Deschooling is the word that describes the transition from school to a life of educating ourselves. It is usually the parents who need a helping hand in trusting their own children. That is because we have all been told that children need to be forced to learn, that school is the only place it happens, and many more lies. Ned Vare and Luz Shosie, July/August 2008, HEM Interview
My children were born natural learners, constantly exploring, questioning with a curiosity that gave me sheer joy to be a part of. Trouble was, as they progressed from being toddlers and ventured toward compulsory attendance and school age, instead of being a joyous participant, I began to lose some of that joy as I began to pay more attention to societal educational standards. Eventually those standards and the drive to test children younger and younger led my family to the homeschool choice. Still, it took many years for me to deschool and I’d like to share some past articles and deschooling resources for anyone looking to reach that deschooled spot sooner rather than later. If you have any questions or need help.
HEM Deschooling Articles
Decompression – Frequently Asked Questions by Cafi Cohen
Go light on the teacher aspect of home education. Don’t be the nightmare homeschooling parent, the one who insists on researching the country of origin of every piece of produce in the grocery store. Yes, it can make you – the parent – feel good to point out the educational aspects of everyday life. Your teenagers will probably find such antics more boring than the school they just left behind.
Instead consider spending time on activities both you and your kids enjoy. You have very few years remaining to share the same household. Learning occurs as a by-product of fun events – like travel and playing games and cooking together and outdoor sports. Enjoy – and don’t sweat the small stuff.
Interview with Luz Shosie and Ned Vare by Mary Nix
Whatever you do, be flexible. Kids’ needs and desires change. Be ready to let go of your ideas and go with theirs. They will always love you for the trust you give them.
Live with your children as though school did not exist. If your kids have been in school, take time off before starting any homeschooling routine. Children may appear to be “doing nothing,” but they are actually healing or detoxing. Parents may need an activity during this process. Find something you enjoy doing, learn something new. Your kids need to see that you have a life. You will probably be surprised at how much they are doing and learning. Do not hover.
I Am An Unschooled Adult by Susanna Wesley
Knowing what I know now, it is clear that those years were a time when I was “de-schooling.” I was growing up. I was figuring out that I had always lived from the outside-in instead of the inside-out. I had never heard of the disadvantages, much less the detriments, of formal schooling, so I had no logical explanation for why I was feeling completely lost in a great big world which was supposed to be full of opportunities. I felt stuck in time, as if I had no past and no future.
Dealing With Doubts by Janet Keip
When we first began homeschooling six years ago, I felt a raw defensiveness when someone challenged or questioned my choice to homeschool. Now I feel that same surge of defensiveness when someone questions unschooling. In the beginning, my conviction of the rightness of homeschooling for us and our daughter was firm. However, homeschooling was still too new and too fresh for me to easily articulate our philosophy.
Gaining Confidence In Our Homeschooling by Larry and Susan Kaseman
Homeschooling works because children learn well with the help and guidance of parents who know them well and care deeply about them. They can learn at their own pace, when they are ready and eager, so learning is easier. They can spend extra time on things that especially interest them, which motivates them. They often discover interests that lead to their life’s work. They do not have to deal with disruptive schedules that interrupt their learning, peer pressure, humiliation or failing grades if they make a mistake or haven’t learned something yet, teachers who do not understand or appreciate their strengths, a curriculum that does not suit their needs, approaches to learning that do not work for them, and other inevitable parts of standardized schools run by the government and designed to try to educate many children at once, regardless of their individual differences.
Dear New Homeschooler by Mary McCarthy
Notice how many ordinary people have written books about their successful homeschooling program. They’re just like you, having once stood in those same shaky shoes. that’s what you should be getting out of all those books: That ordinary parents, just like you, can achieve success in homeschooling. Each one found little tricks and experiences that helped them, and may help you too. But the basic message is that they all succeeded.
From Homeschooled to Homeschooling by Dawn Colclasure
If anything, the experience of being homeschooled gives these parents a source to turn to in times of distress–their parents. “I know from watching my mom and others that all homeschoolers go through the same doubts and if they just persevere, they figure out a comfortable and effective way of doing it for their family,” Humphries says. She adds, “That gives me courage on those doubting days.”
Revelations of a Homeschooling Mom by Carol Wanagel
It seemed like I wasn’t teaching them anything anymore, and yet they were learning at a furious pace. It became very clear that every time I started up with my assignments and lectures I was interfering with their education. Whatever I told them they had to learn, they slowly and painfully memorized, then quickly forgot. Whatever they wanted to learn, they learned instantly and for life.
On Self-Doubt - Lenita Harsch
Albert Einstein, The greatest minds of our century, felt held back in school and was considered a poor student. (I wonder if his teachers ever doubted their abilities when trying to teach him?) He later spoke of the need for freedom in education – the freedom to be curious and inquisitive, and to explore independently. His own education blossomed only after he took charge of K himself. No longer held back, his curiosity led him to new and wonderful discoveries about the universe.
Peaceful Unschooling – Charlotte C. Monte
Yes, I definitely have an opinion that unschooling, or child-led learning, or whatever similar term parents choose, is best for children. And I’m sure that for every person you ask, you’ll get a different definition of what unschooling means, and it may look vastly different from house to house, and even child to child. What I really think unschooling boils down to, in whatever form, is this: A peace, a harmony and a love of learning that does not get squelched over time.
