Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

My son just called from Mississippi, and the silly boy just found out that he graduated cum laude from Ole Miss!  The part that is silly is that he graduated last May, and just found this out today.  Now how can someone who is smart enough to graduate cum laude not even know it until almost a year later???   HUH, JOSH??? I know you are reading this...I want an explanation. 

The other good news is that Josh was accepted into another law school, at Capital University.  How cool is that.  My son is not only good looking, loving and kind, but also brilliant and is going to be the best lawyer in the whole wide world!  YIPPEE!!!  I needed some good news...

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

My blogging friend, Eyecorn, posted a list of scholarship opportunities. 

Since my son will be starting college part-time in the fall (his final year of hs'ing), we will most definitely need to start looking into scholarships for the following year.   Since I just KNOW that I will forget where I put this list if I just print it out, I thought putting it here in my blog would help me remember where it is, and also perhaps help some of the rest of you.  Thanks, Eyecorn!!!

1) BELL LABS FELLOWSHIPS FOR UNDER REPRESENTED MINORITIES http://www.bell-labs.com/fellowships/CRFP/info.html

2) Student Inventors Scholarships

http://www.invent.org/collegiate

3) Student Video Scholarships http://www.christophers.org/vidcon2k.html

4) Coca-Cola Two Year College Scholarships

http://www.coca-colascholars.org/programs.html

5) Holocaust Remembrance Scholarships

http://holocaust.hklaw.com/

6) Ayn Rand Essay Scholarships

http://www.aynrand.org/contests/

7) Brand Essay Competition http://www.instituteforbrandleadership.org/IBLEssayContest-2002Rules.htm

8) Gates Millennium Scholarships (major) http://www.gmsp.org/nominationmaterials/read.dbm?ID=12

9) Xerox Scholarships for Students http://www2.xerox.com/go/xrx/about_xerox/about_xerox_detail.jsp

10) Sports Scholarships and Internships http://www.ncaa.org/about/scholarships.html

11) National Assoc. of Black Journalists Scholarships (NABJ) http://www.nabj.org/html/studentsvcs.html

12) Saul T. Wilson Scholarships (Veterinary) http://www.aphis.usda.gov/mb/mrphr/jobs/stw.html

13) Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund http://www.thurgoodmarshallfund.org/sk_v6.cfm

14) FinAid: The Smart Students Guide to Financial Aid scholarships) http://www.finaid.org/

15) Presidential Freedom Scholarships http://www.nationalservice.org/scholarships/

16) Microsoft Scholarship Program http://www.microsoft.com/college/scholarships/minority.asp

17) WiredScholar Free Scholarship Search http://www.wiredscholar.com/paying/scholarship_search/pay

_scholarship _search.jsp

18) Hope Scholarships &Lifetime Credits

http://www.ed.gov/inits/hope/

19) William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship for Minority Students http://www.apsanet.org/PS/grants/aspen3.cfm

20) Multiple List of Minority Scholarships http://gehon.ir.miami.edu/financial-assistance/Scholarship/black.html

21) Guaranteed Scholarships

http://www.guaranteed-scholarships.com/

22) BOEING scholarships (soma e HBCU connects) http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/educationrelations/scholarships

23) Easley National Scholarship Program http://www.naas.org/senior.htm

24) Maryland Artists Scholarships

http://www.maef.org/

26) Jacki Tuckfield Memorial Graduate Business Scholarship (for AA students in South Florida)

http://www.jackituckfield.org/

27) Historically Black College & University Scholarships http://www.iesabroad.org/info/hbcu.htm

28) Actuarial Scholarships for Minority Students http://www.beanactuary.org/minority/scholarships.htm

29) International Students Scholarships &Aid Help

http://www.iefa.org/

30) College Board Scholarship Search http://cbweb10p.collegeboard.org/fundfinder/html/fundfind01.html

31) Burger King Scholarship Program

http://www.bkscholars.csfa.org/

32) Siemens Westinghouse Competition

http://www.siemens-foundationorg/

33) GE and LuLac Scholarship Funds http://www.lulac.org/Programs/Scholar.html

34) CollegeNet ' s Scholarship Database http://mach25.collegenet.com/cgi-bin/M25/index

35) Union Sponsored Scholarships and Aid http://www.aflcioorg/scholarships/scholar.htm

36) Federal Scholarships &Aid Gateways 25 Scholarship Gateways from Black Excel

http://www.blackexcel.org/25scholarships.htm

37) Scholarship &Financial Aid Help

http://www.blackexcel.org/fin-sch.htm

38) Scholarship Links (Ed Finance Group) http://www.efg.net/link_scholarship.htm

39) FAFSA On The Web (Your Key Aid Form &Info) http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

40) Aid &Resources For Re-Entry Students http://www.back2college.com/

41) Scholarships and Fellowships http://www.osc.cuny.edu/sep/links.html

42) Scholarships for Study in Paralegal Studies http://www.paralegals.org/Choice/2000west.htm

43) HBCU Packard Sit Abroad Scholarships (for study around the world) http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/packard_nomination.html

44) Scholarship and Fellowship Opportunities http://ccmi.uchicago.edu/schl1.html

45) INROADS internships http://www.inroads.org/
46) ACT-SO bEURoeOlympics of the Mind "A Scholarships http://www.naacp.org/work/actso/act-so.shtml

47) Black Alliance for Educational Options Scholarships http://www.baeo.org/options/privatelyfinanced.jsp
48) ScienceNet Scholarship Listing http://www.sciencenet.emory.edu/undergrad/scholarships.html

49) Graduate Fellowships For Minorities Nationwide http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Student/GRFN/list.phtml?category=MINORITIES

50) RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS AT OXFORD http://www.rhodesscholar.org/info.html
51) The Roothbert Scholarship Fund

http://www.roothbertfund

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

I was reading Spunky's most recent entry, and the story that she told about has me steamed!  A mother was forced to have a complete background check, at the cost of $57 of her own money, to volunteer for some pretty mundane things at her child's school.  These are some of the things that I was just beginning to run into when my oldest were in public school.  No parent volunteering to help in their child's school should be forced into background checks like this.  How does this school think they are going to ever get enough volunteers to help with their programs with this policy in place?  And they pass it off as state law, when it was most definitely not. What happened to "supposed cause?" 

For those of you who are homeschool purists, please forgive me for sending those poor kids of mine to ps---I didn't know homeschooling existed back in 1980 when I put my first one in school.  I cried when I sent her that first day, and I cried when I sent the others.  I knew in my heart that it wasn't the right thing to do.  How I wish I had known about hs'ing back then.  Let's hope the mom in this story wises up and gets her child out of that school and back home where he belongs. 

