The Link v8i6.indd - The Link Homeschool Magazine

The Link - a homeschool newspaper
Page 11
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Unschooling Ourselves
Car Seats and Unschooling
M
y husband and
I , a l on g w it h
ou r c h i ld re n ,
u s e d to ma ke
annual treks to
C olorado a nd
by Alison
Ca lifornia to
McKee
visit grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Since we always drove,
we developed a list of favorite
places to stay. One was Yellowstone. During the day,
the four of us saw the sights,
swam, and enjoyed leisurely
time at our camp site. In the
early evening, Christian and
David (my son and husband,
respectively) could fish to
their hearts content while
Georgina and I enjoyed programs put on by park naturalists. Once, my sister, Janet,
her husband, Mark, and their
two children joined us at our
Yellowstone stop-over. Since
Janet’s children were quite
young (one still in diapers,
the other a very energetic
four-year-old) she and Mark
decided to stay in a motel
in West Yel lowstone. We
camped nearby. During the
day, the cousins cavorted at
our campsite while the adults
visited and kept an eye on the
young ones.
Alice, my sister’s one-yearold, and Jacob, the four-yearold, were entertained by our
two children, then twelve
and sixteen. As Georgina
and Christian played with
Jacob and Alice they were
delighted. They were having
fun watching their young
cousins experience the joy
of doing things for the fi rst
time: Wade in the cold waters
of the Madison River and see
bison and moose. Alice was
learning to walk then too.
One afternoon, during the
younger children’s nap time,
Georgina asked if she could
visit the folks in the campsite
next to ours. We had noticed
the family: A mom, dad and
t wo k ids about t he sa me
age as Alice and Jacob, and
figured there would be no
harm in Georgina’s visiting
them. With an OK from us,
our social butterfly took off.
Christian remained behind
to tie fl ies and talk with the
adults. Eventually, Georgina
rejoined us.
G e or g i n a s e e me d c oncerned. We could hear it in
her voice, “Do you know that
their baby is as old as Alice
and just started to sit up
last month?” Th is concerned
me a bit, but I told her that
all kids grow and mature
at different rates. Over the
course of the next few days,
Janet and I began to notice
what we thought were pretty
signif icant developmental
differences between Alice
and the little boy next door.
What caught our attention
most significantly, was the
amount of time this baby
spent in his car seat, sometimes three or more hours at
a time, according to our observations. During this time
Janet regaled me with all
that she’d read about some
of the developmental delays
that seem to be appearing
due to significant amounts of
time children are spending
in car seats. She told me how
babies, left to do push-ups
on the floor in a effort to see
what is around them, develop
upper arm and neck strength
while remaining f lexible in
their spine. Many “car seat
babies” don’t get the opportunity to develop this arm
and neck strength, let alone
maintain flexibility. She also
told me that many “car seat
babies” are slow to learn
to walk, not because they
spend so much time in their
car seats, but because their
brains don’t get the opportunity to develop a sense of
balance. Evidently children
who are carried about, learn
to balance and re-balance
themselves, in the gentle embrace of adult arms who hold
them as they are shifted from
hip to hip, or when they lean
from side to side to peer out
into the world beyond them.
The shift ing and leaning that
continued on page 55
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Page 12
The Link - a homeschool newspaper
www.homeschoolnewslink.com
Geography: Its Value and Use As A Unit Study
by Linda Foster
he word “geog raphy ”
comes from the Greek
words “Ge” or “Gaea”, both
meaning “Earth” and “graphei n” wh ich me a n s “ to
describe” or “to write”. Geography, then is the study
of the Earth and its characteristics and of the distribution of life on the earth. It
has long been the subject
of books extolling tales of
distant lands and dreams of
great treasures. The Greeks
were the first known culture to explore geography
as a science. Aristotle was
the first to demonstrate that
the world was round and
Eratosthenes was the first
to calculate the earth’s circumference. Romans used
extensive mapping as they
e x plore d ne w l a nd s a nd
the information from these
mappings allowed Ptolemy
to construct atlases and to
develop the concept of dividing the world into 360
degrees with latitudes and
T
longitudes.
The Age of Discovery during the 16th and 17th centuries, the era of Christopher
Columbus, Marco Polo and
James Cook led to a new increased desire for accurate
geographic detail as well as
solid t heoret ica l foundations. In the 18th and 19th
cent u r ies, geog raphy became recognized as a viable
academic discipline and was
incorporated into the typical university curriculum in
Europe.
T he f ield of geog raphy
was originally divided into
two primary segments: Cultural or human geography
a nd phy sic a l ge og r aphy.
Cultural geography focuses
primarily on “ built env iron ment ” i nclud i ng how
spac e i s c re ate d , v ie we d
a nd ma naged by huma ns
and how they inf luence the
space they occupy. Physical
geography focuses on “natural environment” and includes the study of climate,
vegetat ion a nd l i fe, soi l,
water and landforms and
how they are produced and
interact. A third segment of
geography, environmental
geog raphy, ha s emerged ,
which combines aspects of
both cultural and physical
geography and focuses on
the study of the interactions
between the environment
and humans.