Other Deschooling Resources
Deschooling for Parents by Sandra Dodd
Deschooling Society – Ivan Illach
Tags: deschool, deschooling, homeschool help, homeschool parents, Unschooling
At our house, the difference between summer and other seasons was the fact that summer brought more children to play with. Sure, the kids might have focused a bit more on some subjects in the cooler months, but they were learning all the time no matter what page the calendar was open to. Having gone to school myself, I always loved summers more than anything. I loved being able to read, draw, hike or participate in whatever activity I chose on any given day. My children had that freedom every season of their life.
I recall others asking if I was spoiling my children by homeschooling them, or damaging them somehow by not forcing them to follow the norm of leaving our home and following a rigid schedule. I don’t know what our interrogators thought our life was like, but we did have a schedule, chores and our own list of what we thought was important in an education and what we would do to help our children achieve their goals and desires. Still, having gone to school, I will admit that when public school let out I sometimes felt a bit less responsibility to make sure I was doing all I could to help my children ‘learn’. However, as the seasons passed, I learned to relax as if it were summer all year and I enjoyed seeing what the freedom to learn, live and explore offers a child and it was delightful. Below are some articles and resources that look at learning.
Playtime – A Time for Children and Parents to Share and to Grow – Amber P. Keefer
Studies show that some of the most creative children are those whose parents have played with them. From my own experiences as the parent of a highly active and resourceful child, I know how important it is for children to channel their creative energies into constructive and rewarding outlets. Child development experts remind us that parents are among a child’s first and best playmates, and for this reason, we must actually involve ourselves in our children’s play.
Learning from My Kids – Helen Hegener
I learned the value of learning, and I think it’s a lesson my kids will need to learn for themselves. Like so many things in life, it’s not something you can just tell someone else and expect to have any meaning , it really needs to be experienced, to have a context all its own.
Early Years Child’s Learning Assets – Linda Dobson
Homeschooling uses childhood energy instead of constantly trying to dam it. Now, curiosity creates interest, interest increases attention to the task at hand, and attention gives rise to learning.
Why Independence Is Essential To Homeschooling – Larry and Susan Kaseman
Homeschooling offers parents tremendous learning opportunities. Thanks to our children and our homeschooling experiences (both the stunning successes and the flops), many of us have developed a new understanding of learning, revisited and recovered from our own difficult school experiences, discovered or rediscovered the joy of learning, and done things that we wouldn’t have if we hadn’t been homeschooling.
A World of Learning by Barbara Theisen
I’ve never believed that the only way to get an education is to sit at a desk with four walls around you. The world is our classroom and our home – a 41 foot sailboat – takes us there. My husband Tom and I dreamed of sailing around the world before our daughters were even born. Their arrivals only increased our desire to live the “cruising lifestyle” – a way of life that has given us the opportunity for lots of quality and quantity of family time.
Educating our two daughters while living afloat on our sailboat, Out of Bounds, has added a wonderful new dimension to our lives. Kate is in sixth grade this year and our youngest daughter, Kenna, in third grade. Homeschooling hasn’t always been easy. But it has been fun.
Five Steps to Unschooling – Joyce Kurtak Fetteroll
And, finally, forget the linear approach to learning we grew up with. For instance, we learned that the way to learn is to read “all the important” stuff about a subject gathered and packaged for our convenience in a textbook and then move on in line to the next package of information.
Self-Inspired Learning - Karen Vogel
But, despite living an unremarkable existence in the depths of suburbia, my kids all manage, at one point or another, to develop an interest in a subject I never bothered to introduce. As most of my friends know, I regularly suffer paroxysms of guilt over my complete neglect of science as a school subject. Aside from having a birdfeeder outside our kitchen window, with a bird identification book handy (well, when we can find it) and a cheap pair of binoculars (which are often missing as well), my children’s parent-led science education is nothing short of woefully inadequate. But my oldest, at the age of nine, followed me around the house with a bird book, demanding that I read it to him. In fact, we ended up buying him the aforementioned birdfeeder for a birthday present. He has since developed an interest in gardening and botany, both subjects at which I am an abject failure.
The Many Faces of Home Education – Tamara Orr
During the summer of 2002 and 2003, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to meet dozens of homeschoolers across the country. I came home filled with their enthusiasm, their curiosity and their wonder. I also came home knowing that no matter how many families I met, not one of them homeschooled exactly the same way. Like snowflakes, they may have had many commonalities, but when it came down to how they actually homeschooled, from day to day, they were each wonderfully unique.
Other Resources
Teach your Own by John Holt
I Learn Better by Teaching Myself by Agnes Leistico
Tags: Agnes Leistico, Amber P. Keefer, Barbara Theisen, child development, creative children, freedom to learn, Helen Hegener, Home Education Magazine, Homeschooling, John Holt, Joyce Fetteroll, Karen Vogel, Larry and Susan Kaseman, learning opportunities, Linda Dobson, playing, Tamara Orr, Unschooling
He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~Clarence Budington Kelland
This quote neatly sums up my view on education. We certainly can sit and be instructed, but watching others pursue life, especially those with a passion is a lesson that is embedded in our hearts. Who better to learn life’s lessons from than our dear old Dads. Although many view traditional homeschool familes as being overseen by Mom’s, many Dad’s are staying home with their family. Here are some past HEM Articles by or about Dads and other resources for you to enjoy.
