Indicates a subscription resource that requires a DBRL library card.
Homeschooling
See also: Homework Help
State and Local Resources
Curriculum and Classes
- Center for Distance and Independent Study
This department at the University of Missouri offers courses for elementary through high school, each of which is equivalent to a semester of traditional coursework. - Columbia Area Career Center
Offers many classes for high schoolers, some of which can be taken for high school or college credit. - Garden Gate School of Mid-Missouri
Garden Gate School is committed to exploring the Waldorf Education method for teaching young children. They offer once-weekly Parent/Child Sessions with a certified Waldorf Educator as well as a two-day a week kindergarten class and a combined second through fourth grade class. - Heritage Academy
University-model school offering K-12 classes, designed to supplement homeschooling. Students can take one or more classes. - Missouri Virtual Instruction Program
MoVIP offers online courses for K – 12 students statewide. Students can take an entire course from any Internet-connected computer, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All Missouri public, private and home school students are entitled to apply for enrollment.
Groups, Associations, Homeschooling Information
- A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling - Missouri
A listing of associations, events, publications, etc. centered in Missouri. - Columbia Homeschooling Resource Group
CHRG is an organization for mid-Missouri homeschoolers offering supplemental educational and social activities. - Families for Home Education
Represents and lobbies for home educators in Missouri. - Kingdom Homeschoolers
Callaway County homeschooling support group.
Things to Do
- Enns Entomology Museum
Located at the University of Missouri, this museum holds approximately 5.75 million specimens of insects, arachnids, and fossils and is open weekdays for individual and group tours. The hissing cockroaches are definitely a highlight! - Leisure Times
Online edition of Parks and Recreation's activity guide, featuring many classes and activities available for all ages in the areas of sports, music, art, etc. - Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative
List of digitized collections specific to our state which are invaluable resources for Missouri history projects as well as for general interest. - Museum of Art and Archaeology
This museum at the University of Missouri houses an impressive collection of art and artifacts. They frequently have special exhibitions and activities and offer many options for tours. Check out the educational materials available on their site! - National History Day in Missouri
A yearlong educational competition that provides opportunity for young people grades 6 – 12 to explore history and present their findings in formats ranging from traditional research papers to museum-type exhibits, live dramatic performances, and multimedia documentaries. - PACE (Performing Arts in Children's Education)
Youth theater company offering children's productions year-round. - Tribune in Education
Offers curriculum guides and project ideas aimed at incorporating newspapers in education. - Tribune Regional Spelling Bee
Qualifier for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. - TRYPS (Theater Reaching Young People and Schools)
Community children's theater company with a year-round production season.
National and Worldwide Resources
- American Library Association Booklists - Children
A collection of booklists for children compiled by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. - American Library Assocation Booklists – Young Adults
A collection of booklists for teens compiled by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association. - Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids
Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids, a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. These resources teach how our government works, and facilitate the use of the primary source materials. Ben's Guide also provides a locator service to U.S. Government sites developed for kids. - Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature
Use this fully-searchable database to create a tailored reading list of quality children's literature or to find out if a book has won one of the indexed awards. - Enchanted Learning
Curriculum support items, including coloring pages, unit studies, science fair projects and more! This is a membership site; however, many items are available to view and use for free. (Be sure to scroll down!!) - Finding Dulcinea: Homeschooling Web Guide
Dulcinea Media, Inc. produces topic-specific web guides which include meticulously researched sites that are credible, high-quality, and trustworthy. The Homeschooling Web Guide offers resources covering different kinds of home-based schooling, legal aspects, teaching and test-prep resources, online homeschool communities and news. - Home School Legal Defense Association
Nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms.
Included on the HSLDA site is a summary analysis of the homeschooling law in Missouri which details how to interpret Missouri's laws, such as proper procedures for maintaining records, etc. - Lexile Framework for Reading
The Lexile Framework for Reading is an educational tool that connects readers with books using a measure which combines reading ability and text difficulty. Use this site to search for books at the appropriate reading level for your child. - Library of Congress American Memory
Provides free and open access to written and spoken word, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions. - National Home Education Research Institute
NHERI conducts and collects research about homeschooling - New York Times "Times Topics": Home Schooling
Current news about home schooling, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times. - 1000 Good Books List
Though by no means exhaustive, this list, sorted by reading level from pre-readers through college-bound senior high students, provides a place to begin when developing a customized, comprehensive reading list. - Rainbow Resource Center
Homeschooling curriculum distributor offering over 35,000 products in all subject areas and for all grade levels, as well as evaluations and reviews of thousands of those products. - Thinkfinity
Free educational resources from the Verizon Foundation. - Vegsource
A clearinghouse of discussion boards and swap boards covering every facet and flavor of homeschooling. - Museums Around the World
Clearinghouse of various tours available online from within the U.S. and around the world. - Webquests
A webquest is a learning activity used by educators during which learners read, analyze, and synthesize information using the internet. A webquest is a highly valued instructional strategy, inspiring learners to actively build their own critical understanding of a topic. This particular website offers an index of webquests including reviews and recommended age ranges.
Library Resources
- Bimonthly issues of Home Education Magazine and Practical Homeschooling are available in the Columbia Public Library children's area.
- Listed below are just a few of the children's magazines available in our libraries that are useful for curriculum support and enrichment. Back issues of children's magazines are available for check-out. KidsDiscover, New York Times Upfront (available at Columbia Public Library); and National Geographic Kids and Cobblestone (available at all facilities).
- KidScope, Columbia Public Library's listing of local programs for children, is available in the children's area for patrons to peruse. This binder is a unique and current compilation of local activities.
- St. Louis Art Museum Kits include replicas of art objects and artifacts as well as slides, posters, books, and either audiocassettes or videos. The kits are available for a three-week check-out period. They are located at the Columbia Public Library but can be requested from any our facilities.
- Several print resources covering many aspects of homeschooling are available at library call number 371.042 in Adult Nonfiction. Our most recently acquired items include the following:
The Well-Trained Mind : A Guide to Classical Education at Home
Bauer, S. Wise (W.W. Norton & Co., 2009). Provides detailed information on home-school curriculum for a type of classical education called the "trivium." Within each of the three stages of learning (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) are suggestions for lessons, how-to tips, and lists of resources.
The Imperfect Homeschooler's Guide to Homeschooling: Tips from a 20-Year Homeschool Veteran
Frank, Barbara (Cardamom, 2008). Offers advice for both new and veteran homeschoolers, including a section about special needs children.
The Homeschooling Book of Lists
Leppert, Michael (Jossey-Bass, 2008). Contains resources, tips, and information such as what to consider before homeschooling, state-by-state guidelines for homeschoolers, curriculum resources by subject area, and getting your homeschooled student into college.
