Language Arts Workshop is Up- And You Can Get It Free This Week!

When I sent out last month’s newsletter, I fully expected to have my workshop, Teaching Language Arts the Easy, Natural Way, up by the end of the week. I didn’t count on having to move my website and fix all sorts of interesting technical difficulties!

The exciting part of all this is that you can get the audio workshop free when you purchase Lynda Coats’ wonderful phonics curriculum, All the Letters, All Year Long. Lynda is the author of the Far Above Rubies and Blessed is the Man unit studies, and she’s really hit a home run with her new phonics program. It’s unique, comprehensive, and amazingly affordable! There are several great reviews at Lynda’s website– be sure to read them!

So why am I offering the Teaching Language Arts workshop free with Lynda’s book? It’s because a group of the Coats’ friends have gathered together to create an amazing group of bonus gifts (over $100 worth!) in order to benefit Lauren and Lynda. You see, Lynda’s dear husband, Lauren, has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer. He is home from the hospital, under the care of hospice, but as in any situation like this, medical bills continue to mount. Read more

Homework Insanity- This Emperor has No Clothes

Did you see Jeff Opdyke’s column on homework in Sunday’s Wall Street Journal (How Homework Is Hurting Our Family, September 30, 2007)? It was heartbreaking. He vividly described how their family life is “a constant, stress laden stream of homework and tests and projects [that] overshadows everything we do, always hanging over our head… [affecting] our weekends, our meals, our vacations, our work time, our playtime, our pocketbooks.”

Is this crazy, or what? Opdyke goes on to describe how homework stress affects each one in the family, short-circuiting tempers, straining schedules, and causing his wife Amy to feel like the “worst mom in the world.” He has talked to other parents who have ended up with kids on anxiety medications in order to cope with the stress. His own son is showing signs of intense stress– sleeplessness, anxiety, forgetfulness under pressure, and distress over less than outstanding grades.

Frankly, this sounds like a new wrinkle in the enabling syndrome. Middle-class parents enable schools to not only institutionalize their children for the majority of their waking hours, but also to consume the remaining hours of family time– all in the name of potential future success. Think about it– it hasn’t always been this way. Read more

Lightning- Not Again!

You may remember that in February of 2006, our phone line was struck by lightning, and we had to repair or replace most of our electronic items and telephones. We promptly signed up for the electric company’s surge protection program and installed everything as directed (I think!).

Well, the old saying about lightning not striking twice in the same place may still be true– this time, it zapped the cable pedestal out in the woods, and fried my modem and printer, among other things. And of course there’s no internet access!

In the spirit of make-do, I’m standing outside in the neighbor’s yard, my laptop propped on their trampoline, with their dogs happily “helping” me. Their wireless network seems to be working just fine! The only downside is that it’s sprinkled on and off all day, and another shower is imminent. I guess I’d better take my office back inside!

The point of all this is to say that I may not be able to answer e-mails as promptly as usual, but I will definitely do so as I can. I will also be downloading and sending out orders regularly, so things should go on pretty much as normal. I’ll take the uninterrupted writing time to write on the literature curriculum, so those of you who are patiently waiting for the beta version can rejoice!

Homeschool Through High School Audio (and Benefit)

I finally have my Homeschooling Through High School: There’s Joy in the Journey audio workshop, with PowerPoint(TM) presentation and book list handout, available on my website! If you’ve been wondering about whether you should home school through high school, I think you’ll find this workshop very reassuring.

There’s something special about it this week, though– I’m offering it as part of an amazing benefit package for someone who is a very special part of the homeschool community. Tammy Cardwell, reviews editor for EHO (Eclectic Homeschool Online), is living with her family in a home that is virtually giving away in the Texas rains. Water, mold, and falling ceilings have created a dangerous situation for their family, and they just need to get out (read more). Several of us in the homeschool community have joined together to offer a collection of really good products in an amazing package deal, so that Tammy and her family can transform a little warehouse they own into a safe, dry home.

For just this week, you can get my brand new Homeschooling Through High School: There’s Joy in the Journey audio workshop package as part of the benefit special, along with over twenty other good things from other home school writers and speakers. CLICK HERE to read more about the benefit and to make a donatation to help Tammy and her family.

If you’d like to read more about Homeschooling Through High School: There’s Joy in the Journey, you can visit my website by clicking here. But remember, be sure to go to the benefit site to get it, so that you can receive all the other special products and benefit the Cardwells.

Among the things included in this workshop:

I’ll share some of the most important lessons I’ve learned as I’ve homeschooled my sweet boys from kindergarten into college. You can curl up with a cup of something cool, and listen, while I take some of the unknowns out of the homeschool high school experience. Remember– there’s joy in the journey!

Socialization… Again

Although homeschooling has become far more mainstream than it was when we first began in the 1980’s, the question of socialization occasionally still pops up.

A recent article, “Get Out Much?” by Rachel Barlow, on the Nashoba Publishing website details one home-school parent’s response to a fellow airplane passenger who commented, “Socialization is so important. I would never homeschool.” Barlow thoughtfully compared actual social time in public schools with the social time she and her family share with others, and noted that once people hear that they participate in “town sports and school band,” they seem to feel that these things solve the socialization issue.

I have to admit that I have always approached the question of socialization from another direction. I firmly believe that being institutionalized in age-segregated groups is the antithesis of normal socialization. I believe that institutionalization and socialization limited to others of the same age inhibits mental, moral, and spiritual growth.

