Connecting with Homeschool Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic

*Pictured: Coffee mugs some of the teens created for my “Create Your Own Coffee Mug” outdoor program (Fall 2020).

Beth Van Curine, Baraboo Public Library, Baraboo, WI is a member of our Wisconsin Teen Librarian Services Group. She shares some great tips to make your teen programming for Homeschool families even more engaging.

 How I’ve Connected with Homeschool Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic

I came into my position as the Teen Services Coordinator at the Baraboo Public Library at a fascinating and transformative time. My start date was March 24, 2020, just a few days after the library closed to the public for several months. As a new teen librarian, and as a new resident of Baraboo, WI, I was completely unsure about how to connect with the teens in my community. I knew the homeschool population makes up a large part of the teens that regularly use the library, and began to think of ways to connect with them. While the ideas listed below helped me build relationships with both homeschooled and non-homeschooled teens, I do believe that without these aspects, it would have been much more challenging to connect with our homeschool population. As the pandemic waged on, and as the library stayed closed completely, or more recently, open by appointment, I tried many different ways to form some kind of relationship with these teens. These are some avenues that worked for me.

Outdoor Programming

During the Fall 2020, right as school was starting, I began outdoor programming. I felt confident that I could safely execute social distancing and enforce mask rules. I planned two months of activities, from September 1 through October 31, realizing that it would be too cold to meet outside after Halloween. I tried to think outside the box for these activities, knowing that teens would be itching for something unusual and fun to do together, while I could make sure we all stayed safe. To maintain safety measures, I spread out blankets outside 6 feet apart and each teen got their own sheet. We also sanitized before and after each program, and each teen had to keep their mask on during the program. The teens were happy to comply so we could be together.

This programming, some of which included trivia hours, a photo scavenger hunt around downtown, and game days, among others, opened a door to some of the homeschool families in town. Many places were still closed, and this programming provided a meeting place and social outlet for the teens, but especially the teens that were homeschooling. I was so grateful for the chance to connect with them in person. As we moved through the winter, we have been playing Among Us on Zoom for an hour every week, and that has been such a fun way to stay connected through the depths of winter when we were unable to meet outside. I am so excited for the summer, when we will once again be doing outdoor programming.

Subscription Bags

In the Winter 2021, I started my subscription bags program. Every book in the bag was to be personally tailored to each teen reader. Since I read a lot of new YA, I was excited to give the teens surprise books that I chose for them. These books were based on their preferences on a Google form that they filled out when they registered for the program. Because I haven’t been able to perform reader’s advisory at

the library while we were closed, this was one way that connected me to the teens, and particularly the homeschool families during this time. I have had several conversations via email with teens and their parents about the kinds of books they were looking for, as well as content that maybe they didn’t want to surprisingly discover in a book. Through these emails, I learned more about our homeschool families than I could have otherwise during the closures, and these conversations have also helped me better understand what kind of content I should be adding to the collection. As a result of these conversations, I have been able to discover new publishers and work with them to get ARCs of books I would never have looked for before. The subscription bags made a huge difference in the way I think about collection development, and have significantly helped how I think about ways I can best serve our homeschool families. Whem I can put new books aside for a teen who I know will love them, the teens and their families appreciate it so much. While subscription bags and boxes are great for grab-and-go programming on their own, the added benefit of learning the reading habits of my homeschool families made all the difference to me.

Social Media

In our community, there are several Facebook groups for our homeschool families. If it’s possible, join those groups. It’s a great way to spread the word about programming you’re working on, and opens doors to communication between you and your local homeschool groups. These groups have been a key way for me to not only perform online outreach, but to introduce myself to local families as their teen librarian.

Connecting to homeschool families has been challenging, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have any questions about my programs or the way I’ve connected to our families, feel free to contact me at beth@baraboopubliclibrary.org.