Web Newsletter
September 1999 Newsletter
September THF Events...
MONTHLY SUPPORT MEETINGS
The monthly support meetings of The Homeschooler’s Friend will be the second
Tuesday of each month from 7-8pm at
Temple Baptist Church (2813 E. Hwy. 390). We would like to encourage everyone to
attend these meetings. The meetings
are primarily for parents, as we have many other activities for the children. You may
bring your children if they sit quietly with
you during the meeting, and do not run around the church after the meeting. Parents
need to pick up after their children,
because we'd like to leave the church better than we found it.
The Pearls’ Child Training Seminar In Panama City!
Event: To Train Up A Child Seminar
Speaker: Michael Pearl
When: September 24, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Panama City - Location to be announced at support meeting and will be
sent out by e-mail, or write
robertp@digitalexp.com
Cost: None. A love offering will be taken up.
Here is the Pearls’ mission, from their web site: “As goes the child so goes the future
adult—and the future parent. At every
moment, parents holding little children are holding the future. Parenting, the most
important and demanding job in the world,
comes on us by default. Ready or not, prepared or ill equipped, all parents produce fruit
that lasts throughout eternity. It is like
stopping everyone that walks down the street and seating them at a piano to play for five
minutes. The melody or the
dissonance goes on and on from one generation to the next unless someone takes the time
to break the cycle and learn the
skill……of parenting.
Through books and tapes, the Pearls are training parents to break the bad habits passed
down from former generations and to
recognize and emulate the wisdom of those who have gone before. The Bible and
common sense are the foundations for
effective parenting.”
This evening will not be for homeschoolers only, so talk it up in your church and with
friends. They’ll be so glad you told them
about it! The evening won’t be for Moms only, either. Lots of Dads showed up in
Thomasville, but many of the ladies
said afterward, “Oh, I wish my husband was here!” Lots of good stuff for the Dads, and
how important their role is in child
training!
For more information, visit the Pearl’s web site, No Greater Joy, and read their
newsletters.
http://www.netsite21.com/nogreaterjoy/
Park Days
The Homeschooler's Friend will be hosting Park Days. Every Thursday will be at a
different park in town. If you have a
birthday this month, we will honor you on the 2nd Thursday (exception this month - see
calendar). Bring your favorite goodie
to share. Also, if you have a favorite game or toy, such as a Frisbee, wiffle ball, dodge
ball, etc. feel free to bring that.
General Schedule:
First Thursday - Under the Oaks
Second Thursday - Oakland Terrace
Third Thursday - Bailey Bridge Park
Fourth Thursday - Under the Oaks
Bowling Days
THF Homeschool Bowling Days will be every 2nd Wednesday of the month at 1
PM at BowlARama Lanes on 15th St. $2
per game. RSVP to Shelly before each Bowling Day.
OTHER SEPTEMBER EVENTS
Harvest Home Educators Events
Harvest Home Educators (HHE) is a networking organization for homeschoolers
throughout the southeast, who plan major
events and are dedicated to keeping home schoolers informed.
Besides the Sea World Homeschool Day, here are a few more of their events.
For more, go to
http://www.harvesthomeeducators.com/news.htm
Sept. 17 - Dollywood Home School Day - Call (423) 429-7270.
Sept. 23 - Harvest Home Educators’ Home School Day at Atlanta
Braves
Home Education Legislative Conference
Find out how homeschooling started in Florida, what direction it has taken over the
years, and learn about exciting legislation that is now in the works for Florida home educators. See how you can get involved!
The Home Education Foundation (HEF) will host its Home Education
Legislative Conference on Saturday, September 25.
Paid registrations ($15, plus $3 for spouse) must be postmarked by September 18.
(Registration form at end of newsletter.)
For directions, more information, and nearby hotels, refer to our August
newsletter.
HEF Tapes
“The History of Home Education in Florida” is now available on cassette or video from
the Home Education Foundation
(HEF). Learn how far Florida homeschoolers have come, from defending their parental
rights, to taking the offensive with new
legislation. Learn more about HEF, your voice at the capitol. See how HEF has been
fighting for your freedom to home
educate your children. This tape is a must for every Florida homeschooler! The cassette
is available for a $5 donation to HEF,
the video for $15. We will have it at support meetings.
HOMESCHOOL CLASSES, CLUBS
Visual Arts Center Homeschool Art Classes
The Visual Arts Center (VAC) will be offering students’ art classes designed with
the homeschooler in mind. Each class will
cover one medium and will last for four weeks. Classes will begin on September 7th and
will be ongoing throughout the school
year.
There will be a parents’ meeting on September 3rd, 1pm at the VAC to
discuss materials and specific classes. All parents or
representatives are asked to attend this first meeting if possible. If you have a conflict,
please contact Cathy at Jcirby@aol.com
or Wadonna Riley at the VAC at 769-4451 as soon as possible.
