Homegrown Kids

   
   

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Resource Index
   
   

Yahoo Groups, E-Lists, Etc.: Friendly and informative online forums for homeschooling families.

   
   

 

   
 
Bay Area Event Calendars
   
   



Bay Area Discovery Museum

Buddy Club Children's Shows

California Academy of Sciences

California AgriTourism

California State Parks

Chabot Space & Science Center

Coyote Point Museum

Crissy Field Center

deYoung Museum

East Bay Regional Parks


Exploratorium

La Pena Cultural Center

Legion of Honor

Oakland Museum of California

Oceanic Society Whale Watch Tours

Randall Museum

Slide Ranch

Teaching Company's Educational Events List

The Teaching Company

UCB Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive

Zeum Event Calendar

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Charter schools and other public schools that support homeschoolers (East Bay)

   
   

 

** Call or check websites for current information about what counties each school serves.

B.A.S.I.S. (Bay Area School for Independent Study)
On the FAME homepage, choose "BASIS @ Fame"
Serves
Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco Counties.

Connecting Waters Charter School
Located in Ceres and serves students from Alameda, Calaveras, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Stanislauus, and Tuolumne counties.

C.O.I.L.  Circle of Independent Learning Charter School
Located in Fremont and serves students from Alameda and adjacent counties.

Delta Charter Elementary (K-12)  Formerly New Jerusalem Charter School
Located in San Joaquin County. Serves students from Sacramento, Amador, Calaveras, Stanislaus, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties.

Hickman Annex Charter School
Located in Berkeley (510) 525-3111

Website for main campus in Hickman, CA.

Horizons Home Study Program
Voluntary Alternative Home Independent Study Program supported by the Mt. Diablo Uniified School District.
For more information email, or call Jory Sydlaske at 938-2564 ext. 3951.

Pleasanton Unified School District Home School Program
Families with children in kindergarten through eighth grade who live in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Santa Clara, and San Francisco may apply. Students who live outside the Pleasanton school district boundaries will be accepted upon administrative approval and space availability with an interdistrict transfer from their home district.

 

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Discounts for Homeschoolers
   
   


PEAH:
(Parents Educating at Home) Offers a discount card (FEE) that is accepted at a number of Bay Area locations and Online stores.

The following businesses give discounts to homeschool teachers:
Barnes & Nobel 20%
Borders 20%
Joann's Fabrics 10%
Kinko's 10%.
Walden Books 20%

 

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Educational Links
   
   



A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling: This is a large education site with lots to read and do! Amazing amount and variety of useful information and resource links for homeschoolers.

DonnaYoung.org: Printables and resources for homeschoolers.


Educator's Reference Desk: More than 2000 unique lesson plans.

Enchanted Learning.com: Educational reproducables.

GoCityKids.org - East Bay: A city guide for parents, covering the greater San Francisco bay area.

Home Education Magazine

Jon's Homeschooling Resources

Joyful Math: Lots of fun ways to learn math through math games.

Math Worksheet Generator: This website allows you to create customized printable math worksheets from your browser.

The Electronic Naturalist Provides weekly environmental education units. Great archives section.

Unit Studies:
How to Plan a Unit Study
The Joy and Ease of Learning Through Child-Led Unit Studies (An article by Kandi Chong)
Thematic studies based on children's literature

Unschooling.com

 

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Educational Camps and Classes
   
   


Angel Island National Park
  
Overnight living history program
The program takes place at Camp Reynolds, which was built by the U.S. Army in 1863 to help defend San Francisco Bay from Confederate raiders.

Bay Area Discovery Museum

Berkeley Chess Club (The)

Berkeley Iceland

California State Parks Day and overnight programs

Camp Galileo  Camp Galileo combines art, science, and outdoor activities with fun camp traditions for K-5th graders.

