Not Another Homeschool Blog

Georgia third-graders needed to answer correctly fewer than half the questions on the state's reading test to be promoted to fourth grade, educators disclosed Tuesday. The "cut score" — the number of correct responses needed to pass — was 17 of 40 questions, or 42.5 percent. story here: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0604/30stateboe.html  

Georgia third-graders needed to answer correctly fewer than half the questions on the state's reading test to be promoted to fourth grade, educators disclosed Tuesday. The "cut score" — the number of correct responses needed to pass — was 17 of 40 questions, or 42.5 percent. story here: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0604/30stateboe.html  

Since it has been raining almost nonstop for the past two or 3 weeks, I have allowed my children unlimited access to educational channels on the TV. They like to keep it on Animal Planet. Here is what they have learned 1. How babies are born (from watching dogs and horses etc, have babies) 2. care of animals and not to abuse them 3. Consequences of not being careful with animals (from watching the emergency animal hospital show) 4. Countless info on veterinary medicine (they have the stomach to watch the goriest things) 5. About life and death. I never could have taught these things to them on my own.

... and parents are ready to send them back. Won't you be glad when school starts back?  That question was asked of me twice today. The first time it was my well meaning, young, with no kids chirpractor who could tell they were stressing me because he had his hands on my neck while the children were slapping each other.  I replied " you didn't read my t-shirt?" it is t-shirt I designed atcafe press.com .  He stepped back and looked down and said "ooooohhhh! Never mind!"  and mentioned that a great deal of his families homeschooled.  He just didn't know I did too.  We laughed it off. An hour later my kids and I were at the checkout waiting for my reciept as the darn register had jammed and they had to go to the office to get me a copy.  My kids are still slapping each other... and I bark "stop"!  A lady walks over to me and says won't you be glad your when school starts back.  I just look at her as I am on the phone with my bank to mak...

I just found this article about a teen in Montana who initiated her homeschooling career. "Sixteen-year-old Beth Gates of Manhattan, Montana is one such trailblazer. Before beginning her high school years, Beth decided - with her parents' blessing - to retire from public school. The modern school culture, after all, can be a social rat race. "I was tired of the cliques, the gossip, the drugs, and the drinking," says Beth of the decision to become a homeschooler. She has even coined a phrase for these adolescent distractions: "the drama." My son at the age of 8 made a similar decision.  When he found out I planned to homeschool his sister, he said to me..." If she's not going back to school, there is no way I'm going back to that place". 

It seems to me that homeschoolers are always on the defense. We have to answer as to why our kids are not in schools when other kids are. We have to explain and prove to relatives that our children are not being neglected and that they are actually learning. We have to show statistics of homeschoolers standardized tests vs public schoolers. We have to give lists of outside activities to prove our children are "social" if not "socialized" Actually, no one holds a gun to our heads and makes us explain any of these things, but we always feel like we need to, don't we. Personally, every time I do a virtual mind dump about homeschooling in order to get someone's approval, I feel like a great big idiot, and I seldom get the response I want anyway. So why do I do it? Why??? We homeschool... period. No one has the right to demand proof from us as to what or why we are doing it... not our relatives, not our friends, and most especially not ...

That title isn't meant to reflect my sign, although I am a Gemini.  It is more to reflect where I am right now with my homeschool philosophy.  On one hand I treasure the unschooling movement and ideals with unschooling means interest-led or child-led learning but on the other hand, classical homeschooling also tugs at my heart.  Classical education is described here:  The "classical" method began in the Middle Ages and was the approach used by some of the greatest minds in history. The goal of the classical approach is to teach people how to learn for themselves. The five tools of learning, known as the Trivium, are reason, record, research, relate, and rhetoric. Younger children begin with the preparing stage, where they learn basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. The grammar stage is next, which emphasizes compositions and collections, and then the dialectic stage, where serious reading, study, and research take place. http://www.homeschool.com/Appro...

As a homeschooler it is easy for a mom to ignore herself and need for personal fulfillment.  I am especially good at saying I am fulfilled by seeing my kids learn and knowing that they are happy, but the truth is I have a little somethin', somethin' going on- on the side. As a artist it is very important for me to keep creating, and so I have this line of homeschool pridewear that I designed in my spare time.  I also stay open to doing at least 1 mural a month though I turned one down yesterday.  The guy just wanted the store hours printed 12 feet up on the wall of his resturaunt (Outback Steak House).  I forwarded the request onto a male artist... I figured he would get a kick of painting from a ladder.  Lately I have felt a calling to paint more, so I am promising myself that the kids and I will burn up some serious paint brushes and canvasses this summer.... why not get them involved with my hobbies? Lastly writing...   I tend to want to write m...

