Homeschoolers Rarely Stay Home
There were years, before my kids reached high school age and began apprenticeships and evening clubs and activities, that we would pack up each morning and be gone for most of the day.
What could homeschoolers possibly find to do when all the other children in the world are sitting at desks, raising their hands, and looking longingly out the small windows of their classrooms at the big, exciting world outside?
Well….in our area of the country, the San Francisco Bay Area, there are so many more choices for homeschoolers out and about than you could possibly ever get to.
Where Do You Find All These Things To Do?
BAHFT Yahoo Group
In the San Francisco Bay Area, there is a yahoo group called BAHFT (Bay Area Homeschoolers Field Trips). It is free to join and you will end up with a constant supply of new ‘outside the home’ opportunities to choose from.
This is a group that allows members to post anything that might be interesting to homeschoolers. Some moms use the group to wrangle up groups of families for (home)school tours at farms or museums or businesses. Some moms create large, ongoing weekly park meetups. This group is all inclusive, so you will find activities and meetups that fit your outlook on life as well as many you might not want to expose your children to.
But the beauty of it is that anyone who homeschools can suggest an activity or create an event so you will likely find a lot that fits your family like square dances at local Christian homeschool Co-Ops or any of the opportunities I listed below…
Places To Visit As A Homeschooler In The San Francisco Bay Area
Apple Farms
Hot Air Balloon Festival
Palace of the Legion of Honor
Other Museums That Are Great For Homeschoolers
- Adventure Playground in Berkeley
- Elephant Seal Reserve
- Exploratorium
- Tech Museum
- Intel Corporate Museum Tour
- Computer History Museum
- NASA Moffet Field Museum
- US Army Corp of Engineers Bay Model Museum
Homeschool Days
These are days and times that companies set aside for homeschoolers. Generally the pricing is very low as the times set aside for homeschoolers are times these businesses wouldn’t usually have customers. Sometimes these homeschool times are not even advertised. You just have to know about them by word of mouth.
- Trampoline @ Sky High Sports (weekly)
- Ice Skating @ Sharks Ice in San Jose (monthly)
- Farm Days at Hidden Villa (annual)
Discounted or Free Performances
- Nutcracker Ballet
- Shakespeare on the Farm
- You Sing It Messiah
Homeschool Classes
There are lots and lots of these in the SF Bay area, but our
Rock-It Science
His business is a warehouse located in the midst of big Silicon Valley tech companies who donate their extra bits of equipment, and even their left over liquid nitrogen to Mr. Mac who has created fantastic science projects for kids in a giant room painted like Tolkein’s worlds (the office is Rivendale and there is a tower and a full sized catapault in the classroom area).
You can watch some of these lessons online, but there is nothing like watching the children live the adventure and learn the science in person!
Libraries That Are Free To All
In the San Francisco Bay Area, there are a number of libraries that you can get a free library card from even if you are not a resident.
Santa Clara City Library
This library loves homeschoolers and has wonderfully large tables where many homeschooling families come to let the
Libraries in our area also have a Discover&Go program that allows you to get free and discounted tickets to various local museums.
And so, you see that homeschoolers are rarely at home and in the SF Bay Area there are so many, many choices and opportunities you would never get bored here.
Tomorrow I will talk about what it is like to be a homeschool mom and how to survive with your sense of humor and love of your children intact, so don’t forget to drop back by!
Now, what are some of your favorite “out and about” activities or classes?
Don’t forget to spend some time reading all the wonderful ideas from the great moms in the Blog Hop below!