Six-year-old Sadie Savage of Wilton [front], 10 year-old Matthius Savage of Wilton [back left], Alexander Christie [middle] of Farmington, 8-year-old Theo Spencer of Wilton [back right], and 11-year-old Judah Spencer of Wilton mingle during the homeschool meet and greet on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at the Wilton Free Public Library. Leo Goddard/Franklin Journal

The event was part of a program that has been running for at least twelve years. It takes place once a month from September to May. In this program, each kid will choose a book to read from an assigned category. Then they have until the next month’s meeting to read it and complete a project related to the book. When they return to the library, they will have an opportunity to present their project to their peers.

The rest of the event is devoted to making time for kids to connect and play with each other. Savage shared that the program is a great way for kids to socialize and get to know the library, and for parents to network.

Carolyn Spencer, the mother of Judah and Theo Spencer, said that she has homeschooled her children for six years and that she was homeschooled when she was growing up.

During the 2023-2024 school year, RSU 9 saw 270 applications for homeschooling compared to the 123 applications in 2019-2020 leaving some to suspect that COVID 19 had a large impact on parents’ decision to homeschool their children.

Events like this one help parents navigate homeschooling and provide an outlet for socialization which can be hard to do outside of traditional schooling.