March 18, 2008

New Hampshire--S.B. 337 Passed Senate,
Calls Needed to Stop Bill in the House

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends,

Last Thursday, by a vote of 14 to 10, the Senate passed Senate Bill
337.  This legislation will now move to the House, where it will be
considered by the House Education Committee. 

Right now, we are gathering information on where these committee
members stand on S.B. 337, and we need your help. 

ACTION REQUESTED

If one of the House Education Committee members represents your
district, please contact that member, and ask: 

1) If he or she supports or opposes SB 337; and
2) If he or she supports it, what his reasons are. 

Be sure to mention that New Hampshire is not currently experiencing a
problem with home educators' performance, and that furthermore, the
legislature removed the law's curriculum description requirement only
two years ago.  While the change to the notification deadline is not
onerous, it doesn't seem like there is sufficient need to change the
law that has been working well just for that.

Please notify HSLDA of your representative's response by emailing
legale@hslda.org

To find your representative, use HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at
http://capwiz.com/hslda/home/

The House Education Committee is as follows:

Rep. Emma L. Rous (D), Chair
(603) 868-7030
emma.rous@leg.state.nh.us

Rep. J. Timothy Dunn (D), Vice Chair
 (603) 357-7993
dunnbt@verizon.net

Rep. Judith E. Day (D), Clerk
 (603) 964-1816
judy.day@leg.state.nh.us

Kimberly C. Shaw (D)
 (603) 882-2845
kcshawed@aol.com 

Rep. Charles B. Yeaton (D)
(603) 736-9087
cyeaton@metrocast.net

Rep. Claudette R. Jean (D)
 (603) 883-3824
crjean2@verizon.net 

Rep. Claire D. Clarke (D)
 (603) 796-2268

Rep. Kimberley S. Casey (D)
 (603) 772-8506
caseycorps@aol.com 

Rep. Barbara E. Shaw (D)
(603) 626-4681
beshaw3@aol.com 

Rep. Scott A. Merrick (D)
 (603) 788-4311
d.merrick@tufts.edu

Rep. James M. O'Neil (D)
 (603) 424-3059
jmoneil1@comcast.net

Rep. Judith T. Reeve (D)
 (603) 524-2644
reeverj@metrocast.net 

Rep. Sharon M. Carson (R)
 (603) 434-2489
bladensfield@hotmail.com 

Rep. Paul Ingbretson
 (603) 989-3092
ingbretson_studio@yahoo.com

Rep. David W. Hess (R)
(603) 485-9027
dave.hess@leg.state.nh.us 

Rep. William J. Remick (R)
(603) 788-2444
wremick@ne.rr.com

Rep. Nancy F. Stiles (R)
(603) 926-6467
nancy.stiles@leg.state.nh.us

Rep. Karen K. McRae (R)
(603) 497-2186
karen.mcrae@leg.state.nh.us

Rep. Elenore Casey Crane (R)
 (603) 881-9048
repcrane@comcast.net

Rep. Pamela G. Price (R)
 (603) 888-4774
pamela.price@leg.state.nh.us

For more information on Senate Bill 337, see
http://www.hslda.org/Legislation/State/nh/2008/NHSB337/default.asp   

Thank you for your support! 

Very truly yours,

Michael P. Donnelly, Esq.
HSLDA Staff Attorney

The Portsmouth area has a lot to offer that I was unaware of until I saw the Forts, castles and kids link on visitnh.gov.  I know that winter seems like it will never end sometimes but it will soon be giving way to budding trees and warmer weather.  No, really it will, you'll see.  There is something for everyone on these educational trips. 

Starting in Portsmouth-

You will find  The Childrens Museum of Portsmouth and The Christa McAuliffe Planetarium. You can explore and learn from a variety of programs and exhibits in the museum and planetarium.  Then it is over to New Castle Island which offers Fort Constitution- where the main attractions are the old fort and the lighthouse on the water.  Below is a pricing list of state parks, including this one.

Most New Hampshire State Parks do charge an admission fee to use the park.
Please note: Rates are subject to change.

Day-Use: $3 - Adults; $1 - children ages 6-11
FREE - children ages 5 & under, NH residents age 65 & over
Bear Brook State Park, Clough State Park, Echo Lake Beach, Echo Lake in Franconia Notch State Park, Ellacoya State Park, Forest Lake State Park, Greenfield State Park, Kingston State Beach, Milan Hill State Park, Miller State Park, Mollidgewock State Park, Monadnock State Park, Moose Brook State Park, Odiorne Point State Park, Pawtuckaway State Park, Pillsbury State Park, Rhododendron State Park, Rollins State Park, Rye Harbor State Park, Silver Lake State Park, Sunapee State Park, Umbagog Lake State Park, Wadleigh State Park, Wellington State Beach, Wentworth State Beach, White Lake State Park, Winslow State Park  

Manchester has the See Science Center which offers a lego exibit that is said to be pretty grand.

