Building Your Tribe: The Importance of Having a Homeschool Community

Happy Independence Day! Today we celebrated our country's founding and our freedom by spending time with some of our homeschooling friends from co-op. I know too often I take for granted that we are able to take this amazing journey by homeschooling our family. After all, it's a freedom not enjoyed by every country in the world. I also know that even more often I take our homeschooling tribe for granted. Therefore, in recognition of our freedoms and blessings we have in this country, unique to many others, I wanted to post today about our homeschooling community.

It's important to have a group of homeschoolers in your life. Not just any group of random homeschoolers, but those who encourage you, inspire you, and that you enjoy spending time with. Homeschooling is often a bit lonely. You spend much of your time with your children, and lose out a bit on the adult conversations and connections as a result. While I love spending time with my kids it's also important to have those adult connections. They help you to keep going when things are difficult. They also share ideas, tips, and books when homeschooling. I am so thankful for the fellow moms in the trenches.

Furthermore, a great group of homeschoolers give your children those same connections with other children. They have friends that can sympathize with the struggles of being homeschooled, as well as the fun involved. They have companions to complain about how unfair mom was being and to take field trips with. My kids have friends up to 8 years younger than them and as much as 6 years older than them, all who have been homeschooled. These friendships would have been unlikely to have developed otherwise because of the difference in how children who go to school socialize. They also have connections with kids all over the country who are homeschooled, friendships that they would have had less chance to develop and stay connected with if they were in public school because they would have had less time to connect.

The real magic is when these two worlds collide, and I find a homeschool mom who just gets me and who has kids who connect with my kids. When you find those moms and they are close by hang onto those friendships. These are the people that I love doing life with, and they are a real blessing. They are the people that we have pool parties with on the Fourth of July and count our blessings with. They are the people that I'm forever grateful for. I can't recommend enough, that you should find your own people that you connect with, whether that's at the library when you see another mom with kids during the week, or through a local homeschool co-op. Find those families and build that tribe, grow that community for you and your children. Like any friendship it's work, but it's work that is well worth it.