The decision to homeschool is rarely made lightly. Often a mom will do a lot of research about homeschooling, discuss it at length with her husband, and earnestly pray for guidance before making the final decision to homeschool. But there’s another step that is just as essential to ensuring success (and preventing burnout) in homeschooling — finding support.

Now I’m not talking about support from your husband—that’s basically a no-brainer. What I’m referring to is establishing a personal support network with other homeschoolers, preferably locally. Although homeschooling can be very enjoyable, it can also be extremely challenging, so It’s important to get connected with other homeschooling moms for support, whether this is your first year homeschooling or your tenth.

So how do you find support?

1. Join a homeschooling support group or homeschool co-op in your area. To find a local group you can simply Google “homeschool group” for your area, but the following websites might simplify your search a bit. With the popularity of homeschooling growing every year, it’s likely you can find a group that’s close by.

• Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA).
• National Home Education Network
• Homeschool Support Groups Listings from About.com

2. Join a Yahoo!Group dedicated to homeschooling for online support. If you subscribe to a particular method of homeschooling such as Charlotte Mason, Ruth Beechick, Classical Method, or Unschooling, you can even find a group dedicated to issues specifically related to that method. There are even Yahoo!Groups specific to curriculum such as TruthQuest History and Apologia Elementary Science. Members of these Yahoo!Groups post tips, questions, and suggestion related to the theme of the group, then other members respond to the post with their own comments. You are sure to find a wealth of information and support in these groups.

To find a Yahoo!Group about homeschooling or in your particular area of interest, simply visit Yahoo!Group’s home page and enter whatever search term you choose (such as homeschooling, unschooling, Konos, etc.)

3. Start your own local “support” group. Starting your own group doesn’t have to mean incorporating as a nonprofit organization. It simply means finding other homeschoolers in your area and setting up a regular time to get together.

This is something I have done in my own home town. I joined a county-wide homeschooling association, but that group didn’t meet regularly since it was mainly intended for online support. But through that membership I discovered that there were dozens of homeschoolers within a five-mile radius of my house. Using my association’s online forum I was able to spread the word about my desire to start a “social group” close to my home. Numerous families expressed interest, so we started meeting together for an hour and a half once a week at our local library. That was two years ago, and now our group is the official homeschooling outreach for our library; we even have use of the city’s community center for our meetings free of charge. Since the goal of our group is just socialization (for both the kids and the moms), it has taken very little effort to organize. This group has been such a blessing to my family, and it’s where my children and I have made our closest friends.

and finally…

4. Find some quality homeschooling blogs—then read and comment. This is a great way to find support from veteran homeschoolers. Blogging homeschool moms are eager to share their experience with others. I won’t send you directly to any homeschooling blogs since they are so easy to find. Simply Google “homeschooling blogs” and then start clicking!

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