Issue No.
9
October 2008
Welcome
to
the CHN online magazine!
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Help support homeschooling!
CHN
is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that needs your support
CHNzine Features
Homeschoolers descended on Disneyland for our
second annual
Not Back to School
Disneyland Day!
'Toy Story' here we come!
Mom, this isn't a cool hat!
Matching tie dye!
The best way to see Disneyland!
3D glasses are cool!
Not back to school is cool!
Mouse friends
Boom!
Friends
"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself."
~John Dewey
Mickey and Friends
Ready for fun!
Sweet
kiddos!
"It is as true now as it was then that no matter what tests show, very little of what is taught in school is learned, very little of what is learned is remembered, and very little of what is remembered is used.
The things we learn, remember, and use are the things we seek out or meet in the daily, serious, nonschool parts of our lives."
~John Holt~
How
Children Fail
We are ready for some
3-D fun!
"I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as "making a life."
Maya Angelou
Fall
CHN Quarterly Member Meeting
Our next quarterly meeting is scheduled for October 20, at 7:00 pm,
and will be an online meeting through our private chat room. This meeting
is open to all CHN members, so mark the day on your calendars and watch
the Grapevine list for details for logging in. If you have any questions
about accessing this meeting, call 800-327-5339. To join or renew before
the meeting, click
here.
CHN's strength comes from our members - please plan to join us and help
CHN continue to strengthen the voice of California homeschoolers!
CHNzine
from
California Homeschool Network
The
Window is Now Open
By Melissa Zawrotny
Each year in September, we on the Legal Rights Advocacy Team give a call
to the California Department of Education (“CDE”) to see if
there will be any changes to the CDE’s online private school form
in anticipation of the October 1 – October 15 filing window for
private schools, including small home-based private schools.
As has been previously reported, the courts were very clear over this past summer that filing a private school affidavit is legally acceptable by parents who educate at home, regardless of whether or not they hold a teaching credential.
As such CHN was not concerned and did not anticipate any major changes to the online form. Just the same, we were satisfied to receive an answer on October 1, 2008 to our inquiry that confirmed our line of thinking. The inquiry and response were both sent via electronic mail. However, something interesting did show up at the bottom of the response from the CDE: “Pre-recorded Home Schooling Information: 916-319-0878.”
A curious observer quickly placed a call. The automated recording offers three options for homeschooling; public school ISP, charter school ISP’s and an option to “withdraw from the public school and educate at home.” This is slightly different than the information CHN provides in that there are four options, the tutor option (from a person holding a current teaching credential) being left out of the CDE’s information.
Also, the charter school ISP’s and the public school ISP’s are very similar in that they would be public schooling options. Private School Satellite Options (“PSPs” formerly known as “Private School ISPs”) were also vacant from the CDE’s informational recording.
When one presses the option for withdrawing from the public school and educating at home, one is immediately told that that option does not provide services for children with special needs or existing IEPs. A related option for those still wishing to file the PSA then sends the caller to the CDE’s special education office.
A later part of the message then informs callers interested in the PSA that students do not have access to state approved textbooks or state testing, and do not receive a “recognized high school diploma.”
While the CDE is not technically wrong on any point of law, the implications of these automated responses are of concern. The Department of Education comes from a position that public school is the only logical option, despite the laws that allow other avenues.
Special needs children are often greatly assisted by parents filing the Private School Affidavit and taking over their education. These parents have the unique perspective in the day-to-day, moment-to-moment habits and characteristics of their children.
In the matter of diplomas, every large private school with a high school program issues such a creature. Every week there are articles in newspapers reporting that colleges are catering to and actively recruiting, home-schooled students. If Harvard, Yale and UCLA recognize a diploma issued by a small, home-based private school, then the statement begs the question, “recognized by whom?”
Perhaps one might “consider the source” of all such statements
and/or advice by an entity driven by the conveyor belt. Thus “enlightened,”
perhaps homeschoolers will continue to gain confidence that parents know
what is best for each child in the family and that every private school,
regardless of size, (but most especially those that are home-based) should
Know the Code for itself.
1) File your PSA
2) Register for Expo '09
Yes, you read that
right - it's time to lock in your spots at the 2009 CHN
Family Expo! The dates are July 31, August 1, and August 2 - three full
days at the Marriott Hotel in Ontario, California. We have kept the
admission rates the same as they were last year, and the Marriott has
given
us the same discounted room rate as last year, including free parking
for registered guests!
As our Early Bird Special, we areoffering a $10 per person (or couple) members-only discount if you register before the end of 2008! Download the registration form from our website and mail or fax it in, place your order through our online store, or call Ruth at 800-327-5339 to place your order by phone.
Don't forget to reserve your room at the Marriott Hotel, too! Start here and click through to the Marriott's reservation site or call their toll-free number. In past years, the hotel has filled up quickly, so get your reservations in as soon as you can!
An
Adventure With Lars
-By
Daniel B. Downey - age 10
Lars is a seven-year-old Indian boy. He tends to wander off, and today he went into white man territory. No one saw him, but he saw one of the white men. He dashed behind a tent, the white man heard Lars, and the white man started walking closer! And closer! The white man ran behind the tent. But he saw no one Lars was gone, he had gotten away once again, and he went back to his village.
One morning Lars went out again. This time he got himself in an encounter with a mountain lion. He was wandering around the forest and up on a cliff was a hungry mountain lion. Lars walked right under the hungry beast. As it snarled it leaped right on top of him. He screamed for help, but no one could hear him. He grabbed out his knife! And charged at it, it leaped after him once more. Lars climbed up on a rock and yelled at it! He scared it off. He went back to his village, and told his father about his adventure with the lion.