As new nations are created, natural disasters strike
popu lated a rea s a nd cl imates change, the geography of these affected areas is
changed and, therefore, the
field of geography constantly needs to be re-evaluated
to ref lect these changes.
In addition to being the
study of physical and cultural aspects of the earth
and its population, the field
of geography is an interdisciplinary discipline involving math, language, history,
l iter at u re a nd nu merou s
other study topics. The opportunity to use one subject
to improve student skills in
so many other areas makes
the study of geography essential for all students.
The Rand McNally Neighborhoods Study Unit provides materials for use in
h e l p i n g s t u d e nt s t o d e velop map skills and learn
about their neighborhood
and community. The “My
Neighborhood a nd Commu n i t y ” m a p c o v e r s a n
approx i mate 2 mi le by 2
m i le rad iu s su r rou nd i ng
the student’s home, allowing the student to see where
s/he fits into the neighborhood and community. State,
US and World maps allow
t h e s t u d e nt ’s n e i g h b o rhood a nd com mu n it y to
be related to the rest of the
world. Included w it h t he
StudyUnit are the Rand McNally Primary Atlas and the
books Children Around the
World, Cities Then & Now,
and The First Americans.
Used in conjunction with
each other, these resources
can intertwine geography
with the other disciplines
essential for the developme nt of a we l l-r ou nd e d
homeschooler.
LESSON 1: MY NEIGHBORHOOD
Concept: Using the Rand
McNa l ly “My School and
Neighborhood” maps, students learn about their own
neighborhood and community. The lesson focuses on
the location of local landmarks, businesses and services and invites the student
to explore the underlying
rationale for these locations.
The student learns the basic
concepts of reading maps
and identifying locations.
Lesson: If possible, take a
walking or a short driving
tour of the neighborhood,
pointing out some of t he
local landmarks, businesses
and communit y ser v ices.
A f t e r t he ne i g h b orho o d
tour, prov ide t he student
w it h a “My S chool a nd
continued on page 30
Special Package #1
Neighborhoods Study Unit
My School & Neighborhood 24”x30” Project Map
Rand McNally’s My School & Neighborhood maps
and Teacher’s Guide help K-3 students develop
map skills while learning about their own
neighborhood and community. You provide the
location; we put you at the center of a custommade, laminated project map that features
high-quality cartography and
inks that stay bright.
Geography.
It’s more than just people, places, and things. It’s our world. It’s where
we’ve been and where we are going. Geographic literacy is essential in
today’s fast-paced world. And Social Studies subjects make great nonfiction reading connections for younger students.
With three special packages designed to meet the needs
of today’s home school curriculums, Rand McNally is
committed to enabling you to bring social studies to life for
your children.
Give your children the gift of Geographic literacy with these
special packages, available only to home schoolers:
• Neighborhoods Study Unit ($250—Save $101!)
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Complete your study of where you live
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(18”x12”) Desk Map, State Desk Maps (22”x17”), and US/World Desk Map (18”x12”).
These sturdy, laminated maps are specially-coated to work with water-soluble markers.
Also included are several books and study guides designed to increase your
child’s understanding and awareness of the world: Primary Atlas, Children Around
The World, Cities Then & Now, and The First Americans — all with Teacher’s Guides
and suggested exercises.
To order, just call our toll-free customer service line, 1-800-678-7263
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Visit www.randmcnally.com/education to view all of our educational materials.
The Link - a homeschool newspaper
Page 13
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The
LINK’s History Pages
Pilgrims and Puritans
The Case of Confused Colonials
Written by Brett Mills
This is my history: American history. Every day is a
chance to learn about the
people and times that helped
to make the America I live in
now. I try to keep the American story clear for young historians, but it can get tricky.
When American history gets
mixed up, I go to work. I’m
Joe Bygoneday – time detective.
I was working the afternoon watch in the Colonial
America division when two
young people needed to see
me. The pair came into my
office and introduced themselves as Sarah and her friend
Josh. Sarah and Josh told me
that they were usually good
friends, but a problem with
American history had them
mad at each other now. I knew
they needed my help right
away, so I asked them to tell
me about their problem.
They were trying to learn
about groups of people who
came to settle colonies for
England in America.
Sarah and Josh were okay
until they came across Pilgrims and Puritans. Sarah
was sure that the two groups
were different from each other. Josh was just as sure that
Puritan and Pilgrim were just
two different names for the
exact same group of American colonists.
It was too bad that neither
Sarah nor Josh knew enough
facts to prove who was right.
I told them not to worry because their problem happened
a lot. Soon, they would know a
Pilgrims Landing at Plymouth Rock
lot more and get back to being
good friends.
It’s no wonder that Josh and
Sarah got mixed up about
these colonists. The problem
was a lot more serious than
the same-sounding starts to
each name. Pilgrims and the
Puritans both started out in
England. They were colonial
neighbors, settling in the
same area of America during
the same half of the 1600s. I
shared these details with my
visitors, and Josh grinned because he thought he was right
after all. I said they really
needed to get more facts about
Pi lgrims and Puritans to
know for sure. Sarah and Josh
wondered how they could get
those facts. I was ready with
that answer: ask questions to
gather facts.
