Hello from new member

[muttcats]

I just paid my dues to DU so that I could participate here and in the Frugal and Energy Efficient group. I mainly just lurk at the other forums here at DU.

I was thrilled to find this group. I'm in Missouri and I often think I may be the only liberal that is a homeschooler. Good to see that I'm not alone although I imagine I'm still alone here in the Bible Belt.

I have a girl in 1st grade. She just turned seven last week. I have a two year old boy that will turn three in two weeks. We are so far classical home educators loosely using The Well-Trained Mind.

[thinkingwoman]

1. Welcome!

Things move a little slowly in here, but everybody seems to check in on a semi-frequent basis.

I'm in Indiana. My kids are 17 and 15 next week. My 17 year old will graduate this spring. We started out rather traditional 7+ years ago but we're virtually unschooling now.

[mzteris]

2. Hey!

It's a lonely feeling being a liberal HS'er in a Bible Belt town. (I live in a Southern Baptist SEMINARY TOWN! aaagghh!)

It took a while, but I found some like-minded people. Have you tried a search on the yahoo loops for your area? or contacting some of the local groups that aren't be secular - for referral to a less well-known group that is.

I posted a flyer looking for secular homeschoolers in the local library and got started that way.

[fight4my3sons]

3. Hi!

I live in Maine. Not doing any formal homeschooling yet. I have a three boys, my oldest is three and my twins are 19 months. We are going to use Calvert Pre-K to start with and see where we go from there. There is a great secular homeschool support group here in my area. I actually found them through Yahoo groups. They meet once a week and offer some classes for older kids. They have a lot of resources for parents and do portfolio reviews at the end of the year for a nominal fee.

[qanda]

4. Welcome

So good to see you here.

[mzmolly]

5. Welcome!

:hi:

I have a girl about the same age as yours that I homeschool. We are using the Core Knowledge recommendations as well as a hodge podge of other stuff.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Hi!

I look forward to reading about your experiences! I'll bet you aren't the only liberal home-schooler in Missouri. I joined a homeschoolers' networking group here in Maryland that offers group activities...sports, music, arts, etc. They emphasize that it's not affiliated with any religious or political group; so I figured we'd be pretty safe from proselytizing a least.

It seems like most of the participants are liberals, much to my surprise. Those I've met are VERY pro-independent business, and progressive thinkers. You might want to see if there's a similar group in your area by googling around.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[mzteris]

7. UU inclusive HS listings

Missouri


Liberty's Learners
[e-mail]
A relaxed homeschooling group in the Kansas City Area. Our group meets for park days and attend field trips. Our main goal is to offer support in a loving atmosphere.


St. Louis Secular Homeschool Co-op
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/STLhomeschool/
A secular, inclusive homeschool group, based on Yahoo. We have park days, ice skating, bowling, classes and field trips. For families in the greater St. Louis area.


S.H.E.L.L.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shellinmo/
We are an inclusive group of active homeschoolers in and around the Springfield, Missouri area. Our emphasis is on homeschooling.


Springfield Secular Home Educators
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Springfieldsechomeed
We are a group of homeschooling families in and around Springfield, Mo. We meet every Tuesday for classes and fun.

[unschooler]

8. Welcome, muttcats!

Liberal homeschooling is on the rise! Someday the NYT will quote us on homeschooling instead of the miserable HSLDA! Glad to have you here!