Our standalone facility--an idea baked into the name "Harmony Center for Homeschoolers"--is not yet a reality, just an aspiration.  For now, we are renting a sunny space at Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist 1025 Smith St. Palatine, IL 

​​

CCUU is extremely welcoming to ALL beliefs and humans.  See more here.

The first step is to apply for membership.  Harmony operates similarly to a private club with conditions for membership.  Read more & apply for membership here.

​

Once approved as a member family, you will be able to register for programs using passcodes available on our website's "Member Area."

​

Registration for 2025-2026 programming is now open.  (Registration is limited to members only--visit our "Apply for Membership" page to apply.)

Harmony Membership:  Applications for Harmony Membership will be accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year, provided there is adequate room! 

​

CREW:  As a Harmony Member, you are invited to attend all our Harmony CREW events.  As a courtesy, please register for the events you intend to attend at least one week in advance so supplies can be purchased/ordered.  You may add a registration online up to 24 hours before the event.  After that, please text/e-mail Betsy directly with any changes. Thanks!

​

Pathfinders:  To begin a Pathfinder Learning Pod in September, the deadline to register is August 30th, but late registrations will be considered as space allows.

​

On-going registrations for Pathfinders will be permitted throughout the year as long as there is room available; however, new students may only begin attending at the start of each semester.  (see calendar)

​

Preschool Playgroup:  Playgroup will accept registrations throughout the year on a rolling basis provided there is space.

​

​​​​​

Membership costs $105 per household/year.  Weekly and quarterly activities are included for this cost.  Some programs, such as Pathfinders and Choice Academy, are registered and priced separately.  Visit our "2025-2026 Offerings" page for details.

Working hard on ways to make Harmony something everyone can swing, but getting this ball rolling will take some time.  Please stay tuned.  ​

​

For now, ​Harmony offers a family membership for $105 for family for the year as an entry-point for families seeking community on a budget.

​

Harmony will offer select paid jobs & teaching opportunities for adults to earn-to-learn AND work-study "apprenticeships" for children and teens ages 15+ to earn their own tuition credits by fulfilling volunteer roles!  See "Work at Harmony" page

Memberships serve a few purposes:

a. Anyone participating needs to be covered by the insurance policy paid for by membership fees.

b.  For security and safety of our facility and members, we want to know exactly who is on the property and when.  Members will wear name tags and sign in and out. 

c.  We want to create a true community feel to the center, with people you recognize, whose names you learn, etc. as opposed to just a collection of strangers passing through like at a park district.  Membership keeps people engaged which gives everyone the opportunity to forge bonds & relationships.

d.  Members who are committed enough to the center to pay for it are more likely to treat the facility with a sense of pride and ownership as well--a home away from home. 

e.  Membership also pays for administrative costs for organizing classes/events, facility rental fees, supplies/materials, administrative services like software, tax filing; recruiting teachers, insurance, running background checks, and more. Membership fees will cover costs typically covered by an "administration fee."

f.  We want people to be able to afford Harmony and are committed to keeping costs as low as possible. 

In a word, yes!  To elaborate, Harmony is a secular endeavor, which means it has no religious aspect or perspective.  It is not an athiest organization.  It is simply that no "doctrine" of any kind shall be espoused or promoted on Harmony grounds by Harmony staff, no religious/agnostic/atheistic worldview shall be promoted by staff/instructors at any time, no religious affiliation shall be deemed better/worse than any other by staff/instructors, and no religious/ritualistic/spiritual-based classes/groups of any type will be permitted.  It's just neutral, and the topic of spirituality is left at home for families to address as they see fit. 

​

Harmony is so-named because people of all faiths and cultures are equally welcome here, but we do ask that you bear exactly that in mind.  People of all faiths and cultures are welcome here, so we ask people to avoid "preaching, promoting, and proselytizing" while at Harmony.  This is to show equal respect to others' beliefs and maintain (you guessed it) harmony.

​

If you only wish to learn, eat, play, socialize, and celebrate alongside people who share your same religious views--whatever they may be--then Harmony is not going to fit that description.  If you know you simply can't politely "agree to disagree" and move on, then Harmony will likely not be a good fit.  