Josh and Sarah agreed to
ask t hemselves questions
about Pilgrims and Puricontinued on page 63
HISTORY FOR THE CURIOUS CHILD
In this issue of Learning Through History magazine:
Colonial America
• A True Story of Witches: The Salem Witch Trials
• Danger in America: The Raid on Deerfield
• Colonial Money Matters
• Captain John Smith and Pocahontas: The True Story?
• My Schoolhouse: Schools in Colonial America
... And much more
Tour the magazine, subscribe or order back issues at www.LearningThroughHistory.com or call
toll-free at 1-888-852-1751. One year subscription $32.00. Two year subscription $58.00.
LearningThroughHistory.com
Make a Project
Pilgrim pal doll
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/
arts-and-crafts?page=Craft
Display&craftid=10179
A variety of Pilgrim crafts
http://familyfun.go.com/
arts-and-crafts/season/feature/famf118pilgrim/famf118pilgrim.html
Online Fun
Virtual tour of Plimoth
Plantation
http://www.plimoth.org/visit/virtual/index.asp#
Guide the colonists across
the Atlantic to the New
World
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/
colonialhouse/teachers/pilgrims/index.html
Dress a colonist
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/colonialhouse/history/dress_
up_flash.html
What to Watch
Colonial House – PBS
Page 14
The Link - a homeschool newspaper
www.homeschoolnewslink.com
The
LINK’s
Mu s e u m I n s t i t u t e fo r
Teaching Science
W
hat an eye-opening
mome nt w he n one
discovers that science is all
around us! As a young girl
on a farm, what better way
to observe nature than to
go to the barn where the
cows were being mi l ked?
Through the years, the exposure to science through
my own explorations and
t h r ou g h t h e e y e s of my
children’s schooling made
me realize how important
s c i e n c e w a s t h r ou g h ou t
one’s life.
W hen spe a k i ng of s c ie n c e , on e c on s i d e r s t h e
integration of mathematics,
engineering, and technology as a part of the “umbrella,” science. As a chemistry
major, a homemaker-chemist, and involved mother,
the importance that science
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played in our daily livescook i ng, clea ni ng, shopping, playing, elementar y
nature wa lk leader, scout
leader, museum volunteering- pointed to the establishment of an organization
t hat wou ld play a major
role in training teachers to
involve children in the excitement of discovering the
world through science. The
organization, MITS, Museum Institute for Teaching
S c ienc e , ha s b e en of fering institutes for teachers,
whether teachers in schools
or teachers at home, for
the past twenty years. Attendees at these institutes
have been exposed to the
science resources that exist in their neighborhoods,
the museums. Within the
museums are the exhibits,
materials, and educators to
enhance one’s k nowledge
of the world that surrounds
us. The museum educators
have been an integral part
of the MITS Summer Institutes since the beginning
and have served as a major
resource for many school
children. Activities developed by the participating
teachers have been collected each year and are available as a major resource to
interested educators.
Early in t he development of MITS, one of the
teacher-participants came
up with the idea that a resource book of experiments
u s i n g a n i n q u i r y- b a s e d
met hod i n conju nc t ion
with the curriculum would
be a great addit ion for
teachers or anyone involved
w it h teach i ng science to
chi ldren. This cou ld a nd
hopefully would establish
a curiosity in children that
wou ld last t hroug h t heir
adu lt ho o d ma k i ng t hem
good sentinels of a universe
t hat cha nges da i ly. T hus
continued on page 36
The Link - a homeschool newspaper
Page 15
www.homeschoolnewslink.com
Science Pages
Make Electricity Science
Project (Part Two of Two)
Make Electricity
from Copper
Sulfate Electrolyte
F
or this experiment we decided to use copper sulfate
as electrolyte because copper
sulfate is widely available at
hardware stores and pull suppliers. You can also get small
sheets of copper and zinc from
hardware stores. If you could
not find zinc, just get a galvanized iron. It does the same
thing in a few seconds until the
layer of zinc is destroyed. You
will need to add a few drops of
sulfuric acid for the process to
speed up and turn on the light.
Sulfuric acid also is known as
battery acid and can be purchased from auto parts store.
You need diluted sulfuric acid
(about 5 to 10%). Acid sulfuric
is very corrosive and you must
have gloves, goggles and protecting clothing while handling
it.
Material needed are:
• 2 plastic or ceramic cup
• 2 sheets of copper (2” x 4”)
• 2 sheets of zinc (2” x 4”)
• 50 grams copper sulfate
• 10 cc Sulfuric Acid 10%
• One 1.2 Volts bulb with
socket
• Three wires (with alligator
clips if possible)
• One Multi-meter (Set to Voltage)
In the first experiment, secure
a copper plate and a zinc plate
on the sides of the cup as your
electrodes. As the picture shows
you can bend the sheet toward
outside. Use two wires to connect the electrodes to the light
bulb holder and screw the bulb.
Temporarily remove the zinc
plate and then fill up the cup
with copper sulfate solution.
