Carnival of Homeschooling: The Missing Day
Carnival of Homeschooling: The Missing Day
Welcome to the Carnival of Homeschooling October 14th 2008 edition.
We are lucky to even have an October 14th this year!
October 14, 1582 - Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
Since I never seem to get to host the carnival on any of the good holidays, I did some searching for the historical significance of October 14th. I found out that because of the change to the Gregorian calendar in 1582, October 14th didn't even exist that year! That's when it hit me; October 14th should be declared "Missing Day". This is a day where we take a moment to find lost objects, return overdue library books or borrowed tools. It all can end up with a "gift" exchange returning items to our friends and neighbors or giving loose change we find in the couch. Hey, why not? April fools day may have had a similar origin.
Missing Day is not the only reason to celebrate today. many important, famous and infamous events also occured on this date. I've listed only a few here (via Wikipedia). Oh, and there's also helpful and insigtful posts from carnival participants.
Alasandra calls our attention to The Homeschool Blog Awards ~ The Nominees
Reminding us that nominations close October 17th.
Don't miss your chance to nominate your favorite blog!
Sherry Early asks How Do I Get It All Done? Guest Post by Melissa V. .
Cristina Payne presents Home Spun comic strip #277
Butter making!
October 14, 1789 - George Washington proclaims the first Thanksgiving Day.
College Degrees asks Distance Learning: Does it Make the Grade?
Have you wondered how distance degrees really stack up in real life? Does anyone actually take distance learning seriously? Can anyone really earn a college degree at home and find a worthwhile job?"
Sallie tells the story of Caleb, and The Scream
Some days are "normal" with homeschooling special needs children... and some days are very, very, VERY bad...
Amanda Dixon reveals Homeschool Memoirs: Study Spots
Wanna know where a homeschooling college student studys? Take a look where I love to study all those great courses I am taking!
Mama Squirrel weaves a tale of Dewey's Treehouse: Weaving .
Dana has Doubts about the quality and integrity of a homeschool education .
education
October 14, 1884 - George Eastman patents paper-strip photographic film.
Carletta proclaims Make it Fun Monday! – U.S. Geography
A fun way to teach U.S. geography using your child’s interests.
Reluctant Homeschooler is Relearning Chemistry
Who thought I'd be relearning Chemistry when my job calls for grammar skills? But what's a homeschooling mom to do when the kids don't understand a subject? Thirty-five years after taking Chemistry in school, I'm learning it all over again so I can teach my kids. I humor myself that it's keeping Alzheimer's at bay...
Barbara Frank asks Homeschooling on the Decline?
There are fewer homeschoolers in Wisconsin this year than in the past. Why?
Janine says It's that time of year again.
Janine reminds California Independent Homeschoolers that it is time to file their R4 form.
Katherine shares udvan-hazy field trip
pictures and report of our excursion to see planes and space stuff
Sarah ponders Celebrating Autumn: Books and Other Resources
A review of books, crafts, activities, and other autumn resources.
Kim shares some Ivy League Freebies
Spice up your high school experience with Ivy League free courses online, or explore taking those same courses for credit - from home!
October 14, 1912 - While campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, former president Theodore Roosevelt is shot by saloonkeeper John Schrank. With a fresh flesh wound and the bullet still in him, Roosevelt still delivers his scheduled speech.
Megan Krejci laments Cookie Cutter Classes
we have been educating at home now off and on for 8 years now - each year is always a new beginning...
Shelly shares an Online Unit Study for Oktoberfest .
Bogusia Gierus shares an important lesson in Teaching the Hydraulics and Pneumatics Unit to Children | Nucleus Learning .
One Family has a List Of Elementary Public School Textbooks - ISBN Numbers, Used And List Prices
The post lists complete details on books used in Elementary Public Schools in the US."
Drew contributed Learning the Art of English Conversation: Factor # 1: Listening Comprehension
I also host a carnival about education. If you want, you can submit articles about the English language to A Blog Carnival of English Learning.
Janice Campbell exhorts Teaching, Learning, and Growing Despite Current Events
With political change and financial uncertainty in the air, it's important to teach and learn in a way that helps your children feel secure. Here are suggestions for how to create peace and serenity at home, while keeping up with what you really need to know."
Greg Laden reviews the SMM Exhibit on Race and Racism via Greg Laden's Blog.
1926 - The children's book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne, is first published.
Dana Mitchell presents Dance Fever! .
HowToMe shows us How To Make Study Aids .
Kim lists 16 Reasons to Read Aloud .
ChristineMM shares her Thoughts on the Two Homeschooling Topic PostSecrets
ChristineMM shares her thoughts on thie issues touched upon in the two homeschool-related postcards features on PostSecret this week."
1947 - Chuck Yeager flies a Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound, the first man to do so in level flight.
Denise linked Writing to Learn Math II
I would never have predicted the popularity of the search topic “writing in math class.” If you’re looking for new ways to get your math students writing…
Dana Wilson shares Q/A - One Mom's Concerns About Information Retention
In response to a mother's concern about how much her middle school student was retaining (or more aptly, not retaining), Beth Harrell from Epi Kardia offers these practical suggestions."
Lynn does a Show and Tell .
October 14, 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U-2 flight over Cuba takes photos of Soviet nuclear weapons being installed.
NerdMom presents Homeschool Myth: Manipulatives
and on another blog NerdMom presents Nerd Family Things: Base Ten Blocks Rock!
I found a great deal on Base Ten blocks and so I just had to share (I make no money on the endorsement;).
family
Kris @ Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers relects on Changing Seasons
Reflecting on the seasons of life.
Curt says Teach Children to Work Hard When They Are Young .
1964 - American civil rights movement leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr becomes the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Tim Power considers The Perils of Letting Southerners Teach Phonics
My wife has surreptitiously been propagating suspicious speech patterns to the next generation.
Susan Ryan presents A Couple of Invitations to help out
An invitation is extended to help out an Illinois homeschool family and another opportunity for those in need in Ohio. Both events are sponsored by homeschool families.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using our carnival submission form. Next week, the carnival will be hosted at Melissa's Idea Garden.
Technorati tags: carnival of homeschooling, blog carnival.
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
Teaching 4 Dimensions
Teaching 4 Dimensions
We all know about the three dimensions of width, height, depth. It may be a bit of a stretch to learn 4 (or more) dimensions using pencil and paper. Dimensions is an online video series that will visually teach 4 dimension in a somewhat understandable format.If you child has reached the outer limits of his/her understanding of geometry, this might be the ticket. I watched some of the segments, (there's 2 hours in all) there is a slow progression, building on what you know until you finally break through to a new dimension of space. I'd recommend this for kids who have an understanding of geometry.
A film for a wide audience!
Nine chapters, two hours of maths, that take you gradually up to the fourth dimension. Mathematical vertigo guaranteed! Background information on every chapter: see Read more...
Labels: homeschool, math
Christian-Hippie Homeschoolers
Christian-Hippie Homeschoolers
The Bartletts started out with 150 weed-covered acres, a pop-up camper and a thatched-roof outhouse where, to the sound of coyote howls her first night, Lynn Bartlett wept with fear and qualms about abandoning city life.
Lynn, her husband, Jim, and their four home-schooled sons moved from Fargo to a remote homestead in the Turtle Mountains four years ago. They didn't make the transition easy on themselves: They plucked weeds by hand. They squished pesky potato bugs with their fingers. They let some chickens roam free.
Jim Bartlett, who heads the North Dakota Home School Association, half-jokingly calls his breed of Christian home-schooler "the new hippies" a growing group of converts to organic farming and the simple life that defies political labels.
"The hippies live like this because they're trying to protect Mother Earth," said the Bartletts' friend, Sid Hughes. "We live like this because it gives us an opportunity to be in communion with God in nature." Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Stay-at-home moms staying home even more
Stay-at-home moms staying home even more
This MSNBC story discusses the issue of rising gas prices keeping moms with kids from venturing out. An interesting aside is the notion of opting-out of the workforce (as opposed to opting-in to parenting).
Singer, of MommaSaid.net, is annoyed by the assumption she feels some economists make that stay-at-home mothers want to work outside the home, but can’t. “I know tons and tons of mothers who choose to stay home whatever the economic difficulties,” she says, counting herself among them. “We are NOT staying home with our children by default.” Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Court reverses ruling against homeschool
Court reverses ruling against homeschool
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-Parents do not need teacher certification to teach their own children at home following a change of legal opinion issued by the California state Appellate Court on Friday.
The victory for home-schooling organizations reverses the court's previous opinion issued in February, which organizations viewed as a ban.
Supporters argued the ruling could seriously damage the growing business of home schooling, while impinging on a parent's right to choose the course of education for their own children. Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool
At Open School, students learn to teach themselves
At Open School, students learn to teach themselves
Taking a few lessons from homeschoolers, an innovative school is opening in my home town.
About the school
# No tests, grades, report cards or mandatory classes.
# Staff will not judge student work unless asked.
# Students will be offered a menu of courses, contacts, guest speakers and off-site activities.
# Students will choose their own schedules and activities.
# School will be run like a democracy with students and staff having equal vote in school decisions like setting rules.
# Students are not separated by age. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, unschool
Libraries & Homeschoolers
Libraries & Homeschoolers
From the School Library Journal an article on how librarians can better cater to homeschoolers.
