Kapili.com offers over three hundred science tutorials and over three hundred activities, broken into general, life, earth, space, and physical science sections. Members can print the tutorials for use offline or in classrooms. Their library continues to grow with a glossary of over 4,500 entries and a species database with over 1,000 animals and plants.
Field trips can inspire your child to study a topic, give him further insights into his current studies, or provide closure to a completed unit. Is there somewhere you’d like to take your children to reinforce a topic this year? Or just want to visit because it would enrich their lives? If you let your support group (or even just a few other families) know that you are planning to go and they are welcome to tag along (think: group rate)—voila! You’re planning a field trip!
Homeschoolers have been vigilant in protecting their rights, rising to the occasion when they discover threats to clamp down on their activities. Discusses some of the criticisms by opponents of homeschooling, along with the examples of some legal fights in Connecticut and Montana.
One of the most persistent criticisms of homeschooling is that the children will have no social life. Though homeschooling parents may know better, many parents are more secure knowing a number of other homeschoolers in their area so children can get together with other kids who are being homeschooled. You may find, however, that there is no group in your area. As you (and any interested parents you may know) consider forming a group, you may want to consider some questions first.
Friends or relatives who’ve heard of your homeschooling plans may have already asked, “But what about socialization?” If you’re thinking about homeschooling, you might have even wondered this yourself. This continues to be one of the most commonly asked questions of homeschooling parents, despite decades of academic research and anecdotal evidence showing that homeschooled children are generally significantly better “socialized” than their institutionally-schooled counterparts. Each family will answer the question differently, but here’s some food for thought as you form your own views on socialization.
If a child is placed under competent private instruction and the child fails to make adequate progress under competent private instruction, the director of the department of education, or the director's designee, shall notify the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child that the child is required to attend an accredited public or nonpublic school, unless approval for competent private instruction under a remediation plan is granted. The director, or the director's designee, may provisionally approve continued competent private instruction under an approved remediation plan designed to improve instruction for up to one year.