Library Resources

• LearningExpress Library
  Provides test preparation materials for elementary through adult level, as well as math, reading comprehension and writing courses.
• Universal Class
  Offers online continuing education courses taught by real instructors in subjects like language arts, math, science and history. (Must create a username and password to access.)
• Homework Help Databases
  A list of our best subscription resources to help with schoolwork on subjects ranging from history and literature to science and math. Just use your DBRL library card to gain access.
• Books and magazines on homeschooling available through the library. (See more at call number 371.042 in Adult Nonfiction.)
• St. Louis Art Museum Kits include replicas of art objects and artifacts as well as slides, posters, books, and either audiocassettes or videos and are available for a three-week check-out period.

State and Local Resources

Associations, Groups and Homeschooling Information

• Columbia Homeschooling Resource Group
  CHRG is an organization for mid-Missouri homeschoolers offering supplemental educational and social activities.
• Jefferson City Home Educators (JCHE)
  A Christian-based group offering support, activities and homeschooling information for mid-Missouri families.
• Jefferson City Secular Homeschooling Group (JCSHG)
  An “inclusive, secular group” providing support for homeschooling families. JCSHG also maintains a blog.
• Mid-Missouri Co-op of Home Educators
• A to Z Home’s Cool Homeschooling – Missouri
  A listing of associations, events, publications, etc. centered in Missouri.
• Families for Home Education
  Represents and lobbies for home educators in Missouri.

Curriculum Support and Classes

• Columbia Area Career Center
  Offers many classes for high schoolers, some of which can be taken for credit.
• Garden Gate School of Mid-Missouri
  Garden Gate School uses the Waldorf Education method and offers once-weekly parent/child sessions as well as two, three, or five-day programs for children 3 to 6 years of age.
• Heritage Academy
  University-model school offering K-12 classes, designed to supplement homeschooling.
• Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative
  List of digitized collections specific to our state, as well as educational programs and curricula.
• Missouri Virtual Instruction Program
  MoVIP offers online courses for K – 12 students statewide.

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.
• Leisure Times
  Online edition of Parks and Recreation’s activity guide, listing recreational classes and activities available for all ages.
• Museum of Art and Archaeology
  This museum frequently has special exhibitions, offers many options for tours, and has a number of education materials on its website.
• 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 a range of formats.
• 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.
• TRYPS (Theater Reaching Young People and Schools)
  Community children’s theater company with a year-round production season.

National Resources

Associations, Groups and Homeschooling Information

• Finding Dulcinea: 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 home school advocacy organization providing legal information, including a summary analysis of the homeschooling law in Missouri. While many resources are free, legal advice, courses and some other tools are limited to paying members.
• New York Times “Times Topics”: Home Schooling
  Current news about home schooling, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.
• National Home Education Research Institute
  NHERI conducts research and collects and analyzes statistics, facts and findings about home-based education.

Curriculum Support

• American Library Association Book Lists – Children
• American Library Association Book Lists – Young Adults
• Coursera
  Offers free online courses from partner universities and educational organizations on topics spanning the humanities, medicine, biology, social sciences, mathematics, business, computer science, and many others. Many courses are suitable for high school students.
• 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. Click free sample pages for resources available to non-members.
• iCivics: The Democracy Lab
  Georgetown Law’s web-based education project uses games and simulations to teach civics to students. Includes curriculum units for teachers.
• Khan Academy
  A free online collection of over 2,800 micro lectures via video tutorials stored on YouTube teaching mathematics, history, finance, physics, chemistry, etc. for all ages.
• 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.
• The World Fact Book
  From the CIA, information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military and transnational issues for 267 world entities.