HomeStyle Christian Educators (HCE) of the Ozarks is a Christian homeschool co-operative with about 60+ families. We are organized by an elected Primary Committee and delegated sub-committees. As a co-operative, all of our activities are dependent on the voluntary participation of our members. Members are encouraged to volunteer by serving on activity sub-committees or to assist in conducting activities. HCE’s membership fee is $20 per family per year. The HCE school year runs from June 1st to May 31st. Subscriptions for families joining after March 1st will run through the following year. Members of HCE are able to use our resources library (containing a wealth of homeschool curricula), located in Mountain Home, and take part in our activities, field trips, and extracurricular classes.
We have weekly park meet-ups, rotating between parks in Mountain Home, Gassville, Cotter, and Yellville, weather permitting. We also plan monthly field trips, outings, and/or parties. A few examples of activities include a field trip to Bull Shoals Caverns, a hike on Overlook Trail at Buffalo Point, a meet-up at The Bounce Palace, a field trip to the Mountain Home Berry Farm’s Fall Festival, a Christmas party, a field trip to the Mountain Home Berry Farm’s Lighted Christmas Hayride, a Valentine Party, a hike to the Indian Rock House, roller skating, a trip to the Branson aquarium, a field trip to the Laura Ingalls Wilder house, cookouts, etc. The cost of these activities varies. HCE also has occasional ladies’ nights at the homes of our members, giving moms a chance to fellowship with one another.
Our parent-led classes are a favorite among our members. Parents volunteer to teach extracurricular classes, which are then approved by the Primary Committee. These 50 minute classes are typically held on Thursdays at 1:00pm and 2:00pm in Mountain Home. Each class has a fee based upon the cost of class materials. Classes usually cost $5-$15 per student (though this can vary), plus a facility fee of $5 per participating family. Parents who are not teaching are expected to volunteer as classroom helpers in their children’s classes. Examples of classes that have been taught in the past include: Spanish, Cooking Basics, Cross-stitching, Nature Study, Knitting, Music: Singing and Choreography, Shakespeare, Story time and Crafts, Arts and Crafts, Science Experiments, Music: Singing Songs and Songwriting, Carpentry, Fishing, PE, Legos, Quiz Bowl, Learning Bible Verses Through Song, Choric Dramatic Speaking, Geography Bowl, Sign Language, and more!
When there is enough participation, HCE hosts the Student Service Council (SSC) for teenagers. This group is similar to a public school National Beta Club, providing opportunities to earn service hours, conduct fundraisers, and take part in appropriate teenage activities.
Membership of HCE is unrestricted, except that you must confirm your agreement with our Policies and Procedures, By-Laws, and Statement of Faith. These documents are available to view on our website. Once membership is approved, members will have access to the “members only” pages of the website. Applications for membership can be submitted online through this website or with a paper application. The Primary Committee has the right, under our by-laws, to decline any application without giving a reason. Applications are declined if the Primary Committee feels an applicant would not be beneficial to the organization or its aims.
HCE of the Ozarks is an incorporated not-for-profit organization, registered as such with the State of Arkansas and governed by its by-laws as published on our web site.
Our privacy policy. We do not collect information about you unless you respond to us. The information you give us is retained and used solely for the purposes of the HCE group and is not shared with any outside party. Basic information about you and your family, as provided by you, may be included in the HCE members directory, with your consent. The directory is only made available to members of HCE in good standing.
If you have completed a waiver form, we may use your or your families names or pictures in HCE publications. Otherwise your information is not released to any outside party except as required by law under a court order.
Non-identifiable personal data is collected as you use the website. This provides us with statistics on pages visited and time spent on each page. This data does not contain personal information. Our web site may install cookies on your computer. These are used to follow your visit to us and identify return visits. The IP address of your computer is monitored, as part of our spam prevention system. This data is not retained except as part of our collected statistics.