Concord offers  The Museum of New Hampshire History with tons of programs and a wealth of information about our awesome state this is a must see and explore.

Hope this helps you out a little with the questions of where to go or what to do when the Jack frost is nipping at your.... everything.  Stay warm and have fun.  Winter, although it is very cold at times, is still a beautiful scene all across New Hampshire.  Just more proof of the good Lord's incredible handiwork!!!

Thanksgiving time is when our trumpet sounds, lesson books start to gather a little dust (mostly) and we just play.  I tend to "slack off" on purpose at this time of year because the boys' minds are not on mundane things anyway and although we don't completely toss in the towel so to speak with the lessons, we do sort of relax.... a lot.  We have done extra work since we began in the summer to get us here ahead of the game and still be able to pick up after things cool off a little with nothing lost and lots gained.  It also gives us lots of time to reflect on what is truly important to us and how many blessings we are thankful for.  We are always aware of our blessings but at this time of year we tend to like to dress them up and display them more.  I understand not everyone does this but it works well for us.  I was shuffling around the internet looking for some fun coloring pages and activities for Thanksgiving and came across these (as well as many, many more but these jumped out at me) www.homeschooled-kids.com and family fun magazine.  I was impressed with the things we found on these sites and I think you will be too.  Monday we are going to make turkeys out of craft spoons (the little wooden spoons, rounded on each end like I used to get with my ice cream cup in school, years ago) and wiggle eyes.  After that who knows, although I did find a cute recipe for blessing mix on some site and Marshmallow pilgrim hats and football cupcakes from Familyfun.com that are really cute too.  I am still looking into festivals and such in this fine state to post about. 

I would love to start sharing ideas from you all, to you all.  If you have some ideas, recipes, crafts or events to share, let me know.  I want to bring all the Homeschoolers from our area (New Hampshire and surrounding states) together as much as possible.  Like I have said before, I feel that Homeschooling families harness some of the most amazing amounts of creativity and resourcefulness I have ever seen.  It would be great to share it amongst ourselves, as well as the outside world.  I will be checking back in with you all soon.  After a cold knocked me off my feet and caused a minor infection, I am back  after two weeks and ready to go.  Today I am most Thankful for Amoxicillon, LOL!  This virus swept through my family like a tornado.  It affected my youngest the first and worst as usual, he has asthma and always seems to be affected the most. 

Okay, I am done whining about viruses as this is only November and we have many more months to endure this stuff.  I still love this time of year though.  Even though the warmly hued landscape has given way to bare trees and cold winds, I look forward, in anticipation of the up coming weeks with the joy of a child.  We had our first snow flurry today!!!  I am a little more excited to see snow than my husband, who is dreading driving in it when need be.    He is so a summer kinda guy anyway.  I think those people who made his and her climate controls were certainly thinking about us!!!  I am off to find some fun events for you and your families (and mine) to attend, experience and explore this awesome season.  Hope to see you around.

I would also love to say a collective Thank you so much to those of you who have offered your encouragement, support and prayers through this difficult season we are in the midst of.  The Lord has touched my life profoundly with you all. 

~ In HIM, Peggie

I love this time of year (yes, it bears repeating)!!  I get so tickled with the 'warm fuzzies' inside with the joy that is seemingly everywhere.  Aside from the issues we as Christians face at this time of year -at least I know I do- (like to trick-or-treat or not to trick-or-treat, should we say MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone just to bring it back loud and proud, Santa???), Autumn and the early Winter are just ring-ding-dingeling with the fact that Christ our Savior is among us.  Even if some people don't want to admit it.  In the philosophy of C.S. Lewis I beg the question, if there is no God, why do we instinctively know right from wrong?  In the same token, if there is no God, why then celebrate a season brought about to praise his birth?  I find it so wonderfully ironic that it is so easy to share love and goodwill to men especially at this time of year.  I want to believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas bring to everyone's mind, memories of families together and happy, celebrations, the warmth of togetherness and wonder and amazement of the child in all of us.  I know for me, I anxiously anticipate this time of year right along with my boys.  We bake a birthday cake for Jesus every year and sing to him on Christmas day.  This time of year also annually reminds me that I need to be ever more disciplined in bringing God's word into our lives in more ways daily.  The longer and more intimate our relationship with the Lord grows, the more we enjoy Christmas!!!  

