April 2, 2004
Educational entrepreneur's excellent endeavor
Sub head
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Vicki Benson envisions a one-stop hub for homeschooling parents in the region.
Through her Homeschool Resource Center, a budding library of sample curricula, handouts, reference books, classics and readers for all ages, the single mom is determined to help other homeschooling families.
Benson homeschools her son, Joey, 8, and she recalls her initial overwhelm and confusion at the task when he began kindergarten. Citing an article that said first-year homeschoolers tend to overbuy books and materials, she said that was true for her.
"I did, I really did buy too much because I didn't know where to start," she recalled. "There's so much out there for homeschoolers, I don't think people understand that. I know I didn't at first.
"People have to figure out whether they are a classical versus an unschooler versus an eclectic homeschooler," she added. "There's so much and how do you decide what's right for your child and their interests and learning style."
Benson's resource center, which she founded last fall, is geared to helping parents new to homeschooling navigate the myriad choices of curricula, styles and approaches. Even parents who are experienced homeschoolers can come to look at one company's math offering for a grade, for example, or another's science books before making the substantial investment.
Benson has accumulated more than 1,000 volumes in her collection, with two boxes still to catalog. In addition to purchasing new books, she has received donations from other area homeschoolers.
Benson frequently culls the book sections at Goodwill and the Women's Resource Center. These trips have turned up some hard-to-find books used in a popular curriculum called Five in a Row.
"I have some of these books that are always on the waiting list at the library," she noted. "That's one of the reasons we stopped Five in a Row; we could never get the books."
Other topics she covers include parenting, general information and how-to, science, history and crafts as well as some unit studies. She also has a collection of picture books for younger readers plus a treasured Braille Bible handed down from her great grandfather.
"Even if you don't want to learn Braille or don't know it, it's neat for the kids to see this," she said.
Benson offers families a monthly and yearly subscription service to the center, striving to keep it affordable. Like any library, each book has a circulation card and label on the inside front cover. Her son helps her label and shelve books.
"I want to be a place for people who are starting out to come and see the different curriculum styles out there, a clearinghouse of information," said Benson, who for fun types 'homeschooling' in an Internet search engine and researches more information. "I don't know everything but I've been doing this three years."
Benson conceived of the idea last summer and began gathering books for the home-based center in November. She opened the center by appointment two months ago and soon plans to hold regular hours every week.
A natural entrepreneur who started her first business at the age of 8, Benson also runs three other part-time, home-based businesses to make ends meet. The idea for the resource center stemmed from her passion for both books and homeschooling.
Benson is a highly organized person filled with ideas and plans for innumerable projects. She one day envisions the Homeschool Resource Center offering seminars, tutoring or craft projects for both children and parents. She longs for a separate building for the center sometime in the future to accommodate her plans, but for now will settle for more shelf space.
"There's just a little bit of everything here," Benson said. "I love books, absolutely love books, and I love homeschooling.
The Homeschool Resource Center will have an open house on Monday, April 12, from noon to 4 p.m. For directions or more information contact Benson at HomeschoolResourceCenter@hotmail.com.