Recently Seen Online: Homeschool-related Items

Highlighting articles, news coverage, and other homeschool-relevant content

Families join to enrich home school Added June 20, 2009
From the St. Petersburg Gazette: "Home schooling is not about staying at home." Finally, someone is starting to get it!

Not so fast: Home schooling trumps full-day kindergarten Added June 20, 2009
"Some time ago, our library held an information night for home-schooling parents. The room was jam-packed... None of them were hippies. None seemed overly religious or way out there. In fact, the only trait they shared was a conviction that they – as moms and dads – could better prepare their children for life. And you know what? They can... The Fraser Institute's study also raises two startling points: Children who are home schooled by a parent trained in teaching achieve about the same academic results as children whose parents are not; parents who didn't even finish high school can still do a better job of teaching their children than public schools, scoring 'a full 55 percentile points higher in math and 49 points higher in writing than public school students from families with comparable education levels.'"

Build a Newspaper Added June 20, 2009
Cool homeschool project - for under $5, get templates to build a real newspaper with placeholders for photos, "advertisements" and articles, kids can create a publication for just about any topic.

Why I mostly support Bryce Harper's decision to skip high school Added June 15, 2009
Homeschoolers have been doing this for years and getting by just fine, even without the prospects of a MLB contract...

The Case Against Homeschooling Added June 1, 2009
I didn't originally post a link because I didn't want to give the original author traffic to his website, but since Spunky has done a rebuttal that includes the original text, I am linking to that. Prepare to be offended...

Profound shift in kind of families... Added May 31, 2009
Not sure I agree with the statistics quoted in this story (or maybe the statistics are fine and their conclusions are not), but here it is, nonetheless. See the response from Home Ed magazine.

Encouraging Delight-Directed Learning Added May 28, 2009
How can you encourage a passion in your children without making it into a school subject?

Kindergarten Cram Added May 8, 2009
"About a year ago, I made the circuit of kindergartens in my town. At each stop, after the pitch by the principal and the obligatory exhibit of art projects only a mother (the student’s own) could love, I asked the same question: “What is your policy on homework?”... In the end, the school I found for my daughter holds off on homework until fourth grade. (Though a flotilla of research shows homework confers no benefit — enhancing neither retention nor study habits — until middle school.) It’s a start."

Swine Flu And Health Lesson Plans Added May 1, 2009
With the swine flu on everyone's mind, students can benefit from learning about influenza epidemics, and public health.

School is Not for Socializing — Out of the Mouths of Public Schoolers! Added May 1, 2009
“'… the primary purpose of a core academic classroom is learning, not socialization.'

Tim Hawkins - A Homeschool Family Added May 1, 2009
What can I say - I love Tim Hawkins!

The Widow's Might Added April 16, 2009
Movie made by a homeschooled teen has opened in theaters across the US.

Midwest Homeschool Convention Added April 15, 2009
Big homeschool convention starts April 16. Over 200 workshops and 200 exhibitors!

For the Love of Reading Added April 6, 2009
Who influences your thinking? Charles T. Jones said, “You’ll be the same five years from now as you are today, except for the people you meet and the books you read.” Mark Hamby talks about how books influence our thinking in this article.

Public School or Homeschool? Added March 30, 2009
Out of the mouth of a public school teacher...

NestWatch 2009 Added March 30, 2009
Great birdwatching program through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Lots of information including how to install nest boxes, how to monitor nestboxes, how to get certified, and more. Take your homeschool outside!

Health Group Knocks Kindergarten Playtime Squeeze Added March 30, 2009
"Replacing kindergarten playtime with formal lessons and standardized tests could have a wide range of negative consequences, according to the Alliance for Childhood, a nonprofit that advocates for children's health. During a typical day at 268 kindergartens in Los Angeles and New York, children spent two to three hours learning or being tested on literacy and math skills, but 30 minutes or less in imaginative play, two top Alliance executives wrote in a recent report."

Homeschool Quotes Added March 29, 2009
This is a wonderful page from my friend Carma Paden. Carma puts together some excellent lenses on Squidoo, and this is my absolute favorite. Quips, Quotes, Adages, and Aphorisms on Homeschool, Public School, Life, and Learning will inspire you, possibly frustrate you and probably make you laugh. I promise you will be glad you visited.