How to find a homeschooling tribe

You did it! You took the plunge to homeschool and you are slowly getting a grip on this new away of life, but you’re feeling a ping of, what is it??? 

 You try to put your finger on it and then you realize… 

It’s loneliness. 

Maybe your kids are fine, but YOU miss interacting with other mamas.  NOT TO MENTION you would love to have someone to talk to about the daily struggles of homeschooling. Maybe it’s your kids who need friends. 

Maybe they are only children or just in need of somebody else who lives the same kind of life that they do. (Sometimes it’s hard being the only kid you know who homeschools).

But how and where do you find a community when homeschooling? It’s a question, with a variety of answers, but I’m going to try to tackle it today.

My first advice to you is: 

 Be willing to get uncomfortable. 

 This will be a huge teaching moment for your children as they watch you get OUT of your comfort zone to meet new people and make connections. (No pressure Momma, but they are always watching us. Just like Roz in monsters Inc. they are watching, always watching). 

But I digress! Back to how do you find other homeschooling families? 

 First off, use Google! Search for: “homeschool groups, your city and state” See what comes up. If you can’t find anything, go broader. 

 Search for homeschool groups in your county. Join Facebook groups. 

Even if they’re not in your city, but are nearby, it’s worth joining them to make connections with other homeschool mamas. Even if you can only attend a couple events a season, it’s going to benefit you and your children. 

Also, reach out in the group and ask if anyone knows of any homeschoolers in your city. You’ll be amazed at what you find by just being desperate. 😜 

 Remember, don’t only search homeschooling groups, but search homeschooling in general in your county. (And don’t forget to search for homeschool co-ops!) 

What is a homeschool co-op compares to a Homeschool Group you might be asking? 

 A homeschool group is a group of homeschooling moms who get together to go on field trips, play dates, informal gatherings such as Art class or Science classes. It can also just be a group of moms that go on a nature hike together every week.

A homeschool co-op is usually a little bit more of a commitment and definitely something that really blessed me when my kids were older, in the middle and high school yeas specifically. 

Homeschool co-ops usually meet every week and assign work for the different subjects that they will be covering. Sometimes it’s Science, History, Language,Foreign Language, Debate, Writing, Robotics, Philosophy, Physical Education, Dance. The possibilities are endless really! 

These co-ops usually require a commitment from the mom to help out, either as a lead teacher or as a helper. When organized right, they can be a huge asset to your learning, providing you experiences that you’d be hard pressed to find at home. 

 But co-ops are not for everybody. There are usually small fees included and some type of expectation from the parent to do work at home. But this isn’t always the case! I’ve been in some where our core curriculum is the same as everyone else’s in the group and my children are given lessons to do at home and to bring back to co-op the next time. I’ve had to volunteer to teach a class at the co-op and I’ve been a part of other co-ops, where I had to pay a larger fee and drop my child off/ pick them up afterwards. Sometimes there’s nothing required from us at home outside of co-op. They are all different.

Decide what’s right for your family. 

As kids subjects get more complicated, it helps to take advantage of the resources available to you, it’s also okay to strictly teach at home and leave homeschool for just the fun stuff. I’ve done both! One other perk of being in a homeschool group or co-op, is that your children have a group of friends that they will grow up with and you and the other moms can decide to put on a graduation ceremony or Christmas play, or drama performance. 

There are so many options. My older son had a group of about 10 kids that were in his homeschool group and he was very close with. The moms and I got together and planned a beautiful graduation ceremony for them! We had over 200 people show up. It was an absolutely beautiful experience. 

 But what if you can’t find anything online. I’d tell you to go to the park, the library during the day, a children’s Museum or zoo. Notice if there are other kids there during the day. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to the mom and ask if they are homeschoolers. You’re not weird, you’re just making conversation. Don’t overthink it! It’s very likely that if they are there in the middle of the day, they do homeschool, and they may have some resources to tell you about. 

 Also, don’t forget to ask at your local libraries, museums, etc. if they know of any homeschool groups around town.

If you can’t find any homeschooling groups, then just to get together with another homeschooling Mama and do life together. We have a huge group of homeschooling mamas now that get together every Friday and go on a nature walk with our kids. It literally started as just a couple mamas getting together and exploring nature with their children. It has grown substantially over the last couple years.

Ironically for a whole year after we moved to the small town we live in now I could not find one homeschooling family. I was pretty sure that I was the only homeschooler in our whole city. I thought I could handle it pretty well and I didn’t really need the community, but after that first year I was struggling and although my kids were fine, I knew it would benefit them to have friends that homeschooled. I joined a homeschool group that was nearby and asked if anyone knew of a Charlotte Mason Homeschool Group and to my surprise there was one in my city that met weekly. That group has blessed me tremendously and grown so much!  I also found out there was another flourishing group in my small town that had been there all along, unbeknownst to me! 

We now are full of community and literally could do something every day of the week if we wanted. But I had to get pretty desperate and keep putting myself out there. U2 can create a community if you can’t find one already and you’ll be surprised to find that there are other mom is looking for you while you’re looking for them.

Lastly, I will encourage you to be willing to travel. The amazing group I found initially meant about an hour away once a week and it was far worth it for me to travel to have that community than to just wait around for something local to pop up. Now that gas prices have gone up, we are all trying to stay closer to home, but the value of having a tribe to live life with is worth it to me. 

My kids do great when they’re the only homeschoolers in the room but it also helps to have other kids that do life the way they do. One things for sure it always takes work to make friends. It’s easier to stay home and just do our thing, but there’s so many benefits to having a homeschooling tribe. 

 If all else fails, just find some community, even if it's not a homeschool group. Churches have phenomenal programs for kids that not only give them a group of friends, but also teach them about God. We love our Royal Rangers and Mpact Girls programs!

We also have the kids in a soccer program where they make friends. I have a love/ hate relationship wirh organized sports, but the building friendships part is a win in my book!

If you find yourself trying all these things and still at a loss for community, make the most of what you can and know this season won't last forever. Don't give up! And also know that there may be a reason God is allowing you (or your kids) to experience loneliness. I've found it's in these seasons I grow closest to Him. 

Let me know in the comments where you're at in your search for your tribe and let me know if any of my tips helped you!