Support group a source of social activities for home schoolers

Newcomers and returning members filed into the cafeteria of Red Rock Baptist Church for the monthly meeting of HEART, a local Christian home-school support group.

With the beginning of the school year, the August assembly seemed more like a pep rally than the meeting's usual agenda of legal issues and curriculum options.

A mother and daughter in matching W.W.J.D. (What Would Jesus Do) shirts sit next to each other in folding chairs. Parents clustered near the door are chatting, hugging, looking through pamphlets and picking up forms for the Clark County School District that will exempt their children from traditional public schooling.

The children running around aren't exactly schoolmates, but they share the same yearbook.

Their free flow of laughter and familiarity with one another answers the No. 1 question from some home-school skeptics: What about socialization?

The organization, consisting of about 50 home-school families, provides not only resources, support and advice, but field trips, dinners and physical education days as well.

"The HEART group has 19 teenagers alone," said Donna Speakman, whose husband, Kevin, is the president of the organization. "The kids get together once a week."

The 9-year-old organization, whose name is an acronym for Home Education and Righteous Training, also offers a newsletter and yearbook, a science fair and an art fair, and discussion is open to adding theater arts as an option for the students.

"Most churches have their own home-schooling groups," Speakman said. This enables competitive spelling bees and bowling tournaments.

Speakman has been home-schooling for 11 years. She has four children -- a toddler, a first-grader, a fifth-grader and a 10th-grader. She and her husband originally began home-schooling because they couldn't afford private school.

"I feel totally blessed that we're able to do this," Speakman said.

Although HEART is a Christian organization, anyone looking for resources and support concerning home schools is welcome, Speakman said.

The local organization has received national attention among home schoolers by being chosen as Nevada's Christian contact group by the editors of Teaching Home magazine.

Much like a typical school day for these families, the meetings begin and end in prayer.

"For those of you who are new, I don't know if you know, but we're a Christian home-school group and we pray to God," Kevin Speakman said. A few "amens" are returned from the audience.

What qualifies a parent to be teacher? "They're their parent, first of all," Donna Speakman said.

"The majority of people just feel this is a better way to educate their kids and keep in touch with their own children," she continued. "It's not an easy thing to do."

Diane Durham, a home-school parent, said, "Kids need stability. They need rules. They need their parents, that's what they really need. We're bringing morals and virtues back into their lives."

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