Parents' Guide to Starting a Homeschool Group

Several years ago when it became obvious that more and more families in our church were choosing to homeschool their children, the leadership of the church asked home schooling families what the church could do to facilitate the process. Shortly thereafter, a home school group was established for families in the church.  That was about 15 years ago. Our children have benefited greatly from the group’s activities. As a member of the steering committee for the group, I’ve learned much about the how's and why's of planning and overseeing such a group.

1. Our group is not a co-op. We don’t set up regular classes and have parents assigned to teach across the curriculum. We all homeschool individually, and get together for special activities at special times.

2. Our group is not legally organized as a non-profit group open to anyone. It is loosely organized and limited to families in our church. We don’t advertise or recruit families from other churches or surrounding neighborhoods, not because we want to be exclusive, but because we function as a ministry of the church and want to be able to lead effectively within those boundaries.

3. Our group is not a state-recognized group used by the South Carolina government as a means to regulate homeschooling activities. South Carolina is generally friendly to homeschooling and provides several registration options for parents. Our group is large enough to qualify as a special homeschool association for purposes of registration in South Carolina, but does not do so since that is not part of the group’s goal.

4. Our group has no paid positions. All of the time and energy is donated by parents of the children involved. Given the nature of homeschooling, most of the planning and actual work is done by the moms, but dads often help in ancillary ways.

1. Determine what your group’s purpose is. Our stated purpose is “to provide assistance and support to the home-schooling families who are members or regular attenders of our church.”

2. Determine what selection criteria will guide what the group chooses to do. Our group focuses on educational activities that are difficult for families to provide on their own.  Often those activities involve a fine arts focus or a specialized academic field.

3. Choose leaders to facilitate the group’s activities. Our group is under the direction of one of the pastors. A committee of 5 homeschooling moms supervises the activities and delegates specific responsibilities. So that the committee ladies are in-tune with homeschooling needs and trends, we stipulate that they all are actively homeschooling at least one child.

4. Determine how funds for activities with be provided. Our group takes an offering at a special meeting in August. This covers group-wide costs for the year. Individual expenses—such as the rental fee for the Stanford test—are covered by the parents when the activity occurs.

5. Decide what activities meet the needs of your group. This will be driven by the goals your group establishes. Our group’s activities for this school year include 1) a vocal and handbell choir that participated in a local fine arts festival, 2) Stanford testing, 3) field trips designed for 2-grade groups of children—K4 and K5, 1^st and 2^nd grades, 3^rd and 4^th grades, etc., 4) a dramatic program, 5) a field day, 6) classes for high-school French and German, 7) a graduation ceremony.

6. Monitor the results of each activity. Was there sufficient interest to make the effort worthwhile? What changes would make a repeat activity better? Did you have adequate supervision? Were costs estimated and covered adequately?

7. Be prepared to drop some activities or add others as the needs of the group change or as available manpower changes. In the past our group published a monthly newsletter to highlight upcoming events and recap past events. We found that email is quicker, easier and less expensive to use. During some school years we are able to offer Spanish as a foreign language. Language classes offered each year are determined by whether enough students are interested and whether we have a qualified teacher. Recently we held a one-day volleyball clinic to help our students really cement the rules and basic techniques of the game. The clinic was added at the request of parents who saw a need that it was hard for them to meet.

1. Group participation has allowed us to provide “extras” that really add flavor to our children’s education. Our children have attended LOTS of great field trips, acted in some marvelous plays and sang or played in musical groups that performed before large crowds. Some of their fondest memories are attached to these events. (Somehow the thrill of mastering a difficult geometry proof fails to generate similar lasting memories!)

2. Group participation sweetened some potentially difficult situations. Our children looked forward to Stanford testing and foreign language study, not because they necessarily loved the activities, but because doing them as a group made them better. (I think this is a variation of the “Misery loves company” adage.)

3. Group participation has provided another opportunity for socialization.  I think this concern is highly overrated, especially in urban settings where there are lots of options, but I concede that it is an issue for some.

4. The group’s graduation ceremony has provided a capstone. It finishes a home school education and validates it in the eyes of family and friends who might be skeptical.

1. Our group has about 150 children in it. Some of what we do may need to be modified in order to work well if your group is very small. However, our group was considerably smaller when we started, and we have done many of these things for several years. These are workable.

2. To be successful, you will need parents who will volunteer (or are willing to be volunteered) to help with TONS of behind-the-scenes details.

3. Providing an array of activities allows parents to volunteer for things that interest them and match their strengths. We discovered semi-pro athletes, accomplished playwrights, talented musicians, exceptional organizers, gifted linguists, and superb “encouragers” lurking behind the facades of our home-schooling parents. I imagine you will too.

4. Our group is organized under the auspices of a church. You might organize within a community or under the umbrella of a civic group. The principles would be the same.

5. Keeping things loosely organized allows flexibility for the families involved and prevents excessive paperwork.

http://www.home-school.com/groups/

http://localhs.com/

http://www.learning4liferesources.com/homeschool_page2.html

http://www.shssg.com/