H-S: Digest of Intros (long) (part 1 of 2)

[Jody & Scott Arnold family]

Hi, everyone:
Here's a collection of most of the intros on the
homesc...@efn.org list in the past few months. I'm posting them for all
you newcomers that keep subscribing, so you have some idea of who is on the
list.
I know it's hopeless to try to keep info on EVERYONE on the list,
since we have at least one or two new subscriptions and unsubscriptions each
day. But if you plan to stay on the list for a while, why don't you just
tell us who you are, where you are, how many kids & their ages, and if you
homeschool? That shouldn't take too long, should it? Of course, you are
welcome to say more! I'll save your intros and add them to this digest.
And if you unsubscribe, I'll take you off (I'm kind of like Santa, I know
when you subscribe and unsubscribe...).

jody

P.S. I'm working a lot of hours hand-quilting a quilt for a wedding
present, and am making progress. I'm hoping to finish it by the end of tax
season--my husband's a CPA and that's when life starts anew for our family.
Anyway, I just don't have time to post much to the list, but all of you are
welcome to talk!

From: tom.wa...@virgin.net
Date: Sat, 11 Jan 1997 15:35:00 -0500 (EST)

My name is Tom Watson and my wife is Gracie, we have three kids 19,14,11. The
19 year old is a graduate from ACE homeschooling after starting 7 years ago.
We like the ACE program, but probably like all programs there are likes and
dis-likes.

We are Americans that live in England (we come from Los Angeles). I am a
pastor of a Christian church here. One person asked how HS is looked upon
here, the same as the US, STRANGE <g>. The government doesn't sanction
anything as far aas HS goes. There is even an ACE office here in London, but
we still use the US versions.

After all these years we are pretty much "in the groove" of HS, but we still
struggle with some of the basics, like, trying to teach them something we
have difficulty comprehending! And also we need ideas for some extra stuff
they can do that doesn't forever and cost a fortune (good luck you say!). Our
kids are fairly disciplined and motivated and we make sure they get up and
follow through with the day's plan.

One of the things that we struggled with in the beginning was, we did not
seem like the ideal type of parents, the kind that "eat, drink, breathe"
their children! In other words we were not sure if we were cut out to handle
this rigorous schedule and be creative and teach. But we have found that it
is good! I would say at least 80% of parents could do it! Most folks I talk
with say they could not do it, but I'm sure they could if they tried a
little.

I would appreciate posts about the "little things" that people do to make HS
a little more "exciting", if thats the right word. I also got a big kick out
of Jody's "12 days of homeschooling"

Date: Sat, 11 Jan 1997 10:11:05 -0600
From: mike oxford <mox...@ipa.net>

Hi
I'm Janet Oxford and I'm homeschooling one child in Arkansas. I have 2
children who attend public school. This is the first year I'm
homeschooling and so I have a great deal to learn. My son (6) and I are
enjoying the experience greatly.
I am a little unsure of myself when it comes to teaching him to read.
I'm sure he is ready but I'm a little unsure of myself. There are
reasons I'll not go into now. I purchased the book "Teach your child to
read in 100 lessons". I have heard good things about this book. I
would be very interested in any comments anyone has about this book or
any suggestions on what works for them.
I would also love to hear from anyhomeschoolers in Arkansas.
Have a Great Day and use that Delete button for those messages you don't
have any interest in. It makes live so much easier. Janet

Date: Sun, 12 Jan 1997 08:14:05 -0800 (PST)
From: jpickard <jpic...@efn.org>

My name is Julie Pickard and I am just beginning to homeschool my
4 1/2 year old son. I also have a 7 month old baby boy. We live
in Junction City and because of our baby we are finding it hard to
get into Eugene very much for homeschool get-togethers. (The little
one hates the car! :-{
I really would love to get together with some local people......so if
anyone on here is in Junction City, please write me! :-)

Kyle knows all the letters and is learning the sounds they make. He
is very interested in it and has always been a very bright, verbal child.
I feel really good about our decision to homeschool. For the local
people: Have you used the Bethel Technology Center? What has been
your experience with it? Also, could someone tell me a bit about KONOS?