HEM Articles
Interview with David Albert by Kim O’Hara
David – My perspective on schools is not that they’re failing, but that they work. They work precisely the way they are intended. The schools teach our children to become financially and emotionally dependent upon our current economy for both their work and for their self-esteem. The schools teach them to be emotionally and educationally dependent. And they are taught that they are to gain their self-image through material goods and services. They even rate schools according to how much “stuff” they’ve got in them, rather than the quality of the interchange that’s going on between teacher and child. The schools work precisely the way they’re intended, and the result is precisely what is intended. Our corporate society gains workers who are docile enough to do what they’re told, and it gains in social control.
Homeschooling and the Type A Dad – Brad Beckerman
We have been unschooling for some time–if you can believe that from someone who has a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old. Certain elements of unschooling, as I interpret them, I have very much taken to heart, especially when it comes to the process of constructing a nourishing, stimulating environment. You see, even in the unschooling world there is room for a control freak. My children’s world is the one I make for them, and that is where they learn.
I am not really that uptight. But I do have my moments, and the pendulum keeps swinging. Type A guy. Type B guy. And back again. Recently I decided, without justification, that I had been too complacent and had failed to supply the social stimulus I felt my kids wanted. Spiraling into a stress-induced, walking, talking coma, I concluded I had utterly failed them and called a couple of local schools to bail me out. The moment passed. Finally calm, I still had my doubts. And then a few days later, I was visiting with a homeschooling friend, who said, in an unmistakable tone that combined encouragement and support with a healthy dose of reality, “Gee, Brad, it never really occurred to me to manage my children’s social lives.”
Homeschooling Fathers – Gary Wyatt
Children need more of their fathers and fathers need more of their children. Men have an extraordinary potential to realize in the lives of their kids, a potential that goes beyond narrowly defined gender roles that limit a father’s station in the family to that of “provider and disciplinarian.”As I consider my own life, and the lives of the homeschooling fathers that I know, many of us feel a yearning to be more involved with our children. Unfortunately, circumstance and our own socialization often positions us on the fringe of both family life and the homeschool experience. We bring home the paychecks, take out the trash, fix things that break, and leave homeschooling to our wives.
And What Does Your Husband Do? – Isabel Shaw
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of our “dad at home” adventure has been watching the whole family grow and learn together. For me, jumping into a writing career at almost fifty years old still seems a bit unreal. I think it’s healthy for my girls to see me struggling (successfully!) as I learn to use the computer with all of its bells and whistles. And Ray has rediscovered his guitar. Making music was always his first love, but the idea of a career in music was put on hold many years ago. Now that dream is alive again, and a list of homeschooled students requesting guitar lessons from Ray continues to grow.
When Dad Homeschools: from Breadwinning to Baking – Jim Dunn
As the primary homeschooling parent for my nine-year-old daughter, I am not your regular dad. Even among homeschoolers nationally, I am one of only .5% of primary caregivers who are fathers. Fathers as full-time care givers are pretty scarce, but far fewer are full-time homeschooling dads. This is not surprising, if we consider the father’s place in our culture. Dad has a fairly ambiguous position in the family, on the one hand the breadwinner, the one whose income is counted on, the one with the most earning power. But on the other hand, this role outside the family removes him from much of the family’s daily growth processes. His integrity in the family depends upon his absence.
Fear of Failure - Perry Venson
I recently saw this quote: “Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.” This from Albert Einstein, the epitome of a genius.
Now if that is not a battle cry for homeschooling I don’t know what is! Yet tonight, that cry has been reduced to a whimper, and I am in doubt about the future of my children. In reflecting, looking at what I am feeling, I see my fears are revolving around worries about what kind of work my children will get after homeschooling, of whether or not they may be at risk as adults in a world that looks increasingly scary.
Other Resources
- Why Homeschool
- Homeschool Dad Podcast
- What Dads Can Do In Homeschooling By Marsha Ransom
- Linkedin: Homeschool Dads
- Homeschool Dad
Tags: Dads, homeschool fathers
The Hopi Indians of Arizona believe that our daily rituals and prayers literally keep this world spinning on its axis. For me, feeding the seagulls is one of those everyday prayers. ~~Brenda Peterson
Kids are Naturals at Nature
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From the time they can walk, children love to explore each blade of grass and every tiny insect. They really are naturals at nature and I got to wondering what type of nature resources I might find here at HEM now that we are enjoying spring and the returning birds. Like Brenda, I have bird feeders all over my yard and we have a whole variety of feathered friends that visit to drink and eat here. I also have three well worn reference books next to my desk that we have enjoyed since my boys were young naturalists. There is The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, Reader’s Digest Nothern American Wildlife and Birds of Ohio. We also have smaller guides, but those are in the car for when we go hiking.
