things that work well for our homeschool community here for group activities include:
1. LEGO classes (WEDo and then mindstorms)
2. Art (easily scalable and easy to manage a range of ages)
3. Chess (again scalable and easy for range of ages)
4. Science (you can either split on ages or create different types of classes eg kitchen science will appeal to younger kids and chemistry, physics etc will automatically appeal to higher ages and/or gifted kids)
5. Eco Club (lovely for all ages and for families - make a worm farm, plant herb gardens, recycling projects, upcycling, permaculture, sustainable living etc)
6. Literature (reading AND writing - works best on ages 10+ from what I have seen)
7. Drama (works best for ages 8+ but I think its easily scalable in the right hands)
8. Young Entrepreneurs club (ideal for ages 9+ unless passionate about own ideas or gifted and able to plan/write)
9. Music/choir/band/orchestra (just needs passionate music teacher to assist)
You can also create a roster of short courses which may provide a better mix of options, ideas and kids. Our group runs courses about 6 - 10 weeks at a time, and parents take turns to run them. Recently we did one on plant biology, another on chocolate (making, eating, history of etc), another ran on art techniques and a third ran on Hunter Gatherer Societies (run by an archaeologist who homeschools her kids and works at our local university). Upcoming courses include wood work, sewing, zulu language, sign language, Eco club course, astronomy.
I am happy to share ideas and thoughts as we arrange ours.
Other homeschool activities that run regularly here are:
1. Homey badgers - our local zoo allows homeschooled kids to hang out one morning a month to assist with feeding, cleaning and helping with the animals
2. Ice skating - our local rink closes the rink one friday a month to anyone not homeschooled. Parents go in for free and kids get discounted rates. I have not been myself as yet but I believe about 200 - 250 kids attend monthly.
ETA: kids in our group range from age 3 - 12 and we have about 15 kids in our core group and another 30 - 40 odd in our extended unschooling group alone. If I include all the homeschoolers within about an hour's driving radius it's about 250 kids in total that are active within the homeschool community.
Last edited by Madoosa; 05/05/14 03:24 PM.
