Haven for homeschoolers at local convention

Haven for homeschoolers at local convention
By Nick Pinto/ Staff Writer
Thursday, July 21, 2005

BOXBOROUGH-For people who had to hop a school bus or catch a ride to get to class, the world of homeschooling is a mysterious realm, little understood and perhaps a little frightening.
The reality, of course, is slightly less gothic. Parents and children decide to homeschool for a wide range of reasons, some of them educational, some social, some cultural or religious. With the help of an educational industry geared precisely to providing homeschool families with curricula, textbooks and educational software, homeschooled kids can get an education at least as good as what they might find in school. And through networks of families and support organizations, home-educated children can interact with each other and with other children, becoming as well-adjusted and socialized as if they had logged hours of recess-time mixing it up on the playground.


The growing infrastructure of these parent networks, educational supply companies and support organizations that undergird modern homeschooling in America were all on display at this year's New England Homeschool and Family Learning Conference, held July 15 and 16 at the Boxborough Woods Holiday Inn. Organized by Home Education and Family Services, a resource center based in Gray, Maine, the event drew families from nearby and from all over New England.