Having said all that....

If your Homeschool group is having a holiday event, gathering, etc., please email me and let me know.  I will post your information and hopefully get a good crowd together for homeschoolers to share this season's best with each other.  Please be sure to include whether or not your event is open to all or group members exclusively!!  I look forward to hearing from you and seeing how much we come together as a community especially in the next few weeks!!

In HIM,

~Peggie

myhomeboyz_3@yahoo.com

Homeschool Dads, Moms and Kids who love sports, this is for you:

Homeschool Sportsnet Incorporated would love stories about New England Homeschool athletes, teams and/ or leagues to add to their website and to possibly feature in the upcoming magazine.  If you have a story and/ or photos to share, please contact me at: myhomeboyz_3@yahoo.com.  We are trying to start up a league and teams consisting of all Homeschooled kids for competetive sports.  If we can gather a few teams from each state we could play eachother as well as possibly getting to play against private school teams.  We need coaches and kids.  We live in the Monadnock area of New Hampshire and are looking to put together a local team.  We are currently searching for coaches and players of Basketball, Baseball, Football and Wiffleball.  If you know of kids serious about learning, playing and competing let us know.  The founder I spoke with is a long time Homeschool dad and coach.  He has a lot to offer in the way of experience and advice in this area.  He is passionate about Homeschool Sports and wants very much to see it grow and extend opportunities to those who didn't realize that real sports opportunities exist in the Homeschooling arena.  Please check out the website and give me your feedback:

www.hspn.net

Hope to hear from you soon,

~Peggie

     I just wanted to say to each and every fellow Christian Homeschooler, I am proud to be among you!!  My family would have missed out on so many experiences this weekend had we been strapped to a school schedule and system.  Because we Homeschool, we could freely rearrange our usual academic schedule as needed last week to allow my 15 year old son the experience of running his first fundraiser.  He planned and executed a Wiffleball tournament for his youth group at church basically single handedly and by the grace of God, it was a hit.  He raised a good amount of money for the church and managed to make a few connections with some great wiffleball teams for future fundraisers.  He brought a few of the homeschooled kids from our church together as team members also.  The champions of the tournament told him that they enjoyed playing in that competition and liked the people they were around so much that they plan to send out mass emails next year for the other 20-25 teams that they regularly play with to show and compete.  We had 6 teams this year, so you can imagine how great it would be to grow that much next year.  This was an incredible learning experience for him (and us), that no school could have competed with and it took a lot of his time which no school could have allowed him.  Thank God his ego didn't expand so much that we couldn't get him back into the house, LOL!!  He did gain confidence though and that is priceless.

     I find myself reflecting a lot lately on my experiences with Homeschooling and with Homeschooling families.  Whenever I meet other Homeschool moms, I am constantly thinking to myself, "she's a creative little bugger!", "How did they come up with that idea", "wow! That’s awesome, why didn't I think of that"!  I am blown away at the amount of resourcefulness that comes out of Homeschoolers.  As a 'people', we find uses for the most obsolete and common things alike.  The creativity that pours from the people I have met in person or on the internet is so inspiring.  I am so glad Homeschoolers share the way they do.  I am noticing as of late also, Homeschoolers are walking out into the light of society more than before.  What I mean by that is, I see more Homeschoolers standing up to be counted in a public fashion than in earlier days.  It could be the shear volume of Homeschoolers who now exist, the pioneers who came before us and paved the way to make it easier for us now or that we just know what we have and want to share it in the most positive way possible.  Most likely it is all of the above.  I see a difference in Homeschoolers, at least in my location, which has come about since I first started to Homeschool about 10 years ago.  Homeschoolers now in general are far less intimidated by non Homeschooled folk and their questions or comments.  Also, because of those who worked so hard to maintain this freedom in the past and present alike brought good attention to this way of life in the first place, we have fewer naysayer’s to begin with.  I am floored by the fact that everywhere I go now I meet Homeschoolers.  Even just ten short years ago (I lived in the Boston area then) it seemed like you were marching in your own little band if you Homeschooled.  I mean, you had a few fellow marchers but not many, in that area anyway. 

     I think a great service to Homeschoolers would be to create a Homeschool History book for all of us.  We should study it as we would any other History that we find important.  We should interview all the surviving Homeschool Pioneers and families of the ones who have gone to be with our Father in Heaven and write their journeys in one book.  Showcase our conception and history.  We could leave a place to add personal pioneers in the movement we know in our own lives.  There is so much Homeschoolers have to and do contribute to such projects.  I wonder if there is already a book like this.  Can someone tell me if there is, I would love to see it!  If not, maybe we could get one going!!!  Maybe some of you could tell me what it is you feel blessed about the most by having the ability to Homeschool.  I would love your thoughts and comments, please feel free to share!!

