Home Education - Home Educators Association of Virginia

Bring award-winning teachers right into your home with our video classes, available by satellite, DVD, or hard drive.

Student-focused teachingVisually engaging presentationResearch-based contentMorally sound philosophy

BJU Press. . .Distance Learning comes home

© 2

008

BJU

Pre

ss. A

ll rig

hts

rese

rved

.

l 3

contents

1612

20

Features Departments12 GoodEnoughtoEducateYourChild Dr. Jay L. Wile

16 HowtoCreatea HighSchoolTranscript Janice Campbell

18 ThreeKindsofEducation: ABuyer’sGuide Adam Andrews

20 SmartKidsWhoHatetoWrite Dianne Craft

22 FailureIsanOption: AdviceforGraduates Michael Grice

4 FromtheEditor Mary Kay Smith

5 Letters

6 VirginiaKidsDidIt!

7 FromtheDirectorofHomeschoolSupport Yvonne Bunn

10 FreedomWatch

26 ClassifiedAds

Special convention inSert 2008ConventionSchedule

� l

IhavejustvisitedthemostimpressivelybizarrestructureIhaveeverseen—thePalâciodePenainSintra,Portugal.Staringupatitinfascina-

tion, I couldn’t decide whether it would be anarchitect’sdreamornightmare.Certainly,visitorshavetopauseinamazementifnotadmiration.

Ononeend,thepalaceismostlysquareandbuiltofredstone.It looksabitmedievalEnglish,butwithDisneycastle-likewatchtowers,andboastingbothRomanandGothicarches.Thenextsectionover,thewallsareroundedandcoveredinblueandbrownembossedtilesofgeometricMoorishdesigns.Theentrywayisplasteredwithamillionshellsandguardedbyahugecarved,Nordic-lookingcreatureofmyth,halfmanandhalffish,whostrainstoholdupatreegrowingoutofhisheadandshoulders.HerethewatchtowersandturretslooklikeRussianoniondomesandTurkishmina-rets.Thethirdsectionisalarge,round,yellowtowerwithabrowndomedroof,and the final section reverts back to a more traditional castle built of yellowstone,butwith two round towers andoneminaret.Theonly thing that thebuildinghasincommonwithitselfistheouterbattlementwall.

The inside is thesame.Visitors roamfromtheMoorishcourtyardwhosewallsandfloorarecompletelycoveredwithmanyvariedtiledesignsofmutedcolors,tobusy,fluffyVictorianchambers,todark,lacy,woodedIndianrooms,andonandon.Theplaceisimpressivelybaffling.

Bynowyou’rebaffledtoo,wonderingwhatthishastodowithhomeschool-ing.Well,I’ll tellyou.Oneofmyimmediaterandomthoughtsonseeingthepalacewas,“Iwouldhatetothinksomeone’seducationmightlooklikethat!”

Now,don’tworrythatchoosingalittleofthiscurriculumandalittleofthatcurriculum,alittleofthislearningstyleandalittleofthatlearningstylemightendupcausingyourhomeschooltolooklike—well—aPenaPalace.Idon’tthinkcurriculumandactivityvarietyisabadthing.Butwecanlearnalessonhere:Weneedtoknowfromthestartwhywehomeschoolandwherewe’reheadedsothatwedon’tfolloweverylatesttrendthatcomesalong.Asweheadofftoconven-tion,it’sgoodtoseewhatisoutthere.Butweneedtokeepourownfamilygoalsinmindsoweknowwhenit’stimetosay,“ThatMoorishdesignisbeautifulandseemstobeperfectforyou,butwe’rereallytheRomantype.”

From the edItorMary Kay Smith

Index to Advertisers

Advent Film Group ....................................... InsertAmerican School Publishing ............................13Bayside School Services .....................................26Birdies .............................................................................21BJU Press .................................................................... IFCBluefield College ........................................................5Bread Beckers ...........................................................13Camp Eagle .................................................................19Chalk Dust Company ..........................................25Classical Conversations ......................................11Classical Conversations ......................................26Colonial Williamsburg Foundation ..............21 Dive into Math .........................................................25Homeschool Foundation ..................................14Keystone National High School ....................23Kinderbach ..................................................................25Learning by Grace .....................................................6Mary Washington University..............................9MRM Classroom Connections ......................25National Driver Training .....................................24No Greater Joy Ministries .................................19NOVA ............................................................................11Patrick Henry College ............................................5Regent University .................................................IBCSamartian Ministries ..............................................15SCAD .............................................................................23Science Museum of Virginia .............................17The Solomon Principle .......................................23Triangle Educational Assessment ................17

The purpose of The Virginia Home Edu-cator is toprovidea forumforthediscussionof Virginia homeschool issues. The views ex-pressed in this magazine do not necessarilyreflect those of Home Educators AssociationofVirginia.

