Support Groups for Homeschooling

In researching homeschooling, it was highly recommend getting connected with other parents or groups for the kids. When we first made the decision to homeschool I started asking around about homeschooling groups. One that kept coming up was the "Christian mom's" group. I ended up getting an invite to one meeting, but not after that, so apparently I didn't fit the group's criteria. I also heard of a neighbor lady who hosts a group of homeschooling moms. Another neighbor introduced me to her, we had a wonderful chat, she said she would approach her group about "letting" me into the group. I didn't make the cut for that one either, and a polite email turned me down. Another mom started an 11-12 year old girls group, and there were a solid 12+ girls interested in this group, with about 5-7 showing up for each activity last fall. That one, too, has fallen by the wayside, with no more word about meetings coming through the pipeline.

I think part of the roughness with these groups is my hearing impairment. You would think that homeschooling parents would do email, but apparently not all are totally 'plugged in'. Since I have a hard time hearing on the phone and I prefer email contact, I think it just becomes easier for people to just not call. It could be, too, that our kids are smart and gifted, and many parents are homeschooling their special needs kids. It comes across as bragging to talk about smart kids so it can be difficult to talk about where they're at and what they're doing.

I'm not totally disappointed about being on the out and out with these groups. I would really like to have more contact with other homeschooling parents, but it seems like all are busy, busy, busy. Plus it has to be a good fit--more like a friendship than just an impersonal group since we are really talking about our lives here. Homeschooling can't be separated from "life". So while my kids have a vibrant social life (more so than when they were in school, if you don't count the school day!), I am finding my social life somewhat curtailed. I am home more because of homeschooling obligations, when I used to be off and about with friends. It's not that I can't go out, but the extra workload homeschooling puts on me eats up what used to be "free time." It takes a little more effort and planning to get out.

Tradeoffs (sigh). Still worth it, though. For now.

A Really Good Read: Creative Homeschooling

In trying to find some resources to deal with the challenges of teaching my kids, I came across a great book in the library: Creative Homeschooling: A Resource Guide for Smart Families by Lisa Rivero. Wow. This is a book I could have used a long time ago--even before I started homeschooling. Now, though, having homeschooled for 5 months, I felt like this book was copying my thoughts word for word and it expresses, in a nutshell, why homeschooling is working so well for us--and I'm only on page 15!

Some of the things that really hit home were the decreasing enthusiasm and interest in learning for the author's intelligent son, trying to help gifted kids fit in with their peers, trying to get resources for gifted kids in schools, concerns about support and resources for gifted kids who are homeschooled, understanding special educational needs of gifted kids and on and on. The list of qualities of gifted kids really hit home with me and sounded all too familiar and highlighted my insecurities about whether I am able to meet the educational needs of my kids.

The difference between "gifted" kids and "smart" kids was outlined, with the advantage given to "smart" kids. Gifted kids see and experience the world differently and oftentimes have a harder time fitting in; 'smart' kids, on the other hand, have 'optimal intelligence' and have the social abilities to more easily fit in with other kids and use their intelligence. So I look at the continuum of where my kids are at and use sensitivity to tailor their education to their needs.

Thus the optimal education for the moment: homeschooling. Right now the kids are getting some great advantages to being homeschooled, and the advantages are outweighing the disadvantages. I am hoping that, being the teacher type, I will continue to refine my skill in providing them with an optimal education situation. My bottom line values, though, are not just of being 'smart' or 'educated', though those are certainly worthy goals. Learning to contribute positively to our human family and the world is vital. Teaching the kids to do things with love and passion is deeply important, and no matter what someone's intelligence level, if they don't do that it seems like life would be an empty shell.