Homeschooling families are everywhere these days. They’re on television, giving interviews after winning national spelling bees. They’re in the paper, profiled after making Olympic trials. They’re on the radio, talking about the growing popularity of homeschooling as an educational choice.
And they’re definitely in your library.
According to a 2003 study by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), when homeschoolers were asked about their primary source of books and/or curriculum, 78 percent named their public library. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Court Holds California's Homeschoolers in Suspense
Court Holds California's Homeschoolers in Suspense
California officials operate some of the worst education bureaucracies in the nation. Yet some officials here are concerned not so much with the government-run schools, but with the possibility that a fraction of the state's students are being educated by their non-credentialed parents at home. This is the "let no flower bloom" approach to public policy, as government officials and public-sector unions react against small private successes in their midst, mainly, I suppose, because of the embarrassment it entails. If for a few bucks a year parents can teach kids who go on to excel in state tests, get accepted to Berkeley, and win spelling bees, then why can't the professional "educators" do as well with $11,000 or more per student each year taken from taxpayers? Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool
Parents' Rights / Childrens' Rights
Parents' Rights / Childrens' Rights
So this columnist at least takes a stand for parent's rights... as long as those parents register. At least she's trying.
OK, deep breath. Here we go.
I haven't written about homeschooling since April 13, 2003.
At that time I wrote that homeschooling is, to me, an odd educational choice. I don't understand why a parent would choose to separate a child from the rich and varied world that a public school offers, or shelter them from the very society that they will ultimately have to live and work in.
After writing that I received 350 e-mails from homeschoolers, 348 of which were royally peeved at me. I was harshly taken to task for my lack of intelligence, which most said was probably a result of my own public school education.Read more...
UPDATE: I just noticed Spunky has a great response to this issue on her blog.
Labels: homeschool
Subway Contest version 2.0
Subway Contest version 2.0
Subway is back with another writing contest. This one has a deadline of August 31 and homeschoolers are eligible.
I was not outraged about the last contest, just shocked at their insensitivity. The official rules this time do not mention homeschoolers (nor exclude them), but they also no longer mention the $5000 athletic equipment prize being awarded to your school. They also say: "Prizes are non-transferable, non-assignable" which is fine but homeschooled or not, I think there would now be tax consequences on receiving this prize, even if you did turn around and donate it.
Read about the contest here and enter soon. The deadline is looming (but the story only has to be 500 words).
HT: About Homeschool.
Labels: contest, homeschool
Home-Schooled Homebuilders
Home-Schooled Homebuilders
An admittedly crazy idea becomes the ultimate homeschool learning experience. Build your own house. That takes guts!
Cathy and Mark Suggs' life has taken a few sharp turns, none more than when the couple decided to live off their savings and build a house with almost no prior construction experience.
It was the latest in a string of adventures that included living on a boat and leaving well-paying jobs to home school their three children. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
CA Judge dismisses homeschooling credentials case
CA Judge dismisses homeschooling credentials case
I don't pretend to know what this means. Read on.
A controversial legal ruling that outlawed most forms of home schooling in California will face greater scrutiny because the underlying family court case was dismissed earlier this week.
News of the decision broke Friday as thousands of members of the Christian Home Educators Assn. of California met in Long Beach, where they opened with: "We pray God you deliver home-schoolers in California from the mouth of the lion. . . . Change the hearts of these judges, we pray." Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Homeschooled teen creates electric vehicles
Homeschooled teen creates electric vehicles
This is the second time I ran across this kid in the news for his electric vehicles.
A Lapeer County teen is doing what he can to save money at the gas pumps.
In his spare time he has developed two vehicles that run only on battery power.
Andrew Angellotti, 17, has been very busy the last couple of years. He has converted a Mazda pickup and a Toyota car to electric power. He zips down local roads without using a drop of gas.
"The main reason I built this thing was to prove the technology, to show people it was available." Read more...
Labels: homeschool
The option of home schooling
The option of home schooling
Like any typical weekday afternoon Kay Bindrim gathered three of her children around the kitchen table. As the center of the household, the eight-seat table used for family meals and down time also serves as a classroom.
While helping her 5-year-old write the letter "M," Bindrim kept an ear on her daughter using the laptop for a math session on the other side of the table. An hour later, Bindrim was at the table teaching her two oldest daughters grammar lessons while they sat beside her. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Homeschool Blog Buzz grows to 135
Homeschool Blog Buzz grows to 135
It's been too long since we added any new blogs to Homeschool Blog Buzz. So tonight I finally got around to adding all these: Bona Vita, Confessions of an Organized Homeschool Mom, Frugal Homeschooling, Homeschooled twins, homeschoolingcoach.com, Learning to Amble..., Loves School, Song of My Heart, Thinking Out Loud and Tree of Life Musings.That brings the total blogs roll to 135. Your blog can be part of the fun too if it's mostly about homeschooling and somewhat interesting. (Yes, sometimes it takes months for me to answer and you might have to ask twice.) Visit homeschool blog buzz...
Labels: Blogs, homeschool
Homeschool Pioneers
Homeschool Pioneers
Michael Smith of HSLDA recalls John Holt and Raymond Moore's role in the homeschooling revolution in a Washington Times Op Ed.The modern home-school movement traces its roots to the late '70s and early '80s when two main ideas began to revive the method of education our forefathers practiced. First was a belief that the traditional classroom and institutional school, as a whole, was inadequate to meet the individual educational needs of children, and in some cases may actually harm a child's development. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Surfing and Extreme Homeschooling
Surfing and Extreme Homeschooling
When director Doug Pray first met the family, it was the surfing theme that commanded his attention. But as he began hearing their stories, "I started realizing that this was not a surf movie at all," he said from his home in Los Angeles. "This was an amazing opportunity to tell the story of a family who dared to live differently. A lot of Americans fantasize about doing this, and Doc did it for decades. The title does make you think about surfing, but it's metaphorical. There are times I wish the word 'surf' wasn't in the title." Read more...
Labels: homeschool, sports
Socialization Snobs
Socialization Snobs
Don't let the "adult language" scare you away from this one. The language in question is a quote from a teacher's blog, recounting a conversation she heard via 13-year-old kids!
Note: This column includes adult language.The scene she describes of homeschooled kids interacting is exactly what I witness at our group events and co-ops.
Ask any homeschooling parent why they homeschool, and you're likely to receive as many different replies as there are families. Some of the common reasons include religious freedom, academic improvement, one-on-one tutoring and increased family closeness.
But for us, the single biggest reason we school at home correlates to the single biggest criticism homeschoolers get: socialization. Yes, it's largely due to the "socialization" children get in public schools that convinced us to homeschool.
Everyone associates with everyone. Teens dandle babies. Twelve-year-olds play gentle tag with 5-year-olds. If one child gets snarky with another, there are five or six moms (as well as older kids) around to see the bad behavior and instantly correct it, so it seldom gets out of hand. Manners are expected and reinforced. This is the breeding ground for homeschooling socialization. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, Socialization
School of One: Single Moms Homeschool
School of One: Single Moms Homeschool
When her 12-year-old son, Logan, was struggling to understand fractions, Chrissy Swanke ordered an unsliced pizza and demonstrated the meaning of one-eighth and one-fourth by cutting sections from the pie.
Arithmetic became the dinner-time discussion, Swanke recalled from her home.
"That's the downside of home schooling," said the Las Vegas mom. "They never get away from it."
As a single mom, Swanke is half of the usual number of parents who educate their children at home. According to the U.S. Department of Education, home-school children are 80 percent more likely than public school children to have two parents at home. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Carnival of Homeschooling: Fireworks
Carnival of Homeschooling: Fireworks
Beverly hosts the carnival over at the about.com homeschooling blog. She has a 4th of July theme this week (independence day in the US).
I've celebrated Independence Day in various places over the years. One of my favorites was at Mina Lake in South Dakota when the kids were young. For a city girl, this was a real treat…from the Aberdeen Liberty Parade, to the lakeside barbecue to the fireworks out over the water of Mina Lake. Since fireworks were legal where I lived until I moved to Anaheim 5 years ago, most celebrations were neighborhood streets filled with "safe and sane" fireworks. But, gone are the days of spending money at the local fireworks stands, now we generally barbecue at home then try to find a convenient place to watch one of the community fireworks shows. Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
NC State task force: Homeschools need monitoring
NC State task force: Homeschools need monitoring
A tragic death. Homeschooling is not the cause.
The N.C. Department of Social Services made the recent recommendations in its report on the death of Sean Paddock, a Smithfield boy killed by his adoptive mother. Lynn Paddock, who was convicted of first-degree murder and felony child abuse in the case, home schooled her seven children.
The report calls for the N.C. Division of Non-Public Education to increase monitoring of home schools and for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to track school status of children who die under suspicious circumstances.
"That was clearly a child abuse case and not a home school (case)," said Kay Bindrim, who serves as president of the Christian Homeschool Association of Rocky Mount and regional director of North Carolinians for Home Education with her husband, Tommy. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Homeschooled Blues
Homeschooled Blues
A talented trio of siblings, all homeschooled, all play the blues.
Renaud Perry will always remember the first time he opened the front door of his home and heard a racket blaring from the living room. He turned the corner, expecting to tell his son Ryan to turn down the television. Instead, he saw the 8-year-old with an electric guitar in his lap, playing chords along with a TV commercial. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Homeschooling: a Constitutional Right.
