Homeschooler Hangout

Homeschooler Hangout is back at the David Cohen Ogontz Library on Tuesday, October 27, starting at 11:30 AM. It's a weekly program, so if you can't make this one, there's another session the following Tuesday. The whole thing is aimed at homeschooling families, and the activities are designed for kids to just hang out and be kids together. On any given day, they might be coloring, taking part in read-alongs, or building with blocks.

It's a broad age range, too. Young adults and school-age children are both welcome, though kids under seven need to be accompanied by an adult. If you're homeschooling in the city, it's a good way to get your kids around other kids on a weekday morning, and the activities are low-pressure enough that they can just drift from one thing to another.

The library itself is at 6017 Ogontz Avenue, right at the corner of Church Lane and Ogontz Avenue in Philadelphia, and it serves the Ogontz and Belfield neighborhoods. The area takes its name from Jay Cooke, the Civil War financier who called his Oak Lane mansion Ogontz after meeting Chief Ogontz in Ohio. The community first asked for a library back in 1961, but it didn't actually open until February 10, 1997, after David and Florence Cohen spent years circulating petitions and hosting meetings at their own home to make it happen. In the decades before that, a bookmobile served the neighborhood, and when the building finally opened, Nikki Taylor recited a poem remembering those weekly visits.

So, if you're looking for a spot for your kids to socialize and create on a Tuesday morning, you'll find them at the David Cohen Ogontz Library at 6017 Ogontz Avenue. The session starts at 11:30 AM.