The Virginia Home Educator issentquar-terly to Virginia’s homeschooling familieswithoutcharge.Toreceiveafreesubscription,signupatwww.heav.org.

To inquire about advertisingor submittingan article, please contact HEAV at PO Box6745, Richmond, Virginia 23230-0745; [email protected]@heav.org.HEAVreservestherighttoedit forstyle and space or to refuse any submissiondeemedinappropriateforourpublication.

Permission is granted to reprint any newsitems from this magazine, providing propercredit isgiven;allothermaterial iscopyright-ed.For reprintpermission,pleasecontact [email protected].

©2008HomeEducatorsAssociationofVirginia

Submission deadlines:Summer2008(Issue3)—June15Fall2008(Issue4)—September15Winter2009(Issue1)—December1Spring2009(Issue2)—March15

l �

Thanksforworkingonallofthelegislativeissues.Wehomeschool parents are fortunate to have dedicated andhard-workingpeoplewatchingthingsthatwewouldrarelyseeornoticeourselves.

Idide-mailallthedelegatesaboutHB375.ThatwastheleastIcoulddotohelpafteralltheworkyouhavedone!

Rebekah DeRoco

thAnkS to heAVThank you so much for HEAV’s legislative work, es-

peciallyonHB375concerninghighschoolsportseligibil-ity for homeschoolers.Myoldest son (13) desires to playprofessionalfootball.HehasgoneasfarashecaninLittleLeagueinourcounty,butwillnotcompromisehomeschool-ingjusttoplayhighschoolfootball.ThisgreatlyreduceshischancesofgettingintocollegefootballortheNFL,butitissomethingheiswillingtosacrifice.IhaveoftenwonderedWHYhecan’tjustjointhehighschoolteamhere,soIamgladthereareotherswhohavesports-mindedsonswhohavequestionedandaretryingtochangethelaw.Again,thankyouforyourhardwork!

Iwroteane-mailtoDelegateFralin.Lori Payne

Patrick Henry Collegeproduces top-ranked forensics teams

Purcellville, Virginia 888.338.1776 • www.phc.edu

For Christ & For Liberty

Patrick Henry college

Passionate DisCiPLeshiP • rigorous CLassiCaL Learning • taiLoreD to homesChooL stuDents

� l

Congratulationsto13-year-oldNi-colette Mann(Christiansburg),second-placewinneroftheBubbleWrapCom-petition. Nicolette used Bubble Wrapbrandcushioning tocreate a singlekitthat enables the easy assemblyofmul-tiple flying kites by providing detailedinstructionsonhowtoconstructdiffer-entformations,shapes,andstyles.

ReadmoreabouttheBubbleWrapCompetition and be inspired for nextyearatwww.nmoe.org/bubblewrap/winners08.html.

VIrgInIA kIdS dId It!

Congratulations toGold Squadron, thehomeschoolFIRSTLegoLeague(FLL)teamfromCharlottesvillewhowontheDivision1second-placetrophyforteamwork in theVirginiaStateFLLcompetition.To compete,GoldSquadronwontherobotperformanceandtheoverallDivisionIchampionshipattheirre-gionalcompetitioninNovember2007.WinningqualifiedthemtogotostateinDecembertocompeteagainstmorethanthirtyotherDivision1teamsinHarri-sonburg.ThiswastheirfirstyearcompetingatthestatelevelandonlytheirsecondyearworkingasanFLLteam.Co-coachesAnitaSimpkins&BarbaraHannold,andmentor,BillHannold,areveryproudofSeth Catts,Glenn Hannold,David Hannold,Mason Risner, John Joseph Simpkins, andMartin Simpkins, Jr.(showninthepicturewiththeirVirginiaFLLtrophy).

