2008 articles MORE

Nov 08
By now, most of you know about me and our new lifestyle. Last November I was in the beginning of my pregnancy and just didn’t feel well enough to write an article. I turned to my wonderful writer, Hanna, and asked if I could use what she had written on homeschooling for the newspaper. The following is her article.

THE STUDENT’S POINT OF VIEW ON HOME SCHOOLING
BY HANNA

I’ve been home schooled my whole life. From pre-school to high-school, I’ve never sat in a public school desk or had to ride the bus. I actually am rather glad of my home education, because I am offered exciting opportunities for my future. It kind of makes me mad when people look down on me and my family or think we’re weird because we’re not public schooled. They simply don’t realize the truth of the matter. You’ve probably heard all kinds of defenses from the teachers point of view for the home education system, but I want to tell you it from my point of view, the student’s point of view.
One of the things I like best about home schooling is that I never have homework and I don’t have to do school from 8:00 in the morning to 4:00 at night. Home schooling gives me more time to do what I actually like to do, and pursue my interests more. Once I finish my daily requirements I’m free! I’m done for the day! Then once I’m done, I can do whatever other activity I want. My family usually does bible study and sings songs (yours truly on the guitar!!!) together in the morning, and do a project together in the afternoon. I try to spend time with my brothers and sisters, whether it’s playing cowboys with Gabriel, or babies with Josephine, reading Narnia to Naomi, or playing “Attack” with Cody, I try to keep a relationship with them all, including baby who will be able to hear my voice soon (I’ll play music for him/her to hear!). So being home schooled helps me pursue what I want to do in life more than if I was public schooled. Also with traveling and all, I can learn so much more by actually going to the historical sites then just reading about them, and seeing them helps them come more alive!
Another thing I would like to address is this; sometimes people ask me how I do sports or any activity I want. Truth is that there are tons of home school groups I can join! I used to be in gymnastics, tae-kwon-do, and dance. My friends are in basket ball and track. There are a lot of different sports and activities besides these that I can join. If I ever want to do volley ball (sounds like fun!) I can. Hockey, baseball, band, choir! You name it, I can do it! There is even home school prom, which I am soooooo going to! So, as you can see, I am not left out of anything since I’m home schooled. There are home school groups that have activities planned together all the time. Mom gets this email from a group that seems like is always going to a movie (I missed the Prince Caspian one, boo hoo), a museum, or whatever!
I also am not lacking socially at all! I like to talk and make new friends. I used to go to coop with a bunch of friends from church, which was a very fun thing! One of the real good things about home schooling is that I’m used to being around people of all ages. I have friends who are 7 to friends who are 21, and most of us are home schooled and have a great time together.
About college, I can go to practically any college I want. A lot of well known and respected colleges accept home school students, so I have lots of choices of where I want to go and what I want to do! I can also do college online if I want. There are so many possibilities that I can choose from it’s a bit overwhelming! I know a lot of great people who have been home schooled, gone to college, and been very successful in life.
So there you have it, what I think of being home schooled, and I can also count this as my writing lesson for the day!

Aug 08

Most public schools are in session. Not us, we wait until after Labor Day. I remember when I was young and we never started school in August. I have all my books ready. I’ve been homeschooling for 9 years now, so I already have the kinks worked out. Our days start off at 7 am. My 13 and 15 yr olds get up, read their bible and pray, feed animals, through in a load of laundry, make their beds, and get dressed. Then they make their own healthy breakfast. I read a character training devotion while they eat. When my husband can, he reads to them right after eating. Everyone splits up. Cody, age 15, goes downstairs and begins Science. He takes from 45min to one hour, depending if there are experiments. While he does that, Hanna uses the computer to do Math. She has to complete one lesson, have it corrected and then fix any mistakes. After she is done, Cody does Math and she does Science. They move on to History and Geography. Sometimes we do Geography during lunch. We have a big table with clear plastic from Walmart on it. It only cost me $9.00 to get a nine foot piece. We put maps, study notes, parts of the body, alphabet sign language, and any other thing we may be studying under it. During lunch we study as a family or we might watch a 30 min. educational video. Everyone makes their own lunch and is responsible to clean after. Cody goes to the garage and does Industrial Arts and Small Engine and then English while Hanna does writing, vocabulary, Spelling, and helps teach the little ones. A couple days a week we try to fit in Critical Thinking, Latin, Greek, Spanish, Essays, PE, Art, and other little activities. We write a lot of letters to Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles. I teach my children to serve others by helping young people to the elderly. I think an education is much more than being able to complete a textbook by the end of the year. I want my children to want to learn, to love to learn. I want them to not just complete the textbook, but to do it with a good attitude, to be self-disciplined, to not give up if it gets hard. I want them to know how to find the information they need when they do not know it. To admit they don’t understand something and humbly ask for help. I want my children to better their lives, but more importantly the lives of others, their community, and our country. I want and have high hopes for my children. I do not expect them to be the next president or be rich, I just want them to be happy and to work hard.

Back to our day…. You may be wondering where my other three kids are during that whole day. Well, Naomi is seven and takes the most time from me for schooling. She does Math, Reading, Spelling, among other smaller subjects. Gabriel is four and runs around all day playing cowboy and bull rider. We take him to a ranch for horse riding lessons. Josephine, our one year old runs and plays, colors and sleeps all day. It can get hectic at best and crazy at worst. It is wonderfully hard, but so very well worth it. I can’t imagine doing anything else. My kids love me, love school, love each other, and love others. No, we do not have a perfect home, I do not have perfect children, and I am certainly not a perfect mom, but we love each other anyways and are enjoying the homeschooling adventure together.

