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So, here's where things stood the day before we were to start back to homeschool.

Lovely, eh?

It's much better now, the shelves are all organized on the bookshelf, but I must admit that the closet looks the same. So....no miraculous before and after pics!

We've had a really good week and a half back. I feel torn out of my comfort zone, though, so many new activities- I am driving around much more taking kids to classes. I really don't know if I am coming or going. Ironically, even if I hadn't been grounded from blogging during the day- I wouldn't be, because I have been so very busy.

Meg is playing in a local community college orchestra, the nice surprise- plus to this- is that she will be getting college credit! It was very strange to be trolling the college parking lot, looking for a parking space between classes...It was hard to believe that it has been 18 years or so since I had last done that.

She is also taking two classes with a homeschool program run by a local Christian University- it's called the Biola Star Program. This year she will be taking Literature and Composition Class and Physical Science Class. I had to order most of her books from the college bookstore. This brought on a nervous/annoyed tick. I remember those. I remember paying $100 for a text book, then selling it back for $20 and seeing them re-sell it for $70. Major starving student angst there...except now I am the starving parent...!

Through the wonders of modern internet abilities- I price compared, and the markup was not that bad, so I ordered mostly from the college bookstore and then I ordered all her Lit novels from Barnes & Nobels, *because- ahem, we are there so much we practically live there, so I try to give them my business as much as I can.

Josie has moved up to the next sabre class level, she now attends twice a week. It's a good 20 minute drive each way with no traffic.

Art classes start back up in a week. I am currently looking for a martial arts class for the boy- that the charter school will pay for..and it has to be not too costly, because the charter school will only pay part of the fee..kind of complicated, this charter school. Anyhoo- I mention this because in the mean time, we have some kind of homeschool boys fight club going on in my son's room. This was all fueled by the new karate kids movie...

we definitely need to move on this and get fight club out of my house before someone gets hurt.

This does, make me think of this spoof- because my mind runs on non-congruent lines...




So, internets, how is back to school going for you?

Labels: homeschool, homeschool California

Recent public school upheavals, such as the recent San Juan Capistrano teacher strike, might have parents considering their family schooling options with new concern.

With high school students in the house, are you worried about a lack of support, or even worried about a disruption in their required coursework if another strike happens? Has your school district dropped classes your teen needs to apply to the college of their choice?

There are many different options in the California homeschool community to fit your family goals/needs. Among these are;

• Biola Star Academic programs.
  

• Pacific Coast High School

• Private Homeschool Umbrella school classes

• Integrity Christian School (Anaheim, Ca)
  
• Hope Christian Academy (Garden Grove, Ca)
  
• Spirit Preparatory Academy (Tustin, Ca)

• Your highschool student may also take classes at a community college.
  

Your schooling options for your children are pretty broad, once you look past the public school in your area. To explore these options, call these programs with your questions, and/or go online to a homeschool message board and ask questions there; you will probably find parents who have used these programs or know of others.

Homeschoolers love to answer questions, so ask away. :)

Labels: homeschool, homeschool California

San Juan Capistrano School District teacher strike;

Parents- now could be the time to consider schooling options for your family, maybe dabble a bit with the idea of homeschooling...or, if homeschooling is not in your future, you will be thinking about how to keep your kids learning.

Hopefully, the walk-out will be a short one, but during the time your kids are out of school, a plan might be helpful.

First, in your shoes, I would have my kids bring home their textbooks if they can. Find out where they are in Math, language arts, Science and Social Studies and plan on covering maybe a page a day in Math/language arts/handwriting/spelling. Subjects like Science and Social Studies are not usually taught everyday for the younger grades- pick 1 day to work on Social Studies and 1 day to work on Science. For High School, you could take the same sort of approach, but pick 1 or 2 days to dive into a subject for a greater length of time.

If you cannot get the textbooks, or you know the other kids still attending the school will not be doing academics during this time ( a really big bet there...) you could instead get a little creative with your week and concentrate on encouraging a love of learning and educational exploration.