Homeschooling: a Constitutional Right.
Damien M. Schiff of the Pacific Legal Foundation wrote this opinion piece for the San Francisco Chronicle. He's big on parent's rights to raise their own children, which you would think should not be questioned.
On a related note, Summer Minor has an excellent post on Parent's rights this over at her Mom is Teaching blog.
But perhaps more important than any of the quality-of-education issues raised by this case is whether the state has the power to require parents who wish to instruct their children at home to obtain a teaching credential. The U.S. Supreme Court has long interpreted the Constitution as protecting parents' rights to direct and oversee the education of their children. More than 80 years ago, the Supreme Court noted, in a case challenging an Oregon law requiring all children to attend public schools, that "The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations." Read more...
Labels: homeschool, Politics
Carnival of Homeschooling for Homesick Campers
Carnival of Homeschooling for Homesick Campers
Hosted this week at Dewey's Treehouse...
Trees, canoes, and crickets in your sleeping bag. Swimming, counsellors, talent shows, hot dogs, mosquitoes, and lost laundry. Summer camp!
Well, sort of. Mama Squirrel's only experience as a summer camper was at a local budget-version Girl Guide Camp, a relic from the '40's right down to the lats, the songs ("We wear our brothers' shirts, we wear our fathers' ties") and the marching around the flag pole. We didn't have canoes or swimming, since the camp was built in an old schoolyard; they just hosed us off every couple of days or when things got desperate. We brailed our tents, cooked our lunch, washed our own pots over our own campfires and then, hi ho hi ho, walked the half mile into the village to buy pop at the Red and White. Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
Facebook welcomes homeschoolers
Facebook welcomes homeschoolers
Way back in February I posted a story about how Facebook inadvertently discriminates against homeschoolers. Now they finally changed their account creation process to allow minors join without listing a school affiliation.
From the facebook blog:
We've been working on ways to solve this—we want minors to use Facebook safely above all. Today, we're happy to announce that we've recently come up with a way for homeschoolers to join. We've created a new verification system—one that doesn't depend on being in a high school, but still provides the level of security we believe is required. So welcome, everyone, to Facebook. Read more...
Hat tip to Spunky for first posting about this yesterday.
Labels: Blogs, homeschool, web
Carnival of Homeschooling: Now a Major Motion Picture
Carnival of Homeschooling: Now a Major Motion Picture
Apollos Academy hosts this week with a movie-quotes theme for the latest Carnival of Homeschooling. Lots of good links from homeschool blogs I'm anxious to read. The introduction also is packed with lots of useful links about movies.
Our family has yet to find an experience, characteristic, or emotion for which there is not an appropriate movie quote. I have decided that in this Carnival of Homeschooling, I will put this theory to the test. Enjoy the wonderful posts of our fellow educators, then on an upcoming, sweltering summer afternoon, escape into the air conditioning and enjoy a movie. Most libraries carry feature films and documentaries that you can check-out for free. There are also many movie theaters across the US offering free or inexpensive family movies through the summer. Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
Our Summer Reading Program
Our Summer Reading Program
Our family loves to read, but one thing that is lacking in our reading repertoire is a good dose of classic literature. I’m busy reviewing popular YA and children’s fiction and curriculum for our website, and my boys tend to gravitate to book series and fantasies So, to stretch our literary experience, I’ve put together a classy list of books for the boys (and me) to read over the summer. As no reading program is complete without an incentive, I am paying them a penny a page. They can’t collect any money until they have written a brief book report and have passed an informal oral quiz on the book’s content. And, they can collect an extra 75 cents if they list and define ten unfamiliar words from the book. I also set up a cute “book nook” area for them with a basket chock full of some of the books on their list. And, they were given a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble to help them kick things off (which they spent within hours of receiving).
If they tackle a good portion of the reading list, they will have accumulated about $100 each, but most importantly, will have gained a priceless addition to their education.
See below for our 2008 Homeschoolbuzz.com summer reading list.
Book report guidelines
Title read:
Author:
Pages read:
Date completed:
Book report: Include basic plot summary, interesting characters, morals or things learned, and overall impressions of the book. Should be between 25-75 words.
Rate book: 0-5 stars (0=bad, 5=outstanding)
Also, list 10 words you read that were new to you, include the definition (brief) worth an extra 75 cents.
You should write daily in your journal, include progress or notes on your reading (or a word definition, or write about ideas, feelings, special events, etc.
Homeschoolbuzz.com Summer reading list for advanced 6th grade readers and up
*
Hamlet By Shakespeare*,
Romeo and Juliet
Count of Monte Cristo*
Poems
Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Across Five Aprils
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights
Treasure Island
The Hound of the Baskervilles
A Boy’s War
Calico Captive
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl*
Number the Stars
Good-Bye, Mr. Chips,
The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day
How Green Was My Valley*
In His Steps
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1)
The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, Book 2)
The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, Book 3)
Rascal
The Miracle Worker
The Moonstone*
An American Plague
Lincoln: A Photo-biography
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Onion John
The Last of the Mohicans*(or other selections)
Gulliver’s Travels* by Swift, Jonathon (314 pages)
And Then There Were None*
Watership Down*
Profiles in Courage*
Hunchback of Notre-Dame* by Hugo, Victor
Les Misérables*
Ivanhoe*
The Once and Future King*
To Kill a Mockingbird*
King Solomon's Mines*
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (The Wolves Chronicles)
Old Yeller
Gentle Ben
Labels: Books, homeschool, Reading, Reviews
Vacation for Homeschoolbuzz
Vacation for Homeschoolbuzz
The Davis family (owners of this site) have been on vacation this week. We are finally home (but we are still resting). Here are the boys at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, PA. We were also in Hershey and Lancaster County. It was fun even though most of the time we were walking long distances in 90 degree sun.
Labels: homeschool, unschool
Carnival of Homeschooling
Carnival of Homeschooling
Although we are away on vacation this week, I had to take a moment to tell you about the carnival of homeschooling this week hosted by The Common Room. Many entries... enjoy!
Welcome to the Carnival of Homeschooling, and thank-you all for participating. As you read through the Carnival Entries and visit the blogs, please be sure to leave a note letting the blogger know you enjoyed their entry. It's always encouraging to hear nice things from readers! Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
Teacher's Union: Homeschooling = Educational Anarchy
Teacher's Union: Homeschooling = Educational Anarchy
They actually officially declared this in court.
"The California Teachers Association ... decided to file an amicus brief arguing before the court that parents should have no right over the education of their children, should not have a right to home school, and that these children should be literally forced to be put back into the public schools -- even though parents object," the attorney explains.
Dacus did a double-take when he read one specific charge made by the teachers' union. "In their brief, the teachers' union said that to allow parents to be able to home school without being credentialed teachers could result in 'educational anarchy,'" he shares. Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool, Politics
10-year-old college sophomore
10-year-old college sophomore
Maybe the homeschooling didn't have much to do with this. But this kid is very philosophical and wise for his age.
Moshe Kai Cavalin likes to tell about the time his father took him to take his college entrance test. The administrators told his dad he couldn’t bring an 8-year-old with him into the test room. His father told them the boy was going in alone — because he was the one taking the test. Read more...
Labels: College, homeschool
D.C. Homeschooling Restrictions Proposed
D.C. Homeschooling Restrictions Proposed
Historically, D.C. parents have enjoyed nearly unlimited freedom to educate their children as they wish.
But in January, the State Superintendent’s Office created a first draft of new rules that dictate subjects parents must teach and require parents to permit government officials to keep tabs on them. Read more...
Labels: DC, homeschool
A Graphical Carnival of Homeschooling
A Graphical Carnival of Homeschooling
The 127th Carnival of Homeschooling is hosted at Tami's Blog this week with lots of graphics and little introduction.
Welcome to the Carnival of Homeschooling Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
Tennessee Police, Daycare Workers: Homeschooled ergo Unqualified
Tennessee Police, Daycare Workers: Homeschooled ergo Unqualified
More on that Tennessee state law that won't accept homeschool diplomas for state jobs.
NASHVILLE, TN, May 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Five people in Tennessee, who hold homeschool diplomas, have recently been deemed unqualified for certain positions of employment becasue of their homeschooling. Since last year, the Tennessee Department of Education has begun withholding approval of such diplomas, but Representative Mile Bell has been fighting to gain back the recognition these diplomas previously enjoyed. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, Tennessee
Parade: "Should Home-Schooling Be Illegal?"
Parade: "Should Home-Schooling Be Illegal?"
That was the inflammatory headline in this Sunday's Parade magazine. (The Sunday supplement for more than 400 Sunday newspapers in the US.) They have a poll on the website.
The article below that headline is more sympathetic.
In February, a California state appeals court ruled that unless parents have recognized teaching credentials, they must send their children to school. The judge, citing a state education law, said that “parents do not have a constitutional right to home-school their children.” Read more...
Labels: homeschool, media, Politics
Unleash your (or your child's) creativity
Unleash your (or your child's) creativity
There is a Scientific American article interviewing experts on fostering creativity. It's' worth a read, especially for home-educators.
When children are very young, they all express creativity, but by the end of the first grade, very few do so. This is because of socialization. They learn in school to stay on task and to stop daydreaming and asking silly questions. As a result, the expression of new ideas is largely shut down. We end up leaving creative expression to the misfits—the people who can’t be socialized. It’s a tragedy. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, science
Carnival Of Homeschooling #126: End of the School Year? Or Is It?
