1. Home School Days at Sturbridge Village

Old Sturbridge Village is inviting the homeschooling community to join them for their next Home School Days on Wednesday, September 11, or Friday, September 20. This is an opportunity to explore the Village and participate in hands-on activities. During these Home School Days, the focus will be on fall and the changing of the seasons. From apples to colorful leaves and landscapes, learn how rural 19th-century people prepared for the long winter ahead. Two activities this month will also focus on the bicentennial of the Marquis de Lafayette’s farewell tour! Workshop options include:

• Hearth Cooking: Applesauce and Mulled Cider
• Reverse Glass: Marquis de Lafayette
• Carding and Weaving
• Dirty Jobs
• Needlefelting: Make a fall Landscape
• And more

Sign Up for September 11th Workshops

Sign Up for September 20th Workshops

2. August Adventures: just FOUR MORE days

A free offering every day in August, from one end of the commonwealth to the other. Zoos, museums, historic sites, and more, for all ages. Just four more days to go! The final four locations are in Fitchburg, Boston, Dennis, and Topsfield. For details, go HERE . Sponsored by the Highland Street Foundation.

3. Upcoming: fee-free days at our national parks

On Saturday, September 28 and Monday, November 11 there will be FREE ADMISSION to all National Park Service sites. Find sites in Massachusetts HERE .

4. Is homeschooling hard?

Of course it's hard. So is it worth it? Here's an HONEST LOOK at the situation, and an encouraging answer.

5. Homeschooling still on the rise in Idaho

The pandemic is long over, but IN IDAHO , as in many other states, the homeschool numbers keep going up.

6. FAITH Tutorials in Weston

FAITH Tutorials offers high school classes for home schoolers in Weston, Massachusetts. Our classes are designed from a Christian Worldview and led by highly qualified instructors in a small class setting. 

Courses offered include American History, Biology, Chemistry, American Literature, Economics, Basics of Business, and Chick-Fil-A Leadership Academy

If you have any questions or need more information, please do not hesitate to contact us via email at  FAITH.homeschoolers.group@gmail.com . We would love to chat with you and discuss how FAITH Tutorials can enrich your homeschooling journey.

7. We make learning Spanish fun!

At Academia Bilingual Bridges, classes are taught online in a way that your children will never forget! They will become so absorbed that they won't want the class to end! We offer classes for parents as well. SPECIAL $20 DISCOUNT FOR HOMESCHOOLERS. Call (240-764-9094), send a text, or send us an email ( academiabilingualbridges@gmail.com ) for more information. You can take a look at our offerings and our instructor bios at   www.academiabilingualbridges.com .

8. Free homeschool downloads

CLICK HERE   for a boatload of free resources to download from Christianbook.

9. For your encouragement:  Just starting? Read this first.

Before you panic, thinking you don’t have the perfect homeschool “recipe,” take a look  HERE .

10. Homeschooling in the news:  This university seeks out homeschoolers

Evidently Homeschooling Parent (homeschoolingparent.com) confers “homeschooling-friendly” status on deserving institutions. Tennessee Tech has earned theirs for the second year in a row. You can read about it  HERE .

11. Spread the word!

Help us share the news about our upcoming 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!

12. Discounts from SchoolhouseTeachers.com - one ending 9/6

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. The regular price is $267.97, but by  JOINING HERE  you can get two years for the price of one. This second offer (BOGO) is good only until September 6.

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!

13. Convention recordings available

Recordings are available from our 2024 convention. If there was a particular session you'd like to hear again or share with others, or if there is a subject you wish you had been there to hear, go to  ALLIANCE RECORDINGS .

14. 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 #16, below) 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.

15. 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.

16. MassHOPE Facebook discussion group

Connect with us on Facebook at MassHOPE’s 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/

17. The MassHOPE Educator ID Card

Educator IDs are available for benefits such as potential discounts at retailers. Order them from our website   HERE .

18. 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.

19. Remember to "Like" MassHOPE on Facebook

"Like" MassHOPE's Facebook page:   facebook.com/MassHOPE?fref=ts . You'll be encouraged in your homeschooling journey and will receive all updates for upcoming events.

20. 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 .

21. 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 .

22. Videos and webinars from HSLDA

Could Homeschooling Fit My Family? —Q&A , with Rochelle Matthews-Somerville, HSLDA Special Needs and High School Consultant, and Tj Schmidt, HSLDA Staff Attorney.  https://hslda.org/post/could-homeschooling-fit-my-family

Homeschooling Through Major Life Changes —Q&A ,  with Faith Berens, HSLDA Special Needs Consultant, Tracy Klicka, HSLDA Director of  Development, and Sunny Coté, state department spouse.  https://hslda.org/post/homeschooling-through-major-life-changes

9 Tips for Homeschooling in the Military —Q&A ,  with Natalie Mack, HSLDA High School Consultant and U.S. Navy Chaplain’s wife, and Sabrina Riley, Army National Guard, active duty spouse.  https://hslda.org/post/9-tips-for-homeschooling-in-the-military

Homeschooling through the Holidays?  (or taking a month off? or flexing with hands-on learning and unit studies? or . . . ?) , with Vicki Bentley, HSLDA PreK-8 Educational Consultant and homeschooling mom to eight biological kids plus nine foster kids through the years), and Chelsea Moore, HSLDA blogger (and homeschooling mom to two).  https://hslda.org/post/homeschooling-through-the-holidays-q-and-a

hslda.org/Webinars  

T hree-part video series on getting started:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVOzkYx2vcA&list=PLe7Gz-9V5xsWAtvLTz1gA1CYyPLBBe-Ke .

Helpful overview of how to start homeschooling :  https://hslda.org/post/ready-set-go-choosing-homeschool-curriculum-and-more .

You Can Homeschool Through High School :  https://hslda.org/post/you-can-homeschool-through-high-school .

How to Start Homeschooling with Special Needs :  https://hslda.org/teaching-my-kids/special-needs .

And many, many more :  https://hslda.org/community/webinars .

23. Get started homeschooling in Massachusetts

Check out this MassHOPE site for  getting started .