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Sarah
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Catholic homeschooling in our diocese has plummeted drastically over the last four years. We have no support group, no group activities, nothing. There are so few families left. There was a big wave of people who all put their kids in school here. My kids have almost no friends. Isolation and loneliness are starting to get to us but we would like to continue our lifestyle. What are the *Catholic* homeschooling numbers like in your cities? You don't have to reveal where you live. I just wondered if this is just a problem here or nationwide and then maybe I can PM some of you. I had heard Virginia is strong with Catholic homeschoolers. Are there many high schoolers, I wonder??
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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guitarnan
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Our co-op has 63 children, of which 9 are high schoolers and approximately 12 are nursery age. We have had a waiting list for the last two years. This year a couple of our families dropped out of the co-op because of scheduling commitments to other activities for their homeschoolers.
I'd say Catholic homeschooling is at least as strong now as it was four years ago where I live.
P.S. Catholic grade schools here are hurting for enrollment; even schools that were full last year have space now. Tuition is too high for many families to afford.
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MaryM
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Our numbers are up. That being said, we had lost several of our more prominent long-term homeschooling families in the last two years - but have more than made up for that with new families. Talking with attendees at our conference this summer, showed our numbers of those pulling kids out of school the past two years was really high. In my actual neighborhood there are three new to homeschooling Catholic families. I'm so excited because I've been involved with a group pretty far south for a long time, but now we've gotten to a point where we can do more localized activities. I do still have to drive to get involved with enough high school aged students to meet my daughters needs. We definitely have more high school-aged students than we did 8 years ago. At that time we did opt for our 2 oldest to go to the local Catholic school. With our daughter we aren't.
There are also tons of young families here who are getting involved with our homeschooling group and planning to homeschool though they don't have any old enough to school yet. This I attribute to our diocese. We are attracting lots of young people - dynamic and orthodox - from all over the country. They are already very aware of the idea of homeschooling and choosing it early. Some were homeschooled themselves.
I moderate a Yahoo group for our local south metro area - geographically this is pretty large region. We have gone from about 85 members to 150 in just under 3 years. One thing I do have to say about our area is that there is a strong "options" program - these are the programs associated with the local school districts where students can take classes together (all homeschoolers) one day a week. Virtual academy enrollment here is really high also. Both of these are controversial I know, but it does offer families who might otherwise not be homeschooling, options for time with other kids, someone else doing the work so they have a break. There are many families who I think would not be homeschooling if they didn't do that.
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stacykay
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Our local Catholic homeschool group has over 60 families. I can't even begin to guess the number of children. And we are getting new members left and right.
There is another Catholic homeschool group a couple of towns away, and they are very large and active, also.
Plus, I do know other Catholic homeschoolers who aren't in either group. (Both groups are in western Detroit-area suburbs.)
We have a number of teens who homeschool through high school (we don't.) The moms who do so have worked very hard at finding home sports leagues for the dc to tryout/join (I think it's called something like homeschool Christian athletic association or maybe not...I'll have to look it up!) Some also utilize the many community college options in our area. There are many teen socialization opportunities they have worked to put together for them, too.
And, I have to add, we have some very good Catholic schools in our area, so we could be opting for that, but obviously a lot have chosen to homeschool their dc.
Oh, and I don't even know about the rest of the metro Detroit area.
In Christ,
Stacy in MI
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JennGM
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In my area of Virginia Catholic homeschoolers numbers are up. Our own group is almost up to 80 families, but the nearby church has a similar number. Virginia is a very homeschool friendly state.
The number of highschoolers as Catholic homeschoolers does plummet, though.
I have discussed this with other homeschoolers, and the key is to getting involved. So many people for various reasons wait for someone else to do all the volunteering, organizing, etc. Groups do tend to fall apart if new life isn't brought in.
And not all activities have to complicated. I think Alice Gunther's Haystack Full of Needles, A Catholic Home Educator's Guide to Socialization has some great ideas that don't require too much planning.