Carnival Of Homeschooling: End of the School Year?
Jacque Dixon is moving her blog to a new URL. This week she is hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling at the new blog.
This week is the end of the 2007-2008 school year for many families across the country. June is a few days off and will be the start of summer vacation.
We have not had a ’summer vacation’ in six years. Oh, we have plenty of fun and plenty of vacationing at home during the summer, but we don’t officially take time off from school. School is life, and those Living Learning Moments include reading, textbooks, extra-curricular activities, and anything you can think of.
So, the official school year is over, but, is it? Is it the end of the homeschool year or not? Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
More on the politics of sandwiches.
More on the politics of sandwiches.
From Human Events, a run down of the issues with Subway's homeschool exclusion.
Given the rate at which homeschooled children win the national spelling bee, perhaps Subway should have let a third grade home schooled student proof read its rules. In addition to spelling “united” as “untied,” the prizes included a “gift bastket” in lieu of a “gift basket.” Read more...
Labels: contests, homeschool
Why are Homeschoolers so Touchy about Subway's Snub?
Why are Homeschoolers so Touchy about Subway's Snub?
What, me touchy? No, not really. I'm just shocked by their blatant lack of public relations prowess.
Actually this story hardly mentions Subway at all. It's all about the growing Homeschool sports movement.
As a private corporation, Subway is free to include or exclude anyone from their essay contest, and can set up the rules of their contest as they see fit. So why -- beside the blatant misspellings that even the eight-year-olds caught -- are homeschoolers so offended by this?
Homeschooling has grown in the United States to the point where 3 million children are currently being educated at home. Will Smith homeschools his kids, along with Winona Judd, NASCAR drivers, astronauts, lawyers, professors, doctors, nurses, and truck drivers -- all of whom are finding this educational choice works for their families. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, sports
Is homeschooling a wise move?
Is homeschooling a wise move?
From Times-online in the UK. Generally a positive article. I never knew, they seem to have similar problems in the UK (as in the US) with too much testing.Imagine a summer term with no exams, no revision to force your children to stay indoors , no dangling of Asprey carats as a reward for 11 A*s at GCSE.
For the growing number of parents who teach their children at home, part of
the pay-off for opting out of formal education is a stretch of golden
afternoons, when lessons can be taken in the garden and there are no pesky
tests to take the shine off the summer.The novelist Michelle Magorian, who for the last nine years has taught her son George, now 14, at the kitchen table of their home in Hampshire, freely admits that one reason she turned her back on schooling was her alarm at the way the system examines pupils almost to destruction. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Is Subway Refusing to Serve homeschoolers?
Is Subway Refusing to Serve homeschoolers?
I've heard from various comments left on this blog that Subway Restaurants is explicitly excluding homeschoolers from a writing contest.
From the Official Rules:
2. ELIGIBILITY. Contest is open only to legal residents of the United States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted. Read more...
At first I thought this must be a hoax. I looked into this and it seems to be a legitimate Subway Franchisee Advertising Trust Fund website. I've heard of contests before that inadvertently exclude homeschoolers but they don't often specifically say "No Homeschoolers."
I also noticed WorldnetDaily picked up on this story. (Not that they are the seal of truth or anything.)
What are those Franchisees thinking?
Labels: contests, homeschool
Homeschooling voices from the past
Homeschooling voices from the past
Apparently Mother Earth News had recently posted their entire archive of articles online. I found a few old articles onthe nascent practice of homeschooling
Two Generations Of Home Schooling from November/December 1980 and Home Schooling from August/September 1993. They are very lengthy articles and I haven't finished reading yet. But I expect a lot of familiarity and maybe some big differences. For one thing, homeschooling wasn't widely accepted or even heard of yet. And both these dates were before the internet was on most people's radar.
The decision to teach me at home was not an easy one — Mother and Dad discussed the options for more than a year before finally reaching it. You have to realize that, at the time, this was uncharted territo ry. In those days before home schooling was a cause célébre — complete with its newsletters and national associations—nobody taught their children at home. The only exceptions were those kids whose parents were stationed overseas, lived far in the backwoods, or were born to millionaires who hired personal tutors for them. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, Homesteading
Southern Baptists revive school exodus issue
Southern Baptists revive school exodus issue
A resolution has been submitted for the upcoming business meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, which calls on parents to rescue their children from indoctrination in sexual deviancy in California's public schools.
The resolution was submitted by Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr., and Bruce Shortt, two well-known critics of government-run schools -- or as Baucham calls them, "the pagan schools." Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Why Homeschooling?
Why Homeschooling?
From Pam Dolan of TheDay.com
Why am I planning to homeschool our kids?
This question keeps coming up. It’s a fair question, but I still do not have a fixed and ready answer. You’d think that after all these months of thinking and researching that I would have come up with a workable response, but the question still stops me cold.
It seems like the kind of question I will be much better equipped to answer five or ten years from now. It’s not that I’m waffling on this decision. I am thrilled to pieces by the notion of learning along with the kids for the next several years. It absolutely feels like the right thing to do.
But why? Read more...
Labels: homeschool, parenting, unschool
Homeschooled 8-year-old's recipe is a winner
Homeschooled 8-year-old's recipe is a winner
GRAND BLANC, Michigan -- Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce. Eight-year-old Hannah Biermann, of Grand Blanc, concocted a recipe for gourmet hamburgers that was selected as a winner in Red Robin Restaurant's "Gourmet Burger Kids' Recipe Contest." Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Another Hollywood homeschooler
Another Hollywood homeschooler
Ali Lohan (sister of Lindsay) started homeschooling because of bullying. Many show biz kids homeschool, but usually for the flexible schedule.
Ali, who recently started work on her first film project, Mostly Ghostly, in Los Angeles, said such problems are a thing of the past now she’s being home-schooled.
She tells People.com, “You learn so much more – it’s just hard to focus when girls are giving you problems. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Tennessee Rejects Homeschool Diplomas
Tennessee Rejects Homeschool Diplomas
From Blue Collar Muse.
Recently, the Tennessee State Board of Education ruled diplomas issued to home-schooled students from religious based schools were invalid as proof of the successful completion of High School should it be presented for employment purposes for a job for which state law requires a diploma. You read that right. According to the State Board of Education, all diplomas are equal but some diplomas are more equal than others. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, Tennessee
Girl, 17, graduates from college
Girl, 17, graduates from college
This weekend, most 17-year-olds are contemplating plans for a summer job and getting ready for college.
Serennah Harding is getting ready to wrap up her college career.
Harding will be graduating Huntingdon College today with a bachelor's degree in cell biology.
"I don't think it'll hit me until I'm walking across the stage," she said.
Harding entered Huntingdon at 13. She is one of nine children in her family who were home-schooled using the methods published by their parents, Kip and Mona Lisa Harding, in their e-book "College by 12." Read more...
Labels: College, homeschool
The education-industrial complex
The education-industrial complex
Paul Peterson, director of Harvard’s Program on Education Policy and Governance and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, is doing something more and more people seem to be doing. He’s a respected educator with serious academic credentials and clout among the indoctrinated, and he’s blaming much of public education’s problems on public educators: namely the unions and the government offices who conspire with them. He calls them the “educational-industrial complex.” Read more...
Labels: homeschool, media
Mother of 14 loving life, her children
Mother of 14 loving life, her children
Of course, they homeschool.
How do you take care of 11 children all living under one roof?
For starters, you’ll need two water heaters. After all, nobody likes running out of hot water during the middle of a shower. Next, you’ll need two washers and two dryers. After all, everybody needs clean clothes. At some point, you’ll need to head to the grocery store. Fifteen pounds of potatoes and five gallons of milk should last a week. Toilet paper? Don’t even ask. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, large families
The 124th Carnival of Homeschooling
The 124th Carnival of Homeschooling
The carnival is still going strong. This week it's hosted at Mom Is Teaching by Summer.
Welcome back to the Carnival of Homeschooling! As always it is so much fun to host and get to read all of the great posts people have submitted. I tried to make sure that I got every post in, but if you see that I missed your’s just let me know and I’ll add it in (unless it was a spam post). Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to leave lots of comments for all these great bloggers! Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
German homeschoolers face loosing custody
German homeschoolers face loosing custody
A German couple already being threatened with jail time because they have been homeschooling their children say their nation has taken a turn for the worse, with a new federal law that gives family courts the authority to take custody of children "as soon as there is a suspicion of child abuse," which is how that nation's courts have defined homeschooling. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Electricity facts my teacher got wrong
Electricity facts my teacher got wrong
I just ran across this website detailing science myths in K-12 textbooks and popular belief. This post about electricity popped up on del.icio.us popular today.
How does 'electricity' work? If you've learned about electricity from grade-school textbooks, then first we have to do some "debunking" and find out how electricity DOESN'T work. Sorry if the following is a bit contentious at times. I wrote it in an attempt to get some things off my chest. If you keep watching this site, I'll probably clean it up and make it sound a bit more professional. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, schools
Carnival of homeschooling: Mothers day edition
Carnival of homeschooling: Mothers day edition
Melissa's Idea Garden hosts the carnival this week and has a mothers day theme complete with a history of the holiday.