​

Religious/spiritual/faith-based communities and places of worship are diverse and easy to find all over the map.  But nothing quite like Harmony exists--a place for people (who may indeed have a rich spiritual life) to learn, play, and socialize together as non-traditional schoolers without a common faith-based element.

​

What we DO feel we should have in common, on the other hand, is a shared set of values for co-existing harmoniously--emphasizing kindness, tolerance, acceptance of differences, helpfulness, empathy, civility, and respect.  Please see the Harmony Tenets page for what we expect Harmony members to affirm and adhere to.  We feel they are simply pro-civility values, but if these somehow contradict your personal/religious beliefs then of course Harmony would also not be a comfortable fit for your family.   And that's okay!

​

We're grateful for the question!  Please email Betsy at one.harmony.center@gmail.com regarding an inquiry of this nature.  Thank you!

Harmony is for people who believe in creating a welcoming, inclusive, equitable, kind and harmonious place where people operate on mutual respect, and where all religions, cultural backgrounds, races, sexual orientations, gender identities, appearances, and physical abilities are welcome, and where members are expected to model civility and kindness to others.  Harmony leadership believes in dignity for all people.  You are free to decide if that is what "woke" means to you and/or if that is in harmony with your personal belief system.

Here's our take on this issue:  American culture is full of modern-day traditions, some of which have unknown or unconfirmed origins, and others that at one time had spiritual origins but have lost their spiritual associations over the years and/or can be enjoyed without any spiritual component present.  Some of these may be enjoyed at Harmony, provided they are practiced with kindness and fairness.  Participation will never be mandatory and different family choices present everyone with an opportunity to learn about diversity and tolerance!

​

Traditions that do not directly conflict with our existing policies, Harmony tenets, or safety guidelines may be permitted during operating hours (i.e. wearing an appropriate costume is permissible any day, giving someone a gift or card that expresses kind thoughts is permissible any day, etc.).  Every attempt to be sensitive and inclusive will be made, and no religious components will be permitted.

1.  A co-op is a group of people and usually meets once weekly with parent volunteers playing the primary leadership function.  While Harmony strives to provide a variety of services and programs for families, functioning more as a community center with a group of people at the heart of it and lots of different events, activities, and offerings throughout the week and throughout the year, giving families increased flexibility and choice.

2.  Most of our classes are drop-off, which is much less common for co-ops.

​​

NOTE:  I want to clarify that co-ops are awesome--we have been in a few ourselves and have had many wonderful experiences!  I am constantly awed at what wonderful things homeschooling parents have built and created from thin air.  Honestly, it's what gives me the courage to step forward and try to build something that speaks more closely to my personal vision.  Co-op creators:  you inspire me!

Park districts rock, but during the academic year they only offer enrichment for school-age kids starting at 4 p.m.  (If they do offer daytime options, they're sporadic at best.) 

​

Most attendees are public school children who all show up knowing each other, making it tough for many homeschoolers to make social connections.

Socialization is often discouraged in park district classes (Shh!  No talking!).  Harmony classes will always actively nurture social relationships (e.g. by learning each others' names, checking-in, playing icebreakers, prioritizing group learning, etc.). 

Park district class attendees come from a HUGE pool of tens of thousands of people, meaning that you're often surrounded by strangers.  At Harmony, membership means a smaller pool of families--all homeschoolers--that become familiar over time.

No, not really.  Harmony could be considered a "school" in the same way that you might refer to a "dance school," "music school" as a place that offers educational opportunities and learning communities,  but it will not be an accredited academic institution and will as such offer no official "credits," transcripts, or overarching curriculum.  Instead, we will leave the education "designing" to individual families and offer them the opportunity to use the resources at Harmony to create the supplemental educational/social experience they desire.

