With the uncertainty of COVID, librarians are seeing an uptick in calls from people who are choosing to homeschool their children. As a librarian who homeschooled my two children, I have some insight into leveraging Library resources as you educate your children.

First, I want to mention that to homeschool in Ohio you need to notify your school’s superintendent at the beginning of the year and assess your children’s learning at the end of the year. The Ohio Department of Education website will guide you through the process. You’ll find that Ohio gives homeschoolers a lot of choice in what to offer and when. I found a simple scope and sequence helpful in planning what my kids would study. World Book offers a typical course of study which can be useful.

As to Library resources, a note on what we don’t offer extensively: textbooks and workbooks. Although we do have a few, there are just too many different homeschool curriculums for us to offer a good selection. Also, workbooks don’t work so well if you can’t write in them and families typically need textbooks longer than our borrowing period, so it doesn’t make sense for us to purchase them.

While we don’t offer many textbooks, the Library offers a rich assortment of resources and services that provide ample aid to homeschoolers, all free to anyone with a Library card and PIN.

To begin with, if you are a homeschooler, parent or other educator, take a look at the new tab on the Toledo Library’s home page, PreK-12 HELP where we’ve gathered a wealth of educational options.

When I homeschooled, I purchased some curriculum, particularly for Math which I was a little nervous about teaching. For other subjects, I found that informational Library books were great learning resources. Need books about bears for a 3^rd grader? Ask your librarian for recommendations. They can find books at your child’s reading level. You can call or ask in person at your branch or fill out this handy form to request materials.

One thing that’s new since I was homeschooling is the selection of electronic resources that the Library offers. If you need books after the Library closes or don’t want to brave the weather (or COVID), we have a great variety of books that you can access with your computer, phone or tablet.

These are just of few of the resources that the Library offers. You can find more under the Research menu on the Library website. Look there for the link Education and Homework Help. And don’t forget, librarians are standing by to help with your homeschool needs. Just ask if you have a question!