Helpful Homeschool Links

Homeschool Support Groups/Organizations | Educational Sites | General Homeschool Info/Organization | Learning Challenges/Special Needs | High School/College Prep | Curriculum Sources

HOMESCHOOL SUPPORT GROUPS/ORGANIZATIONS

Homeschool Legal Defense Association
HSLDA provides legal services to members should you ever encounter difficulties as a homeschool family.

CHAP (Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylania)
CHAP is a nonprofit corporation founded to encourage and support homeschooling families. CHAP is affiliated with two national organizations: Home School Legal Defense Association and The National Center for Home Education. CHAP provides leadership and direction on issues facing Christian homeschoolers on a national and state wide basis and sponsors an annual homeschool convention and curriculum fair.

Pennsylvania Home Educators Association (PHEA)
PHEA is an inclusive statewide coalition of home educators whose primary purpose is to provide accurate information and advocate for Pennsylvania home educators. PHEA is not associated with any religion or educational methodology.

Maryland Home Education Association (MHEA) was founded in 1980 to serve and support families of all religious, philosophical and ethnic persuasions.

Coalition of Homeschoolers Across Lancaster County (CHALC)
CHALC supports over 600 homeschooling groups and families in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas. In addition to publishing a monthly newsletter CHALC offers support for homeschoolers in many ways.

York Home School Association, Inc. (YHSA)
YHSA offers services to over 400 members through small groups, a monthly newsletter, a lending library, field trips, and more.

EDUCATIONAL SITES

Animal Live Cams
https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/live-cams
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams
https://www.vanaqua.org/live-cams
https://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/webcams/panda-cam/

TheDailySplash.tv
Daily Splash.tv is a FREE “newsletter” delivered to your inbox daily that features entertaining, uplifting and educational videos and stories themed around a common topic, such as nature, animals, travel, health, and much more.

ExplorePAhistory provides users with three principal entry points: “Stories from PA History,” “Visit PA Regions,” and “Teach PA History.” “Stories from PA History” includes histories built around state historical markers. “Teach PA History” includes elementary, middle, and high school lesson plans for teachers of Pennsylvania and American history. “Visit PA Regions” provides useful information for those who are interested in visiting historic sites; it includes sample itineraries and directions to local points of interest, hotels, restaurants, and more.

Factmonster is a free reference site for students, teachers, and parents.  Students can get homework help and find facts on thousands of subjects, take a trivia quiz or play

The Free Library of Philadelphia offers a free library card to anyone who lives in the State of Pennsylvania. You can use the card to access their Ebooks and audiobooks. Apply for the card online and get instant access to their digital library via Hoopla and Overdrive.

Funbrain.com offers hundreds of games, books, comics, and videos that develop
skills in math, reading, problem-solving and literacy. Choose an activity by subject or
grade level.

Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a mission to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. Choose from a wide selection of quality K-12 courses (including AP courses): math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more: if you sign up for a teacher account, you can track your student’s progress. There is an app available as well as a YouTube channel.

Lil-fingers.com has a variety of themed coloring pages.

Mango Languages is an immersion program for learning a foreign language. The program is available online through the Franklin County Library System‘s e-library. You will need your library card number to register for the program.

National Geographic Kids website features educational games, videos, and other activities, centered mostly on animals and the natural world. Kids also can get a virtual tour of different countries, featuring fun facts and other information.

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives  offers a variety of virtual manipulatives for basic math operations, algebra, geometry, etc. Java required.

Scholastic’s Family Guide to Going Green offers a variety of tips tips and activities to help your family live a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

Sea and Sky is a website that exhaustively explores the subjects of space and ocean.

Skype a Scientist will match you with a scientist for free! These sessions are Q&A conversations, so you and your kids/roommates can talk with a scientist about what makes YOU curious. All you need is a zoom/google hangout/skype/ or other video chat client and an internet connection!

Snowcrystals.com Everything you ever wanted to know about snowflakes, snow crystals and other ice phenomena.

Splashlearn.com features a K-5 math learning program that is offered free to both parents and teachers. It is designed to supplement your math curriculum by giving the student extra practice through an entertaining game-based system. However, it is t is Common Core aligned, so it may not be a perfect match with every math curriculum.

TriState Astronomers is a group of amateur astronomers from the area surrounding Hagerstown, MD, who occasionally sponsor stargazing events. You can also find them on Facebook.

GENERAL HOMESCHOOL INFO/ORGANIZATION

A2Z Homeschooling is a guide to secular homeschooling sites and resources.

The Homeschool Mom offers general homeschooling information and printable homeschool planners.

Homeschool Tracker  offers a free downloadable program that keeps track of assignments, attendance, reading logs, field trips, grades, and more. An upgraded version, Homeschool Tracker Online, is available for a fee.

Oklahomahomeschool.com offers general homeschooling information, homeschool planners, lessons plans, unit studies and more.

The Organized Home offers a variety of printables for household planning.

LEARNING CHALLENGES/SPECIAL NEEDS

Birth Injury Justice Center is dedicated to supporting children and families who have been affected by disabilities caused at birth. The organization strives to provide answers and guidance to ensure that families receive the assistance they need to help improve their overall quality of life.

Dianne Craft offers a three-prong approach in her “Right Brain” Learning System. Her website contains links to her Youtube videos, articles and products, all geared to help struggling learners.

Great Ideas for Teaching is a company that offers products in the area of speech-language pathology and other communication disorders.

HSLDA Teaching Special Needs Kids page offers a wide variety of articles that provide encourage and practical advice about homeschooling learning challenged students all the way through high school.

HIGH SCHOOL/COLLEGE PREP

Best College Reviews: The Homeschool Student’s Guide to College Here are a “few tips to help guide you through the college selection process, testing, getting your foot in the door, and financial aid.”

Homeschoolclassifieds is a site where individuals can purchase/sell used curriculum.

The Pennsylvania Curriculum Exchange is located on the outskirts of Dillsburg, PA. This converted garage-into-homeschool-bookstore has over 38,000 books and educational manipulatives providing a multitude of curriculum choices. Since everything is sorted by subject, you can easily compare different texts in science, math, language arts, etc. Visit their website for directions and business hours.

Rainbow Resource Center is one of the largest vendors of new homeschool curriculum. You can order from their online catalog or have a catalog mailed to you. Shipping is free on orders over $50.