Monday, August 11, 2008
First day of school for 2008-2009 year!!!
Today marks the beginning of our new school year.
Yepper, we'll be starting school today. 
We are lacking a few workbooks...but we don't start our year with each and every subject...so we'll work with what we have. Hopefully, those that we are lacking will arrive soon! They've been ordered...just awaiting their arrival.
Mary is most excited to begin her school "career". She has a HUGE desire to learn to read. I have no doubt she'll master it quickly and be another reader child! All of my children LOVE to read. It's a wonderful thing for this Mama to watch!
Natalie is entering the 4th grade, Thomas 8th grade and Rebecca 10th grade. Wow! When did my children reach these grades?! Who told them it was okay to grow up? Oh, that's right...as Mary tells me, God wants them to grow up. I'm not so sure Daddy and I want them to...but God knows best, right?!
We always celebrate the beginning of our school year with supper out. Since finances do not really permit that at this time, we'll instead take our supper to the park. The children have been asking to go there so I'm sure they'll have a blast! We'll take along Mary's scooter, Natalie's bike, Thomas' bike and roller blades. Rebecca, Daddy and I will most likely walk the track. According to the menu, our supper was to be an easy one anyhow...it's a big salad with chicken. That's an easy supper to transport.
What do you do to celebrate the beginning of a new school year??
Nearly time to wake the children and get this day started. Have a fun day!!
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
TN Homeschoolers!!!!
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3/18/08
From Kay Brooks of www.tnhomeed.com,
It's become obvious to even the most hopeful among us that Rep. G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) is not a man of his word. Despite assuring the public, Special Initiatives sub-committee members and the Chair of the House Education Committee that he would communicate with them and the homeschooling community regarding changes he was making to HB2795 he still hasn't done so. He has ignored phone calls and personal contacts. The result is we're just a day away from the next scheduled sub-committee hearing for this bill and the new wording is not public information. He fully expects us to get a copy of this legislation cold and deal with it immediately. Well, we shall.
You are, again, encouraged to call the Special Initiatives sub-committee members and voice your concerns regarding this bill. Most of them have expressed surprise at Hardaway's actions and do not see the need for the state to test all children in this manner. They, and their staffs, are also frustrated but the process must run its course.
If you can make the trip to Nashville come. The committee meets at 11:45 a.m. in the Legislative Plaza. This committee usually meets in Room 29, however, it may be moved to Room 16 again to accommodate a larger crowd. HB2795 is early on a short agenda so don't be late. If there is no way you can make it to Nashville you can watch streaming video via the Internet from the legislative website here. In the meantime, make phone calls, send faxes, contact their district offices. Focus on Rep. Hardaway, the bill sponsor, and Reps. Brown and Towns who enabled this legislation to even be heard three weeks ago.
I believe we need an even bigger turn out than we had three weeks ago. If our effort is smaller, it will give the appearance that we're already tired of the battle and don't have the stomach for a full scale assault. Let's ensure that's not the case.
If you pray this is certainly the time for that.
Kay Brooks
Kay@TnHomeEd.com
http://TnHomeEd.com
ALERT: Mandatory testing legislation info: http://tnhomeed.com/HB2795-SB3412.html
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Tennessee: More Calls Needed to Stop Testing Bill
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
Thanks so much for contacting members of the Tennessee House Education
Committee about House Bill 2795, the horrendous testing bill. An
assistant for Representative John Mark Windle, the chairman of the
Special Initiatives Subcommittee, reported that his office received
over 4,000 calls opposing the bill. This is a tremendous response by
the homeschoolers of Tennessee to this threat to your freedoms!
However, the bill is still alive, and we need your calls immediately
to make certain that it dies in committee.
At the bill's hearing on Wednesday, Representative Tommie Brown moved
that the bill be considered by the subcommittee. Representative Joe
Towns, Jr. seconded this motion. Representative G.A. Hardaway, the
bill's sponsor, spoke in favor of the bill. In the end, the
subcommittee scheduled another hearing on the bill for Wednesday,
March 19, 2008. So, because of the action of these three legislators,
this bill is still alive.
At this time we are requesting that you continue to contact only
Representatives Hardaway, Brown, and Towns to express your opposition
to House Bill 2795. They appear to be the only legislators present at
the hearing who are supportive of this legislation, but they have been
able to keep it alive. They need to hear from you some more!
Action Requested:
(1) Please call or write (both would be better) Representatives
Hardaway, Brown, and Towns with this message:
"Please oppose House Bill 2795, which would impose public school
testing on non-public school students. This bill would effectively
destroy non-public education in Tennessee by requiring private
schools, church-related schools, and homeschools to adopt the public
school curriculum for their instruction programs."
The contact information for these Representatives is set forth below.
Representative G. A. Hardaway
(615) 741 5625
rep.ga.hardaway@legislature.state.tn.us
Representative Tommie Brown
(615) 741-4374
rep.tommie.brown@legislature.state.tn.us
Representative Joe Towns, Jr.
(615) 741-2189
rep.joe.towns@legislature.state.tn.us
(2) Please forward this email to other homeschooling families who are
not members of HSLDA and ask them to contact Representatives Hardaway,
Brown, and Towns as well.
