Finding Others in my Area who Homeschool

You probably wonder if you are the only one in your area when first starting to think about homeschooling. However, that is not likely with the ever increasing number of homeschooling families. You will need to know where to look to find other homeschoolers, which may not always be easy.

One place you will likely find other homeschoolers is at local churches. Although all homeschoolers aren't Christians, and it certainly isn't a requirement to homeschool, many homeschoolers are. If you don't currently attend services, you might consider attending a couple of services to see if there are homeschoolers at the local church.

Besides churches, a homeschooling family can be found at the public library. Visiting the library during school hours will help in the search of homeschoolers. If you find children during that time, most likely they are homeschooled and a parent is sure to be nearby. The librarian would also be a good person to ask if she knows of any homeschoolers. Most likely she will since they are some of her best patrons.

If you take your kids to the park during school hours, you'll probably run into at least one homeschooling family there enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. Or they might be picking up leaves for a nature book, or finding other items to use in a school project. In any case, local parks are a great place to find homeschoolers.

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.

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Tagged with: Homeschooling

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