One of the reasons I love Disney World is that kids learn while they are having fun, without even realizing that there might just be an educational component.

Spaceship Earth at Epcot in Disney World

The Spaceship Earth attraction at Epcot is a 16-minute omnimover ride through history that “depicts the stirring story of human connection and collaboration over 40,000 years—from the dawn of recorded time to the 21st century’s Internet age.” All hype aside, I found myself seeing the connection between communication and the development of civilization in a fresh way.

For the young ones in our party, the ride provided a multi-sensory experience from the acrid smell of burning at the ancient Library of Alexandria to hearing the TV coverage of the first landing on the moon. I’m not sure how much of the history the 4-year-old absorbed, but it was obvious that she loved the ride from the smile on her face.

Even my teen wasn’t too cool to enjoy the ride, and she certainly picked up on the history lessons.  Currently, she is reading Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel for her AP World History summer assignment, and she just finished Ray Bradbury’s Farenheit 451 for Honors English.  (Methinks that it’s no coincidence that her teachers chose these books given related themes.) Well, it turns out that Ray Bradbury “helped design the geodesic sphere and pen the original story of the attraction.” At a minimum, this ride gave her food for thought regarding the role of written history and communication, and perhaps some fodder for the written assignment.

Behind the Seeds at Epcot

Although billed as being appropriate for all ages, I wasn’t sure if my kids would enjoy the Behind the Seeds at Epcot walking tour of the greenhouses at the Living with the Land attraction. There was no denying that this was an educational program. However, the agricultural facilities are so incredibly high tech, that even my hard-to-impress children were amazed. Even so, I think that the reason this program was so appealing was that there were multiple stops with hands on activities.

The tour guide, a recent graduate of a UVA botanical science program, first took us to the Biological Control Lab where she introduced the small group to beneficial pests. Some of the participants received bottles filled with lady bugs that they would later release among the crops. Along the way, we goggled at the hydroponics fields where they’re growing a wide variety of vegetables, much of which is served at resort restaurants.

The tour guide handed out instructions for The Land Hydroponic Gro-Tank so that we could try this at home.  I think we may add this project to our Homeschool Biology curriculum this year. My son will learn a little about plant biology, and we can reap the benefits with homegrown herbs in the winter.

We didn’t just see the produce, we tasted it as well as each participant received a slice of burpless cucumber.  They were sweet, but my daughter preferred to use hers for an on-the-spot facial.

Those Disney folks like to exceed expectations.  It wasn’t enough to just grow incredibly delicious cucumbers.  No, they had to do something truly unusual.  Get a load of the Mickey Mouse-shaped cucumbers:

I didn’t see one, but apparently, they also have Mickey Mouse-shaped pumpkins! Go figure.

There was more to the tour.  We saw the tanks where they “farm” alligators and many different kinds of fish, and we even fed the Tilapia. That was interesting, but not as cool as the hydroponics.

The whole tour only took an hour. We discovered a new (to us) way to grow tasty produce, and we still had plenty of time to play in the park. Definitely, a win/win!

More Disney World Education Programs in Florida:

• Tours and Experiences at Disney World
• Disney Youth Education Series
• Disney Homeschool Days (September 8-9, 2010 and January 24-25, 2011)
• Disney Land Youth Education Series (California)

Homeschooling is all about being open to possibilities.  Never setting boundaries to the imagination or to expectations.  This young lady embodies the limitless potential that is the homeschool experience. Kudos to her, and her family.

“C’mon, Alex, we’re going to shoot flaming arrows to start a fire!”

Even though he’d been dragging on that early morning trip to Dyken Pond, whining about the cold Autumn weather, Alex couldn’t resist that greeting from his new homeschooled friends.  In about a nanosecond, he was gone, not to be seen again until the late afternoon pick up.

It was his first day at the Roots of Learning Tamakoce Wilderness Program where he would spend one day a week during an 8-week session in:

…a course designed to bring our children into deep intimate relationships with the environment and the animals who are so greatly effected by our lifestyle choices. Through exploration, story telling and skills based games, the children learn how to co-exist and interact in positive ways with the natural world. All this while having a lot of fun and learning ancient ways of survival.

When I picked up Alex, he was taking turns shooting the hand-made bows and arrows, while discussing plans to perfect the flaming arrow mechanism.  Not bad for a kid who most days seems to be surgically attached to his GameBoy DSi.

