Homeschooling Resources

Homeschooling Resources

Introduction:

At MLA 2019 in Helena, the Children's and Youth Services Interest Group met and discussed ideas and suggestions for activities next year. One topic of interest that emerged was more resources to provide to homeschooling communities in libraries. A short survey was sent to youth services librarians across the state to get feedback on what kinds of resources people were looking for, and the State Library reached out to homeschooling groups across the state to get their input as well. From those two sources, we compiled a resource list. 

If you have any resources to add, please feel free to post them in this thread!

Homeschooling Resources:

  • 101 Picks for Homeschool Curriculum
    by Cathy Duffy
  • Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfriend Engelman, Phyllis Haddox, and Elaine Bruner
  • All in One Homeschool (website) - A free, online homeschool curriculum developed by one family. This curriculum is Christian-based and has materials for Preschool through 8th grade. A separate high school site is available as well (listed below).
  • Khan Academy (website) - A nonprofit website "with the mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere." KA has a variety of classes to choose from, and all materials are free and accessible with an account.
  • Online Homeschooling Resources Compilation (website) - This is a great starting point resource, from parents.com, that goes through many of the important questions you'll need to answer before starting to homeschool. This compilation is split up into different sections, and provides resources for each, such as educational philosophies, legal requirements, online curriculums, online learning websites, blogs, and online communities (Facebook and Twitter). The material may be a little dated (the article was written in 2012), but it is a nice outline of topics for those who are new to homeschooling to tackle.
  • How Do I Homeschool? (blog) - This blog is another great starting point for people who are trying to decide if they want to homeschool or not. This article lists out each step and topic that needs to be considered for homeschooling, and provides links. The author of this blog is Christian, so her personal examples feature her faith, while the information that she provides is more general. 
  • Home School Legal Defense Association (website) - HSLDA is a nonprofit that works to "defend and advance the constitutional rights of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms." Through HSLDA, you can join as a member and have a low-cost method of obtaining quality legal defense. While the founding members of HSLDA seem to be Christian, there is no requirement for members to be Christians, or to use Christian curricula.
  • All About Learning Press (website) - All About Learning Press has two homeschool curricula available for purchase - All About Reading, and All About Spelling. The founder of All About Learning Press, Marie Rippel, started this program in response to her son's diagnosis of severe dyslexia, and features multisensory programs and scaffolding.
  • Timberdoodle Co (website) - This is a great website to get educational materials from at discounted prices. Materials range from books, props, toys, models, DVDs, etc
  • Montana Coalition of Home Educators (website) - The MCHE's goals are to "bring homeschoolers together to protect Montana's home school freedom, while maintaining the independence and autonomy of the individual families and the existing local and state organizations." They have a very informative FAQ about homeschooling in Montana, and their "Support Group" tab has a helpful list of all homeschooling groups and organizations in the state.
  • OPI Home School Informational Packet (PDF) - OPI has put together this document that outlines key statutes regarding private/nonpublic schools in Montana, as well as rules and statutes regarding homeschooling. It also provides links to the 2017 Montana Annotated Code if you would like to read more in-depth into the rules and regulations. 
  • How to Homeschool in Montana (website) - This website provides information on homeschooling all across the US, including the various laws, rules, and regulations around homeschooling. I would recommend double-checking your information to verify it, but this is a good place to start for general information. 

Conferences:​

Montana Homeschool Convention (will be in 2020 in Bozeman) - Was not able to find a contact for this just yet, so please post if you know who might be in charge of this.