Find Your Tribe

Being connected to fellow, in-the-trenches, homeschooling families is essential to keeping your perspective and gaining the ongoing support you and your student need

 

Co-ops/Support Groups


Local homeschool co-ops and support groups exist in every state. The best way to find groups in your area is to connect with your state homeschool organization who will give you their contact information.

Before taking the leap to join one of these groups, it is best first to take into consideration whether the groups in your area can work with the specific needs of your child AND if your child is prepared to be part of an inclusion environment.

Start a Neighborhood Homeschool Pod


The Basics for Creating Homeschool Pod Community

Creating community is work, and often that is why we avoid it. But the advantages of creating community far outweigh the disadvantages. As we unite with others different from us we have a great deal to learn from them and about ourselves and we are always better off from the exchange. This goes for adults and children.

As a parent of a child with a special educational need, pods can be the most ideal community for your student and the other students involved because they may never have had a friend with a learning or physical challenge. Thus, don’t just try to pair up with other families who are homeschooling children with special needs, instead join up with those who are nearby and who need community just as much as you and your student.

 

Setting Up Your Homeschool Pod

  • Start with an initial plan, but be willing to change it if needed
  • Set up a way to communicate and change your initial and ongoing schedules to meet the needs of the group
  • Be consistent and be there for one another, even beyond your homeschooling  and student learning needs
  • Create a homeschool pod oath, including the following elements: Respect for individuality; Being accountable; Helping one another in and out of meeting times; Be teachable; Willing to grow and learn; Understanding there is always something new for everyone to learn; Forgive and give mercy.

If you are interested in learning more about homeschool pods, check out this relevant article on the National School Choice Week website.

“Education is the foundation on which our culture is built; as such it should be the training ground for hope, brilliance, optimism, innovation, and love. The simple truth is this: Education is not something confined to a schoolhouse or an institution. It’s…the result of family and community involvements. That is where real education happens and where truth can flourish.” – Joe Battaglia, Unfriended


 

How to Find Homeschool Pod Families

  • Seek out other families in your neighborhood who will be homeschooling this year
  • Ask these families about how they are handling COVID exposure and ensure they and your family share similar views 
  • Ask these families how much they would like to meet in a given week and month
  • Determine if these families are willing to cooperatively share in running the pod and decide on general responsibilities for each family, parent, and child
  • Ensure everyone coming into your pod has a willingness to learn and grow together, respect each person’s individuality, each family’s values, and work out conflict when it arises

SPED Homeschool Facebook Groups

SPED Homeschool hosts a variety of different Facebook groups.  Visit out Facebook page to find out more or use one of the links below to visit a specific group.

Facebook Page


I remember how thankful I was to find the SPED group, this was my community…My tribe is this community”

– SPED  Homeschool Support group member

Support Group

Are you looking to connect with like-minded parents and be encouraged on your special education homeschooling journey?

Connect with 1,500+ special education homeschooling parents from all over the world

connect

 

 

Resource Sharing

Do you love sharing things you find on Facebook and the web that are helpful in your special education homeschooling? 

Our resource sharing group is where parents and organizations share their favorite posts

share

 

 

Buy/Sell/Trade

Looking to sell some used curriculum? Or maybe you are hoping to find a good deal on some homeschooling materials.

Our buy/sell/trade group is a great place to start when changing out your homeschool curriculum

join

 

 

Thinking of Joining a Homeschool Co-op?


These videos below were created in cooperation with the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC) to help families think through these considerations and to inform their future co-op members about learning differences.

SPED Parents

Videos for parents of children with specialized learning needs who are considering joining a homeschool co-op

watch

Co-op Parents

Videos parents can share with co-ops to help advocate for the needs of their child with specialized learning needs

watch

SPED Teens

Instructional videos for teens with specialized learning or physical needs who are joining a homeschool co-op 

watch

Co-op Teens

Instructional videos co-ops can use to help teens understand learning differences

watch