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Lisbet
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I think the number of Catholic homeschoolers in our area (NW Ohio) has maintained in all the years I've been homeschooling.(10) I have always noticed a drop off in numbers at the high school level, esp. among boys.
This year, we are involved in a homeschooling group north of the border that is HUGE - even at the high school level. I love it as do most of my children!
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Mary G
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The silver lining to the loss of homeschoolers is that there are many authentically Catholic elementary/middle and high schools opening up and families are finding these a viable option in lieu of homeschooling.
This year at dh's high school, there are many former homeschoolers in the freshman class.
This is a good thing as they are finding these students are well able to handle the academics and the social ... often a concern.
I'm sure there are lots of other schools across the country that are showing similar increases as the schools revert to actually teaching Magisterially rather than just pushing academics.
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MaryG
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Natalia
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Sarah,
what is the general Catholic population where you live? Where I live the Catholic population is about 3%. Naturally, there are not many homeschooling families. I know 4 families that homeschool with a total of 3 highschoolers.
Our preference would be to have Catholic homeschoolers group but, since we don't, we have opted to participate in Protestant groups. It has worked for us so far. It was either that or stop all together. I can't homeschool in isolation and neither can my kids.
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lapazfarm
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Natalia wrote:
| I can't homeschool in isolation and neither can my kids. |
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I am so glad this topic has come up! So timely for us!!!
Truth is, where we are now we are homeschooling in total isolation. There are few to no other homeschoolers in this small island town and my teenaged ds in particular is UNHAPPY.  Being out in the middle of nowhere is fine with little kids, but teens just need MORE. More social opportunities, more cultural experiences, more opportunities for travel...just so much more than this lovely little town has to offer.
Because of this we are considering yet another move and this time specifically to an area with LOTS of Catholic homeschoolers, lots of opportunities, and LOTS of stuff to do!.
So, we have been doing lots and lots of research and asking questions about the best areas for Catholic homeschooling (that also have a few other characteristics that are important to our family)and have come up with a short list to work from.
So please, keep up the comments and I am all ears because we are going to decide pretty soon where in the big old USA we are headed next!
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Theresa
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Sarah
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Thanks everyone! Keep the responses coming. I saw that Fairfax Virginia has varsity home school baseball. Anyone know about these types of varsity options for homeschooling boys, particularly baseball? Any in your area? Are your kids in them? Just keep talking. . .
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Michaela
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This is a timely topic for me, as well. We were very close with three other families for the past 2-3 years. Our 4 families had over 20 children. Two of those families have moved.
I'm much more aware of the lack of teenage boys. My son is the only teen Catholic. Even in the group of 4 families...he was the oldest. We will be meeting a new Catholic family this Friday, but their oldest is 11. I have to try something else soon for the sake of my son.
Natalia wrote:
| Our preference would be to have Catholic homeschoolers group but, since we don't, we have opted to participate in Protestant groups. It has worked for us so far. It was either that or stop all together. I can't homeschool in isolation and neither can my kids. |
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The Statement of Faith is the only reason we haven't joined one of the many Protestant options around here that are well organized classes & activities.
Theresa, your post interested me because you didn't write that you are going to put him in PS, but looking to move. It encouraged me to look again at the reasons why we are doing this.
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Michaela
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stacykay
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Sarah wrote:
| Thanks everyone! Keep the responses coming. I saw that Fairfax Virginia has varsity home school baseball. Anyone know about these types of varsity options for homeschooling boys, particularly baseball? Any in your area? Are your kids in them? Just keep talking. . . |
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We have boys in our group participating in football (I think this is the 2nd or 3rd year they have had it) and basketball (a really competitive homeschool varsity level league.) In Michigan, hockey is quite a popular sport, and boys usually play on teams not associated with a high school... Also, for those who love soccer, there are so many club teams that play even during normal high school soccer season, that there are tons of opportunities there, as well. This isn't in a sports realm, but there is a pastor in our metro area who is coaching high school home-schooled teens in debate. I think they have four competitions. There is also a homeschool band, plus lots of community orchestra opportunities.