Learning happens all the time. Students learn from their environment; from the things they hear, see, do, and read; from the people with whom they associate. They have even been known to learn a bit from their school experiences;-)!

Not all learning is academic– well-educated children learn how to treat others, how to react in difficult or painful circumstances, how to entertain themselves, how to manage the intricacies of day-to-day living, to mention just a few things. Most of these things are learned by observation and example.

Frankly, I want my children to learn how to live from people who are wise. I want each of my sons to know how to enjoy solitude; how to learn anything they need to know; how to be kind to others; how to enjoy the best of art, music, and literature, how to enjoy a balance of physical, mental, and spiritual activities, and so much more. In short, I want them to know how to “live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty.”

I scarcely think there is a chance that they would learn these things from their agemates, who are in equally desperate need of wise guidance for life. There is almost no chance that they could learn to use time wisely, independently, and enjoyably if they are institutionalized and hurried from one meaningless activity to another at the sound of a bell. There is little likelihood that they would learn to love the good, the true, and the beautiful, when they are surrounded, inundated, and overwhelmed with mediocrity, relativism, and ugliness.

From my perspective, home education allows children to live a normal life. I remember my own deep frustration in institutional schools as I grew up. I knew that my life and time were being wasted. I skipped as much school as I could, but when forced to go, took several books to school each day, finished the simplistic classwork early, and read as much as possible (oddly enough, I will still voted “most likely to succeed!”). Once home, I was free to be outside, and to play, read, write, do needlework, and work in the various small business ventures I started. As soon as I left the school, I had a life as a real person, rather than existence as one small part of a mindless mob.

I’m deeply grateful that we were able to give our boys a relaxed, normal life. They have been able to develop independent interests, they have friends, and they are nice people whose company I greatly enjoy. They enjoy music, books, sports, and other interests, but are not consumed by any of them; they have traveled widely; and they have experienced far more than would be possible if they’d had to endure endless hours of institutionalization.

The definition of “socialize” found in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is to “Make social; make fit to live in society; spec. in sociology, transmit to (an individual) the cultural values and behavior standards of the social group of which he or she is a member.”
The world is large and diverse, and social groups are many. Whether by purpose, or by default, parents choose whether their child is socialized to the values and behaviors of those who love the good, the true, and the beautiful, or to the current manifestation of pop culture. It’s a choice worth careful consideration.

Rachel Barlow’s fellow passenger had it half right when he said– “Socialization is so important.” But I differ with him on the last bit– I wouldn’t leave it to an institution.

One who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. Proverbs 13:20

For further reading:

For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macauley (One of my favorite introductions to a family-based, Charlotte Mason style of education from the daughter of Francis Schaeffer.)

Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto (A short, shocking overview of what students really learn in institutional schooling. A must-read.)

The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewelyn (An interesting, secular look at unschooling– very thought-provoking.)

The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden (I just got this book– it’s a compendium of useful information on all sorts of subjects of interest to boys –knots, soccer rules, dog tricks, making a periscope, tanning a skin, famous battles, timers and tripwires, and a lot more. This could lead to true, independent learning! It’s very nicely done, with plentiful illustrations to tempt the reluctant reader. Expect to see it dogeared!)

Note: If you aren’t on the newsletter mailing list, I’ve posted the mid-summer issue on my website. Here’s a list of the topics:

Summer Reading
Homeschooling at the Speed of Life- A Review
Hands-On Resource for the Dog Days of Summer
Helping the Estes Family of Hands and Hearts
Reprintable Article: Year-End Testing- Let the Buyer Beware! (Don’t miss this article!)

Click here to read it!

Essay Workshop in Woodbridge, VA

If you’ve been waiting for the next Beat-the-Clock Essay Workshop, it’s scheduled for Wednesday, June 13, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This popular SAT prep writing workshop will prepare teens for the timed essay on standardized tests, as well as those found on college exams. You can read more about it and find registration information on my website! We may, if there is enough interest, follow the student workshop with a one-hour parent workshop on Evaluating Writing. Just let the hostess know if you are interested when you sign up.

This is one of the most rewarding and fun workshops I do. Students often come in feeling uncertain of what is required for the SAT essay and unable to write quick essays, but they almost always leave with a feeling of genuine accomplishment. We write two timed essays during the day, and the students take home a little handbook that will help them continue to practice. It’s a lot of fun, and I hope to see you there!

His Resting Place (and Website Problem)

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Death Be Not Proud

In memory of those who died at Virginia Tech, April 16, 2007.

Death Be Not Proud

by John Donne (1573-1631)

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death; nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and souls delivery.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better then thy stroke; why swell’st thou then;
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…

(Deuteronomy 33:27)

Can You Write Persuasively?

I’ve been thinking about writing persuasively this week. There are many times in life when you want to write persuasively, and it pays to know how do it. Sometimes, nothing more than a refund is at stake, but at other times, something much more important may be riding on your ability to persuade someone else to see your point of view.

Persuasive writing has been on my mind lately as I’ve read about the case of Melissa Busekros, a 15-year-old German girl, who has been taken from her family, primarily because the family has chosen to homeschool their six children. People around the world are writing to the German government in protest, as this act seems to violate Germany’s own determination, via ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 26/3, passed May 1948), that it is a primary right and responsibility of parents to determine the education of their children. You can read more about the story at Netzwerk Bildungfreiheit and at the website of the International Human Rights Group.

The following letter, written to the Minister of Bavaria, about the case was forwarded to me, and I’d like to point out a few elements that the writer has included in an effort to make the letter more relevant and compelling to the reader. Read more

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