[Michlib-l] Homeschooling Program Responses

[Jessica Wilhoite]

Here are the responses I received: 


    * We have tried a book club for home school families but that did not take off. We have also offered special art or tech programs and we have not had great results. I know they tend to have a good network of people to draw from for their classes. The only thing that really seems to bring them in are when we have students and staff from local universities do special tech programs or local artists offering art based programs. 
    * 
We don’t do home-school programs, but my initial thought would be to ask her if she’s a member of any local home-school consortium, and then you can reach out to THAT group. Invite a discussion with some of them, at your library, and see if an age-appropriate tour and short activity would be a good first foray into programming for them. Schedule the tour and activity when it works best for the home-school group; they’ll help publicize it among their members and ensure you’ve got active participants. Otherwise I worry you’ll arrange a program and nobody (or just that one mom) will show up. They’ll also have a sense of the ages and stages situation. With all due respect, quite a few home-school parents will insist that their child(ren) are “well above grade level” in many areas, so you might do best to avoid the word “grade” as a marker for anything. 

    * This is a perennial request and what usually happens is that homeschoolers are often unable to commit to attending programs they request. The only time it has ever worked out for me (and I've done this for 3 different city libraries) is if a homeschooler group makes an appointment for a specific program - like a general "how to use the library" or bibliographic instruction for middle school grades. I know there are places it works, but it is usually in communities with strong home-school groups. 

Thanks! 

Jessica Wilhoite 
Assistant Director/Youth Librarian 
Romulus Public Library 
11121 Wayne Rd. 
Romulus, MI 48174 
(734) 942-7589 

Serving Romulus and Huron Township Residents 

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