Champaign-Urbana HOUSE

Non-Sectarian Home School Support Group for Champaign County, Illinois

(H.O.U.S.E stands for Home Oriented Unique Schooling Experience)

What is Champaign HOUSE?

We are a group of families dedicated to supporting one another's efforts to educate our own children. We are non-sectarian and support one another's efforts to home school without discrimination towards religion or lack-thereof, color, creed, sexual preference, family composition or any other factor that distinguishes one family from another.

We are a chapter of a statewide network of home schooling support groups that was founded in 1981 by Dorothy Werner of Chicago. The Champaign Chapter began in 1991 and participates with a state council over issues such as legislation that may affect home schooling in Illinois. We also participate in an annual non-sectarian Home Educator's Conference each spring.

We are organized by consensus and all work is done by volunteers within the organization. Many of the people in HOUSE organize and run various activities, and we often cooperate to achieve educational goals. However, you are always the person who decides the educational path of your child, and you are responsible for his or her education.

Benefits of Membership

As an organization, HOUSE is able to arrange benefits that would be difficult for an individual to obtain. Several ways being a member of HOUSE benefits you are:

• Regular group activities
• Educator discounts at local book stores
• Scholastic Book Club ordering
• Krannert School Series tickets
• Representation by the Ad-Hoc Committee for Illinois Home Education
• Legal and Legislative Matters
• Membership in a coalition of Illinois non-public elementary schools
• People - the greatest benefit. We are a diverse group with members willing to shre information and talents in our efforts to educate our children.

We encourage all parents to be actively involved in the education of their children.

Some of our activities have included:

• Weekly Play Group
• Theme-based activity days & unit studies
• Field Trips
• Science Fair
• Interest groups such as Teen Group, Literature Group, Science Clubs, etc.

Important Information to Know

Membership fees for Champaign County HOUSE are $10.00 per family for the school year September through August, with additional fees for some activities.

A monthly newsletter is sent to all current members at the beginning of each month. The newsletter will contain schedules, information of interest, opportunities, local resource information, etc. We also maintain an e-mail list server for members to share information and announcements.

A list of members is provided to each paid member of HOUSE in order to facilitate networking with other families. The list is never shared with any other organization or any individual that is not a member of HOUSE. We discourage use of the list for financial gain (e.g. as a marketing list­even fo home school materials). We ask that members respect the privacy of other group members and get permission before giving out any personal information.