Helpful Homeschooling Websites
ILLINOIS H.O.U.S.E.
H.O.U.S.E. (Home Oriented Unique Schooling Experience) is a nonsectarian statewide network of support groups for families involved in homeschooling.
ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION HOMESCHOOLING INFORMATION
Information about homeschooling requirements in Illinois, including a comprehensive FAQ.
ISBE: Homeschooling Registration
The Illinois State Board of Education: Homeschooling Registration Form.
Illinois Christian Educators
Illinois Christian Home Educators: provides support to christian homeschooling parents in Illinois with resources and events.
HSLDA – Homeschooling Legal Defense Association
HSLDA is a homeschooling advocacy group that offers online academy courses for grades 7-12.
Homeschooling.com: The Original Homeschooling Community
Homeschool.com has been in business for over 20 years helping homeschooling families like you get the information they need about the different curriculum, products, and services offered to the homeschooling community.
Southern Illinois Homeschoolers
Illinois Homeschool Support group for Southern Illinois on Facebook.
Herrin City Library Resources
Free Student Library Cards @ Herrin City Library: Students registered at Herrin CUSD #4 or students living within the boundaries of Herrin CUSD #4 school district but attend private school or homeschool, will be issued a Student Library Card. Student Library Cards are issued for the 2020 – 2021 school year without additional fees, provided the student cardholder continues to reside in Herrin CUSD #4 and is a patron in good standing. More information @ Student Library Cards. The Student Library Card program expires on August 11, 2021, and the Herrin City Library will begin offering the Cards for Kids Act Program which will offer free library cards to students PreK through High School who reside in the Herrin School District, but are not served by the Herrin City Library district who are eligible for free and reduced lunch.
Herrin City Library – Ebook Resources: Check out our Digital Resources Page to use the Cloud Library & NewBank. These are two resources for electronic books, Newspapers & audio books that are free with your library card. There are tutorials on the page to help you get started. Call: 942-6109 or email: herrincitylibrary@gmail.com the library if you need help getting started.
Herrin City Library – Testing & Education Reference Center: The Testing & Education Reference Center provides practice ACT, SAT, ASVAB, AP Exam Prep, Microsoft Programs Tutorials, College Search, Scholarship Search, Resume Questions, Career Guidance, Math Videos, and many other tests online (Career Prep: Accounting, Clerical, Civil Service, Cosmetology, Firefighter, Law Enforcement, Medical & Nursing, Military, Postal, Real Estate, Social Work, Teachers & More) for free. You will be requested to create a log in so the program will remember your progress. The password to use from home is herrin.
GRE @ Home: Educational Testing Services – ETS (Educational Testing Services) is temporarily offering a GRE General Test at home option in selected areas. The test is identical in content, format and on-screen experience to the GRE General Test taken at a test center. It is taken on your own computer at home and is monitored by a human proctor online through ProctorU®. Click the link below, to find out more information.
Learning & Fun @ Home Page – on the Herrin City Library Website: a list of online resources for book, educational resources, book clubs, virtual field trips, creative activities, fitness and health, & more.
Homeschooling Books @ Herrin City Library:
Adult Non-Fiction
The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had 028.9 BAU – NEW
Brave Learning: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning & Life 371.042 B64 – NEW
Homeschooling High School With College in Mind 371.042 Sp8 – NEW
Homeschooling Your Child With Special Needs 371.042 W73 – NEW
Homeschooling The Middle Years 371.042 H
Home learning year by year : how to design a creative and comprehensive homeschool curriculum 371.04 RUP – NEW
How to Painlessly Begin a Homeschool Program for Your Children 371.042 CAG – NEW
The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas: 500+ Fun and Creative Learning Activities 371.04 DOB – NEW
The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home 371.042 BAU – NEW
Complete Curriculum: Grade 1 372.1 – NEW
Complete Curriculum: Grade 2 372.1 – NEW
Complete Curriculum: Grade 3 372.1 – NEW
Complete Curriculum: Grade 4 372.1 – NEW
Young Adult
The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens Y155.5 BIE – NEW
Adulting 101: #Wisdom4Life Y305.235 BUR – NEW
The Careers Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Planning Your Future Y331.702 – NEW
What Color is Your Parachute? For Teens: Discover Yourself, Design Your Future, and Plan for Your Dream Job Y650.140835 CHR – NEW
PreK-12 Education Resources
123 Homeschool for Me
Free printable worksheets and educational activities to help making learning fun. Resources arranged by grade or subject.
