Local & State Resources
Homeschoolers learn as much outside the home as in it. Here you'll find listings of cultural and educational institutions, government resources, libraries, and bookstores. If you need a tutor, this is the best place for you to find one near you.
Museums
Explore the world of art, science, and history by visiting a museum in Alabama. Museum trips can make your lessons come alive and can offer a fun way to spend the day learning.
Zoos & Wildlife
You can read all you want in a book, but there is nothing like seeing the objects of your study up-close and personal when you visit a zoo, nature preserve, aquarium, or wildlife sanctuary. Visit the animal kingdom here in Alabama, and you'll find a fun and interesting way to learn more about the natural world.
Botanical Gardens
Share the natural world with your child at these botanical gardens and arboretums. These are wonderful places to go to go birding, work on your nature journals, or simply spend a lovely afternoon outdoors.
Nature Centers
Nature centers are places where you can see the natural and historical world come alive. Browse through these nature centers in Alabama and introduce your children to the world outside their door.
Theater, Dance & Music
Visiting and viewing the arts expands your outlook on the world and can an inspiration to both you and your children. Browse through this list of theaters, dance companies, and music offerings in Alabama.
Historic Sites
Learn through history by visiting interesting historic sites around the state of Alabama. Historic sites let you put a real face on the history that you've read about, making it more exciting for you and your children.
National & State Parks
Continue your child's education as you explore the natural wonder of national and state parks in Alabama.
Public Resources
Connect with government and public agencies in Alabama that can offer resources and opportunities for learning.
State School Resources
A listing of public school resources, including Alabama's Department of Education, school districts, and other useful information.
Libraries
Libraries are an important resource for homeschoolers. Parents and children value librarians for the expertise they share when navigating the vast amounts of information found in today's libraries. Libraries also provide lending materials, educational materials, meeting space for support groups, and more.
Bookstores
Where can you find homeschooling books, curricula, and supplies? Where can you get used books? Here is a list of bookstores around the state of Alabama, with a special emphasis on those that are especially helpful for homeschoolers.
Tutors & Teachers
Are you looking for a tutor? Need some help with a particular subject? Here are some resources to help you.
What's Popular
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) is a cultural and educational research center that promotes a comprehensive understanding and appreciation for the significance of civil rights developments in Birmingham with an increasing emphasis on the international struggle for universal human rights. BCRI documents the struggle of African-American citizens in Birmingham to become full participants in the city's government and business community.
Lakepoint Resort State Park
Located seven miles north of Eufaula off Highway 431 on the Alabama-Georgia line, Lake Eufaula is known as the "Bass Capital of the World." This picturesque 1,220-acre park complements the beautiful 45,200-acre Eufaula Impoundment with many resort facilities including a full service marina. You may also enjoy the adjoining National Wildlife Refuge.
Bellingrath Gardens & Home
The original 60 acres of the Bellingrath Gardens & Home were purchased by Walter Bellingrath in 1917 upon the advice of his physician. Dr. P. D. McGehee advised his patient to learn how to play and told him to buy the fishing camp he had been admiring. The camp consisted of three dilapidated houses and an overgrown jungle. Mr. Bellingrath reworked the cabins and began clearing the paths and was able to have his first house party here in December of 1918. The gardens were eventually opened to the...
Alabama Schools, School Systems, and School District Information
A comprehensive list of school districts and schools in Alabama.
ALEX - Alabama Learning Exchange
Alabama's education web portal where teachers can find courses of study, lesson plans, and web resources aligned to Alabama Course of Study content standards.
Paul "Bear" Bryant Museum
The mission of the Paul W. Bryant Museum is to collect, preserve and exhibit items, and to disseminate information relating to the sports history of the University of Alabama.
Buck's Pocket State Park
Located two miles north of Grove Oak and secluded in a natural pocket of the Appalachian Mountain chain, this 2,000-acre park is a naturalist's dream. Various hiking trails highlight this park. Uniquely located, the park's picnic area offers a natural vista into the pocket below. A boat launch and fishing area are also provided seven miles away at Morgan Cove on Lake Guntersville. The campground is nestled in the bottom of the canyon, several miles upstream from the lake.
Chewacla State Park
