While homeschooling can be a wonderful choice for your child, it can also present some challenges. How do you meet other homeschoolers in your area? What extracurricular activities can your child be involved with? What opportunities are there to socialize with other kids? Here are some easy ways for you to locate activities for homeschoolers in your area.

Check Out The Home School Mom Database

Connecting with your local homeschooling community is one of the best things you can do for your child. But just how do you find other homeschoolers in your area?

An excellent resource is The Home School Mom blog, which covers every homeschooling topic you can imagine. The blog also features an extensive local homeschool database with many homeschool groups, co-ops, classes, and activities.

The database features a map where you select your state. You are then redirected to a page with detailed homeschooling information. There are support groups and organizations, arts and sports opportunities, conferences and events, and much more. This database is a great resource for finding ways to get involved with other homeschoolers in your area.

Search for Local Homeschool Groups

Thanks to Google and other search engines, you can locate homeschool groups in your area in just a few minutes. In addition to a quick Internet search, check out some online homeschool communities. Some that are definitely worth checking out are The Homeschool Lounge, Homeschool.com, and The Home School Mom Blog. While online communities can be a great starting point, nothing can beat a little face-to-face interaction.

Make sure you don’t overlook websites such as Meetup.com. With the huge variety of groups active on Meetup, chances are you will be able to locate a nearby homeschool group. The nice thing about joining a Meetup group is you can introduce yourself before you meet them in person. That will help give you an idea of whether the group is right for you and your child.

It’s also a good idea to find out if you have a local homeschooling organization. If so, becoming involved in this type of organization can open up lots of options. They often set up group activities, like clubs or sports teams, for local homeschoolers. If you have one of these organizations nearby, it can be a valuable resource for finding activities for homeschoolers.

Homeschooling continues to grow in popularity, which means that you can find such groups in every state and new ones are constantly being formed. If you discover that there are many groups in your area, then try several out to see which ones best suit your family’s needs.

Look Beyond Local Homeschool Groups

How about this worst case scenario? You are unable to find a homeschool specific group in your area. Depending on where you live, it can happen. But fear not, there are plenty of other ways that you can find activities for homeschoolers. It may require some thinking outside of the box and persistence, but you can certainly find something that works for your child.

The first thing is to take your child’s interests into account and then to find activities that they would enjoy. If your child is athletic and enjoys sports, it is very easy to find a local soccer team or martial arts class. He or she may even join one of the local public school teams. For more creative, artistic types, try dance classes, theater groups or art classes. Or if your child is an animal lover, joining a 4H club or taking horseback riding lessons can be great options. Many 4H clubs offer extensive programs these days, with topics like caring for livestock, plant science or even food preservation.

Even if there isn’t much in your area catering to homeschoolers, with a little creativity, you almost certainly can find group activities your child will enjoy.

Helping Your Homeschooled Child Thrive

One of the biggest challenges parents who homeschool face is finding social activities that their children can participate in. Ideally, you will find other homeschoolers in your area, whether through a local organization or through a group you find on Meetup.com. But even if connecting with a local homeschooling group doesn’t work out, there are still plenty of ways your child can pursue extracurricular activities and meet other kids their age.

Are you connected with a local homeschool group? And how did you first get in touch with them? Please leave a comment below and let us know!