Home away from home

Home away from home
Co-ops give an added dimension to homeschool

By Melanie M. Sidwell
The Daily Times-Call

LONGMONT — When the new kid in the neighborhood asked the Matthews boys where they went to school, they replied: “Downstairs.”

Josh, 10, and Zach, 8, have always been homeschooled, a style of education sometimes misconstrued as socially inept or curriculum-intense.

Their mother, Carrie, and other parents of homeschooled children are turning to co-operatives, or co-ops, to change those misconceptions.

“(My sons) are not huddled at home with the door shut,” Carrie Matthews said. “This provides a varied way of teaching to expose them to just more than studying at home.”

Area students get ready for a new year

By ANDREA JOHNSON, Staff Writer ajohnson@ndweb.com

Eight-year-old Ben Talley and his 9 1/2 year-old brother Sam have a yen to learn all about rocks, so they collected a few boxes of them outside their house.

Though school won't technically start until Aug. 31 for the home-schooled kids and their siblings, they're already trying to figure out what type of rocks they've collected.
"I think this one is slate ... or petrified wood," said son Ben, 8, as he pulled out a dark, chunky rock and held it up for his mother's inspection.

"I think that might be too light for petrified wood," said his mother, Dawn.

"I read a book about them," explained Sam.

Dawn Talley plans to help her boys start a rock collection and get a rock polisher for them while their interest in the subject is white hot.

Kids learn at home, but no one's watchin

With homeschooling on the rise in Michigan, critics want tougher laws and more monitoring.

By Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News


Clarence Tabb Jr. / The Detroit News

"I didn't really find it challenging at all," Kelly Flack, 15, an Olympic figure skating hopeful, says of her time at Stoney Creek High.

Homeschooling
Michigan doesn't require homeschool families to follow the same rules as public schools, which are governed by state and federal laws. It asks that homeschool families register with the Michigan Department of Education, but doing so is voluntary.
What the law says
• Mandatory attendance: Parents and legal guardians are responsible for sending all children ages 6-16 to public school except under provisions of the Nonpublic School Act, which provides for home schools and private schools.
• Exemption: A child may be educated in a parent or guardian's home in an organized educational program covering reading, spelling, mathematics, science, history, civics, literature, writing and English grammar.
• Registering: Those planning to homeschool are asked to voluntarily submit to the state the number of students, the grade, teacher qualification and course of study offered.
Resources
• Choosing a curriculum: Homeschool families may purchase textbooks and instructional materials or an entire course curriculum from teacher bookstores or from a growing number of Internet providers. Support services can be found through homeschool associations.
• Public school classes: Homeschool students may enroll in some elective classes at their resident public school. Such classes may include band, drama, art, physical education, music, computer and advanced placement courses. Special education assistance also is available.
• Testing: Homeschool students may take the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, or MEAP, and the state's Merit Award Board is required to provide test sites. Homeschool students are eligible for the Michigan Merit Award.
• Michigan Virtual High School: Homeschool students may take virtual courses and access online tools for test review, career development, orientation to online learning and skill building.
• Athletics and extracurricular activities: In order to participate in public school extracurricular activities, a student should be enrolled part time in the public school.
• Student records: Parents are encouraged to maintain student records of progress throughout the year but are not required to do so. Most colleges demand accurate transcripts.
• Transfer of grades and credits: The granting of credits and placement of students is solely determined by the receiving public or nonpublic school. Homeschool families are encouraged to determine what the public school policy is for grade placement and granting of credits should a student decide to return to the public system.
More information
• For information about the law, contact the Michigan Department of Education, Bureau of School Finance and School Law Nonpublic Schools Unit at (517) 373-1833 or visit www.michigan.gov/mde.
• For information about Michigan homeschool support groups, visit
Source: Michigan Department of Education


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ROCHESTER -- Kelly Flack twirls on the ice at Onyx Skating Center while her mother teaches elementary school in Illinois.
A heavy practice schedule and dreams of competing in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games have the 15-year-old figure skater living away from her family and taking self-paced homeschool courses on the Internet under the supervision of her grandparents in Rochester.
She's part of what experts say is a growing trend of parents pulling their kids out of the classroom and teaching them at home. But critics complain that because Michigan has one of the nation's most liberal homeschooling laws -- requiring only voluntary registration -- there is no way to monitor how many children are involved and whether they are getting a better education or any education at all.
While providing a religious values-based education used to be the main motivation, many of the newest homeschoolers are simply dissatisfied with the educational experience provided by public schools.

