For teens and parents of teens, one of the most common comments about life on the Kenai is, “There’s nothing for us do!” And that probably goes double for those who choose home-school.

In answer to the common comment now that school is back in session Aurora Kleinschmidt and Lisa McCubbins hosted a Back to School dance at the Reading Corner in Kenai Sept. 15.

“Lisa and I have both home-schooled our children at different times and we wanted to reach out and give them a place to come and be safe and have a lot of fun. We have some great door prizes and everyone is having a great time,” said Kleinschmidt.

The atmosphere at the book store was warm and welcoming as music played from a sound system.

“Lisa gets all the credit for the decorations, she’s made it very homey here where school children can come in and do their homework and their parents can come and relax while their kids are studying. We always have lots of books here as we are a previously read book store and are a place for anyone that needs a moment alone or a place to study,” she added.

Lisa McCubbins grew up in the local area and relates to kids that feel there is nothing to do but hunt, fish, study and work.

“But I loved to dance and we had lots of dances at the Rec Center in Kenai and we really enjoyed that. I really think dances are a great opportunity for home school kids to develop social skills. I home-schooled both of my children and various times and I saw that there was a real need. We were approached by a group last year asking if they could hold their prom here and we were happy to help because we wanted to provide a great and safe atmosphere for the kids. It was so much fun and such a great success we wanted to continue to have some mixers for Connections and Idea home school programs. A lot of these kids don’t even know each other so wanted to help facilitate that and help them meet other people that are in similar environments helps to build a sense of community,” said McCubbins.

The duo is planning more activities for home schoolers in the future.

“We are planning a winter ball, but haven’t set a date yet. We would like to have four dances a year here for the home-schoolers so we are looking forward to a lot of fun. The Reading Corner has a Facebook page that folks can follow us on that will have the dates, or anyone is welcome to come the store and see us we’re here Tuesday – Saturday from 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.,” said Aurora.

The Reading Corner hosts a Back to School dance.