Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Subjects Good for Group Work (Homeschooled)

My DS5 is homeschooled, but I think he could benefit from having some regular meetings for group (fun) academic work. I'm thinking about approaching other area families to see if they'd also be interested.
I'm trying to think about what subjects would/would not be good for this. Science was my first thought, especially as that's easily scalable.
I was also going to see if anyone was interested in doing Beast Academy with us, but then I started to worry that if we're working as a group, maybe that wouldn't allow us to move more quickly if he wanted to.
A writing group could be good, as well.
Any other thoughts? What have you tried? Longed for?

Literature, civics, and history come to mind; when the subject is variants on the human condition, having multiple viewpoints seems to provide an enriched learning that a book can't capture. Differences in these, both in worldview and skill level are a benefit, whereas math and science are more likely to be constrained by ability.

Music and PE could be good group exercises. Also reading a book and putting together a play based on the book could be fun!

Destination Imagination, which blends arts and engineering.

1. Book Club. I think reading/talking about a book is great for a group.

2. Public Speaking class?

3. Engineering Club -- different structures, bridges. Build them with Legos, talk about the style/structure.

All great suggestions... But when you mentioned science the thing that came to mind is -- host a homeschool science fair! I run the science fair at my DDs home learning center and it's great fun. You can have regular "classes" to help kids learn about the scientific method, asking good questions, and doing experiments, and then help with putting together boards. You don't have to judge the fair, but you can hand out certificates of participation to everyone.

It's perfect because the kids can participate at whatever level they are at and they won't slow each other down.

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.

These are all such great ideas! Now I have to think a bit harder about what to bring up with others.

Space has always been our biggest problem. Since there's so many people here who have done group things, where have you found space to do it?

When I asked the questions, I was thinking about a small group that we could host in my own home (the one that we're making an offer on tomorrow...fingers crossed). I also have grand plans of having a bigger "learning center" for homeschoolers as a business, but no strong plans for that now. Local libraries have some limits on how often you can use their space.

I know here you can rent public school classrooms, auditoriums, or gymnasiums for a fee in off-use hours. Not sure how pervasive that option is.

I would ask the librarian, they might make an exception for homeschool groups. I would also check with your local school district for space. Churches often welcome even secular homeschool groups to use available space, as do groups like the American Legion or Knights of Columbus.