Update on my son

My son seems to be feeling better. He still gets tired though which is to be expected. We haven't done much in the way of school work though. He went to his theater and chorus class yesterday and did fine. They sit mostly anyway so he didn't overdo it. Today he has a history class but it's just watching a video and he can either sit or lie on the floor to watch it. Tomorrow we are going to the zoo. I plan on getting a wheelchair for him. I don't want him to get too worn out. I figure by sitting in a wheelchair and having your mom push you around would give him a laugh. After all mom hasn't pushed him in a "stroller" since he was little. lol!

Found out about this driving program coming up in May. The kids learn about driving safety, drunk driving, what to look for in a used car, automobile safety tips and get the opportunity to learn and practice handling a car in emergency situations. They practice controlled skids and maneuvering out of a skid and hydroplaning. The class is taught by actual race car drivers. Now how cool is that? They do require the kids have either their driver's license or a valid learner's permit by the time of the class. So we will have to get him the driver's handbook so he can study for and take the test to get his permit. When I told my hubby about this class, he said he wanted to do it too. Too bad it's for 21 and younger. lol! I guess I should get over to the site and sign up for it before it's too late. We have about 2 1/2 mths to study for this, so that should be long enough for him to memorize the manual and pass the test. Don't you think? ha!

I found another algebra book. This one is called "Illustrated Effortless Algebra". I skimmed through the book and it seems to be very helpful. There are loads of illustrations that help explain the different formulas and equations. I think that I could even learn algebra from this book! I just hope it helps my son better understand what he is doing.

We are going to Scarborough Faire during school days. We will meet up with some other homeschoolers. We've been a few times in the past on regular days and really enjoyed ourselves. There aren't as many vendors during school days, but that's okay. The kids get a free coupon so we can come back again with hubby. I think it'll be fun for the kids. Someone suggested the teens dress up. I think that would be fun. If they do, I'll post pics here with the new digital camcorder/camera my hubby got me.

Next week it's back to work for my son. I didn't push him to do any school work this week. I figured he needed to just rest and relax. It was kind of like an early spring break for him even if we normally don't do spring break. I'm going to have to fix our school schedule since he'll be going past the time I had set for school to be over. Oh well, it's not like we haven't gone past our deadline before!

Thank goodness we homeschool!

I am so glad we homeschool otherwise I might be faced with my son missing many, many days of school. He had been sick last week from what I thought was a cold. But as the week went on, he started complaining of his throat being sore and extremely tired. I didn't think he had strep throat because he didn't have the telltale signs of it. I also didn't think it was the flu because he didn't have an upset stomach or any of the other symptoms of the flu. So I reached back in my memory of when my daughter had the same symptoms, and my first thought was mono. But I thought, no that couldn't be because he doesn't drink or eat after anyone and I KNEW that he hadn't kissed anyone either (or at least I didn't think he had). I decided though on Friday that I had to take him to the doctor just to ease my mind. Sure enough after blood was drawn and the doctor finished his exam, he concluded that my son did indeed have mono. Oh joy! At least it wasn't leukemia which was one of the diseases running through my head!

It will take several weeks for him to recuperate from this disease. He will just have to take things easy and not over do it. Good thing he doesn't play any contact sports. He does bowl on a Sat. morning league so that may have to be curtailed for now.

We have several events coming up that I'm a little concerned about. One is our local homeschool zoo day. I've already sent in my reservation along with my money. They do have a limited number of wheelchairs at the zoo, so I'm thinking I will get one. I'll have to take the paperwork the doctor gave me showing that he has mono just so the zoo staff won't think I'm trying to pull a quick one on them. He also has a Theater and Chorus class on Tues. in which they are working on a play they will perform at the end of the year. I told him I would talk to the instructors and explain the situation, but I felt that he could sit there and read his part or sing or whatever it is that they do. He can participate in the physical activities only if he feels like it. There is a homeschool dance coming up March 10th. I think he'll be okay to go to this. It's still a few weeks off. He can always not dance if he wants to.

I remember when my daughter had mono. She was home for about a week, then went back to school but was only there for a few days I think before coming home again. She missed a lot of school that semester. I remember when she did go back to her history class, there was a student teacher who was not very nice. I don't think she cared if my daughter was sick or not. She expected her to turn in the work that was assigned even though the student was allowed so many days to turn it in after being out sick. That probably contributed to the many reasons we decided to homeschool.

We will take our time with his school work. I'm not really on a schedule, but I would like for him to be finished with all his work by the end of May this year. Anyway, I won't push him to do several hours of school work at one time each day. I told him he can do a little bit, then rest for a little bit, then go back to his school work. He'll be fine and things will work out in the long run.