To view a copy of the bill, go to
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=4803 .
If you have any questions or concerns about what this bill would do,
please do not hesitate to contact us for additional information.
Sincerely,
Dewitt T. Black, III
HSLDA Senior Counsel
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Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Tuesday's question
Today is day two of Back to Homeschool week...
Tuesday, August 7---How do you homeschool?
Scheduling, classical education, unschooling, getting the kids to help with chores, how to be "mom" and "teacher" at the same time, special needs, teaching an advanced child, how to teach the tough subjects, teaching high school, teaching with babies and preschoolers in the house, budgeting for homeschool supplies, notebooking, etc., etc., etc...
And my answer...
We have gone from a classical style to a unit study approach, to computer based learning...and are now back to more of a classical style..with other ideas thrown in. You have to find what works for your family....
For us, chores come first. Then breakfast. Then school. School is life...the book work is definitely an important part of education, but it's only part. If they can pass all the tests, but not know how to take care of what needs tending, I don't feel they have a complete education.
Teaching with babies and toddlers. Again..this is life. And siblings are a part of life. They are not a nuisance, they are not in the way. When they are babies, life revolves around their needs. As they grow older, they see the fun of school and want to be involved. So, we involve them as much as possible. Don't use the tv as a babysitter (anytime! But, especially during school time!).
Multiple ages...this year, I am finding it to be a new challenge...as all four of our children are now in schooling. Rebecca is in 9th grade, Thomas in 7th, Natalie in 3rd and Mary doing Kindergarten. I have found so far that it helps to have them all on the same subject. That's more for me than for them! That way, my brain is thinking of math, all at the same time...rather than one doing math, one Bible, one English and one phonics.
Just don't be tied to a schedule....unless that's what saves your sanity. If you finish your years of education and your children don't look back with pleasant memories, you have not given them a good picture of learning. Take time to make memories...
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Monday, August 6, 2007
Back to homeschooling week
Randi over at i have to say is hosting Back To Homeschooling Week. She has questions for each day this week...
Here is today's question...
Monday, August 6---What led to your decision to homeschool?
Why do you do what you do? What brought you to homeschooling? What factors played a part in your decision?
And my answer...
We decided to homeschool our children long before we had children..or were even married. We met a few homeschooling families in our church. We were quite impressed not only with the education they had received, but with the family dynamics. The youngers and the olders all played together. They were respectful of each other. They could hold conversations with us adults whether they were 3 or 13. It was encouraging to us!
My Honey did not have a good public school experience. When he saw home education, he determined then and there that he would be able to spare his children the "experience" he had.
We began our journey when our oldest child was born in 1993...and officially started schooling in 1998. We have never looked back! This child is now beginning high school...and we also have a 7th grader, 3rd grader and Mary beginning her schooling. Should be an exciting year for all of us!!!
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Saturday, July 21, 2007
Used curriculum sources?
Our summer break is quickly fading....
Before we know it, the time to begin our next school year will be upon us. I still have much to do before we begin...including buying more school books! Somehow, in planning for all four children's educational needs this year, I have overlooked some needed items!
I have been searching eBay, Vegsource, Homeschool Classifieds....and not found what I am looking for.
Soooo...please pass along your sources for used books!!!!!
Thank you!!
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Monday, July 16, 2007
Yes! I agree with this one!!
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-goldberg12jun12,0,4683079.column?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
You know the answer..throw more money at it and it will all be fixed!! NOT!
Copying it here....
Do away with public schools
Government is inept at running schools. It should subsidize education for needy students, then get out of the way.
June 12, 2007
HERE'S A GOOD question for you: Why have public schools at all?
OK, cue the marching music. We need public schools because blah blah blah and yada yada yada. We could say blah is common culture and yada is the government's interest in promoting the general welfare. Or that children are the future. And a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Because we can't leave any child behind.
The problem with all these bromides is that they leave out the simple fact that one of the surest ways to leave a kid "behind" is to hand him over to the government. Americans want universal education, just as they want universally safe food. But nobody believes that the government should run 90% of the restaurants, farms and supermarkets. Why should it run 90% of the schools — particularly when it gets terrible results?
Consider Washington, home of the nation's most devoted government-lovers and, ironically, the city with arguably the worst public schools in the country. Out of the 100 largest school districts, according to the Washington Post, D.C. ranks third in spending for each pupil — $12,979 — but last in spending on instruction. Fifty-six cents out of every dollar goes to administrators who, it's no secret, do a miserable job administrating, even though D.C. schools have been in a state of "reform" for nearly 40 years.
In a blistering series, the Post has documented how badly the bureaucrats have run public education. More than half of the District of Columbia's kids spend their days in "persistently dangerous" schools, with an average of nine violent incidents a day in a system with 135 schools. "Principals reporting dangerous conditions or urgently needed repairs in their buildings wait, on average, 379 days … for the problems to be fixed," according to the Post. But hey, at least the kids are getting a lousy education. A mere 19 schools managed to get "proficient" scores or better for a majority of students on the district's Comprehensive Assessment Test.