Below are some great nature resources from past issues of Home Education Magazine
Supplements Are The Key! by Lois Szymanski
Have you ever thought of the world around you as one giant supplement? I do. When we go on walks, (which is physical education) we take along a great book called The Birder’s Journal. Created by Mel Baughma and published by Stackpole Books, the journal is filled with sketches of birds that can be colored. Under each bird is a place to list when and where it was sighted as well as a spot for notes. Using her Peterson First Guides to Birds, (by Roger Tory Peterson- Houghton Mifflin Company) and her Golden Guide to Birds (by Herbert S. Zim and Ira N. Gabrielson- Western Publishing Company, Inc.) she looks up the birds she sees and colors them in. When we go marsh mucking on Assateague Island on vacations, we drag every unknown specimen we find into the naturalist to learn more about it. Then we document our findings on paper and with photographs and keep them in a notebook.
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Older Kids – Learning and Doing Science by Cafi Cohen
Instead, your teenagers may want to consider a specialized area, a single problem, in The following areas – astronomy, botany, geology, meteorology, electricity/electronics, nature studies, health and disease, nutrition, parasitology, paleontology, herpetology, history of science. College catalogs usually state two or three years of “science” as adequate preparation for their programs. Most do not specify biology, chemistry, and physics. And most do not specify that applicants must have taken a survey course. Choose an interesting area. Work on one topic or problem in depth.
The Road to Enthusiasm – S.A. Terhorst-Steele
Julian (four) has become interested in flora and fauna. I’m not much of a naturalist. In fact I rarely noticed plants and animals until I began having my own children. I was more likely to be found reading a book or writing. These days however, I am spending a great deal of time contemplating what types of plants or animals reside in our world and what they have in common with each other. The focus of my day with Julian is reading National Geographic, plotting the map, watching the occasional nature video, watering plants and visiting various nurseries so he can ask what kind of care his orchid needs.
Five Steps to Unschooling - Joyce Kurtak Fetteroll
To unschool, you begin with your child’s interests. If she’s interested in birds, you read – or browse, toss aside, just look at the pictures in – books on birds, watch videos on birds, talk about birds, research and build (or buy) bird feeders and birdhouses, keep a journal on birds, record and ponder their behavior, search the web for items about birds, go to bird sanctuaries, draw birds, color a few pictures in the Dover Birds of Prey coloring book, play around with feathers, study Leonardo DaVinci’s drawings of flying machines that he based on birds, watch Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
But DON’T go whole hog on this. Gauge how much to do and when by your child’s reactions. Let her say no thanks. Let her choose. Let her interest set the pace. If it takes years, let it take years. If it lasts an hour, let it last an hour.
Good Stuff – To Dissect Or Not To Dissect by Becky Rupp
My homeschool journals are stuffed with photographs. There are pictures of our three boys building toothpick bridges, inflating hot-air balloons, weaving Navajo-style headbands, making papier-mache Viking helmets, painting birdfeeders, planting beans, firing rockets, making clay models of the Parthenon, raising butterflies. And – a fat lump in the middle of Journal #3 – there’s a whole stack of snapshots of the kids dissecting frogs.
Here are some great resources from other folks:
- Anna Botsford Comtock’s bookinspired one family to create their own Handbook of Nature Study blog journal as they use the book.
- Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock can be read in its entirety online here.
- Nature Study – Charlotte Mason Style
- Journey North
There are many, many more that you can find at your library or by doing a search. I found a blog that I really enjoy that is specific to Ohio, but the writer is a passionate naturalist, so I check his Ohio Birds and Biodiversity blog on a regular basis. As blogging has grown, it isn’t hard to find informative blogs on subjects that people are passionate about. Enjoy!
Tags: birds, homeschool science, naturalists, nature
When my children were younger we loved finding new books to read. It was often a big part of the discussions that we would have when we were visiting with other homeschoolers. It seemed we were all on the look-out for good books that we could read with our children and one of the resources many of us used to find new books was Joan Torkildson’s column in Home Education Magazine, So Many Books. Reading the column was like talking to a friend who shared why she or her kids loved a book.
Reading her columns again has been a walk down memory lane as I have checked to see if the books I’ve listed are still in print. I’ve listed some of them below along with links to her original column and some occasional snippets from her reviews. I hope your family enjoys each of her recommended books as much as we did!
I distinctly recall borrowing and reading Steven Kellog’s I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago after reading Joan’s review in her July-August 1997 column. She wrote:
No one retells a tall tale with more panache than Steven Kellogg. In this one, which was adapted from a nineteenth-century American folk song, multiple narrators boldly take credit for some of the most outrageous claims in history. One by one, they brag about having seen King Pharoah’s daughter fish Moses out of the water, of seeing Adam and Eve being banished from the Garden of Eden, of showing Columbus the way to the New World, of secretly marrying Queen Elizabeth in Milwaukee, even of playing hopscotch with spacemen on the moon (with plans to visit Saturn). All of these outlandish boasts are embellished with Kellogg’s own verse and typically exuberant illustrations.
In that same column she reviewed A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipplle, the first book in the Dear America Series, A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder, by Walter Wick and Lives of the Athletes: Thrills, Spills (and What the Neighbors Thought.)
In her January-February 1998 So Many Books column, Joan Torkildson reviewed:
- Cracked Corn and Snow Ice Cream A Family Almanac, by Nancy Willard
Joan writes this about the book: Perfect for browsing during long, wintery afternoons (even if you don’t happen to live in the Midwest), the almanac is both an engrossing read and a poignant reminder of a quieter, less complicated time not so very long ago.
