Most homeschool families I know try to strike the balance between not overscheduling their kids, but not falling into the we-only-leave-the-house-for-church mindset either. Some focus on sports, others on outdoor-focused endeavors. In our house, we try to mix things up somewhat seasonally. Summer and Fall are for sports — t-ball, baseball, fastpitch and football. The school year is heavily focused on our scouting activities. I’ll be spotlighting our favorite extracurriculars over the next few posts.

First up is American Heritage Girls (AHG), which describes itself as the premier national character development organization for girls ages 5 to 18 that embraces Christian values and encourages family involvement.

Practically speaking, AHG is an awesome scouting-based experience for girls with a proudly-overt Christian basis, and a heavy focus on community service. Our troop participates in service projects like: Feed My Starving Children, Operation Christmas Child, Shield 616, as well as raking leaves at Fort Snelling National Cemetery each fall, packing sandwiches for local homeless shelters in the winter, and providing respite nights for local families with children with disabilities. We meet two times a month to work on badges that cover many different cultural areas including: American heritage, personal well-being, family living, arts, science and technology and outdoor skills. Multiple campouts are scheduled each year.    

We are in our third year with AHG and it’s been a blessing for my daughter to have a girls-only activity and a good leadership opportunity for me. American Heritage Girls troops are active in all 50 states. I highly recommend checking them out.