Fun for all involved and a good way to cement math facts and teach them to compute at a faster rate.

• play with 2 dice- roll the dice and then have your students compute the 2 numbers the way you command: multiply, divide, add or subtract. Roll again and have them compute another function to the answer- the numbers will get bigger and your child's brain will be working, his understanding will be increasing.
  
• Write a number on a piece of paper such as 125; give each student a piece of paper and have them write as many different equations as they can to equal 125. If you only have 1 student, you play against them. The winner has the most equations.
• play multiplication/division or addition/subtraction relay. Student runs to one point, answers the flashcard quickly, runs to the next point and answers another.
• math war, card game- use playing cards, have a pile for each player. The players turn over 1 card each from their stack and then the winner yells out the answer to the sum of the two numbers, or subtract the smaller number from the larger, or use multiplication. Keep points.

Labels: homeschool California

• Or, The episode where Jenny (mild-mannered homeschool mom) meets the local truant officer.

• Or, I had a visit from the local truant officer and it wasn't that bad? (except the part where my inner Bridget Jones was showing...)
  

• Or, the local truant officer tried to give me wrong information and I shut him down.
  

-Don't mess with red-heads.

Actually, it really wasn't all that bad, internets...really. I've been homeschooling 10 years in California, and never had a problem, and I haven't personally known anyone to have a problem.

So, I opened the door one morning and found the local truant officer on my doorstep. The moment wasn't a bad one; he looked friendly, and he had one of those big tag i.d. cards hanging around his neck, so I could see right away who he was, and where he was from.

He asked about my oldest daughter Meg and where she was enrolled.

I stood tall and proud....This was my moment, homeschooling 10 years, dotting all my i's, crossing all my t's, keeping abreast of school law, being enrolled in a public homeschool charter school (now there was my big ace in the hole, my safety-net with the system, if you will....).

I confidently gave him the answer I had ready, on the tip of my tongue these many years....

"Meg is enrolled with such and such charter school!" And then he replied that the school had informed him that we had withdrawn her from the school.

Oh yeah, that.
We did. -My own personal 'duh' moment.

I went from confident homeschool mom to flustered/less than honest/might-be-hiding- something homeschool mom.

It got worse. I told him that I had forgotten, my other kids are in the charter school, but that we had just enrolled Meg for highschool with such and such Christian school- a private school.

He asked if she was then officially enrolled with them. This flustered me again, because it was June and we had sent in her application but I had not heard back if she was accepted. I told him she would be officially enrolled in September when school began, but that we were still in the process.

Awkward? Yes.
I began fervently praying that she was accepted.

Things took a turn, however, when he informed me that I needed to go down to the local public highschool, make an appointment with the principal, and get his permission to be allowed to enroll Meg at a private school.

hold on there, cowboy!
I. Don't. Think. So.

Enter, peeved homeschool mom. Flat-out untrue information. I asked him to show me the school code that stated that I needed to do this in order to have my child educated at a private school in California. He was surprised I had a difference of opinion on this, and said he didn't know where or if there was a code for this, it was just what he had been told by his superiors. This left me surprised and a disappointed that someone holding such a job would not have researched all the ins and outs of school law before enforcing it. He also said that this was the first time someone challenged him on this. This made me sad.

T.O. man said he would look up the relevant code and call me with the information.

I'm still waiting for that phone call.

So there ends my tale. It was not so bad. Know the law and you'll do fine.

(note: knowing the law also means knowing how to answer, and what to say and what not to say. I was probably saved from further hassle by knowing that homeschool is not a legal term in Ca. I answered correctly by saying my kids were in a charter school- although it is a homeschooling charter, and by saying my oldest was enrolled in a private school, although it is a private umbrella school with her being homeschooled by me. Not knowing how to answer could have brought further questioning, scrutiny and hassle. Again, know the law for your state! Click the small tag under this post that says 'homeschool California' for further detail on homeschooling in Ca!)