Chabot Space & Science Center - Oakland

Coyote Hills Regional Park - Fremont

Coyote Point Museum - San Mateo

Crab Cove Visitor Center at Robert W. Crown Memorial Beach

Exploratorium - San Francisco

Golden Gate National Park

Hidden Villa - Los Altos Hills

Hiller Aviation Museum - San Carlos

History of San Jose

Intel Museum - Santa Clara  Group tours and hands-on science labs

Lawrence Hall of Science - Berkeley

Marin Museum of the Native American - Novato

Mission San Juan Bautista SHP Guided tours & docent-led workshops

Miwok Stables
- Livery classes and lessons for kids and adults, and summer camps for kids in GGNRA in Marin.

M.O.C.H.A. (Museum of Children's Art) - Downtown Oakland

Monterey State Historic Parks

Monart School of the Arts - Berkeley and Alameda

Oakland Museum of California

Oakland Zoo

Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park

Pinnacles National Monument, Hollister

Point Reyes National Monument

Point Reyes National Seashore Association

Sacramento State Historic Parks:
Sutter’s Fort, Railroad Museum, Capitol Museum, Indian Museum, State History Museum, Sutter’s Mill, Gold Discovery Site.

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

San Francisco Zoo

San Mateo County History Museum

Santa Clara County Parks Field Trips and Classroom Programs

Seymour Marine Discovery Center, Santa Cruz

Sonoma Mission State Historic Park - Sonoma, CA 707-938-1519

Tech Museum of Innovation - San Jose  Hands-on Lab Sessions

Tomales Bay State Park - Inverness  415-669-1140

Trapeze Arts - Oakland

Yerba Buena Skating & Bowling Center - San Francisco. Offers weekly skating classes for children of all ages and skill levels

Zeum, San Francisco - Interactive Arts & Technology Field Trips


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Homeschooling Organizations
   
   


American Homeschool Association


California Homeschool Network: This website provides information about CHN organization, current state and federal legislation affecting homeschooling families, how to get started educating your children at home, information about their yearly conference, and much more.

Christian Home Educators Association of California (CHEA)

Gifted Homeschool Forum

Homefires: A homeschooler's resource center for ready-made curriculum, advice, support and community.

Homeschool Association of California: Their website provides information about current state and federal legislation affecting homeschooling families, how to get started educating your children at home, information about their yearly conference, camp outs that occur throughout the year, and much more.

National Home Education Network

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Fairs and Festivals (Mostly Local)
   
   

Note: Events are arranged in rough chronological order.

Chinese New Year (San Francisco) Dates vary usually end of January or early February. Contact: 415-982-3000

African American History Month (Bay Area) February

Jewish Music Festival (Berkeley) Late March-early April

Cal Day (University of California Berkeley campus) Saturday in Mid-April. Performances, exhibits, lectures, tours, sports events, etc.

Earth Day (Downtown Berkeley) Saturday closest to April 22nd.  Contact: 510-654-6346.

Asian Pacific Islander Festival (Berkeley) Mid-April. Contact 510-849-4898, ext. 24.

Youth Arts Festival (Downtown Berkeley) Month-long festival in March/April.

People's Park Anniversary Street Fair and Concert (People's Park, Berkeley) Late April or early May. Contact 510-642-3255

San Francisco International Film Festival (Locations in Berkeley and San Francisco) April and/or May.

Cinco de Mayo (Berkeley & Oakland) Usually on the Sunday closest to May 5th.

Satuki Bazaar and Arts Festival ( Downtown Berkeley) Third weekend in May, Japanese food, games, and entertainment. Contact Berkeley Buddhist Temple, 510-841-1356.

Bay Area Storytelling Festival (El Sobrante) May weekend before Memorial Day. Contact Storytelling Association of Alta California.

Festival of Greece (Oakland) May weekend after Mother's Day. Contact Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

Himalayan Fair (Live Oak Park, Berkeley) Third or fourth weekend in May.

Chocolate & Chalk Art Festival (Solano Avenue, Berkeley/Albany) Last Saturday in May. Street chalk art, chocolate, and street poetry. Contact: Solano Avenue Association.

Juneteenth (South Berkeley) Father's Day Sunday in June. Contact: 510-848-0181

Fourth of July Celebration (Berkeley Marina)

Alameda County Fair (Pleasanton) In June/July for 17 days.