Ironically, just the night before, at our Cub Scout Den meeting, I’d been asking about archery programs for Alex as most of the boys had already earned the archery-related badge at the summer camp.  When I asked if I could arrange an archery class for Alex to earn the badge, I was told that this is a strict no-no.  Archery is only allowed under strict supervision at Cub Scout facilities.

I’m a big fan of the Cub Scout program, but it’s these kinds of restrictions found in increasingly hyper-supervised organizations, that drive me nuts. 

Three school years ago, when we started homeschooling, I asked, “Who wants wild children?”   At the time, I wasn’t quite ready to embrace non-conformity, and didn’t really appreciate the value of In Defense of Childhood: Protecting Kids’ Inner Wildness:

“Chris Mercogliano’s provocative meditation on childhood sets up a dialectic among maple-sugaring, swan-diving in forest pools, slingshots, and adventuring on the one hand, and the adult-supervised ‘play’ of the LittleLeague, Boy Scouts, YMCA, and Playground Movement on the other.”–John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

After a long period of deschooling, slowly shedding some of the in-the-school-box mindset, I’ve come to a more relaxed (relatively!) approach to homeschooling.  Meanwhile, I’ve started expanding Alex’s learning village with a view to developing the whole child, and not just his academic strengths.  

I must confess, however, that when I registered Alex in this wilderness survival class, I was only hoping he’d get a little exercise and fresh air while I got a little time to myself.

Instead, I got that, and much more.  Over the session, I’ve seen Alex mature, a little, while learning how to get along with new friends in a mixed-age setting.  I’ve also seen the triumph on his face after spending the night in a shelter that he built himself, with some help from friends.

I’m impressed, grateful, and I can’t wait for the next session!

More photos on Flickr: Wilderness Program

Related Articles:

• Who wants wild children?

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It’s Not Just A Riding Lesson from Sandra Foyt on Vimeo.

I was trying to explain to my husband why I thought riding lessons were a good idea for our son.  But, I couldn’t express something that I just felt intuitively.

I tried to tell him that equine therapy has a long history of empowering and enabling students, even those with significant disabilities:

…the environment of the horse can provide more than just riding skills. The programs which offer the equine environment to people with disabilities can teach companionship, responsibility, leadership, vocational, educational skills as well as offer competition venues in the different horse disciplines. Riding a horse provides a unique and often profound recreational or leisure activity for many people. There are many sports which people who have disabilities can participate in for enhancing their lives which offer social and physical fitness as addressed in the Special Olympic programs for people with a cognitive disability. There are hundreds of programs around the world as well as many organizations dedicated to the various forms of horse riding or horse care which address many other disabilities and may not have a cognitive disability.

The student who interacts with their horse may extend this to others and to form meaningful relationships with people. Building a relationship with an animal is very rewarding in many aspects; for a person with an emotional, social or psychological disability, the trust and loyalty of an animal demonstrates to the student how important they are and then they may extend these attributes to personal relationships. Horses also help people feel in control of their situation because there is a direct correlation between action and reaction. To learn how to care for and ride a horse, a student must also be able to communicate efficiently with the horse and the instructor. In this way, riding is a very social activity, but is less daunting to people who are uncomfortable in social situations. However, the experience of riding a horse is very different. Riding helps to empower people and enables them to connect on a personal level. The sometimes unpredictable nature of animals and situations also creates a real-life environment in which students will be able to confront fears and make adjustments to situations beyond their control.

I also told him that we’d found an amazing instructor who really understands how to work with a young boy, and who clearly knows how to break down the mechanics of riding.  She is able to keep Alex motivated and working hard.  Both are no mean feats!

In the end, I decided that, instead of explaining, I’d just show him a riding lesson.  He can see for himself why Alex is learning so much more that just how to ride a horse.

Local Connection:

• Ride With Lisa

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Every day, I receive newsletters packed with curriculum suggestions and online sources that enrich our homeschool studies.  Frankly, sometimes it’s more than I can handle.  I feel like the poor schmuck in the Bing: Search Overload Syndrome commercial.

It’s all fabulous, but too, too, too much.  After a while, I started tuning out or unsubscribing unless the newsletter delivered consistently.

Clickschooling Review definitely made the cut.  There hasn’t been a single issue where I didn’t find something that is click-worthy.

Here is an unabridged, completely approved copy of a timely newsletter:

CLICKSCHOOLING REVIEW

Recommended Website:
ACS: National Chemistry Week
http://www.homefires.com/click?chemistry

Age Range: 4-18 (Grades PreK-12)

National Chemistry Week takes place next week, October 18-24, and the American Chemical Society provides all kinds of free, fun ways to celebrate chemistry at their website. (Get a head start on the fun!)

