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If you’re a parent that homeschools your children or has a child that needs a little additional help with their school work, it can be frustrating to find enough material to help your child learn. Luckily, using the library to enhance your homeschooling or homework help is as easy as ABC!

The library offers free access to a wealth of online resources which can be used to boost your homeschool learning.

• If your child loves to learn languages, try out the Mango Languages app. Choose from over 70 world languages and over 20 English as a Second Language courses.
• LearningExpress Library has the Grades 4-8 Educator Resource Center, where you can print curriculums, worksheets, and more for developing math, reading, and writing skills. It also has resource centers for high school aged learners, including free test preparation for the SAT, ACT, and AP tests.
• If you’re incorporating daily reading as part of your homeschooling, try Beanstack. The app allows you to track your child’s reading throughout the year, and even comes with timers to help your child get the appropriate amount of reading done each day.
• GALILEO is Georgia’s Virtual Library with additional online databases which your child can use to research specific topics and current events. Try the Explora portal, the New Georgia Encyclopedia, or the Points of View Reference Source.

Of course, your PINES library card gives you access to the millions of physical and digital books for you and your children. Try out these methods to bring the world to your home.

• If you’re looking for print resources, like books for your homeschool students to read or that focus on how to build a homeschool curriculum, give the PINES app a shot. Simply search for whatever title, author, or topic you’re hoping to cover and place a hold on each title you’re interested in.
  • Time Saving Pro Tip: If you are browsing the PINES catalog from a desktop or laptop, add the titles you want to your “basket” and place your hold at the end of your searches.
• We are always adding new eBooks and audiobooks to our collection! Read more about the various ways you can borrow or request eBooks. You can also find additional eBooks via GALILEO.
• Screen time doesn’t always have to be mindless. This year, our libraries added various Launchpads, tablets which offer educational apps and games designed for kids (and which don’t require Internet access!). We’ve also added several Chromebooks that older students may find helpful in performing research or typing up papers.

If you can’t bring the world to your home, then you can certainly explore it with us! Attending a library event or visiting a museum in the state can be great learning opportunities for your children.

• Each of our eleven branches offers a variety of events geared towards people of all ages. Sometimes they’re educational and informational, sometimes recreational, and all the time they’re a blast. Some branches even offer opportunities for homeschooling families to meet and co-create those learning experiences together.
• Georgia Public Library Service has partnered with several parks and museums to provide families with free passes to those locations. Households may use each pass once every six months; with over a dozen passes available, you could potentially visit a new museum or park every other week throughout the year!