Where do YOU homeschool Seuss-style!

I thought this was kind of cute.

I will homeschool in the bed, I will homeschool on my head.
I will homeschool on the floor, I will homeschool out the door.
I will homeschool in a group, I will homeschool eating soup.
I can homeschool in a car, I will homeschool near and far.
I can homeschool in my lair, I can homeschool ANYWHERE! 

Texas Driver License Requirements

There is a new bill in the Texas House concerning stricter requirements for kids to get their license. The new bill would require students to be in class a certain amount of days. Normally something like this would not affect homeschoolers but in this case the writer of the bill, State Representative Ryan Guillen has added that homeschoolers must also be in attendance for 80 days. If they aren't in class for that amount of time, then the parent or guardian is suppose to report this information not to the DPS (who the public and traditional private schools report to) but to the local public school superintendent. Now if I don't normally have any contact with my local school district, why should I want to start now by reporting that my child hasn't attended class? If my child has not attended his/her homeschool classes, then that's my fault. My state homeschool association has this posted on their website:

http://www.thsc.org/hb1091.asp

HB 1091 by State Representative Ryan Guillen would change the law to make it stricter for students to get and keep a Texas driver license. It treats home schools differently from private schools – requiring the current number of days (80) rather than 90% of the classes offered, as is required for private and public schools. 90% of classes would be 153 days for public school or traditional private school attendance. The bill requires automatic revocation of driver licenses for students who fall below attendance of 90% or 80 days for home school students. While public school and traditional private school officials are required to report this to the DPS, home school parents would report to the local public school superintendent rather than DPS as other school officials. This is a major issue for us. Finally, if a high school student over age 15 withdraws from public or private school to home school, it appears that they would be required to wait at least 80 days before they could obtain a license.

THSC representatives have visited with Representative Guillen’s staff and expressed our concerns and opposition to the bill. They were completely uninformed about home schooling and said it was inconceivable that parents should have this kind of freedom from state control. We made clear that we intend to keep it that way. We will continue to monitor this bill and let you know if and when action is needed.

Representative Guillen evidently doesn't like homeschoolers since he states that us parents should be more controlled by the state as far as schooling our children goes. Where does he get off? He doesn't represent me. And I resent the fact that he wants to force me to have contact with a school district who I normally have nothing to do with! You can check out his website at: http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist31/guillen.htm
There you can see exactly which area of Texas he resprents and then maybe you'll understand why he wants to get something like this passed.

I really hope that this bill gets shot down. This is an unfair bill not only for public and traditional private schools but also for homeschoolers because according to the TEA are private schools. Just because they crossed out the word "homeschooler" in parts of the bill, does not mean that we are exempt from that section. To me it only confuses me more. Is my child subjected to the 90% of the day classes are offered or the 80 days preceeding the date of the application? Which is it? Am I a private school or just a homeschool?

You can check out the bill yourself at: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/80R/billtext/pdf/HB01091I.pdf

I'm so mad about this bill that I couldn't even think straight enough to write a proper blog. Plus the fact that my internet is messed up or something weird is going on with it.

Links to interesting posts

Here are some interesting posts that I have found. I am including the link and a snippet from the post.

Superstition Ain't the Way

The central issue, for me, is the same as with speculative evolution:What is real and what is fictitious?

Public education is presented as the only "natural" and "observable" form of education, the obvious common sense choice for any rational person. Homeschooling is presented as the choice of irrational kooks, manipulative hypocrites, vicious child abusers, and illiterate hill jacks.

More parents choosing to homeschool their children

Homeschooling is growing in popularity as an alternative to public or private school.

Susie Smith, who began the North Greenwood Home Educators group, said homeschool parents "want the best education they feel that they can get their children."

Smith's main reason for choosing homeschool, however, was the desire for her daughter Morgan, 10, to have a Christian education.

Public schools' bonds with homeschoolers grow

SEATTLE -- Students at the tiny, nondescript public school building in North Seattle have no playground, no formal cafeteria, no sports teams, no bells signaling the end of class.

They come and go as they please, and the nearly 250 who pass through the halls don't even consider themselves public school students.

They're among the more than 20,000 children statewide who are thought to opt out of public schools each year. They and their parents are drawn instead to the flexibility and freedom of homeschooling.

Families homeschool for a variety of reasons

Their school day starts at 10 a.m. and ends at noon.

Mom is the teacher and field trips include visits to the grocery store, Amish Country and the family's organic food store where they learn the basics of running a business.