Breakout EDU
In the event that your school is closed for an extended period of time as a result of recent events, we’ve put together a collection of digital games that students can play at home. Students can click on any game and start playing!
Clark Creative Education
Math, social studies, science, and language arts for kids K-12.
Booklist
Literature-based resources for K-8 educators.
Junior Library Guild @ Home
Online reading platform offering free access.
PBS Learning Media: Distance Learning Resources
PBS LearningMedia offers educators a variety of features that support distance learning, including easy searching by grade level, curriculum area, and state and national standards, as well as integration with Google Classroom and Remind.
Classrooms, Apps, & More:
- Khan Academy is a great free resource for instructional videos on many topics.
- Amazing Educational Resources gathered home-school resources into a public website. It includes resources for reading, math, history, Chinese, coding, music and more.
- AskMo for grades 7 and up, the math tutoring program is free.
- Bamboo learning, for families with Alexa-enabled devices can take advantage of free educational programs including math, history, music and stories. Just say, “Alexa, open Bamboo Books.”
- Beanstalk is offering online classes in art, science and more for preschoolers up to age 6.
- Bright Horizons for young children, created a library of free resources for infants up to school-age kids.
- California State Parks PORTS Program: Virtual field trips for all ages five days a week through the Home Learning Program
- Calvert Homeschool offers 30 free days of curriculum during school shutdowns
- Duolingo a language program, offers free online learning tools.
- Ed Helper provides free daily workbooks for Pre-K through high school.
- Encantos Learning Hub has tools for bilingual education and geography.
- First Book is providing activities in English and Spanish for pre-K through eighth grade.
- Fiveable for high school students, is a free resource for Advanced Placement class learning and test prep. Their new Fiveable Courses provide a virtual learning group for a fee.
- Google created a page of teacher-approved apps for download.
- Hand2Mind launched a new Learn at Home platform with streaming lessons for grades K-5 and downloadable STEM activities.
- Love in a Big World is offering a free social-emotional curriculum for children K-8.
- Omni Calculator has calculators to solves 1366 problems anywhere from math to finance and business to health.
- Open Culture has free textbooks, movies and audiobooks and links to free online courses from professors.
- Outschool, which offers live online classes in small groups, is offering free classes to those affected by school shutdowns.
- Preply and Skooli offer online tutoring for a fee.
- Prodigy Math, which is used by many school districts, has free video game style math learning.
- Scholastic learn-at-home has lesson plans for pre-K to age 9 for about $5 a month.
Educational Entertainment Resources For Kids/Teachers/Parents
Audible Stories
Free stories for kids while schools are closed.
Storyline Online
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s award-winning children’s literacy website, Storyline Online, streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Readers include Viola Davis, Chris Pine, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, James Earl Jones, Betty White and dozens more
Ranger Rick: Stuck at Home
Website and digital editions of the magazine are free for the next few months while people are staying home.
For All Ages
Digital Escape Rooms
Enjoy this compilation of digital escape rooms, with escape rooms for a variety of ages and interests.
Field Museum at Home
Continue exploring natural history with online resources and at-home activities for all ages.
The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks
Explore the National Parks from your living room.
The Museum of the World: History Connected
Interactive history site. Presented by the British Museum.
Virtual Museum Tours
Virtually explore 2,500 museums.
Wild Earth Safari Drive
Experience a South African safari drive virtually with this livestream.
For Teens and Adults
A Decade of the New Yorker Fiction Podcast
Links to some of the best episodes of the New York Times Fiction podcast from the past decade.
Nightly Streaming Opera – The Metropolitan Opera
The New York Academy of Medicine: Coloring Books
Coloring books from libraries around the world.
Create a Homeschooling Routine
Looking for a home-school daily schedule? You may want to try to follow your child’s regular school schedule, or decide on a plan with a family meeting. These printable schedules let you plan out your day.
Keep in mind younger children may only be able to focus on a task for 10 or 15 minutes. Take lots of movement breaks, sing songs and get outside when you can.
Think, too, about the physical space that might suit your child. “Does your child like to stand? Sit? Create a fort to work in?” Girard asks. “Again, you have the flexibility to create your own learning environment and schedule.”
Prepare a “learning area” that is separate from the “playing area.”
Stock up on school supplies like markers and crayons to keep kids creatively engaged.