Wow! It is amazing to me that over two years ago, Janine and Henry at Why Homeschool had the idea to create a Carnival of Homeschooling. And here it is, still going strong! Each week, there are wonderful articles by homeschoolers from around the globe sharing what works for them. That is one of the great strengths of the homeschooling community...we all are more than happy to share our experiences and knowledge with other homeschoolers!
Many homeschools are run by moms. Dads participate as they can, but usually they are the ones working to support the family so the children can be homeschooled. Since Mother's Day is just around the corner, the theme for this week's carnival will center around that. Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
Who better to teach about unschooling?
Who better to teach about unschooling?
An unschooler named Andi wrote this comprehensive how-to on unschooling aka"worldschooling." It's fairly balanced and informative for anyone who's considering homeschooling or unschooling. You can even add to parts of it.
Hi, I'm Andi. I wrote this lens. (In case you don't know, a 'lens' is Squidoo's name for a user-made page about a topic.)
From the time I was six, I was homeschooled. From the time I was twelve, I was worldschooled. Then, this spring, I graduated.
So I've been through the whole thing - all the way until I was accepted into my top choice college and awarded 60% tuition in grants.
And you know what? You can do it too. You can follow your interests during your teens years and have an incredible launch into your adult life.
That's what this lens is about. Read more...
Labels: College, homeschool, unschool, web
Homeschooling in the news
Homeschooling in the news
Wayne S. Walker sent us some news.
The Wichita Falls Times Record News, has been running a series of articles about homeschooling this week. They’ve been upbeat and positive.
Home-schooling mothers find endless choices with technology, Internet
Home-schooled children exempt from state tests
Labels: homeschool, media
Odysseus and the homeschooler
Odysseus and the homeschooler
I just got this via email. It's tool cool not to share.
Emily Salva, age 7, of Franklin, TN, is a homeschooled student. She was studying Greek mythology this year. She wound up making this short video for part of a presentation:
She’s responsible for all the graphics and the narration. Emily is seven years old.
This video short was selected to be screened at the 2008 Nashville Film Festival. (I thought this was kind of a big deal, especially since the video that Emily’s Dad entered got turned down.)
Just about all of the entries in this festival were made by adults. No one else even close to her age had an entry in this festival.
Along with being on the local television news, she also got some attention in some area papers.
Labels: Gifted, homeschool, Tennessee
Carnival of homeschooling: Visions of the future
Carnival of homeschooling: Visions of the future
Welcome to the April 29, 2008 edition of carnival of homeschooling.
Where's my flying car?
When I was a kid, the future was promised to bring us flying cars. I suppose we have only ourselves to blame. After all, we were the kids who grew up and created the present day world. Despite the mundane transportation, there are quite a few cool innovations since we were kids. Your kids will grow to create the next future. Some of us may live to see the era of flying cars. Until then we can only teach our children well.
There are plenty of bloggers this week with advice on teaching, family and othe realated topics. Enjoy this week's carnival of homeschooling.
Dawn Adams presents Another Day, Another Homeschooling Critic
Summer presents How To Hate On Homeschoolers Properly "A sarcastic how-to for writing the perfect anti-homeschooling rant."
Alasandra presents Increase the educational choices for all Instead of trying to limit educational choices we should all be working to increase the educational choices for all.
Heather Johnson presents 2008 eLearning Symposium
Dana presents Homeschooling cuts children off from oversight
Cristina Payne presents Home Spun comic strip #216 Distractions we face in homeschooling, and why they may not be a bad thing.
Elena LaVictoire presents Ben Stein's Expelled My review of Ben' Stein's movie, Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed and how I think it connects to education. I think this is a must see for homeschool parents and high school students.
Amanda Dixon presents A Homeschool Senior?s Favorite Resources The favorite resources of a homeschool senior.
education
Maria presents A review of a high school geometry course with Geometry: A Guided Inquiry with Geometer's Sketchpad and a Home Study Companion.
Rose presents Trendy, green, frugal, and homeschooling
Eric Koshinsky presents How to Teach Speaking
Overwhelmed Mom presents How can you find anything in this mess? This post discusses different learning styles and how they are perceived.
Sheri presents The Ocean
Debbie Phillips presents Henty I only started my blog on Sunday the 20th. So far on my blog there is an article on G.A. Henty, links and info about the UHSE, photos of flowers, and a video of a ballet that is great.
Jacque Dixon presents Gardening 101 - You *Can* Teach Your Children!! Gardening is one of the easiest ways to homeschool, especially throughout the summer!
Henry Cate presents a Book review: Bootstrapping Your Business saying: Do you have a budding entrepreneur? Teaching your children to manage money and start a business is just as important as academics
Mrs. C presents Homeschooling With Lotsa Kids Yes, you *can* homeschool if you have younger children as well. It just takes time!
Barbara says I Should Have Known saying An urban agrarian family with a popular web site reveals its homeschooling past.
Bettina Colona Essert presents Homeschooling in North Carolina Bettina explains how to homeschool in North Carolina.
The Tinker Box suggests Putting aside broken mechanical and electronic devices for kids to take apart later.
Rebecca presents The Orioles Are Coming! Bird watching can be a fun homeschooling activity. Here's how to attract Orioles and how to track their migration north with your kids.
Ramona presents No Screen, No Fun.
Book of Life My son has been devouring biographies lately, and he wanted to recommend a few of his favorites.
Who Is This Kid? My workbook-hating son astounds me by suddenly deciding to do ten Singapore Math 1a lessons in one sitting, with his own special boyish twist.
Hands On = Brain Off? Sebastian at Percival Blakeney Academy reacts to a report that math manipulatives may not improve learning.
Renae presents How to Add Art to Your Blog
Orlandrea Wilson presents Help For The Frazzled Homeschooler
Nancy Sathre-Vogel presents Roadschooling My husband and I will be taking off soon to ride our bikes from Alaska to Argentina with our 10-year-old twin boys. In this post, I talk about how we deal with the boys' education on the road.
christinemoers presents Those unschoolers are smart little cookies Take a bite out of some unschooling. It's quite delish!
Tim Power presents Classical Education, Logical Fallacies, and Mushrooms I recently came across a critique of Classical Education (specifically, the Trivium model), and take a stab at debunking it. In the process I wind up enmeshed in a debate with an Objectivist about Religion, Objectivism, Faith, Reason, and the nature of reality.
Melissa presents Books: Using Your Resources
Denise presents Non-metric measurements, and poetry Two great ways to teach non-metric volumes (read the comments for #2!), and math poems in honor of National Poetry Month.
ChristineMM presents I've Been Learning About Convergence Insufficiency (an Eye Tracking Problem) ChristineMM shares some information she has learned about an eye tracking problem after one of her children was recently diagnosed with convergence insufficiency.
family
Janice Campbell presents TV Turnoff Week: Fast, Cheap, & Easy Life Enhancement! posted at Janice Campbell- Taking Time for Things That Matter, saying, "TV Turnoff Week is a holiday that ought to be celebrated for much longer than just a week. Doing and being, rather sitting and staring is a quick, easy way to enhance life. Extend the holiday, and just do it!"
Malia Russell presents The Easily Distracted Child » Homemaking 911
Melitsa presents Tip: Sound communication
Jennifer in OR presents A Strawberry Tea Party Hosting a fun tea party, including a bit of the history of tea.
Elisheva Levin presents We Found It on Chupadera Mesa...! A weekend get-away leads us to a four-year plan for sustainable living.
Jocelyn @ A Pondering Heart presents Homeschool Boutique
Activities Coordinator presents New Horizons .
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using our carnival submission form. The next carnival of homeschooling will be hosted by Melissa's Idea Garden.
Labels: Blogs, Carnival, homeschool
Homeschool is not just a white thing
Homeschool is not just a white thing
The Charlotte Post has yet another story on African American homeschooling. How long before the media stops treating this as an oddity? If you read the article, the reasons for homeschooling are fairly typical of any homeschooler. The article cites 2003 statistics that about 9% of all homeschoolers are Black. That's approaching current demographics of ~12.4% of the general population (USA) (considering the 5 years old figure.)
Angela Fulton’s children don’t have to leave their Weddington home for an education.
Fulton’s children – fifth-grader Aris, fourth-grader Christian and 4-year-old Carlyle – are homeschooled, part of a growing trend among black families.
“It’s not for everyone, but I know where my children are academically,” she said.
Although numbers vary nationally, more black parents are opting out of public education for homeschool. A Charlotte group, Families of Color Uniting Scholars, counts 75 families among its membership. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
The Carnival of Homeschooling... Baggage?
The Carnival of Homeschooling... Baggage?
Hosted today by Dana at Principled Discovery. Next week, we are hosting here at Homeschoolbuzz.com.
Welcome to the 121st edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling which has grown a great deal since I first heard of it while I was still blogging over at HSB. It is even beginning to attract its own spam, the first mark of recognition in the blogging world. This week’s carnival is inspired by a post by Irene of Taschek Tales, a woman too busy to blog regularly but who seems to have kept her humor through it all. It is with her gracious permission that I borrow a few of her bags, her photo and a bit of her title as the Carnival of Homeschooling honors:
The Homeschool Bag Lady Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
Call for Carnival Posts
Contribute to the next carnival!
The next Carnival of Homeschooling will be hosted right here on Homeschoolbuzz.com. The theme this time will be Visions of the Future.