Now insert the zinc electrode.
Although the process starts
and electricity is being produced, the light bulb may still
be off. Add a few drops of sulfuric acid to expedite the process
and get some light. To stop the
process, remove the zinc plate.
If you want to test the voltage,
make sure you unscrew the
bulb first.
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13,,INKPDF0-
This process will release hydrogen that is hazardous and
breathing that will cause choking. So do the experiment in a
well ventilated place and avoid
keeping your head right above
the cup.
This chemical reaction creates
about 0.7 volts that is barely light
up a 1.2 Volts bulb. But is not
able to light up a 2.5 volts bulb
that is shown in this picture.
In the next experiment we
connected two cups together
as shown in the picture. That
created about 1.2 volts and produced a small light on our 2.5
continued on page 28
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Page 16
The Link - a homeschool newspaper
www.homeschoolnewslink.com
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LANGUAGEQUEST.COM
Plus, a Barnes &
Noble Reading List
by Kyle Zook
ike the recent polarizing
debate over what constitutes a “planet,” there is another
term whose definition remains
mercurial at best. The term
is the word “classic,” and all
that it implies. Many cultures
throughout history have attempted to exemplify the apex
of what was best in creation, be
it art, music, science, philosophy, or literature. As products
of the forces that have created
this shared society, we hold in
common certain intrinsic notions of what constitutes excellence, but as yet it remains
ill-defined.
Over the last century, the
purpose of classical literature
has been challenged by many,
largely due to the creation of
literary canons, mostly by respected scholars who devoted
their lives to organizing the collected works of mankind’s belletristic ambitions. It may even
L
be true that the canons which
are cherished by scholars stem
from some subconscious predilection toward exalting the
forces that shaped the society
in which they exist, and as such
their canons seem comprised,
as their detractors say, of “dead
white men.”
Yet for all that, it would seem
hard to deny the place of books
which have so far been added
to these canons, and given the
lofty title of “classic.” Over time,
certain works have crystallized
in value, but usually it is due to
some underlying factor, what
we call the merit of the book,
which places that work above
all others. Though regardless
of how a particular society perceives the value of a particular
book, the decision of what value
that book has, remains at heart
a personal one.
For a book to be handed
down through centuries speaks
to the timelessness of its appeal; it is usually works such as
these that speak to us through
certain universal themes that
we accept as classics. Love,
life, truth, beauty, these are the
themes that make up human
existence as we know it, and
as such we regard the classics
as the highest embodiment of
those ideals.
Not all books noted as classics
are simply aesthetically written,
of course. Some books have historical or scientific value, or are
held as paradigms by the works
which have followed. Much
as the Ancient Greeks tapped
into their collective knowledge
of mythology to infuse their
works, the literary canon as it
exists today forms a basis that
infuses the great works of contemporary society, and knowledge of them can increase our
appreciation of the works that
follow by giving them different
levels of understanding.
It is the laudable goal of
the Barnes & Noble Classics
program to bring these classic works to a wide audience.
By offering these classic works
at affordable prices, they have
striven to make these highest
expressions of the human drama accessible on a large scale.
Each edition includes scholarly
introductions from dedicated
continued on page 58
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The Link - a homeschool newspaper
Page 17
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The
LINK’s Language Pages
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s you probably well know, there
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Choosing which one to buy is a massive
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worst of all, most are encased in rainbow-exploding sugar-coated boxes that
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Me More language learning software,
you are getting the real deal. Besides the
fact that the program’s focus goes way
beyond the typical grammar drills and
rote vocabulary memorization, Tell Me
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More offers a special version designed
specifically for homeschoolers that is
absolutely fantastic.
Before addressing the features specially designed for homeschoolers, let’s take
a look at the core version of this awardwinning program. Being a speaker of
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and guides you along, with rest stops
along the way. These “stops” come in the
form of an all-inclusive “help” feature
which can give you a literal translation
or a grammar explanation at the click
of the mouse. What makes the mode
great however is the wonderful variety
of exercises used to reinforce what’s being learned. Your child will not only do
exercises, but will hear the language,
practice speaking phrases and reinforce
the whole process with reading and writing activities.
Furthermore, the guided mode introduces Auralog’s innovative pronunciation practice system. There is no point in
learning a language if you can’t make
yourself understood when you speak,
and the pronunciation practice exercises are quite effective in fine tuning a
TechnoBabel: The Audiofy Bookchip
Pimsleur Language Program
Review by Kyle Zook
as learning a foreign
language ever been this
easy or convenient? Audiofy’s
bookchip format certainly has
a lot of things going for it. Even
though the company has been
around for a few years, the SD
bookchip format they proffer
is becoming rapidly popular.
Audiofy bookchips will play
pretty much on any device that
accepts an SD Memory card,
and even some that don’t. If you
have a computer that has a USB
connection, you can use a plugin card reader, if you don’t have
a pre-existing SD Card slot. In
love with your IPod? Audiofy
respects that, too, and with a
little program called ChipZip,
you can convert the Audiofy
format files into IPod-ready
files, and listen to the tracks
that way. However, if you have
a Palm-powered handheld or
Pocket PC handy, that’s prob-
H
ably the best way to enjoy these
bookchips, as you can take
them anywhere you go.