Labels: homeschool, homeschool California

A peek at our Homeschool week that was
-2nd part of a post that began *Here with Monday and Tuesday.

Wednesday began with Josie, Amie and Demi-Sky writing persuasive essays that they had begun on Tuesday with a pre-writing exercise. Amie was assigned a persuasive letter, instead of an essay. This project took about 45 minutes for Amie, and about an hour for Josie and Demi.

We homeschool 4 of our students through a home-based charter school in California, so today was our scheduled meeting with the credentialed teacher who looks over our work. There are different types of charter schools in California, and even among home-based programs, the set-up can look a bit different. We chose a charter that gives the parent full choice in scope and sequence and in books/materials used. (the exception is that they cannot pay for curriculum from Christian publishers, but I am free to buy it myself and use it.)

Today was our meeting day, so we sat down with our piles of books and notebooks and had a show-n-tell, basically- of what we had done the past month. Wednesday is the day of the week we do not have Teddy here, his mom is able to work from home on that day and keeps him, he also meets with his special ed. tutor at his house on Wednesday.

Our meeting went a bit long, so I made the kids sandwiches and we jumped in the car, heading over to Art class for Josie, Demi and Amie. (the younger 3 ate lunch in the car)

• The above photo is of an oil painting Amie did, love all that red! (I'm going to have to frame this one!)

Meg and I headed over to a local bagel shop for lunch, and to discuss her History and Lit reading for her Sonlight Core 6. The heart of Sonlight is the use of Socratic oral discusssion. So, discuss- is what we did. During this discussion I can tell how much comprehension she had, and emphasize any major points I think she missed...or even just give her something more to think about. (shh...if I didn't get a chance to read the books that week, Sonlight gives me notes...!)

we came home, the kids all did a math page (because everyday is math day!...) and so ended the parent-driven school part of our day.

Thursday began with our table-time work...on this day we tackled Math (all together...everday is Math day...!) handwriting and Language Arts writing workbooks. Then I gave the kids a break while I dropped Meg at her High School General Science class. She stayed for Science, lunch, study hall and Photography class. Back at the house, Josie continued her History reading on her own, and then moved on to her Health/Science book. I had the 3 littles read aloud from their health/science readers. Next, I moved the 3 littles through Explode the Code online (For Demi and Teddy) and Explode the Code 3 workbook (for Amie).

• Our school instruction for the day, with Mom at least, then ended.

The kids played outside with friends for a while, I went back to pick up Meg from her classes, Meg finished a math page,and then we packed up and headed out to a hockey game. This was Amie's very first hockey game, Demi and 2 boy cousins are on her team, and Sky is the coach. I had a blast watching, I think the parents laughed more than cheered...we had many new players on the rink this day!

Thus ends our day, thanks for visiting!

Labels: homeschool, homeschool California, school year 09, sonlight

you can read the first half of this trip *here.

So, a good time was had by all during our Sea World educational-day field trip.
The kids loved, loved the dolphin pool. They have a really nice set-up at Sea World, you can touch the dolphins in this pool, and they have two underwater windows for better viewing.
Aww, aren't they cute? Too cute to be legal, don't you think? Cute like lots of sugar....

Do you think they are $6 a tray of fish cute? They have a few special feeding times where you can purchase a tray of food for $6 and feed your new friends. I tried to economize and purchased just 2 trays to share among my 4 kids. Do the math, this was $12
There were 3 small sardine fish in each tray, which worked out to $2 a fish. I warned the kids to be very careful and not let the sea gulls steal one...because it's like, $2 for each little fish....
So, do the dolphins look cute and happy? Yes they are happy, because they get expensive fish...!
(ranting aside, I get it...if they were reasonably priced then everyone and their grandma would feed the dolphins many trays of fish and we'd have fat dolphins..I do get it. It's just, yikes!)
We had beautiful, beautiful weather on this day...which was the day after a big rain-storm in So. California. A bit chilly, but beautiful!
We purchased the half day tickets so I could beat traffic home (it's about a 2 hour trip) and so we could stop for McDonald's happy meals on the way home...instead of buying lunch in the park. And the children were all rendered HAPPY! :) and mom was happy because it was not...all together now,...$2 a fish!

