Your tax money at work regarding the White House screed of "disinformation about health insurance reform". From the White House blog:
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors [...]Homeschoolers can relate to the advantages of a private education. There are a hodge podge of reasons why homeschoolers do not use the public school. The bottom line is there was (and always should be) a choice of private or home education for our families.
I’ve watched the universal health care [...]
We were watching PBS’ NewsHour the other night and they had a piece on emotional learning in the classroom. I’ve been curious about this, as our local paper has a weekly blurb from the elementary school about their Character Education lesson of the week. The theme seems forced [...]
The quote above was from a music review of the Boston based string band Jaded Mandolin. I like to think homeschoolers can follow the same notion. That kid of ours in the picture to the left would likely not have discovered the banjo if not for' [...]
First of all, please go visit the Cate family’s Why Homeschool, as they are hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling-Founding Fathers Edition.
Just caught this post linked below from Elisheva and I love it when she very clearly writes what is floating [...]
Some disturbing information was uncovered recently about one of our government military organizations ( National Guard) and their alliance with Home School Legal Defense Association. This isn’t the first time our military hooked up with HSLDA.
Valerie Bonham Moon (The Military Homeschooler) posted this in 2006: [...]
Here’s some Illinois news below that I’m likin’. Where’s those petitions? I’ll be chasing John down. I’m ready to pass them about and start some conversations:
CHAMPAIGN – Today Illinois citizen [...]
This letter was sent out by Representative Tim Johnson. He’s a Republican, which is ok because he usually votes along a libertarian line.
He’s a little more graphic about this bill (and the luau preparation) on his website.
Dear Friends, I know many of you are interested in [...]
Longtime unschooler Deborah Niemann Boehle and I will lead a Rights & Responsibilities of Illinois Homeschoolers workshop.
Do you need to register with the state, submit your curriculum, or test your children? Learn what laws cover homeschoolers in Illinois and how to respond if others question [...]
A comment from "Jennifer" showed up a couple of days ago on the Home Education Mag News & Commentary blog underneath the following post. (This review of The Law of Homeschooling monographs posted February 12, 2009.)
"Jennifer" hasn’t reappeared to respond. Here’s the post excerpt with comments following :[...]
In education, learning should be the bottom line. Accreditation should not be.
Naperville area homeschoolers negotiated with school authorities, and common sense prevailed. A potential district policy revision was dropped demanding that a “district-approved external accrediting agency” certified any homeschool credits and grades transferred onto [...]
Indiana’s Debbie Harbeson provided questions that I enjoyed answering, and she posted them last Friday on Homeschooling: Freedom and Fun For Your Family.
Debbie also writes an awesome weekly column. Why is it awesome? Because she seems to be right in line with my thoughts about our [...]
He can (and does) talk to anyone. He barters with the best, because farmers have that non-taxable business down. He apparently has some genetic traits along those lines too, as displayed in his older brother’s World War 2 experiences.
He shook President Nixon’s hand at the State Fair, and I’ll [...]
Last week, a Cook County Circuit Court summary judgment ruled in favor of the Chicago Virtual Charter School (CVCS). The Chicago Teachers Union lawsuit claiming Chicago Public School/IL State Board of Education authorization illegalities was dismissed. The well financed union claimed that the Chicago Virtual Charter School was actually [...]
Plus we have 20 new little chicks that hatched out over the last 2 weeks. Plus Pat and I are heading over The Great Pond to Amsterdam! I have all ready, except throwing the clothes in the suitcase. At some point, I will absorb this Great Adventure as way too [...]
The Carnival of Homeschooling occurs every week and that won’t be changing. I need to acknowledge last week’s Carnival of Homeschooling at The Common Room before it becomes the non-current CoH. (It was irritating to me when contributors didn’t post the CoH link when I hosted it. Mildly [...]
Why do we need forced community service for our teens?
Teenagers usually have an optimistic idealism and tons of energy. A lesson learned from the homeschooling community might be that teens are a pretty generous bunch. If they have the time and the opportunity.
From the Belleville News-Democrat [...]
The chickens decided to have an impromptu picnic. I’m sure they left a hostess gift on the table…blecchhWe had some wind and rain a couple of days ago.
It was a little different than the inland hurricane after effects that [...]
I forgot about this comment here from early 2008 about The Twisty Twirly Mother’s Act, until I was digging around this morning.
Nancy Gray said this below in response to my opposition of legislative interventions into our families’ mental health:
So, what’s your [...]
Go see the Carnival of Homeschooling: Spring Fever 2009 at the Atlanta Examiner. Educational neglect is often discussed by ed wonks in various forms. Sometimes the parents are blamed because they don’t get the kid into the building. Then there is the hand wringing by those who see the end results in dropout and graduation rates, along with increased college remediation classes. Or [...]
Does that No Child Left…. phrase sound vaguely familiar to homeschoolers? It might, as it relates to the controversial No Child Left Behind federal law. Requirements from the 2001 federal No Child Left Behind [...]
Chicago really hit the Big Time with government financial incentives. Chicago has done well via Springfield too.
[Emil] Jones [highly pensioned former IL Senate leader], 72, is an unabashedly old-school politician. A former sewer inspector for the city of Chicago, Jones has relatives on the state payroll, [...]
The Common Room is hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling this week. She filled in wonderfully well for Dana, who is hopefully feeling much better.
Common Room and finding commonalities seems very fitting for me, as we seem to have the same family issues at our home as their large [...]
Mary is on a roll. Maybe not necessarily on a roll, as she provides very good information on a very routine basis.