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

BJ just received his test scores from his Feb. ACT in the mail when we got home from the shop today.  The first surprise was that they were here already, since it took about six weeks the last time back in October.  The next big surprise was that he raised his Science composite, which was the lowest before, by FIVE POINTS!!!  

I thought that the rest of you who have been away from ACT testing for awhile might like to know the secret.  It is so simple that we couldn't believe it.  The Science section is not really about Science.  And all the readings that talk about lots of math aren't really about math.  It's all about being able to read charts and other methods of showing scientific data, and how to interpret it.  

When his first score was so low in this area, we got a CD out to help, and the first thing that it said was that if you had spent a lot of time on the test trying to figure out complicated math problems in the Science section, you were on the wrong track.  Stop, and ignore the answers that require lots of math, and concentrate on the ones that require logical reasoning.   So BJ did just that this time, and went from a 21 up to a 26 in Science in his composite score.  His percentile went from a 58 to a 90~!!!  

Now we have to make up for lost time on the math and grammar/usage section a bit more, and we will be in scholarship score territory!!!  We were already into National Home School Honor Society range, so we are hoping that some more scholarship things will come his way.  

[ACT Test] [Science Reasoning] [National Homeschool Honor Society] [homeschool] [homeschooling] [education]

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

Today was an exciting day---the first of BJ's college interviews. We went to Owens Community College in nearby Findlay.  It is a brand new campus and new buildings this year, so he will be one of the first to attend at the new facility if he decides to attend there, which is his plan at the moment.  The facilities are beautiful, and it is well-equipped.  It made me want to go back to college again! 

We spoke with the admissions counselor, the financial aid counselor, and the early admissions counselor, as well as a transfer student counselor.  Since BJ is planning on going into elementary education, he will take his first 2 years at Owens, then transfer to another school to finish up his degree. That's why the transfer counselor is important.  We don't want to waste time and money on courses that won't transfer. 

Both the admissions and early admissions counselors were great.  We had some concerns about how they would feel about a homeschooled student, and about them accepting our transcripts, based on some earlier conversations with another person there.  But it was a breeze!  They just photocopied our copy of his ACT and transcript, and that was it.  One of them told BJ to make sure he didn't get into trouble at home, or he might have trouble having his "principal" write the formal letter they need in his file for admissions.  They were really impressed with his ACT score and with the transcripts we had kept.  WHOOSH!!! That was a hurdle that I had worried about for years! 

We are going with the early admissions option (the equivalent of post-secondary for those of us who are purists and won't enroll our kids in public school in order to get the PSO for free...).  This option seems best to all of us, because although he can and perhaps will graduate this year, according to the county records, he is still a junior this year, and therefore a senior next year. This will give him time to further increase his ACT score, and to apply for more scholarships based on a higher score.  He already has received one from Boy Scouts for $1000!!!  

I can't believe that really soon I'll be having my last child leaving home.  I tried everything to keep him little, including putting a brick on his head, and threatening him with his life if he grew up and left me.  But, alas, none of my devious methods worked, and it will be awfully lonesome without him. 

If any of you know of any good scholarships to look into, let us know! 

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

I found a link on Amanda Bennett's blog to an article in the latest issue of Business Week.  The article is called "Meet My Teachers: Mom and Dad." Read it and let me know what you think about it.      Wow..that article gives me real mixed feelings. It is great that parents are wanting to spend more time with their children, and to take the responsibility for their education. That is as it should be in all segments of our society, and not just in Christian circles. I just am hoping that as this trend continues in the secular world, more and more people in the Christian community continue to bring their children home. We, as Christians, more than any other segment of society, should be following God's mandate to take full responsibility for our children's education.    There is a quote in that article that really scared me: "Schooling in isolation could threaten civic cohesion and diversity of thought, says Stanford University education professor Rob Reich. Reich favors stricter homeschooling regulations to supplant the current patchwork of state laws so that children can be assured of exposure to more than just what their parents sanction. He also worries about parents pushing homeschooling on their kids." Scary, scary stuff there... Doesn't schooling at home *in isolation* PROMOTE diversity of thought rather than threaten it, as Reich states here? I think that what worries him is just that---hs'ing promotes free thinkers instead of lots of little sponges absorbing the mass propaganda that is free for the taking in ps's. And laws to be sure that kids are exposed to "more than just what their parents sanction??? WOW!!! That man is actually saying I don't have the right to *sanction* what my children are exposed to??? Nor the right to push the type of education on them that I deem best? Sounds like the UN's Rights of the Child balderdash to me...

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

I read a request on the Company Porch asking for opinions on what to do if your child wants to quit homeschooling.  This reminded me of an article that I wrote for our support group newsletter a few years back on "School Withdrawal."  I share it here in hopes that it may help some of you who drop by.  I realize this is not exactly the same situation that Gena was asked about, but felt I should share this anyway, for those who may have a student who is not quite as reasonable in making their request to go to public school. 

As a support group leader and homeschool educational consultant, I receive many phone calls from people who are ready to give up on homeschooling after just a couple months of trying.  The reason?  Their children refuse to cooperate, are defiant in their attitude, have become withdrawn and moody, and are demanding to go back to public school.  These parents are ready to throw their hands up in despair and call it quits.  My advice to them has been to understand the reasons behind their children's behavior, and rest in the assurance that time will heal all things. If God has truly called them to homeschool, then He will certainly provide them with the strength, wisdom, and knowledge to carry through with their calling.

Just what is the malady that these children are suffering from?  I like to call it school withdrawal.  It is seen quite commonly in those students who have previously attended government schools and were pulled out,  usually against their will, by parents who have seen the benefits of a home education.  This same syndrome is also common in children who have been home schooled in one manner and then suddenly switched to a much different approach.  I most often see this in homes where the homeschooling is best described as "taking the public school home." 

Children who have been taught in one way for any length of time have gotten very used to the routine of how things "ought to be."  Any change is traumatic, and takes the child out of his comfort zone.  As a parent, you  have decided to free your child from the confining world of government school and/or a strictly regimened form of learning, and are now offering the freedom to learn and live in a way that suits his  learning style in a much better way.  But the "thanks" you receive from your child for this new freedom may very well express itself as open rebellion, refusal to cooperate, extreme moodiness, or even flat out refusal to do the tasks set before them.

Much of the withdrawal problem is a sure sign that you are doing the very best thing for your child, as a primary cause for the behavior is lack of the peer dependency the child has grown accustomed to and learned to rely on.  The book of Proverbs says that he who keeps company with fools becomes a fool himself.  Our precious children are still foolish, most certainly not yet wise.  A roomful of children all the same age together all day everyday is literally a roomful of fools. Being peer dependent does not make a child wise, and you should thank God that you have  intercepted this peer dependency and nipped it in the bud.

Why would children react in this way to an experience meant to free them?  Besides the peer dependency, children are very used to the familiar.  They are so used to the old way of doing things that they see it as the only way.  They therefore cannot accept their new freedom at first.  Any change is a major psychological trauma that must be worked through.