I had the opportunity to test
the French language chips on
my PC and Palm Treo 600,
and quickly was struck by the
fact that the chip remembered
where I stopped on one device
and started playing from that
point on the new device. The
Palm Treo I found particularly
easy to use, since all I had to do
was insert the chip and it would
start playing. I really like not
having to load things onto the
main unit’s memory. So using a
smartphone would be possible,
even if you barely know how
to turn the thing on. Using the
PC may require a little bit more
persistence, as you have to click
on the Audiofy.exe file when
the window for the memory
card opens up. Really, it’s that
simple.
Having the Pimsleur lan-
learner’s speaking ability on a phonetic
level. This not only includes actual conversations the learner will have with the
program, but also a visual aid which
graphically demonstrates how close you
are to the correct pronunciation. Accurate pronunciation is based on a sevenbar grading system with five bars needed
for a passing grade. There is even a visual
aid, demonstrating the correct positions
your mouth should have when saying
specific sounds. Being a visual learner
myself, I found this feature indispensable. Throughout the guided learning
mode, no matter what is being practiced,
parents can always check a student’s
progress through the skill assessment
tests given at the end of each level.
After using the Guided Learning Mode
for a while, students will want to try out
the Free-to-Roam Mode. This mode
gives parents or the learner the liberty
to pick and choose whatever it is they
continued on page 49
Champs-Elysées Yabla Foreign
Audio Magazine Language
guage courses in this format
is actually quite an ideal marriage, since a 60 MB chip can
store 16 hours of audio language training. As the typical
audio CD is bursting at 70 minutes, the convenience of having
that much audio on one chip
a little bigger than a postage
stamp becomes apparent in the
comparison. Basically, you’d
need to carry around 16 discs
to have the complete course at
your disposal.
The Pimsleur Method is
really the premier way of
learning a language aurally.
Wikipedia tells me they’ve
been developing this method
over the past 40 years, and
user comments across the web
seem overwhelmingly positive about the ability to grasp
a new language within just a
few months of training. Each
level is comprised of 30 ap-
Review by Kyle Zook
onjour et bienvenue dans le
monde de Champs-Elysées.
Thus are readers introduced to the monthly Frenchspea k ing audio magazine
Champs-Elysées, designed for
intermediate-level and above
French speakers and other
Francophiles living abroad.
Part audio magazine, part vocabulary and grammar lesson,
Champs-Elysées is a fun way
to reinforce your understanding of the French language and
to acquaint yourself with modern French turns of speech.
Champs-Elysées is both the
name of the company and
the name of their publication
for French-speaking listeners.
They also publish a number
of other titles in the same
vein for students of Spanish,
Italian and German as well.
Each issue comes in two parts,
each with its own audio CD
or cassette. The main portion
ow many of us have gone
through months or even
years of language instruction
only to find that, once we land on
foreign soil, our so-called “skills”
are highly ineffective and virtually useless when confronted by
genuine native speakers? The
problem is that the vast majority
of foreign language study focuses
on written grammar and maybe,
if we’re lucky, some contrived,
overly-annunciated audio materials that are not only boring but
also bear little resemblance to
the genuine language as spoken
by everyday people in real situ-
continued on page 21
continued on page 71
continued on page 59
B
Immersion
Online
The most impressive part to
me is that you can slow down
the speed of the speaker…
--homeschool Mom Sara T.
on her blog http://abroadInCostaRica.com
H
Page 18
The Link - a homeschool newspaper
www.homeschoolnewslink.com
Online Education Resources, Part 3 of 3
By Michael Leppert
n this third installment of our
Online Education Resources,
it seems helpful to reiterate one
of the most important aspects
of distance online learning, no
matter what the grade level a student is involved in: This method
of learning is not for everyone,
just as homeschooling is not for
everyone -- and for most of the
same reasons. Personal drive,
motivation and self-discipline on
the part of the student, are of utmost importance in using online
distance learning resources. This
isn’t to say that your child has to be
completely adapted to self-guided
work, but s/he has to be prepared
to become so adapted. The best
online programs offer direct
interfacing between the student
and the instructor, so that the atmosphere is not one of a free-forall, but of careful attention to the
student, even if it is by computer
connection. For each institution,
please see their System Requirements, as some offer slightly different forms of service.
I
Ablaze Academy - www.
ablazeacademy.com - info@
ablazeacademy.com - Gr 1-12 Toll free: 877-899-9985 - 300 North
Julia, St. Mary’s, GA 31558
The first online school to be
discussed in this issue is relatively
new to the national homeschooling world. Ablaze Academy, based
in Georgia, is fully accredited by
the Accrediting Commission for
Independent Study. This Com-
mission’s purpose is to provide
accreditation to alternative educational programs, including those
online. Ablaze is also accredited
by the Georgia Accrediting Commission. This makes its graduates
acceptable for consideration for
admission by the Georgia State
University System and most
private universities in the state.