Hopefully, you are preparing the homeschooled kids of today to be the creators of tomorrow. OK, enough clichés. Whether you see the future as sublime or perilous, or just trying to get through another week, contribute your post. It doesn't have to be about the future but I plan to weave it into the theme somehow anyway.
I prefer the submission form over email because it makes it easier for me. I know many submissions will come via email anyway so don't sweat it.
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
New Reviewer!
New Reviewer!
Homeschoolbuzz.com is thrilled to welcome Michelle Kearns to our book review team. Michelle is an enthusiastic Christian Homeschooling mom to 4 children: Audrey, 8; Cecily, 6; Eich, 4; and Sophie, 3. And, one of her passions is books! She says:
"I read as many books as I can possibly manage from every genre; I even listen to audiobooks when I do housework! As a homeschooler, I make it a point to read every book my children read so I can discuss it with them, and since my two oldest are crazed bookworms, we go through a lot of books here."Here’s Michelle’s “debut” review, please take advantage of the comments section to welcome her aboard! Michelle joins our veteran reviewers Kathy Davis, Cynthia Clarke and Wayne S. Walker.
Labels: homeschool, Reviews
Homeschooler courted by top universities
Homeschooler courted by top universities
In what has been called the most competitive year ever for college admissions, Chelsea Link defied the odds to get accepted into Yale. Then Harvard.
Then came the fat envelopes from Princeton, Columbia, University of Chicago, Stanford and Northwestern University.
Making that feat still more extraordinary, Link has been home-schooled since age 5. Read more...
Labels: College, homeschool
Homeschool math
Homeschool math
Homeschoolers have reacted angrily with e-mails, phone calls and demonstrations at the state capitol, to proposed legislation that would require them to register with their local school district. On the surface the bill seems a harmless form of accountability, but legitimate fears of a slippery slope to much more regulation warrant an in-depth discussion about valid points raised on both sides of the argument. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, Michigan
Homeschool Spring Fever
Homeschool Spring Fever
Here's a description of spring fever coming to a homeschool near you. Liberal as in the Kansas City, not necessarily the political persuasion.
When old-timers talk about the days of the one-room schoolhouse and the long treks some students were required to make daily, just to attend class, my first response is to think”how easy we have it nowadays!” We don’t have to saddle up to get our kids to school.
Nor do we walk 10 miles uphill — both ways, as the joke goes — in the snow, carrying 40-lb. sacks of hardcover books. Our kids get ferried through the school zone in comfort, and return home to simple chores like unloading the dishwasher.
Never mind all that business about chopping cords of wood and milking cows at 5 a.m. My own D.O. (dear offspring) might just have the easiest journey to school imaginable: they simply get out of bed each morning, and their education, via home schooling, kicks in for the day. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Carnival of Homeschooling: Open House Edition
Carnival of Homeschooling: Open House Edition
Nerd Family hosts this week with a whirlwind tour of their home as well as the contributing blogs.
Welcome to the 120th Carnival of Homeschooling and come on into our home. I am sorry I am running late but I had women's retreat this weekend and choir and Bible Study today. So sorry. Let me drop my purse and Bible, just make yourself comfortable and ignore the mess;).
Yes, your kids are more than welcome. They can play here with the others in the playroom. Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
New Hampshire Homeschool Parents Against Oversight Bill
New Hampshire Homeschool Parents Against Oversight Bill
CONCORD, N.H. -- Parents of home-schooled children asked lawmakers Tuesday to reject a proposal to increase state oversight of what they teach.
A bill being considered by a House committee would require parents to submit a one-page plan for a home-school student's first year of education. Supporters said it's intended to keep children from falling through the cracks. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, New Hampshire
Bet on the Homeschoolers
Bet on the Homeschoolers
Townhall has a piece by William Rusher regarding homeschooling. I'm not sure what to make of what he says about the non-exclusive rights of parents.
The California Court of Appeals judge who ruled recently that parents "do not have a constitutional right to home-school their children" probably thought the point was obvious. He lives in California, where liberalism is still a flourishing belief system, and where parents are widely regarded as simply the mechanism whereby new generations of youngsters are created and turned over to the state for polishing.
But he is a loser nonetheless, as he will discover when his ruling is overturned on appeal or, failing that, struck down by the legislature or, if necessary, by an amendment to the state constitution. The parents of California are not about to surrender the right to decide what fundamentals their children shall be taught.
That is not to say that parents, in California or elsewhere, have or ought to have an exclusive right to determine that question. Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool, Politics
Anti-religious bigot tries to make amends
Anti-religious bigot tries to make amends
Yesterday I told you about an opinion piece on American Chronicle disparaging homeschooling and lumping them all into the right-wing fundamental camp. Today the author admits his opinions were uninformed, not researched and just plain wrong.
However, there is still no evidence he made any attempt to actually read any of Apologia's biology texts which, by the way, are as accurate and mainstream as any science books I've seen. As sunniemom commenting on this site pointed out, "A fish is a fish is a fish, regardless of where you think it came from." Apologia acknowledges the same facts about fossils, dinosaurs, genetics, mutations, natural selection and a host of other related topics. They also acknowledge a creator. And that is a crime in public education.
What he seems to be saying is children's religious beliefs should disqualify them from receiving diplomas, regardless of their knowledge, talent or abilities.
The author also links to one of my favorite blogs Day by Day Homeschooling (but he got the name wrong). I don't always agree with Dawn, but I respect and value her opinion.
My previous article stated that the majority of American homeschoolers are fundamentalist Christian. That, as I have now stated in the article, isn´t the case. Most of the replies I´ve received have been from homeschool parents who are quite insistent that they are not fundamentalists, and that they are teaching their kids evolution in their science lessons. To them, I apologize, and say thank you. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, science
More inflammatory statements about homeschoolers
More inflammatory statements about homeschoolers
Here's a guy making generalizations about homeschoolers (which he later corrected himself after an outpouring of emails.) Then he's making assumptions about curriculum which he never actually read but based on second-hand descriptions from one website.
Check out this opening.
There are many, many things I find dubious about the practice of parents homeschooling their children. I wonder how a mother or father who has not been educated as a teacher, who in many cases has not even been to college her/himself, can possibly provide their child with as good an education as students receive in our much-maligned public schools. And I can´t help but think that these homeschool students, of whom there are several million in the United States, are being robbed of a crucial formative experience by not attending school with other people their age and being forced to interact with a diverse group of peers. Read more...
Forced to interact with a diverse group of peers? What's diverse about a bunch of kids your age from your neighborhood. One of the benefits of homeschooling is interaction with the world of children and adults outside of the artificial environment.
If he actually read the same study he cites, he would also notice that homeschooling parents are more often educated past high-school level than their public school peers. Despite not often having teaching degrees, does he consider the academic results of homeschooling? Nope.
Yes, the article's main point is not anti-homeschooling but anti-creationist. Why then disparage so many homeschoolers in the process?
Labels: homeschool
Black Parents Homeschool too
Black Parents Homeschool too
I have real problems with the bigoted tone of this opening paragraph. The rest of the long article is very supportive of homeschooling.
Say "homeschooling" and what tends to come to mind are the whitest people you know, holding Sunday school every day of the week in their basements, producing kids who can declaim against Charles Darwin for hours on end, but who are so screwed up socially that you can't imagine them getting a date, except years later as part of a group outing to Christian Day at Disney World. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Carnival of Homeschooling: Workout Edition
Carnival of Homeschooling: Workout Edition
All the heavy lifting for the carnival this week was done by A Pondering Heart.
Welcome to this week’s Carnival of Homeschooling #119. After much thought on what theme I’d do the carnival this week I came up with the “Workout” Edition. Yes, we’re gonna get quite a workout today… ok just stretching and maybe a little jogging but it’ll be good for you. Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
New Blog Buzz Contributors
New Blog Buzz Contributors
We've added a couple new blogs to Homeschoolbuzz Blog Buzz.
- Homeschooling: A Family’s Journey is the blog Gregory and Martine Millman — co-authors of a new book, coincidentally titled Homeschooling: A Family's Journey. Greg's also the author of an excellent article that ran in the Washington Post A Home-Grown Solution to Bad Schools.
(Unfortunately, their blog currently shows up as "(title unknown)" neither Greg nor I can figure out why.)FIXED! - Homeschool Daze is a collection of field trip ideas, random homeschool questions, helpful links and thoughts about homeschooling girls.
Visit Blog Buzz...
Labels: Blogs, homeschool
Michigan legislature has second thoughts about homeschooling
Michigan legislature has second thoughts about homeschooling
About 10 years ago, after years of court battles, parents in Michigan won the right to openly teach their children at home. Since then, a cottage industry of sorts has grown up around the movement, offering curriculum, testing, gym and art classes, music lessons, college preparation, and many other services unheard of in home-schooling's early days.
A proposed law recently introduced in the state legislature, however, could change all that, home-school supporters fear. HB 5912, introduced on March 19 by 34th District State Rep. Brenda Clack and co-sponsored by 24 Michigan House Democrats, would require parents to report the names, addresses, and ages of all home-schooled children to their local school district or intermediate school district at the beginning of each school year. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, Michigan
Sweden moves to stop Christian Homeschooling
Sweden moves to stop Christian Homeschooling
The top education official in Stockholm has vowed to shut down homeschooling by a revivalist parish which includes spanking and calls evolution into question.
