Engage your East Texas homeschooler with an unexpected field trip.
The East Texas area encompasses roughly 50 counties along the eastern edge of the state, bottomed out by the Gulf of Mexico. If you're homeschooling children in this region, you'll want to find learning opportunities outside the home to augment their studies with real-world, hands-on stimulation. No matter the subject, East Texas contains all the homeschooling parent needs to plan an exciting and educational family adventure.
Museums Aplenty
Typically centered around the region's most populous cities such as Tyler or Lufkin, East Texas contains museums big and small to engage homeschoolers with local and other types of history. The Museum of East Texas in Lufkin is a repository of the region's historical artifacts, exhibiting photography, clothing, artwork and key documents that illuminate the area's evolution. The East Texas Oil Museum recreates oil exploration that began with the 1930 discovery of oil in Rusk County, highlighting the changes that and improvements in quality of life that came with the discovery.
Science Where You Find it
Scientific discovery for young learners is best complemented with hands-on, laboratory work -- either in a controlled environment or out in nature. If your homeschooler is studying something like rock formations in geology or photosynthesis in biology, a trip to one of the region's 17 state parks can drive the lesson home. Discovery Science Place in Tyler offers an affordable way to explore several subjects hands-on in a day, from broadcasting and electricity to lighting and nature. The center has hundreds of hands-on activities for students to glean a more-complete picture of the physical world. Taking your homeschooler to Harrold's Model Train Museum, Caldwell Zoo or Hudnall Planetarium, all in Tyler, will allow them to explore concepts in engineering, biology and space.
Artistry
Few homeschooling parents have the skill and means to impart a quality arts education by themselves. But they can engage their children in various arts-centered activities to give them as well-rounded an upbringing as possible. Enrolling your homeschooler in a children's theater such as the ArtsView Children's Theatre or Rogers Children's Theatre in Tyler will provide an opportunity to meet new friends while learning from experienced teachers stagecraft, acting, singing and dancing. A trip to Piddlin' Pottery in Tyler gives them a chance to craft their own pottery.
Workplaces
Call ahead to the mayor's office, police department, fire department, sewer district or health department in your area and arrange for a visit by your homeschoolers to learn more about particular occupations. A call to the ranger's office at a state park in the East Texas region could give you insight into upcoming activities for children. Any of these pursuits will help your student gain an understanding of the roles of people in society and how they must conform to certain mores.
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