"The Visit" by Mary Cassatt

When you join Regina Caeli Academy, not only do you enroll in a homeschool program, but you also join a network of Catholic homeschooling families throughout California. Parents are encouraged to communicate with each other via our private chat group for homeschooling advice, prayer requests, parenting tips - really, to offer or ask for support in any area of our daily lives.

New homeschoolers can find a plethora of advice from veteran homeschoolers.
Veteran homeschoolers  find renewed excitement from new homeschoolers!

Homeschooling, no matter how popular it becomes, can sometimes be an isolating experience. Even those of us who have homeschooled for many years can still find resistance from our family and friends, and sometimes our own parishes. Parents know they truly are not alone by connecting parent-to-parent and forging new friendships.

Those who are homeschooling children with special needs can greatly benefit from other parents' experiences. While there are many groups on social media giving great information, support, and legal advice in this area, it's sometimes comforting to know that you can start by connecting with fellow Catholic families who know exactly what it's like for you, raising children in our Faith and guiding them through Sacramental preparation. I most often see parents asking advice when their own parishes aren't particularly accommodating when children with special needs want to receive their Sacraments, so it's always heartening reading how good parishes handle this and what your options may be.

In general, parents from Southern California to Northern California have fostered new friendships and even met on vacation or when traveling to homeschool conferences to one place or the other. Even though we all know in our heads that we're not alone, simply "meeting" others online or by phone is something tangible that we can hold on to in our daily joys and in our shortcomings.

I certainly don't know everything, and I, too, greatly depend on other parents' experiences. We all learn from each other, and it all leads to being better parents and teachers for our children.