When you get to the site you’ll see information about the event in the center of the page. To Get right to the activities look for the grey box with the title, “Celebrate Chemistry – It’s Elemental!” There, you’ll find:

*Celebrating Chemistry – A free, 12-page activity book with chemistry info and fun suggestions for “Element Scavenger Hunts,” “Sunshine Science,” “Iodine Investigations,” and more!

*Dynamic Periodic Table – Get a free, interactive Periodic Table of Elements available in 34 languages!

*Chemdoku – Play a chemistry-themed logic game.

Then, look in the far, right column on the home page to find a link to the “Bytesize Science Series” – where you can listen to podcasts of intriguing stories about scientific discoveries in the fields of medicine, food, clothing and other everyday things that are impacted by chemistry.

Want more? Just click on “Students & Educators” in the menu on the left side of the screen. A new page opens. Look for “Student Activities & Resources” to access an array of fun games and experiments. Don’t miss “Activities for Children” that leads to:

Science for Kids – Here’s the direct link:
http://www.homefires.com/click?forkids

There, you’ll be able to access a wealth of experiments you can do at home to help your children learn including:

*Chemical & Physical Challenge – Discover acids and bases, chemical reactions, dissolving, and slime and goo.

*Characteristics of Materials – Make crystals, explore density, learn about magnets, and examine polymers.

*Solids, Liquids & Gases – Learn about the states of matter and experiment with air, bubbles, gases, and water.

*Motion & Energy – Explore electricity, motion, sound and light.

*Planet Earth – Find out how volcanoes and caves are formed.

*Your Body – Discover what chemicals make up the human body.

*Art & Toys – Enjoy doing fun activities that help you learn while you play.
*What Chemists Do – Meet some chemists and find out how they solve everyday problems with chemistry.

Note: In 2008, National Chemistry Week offered a series of free chemistry activities themed around sports. You’ll find them here: http://www.terrificscience.org/ncw/index.jsp

Finally, for accelerated students and high schoolers who are into chemistry, I have another website suggestion recommended by ClickScholar Allyson. It’s the Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative with free open courses in Chemistry – including a virtual lab. You’ll find the details here:

http://www.homefires.com/click?iwl9sjbczyg8

By the way, don’t miss the array of free courses for high school and beyond on the main page here:

http://oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning/

Happy Chemistry Week!

Diane Flynn Keith
for ClickSchooling
http://www.ClickSchooling.com

Copyright 2009, Diane Flynn Keith, All Rights Reserved. Publication or distribution in any medium (including blogs, newsletters, ezines, websites, or email lists) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.

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I’m catching up on a little blog housekeeping.  Here is the final Quarterly Report for third grade that I sent in last Spring:

Home Instruction Quarterly Report

June 20, 2009

Name: Alex

Blog Website: http://alexhomegate.blogspot.com

Grade: 3rd

Hours of instruction this quarter: 247.5+

Math:

Alex completed Singapore Math 3B, including sections on Measurement, Bar Graphs, and Fractions. This concludes the Singapore Math Curriculum for 3^rd Grade.

Language Arts:

Alex is zooming through books, and has reviewed many of these on his LibraryThing account and on his blog. With his homeschool book club, he discussed the last book in the Lightening Thief series. He also visited the Metropolitan Museum in NYC with his other book club to retrace the steps of the characters in The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler.

His analysis and comprehension of reading selections has evolved at a phenomenal pace, but his writing skills continue to improve adequately as well.

Social Studies:

Alex is now a self-proclaimed “expert” on Ancient Rome, as you can see from the following: Caesar, Ruler of Rome, and his Ancient Rome Travel Brochure. After we finished the unit on Ancient Rome, we began the next book in the Story of the World Series on Medieval History, but we’ll delve into that more fully in the Fall Semester.

Science:

Alex completed a unit on Crime Lab Chemistry where he learned about Chromatography. He has also been learning about animals (communication, habitats, adaptation, etc.) through reading various books, and through programs at the National Zoo, the Pine Bush Park, and Five Rivers.

The Arts:

Alex has enjoyed sketching and making illustrations for various writing projects. He is also learning how to work with photos, editing and uploading them into his blog. His appreciation of the arts this quarter has been enhanced by visits to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, and the Blues Festival in Chicago.

Health – We have been discussing healthy choices and media literacy.