Six-year-old Samantha will complete the first grade by the end of the month and her brother, 5-year-old Tommy, is in kindergarten.

Valerie Mozena of Roseville made the decision to homeschool her children for many reasons, and it's a decision she and her husband made together.

Sex assaults by teachers on students an 'epidemic'

By Bob Unruh

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

An estimated 5 million students in United States schools have been assaulted sexually by teachers, according to a congressional report. But no one is calling for investigations or law enforcement crackdowns, there have been no campaigns to ban the offenders from schools, and in many states there aren't even any requirements such predator attacks be reported to education licensing agencies.

Transcripts and college

A friend of mine and I were discussing whether or not colleges require you to have a high school transcript. I told her that one was not required and she said that it was. So I decided to do some research on this subject. I have come to the conclusion that while there are some colleges that do require a transcript, most colleges now are not requiring them of homeschoolers. I think the reason is because some homeschoolers do not follow a strict course schedule and/or grading system. Take for instance unschoolers. They allow their children to choose their own way of learning. People that use unit studies also do not have a grading system because usually the "course" covers several different subjects/topics inter-mingled together. There are some that use an eclectic approach like me. Even though we use text books for most of our core subjects, only one of the books actually has a grading system for their tests. I suppose I could count the number of problems, add up the number of correct answers and divide...blah, blah, blah. That's just too much trouble! Besides, when I do grade an assignment or test, we always go over the incorrect problem and correct it. So, should I grade the assignment or test before we do corrections or after? To me it is more important to correct the problems and grade on that than it is to grade before hand and not do any corrections. The one issue I had with public schools is the grading system. They correct the assignments or tests, pass them back to the child and never go over and correct the problems. What are the kids learning from this? Absolutely nothing, except humiliation. The humiliation of knowing that they did poorly on the assignment or test and now all your classmates know how bad you did too. I would rather my child know the correct answer than how many they got wrong and not know the answer.

So back to transcripts. On the transcripts that I have found, they all require a grade for the course taken and any credits given. Hmmmm, I homeschool, therefore I am the one awarding the grades and credits. If my child did not understand the subject well enough to "pass", then I am not going to continue on to the next subject. I am going to work with my child until they do understand the subject. Eventually my child will earn the credit they need in that subject. To me if my child understands what they have learned, then they deserve an "A", which in turn means that they now have a 4.0 G.P.A. I would put this "grade" on the transcript because that is what they want. As you can tell, I don't like grades. I think they are distracting because then the child is only trying to get an "A" instead of trying to learn the subject. Anyone remember those "A" and "A & B" honor rolls the public schools love to post?

When I mentioned to my friend my feelings on grades, she was pretty much aghast that I don't "grade" my childs papers. She wants actual scores to use and not what I call "made up" scores. Her approach to homeschooling and school work are quite different than mine, but that's her choice. (Ah, the joys of homeschooling)

In doing some research on transcripts I came across this: "The documentation allows admission officers to rank students with other applicants and determine if a student is capable of doing well at their school." (see Cafi Cohen's article entitled "And What About College?" below) and “[Transcripts are] irrelevant because a transcript is basically a comparison to other students in the school.” Since my child is the only student I have, how then can this documentation compare them to another student and even rank them since these other students didn't use the same curriculum I did?

Then at the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC) website, I came across this: Testing - Colleges rely more on tests than transcripts for home schoolers. Find out which test(s) and what scores are required for admission to the colleges or universities your student is interested in attending. The school he eventually attends might be determined by his test scores. The site lists some of the tests that colleges might request - THEA, GED, PSAT, SAT, and ACT, the same tests that public school kids take.

On the Home School Texas site I found this:

A common question parents ask when considering homeschooling is, "Can homeschoolers go to college?" The answer is a resounding "Yes".

If your son or daughter is considering a specific college, contact the college and ask them what their enrollment requirements are for homeschoolers. Although each college independently establishes it entrance requirements, at a minimum those requirements will normally include a review of the following:

1) SAT or ACT scores
2) Possibly review work you done during your home schooling and
3) Discuss your involvement in community activities.

Trinity Christian College had this note on their website - * Home schooled students may substitute an academic portfolio plus verification that the home school program has been completed. If the student has been part of an association that issues transcripts, a transcript should be sent.

In my research I found many other colleges that had similar policies for homeschoolers. It is mostly up to the college whether or not they require you to have an "official" transcript. If that is so, then by all means you should make one.

