Follow this link to find us on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/homeschoolingamigosbilingueslongbeach/
As
stated in our group description, one of Homeschooling Amigos Bilingües'
main intentions is to serve as a mutual support group to address the
specific challenges, issues and needs affecting our
homeschooling-unschooling population.
If you decide we are a good fit for you and your family, we ask for your sensitivity to, and support of, our special
needs as we strive to achieve social justice for ourselves through this enriching homeschooling experience we share.
One
of our main goals is fostering opportunities for children and their
families to form strong friendships through consistent in-person
interaction. This group was not solely created as an online support
group or resource platform. If your interest lies in such online
spaces, we invite you to visit our document tab for a list of culturally
relevant links which may fulfill that need.
For
effective community building, we believe honoring the following norms
for our mutual benefit, as we strive to engage with one another in a
positive, growth-focused environment.
These norms
are occasionally subject to change as approved by our founders and
steering committee (composed of regular attendees), whenever our mission
and vision evolves, according to the community’s needs:
1. To
effortlessly ease our community building undertaking, we recommend
participating in group activities a minimum of once per week. This
practice is based on the belief that establishing solid relationships in
the homeschooling-unscholing world is less linear than in the more
predictable environment of traditional learning settings. Presence and
persistence are key. As friendship building requires continuous efforts
to bond on a regular basis-for extended periods of time, in order to
allow personal connections to flourish.
We have monthly calendar
planning meetings. As a group member, we welcome your attendance and
active participation in them. We hope you will contribute ideas,
resources and encourage you to organize, lead or host a specific
activity.
If you are unable to attend a planning meeting, you are
welcome to request a copy of the calendar from one of the admins or
agents of this group. (Refer to job distribution list for the
appropriate contact person.)
Remember, building friendships and
making community takes time. It takes an ongoing effort to connect with
the same families on a regular basis and begin to form meaningful
relationships. Unlike the type of "institutional community" that one
finds in a typical school environment where the community is ready-made,
making community within the homeschooling sphere can be a slower, more
organic and less straight forward process. Yet, in can be infinitely
more rewarding and beneficial for the whole family.
For more information about our inspiration and approach to community building see here.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201307/beyond-attachment-parents-children-need-community
2.
We ask for your support in protecting the general safety and privacy of
group members. In order to help us preserve the integrity of our
community, please take the time to explain our expectations and needs to
any prospective group member you might invite into our community. It is
essential that you allow the rest of the group some time to get to know
your guest before including them in activities that take place in more
intimate settings, such as our homes.
This is a closed Facebook
group. Members have the general expectation that personally authored
posts, files and photos are to be shared solely with the members of this
particular online community, unless permission to do so has been
granted by the author of the post. Free sharing of individual resource
and information links with others outside this group is acceptable, as
long as any other comments or personal statements attached to it and
shared only with this group are not included. Please feel free to ask
for permission from the individual author of a post or comment before
cross posting it, copying it in any way or sharing it outside of this
group.
We consider this a safe space (online and
off) to proactively express needs, concerns, victories, failures,
resources and information regarding peaceful-attachment parenting,
homeschooling-unschooling, bilingualism and for many other racial,
cultural and socioeconomic challenges we face as
homeschoolers-unschoolers of color and those integrating into our
community.
For more information about how an online safe space works, you might refer to this article.
http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/08/we-need-safe-spaces/
3.
Members of Homeschooling Amigos Bilingües Long Beach generally take
pictures at all our events not only for the pleasure of memory
preservation and sharing, but also to document our homeschooling journey
as a special needs group.
We believe thru photography and record
keeping, we have an opportunity to make the experience and journey of
Latino, Chicano and Indigenous homeschoolers-unschoolers and our
multicultural allies more visible. With the goal of having it become
part of the general homeschooling-unschooling narrative.
We
encourage all to participate and take pictures as well, as a way to tell
your own individual story as a member of our community.