When Them is Us (Sojouners magazine)

My life among conservative Christians.
by Danny Duncan Collum


By now we all know that American politics and American Christianity are divided into warring camps. The labels may shift. Sometimes it’s progressive vs. orthodox, or Christian vs. secular; sometimes it’s red vs. blue, but always the discussion comes down to Us vs. Them.

I’ve thought about this a lot lately, because I’m one of Us who spends many of his non-working hours embedded with the forces of Them. I am against the war and free trade. I’m all for government environmental and labor regulations, and more of them. I don’t think gender roles are mandated by God for all time, and I am not bothered by the fact that life on earth has evolved over millions of years. But for the past seven years, I’ve found myself actively involved in voluntary associations often dominated by people who don’t share any of these views. And I’ve found that I have more in common with some of Them than I do with many of Us.

My life among conservative Christians began when my wife and I decided to homeschool our children. Anyone who homeschools must have a support group, and the children must have peers. And, especially in the South, most homeschoolers are evangelical-to-fundamentalist Protestants, although we eventually joined up with a conservative Catholic group. These associations led us to a Boy Scout troop in which about half the members are current or former homeschoolers and to a Suzuki violin teacher who leads a children’s fiddle group in which at least 80 percent of the members are from homeschool families. That all adds up to lot of hours in which our poor vehicle, with its bumper stickers reading "Another Pro-Life Democrat" and "Support the Troops: Bring Them Home Now," sits in a lot surrounded by "Bush-Cheney" and that omnipresent "W."

(Read article by clicking on the link.)

How to fight for your kids (Link to Article)

By Rebecca Hagelin
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com


As I travel the country speaking about my book, "Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture that's Gone Stark Raving Mad," I'm met with nearly universal desperation from parents who are sick and tired of the battle for their kids' hearts, minds and very souls.

As the mother of three teens, I admit that I sometimes "fall back" in my own war with the culture. It's often tough, tiresome and even tedious. But raising children who will tower above the culture makes the battle well worth my unwavering commitment.

So where to start? Here are five basics:

1. Envision, assess, compare.

Envision the type of adult you want your child to become. Whether you are liberal, conservative or somewhere in between, all decent parents pretty much want the same thing for their kids. We all want them to grow up and have happy families of their own. We all want them to be marked by good character; to be responsible, honest, healthy and courageous; to be respected and respectful. But taking the time to actually picture our children's best future reminds us that we need to do our best every day to help shape them in to all that they can be.


Next, assess the media your child is consuming. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation report, today's teens consume 6.5 hours of media every single day. The No. 1 cable choice for girls is the racy MTV; the No. 1 music genre choice for kids from all races and socio-economic levels is the often foul rap and hip hop; 90 percent of kids who go online stumble across hard-core porn, simply because parents have never taken the time to install a filter. (I protect my kids with a great filter from www.bsafe.com). What are your sons and daughters watching and listening to? Do you even know? Time to spend some time in their world ñ to find out the messages that are being pumped into their still-developing brains.

Now, compare: Do the messages and materials your child is feasting on teach the values and behaviors you want him to embrace as an adult? If the vision and what you've discovered in the assessment are at odds, it's time to move to step two.

2. Commit to the daily battle.

And believe me, it is a daily battle. The attacks of the killer culture are relentless. From the commercials, to the gangsta and street-walker clothing styles, to the movies, magazines, games and music marketed to teens, decency is under attack. Try breaking it down to one day at a time, and you will succeed. I awake every morning with a simple prayer, "Lord, please help me today to uphold the values and standards my husband and I have set for our family."

3. Teach your child that he has intrinsic value in God's eyes.

The greatest gift we can give our children is to let them know there is a God who loves them and knows them by name. We must teach our sons and daughters that the God of the universe is intensely interested and familiar with every aspect of their lives and wants what is best for them. Today's culture teaches even the young child that he is here by accident, and that he is just another creature on a big, impersonal planet, no different from any other animal. It's no wonder that kids today are experiencing depression and loneliness in record numbers.