The mediums that will be covered will be: Drawing 1 & 2; and Painting 1 &
2. The cost for the classes will be $25 per
month. These classes will be scheduled according to the wishes of the parents. Possible
times are Tuesdays, 12:30-2:30;
3:00-5:00; or Wednesdays or Thursdays, 1:00-3:00. Be sure to attend this first
organizational meeting. I look forward to
seeing you there! - Cathy
Panama City Swim Team
Panama City Swim Team is a not-for-profit organization with a competitive swim
program held at GCCC for children aged
6-19. PCST coaches develop swimmers in the four “competitive” swim strokes with the
goal of participating in swim
meets.
Minimum swim skills are needed to join the team. Children must be at least
6 and be able to swim 25 yards, or one pool
length, in freestyle and backstroke.
Cost: 11 & under, $50/mo.; 12 & older, $60/mo.; $30 annual registration
fee.
To Join: Bring your swimmer to a practice with a $30 registration check. Your
swimmer will be evaluated & assigned to a
practice group. You may join for a one-week trial basis.
Schedule: M & W, 7-9pm; Tu, Th & Fri, 3:15-4:50pm. As long as you pay the
monthly fee, your swimmer can come to
practices as much or as little as your schedule allows. Daytime Numbers: Joe Hassler,
Pres.: 785-6156; Jeremy Vail, Head
Coach: 914-9844.
UPCOMING EVENTS
HHE Sea World Homeschool & Private School Day; KSC Field Trip; Days Inn
Lakeside
See August Newsletter)
Washington DC Tour
by Joslyn E., Independent Thinkers, Navarre -
http://www.geocities.com/athens/agora/2267
Washington, DC: September 21-25, 2000 - Historical tour: Jamestown,
Williamsburg, and Washington, DC - just before the
presidential election and during Williamsburg's Home Educator Week. Fee covers round
trip air fare, 4 nights hotel
accommodations, all meals, all admissions and fees, planned evening activities (such as
dinner theatre), and comprehensive
accident/health insurance. Registration ends January 31, 2000. An estimated cost per
person, for four persons to a hotel
room, is $1,100. Registration does not obligate. Contact either me
(navedges@juno.com) or Amy Taylor at
1-800-945-7410.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, NEWS
THF MEMBERSHIP CARDS
The Homeschooler’s Friend membership cards will be made available at our
monthly support meetings, beginning this month.
This card will entitle you to teacher discounts in certain local bookstores.
FPEA MEMBERSHIPS
All Florida Parent Educators Association (FPEA) memberships expire September 30,
1999. If you haven’t already joined for
the 1999-2000 year, send a $15 check, payable to THF, to our P.O. Box. Write FPEA on
the check. Renew ASAP, to
avoid missing the next Almanac issue.
NEA
by Pamela Martinez, THG
Find out about the National Homeschool Association, which is forming, or
FPEA and join. This is one way for home
educators to strengthen their common bond. Now that home education has become
successful and mainstream, the NEA feels
their hold on education slipping. I personally don't want my freedom to educate my child
to discontinue or be dictated by the
NEA. Do you? We must unite. [Editor’s note: Another reason to support HEF!]
From the NEA 1998-99 Resolutions, B-65. Home Schooling: “The National
Education Association believes that home
schooling programs cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education
experience...Instruction should be by persons
who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum
approved by the state department of
education should be used. The Association also believes that home-schooled students
should not participate in any
extracurricular activities in the public schools.” To learn more about the NEA, go to the
following website:
http://www.nea.org/resolutions/98/98b-65.html
A Local Homeschool Consignment Shop?
by Debbie Cogburn
A great bookstore has recently opened on Harrison Avenue. It's called Books
by the Sea. The owner, Elizabeth Fravel, and I
were talking recently about the need for a local place that homeschoolers could leave
their curriculum and other related items. I
discussed with her about the possibility of having a section of her store for that purpose.
She was very interested and wants to
know how other local homeschoolers feel about the possibility. She would take items on
consignment and would also
consider carrying new curriculum, such as Abeka, Bob Jones, Alpha Omega, etc. if there
is enough interest. The new
curriculum items would possibly be at a discounted price. Her store is mostly used books
which she buys, sells, and trades. It
also has new books at a 25% discount. If you would be interested in her setting up a
consignment and/or new curriculum
section, please call her or go by her store. The address is 23 Harrison Avenue (next to
Curry Copy) and the phone number is
784-8100. She seemed willing to work with us if there is an interest, so please call or go
by. Tell her Debbie sent you!
Florida History in the Making
by Cindy Lukehart
The largest ecological restoration project in history is just beginning. In an
attempt to reverse more than 50 years of ecological
damage, the US Army Corps of Engineers will try to restore as much as possible of the
Everglades wetlands.
