Support
Often the key to whether a family can successfully homeschool is the type of support they receive. Unfortunately, we don't always receive encouragement from our family or community. Connecting with other homeschoolers is the best way to make new friends, and to get information, ideas, and support. We've compiled support group resources and offer simple ways to connect with other homeschoolers through email groups, website forums, and in your community. You'll also find information on local and state events, cultural and educational institutions, field trip ideas, tutors, bookstores, and much, much more.
Support Groups
Homeschoolers have created networks of support to provide a way to make friends, get ideas and information, and to offer positive socialization opportunties to their children. You can join in! There are many groups to choose from, many with specific affiliations, like Christian groups or unschoolers' groups. Some are eclectic, inclusive, and open to anyone. Whatever your interest, you are sure to find other like-minded parents. And if you don't find what you are looking for, we've put together tips for starting your own group.
Humor
We all could use a little chuckle every once in a while--especially on those days when things seem a bit bleak and challenging. Enjoy some humor from the home front.
Events
You'll find everything from homeschooling conventions to used book sales to camps for homeschoolers. Read about local and state events and submit your event for posting.
Local & State Resources
Homeschoolers learn as much outside the home as in it. Here you'll find listings of cultural and educational institutions, government resources, libraries, and bookstores. If you need a tutor, this is the best place for you to find one near you.
Publications
Want to learn more about homeschooling? Need a monthly or weekly boost of enthusiasm and ideas? You may be interested in a subscription of a homeschool publication. Whether you are looking for a hard copy magazine or an e-newsletter, we've got the best listed here.
What's Popular
Spiral Academy
Spiral Academy is dedicated to serving the needs of home school families, primarily in Colorado, who desire the benefits of private school enrollment with minimal oversight over their educational activities. Their sole intent is to lend support for academic excellence that is always conducted in the spirit of religious and cultural tolerance. Religious and political beliefs are not part of Spiral Academy's identity or purpose. Students have an eclectic mix of beliefs, political affiliation, and ...
Petroglyph National Monument
Petroglyph National Monument stretches 17 miles along Albuquerque's West Mesa, a volcanic basalt escarpment that dominates the city’s western horizon. It protects a variety of cultural and natural resources including five volcanic cones, hundreds of archeological sites and an estimated 25,000 images carved by native peoples and early Spanish settlers. Many of the images are recognizable as animals, people, brands and crosses; others are more complex.
CHEC Independent School
A part of Christian Home Educators of Colorado, the CHEC Independent School is an umbrella school that serves homeschool families across the state from our home office in Parker. They believe that parents are responsible for the education of their children, and through the Independent School, they purpose to help Colorado parents to succeed in that God-given role. Enrolling with the CHEC Independent School offers the opportunity to satisfy your legal responsibilities, recordkeeping, and access t...
Printed Page Bookshop
1416 S BroadwayDenver, CO 80210Phone: 303-377-7653Printed Page Bookshop is a co-op composed of more than 10 different booksellers. This used bookstore specializes in rare and used books and purchases used books as well. 
Little Sages Books
504 Main St #BLongmont, CO 80501Phone: 954-536-1329Little Sages Books offers rare books, manuscripts, photography, letters, archives, and art. They work intensively with letters, photographic archives, prints and ephemera (posters, broadsides, diaries, letters, journals, pamphlets, handmade items) in many languages relating to Women, Art, Culture, American and Social History.
Poor Richard's Books & Gifts
320-324 1/2 N Tejon StColorado Springs, CO 80903Phone: 719-578-5549This downtown Colorado Springs landmark specializes in good-condition, used books, including current books in 150 categories and classics in every field. They also stock a large variety of new books. Book collectors will find a selection of rare, first-edition and collectible titles. They also carry Colorado trail guides, local and state maps, wildlife/flora books and artistic, funny and quirky postcards.
Rosemarys Baby Bookstore
1430 S Wadsworth BlvdLakewood, CO 80232Phone: 303-986-8799Email: Roseymarysbooks@yahoo.comRosemary's Baby Bookstore is a fine used bookstore located in the heart of Lakewood, Colorado. They have been in business since December 1991. They offer a large selection of used books and audio books. Bring in your gently used books for store credit for future purchases. 