Physical Education: Alex gets daily exercise through weekly fencing lessons, daily dog walks, outside play, and seasonal activities such as: biking, hiking, rock climbing, tennis, and a ropes adventure course.

Foreign Language: We did not cover a foreign language this quarter.

Technology: Alex is becoming more confident in his keyboarding and use of digital technology, and is beginning to occasionally post blog articles and use Microsoft Word on his own. This quarter he learned how to make a Microsoft Powerpoint slideshow and a Microsoft Word travel brochure. He continues to develop his use of email, adding friends into his contact list, and discovering how to share files and photos.

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Dear Reader,

Please excuse the delay in posting.  We’ve been having such a full and marvelous time touring the country, that I’ve fallen behind in my blog posts.  I thought about skipping a few stories, and coming back to them later, but I just couldn’t do it.  I have to do this chronologically, I’m just compulsive that way.

This means that I’m still sharing stories from before we hit the road, including the one about a fabulous end-of-year homeschool party that we attended.

Dreaming of a Pie Fight

AJ had a dream.  It was a bold, audacious plan to stage a pie fight.  Not just any little old pie fight.  No, he wanted a whopper of a pie fight.

His mother also had a dream.  She wanted to make her son’s dream come true, but she didn’t want it to end up in a big mess.  With a little creativity, and planning, both were able to make their dreams come true.

First, she had to select the right setting for the pie fight.  The ideal pie fight scene includes tables for making the pies, lots of room to run around, and access to water for clean up.  Grafton Park provided the ideal combination with a secluded pavilion that included a water source, and the lake and showers just a short walk away.

Scoping out sale items, AJ’s mom gathered pudding mix, pie tins, and whipped cream for the pies.  She also sent out online invitations asking participants to bring contributions for a potluck picnic and water guns.

On the big day, she used emergency scene tape to cordon off the area for the pie fight, making sure that the mess would be contained in an easy to clean area with tall grass to hide the errant pudding.

She also went over important ground rules with the participants.  I’m not sure what she said exactly, but it must have had something to do with keeping the pie fight fun, and within the designated area.

After the pie slinging, a water gun fight was a great way to wash off the bigger globs of pudding pie.  It was also a highlight of the party in itself. 

For the final rinse, the kids washed up in the showers, took a dip in the lake, or both.  Mine went straight from the water gun fight to the lake, and by the end of the day they were cleaner than when we started.  Pretty much, anyway.

AJ and his mom achieved their dream, but Alex did as well.  He got to attend one of the most creative, fun end-of-school-year parties ever, with new and old homeschool friends.  This was definitely the way to welcome the summer with a bang! 

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Do your students have to take the same standardized tests as mine? If so, how much test prep do you do each week? Teacher, Revised

Testing requirements and practice for homeschooled students differ by state and by family, much like they differ by state and teacher in the public schools.

Some homeschool families may satisfy their assessment requirements by doing absolutely nothing, while others may devote a significant part of their day to test prep and/or testing itself.

I’d say we’re in the middle. 

New York Homeschool Assessment Requirements

In Grades 1-3, homeschooled New Yorkers are not required to take an assessment test.  They can satisfy state requirements with a written narrative that:

1. Uses the regulation’s required phrase: “[Child] has made adequate academic progress this year.”
2. Lists two or three “highlights of the year”, as insurance against claims that the “narrative” isn’t really a narrative.
3. Ends with, “See the previously submitted quarterly reports for details.”
   (Thank you, John Munson, NYHEN-Support Yahoo Forum)

This narrative is to be written by a “certified teacher, peer review panel, or other person, who has interviewed the child and reviewed a portfolio of the child’s work…[and who] shall be chosen by the parent with the consent of the superintendent.”  Parents can also prepare this narrative, with prior approval of the superintendent. 

Last year I didn’t understand the nuances of this requirement, so I just filled out our End of Year Assessment, and I included the link to my son’s blog, thus effectively fulfilling the portfolio requirement.  This year, I’ll do the same, assuming that these meet the “superintendent’s approval,” unless told otherwise.

In Grades 4-8, homeschooled NY students are required to file an annual assessment from the list of approved tests. (See below.)  This is also to be administered by a person approved by the superintendent. 

However, on alternate years, homeschooled students in Grades 4-8 can submit a narrative instead of an assessment test.  Thus, a homeschooled student can postpone taking a standardized test until 5th Grade.

Why bother with assessment tests if you don’t have to?

