Homeschooling Resources at EPL

Provide feedback by filling out a questionnaire to let us know what homeschooling families want and need. The survey will also provide us with your contact information so we can keep you up to date on services going forward.

Homeschool Survey

Please refer to our events calendar for information about upcoming homeschool programming and other events. Contact Nuala Maloney-Murphy at nuala.maloney@elmlib.org or (630) 279-8696 to be added to the email list for homeschool programming if you do not already receive these emails.

Helpful Websites

• Home Schooling Adventures on the Web Lots of free downloads and worksheets organized by grade level.
• Home School Legal Defense Association A non-profit advocacy organization established to defend the constitutional rights of parents to direct their children’s education.
• Homeschool.co How to start homeschooling
• Illinois Home Schooling
• Learn in Freedom How to take responsibility for learning with or without school. Includes resource lists, and lists of colleges that admit homeschoolers.
• The National Home Education Research Institute This website compiles research on home-based education.
• FarmWise Education. FarmWise offers hands-on, will-based learning through a year-round schedule of school group visits, weekend family programs and summer farm school. In these programs, small groups of children are introduced to the values, lifestyle and work ethic of the farm, and learn to actively engage with the world around them.
• Well Planned Gal. Rebecca Farris is the mother of 5 who is taking her experiences of mothering, homeschooling and hospitality and sharing the beauty of planning and organizing with other families.
• Consumer Affairs Compare reviews for online homeschools.
• Plum Landing is an exiting multi-platform, indoor-outdoor, science exploration adventure for kids and grown-ups. Its got games, animations, videos, an app, a digital curriculum for after school and summer camps, and science activities for parents and kids to do together.

Helpful Illinois Resources

• The Art Institute of Chicago Educator Admission Request Free admission to the Art Institute of Chicago is available to current Illinois educators and homeschool parents. Educators can register to receive a voucher for a complimentary ticket to the museum. A complimentary ticket will be granted with one of the following forms of acceptable identification: Illinois homeschool co-op member ID card, or Illinois homeschool legal defense association member ID card.
• Illinois Homeschooling A to Z Home’s Cool! Resources and support and lots of links from a homeschooling guide.
• Resource website for Illinois H.O.U.S.E. (Home Oriented Unique Schooling Experience) A statewide network of nonsectarian homeschooling groups.
• The Homeschool Mom  Homeschooling is rewarding, fun, challenging, exhausting and fulfilling, but above all it is worth the effort. Within this website is encouragement, advice, resources, curriculum reviews, organization tools and more.
• Chicagoland Homeschool Network  A free resource to help families in the Chicagoland area connect with resources to enhance their homeschool experience.
• Homeschool Meetups in Elmhurst  Here’s a look at some homeschooling meetups happening near Elmhurst.
• Esther’s Place. Supplies, Classes, Retreats and Fiber Inspiration. Knitting, spinning, felting, dyeing, weaving, sustainable farming classes. Big Rock, Illinois.
• Angelic Organics Learning Center.  We offer opportunities to learn agricultural and leadership skills, grow healthy food and a better quality of life, and connect with farmers and the land. We reach more than 5,000 people each year through our educational programs and urban growing sites in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Caledonia, Illinois.
• CHAMPS (Christian Homeschool Arts and Music Program) is a private organization of parents who desire to broaden our children’s exposure to music and the arts in a Christian environment.  CHAMPS meets weekly on Mondays from September-May at the Cardinal Drive Church of Christ in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
• Homeschool Kingdom  HSK is a co-op with classes to homeschool students of all ages on Fridays. In addition to students age K-8, HSK offers fun and challenging class options for High School.  Science labs and Spanish can count towards your home accreditation.Homeschool Kingdom provides the missing gaps:  Community, Friendships, Yearbooks, Graduation Ceremony, Field Trips, Group Activities, Gym Classes, Piano & Guitar Lessons.
• Double J Riding Club. Equine Science Homeschool Program. Double J Riding Club provides a safe learning environment where horse riding students of all ages and levels can develop their riding skills, make friends, gain confidence through accomplishment, and have fun while pursuing a life-long sport.
• The Riverside Center for Education. The Riverside Center for Education offers a unique learning program where a staff of professional educators and volunteers provide sessions for boys, cultural events for the whole family, and co-ed activities.
• Thin Ice Ensemble Theater. The mission of Thin Ice Ensemble Theater is to provide students of all abilities with a comprehensive, collaborative, and confidence-building theatrical experience through immersion in great plays, while providing the community with affordable, high-quality theater. Evanston, Illinois.
• Christian Youth Theater. Christian Youth Theater (CYT) is an after-school theater arts training program for students ages 4-18.CYT Chicago conducts three ten-week sessions (Fall, Winter, and Spring) teaching drama, voice, dance, and specialty theatrical workshops at weekly two-hour classes. CYT also offers summer camps for kids ages 6-18.
• One Day Enrichment. ODE is a one day a week educational program designed for homeschooled children. ODE offers enrichment-type classes to augment the education of your child, classes that can be more effectively taught in a group. Each class upholds a high standard of excellence, and a syllabus is available at the beginning of every session for the parent to know exactly what their child will be learning and doing. Oak Park, Illinois.

Helpful Magazines

• Homeschool World Website for Practical Homeschooling Magazine.
• The Teaching Home A Christian magazine for homeschoolers.