Someone named Tim just left a comment telling me about a new site to help free 15 Year Old Homeschooler Melissa Busekros. Melissa is being held by the German Government because her parents refuse to enroll her in a government school. Go to the site…
CBNNews.com — A court in eastern Germany has taken custody of five children away from their homeschooling parents, but has not yet removed the children from the home. The parents, Bert and Kathrin Brause of Zittau, lost custody of their children, Rosine, Jotham, Kurt-Simon, Lovis and Ernst, to the local youth welfare office.Read more…
A case of a 15-year-old German girl who has been removed from her family and placed in a psychiatric institution has Christians in the United States up in arms.
Christian activists say the case is an assault on religious liberties and the right of a Christian family to home school their daughter. The case has been widely reported in Christian and conservative media in the United States, with some commentators comparing the authorities to Nazis. Activists are being encouraged to pray for the girl and petition German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while one Web site is even calling for a boycott on German goods. Read more…
I will forgo the pleasure of drinking German lager and eating sauerkraut for the foreseeable future and I ask freedom lovers to consider joining me.
I am joining an international boycott of German goods because of that country’s drift away from fundamental freedoms. Read more…
Earlier this month, a German teen-ager was forcibly taken from her parents and imprisoned in a psychiatric ward. Her crime? She is being home-schooled
On Feb. 1, 15 German police officers forced their way into the home of the Busekros family in the Bavarian town of Erlangen. They hauled off 16-year-old Melissa, the eldest of the six Busekros children, to a psychiatric ward in nearby Nuremberg. Last week, a court affirmed that Melissa has to remain in the Child Psychiatry Unit because she is suffering from ‘school phobia.’ Read more…
German authorities who sent 15 uniformed police officers to take custody of a 15-year-old girl who committed the crime of being homeschooled now have suggested a solution that, in their minds, would “resolve” the situation: the parents should give up custody of their other five children.
Read more…
An international human rights organization says the 15-year-old homeschool student taken from her home by a SWAT team and deposited in a psychiatric ward on a judge’s order has been allowed to contact her family.
“Melissa called her parents today to tell them she was moved to another mental ward. She was then moved to a ‘clearing house’ and finally to a foster family; but she was unable to tell them where she is now,” Read more…
CBNNews.com – A German family has had their teenage daughter kidnapped by state officials and thrown into a public psychiatric institution.
The reason?
Because her parents were homeschooling her.
After taking the girl forcibly from her home, state officials made the girl see a psychiatrist who branded the teen with ‘school phobia,’ and said she was ‘developmentally delayed.’ Read more…
The case involving a 15-year-old homeschool student in Germany who suddenly was snatched from her home by a SWAT team of police officers and sent to a psychiatric ward for her ‘school phobia’ suddenly has taken a turn for the worse.
Officials who work in support of homeschoolers in Germany, even though it is illegal there, notified WND that Melissa Busekros, in a ‘new escalation,’ was moved from the psychiatric hospital where she had been held for more than a week ‘to an unknown place.’ Read more…
(OneNewsNow.com) – Last week, German police and social workers removed 17-year-old home-school student, Melissa Busekros, from her home. Then the authorities proceeded to place the teen in a Nuremberg psychiatric hospital, where she was interrogated by a psychiatrist for more than four hours and finally released.
But as Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) senior counsel Chris Klicka point outs, that was not the end of the student’s troubles. Read more…
Homeschooling mom and author Susan Kilbride has a new history series that is sure to spark your child's interest in learning about our Country's roots. Here's what she shared with me about this new title, and she generously includes a free unit study on pilgrims. Finn & Ginny’s parents are lost back in time, and the two young twins have decided to go back to early America to find them. Read more...
A child's first exposure to math should be fun. Forget repetitive drills and boring worksheets. One of my favorite books I first used to teach my young boys the concept of counting was the M & M's Counting Book. It's a fun and yummy introduction to basic math. I'd get other colorful books from the library, anything creative and eye-catching would work for such an important concept. Read more...
Siblings Kendra and Seth are sent to stay with their grandparents while their mother and father cruise the Caribbean. Disappointed not to be vacationing with them, the kids anticipate the 2 weeks will be drudgery. Contrary to their beliefs, when they arrive at their grandparents estate, they are surprised to find a tree house, swimming pool, and a gigantic playroom full of books and toys. What they don’t know is how many secrets await them. Read more...
