When we first considered homeschooling, I remember feeling completely overwhelmed. I had a million questions. In my quest to find answers, I went to homeschool email groups, local homeschool meetings, search engines, and questioned every homeschool parent that I met. Fortunately every single homeschool parent I encountered (both virtually and in person) was more than willing to share experience, knowledge, and resources with me. I now know of countless others who have experienced the same generosity within this community.
I began signing up for email lists, adding bookmarks to my web browser, and ordering dozens of books on homeschooling. Over the years, my inbox and my bookmarks folder have gotten so overcrowded that much of the best information remains tucked away in obscure mailing list archives and websites that probably deserve more attention than they get.
Recently my husband and I had a conversation with two other homeschool parents. We discovered that we had each independently researched our state's policies regarding the transfer of high school credits. Even after research, we each still had unanswered questions. As we sat around the table wishing there was some one place we could find the answers to our questions without reinventing the wheel, the idea of HomeschoolHelpDesk.com was born.
HomeschoolHelpDesk.com is a new site where everyone is invited to ask and answer questions about homeschooling. Like Wikipedia, it is collaboratively edited by the community, providing a home for our collective wisdom to be organized and shared freely. We included a powerful reputation system to reward positive participation and help ensure that the best information makes its way to the top. A simple search interface helps us find what we're looking for quickly and easily.
Please come share your questions and answers at HomeschoolHelpDesk.com. Together we can all contribute to building a resource that will help others for years to come. We do not envision a site replacing the many wonderful existing resources, but rather one which serves as an aggregator and organizer.
We'd love for you to get involved, and we'd be grateful if you would pass this invitation along to others in the homeschool community. Thanks!
Elizabeth Ross
