South Baldwin Literacy Council offering free homeschooling help to parents

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For parents out there who are finding themselves homeschooling their children for the first time, help has arrived.

The South Baldwin Literacy Council will begin offering free homeschool consultations via phone (251-943-7323) starting on Monday, March 30. The service will take place on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. and be treated in an open call format, where the first to call is the first served.

“This is a pilot run, the first time we’ve done something like this,” said Director Mitchell Lee. “We’re going to start with three days a week and see how much interest we get, and if people use this service then we’ll potentially look into scheduling calls and Zoom video calls going forward.”

To start, Lee plans to spend 45 minutes to an hour on introductory sessions, and then schedule 30 minute follow up sessions the following week. If the consultations are a success and garner enough interest, Lee states the Literacy Council may begin using a form on their website for parents to fill out to schedule consultation time slots.

“Our goal is to support the parents who have found themselves in a homeschool situation for the first time,” Lee said. “We’re going to try to help talk to parents who are stressed and offer some good strategies and tips for homeschooling.”

Lee stated the South Baldwin Literacy Council’s Allison Smith has over 20 years of experience homeschooling, and is ready to offer her mentorship to the community.

The program will be very flexible to determine what each individual parent needs, and will adapt to meet those individual needs.

“We’re going to be flexible and meet the community where they’re at,” Lee said. “If they need more targeted curriculum help, like multiplication or tips and tricks to make learning fun, we can focus on more targeted approaches, or we can keep it broader for general schooling and questions parents may have. We should be able to meet both needs and identify which direction they’re going from their phone call.”

If you’re seeking help with homeschooling, give the South Baldwin Literacy Council a call on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 251-943-7323, and check out their website at www.southbaldwinliteracycouncil.com.