Anyone Homeschooling in MN? (St. Cloud, Anoka: 2009, school districts, live in)

[Ophoven]

Yes, we do have homeschooling. Please feel free to visit HomeEducatedYouth.com - Saint Cloud Minnesota Area Home Schoolers for more information. Many, many families in the Central MN community :-)


Home Educated Youth (HEY) is a Central Minnesota home-school support group comprised of approximately 260 member families. HEY is a non-denominational, Christian-based group that welcomes all philosophies of home-schooling.

Our mission is to collectively support the concept of Home-schooling; To help our members effectively teach our youth through the organization of information and resources, to share our talents and experiences, and to leverage our membership size to negotiate discounts for home-school products and services. The primary purpose of the HEY organization is the dissemination of home-school related information to the members. One of the primary benefits of HEY membership is inclusion on the HEY Email list which is used to keep our members informed of the many events and activities available to our home-schooling families.

Within the main structure we have smaller 'focus' groups who's members share a common interest and often create co-op learning groups throughout the year. These small groups organize many activities open to HEY members such as field trips, theatrical plays, project fairs, and team sports.

[kim825]

YES!!!!!!!!!! There are many many homeschoolers in MN and I think they really should be commended for being so involved and understanding of what each child needs as far as education. It's a wonderful option!!

There are many groups here, including co-ops that offer group classes. called Home Educators for Excellence - Home Page in south metro. I think their is a MN homeschooler alliance that lists all the resources. Good luck and thank you for being so understanding of what your kids need. We are looking to move to homeschooling because the schools (and we are in a good district) don't offer enough challenge for bright kids, move slowing and teach to the middle too much.

Plus don't even get me started on the social/values aspect. I love my kids are would love to have as much time with them as possible. I wish summer lasted forever so we could continue to explore and learn in the "real world" It breaks my heart to send them back to the compulsary schooling. It's funny how many people have never bothered to educate themselves to the benefits reasons for homeschooling. As well as the reasons, some crazy, that public schooling began to begin with.

Anyway good luck!

[QueenBee]

Hi! We homeschool in the Twin Cities area and there is a very active homeschooling population here and throughout the state. The vast majority of non-homeschoolers are very supportive as well. Not sure about St. Cloud, but the Twin Cities offers a very rich offering for homeschoolers; it's hard to pick and choose what to do since you just can't do it all. I'm sure St. Cloud offers lots of support groups and co-ops as well. You could join either MACHE (Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators) or MHA (Minnesota Homeschool Alliance) for a nominal yearly fee and get a whole book full of contact information.

As far as the laws, they sound strict but they aren't bad at all. Letter of intent sent in annually by Oct. 1. I print mine off the MACHE site and it takes me 10 minutes to fill out. Attach your calendar (I just highlight our "school days". No one checks to see if you follow it and there are no minimum number of hours required). Yearly testing after age 7 (2nd grade). We do the Peabody and a tester (homeschool mom) comes to our home and does the test orally. It took my 7 yo 45 minutes last year and she gives us a very detailed evaluation which places him to the year and month compared to his public schooled peers. Results do not need to be reported to the school district. If you have a bachelor's degree or higher that's it. It's really painless. If no bachelor's degree, then you need to submit quarterly reports but from what I understand these are no big deal.

Jenny

[QueenBee]

Originally Posted by lundholmster

Why would you ever wanna home school your kids? Are there any benefits?

Because we love them and want what is best for them. The benefits are endless. Having experienced homeschooling and public school with my child, I can say that homeschooling is superior in every respect. If you are interested in learning more there are countless web sites that will give you more information; just do a google search.

Jenny

[lundholmster]

Originally Posted by QueenBee

Because we love them and want what is best for them. The benefits are endless. Having experienced homeschooling and public school with my child, I can say that homeschooling is superior in every respect. If you are interested in learning more there are countless web sites that will give you more information; just do a google search.

Jenny

doesn't the kids loose out on friends etc.?

Isn't it better to have a trained teacher teaching your children?

Just curious.

Home schooling does not exist in Sweden. You have to send your kids to school, it's da law!

[stellar9]

Ophoven,
Thanks for the link. I've bookmarked it. Glad to see an organized homeschool support group(s) in MN.

[stellar9]

Kim825,
Thanks for the link. My mom lives in Eagan, so its possible we'd be closer to the TC area for that particular program.

[stellar9]

QueenBee,
Thanks for the info. I'm not too keen on the qtrly reports being required for
those without a bachelor's. I'm a college drop out.
But other than that, it sounds doable.

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by QueenBee

Because we love them and want what is best for them. The benefits are endless. Having experienced homeschooling and public school with my child, I can say that homeschooling is superior in every respect. If you are interested in learning more there are countless web sites that will give you more information; just do a google search.

Jenny

Don't you feel your kids miss out on some of the interaction and activities?? I have never met anyone in MN who was home schooled
and I have lived here off and on for 24 of my 38 years of existance.

[QueenBee]

Originally Posted by TimtheGuy

Don't you feel your kids miss out on some of the interaction and activities?? I have never met anyone in MN who was home schooled
and I have lived here off and on for 24 of my 38 years of existance.

This is so funny it just isn't even funny! You should see our schedule! Since my kids aren't trapped in a school building all day, they have lots more time to spend with friends and fun stuff like museums, field trips, sports and other extra curricular activities. Anything they could do in a public school setting like sports, special classes, etc. they can do as homeschoolers plus so much more than ps kids can't. We get to go to museums during the mornings when all the kids are in school (and we go with friends even!) and then my kids get the museum staff all to themselves. My son spent hours holding the Giant African millipede, the Madagascar hissing cockroaches and the snakes at the Bell Museum and he spent this whole time with a staff person asking questions and engaging in dialogue. I feel sorry for those kids who have to spend all their time in the classroom (where they are constantly being told NOT to socialize) and then come home and do homework. When do they have time for family togetherness?? Or fun?? This way my kids get all the fun stuff, plus they are being raised with the values that dh and I deem important. As a result, my children are polite, respectful, and they love each other, respect their elders and their parents. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for a large number of the public schooled children we know. You should get out more; the homeschooling community here is HUGE! Last year in the Anoka Hennepin district alone there were over 1,700 registered homeschoolers (only children age 7 and older are required to register with the district.) Again, there is tons of info on the internet available for review if you are interested.