Ahem, we really live in a VERY supportive Catholic area and our state is very homeschool friendly, ...ahem...if anyone  might be interested! Plus, we do have a large number of LARGE lakes around us, wildlife opportunities abound here...just mentioning... 
In Christ,
Stacy in *Very Lovely* MI
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Aagot
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I like the pick up and move to where we like it attitude. What freedom!
Aagot
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Sarah
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Just putting mine in school seems sad as he really has been so successful in homeschooling as far as academics and loves it. We would have to force him to go to the local Catholic High School and since academics aren't an issue, it seems like a dumb idea. I don't know. It dawned on me that I have *19* more years of high school ahead. Six of those attending will be boys. Maybe we need to relocate. This isn't a problem that will end soon for me. Maybe some will be more prone to institutional school, but either way, its very grim here. It won't change anytime soon, its only gotten steadily worse since we began homeschooling 9 years ago.
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lapazfarm
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stacykay wrote:
Ahem, we really live in a VERY supportive Catholic area and our state is very homeschool friendly, ...ahem...if anyone might be interested! Plus, we do have a large number of LARGE lakes around us, wildlife opportunities abound here...just mentioning...
In Christ,
Stacy in *Very Lovely* MI |
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LOL! I'm PMing you Stacy! I'd love to learn more about "Very Lovely Michigan"
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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lapazfarm
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Aagot wrote:
I like the pick up and move to where we like it attitude. What freedom!
Aagot |
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Oh, we definitely have that attitude down!LOL! 
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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mamasue
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Northern Virginia had a huge amount of Catholic homeschooling families. Almost each parish seems to have it's own homeschool group. We also have 2 wonderful (small) catholic schools in manassas- Holy Family and Seton. We've lived here for 5 years and we live virginia because it is so close to the mountains AND the ocean, plus many rivers, lakes, parks, Shenandoah NP, National forests, battlefields, Washington dc, museums, history!!! I know that there is a homeschool football team in fairfax plus a catholic homeschool football team in front royal. Check out homeschoolsportnetwork- hspn.net because I know I've heard of more teams, but can't remember right now. Our group has co-ops, meetings, book studies, parties, Classes, fieldtrips, clubs. Plus we have religious exemption here in VA which has been a life saver!
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mamasue
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Oh, Yes, we do have many highschoolers and a decent amount of things for them to do
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Natalia
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Michaela wrote:
T
The Statement of Faith is the only reason we haven't joined one of the many Protestant options around here that are well organized classes & activities.
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Our main homeschooling group is Classical Conversations. They don't require that you sign a statement of faith.
The main homeschool group in our area does have a statement of faith but, in the last 5 years they added what they call a "statement of understanding". It allows people who by issues of conscience can't sign the statement of faith. Like I said, it is not perfect but it has worked for us.
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Maggie
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Our area is wonderful.
Home schooling is so common here amongst Catholics and Protestants alike, that when people stop and ask us where our kids go to school (and we tell them we home school) no one bats an eyelash. It is just more common here!
With that being said, in our area, there are 2 main Catholic Coop-ish groups. One is focused on Blue Knights/Little Flowers/Pilgrims (for high schoolers), etc...the other is more classically oriented. I think the first group numbers 100+ children...the second group about 80 or so...while there is a little cross over--it's not much.
That does not even include the Protestant/Evangelical groups in our area...which, from what I hear, are pretty great (my kiddos are still too small for a lot of activities).
There aren't may "Catholic" leagues, but A TON of Christian leagues in our area for football and soccer. Though, the Catholic dads in our area have taken to "coaching" the Christian teams. :)
A mom recently started a home school swimming team and water polo team that gets to practice at a local university swimming pool--which is a terrific venue!
I know that there are a few good Christian dance teachers, too, where modesty in dress and music are of the utmost importance.
I really love our area and was so pleasantly surprised to find that we have a tremendous amount of activity in our area. But FL isn't for everybody. :) That is coming from this Wisconsin-girl.
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Topic: Catholic Homeschooling nationwide
