News & Events
Upcoming In-Person Presentations
Join AHEM in Person!
AHEM is happy to announce a number of in-person presentation dates over the next few months. These are free and open to all. Individual libraries may require registration.
Why should you attend an in-person presentation? There are a number of reasons:
- Find our what to include in your education plan and get tips on writing it (ideal for new or newish homeschoolers!)
- Get advice on end-of-year reporting
- Refresh your understanding of what your district can and can't ask (not just for newbies!)
- Discuss socialization & how to answer those annoying questions from neighbors
- Get tips for finding your homeschooling style and how to find curriculum
- Get your homeschooling questions answered by AHEM board members
- Connect with other homeschoolers!
Program Descriptions
Getting Started Homeschooling: Whether you are actively homeschooling or are just looking into it, you are invited to join us as we discuss Getting Started Homeschooling in Massachusetts. This workshop will cover Massachusetts homeschool guidelines; writing your education plan; choosing a form of evaluation; dealing with local homeschooling policies and forms; a quick-start guide to picking a curriculum, and more. There will be a discussion time to follow with opportunities to get individual questions answered.
Nuts & Bolts of Homeschooling: This is a more in-depth and personalized version of our Getting Started Homeschooling presentation with more time for individual questions. Feel free to bring your draft progress report or education plan.
- Presentation #1: Ashburnham
Topic: Getting Started Homeschooling
Where: Stevens Memorial Library, 20 Memorial Dr., Ashburnham, MA 01430
When: Thursday, May 22, 2025, 6:30-7:30 pm
This program is sponsored by the Ashburnham Public Library. Registration is encouraged. Click here to register. - Presentation #2: Orange
Topic: Nuts & Bolts of Homeschooling
Where: Wheeler Memorial Library, 49 E. Main St., Orange, MA 01364
When: Thursday, May 29, 2025, 3:30-4:30 pm
This program is sponsored by the Wheeler Memorial Library. To register, contact aviolette at orangelib dot org - Presentation #3: Seekonk
Topic: Getting Started Homeschooling
Where: Seekonk Public Library, 410 Newman Ave, Seekonk, MA 02771
When: Wednesday, June 4, 2025, 5:30-6:30 pm
This program is sponsored by the Seekonk Public Library. Find their event listing here. - Presentation #4: Plymouth
Topic: Getting Started Homeschooling
Where: Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St, Plymouth, MA 02360
When: Saturday, July 26, 2025, 2:00 pm
More details coming soon!
Can't make any of these? Looking for something closer to you? AHEM is happy to come to your homeschool group group or local library. If you have a group that would be interested in having us come speak, you can contact AHEM directly, or if you think your local library would like to arrange a presentation, you can ask them to get in touch with us. If you are a librarian, please see this resource page just for Massachusetts librarians.
Meet Massachusetts Homeschoolers: Sajjona's Story
by Heidi Murphy
Meeting Sajjona
Parenting does not come with a manual. Everything parents experience is a learning process with their child. There will be bumps along the way. Yet, the child grows and develops, and as a parent one enjoys every moment and every adventure. However, having a child with unique needs and a life-threatening illness has parents navigating like a private investigator. Being heartbroken and loving your child at the same time is like being on a roller coaster ride of emotions. We were told our child had been born with a rare medical condition called Trisomy 18. She was deemed “incompatible with life.” We were told by the geneticist, “She will live two weeks if you are lucky.” We relied heavily upon our faith in God. This trust in Him got us through our darkest days. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years. Sajjona Murphy is now seven-and-a-half years old and not just surviving—she is thriving. Read more. . .
In Praise of Park Days
By Roberta Van Vlack
Park days have long been a staple of my family’s homeschooling life. With four kids, these informal, weekly gatherings have provided everyone (even mom) with an opportunity to make friends and socialize in a way that no co-op we found ever could. Park days were the one constant in our schedule from year to year. (My high school age daughter did the recorded version of Spanish 3 because the live class would have interfered with park day. One has to have priorities, you know.) Read more ...
The Socialization Question
by Roberta Van Vlack
If you have even considered homeschooling, you have probably had the S-word thrown at you. The first thing I always recommend when someone asks the dreaded question What about socialization?
is to ask them what they mean by that term.
I’d like to suggest that there are three main ways that people use the term. Socialization can mean simply social time i.e. time spent with peers. It can refer to specific habits and practices which people are expected to learn and use. I am thinking here of things like standing in line, saying please and thank you, and more subtle social skills like how to participate in a group discussion. Lastly, socialization can refer to one’s ability to be relational—to form, build, and negotiate relationships. Read more...
Volunteer Opportunity: Webmaster
Did you know that AHEM is entirely volunteer-run? We are a small team of homeschoolers and former homeschoolers who work hard to stay on top of the homeschooling landscape in Massachusetts and to communicate the information to you. Our website is a big part of our mission. It is often the first place prospective homeschoolers go to find out what is required. It is our connection to the world.
Sadly for us, one of our former board members, a long-time homeschooler and passionate homeschool advocate is retiring. We are looking for a replacement to take over just one of her many responsibilities, that of maintaining our website. If you think that this is something that you could help with, please fill out our volunteer application. Ideally, what we are looking for is:
- Some experience with website maintenance. Currently we are using Dreamweaver and Github so familiarity with these platforms is a plus.