Ablaze offers a complete service
from entrance at Grade 1 to the
issuance of a high school diploma
upon graduation. They provide
assessment, real-time tutoring (in
single-question or broader subject
format), when and if needed, a
complete computer-based curriculum and teaching system and
all aspects of the student’s work
are recorded for parents to examine -- on a daily basis. For the high
school division, each 9th grade
student is assigned an advisor
who works with the parents, the
student and the Academy to prepare an academic schedule that
meets college and the Academy’s
requirements. A broad array of
college prep courses are available,
including 27 different foreign
languages, Calc II, Chemistry
II and interactive Science labs.
Ablaze maintains transcripts,
suggests courses and provides the
diploma upon successful completion -- just like bricks & mortar!
Ablaze Academy’s tuition is also
reasonable in light of the fact that
this is virtually an accredited
private school. Special Note: Since
homeschoolers have previously
experienced occasional problems
with admissions to some Georgia
universities, anyone interested in
attending a school there should
inquire into and seriously consider Ablaze Academy.
University of Colorado at
Boulder - Independent Learning
Program (High School & College)
• Website: http://www.colorado.
edu/cewww/contactus.htm • Div
of Continuing Education & Professional Studies, 178 UCB 1505
University Ave, Boulder, CO
80309-0178 - Denver: 303-4925148 Toll-free outside Denver:
800-331-2801
The Economist came out with a
ranking of top universities in the
world and the Univ. of Colorado
at Boulder was ranked #11 of all
public universities in the world!
Their online offerings are the
same high quality, with the same
credits, as those offered at the
campus. This top-notch university offers an excellent value for
the online student, by charging
the instate tuition or even less in
some instances. Some universities
and colleges charge the out-ofstate rate, which does not seem
logical for online courses. The U
of C, Boulder has been offering
correspondence courses since
1912, and the transition to the
online mode was a natural for
them. Besides the traditional correspondence courses, the school
now offers two online forms -- a
semester based and self-based. In
the self-based form, the student
has one year from the start date
to complete a certain course. A
one-year extension can be granted
for extra fees and a passing grade
must be achieved within the oneyear limit.
The University also offers a
very popular high school/college
concurrent enrollment program,
wherein a student with proper
permission, can receive completion credit for both levels -- high
school and college. Interested parents should contact Ms. Catherine
Tisdale, the Advisor for Continuing Ed, at 303-735-5456 to gain
information regarding any testing
requirements, etc. Recently, the
school has been increasing its
focus on homeschoolers because
they tend to be well-motivated
and so many are college-bound.
A university does not achieve the
impressive ranking mentioned
above without being aware of
what makes for an excellent
academic candidate and how to
attract him/her to the school. The
University currently has 4,000
online students enrolled in both
undergrad and graduate divisions. For details, please visit the
website shown above.
Internet Homeschool - http://
www.internethomeschool.com
- 3060 Hozoni Rd., Prescott, AZ
86305 928-708-9404 K-12 online
programs.
Internet Homeschool, founded
in 1997, is fully accredited by the
North Central Assoc of Colleges
& Schools and by the Commission on International & TransRegional Accreditation (CITA
), which handles programs that
cross regional boundaries of the
six accrediting associations.
The complete program offered
by Internet Homeschool includes
math, English, science, handwriting, spelling, social science, health,
computer science, Spanish I and
II, French I and II, and art history.
(Only P.E. has to be supplied by
the parents and notification sent
to IHS for addition to the student’s
transcripts.) To high school juniors and seniors, IHS also offers a
choice of three electives programs
designed to focus on the skills
required to be a successful adult,
beyond the purely academic.
These include “contract learning”
which is somewhat like a workstudy approach, prompting the
student to make a commitment
to learning life skills through
working with an outside mentor
or professional in the field of the
student’s. choice. For instance a
student may become involved in
community theatre in set design,
acting, production, etc. This approach requires a sufficient level of
maturity from the student to provide excellent training for equivalent real-life commitments. There
are two high school Paths offered.
The first is not a college prep program, so that once completed, if
the student wishes to continue on,
two years of junior or community
college will be necessary to satisfy
the foreign language and higher
math requirements of four-year
colleges. The other is the College
Prep path, which includes all
credits necessary to satisfy college admissions. IHS also offers
assessment testing and complete
online grading and transcript service. The parents can choose the
Non-graded program which costs
less than the Graded program.
The tuition and annual fees are
reasonable, especially for the high
school programs.
No. Dakota Div of Independent Study (NDIS) - http://www.
ndisonline.org/ISC/catalog/email.
html [email protected].
edu - Gr 5-12 • 1510 12th Ave. N.,
Fargo, ND 58105; Ph: 701-2316000
Accredited by both the North
Central Assoc. Commission on
Accreditation and the School
Improvement Commission on
International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA ).
This program differs significantly
from the others mentioned so
far in that although it will deliver
coursework via the Internet, all
exams must be conducted under
the oversight of a third-party
supervisor who must then fax
or U.S. Mail the exam to NDIS.