“It’s unacceptable and illegal,” said Stockholm’s deputy mayor for schools Lotta Edholm to the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper.
The move comes after a documentary by Sveriges Television revealed that the Maranata movement was home schooling children without permission. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, Sweden
Homeschooling in Kenya
Homeschooling in Kenya
Kenyans run into many of the same obstacles as western homeschool pioneers.
Do you know that your child does not have to go to school to get an education? Not only is it possible but a growing number of parents are opting to ‘home school’ their children.
Home-schooling is the education of children at home, typically by parents or guardians, rather than in a school.
In the West, prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education occurred within the family or community, with only a small portion of the population attending schools or employing tutors. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Homeschooling has pros, cons
Homeschooling has pros, cons
A presumed sage opines about homeschool.
My fear that some home-schooling parents inculcate their children with a very sophisticated sense of paranoia about "the world." The modern prejudice for the nuclear family is itself nuts -- no other culture raises children this way -- but I fear that the nuclear family in too many cases evolves into the Paranoid Family, whose primary message to the children is: "Trust no one. Ever. Except family." Which is pretty much the ethos of the Corleone Family from Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather." Read more...
Labels: homeschool
West Virginia homeschoolers know the law
West Virginia homeschoolers know the law
KEYSER — Two spokespersons for home schoolers in Mineral County have challenged Superintendent Skip Hackworth to find the section in the state code that limits the number of public classes that home-schooled students may take to 50 percent or less of their school day.
“You have led us to believe that this is state law,” parent Bretta Spencer told him Monday, noting that she and other home schoolers have contacted the State Board of Education, the West Virginia Home School Association and their attorneys. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
A Power Struggle in Homeschool Case
A Power Struggle in Homeschool Case
A reaction to the Washington Times editorial of last week.
Washington Times reporter Cheryl Wetzstein wrote -- on Thursday’s front page, not in the Op/Ed section of the paper -- that at the heart of the recent Calif. Court of Appeals ruling outlawing homeschooling in In re: Rachel L. was abuse and neglect in the Long family, not homeschooling per se.
What Wetzstein failed to consider is the wording of the ruling itself. Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool
Homeschool Robotics Team Wins Slot for International Robotics Competition
Homeschool Robotics Team Wins Slot for International Robotics Competition
F.I.R.S.T. is great organization I have been involved in myself.
ABINGDON, Maryland, April 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- TechBrick is a home school robotics club that has fielded eleven robotics competition teams over the past five years through an international robotics competition sponsored by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
Based on our high school team's award-winning performances in state competitions in MD, DE, and NJ, they have been invited to participate in the World Championship in Atlanta. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, Robotics
All about homeschooling
All about homeschooling
The heritage foundation has a long essay on homeschooling filled with stats. Not the most interesting reading for me but it might be to you.
A growing number of American families are choosing to homeschool their children. The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics reports that approximately 1.1 million children (2.2 percent of school-age children) were being educated at home as of 2003—29 percent more than the 850,000 students who were being homeschooled in 1998.[1] Another estimate projects that 2 million or more children may be homeschooling.[2] Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Homeschooling means more socialization
Homeschooling means more socialization
A short fluff piece on homeschooling but it nonetheless avoids the kitchen table image of homeschooling.
A crowd of children met with their parents last week for an afternoon of bowling in Elkhorn. They filled up a handful of lanes, used the bumper pads and threw the bowling balls down as hard as they could.
Once in a while, there was a crash and a scream. Strike!
It's a typical scene on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, but this party happened last Friday during normal school hours. Not a problem for home school families. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Another side of California's Homeschool ruling
Another side of California's Homeschool ruling
This editorial discusses the sad specifics of the case that lead to the California ruling. The problem I and many have with this ruling is the judge's language is too broad and there is an unnecessarily high standard set in requiring parents who homeschool their own children to have teaching credentials.
When a California court ruled that two children could not be taught at home, it became a cause celebre for those claiming that home-schooling was being outlawed.
In fact, the ruling has less to do with the right to educate children at home and more to protect children from neglect and abuse — a reminder that complex issues often defy easy categorization. Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool
Now Malkin on Homeschooling
Now Malkin on Homeschooling
Michelle Malkin has also commented on the California Homeschooling situation, joining the ranks of other prominent conservatives. (I didn't notice her earlier post on this.) Maybe I'm just missing this but it seems strange to me that liberal stalwarts don't seem too upset about this ruling. Don't liberals pretend to be anti-establishment?
Hey, remember that California home-schooling case in which Justice H. Walter Croskey ruled that “Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children?”
Well, the ruling is going to be reconsidered by the 2nd District Court of Appeal. Via the SJMercNews: Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool
Orwellian court decision
Orwellian court decision
The California Court decision sends "strikes fear" across the nation like this editorial from the Atlanta Journal and Constitution.
In Orwellian language, this decision sends a clear message that children are to be considered obedient wards of the state. Parents who might disagree with the state-developed and state-sponsored curriculum or teaching methods are slap out of luck. Home schooling is simply not an option. Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool
John Stossel on Homeschooling
John Stossel on Homeschooling
First Schwarzenegger, then Newt, now Stossel. John Stossel comments on the recent California Homeschool court decision.
The cat is finally out of the bag. A California appellate court, ruling that parents have no constitutional right to homeschool their children, pinned its decision on this ominous quotation from a 47-year-old case, "A primary purpose of the educational system is to train schoolchildren in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare."
There you have it; a primary purpose of government schools is to train schoolchildren "in loyalty to the state." Somehow that protects "the public welfare" more than allowing parents to homeschool their children, even though homeschooled kids routinely outperform government-schooled kids academically. In 2006, homeschooled students had an average ACT composite score of 22.4. The national average was 21.1. Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool
Carnival of Homeschooling - April Fool's Day
Carnival of Homeschooling - April Fool's Day
The Cate family are hosting this week on Why Homeschool Blog.
Seriously. I'm not making this up.
History of April Fool's Day from Wikipedia:
The origins of this custom are complex and a matter of much debate. It is likely a relic of the once common festivities held on the vernal equinox, which began on the 25th of March, old New Year's Day, and ended on the 2nd of April.
Though the 1st of April appears to have been observed as a general festival in Great Britain in antiquity, it was apparently not until the beginning of the 18th century that the making of April-fools was a common custom. In Scotland the custom was known as "hunting the gowk," i.e. the cuckoo, and April-fools were "April-gowks," the cuckoo being a term of contempt, as it is in many countries. Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
Germany: Parents must pay for psych ward for homeschooler
Germany: Parents must pay for psych ward for homeschooler
I never know what to think about the sensationalist tone of WorldNet daily, but they are the only outlet reporting on this next chapter in the Busekros saga. The German government took their daughter from them because they were homeschooling against government orders.
The parents of Melissa Busekros, the German teen who was taken by police from her home and placed in a psychiatric ward because she was homeschooled, now are being billed by the government for the cost of her forced stay, according to attorneys who are working on her case.
WND originally reported more than a year ago when Busekros, then 15, was taken into custody from in front of her shocked family by police officers bearing the following court order:
"The relevant Youth Welfare Office is hereby instructed and authorized to bring the child, if necessary by force, to a hearing and may obtain police support for this purpose." Read more...
Labels: Germany, homeschool
Carnival of Homeschooling: “S” word edition
Carnival of Homeschooling: “S” word edition
Socialization and other "S" words are the theme of this week's carnival at PHAT Mommy's blog.
Welcome to the 117th Carnival of Homeschooling - the “S” word edition. As a homeschooler, you know the S word… Socialization. You’re also probably either sick of hearing that word, or it is laughable to you.
In the minds of non-homeschoolers, the question of “socialization” is a big one. Where else but in school can children learn to play nice with others? To follow rules? To earn their “hard knocks?” To deal with bullies? To handle peer pressure? But homeschoolers know that these issues are not unique to the school environment. They happen everywhere, all the time. Unless of course you keep your children locked in a closet. Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
Homeschooling with Government consent
Homeschooling with Government consent
Another columnist notices the erosion of freedom implied by the courts in California.
In a world where people are constantly complaining about what rights the government actually has, I’m really shocked by the lack of concern over a recent court decision coming out of California. Frankly, I'm even a little worried about what precedents such a ruling may create. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Homeschooling: A senior's perspective
Homeschooling: A senior's perspective
Ten years ago I joined the ranks of those who are educated at home.
Rather than walking to the bus stop each morning my commute involves taking a few steps from one room in my house to the room designated the “school room.” I am now a senior in my last few months of homeschooling. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Homeschoolers don't need no stinkin' regulation
Homeschoolers don't need no stinkin' regulation
New Hampshire is having it's own problems with political regulation of homeschooling.
We have chosen to home-school our children because we believe the educational opportunities we offer are ideal for our families. SB 337 has a real chance of limiting the education of many home-schooled children. We are dedicated to expanding our children's horizons, not limiting them. By dictating curriculum, reporting, and tracking, SB 337 usurps the parents' role in home-schooling, and effectively clips the wings of opportunity for countless New Hampshire children. Read more...
Labels: homeschool, New Hampshire
Newt on Homeschooling
Newt on Homeschooling
Newt Gingrich weighs in on the California homeschooling ruling.
Parents "do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children."
