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1. FAITH Tutorials in Weston
FAITH Tutorials offers high school classes for homeschoolers in Weston, Massachusetts. Our classes are taught from a Christian worldview and led by highly qualified instructors in a small-class setting.
Courses offered include British Literature with a Writing Tutorial, Biology, Physics, AP Physics 1, Mixed Media Art, and Photography. We are also offering a variety of workshops, including The College Application Essay, Study Skills, Dining Etiquette, Interview Prep, Conversation Skills, and Netiquette.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at
FAITH.homeschoolers.group@gmail.com
. We would love to connect with you and share how FAITH Tutorials can enrich your homeschooling journey.
2. Big E homeschool program –
deadline tomorrow
From the Education Department at The Big E:
Our Homeschool Program (previously called The Big E Field Trip Program) will continue to provide homeschool families with year-round curriculum-aligned content to support learning in the promotion and development of agriculture, education, industry, and preserving New England heritage, the pillars of our mission.
The Homeschool Program will kick off in August and includes activities for each month of the year. Storrowton Village Museum's Homeschool Program gives families a 19th century experience both at home and onsite through experiential learning. Activities are geared toward children ages 6-12, but can be modified for older learners. Highlights include:
-
Admission to Family Camp Day, August 4, 2025
-
Admission to one day at The Big E in September
-
Hands-on activity session during your visit to the fair or select our post-fair, sensory-friendly option in October – will include a personalized visit to the blacksmith shop and two exclusive hands-on activities
-
10 curriculum-based activities to do with your children, including unique supplies not found in your home classroom
-
A book for family reading sessions with additional activities
-
Special activities for home school families at our Yuletide & Maple Harvest Day events
Please use this
REGISTRATION LINK
to read our FAQs and register for the program. Registration closes on July 31.
3. Field trip fun all over historic New England
HISTORIC NEW ENGLAND
, the oldest preservation organization in the country, owns and operates homes, farms, lands, and collections in every New England state except Vermont.
CLICK HERE
for descriptions of properties you can visit.
Most are open only during the summer and early fall months.
4. Speaker vault for July
Our newest section of the MassHOPE website features a
CURATED LIBRARY OF
RECORDED WORKSHOPS
from past conventions. Over the years, we have had the privilege of hosting hundreds of inspiring speakers, and we periodically showcase some of their presentations on this page. For July, we invite you to listen to an inspiring message by Jeff Myers - Cultivating Kids: Raising Children to Live Fruitful Lives. This generation of children has greater potential and opportunity than perhaps any generation in American history—and yet they’re growing up in a culture of aimlessness and passive consumerism. As one of the world’s leading authorities on youth leadership development and a homeschool dad, Dr. Myers weaves together fascinating biblical insights, penetrating social commentary and hilarious personal stories to help you see your child’s potential in a whole new way.
5. For your encouragement: debunking some myths
Here are a few areas you might be worried about.
THIS ARTICLE
should put your mind more at ease.
6. In the news:
almost 6% of U.S. kids are homeschooled
According to the
HOUSEHOLD PULSE SURVEY
of the United States Census Bureau, and reported by the journal Education Next, almost 6% of school-aged children were homeschooled during the 2022-2023 school year.
THIS ARTICLE
also cited data on demographics, income, and participation variation by state.
7. Study participation needed
We are encouraging you to
participate in an important study
. The National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI, with Dr. Brian Ray) is partnering with other scholars and BJU Press Testing & Evaluation (BJUP) on a big nationwide study of homeschooling. The study will address achievement test scores, reasons for homeschooling, and more.
If you had any child tested by BJUP during the past year, you are eligible
to participate. Please participate regardless of your child's scores on the test.
This is more than just research — it's a chance to influence
how homeschooling is understood and supported nationwide. By participating, you will help to inform policymakers, empower home education organizations, and ensure that families like yours are accurately represented in the data that drives decisions.
We invite you to participate if you had any of your children tested with BJUP during the past year.
MassHOPE supports this study and we urge you to participate,
and you will receive a thank-you gift for participating. (The survey closes August 15.)
To begin the survey or learn more, go to
BigStudy
.
8. Science labs and speech clubs in Hudson
The Central Mass Christian Homeschool Co-op in Hudson is officially full for the upcoming school year. However, we have found that our Science Lab classes are a bit smaller than we’d prefer, so we are holding space for 2-3 additional students in these three classes (Physical Science, Biology, and Physics), but
only through the end of July.
This would be for our “Tutorial” option only – just the student in the lab class would come to co-op and just for the one class time.
