the closest one too me is like 2 hours away. I was thinking about starting one around where I live even though I don't know who's HSing and who isn't around here. Did any of you start one yourselves and if so how did you go about it?
I have not started one, but I have thought about it many a time. Then some others got started around me and this is what I have learned from watching them. First, decide what your purpose in having homeschool group would be and realize that when other people join it, they are going to have some ideas about how they would like it to be--some will work and some will not and mostly that just depends on the people who join. But, to start, you need a plan. Do you want a casual group that just does some field trips together, play dates, and maybe a project like a play once a year--or--something structured with a co-op requiring a minimum of parental participation? Where and how are you going to get in contact or advertise about your group? Where and how often will you meet? Are you going to have fees, a mission statement, etc? What I have seen is that either a structured one really takes off or it starts with a good number of families, but they quit because they are more interested in the casual approach because they really just want to teach their own children or there are homeschool schools nearby they would rather attend. One group near us has 170 families, but so it is difficult to qualify for the participation minimum because there are only so many slots (although they do really cool things like a musical production every year) and another went up to 50 families in its first year then went down to under 20 this year because it was too co-op based for most the members, who just wanted the social aspect more, and too all inclusive for those who were more religious. I have seen some groups have different fees, quite high fees, for nonparticipating parents (fees that make it kind of tough on those parents with health issues who cannot participate) and for those not wanting to be involved in the co-op, but that gets to be much to manage and remember who paid for which and keep records of parental participation--it just gets too complicated! What does work is if the people who are willing and able to roll up their sleeves to make the group work have the mutual goals for the group whatever they are. If you don't find any, then you are going to be the only one really working to make the group whether you have a minimum participation requirement or not. (You cannot force volunteers to do anything they really don't want to do.)
I've been through this before. Ask around at the local library to find other homeschool families. Meet at a park (or somewhere similar) for a low key playdate. Our group started with just 3 families getting together for play & lunch each week. We shared ideas, planned a few activities, and suddenly the group began to grow. There are now about 30 families involved with the group. I personally like the idea of casual groups that can grow and change as the children grow.
The group I go to we got into by thier park days.. thats a great way to start is with an activity that costs nothing and gives you freedome to get to know the other people...