Thanks :-)
Julie

From: Kt...@aol.com
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 07:46:28 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Need suggestions

Hi y'all!

I don't actually have any children yet. My husband and I are trying to start
early to find out all of our options so that we can get a head start on doing
what we think are the best things in raising our family to come. I don't
know much about homeschooling and would like some ideas on what all it
involves and what to expect our life style to be like if we choose to
homeschool our children. Some questions I have are:

1. Will I be able to work and if so, what do I do with the kids while I am
at work? Are there preschools or reliable day care centers that take
children for just part of a day?

2. Are there groups of homeschoolers or other folks who I will be able to
interact with so that my children are able be around other children and learn
how to behave in groups?

3. How do you know what to teach? Are there standards to keep children at
least up to levels of regular schools?

These are just a few of the many questions that I have been wondering. Any
other suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!

P.S. Hi, Janet! I am also from Arkansas, currently living in a much more
frigid climate!

From: pastd...@juno.com
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 11:59:24 EST

[She was responding to a dad who wasn't sure what he felt about h-sing.]

I think your feelings are pretty normal to new homeschoolers. I know I
doubted myself for quite a while, when my kids decided they wanted to go
to high school last year I felt better to know they were on a par if not
ahead of their peers. My son had a hard time in 9th grade adjusting to
the structure etc. I once again felt I had somehow messed up their whole
lives etc. Well, I am happy to say that his problems were not academic
but a simple question of maturity, now a 10th grader he is a straight A
student, the school mascot, and active in Scouts, and church activities.
With all this going on he seldom has homework because he uses study halls
wisely, and is even in a couple of honors courses! My daughter has
always been a consistent student.

The biggest advantage I have seen from homeschooling any of my children
(I have 7 all of which have been handled differently) has been the much
closer bond between us. I no longer hear from those who have ever been
homeschooled the phrase "teacher said so you must be wrong!" We are able
to study things that interest the kids, my son was into magic and
clowning for several years and we studied famous examples of both, read
biographies, and attended performances etc. One of my daughters is
interested in art history and knows more about fine art than I do. These
two also ran their own business during a year they homeschooled together.
They learned how to advertise, bookkeeping skills, work ethic, and that
they could work together. They had a mothers helper/nanny service and
were in huge demand, being the only teens at home during the day in our
neighborhood.

Just try to remember that during a school day there is really only a
short amount of time spent in actual instruction. The larger the class
size the less learning time there is. My experience has been that we
covered more in a couple of hours a day than the schools were in days or
even weeks. My son thought he wanted to go back to school in 8th grade,
he went to one history class and discovered that we were nearly a whole
semester ahead of where they were. It was only October, he stayed home
and we finished the entire book on US history by January, the school was
taking two years to finish the same material!

It makes me feel better to also know that even the best schools and
teachers don't care as much about my children and their success as I do.
And no one is going to give them as much time as I can, even on a busy
hectic day!

Hope this helps a little!
Sarah Campbell

From: pastd...@juno.com
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 13:44:46 EST

It is an adjustment for children who have been in school to suddenly be
at home and in homeschool. The comment I got sick of hearing was, "this
isn't the way a REAL teacher does it." I would get very discouraged.

Progress came when then saw how much more they were learning, and how
much less time it took to learn it. Now that my 2 who have had the most
homeschool are back in public high school, they constantly comment on how
slow the pace is, and how they don't feel like they are learning much!
What it amounts to is that they have become better students and manage
their time wisely. They seldom have homework, choosing to get it done in
study hall etc.

I have always provided social interaction through our church and its
youth programs. They are very active and serve in leadership positions.
Making friends has never been a problem. Other activities place them with
other kids their age too. This past summer they spent alot of time
picking blueberries and making friends that they still see today. I think
the social aspects of school have been overblown by those who would have
us keep our children in public school. My memories of school are more
often of the teasing, cruel comments, and in high school drugs,weapons,
and bomb threats. By the way I graduated in 1971!