As a Third Grader, Alex is not required to take an assessment test, but I’m a proactive kind of mom. 

Generally, we don’t do much testing at all.  I can tell from looking at his work product, or discussing the subject, whether, or not, he understands the material.  In recent months, we added weekly Spelling tests, but that was as an incentive to memorize the words.

Since we’re not required to file an assessment test, it’s actually a good time to investigate our options, and take these tests without any worries. 

Taking Standardized Tests Anyway

In midyear, I printed out the NY State Tests (for Third Grade) that all 3rd Graders in NY public schools took in 2008.  Unlike the students in public schools who take the Language Arts Test in January, and the Mathematics Test in March, Alex took all the tests in one week.  In the home setting, it just wasn’t the stressful, big deal that it is in school.

We hadn’t done any prep, as the test itself was a preparation, and there was nothing riding on the outcome.  Not surprisingly, Alex did incredibly well on the Language Arts sections, but he missed questions on the Math sections.  I found out that he didn’t have a strong grasp of Time or Money, but those were topics he hadn’t gotten to in the 3rd Grade Singapore Math sequence. Again, not a big deal.

Last week, I pulled out the 3rd Grade Test Prep book that I ordered along with the CAT-E test, and gave it to Alex to work on independently.  He delighted in an easy week, where he got to practice his bubble-filling skills.

This week, I administered both the PASS Test and the CAT-E Test.  A bit much, I know.  This was not the highlight of our homeschool year, but now I have a good idea of what we’ll use in the future.

We decided that we did not like the PASS Test.  We found some of the questions to be poorly written, and it was a lot longer than the CAT-E, 150 vs. 100 questions.  Now, we know that when we are required to submit an assessment test, we’ll choose the CAT-E.  However, we won’t bother with this again until we have to in 5th Grade.

What We Got Out Of The Standardized Tests

It was reassuring to know that Alex was meeting state standards; actually, it’s gratifying to know that Alex is performing well beyond these minimum standards.  Even though he is doing exceedingly well, the tests also showed us that there were topics or skills that needed review, and reinforcement.

For us, the tests are a safety net.  Next year, I’ll just have Alex take the free NY State Tests at home, for our own edification.

As a homeschool educator, I’m able to use these tests in a way that never happens in the schools.  I can see the results right away, and I can use that information to help Alex strengthen weak areas.

Not a Fan of NCLB Testing

Just in case you’re wondering if I’ve suddenly had a change of heart regarding NCLB, let me be perfectly clear.

Although I’m using the same state tests that schools give to comply with the No Child Left Behind laws, I’m not a fan of mandatory testing in our public schools. 

As it stands, these tests are for the benefit of the schools, not the students.  And, I don’t see the schools deriving much benefit, either.

In the public schools, teachers don’t usually see the results until late in the school year, months after they administer the test.  Although it is always possible that there is a teacher somewhere who looks at the individual student results and uses that information to help that student, that has NOT been my experience.

I’ve found that the information is not used in the current year, and it’s unlikely to be used the next.  My kids seemed to have teachers who preferred starting the year with a blank slate, with no undue influence from prior records.  I don’t know this for a fact, but my daughter’s teachers didn’t seem to know much about her at the beginning of the year.

State tests are an excellent assessment tool in the homeschool, not so much in our public schools.

These Standardized Tests Work For Me

I like using the State Tests as an assessment tool.  It works for us as it doesn’t demand much of my son, and it comforts me to have empirical evidence that he is doing at least as well as his public school peers.  If I were a more confident homeschooler, or one with years of teaching experience, I’d probably wouldn’t bother with them at all.

For now, the test results are potent ammunition when I get those pesky questions from friends and strangers asking me how do I know that my homeschooled son is doing well academically.  Well, the test results show that he is, at a minimum, “maintaining and doing as well as before.”  (See Can It Be Any Clearer? to find out why I’m laughing sardonically.)

 NYHEN Homeschooling Requirements:

• General
• Individualized Home Instruction Plan- IHIP
• Evaluation – Details on narratives.
• Annual Assessment
• List of Approved Assessment Tests, and Additional Approved Assessment Tests

Standardized Test Providers For The Homeschool

• Seton Testing Services: CAT-E Test
• Hewitt Homeschooling Resources: Pass Test

State Tests

• K-12 State Testing – Links to Sample or Past State Tests from most US States.
• Grades 3-8 New York State Tests – Links to tests given in previous years to all students in NY public schools in the following subjects:  Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science.