- I Wonder Why Trees Have Leaves and Other Questions About Plants (Kingfisher books by various authors)
The books are an eclectic mix of bold, easy-to-read type, beautifully realistic illustrations, and humorous cartoon-like drawings. Questions range from the sensible (”Why do leaves change color in the fall?”) to the quirky (”Which bird sniffs all night?”).
- The Kingfisher Young People’s Atlas of the World
Extensively indexed, the book also includes detailed charts of facts and figures for each continent.
- I Saw a Purple Cow by Ann Cole, Carolyn Haas, Faith Bushnell, and Betty Weinberger
The emphasis here is on the simple and homemade, a feature that will no doubt be appreciated by budget-minded homeschooling families. Most of the activities in the book use recycled or common household items, such as cardboard boxes and tubes, egg cartons, newspapers and magazines, cans and jar lids, old clothes and jewelry, crayons, and watercolors. Have plenty of white glue and tape on hand.
- The Best of Shakespeare: Retellings of 10 Classic Plays E. Nesbit
In the So Many Books March-April 1997 Column, Joan wrote this about
- With Needle and Thread: A Book About Quilts , by Raymond Bial, With Needle and Thread would make a nice addition to a unit study on quiltmaking, or could simply add depth and background to a family quiltmaking project. Ambitious types might try researching a few of the hundreds of colorful names (Broken Dishes, Chinese Coins, Drunkard’s Path, Trip Around the World) to uncover more of the history of this gentle “art within.
In this column she also reviewed
Here is a list of other books that she recommended via her column:
- Pass the Peas Please
- Crinkleroot’s Nature Almanac
- Grandfather’s Christmas Tree
- Amelia Erhart, Young Air Pioneer
I’ve linked many of the books to sites where you can purchase them, whether brand-new or well-used, but don’t forget to see if you can borrow them from your local public library first!
Tags: book reviews, books, Home Education Magazine, homeschooling books, Joan Torkildson, Mary Nix
Over the years Home Education Magazine has consistently offered glimpses into the lives of homeschoolers via articles written by many and closer looks via one on one interviews. Here are a few of those interviews along with a few updated resources.
I recall reading and being deeply touched by Helen Hegener’s Conversation with Michelle Wilbert: Living life “Close to the Root” in the September-October 2004 of HEM. Michelle Wilbert is a midwife, homeschooler and author of Close to the Root: A Handbook of Simple, Sustainable and Earthy Alternatives for Family and Community Life.
As I said earlier, I think that I started out thinking about the potential for cultural transformation that I found in these ideas. Early thinking about homeschooling and midwifery were located within a value system that was home and community centered, democratically oriented, staunchly independent of any ideas of government or public involvement or oversight and really wedded to concerns about changing society for the better and that was true whether people were Christian homeschoolers, hippies or eclectics. They might have had different societal goals in mind, but changing the world was definitely part of the package.
In addition to Conversation with Michelle Wilbert: Living life “Close to the Root” you can read more about and from Michelle Wilbert here:
- Kneelingwoman ~ Thinking, Living and Writing “Out of the Box
- Close to the Root Family and Community Resources
In An Interview with Cafi Cohen by Marsha Ransom we were given a glimpse into the Cohen household. Cafi wrote:
Jeff adds that he would never trade his homeschooling years for high school. He has commented more than once that he never would have been admitted to the Air Force Academy if he had not homeschooled. He feels homeschooling allowed him time to get a private pilot’s license, to act as commander of his Civil Air Patrol squadron and edit their newsletter, to practice piano, to teach piano, to participate on a world-class diving team, and much more. Eventually, it was all those activities (and close to 30 units of college classes taken concurrently with high school homeschooling) that he feels got him admitted.
My daughter Tamara now says, “I wouldn’t change anything about my homeschooling. Despite our easy-going approach, I have attended four different colleges in three different states and encountered nothing academic that I could not handle.” She adds that she loved the flexibility of homeschooling, graduating “early” and earning money to travel on a student-exchange program to Australia when she was 16.
Here are a few more interviews for your enjoyment:
- Interview with Deborah Stevenson - Judy Aron
- Interview with Linda Dobson - Helen Hegener
- Interview with Mary Griffith - Helen Hegener
- Interview with Patrick Farenga - Helen Hegener
- An Interview Leila Giles and Celeste Land – Mary Nix
- An Interview with John Munson – Mary Nix
There are many more interviews and articles from past issues that offer glimpses into homeschool lives, and you can access them via the HEM Archives. To avoid missing any future issues and interviews, you can subscribe to HEM here.
Tags: Cafi Cohen, Helen Hegener, Home Education, Homeschooling, interviews, Marsha Ransom, Mary Nix, Michelle Wilbert
In these tough economic times, Kathy Ceceri’s Hands-On Learning Column is just one more jewel that can be found within Home Education Magazine. In each column, Kathy offers easy to find resources and combines them with projects that are sure to inspire many hours of hands-on learning. For example, in the January-February Issue of HEM, Kathy provides all the details and resources for making your own magnifying lens and optical exploration.
Below you will find a brief synopsis of Kathy’s past columns(click on the title for those included online) and some links to other resources Kathy has to offer online.