Harmony Center for Homeschoolers is seeking to be the missing link in the homeschool community--a place where everyone who wishes to practice kindness and tolerance can gather, learn, socialize, play, explore, grow, and be together peacefully.  We want to create a space of belonging, where children and teens can feel safe and comfortable being true to their authentic selves.  Members will be required to agree to uphold the Harmony Tenets which are a set of shared values of mutual respect and tolerance.  While no human can make a guarantee as to the behavior of another human, we will absolutely strive to create a harmonious and accepting culture for all our LGBTQ friends.

Children under 13 will not be allowed to remain on-campus unsupervised at any time they are not registered for a class (with the exception of supervised transition times between registered classes).*  A parent or guardian would therefore have to return to campus to supervise the child playing outdoors in our play area OR pick the child up if they have a "gap" in their schedule.  Teens 13-17 may purchase a "Teen Study Center" pass and spend their free-hours there between classes.  *12-year-olds may apply for special permission to join the Teen Center with parent and center approval on a case-by-case basis.

Parents/caregivers can also choose to remain on campus in the waiting area to wait during classes.  There are outdoor spaces nearby/adjacent to wait in.  There will be a need for some parents to fulfill certain jobs, so working with us might an option if you choose to stick around during class time.

​​

Any programming for kids under 5 will be parent-supervised, so we would need you to stick around for those.  (We feel preschool drop-off options are plentiful elsewhere already--and little ones often struggle with separation-- so that would not be an area of focus for us.)

​

**note:  Once we have our own dedicated facility, we intend to offer drop-in play hours in our outdoor space and regularly scheduled family social events will be available as an option for member families/caregivers looking to socialize *with* their kids without registering for classes.

​

​

We take Covid seriously.  Masks are not required but they are always welcome at any time if it makes you more comfortable participating and encouraged any time you may have a sliver of doubt about attending because of concern about carrying an illness to others.  Please see the Harmony Tenets for specifics on our illness policy which all members must agree to and sign. 

Every effort will be made to keep Harmony a clean and healthy environment with regular sanitization procedures in place.  Harmony will follow CDC guidelines for health and safety.

I'm a local mom.  Not a corporation or bigwig entrepreneur.  My name is Betsy Dusenske.  I'm 46.  I've been homeschooling for about 9 years.  I have three awesome elementary-aged kids. I'm a former public-school teacher in District 211.

After facing all the triumphs and struggles of homeschooling I feel pulled to design the program that I have personally been longing for and find out if anyone else is searching for this, too.  I want to emphasize that my desire to build Harmony does not mean we haven't loved and learned from every other program we have been a part of to this point.

​

I have met many amazing families, made lifelong friends, taken part in beautiful homeschooling experiences, and witnessed creativity and industriousness in action full-stop!  My children have benefitted from the guidance and loving care of a village of parents and teachers and friends.  I am so grateful to these individuals and frankly, inspired by them!!

​

My desire to create something different should not be interpreted as a criticism of what others have created.  It's simply that I have a vision for the program I personally long for, and it doesn't quite exist in the way I envision it...  yet. ;)

​

It's an amalgam of my life's experiences:  teaching public school, working in the arts, being a camp counselor for years, being a lover of the animals/nature, being a mom and homeschooling family, and watching my children's needs grow as they grow.  It's just my personal "dream."  It's not a critique of anyone else's.

We're a middle-class family and will have to get really creative to make this a reality if the community supports it. I won't be able to do this alone, but based on my previous experiences in education and leadership, I do feel I can steer the ship with enthusiasm, competence, and patience.

​

When it comes to children, I believe in treating them with care, respect, and dignity.  I get the biggest kick out of kids, and I just love being around them.

​

If you'd like to learn more about me, my credentials, and my values (and if you still feel like reading...?!?  Seriously!?  I'm impressed.)  Please visit the blog page... I'm starting to fill it with more personal details to give interested parents a clearer vision of who I am and what I believe from a human and an educational perspective.