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Sometimes, I learn more from the blog commentators than I do from the actual post.

A tempest in a teapot has been brewing over at Teacher, Revised. I must admit, I’d never heard of this blog before, but that changed when Jesse Scaccia, a young (former) public school teacher, decided to hurl a grenade at homeschoolers everywhere with The Case Against Homeschooling:

Homeschooling: great for self-aggrandizing, society-phobic mother…… but not quite so good for the kid.

So starts a Top 10, David Letterman style, assault on homeschooling.

Not so surprisingly, considering the many networked, well-informed, and vocal homeschoolers online, this drew immediate fire. Homeschoolers were insulted, indignant, and not shy about fighting back.

Responding to all the comments, Jesse wrote another article that just stoked the fire, Homeschoolers: Do They Care Too Much.

It was an ugly scene, with commentators posting before thinking, and saying things that were unlikely to win supporters.

There were also bright spots as some homeschoolers crafted well-reasoned, and enlightening responses. I certainly learned a lot from comments such as this General Response to Homeschoolers: Do They Care Too Much?

I’m afraid; however, that my comments weren’t as high-minded as I responded defensively, and in a less than stellar manner:

Jesse,

You speak with all the conviction and world experience of a young man. You make assumptions about all homeschoolers based on the comments that you have received from a small fraction of a large, and growing population.

Some of us have kids in private, public, and homeschool. We make these choices based on what our children need in any given year. It doesn’t have to be an either/or situation.

For example, my children have been schooled in a variety of settings. My daughter attends a private middle school, but she attended public school K-5. My son also attended that public school K-1, but is now homeschooled because our school district does not have adequate resources for gifted students. However, we are in and out of our public school for various events. And, most of his friends, and mine, are from that school.

Over the past eight years, I’ve compared our school experience in Upstate NY to that of friends whose children attend schools in NYC, southern CA, Florida, and Bethesda, MD. Personally, I’ve attended schools in MD, Buenos Aires, VA, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. I’ve gone on to College of the Virgin Islands, University of Delaware, and Columbia University.

Even that small sampling reveals huge differences in academic and cultural experience. I wouldn’t presume to make judgments about public schools based on this tiny crack into the window of public education.

Why do you think you’re qualified to make sweeping judgments about homeschool education?

Reply

• teacherrevised
  May 31, 2009 at 10:57 pm

  Sandra,

  Thank you for writing.

  I don’t think I’m qualified to make sweeping judgments about homeschool education. Homeschool situations are too diverse for that. The crux of today’s argument focused on a learning environment with limited perspectives.

  Reply

  • Sandra Foyt
    May 31, 2009 at 11:41 pm

    Jesse,

    When I posted earlier, I hadn’t read your previous article, The Case Against Homeschooling. I’m going to assume, and we all know what happens when you assume, that your previous article was written as a a joke. Perhaps you wrote it while watching David Letterman.

    Perhaps, you never meant any of what you wrote in that article.

    Just so we’re clear, are you or are you not stating that you believe that all homeschool learning environments provide a limited perspective?

    Reply

    • teacherrevised
      May 31, 2009 at 11:46 pm

      No, not all homeschooling environments. I was generalizing… which was and is tricky, given how varied homeschooling environments can be.

Today, Jesse’s blog partner, Alistair Bomphray, returned to this furor, and attempted to dampen the fire with Homeschool teacher meet public school teacher. Now hug. He summed up the conflict as:

The Geeks vs. The Idiot. Homeschools vs. public schools. Yawn.

In a refreshing change from the previous posts, he sought a genuine exchange of information, asking:

As a public school teacher who knows very little about homechooling, I would love to know what it takes to be a good homeschool teacher. I have questions like, How do you balance being both parent and teacher to your child? How do you incorporate technology into your lessons? How do you go about teaching a subject you know very little about? How much homework do you give? Is it even called ‘homework’ when it’s assigned at home? Do your students have to take the same standardized tests as mine? If so, how much test prep do you do each week? In short, I want to know your best (and worst) practices.

And as homeschool teachers, aren’t you just as curious about the life of a public school teacher? If for nothing else, to rethink and reshape your own teaching philosophies?

THIS is where I was blown away by the commentators. Wowee! These homeschoolers have so much experience and knowledge! It’s a privilege to read their comments. I highly recommend reading the responses for a diverse sampling of homeschool experience from a group of very smart, and interesting homeschoolers.

My response was not nearly as insightful, but I’ll include it here nevertheless. You never know when someone will want to learn more about homeschoolers in general, by looking at us specifically.

