Standardized Testing in Colorado
It's that time of year again.
Colorado law requires that all homeschooled students be tested or evaluated in the odd years: 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th grades. (If you're not sure of the difference between tests and evals, check out the Law in a Nutshell page.) The Colorado Springs Homeschool Support Group, in conjunction with Columbine Academy, will be administering the Iowa Test of Basic Skills for 9th and 11th grades on April 16-17, 2008 in Colorado Springs. The deadline to get your application into them is March 31st. Hurry hurry, it's comin' up fast!
Cost is $30 for the first child, $20 for the second. Download the application from CSHSG's website. Thanks to the ever-diligent Jeff Doney for sharing this on the Home Education Leader's Place in Colorado mailing list.
California Court Has Homeschoolers In Uproar
On February 28, 2008, a California appellate court surprised the world. In the case of Re: Rachel L., they reinterpreted the state's education code and handed down a ruling that said, in effect, homeschooling is now illegal, unless the parent is a certified teacher. Well, man oh man, the news hit the wire within mere minutes. The media picked it up, everybody from the San Francisco Chronicle to FOX News ran stories. Homeschoolers from coast to coast began blogging about it, writing emails to friends, posting it to mailing lists, updating their web sites. It was a tense situation, but then it turned into a downright earthquake. A few days after the fact, HSLDA (the Home School Legal Defense Association) sent out an Alert to its members, requesting signatures on a petition they intended to send to the California Supreme Court. They wanted the Court to "depublish" the original decision so it couldn't take away your homeschooling rights. Or mine. Parents read it, panicked and forwarded the link to all corners of the globe.
I am here to say, relax. The sky is not falling. And please ignore this petition. It'll just annoy the court and it's not needed in any case. HSLDA should have checked with the folks in the know in California -- the state homeschooling organizations -- before they unilaterally stepped in and broadcast their alarmist "solution." Unfortunately, HSLDA's SOP seems to be to Leap Before Looking. I'm not a big fan. And here's the tip of the iceberg why.
Anyway, the situation is well in hand. Gov. Arnie came out with this statement, championing home educators' rights and denouncing the ruling, causing cheers and high fives across the nation. The two big state organizations, CHN (California Homeschool Network) and HSN (HomeSchool Association of California) are keeping a close eye on the situation. They also have several members who are also lawyers, working on finding solutions. In addition, Debbie Schwarzer, HSC's Legal Team Co-Chair just posted two great updates, Appellate Court Case, Please Remain Calm and the even more amazing Good News Update announcing that two of the finest law firms in the state have offered their help! Pro bono no less! (In other words -- FREE.) (WOW.)
Here are the best places to to check for updates. (These folks are much better at this stuff than I am.)
A to Z's Home's Cool
HEM Takes a Closer Look: Is It Time for California Homeschoolers to Panic?
Home Education Magazine: News and Commentary
Homefires: California Homeschool Legal Challenge
In closing, what's this got to do with us here in the adjoining western states? Everything. Nothing ever happens in a vaccuum. What you can do: Pay attention to the news. Know your homeschooling law like the back of your hand. You can't stand up for your rights if you don't know what they are.
When Do The Children Play?
Boy, I've been gone a long time, haven't I? I know, I know. Sorry. My brain blanked out there for awhile. It's been such a year, the poor thing needed a vacation.
I ran across a great little article called Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills recently on the Unschooling List. It really struck a chord with me because I've long grumbled about parents who feel it's a good idea to over-schedule their kids' time. From toddlerhood on -- heck, babyhood in some cases, Junior's daily life pretty much requires its own Blackberry. Things start out simply enough, with a few play dates and play groups, maybe some 'enrichment' classes (I never got this; aren't all classes enriching?), but then good intentions go awry and suddenly its somehow necessary to outdo the Jones' with this blur of soccer practice, dance recitals, after-school programs, piano lessons, tennis lessons, fencing meets, karate competitions, summer camp, bible camp, scouts, Sunday School, planetarium visits, museum excursions, ad nauseum. Holy Time Crunch, Batman. When does the kid get time to just be a kid?
Turns out, hours of unstructured play is like chicken soup: it's natural, it's good for you and it just works. "It seems that in the rush to give children every advantage — to protect them, to stimulate them, to enrich them — our culture has unwittingly compromised one of the activities that helped children most. All that wasted time was not such a waste after all."
Oh, and while you're at it, here's a song, Where Do The Children Play? by Cat Stevens -- a blast from my high school past, no less -- to listen to while you read. Even more apropos today than when it was released. One smart dude, that guy.
Tea for the Tillerman
Cat's classic CD. Worth every penny.
Radio Free School Blog
Tantrum space for unschoolers by, for, and about
people who eschew factory learning.
Anxieties of a Father-To-Be
Okay, I know Jeff Boutler is serious (well, half serious anyway) with this post on his blog, but I gotta tell ya - I started giggling so much, I nearly choked on my hot chocolate. He starts out:
I really don’t understand parents.