A standard response to such criticisms is to say we don't spend enough on public education. But if money were the solution, wouldn't the district, which spends nearly $13,000 on every kid, rank near the top? If you think more money will fix the schools, make your checks out to "cash" and send them to me.
Private, parochial and charter schools get better results. Parents know this. Applications for vouchers in the district dwarf the available supply, and home schooling has exploded.
As for schools teaching kids about the common culture and all that, as a conservative I couldn't agree more. But is there evidence that public schools are better at it? According to the 2006 National Assessment of Educational Progress history and civics exams, two-thirds of U.S. high school seniors couldn't identify the significance of a photo of a theater with a sign reading "Colored Entrance." And keep in mind, political correctness pretty much guarantees that Jim Crow and the civil rights movement are included in syllabi. Imagine how few kids can intelligently discuss Manifest Destiny or free silver.
Right now, there's a renewed debate about providing "universal" health insurance. For some liberals, this simply means replicating the public school model for healthcare. (Stop laughing.) But for others, this means mandating that everyone have health insurance — just as we mandate that all drivers have car insurance — and then throwing tax dollars at poorer folks to make sure no one falls through the cracks.
There's a consensus in America that every child should get an education, but as David Gelernter noted recently in the Weekly Standard, there's no such consensus that public schools need to do the educating.
Really, what would be so terrible about government mandating that every kid has to go to school, and providing subsidies and oversight when necessary, but then getting out of the way?
Milton Friedman noted long ago that the government is bad at providing services — that's why he wanted public schools to be called "government schools" — but that it's good at writing checks. So why not cut checks to people so they can send their kids to school?
What about the good public schools? Well, the reason good public schools are good has nothing to do with government's special expertise and everything to do with the fact that parents care enough to ensure their kids get a good education. That wouldn't change if the government got out of the school business. What would change is that fewer kids would get left behind.
jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com
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Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Getting ready for a new school year...
We are on our summer break right now. Rebecca is finishing up a bit that she had left....science and math. She's pretty dedicated to getting it done!
We are planning to start our next school year a bit sooner than we usually do. I'd like to be finished by the end of April next year....it's just too hard to keep focused on school work when it's so nice outside. Also, so many end of the year activities....just would be nice to have the school books put away by then. In order to do that, we are starting probably the end of July, beginning of August.
I've been making our list of books still needed....quite a task with all four of our children in school next year! I'll be teaching 9th, 7th, 3rd and K....we have had to move away from our unit study approach with everyone doing nearly the same (just on different levels) to more independent studies.
So, the great search continues for the rest of our books at affordable prices. I've been searching Homeschool Bid, Vegsource, Homeschool Buy...anyone know of any others to search????
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Wednesday, June 13, 2007
High school English??
I am planning our next school year...which will begin soon....
And I'm stuck on High School English....
Anyone care to share what you use??? Pretty please?! 
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Thursday, May 31, 2007
Natalie's finished!!
My sweet 7 year old, Natalie, has completed second grade!!! She is now officially on her summer break before beginning third grade!
I am so proud of my Nanny!
She has gotten quite proficient at reading, learned multiplication and some algebra! She's smart as a whip! (as her Daddy would say!)
Congratulations, my dear on a job well done!!!!
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Monday, May 14, 2007
Nearing the end...
We are approaching the end of this school year. It's always an exciting time..but also a bit hard to stay focused. We are already enjoying the break...though it hasn't yet begun....it will soon enough.
Daddy is going to be on vacation next week. We are trying to finish up the majority of our school work by this Friday so we can enjoy a guilt-free vacation too. Rebecca is planning to do some school work through our break..mostly math. My girl has a real desire to study midwifery...and she will need all the science studies she can take! That's fine with me...she's very self motivated and will work all she needs to so she can accomplish whatever goal she sets before herself.
I am already planning out our next school year. I believe we will begin either late July or beginning August. I'd sure love to be completely finished with our school year by the end of April next year. Once spring arrives, it's tough to stay on task.
We will have all four children doing "school work" next year. Not that they don't learn without doing the "school work"...but the official..we are beginning school work! Mary is quite excited to join us..she doesn't want to wait a couple of months! That's my girl!
Rebecca will begin 9th grade, Thomas 7th, Natalie 3rd and Mary K/1. I don't really do a kindergarten program...Besides, she already knows her colors, shapes, alphabet and to count...to 30 and beyond. Mary is a very bright girl and I am sure she will have no trouble with schooling.
One thing I bought at the used book sale this past weekend is Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. This has been recommended to me by several friends. We'll try it this year. Natalie will be using Rod & Staff Reading. When we began our home education journey 10 years ago, we used R&S exclusively. Thomas was not a workbook learner, so we veered away from it. But, it gives such a solid foundation in reading that I am returning Natalie to it.
We'll continue Rebecca in Apologia Science. Thomas and Natalie will begin using it. I am so impressed by this series! I also purchased Learn To Write The Novel Way at the book sale. Rebecca requested this one...I found it in brand new condition for less than half price! Can't beat that! 
I have much to decide before we begin our next school year....think I'll turn the computer over to Natalie and Mary and curl up with a catalog to start making those decisions!
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