Missouri homeschoolers?

[phathui5]

Dh is looking at possibly taking a job in Missouri and I'm interested in MO homeschooling info. Laws, resources, number of homeschoolers, groups, conferences, the works...

[joy_seeker]

We are in south central MO.

The laws here are pretty laid back. Basically we keep a log of our hours... 1000 per year, 600 of those in "core" subjects (math, language arts, science, social studies) and 400 of those 600 take place in the home. We are unschoolers and it is still so easy to keep the kids records, I observe them, record their activities in "educationese" and transfer those observations to a time sheet. It is also a good idea to keep some kind of portfolio- ours is a book list, photo album, and a collection of artwork/projects the kids have completed. (With the exception of the book list these are all things I would save anyway.)

Another great thing in MO is that there is no agency directly responsible for checking your records or keeping track of your hours; we just have it so if anyone asks we are covered. In MO the only people who will ever ask are reps from DFS and even then they must have a complaint they are investigating outside of education- there is no legal definition of educational neglect in MO so that in and of itself is not a legitimate offense. No one I know has ever been asked to show their records to anyone.

As for groups, I can't speak for other areas (except the city- I know St. Louis has a great homeschooling community as well) but in our small rural area there are three seperate groups, one of which is very large. There are lots of opportunities for classes, fieldtrips, playgroups, etc. Our biggest problem with socialization is picking which activities we really want to do so that we don't run ourselves ragged.

HTH! If you make the move I'd love to know what area you'll be in- we have a fantastic group that would be happy to help you make the adjustment to our state.

[greenmagick]

Missouri is full of homeschoolers of all sorts A lot will depend on what part you are moving to, but the homeschooling community seems pretty active throughout the state....I know for sure it is in St. Louis.

[phathui5]

The job is in Kansas City, so we would be in or near there.

[Momma Aimee]

:

We hope to move home.

Well we WILL move home to MO -- we hope sooner, rather than later, but it may still be 3 to 5 more years ...

OT but we are only 4 hours from KC now ( )

Aimee

[laf512]

I'm near Kansas City and just getting started with homeschooling, but I have found that there are tons of various homeschooling groups in the metro area so you'll definitely be able to plug in with a group that meets your needs. Some are larger, some are smaller. There are Christian groups and non-Christian groups. My problem right now is deciding exactly which group we want to join because there are so many choose from and they all look good!

[crunchy_mama]

I live in SE MO- but just getting started in homeschooling. We have 1 hs group in my small rural area- which seems to be pretty narrowily focused(imo) but at least it is something. It seems that even in this small area there are lots- but most I have met are religious fundamentalists- although I am sure there are others unschoolers and such out there but likely don't come to the group because of its focus.

[joy_seeker]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mama

I live in SE MO- but just getting started in homeschooling. We have 1 hs group in my small rural area- which seems to be pretty narrowily focused(imo) but at least it is something. It seems that even in this small area there are lots- but most I have met are religious fundamentalists- although I am sure there are others unschoolers and such out there but likely don't come to the group because of its focus.

if you are near Rolla we have a great secular group- I am Christian and fit in just fine but there are agnostics, pagans, etc. in the group as well. Our focus is on homeschooling, not religion and it has been a BLESSING to find this group. If you are in the Rolla area and would like more info pm me.

[Marsupialmom]

I am on the other side of the state but there are plenty of homeschoolers all over.

Laws are easy. You do not need to notify anybody -- even though some in the state think you have to. Just log what you are doing you will easily doe the hours.

[phathui5]

Arg! We're still waiting to hear back from the company. He had two phone interviews with them back in December. We thought they had found someone else but then they called dh last week and asked if he could fly out and interview in person. He flew out Easter Sunday and came back Monday night.

They paid for everything, the flight, the hotel, food. He met with three different people at the company, went out to lunch. They had a realtor take him on a tour of the city.

I'm really hoping he gets it. The job is exactly what he's looking for.