September/October 2004
Volume 12, No. 5

Count the Cost
by Shirley M.R. Minster
When parents are considering homeschooling, they need to count th cost - not just financial, but also emotional and physical...

Are You Intellectually Challenged?
by Renee Fuller, Ph.D.
Aren’t many of us intellectually impaired, albeit in different ways, in different areas of cognition? Yet despite our various handicaps most of us manage to arrange our lives in ways that bypass our intellectual weaknesses thereby allowing us to pretend they never existed. Could different teaching methods have made a difference?

A Class on the Meadow
by Jon Remmerde
Getting to school on the rambling rural bus, being there all day, and then getting home would have taken twelve hours We weren't willing to commit our daughters, Juniper and Amanda, to that long a day. To make sure our decision was right, when Juniper was old enough to begin first grade, I drove her to school. The third day, she decided public school wouldn't work for her. We accepted the responsibility for educating our children.

The Unconventional Ideas of John O. Andersen: Homeschooling Can Liberate
by John O. Andersen
Homeschooling is not for everyone, and it's not necessarily the best way to learn. Nevertheless, it works well for us, and here are three important reasons why...

A Little Extra
by Barbara Curtis
My son Jonathan has a little extra. A little extra enthusiasm, a little extra innocence, a little extra charm. Oh, and did I mention an extra chromosome? The one on the 21st pair that inspires so much fear in parents-to-be.

Open Letter to the (Homeschool) Class of 2005
by E. Wingfield
Class of 2005, this fall, you'll take your place at the helm of homeschooling as the brightest, most promising, and latest products of that fantastic movement. You’ll hear the proclamations that as a homeschool graduate, you’re better equipped than your public- and private-schooled counterparts. And you’ll be asked (at least a million times) what you’ll be doing after graduation.

Circles or Squares
by Sylvie Demers
Every morning, I amble downstairs to fix a leisurely breakfast, sometimes flopping over the couch to finish an essay or a project. I work diligently although this may be difficult to gather from this description. I am a homeschooled student.

Childhood Math Adds Up for Grown Homeschoolers
by Peter Kowalke
Grown homeschoolers discuss their relationship with math then and now

Shopping Cartless
by Debbie Farmer
It was a personal triumph of sorts for me. I made it all they way through a big discount store, cartless.

Learning with Leaves
by Dianne Wilton
Autumn! Each year we’re in awe of the brilliance of nature, no matter how many times we experience this colorful transformation from green to deep red, vibrant orange and dazzling gold.

Veteran Teacher Applauds Homeschoolers
by Dan Kimber
I'm writing this as a public school teacher of thirty years who believes in public education but who also understands the growing trend toward home schooling. I should say at the outset that among my profession, that statement is heresy.

Help With Meaning Part I -
by Dave Marks
It's not uncommon to hear, "I read it again, but I still don't understand." The problem of making meaning (sense) out of a piece of writing is not very great for us, but for a beginner it's sometimes overwhelming. We all learn things at different rates, and very bright people sometimes have trouble with making sense out of words. When I was in the early grades in school, I had what was called "a reading problem." I went to special reading classes. My friends called me dumb. This hurt. I wasn't dumb, I just didn't start to understand when most of the rest of the kids did. I'm sure that many of those friends are reading at about the same level now as they were then.

Prepared for Independence
by Barbara Frank
I loved college. I loved the campus, I loved the dorms, and I loved the challenging classes (well, most of them). It was just a great experience for me, and once I began having children, it was something I wanted for them, too. I assumed they would feel the same way.
But as my oldest neared the last few years of her homeschooling experience, she decided that college was not for her.

Lord of the Literature
from Washington Times
Teenagers now can take a literature class that immerses them in the world of hobbits, fairies and wizards made popular by the "Lord of the Rings" movies. .

Making the Classics Live
by Elizabeth McCallum

A veteran teacher shares tips with parents about helping your children enjoy the finest of great literature.

Learning .... Everything Through Art
by Sancha de Burca

Incorporate art and the study of art and artists into every area of your learning experience with the resources from Artwork Resources. Sample their lessons here.

Resource Review: Girls Explore - a refreshing, intelligent learning tool for girls

Are you tired of the youth-culture’s slide into vulgar indecency... or little girls being enthralled with the look (and lewd lifestyle) of Brittany Spears... or girls thinking they must become Barbie doll clones?

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