Overruled: Invasion of Your Parental Rights

This is very interesting and terrifying at the same time. The government is slowly ripping away at parental rights and we know that. I don't think we always realize how serious it has actually become. Take a moment to watch this video (about 38 minutes) and let me know what you think!

Meeting Meteorologist Dan Henry

This is one of the things I enjoy most about homeschooling. I have been blessed to be able to set up several really fun activities for our group, but so far this one has been my favorite! Today we had an enrichment class with Fox 4's local Meteorologist Dan Henry!! Ok, so I'm not sure if he counts as a celebrity, but I am telling you that I was star struck enough to be very giddy over getting to meet him!



Dan told us all about how he predicts the weather to what to do if you are caught in severe weather. He even took some questions (and we now know that miss O knows that 3+3=6!). The kids had so much fun, as did the adults and I have listened to the girls talk about the weather all day! Brianna has even requested watching the news so that she can see Dan on TV. I think she is a bit "star struck" Hehe. She has no idea what she is talking about, or maybe she does, but she needs to know if there are any upper level lows coming to Texas!

Even Luke had some questions!

Be sure to check out my post about weather unit studies. There are alot of great resources there, including some freebies! And of course watch Dan Henry on Fox 4 News!

Homeschooling in the News: The Evolution of Homeschooling.

The same tired arguments about social skills, as if play groups and sports teams are the only ones capable of teaching our children how to socialize, but other than that it is refreshing to see an article that shed's a positive light on homeschooling and the homeschooling movement.

Anne Gebhardt’s kids are learning about geography -- in her dining room in
Bedford, Texas. It’s not your typical schoolhouse, but it’s one that Gebhardt
says is serving her six children well. "We can teach our religious values to our
children freely,” says Gebhardt. “We can teach anything that we want."

Gebhardt is part of a growing trend. Across the county, an estimated 1.5
million children are home schooled and that number's growing. In the span of
eight years, home schooling has grown nationally by almost 75 percent.

Read the rest of the article here...

3 Things Every Homeschool Should Have

When I first started writing this I actually had a list of your typical supplies. You know, your art supplies, pattern blocks, and the like. Half-way through, however, I changed my mind. I am getting way ahead of myself. While those are some things that I think would benefit you greatly in your journey, there are a few more important things that I believe every homeschool should have.

1. A Vision or Mission Statement.
As a family(or at least with your spouse) plan a time to sit down and write down why you chose to homeschool. It doesn't have to be formal or fancy, but it should reflect your long term goals for your child's educational and spiritual welfare. Pick a Bible verse (or several!) that encourage you and inspire you. When things get rough or when you feel like you aren't doing a good job, go back to this mission statement and re-read it. You may even chose to hang it in your homeschool space as constant reminding of why you chose to homeschool. If you need help starting your mission statement, feel free to visit mine. It is written formally, but you can write yours however you like!

2. A Great Planner
I know some people who can fly by the seat of their pants and get a lot done, but for the majority of us we need at least a basic plan. I don't neccessarily mean a "we.have.to.do.this." plan, but at least something that sets some goals and helps us keep track of what we have done. I suggest A Well Planned Day. This planner has places for up to 4 different children and includes nifty little encouragements, catechisms, grocery plans, and spaces for keeping track of the budget. At the beginning of each month is a place for goals and at the beginning of each "semester" places for keeping track of attendance and grades. This has been a time saver for me!

3. A Library Card
I honestly do not know how any home functions without a library card; when we check books out it is by the dozen! I know families who have up to 100 books at a time out! The library will save you tons of money on books you would have had to purchase, plus most libraries have educational DVDs and some, like ours, even have "quiet rooms" with a white board and desks for you to do some of your lessons at! Trust me you NEED a library card!

I hope that you will take some time to think about these things and that they encourage you in your homeschooling journey!

Picture Credit

We Choose to Shelter.

I homeschool because I have seen the village and I do not want it raising my child.

We recently ditched cable. Mostly it was an economic choice, but we had also grown tired of the filth that it presented to our children in the form of cartoons and "educational TV". I've been told that homeschooled children are less mature when compared to public school children because of how sheltered they are. I observed. They are right. Well, at least in a way they are.

You see, my daughters only knowledge of current fashion trends are what they hear and see on their friends. They still prefer pretty little girl dresses. The only Taylor Swift they have ever heard has come from friends, or music playing in the mall. They are still terrified of most movies with a PG rating and even some with a G. They know that boys and girls get married but they have no idea what a boyfriend or going "out" with someone is. They have no concept of illegal drugs or real life violence. Your child must now have a knowledge of all things secular and sinful to be considered mature.