I would love to include animals in the Harmony vision, but this is a "down the line" concept.  Rest assured, if/when we add animals to our community, they would be treated humanely as beloved pets (big animal-lover here!) and kept in entirely separate quarters from the main learning building for their safety, allergy concerns, hygiene concerns, and everyone's best interests.  In this way, animal interaction would be voluntary (and supervised).  More on animals in the future, but it's definitely a goal. ;)

Initially, non-profit status was a consideration of ours, and it absolutely may be something we re-visit down the line.  It would offer us tax incentives, allow people to write-off donations, and align more closely with our current approach to the "business" of Harmony.  That is to say, my financial goals for Harmony are to keep it self-sustaining, rather than trying to "scale for profit."  (Being For-Profit "feels/appears" like I'm trying to make as much money as possible off this, although it's not actually the case...) 

​

Unfortunately, my research indicates several things that make current status as a non-profit impossible if we hope to buy a stand-alone facility for Harmony (the goal!), and they all relate to $$.

​​​​

a) Financing options for new non-profits are far from "easier"--they are non-existent.  Non-profits are considered high-risk by banks, loan amounts are low, terms are short, rates are high...  and with zero dollars in our theoretical non-profit's bank account and zero financial/credit history established, there is just no hope here for the non-profit to buy a building.  If our family buys/finances the building, we can't use it for a non-profit--only a for-profit business--or we would have to donate the building to the non-profit, in which case we lose the tens of thousands of dollars we invested, and we don't have that luxury.  OR we could use the building for the non-profit, but then we couldn't use any Harmony revenue to help pay for it!  It would be really, really cool if we were rich enough to do any of these options, but alas, we cannot.    While we don't necessarily need money from Harmony to finance our personal expenses, we do need Harmony to "pay for itself," and we need the opportunity to re-coup such a sizeable investment to limit our financial exposure.

​​​​​

b) Raising enough money for a non-established non-profit to buy a building would take many, many years, and I haven't received any indication that there is sufficient financial backing available from donations alone to pursue this path.

​​​​

c) As a new "education-sector" non-profit but non-government-affiliated, there are no grants that we can qualify for, and certainly none capable of funding a project of this size and scope in a short time-frame.  (My eldest turns 12 next month... so...  not a lot of time to wait around ;).

​​​​​​

We're looking for a legal loophole/work-around to be able to buy the building with our own money and use it for the theoretical non-profit, but here's another sticky issue...  non-profits must be run and therefore "owned" by a board of directors to whom I cannot be related and who must change every few years on a rotating basis.  A board of directors has the ability to fire the executive director--even if that person is the founder.  The farther into the future we go, I fear there would be a risk --even a small one--of losing our investment and everything we've built in a single vote...  I know it sounds awful to think about, and of course I hope nothing like that would ever happen or have reason to happen, but realistically it's also hard to have a crystal ball for something so far into the future.  In any case, we're trying to make the best decision possible both for Harmony, the community, but also for our family and financial security.

​​

So what about going non-profit and then renting something?

​​

In theory, this is possible if we want to give up on buying our own space (which is preferable to have total flexibility/ownership and the ability to improve it the property with amenities over time).  However, in 7 months of daily searching I haven't found a single rental property that would actually provide the type of space we're looking for (with indoor and outdoor spaces)!  Properties with indoor space only are still shockingly expensive...for something that doesn't really fulfill our needs...  And renting never "ends"--you never finish paying for it-- it only gets more expensive as years go by with no potential for a return on all that investing.  Whether or not Harmony is able to pay for itself with revenue, my family will still be "on the hook" for whatever rent/lease we sign... if we buy, we may take a loss, but at least we stand a chance to re-coup some of those thousands--it's all financially risky, but buying feels less risky... in some ways.  :)

​

(Yes, we're renting space in CCUU, but that space is not exclusively rented by us... it's a shared space, making it more affordable and actually a great temporary solution.)
 

Non-profit status is something that can continue to be explored in the future, and many non-profits start this way and transition.  But for now, Harmony will function as a private business endeavor, as it seems the only hope to get it off the ground and running and ultimately meet all of our goals for the future of Harmony.  (We're structured as an LLC because that protects our home and savings from business-related lawsuits.)  That said, it is our intention to operate similarly to a non-profit by re-investing earned funds into the center and keeping costs for families as affordable as they can realistically be.  I'm expressing all this for the sake of transparency.