Mar. 18, 2008 - Famous Homeschoolers
“Home schooling is a very old way of doing things. If you look at any of the bills in your wallet or the coins in your pocket, they all have a picture of a homeschooler on them.” ~William Lloyd
So, besides these founding fathers, who else do we know that has been homeschooled?
Constitutional Convention Delegates
- Richard Basseti - Governor of Delaware
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William Blount - U.S. Senator
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George Clymer - U.S. Representative
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William Few - U.S. Senator
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Benjamin Franklin - Inventor and Statesman
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William Houston - Lawyer
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William S. Johnson - Columbia College President
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William Livingston - Governor of New Jersey
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James Madison - 4th President of the U.S.
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George Mason - Justice of Virginia County Court
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John Francis Mercer - U.S. Representative
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Charles Pickney III - Governor of S. Carolina
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John Rutledge - Chief Justice U.S. Supreme Court
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Richard D. Spaight - Governor of North Carolina
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George Washington - 1st President of the U.S.
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John Witherspoon - President of Princeton
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George Wythe - Justice of Virginia High Court
Presidents
Statesmen
Military Leaders
U.S. Supreme Court Judges
Religious Leaders
Explorers
Scientists
Inventors
Artists
Composers
Writers
Educators
Medical Practitioners
Business Entrepreneurs
Performers
Athletes
Others
FAMOUS HOMESCHOOL PARENTS
Copyright by Teri Ann Berg Olsen. Used with permission. Teri is a home educator and author of the book Learning for Life: Educational Words of Wisdom. Visit her website at www.knowledgehouse.info for more information.
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Mar. 17, 2008 - Spring Break
Since our public school friends are on spring break this week, I figured we would takes ours now too. I told Ariella and Kaylah that they can't learn anything this week...so no reading, no playing, no games, no drawing, no gym class (riding bikes, playing on the swing set, or any outside activity), and no creative art classes (making crafts, putting on shows, dancing, or playing Barbies), no co-op.
It seems that my kids don't want a spring break afterall! Hmmm...imagine that!
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Mar. 4, 2008 - Socialization
This is such a big issue with homeschoolers those that don't know anything about homeschooling. Quality of relationships seems to me to be better than quantity. I know I'm not alone in thinking this, especially among other homeschoolers. Maybe we're the crazy ones to think it, but I doubt it. I am raising my children to be socialized individuals, but I am stumped with the definition of "socialization".
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
so·cial·i·za·tion (s
sh
-l
-z
shn)
n.
- The process of learning interpersonal and interactional skills that are in conformity with the values of one's society.
social·ize (-sh-l
z) v.
| The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. |
What does our society value? Sex, outward beauty, money, good grades... Look around. I want my children to learn the value of learning, of marriage, of family, and of being altruistic.
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| socialize | |
verb |
|
| 1. | take part in social activities; interact with others; "He never socializes with his colleagues"; "The old man hates to socialize" |
| 2. | train for a social environment; "The children must be properly socialized" |
| 3. | prepare for social life; "Children have to be socialized in school" |
| 4. | make conform to socialist ideas and philosophies; "Health care should be socialized!" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
We don't live in a bubble!
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Mar. 1, 2008 - Our Date
Kaylah and I went on a date tonight. A mommy/daughter date. Kaylah wouldn't call it that because to her a date has to be a boy and a girl. But it was a date. We went to the GS store to get shirts for the upcoming Kixx game then to browse around Borders. Dinner came next. Yummy pizza and even ice-cream for dessert. Ourdate ended with a trip to the grocery store. And throughout the entire night, Kaylah was as sweet as ever. She helped unload the cart onto the conveyor belt, said please and thank you to me and to strangers. Held my hand. Got into the car when I said it was time to go. Even went to bed on her own after saying her prayers and telling me that she loves me.
It's moments like tonight that make me smile. After the hard times we've been having with Kaylah, tonight was a hint that things can get better. That it's not hopeless. She made me cry this afternoon but tonight, she was my little baby. It was just me and her and it was one of the nicest dates I've ever been on. We'll definitely have to make this a regular thing for us.
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Feb. 28, 2008 - 8 Great Traits of Challenging Children
8 GREAT TRAITS OF CHALLENGING CHILDREN
#1 -- They are leaders. They're not content to sit back and let others tell them what to do.
#2 -- They march to a different drummer. They're unique and have an original take on life.
#3 -- They are creative and have intense feelings. They find colors, sounds, and movement fascinating and stimulating.
#4 -- They are memorable. People notice them; they don't just fade into the woodwork.
#5 -- They are independent thinkers. They demand answers and search for reasons and meaning.
#6 -- They have high energy. They won't sit in a stupor, vegging out in front of the TV.
#7 -- They usually know what they want. They're not wishy-washy.
#8 -- They are often sensitive and demonstrative. Their expressions of love are spontaneous and sincere.