Sarah Campbell

From: jo...@efn.org

Hi homeschoolers!
Here's an intro of our family, much like the one I posted about a
year ago.
My apologies to those who have already seen it. And welcome to all you
newcomers on the list!
I'm a homeschooling mom of 5 kids, ages 4-14. We've always
homeschooled, and are fairly unstructured in our learning. We use Saxon
math, we watch Oregon Public Broadcasting's Instructional TV (ITV) (let me
know if you'd like information on this), we read a lot, and just learn from
life. We have two teenagers now and, despite my periodic panic attacks
("Are they learning anything?"), all the kids are doing fine.
I've been involved in L.I.G.H.T. (Lane [County] Inter-Christian
Guild of Home Teachers) since way back when it was called CHENES and met at
the Chalet Pancake House (9 years?). But the *really* old-timers go back
to the Wild Plum!
We live in downtown Springfield, Oregon, in a big, old, historic
home within
walking distance of the library and the high school. We've lived here since
1979, which is most of our married life. We've shared our home with lots of
people during that time, and often have a foreign student living us.
Last year my teenagers took a Japanese class at the high
school which is really a Lane Community College community ed class.
This year they are taking 2nd year and the two middle kids and I are taking
1st year.
The classes meet 3 times a week for an hour and a quarter, and two family
members can enroll for the price of one. (BTW, this is true of all LCC foreign
language, sign language, and upholstery classes.) I've been very happy with
the classes, and would recommend them to others in the area. The cost is
about $60 for two family members for each term.
The longer I homeschool, the more convinced I become that it is
better and easier to hold off on "bookwork" until kids are 8-10 years old.
With our first two, I didn't do much until they were 7 & 6, and then it was
pretty minimal. But I honestly can't see that they benefitted from starting
then as opposed to starting a few years later. So with our younger three
(now 10, 8, & 5), I'm not really doing much except playing math games and
reading to them. And, of course, watching ITV. And they are doing fine.
What about tests? Our kids have been reading by their first test,
and have scored well above average. ( We've had four kids teach themselves
to read without any formal phonics instruction, although I know that's not
true for all kids.) They don't do great on language mechanics and math,
but they're almost never lower than the 50th percentile on anything. If you
are a beginning homeschooler, I'd encourage you not to be afraid of testing.
And especially don't let test scores be a measure of the success of your
school year or your performance as a "teacher."
A major family hobby this last year has been unicycling. My husband
has unicycled for years, and recently Vjera, Hope, and Thad have begun.
They would enjoy meeting others in the area who unicycle.
My major hobby is quilting, and I'm about ready to put a quilt top on
the quilting frame. It has a center panel which is a watercolor quilt,
using 2" squares of fabric to "paint" a picture or design. It's really been a
challenge for me.
In case your kids are interested in writing to mine, here are their
names, ages, and interests.

Vjera, DOB 10-5-81, enjoys bird watching, reading, gymnastics, and
the Internet. She likes writing to keypals, especially because it is *fast*
and she doesn't have to fill up a sheet of paper before she can mail it!
Luke, DOB 1-26-83, enjoys all sports, especially basketball. He
likes Star Trek and Star Wars, and computer games.
Hope, DOB 12-10-86, enjoys American Girl magazines, reading, horses,
gymnastics, and drama.
Thad, DOB 12-12-88, enjoys playing basketball with Luke, gymnastics,
reading Calvin and Hobbes and TinTin books.
Simon, DOB 8-14-91, likes getting mail of any kind. He's not real
great at writing back, though!

From: CHE...@aol.com
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 12:08:43 -0500 (EST)

My name is Rita Scarborough and I live in Cairo. I will be new to
homeschooling in may. I only have one daughter and I have no experience as
to date! But I just wanted to say that I was on a newsgroup in reference to
homeschool and I noticed that their were several people from England who are
wanting to homeschooling. I found it interesting because I didn't know that
people even would consider homeschooling because of the great raves of
English schooling that I heard. But then if you are a Christian then that's
a little different I suppose because of people may homeschool because of
their belief.

Sincerely,
Rita in Cairo