Support Groups and Why I Love Them

During my home schooling years I belonged to several different support groups. Each met a different and specific need.

Throughout my home schooling years I belonged to a faith based support group that was a life line for our whole family. It was at group meetings that I heard different approaches to the way home schooling could be done, and got great ideas to improve our home schooling experience. Family events gave my husband an opportunity to meet other home school dads. Educational field trips and semi organized sporting events provided an opportunity for our children to meet and develop relationships with other children whose families shared similar beliefs and values.

Another support group I belonged to, offered great free resources and also planned some pretty awesome events where our  children could “socialize”.  Art classes and drama classes culminating in well attended performances were the highlight for my children.

The school board that we were affiliated with, also offered support through knowledgeable facilitators and organized family events. We didn’t attend as many of these as were organized because of distances, busyness,etc. But those we did attend were fun for the kids.

With all these various groups you would think I had more support than I needed. Not so. Several moms I met through various means lived close together and we formed another type of support group. We got together on a regular basis just to pray for each other, our children and our families. It was also a safe place to express frustrations and fears, and to get a new perspective.

If there are no support groups that have been organized where you live, consider organizing an informal one of your own. You can set your own agenda and meet as often as you consider feasible (in your busyness of life). All it takes is one other mom or family with similar concerns. You can get a few children together at a sports field to play scrub baseball, go frog hunting at a nearby pond, or attend live theatre together. The possibilities are endless and not limited to museums and zoos. I know a lot of women use blogs, good “help” books and even home school magazines for support. However, I feel it is sometimes only face to face that meets the needs of the day – like a smile and a supportive hug.