FIRSTLegoLeagueisaroboticscompetitionfornine-to14-year-oldsheldeveryyearattheregional,state,andworldlevels.Division1isforchildrenunderagetwelveasofJanuary1eachyear.FIRSTisanacronym:ForInspirationandRecognitionofScienceandTechnology.Thisyear’stopicwasthePowerPuzzle.Theboysstudiedvarioussourcesofenergy,completedabuilding-energyaudit,andrecommendedwaystoreduceorimprovetheenergyuseinthebuildingaudited.TofindoutmoreaboutFIRST,visitwww.usfirst.org.

Congratulations to senior Hannah Eng-land(Mechanicsville),whosecoverartwascho-senforthenovelJourney to the HomelandintheTweenerTimeInternationalChapterBookandCoverArtCompetition.Thenovelwassched-uledforrelease inMarch.Asthecompetitionwinner,Hannahwasawardeda$44,000schol-arshiptoAndersonUniversity.

ThecompetitionwassponsoredbyTweenerMinistries,whosepurposeistoencouragelitera-cyamongeight-to12-year-olds.Formoreinfor-mation,visitwww.tweenerministries.org.

Register Today!

l �

P arents charged with childabuseandeducationalne-glect; families forced to

movefromonecountytoanoth-er;amotherarrestedforcriminaltruancy in front of her home-schooled son…. A little morethantwodecadesagothesewerethehardshipsfacedbysomepar-

entswhodecidedtohomeschool.Homeschoolingwasn’t an easy choice.Muchofwhat

we take for granted today was fought for by brave par-entswhoputtheirbeliefs—andtheirfamilies—ontheline.Homeschool laws andmany school-board andDOEpoli-cieswerehammeredoutoneatatimebypersistentparentswhorefusedtogiveuptheirrightstoteachtheirchildren.Thesewereparentswhoseconvictionsweresostrongtheywerewillingtostanduptotruantofficerswhoknockedattheirdoor,andtopoliceofficerswhowantedtosearchtheirhomes without warrants. They faced social-service agentswhowere ready toquestionor strip search their children,andjudgeswhodeniedtheirconstitutionalrightsbyimpos-ingfinesandthreateningjailtime.Thebattleoverwhocouldteachchildrenwasfoughtforyears,onefamilyatatime,be-foreschoolboardsandbeforehostilejudgesinthecourts.Againandagainhomeschoolingfamiliesfacedoppositioninstate legislatures.Butarmedwithdeeplyheldconvictions,theseparentsstoodtheirground,andwonthebattle!

homeSchoolIng’S eArly deVeloPmentBythe1970s,manyfamilieshadbecomedisillusioned

with government education. The Christian school move-mentbegan to take root even though itwas stronglyop-posed by the government. It offered parents a return tobasiceducationusingtraditionalmethodsandbiblicalprin-ciples.Duringthelate1970sandearly1980s,parentsfromalloverthenationbeganresponding—oneatatime—toastill small voice in theirhearts.Theybegan tounderstandthey were the ones responsible for teaching and trainingtheirchildren.

Whataradicalthought!Thiswasthegenerationthathadbeentaught,“Lettheexpertsdoit.Theprofessionalsknowtheanswers;they’vebeentrained.”Fromchild-rearing,tosexeducation,toteaching,parentslookedtotheexpertsforsolu-tions,andmanylettheexpertstakeovertheirjob.Butduringthisunsettlingtime,questionswerestirringintheheartsofmanyparents.Whodothechildrenbelongto—theparentsorthestate?Whoisresponsiblefortheireducation?Whode-cideswhateducationalphilosophytouse?Whoshouldteachmoralvaluesandwhodecidesonthebasisofthosevalues?