Copied from Parents magazine 1997
Our Kaylah to a T...tonight Kaylah decided she didn't like it when I told her that she had enough soy sauce on her stir-fry. So, she went ahead and spit at me. Not once but twice. It wasn't the first time it happened either. Jason brought her upstairs to cool off and when he came back down, we could hear her kicking and yelling. She does this high pitched scream when she doesn't like how something is. So, anyway, tonight when we're putting her to bed, Jason notices that there's a whole in the wall next to her bed. Her bed is against the wall and the hole is the same size as her heel. Of course she denies that she made the hole. Which is another thing altogether because she's been lying compulsively lately. When we ask her to tell the truth about this or anything, it always seems to be the fault of the babies or our dog, Scrunch. We come downstairs and a bit later she follows, tellimg Jason that it was her and she's sorry but she wants to watch t.v. with him. So should that be it? Should she be forgiven and allowed to just hang with dad when 1. she lied and 2. she should be in bed? It's hard. She's made me cry quite a few times out of frustration. I hate to admit that she has this power over me but she does. There has to be someway to get through to her...
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Feb. 21, 2008 - Ariella's Blog
Ariella has her own blog now. www.homeschoolblogger.com/ariella
I searched around this site and found quite a few 7, 8, and 9 year olds. I had several reasons to encourage her use of a blog:
- To provide opportunity to write and express herself through journaling
- To open the door to the world of homeschooling so that she may see what other kids her age are doing in their own homeschools
- To practice computer skills such as navigating, copying and pasting, site scanning, e-mailing, and other skills
- To develop friendships with other homeschoolers across the US and internationally
There are other benefits to blogging, but these are my main reasons. Of course, I reviewed Internet safety with her and closely monitor to whom and what she is writing. I also limit the amount of time she spends on the computer, overall. She's doing well with it and even sent her first e-mail tonight to a girl her age.
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Feb. 16, 2008 - Homeschool friends
Ariella had her first playdate today with a fellow homeschooler. She met Anna at TLC and hit it off with her. It worked out that I got along great with her mom too. And the bonus is that Anna is one of four children and Kaylah gets along with her younger sister. Two weeks ago, they invited us over and the girls got along great. We all went over last time. Today, only Anna came over to play with Ariella.
The imortant part about this whole playdate thing is the fact that not being with her friends is basically the only complaint Ariella has about being homeschooled. All of her friends attend school and I am really anxious for her to find someone her age to whom she can relate. Anna has always been homeschooled, so it's neat to see the difference that makes and to hear them comparing notes about their school days. I hope Ariella maintains this friendship, because I think it could be the key to getting her to enjoy the homeschooling way of life.
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Feb. 15, 2008 - Cloth Diapers
I'm not sure what exactly made me try cloth diapers. It was about four months ago. I must have read an article about them and it peaked my interest. I went out and bought some--one pack (which contained 12 diapers), a pack of covers (contained 3 covers) and two four packs of pins. My idea was that I would use them when I ran out of disposables. I remember looking on-line to see how to actually put them on a baby as well as how to wash them and I came across site after site either selling them, advertising for services to clean them, or claiming the benefits of using them. It seemed that a whole world existed around those who swathed their baby in cloth diapers.
The more I read about cloth diapers, the more I knew that I wanted to try them on more than a part-time basis. Of course, that would mean buying more diapers, covers,and pins. Spending money now will save me money in the long run. Jason was reading over my shoulder while I read some of the articles I found on-line and he agreed with some of the benefits as well...escpecially the one where we would save money!
That was then, this is now. Four months later, I use cloth diapers every time I change my babies' diapers. I noticed they have less diaper rash and I am spending a lot less money on disposables (I still have to buy them because dh is too afraid he will poke the babies with the pins and if he's up for changing the diapers, I'm not going to push the issue of which kind of diaper he should use...I have only bought two small packages in four months, though). I feel better because I know I'm doing what's best for my babies!
Top 5 reasons why I use cloth diapers:
- Save money (By my calculations, I figured that we spent about $1600 the first year for disposables for the twins. With cloth diapers, my supplies should cost about $50-100 per year. That's including the diapers, covers and replacements if they tear, pins, and the detergent I use to wash them.)
- Better for environment (Over 92% of all single-use diapers end up in a landfill. In 1988, nearly $300 million dollars were spent annually just to discard disposable diapers, whereas cotton diapers are reused 50 to 200 times before being turned into rags. No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years, long after your children, grandchildren and great, great, great grandchildren will be gone. Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent about 4% of solid waste. In a house with a child in diapers, disposables make up 50% of household waste. Disposable diapers generate sixty times more solid waste and use twenty times more raw materials, like crude oil and wood pulp. The manufacture and use of disposable diapers amounts to 2.3 times more water wasted than cloth. Over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby each year.)
- Softer on babies' skin (Honestly, I know I'm not comfortable wearing a pad so I think it''s safe to assume that my babies would be more comfortable having cotton next to their skin than a disposable diaper.)
- No chemicals on their skin ( Disposable diapers have traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process, a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S. Disposable diapers also contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals. In addition, they contain sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. A similar substance had been used in super-absorbancy tampons until the early 1980s when it was revealed that the material increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome. In May 2000, the Archives of Disease in Childhood published research showing that scrotal temperature is increased in boys wearing disposable diapers, and that prolonged use of disposable diapers will blunt or completely abolish the physiological testicular cooling mechanism important for normal spermatogenesis)
- Earlier potty training (I've never rushed it with Ariella and Kaylah, but having two at the same time, this may just come in handy!)
My diaper facts for this blog have come from: http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php
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