You may say that, yeah that's because your oldest is 7. Well, 10 years ago I would have agreed, but over the last few years I have seen kids as young as 2 exposed to graphic and violent TV and video games, sexual content not only on TV but at school(sex ed and handing out condoms to elementary students?!) and in peer groups, parents are ohhhing and awwing over their 8 year old having their first boyfriend. They are exposed to drugs and alcohol. We (again as a whole) purchase these things for our children, we allow them to be exposed to it in the name of "experience", we spout things like "If you keep them sheltered they will rebel" or "a little rebellion won't hurt, how else will they learn?". Would someone please, point out the Biblical reference for this? And further more, all you have to do is a little google search to find out that teen pregnancy, violence, drug use, and so on have been on the rise for years. Letting our children be exposed to these things has not resulted in Godlier, spiritually sound children!

Can you send your child to a private school and still protect them? Well, sort of. I went to a private school and I will say that yes, for the most part my parents did a fine job of protecting me from the world. I still don't know what weed looks like, didn't have a single drop of alcohol until I was of legal age(and even then it wasn't really my "thing"), and even though I do think that my "casual" dating in high school did rob me of a bit of my heart, it was at the very least very limited. However, I still have to honestly say that I did not come out completely unscathed. As far as public school, thank the Lord my parents had the good sense to refuse my pleas to attend.

So what about public school? The truth is that you simply can not send your child into an environment that is full of sex, violence, anti-Christian sentiment and a general hatred of all things Biblical and expect them to come out whole. Our children are molded by what they see around them and no matter what they get the few hours they are at home or at church, it can not compare with the hours upon hours of influence they get at school. Not to mention that most of us can not be entirely sure of our children's spiritual status at younger ages which makes the environment even more dangerous as they have no spiritual conscience!

I guess the question you probably want me to answer now is, do I think that homeschooling is the only way? I wouldn't be as presumptuous as to say yes to that. I do think there are some circumstances in which it is impossible (though for the most part I think they are self-inflicted circumstances), but what I do know is that we are called by God to raise our children , to train them and to bring them up in Christ, and I do think that is all but impossible when the majority of their training comes from a source other than you.

Bible verses that support the parental raising, training and educating of our children

Will I expose my children to these things one day so they aren't "shocked into rebellion" by them? Yes, but I will do so in a controlled environment in which I can Biblically answer questions. We have recently begun dealing with the fact that not everyone believes in God. My daughter has been able to ask questions and we are able to discuss it in a way that solidifies her faith while exposing her to how to be in the world but not of it. As she grows and matures the doors will open for deeper conversations.

We chose to shelter.

Disclaimer: I speak in general terms on this blog. I do not believe anyone should be forced to homeschool. I believe in choice. I just happen to think that Christian parents should choose to homeschool.

Stupid in America

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4pN-aiofw


I watched this today. Very interesting. It's about 40 min long but I encourage anyone still deciding or those not entirely sure to use this video as part of your research.

Dallas Mulls Daytime Juvenile Curfew

Dallas'
Public Safety Committee, eight members of Dallas' City Hall, is expected to soon
discuss expanding the juvenile curfew into daylight hours in the same way that
Hurst-Euless-Bedford did in
2008.
Dallas' current juvenile curfew law only covers the hours between 11
p.m. and 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturdays, the curfew
goes into effect at midnight.
Proponents of expanding the curfew want to
include the hours of 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and insist that if truancy can be
curtailed, so can crime. Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia said that in 2008, 63
percent of juvenile arrests took place during school hours and that the majority
of home burglaries in that year were caused by minors.
Officials with H-E-B
said unexcused absences dropped by nearly 10,000 since the curfew was
implemented in their district.
Officials with the Dallas
Independent School District said the daytime curfew might not only cut
crime, it would increase the attendance at Dallas' schools which would increase
money from the state.
There are, of course, the standard exemptions including
those students who are traveling to and from work or for those who have
graduated early.
Under the proposed plan, parents could be fined $500 if
their child is guilty of truancy -- one part of the plan that parents are
against since some say they can't control whether or not their child stays on
campus.
Dallas plans to hold a public hearing on the matter March 25 with a
final vote scheduled for April 22.

This is not good news for homeschoolers who could end up heading to court to prove that they are enrolled in school. Pray that this either does not pass or is written in a way that will allow for those who chose to use alternate education.