A perfect example of what I am referring to can be seen in the study of the behavior of POWs who are freed to return to civilian life.  These men, in many cases, became so used to the ways they were forced to live in captivity that they had a great deal of difficulty in adapting to their new freedom.  What should have been a blessing was at first a trial and a long period of adjustment.  It took patience on the part of the ex-POW and his family during this adjustment time.   How many of these men, now that the adjustment is over, would opt to go back to an enemy prison camp?  The question is ludicrous, isn't it?

This is the same situation our children are in.  We have taken them out of the government school "prison camp" which was highly regimented. They are now freed from that situation, but are so used to how they lived before that they are faced with the same adjustment and psychological problems our POWs faced.   It will take time, sometimes up to a full school year, to make the adjustment to the freedom that homeschooling offers.  It will take patience on the part of the children's family, and great understanding as they make this transition.  But when the transition is made, your children will not want to return to the confines of government schooling. 

Once your child realizes that this decision to homeschool is real, and understands the parents' assurance of  God's guidance and instruction to them in this decision, he will gradually realize he must cooperate in this new venture.  This whole process is a good set of lessons in character development and obedience to authority.  In fact, if even these two  "subject areas" are covered thoroughly the first year, you can consider yourself a successful home educator.

Most children who are suffering from school withdrawal are only seeing the positives of government school education and the negatives of homeschooling.  Satan himself is blinding them to the truth.  As a parent, it is your job to point out the truth and show your children the negatives of government schools, as well as the positives of home education. Show him the Scriptures that require us as parents to be in charge of our child's education, and help them to realize that God mandates that this must be the parents' decision, and not the childs.  If your child is old enough, have him read other peoples' opinions, not just "your side."  Christopher Klicka, Esq., of HSLDA fame, has written extensively on this subject and I would highly recommend his works to parents and to junior-high age and up children.  His book, Homeschooling: The Right Choice, is excellent for this purpose.

I encourage all homeschool parents to stick out the school withdrawal phase.  If you give up and send your child back to government school, you may have done so right at the very moment you were about to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  You will miss seeing all your hard work and patience blossom into a beautiful flower.  Don't give up, or you will never know what a success your homeschool experience could have been. 

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

I read on Christine Miller's blog that the Generation Joshua Book Club is ready to begin for 2006.  If you haven't been a part of this, and have a student in high school, I highly recommend that you check this out.  The books that are chosen are meaty and meaningful to the times we live in.  Students also get to discuss the books with other students and with and adult master teacher, as well as write a paper on the book. 

The books for this spring include:

• 1776 by David McCullough
  The American Cause by Russell Kirk
• Men In Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America by Mark R. Levin
• More Than A Carpenter by Josh McDowell
• How Should We Then Live?: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture by Francis Schaeffer
• The West’s Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? by Tony Blankley

Visit the Generation Joshua homepage for more information and to sign up.

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

As we approach the the middle of the school year, parents are again questioning what to do about their children's education in the coming year. Growing dissatisfaction with the public school system, coupled with a burning desire to see their children succeed academically, parents are faced with three possible choices. They can keep sending their children to the public school, in the hopes that things will get better, or perhaps send them to a private school. A growing choice, though, has become the decision to school at home.

The decision to home school is a big decision. Many questions come into play as parents think through the possibility. Do we have the time, the money, the knowledge, the ability, the patience? Perhaps a better question is, "Do we have a choice?"

Many scriptures command parents to educate their child. First and foremost to most home educators is the Deuteronomy passage that tells parents to diligently instruct their children in all of God's ways, all day every day, and wherever they may be. In the scriptures, all education was done at home, primarily by the father. God's Word clearly indicates that we as parents are to be in control of our own children's education.

Some of my readers have homeschooled "forever." Others have just a year or two under their belts, while others are still in the deciding stage. Based on my own experience, and that of many other homeschoolers I know, there are several stages parents and students alike go through after taking the initial plunge and deciding to home school. This is especially true for those whose children have previously been in the public school system.

The first stage is the "OH! What have I gotten myself into?" stage. Once the decision has been made, and announced to family, friends, and school administrators, parents normally get quite a wave of negative from one if not all of these groups. This naturally will make one wonder if they did, indeed, make the correct decision. At this stage it is important to go to your best friend and advocate in this new endeavor, our Lord Himself. He is the source of all wisdom and strength. Veteran homeschoolers will be glad to help you through this phase, for they have been through it themselves.

Then there is "the first year." This stage can be quite trying. It is like any other new experience. You are feeling your way around, trying to see what works for you. It is easy to become frustrated and feel like giving up if your original plans for time management, instructional methods, or type of curriculum don't work out. Remember that this is a blessing in disguise. You have the flexibility as a home educator to try many different possibilities in each of these areas, until you find just the right combination for you and your child. It's called personalized instruction, and there is nothing better for your child. Sometimes it just takes a while to get there, so don't be discouraged. Again, go to the Lord and experienced home schoolers for advice and counsel.

Another phase that first year homeschoolers go through is the "withdrawal stage." Children who have been in the public school setting prior to home schooling nearly always go through this phase to one degree or another. It can express itself in many ways, from refusal to cooperate with mom as teacher, to discipline problems, to temporarily becoming very withdrawn and moody.

Most of this withdrawal problem is a sure sign that you are doing the very best thing for your child, as its primary cause is lack of peer dependency, which your child has learned to rely on.  The book of Proverbs says that he who keeps company with fools becomes a fool himself. Young children are foolish, certainly not yet wise. A roomful of children all the same age together all day everyday is literally a roomful of fools. Being peer dependent does not make a child wise, and you should thank God that you have intercepted this peer dependency in the bud. Once your child realizes that this decision to homeschool is real, and understands the parents feel God has instructed them in this decision, he will gradually realize he must cooperate in the endeavor. This whole process is a good set of lessons in character development and obedience to authority. In fact, if even these two "subject areas" are covered thoroughly the first year, you can consider yourself a success.

The next stage you are likely to encounter is the "But my test scores aren't what I expected." This is very common the first year. After all, your child has switched from one school to another, from one teaching philosophy to an entirely different one, from one curricula to another, and also is dealing with withdrawal. This is NOT a problem. Next year will be better, believe me.

These various first year stages naturally lead to the "Should I try this another year, or send my child back to school?" stage. I encourage you to really rely on the Lord and your homeschool friends at this time. You are about to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and all your hard work of the previous year is just about to blossom. Don't give up now, or you will never know what a success your homeschool experience could have been.

Other stages follow through the years, but these are the basics for newcomers. Whenever you are having doubts about homeschooling, problems with friends and neighbors, or just are in a mood where you feel like throwing your hands up in despair, I again encourage you to rely on the Lord for his strength and guidance as your best Friend of all, and to never hesitate to call upon a veteran homeschooler who will be happy to encourage you and lift you up in prayer.