Alistair,

I appreciate your open minded approach, and invite you to visit my blog, On Living By Learning at http://spedr.com/bobo

To address your questions:

I’m homeschooling a bright 3rd Grader who loves to read and learn. Frankly, I don’t have to do much to “teach” him. I just provide the materials, a little direction, and help when he needs it. It’s 3rd Grade, not rocket science.

Somehow, between my graduate degree in International Affairs from Columbia, and my husband’s medical doctorate, we manage to answer his questions. When I don’t know the answers, I ask qualified friends, or I do the research.

Of course, it helps that my daughter attended K-5 at the public school. I volunteered, observed, and kept much of the material that she used so I have that as a point of reference. My son also attended that school K-1, so I have the inputs from those amazing PS teachers.

I also read, a lot, about education theory, and was very impressed by Lucy Calkins and the writer’s workshop model. Also, I was impressed by the Renzulli Schoolwide Enrichment Model. Both are attempted at our public school, but not well.

I don’t know if I’m a good homeschool teacher, but my son is a curious, avid learner. You can see how he is doing on his own blog: http://spedr.com/4y597

How do I balance being a parent and teacher?

Well, I’ve always been a teacher to my children, since long before they entered formal schooling. Even when they were in PS, the kids did much of their learning at home, through reading, enrichment, and supplemental education. Most of that was under my guidance.

Incorporating technology into our lessons is another reason that I homeschool. I’ve written quite a bit on this topic:

See Is Your Child Computer Literate? http://spedr.com/2av2t for a description of our public school technology experience, and also:

Home Schooling The Networked Student Series -

• Home Schooling The Networked Student
• How To Set Up Your Child’s New Computer
• Selecting A Browser For Your Child’s Computer

Or, you can look at my son’s blog, especially recent posts in which he used YouTube, Powerpoint, and Slideshare to share poetry lessons.

Homework is fairly unnecessary in our situation, except in those cases where it helps with cognitive retention to have reinforcement of material at various timed intervals. Sometimes, we use homework for spelling or math facts. And, yes, it’s called homework.

We’re in NY, so we’re required to administer the assessment tests. I think we could postpone it until 5th Grade, but I’m having my son take them for various reasons. He took the SCAT to qualify for Gifted Programs from Johns Hopkins. Earlier in the year, we downloaded last year’s NY State Tests, and he took that so I could determine if he was on track. This week, he’s taking the CAT and the PASS. Two tests is overkill, but I wanted to check out the differences between them so we can make informed decisions for the future. Next time, he’ll just take whichever one we determine fulfills NY requirements, and also gives us worthwhile feedback.

Test Prep – My son completed a workbook on analogies as part of his vocabulary curriculum. This had the added benefit of preparing him for the SCAT. He spent 10 minutes daily for a few weeks.

Last week, he worked through some of the material in the CAT prep book on a couple of days.

Nothing prepares a student for taking a standardized test except to actually take a test. Of course, this only works when they’re reading and learning steadily.

My 7th Grade daughter (who attends private school now) did quite well on the SAT this year. She prepped by taking a few practice tests (a couple of Saturday mornings,) but again this reflects a lot of reading and learning in her daily life.

Yes, I’m very curious about public school teachers. I follow several who write blogs and/or twitter. See this list of 100 Influential Blogs for Educators http://spedr.com/5p18a

Some of my faves: education.com, ReadWriteWeb, Joanne Jacobs, and Cool Cat.

I hope I’ve answered your questions, but I’d welcome any more on or offline. It’s quite interesting, and possibly enlightening, to have this exchange.

Definitely, there was a lot of unnecessary negativity in these exchanges but I’m hoping that this leads to opening communication between educators. There is much that public school and homeschool teachers can learn from each other.

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It’s so exciting to host my first ever blog carnival, and I’m thrilled to present such an inspiring bunch of kids.  We have accomplished chefs, animal rescuers, cattle raisers, artists, actors, scientists…

The really cool thing is that these are blogs by kids, for kids. 

Kids, this is your chance to find interesting blogs that you’ll want to visit again, and again.  When you visit a blog, take a moment to post a comment or fill out a poll.  Who knows?  You might make a new friend.

If you really, really like a blog, be sure to subscribe to it so that you get all the new posts.  You can also add your favorite blogs to your Blogroll.

