11 Ways to Grow Your Homeschool Village

One of the best advantages to this crazy homeschool life is this community we belong to!  We have the freedom to enjoy people and friendships around us, and all around the world!  One of the greatest things about the internet is that we can find friendship almost anywhere we are located.  With that in mind, we’ve got 11 great ways to grow your homeschool “village:”

Locally:
Search Facebook for homeschool groups with your city or county name. Once you join, look for people who are interested in the same subjects or classes you are interested in.  Begin conversations with those people, and get to know them online.  Eventually meet up with them at an event and further your friendship as you get to know them better.

Visit or call local museums and attractions.  Ask them if they hold “Homeschool Days,” and if there is anyone in charge of those days. Request that person’s contact information and call or email them.  Ask them about the groups they are a part of that you might be interested in.

Find homeschool classes for your kids to attend.  Many homeschool classes will ask the parents to stay on site.  Take time to get to know the other parents while your kids are in class.

Look through Craigslist for homeschool events.  Attend several and make a point to talk to 3-5 people while you are there.

If you are a church-going family, call several churches in the area and check to see if they host homeschool events.  If they do, visit and get to know several of the families at the events.

Use Google Maps to find recreational businesses near you.  Look through their websites and find ones that host homeschool events.  Again, attend and get to know people at the events.

Attend local fairs and events.  Find organizations that hold classes or have teams(example: Robotics teams, Science Olympiad, LEGO Mindstorms, Crafting clubs, etc) and join for opportunities to meet new families.

Online:

Use Facebook groups to find people you connect with.  Search Facebook for things like “Charlotte Mason Homeschooling” or “Elementary Homeschool.”  While you are searching, if you click the Group tab at the top, it will take you to a list of groups with your terms in the description.  Once you join a group, find threads you are interested in and begin commenting.

Search Instagram for hashtags you find interesting.  For example, if you are very interested in classical homeschooling, and want to find other classical homeschoolers, search for the hashtags #classicalhomeschooler, #classicaleducation, or #classicaleducationathome.  Once you search with the hashtag, follow several accounts that you find interesting.  Get to know the person behind the account and eventually you can make a new friend.  You can also look through their account to see who they follow.  If an account looks interesting to you, follow it as well.

Find blogs aligned with your teaching or learning style, or some other part of your lifestyle.  Comment on the blogs, visit their social media accounts, and get to know other followers or the publisher.

If you don’t find a community you find a place in, start your own. Set up a Facebook group(super easy! Simply click the “Create Group” button to the top right of the FB group page), set it to “Closed” and write a description for your group.  You can set the group settings to be able to approve new members as they apply.  It’s all up to you!  As the group grows, you will find people that you connect with and become friends with.

We are not meant to do this homeschool thing on our own!  It may take time, but you can grow a thriving homeschool community around you.  The best thing about growing your village is that there is support available to you for the hard days, and you get to support friends through their hard days.  It’s what real life is all about, and your kids get to be a part of it!

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If you’ve got other ideas on how to grow your homeschool village, tell us about them in the comments below.  We are always looking for new ideas and will update this post routinely as ideas are mentioned!