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

With all the things that are going on in life, this year is once again a very difficult one for us to get as much accomplished as we would like with BJ's homeschooling. He had hoped to graduate last year, but with his sister needing our help most of the year, we weren't able to accomplish that. I think it was a dream that would never have happened realistically last year, anyway. But BJ wanted to try, and we were all set to give it a whirl. So for obvious reasons last year didn't result in much book learning, although there certainly were life lessons galore!

But this year is giving us problems, too. We work at the shop one day a week, which theoretically should leave us with 4 days for school---more than enough, right? But then comes all of BJ's Boy Scout responsibilities...tons of them. That takes up the nights and often Friday afternooon. And the cost of these things is something that we are not able to do with Mike's job situation. So that means a day of working for his grandmother each week, which is nice in that it gives BJ money for his activities, but not so nice in that it takes away yet another day from our homeschooling.

SOOOOO....that means most weeks, we have at the most 3 good days to try to sqeeze last years unfinished work into, as well as this years. It isn't happening. And it is frustrating both of us terribly. Sometimes BJ is at the point of tears and ready to give up, and Mom is not far behind. We are both perfectionists to the extreme, which certainly doesn't help the situation one bit.

We can't have him drop Scouts. It is his life. That is where all his friends are at, and also he has many positions of authority and leadership that teach him so much. They have resulted in college scholarships, and even more responsibilities, all of which I know will help in so much in his future, and they are also things that college admissions counselors will want to see on his applications.

And we can't have him not go to Grandma's to work. He needs the pay from there to finance the gasoline and the other expenses involved in Scouting. If you have ever been involved in Scouts, you realize it is not an inexpensive activity.

And we can't stop helping Chelle at the shop, as that is where our grocery money comes from.... And Chelle really needs our help, too. 

Oh, my.... I truly don't know what to do. We need to complete at least one more lab science and one more math, and complete the history and lit that we are on now. We have not had American History at the high school level yet, nor government. BJ wants to graduate this spring, and start community college in the fall, but it is looking more and more impossible. And the more impossible it looks, the less he is getting done, because he feels it is a lost cause. I think that a true depression problem may be starting to enter the picture....

I have always felt like I was such a competent mom and teacher, but this year has me feeling like a real loser! I truly don't know whether to encourage my son to try to graduate this year, or just set him down and tell him it just isn't going to happen, take a deep breath, and accept the fact that we are back on the original plan which was to graduate in 2007. He will NOT like that idea. What to do, what to do....

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

I was asked to ponder the question of why we homeschool. What a big subject to cover in one quick little blog entry! Being one of the more "mature" moms on this blogsite (sshh...don't anyone say one of the "older" moms...lol), my children are older than most you will read about on homeschoolbloggers. My oldest children are 30 and 28, and at the time they were in school, I had never heard of homeschooling. Never. Not even once. Funny thing though, I was an education major in college, and they never breathed a word about this new movement. Do you suppose they didn't want anyone to know about it?

When my daughters entered public school, it didn't take us more than a few weeks to realize that what they were learning in public school was something that we had already taught them at home. They were bored to death! And we also came to the very quick realization that the "socialization skills" they were learning were simply not acceptable in our household. How I longed to keep them home, but not knowing that their was an option, we had to keep them going through the big white doors each morning and down those hallowed halls of learning. But now it was with Mommy in tow.

That's right. This Mom volunteered for everything from soup to nuts at that school. I was literally there nearly as many hours as most of the teachers, helping tutor reading and math, playing the piano for music classes, teaching classes in the Talented, Gifted, and Able (TAG) classes, and so much more. It was my way of making certain that I was on top of any and all problems before they became a problem. On top of this, my husband and I spent hours every night "unteaching" the girls anything that was taught improperly in the school, such as a very strange reading program that had nothing remotely to do with phonics, or even sight words. We also spent countless hours teaching character and Bible lessons at home, and acceptable behavior, and explaining why behavior they saw modeled at school was NOT acceptable.

This continued with our son, now just a few weeks shy of being 25 years old. (Wow! How the years fly!) The same problems, but this time, I wasn't able to spend quite as much time at the school, as our youngest son, now 17, popped into the picture. That's when the problems truly began. Our older son became what the school considered a behavior problem, because he insisted on doing his work the way his mother taught him, instead of the way the teachers taught him. He also was suspended for helping a boy get back his new coat he had gotten as a gift for Christmas. The boy who beat the other child up, ripped the coat of his back, and tore it wasn't even punished, but my son was suspended, because he was "the one I saw." This same teacher had previously suspended one of my daughters from school for wearing modest culottes, stating that they were a distraction because they "were different." The boy sitting beside her had a Mohawk haircut that was dyed red, which apparently was *not* distracting...go figure.

By God's grace, we met a friend that we hadn't seen in ages at Pizza Hut after a dentist appointment that same week. Her son was with her, and was sitting there diligently working at his schoolbooks. I noticed they were so much nicer than any my son had used, and asked to see them. That was my first glimpse of homeschooling, 17 years ago---a stack of ABeka books. The following Monday, my son was no longer a student in the public school system. My youngest son never entered the doors of that building as a student, thank God!

Again, because of ignorance, and not having any older and wiser homeschool parents in our area to mentor me, I kept our girls in public school, thinking that if I took them out during the upper grades, they would be ruined for life because homeschooling would take them away from their cheerleading, school plays, and other extra-curriculars. So I continued to supplement their teaching with hours at home. In retrospect, I was a fool for doing this. It came back to haunt both them and me in so many ways, both academically and morally when they reached college. It still saddens me to think that I was partially responsible for the problems they encountered because of my husband's and my poor decision.

We are so very thankful for the decisions we made for our sons. Our oldest son did go back to public school for high school, as he wanted to pursue an athletic and/or music scholarship, and was already testing at college level on standardized tests when he entered high school. He was the strongest of my children as far as faith matters were concerned, and he survived high school very well. On his advice, and also because we knew our younger son was not as strong in the face of pressure as was his older brother, we have kept him at home for all of his school years.

If I had things to do differently, I would have homeschooled each of my children from day one through high school graduation. But as they say, hindsight is far better than foresight... Not only did it take more time and energy to keep on top of things both at school and at home all those year prior to homeschooling, there was also the added problem of unteaching both poorly taught academics, and trying to keep bad habits from forming in our children's character---habits that they saw all around them each and every day. And even with all this work, we had to watch our daughters suffer as they entered college still unprepared for either the academic challenges or the moral battles they would find themselves in. Thank God, though, that we had laid the best groundwork we knew how to lay at the time, and they have both grown up to be wonderful young ladies.

