2013 – The Idea

The question a homeschooler hears most is, “how do you make friends?”
Some of us are part of co-ops. Some of us take classes at local museums or colleges. These opportunities make it easier to meet new people and create new friendships despite our alternative learning style. However, many of us don’t have a means of making new connections with our peers. Those of us who travel frequently or live in an area without in-person homeschool groups often feel we’re left behind socially.

I was homeschooled for elementary and high school, so I understand first-hand how hard it can be to make new friends when your home is your school. Finding friends as a teenager can be a stuggle, but it is even more difficult for a homeschooled teen. Add on that many teenagers aren’t able to drive yet and thus unable to head out to meet peers, and it starts to feel like a nearly impossible task! That’s what brings us here.

2014 – HSRC Launch

As a homeschooler myself, I was feeling alone and disconnected from others my age. I knew I couldn’t be the only one feeling that way. After all, I wasn’t the first kid to learn from home for much of my life. In January of 2014 I created the first iteration of The Homeschooler’s Chat website as a simple site with a tiny chat forum. A handful of teenagers joined. Each and every one of them echoed what I had been feeling: alone.

2018 – Move to Discord

With encouragement and advice from these newfound allies, I moved The Homeschooler’s Chat from an in-website chat platform to a Discord server. The goal: create a better, more organized space for our fellow homeschoolers to connect online. Today our humble group has grown into a thriving community, full of members with different interests and talents. Every day our users find comfort knowing they are not alone on their homeschooling journey. Our members learn from each other and help each other through the obstacles we face in day-to-day homeschooling life, which is just what they’ve needed all this time.

2024 – Flourishing & Growing

Watching this group of one-time strangers come together to create such a kind and welcoming community has been a privilege that I would not trade for the world. Thanks to our members harboring a positive environment, I have received messages and emails over the years from kids and parents sharing with me just how much our community has helped their homeschooling experience and changed the game when it comes to homeschooling as a teenager. I invite you to join us, and see for yourself just what a wonderful place we’ve created in the past ten years.

What HSRC Taught Me

Having friends that you can relate to is an important part of being a teenager. It’s an important part of being a human.
Not having people your age to connect with can be difficult and harmful to the mental and emotional health of any individual, regardless of age. Those of us in The Homeschooler’s Chat believe that everyone deserves to have a friendly community that they can rely on and feel supported by. While our online homeschool group won’t single-handedly solve all of our problems, it sure does help. Thank you for being here and thank you for sharing in our journey. I can’t wait to see where we head next.

Love, Anne