School Crossing: Quality Toys & Teaching Tools
4262 Royal Pine Drive  Colorado Springs, Colorado 80920 Phone: 719-418-5939 School Crossing is the home of over 20,000 top quality educational products and toys and is located in the heart of Colorado Springs. A favorite among teachers and parents, School Crossing has products that will support any educational program. Owned and operated by teachers, the School Crossing staff is the most friendly and helpful around. School Crossing supports the Colorado Springs Community by offering ...
Tattered Cover Book Store
Tattered Cover Historic LoDo, Book Store & Cafe1628 16th Street Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 303-436-1070Tattered Cover Colfax Avenue, Book Store & Cafe 2526 East Colfax Ave. Denver, CO 80206 Phone: 303-322-7727Tattered Cover Aspen Grove7301 South Santa Fe Drive, Littleton, CO 80120In the Aspen Grove Shopping CenterPhone: 303-470-7050Tattered Cover Union StationAcross the corner from the Historic LoDo book store1701 Wynkoop Street in Historic Lower Downtown Denver Tattered Cover is ...
eXL Learning Homeschool Hangout
This resource center offers homeschool assessments, speakers and events related to homeschooling topics, classes and tutoring, portfolio development and college preparation, and additional diagnostic assessments.
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
Once, thriving American Indian trade communities of Tiwa and Tompiro speaking Puebloans inhabited this remote frontier area of central New Mexico. Early in the 17th-century Spanish Franciscans found the area ripe for their missionary efforts. However, by the late 1670s the entire Salinas District, as the Spanish had named it, was depopulated of both Indian and Spaniard. What remains today are austere yet beautiful reminders of this earliest contact between Pueblo Indians and Spanish Colonials: t...
Gathering of Alternative Learners (GOAL)
Gathering of Alternative Learners is an Albuquerque area homeschool park group for New Mexico homeschoolers in the Albuquerque , East Mountains, Edgewood, Stanley, Moriarty, & Rio Rancho/Taylor Ranch area. Offers weekly play days. This is an all inclusive group and not religious based.
Desiderata School
Desiderata School offers homeschool support and distance learning for all grades K through 12. Using Desiderata as your umbrella school offers you the opportunity to homeschool your students while easily meeting the State of Colorado's compulsory attendance and records requirements. You have the freedom to choose your own curriculum and learning schedules, while they maintain your school records and files. Desiderata also offers accredited transcripts and diplomas. Desiderata firmly believe that...
Homeschool Santa Fe
Homeschool Santa Fe is a group of homeschool families, open to people of all backgrounds, in the Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico area.
Colorado Heritage Education School System Independent School
The Colorado Heritage Independent School, a private Christian school, provides homeschooling families "umbrella school" services (record keeping, etc.). Homeschooling families who are not enrolled in an independent school must report their records to a public school district. Students enrolled in their independent school are considered private school students, and as such, submit records to Colorado Heritage. They also provide curriculum and scheduling advice, as well as encouragement, to famili...
Resources
These Rare Lands
If a picture's worth 1,000 words, this book--with its hundreds of breathtaking photos of America's National Parks--is a well-stocked bookstore. Accompanied by the words of poet laureate Mark Strand, These Rare Lands is a perfect coffee-table book for anyone who has enjoyed the wonders of nature's wildest places. From a storm over Sequoia National Park in California to the otherworldly stalactites and stalagmites of New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns and an Atlantic sunset in Maine's Acadia, this is a book that draws you back again and again. Photographer Stan Jorstad's obvious love of nature comes through in the thoughtful approach he takes to his life's work, contained in the pages of These Rare Lands.
America's National Parks for Dummies, Second Edition
What makes a trip to a national park so wonderful? For starters, America's national park system is more diverse than any park system in the world. You can stroll the seashore at Olympic National Park in Washington or Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, climb craggy mountains in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, or go underground into the world's largest cave system at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. You can marvel at the largest canyon on Earth (Grand Canyon National Park), hike among the planet's largest collection or rock arches (Arches National Park), explore the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere (Death Valley National Park), or wander a realm of forests and misty mountains (Great Smoky Mountains National Park).

