10: Edmond, Oklahoma

PHOTO: Edmond Convention and Visitors Bureau

HOMESCHOOL REQUIREMENTS: No requirements beyond making sure your student gets at least 175 days of instruction per year. (How you keep those records is up to you.)

COMMUNITY: Edmond Secular Homeschoolers meet up for regular park days, field trips, and moms’ nights out in Edmond and nearby Oklahoma City.

BOOKS: Best of Books in Kickingbird Square has a solid collection of children’s and young adult titles and a friendly staff who don’t mind special-ordering must-have titles.

INSIDER TIP: Join the monthly mini-model LEGO build at Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City.

RESOURCES: Make science fun at the Science Museum Oklahoma; sign up for homeschool classes at the Oklahoma Zoo; get inspired with homeschool classes at the Fine Arts Institute of Edmond; stay active with the homeschool PE Is Fun program; fish year-round on the heated dock at Arcadia Lake; bring your skateboard to Mathis Skate Park; visit the hives at Honey Hill Farm

NUMBER OF MUSEUMS: 21, including the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum, and the American Banjo Museum

NUMBER OF LIBRARIES: 20, with activities including book swaps, art contests, chess clubs, and reading groups

MEDIAN HOME PRICE: $189,700

POPULATION: 81,594

Homeschool is legal in all fifty states, but Oklahoma is the only state where the right to homeschool is written right into the state constitution. That’s part of what makes the city of Edmond, just outside of Oklahoma City, such a great place to homeschool. 

Things here move a little slower, and that’s part of the charm of this Midwestern city, where community centers around family-oriented neighborhoods and a small, Main Street-style downtown. You may feel like you’ve fallen into a 1950s sitcom as you watch the kids circle on the outdoor ice skating rink or browse the farmers market at the Festival Market Place and Plaza, watch a summerstock musical at the University of Central Oklahoma, or listen to an outdoor concert in Hafer Park. Expect Norman Rockwell seasons here: bright, painted-leaf autumns; cold, snowy winters; blooming green springs; and hot, humid summers. For nature lovers, Arcadia Lake (opened in 1987) hosts eagle watches, guided hikes, and fishing derbies throughout the year. Edmond is also home to one of Oklahoma’s only skate parks. One of the stops along historic Route 66, Edmond has clung to its small-town independence even as it’s grown to a bustling suburb of Oklahoma’s capital city. You’re less than half an hour from homeschool field trip fun at the Science Museum Oklahoma, the National Cowboy and Western Museum, and the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Gardens. And in a part of the country that can feel dominated by religious homeschool groups, Edmond stands out with its active secular homeschool population. 

For Oklahomans, Edmond’s median home price is on the high side, but folks from other parts of the country will likely be pleased by the less-than-$200,000 average home cost. In fact, the price of everything from groceries to utilities is less than the national average here, making Edmond a great place to live on one income or two part-time incomes. You will need a car to navigate the area — Edmond’s downtown proper is pretty pedestrian-friendly, but there’s no real option for public transportation here.

This list was originally published by home/school/life in 2014. Are there great Edmond, OK secular homeschool resources we missed or new resources created since we made this list? Add them in the comments!

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