When I told people we were planning to homeschool, one of the first questions I got was “What about socialization?” and I wondered too, especially because we wouldn’t be joining the faith-based homeschooling community. I knew I had my work cut out for me, finding a village for myself and my kids, but now my boys do a ton of activities, and we meet kids and adults in all walks of life. I started by researching anything and everything I could about the local homeschool offerings. Then I joined every secular homeschooling Facebook group I could find, followed moms on Instagram and TikTok who were on the same journey, and started listening to podcasts and reading books about building a homeschool village.
Some of our favorite homeschooling moments are the ones that happened unexpectedly due to the flexibility in our schedule- a trip to a pumpkin patch in 2021 has led to friendships we maintain with near-weekly get-togethers. Not everything happens organically, so I also googled every homeschool class, club, and co-op within a 30-mile radius and signed us up for a lot. We started small, local, and with something that is part of everyone’s life- Art! Brightly Art Studio in Brownsburg offers homeschool art classes that meet every week, where my boys learn about different art themes and elements and create their own works of art that they showcase in twice-yearly Art Shows. I have chatted with other parents at drop-off and pick-up and made friends with a few who homeschool similarly to me. We have set up play dates and gotten our kids together in other activities. If I chat with another parent and we don’t align- who cares- our kids can still do art together and go our separate ways after.
We are part of a small co-op that gets together on Indy’s west side twice a month and a weekly co-op in Cicero, which we love. Both give us consistent, predictable meetups and have fostered friendships with other families with similar values.
A huge part of finding your village is making it- say hi, introduce yourself, sign yourself or your kids up for a new class or club, and be open to the possibilities. The Lebanon and Westfield Libraries have classes for homeschoolers. Slick City in Brownsburg offers monthly homeschool days, Hoosier Heights in Carmel has weekly Homeschool Climbing hours, and Girl Scouts offers monthly homeschool STEM programs. Regardless of where you start in your homeschool journey, it’s always helpful to have a community supporting you along the way. The friendships I have made from these many groups have built a community I rely on to get me through the hard days; we have found several places where we have become regulars and would love to see you at one!