As parents considered these weighty questions, manydecidedtotakeonthetaskofeducatingtheirchildrenthem-

From the dIrector oF homeSchool SuPPort Yvonne Bunn

selves.Homeeducationwasn’ta“movement”spear-headedbyanyoneorganization,oragrass-rootsresponsetoady-namicacademic leader. Itwasa spark fannedby theHolySpirit in the hearts of parents all across our nation. Godwouldusehomeeducationandbiblicaltrainingtostrength-enfamiliesandbringthemclosertoHim.“Andheshallturntheheartofthefatherstothechildren,andtheheartofthechildrentotheirfathers,lestIcomeandsmitetheearthwithacurse.”Malachi4:6(KJV).Thisconvictionwasgrowingfamilybyfamily,andinafewshortyears,wouldgrowintoamovementthatwouldmakealastingimpactonoursociety.

homeSchool PIoneerSJohn Holt, a disillusioned teacher of the 1960s, first

introduced homeschooling to the general public with thepublication of several controversial books. How Children Fail and Teach Your Ownfocusedonthefailureofgovern-menteducationandthewayschildrencould learnoutsidetraditionalclassrooms.Holtbelievedchildrenlearnednatu-rally if given theopportunity.This ideabecameknownas“unschooling.”Holt’sGrowing Without Schooling,foundedin1977,wasthenation’sfirsthome-educationnewsletter.

During the same time, educational professionals Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moorebecametwoofthestrongestproponentsofhomeeducation.Followingyearsofresearchonearlychildhoodeducation,theyconcludedchildrenlearnbetterifformaleducationisdelayeduntilachildwaseightto12yearsold.After thepublicationofBetter Late Than Earlyin1975andHome Grown Kidsin1981,theMooresbecamepopularhomeschooladvocatesandconsultants.Dr.Moore’shomeschoolmessagewasthefirsttobebroadcastbythemajormedia.TheMoores’storiesofhomeschoolsuc-cess,backedbysolidacademicstudies,preparedthewayforaground-swellofparentswhowereeager toventure intotheunchartedwatersofhomeeducation.

AtthesametimetheMoores’wereexpoundingtheben-efitsofhomeschooling,Gregg Harrisbecameastrongpro-ponentofChristianhomeschooling.Duringthe1980sand1990s,HarrishadaprofoundinfluenceonChristianparentswithhisnationwideChristianLifeWorkshops.Hisseminars,books,andteachingstrengthenedtheconvictionsofChris-tianparents.Atthesametime,hegaveparentspracticalideasonhowtohomeschoolandhowtostrengthentheirfamilies.

During these early years of homeschooling, the legallandscapewasdreary.ParentswhoweretryingtoobeyGodhadtofightthegovernmentateveryturn.Seeingtheneedtoprotectanddefendtherightsoftheseparents,attorneysMichael FarrisandMichael SmithfoundedHome School Legal Defense Associationin1983.Courtcasesmountedasstateschargedhomeschoolingparentswithviolatingcom-pulsoryattendancelaws.Ashomeschoolinggrew,HSLDAbecame a powerful legal force in defending the rights of

� l

homeschoolingparentsacrosstheU.S.Because of the sacrifices made by committed home-

schooling parents, the tireless work of newly formed sup-portorganizations,andthelegalpersistenceofHSLDA,thetidebegantoturn.ThefirsthomeschoollawswerepassedinArizonaandMississippiin1982,WisconsinandMontanain1983,followedbyGeorgia,Louisiana,RhodeIsland,andVirginiain1984.By2005,37stateshadspecifichomeschoolstatutesandallremainingstateshadlawsthatallowedhomeeducationunderprivateschoolstatutesorotherlaws.

homeSchoolIng growS In VIrgInIAAsearlyas1979,theVirginiaGeneralAssemblyordered

ajointstudyonhomeschooling.Theresultswerenotfavor-ableandtheoppositionwaspowerful—theVirginiaSchoolBoard Association, the Virginia Association of School Su-perintendents, and the Virginia Education Association(teachers’ union) adamantly opposed home education. In1981,twopublichearingwereheld,eachwithmorethan200homeschoolingfamiliesattending.Thesecondhearingresulted in three failedproposals: one from the educationsubcommitteestaff;asecondfromtheStateSuperintendentofPublicInstruction;andathirdfromtheRutherfordInsti-tute.ThefollowingyearanotherproposedhomeschoollawfailedtopasstheGeneralAssemblyEducationCommittee.

