Finding Others in my Area who Homeschool
When first starting to think about homeschooling, you probably wonder if you will be the only one in your area. With the ever increasing number of homeschooling families, that is not likely. However, finding other homeschoolers may not always be easy. You will 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.
Besides churches, another place to find a homeschooling family would be the public library. Many homeschoolers use the library as a source for learning materials. Go to the library and see if you find children there during normal school hours. If you find children, most likely they are homeschooled and a parent is sure to be nearby. You could also ask the librarian if she knows of any homeschoolers. Most likely she will because they will be some of her best patrons.
You’ll probably run into at least one homeschooling family at the park during school hours, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. Or they might be picking up some leaves for a nature book, or finding things to use in a school project. In any case, a great place to find homeschoolers is the local park.
While doing your own shopping at the grocery store, you might find a homeschooling family. Rather than just depending on books to teach, many homeschoolers use real life circumstances. It’s likely they’re doing comparison shopping for their math lesson if you see children standing around the meat freezer with calculators.
The Internet is another place to find homeschoolers in your area. Try doing a search on one of the common search engines for “homeschool groups (your city).” If that doesn’t work, expand your search to include your county and then your state. Since there are homeschoolers in every state of the union, surely you’ll find someone close by. On the outside chance that you don’t find anyone locally, don’t give up. You can still find support online through any number of Yahoo homeschooling groups.
When searching for homeschooling families locally, don’t be afraid to approach a family that you see out and about during school hours. Most homeschoolers are used to being asked why their children aren’t in school. They probably won’t be offended and 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.