Montana Homeschooling

Homeschooling is a growing movement nationally and has become a choice for many parents in Montana. Although Montana is not a difficult state in which to home educate, it is important to understand the laws regulating homeschooling in Montana. Learn about these laws, along with information on different methods of homeschooling, support groups, local and state events, and much, much more.

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Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center
The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center is a Bear and Wolf Preserve, located in West Yellowstone, Montana just a block away from the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The Center offers an up close view of live grizzly bears and a pack of gray wolves.
Montana Office of Public Instruction
This is the official website for the Montana Office of Public Instruction (the Montana Department of Education).
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Bighorn Lake extends approximately 60 miles through Wyoming and Montana, 55 miles of which are held within spectacular Bighorn Canyon. The Recreation Area is composed of 70,000+ acres, which straddles the northern Wyoming and southern Montana borders. There are two visitor centers and other developed facilities in Fort Smith, Montana and near Lovell, Wyoming. The Afterbay Lake below the Yellowtail Dam is a good spot for trout fishing and wildlife viewing for ducks, geese and other animals. The B...
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
Established by Canadian fur trader John Grant, and expanded by cattle baron Conrad Kohrs, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site commemorates the Western cattle industry from its 1850s inception through recent times. The park was enacted in 1972, and embraces 1,500 acres and 90 structures. The site is maintained today as a working ranch.
Great Falls Unschoolers
Great Falls Unschoolers is an inclusive online support group for homeschoolers who are unschooling in the Great Falls area.
Home Education - On the Rise in Montana
Home education of children has always been part of Montana's heritage. For the past 20 years it has continued to increase in popularity. And in the last five years the number of parents choosing this form of education has grown at an even greater rate.
Homeschooling in Montana – The Battle for Freedom Continues
For many years, Montana homeschoolers have fought hard for the freedoms that many now enjoy. Homeschool parents need to be more involved in helping elect individuals to office who demonstrate support for Montana parents and families. Read about the battle in the spring of 2005 to preserve the freedom to homeschool in Montana.
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
In 1804, Meriwether Lewis & William Clark began a voyage of discovery with 45 men, a keelboat, two pirogues,and a dog. They departed from Camp Wood located in what was to become Illinois. They traveled over a three-year period through lands that later became 11 states. Most of the trail follows the Missouri & Columbia Rivers. Much has changed in 200 years but trail portions remain intact. At 3700 miles, Lewis & Clark NHT is the second longest of the 23 National Scenic & National Historic Trails....
Bad Bills
Every two years in Montana, the legislature convenes in Helena to introduce and pass new laws. In a typical session, over 2000 bill draft requests are submitted by 150 legislators. Few of those bill requests (and ultimately actual bills) introduced are given any attention by the press. After every session, someone discovers a bill that got signed into law that nobody knew about. And what many do not realize, is that there are a lot of bill draft requests that are really bad. The goal of this web...
20-5-103. Compulsory attendance and excuses.
1) Except as provided in subsection (2), any parent, guardian, or other person who is responsible for the care of any child who is 7 years of age or older prior to the first day of school in any school fiscal year shall cause the child to attend the school in which he is enrolled for the school term and each school day therein prescribed by the trustees of the district until the later of the following dates: (a) the child's 16th birthday; (b) the date of completion of the work of t...
Western Heritage Center
The Western Heritage Center is a regional museum that interprets and reflects the life and culture of the Yellowstone River Valley. Located in downtown Billings in the former Parmly Billings Library, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Western Heritage Center cares for a collection of over 16,000 artifacts, including over 1,000 photographs that document the social history, architecture, public events and the development of the Yellowstone River Valley. Recent oral hi...
American Computer Museum
The American Computer Museum in Bozeman showcases the evolution of the information age with an emphasis on the United States. Their displays are designed to appeal to the beginner through the expert in computing. Over 1,000 artifacts are displayed in a timeline fashion.
20-5-111. Responsibilities and rights of parent who provides home school.
Subject to the provisions of 20-5-109, a parent has the authority to instruct his child, stepchild, or ward in a home school and is solely responsible for: (1) the educational philosophy of the home school; (2) the selection of instructional materials, curriculum, and textbooks; (3) the time, place, and method of instruction; and (4) the evaluation of the home school instruction.
Gallatin Historical Society Pioneer Museum
The Gallatin Historical Society, founded in 1977, moved into two rooms in the county jail building in 1979. Built in 1911, the jail was already considered an historic structure. When prisoners were moved to new quarters in January 1982, the county commissioners granted the Society use of the entire building for the Pioneer Museum. Since 1982, the Pioneer Museum has offered a variety of changing exhibits portraying earlier days in the Gallatin Valley. The Society sponsors various programs through...
Children's Museum of Montana
The Children's Museum of Montana is located in Great Falls and features lots of hands-on, interactive exhibits. Some museums ask their visitors not to touch the exhibits. "Look with your eyes, not with your hands," they say. That never happens at the Children's Museum of Montana. In fact, every exhibit in the entire museum is designed so that kids can touch, poke, raise, lower, push and examine to their hearts' content.
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Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
This radical treatise on public education has been a New Society Publishers' bestseller for 10 years! Thirty years of award-winning teaching in New York City's public schools led John Gatto to the sad conclusion that compulsory governmental schooling...
Why We Homeschool
It is a common misconception that most parents homeschool due to bullies, school shootings, or bad teaching content. While these things are important, there is a higher purpose for choosing to home education your children. Even if all those things we...
The Unschooling Handbook : How to Use the Whole World As Your Child's Classroom
Unschooling, a homeschooling method based on the belief that kids learn best when allowed to pursue their natural curiosities and interests, is practiced by 10 to 15 percent of the estimated 1.5 million homeschoolers in the United States. There is no...
Drawn Into the Heart of Reading
Drawn Into the Heart of Reading was developed for use with students of multiple ages at the same time, perfect for the homeschooling family. It is designed for use as an entire reading program or as a supplement to an existing program for students in...
Black Books Galore's Guide to Great African American Children's Books
"This is a great resource that fills a tremendous need. It should be on parents' shelves at home as well as in every school." —Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D. Harvard Medical School These are exciting times for African American children's literatu...
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I learned most, not from those who taught me but from those who talked with me.

St. Augustine