The boys have stayed on the straight and narrow, and also were well prepared for higher academics. I am certain this was due to their homeschooling. Homeschooling gave us a chance to keep them out of a substandard school district, and away from bad socialization. We were able to teach with academically sound teaching practices, teach to their own interests and learning styles, and inculcate our own religious and moral values into our son's hearts and souls. And the boys were able to be there through so many real life experiences that have helped to shape them into the people they are today. That would never have happened with public schooling. (To read more about how homeschooling allows opportunities for real life to teach your child, click here)

How do we homeschool? We have always used the materials that teach to our children's interests as much as possible. Often that meant unit studies, many of which I created myself, and oh, did we read books! My youngest had his language development tested for speech therapy when he was 2 1/2, and because of all the books he had heard read to him, he tested so high they didn't have any other tests to give the child! How's that for a good vocabulary? Right now, for high school, we are using IEW, Analytical Grammar, Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings (which the entire family loves!), Apologia Science, Notgrass's Exploring World History, the Bluedorn brothers' logic books, and all the other neat things you see listed on my sidebar. I will truly hate to think that this will soon be over, and I will no longer have a child in my home to teach. When I look at the handsome 6'2" son of mine standing in the doorway, I realize that even now, I no longer have a child to teach, but an incredible young man.

For us, once we knew about homeschooling, it was the only choice that made sense. We are so glad that we learned more and more about homeschooling in time to finally "get it right" with our youngest son. At last we, as parents, knew why we homeschooled: 1) To pass along our Christian faith and teach our children proper morals and character habits, 2) To teach to each child's strengths, interests, and learning styles, 3) To teach using time-tested and academically sound teaching methods, and 4) To allow our children to experience real life in the real world, and learn all the lessons that are there to be learned.

If anyone were to ask us today about what choice to make for our children's schooling, our answer would be that homeschooling is the only choice.

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You may also be interested in reading our family's philosophy of education, which tells a lot about the "hows and whys" of our homeschooling journey.

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

Did you ever try to drive to a new shopping center, and not know the way to get there? You know the scenario---you had a general idea of where this great new mall was, but didn't have the exact location, let alone the driving directions. I did this the other night, and what a time! I eventually found my way, but how I wish I had used MapQuest or Yahoo Maps BEFORE I set out for the mall. Perhaps I should have stopped somewhere in the area and just plain asked, "How do I get there?" How much time would have been saved, and how much easier it would have been, not to mention how much less stress and frustration I would have experienced.

The trip made me stop and think about our homeschool journey. Years ago, when we started homeschooling our oldest son, we had so little knowledge of what homeschooling was all about. We had a general idea of why we were homeschooling, and what we would like to accomplish, but that was it. Just a vague idea of where we were going, and no real instructions on how to get there. Let me tell you, we were lost in no time flat, and the stress and the frustration were the same as what I experienced when I didn't have a road map or proper driving instructions, and didn't really quite know where I was going.

A wise older homeschool mom gave us an incredibly simple idea. Decide where you are going, how you will get there, and why you want to go in the first place. Pretty simple, huh? A road map for homeschooling! Now, if you want to get technical, you can call it a "Philosophy of Our Homeschool."

Do you know where you are going, and why, on your own homeschooling journey? Or are you wandering around completely lost, or in the vicinity but not quite knowing how to get there? How will you get to your destination? If you haven't yet thought through these questions, I highly recommend that you and your spouse sit down and think these things through, and come up with your own personal road map.

To help you get started thinking in the right direction, I want to show you our first "Kin Family Philosophy of Home Education." It has been revised often through the years, and this first one was far from perfect, but the main points have remained unchanged. I hope that it will inspire you to put your own family's philosophy into writing. There is just something so ACCOUNTABLE about having this all in black and white. It helped our homeschool journey to have more peace and less stress and frustration.

The Kin Family Philosophy of Home Education

1. To put our faith in Jesus Christ above all else in our lives, and to obey His command to love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul.

2. To follow the Biblical mandate to educate our children in all things, from waking until sleeping, at home and away.

3. To see that our sons grow, as did Jesus, in all areas---in wisdom, physically, spiritually, and socially.

4. To protect our children from worldly influences that would counteract our goals, until such a time as they are mature enough in all areas to withstand these influences.

5. To commit ourselves to integrity and quality in the education of our children in the core subjects; these include Bible, character building, mathematics, reading/language arts, great literature, history, geography, health and safety, science, physical education, foreign language, and current events.

6. To provide opportunities in art and music to include at the minimum exposure to the fundamentals, and appreciation of the masters and their works. Also, to provide instruction in any area they show an aptitude for.

7. To teach to each child's unique learning style, to be aware of his readiness to learn in each area, and to the extent possible, make learning and exciting adventure we share together.

8. To make the purchase of quality textbooks, learning tools, computer software, video and audiocassettes, and above all, BOOKS, a top priority in our budget.

9. To make available life experiences that will expand their knowledge learned in the classroom, and to never shelter them from the lessons of real life.

10. To prepare our children for responsible adult life by teaching responsibility, hard work ethics, integrity, financial responsibility, and the various life skills they will need to succeed as adults.

11. To make a firm commitment to obeying the laws and regulations concerning homeschooling in our state, except in such rare instances as they directly conflict with our religious beliefs.

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

The day that BJ and I have both anticipated and dreaded finally arrived. Today the envelope with BJ's ACT test scores came in the mail, and both of us stood there turning it over and over in our hands, passing it back and forth between us, and neither one knowing for sure whether we really wanted to open it or not.

You see, we did very little schooling last year, which was to have been BJ's sophomore year, as well as the first half of his junior year. He wanted to graduate a year ahead of schedule, but while helping his sister while she was going through a difficult pregnancy, he was able to complete only about 1/4 of a year's work at best. (Read about this by clicking on my "Blogger of the Week" ribbon on the sidebar.)

As a result, he went into the ACT test in Oct. with "fear and trepidation." And his momma's heart ached for him as I watched him worry about the results. I must admit that I was worried myself, as the results would reflect back on me as his teacher. These last weeks of waiting have been a nightmare for both of us!

Finally, I got the nerve up to rip open that big old envelope. My eyes skimmed over everything else till they came to rest on the composite score of 26!!! This with hardly any high school science or math (we were saving them for the last 2 years...) and no real preparation for the test. What a relief! At last we can breathe again!

True confession time....we didn't have the scores sent anywhere, because we were in fear of a 9 or a 10 or some other equally absurdly low score. But now instead of hanging our heads in shame and embarrassment, we can proudly submit his application for membership in the Home School Honor Society!!!

And the best part is that we have been working hard, and I mean really, really hard, to complete lots of math, science, and grammar and usage. We think that with these under his belt, he can easily score a 29 or 30 in February.

