Some starter resources

For the first "Resource Tuesday", I'm focusing on places online that you can go to get more information. Hopefully this will tide you over until this blog gets rolling and can get into some meatier topics. The Thursday post will be a variety of the best sites I've found so far in a number of areas.

First, for specific questions I recommend seeking out an online social network. Parents in the same situation often give some of the best ideas and advice, and these days there is a group online for everything.

Yahoo! Groups specifically seems to have a number of homeschool groups, including two (that I've found) specifically aimed at preschool homeschooling. If you have a child with special needs or if your family is in unusual circumstances, try searching for an additional group that fits your situation. Yahoo! Groups is big enough that a community may already exist - and if it doesn't, you can search the web or blogosphere for a few people in your situation who also are seeking community and start your own group.

Here are the two Yahoo! groups I've found so far. Be aware, you will need to register with Yahoo! to use them.

preschool homeschool: "Are you homeschooling or unschooling your preschool age child? Are you looking for preschool ideas? Do you want to connect with other preschool homeschool parents? Then this is the group for you!"
My impression: Fairly casual group with a pleasant community. Lets you post items for sale on Saturdays, but otherwise limits these posts. Somewhat active.

Early Home Education: "Homeschooling is a great movement, but what about preschool and Kindergarten? Would you like to homeschool, but aren't sure you can? Maybe teaching your preschooler is just what you need to believe you can homeschool. Even if you are not planning on homeschooling, these early years are crucial. So much foundational learning takes place, it is well worth the investment of your time."
My impression: Unfortunately, this groups is currently very quiet. From the old posts, it once was a good place to go for answers to questions, and some new posts might wake this sleeper of a group up again.

Secondly, if you just want to get ideas or browse to see what is out there or what other parents are doing, then you may want to start at Tot School. It's geared at ages 1 to 3 and has some neat activities, toys, and ideas, but just as interesting is the long list of blogs on the right. Each blog posts regularly on how they are homeschooling their young children.

If you don't feel like going through all these dozens of blogs right now, check back on Thursday. I plan to go through them and pick out my favorites for my RSS feed, and I'll also give you a list of my recommendations. Hopefully I'll be joining this group soon, so watch for my link there!

Do you have a great online homeschooling community or resource that you can recommend? Please share it in the comments! Don't forget to mention your own blog. And of course, if you are looking for something specific, mention it and let us see if we can help.

Remember to come back Thursday, when I will have many more links with greater variety (but with much shorter descriptions!). Tomorrow: A photograph of our family, so you can get some faces to go with our aliases.