Scottish Highland Games (Oakland) Second weekend in July. Contact the Dunsmuir House Historical Estate 510-615-5555.

Berkeley Kite Festival (Berkeley Marina) Last full weekend in July.

Oakland Chinatown Streetfest (Oakland) Fourth weekend in August.

California State Fair (Sacramento) 22 days in August/September, ending on Labor Day.

Solano Stroll (Solano Avenue, Berkeley. Albany) Second Sunday in September.

"How Berkeley Can You Be?" Parade/Festival (Downtown Berkeley) Sunday in Late September.

Watershed Poetry Festival (Berkeley) Last Saturday in September. North Fork of Strawberry Creek.

Berkeley Arts Festival (Berkeley) Month-long festival in Fall.

Indigenous People's Day (Berkeley) Saturday closest to October 12th. Pow Wow and Indian market. Contact 510-595-5520.

Moon Viewing Festival (Lake Merritt, Oakland) During October's full moon.

Dia de los Muertos Festival (Fruitvale area, Oakland) End of October.

Kwanzaa (Bay Area) December 26 - January 1. Contact Bay are Kwanzaa Committee, 415-563-3519. or AAMLO at Oakland 510-637-0200

   
   
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Field Trip Ideas
   
   


Arts & Crafts &
The Arts

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

Bay Area Glass Institute - San Jose, Demonstration & lecture

de Young Museum - Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco

Legion of Honor

Museum of Children's Art (M.O.C.H.A.)  

Palace of Fine Arts Theater - San Francisco


Factory Tours

Jelly Belly Factory - Fairfield

Mrs. Grossman’s Sticker Factory - Petaluma

NUMMI (New United Motors) - Tour the Toyota assembly line

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory - Berkeley


Farms & Ranches


Ardenwood Historic Farm

California AgriTourism

Deer Hill Ranch

Fully Belly Farm's "Hoes Down

Goldsmith Seeds - Gilroy. No tour info. on website so you must email them.

Hidden Villa - Los Altos Hills

Pie Ranch - Davenport. A Rural Center for Urban Renewal

Slide Ranch  


Gardens

Arboretum -Golden Gate Park

Conservancy of Flowers - Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park

Japanese Tea Garden - Golden Gate Park

Tilden Botanical Garden

UC Botanical Gardens


Historic Sites

Alcatraz Island

Alvarado Adobe and Blume House - San Pablo

John Muir National Historic Site

Mission San Francisco de Asis (Mission Dolores)

New Almaden Quicksilver County Park

New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum

Old Mission San Juan Bautista - Hollister

Pigeon Point Lighthouse - Pescadero


Miscellaneous

Angel Island State Park

Bay Model Visitor Center

Bonfante Gardens Family Theme Park

Buddy Club Children's Shows

Children's Fairyland

Chinatown

Golden Gate Bridge

Guide Dogs for the Blind - San Rafael, tour of their training facility

Niles Canyon Railway

The Bay Model

Winchester Mystery House


Music


Ashkenaz - A Music and Dance Community Center in Berkeley

California World Music Festival in Grass Valley (July)

LaPena Cultural Center




Museums


Bay Area Discovery Museum

California Academy of Sciences

Chabot Space & Science Center

China Camp State Park and Museum

Coyote Point Museum

de Young Museum - Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco

Legion of Honor

Lindsay Wildlife Museum

Oakland Museum of California

Randall Museum

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

San Jose Children's Discovery Museum


The Tech Museum of Innovation



Nature and the Out-of-Doors

Contra Costa Canal Trail

Crab Cove Visitor Center at Robert W. Crown Memorial Beach

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve - Moss Beach

Golden Gate National Recreational Area (GGNRA)

Guide to San Francisco Bay Area Creeks

Mount Diablo State Park

Mount Tamalpais State Park

Muir Woods National park

Oceanic Society

Old Faithful Geyser of California - Napa County

Petrified Forest - Calistoga

Point Reyes National Seashore

Safari West Wildlife Preserve and African Tent Camp - Santa Rosa

Tomales Bay State Park

Wildcat Canyon Regional Park


Science

California Academy of Sciences

Chabot Space & Science Center

Explorit Science Center (Davis)

