Each lesson includes hands-on activities which put the student in direct contact with the phenomena being studied. Each book provides ideas, activities, and experiments which can be performed at home and if desired, developed into larger, more comprehensive lessons. Many television programs also investigate scientific concepts and often suggest or provide activities for viewers to do at home. Often, they also demonstrate many phenomena that are not easily studied at home or school. For families with access to cable TV, the Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel are also good supplements to science study.
Program guides are available for much of the daytime programming on public television stations.
These guides present an entire school year's program calendar and often provide dates and times for block feeds of entire science series. Several instructional programs have instructor information available, including discussion items, questions, activities, supplemental readings, and evaluation materials. The local library, of course, is one of the best places for homeschoolers to find reference materials. Public libraries provide a wealth of science reference information, and many libraries supply free access to the Internet. The library is a valuable source of activities and materials which can complement the homeschooling curriculum.