4. Improve your family life.

A few years ago the mantra was, "It's quality time, not quantity time, that counts." WRONG! Kids need a good dose of both from their parents. If we think we can spend one great hour a day with our kids and counteract the negative garbage they're getting from the culture "24x7," we're fooling ourselves.


Drop the senseless activities that take everyone's time and leave your family stressed out and exhausted. Spend more time talking with your kids and less time watching television. The Heritage Foundation reviewed stats on the tremendous impact that even the simple act of having family meals has on our kids and found that teenagers who eat dinner with their families only two nights a week or less are more than twice as likely to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs than teens who have frequent family dinners.

5. Take a hands-on approach with your child's education.

Whether your kids go to private or public schools, you should be intimately acquainted with what, and how, they are taught. When was the last time you picked up your child's English book, or science book, and actually read it? Do you know what she is being taught in history? Exercise your right to opt your child out of misguided sex-ed classes. Challenge the reading lists if the assigned books are pop garbage. The point is to remember that you, as the parent, have every right ñ and the ultimate responsibility ñ to make sure your child is taught well, and well taught.



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Get your copy of Rebecca Hagelin's powerful new book, "Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture that's Gone Stark Raving Mad." Speaking as a nationally known social commentator and mother of three, Hagelin offers words of encouragement and practical suggestions as she coaches parents on how to lead their families to victory in difficult times. Order from ShopNetDaily now!

If you'd rather order by phone, call WND's toll-free customer service line at 1-800-4WND-COM (1-800-496-3266).


Rebecca Hagelin is a vice president of the Heritage Foundation and the former vice president of communications for WorldNetDaily. Her 60-second radio commentaries can be heard on the Salem Communications Network.

N.C. quintuplets' mom chats on the joys and trials of raising her brood

y MARTI DAVIS, martidav@comcast.net
August 10, 2005

Kent and Nancy Olson Miller avoid drawing attention to the fact that five of their children share the same birthday.
It's sometimes unavoidable, for instance, on their real birthday, which they recently celebrated in Knoxville at the home of their grandparents Art and Betty Olson. The Olsons live at Lyons Bend and Duncan roads on the Riverbend Peninsula in West Knoxville.


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Ellie, Emery, Grace, Maggie and Martin Miller, now 7, were all born July 7, 1998, the first surviving set of quintuplets born in the state of North Carolina and one of very few nationally to survive without any physical or mental handicaps.

The Miller quintuplets, their sister, 10-year-old Anna, and parents live in Wake Forest, N.C., but often visit Knoxville, where the children enjoy playing on the sprawling family homestead with their Olson cousins, who live next door to their grandparents.

The Millers and their Olson cousins especially look forward to rides on Hercules, a dappled white Shetland pony that Art and Betty Olson keep in a pasture next to their home. He's not only a favorite with their grandchildren but has become something of a neighborhood pet, attracting children and adults who feed him carrots and lumps of sugar.

Nancy Miller, a 1978 graduate of Bearden High School, became pregnant with the quintuplets using the same fertility drugs she used to conceive their first daughter, Anna. Upon learning they had quintuplets, the Millers refused their doctor's insistent pleas to reduce the number of fetuses.

"Most quints don't make it, and we knew that," Nancy Miller said. "Either they won't all be born, or only one will live. In most of them, there's one with some pretty significant problems. We knew the risk of severe disabilities was higher," she said.

Though very small at birth, the quintuplets are now all within the normal range in height and weight, and all are quite intelligent and curious.

"We are very, very blessed that they are healthy. It makes life considerably easier than if some of them had special needs," their mother said.

Nancy Miller, who trained as a speech therapist at the University of Tennessee, homeschools all her children, a decision she and her husband made before the quintuplets were expected.

"We just love being with our children and (deciding) what we want them to focus their energies on," she said. "A lot of people feel like it would be insanely difficult." In fact, she finds teaching the children a joy and perhaps less chaotic than it would be if she were getting six children off to school each morning, meeting with a posse of different teachers and keeping up with multiple projects and homework assignments.
(Click on title to read entire story.)

