Visit several groups in your area to determine which group's goals and activities match your families’ interests.

Local support groups are where you will find most of your day to day direction and support. Support at the local level is where families come together, according to interest, to share genuine ideas and the latest news in the area. This is where families meet for encouragement and to plan activities. Depending on the size of the support group, they may also offer parent's support meetings and classes, or they may hold or promote annual curriculum fairs.

Start a Support Group: If there is not a support group already in your area, you may choose to start one. Taking sole responsibility for starting a well-planned support group can be time-consuming. It may be helpful to invite other parent/teacher’s to meet for a general discussion about what kind of support group everyone would like. As the group evolves, the details concerning agenda and procedures will become clear as you customize the group to fit your needs.

While some groups focus primarily on field trips, mission trips, or other activities of interest, other groups may focus on learning different teaching strategies or professional development.

Choose a purpose: The following is a brief list of reasons for starting a support group:

• Share information, knowledge, different views, moral support, etc.
• Involve students with others through group activities, co-op, the community, etc.,
• Creating opportunities such as home school bands, sports, civic involvement, etc.
• Testing opportunities, graduation ceremonies, curriculum fairs, etc.
• Organize field trips, cook outs, a day at the lake, a day at the park, etc.

Create a list of functions: Take action once you have decided which type of support group shall be formed. The following is a list of functions for a group that shares information, knowledge, different views, moral support, etc.

• Share what you know about videos, software, or paperback of current curriculums with others.
• Analyze and compare information about different publishers.
• Discuss handouts and articles relevant to home schooling.
• Ask a volunteer to read about a topic, and share what they learn at the next meeting.
• Start a newsletter that provides members of your group a steady flow of information concerning upcoming events.

Create Roles: Once you have created a list of functions that are specific for your group, you can create roles to support those functions. For example, a well-organized newsletter that provides quality information could involve three, or more, individuals working together to make it happen. The more people supporting your newsletter, the easier it will be to meet the deadlines. The following roles could be created to support a newsletter:

• Coordinator: This is the contact person for your newsletter. They promote your newsletter, answer questions, monitor growth, and do whatever it takes to support the other roles.
• Editor: Editing responsibilities could include deciding what gets published, choosing a design, looking for mistakes, typos, etc.
• Publisher: Print and mailing responsibilities could go to someone with a computer and printer.
• Support Team: A few extra hands and eyes can be useful for researching information for the editors and publisher.