Hi all, what sorts of things does your homeschool group do for Moms' Nights Out and/or Moms' Meetings? I need ideas! Thanks!
Well I don't know of something like that in my area. Wish I did. I do get together with my girlfriends from time to time. Last time we had lunch at Cafe Adobe on the patio and drank margaritas and just talked for hours. In July we are going to Austin. We will be staying at a hotel, going to Lake Travis, eating at the Oasis and checking out the party scene on 6th street. It's funny. We are going for my good firend's 34th bday and we're going to 6th street where it is mostly barchlorette parties and dancing. We are going to stand out like sore thumbs!!
Our small co-op has Mom's night out once per month for anyone who can make it. We alternate between meeting at a restaurant or at the church. When we meet at the church, we sometimes have a guest speaker or have another mom present a topic (such as lapbooking) or we've brought some of our fav curric to kind of show & tell for others to browse different options.
We have had some discussion times to talk about challenges in homeschooling, a game night, and even a curriculum recommendation night. Most of these events we have brought in food and spent time just chit chatting too.
We usually play Bunco. Everyone brings a little something to eat too. So, it is mostly talking, eating, and playing in that order There is talk of a DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) night out, which would be such a hoot. -Cheryl dd-14 (school of the arts) homeschooling ds-12 and ds-11
Our MNO's are sparsely attended unless we do something hs related! :lol: We meet at a local restaurant (generally Panera, where dh works) and chat. We've been having curriculum shows - the first was a general show and tell, and since then they've been specific to subject. (Come and talk about what you do for MATH.) There's talk of adding a second night monthly (on a different night of the week) where we would discuss methods and approaches.
Our last MNO we went to a paint your own pottery place and then went out for ice cream. It was a lot of fun!
We have had a few for years. So here are a few ideas. Are you ... -overwhelmed or discouraged? -trying to juggle it all and struggling to make it work? -feeling like everyone has it 'all together' but you? -feeling burdened to perform for others? -feeling like if God or others knew what you were really like, they wouldn't like you any more? -struggling to be 'REAL' around other homeschoolers? -worring at times that you are ruining your kids? -feeling like throwing in the towel and sending them back to school? Do you know that ... -"God gave your children exactly the mother they needed"? (p81) -"God knew what he was doing when he made you, your weaknesses and strengths are exactly the ones He wanted you to have"? (p84) -"your child will become exactly what God has created them to be, NOT because of you, but IN SPITE of you"? (p88) -you cannot do it all - and that is OKAY? -no homeschool family is perfect? If these struggles are ones that you deal with, we have a great group for you. Starting this fall, we will be going through the Todd Wilson book Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe. You may have heard Todd speak at last March's CHEMinistry homeschool conference or at the annual INCH conference. Todd's book is dedicated "to the homeschooling mom who often feels overwhelmed by the task of homeschooling and struggles with feelings of failure. He wants you to find freedom in God?s grace and comfort in the truth." The purpose of this group is to encourage struggling moms who may be newer to homeschooling, or who are on the journey and just trying to make it through. We would like this to be a group that encourages, that is REAL, and that will leave you feeling refreshed not burdened to do more. We want to exemplify the motto - honestly share, but don't compare. We will meet once a month on Saturday morning from 8:30-10:30 over a cup of coffee or cocoa. Second group t's easy to become isolated once the school year begins. We need to be intentional in encouraging and supporting each other along the journey of homeschooling. So if you are interested in an evening time of fellowship with other homeschooling moms, this group is for you!" and then a few years ago we met at a church every month. Someone signed up for snacks and another for drinks. We swaped recip ideas, Then we asked it someone would like to talk about something.(Homeschooling younger, teens, favorite books, Easter/Christmas ideas.....ect...) HTH Lisa
one thing our group does is the late summer mtg is to share curriculum finds, then we have a meeting where everyone puts their "question" in a bowl and we go around reading the questions (anonymously) and everyone gets to offer up suggestions to help. guest speakers are always nice, even if it's just a local mom who's been homeschooling for a long time. We recently had a crazy homeschooling story contest- I can't wait to try some of the ideas we've had here.
