I had planned on writing up a nice little post for Secular Thursday about a few of the things we use for curriculum. Instead my boys came down with a nasty cold that has required me to Mama first and blogger much, much lower down the list.  So instead I offer you a few things I would have liked to have known that first year of trying to find local support

1. On local level (as in real life homeschool support groups) sometimes using the word “academic” rather than “secular” will save you from feeling completely alone. Secular is an often misunderstood word.

2.  Inclusive doesn’t always mean accepting of all peoples, faiths, philosophies etc. Sometimes it just means that the group will welcome Catholics or other sects of Christianity.

3. Unschooling and Homeschooling don’t always mean the same thing. Unschooling doesn’t always mean the same thing from person to person.

4. When people are talking about how great those Homeschooling Conferences are – - they probably aren’t talking about one that is inclusive or secular because there aren’t that many.

5. There is a “homeschool dance” that we participate in when first meeting a new member of the homeschool community. You’ll be asked questions while people try to casually figure out which words to place upon you: Agnostic, Secular, Evolutionist, Christian, LDS, Catholic, Creationist, Athiest, Unschooler, Relaxed, School-at-Home etc. And sometimes but not always the answers will determine whether your emails get answered or if you are invited back to a group.