Grayslake Library Offers Resources for Homeschooled Students

The number of students who are homeschooled is growing by leaps and bounds.

In 2008, more than 2 million U.S. students were home-schooled. The most recent poll by the National Home Education Research Institute shows numbers are continuously growing, even doubling since five years prior.

With more and more parents choosing to do the educating themselves, the is offering more resources to help.

“Libraries are really trying to take a look at what are the needs of our patrons and how they can meet their needs,” said Colleen Ryan of the Grayslake Library's Youth Services Department.

Ryan homeschooled her four children through high school and now wants to share just how invaluable the library can be. Ryan says the first step to home educating successfully is understanding your child and their learning style.

A variety of curriculums allow parents to select the best route for their child. The library offers supporting material for many of them.

“There are a lot of additional resources out there instead of just text books to teach the subject you are working on with your child,” Ryan said.

Some of those resources include:

• A Project Fair: Scheduled for the spring, this project fair is similar to a science or history fair but not specific to a subject. This fair requires students to give a three minute presentation to work on speaking skills. The project fair is open to all grade levels.
• The National Geographic Bee: For students in fourth through eighth grades and open to those who are homeschooled, the National Geographic Bee tests students on their knowledge of geography.
• Electronic Book Bag: If you are working on a specific subject with your children you can log on to the library’s website and request various materials on that subject. The library will collect a sample of books, DVDs and other media to assist in your lesson plans.
• Book Lists: The library has assembled book lists of historical non-fiction novels in chronological order to match the time period you may be working on with your children.
• Book Club To Go: The library has a package of several copies of certain books, a synopsis and discussion questions for a group of students who wish to read and discuss the same book.
• Theme Bags: For children kindergarten and younger, these book bags include several books, puzzles, cds, and worksheets on a given topic including but not limited to shapes, colors, numbers and seasons.
• Homeschooling Magazines: In the parenting section of the youth department, these magazines can be checked out.
• Music and CD ROMs on various subjects.

Annie Reneau of Grayslake has found the library to be an invaluable resource. A former teacher herself, Reneau has been home schooling her children for five years, beginning when her oldest daughter, now 11, was in kindergarten.

“I realized that when kids would arrive to high school they were just so uninterested in learning,” Reneau said.

She wanted to preserve the interest and curiosity of her children. “When they are young they just want to know everything. I wanted that to continue,” she said.

Debbie Mumm of Grayslake will begin the adventure of homeschooling this year with her 12-year-old son.

“I just realized he was slipping further and further behind so I really want to get him caught up,” Mumm said while attending a home schooling meeting at the Grayslake Area Public Library.

Mumm has already met with Ryan to discuss how she can utilize the library to its fullest and find the best curriculum for her son.

“Kids today are hands on and we can custom fit a program that works best for everyone,” said Ryan. “We are your library and we want to assist you in any way we can.”

To discuss more options for home educating your child, contact Colleen Ryan in the Youth Services Department at the .