Why a homeschool group?

I have been wanting to do a post on this subject for the last two weeks, but things have been moving at a steady pace around here and this is the first opportunity I have had to sit down and blog. I love blogging. It gets ideas out of my head. It gives me something to look back at and remember. I have met some pretty terrific people. But I know that my family is my top priority. So if my blogging seems a bit random, just know I'm thinking of ya'll while I enjoy my family. :)

I am in a homeschool group. My new advice to new homeschool moms is to find a good homeschool group. Why?

It's nice to have other moms to go to for homeschool advice. Most of my friends at church and I have been homeschooling for the same amount of time. I love being in a homeschool group with moms who have kids my age, kids, in highschool, and kids who graduated homeschool and are in college now. Do you know the amount of homeschooling wisdom packed into that one room at our monthly mom's meetings?

Some of these moms homeschooled in the Dark Ages of homeschooling. Where they dared not leave their house between the hours of 8am and 3pm.

My youngest daughter is eight and struggling to read. If I was not in a homeschool group I would be concerned. I mean aren't they supposed to read before they leave kindergarten?? No, more than one mom has reassured me that her child did not read until 8. 9, even 10 and within a short amount of time they were caught up or reading past their "grade level".

Who else but a mom who has graduated a child can tell you that "credits" are pretty much what you, the teacher, make them to be for the child?

I have a few friends who are not in a homeschool group and they struggle sometimes with whether they doing enough. They struggle with wrong information given to them by the school board and their peers whose children are in public school.

My homeschool group consisting of years of experience dispels the myths.

One of the pieces of advice I picked up at the last meeting: When talking to someone at the schoolboard/school/place that public school students frequent run by the government keep calling back until you get someone who knows what they are talking about.

This would have saved my friend some trouble when she tried to enroll her son in HS this year and they told her he was not eligible because he had not completed two semesters of eighth grade at his middle school. His parents pulled him out at Christmas break and could not get his second semester report card. The person she was talking to had no clue what he was talking about. He very well could have been in highschool because he'd completed eighth grade at home.

Between you and me though it's ok, because I think she is a great homeschooling mom and her son will be better off with her. (She does not read my blog but if she ever shows up here I want her to know that she is the best mom I know!!)

So, what do I tell new HS moms to look for in a group?

Someone who has the same belief system as you is a plus. Face it your kids are going to be hanging out with the kids in this group. Did you go through all the trouble to pull them out of public school only to put them in a group with kids who are going to be a bad influence on your child?
Moms you can connect with on a basic level. If you are going to come home from every get together and feel bad about how you are doing as a parent because everyone in your group is Polly Perfect then you need to find another group. These should be moms who are not afraid to tell you about the bad days as well as the good days.

A group who has a mom's meeting. I think this is important. We have ours the first Tuesday evening of every month. We come together and learn from and encourage one another. We plan our next months Kids days, Teen nights, Field trips, parties and other stuff. We discuss problems within the group. We ask questions about homeschooling, mom stuff, finances, and organization. We eat and laugh together. Where else can I find a group of ladies that will laugh when I tell them that the kids wanted to inspect the road kill cat out front for science. They laugh because they have all been there.

We have a co-op in our group. It meets every Wed morning for classes. I could take it or leave it, but my kids enjoy the time.

Kids get togethers are a good thing in a group. A time for your kids to see that your family is not the only on this journey.

These are just some of my thoughts on homeschool groups. I used to think you could take them or leave them, but this year I have decided it's a necessity.

Are you in a homeschool group? Why? What do you think is the most important thing a homeschool group should have? I really want to know.

Be Blessed!