When I tell other people that have kids that we’re expecting our first kid any day now, the first thing they tell me how “great” it is. The second thing they tell me, with silly grins on their faces, is their horror stories about when their kid was born, getting no sleep and cleaning up all sorts of messes. Huh? Cleaning + stress + sleep deprivation != “great”.
So I have to assume that having a kid is great for other reasons, which people are generally very vague about. Is it that parents are delusional? Do kids activate some kind of mental disorder that makes being a slave to another human pleasurable?
ROFL. How do you explain kids and the affect they have on you? Please, somebody go help this guy out with an encouraging comment or two.
Hmm. Should we tell him how much fun homeschooling can be, too?
On second thought, Nahhh. Give the guy a year or so.
Science and Math and Giggles, O My
ClickSchoolingI heard
Get one, fun, educational website recommendation a day! Monday-Math. Tuesday-Science. Wednesday-Language Arts. Thursday-History & Social Studies. Friday Virtual Field Trips. Weekends are for Electives-Art, Music, Foreign Languages. A Yahoo list sponsored by Homefires (a real homeschooler) and moderated to maintain integrity.
Desert Island Homeschooling
The situation is: "Your family is stranded on a desert isle, with no internet, no TV, no libraries, and zero access to the type of community resources you usually enjoy. You're going to be there long enough that you will want to have a box of STUFF to keep the kids occupied. And because you expect to go home one day, you want the STUFF to relate to the wider world, not just your immediate situation. What would you take?" Homeschool mom Kathy Ceceri is attempting to write a book and looking for our thoughts and ideas. Share yours with her (and all the listees) on Home Education Magazine's Writers' list. You can view Kathy's entire book outline on the Files page of Emergency Homeschooling.
Homeschool Comics -
Schools Are for Fish
A new one is posted every Monday. This isn't
'curriculum', you say? Sure it is. Just like
everything in life. Think 'social satire'. Think
'sociology', 'understated', 'wry', 'misconceptions'
and 'succinct'. And now you have a whole weeks'
vocabulary list to boot.
I don't know about you, but it's time for a music
and drink break. I'm dying of thirst.
Cindy's Song of the Day
This is learning, too. I taught my boys LOTS of
stuff this way. For instance: Can you name one of these duet singers just by
listening? Wasn't there some sort of scandal about him? (And why would
his revelation matter, anyway?) What are the
lyrics saying? Isn't the composer famous? What other
songs has he done that you know? What movie is this song from?
Wasn't it based on a hit play? Which came first,
the book or the play? Should we
read one and then rent the movie to see how
they differ? Why did they change things or leave
them out, do you think?
It's fun! Try it!
Love Potion
#9 - The
Clovers
One site says it's The Clovers. A few others say
the band is the New Seekers. I don't know which
one is right.
Elinore - The Turtles
Or "Eleanor", if you prefer. I've seen it both
ways. Do your kids know any other songs by The
Turtles? I'll bet they do. From commercials.
:rolling my eyes:
Napster
Listen to a song 3 times before you buy. Purdy
cool.
The Homeschool Mom's Math Page
From games to worksheets, for your littlest one, to
your senior in high school. This is one totally
amazing math page. Kudos to Mary Ann and all her
hard work!
I Hate
Mathematics!
Yikes, me too. After many textbook tries. this
ended up being the main math book we used from
grade school right up to college. Filled with fun
facts, laugh-inducing games and silly activities to
teach math without giving mom a headache.
Steve Spangler Science
Experiments
A cool hands-on library of Steve's most requested
science experiments, recipes and projects from his
weekly television appearances and live
presentations throughout the country. Lots of nifty
science goodies and gadgets to order, too.
The Way Back Machine
Do you remember something on the 'net that doesn't
exist anymore? Life Magazine? Old Compuserve files?
Sites dedicated to the Baby Jessica tragedy? The
original (and ghastly) RMEC website? If it was was
once in cyberspace, but has since gone the way of
glam-rock and computers the size of your living
room, it's on Way Back. If you're not sure how to
teach history, this is a really cool way to ease
into it. Even just browsing around brings up some
amazing things you never knew!
Kidlet Warning: This site is not rated G.
West River Academy - the Unschooler's
Best Friend!
School the way you want! Choose the curriculum that
suits you! (Or, choose none at all.) Hassle-free
support, low tuition, fully accredited K-12 with
High School Diploma Program. Operated since 1993 by
Peggy Webb, a 20-year veteran homeschooling mom.
Call her at (949) 492-5240.
The songs on this site are copyrighted by their respective artists and are placed here for education and evaluation purposes only. No profits are made on this site from their use. If you like what you hear, purchase the song from iTunes or buy the entire CD and keep great music alive!
Shop With Homeschoolers
If you believe as I do, and you'd like real homeschool businesses from real homeschoolers, visit my Shop With Homeschoolers page. And, if you're a HS biz owner, and you'd like to do a link exchange, look for instructions at the bottom of the Shop page. Please know that both you and your site will be checked out thoroughly before addition. What can I say. I'm a pain that way.