She pulled together a very Spring-y carnival this week in Home Education Magazine’s Guide to Homeschooling Resources. The pictures will make anyone nostalgic: [...]
I forgot to bring a sign. I’m not exactly an expert at this.
I was also carting kids across town to this and that during this particular protest.
Should the 2-15 year old black belts have skipped Tae Kwon Do lessons yesterday to [...]
LeRoy is a neighboring farm town. It’s the rival school town. It’s where my daughter’s best childhood friend is raising their perfect little Tater and it’s where my uncle and his family live. Our church folks also have relatives and friends in LeRoy.
We’ve been watching and hoping and praying that [...]
In a world (country) gone mad, I see that volunteerism is now a law…as soon as President Obama signs it anyway.
Not volunteering is illegal? Hard to say as this is one more big, fat law.
Why would something good be made into a law? I think I need to [...]
There is a Spring Carnival over at Homeschool Buzz. Check it out. Our March is still roaring like a lion, along with 30 degree weather today. Those daffodils will be popping out soon.
My crocus came and went while on our travels last [...]
Slow food, "organic" gardens and chickens scratching about in peoples’ city backyards made me think that we were becoming a bit more enlightened and moving past the days of processed factory food being the greatest invention since the cotton gin. I hoped we could also move a bit past Betty [...]
Any farmer has that Irish saying always on their mind when the seed goes in. The fields aren’t being worked yet, but we are working on our spring garden.
But first of all, and speaking of the Irish, St. Patrick’s Day was a few days ago. We had an Irish [...]
I have particular conversations about ‘help’ every so often. Some on-line, some with people who want to help or are helping. There is a generally embedded notion in our country that there always ’should be someone here to help’. The "someone" not necessarily a someone, but a bureaucracy called our [...]
Life Nurturing Education hosts this week’s Carnival of Homeschooling: Top 10 School Supplies Edition.
I’m going to try knocking off some pics that have been waiting patiently to be included here.
School supplies have been applicable with what I’ll lay out here [...]
Watch it tonight-ABC! 10 pm eastern time on 20/20
Pre-K for Every Kid ‘a Waste of Money’? Comments are always interesting.
Diane Flynn Keith, long time CA homeschooler, and founder of Universal Preschool Dot Com, was interviewed and will likely be talking about what makes sense and what [...]
That could certainly be the question of this society? Illinois legislators put it in writing in HB 2448- Remote Educational Programs, which begins the process of starting up a state-wide virtual public school.
(6) The remote educational program is at all times under the direct supervision [...]
K12 is a business and has not been supportive of protecting homeschool freedoms while maintaining and growing their business with government schools.
In Illinois, there are homeschooling families who successfully use (and pay for) the K12 curriculum (International Academy), as a private school option.
The K12 company has made [...]
Update- March 11: Representative Chapa LaVia plans on amending the bill regarding the "home-schooled" language. That’s good news.
This bill sits (since 3/3) in the Illinois Elementary and Secondary Education House Committee. The hearing date is set for March 11. It’s sponsored by Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia.
[...]
Abuse situations, convictions and lawsuits have been wafting between the ~60 mile range of Normal and Urbana, Illinois. I wrote a bit about it on the Illinois Review yesterday.
You always wonder a bit about who in the schools could have more blame for [...]
The Carnival of Homeschooling for this week was stimulated at Consent of the Governed. Check it out!
Last night, I went to a fun event organized by a garage sale guru friend of mine. She organized a Swap Night for the area homeschoolers. You bring your junk quality extras. [...]
The Early Ed Watch Blog has a series - Illinois & Chicago-Hint of What’s to Come? I’ve had this thought often since last November concerning our country’s future.
These articles revolve around the possibilities stemming from the early education program (Preschool for All) initiated by [...]
The Land of Lincoln is becoming known as the Land of Sleaze, but my little world here in Illinois knows differently. We just got back from southern Illinois where we went to our daughter and her friends’ photography show. We’ve come to [...]
Check out the current Carnival of Homeschooling Hardwired Edition. I haven’t read all of the Carnival yet, but hope to today. We’ve been roaming around the southern half of Illinois and access to wireless internet has been lacking. I’m been non-techie these past few days, but Topsy Techie [...]
We have 32 birds that I say good morning to every morning. 17 of them are cockerels, also known as roosters. When they have the opportunity to have relations, these chickens are not discreet and very loosey goose….chicken.
Here’s to great habitats and [...]
While on my unplanned respite from blogging, I recently ran into a Springfield Journal-Register Dave Bakke article about the Moorman family. This homeschooling family took a controversial lifestyle path.
Dave Bakke: Cost of living a simplified life? Priceless
With the economy tanking, people are cutting back on expenses. Not [...]
There have been many questions from the homeschool community about our next President’s thoughts on homeschooling. President Bush said he supported homeschooling, but many of his across-the-board policies that were approved by Congress took away freedoms for children, families and citizens.
Barack Obama hasn’t shared too many public thoughts [...]
Our only IL Senator (at the moment) is pushing hard for Bush to grant a sentence commutation for former governor and current felon George Ryan. Obama is appropriately staying away from the situation at this time. Durbin should have done the same, but maybe he’s setting the clemency stage [...]
This ‘guide’ was written up by counsel for the IL Principals Association and was posted on Market Watch:
Homeschooling Law Resource Guide - Released by the Education Law Association
Last update: 11:04 a.m. EST Dec. 3, 2008
DAYTON, Ohio, [...]