Twenty years later his father and his mother have died, now he is chief of the Beaver tribe. He must now take responsibility for his actions. They are safe from the white men and are in their own territory.
CHN Fall Camp Out ’08
Carpinteria State Beach
October 10th
- October 15th 2008
Come join us for the day!
Our Low Tide Discovery walk is
Tuesday October 14th at 3:30!
Meet us at the campground or on the beach!
Carpinteria
State Beach Camping
This camping trip is full, but you may sign up for the waiting list, reserve
an individual site, or come for the day!
Here
are some pictures from our 2007 & 2006
Carpinteria Fall Camping trips!
"Much education today is monumentally ineffective.
All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be
teaching them to grow their own plants. "
~John
W. Gardner
New
School Year, New Choices
Homeschooling moms talk about choices
Homeschooling families come in many different varieties!
- Sharon Salyers - homeschooling for 5 years
This
is my 5th year homeschooling. Wow! Has it been that long already?
I have a 9 yr. old son and 10 yr. old daughter. My son was diagnosed as
being a high functioning autistic by age 3. I've homeschooled each of
them from the time they went into 1st grade. They are now in 4th and 5th
grade. I haven't homeschooled the same way twice in a row.
I've done charters, R4, CAVA, R4 and this year we have signed up with
Valley Oaks Charter school out of Bakersfield.
The kids
are taking several enrichment classes as well as the standard grade level
curriculum. Some favorites include Oral Language in which they will be
memorizing and telling a 3-5 min. story for a regional competition. A
Hands-on-Math class that uses Base 10 blocks to explain how to do basic
algebra. A 5 week French class, Native American Art
class, choir and gymnastics. Between all that plus park days, field trips,
play dates, camp outs, girl scouts and boy scouts we have a full and enriching
educational experience.
Cheryl Duran - homeschooling mom to five kids
This year we're doing things a little bit differently. I'm down to my last two homeschool students since our three older children have now graduated. We now have a kindergartner and a 10th grader. I feel absolutely no pressure this year because these two are very eager to learn just about anything that I may throw their way.
My kindergartner loves to have books read to him. We sing songs, do arts and crafts, science projects, play math games, letter and word games, and he loves workbooks. I've set up a table for him with a pile of workbooks, crayons, markers, foam stickers, tablets and tablets of papers, and just let him go at it. Reading is the highlight of everyday. We usually spend about an hour reading each day.
I tried something different with my 10th grader this year. I gave him various curriculum options over the summer so that he could choose which books and lessons he would like to do. He feels more in control over what he's learning and he seems to have been feeling a great sense of accomplishment because of that.
I really like to allow the kids to work when they are willing to learn, not when they are anxious to be off doing something else. Of course we have to balance that, but it's hard to learn when you want to just skim through something to get to something else. A lot of the time our days are busy and we do our lessons in the evening. That's when we're more relaxed and like to settle in with a good read or lesson. We watch a lot of educational shows and videos that go along with what we're learning. So the whole family sometimes gets involved with our history or science lessons.
I would definitely say that we're off to a great start this year. We've made it all about what we want to learn and how we want to learn it, rather than trying to learn something that we have no interest in. After 7 years of homeschooling I'm actually having more fun with it now that I ever have and I think the kids feel the same way.
Lisa Howard - homeschooling six years
This is our sixth year homeschooling and we've filed an R-4 and used "The Well-Trained Mind" all along. It really suits us well. This method is broken down into three parts, K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. Teddy is in fifth grade this year so the way we study some of the subjects is quite different and a couple of new subjects have been added. It has taken a bit more preparation on my part but he really seems to like it a lot. I think he was ready for the change and the little bit of challenge for his maturing mind and skill level. We continue to be a VERY happy homeschooling family loving the freedoms, choices, challenges, and friends we share the journey with.
Have
you joined the Grapevine?
CHN members private email list!
All current CHN members with Family Memberships are invited!
Some of the benefits of joining the Grapevine are:
Private online elist where you can easily meet other CHN members
Used curriculum sales every Friday - buy or sell!
We love stories about homeschooling, anything written by kids, pictures of homeschooling adventures and other inspirational homeschooling ideas!
Submit articles, photos, ideas and comments to the CHNzine team
CHNzine archives
File
your PSA
October 1st - 15th
What is the PSA?
A 'Private School Affidavit', or 'PSA' filed by home educating families,
is a legal option which informs the CDE of a legal private school.
Line by line instrustions and more answers to your PSA questions can be
found on CHN's 'Filing
your PSA' webpage!
'Just
the Facts'
A Step by
Step
Guide to Starting Your Homeschool!
'Just the
Facts'
is newly updated for 2008!
Disney
'Yes' classes
How to
build a rollercoaster
Class
has Just Begun
Building
a Rollercoaster
Learning
a Lot!
Building
a rollercoaster
Attentive
students
Almost done!
Yay!
It works!
The End
of a Fun Day!
"I have used the words "home schooling" to describe the process by which children grow and learn in the world without going, or going very much, to schools, because those words are familiar and quickly understood. But in one very important sense they are misleading. What is most important and valuable about the home as a base for children's growth in the word is not that it is a better school than the schools but that it isn't a school at all. "
~John Holt~ Teach Your Own
Cool shades!
Ah, Minnie loves me!
Pretty cool hats!
Pals
DISNEYLAND!
Ready for the group picture!
Rain Forest Cafe for dinner!
"The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives."
~Robert Maynard Hutchins
CHNzine
credits:
Karin Miller - editor
Ruth Pell
Photos:
Karin Miller
Michelle Brekke
Send
in pictures of homeschool activities, and you may be featured in a CHN
publication!
California
Homeschool Network
PO Box 55485 Hayward, CA 94545
1-800-327-5339
www.CaliforniaHomeschool.net