I think the part of the whole test that made me feel the best as a teacher was the fact that he scored a 99th percentile in Reading! If you can read and comprehend what you read, you can do anything in this life. Especially if you are the hard worker that BJ is.

I AM SO PROUD OF MY SON! I LOVE YOU, BJ!

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

Doesn't that title bring back memories of your days in public school? If memory serves me correctly, every report I ever was asked to write as an elementary student was either "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" or "My Favorite Thing." Each year, as my writing skills improved, the report grew longer and longer, although the basic content remained the same. When my daughters entered public school (see story a few posts below), I remember them writing the very same reports.

As I lay there trying unsuccessfully to sleep last night, after writing the "Drowning in Books" post, I tried to think of just why books had to top the list of "My Favorite Things." Although some members of my family would claim that it is a deep rooted obsessive-compulsive disorder that manifests itself in having to own at least one copy of every book in print, I know that it is a much better reason than that :-)

Let's think practically first. If you want your child to have a terrific vocabulary, and have a huge knowledge base to build upon in years to come, then read to him! BJ, my youngest, was seven years younger than the next in line, and spent many hours each day listening to the books that were being read aloud to the older kids. When he needed speech therapy at age 2, he could not fail the vocabulary test that he had to fail in order to be placed in the speech program we tried to get him into. The therapist said she had never had a child that age get a perfect score on that test, and asked me how it was possible. I feel it was hearing Henty, Dickens, Shakespeare, Tolkien, and other authors speak to him all those hours. He picked up the vocabulary that he was surrounded with.

Books are better than any kind of therapy when troubles rear their ugly heads in your life. No psychologist's couch or bottle of pills can work the wonders of a good book. Books have always been able to take me away into a world far-removed from the here and now. How wonderful to be carried away to another place and another time, and to become a part of another's life. When things in my own life are not going well, spending some time "away from it all" with a book is like a vacation--a breath of fresh air for my spirit, and helps to give me a rest from the present circumstances. Then, refreshed in mind and spirit, I can come back to reality and deal much better with whatever the present problems might be.

And the people you can meet! William Bradford and William Brewster have become personal friends of mine, along with many other historical figures such as Stonewall Jackson, Harriet Tubman, and Teddy Roosevelt. What lessons they have to teach, and what wonderful role models they are to us today. And have you met my friends Jo March, Anne (you know Anne, the one that lives in the house with the green gables), Elsie Dinsmore, little David Copperfield, Jane Eyre, and Katherine who lives at Wuthering Heights? Or what about the sweet children who discovered a secret garden? How dear to me they all are!

And what better book than the Bible for action stories, love stories, poetry and history, along with stories of faith and courage. If only more people would learn the invaluable truths found in its pages...

My daddy always said to "choose your friends wisely," and if books are our friends, they must be chosen with the same care. Whether choosing a book for yourself or a book for your child, be certain that the people they will meet in that book are the same kind of people you would welcome into your home as friends. Be choosey in which books you invite into your home! Just like any other friend, they will influence your child, indeed, your entire household, for years to come.

Books can open new worlds and take you to places that you will never travel to on your own. I've always wanted to see the Alps where my great-grandparents grew up, and I can see them through the eyes of Heidi and her grandfather. Although I have not received a missionary call to serve in faraway lands, I can see those places, and see the needs of the people through reading about the lives of the great missionaries such as Jim Elliott. "Oh, the places you will go..."

How did those old school reports used to end? Oh, yes, now I remember the formula! "And that's why books are my favorite thing. The End."

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

Would you believe that in four years of college, learning to be a teacher, I never once heard even the mention of homeschooling? Since my college days, I have often wondered if the School of Education knew about homeschooling, and chose to keep their students in ignorance, or if they themselves had never heard of it, which I would find hard to believe. You see, this was the mid-seventies, and homeschooling was a definite force "out there" and becoming stronger each and every year. I believe they knew, and didn't want any of the students in the School of Education to know about this growing trend.

With that in mind, both you, my readers, and my own children, will have to find it in your hearts to forgive this Mom and Dad for not homeschooling all of their children all the way through school. Homeschooling was so "ME" that I know I would have jumped right on the bandwagon had I known this was an option.

They say ignorance is bliss, but our days of public school were most certainly not blissful. The elementary school principal grew to know the sound of my car pulling in the parking lot, and the sound of my footsteps rounding the bend to his office. You see, I spent a lot of time there discussing what was going on, or what was not going on, with my two daughters' education.

He knew that I knew education, and he also knew that lots of what was going on in their classrooms was most definitely either not education, or very poor education. Yet he had to support his school and his teachers. That led to many interesting confrontations. Looking back, I must say that I feel sorry for that poor man---talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place!

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that we began homeschooling as soon as our oldest daughter began kindergarten. I have always adhered to the belief that every parent is a homeschooler, it is just a matter of to what degree. And as I reflect back on our little Jennifer's school years, which began 25 years ago, I truly believe that we did more homeschooling, or at least as much homeschooling, as we did with the boys. You see, not only did we have to spend each and every night "unlearning" the wrong teaching that she had received that day, but we then had to reteach, or teach from scratch, the things she should have learned. That poor child was in school all day and all night! This same process was repeated with her younger sister Michelle.

Besides the obvious academic problems in nearly every grade level and every subject, here are some other perfect examples of some of the problems we encountered. Our daughters were smart---really smart. They both won the county spelling bee, and qualified to go to the state competition, where they placed each year. The first year, we got back home at about 9:30 at night, after all day at the county spelling competition. The principal himself had taken us out to eat afterwards to celebrate.

The next morning, do you think my little darlings received congratulations and kind words from the teachers? Just the opposite....they received an F in every subject for the previous day, the day they place first and second in the county spelling bee. The reason? They had not turned in their make-up work that morning. This was make-up work that they had not yet been given, and would not have had time to complete had they BEEN given it. Do you think that took the wind out of their sails? Being punished by a teacher for doing something incredible that hadn't been done by a student in that school for a couple decades was unforgiveable.

Or let's take the time that Chelle had her tonsils out, and then became really sick for the next 8 weeks. The first day back at school, she got hysterical in the car on the drive there. I asked her what the problem was, and she said, "I'll have to take the history test today." I assured her that she wouldn't, since she had not yet begun the make-up work due to being so ill, and had 8 weeks to make it up. Upon entering the classroom, Chelle was ready to bolt right out, so I took her to the teacher's desk, and asked the teacher to reassure her that she would not have to take the test. Imagine my shock and surprise when the teacher told us both that Chelle would, indeed, have to take that test. I asked why, since she had not read the material, done the homework assignments, nor even gotten the teacher's notes from the blackboard on those lessons. The teacher just said, "Well, she's here today, isn't she? And I can't excuse her from what's on the schedule for today." So the poor child took an F on the test.