The sprawling Everglades ecosystem was originally a vast, shallow basin fed
by pure water from Lake Okeechobee to the
north. It was a wide, slow-moving "river of grass," with a rich, diverse ecology including
many animal and plant species
that are now endangered or extinct.
Today, that ecology has been drastically changed by human attempts to tame
the periodic flooding of the Everglades basin. To
restore the natural flow, the Corps will remove artificial dams and fill artificial canals. If
the project succeeds, the Everglades
might one day return to their former beauty.
More about the Everglades wetlands ecosystem:
http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco/ever101.htm
Many organizations are taking part in the restoration effort:
http://www.audubon.org/campaign/er/index.html
http://www.nps.gov/ever/current/feature2.htm
Another Cool Fact about wetlands:
http://www.cool-fact.com/archive/1999/04/26.html
SUPPORT - HOW IT WORKS
by Judy Ransom
I’m very thankful for everyone who is chipping in this year to offer support
in THF! More and more parents are volunteering
with an enthusiasm and conviction to help other homeschool families. When people help
out of a genuine desire, their
labor of love has enduring rewards for their own lives, as well as for those they help.
Through the years I’ve actually heard a few people complain about various
homeschool support groups in different areas, as if
they were paying the people who were doing all the work! I don’t mention this to be
critical; I honestly think they just didn’t
understand how a support group works. It is simply a group of people who offer one
another support, who help one another.
Members who don’t help, when it’s within their ability or means to do so, are missing the
whole point of a support group, i.e.,
members helping one another.
Someone once told me that if you need to get something done, ask a busy
person, because busy people know how to prioritize
their time. That just about qualifies every homeschooler! I confess that I’m not always
the wisest with my time, but one
thing I’ve learned to do is to write everything I need to do on my calendar (I have a BIG
one), and then LOOK at it every
day. If I tell someone I’m going to do something, but don’t write it on my calendar, then
it doesn’t get done. I suppose I look
at my calendar as my “promise keeper.”
If you’ve offered to help with THF, but haven’t received an “assignment,”
please forgive me. Either I didn’t write it down and
forgot, or I need to know more about what you’re willing and able to do. Give me a call
or drop me an e-mail. You don’t
have to wait on me, though. I encourage you to “take the bull by the horns,” see THF as
your support group, decide how
you’d like to help, and then do it. The best help is offered by people who follow through
with what they say they’ll do, until
it’s done. If you have a “What needs to be done?” mindset, you’ll always find a need
that you’d be perfectly suited to meet.
No matter how great or small your help may seem, it contributes immensely to a fully
functioning, healthy support group!
JR. & SR. HIGH SCHOOL INFORMATION
Texas Tech University
Accredited curriculum available from Texas Tech University. K-12 curriculum for
homeschoolers as well as an accredited
Texas department of education K-12 school district homeschoolers may be admitted into.
Those students in the school
district will have a transcript maintained for them at all times. Students may enroll on
any day and the courses are self-paced
with 6 months given to complete a semester course. Students may enroll in dual credit
courses which earn both high school as
well as college credit. 800-MYCOURSE Ext .244 or 888-ENROLLME.
http://www.dce.ttu.edu
Science & Technology Competition
High school seniors are eligible to enter the Siemens Westinghouse Science and
Technology Competition. Students working
individually or in groups of two or three may submit independent science projects. The
contest, which is sponsored by the
Siemens Foundation, awards more than $1 million in scholarships. Deadline for entries
is September 24, 1999. Top prize for
an individual entry is a $100,000 scholarship; the winning team splits $90,000 in
scholarships. For more information, call
(877) 822-5233 or go to http://www.siemens-foundation.org.
EDUCATIONAL & RESOURCE WEB SITES
Parents, please check sites before introducing to children.
NASA is My Playground.:
Here are some cool NASA sites just for kids.
http://www.nasa.gov/kids.html
Universe in the Classroom:
The Universe in the Classroom is a free quarterly educational newsletter published by the
ASP for teachers, youth group
leaders, librarians, and anybody else who wants to help children of all ages learn more
about the wonders of the universe. It is
available either in printed form or electronically on the website.
http://www.aspsky.org/subpages/tnl1.html
Thursday's Classroom:
Science@NASA announces the first installment of Thursday's Classroom, a prototype
educational web site for teachers and
parents. Its aim is to provide a dynamic connection between NASA's latest research and
the classroom environment - a
pipeline of new knowledge between scientists and students.
http://www.thursdaysclassroom.com
Grammar Slammer:
Online English grammar help. Includes letter writing, confusing words, and easy search
engine.
http://englishplus.com/grammar/
The Michigan Electronic Library:
Elements of Style by William Strunk; A+ Research & Writing for high school and
college students; Guide to Grammar and
Writing (includes diagramming sentences, Build A Better Vocabulary (subscribe to a
word a day), spelling rules). Too
many online books and writing resources to list!
http://mel.lib.mi.us/reference/REF-styles.html