Homeschooling in Montana
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Today, I’m sharing about Homeschooling in Montana. Home education is a beautiful freedom we have here in America. While the laws for every state are different, any family can choose to homeschool whether it is for religious reasons or just giving children a more well balanced, individualized education. The range in what is required for each state is vast; some have very strict regulations while others are more relaxed and even requirement free. It’s been three years since moving and living in a state that is more relaxed than what was required in the past. This new found freedom for me was/is hard to get used to. At first, I felt like a rebel (I still do) for not giving achievement tests every three years and I still write my year-end progress report just so I can remember any changes in my son’s learning and any curriculum failures.
The laws in Montana are simple
Groups and Co-Ops: Montana is a large state and we have many homeschool groups throughout. There are Facebook groups for many of them.
Field Trips: Depending on where you live in Montana, field trips are a ton of fun. If you’re like us and live in the middle of nowhere and away from all the exciting places Montana has to offer, some field trips become mini-vacations.
If you plan on visiting Yellowstone, you may want to check out the Complete Guide to Yellowstone from Live Once Live Wild. It's full of facts about the park and many of the trails and activities for families.
Of course, there are many local museums throughout our state. Our county museum is home to Steer Montana, once noted as the World’s LARGEST Steer.
Curriculum Shout-Out: I’ve been sharing our curriculum choices for several years now. But my most favorite program to use is Teaching Textbooks for math. The newer versions are all self-grading and they keep up with all the work, so my work is a little lighter and I don’t have to teach math.
Recommended Books: As a home educating mom, I would like to be able to share a list of books I would recommend to others. For some, what I am about to say is sad. In eleven years, I have only read ONE book written to the homeschool mom and while it was many years ago, I can’t remember anything from it. But I do remember it being a blessing to me. I’m sure there are some great books out there, but honestly, I don’t depend on other’s opinions and experiences. Every home is different, every mom is different, and every child is different. While we look for advice from others, we tend to forget where wisdom comes from. The Bible and prayer (James 1:5) are my recommendations to anyone. I honestly believe if you put your trust in God’s strength to give you wisdom on matters concerning your home and school, He will provide an answer. He will not fail you.
Advice:
Are you a blogger with a blog post about the homeschool laws in your state? Leave me a link I’d love to read about what your state requires.
Do you have advice that was given to you that has helped in your home education journey? I’d love to hear about.
Homeschooling in Montana
The laws in Montana are simple
- File a letter of intent
- Keep attendance and immunization records
- Provide the required amount of hours during the year
- Teach the required subjects
- Follow health and safety regulations
Groups and Co-Ops: Montana is a large state and we have many homeschool groups throughout. There are Facebook groups for many of them.
Field Trips: Depending on where you live in Montana, field trips are a ton of fun. If you’re like us and live in the middle of nowhere and away from all the exciting places Montana has to offer, some field trips become mini-vacations.
- Glacier National Park
- Garnet Ghost Town – our first trip was pre-blogging and digital camera days
- Little Bighorn National Monument
- Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center – on our list to visit
- National Bison Range – on our list to visit
- Pictograph Cave State Park – on our list to visit
- Pompey’s Pillar
- Yellowstone National Park – our first trip was pre-blogging and digital camera days.
If you plan on visiting Yellowstone, you may want to check out the Complete Guide to Yellowstone from Live Once Live Wild. It's full of facts about the park and many of the trails and activities for families.
Of course, there are many local museums throughout our state. Our county museum is home to Steer Montana, once noted as the World’s LARGEST Steer.
Curriculum Shout-Out: I’ve been sharing our curriculum choices for several years now. But my most favorite program to use is Teaching Textbooks for math. The newer versions are all self-grading and they keep up with all the work, so my work is a little lighter and I don’t have to teach math.
Recommended Books: As a home educating mom, I would like to be able to share a list of books I would recommend to others. For some, what I am about to say is sad. In eleven years, I have only read ONE book written to the homeschool mom and while it was many years ago, I can’t remember anything from it. But I do remember it being a blessing to me. I’m sure there are some great books out there, but honestly, I don’t depend on other’s opinions and experiences. Every home is different, every mom is different, and every child is different. While we look for advice from others, we tend to forget where wisdom comes from. The Bible and prayer (James 1:5) are my recommendations to anyone. I honestly believe if you put your trust in God’s strength to give you wisdom on matters concerning your home and school, He will provide an answer. He will not fail you.
Advice:
- Pray and pray some more. I’ve mentioned many times this is a journey and a way of life. There will be sacrifices (many) to be made along the way with some bumps in the road. No, praying doesn’t stop the problems from happening, but it does help in smoothing the rough edges.
- One thing a parent can give their children that cannot be taken away from them is an EDUCATION. Do your BEST to make sure your children get a top notch education whether they attend college or not. Make sure they meet all the graduation requires for your state. Plan ahead and look at possible college’s requirements for admittance. More times than not, a child will want to attend college and if they don’t meet the requirements, they are going to feel horrible. Give them what they want and need, an EDUCATION.
- I had someone tell me they wanted to homeschool their two but just couldn’t do it; they were not ready for the commitment. I listened to what was said and I agreed with them. If you are not totally committed to giving your child an education, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. While I am probably one of the very few to not encourage someone to take this step, I’d rather see a child in a school getting an education than for them to spend all of their school years at home not learning, not being prepared for life.
Are you a blogger with a blog post about the homeschool laws in your state? Leave me a link I’d love to read about what your state requires.
Do you have advice that was given to you that has helped in your home education journey? I’d love to hear about.
