FAQ
Here is a list of some of the questions that we’re frequently asked, and their answers. If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact us. (updated August 2011)
How much does it cost to join the group?
There is no charge to join Triangle Homeschoolers. At this time, our only administrative costs are our promotional materials like flyers and business cards that we design and upload to the Yahoo Group for our members to print, copy and distribute. We’re considering having tee shirts and tote bags designed that our members can have made for their families, but have not done so at this time. If you would like to support this group by helping offset the cost of such things we welcome your contribution, however none is required to join.
This group operates via the generosity of our group’s volunteers. We’re extremely grateful to them, and fortunate that they see fit to donate their time and effort into building, updating and maintaining the website, Yahoo Group and Facebook page. Volunteers and group members also plan and organize our group’s events and activities. Members contribute by promptly responding to event invitations, bringing requested supplies (from additions or ingredients for lunch or crafts to share or enough of whatever for their own families to use, depending on the occasion), carpooling and participating in group events.
In some cases, there may be an admission fee for an event (such as a field trip), or a member may organize a craft that requires craft-kits. In such cases, members will either pay the fee at the door, or pay the organizer for their child’s supplies. If there is a fee or supplies are required, parents will be informed well in advance of the details and will have the opportunity to opt out of participating, budget for said expense or procure their own supplies elsewhere. Our goal with this group is to provide opportunities to parents and children, not to make money from fellow homeschooling families.
How do I join?
We accept new members all year long. To join, you’ll need to either know someone in the group or meet with one of our moderators. The easiest way to do this is by contacting us through our Facebook fan page and either arranging to meet up for coffee or planning to meet up with us on our next Tuesday event. This is a good time to meet some of our group members, have your questions answered and get a feel for the group to see if it’s a good fit for your family. If it is, we’ll add you to the Facebook group (where most of the ‘chat’ happens) and to the Yahoo Group, which is where we archive resources (links and such). If you decide that this isn’t the right group for you, that’s okay, too! We’d love for you to continue checking our calendar and meeting up with us when you can.
As a member of Triangle Homeschoolers, what is expected of me?
We believe that any group is only as active and successful as the members of the group want it to be. That means the more effort you put into the group, the more you will get out of it. Our organizers put a great deal of effort into maintaining the group and planning fun things to do for our families – all with no membership fees or club dues. In return, we ask that our members plan on being very active in the group’s goings-on. That means letting us know that you’re coming to an event (via polls on the Yahoo Group or Facebook event page), coming to or going on as many field trips as feasible for your family, leading or assisting in a club if possible, being prompt to planned events, coming prepared and with the materials requested or that your child needs in order to participate, planning well the events that you’re hosting (like your co-op class), sharing resources (like websites, online coupons & deals you hear about, new curriculum reviews, ect.; we’re not asking that you offer up materials that you’ve paid for to the group or violate copyright laws) and offering support and encouragement to your fellow homeschooling parents and … just being involved. We very much feel like ‘homeschooling is how we live, not just something we do’, and we want the very best for our kids and yours. We’re not ogres about it, but we don’t allow lurking or slacking, so communication is something we require of our members. If something is going on, just let us know! We’re more than happy to work with you.
What kinds of activities and events does this group host, and how often?
We have a variety of academic and social activities for your child to benefit from, including:
- Field Trip Tuesday – Each week, on Tuesday, we have an opportunity for your families to get together. Sometimes Tuesday is an academic event, sometimes it’s purely social. General plans are posted on the home page of the website; specific plans are shared on the Facebook discussion group.
- out-of-town and overnight field trip events (1-2 per year)
- social gatherings & group parties
- extra curricular clubs
- presentation/public speaking/performance events
- Annual Science Fair Show-and-Tell (with encouragement to compete in the Texas Regional Science Fair)
- community service projects
- group newsletter (bi-monthly)
- Mom’s Night Out & Mom’s Enrichment Activities
- Teacher In-Service/ Education / Retreat Days
Many of these events are held once per month, other seasonally. If you’re interested in coordinating something that is not on this list, please let us know. We are always open to suggestions from our members!
What age range does this group cover?
