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Worcester Resources
Worcester Resources
Many families already educate their children at home in Worcester.
This is a sampling of the resources available right here in the city to help out.
Start at the Worcester Public Library -- all the branches are awesome but the librarians at the Children's Room at the Main Branch are super helpful. It 's the best place to meet other homeschool families.The library offers museum passes and free access to online classes such as Mango. You can also use your library card to log into databases, magazines and newspapers. Request books from other libraries. There are free test prep classes for HiSET/GED, SAT, TOEFL, and more. For teens, check out the classes and workshops. Ebooks are available instantly and you can even borrow telescopes, Hot Spots and Kindles. There are so many options! Check their website for all the updated information.
Check out the many, many activities organized by Worcester Library including Legos, puppet shows, Story Time, dance, computer games on the big screen, gardening, crafts, construction, and stop motion animation workshops, etc, etc, etc. Ask about organizing activities during the school day specifically for homeschoolers -- book clubs, game days and crafting!
Worcester Public Library often hosts informational sessions on homeschooling. Check their website or ask the Children's librarians for more info.
Check out free days at Worcester Art Museum
Wednesday morning homeschool swimming lessons at the YMCA (Main Street). Call the Y for more details and prices.
Trails and visitor center at Broad Meadow Brook (free for Worcester Residents). Audubon offers many homeschool classes at Broad Meadow Brook as well as at their other locations.
Greater Worcester Land Trust -- miles and miles of hiking trails, green space (and a waterfall) in Worcester and surrounding towns. See their websites GWLT and Hikeworcester for trail maps and other information.
Technocopia (formerly Worcester Area Think Tank) has classes for homeschoolers and maker space on Portland Street near the main library.
The Eco-Tarium - fun visits, sledding, and science. They offer opportunities for volunteering for teens and adults.
Scouting organizations
Check your local church/temple/mosque. They may already have a homeschool support group or at least space available to meet with other families.
FIRST Robotics/Lego League. Find your local contact here or organize your own team.
VEX robotics competitions.-- Massachusetts homeschoolers have done well in VEX!
Want to get your kids interested in computer programming? Try these free websites designed specifically as first exposures to logical thinking and coding: Alice, Scratch, Scratch Jr and Kodu.
STEM programs at WPI. They host/sponsor programs all year round for a variety of ages. Some are free.
Worcester Historical Museum and Salisbury Mansion. Check their website for more info. Children 18 and under are free, adults only $5. They have a children's section on the history of Worcester with hands on exhibits that will really appeal to the younger set!
Like music? There are free concerts on Wednesdays in the fall and spring at Mechanics Hall from 12 to 1 pm. Brown Bag Concerts are sponsored by WICN.
In the summer there are free concerts and more at the "Out to Lunch" series on Thursdays on the Worcester Oval
Central Rock Gym has a homeschool climbing program. Check with them for more information.
Tours of the Upper Blackstone Wastewater Treatment plant, and the Millbury Incinerator.
Looking for summer activities? Worcester Parks and Recreation programs in the summer include swimming lessons.
A free tennis and reading program for kids ages 6-16 is offered each summer through Tenacity at various tennis courts throughout the city of Worcester.
Green Hill Golf Course at Green Hill Park offers a free Junior Golf Camp in the summer. More information here.
A full 18 hole par 58 public disc golf course is available free at Newton Hill right by Newton Square Rotary. In the summer, Friends of Newton Hill also sponsor concerts and a road race.
Did you know Worcester has a castle? Check out Bancroft Tower for hiking, picnics and city history. Park Spirit of Worcester has a Facebook page and occasionally opens the Tower for the public to climb to the top and check out the beautiful view.
Go outside! Worcester has so many parks and playgrounds spread through the city. There is even a mini farm at Green Hill Park.
The new Blackstone Heritage Corridor Visitor Center is open just off Rt 146 at McKeon Road in Worcester. Open 7 days a week from 9 to 5, the website says "Exhibits will explore Worcester’s “Enduring Legacy” of innovation and invention, immigration, ethnicity, cultural traditions, transportation and industrial history, changes to architecture and landscapes, and environmental sustainability."
Many libraries have the BBC produced foreign language series called "Muzzy" aimed at younger learners. Your kids might like learning Spanish, ESL, French, Chinese and other languages with songs, games and silly cartoons.
Teacher discounts: Michaels, Barnes & Noble and other places offer teacher discounts to homeschoolers if you show your approval letter or membership card from a homeschool association.
Consider getting a membership for a local museum or requesting one as a gift.
Community garden spaces are available in the city. Contact Worcester REC.
What is a "co-op"? Check one out to see if it interests your kids or set up your own. There are many styles and variations. Here are some more resources to check out.
