MILWAUKEE — Home schoolers aren't just at home anymore.

Granted, the core subjects are mostly taught around the kitchen table or on the living-room sofa, but today's home-school families are increasingly on the road taking advantage of extracurricular activities offered specifically for home schoolers in their communities.

Like their traditionally schooled counterparts, home-schooled kids enjoy sports of all kinds. Many flow into the mainstream by participating in community leagues, parks and recreation department programs, or joining public or parochial school teams. Others belong to home school sports leagues organized by volunteers with a background in athletics.

Some, like the Rosien children in North Chile, N.Y., take lessons from friends or neighbors.

“I found out that my neighbor is a jujitsu expert,” said Mary Lou Rosien, who, along with her husband, Igor, home schools five of her seven children. “So, I asked him if he would teach my children. Now he gives them lessons in his basement and they absolutely love it.”

In addition to sports teams, most YMCAs offer swim and physical education classes formulated for home schoolers. The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee South Shore Branch has twice-weekly gym classes for kids age 5 through 14.

“It's wonderful to see how the older kids, even if they don't have younger siblings of their own, will help out the younger kids during class,” said Janice Rozga, home school coordinator. “In the meantime, the moms can relax, talk and form bonds themselves.”

Fine arts possibilities are limitless. Dance, theater, music and art are all readily accessible in anything from private lessons to professional-level participation.

At the Fine Arts Institute of Edmond, Okla., for example, home-schooled kids in grades one through eight learn drawing, painting, sculpting, printmaking and various other art techniques and styles as well as study famous artists.

According to Executive Director Mitzie Hancuff, opening classes specifically for home schoolers gives the institute an opportunity for growth while at the same time serving a need in the community.

“We aim to bring out a talent in each child,” said Jean Marie Madlo, who along with her husband, Jim, home schools their three children in Superior Township, Mich. “We want to give them an area of success using their bodies. Their academic success is brought out during the school day, so we look for activities that will boost the children's confidence by knowing that they have some area of expertise.”

For the Madlo children, that includes ballet, gymnastics, theater, keyboarding, hiking and camping.

Field Trips

Museums and zoos all over the country also realize the potential benefits of creating programs for home schoolers.

Plimoth Plantation, a 17th-century living history museum in Plymouth, Mass., offers home-school field trips, all-day programs and overnights as well as on-site presentations. It also offers discounted teaching materials at the museum and free teaching resources on its Web site.

SeaWorld in San Diego holds monthly home-school field trips attended by an average of 1,500-2,000 home schoolers each trip. The park is closed to the general public and home schoolers have the opportunity to learn about ecology, conservation and animal training and behavior at learning centers staffed by SeaWorld educators.

SeaWorld and Plimoth Plantation are a mere sample of the expansive list of art, science and history museums, nature centers, planetariums, aquariums, zoos and conservation parks nationwide that offer special home-school schedules and discounts.

By banding together in support groups, home schoolers form their own clubs and organizations to facilitate any imaginable activity — drama, chess, geography bees, spelling bees, science fairs, cultural events, discussions, sewing circles, choirs, Little Flowers, Blue Army Cadets, rosary devotions, public speaking, Scripture studies, park play dates, field trips, crafts and much more.

Many of these activities are held in homes, but others are held in parish halls, library meeting rooms or Catholic retreat centers. Learning co-ops run by home-school parents allow home-school kids to learn skills from someone with in-depth knowledge of the subject such as creative writing, biology or auto repair.

Any home schooler can join the mainstream — and countless do — by signing up for civic organizations. Boy and Girls Scouts, Toastmasters, 4-H, Civil Air Patrol and St. Vincent De Paul Society are just a few. It's not unusual for home schoolers to become deeply involved in parish life by doing things such as working in food pantries, ushering, visiting the home-bound and teaching CCD.

Physical Education

Of course, home schoolers aren't all work and no play. Ice and roller skating rinks, bowling alleys, ski lodges and a variety of entertainments give home schoolers special times and discounted rates.

During the last week of August each year, Six Flags Elitch Gardens in Denver is thronged with 2,000-3,000 home schoolers being scooped, swirled and twirled on the theme park's amusements for less than half of the normal admission. Similar home-school events are held at other Six Flag parks across the United States.

“We approached some of the home-school groups about doing a physics education program for them,” said general sales manager Jeffrey Roolf, “but they declined. They simply wanted a special time to have fun with other home schoolers and we're happy to provide it to them.”

It's easy to become overwhelmed or burnt out with the enormous number of possibilities for home schoolers. That happened to Theresa Rugel-The, a Huntington Beach, Calif., mom who home schools her four children. The Thes began home schooling last year and were eager to become deeply involved in the home-schooling community and lifestyle, so they signed up for a large number of activities.

“In retrospect,” she reflected, “I can see that it was too much, but I still don't regret it. It was a good experience for all of us.”

Now Theresa Rugel-The judges each activity based on three criteria: the morality of the content and the people involved, the interest level of the child and the enhancement it offers to their academic goals.

Mary Lou Rosien agrees. She and her husband feel strongly that the Catholic Church has given them the responsibility to guide their children toward sanctity. All academics and extracurricular activities must be judged with the skills and character formation of the child in mind.

“We want to teach our children to be saints first and scholars second,” she said. “That's what home schooling is all about.”

Marge Fenelon writes from Cudahy, Wisconsin.