Labels: field-trips, homeschool, homeschool California

Homeschooling in California is relatively easy...or at least as easy as some things in parenting are, remember, I did use the word "relatively". It is a lifestyle, and as easy or as hard as parenting 1 child or 3 children...(which actually left me in tears for a week, it was such a shock, I found parenting 2 children easy..but I am off the subject now..) Homeschooling is a lifestyle choice, it's going to be as easy or as hard as we live it, but my post is going to be more about the legal aspects of homeschooling in California, so, clear my throat..we will start again...

Homeschooling in California is relatively easy - what I mean by 'easy' is that you have no homeschool inspections, no approval, no coursework to turn in, no portfolios.

see, easy.

Now the technical stuff;

In California you have a few options for homeschooling...homeschooling by the name 'homeschooling' is not actually recognized in school law - your options to school your children at home will fall under these options:

1. register your homeschool as a private school based in the home. You will register your private school yearly with the state, go to California Homeschool Network's website for a really clear, legal explanation of this along with step by step instructions on how to register online. This used to be called (and is still in homeschool circles,) the R-4 option -since the form we used to fill out was called the R-4.

As a private school, there are a few regulations to follow, but no inspections, approval of your materials, no credentials needed. There are a few things you should do to keep your ducks in a row, California Homeschool network outlines these things-

California private school requirements

Education Code sections §48222, §48415, §33190, §51210 and §51220 set the criteria for a private school. The following legal requirements apply to all private schools regardless of size:

1. The administrator of every private school must file an affidavit with the Superintendent of Public Instruction between October 1st and October 15th of each year.
2. Private school instructors must be "capable of teaching." There is, however, no requirement in the CA Education Code that mandates that teachers in a private school setting hold a state teaching credential or have the equivalent training.
3. The names and addresses, including city and street, of the faculty must be kept on file, as must a record of the educational qualifications of each instructor.
4. Instruction must be in English.
5. Instruction must be offered "in the several branches of study required to be taught in the public schools." The materials and methods you use to teach these areas are up to you. Subjects required are as follows:
• Grades 1-6: English, math, social sciences, science, fine arts, health and phys ed.
• Grades 7-12: All that is included in the above plus: foreign language, applied arts, vocational ed and drivers ed.

-California Homeschool Network website

go to California Homeschool Network for more great information and help*

(I tried to get all the correct information here for the R-4 option...but I'm afraid it looks more complicated then it really is...let me say, you file the R-4 once a year- electronically, it is a short document, asks things like the School name, site address, school administrator, number of students. -that is pretty much it, short and sweet. There is nothing else to file, not even attendance or proof of classes taught. Ca homeschool network walks you through making a file for those extra things like attendance or teacher capability because legally you would need them if challenged, but you do not ever turn things like that in, or get any kind of approval. The R-4 is registering your school, not asking for approval. I hoped that helped, a little.)

2. Join a private "umbrella" group, called PSP's (private school satellite program). These are private schools that for a fee will keep records for you and they- not you, file the R-4 with the state. Your kids will be attending this private school (which happens to have mostly home instruction). Some PSP's are bare bones, keep the grades and transcripts that you turn in, attendance and other records. Many PSP's offer this and more, such as help preparing your course of study for the year, recommending books, offering classes your kids can attend 1 or 2 days a week, playgroups, field trips and p.e. Some offer graduating ceramonies and social events such as prom. PSP's are all unique, ask around to find one that might fit your family.