Located four miles south of Auburn and convenient to I-85, Chewacla's 696 scenic areas are a delightful haven for road-weary tourists. Features include a 26-acre lake and rental boats, picnic areas and cabins and campsites for overnighting.
Old Cahawba Archaeological Park
Learn of the rise and fall of Alabama's first state capital and most famous ghost town.
Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art
The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art is home to Auburn University's permanent collection of American and European art. The museum gardens present a series of formal gardens that incorporate walking paths, water features and fountains. Each of the galleries is specially designed to complement a permanent collection, including the Audubon Collection, Works on Paper Study Room, and the "Advancing American Art Collection," 36 paintings and drawings that represent the post-World War II era. The ...
Children's Hands-On Museum of Tuscaloosa
The Children's Hands-On Museum is a unique educational institution that exists to stimulate the curiosity of children, ages 2-12 years, about themselves and their place in the world.
Florence Museums System
The Florence Museums System consists of five separate properties: W. C. Handy Home, Museum & Library, a restored log cabin that was the boyhood home of the famous composer known as the "Father of the Blues"; Indian Mound and Museum; Pope's Tavern Museum, a Civil War era historic site; The Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts; and Frank Lloyd Wright-Rosenbaum House.
Oak Mountain State Park
Just off I-65, 15 miles south of Birmingham, Oak Mountain's 9,940 acres span pine-studded ridges and lush green valleys. The park offers vacation cottages, golf, improved camping, picnicking, tennis, swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, backpacking, a demonstration farm, and horse boarding and riding facilities. With the largest area and variety of outdoor recreational pursuits, Oak Mountain is sure to provide excitement for every member of the family.
Eastern Shore Art Center
Eastern Shore Art Center is a non-profit arts organization located in downtown Fairhope, Alabama. The Art Center houses four galleries with exhibits that change monthly, as well a gallery featuring member artists' work for sale. The Academy offers a wide variety of classes and workshops in five spacious studios. Classes are offered on a quarterly basis to both adults and children.
Southern Museum of Flight
Visit the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham to see some of the machines that helped the world take to the skies. Aircraft on display include one of Delta Air Line's first planes, a Huff Daland crop duster, a 1912 Curtiss Pusher replica, an A-12 Blackbird and F- 4 jet fighter. The museum also houses aviation memorabilia, including the gloves worn by Germany's Red Baron on his last flight, a landing light used by the Wright Brothers at their Montgomery flying school and artifacts from the "F...
Resources
America's Spectacular National Parks
The concept of the national park is an American contribution to world civilization, and it remains a defining characteristic of our country. From the rocky shore of Maine's Acadia to the barren crater and lush rain forest of Hawaii's Haleakala, America's national beauty is celebrated and preserved in its national parks. This book retells the history of each park, describes its most important features and wildlife, and reproduces its gorgeous scenery in full-color photographs that will enthrall armchair travelers and entice others to lace up their hiking boots and reach for their sporting gear. Organized by region of the country, it includes well-known parks like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Glacier as well as lesser-known destinations like Shenandoah, Biscayne, and Kenai Fjords.
Educational Travel on a Shoestring : Frugal Family Fun and Learning Away from Home
Educational Travel on a Shoestring shows parents how they can help their children learn–and have a blast–while traveling. From researching destinations to sharing activities that both teach and entertain, this priceless guide offers practical information for parents who want to have more fun with their kids, build closer family ties, and enjoy richer educational experiences–all without spending a fortune.
America's National Parks for Dummies, Second Edition
What makes a trip to a national park so wonderful? For starters, America's national park system is more diverse than any park system in the world. You can stroll the seashore at Olympic National Park in Washington or Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, climb craggy mountains in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, or go underground into the world's largest cave system at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. You can marvel at the largest canyon on Earth (Grand Canyon National Park), hike among the planet's largest collection or rock arches (Arches National Park), explore the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere (Death Valley National Park), or wander a realm of forests and misty mountains (Great Smoky Mountains National Park).