I want to give a list of ideas to help you achieve these same goals that I have for my children with your children.

· Have older kids help teach the younger ones different activities and school subjects

· Kids pick up on parents feeling about education. If you are excited, they will be too.

· Get curriculum that the child likes. Sometimes you can’t and they have to learn to do it anyways.

· Require respect for you and their siblings.

· Encourage, encourage, encourage.

· Find a nursing home that would like you to come in and play cards with them or bingo.

· Write letters to loved ones and friends.

· Buy a family member a dictionary for a present and have the kids find all the words that describe that person.

· Hide lunch outside and make a treasure map for them to find it.

· Buy cd’s that have educational songs and listen to them constantly.

· Have kids get active in the political campaigns this fall. My kids made phone calls for a candidate and then polled at the Highlandville Elementary on election day.

· Teach all children to help at home with everything. They need to be a benefit the family, not a leach. My son gave his chickens and coop to the neighbor in exchange for us being able to park our storage trailer there. He lost $150 by doing that, but helped his family.

· Help out a neighbor in need.

Sept 08 College

One of the most frequently asked questions I get about homeschooling is “What about college?” This is the topic I wish to address this month.
So, what about college? For us homeschoolers, we have to keep good records of our children’s education. It is required by law, but also will benefit them when they apply to college. Starting in high school, we keep transcripts just like any other school. We keep track of community service and any sporting activities. We meet or exceed state requirements for graduation and attend a home school graduation ceremony, with cap and gown, held in Springfield. There our children receive a real diploma. Our children take the SAT or ACT. They apply to the college of their choice just like anyone else. By law, homeschooler’s cannot be discriminated against in their application process to college. In fact, it is very normal now for homeschoolers to get accepted to school even as prestigious as Yale and Harvard. Homeschoolers are eligible for scholarships and grants. Some students get full rides to colleges.
Many public schools offer programs where students can receive college credit while going to high school. This is also a practice that many homeschoolers choose. We teach American History then take a Clep test that gives them college credits. I know many young people that go this route and enter college as a junior. This saves time and money. Most major colleges accept these credits.
So many people are concerned about how our home school children will react when they finally leave home and enter college. I have seen good and bad results. If we give our children a firm foundation in not just education, but character training, morals, and a good work ethic, we can hope they will make the right choices. Some do not. Some rebel and do terrible in college. Well, I went to public school and saw many of my public school friends go off the deep end at college. It is a problem all young people face. Everyone will face those choices at some point in their life. I try to put my children in situations that will make them face those hard choice now, while under my supervision and accountability. Sure, sometimes they make the wrong choice. We all need to be allowed to be wrong and make a bad choice here and there. Goodness knows, now at age 35 I still make bad decisions, hopefully just not many.
Then, there are those young people who will not go the college route. My son may be one of those. I am giving him an education that will afford him the opportunity to go to college. I think we will probably have him clep out of as many classes as possible then do an accredited on line college. He is using his free time now to learn trades. He is learning landscaping, knife making and sharpening. My husband is going to start teaching him to be a Communications Engineer. My son wants to have a job where he can work out of the home. So, that is what we are all helping him work towards. Home school allows him the time to pursue his interests and get a great education that will benefit him in all of his choices for his future.

Chuck Eastman is a great example of a home school college success. After completing home school high school, he attended College of the Ozarks and got a degree in Psychology.
The following two years he taught Public Speaking at MSU while getting his masters in Communications. He continued to work for MSU in China and taught Public Speaking for two years there. He has returned now and is continuing his education in Biblical Languages at Assembly of God Theological Seminary.

Oct 08

Election Day quickly approaches. This is a wonderful opportunity to teach our children about our government, the electoral process, and patriotism.
If you don’t have a Social Studies book that teaches about the electoral process, you can research on line as well as at local libraries. I believe it is our moral responsibility to be active in the elections. So many in my family, including myself, have served in the military. We willingly put our lives on the line to protect our country and our rights, which includes voting. Whenever someone in the family disagrees with whom my grandfather votes for he always says, “I can vote for whoever I want, I fought in World War II to defend my right to vote and not become a Nazi.” We must instill patriotism into our children. Our country needs to be coming together in times like this. It starts with parents teaching their children about how wonderful our country is, how we have the privilege and moral obligation to vote.
Following are some ideas on how to take advantage of November 4th, Election Day. If you haven’t researched the candidates for local elections, state, and national, it is not too late to start. Take a day or three off of your other school work and have your children, of all ages, begin the research. Have them write down the issues that are important to your family, such as, taxes, abortion, relationships with foreign countries, military goals, war, religion, health benefits, etc. Then, have them research on line at the local television websites or at the library to see the beliefs of each candidate. Have them check out a mock ballot and then make their own. Do an election with your family and see who wins. Invite your friends and family over for an election watch party on Tuesday night. Have pizza and juice. Sorry, our kids don’t drink soda. Discuss how much influence the media has on our election process. Go to a Democratic or Republican watch party. Or, if you want to get really involved, go door to door this weekend for your candidates, put up signs in your yard, and make phone calls for a candidate. My kids did this for a candidate in the August primaries. It was an incredible experience. If those candidates realized how aggressive and hard working our kids can be, they would get mostly youth to help on their campaigns!
As your children study and learn have them write essays on what they learn. It doesn’t have to be a formal style essay, just have them write. If they are young, have them draw a picture or get a photo of the presidential candidates, photocopy them in black and white and then let them color them. Make a board with all the states and have them color in each state blue or red depending on what political party wins that state on Tuesday night. If you have ideas, go to my website and put them on the blog. www.smittysinfo.com and click on “election ideas”.
Happy Elections!