<div dir="ltr">The Greenwich branch of the Huron County Community Library has hosted a monthly homeschool group for several years. It was started by a former children's programmer who was a homeschool mom themselves. We chose to continue it after they left our organization. I pick a subject or topic and plan an approximately hour-long program around it. We usually start in October and run it through April, taking January and summer reading off. We have a dedicated group of a couple families, and others rotate in and out depending on their needs and schedules. For instance, in October, we are using Brown Dog Gadget kits to build solar-powered bugs and learn about solar energy and how solar cells work. In November, we are learning about Ohio animals using resources from our local park district and dissecting owl pellets that I ordered from ODNR. In December, the Toledo Zoo is bringing its mobile education program that will teach about animals around the world and build on our November group. One year, each month covered a different body system using simple experiments and demonstrations. I try to find a mix between hands-on activities and instruction, and we always provide additional resources for those who are interested in learning more.<div><br></div><div>We are a rural branch library with a staff of two full-time people, including myself, and two part-time clerks. Generally, we aim to have three people in the building during the program, one to watch the desk/phones and two to run the program. Our highest number of attendees has been 27, our lowest has been 0 (can't win 'em all).</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, Sep 29, 2025 at 1:52 PM James, Stephanie via OPLINLIST <<a href="mailto:oplinlist@lists.oplin.org">oplinlist@lists.oplin.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div class="msg-7818466258730718701">
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I have been getting questions about what kinds of things do we do with homeschooler groups. As of now, we don't have any type of homeschooling programs. What kinds of things/programs do any of you do with homeschooling groups? Our library serves the Allen
County area and there seems to be a lot of homeschooling groups, and I wouldn't know what to do or look into for this. Do you have any suggestions or ideas? If your library has homeschooling programming, has it been beneficial for your community and library?
Do you need a lot of staffing for it? I would just like to gather some information and ideas before deciding on what to do.</div>
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Thank you so much,</div>
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<span style="font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Stephanie James</span></div>
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Head of Youth Services</div>
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Lima Public Library</div>
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650 W. Market St.</div>
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Lima, OH 45801</div>
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567-712-5259</div>
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<a href="mailto:www.jamess@limalibrary.com" target="_blank">www.jamess@limalibrary.com</a></div>
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</div></blockquote></div><div><br clear="all"></div><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div>Chris Mills</div><div>Branch Manager</div><div>Huron County Community Library - Greenwich and North Fairfield locations</div><div>4 New Street</div><div style="text-align:left">Greenwich OH 44837</div><div>Phone 419-752-7331</div><div>Fax 419-752-6801</div><div><font size="1"><em>This message and any response to it may constitute a public record and thus may be publicly available to anyone who requests it.</em></font></div><div><font size="1"><em><br></em></font></div></div></div></div>