Find and create group activities This page was updated September, 2024. Step 3 of the Ten Steps to Successful Homeschooling 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10

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Go to page index When others learned of our homeschooling, the question we were asked most often was how we planned to socialize our child. In sixth grade my son asked to return to school for that very reason. In those early years of homeschooling, there weren't as many kids in the community, which now is saturated with active groups. Where my older son found only a handful of homeschooled kids his age, my younger son found packed classes and groups, and today the NYC homeschooling community continues to increase with groups springing up in many neighborhoods. – Laurie Block Spigel, from Education Uncensored In NYC, NYCHEA offers monthly fairs for kids, meetings for parents, field trips, classes and group activities, all arranged by and for homeschoolers. Homeschool support groups are often formed with the goal of creating group activities, from academics to sports. Homeschoolers have enjoyed include boy scouts and girl scouts, 4H Clubs, youth groups at local churches, synagogues and community centers, Little League, choirs and choruses, chess clubs, and other group activities open to all kids. Check your local library for group activities appropriate for your kids. Home-Schooling: Socialization not a problem, from the Washington Post. Guidelines for creating your own preschool co-op Page Index Email Lists, Newsletters, etc. Creating group activities Resources See also: Find a Support Group (Step 2.) Email Lists, Newsletters, etc. In NYC there is a local e-list for homeschoolers (originally created for members of NYCHEA) called the chialist, which serves homeschoolers in the greater NYC area and beyond.   The TAG Project, Families of the Gifted and Talented, runs several e-lists for highly gifted children. One parent's review: "This is the list I turned to when my 9-year-old wanted to know more about particle physics. Within half a day I had eight people reply with recommendations about what particle physics resources their children enjoyed at that age! I can't imagine another list where I could even *mention* that my 9yo was interested in a topic like this. But on TAGMAX it's completely normal." See Tagfam.org and click on Mailing Lists, then on Subscribe. Facebook is a treasure trove of support groups. Do a search with your neighborhood (or city or county) + homeschool support (or whatever you are looking for, such as "homeschool teen sports" or "homeschool curriculum swap" and see what comes up.

Creating group activities

Join a homeschool support group (for free on Facebook) and ask about meet-ups, play groups, and group activities for the ages of your kids. Or create one yourself! Many homeschool parents start by inviting others to join them in a local park on a weekly basis. Choose a time and place that's convenient to you, and be patient, repeatedly sharing the information with more than one group. Homeschoolers in NYC can be busy, but they are also looking for social groups for their kids. 

You can also create your own class, at a local art studio (or dance or yoga) or in your own living room (with a hired tutor, or with you as the teacher), or in a rented or free space such as a building basement or common room, local church or synagogue, retirement home, community center, public library (reading rooms for free classes open to the public), and other public spaces like parks and atriums. Families that participate can share in the costs.

Creating a support group that offers social contact for both parents and kids can be very rewarding. Parent members can each plan one field trip a month or be in charge of a monthly event, such as a science or history fair, holiday event, talent show, Pi Day or a bake-off, all educationa, lots of fun, and worth the work. Teachers can be hired by finding recommendations through a group, or by emailing Laurie.

Resources

• Foraging in NYC (and surrounding) parks with Wildman Steven Brill (popular with homeschoolers). Foraging Tours usually begin at 11am (see the event calendar) with a suggested donation of $20/adult, $10/children 12 and under. No one is turned away for lack of funds. Bring a plastic bag and digging implement (such as a trowel or large spoon) to bring home wild greens for your dinner salad. Tour information details here. My kids did this several times, and we logged it as science. When you go, invite other homeschoolers to join you!
• NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation offers myriad resources – for sports, wildlife study, historic places, fitness, and more.
• Boy Scouts of America
• Girl Scouts of America
• Little League Baseball
• Find Your Local Little League, Baseball and Softball
• Find Your Local 4 H group
• New York State 4 H

This is Step 3 of the Ten Steps to Successful Homeschooling
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