There are some kids who have an insatiable appetite and intense passion for mathematics. You may recognize the signs: cruising through math homework, A+ average, may watch extra math lectures, answers your questions with statistical probabilities, and looks for logic and reasoning themes in both games and reading material. If you see this love for math in your middle schooler, you’re likely on the look-out for puzzle books or supplements to keep your budding Archimedes challenged and happy. Read more...
The Code Book is a nonfiction book on the history of code-makers and code-breakers. It starts out with the trial of Mary queen of Scotts--whether she lives or dies is determined entirely by queen Elizabeth’s code-masters. If they crack Mary’s code and see the messages she had been smuggling out of jail are plans for a rebellion, she’s as good as dead. The book recounts the captivating, historically accurate tale of the evolution of code. Read more...
I have a struggling learner, and we had a tough 4th grade school year. Math was a chore. Writing was like medieval torture, and the basic rules of grammar might have well been a foreign language. It seemed as though everything I tried to teach my son ran out of him like water through a sieve. We needed help. When I heard Kathy Kuhl was speaking at our local homeschooling convention this past June, I knew I had to go and hear her talk. Read more...
I fell in love with the guitar when I was 12 years old and my romance flourished for over three decades. I still have the Martin Sigma Anniversary acoustic my parents bought me when I turned 16. I admit the first year of learning to play was touch and go - sore fingers, muffled sounds, buzzing strings. It seemed I would never produce anything that resembled music. Never one to give up easily, I persisted and eventually things clicked. Read more...
As soon as I read the title of this book I knew it would be just right for my 10-year-old reluctant reader. I toss him at least 3 different books a week – he'll read a chapter (if even that) and quickly loses interest. A typical boy, he likes video games, playing outdoors, staring out the window, eating candy, and scheming secret plots to take over the household. Household today. Country tomorrow, and I'm sure world domination is in his long-term plans. Read more...
Now that two of my boys are in high school, my ears are frequently tuned towards SAT information. When to take it? How many times? How critical is scoring well to future college placement? And finally, how should my sons best prepare? If you want to know the basics of the test, visit here. Should a high SAT score be your goal? Of course you want your student to do well, but the SAT is only one piece of the puzzle. Read more...
Zondervan recently sent me three of their new bibles - The Liberty, The Clutch, and The Bloom. Looking at them brought back memories of when I bought my first bible 30 years ago. I went to the only Christian bookstore in town in search of the perfect one. Even back then I was overwhelmed by the choices. Read more...
The Critical Thinking Company has a vast selection of materials to both teach and allow application of reasoning and thinking skills. As I've mentioned before, I've used an array of their products over my past 10 years of homeschooling. I recently sampled their Crypto Mind Benders: Famous Quotations, a tool that specifically requires the use of deductive and mathematical reasoning skills. Read more...
Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Steve Irwin (AKA The Crocodile Hunter), has followed in her father's footsteps with her desire to help endangered wildlife. She's been a busy young lady – staring in a TV show, designing her own fashion wear, traveling the world, and now she's the heroine of her own adventure book series. Read more...
I am a huge fan of The Critical Thinking Company's products. Over the past 11 years of homeschooling I have used their Science Books 1 and 2, Editor in Chief, Building Thinking Skills, Mathematical Reasoning, and Mindbenders. When I heard about this new critical thinking course, I was anxious to review it. If you need convincing about why you should teach (or you yourself learn) critical thinking skills, click here. Read more...
This collection of fun science lessons and activities are designed to offer hands on experiments that will satisfy the curious nature of children, while making it easier for parents to teach science. Kids love to pour, measure, taste, alter, and explore their environment. If you can direct their experimentation to teach a concept, then you are more likely to help them remember the material. Read more...
One Ring to rule them all. One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness, bind them. This is the inscription on the One Ring. Locked inside of the ring, is the evil spirit of the Dark Lord Sauron. Wearing the ring will turn you invisible, but at the cost of being known to the enemy. They will see you, and know exactly where you are. But you have to be close to them. This book takes place after The Hobbit. Read more...
