Resources for Home Educators
The children’s department of the Ela Area Public Library
offers a variety of resources and
materials that home educators can use inside the Library
and at home.
Parent-Teacher Section offers books and videos on a wide
range of topics of interest to home educators. In
addition to books that specifically address home
schooling issues, parents can also find a variety of
other materials that will
supplement their curriculums and address the issue of
helping children learn. The parent-teacher section is
located against the far south-west wall, just past the
Picture Book area.Homework Help allows
students in 4th-12th grades to work online with a
professional tutor on homework related questions in
several subject areas, including math, English, science
and social studies. This service is available
Monday through Sunday from 2:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Please note that tutors are subject specialists, are not
located in the Ela Area Public Library, and are not
necessarily librarians.
Magazines teach
and extend the student's areas of study through
short articles, pictures, and puzzles. The
Children's Department offers a variety of magazines for
homeschool parents and students.
For parents:
Practical Homeschooling offers ideas in math,
reading, and history for elementary grades through high
school. Instructor and The Reading
Teacher are published for classroom teachers, but
they both offer ideas and booklists for the homeschool
parent.
For students: Ask, Cobblestone,
Creative Kids, Cricket, Dig, Kids Discover, Learning
through History, National Geographic for Little Kids,
Spider, Your Big Backyard
and Zoobooks
Digital Books can be accessed from home but
cannot be used in the library due to licensing
restrictions. From home you can access ebooks,
audiobooks, videos and talking picture books. In
addition the Tumble Books program gives access to
animated, talking picture books for younger ages.
The North Suburban Digital Consortium and NetLibrary
offer children and adult titles through ebooks,
downloadable audiobooks and videos.
Explore Packs give students and parents an
opportunity to read about nature topics and get outside
to experience the local natural life. Packs
include books, activities, park guides, and
bibliographies. Current themes include Fishing,
Plants, Birds and General Nature.
Programs of Interest to Home Educators
The library constantly offers a variety of fun and
educational programs. Please check the current
issue of Footnotes, the library's quarterly
newsletter, for opportunities and details.
Book Discussion meets monthly to discuss books
of interest to students in grades 4-6.
Book Clubs - Summer and Winter reading clubs are
for all ages. Prizes are awarded based on the
number of hours read.
Drop-in Craft - various arts and crafts
programs are offered throughout the year.
Kids' Picks - Students in grades 3-5 can read
from a pre-selected list and place a bead in the
Homeschool tube.
Other Library Resources
Online databases
– Special subscription databases accessible from inside
the Library or from home (Ela card holders only)
Links of interest - Links
to websites the home educators will find useful. |