Exploratorium

Ice Age Fossils of Fremont

Lawrence Hall of Science

The Tech Museum of Innovation



Seasonal Event
s

Annual Gathering of Ohlone Peoples at Coyote Hills. Contact the EBRPD (Fall)

Ardenwood Historic Farm

Christmas in the Park (San Jose)

Fully Belly Farm's "Hoes Down (Fall Harvest Festival)

Slide Ranch (Spring and Fall by appointment)

The Maize in Fremont (Fall)



Zoos and Aquariums

Aquarium on the Bay - Fisherman's Wharf

California Academy of Sciences

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Oakland Zoo - Tours available

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Support Groups in the Bay Area
   
   


**Also see Yahoo Groups, E-Lists, Etc. for 'Cyber' support groups.

Alameda Oakland Homelearners: Call, or email Jennifer at 510-601-8748

Bay Area Home Schoolers

Bay Area Multi-Cultural Homeschool Educators (BAM-HE)
This group exists to provide support and resources to families of color who homeschool in the Bay Area. This group has an East Bay parkday and a South Bay parkday. Contact: BAM-HE-owner@yahoogroups.com

Bay Area Muslim Moms: Contact Chloe Chaudhry

(The) Contra Costa County Homeschool Meetup Group Walnut Creek

East Contra Costa Explorers (ECCEA) Brentwood, Discovery Bay, Oakley,Antioch, Pittsburg, and surrounding areas. Charmaine Abasolo or (925) 516-0555.

Family Village: Contact Diane Schoenfeld at 510-524-1625, or email Jennifer Braun.

Hayward Area Homeschoolers: Hayward, San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, San Leandro. Contact Christina Sonas

Homegrown Kids: That's us! We welcome all homeschoolers from El Sobrante to Oakland and beyond.

Marin Homeschool Families: Marin County

Nature Explorers of the East Bay: Homeschooling families who go on nature hikes around the Bay area

San Francisco Homeschoolers

Tri-Valley Explorers: Livermore to Concord and beyond.

Welcome Homeschoolers: Serving Redwood City, San Mateo, and San Francisco areas

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Yahoo Groups, E-Lists, Etc.
   
   


A to Z Classifieds
: Swap your used homeschool curriculum and educational material here. Subscribe

AHomeschoolReview:  Yahoo Group forum for asking advice about and recommending curriculum and other homeschooling related items. Subscribe

Bay Area Homeschool Field Trips (BAHFT): For homeschoolers in the San Francisco Bay Area who enjoy field trips. Subscribe

Bay Area Multi-Cultural Homeschool Educators (BAM-HE)
This group exists to provide support and resources to families of color who homeschool in the Bay Area. This group has an East Bay parkday and a South Bay parkday. Subscribe

CaliforniaHS-Calendar: CHN's Statewide Calendar of Events gives the latest on activities, field trips, & classes for all California homeschoolers. Subscribe

Clickschooling: They search the Net and email you one terrific educational website each day. Subscribe

FlyBaby Homeschoolers: An e-list of homeschooling moms using the Flylady system in their homes and homeschools. (FlyLady website) Subscribe

Hayward Homeschoolers: For families in the Hayward, Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, and San Leandro areas. Subscribe

Homefires Calendar: Homeschool Events in California, with special focus on the San Francisco Bay Area. Subscribe

HSC's California Homeschooling: An all-inclusive online community sponsored by HSC, to discuss all issues of homeschooling. Subscribe

San Francisco Bay Unschooling Network: (SFBUN) An on-line support group for unschoolers and homeschoolers interested in exploring an unschooling approach in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Subscribe

San Francisco Bay - Waldorf Homeschoolers - A Yahoo Group for Waldorf inspired homeschooling families in the San Francisco Bay Area. Subscribe

Work and Homeschool: An e-list for working parents to discuss the unique challenges and concerns they face while homeschooling their children. Subscribe

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If you send us an email, please be sure to put the word "homeschool"
in the subject line so that your email is not filtered out.