- A few hours a month available. Most updates are done weekly. Being able to attend an occasional (virtual) board meeting to check-in some months is also a plus.
- A commitment to homeschooling. Ideally we would like to have a current or former homeschooling parent.
- A minimum one year commitment. Because every transition takes time, we would like to get someone who can commit to working with AHEM for at least a year.
If you think that this is something you could do, please reach out to us using our volunteer application. If being a webmaster is not within your skill set but you would like to help with AHEM's mission in another way, you can also use that application. We are always looking for Town Point People, those to write articles, help with mailings, work on graphic design projects, help monitor legislation, and more. AHEM only works because you do!
Quiz: Is It Overreach?
How well do you know Massachusetts homeschooling regulations? Take our quiz: “Is it Overreach?” to find out.
Independent Homeschooling
Defining AHEM’s Mission in a Changing Landscape
AHEM believes that informed and active homeschoolers are their own best advocates in maintaining the right to independently homeschool. “Independent” does not mean doing it alone. Homeschoolers have long used the resources of their community to augment their experiences. Co-ops, groups of families who come together and share in educating their children, have also been a part of homeschooling for a long time. Read more...
Protecting Independent Homeschooling: A New Webpage from AHEM
Since 2003, our mission at AHEM has been to advocate for independent homeschooling across the Commonwealth. We are happy to say that, while we are by no means the least regulated state, homeschool reporting remains relatively easy for most and there have been no significant changes in the law for quite some time. We are aware, however, that there are always changes in the homeschool landscape and that this may cause concern for some. With that in mind, we have revamped our website to include a page specifically devoted to homeschool advocacy and our mission to preserve the freedom we currently enjoy. On the page “Protecting Independent Homeschooling,” you can find articles about homeschool advocacy, issues of concern, and stories of homeschoolers who have advocated for their rights. In the coming months, we will be adding to this page, discussing questions like: “What is ‘independent homeschooling’?” and “What about homeschool funding?” Read more...
Connecting with Others: Town Point People
Would you like to help connect homeschooling families in your town or area? Are you wondering who is new in your area, or how you can support new families?
AHEM keeps a list of local, independent volunteers known as Town Point People (TPPs). The purpose of TPPs is social. TPPs are there to help homeschoolers make local connections and find resources and groups near them. There are more than 300 towns in Massachusetts. So far we've got about a tenth of those covered so there are lots more out there and we need your help to make sure all homeschoolers in MA can be connected with someone local.
If your town is listed here, get in touch and we can connect you to the TPP in your town.
If your town isn't listed yet, that means we are still looking for a local contact. Read more here if you would like to find out more about being a TPP yourself.
In either case, you must be an active subscriber to AHEM emails.
Forms, Documentation, and Registration
Are towns asking for more documentation than they used to? How many towns request forms or applications? Your answers help us know what is happening across the state and if homeschoolers are really being asked for more or not. If you reported as a homeschoolers in Massachusetts for this current school year, please take a few minutes to fill out our Forms, Documentation, and Registration survey. Even if you had no issues in your town, your answers are important. Every response helps us track trends. Thank you!
Yum: A Bite-Sized and Nourishing Homeschooling Strategy for All Ages
by Sophia Sayigh
The following is a slightly edited version of an article which we first offered in 2020. Though the world is no longer on lock-down, a cold and dreary February can make any homeschool family a little stir-crazy. We hope that this will inspire anyone who needs to change things up a little this time of year.
Are you struggling with the kids home full-time? Maybe you feel a little trapped a claustrophobic as sleety winter storms seem to roll in day after day. For anyone needing a change and a chance to recharge, I offer this strategy to reset life at home. Read more...
Introducing Foreign Language Resources
Occasionally AHEM gets requests for resources in other languages. To meet this need, we have created a version of our FAQ in Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French (with hopefully more languages to come)! You can find these resources linked from the sidebar on our main FAQ page .
If you are proficient in another language and would like to help us get this information into even more languages, please fill out our volunteer form.
Homeschoolers and Library Usage
We love libraries and we hope you do too. We'd love to hear how you use your local library and what programming you'd like to see. Fill out the survey here. The results of this survey will be shared with Massachusetts librarians via our new librarian page and our newsletter just for librarians. Thanks for participating!
Annual Homeschooling Policy and Practice Survey Results
Every year, AHEM sends out a survey asking homeschoolers across the state about their town’s homeschooling policies and about their interactions with school officials.
We use this information in two ways. As we answer questions through our One-on-One Contacts program, we refer to the database to see the experiences of other homeschoolers in a given town. The responses also give us a snapshot of homeschooling policy and practice trends over time so we can see if there are broad changes that are occurring across the state.
Below are some of the results from this year's questionnaire.
Regarding face-to-face meetings
In the last year, 95.33% of respondents reported that school officials do not ask for face-to-face meetings. Of those asked to meet, 30.77% choose to comply. Usually declining a meeting is as simple as saying “No, thank you,” or even ignoring the request. Read more...