Science labs are more fun in a group! We have very experienced parent teachers for our lab classes. The teachers do grade the lab reports and lab notebooks.
Click
HERE
to see the Course Descriptions. All of the reading, bookwork, and testing are done at home; we provide only the labs. We expect students to be prepared for the labs; we do not have the time to add in teaching. Please note the prerequisite skills needed (especially math for Physics).
These classes meet from 10:20-11:45 a.m. on two Fridays per month. (You can see our first semester co-op calendar at
cmchscoop.org
). These classes may add an additional meeting or two as needed. Our second semester dates are NOT accurate at this time.
Cost:
Physical Science - $290 for the year
Biology - $320 for the year
Physics - $320 for the year
*Includes $60 membership fee, Class Fee (either $30 or $60), and an additional $200 Tutorial Fee (a total of $320 for the Biology and Physics Lab classes and $290 for Physical Science Lab class).
Please contact Wendy Holm at
cmhscoop7@gmail.com
with any questions, and feel free to spread the word!
ALSO:
Central Mass Christian Homeschool Co-op is opening up our after-co-op clubs to the community! You can see the club descriptions
HERE
. We will be updating the Calendar with the actual dates of these club meetings in the next couple of weeks (as they do not meet every week).
Apologetics Club - Fridays 12:30-1:30
SPEAK Master Class - Fridays 1:30-3:00
SPEAK The Art of Public Speaking - Fridays 2:30-4:00
Feel free to reach out to Wendy Holm with any questions at
cmhscoop7@gmail.org
.
9. Get ready for free, free, free August Adventures
The Highland Street Foundation’s signature “August Adventures” program is returning this year, with one free event, site, or museum on each of the month’s 31 days. Make your summer plans now and save big on entrance fees.
CLICK HERE
to view the wide range of offerings, which span all of Massachusetts, from north to south and east to west.
Also, check out Highland Street’s annual Boston Red Sox
OUT OF THE PARK
event on Wednesday, July 16. Free food and free activities!
10. Field trip fun in Chatham
Not your usual history museum at all, the interactive, hands-on
CHATHAM MARCONI WIRELESS MUSEUM
is located in what was once the busiest ship-to-shore radio receiving station on the East Coast. The site was a key Morse code receiving station during World War I and a top secret Navy installation during World War II. Children under 12 free. Great for that rainy day on Cape Cod.
11. Speaker vault for June
Our newest section of the MassHOPE website features a
CURATED LIBRARY OF RECORDED WORKSHOPS
from past conventions. Over the years, we have had the privilege of hosting hundreds of inspiring speakers, and we periodically showcase some of their presentations on this page. For June, we invite you to listen to an inspiring message by
Mike Donnelly - For You, Dad: Leading Your Homeschool Family.
Are you sitting on the sideline in your homeschool, Dad? Your wife needs you to get involved. But with so many demands in today’s world, how can a busy dad do it? How can you be involved in homeschooling? Would it be: teaching a class, casting a vision, leading devotions? These are all important, and in order to do these things, you must manage your schedule and carefully prioritize your time. In this talk, Mike shares how you can do all of this.
12. Best and worst: Charlotte Mason Show encouragement
Jeannie Fulbright and Shiela Catanzarite, veterans of the Charlotte Mason philosophy/method, present “Our Best Decisions and Our Worst Mistakes as Homeschoolers.” Listen to their discussion or read the transcript
HERE
.
13.
In the news: from the Fordham Institute
In this article from the Fordham Institute,
A NEW PICTURE OF MODERN HOMESCHOOLING IN AMERICA
, the author gives the reader an up-to-date look at homeschooling through recent reports, surveys, and data.
14. Convention recordings
Did you miss a session because there were too many great workshops to choose from? Or, sadly, did you miss the entire convention? No problem. Order session recordings individually, or get the whole set. Just click
HERE
.
15. Social media triple play
We’re on each of the Big Three: X
, Facebook, and Instagram. Our Facebook and Instagram accounts are linked, so you can follow us on Instagram and get some of the same info we post there. Go to our link -
https://www.instagram.com/massachusetts_homeschool/
-
and click “Follow.”
16. Partner with MassHOPE?
We invite you to partner with MassHOPE in supporting Christian homeschooling families across Massachusetts. As a non-profit organization, your generous donations enable us to continue providing encouragement, resources, events, and advocacy to strengthen and equip local homeschoolers. Every gift, big or small, makes a lasting impact. Please prayerfully consider making a tax-deductible
DONATION
today and join us in building up families in the year ahead.
