For those who took a summer break, it is time to start thinking of school again.  Of course, we all take time to plan (to different extents) our children's schooling, but we may sometimes neglect our own "schooling."  NDCHEA exists as a group of homeschooling parents who learn together, teach one another, and support each other in this adventure of homeschooling.  All homeschooling parents are welcome to our meetings.  There are no fees or forms.  Please feel free to join us for any or all of our meetings, and especially if you find yourself in a rough time with school.  We have all been there and want to encourage you through it.

Our meetings will be held at Tim Horton's in Englewood, on Rt. 48 just North of the I-70 interchange.  We will meet from 7 - 8:30 p.m. in the evening.  Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month, and alternate (somewhat) between topical meetings and simple times of fellowship.  Child care is not provided, so parents only, please. 

Our tentative meetings schedule is as follows:

September 8 -- Community Resources -- NDCHEA member Debbie Jones will present information on what events, activities, museums, farms, etc. are available to homeschooling families.  For those who want an extensive listing of possible field trip destinations or are looking for specific activities to match this year's curriculum, this is a meeting that you'll want to attend.

October 13 -- Fellowship -- Come and be refreshed by Christian fellowship with other homeschooling parents.  Feel free to bring questions or concerns to discuss, or to share the successes you've had this month.

November 10 -- Learning Styles -- NDCHEA member Kirstin English will present information on the different ways that children learn.  Taken mostly from books by Cythia Tobias, this information will help you to tailor your teaching to best help your children learn.  It may also shed some light on  why you and your children are having difficulties in certain areas of learning and life.

December 8 -- Fellowship --   As we are in the midst of the Christmas season, it is easy to feel rushed and harried.  Come for a quiet evening of Christian fellowship, laughter, and rest. 

January 12 -- Share a book -- This meeting topic is repeated this year because we all had so much fun doing it last year!  Please bring your favorite book(s) on homeschooling, and share why you enjoy them.  There are so many books out there to read.  This really helps us to choose which books we should add to our reading lists (and possibly find someone to borrow them from).

February 9 -- Homeschooling High School -- We are working on arranging a speaker who has homeschooled through high school and can offer advice and ideas to those who have children who are approaching, or in the midst of, high school.

March 9 -- Favorite Curricula -- Bring your favorite curricula with you for others to see, or just tell us what it is and what you like about it.  This is not only a good way to get ideas for what you might want to use next year, but since it is scheduled before both Ohio homeschool conventions, you can have an idea of what you want to buy before you go to a convention.

April 13 -- Fellowship -- As the year winds down, that doesn't mean that questions or problems stop.  Come for encouragement and refreshment, and feel free to bring your questions with you.  Even if all is going well for your family, remember that you may be an encouragement to others, so please come and share your wisdom.

May 11 -- Organization -- Wow!  We've made it through one more school year (or close to it).  Yet it is a good time to look ahead to next year.  What improvement do we want to make?  What could we do to help our year flow more smoothly?  One thing that always helps is organization.  If you have some ideas for how we could organize our homes or school days more efficiently, please bring them to share.  If you are in desperate need of some organization tips, please come and get some ideas.  One of the best ideas I ever received for organization came from another mom at this meeting a couple of years ago, which is why I anticipate being done with our school year and beginning summer break when this meeting takes place!  (Thanks, Rhonda!)

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