Hands-On Learning Columns by Kathy Ceceri
Magnifying Lenses (January-February/09)
Kathy explores magnifying lenses of all kinds explaining ways you can bend light for a clearer look at the smaller things in life.
Economics and Recycled Crafts (November-December 2008)
Kathy Ceceri shares ideas about how your kids can learn how to make good choices … AND how to get creative when money is tight.
Two-Jar Ant Farm (September-October 2008)
An ant farm is a great way to learn about the lives of insects and ants are real low maintenance pets!
Mancala Board Game (July-August 2008)
There are many ways to play a game of mancala. When you make your own playing board, it gets even more fun.
Geography and Arctic Life (May-June 2008)
There’s much to learn about and from one of the world’s coldest places.
Chemical Crystal Garden (March-April 2008)
Utilizing common household chemicals, you can experiment with and grow your own crystal gardens.
Coil Baskets (January-February 2008)
The humble basket is probably among the earliest human inventions. There are many ways to make a basket, but coiling is a method found around the world.
Archeology (November-December 2007)
Kathy Ceceri suggests how to introduce and involve your kids in the world of Archeology.
Inventions Old and New (September-October 2007)
Kathy tells us how we can get a taste of inventing by making a model of Morse’s telegraph.
The Sport Of Boomerang Throwing (July-August 2007)
Kathy Ceceri explains why boomerangs fly, shares a story about Aborigine tradition, tells the record for keeping a boomerang in the air before catching it, and shows how to help your kids create their own beautiful and far-flying boomerangs – which will really return
Medieval Beasts (May-June 2007)
Kathy’s Hands-On-Learning project looks at the fantastic beasts of the Middle Ages.
Build A Robot Hand (March-April 2007)
Instructions on how to build a simple cardboard robot hand that uses strings as tendons.
Foreign Language: Mexican Yarn Craft (January-February 2007)
Kathy shows how to combine the study of a foreign language with creation of a local handicraft; in this case, studying Spanish while crafting the lovely Ojo de Dios, or “Eye of God.
Jug Band Music and Invented Instruments (November-December 2006)
Hands-On Learning editor Kathy Ceceri explains how to make and play jug band instruments
Flipbooks (September-October 2006)
Kathy introduces her readers to flip books as a great way for beginning animators to create instant movies.
This article originally appeared in the issue of Home Education Magazine.
Solar S’mores and Other Sun-Powered Crafts
Kathy Ceceri describes how to make a solar cooker from simple materials and use it to create tasty S’mores.
This article originally appeared in the July-August 2006 issue of Home Education Magazine.
Early American Paper Quilling (May-June 2006)
Kathy Ceceri shows how quillwork can be used to make greeting cards, earrings, mobiles and holiday ornaments.
Ice Age Animal Cave Paintings (March-April 2006)
Kathy Ceceri describes the wonders of Ice Age Animal Cave Paintings, and shares ideas and tips for helping your homeschooled kids create their own “prehistoric” masterpieces using everyday resources found in the home.
Make a Wooden Abacus (January-February 2006)
Kathy Ceceri explains how to build your own abacus, and offers tips for using your new math tool.
World History Crafts (November-December 2005)
Kathy Ceceri explains the history and traditions of the unique Tibetan Sand Mandala – and provides instructions for helping your child create a beautiful replica of this ancient art form.
Other Resources from Kathy Ceceri
Kathy Ceceri’s Crafts for Learning
Around the World Crafts by Kathy Ceceri offers 30 plus projects that includes step-by-step photographs. In addition to the crafts, Ms. Ceceri includes resources and facts about the people who originally made the craft an how they would have used it. At the site you can read a sample chapter or peruse the Table of Contents. There are also things to make, things to read, and links to explore.
Home Chemistry
Making science fun for my homeschooled kids
Kathy does make science fun for her kids and more in this chemistry blog. You will find many interesting science resources within her posts along with some great resources as well.
Kathy’s blog tag reads: For Homeschoolers-And Anyone- Who wants to learn about life science without a lab.
Here are a few more excellent Kathy Ceceri resources on the World Wide Web:
- The one-stop world of Webcams
- 10 Cartoon Classics to Share with Your Kids
- What Makes Kids Love Math: Community and Playfulness
Also available online:
Around the World Crafts: Great Activities for Kids who Like History, Math, Art, Science and More! by “Hands-On Learning” columnist Kathy Ceceri
Tags: archeology, board games, economics, Geography, hands-on-learning, homeschool, Homeschooling, Kathy Ceceri, robot
Recently I found a website from Nova, Be an Archaeologist that I shared at the HEM Guide to Resources Blog. Many years ago my family took part in a dig thanks to a National Park Program that is not far from our home. We are big fans of history to begin with, so to be a part of such an event was memorable to say the least. This got me This got me to wondering what resources HEM might have on the subject and it didn’t take me long to find one.
Time Travel with a Teaspoon Archaeology For Kids by Rebecca Rupp was featured in the September-October 1998 issue of Home Education Magazine. Rebecca opened the column by writing:
Caleb, our youngest son, wants (just now) to be an archaeologist when he grows up. Accordingly, he reads everything he can find on archaeological topics, surfs the Internet in search of the ancient, and subscribes to the magazine Archaeology, published bimonthly by the Archaeological Institute of America. Archaeology, which is aimed at adults, has a fairly sophisticated text, but the pictures – all in color – are great for persons of all ages. Each issue includes several feature articles about archaeological discoveries worldwide.