Together in HIM, Peggie

I have found a quaint family Christian bookstore in the shadows of beautiful MT. Monadnock.  What they lack in size, they make up for in quality of service and faith-filled atmosphere.  They have a great and varied selection.  We found everything from bible tabs to Christian T-shirts, key chains to the latest in Christain Music.  As a Homeschooler, I am constantly looking for bargains.  After talking with the owners, I found them to be very pleasant and eager to accomodate Homeschoolers.  They are offering a 10% discount for any Homeschooler with an approval letter from your school district.  They are looking for suggestions from you to better serve the Homeschooling community.                                                         

Drop them a line at 1-888-532-7297 or better yet, just stop by and see the splendor of this little jewel for yourself. 

You can find them at:                                                                                                                                              Jaffrey Bible House                                                                                                                                                        79 Hadley Rd                                                                                                                                                               Jaffrey, NH

Ok homeschool families I want to know how you do it?  I have five kids and I feel like I am going in circles all day. I mean I have no time to do what I want or sometimes need to do. I have one friend who just seems to do it all. She has seven children. They are all well behaved and normal. Not little soldiers or robots. She cooks and not only regular large family cooking but special meals for a few of her children that need them. She sews all thier costumes for Halloween, makes their Christmas gifts and even made this georgous quilt for my new baby. It even matched the color of my girls room!! She goes to church every sunday, host our homeschool meeting and helps out with 4-H. Where does she get this energy and how does she get the kids to do something else so she can get done? I know there are more moms like this out there and I want to know how you do it. I want to blog more than I am but I find everytime I go to sit someone needs something. I try and take advantage of when DH is home but they still come to me. I would love to find the time to scrapbook, and talk with the Lord, write...  I love my kids don't get me wrong but I think I need an outlet and I can't seem to get to it. I am exhausted all the time. They tell me it is because I have a 3 month old in the house but she is so good. My boys on the other hand are 2 and 4 and don't sleep well at all at night. I have tried everything. I know lay a blanket on the floor in my room so that they will sleep there when the come down in the middle of the night instead of our bed. I know I should put them right back in bed but I don't want to get out of bed. I just want to sleep. I know this phase will pass. It did with our oldest, and all to fast. He no longer needs to be tucked in, he goes up when he is ready and reads or listens to books on tape. Says Good night and off he goes. I should make up my mind. I guess there are just pros and cons of everything in life. So anyway back to my main subject, tell me how you do it. Tell me if you are like me and not doing it.

Sorry it has been a few days. We had a busy week. My two year old son had to have a tear duct unblocked. It wasn't bad at all once it was done. No one quite explained just how simple it was though. Therefore I let my imagination run amuck. Instead of trusting the Lord that all would be fine, I just went with my own mind once again. I know it is normal to worry about our children, but it is almost as if sometimes I imagine the worst possible senario so that I will be prepared just incase. This makes me quite upset with myself at times.  It is how I am with homeschooling also. I fret and worry about how we aren't getting done what I had planned. How I didn't have the time to sit with my younger children to help them with their school work. How at this rate they aren't going to learn anything.  Then when I am able to sit with them,  I realize from our talks just how much they did learn that day. How they know that even though we trust in the Lord, we don't know his plan.That it is natural to be apprehensive about tear duct surgery. That when that little guy gets home, we all breath a sigh of relief. That it is good to be there for him. Not only him but Mom and Dad. My mother in law did come and help to watch the kids, but my kids didn't try and pull the wool over her eyes.Which they could have as she isn't here often. They did their school work and helped each other when they had questions. They did their chores and worked together to keep the house in order and peaceful. My children know that I get a little uptight when the house isn't tidy. I am a clean freak by no means, but I do like for my home to be homey not cluttered.  I wouldn't of been able to have any of this if my kids were not home. They were responsible, thoughtful and caring. Had they been at school that day, nothing would have gotten done, and most likely I  would of had to help them with hours of homework. I am gratefull that we can be here for each other. My children were able to do what they needed to do and not take advantage of the situation. I wonder, would I have had the moments to train them in this kind of character & behavior if they were away from me for seven hours a day?

Ok, I don't know about everyone else but I am so glad it is Friday.  This was one very busy week. I am feeling rather guilty that we didn't get much "school" work done. All our business was very educational, but we were so busy we haven't even gotten to discuss it yet. I realize I need to plan my days better, but how? 

Anyone want to share your ideas with me?

A happy but very tired homeschool mama