I could go on and on about other things of this nature, and also about the teaching methods used, particularly in reading at that time. But suffice it to say, we spent most days from 4 in the afternoon until 11 at night "homeschooling" our daughters, before we had ever even heard of homeschooling.

When our oldest son was in school, it was more of the same. This time, we had problems with math more than with reading. The teacher was using a program that was developed to teach mentally retarded children to do the basic operations in addition and subtraction. It involved counting imaginary dots on the numerals. It took Joshua forever to do a single page of math. In fact, he still sometimes touches those imaginary dots with the tip of his pencil to this very day.

Just about that time, we met a neighbor boy in the Pizza Hut of our closest town, after Josh had a dental appointment. There sat Kevin at the table with several textbooks, and his mom helping him with his work. I knew them well enough to walk up and say hello, and when I did, I realized that these were not the books being used in our school. I asked to look at them, and they were great! Kevin's mom then sat me down and told me all about homeschooling. It was all so new and exciting! I wanted to start NOW, no, YESTERDAY, no---let's roll the clock back and start the day the girls started school!

I didn't take Josh out of school right that day, but just a couple days later some more events took place that made up my mind to wait no longer to try this new method of education. There were several playground incidents during that time where Joshua tried to break up fights with several of the classroom bullies. Josh was always trying to right wrongs, even then (he is going into law now, imagine that? lol). The fight was always one or two boys trying to steal another boy's coat, and Josh trying to get it back for him. Unfortunately, the playground teachers only saw the end of each "fight," and only saw Josh causing the trouble, so they thought. This resulted in a visit to the same principal's office, and a warning that if he heard about Josh being in trouble again, he would be suspended. MY SON SUSPENDED INSTEAD OF THE BULLIES WHO STARTED THIS???

The next day, a girl said that he had put a filthy dirty letter in her book, and believe me, it was truly filthy dirty. It was not Josh's handwriting, as anyone could have seen. But the teacher took him out in the hall before looking at the handwriting, and asked if he had done it. He said, "Yes." After I was called to pick him up, I asked him why he confessed to something that he had not done. He said, "If Mrs. Speyer says you did it, you did it. There wasn't any sense in saying, 'No.'" And if you knew this lady, YOU would have confessed to something you didn't do, too.

That was it. After straightening out the teachers involved, as well as the principal, I marched out of that building with Josh's permanent records under my arm, never to return. And we spent the next several weeks waiting for our box of ABeka books to arrive! And the next six months learning to do math without counting imaginary little dots on the numbers. Oh, the thrill of opening that box and starting school at home!

I wish I could say that I had the sense to pull his sisters out at the same time. But they were in high school, and so active in sports and cheerleading and so many other things. I was afraid that they "wouldn't have a life" if I pulled them out then. I was so new to homeschooling, and didn't realize all the opportunities I could give them at home. In retrospect, I would have taken all three of them home that day.

BJ, our youngest, has never been to public school. The girls are public school graduates who learned very little while they were there, but lots at home in our "homeschooling" sessions after they got off that big yellow bus. And Joshua spent all but his high school years here with us. He was our strong one, the one that created the peer pressure rather than giving in to it. We felt safe in sending him to a nearby school district that had high academics, and where he could work to earn a sports and/or music scholarship to college.

So that, in a very large nutshell, is our homeschooling story. Two children were hurt over and over by bad schooling and terrible socialization in the public school system, both of which hurt them yet today; one was homeschooled over half of his school life and now wishes we had done it all the way through; and one who has never seen the inside of the beautiful new public school in our district that consistently has one of the lowest state test scores of all the schools in our area of the state.

What I have come to realize through the years is that ALL of them were homeschooled. Jen and Chelle were homeschooled to teach them all the things that they were taught incorrectly in the classroom, and to fill in all the many gaps. Joshua received this same help until we actually took him home for "real" homeschooling, and through high school we spent many an hour "homeschooling" to help him keep his grades up at the public school he attended.

And BJ, our youngest? I must admit that although we homeschooled him completely until high school, it was due to the lobbying efforts of his sisters and brother that we did not put him in public school for the high school years. They all realized that homeschooling would have been the far superior route to take, and regretted that they had not been able to take that route themselves. I am certainly glad now that we followed their advice.

Whatever stage you are in...kids in public school, some kids in and some kids out, helping them unlearn bad teaching every afternoon and evening, teaching till the upper grades and then enrolling them in public school, or homeschooling all the way through...I have been there and done that, and would love to help you on your own journey.

"Everyone is a homeschooling parent; it's just a matter of to what degree..."

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

I, along with other homeschool Boy Scout family bloggers, was asked to post on the Scoutblog and also give some input for an article that will be in The Old Schoolhouse magazine about homeschoolers and Boy Scouting. Since our family has been involved for about 16 years, I have plenty to say on the subject. (I know, those of you who know and love me are saying, "And what subject DON'T you have plenty to say on?" LOL) Below is the article that is also posted on Scoutblog. If you or your son are involved in Scouting, hop on over to http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/scoutblog and either read what others have posted, or better yet, add some posts of your own!

Love to all, Kathy

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Have you, as a homeschooler, ever wondered how you would be able to answer the questions on your child's college application? You know the ones---the ones that ask for extra-curricular activities and leadership positions. If you haven't wondered and worried about that, you may be the only hs parent who hasn't!

With Scouting, your worries are over. Leadership opportunities abound, and are especially well-suited for homeschool students. Typically, homeschool students have more free time than their public school counterparts, and can therefore spend more time and effort on any position of leadership that they are appointed or elected to within Scouts.

As an example, I'd like to tell you about my own son, BJ. He is an Eagle Scout with his silver palm, from Troop 164 in Forest, Ohio. Our troop is a member of the American Elm District, Black Swamp Area Council in northwest Ohio. Being from a small rural area, our local troop is small. It is hard to get enough boys together to do something truly exciting. Although being the boy leader of such a small group was great when he was just starting out in Scouts, as he got older, BJ's natural love for leadership sent him in search of more adventures in Scouting beyond the local troop where he had served in nearly every position, and is now Junior Assistant Scoutmaster.

At the age of 14, BJ began serving on a couple chapter level committees, and soon found himself appointed to be in charge of programming for the OA chapter, which under his leadership would, in a couple of years, be awarded the Chapter of the Year Award. During this same time period, he also began to serve on staff at our council's summer camp at Camp Berry. He was the youth director of the Horsemanship Program area for 3 years, and director of Climbing and COPE Program area this past summer. At the moment, he is negotiating with "the powers that be" to create a new position for summer camp....junior camp commissioner. He is hoping that will be his next summer job, and it would be one with lots of responsibility, which he will thrive on. (Sssshhhh, don't tell anyone, but he secretly hopes to become the program director or ranger there one day.)