And these are just a few of your park options.

America's National Parks For Dummies gives you guidance to decide which park is for you, when to go, and what to see when you reach your destination. This guide will help you plan the best trip imaginable, whether you are

  • An inexperienced traveler looking for guidance in determining whether to take a trip to a national park and how to plan for it
  • An experienced traveler who has yet to explore the national park system and wants expert advice when you finally get a chance to enjoy one
  • Any traveler who doesn't like big, thick travel guides that list every single hotel, restaurant, or attraction, but instead looks for a book that focuses on the places that will provide the best or most unique park experience

America's National Parks For Dummies is user-friendly and organized in a logical fashion. Each park is broken down in a chapter that delves into the nitty-gritty of trip planning and highlights, including tips for

  • Planning your trip by touching on the diversity of the park system, explaining some of your vacation options, and telling you when parks are the most (and least) crowded
  • Ironing out the details by describing how you get to the parks and how to find your way around after you arrive
  • Exploring America's national parks by giving you the lowdown on 15 of the best parks, detailing things like each park's wild kingdom, the best spots for memorable photographs, and a few safety issues

The pages of this book resemble a great long-distance hike – you never know what's around the next bend in the trail. So throw on a backpack, take a swig of water, and get ready to explore the national parks!

The National Parks of America
For tourists, family campers, and serious lovers of the outdoors, here is a big, beautiful, color-illustrated book that describes more than 50 national parks, sites, and seashores that stretch from Cape Hatteras on the Atlantic coast to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Yosemite in California, Haleakala in Hawaii, and Glacier Bay in Alaska. More than 400 breathtaking photographs capture the beauty and atmosphere of each site, and 54 color maps show each park's location and major features. Visitor information panels give important details on access points, accommodations, and recreational activities such as hiking, rafting, birdwatching, and fishing. Here is a wonderful volume that will inspire plans for trips and evoke marvelous memories of past experiences in America's great outdoors.
National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, Fourth Edition

Now in its fourth edition, the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America is the ultimate birder’s field guide. Sturdy, portable, and easy-to-use, it features the most complete information available on every bird species known to North America. This revised edition features 250 completely updated range maps, new plumage and species classification information, specially commissioned full-color illustrations, and a superb new index that allows birders in the field to quickly identify a species.

The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fourth Edition will continue to be a bestseller among the fastest-growing sector in the U.S. travel market—the nearly 25 million people who travel each year specifically to observe wild birds.

These Rare Lands
If a picture's worth 1,000 words, this book--with its hundreds of breathtaking photos of America's National Parks--is a well-stocked bookstore. Accompanied by the words of poet laureate Mark Strand, These Rare Lands is a perfect coffee-table book for anyone who has enjoyed the wonders of nature's wildest places. From a storm over Sequoia National Park in California to the otherworldly stalactites and stalagmites of New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns and an Atlantic sunset in Maine's Acadia, this is a book that draws you back again and again. Photographer Stan Jorstad's obvious love of nature comes through in the thoughtful approach he takes to his life's work, contained in the pages of These Rare Lands.
Great Lodges of the National Parks: The Companion Book to the PBS Television Series
Stand amid soaring Douglas fir in the great hall of Glacier Park Lodge or sit in the setting sun and gaze into the Grand Canyon at El Tovar. This beautiful gift book will transport you to the majestic lodges of our national parks to relive the glory of past vacations or plan adventures anew. This book and the PBS television series of the same title (to air in spring 2002) take armchair travelers into these architectural wonders and explore the surrounding natural beauty of our national parks. Lodges, wildlife, and stunning vistas are showcased in 175 full-color and black-and-white photographs, along with historical documents from the PBS series. In his introduction, Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers a call to preserve this national heritage, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book go toward the rehabilitation of these magnificent buildings.
America's National Parks: The Spectacular Forces That Shaped Our Treasured Lands
From stunning mountain ranges to arid expanses of desert, America has been blessed with an incredibly diverse land -- and the vision to protect it for our and future generations to enjoy. These lands are ours to view, wander, learn from, and revel in. America's National Parks captures all that is great about all fifty-six parks in the national park system. It also gives interesting, easy-to-understand background on the geological and ecological forces that continue to make each national park so worthy of protection.

Nature lovers will be captivated by gorgeous photos of landforms, flora, and fauna. Families will appreciate the information that is sure to enhance vacations at the parks. And visitors to any of the country's national parks will forever treasure this book as a memento of past visits and an inspiration for future ones.

Unlike any other book published on national parks, America's National Parks is a must-have for anyone who relishes America's natural wonders and wants to learn more about the powerful forces that created them.

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The Outdoor Life of Children: The Importance of Nature Study and Outside Activities (Charlotte Mason Topics - Volume 2
The methods of Charlotte Mason are popular among homeschoolers. She includes nature study as a crucial element. This work explores the idea of the outdoors as a classroom for children, and gives tips on ways of teaching the sciences, history, literat...
Discover Your Child's Learning Style : Children Learn in Unique Ways - Here's the Key to Every Child's Learning Success
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Crash-Proof Your Kids: Make Your Teen a Safer, Smarter Driver
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A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning
Now you can realize the joy filled homeschool of your dreams! This modern classic is written by the homeschool mom who first carried Charlotte Mason's writings to America in her suitcase in 1987. Miss Mason's books were soon republished for a new gen...
Homeschooling 101: A Guide to Getting Started
Homeschooling 101 gives you the steps to help you get started on your homeschool journey. This guide lays out how to get started, choose and gather curriculum, scheduling, organizing your home, and finding the joy in homeschooling. This book is perfe...