it certainly isn't a requirement. You might consider attending a couple of services to see if the local church has homeschoolers if you don't currently attend services.

Another place to find a homeschooling family, besides churches, would be the public library. The library is used as a source of learning materials for many homeschoolers. If you find children at the library during normal school hours, most likely they are homeschooled and a parent is sure to be nearby. The librarian can be asked if she knows of any homeschoolers because they will be some of her best patrons.

You'll probably run into at least one home schooling family enjoying the sunshine and fresh air at the park during school hours. Or they might be finding things to use in a school project, or picking up some leaves for a nature book. Local parks are a great place to find homeschoolers in any case.

While shopping at the grocery store, you might find a homeschooling family. Many homeschoolers do not depend on books to teach. They rather use real life circumstances. It's likely to see homeschoolers doing comparison shopping for their math lesson at the meat freezer with their calculators.

Another place to find homeschoolers in your area is the Internet. Using one of the common search engines, try doing a search on "homeschool groups (your city)." Expand your search to include your county and then your state if that doesn't work. Surely you'll find someone close by, since there are homeschoolers in every state of the union. Don't give up on the outside chance that you don't find anyone locally. Through any number of Yahoo homeschooling groups, you can still find support online.

During school hours, don't be afraid to approach a family when searching for homeschooling families locally. They probably won't be offended since most homeschoolers are used to being asked why their children aren't in school. Asking questions is a great way to meet new acquaintances. Keep an eye out for them; you may find there are more homeschoolers in your area than you first thought. - 16955

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