Community

How To Find or Create Homeschool Community

SHG members are encouraged to participate in ongoing activities or create new activities and invite others to join you! We recommend checking out the SHG Events Calendar to find out about weekly co-ops, park days, game days, and other weekly or semi-weekly events organized by other SHG members.

In addition to these recurring events, members have been known to plan and organize clubs, field trips, and other events and activities – both casual and more organized. Organizing or hosting an event or activity is a great way to let children share an interest or passion with a group of friends, and it’s also a great way to get to know other homeschoolers. Read on for some tips and ideas for how to connect with other homeschoolers.

If you are a newcomer who needs a little extra encouragement, please see our Newcomers page!

Field Trips

Here are a few tips on organizing a field trip from those who have done a few:

  • When you first contact a place you are interested in, find out as much relevant information as possible. Remember to ask about the maximum and minimum number per group, suitable age range and whether younger siblings are welcome, cost per person (for parents and children), expected length of visit, what people need to bring (e.g., lunch, rain gear), whether activities are hands-on, etc.

  • Gauge interest to see if other people would be interested in the field trip. You could do this by posting to the group or just by asking any SHG families you know.

  • Advertise your field trip by writing up a blurb to post on the group

  • Include any information which might help people decide if they want to participate: duration of time kids may need to sit still or listen quietly, potential scare or excitement factors that may be challenging for more sensitive children, a website where people can find more details, etc.

  • Provide your email address and/or telephone number so people can ask questions before signing up.

  • In the case of a paid event, collect money beforehand and tell people what forms of payment you will accept (e.g., Venmo, PayPal, cash) and by what date payment must be received. If you try to collect money on the day of the event, you may personally end up having to cover the cost of people who don’t show up.

  • Give people deadlines—a date by which to express an interest, and, in the case of paid events, a date by which to pay and a date after which refunds will not be available.

  • Keep lists! Track people who have paid and have a secured place on the tour and people who have expressed an interest but not yet paid, and keep a waiting list of people you can contact if others drop out or don’t pay in time.

  • Post a reminder. People have busy lives and tend to forget what they have signed up for, so it’s always a good idea to put out a reminder email a few days before your event. Repeat the date, time, location, directions, meeting place, and any other relevant information.

  • Post a meeting time that allows time for latecomers. No matter how much you beg people to be on time, there are ALWAYS latecomers.

  • Decide on a specific meeting place – “in the lobby next to the cloakroom” – rather than a vague “in front of the museum” (which entrance?)—so that even people who have never met you before will be able to find you. Or say you’ll be wearing a silly hat and then remember to put it on!

Check the Field Trips section of the SHG Resource Directory for some ideas for field trips

Playdates

If the idea of organizing a field trip is too daunting, try hosting an activity or playtime in or near your home. You could limit it to a certain number of families if you feel space is an issue. How about hosting a fairy picnic or messy play day in the backyard, shooting a video, or conducting a science experiment? When you organize an event, it’s up to you to organize it however you want. If your child has allergies, for example, specify it as an allergen-free event. Just pick a date and time that suits you and advertise it through the group.

Examples of what SHG families have done in the past: Free play and pancakes, cooking together, crafting together, science experiments in the backyard, etc.

Club or Organized Activity

If your child has a hobby or interest they would like to share with friends on a regular basis, think about starting a club or group. It can be as simple as a weekly LEGO building session in your living room, or more involved, like forming a FIRST LEGO League team. You don’t have to host a club in your home; Seattle and King County library meeting rooms can be reserved free of charge. Some families have also hosted online clubs as well.

Examples of what SHG families have done in the past: Music Together class, French language lessons, online chess club, book club, FIRST LEGO League, running group, 4H group, scouts group

SHG Hosted Events

SHG has a legacy of hosting larger in-person annual events such as Not-Back-to-School (NBTS) Park Day in September, Harvest Party in October, and Valentine’s Exchange & Ice Skate in February. These events continue to be put on thanks to volunteers who organize them. Be on the lookout for emails from the organizers for opportunities to get involved and volunteer to help.

More Ideas for Social Gatherings

  • Crafts in a library meeting room

  • Storytime at your home, the library, a coffee shop

  • Book groups for kids, adults, or both

  • Gingerbread house making at your house

  • An offer to meet at your favorite park with pencils and paper for sketching

  • Host a parents’/caregivers’ night out

  • Special interest club to share about whatever inspires your child

  • Museum, zoo, or aquarium meetup

  • Indoor playspace or trampoline park

  • 4H group

  • Scouts group

  • LEGO League team

  • Math Circle

  • Tour the local fire station or fire prevention center

  • Pickup game of soccer, ultimate, basketball, or sport of your interest at a local park

  • A hike or ramble at your favorite location

  • Nerf battle or boffer sword fights at a park

  • Coordinate group tickets to a play, performance, or sporting event

  • Host a building day at a library meeting room where everyone brings things they like to use to build, like blocks or Legos or cardboard and duct tape

  • Coordinate a homeschool discounted block of rooms at Great Wolf Lodge

  • Board game day at your house, a free library room, or a game store

  • Group camping trip

  • Offer to teach something you know well in a gathering of your choice

  • Organize a family-friendly volunteer activity