New to Homeschooling or Just New to the Kalamazoo Area?
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Michigan is a fabulous place to homeschool! If you are considering a move to Kalamazoo or if you have just arrived, you will be blessed by the homeschool-friendly atmosphere of our community.
The first thing you will want to do when you arrive in southwest Michigan is to join Kalamazoo Area Home School Association, Inc. This will put you in touch with other homeschoolers and activities through a monthly newsletter, "The KAHSA Connection", and will keep you up to date in real time through the www.kahsaconnection.com website, which is updated daily for those with membership access.
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Page Links
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Homeschool Performing Arts (HPA) is a wonderful asset to our homeschool community. This nationally-acclaimed theatre group is under the direction of Brad Garnaat. He teaches drama and choir at Kalamazoo Area Tutors (see below). He also directs two major productions here in Kalamazoo. The entire production, including acting, orchestra, costumes, advertising, set, and everything else, is done by homeschoolers and their families. The quality of the productions is awe inspiring. You can find more information about HPA at www.hpami.org.
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Homeschool Support Groups are located in different areas of Kalamazoo and are open to all. They offer activities, field trips, moms' meetings, encouragement, friendships and much more. Check them out on the KAHSA Support Groups webpage.
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Kalamazoo Area Homeschool Sports
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We are often asked, "What about Sports?" Kalamazoo has homeschool sports. Our teams are known as the Kalamazoo Cougars. Kalamazoo Home School Sports offer basketball, volleyball, softball, soccer and cross-country track. They also have a track and field day in the spring which is open to all homeschoolers.
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A great parents' co-op, Kalamazoo Area Tutoring Association (KAT) uses tutors to teach the students in a classroom setting. Class sizes are quite small, giving the tutors many opportunities to meet the needs of your student. The schedule of classes can be found on their website, www.katutors.net fees are set by the individual tutors.
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The Portage Library (www.portagelibrary.info) is very homeschool friendly. The children's librarians are very helpful to parents and kids alike. The librarians do tours for our parents and are willing to do research seminars for our teens. They are also willing to purchase books that we request (as long as they are not consumables).
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The Kalamazoo Public Library (www.kpl.gov) has a huge selection of materials with several branches in town.
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Linda Goldman, a KAHSA member, has taken the time to write a book that is highly recommended for all new homeschoolers or those who are new to the Kalamazoo Area. "Guide to Homeschooling in Southwest Michigan" is just that: a detailed description of all the resources available to those homeschooling in southwest Michigan. To order a copy contact Linda Goldman at lgold4@sbcglobal.net.
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Grand Rapids also has an incredible resource in The Homeschool Building which Kalamazoo area homeschoolers are welcome to use. There is a great bookstore, as well as a resource library which has a wonderful selection of curriculum and family resources. You can find more information about it at www.homeschoolbuilding.org.
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We hope this has been helpful. This is just a sample of all that Kalamazoo has to offer homeschoolers. Explore our website and come back often, because we are constantly updating it.
We welcome you to the homeschool-friendly community of Kalamazoo.
Kalamazoo Area Home School Association, Inc.