Horseback riding! Check out local farms for volunteering opportunities and chances to ride for a surprisingly reasonable price. See Mesa Farms in Rutland for its riding and farming activities.
Veterans' War Memorials: http://www.worcesterma.gov/parks/memorials-landmarks/war-memorials Take a moment to think about those who have given their lives for our country. These monuments and memorials help make us to realize what huge sacrifices our veterans and their families made for all of us.
The Sprinkler Factory https://sprinklerfactory.com/ Art and exhibitions
Worcester Center for Crafts has lessons for adults and children. See their website for more details.
More programs run by the city of Worcester https://www.worcesterma.gov/parks/activities/recreation-programs
https://www.worcesterma.gov/youth-opportunities Year-round Recreation program and volunteer opportunities.
More info about hiking trails in the city https://www.worcesterma.gov/parks/activities/nature-trails
Public Ice skating at the Worcester Ice Center
More hikes
Event calendar from the Worcester Central Kids Calendar
Got a budding rock hound? Join the Worcester Mineral Club or one of the other rock and mineral clubs in the state. They have regular meetings, lectures, shows and, most exciting, field trips to collecting locales. Worth every penny!
God's Acre and Deed Rock hike at Tettaset Ridge near Worcester Airport.
A few resources outside of Worcester:
-Enjoy nature at Tower Hill Botanical Gardens.
-Wachusett Reservoir is the largest "hand dug" reservoir in the world: see the Stone Church in West Boylston and the massive dam in Clinton MA.
-Hike at Purgatory Chasm.
-Check out the East West Trail and the Midstate Trails.
- Old Sturbridge Village brings the 1830s to life.
-Hike Mount Wachusett in the summer and ski in the winter. Take a photo under Balance Rock, where one massive boulder sits on top of another boulder left there by the glaciers.
-Quabbin Reservoir and its lost towns.
-Ward Hill in Shrewsbury.
-General Artemas Ward House museum at 786 Main Street in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.
-The Worcester Inter-Tribal Indian Center sponsors a Native American Powwow each June in Rutland.
-Wachusett Meadows in Princeton (check out its milkweed meadow if you are doing a unit on monarch butterflies)
Homeschooling
Homeschooling
High School
High School
in Worcester?
in Worcester?
There are loads of options!
Take classes at Quinsigamond Community College (Homeschool students are usually not eligible for financial aid but check with the colleges to be sure.) Homeschool students may take individual classes without having to go through the ACE program, since they are simply supplementing their studies.
Continuing Education classes at night at Worcester State University are a good option. They usually meet for 3 hours one night a week. They have some lab science classes available that meet for a second lab session. Students must pay but the credits are valid at other state colleges.
Some local colleges offer a free course for high school juniors or seniors who are Worcester residents. Check with Clark University and Assumption College for more details.
Technocopia Worcester offers STEAM classes in both homeschool and after school/vacation time slots. Contact them for more info. In addition, they have a large Maker Space and many workshops.
Internships and volunteer positions are available at many places including: the EcoTarium, Old Sturbridge Village, and the Worcester Art Museum.
Love airplanes? Contact the Worcester Cadet Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the United States Air Force. Check out their website for more details.
The City of Worcester offers volunteer and employment opportunities for youth.
Interested in working in the medical field? Check out UMass Hospitals' teen program.
What is your forte? Trade off teaching your specialty! Swap tutoring sessions or set up a co-op with other families.
Robotics! FIRST, VEX and Savage Soccer
Work or volunteer at a farm or help out at community gardens in the city.
Ask around. There are many people willing to help teach, tutor or mentor!
Online resources-- Khan Academy, Ed-X, HarvardX, Coursera, Duolingo, Codecademy, etc, etc, etc! Check out The Physics Classroom.
History buff? There are many reenactment groups in Central Mass for Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI and WWII and more. A new history museum, the American Heritage Museum, is open in Stowe, MA, and hosts many such events.
Outside of Worcester city boundaries, there are a lot of homeschooling options such as Learning Together Tutorials in Uxbridge and Voyagers in Chelmsford, MA. Check out MHLA 's list of options here.
Fitchburg State University has a dual enrollment program that is open to homeschooled students. Be sure to apply early. They have limited seats available.
https://www.fitchburgma.gov/882/Homeschool-and-Free-Educational-Resource
More resources:
More resources:
The Charles Decision http://mhla.org/information/massdocuments/charles.htm
The Brunelle Decision http://mhla.org/information/massdocuments/brunelle.htm
Advocates for Home Education in Massachusetts (AHEM)
http://www.ahem.info/index.html
Massachusetts Home Learning Association : (MHLA) http://mhla.org/
MHLA has a list for legal representation in Massachusetts.
Mass.gov website: Laws about Homeschooling
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-law-about-home-schooling
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