3. Homeschool under the "tutor" requirement. Under this option, the teacher must be credentialed for the ages and courses of study for the child/children. There are also special rules about hours of instruction. I've heard that most credentialed teacher-parents find the R-4 option simpler, even if they hold a credential.

4. Enroll in a public charter school that is set up for instruction in the home. These charter schools usually offer support by supplying materials, paying for special classes and having a credentialed teacher meet with the students at specific times. Charter schools vary in how much freedom they let the parent have in choice of course of study and use of materials, some may give 4 math options to choose from while some may let you choose how you want to teach math. Some charters offer classes on-site, some do not. If you are looking at a charter school, it can be helpful to ask on a homeschool message board about others experiences with them. Some new homeschoolers are more comfortable with a more "school at home" approach of some charter schools, while some, such as myself- prefer a more hands off approach. All charter schools require that the students participate in yearly state testing.

one other option, some school districts will offer a study at home option...but frankly, this looks to me like a kill-joy. Usually the student will have to meet with a teacher once a week and turn in assignments and get new ones. Homeschooling can be so rich and horizon broaden-ing - there is a world of books out there, this option just sounds dead to me.

see, it was pretty easy! No portfolios, no approval, no testing. It is common for homeschool parents to have their students tested periodically to see how they are doing and where they may need help, most PSP's will do this, and there are also a few educational businesses that you can purchase these from.

We have been homeschooling for 10 years now, and have used the Charter School route and the PSP route.

Enjoy your journey!!

Labels: homeschool, homeschool California

A decision was handed down in the California Homeschool case, also know as the Rachel L. case...

Here is a link to California Homeschool Network's legal update page-

it looks like the news is good!! We are free to continue homeschooling as we were here in California.

There is always a but...I think the second part of the decision could be trouble, I think it is saying we are free to homeschool as long as the State decides we aren't abusing our kids in some way, then they can take that right away. Which is fine and fair, unless you are wrongly accused of something-

but mainly, it seems to be good news.

Labels: homeschool, homeschool California

Sheesh, what a week to not have internet access!! I woke up one morning and it was like the world had suddenly gone mad...

what a time, really, to not being able to blog much, and to have limited access to homeschool forums, boards and blogs...

To sum it up, from the little I have been able to read...nothing has changed in California. We have no new laws against homeschooling. We do not have to run and enroll our kids in a public school. A side note that the public schools wouldn't have room for us if we all did...

From what I have read, the judges in this one case, involving one family... seem to have outlawed homeschooling, charter schools, school-district run independent study programs and private schools, all in one swoop. If the child's tush is not in a seat physically taught and supervised daily by a credentialed teacher, then according to this case it is illegal. A calm, reasoning mind would realize that this could not be what a small group of judges intended. Or maybe they didn't realize the ramifications of what they had done.

There are several homeschool organizations with legal departments looking into this and deciding how to handle this, and I would suppose angry calls to whomever by upset parents and friends wouldn't be the best, professional way to handle this.

We don't watch t.v. and we most certainly do not watch t.v. news for insight into these matters, I really shudder to think of how the networks are covering this, and what kind of miss-information must be headlining. Just the blurbs I heard on the radio news where upsetting enough. I wouldn't recommend the t.v. for news on this...

Tammy*** wrote an insightful, calm post on this at her blog...click on over to read more- and maybe direct your family to it when you get the latest panicky call.

We are still here in California

we are still homeschooling

and we don't plan to go anywhere.

Labels: homeschool, homeschool California

We homeschool through a charter school, and the one big hoop we have to jump through to be part of their program is the yearly standardized testing. They try to make it painless and fun, (and quick!)...so here is a photo of the kids swimming at the hotel-test-site, after the test.
Demi is on the left, Meg center, Josie (with goggles) and Amie far right.

This was where you would find us on both Tuesday and Wednesday. It was warm and beautiful, I sat with a book and a diet coke. ....I could really dig this.

Labels: family, homeschool, homeschool California