The work of
Maria Honojosa (see attached article) has inspired us to document our
journey so that other members of the Latino, Chicano and Indigenous
community know it is possible to homeschool-unschool and can see its full potential. We hope to inspire others and most importantly to become visible.
All
pictures can be shared on our Facebook Group, they are categorized in
albums to make it easier to find, please add photos to appropriate
albums to help us remain organized. Before sharing any photos outside
the Homeschooling Amigos Bilingües Long Beach Facebook Group, please get
consent from the particular photographer. Thanks in advance.
http://latinousa.org/2015/07/30/from-invisible-to-visible-2/
4.
We practice positive parenting and encourage free and creative play
among our children. Any structured activities offered to the children
are optional.
An important part of our group culture centers
around offering opportunities for free outdoor play. We try to foster
opportunities for free exploration, climbing and structure building with
natural materials, while encouraging the children to respect their
environment, keeping surroundings free of litter and coexisting with
nature. For further reading on the basis of these interactions and
parenting approach, we recommend the following articles.
http://www.amazon.com/Share-Renegade-Raising-Competent-Compassionate/dp/1585429368
http://www.positiveparentingsolutions.com/parenting/its-ok-not-to-share
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/heather-shumaker/renegade-rules-for-parents_b_1728234.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/05/kid_play_zones_in_parks_leave_no_trace_inhibits_fun_and_bonding_with_nature.2.html
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/16/childre-nature-outside-play-health
http://www.childrenandnature.org/2015/08/27/send-children-outside-nature-is-the-best-training-ground-for-stem-careers/
5.
Central to our group is the importance of sharing and preserving
cultural values, heritage and languages, with a majority of our members
focused on preserving the use of Spanish language in our familial and
friendship communities.
At times, we also offer activities related to the preservation of indigenous languages.
We
incorporate many of these values into our calendar planning. All of the
activities listed in it are for ALL our group members.
However,
we do ask that activities planned under the heading of “Pequeños
Naturalistas-Young Nature Explorers” be reserved for those who practice
Spanish on a daily basis and those adults who are willing to commit to
speaking only in Spanish during such outings. This is so, in order for
all members of our community to have the option and benefit of a Spanish
immersion activity at least once per week.
As a natural group
practice, we freely speak Spanish at our discretion and, at times, might
switch back and forth between languages during conversation. We invite
all our members to embrace basic Spanish and to share any other mother
tongue language with the rest of the community. We strive to encourage
all our children to incorporate languages into their world so we may all
reap the benefits of full engagement with all the members of our
community. Not only will this help us integrate more fully in group
activities, but it is our belief it will facilitate our children's
expanding worldview as they grow in their appreciation and understanding
of cultural similarities and differences. The following article might
be helpful in understanding our group’s approach when it comes to
passing on bilingual skills.
http://multiculturalkidblogs.com/2014/09/08/why-your-child-is-passive-bilingual/
6.
As part of our group culture, we all commit to actively participating
during planned activities. We do so by sharing the workload, which
includes cooking, clean-up/set-up, teaching, supervision of each other's
children during outings, preparation of materials, honoring commitments
to carry out specific tasks, bringing something to share if the
occasion calls for it, etc.
Culturally, our way of building
friendship and community typically includes reciprocally sharing
offerings of kindness and communal support, such as childcare, food, and
similar types of assistance.
Please be mindful of such offerings and reciprocate in an equitable manner.
7.
The group organizers assume no liability; participate in all activities
at your own risk. By being a member of this group, you hereby agree to
assume all risks and liability related to or resulting from any and all
group functions. You agree that neither you nor any third party will
hold any of the group's leaders, officers, members or representatives
liable for any injury, loss, or damage to your own person or any members
of your family, friends, acquaintances, children, pets, or property,
arising directly or as a consequence from a group activity. You also
agree that your membership of this group is based on an "at will" basis.
