Matching, out-of-date sweatsuits. The ability to recite lines from the Iliad in response to your peers’ discussion of a television show. Parroting your parents’ values. If you’ve paid attention to mainstream depictions of homeschooled children, these images are likely familiar. Homeschooled kids get a bad rap and are too frequently associated with social awkwardness due to a perceived lack of socialization with their peer group. However, with the dawn of social media, more homeschooled students—both those who are being schooled by more “traditional” methods and those who are students are virtual cyber charter schools—are able to better connect with their peers and other members of the homeschooling community.

It can be difficult for friends to understand the changes and challenges a homeschooling family faces. This mom shares her reasons for homeschooling and why her relationship with them is different now.

The number of homeschoolers has grown seven times faster than the number of students attending public schools over the last couple of decades. What does this mean for public libraries? Homeschooling families have always turned to libraries to supplement their educational needs, so as homeschooling increases nationwide, the number of homeschooling patrons will increase as well. There are several steps your public library can take to become more homeschool-friendly.

The homeschool niche is unique and has its own quirks. This youtube video shares ten tips for marketing your product or service to homeschool parents.

A transcript for an appearance by Celeste Land on the Kojo Nnamdi Show where she discussed the homeschooling movement. Celeste is VaHomeschoolers' Director of Government Affairs. The program touched on the many and varied reasons why families choose homeschooling, from concerns with the school environment to a desire for a tailored educational approach or a wish to keep the family at the center of a child’s upbringing. The show also addressed a common stereotype of homeschoolers by pointing out that while many families that choose home education consider their faith to be a very important part of their lives, homeschooling families come from diverse religious backgrounds, and religious homeschoolers do not necessarily choose homeschooling for religious reasons. A great example of how to interact with the media for a positive discussion about home education. Also available via podcast at Homeschooling Goes Mainstream.

The "guilt-by-association" smear tactic is the easiest and most common method used by opposing political campaigns to damage the public's perception of a candidate. Even raising the question of an unsavory association, whether real or perceived, can be devastating, and the candidate often never fully recovers. This "guilt-by-association" smear strategy is now being used on home schooling families.

Advocacy is for everyone. Any concerned parent can become an advocate for homeschooling freedoms. And so can you. This series of five articles will walk you through the steps you can take to become an effective advocate for homeschooling in your community.

A media kit is a document you provide to potential advertisers and other parties you are interested in working with information about your value as a partner. It is meant to reflect your reach as a blogger. A media kit can be as simple as an ad page with basic blog and social media numbers or as complex as a full-blown demographic study of your readers printed and bound. Whatever kind of media kit you choose to create, remember to be clear and concise.

How to get bloggers interested in your products so that they will write product reviews on their homeschool blogs -- have an outstanding product first of all and give bloggers incentives. Find social media savvy homeschool bloggers on Twitter and G+ using two special hashtags.

How homeschoolers interact with social media. Myths about using social media for marketing to the homeschool audience. Social media preferences for the homeschool market.