In this one paragraph, Rebecca explains the beauty of learning and that children do not have to be limited to age appropriate material when exploring their passions in the real world! The column was written over ten years ago, but as always, much of what she shared remains available today. Here are some of the Archaeology resources she shares:
Society for American Archaeology (SAA) http://www.saa.org. This first one offers many great resources, but I was delighted find Frequently Asked Questions About A Career In Archaeology In The U.S.
Next she offered these recommendations:
- Calliope http://www.cobblestonepub.com/magazine/CAL/
- Faces http://www.cobblestonepub.com/magazine/FAC/
I was able to find the following book suggestions at my local library:
- Dig This! How Archaeologists Uncover Our Past (Michael Avi-Yonah; Runestone Press, 1993) Also in this series; Scrawl! Writing in Ancient Times; Fired Up! Making Pottery in Ancient Times; Piece by Piece: Mosaics of the Ancient World; and Sunk! Exploring Underwater Archaeology
- The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells: A Book About Archaeology (Jackie Posner; Scholastic, 1997
- The Young Oxford Book of Archaeology by Norah Moloney (Oxford University Press, 1997)
- Gods, Graves, and Scholars by C.W. Ceram (Bantam, 1976
I could not find these at my local or statewide library, but as Becky writes, many can be found in libraries or used bookstores.
- All About Archaeology by Anne Terry White (Random House, 1959)
- Archaeology by Dennis Fradin (Children’s Press, 1983)
- The Practical Archaeologist by Jane McIntosh (Facts On File, 1986
- Archaeology: A Brief Introduction by Brian Fagan (Addison Wesley, 1996)
As always, Rebecca offers some interesting hands on resources as well.
- Prehistoric Cave Painting Kit and Rock Art Painting. Both kits are available from Ancient Graffiti, 52 Seymour St., 888) 725-6632 fax (802) 388-7104; e-mail: ancientg @ sovernet.com. (I could not find the company on line, so I’m not sure if they remain in business or not.
- Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin (AFOB)
- PIT (Passport in Time) Traveler
- The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training
In this column Rebecca also reviews some other great resources. was able to find: Reading Through the Ages By Linda Thornhill and Sally Barnard, The Game of Shakespeare, Beaver Tooth and Days of Knights and Damsels
HEM columnist Rebecca Rupp has a Ph.D. in cell biology, has written for many magazines, and has published several books. She lives in Vermont with her husband and three sons.
Tags: archaeologists, archaeology, HEM Resources, History, Home Education Magazine, Homeschooling, learning at home, Rebecca Rupp, Unit Studies
We recently had a large snowstorm and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the different colored birds gather at our feeder. Their beautiful feathers against the bright, white snow left a picture that has lingered in my mind all day and inspired me to see what type of “bird resources” I might find in past issues of HEM.
I discovered, “Feed the Birds” from Rebecca Rupp’s Good Stuff column in the January – February 1997 Issue of Home Education Magazine and as always I found enough resources to create a unit study.
She writes:
It’s fine to feed the birds all year round, but a wonderful time to start is right now, in the heart of winter, when seeds are sparse and those birds who didn’t hightail it south in September really need a helping hand.
She then shares some books for potential bird feeders that I was able to find online or at my local library:
- Birdfeeders, Shelters, and Baths by Edward Baldwin
- Invite a Bird to Dinner: Simple Feeders You Can Make by Beverly Courtney Crook
- The Bird Book & Feeder by Neil Dawe
- Susan Bosnak Science Is… by Susan Bosnak
She also shared these great field guides:
- Peterson guides -A Field Guide to Western Birds and A Field Guide to Birds East of the Rockies by Roger Tory Peterson
- Audubon guides – The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Vol. I by John Bull and John Farrand, Jr. and Vol. II by Miklos D.F. Udvardy
- Everybody’s Everywhere Backyard Bird Book
She also suggests some Dover Publications Coloring Books. These include:
- State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Annika Bernhard)
- Fifty Favorite Birds Coloring Book (Lisa Bonforte)
- Tropical Birds Coloring Book (Lucia DeLeiris)
- Birds of Prey Coloring Book (John Green)
- Audubon’s Birds of America Coloring Book
- Audubon sticker book (Audubon Bird Stickers in Full Color)
- 50 full-color bird stickers in an eight-page booklet
She then shared these real life books about kids and their bird experiences all of which I was able to find at our local library.
- The Birdwatcher by Felice Holman’s Elisabeth
- Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
- Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat
- That Quail, Robert Margaret Stanger (a favorite at our house)
For legendary birds she recommended:
- The Long-Tailed Bear and Other Indian Legends by Natalia Belting
- How the Guinea Fowl Got Her Spots: A Swahili Tale of Friendship by Barbara Knudson
- The Hummingbird King: A Guatemalan Legend by Agentina Palacios
- How the Birds Changed Their Feathers: A South American Indian Folk Tale by Joanna Troughton
- The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks by Katherine Paterson
- Ka-ha-si and the Loon by Terry Cohlene
Continuing down the bird investigation trail, Rupp suggests posting a checklist on the fridge to record the birds that visit. Also in this article she shared Bethump’d With Words, How Math Works by Carol Vorderman, XIT(could not find this one), Catchpenny and Duo.