Looks to me like teachers are eyeing the homeschooling market.  Here is an email that I have been seeing repeatedly this week in homeschool newsgroups. Subject: Tutoring Services Hello, my name is deleted . I am a teacher in Atlanta. I also have a tutoring service, called Alpha Learning Home Tutoring Service. All of our Georgia Certified Teachers work as tutors in various subject areas, including reading, phonics, advanced mathematics and sciences to name a few. Please contact me deleted Director via email or at phone deleted . Thank You, name deleted This can be a good thing for both teachers and homeschoolers... especially high school age homeschoolers building thier college portfolio.

Momma used to say, “Look it up" and point to the bookshelves filled with a set of Encyclopedia Britannica and Webster’s Dictionaries whenever we wanted to know how to spell something or what something meant. She did not do that because she did not know the answer, or because she was being mean, she did it because she knew that by researching our question we were learning for the long-term vs. getting a quick answer. In this new age of "no child left behind" standards and learning for the test atmosphere in schools, children have less and less learning opportunities in spite of ever increasing resources in the form of computers.  As a homeschooler who has stepped outside of traditional schooling, I find it important to return to the look it up philosophy, but in doing so have discovered that my children had no idea how to research or explain what they have learned after spending just a few years in schools memorizing facts. Using books and software by The critical...

I reported a couple a weeks ago about the resolution introduced to the southern baptist convention for All Baptist leaders and congregation to remove thier kids from public school. I have finally formed an opinion on the subject, so now I will elaborate. As a Christian, a homeschooler, and former Southern Baptist, I do not feel they have a right to make such a request of thier parishioners. Firstly though homeschooling is an excellent way to educate  a child, no one should feel forced to do it.  For a parent to be able to homeschool happily they have to be willing and able....  I take that back... they must be eager to homeschool. Telling a  parent that they are negelecting their Christian duties does not make them eager to homeschool, as a matter of fact it can make them downright unhappy and resentful.  Going into it under such circumstances will make it a horrible experience for both the adult and child. In addition, homeschooling will become k...

Parents who accept public money to homeschool thier children should not be surprised when the restrictions are placed on how they are to homeschool.  This recently happened in Alaska. Depending on which programs their children are enrolled in, parents of home-schooled correspondence students receive as much as $1,800 a year in state money for education costs If adopted, the regulations would prevent parents from using the money to pay for student memberships in health clubs or recreational facilities, private or group lessons or any expenses incurred during a trip that's more than 50 miles from the student's home . The big problem here is that they are denying homeschool kids the same rights and activities that public school kids receive. 

I set my childrens home pages to online dictionary word of the day sites.  Here is my daughters home page: http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/middle/

but not all teachers are good either... for instance: Starr was suspended in January after a student realized she was being videotaped while changing into costume in the audio-visual room. The student took the tape out of the camera and home to her parents. After an preliminary investigation, police obtained search warrants for Starr's home and school office. http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=1915601

If you want excuses not to homeschool... then go to Dr. Joyce Brothers... she suggests:  Why not give the public or private schools a chance, while you try to relax a bit? The greatest gift you can give your children is to not transmit your anxieties about life to them. Child abductions have decreased since the 1980s, according to the FBI, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that despite the violence we see in the news, the chances of a child being killed at school are one in a million. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/brothers/173713_joyce05.html

Another great homeschool curriculum: I recently discovered a curriculum that I like so much I signed up as a rep.  I signed up as a rep for two reasons.  1.  people always ask me for curriculum advice so I figured I might as well make some money off the reccomendations and 2.  I love these books and programs. The Critical Thinking Company: Critical thinking is reasoned identification and evaluation of evidence to guide decision making. A critical thinker uses broad in-depth analysis of evidence to make decisions and communicate his/her beliefs clearly and accurately. Critical thinking produces bright, independent, innovative children who succeed in school and in life. Critical thinking is designed into our reading, writing, math and science lessons so students carefully analyze what they are learning. Deeper analysis produces deeper understanding. These products produce better grades and higher test scores with highly effective lessons that sharpen ...

I am back from my trip to NY and in one piece.  We got in the car last wednesday at 7pm, after picking up an uncle and my husbands sister and kids.  Actually it wasn't our car, we struck a deal with friends who had a 15 passenger van.  They were also going to NY, for a wedding and only brining 1 child so we traded my husbands Audi and saved ourselves rental fees since my 7 passenger van would have never fit everyone and with extra drivers in 1 car, life was alot easier. (lesson:  be creative ... by trading cars we saved 1000.00.  Yes our car had some milage put on it, but we would have had to pay milage insurances taxes etc on a rental car and then come home and still make car payments... the children were very aware of this deal and present during negotiations) The ride was looong...  and the first thing we did was stop for dinner.  We stopped at a bar and grill so I could get a glimpe of who won American idol, but alas the show did not end until 10...