Taking The Plunge

We have a new guy taking the plunge into blogging, Oliver, the head honcho at Ollie’s Blog, introduces himself in My First Blog.  This is a kid with a great sense of humor, who loves dragons, pugs, and grizzly bears.  You have to check out the photos in his sidebar, they are hilarious!  Readers, let’s give him a little inspiration with a very warm welcome.

Rhi, who posts at My Homeschooled Buddhist Life in Hawaii, is asking for inspiration.  She asks, So What’s Up Viewers? because she wants to know what her viewers would like her to write about.  What do you think guys?  Post a comment on her blog with your suggestions.

Meeting The Challenge

Last month, kid bloggers were challenged to use the word “bumptious” in their posts.

Bumptious: presumptuously, obtusely, and often noisily self-assertive : obtrusive Definition found in Merrian Webster Online.

One brave soul rose to the challenge, and shared her story about a  bumptious dog who is extremely friendly on My Coton De Tulear. Kudos on your most excellent use of this word!

Blog Challenge: Try to use the word amorphous in a blog post this month.

Sweet Inspiration

Just in time for berry picking season, here’s a recipe for Berry Cream Cheese Pie from Buttercup at My Secret Garden. 

This pie is a beautiful contribution for a special occasion, and it requires no baking at all!  Try making it at home, and let Buttercup know how it turns out. Don’t forget to check her poll if you think this is “neato.”

Inspiration To Get Outdoors

The Science Mouse shares a magnificent incentive to get outdoors in The Great American Backyard Campout.  Be sure to take lots of pictures of your campout, and share them in the Reader’s Gallery.

Tech-savvy Inspiration

The Debt Free Scholar explains Why Every Student Should Join Twitter Immediately! 

On Elferkid, Kayla shares how to make Polyvore design sets that blend fashion and art to make unique statements.

Inspiration To Be Considerate And Caring

Reflecting the Girl Scout Law to do your best to be considerate and caring, Angela cut off a foot of hair to donate to Locks of Love.  She shares before and after photos in My New Haircut.  Let her know how awesome this is by clicking on the Blog Reaction buttons.

Araya and Avery share their visit to a special place, Animal Acres: Saving One Cutie at a Time!  The photos of the animals are adorable!

SingSuperStar was in need of some caring as she sat out of Drama Club due to Chicken Pox.  Now, she’s back and and sharing Girl Guides, Drama Club, and Chicken Pox.  Tell us, are Girl Guides just like Girl Scouts?

Inventive Inspiration

Amiri has plans to invent a marvelous new phone, and he knows just how he will make a fortune from My New Phone.  Be sure to answer the latest poll when you visit Amiri’s World.

Limegreen’s article about My Coin Collection! may inspire you to take up the “Hobby of Kings.”

Inspiring Animal Stories

Heather, in The Joy of Living, tells us about rescuing My Baby Bird, and shares photos of one of the youngest baby birds that I have ever seen.

On the Kid’s Cattle Blog, they’re raising an orphan as well, but he’s not so small.  Soon, Frost the calf will be big enough to put the New Fence that these kids built to the test.  I’m impressed by all the machinery Z and Theo are handling, and the big hole they made!

On Boff Orpintons and other things, curious minds want to know, will the Chicks hatch?  Who would you like to see hatch?  Comment to weigh in on your favorite hen. 

Creative Inspiration

Sadie The Karate Girl has been inspired by Susan Reed, someday she’s going to be a singer and storyteller too.

Inspired by Jack Prelutsky, Alex acts out one of his poems in a YouTube Video.  Would you like some Jellyfish Stew?

In Vienna’s Corner of the World, she’s taking artistic license to inspire new words in Random.  What are cheese dongles?

Neonglitter is inspiring bloggers to play a meme game, and share 6 Things That Make You Happy in Tagged!  Play the game, and share cool blogs.

Storybook Inspirations

Discover a great story as Catsubu shares her latest book recommendation, Savvy, on Snowflake’s Adventures.

Benny was inspired by The Warriors series to create a very elaborate Warriors Club.  Where did Benny find this adorable green-eyed guy?

And now, for an inspirational quote for kids:

Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.  Oscar Wilde

I hope you enjoyed the Homeschooled Kids Blog Carnival 8. If you would like to submit a blog article to the next edition of the Homeschooled Kids Blog carnival please use the carnival submission form or send an email.

The next Homeschool Kids Blog Carnival is 28th June 2009 and will be hosted by Homeschooling-ideas.com. 

If you would like to advertise the carnival on your blog – here are some Blog Buttons you can use.

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