17. Friends don’t let friends miss out on...
...important information about MassHOPE. So spread the word! Help us share the news about our convention and so much more! Tell all your homeschooling friends about
The MassHOPE Messenger
, MassHOPE's bi-weekly e-newsletter, filled with opportunities and items of interest for homeschooling families. All they need to do to receive it is to send full name and email address to
info@masshope.org
.
Help them stay informed!
Also,
while you’re at it, why don’t you start thinking about volunteering at our next convention? We need you!
18. Discounts from SchoolhouseTeachers.com
Homeschooling can be challenging.
It can be expensive, time-consuming, and confusing to choose classes and curricula for multiple students. We are writing to tell you that
SchoolhouseTeachers.com
will provide all the courses you need for homeschooling each of your preschool through graduating 12th-grade students at the discounted annual price of $179 (you save $90)
.
With hundreds of online courses, lesson plans, quizzes, tests, answer keys, certificates of completion, and streaming videos, your annual
SchoolhouseTeachers.com
membership will ensure you have a full-spectrum, non-Common Core curriculum platform to confidently educate your children at home.
Membership is good for your whole family—including grandparents—no matter how many children you have. Because everything is included online, there is no need to buy textbooks. PLUS, there are no per class, no per child, nor any other hidden fees. You can also generate quarterly report cards for each student and access help with transcript creation for your high schoolers.
SchoolhouseTeachers.com contains nearly every subject imaginable—art history, drawing, computer technology, foreign languages, history, language arts, math, music, science, and loads of electives. Let your kids help pick out their own courses!
19. MassHOPE Facebook groups
Did you know that MassHOPE has two private Facebook groups in addition to its main Facebook page? If you would like to join the MassHOPE Massachusetts Homeschool Discussion and Support Group (described in Item #21) or the MassHOPE Massachusetts Homeschool Marketplace and UCS group, or if you invite anyone to join these groups, please note that there are questions you will need to answer in order to be approved. If you don't get approved soon after your request to join, perhaps you didn't answer the required questions.
20. MassHOPE advertising opportunities
MassHOPE has a variety of advertising options available at reasonable rates in several media paths – MassHOPE website, dedicated email, Facebook, MassHOPE Messenger. If interested, please send an email to advertising@masshope.org. All ads are subject to availability and space. MassHOPE reserves the right to accept or reject ads as we must apportion limited space and evaluate relevance to our audience.
21. MassHOPE Facebook discussion group
Connect with us on Facebook at
MassHOPE Massachusetts Homeschool Discussion and Support Group
. This group provides support and encouragement for homeschoolers pursuing privately-funded, parent-led home education. Its purpose is to encourage and equip homeschool parents to disciple and educate their children for the Lord, and to connect families within our state to give them opportunities to gather together for educational and recreational experiences.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MassHOPEDiscussion/
22.
The MassHOPE Educator ID Card
Educator IDs are available for benefits such as potential discounts at retailers. Order them from our website
HERE
.
23. Your news items wanted
Do you know of an event or activity in or near Massachusetts that would edify or interest the homeschool community? Email Anne Smith at
volunteer@masshope.org
and we will review it for possible inclusion in the MassHOPE Messenger.
24. Remember to "Like" MassHOPE on Facebook
"Like" MassHOPE's
FACEBOOK PAGE
.
You'll be encouraged in your homeschooling journey and will receive all updates for upcoming events.
25. Are you on our mailing lists?
If you are receiving this e-newsletter, you are on our email list! May we also add you to our “snail mail” list to receive occasional information via the U.S. Postal Service? If Yes, please send your full name and complete mailing address to
newsletter@masshope.org
.
26. How to homeschool legally in Massachusetts
This video features Michael Donnelly, formerly HSLDA's designated counsel for Massachusetts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmELLON4OFI&list=PLe7Gz-9V5xsWzxwNhyZUNrdz0K-tbkz9a&index=21
.
The link referenced for further Massachusetts-specific articles is
https://hslda.org/legal/massachusetts
.
27. Special education resources
Here are two valuable resources for homeschooling parents of special needs children.
FREE DOWNLOADS
provides IEP templates, therapy resources, a Getting Started guide, and more.
EMPOWERING HOMESCHOOL CONVERSATIONS
, which covers a wide range of issues.
28. Videos and webinars from HSLDA
T
hree-part video series on getting started:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVOzkYx2vcA&list=PLe7Gz-9V5xsWAtvLTz1gA1CYyPLBBe-Ke
.
How to Start Homeschooling with Special Needs
:
https://hslda.org/teaching-my-kids/special-needs
.
And many, many more
:
https://hslda.org/community/webinars
.
29. Get started homeschooling in Massachusetts
Check out this MassHOPE site for
getting started
.
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