So wrote a California judge in a case that has ominous potential for the estimated one million-plus American families who have opted out of the public education monopoly and choose to educate their children at home. Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool
Homeschooled NASCAR Driver
Homeschooled NASCAR Driver
Roush Fenway is running laps around the competition (sorry). In this NASCAR story he's called "articulate." Should we homeschoolers be indignant? Obama was called articulate by Pres. Bush once and touched of a controversy.
Sure, making laps is a priority for any rookie but Braun, in other racing circles, is anything but a rookie. The articulate, home-schooled racer has been competing all over the world since he was 5 years old starting with quarter midgets in his home state. Read more...
Labels: homeschool
Seuss’s Carnival of Homeschooling
Seuss’s Carnival of Homeschooling
Janice Campbell is hosting the carnival this week at her blog. She has a clever Dr. Seuss theme.
Welcome to the 115th Carnival of Homeschooling! The theme for this carnival is adapted from Dr. Seuss’s beloved Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Homeschoolers are a diverse bunch, and I thought it would be interesting to read about some of the things we do.
One of the things we do particularly well is read, so I’ve also included posts that develop the theme that “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” (I Can Read With My Eyes Shut, Dr. Seuss).
Grab some popcorn, and enjoy the Carnival! Read more...
Labels: Carnival, homeschool
The Famous Cates
The Famous Cates
I just noticed a picture of Janine Cate (and girls) of whyhomeschool blog in an article on the Pueblo Chieftain. It turns out this interview (and sometimes picture) have been showing up repeatedly both in the Cate's local paper, AOL and USAToday. Henry posted about it on their blog a week ago.
Labels: Blogs, homeschool
It's Spelling Bee Season
It's Spelling Bee Season
Across the nation, homeschoolers and gov't schoolers alike are lining up to test their memory and language skills. Homeschoolers have traditionally been over represented as finalists in these competitions. Here's one story of a 2nd-timer who is also a homeschooler. I'm sure there will be many more.
Vocabulary has been very, very good for the McFall family.
Joshua A. McFall’s victory in Monday’s Tribune Chronicle Scripps National Spelling Bee makes him the first back-to-back winner of the competition and has given his family multiple wins...
The 13-year-old student with the Trumbull Education Association of Christian Home Schools (TEACH) has been home-schooled for most of his life. Read more...
Labels: Bee, homeschool
CA Homeschool decision gets a failing grade
CA Homeschool decision gets a failing grade
This article on silive.com makes some good points about the California court decision. Below is a quote from page 2 of the story:
To reach its decision, the court still had to confront one seemingly insurmountable stumbling block. In California, as in most states, private schools may employ teachers who are not credentialed by the state. Why then was the court imposing a higher standard on parents than it did on private schools? Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool
Why California turned homeschool unfriendly
Why California turned homeschool unfriendly
Personally I never understood why people thought of California as being homeschool friendly. Many states do not require formation of a private school to homeschool. Anyway, this article explains the events of the case that led to the recent court decision and draws a controversial conclusion of why this happened.
Seventy years ago, persecuted homeschoolers would flee from the East Coast to California, the state that left you alone.
Back in 1988, when I co-led the battle that legalized homeschooling in Pennsylvania, we had the same two options under our compulsory education law that California still has today: (1) instruction by a qualified private tutor or (2) instruction by a private school. The difference was that Pennsylvania wouldn't let homeschoolers come under the private school option, while California would. Read more...
Labels: California, homeschool
Homeschooler ahead of his time
Homeschooler ahead of his time
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. – By day, Neil Turner tackles academic research papers on topics like the biblical accuracy of carbon dating.
At night, the college freshman sometimes needs to be reminded to brush his teeth.
He’s still 13, after all. Read more...
Labels: College, homeschool
Bob Books: Sight Words Kindergarten
I've taught three boys to read, with each one learning the skill in a different way. My youngest gravitated to easy readers, memorizing whole words while also learning phonetics. One of his favorite books to read was his set of Bob books. He read them daily, quickly committing to memory the simple sentences, which eventually led him and his brothers to develop their own Bob-Book knock-offs. Read more...
The Art of Argument: an Introduction to the Informal Fallacies
My son will be studying introductory logic this year (Sophomore) using this curriculum. I'm excited for him to learn the basics of logic, and it is my hope that when he completes this course he will understand fallacies, and thus learn how to recognize bad reasoning. I'm sure you'll agree that this is an important foundation we should give our teens as they are impressionable, and still forming their belief systems and worldviews. Read more...
Cabin on Trouble Creek
Brothers Daniel and Will are thrilled to help their pa homestead in a lush Ohio forest. At 11 and 9 the boys find all the chores exciting – chopping logs, building the cabin, making a fireplace, and gathering wood. Then comes the day their dad must leave the boys behind to finish readying the cabin while he brings back their mom and siblings. With enough food to last the six weeks before his return, the boys foresee the time will go by fast as they prepare the cabin walls. Read more...
Greek Alphabet Code Cracker
When teaching children, it's always nice to incorporate games or some type of fun into your lesson plans. In the Greek Alphabet Code Cracker, kids will have a great time as they play the role of detective, working to solve the case of the stolen Grecian Urn of Achilles. This novel approach certainly makes this sometimes intimidating subject non-threatening. My 9-year-old loves sleuthing and took a liking to this workbook immediately, and he needed only the littlest help from me. Read more...
Charles and Emma : The Darwins' Leap of Faith
Whether or not you agree with his theories or publications, you'll find out through this book that Charles Darwin was a family man who was committed to his 10 children and devoted to his Christian wife Emma. Ironically, his original life plan was to be a preacher, but then as he collected animal specimens and devoured natural history, he wrestled with the belief of creationism. Despite their conflicting religious views, Emma and Charles married. Read more...
Women of the Old Testament: 14 In-Depth Bible Studies for Teens
Barbara Frank put a lot of work into this bible study for your teen girls, and the result is a dynamic, engaging, and comprehensive look at 14 wonderful woman of the Old Testament. This is not a book you will just hand to your daughter and correct later, rather it requires your input too in the section called "discussion starters for mothers and daughters. Read more...
Med Head: My Knock-down, Drag-out, Drugged-up Battle with My Brain
I sailed through this book, practically reading the entire 200+ pages in one sitting. The story of Cory, a boy who has a severe form of Tourette's syndrome, OCD, and anxiety is both heartbreaking and uplifting. Though written by both Cory's dad and James Patterson, the voice is Cory's and it grabs you from the start and keeps you glued till the final page. Diagnosed at age 5, Cory was compelled to move his body in awkward and often painful ways. Read more...
We hear the Dead
Maggie and Kate Fox were mischievous children, known to play tricks on each other as well as their parents. Then one day their trickster nature goes extreme. Wanting to scare away their disliked niece, the girls pull the ultimate prank. They produce nighttime rapping noises and lead the niece and the rest of the family to believe the house is haunted and "spirits" are the source of the noise. Not only do they scare their family, but their neighbors too. Read more...
Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks
Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks is a quaint collection of stories arranged in a school year format geared toward your younger children. Originally compiled in 1894, Cardamom Publishers has reprinted it with a larger font and inserted numerous old-fashioned illustrations. These gentle stores will capture the attention of eager learners and the "talks" suggest ideas for hands on activities. Read more...
Picture the Dead
Jenny, orphaned and living with her unloving Aunt and Uncle first suffers the loss of her twin brother Tobias, and then her fiancé Will, both fallen soldiers of the civil war. Her relatives have little sympathy for her. As Will was their eldest son, they view their grief deeper and greater. Desperate to "glimpse" his son again, the uncle suggests they meet a man who claims to be one who can conjure images of the dead through photography. Read more...
Goddess Girls: Athena The Brain
12-year-old Athena gets a big surprise – a summons to report to Mount Olympus Academy. She learns she's a goddess and Zeus is her father. Previously she was living a normal pre-teen life at Triton Junior High. She is whisked off to her new school via Hermes Chariot and gets to see first hand what being a goddess is all about. With classes such as hero-ology, spellology and beautyology, she has a lot to learn. Read more...
The Chosen One
I cannot imagine growing up with several mothers, twenty siblings, and a prophet who pronounces who I must marry. Kyra, a chosen one of a polygamist sect, lives this life. At a mere 13-years-old she is ready to be married and start having her own babies. She wouldn't object to being married so young, if it could be Joshua, a boy of similar age whom she has grown fond of. But the prophet decrees Kyra must marry her Uncle, who at sixty is plenty old enough to be her grandfather. Read more...
Sherlock McBiskit Shares His Secrets to Good Character and Respect
Sherlock McBiskit is an adorable West Highland Terrier and in his book he renders some wise advice to children on what it means to have good character and respect. Kids love dogs, and McBiskit radiates adorability as he shares his secrets to getting the most out of life. In rhyming verse, the text is catchy and accompanied by cute pictures of the loveable canine. Here's an excerpt: Here is the first secret that most people don't know. Life gives us lots of tests. I will tell you it's so. Read more...
Little Black Ant on Park Street
It's easy to dismiss the role of a black ant. These small creatures are considered pests by most of us, but if you take an in depth look you'll find these little guys are really fascinating and have their own complex communities. Little Black Ant on Park Street, a Smithsonian Backyard title, is a nicely illustrated picture book that gives young readers a close-up look at the black ant's world. Read more...