Making Your Homeschool Support Group
Website Special
Dateline: April 20, 2003
By Ann Zeise
Join the Homeschool
Webmasters Yahoo Group!
I think I can truly say I've seen all the homeschool support
group websites in the world. The very top support group sites
do not try to duplicate the efforts of state association sites
or comprehensive homeschool websites, but focus instead on what
they know that the "Big Guys" do not: their local resources.
After the usual homeschooling information on your support
group website, what local homeschoolers would really like to
see are pages with links to your unique regional resources. Don't
try to build a huge, general homeschool website. The bulk of
your site should provide local information and resources. May
I suggest that you do local research to find and link such resources
as:
· Art resources (museums, suppliers, mentors, classes)
· Banks with free children's accounts
· Bookstores (including used books)
· Businesses and industries that give tours (Contact information)
· Children's theater and musical groups
· Drivers ed resources & teen driving regulations
· Educator Discount retailers who include homeschool teachers
· Genealogy collections available locally
· Historic sites, reenactments, societies
· Kid-friendly gyms, athletic clubs, and community athletic
teams
· Libraries (and how to access online)
· Music schools, piano teachers
· Museums (especially kid-friendly, hands-on places. Info
about classes.)
· Natural areas, especially those that have nature guides
· Publications that list family activities
· Science supply outlets (low priced) and classes
· Trails (within the city or out; bike paths)
· Tutoring and mentoring services (especially math and
reading)
· TV stations with community college classes or similar
programming
· Volunteer opportunities for young people
· Youth organizations (scouts, 4-H, Campfire, etc)
The World Wide Web is just that: global. People are real hopeless
when it comes to geography, so never assume that others know
where you are. Be sure to spell out all the cities that your
members come from and what state you are in. Often cities with
the same name are in a couple of states. People looking for you
will typically search using the keywords of their city and state
and one or more of the homeschooling words. Add your county or
nicknames for your region as well. Link to online
maps for park days.
If you want to attract new members, you've got to have contact
information that will actually reach a current active member
who is willing to check for messages at least 3 times a week,
and will answer queries in a timely manner. Joe
Maller's site has a way you can disguise email links with
a Java script so spammers can't get them but normal visitors
can see and use them just fine. The group needs to decide if
contacts from the web should be invited to an event with children
or not.
If your support group has a specific focus, state this clearly.
Be honest if your group mostly consists of 4-7 year olds, and
link to other nearby groups that have older children, for example.
Some suggest that you have the state regulations on your support
group site. If you have a parliamentarian in your group, willing
to keep the laws updated, fine, otherwise, link to a
reputable homeschool legal page. Write an essay that tells
how your local school district tends to treat those who withdraw
their children from school. Name names! Who is helpful and kind,
and who is not! If there is misinformation about homeschooling
on your district's website, comment about it. Does your city
have a daytime curfew and do homeschoolers have a problem with
it? Any other local issues, controversies or court cases going
on?
What is the local district's policy toward participation of
homeschoolers in classes or activities? What are the pros and
cons of participation? Does your group welcome those who go through
the public school "homeschool" program or not? Do they
welcome you?
Post guidelines and participation. I love finding a site that
has a planning outline for field trips. These allow any member
to easily plan an event without any missing details. The completed
outline can then be distributed to members.
Keep your online calendar of events up to date and accurate.
Consider just how much you want public. It may be enough just
to publicize the activity on the internet, but keep the details
among members on an email list. Password protect pages with private
details.
Last but not least, illustrate your site with photos of your
members having fun. Let the world see homeschoolers exploring
a city venue or out in a gorgeous natural setting. A picture
can convince a new family that they really would like to be a
part of your group.
A support site like this can become a heavily visited resource
for your whole city!
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