Another favorite activity became the OA Ceremony Team. These boys dress in full Indian regalia and memorize REALLY LONG parts in many different ceremonies which are performed for local functions, awards programs, summer camp programs, and also in competition. (Hint: This made a great fine arts credit, as it is a performing art.) He became the chairman of the Ceremony Team for a year, and still actively participates on the team.

After showing himself a good leader in these areas, BJ then decided to set his sights on something a bit bigger. He had always wanted to be one of the OA Chiefs, so ran for Vice-Chief of Programming. This put him in charge of all the planning and carrying-out of the council-wide AO events. This year, after a successful year of serving in this position, he was elected to Lodge Chief, which puts him in charge of overseeing not only programming, but all of the council OA activities. He is loving it!

Why do I suggest that homeschoolers are especially suited for these positions? The main reason, in my ever-so-humble personal opinion, is that homeschooled kids have more time, and are, for the most part more mature and responsible at an earlier age than the average public school student. I know that most of BJ's leaders were very surprised that he was able to accomplish some of the activities that he planned when others had tried and not had such success.

Time is a big factor, as I have seen so many boys who wanted these positions not be able to follow through and do a good job because they have so many school and extra-curricular committments, and the hours of homework afterward. My son is a 3.5 GPA student, yet has plenty of time to work at these jobs, and can arrange his schedule to fit whatever needs the job entails. He also has shown that he is able to hold his own in meetings with adults on the various committees, and they look at him as a very responsible young man.

I am proud to say that BJ has been awarded the Camp Staff $1000 Scholarship this past summer, to be used at the college of his choice. He was also the recipient of the Ceremony Team 1st Place Award at Sectional Conclave back in the spring of this year. His favorite award this year was being one of only four youth in our council to be elected to Vigil Membership in OA, the highest award in OA. We hope that more recognitions and scholarships will be in his future this year through Scouts, the Eagle Association, OA, and/or Camp Staff. His many activities with Scouting will certainly make him feel not only qualified, but also hopeful that some more college money will come his way. And this in turn would make him feel like it isn't beyond hope to apply for scholarships directly through the college he plans to attend.

So when it comes time to fill in those blanks on the college application, which will be very soon, too soon for this mom, I'll have plenty of things to write in. I believe that BJ's activities and leadership positions have made him a young man that any college would be happy to accept and have as a part of their student body.

If you have not yet thought of Scouting as an opportunity for your homeschooler to shine in showing his leadership skills, make this year the year to try it out. Like we did, I am certain that you will see that your own sons have far more time to devote to the positions than their public-schooled friends, and will do an outstanding job at showcasing their abilities, and working their way toward college with some scholarship money in hand.

Yours in Scouting, Kathy

Also posted on my own blog at: http://homeschoolblogger.com/iluvtheland

Posted in Homeschooling--the Best Choice We Ever Made

What an incredibly wonderful day for learning. This was the kind of learning that cannot be found in the pages of a textbook, no matter how well researched or how well written. It came straight from some people who had lived through the history lessons they were about to teach my son. My dad's sisters came to visit him today, and BJ and I hurried on over to see them, too. It was a day that proved to me once again why I homeschool.

It was wonderful to see all of them together. My special Daddy, 82, with his two big sisters, 84 and 87, were all talking and laughing and having a great time together. This was special, because both Dad and Aunt Mary have cancer, and Aunt Virginia has struggled with many health problems that don't seem to have an answer. But today they were all doing so well, and it was a true blessing to be able to sit with them and enjoy their company.

BJ and I are history lovers, and did we ever get a lesson in history this afternoon! Growing up in the Great Depression and starting life as an adult during WWII, they all had stories to tell. Something was on the news about the way the war in Iraq is going, and that started it--the memories came tumbling out. And BJ and I sat and soaked in every word.

Dad started the conversation off by telling BJ that "people nowadays don't know what war IS, let alone what it is all about." He compared the numbers of boys killed in the entire Iraq war with the numbers killed taking just one beach-hold in Europe or the Pacific in WWII. He stressed to BJ that every life is precious, and how badly he felt for every boy who lost his life or was injured in Iraq, but stressed that the numbers are so few compared to the losses of his generation.

Dad got misty-eyed as he shared about his buddies, and told many of their stories. My aunt's both told of their husbands' days in the service. Uncle Warren was miraculously saved from death time after time; Aunt Ginny couldn't remember how many tanks the Germans blew up all around him, and how many he escaped from after they were hit. She told of the nightmares he would awake from till the day he died---nightmares of the liberation of Auchwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps, the mental pictures of which would be forever etched in his mind. Dad told stories of bodies piled on beaches---our own boys and the enemy all in piles together---as his friends climbed over the piles to gain further ground on the battlefields.

And as always when he tells these stories, he told of the guilt he still feels that he was not able to go to the war. His dad died when he was only 10 years old, and as a farmer, and the only son at home, was responsible for a necessary occupation. Despite repeated tries to be reclassified, the draft board would not permit him to change his classification so that he could enlist. He still feels that it should have been him who died days after the war ended, on a Pacific island that had not heard that the war was over, instead of his best friend, Lieu. He always felt Lieu was so smart and had more to contribute to the world than he did, and that has always made him feel like he should have traded places with him.

They continued on by talking to BJ about the homefront. They said that people today don't have a clue as to what war is really all about. War is about the entire country making a sacrifice for what they feel is just and right. It is going without---without food, gas, clothing, and the small necessities of life. My aunts told how they had made clothing for their babies out of flour sack fabric, because they were not able to get yard goods. They told of the creative ways they had to cook because the ration stamps didn't stretch far enough to have real meals the entire month. They told of women having to go into the work force out of patriotism, to support the war effort---not out of the need to further their lifestyle by a second income or the need for fulfillment outside their home as a career woman--but out of the sheer necessity for workers because so many men were gone from the workforce. How different from the reasons women go to work today.... And they told of all the time spent making bandages, and care packages to send overseas. And of using their own precious ration stamps to bake treats for the service men's canteens.

I sat and watched their eager, earnest faces try to convey to this son of mine what their world, their life, had been like---indeed, what war had been like. They wanted him to understand that this war we are in now is necessary, and that there are real hurts and real losses, but that they are so few compared to what they called a "real war," and that our sacrifices are so few compared to the sacrifices made by their generation. My oldest aunt eloquently told how there was hardly a family not touched by the war in some way, and how the flags hung in so many windows in our neighborhood, and how so many of those flags were to be draped in black crepe before the war was over.

BJ had thought this war in Iraq was a huge and terrible conflict prior to today. And it is. No one meant to belittle the sacrifices that have been made there. But he came away with a new perspective on things. His grandfather and great-aunts had made him live through a "real war" for an afternoon, as seen through their memories of another day, another time, and another war.