Apples of Gold began in September 1995 by a few homeschooling families who saw a need in the northland community for a way in which homeschoolers could connect with one another and keep informed and encouraged. For almost thirteen years we've printed and mailed a bi-monthly, hard-copy version of the newsletter. Over that time, most subscribers have lived in Douglas County, Wisconsin and St. Louis County, Minnesota, but there have been a growing number of families outside the immediate region that took an interest in the subject matter of the newsletter as well. Now Apples of Gold is transitioning from a hard-copy to primarily online version mini-magazine to reach a broader audience.

Apples of Gold is Your Forum! We encourage frequent contributions by readers. Anyone is encouraged to send in articles, testimonies, book reviews, teaching tips, announcements, or other words of encouragement that might be a benefit to homeschooling families. There is a special page called "Young Ambassadors" just for students, and we ask that kids send in anything that they’d like to contribute and see in print such as stories, poems, or cartoons. We do reserve the right to edit and select submissions. As long as room is available, we are open to publishing want/for sale ads, or ads for services (such as a family-run cottage industry). Kids are welcome to take advantage of this as well. Read our guidelines for submissions.

For a list of Catholic homeschool support groups in Wisconsin, go to the Catholic Homeschoolers of Wisconsin website: Catholic Homescoolers of Wisconsin.

Please note: To join this email list, you must be a leader of a Catholic homeschool support group in Wisconsin or in a bordering town. The moderator will approve only those who meet this criteria.

Meetings are held at Woodbury Lutheran Church, 7380 Afton Road, across Valley Creek Road from Target. Members gather at 6:45 for a 7:00 PM meeting. Meetings usually adjourn between 8:30 and 9:00 PM.

Visit our website, Christian Home Educators of Woodbury Area.

(If you sell products we might need or want, such as Usborne books, Pampered Chef, etc. feel free to place something in your signature line so members can contact you if they need your products. In this way we can support each other.)

If you would like to learn and share in the Christian Homeschool adventure please join us!

Please visit our partner site: Homeschool Adventures. Homeschool Adventures is your source for planning and joining in homeschooling field trips, classes, and events in Minnesota.

For more information, visit ECHO - Eclectic Community of Homeschooling Opportunities in Minnesota.

Our mission is to provide enrichment, socialization and support for the entire homeschool family. We regularly meet for field trips, play groups, Moms' Night Out and Parents' meetings.

ECHO St. Croix supports Stillwater, Oak Park Heights, Mahtomedi, White Bear Lake, Hugo, Forest Lake, Wyoming, Chisago City, Center City, Lindstrom, St. Croix Falls, Osceola, Somerset, and Hudson areas. We often meet as far south as Hudson/Bayport or as far north as Osceola, WI. The majority of our active membership at this time is located in Western Wisconsin. Our group consists of approximately 15 families with children aged birth to eight-years-old.

Once your membership is approved you will be asked to answer a few questions by way of introducing yourself within 7 days. Because we're meeting each other over the internet, and our kids are involved, we require that a parent attend a public play location, night out event or a field trip before coming to play group at a member's home. We encourage active participation. Check us out to see if we are good fit for you.

ECHO-MN Early Childhood Homeschooling Opportunities in Minnesota (ECHO-MN) is an inclusive homeschool organization designed for families with young children who wish to learn more about homeschooling as an alternative form of education. This email group is our primary method of communication.

For more information, visit ECHO - Eclectic Community of Homeschooling Opportunities in Minnesota.

We are growing our group w/ other like minded families who also homeschool & unschool their children. We consist of families with children ages 13 & under right now... We do not promote, endorse or engage in any one way or particular curriculum or way of learning and for most of us, life is our "school".

So far, our families come from as far north as the Onamia/Isle area and as far west as the St. Cloud area, and as far east as Pine City...and south as far as Anoka...but are open to who is out there and what your needs are, etc. :O)

If this sounds like something you are looking for, please...come & join us! This is our online group and we meet often in person for various weekly library story times, play and socialization time, gatherings of sorts, nature walks, planning meet- ups, field trips and whatnot classes...whatever!

Please check out our group Calendar for events and meetups and feel free to email for more info! tomeghandmama@yahoo.com We look forward to meeting you!!!

Homeschooling parents are invited to participate if they:

• live in or around the North and East suburbs of St. Paul (Ramsey and Washington counties) MN
• are looking for a social group for themselves and their homeschooling children
• and would like to associate with families who have eclectic homeschooling approaches and diverse faiths

Contact Amy at 651-552-0753, amyjleinen@yahoo.com for more information.

The activities are loosely structured to allow for creative minds to freely explore the nature around us. You may be an unschooler, "relaxed", eclectic, or any other homeschooler! Activities are never structured to be followed precisely--children (and adults too:D) are always free to choose whether or when to join in.

Because the hikes are normally scheduled during school hours, this group is mainly geared towards homeschooling families, but anyone is welcome to join. We will occasionally arrange for weekend outings (for locations further away, camp-outs etc).

There will be a database listing different metro (and MN) hiking venues, and we will rotate locations each week.

Because we all have various weekly schedules, there may be a couple or even several outings per week, depending on the number of members. Initially we will have one weekly hike, on Tuesdays, usually at 11 am (which will be appropriate for smaller children). If this doesn't work for you, just post to the group with the day that works better for you, wait and see if others want to join you on that particular day.

There will also be a list of activities from which we can make weekly choices. If you have an idea, either post to the group or add it to the database. Welcome!