When my daughter was trying to enlist in the Air Force, I made a transcript for her. I did not send off for the "official" transcript from the public school that she attended. All I did was go to the schools website and copy the course information from their listings. That is what I did for the courses she took while homeschooling. I did not put a grade on the transcript although I could have if I wanted to. I could go into more detail on how the military handles homeschoolers, but that's another blog. I did put on there whether she passed or failed (of course she passed the homeschool classes but she also passed her public school classes too).

When it comes time for my son to enter college, I will probably make out a transcript. Whether it will have grades is another story. If the college he chooses to go to requires grades, then I will put a grade down for each subject. In the end he will get an "A" in the subject because he will know the material he has been studying well enough to warrant an "A" grade. I'm not going to give him an "F" and go on to something else. I'll leave the "let's promote them to the next grade level even though they don't know the work" attitude to the public schools. As for me and my child, he'll end up with a 4.0 G.P.A. in my book.

Just as our children have their own learning styles, we as parents have our own teaching and record keeping styles. I hope that this will clear up some of the confusion associated with transcripts. Just check with the college that your child is going to attend and find out their requirements, then go from there.

Meanwhile, I'll think about the grade thing and get back to you.

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I have listed a few more links about transcripts, portfolios and what some of the other colleges I found require.

Waycross College - Scroll down the page to "Homeschool Admission" for info on their policies.

Univ. of Washington - Info for homeschooled applicants.

Trinity Lutheran College states: "When applying to Trinity, we require an application, character reference, transcripts, and SAT/ACT scores for admission. Students should submit any parent-made transcripts as well as any transcripts from distance learning and/or online high schools. If such transcripts are not available, a portfolio of high school completion should be submitted."

Pacific Northwest College of Art had this to say on their website: "Students who have completed their secondary (high school) education by home schooling must demonstrate the federal standard of Ability to Benefit. Along with the home school transcript, home schooled students must submit a diploma recognized by their local school district or an official copy of the GED. Students must also include a letter explaining why the family chose to home school." They also have homeschool students fill out this document: - Home Schooled Requirements

Mary Baldwin College has a Homeschool Transcript Form for students/parents to fill out.

The Wall Street Journal has a very good article listed in their Classroom Edition called "Remaking the Grade - Colleges Devise Formulas to Interpret Applicants' High-School GPAs"

At Homeschoolers.com there was this article "Homeschoolers, Colleges Want You!" that will answer some of the questions about college.

At Houghton College I found this Homeschool Curricular Template which you may find useful in preparing your records for college admission officers. It's a different approach to the traditional transcript but it is very informative.

Another option I have seen is a portfolio. From what I have seen, a portfolio is more or less a collection of work that your child has done but can include just about anything of importance to your child's schooling. The Oklahoma Homeschool website has loads of information on homeschooling to begin with but they did have this example of what should go into a portfolio.

And finally, I am including a link to an excerpt from Cafi Cohen's article entitled "And What About College?" Chap 5: Recordkeeping & Transcripts-Transcripts vs. Portfolios.

New classes, new help

My son began taking theater and chorus yesterday. He was only suppose to be taking theater, but his "girlfriend" is also taking chorus, so he decided to take it too. That's fine with me. If it takes spending time with the girl you like for him to take a class in something that he has already told me before he didn't want to take, then I'm all for it. The two classes are actually necessary for what this group is to do at the end of this "semester". The kids will be putting on a play as their final show. That's cool. As long as my son learns something and has fun, then it's all good.

After discussing my problem with Algebra, a friend told me to bring my son over to her house and she would help him with his Algebra. Never mind that her daughter is the girl my son likes. lol! Maybe though she will be able to help him enough to where he will understand the Algebra because I sure don't.

My son is also going to be taking some dance classes at the same place he takes theater. There is going to be a teen dance through the homeschool association I belong to and this place is offering the kids dance lessons. Pretty cool if you ask me. The music will be from the 40's all the way to now. I don't know what kind of dances they will be taught but any type of lessons are good. I never had dance lessons. I always copied what I saw on American Bandstand or from my friends. The one time I did take lessons, it was country and western dance and it was with my husband. Mostly it was for him because he didn't dance. He still doesn't dance. He wasn't very good at it and we just didn't "click" when we were dancing. I think I wanted to lead but really wanted him to lead me and he just didn't do that. Oh well, no one is perfect. I wouldn't mind taking some other types of dance lessons myself...salsa, swing, mambo, etc. I just like to dance. So hopefully these lessons will help my son with his dancing and he'll want to learn more. Who knows, maybe we'll have another dancer for "So You Think You Can Dance?"