“Do you study biology?” The high school students asked my children. She was curious about what homeschooled children studied.
“No!” stated my oldest, with all the authority he could muster. “We study caterpillars.” On the drive home he asked, “What is biology anyway?”
“Life. The Universe. And everything,” I responded. “Definitely caterpillars.”
Like most scientific investigations, our studies of caterpillar behavior began with a simple question: How much can a single caterpillar eat? We were standing behind the house assessing gypsy moth damage to our trees.
Continue reading “Caterpillar Secrets,” by Sue Smith Heavenrich, free online, from the Jul/Aug 1999 issue of Home Education Magazine.
Tags: Caterpillar Secrets, caterpillars, Home Education Magazine, homeschool biology, homeschool high school, Sue Smith Heavenrich, what homeschooled children study
In Write These Laws on Your Children: Inside the World of Conservative Christian Homeschooling, Robert Kunzman uses his unprecedented access to six conservative Christian homeschooling families to explore this elusive world, from the day-to-day lives of its adherents to its broader aspirations to transform American culture and politics. Woven throughout Kunzman’s narrative are larger questions about the purpose of public education, what makes an educated citizenry—and how American political and intellectual life could change as conservative Christian homeschooled children reach adulthood.
Tags: American culture, books on homeschooling, Christian homeschooling, conservative Christian, politics, Robert Kunzman, Write These Laws on Your Children
The Pioneer Woman – aka Ree Drummond – married the Marlboro Man and they’re happily homeschooling their children on a working cattle ranch, and if you haven’t met Ree yet… Well, you should, because she’s a hoot and she writes wonderful stuff like this:
I’ve come a long way from the “thirty-minute goal” approach with which I began. Heck, I don’t even have daily goals anymore. Or weekly goals. Or monthly, even. My goals are yearly these days. I know what grade my kids are in, what materials they’ll need to attain a certain level of knowledge by the end of the year, and I jump in. Some days, I’m pleased with the amount of work we get done. Other days, we never look at a book because the kids are working cattle or I decide I can’t be bothered with Advanced Physics or Underwater Basketweaving on that particular day. Some days, my kids surprise me with their insight and intelligence. Other days, I’m sure they’ll be playing ukuleles on Venice Beach before they’re twenty.
And The Pioneer Woman also shares wonderful recipes, great gardening ideas, helpful housekeeping tips, awesome photography (and she tells you how to do everything she does with a camera) and much more!
Tags: cattle ranch, Marlboro Man, Ree Drummond, relaxed homeschooling, The Pioneer Woman
“M-A-T-H. What thoughts come to mind with the word MATH? The three R’s. A government school ‘required subject,’ according to many state statutes and some local regulations. An essential topic in any homeschool.”
So writes Cafi Cohen in her column for the Jan/Feb, 1997 issue of Home Education Magazine, as she addresses Rethinking Midschool/High School Math. Cafi continues:
“Past that point, what official guidance are you given for teaching math? Often, none. What you cover and how you cover it is up to you. In the absence of specific directions, many homeschooling families pursue what I call School Math. School Math is how most parents studied math when they attended school; and it is how most schools still teach math.”
Read more about the topic – free online – at the link above.
Tags: Cafi Cohen, high school math, Home Education Magazine, homeschooling, homeschooling high school, math, midschool math
“Doing the Minimum to Comply With Homeschooling Laws and Other Good Ideas,” by Larry and Susan Kaseman, Sept/Oct 1999 Taking Charge column:
September. Back to school. A time when new homeschoolers decide how they will comply with state homeschooling laws and regulations, and experienced homeschoolers have the opportunity to simplify the ways they are complying. A good time to consider some basic principles and steps needed to maintain our homeschooling freedoms. This column will discuss:
* Doing only the minimum that is required to comply with homeschooling laws.
* Refusing to comply with requests or demands from officials that exceed their legal authority.
* Not participating in public school programs in ways that threaten our homeschooling freedoms.
* Supporting homeschooling publications and organizations that understand these principles and have helped homeschoolers live by them.
An important article to read again as we head into the “not-back-to-school” season. Free to read online in its entirety.
Tags: Home Education Magazine, homeschool compliance, homeschooling freedoms, homeschooling laws, Kaseman, Larry and Susan Kaseman
The World Factbook: The U.S. government’s complete geographical handbook, featuring full-color maps and flags of all nations and geographical entities. Each country profile tracks such demographics as population, ethnicity and literacy rates, as well as political, geographical and economic data.
Tags: economic data, flags of nations, geography, government resources, political data, World Factbook, World facts