Public Schools: Enforced Socail Conversion & Parental Denial

Nancy Levant
August 6, 2005
NewsWithViews.com
Caring parents have read Goals 2000, Brave New Schools, and the New Freedom Initiative on Metal Health. They also clearly understand what Outcome-Based Education means. They understand that not only American children, but children all over the world are being converted to social compliancy and servitude. If you haven’t read all the above, you have no opinion of importance to declare when it comes to the subject of education. Ignorance, apathy, and baseless opinions have been tolerated for far too long.

No parent in the United States has any excuse, whatsoever, for ignoring the political-corporate take-over and manipulation of knowledge and learning. Every parent knows schools have changed, and they know their parental rights are taken once children set foot into the public school system. You even have to sign weekly and or monthly forms stating that your children have “mastered” a specific skill. Every year, the school rulebooks get larger and more complicated, and with your signatures, you must also swear to the fact that you’ve read and mastered all rules from cover to cover. Excuse me – who is paying for these schools? (Click on title for link to full article.)

Somebody call 911: Get our kids out of public schools

Somebody call 911: Get our kids out of public schools
by Nick Jackson

I write as a public school graduate from Ohio. Ohio was the Key State in the 2004 elections. We are often considered a reflection of the rest of the country. Our political and moral landscape gives a snapshot of what the rest of the country may be experiencing. Sometimes we are affectionately known as "The heart of it all." This article is however not an advertisement for everyone to flock to Ohio but an admonishment and an indictment that our school systems have failed to protect our children. This is also a warning that this brief review of recent incidents in Ohio schools, reflects trends that are happening all around the nation.

Homeschooling mysteries unlocked

ACTON-For people who had to hop a school bus or catch a ride to get to class, the world of homeschooling is a mysterious realm, little understood and perhaps a little frightening.
The reality, of course, is slightly less gothic. Parents and children decide to homeschool for a wide range of reasons, some of them educational, some social, some cultural or religious. With the help of an educational industry geared precisely to providing homeschool families with curricula, textbooks and educational software, homeschooled kids can get an education at least as good as what they might find in school. And through networks of families and support organizations, home-educated children can interact with each other and with other children, becoming as well-adjusted and socialized as if they had logged hours of recess-time mixing it up on the playground.

Unschoolers in College - Summer Employment: Year One

(Please click on the Title Link above to read article.)

by Peter Kowalke

At exactly ten-thirty in the morning on June Sixteenth, give or take a few hours and a day, I was ushered into a tiny office adorned with Cleveland Indians baseball bats and black & white photographs of Ohio State football coaches. Dressed professionally with tie and well-creased slacks, I took a seat and mentally debated the most effective location for my hands to rest. I’d like to boast that my posture usually exudes confidence and poise, but a habit of fidgety fingers has always proved a minor, if not extremely subtle, liability. It has been said that an artist can fudge the rest of the human body so long as the hands and face are believable. Hands and face are the most expressive part of the body. So what did my hands express? My hands betrayed the consternation of an individual lacking leverage; where did I gather the audacity to approach a business professional, asking for a job that didn’t even exist?

Feet, Shoes and Shoehorns

(Please click on Title Link to read article.)
Feet, Shoes and Shoehorns
by Ed Dickerson

Wherever two or three homeschoolers gather together, they discuss curriculum, as in, "What curriculum do you use? I use XYZ!" Few weeks pass that I don't receive a call something like this: "I have a nine-year-old boy that I'm going to home school. What curriculum would you recommend for him?" Sometimes, families apologize for using a particular curriculum, as in, "I know you don't approve of . . ." These ideas reveal a fundamental misunderstanding and common misuse of curriculum, a misunderstanding and misuse which cause frustration and burnout.

Accelerating Into High School

(Click on the Title Link above to read entire article.)
Accelerating Into High School
by Shirley M.R.Minster

Each spring (and summer) parents and students make plans for the next homeschool year. One consideration is if a child should bypass eighth grade and move right into high school in the fall. Recently one parent told me that she heard that junior high is pretty much a review of all the elementary years and teaching eighth grade is not necessary. My experience has been that skipping this grade is often a mistake because children need time to mature mentally and emotionally and this grade gives them time to rest, grow, and play. Once they reach high school, courses become more difficult, the program tends to become more tightly structured, and careers and the future are more seriously considered. It is a tremendous responsibility for both the parents and the children to determine when to start high school because of these concerns.