It is preferred by NDIS that this
supervisor be a teacher, although
they will accept librarians and
clergy as supervisors. In the case
of traditional homeschoolers, this
might be a drawback; in the case
of those who have been in the
school system, it would not be a
drawback.
Therefore, this program is perfect for a school student who may
wish to have the flexible schedule
NDIS can offer, but who still
has contact with the local school
district. In general, this program
is much like a correspondence
school with Internet access. There
are two teaching fees: Resident
and Non-Resident, the NonResident fee is $97 per course plus
a $22 fee for each one-semester
course, but a discount is offered
for students taking more than five
and more than 20 one-semester
courses. The textbooks are sometimes available at discounts, if not
new, and NDIS offers a return
policy on new books at the end
of the school year. If a student can
find the same book on his own,
he is free to purchase it. Parents
of children enrolled in school,
who are contemplating removing
the child from school and wish
to have him/her learn at home,
continued on page 78
The Link - a homeschool newspaper
Page 19
www.homeschoolnewslink.com
Past, Present and Future of Homeschooling
A MINI HISTORY
LESSON
By Martin and Carolyn Forte
he modern homeschooling movement has been
a very successful educational
alternative for over thirty
years and continues to grow
in popularity and acceptability. The majority of you
who are reading this article
probably have no idea what it
was like to be a homeschooler
in the late 70’s and early 80’s,
the decades which represent
t he bi r t h of t he moder n
homeschool movement .
Let’s take a few minutes and
discuss the progression of
homeschooling through the
decades starting with the
“pioneers”, progressing to the
“settlers” and ending with
the latest members of the
homeschool community, the
“refugees.”
As w it h a ny successf u l
movement, it all starts with
the pioneers. These are the
individuals who had a vision, were willing to blaze
the trail and take the arrows
in the back. The original
pioneers were composed of
two very distinct groups. The
first group was composed of
hippies living off the coast
of Big Sur or the foothills of
the Sierra Nevadas and was
basically very happy smoking
their happy grass and skinny-dipping. They really were
interested in just doing their
own thing and bringing their
children with them. This
resulted in a rather isolated
group with very little organizational power or desire.
The second group, formed
mainly of Christians and
those with similar goals, was
highly influential in setting
the direction of the movement for the next decade or
so. This group homeschooled
primarily for religious and
academic reasons, as well as
to protect their children from
the ways of the secular world.
During this time period, not
only prayer, but nearly all
references to Christianity
were removed from public
schools and in the mind’s eye
T
of the Christian community,
the progression of secularism
was of great concern.
The early homeschoolers
in both these groups were
pioneers in every sense. They
had only sketchy guidance
from the few trailblazers of
t he decades before t hem.
In ma ny cases t hey were
completely on t heir own,
unaware of the few individuals and organizations that
offered support or advice to
homeschoolers. The pioneer
homeschoolers had no conventions, state or national
organizations, organized and
knowledgeable legal defense,
or curriculum support. To
make life even more difficult
they usually operated outside
the then-current law, while
trying to duck under the radar of local truant officers.
There are documented cases
where some parents actually
spent time in jail for homeschooling t heir chi ldren.
These were fa mi lies who
believed passionately in what
they were doing and were
willing to make sacrifices to
give their children a better
life. The methods and philosophy of the early pioneers
varied enormously, but they
found common ground in
their commitment to raising
their children free of government interference.
T hey d id t he best t hey
could with whatever materi-
ŠBOOKS Š Š AUDIO TAPESŠ
Š TEACHING HELPS Š
“When I tell others about your
products, I think of the words
‘flexible structure with emphasis
on true understanding.’
I truly think your materials are
the single most valuable
materials I have purchased
since beginning homeschoolng.”
S. Stapleton
Phone: 1-800-965-2719
www.designastudy.com
als were at hand. As few text
books were available, most
homeschoolers of the late 70’s
and early 80’s used the public library as their primary
source of written materials.
As these pioneers were forced
to develop curriculums free
of tex t book s, t hey soon
discovered that they had a
tremendous advantage over
classroom-educated chi ldren. Those who stuck with
it concluded that far from
being necessary for learning,
formal texts actually slowed
down the pace of learning.
Occasionally, we were given
a discarded reader or social
studies book only to fi nd it
was boring and useless. We
didn’t know at the time that
we had discovered what Diane Ravich wrote in her book
“The Language Police” that
virtually all elementary text
books are purposely designed
to be bland, boring and obscure, an insult to the native
continued on page 37
The Blister Electric Microscope was developed as a tool for Science Education. Since 1946 the General
Science Blister Viewer has filled that need for schools and individuals. Because of its wide field,
relatively low power(50X) and built in light it is easy to operate and allows viewing of opaque objects
which normally cannot be viewed by a conventional microscope.
The Blister Microscope is a product that typifies both the durability of microscopes
and the salience of light microscope technology. Blister Microscope is constructed of
all stainless steel parts, so even the most careless little scientist peering at rocks,
onion cells and pond water won’t be able to destroy her scope with a spilled juice
box. And despite the fact that Blister Microscope is over thirty years old, the company
still sells the same exact product, a testament to the lasting value of low power
microscope technology. Your Blister Microscope won’t be outdated by a new
model next year, or probably not even in the next decade.