You can read the entire column here.
Here are some more of my favorite bird resources from around the web:
Tags: Becky Rupp, birds, Feed the Birds, Home Education Magazine, homeschool resources, natural science
Many homeschool families are familiar with Cafi Cohen’s books on homeschooling. I recently passed my dogeared copy of her book, And What About College on to a friend. If you are familiar with her writing, Cafi has a wonderful way of encouraging us that home education does work and that you don’t have to break the bank to help find the resources that best meet your child’s needs.
Not only is Cafi the author of several homeschool books, she was also a columnist for Home Education Magazine for a few years and many of her excellent articles can be accessed online.
One great sample of her Older Kids column was featured in the July-August 1997 issue of Home Education Magazine. In this column Cohen wrote about Less being More. Although the column is over ten years old, the information remains relevant today. She writes this about the vendors’ area of a homeschool conference she had attended:
Hundreds of exhibitors lined the aisles at the last homeschooling conference I attended. There were educational games; nifty self- instructional computer math programs; complete lab science kits; history and art and music videos; all the “basics” of K-12 education on CD-ROM; even some wonderful books.
It all beckoned, promising to make my life easier by selling me the tools for The Perfect Homeschool Program. With unlimited funds, I would have had no trouble spending thousands of dollars. Good thing, with both kids in college, we are no longer in the homeschool shopping mode.
She also writes:
With adulthood around the corner, those parents want to do the right thing, the right thing often defined by the statement: “I don’t want to do anything that will wreck his chances of…..” You fill in the blank: getting into college, finding employment, joining the military, living on his own, etc. It is easy to be scared into trading big bucks for the assurance that you are doing the right thing.
What I learned from homeschooling in the old days, when large conferences, indeed any conferences, were unheard-of and when finding resources was like pulling teeth, is that you really don’t need the glitzy stuff to succeed. In fact, avoiding glitz may be the key to more productive home education.
How is it that Less Is More? Could refusing to spend $500 to $1,000 on new instructional materials not only save you money but also result in a better homeschooling experience for your family? The short answer is “Yes.”
Cohen suggests looking to community models to find great resources for your children. Here are some of the models and resources she suggests. Please note that some of the resources might be gone, but I’ve updated some and added a few of my own.
Public Library
Reference librarians, Books (including any text) not on the shelves I can order inter-library loan and generally have within two weeks, tapes, instructional videos, (dvds) for everything from algebra to zoology, historical documentary films, Internet access, science project idea books, announcements about cultural events in town, reading groups for all ages, magazines
Other Homeschooling Families
Generally you will find these individuals through support groups. You can explore Home Education Magazine’s Support Group Listings to find a group near you.
Community Groups
It seems there are special interest groups for everything. Some my teenagers liked were church sports teams (basketball and volleyball and softball), skiing clubs, ballooning groups in Albuquerque, drama groups, special interest groups for environmental and other political causes.
Catalogs
And resource number four is catalogs from homeschooling suppliers. Some catalogs are full of information for beginners, most notably the catalog from The Elijah Company . It describes various homeschooling approaches and coordinates them to resources. It also has outstanding age-appropriate reading list recommendations.
Other catalogs I like for their reading list and alternative learning materials recommendations are Holt Associates (617 864-3100), The Drinking Gourd (800 TDG 5487), and Grace Llewellyn’s Genius Tribe (541-686-2315).
What to do with all the money you save from using the library, talking to experienced homeschooling parents, joining community groups, and reading catalogs? Here it is, the exception that proves the rule, Less Is More: buy a computer and join us online! The computer is the key to information access, and information can save you frustration, money, and time.
Here are a few more resources I’d like to add:
Community Groups
I did a google search with “my town + community groups” and found a few organizations, but I found many more by visiting my city’s chamber of commerce and again by visiting my local library. These days, the Internet allows us to find almost anything instantaneously, but I think when it comes to taking my kids to meet a group of people, I proceed with caution and appreciate a face to face meeting with the adults first.
In addition to support group listings, HEM offers some online community opportunities at HEM NEWS and Commentary and their Editorial Blog.
They also offer several discussion groups:
Catalogs
I love the catalogs that Cafi shared, but some of them are no longer available. John Holt’s site still exists , but the bookstore is now a part of Fun Books. By doing a simple, “curriculum +homeschool ” search you will find more resource companies now than were available when Cohen first wrote Less is More. Additionally, there are many sites where you can buy gently used resources as well.
Does this mean you should not use a curriculum, nor find as many resources that you can? Of course not, but what it does mean is that you must make sure that any resource you might find serves your child and that you or your child do not become a slave to a program that you paid a lot of money for, but might not be a good fit.
I picked this particular column for Closer Look because I believe the additional pressure to buy, buy, buy to make sure your child excels causes more stress to our homeschool community than it helps. Mark Hegener, HEM Publisher and homeschool Dad once said that all you need to homeschool is love and a library card. That continues to remain true as well and I hope you will read and take to heart Cafi Cohen’s sage advice in Less is More.
Tags: Cafi Cohen, Free Resources, Home Education Magazine, homeschool, John Holt, library