And these are just a few of your park options.

America's National Parks For Dummies gives you guidance to decide which park is for you, when to go, and what to see when you reach your destination. This guide will help you plan the best trip imaginable, whether you are

  • An inexperienced traveler looking for guidance in determining whether to take a trip to a national park and how to plan for it
  • An experienced traveler who has yet to explore the national park system and wants expert advice when you finally get a chance to enjoy one
  • Any traveler who doesn't like big, thick travel guides that list every single hotel, restaurant, or attraction, but instead looks for a book that focuses on the places that will provide the best or most unique park experience

America's National Parks For Dummies is user-friendly and organized in a logical fashion. Each park is broken down in a chapter that delves into the nitty-gritty of trip planning and highlights, including tips for

  • Planning your trip by touching on the diversity of the park system, explaining some of your vacation options, and telling you when parks are the most (and least) crowded
  • Ironing out the details by describing how you get to the parks and how to find your way around after you arrive
  • Exploring America's national parks by giving you the lowdown on 15 of the best parks, detailing things like each park's wild kingdom, the best spots for memorable photographs, and a few safety issues

The pages of this book resemble a great long-distance hike – you never know what's around the next bend in the trail. So throw on a backpack, take a swig of water, and get ready to explore the national parks!

National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, Fourth Edition

Now in its fourth edition, the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America is the ultimate birder’s field guide. Sturdy, portable, and easy-to-use, it features the most complete information available on every bird species known to North America. This revised edition features 250 completely updated range maps, new plumage and species classification information, specially commissioned full-color illustrations, and a superb new index that allows birders in the field to quickly identify a species.

The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fourth Edition will continue to be a bestseller among the fastest-growing sector in the U.S. travel market—the nearly 25 million people who travel each year specifically to observe wild birds.

Great Lodges of the National Parks: The Companion Book to the PBS Television Series
Stand amid soaring Douglas fir in the great hall of Glacier Park Lodge or sit in the setting sun and gaze into the Grand Canyon at El Tovar. This beautiful gift book will transport you to the majestic lodges of our national parks to relive the glory of past vacations or plan adventures anew. This book and the PBS television series of the same title (to air in spring 2002) take armchair travelers into these architectural wonders and explore the surrounding natural beauty of our national parks. Lodges, wildlife, and stunning vistas are showcased in 175 full-color and black-and-white photographs, along with historical documents from the PBS series. In his introduction, Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers a call to preserve this national heritage, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book go toward the rehabilitation of these magnificent buildings.
Educational Travel on a Shoestring : Frugal Family Fun and Learning Away from Home
Educational Travel on a Shoestring shows parents how they can help their children learn–and have a blast–while traveling. From researching destinations to sharing activities that both teach and entertain, this priceless guide offers practical information for parents who want to have more fun with their kids, build closer family ties, and enjoy richer educational experiences–all without spending a fortune.
America's Spectacular National Parks
The concept of the national park is an American contribution to world civilization, and it remains a defining characteristic of our country. From the rocky shore of Maine's Acadia to the barren crater and lush rain forest of Hawaii's Haleakala, America's national beauty is celebrated and preserved in its national parks. This book retells the history of each park, describes its most important features and wildlife, and reproduces its gorgeous scenery in full-color photographs that will enthrall armchair travelers and entice others to lace up their hiking boots and reach for their sporting gear. Organized by region of the country, it includes well-known parks like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Glacier as well as lesser-known destinations like Shenandoah, Biscayne, and Kenai Fjords.
The National Parks of America
For tourists, family campers, and serious lovers of the outdoors, here is a big, beautiful, color-illustrated book that describes more than 50 national parks, sites, and seashores that stretch from Cape Hatteras on the Atlantic coast to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Yosemite in California, Haleakala in Hawaii, and Glacier Bay in Alaska. More than 400 breathtaking photographs capture the beauty and atmosphere of each site, and 54 color maps show each park's location and major features. Visitor information panels give important details on access points, accommodations, and recreational activities such as hiking, rafting, birdwatching, and fishing. Here is a wonderful volume that will inspire plans for trips and evoke marvelous memories of past experiences in America's great outdoors.
America's National Parks: The Spectacular Forces That Shaped Our Treasured Lands
From stunning mountain ranges to arid expanses of desert, America has been blessed with an incredibly diverse land -- and the vision to protect it for our and future generations to enjoy. These lands are ours to view, wander, learn from, and revel in. America's National Parks captures all that is great about all fifty-six parks in the national park system. It also gives interesting, easy-to-understand background on the geological and ecological forces that continue to make each national park so worthy of protection.

Nature lovers will be captivated by gorgeous photos of landforms, flora, and fauna. Families will appreciate the information that is sure to enhance vacations at the parks. And visitors to any of the country's national parks will forever treasure this book as a memento of past visits and an inspiration for future ones.

Unlike any other book published on national parks, America's National Parks is a must-have for anyone who relishes America's natural wonders and wants to learn more about the powerful forces that created them.

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Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual Spatial Learner
Dr. Linda Silverman coined the term "visual-spatial learner" to describe the special and unique gifts of people who learn best through seeing and with images. This guide is a great resource as you support your homeschooling visual learner in discover...
Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School
If you’ve ever felt that your child wasn’t flourishing in school or simply needs something the experts aren’t supplying, you’re ready to become a "guerrilla educator." this books explains what’s wrong (and what’s useful) about our traditional schools...
H. A. Guerber's Histories
Helene A. Guerber wrote histories for grammar school children in the 19th century. Published in 1896 by the American Book Company, ‘Guerber’s Historical Readers in the Eclectic Readings Series’ were used to introduce children to the histories of the ...
Rhythms of Learning : What Waldorf Education Offers Children, Parents & Teachers (Vista Series, V. 4) (Vista Series, V. 4)
In numerous lectures and through teaching teachers for the first Waldorf school, Rudolf Steiner described and suggested methods of education based on the rhythmic unfolding of spirit, soul, and physiology in children as they grow. In each section of ...
Creative Home Schooling: A Resource Guide for Smart Families
For a comprehensive guide to home-based education, that does not promote any particular curriculum or religious view, this is one book parents should buy! Parents will appreciate practical advice on getting started, adjusting to new roles, designing...