Brand-New, All metal microscope plus 100 Blister Slides
ONLY $65.95. To order: Phone: (612) 822-7937 Fax: (612) 824-7677
Or order online at www.blistermicroscope.com
Page 20
The Link - a homeschool newspaper
www.homeschoolnewslink.com
Precision Teaching -The Easy Way To Measure Academic Progress
By Michael Maloney, M.A.
he Problem
Homeschoolers are often
concerned about measuring
the academic progress of their
students. They want to know
whether or not their instruction is having the desired effect.
Did learning occur? Was it sufficient to enable the students to
proceed to the next step? How
can we be sure that our students
are meeting the same standards
that are set for students who are
not homeschooled? These are
constant, vexing questions.
The problem is exacerbated
by the fact that there are few, if
any, consistent universal standards to be met by any student
– homeschooled or otherwise.
Teachers in public and private
school classrooms face the same
issues. They have no quick, reliable way to ascertain whether
or not this lesson worked or
that this particular student
learned. Unit tests, review tests,
T
pop quizzes and various types
of assignments are often their
only metric available to determine student performance. As
a consequence, much of the
decision-making about student
progress is based on impression
and judgment, as opposed to
impartial, replicable data.
Mandated Standardized
Testing
During the past decade, however, the issue has been given
some degree of standardization
with the introduction of annual
statewide academic testing.
These tests are mandatory for
public schools. They usually
require several days to complete
and they provide scores for
such subject areas as reading,
math and science. Schools and
districts are ranked in terms of
their test scores. The percentage
of students at and above grade
level is compared to results
from previous years and the
The HOMESCHOOLERS
rankings adjusted.
Many school districts are very
wary about the entire assessment process. There are numerous sources of real or imagined
bias in the testing process. Some
states allow certain students to
be exempted from their annual
testing. That raises the concern
that districts are labeling lowperforming students as learning disabled and exempting
them from testing to improve
their district’s scores. There are
clear cases of teachers coaching
students during the testing and
even cases of teachers changing student answers to improve
their students’ scores. Some
districts have been known
to transfer students to other
schools just prior to the annual
testing to limit the number of
schools that do not score well.
Such attempts to manipulate
the mandatory testing scores
only add to the problem of getting accurate measures. None of
this makes measuring student
learning any easier.
Homeschoolers may or may
not be required to submit their
students to annual testing. In
some states, such as Florida,
participation in state testing is
voluntary. Some states, like Arkansas, require homeschooled
students to complete state testing every three years. Others,
such as Colorado, Alaska and
North Carolina, have adopted
the P.A.S.S. test for homeschoolers. The Personalized
Achievement Summary System is a parent administered,
untimed test which yields an
overall achievement score and
individual subject scores for
students in Grades 3 - 8. Taking
such a test may satisfy the state
regulation, but may be of little
real use to the homeschooling
parent beyond meeting that
obligation.
Many homeschool and public
school students, complete the
California Achievement Tests
each year as a way to satisfy their
states’ testing requirements.
Since these tests occur only
annually, they also are of little
value in providing information
about progress until after the
fact. There has to be a better way
to monitor student learning,
especially on basic skills.
DIBELS
In the past five years, a new
measurement system has begun to be adopted to measure
student progress. This system
known as DIBELS, the Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy
Skills is becoming a commonlyused metric in many schools.
Developed at the University of
Oregon, DIBELS uses the frequency of the behavior as its
primary datum. Standards are
set by grade level. First-grade
students, who are learning to
read orally, are expected to read
up to 160 words per minute to
reach the standard. The rate increases for older students.
DIBELS testing is usually
done three times per year, once
near the beginning of the school
year, once in the middle and
once near the end of the academic year. Scores on the reading passages in DIBELS place
the student in one of three categories; “low risk”, “some risk”
and “at risk”. The objective is to
identify the “at risk” students at
the beginning of the school year
and have them graduate to the
“low risk” category be the end
of the school year.
This system yields more helpful information than a single
standardized test given near
the end of the academic year.
Progress indicators three times
per year are better than a single
indicator late in the year. But
most parents need more information than that, especially for
children “at risk”
In the world of medicine,
patients’ vital life sign data are
taken several times a day. The
more seriously ill the patient,
the more numerous and frequent the measurement of their
vital signs. Infants in critical
care units are monitored continuously for any number of
functions so that treatment
decisions can be made almost
instantaneously if necessary.
There is no equivalent measurement system in education. Usually the further behind the student is, the less frequently his or
her performance is monitored.
Precision Teaching
Fortunately, there is a system
which provides continuous
measurement of academic skills.
The system, known as Precision
Teaching, was created by Dr.
Ogden R. Lindsley at University
of Kansas during the late 1950s
and early ‘60s. Precision Teaching uses frequency and rate of
change as its basic data. For
example, we can easily get a frequency measure for oral reading. The frequency with which a
child can read words aloud in a
passage is determined in a oneminute timing. Both the words
read correctly and those read in
error are counted. Both of these
scores are charted on a special
continued on page 21