MATTHEW BURNETTE, Staff Writer

The Coffee County Manchester Public Library will be holding a pair of events for local homeschooled children during the month of April.

For the first time, homeschoolers will get to participate in an On My Own simulation at the library similar to the one hosted at Raider Academy by the Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce.

At an instructional day on April 24, participants are given a rundown of how the event works and “mock lives” with details about careers, financial information and other life situations.

Then on April 25, they walk around to different booths where volunteers guide them through financial decisions that they make based on the “mock life” they are given.

The library’s Youth Librarian and Event Coordinator Daphanie Gragg said she got the idea to hold an On My Own at the library after participating in the Chamber’s event for the last couple of years.

“I try to include the homeschoolers in as much as I possibly can, and so I’ve been trying to reach out and get it approved through the State,” she explained. “We finally did and are super excited to host it here at the library.”

Gragg says she hopes that students leave the event with a different perception about their future and how finances work.

“[I hope] that they can be able to be financially responsible and see that life is a little bit different than they might perceive right now and that they can get a good grasp on how life really works and be able to be more financially responsible and start planning ahead.”

She also noted that they are looking for volunteers for the event. A link to a Google Form is available on the library’s Facebook page to sign up.

The library is also hosting a Homeschool Science Fair on April 12.

Gragg says the participants have a “blank canvas” as far as the subject of their projects go but asks that they not include anything dangerous or explosive since the event is being held in the library.

Elementary, middle and high school homeschoolers are encouraged to participate.

Parents can sign their students up and find the judging criteria in a Google Form link on the library’s Facebook page.