Most of our families have children in upper elementary/lower middle school and since we tend to plan things for our own children’s age range, most activities that we plan will be appropriate for that group. Of course, you can adjust up or down with a little effort! If you have older children, particularly high school students, or younger ones, we are most interested in helping meet your needs. With you as an active participant in the group, we’ll help as much as we can to plan age-appropriate activities for your child. If you have friends with similarly aged students, we’d love to have them join TH as well. The more parents we have with a certain age group, the easier it is to plan for them.
That sounds great, but a little overwhelming. Is there a way I can be ‘involved’ without committing to being ‘INVOLVED’?
Certainly! We do understand that as a new homeschooling parent, or to more ‘homebody’ types, the activities we have planned may seem like a lot. Many of our children are coming out of public school though and we like the hustle and bustle of frequent activity. If you’re looking to slow things down, we encourage you to keep up with our upcoming events and contact us if there is something specific that you want to participate in.
How much does it usually cost to go on field trips and participate in other group events?
We recognize that most homeschooling families are single-income families and on a budget, therefore we try to make things as inexpensive as possible. Most locations we plan trips to offer group discounts or ’school discounts’, which are sometimes open to homeschooling groups. Whenever possible we take advantage of that pricing, however almost all group rates have a minimum number of participants. This is one reason why we encourage our group members to take part in as much as they reasonably can.
Our most expensive trip to date has been a ticket price of about $20 per person. Most trips are free with the only cost associated with the trip being gas to get there. When we do have an admission fee, most stay within the$2-5 range, with a few in the $5-10 range. We carpool as much as possible and bring picnic lunches and snacks where we can. Out of town trips are worked similarly; with several families working together to split the costs of accommodations and gas.
Some clubs and co-op may have a nominal fee associated with them. You can find out specifics about each club on our Clubs page.
I would love to join in on some of your clubs and activities, unfortunately we’re not homeschooling. Can we still participate?
Yes! While most of our activities are planned with homeschoolers in mind, your child need not be homeschooling to participate. Some of our families school through the summer and our group plans activities all year round. You’re welcome to contact us about participating in anything that is on our calendar that fits into your schedule.
This is such a great group! Unfortunately, I’m not in Southeast Texas. Where can I find information on a secular homeschooling group in my area?
We have a list of secular groups on our Secular Homeschooling Directory page.
Where can I find homeschooling resources?
Check out our Curriculum Resources page. We have several links posted in our sidebar, and add more as we find new sites that are informative or interesting. You can also find links to some local resources, as well as a list of blogs written by homeschooling parents. We add blog posts to the main TH site – you can scroll back through posts and find various resources listed in those posts. The bulk of the resources we highlight or recommend are either free or low-cost. If you have resources that you use frequently, we would love to know about them!
I have an article that I’d like to submit for publication on Triangle Homeschoolers. How do I do that?
We would love to publish your article! We take submissions that deal with aspects of homeschooling- everything from daily reviews and planning to field trips, random thoughts, Dad’s perspective… whatever you care to write about. We also accept submissions from homeschooled kids and would love to have a comic! If there are photos or illustrations that go along with your post, please include a link to where the picture is hosted (like Photobucket or flicker) with your article.
Send your article to ‘wearyourbaby@yahoo.com’ with the subject line “TH article submission”. Please include a brief bio with your article including your name, age (if written by a student), how long you’ve been homeschooling and a couple of sentences about yourself or your family, and a link to your blog or website.
Why secular?
In our planning stages, we wanted to connect with the large homeschooling community in our area but found that almost every group was faith-based according to that group’s beliefs, and required members to sign a statement of faith. We respect the religious diversity in our area and wanted to create an environment that was more inclusive of alternative religious beliefs, parenting and lifestyles. Our use of the term ‘secular’ does not mean to imply ‘anti-religion’, merely that we don’t really fit in with the faith-based groups that are in this area.
While the content of this group is largely secular, we do occasionally post things having to do with holidays and such, which may include a religious origin. Where appropriate, we choose to use broad language when discussing concepts like “God” or “The Universe” – our inclusive phrase is usually “concept of deity”, because that differs for different people, cultures and religious persuasions. You can take that to mean God, Goddess, Allah, Mother Nature, The Universe… whatever speaks to your heart. It is not our intent to demean or promote any belief system.
Are you Christian?
The parents in this group hail from a wide variety of religious backgrounds and current beliefs. It is our belief that there is something good and something to be learned from almost every walk of life. We have found a great deal of inspiration from religious studies and developing relationships with people of different religions and we sincerely urge you to do the same.
