Look! It's a website... It's a blog... It's Santa Cruz Homeschooling!

Welcome to our revamped website and blog. Perhaps you haven't noticed, but things are changing around the DLC.

The biggest change is that we all realized that we could do it alone, but why stop there? We could stay home and sit with our kids around our kitchen table. And we do that some of the time. But at the DLC, we're bringing together homeschoolers to share their skills and benefit from the skills of others.

On the board level, that means that we're all chipping in whatever we can to help the place function well for all of us. The board members have been putting lots of time and energy into putting together an organization that functions smoothly even though it's running from lots of used parts: Zan's web skills, Charlotte's membership brainstorms, Heddi's librarian talents, Heather's cool head when things seem crazy, my few remaining organizational skills, Krishna's zeal, Nova's networking, Melody's grasp of arithmetic, Samira's liasoning license (when she's not having a baby), and Vaiva's facility with facilities (while Rebecca's having a baby, too!). This machine made of spare parts is chugging along...

And then there's the rest of you. Some of you are helping out with library hours, calling in overdues, watching kids on the playground, and helping clean up after a fun activity. Others of you are just attending, and we like that, too! This fall has seen record numbers of enthusiastic homeschoolers bursting out our rather narrow seams.

What more can you do? Well, first of all, you can renew or start a paid membership. It's not a lot of money, and it's worth it.

Secondly, think about offering a class of your own. It doesn't have to be fancy. This month we have hair braiding and U.S. history. Next month we have circle folding (led by kids) and math games. What can you do? Use up that huge bunch of materials you don't need anymore. Thrill other kids with tricks your kids are bored of by now. Do a one-time event. Start a weekly workshop. The possibilities are endless.

Finally, remember when you're at the DLC to give a little back in the form of clean-up help, bringing in supplies, or donating great materials you're done with. Give us feedback by e-mailing us, commenting on this blog, or letting the community know what's going on here.

We hope you're enjoying all these changes! The DLC is here for all of us, so add your little bit and make it work for you.