Duringthesameyear,Dick and Peggy Snider ofRich-mondweredeniedareligiousexemption.Atthattime,reli-giousexemptionwastheonlywayparentscouldlegallyteachtheir children if theywerenotcertified teachers.Althoughtheir request was denied, they remained steadfast and ap-pealedtheircaseallthewaytotheU.S.SupremeCourt.Dur-ingthattime,Dr. Mary Kay ClarkandherhusbandmovedwiththeirfamilyfromOhiotoVirginiainordertobenearoneoftheirsevensonswhowasattendingcollegeinVirginia.A fewyearsbefore,Dr.Clarkhad founded theOhio statehomeschool organization. She contacted the Snider’s andasked ifanyonewashelpingthem.WhentheyrepliedtheywereontheirownbecausetherewasnoorganizationinVir-giniatohelp,Dr.Clarkdeterminedshewouldbeginone.

In1983,Dr.ClarksetupacardtableoutsideaGen-eralAssemblycommitteeroomduringapublichearingonhome education. She gathered names and addresses fromsupporters andhomeschoolingparentswhowanted to re-ceiveanewsletter.ShenamedthegroupHome Educators Association of Virginia(pronouncedH.E.A.V.).

Soonaftertheorganizationbegan,HEAVsentanoffi-cialletteronbehalfofhomeschoolingparentstoallVirginialegislatorsappealingtothemtopassreasonablehomeschoollegislation. HEAV considered a 1984 proposed bill to berestrictiveandunreasonable,andopposeditbecauseothernon-public educators, i.e., private schools,hadno teacherrequirements,nocurriculumrequirements,andno testingrequirements.Thefirstparagraphoftheletterstated:

“AreyouawarethattherearecourtcasespendingintheStateofVirginiawhichmayservetojailparentsforeducating theirownchildrenathome?The forth-

cominglegislationproposedbytheEducationSubcom-mittee,ifpassed,willpromotemoreofthispersecutionbecause these proposals discriminate against parentswhochoosetoeducatetheirownchildrenand,under-standing their constitutional rights, aredetermined tocontinuetodoso.”

homeSchool lAw PASSeS In 1984Theirdeterminationpaidoff.Althoughthiswasnotthe

ideallanguage,ahomeschoollawfinallypassedthatallowedparentstoteachtheirchildrenathome—legally.Atthetimethehomeschoollawpassedin1984,therewereanestimated5,000ormorehomeschoolingfamiliesinVirginia.

Evenwith the new law, parentswere still fearful, andweren’tsurehowthelawwouldbeappliedorwhatofficialsmightdo.Someparentswouldnotanswerthedoorduringtheday,andothersneverallowedtheirchildrentogoout-sideduringschoolhours.OneVirginiafamilyhadacontin-gencyplan:Ifofficialscametothedoorduringschoolhours,thechildrenweretorunandhideundertheirbeds.

With thepassageof thenew law,HEAVwasbusyonseveral fronts. In the legislature, HEAV representativestalked to senators anddelegates about amending thenewhomeschoollaw.

HEAV newsletters explained the law to homeschoolersagainandagain.Duringtheearlyyears,changesinthelawandpolicywerecarvedfromthesacrificesofstalwartfamilieswhorefusedtobackdown.Parentswerequestionedbeforeschoolboardsandbroughtbeforejudges.Legalbattleswentonforyears.Somecaseswerewon;somewerelost;andsomedeci-sionswereappealedandcontinuedforyears.Manymorefami-liesweretakenbeforeschoolboardsandbeforelocalJuvenileandDomesticCourts todefend their right toeducate theirchildrenathome.Inmostcases, the religiousbeliefsof theparentswerenotacceptedasbona fide,althoughnoevidencewaspresentedinanyofthecasesthattheparentsfailedtoedu-catetheirchildren.Oneschoolboarddeniedareligiousex-emptionbecause“itwouldsetaverydangerousprecedent.”

We are grateful for brave families such as Dick and Peggy Snider,whoultimatelylosttheirappealforreligiousexemptionwhen theU.S. SupremeCourt decidednot toheartheircase,citingtherewasnotenoughfederalinterest.WearegratefulforDavid and Nancy Benner,whowontherightforreligiouslyexemptparentstobeexemptfromtherequirementsofthehomeschoolstatute.Andwearegrate-fulforTerry and Joyce Foreman,whosetwo-yearstruggleresultedinapositivedecisionbyJudgeWaltherFidlerthatclarifiedmanyaspectsofthereligiousexemptionlaw.

new Subtle tActIcSGainingtherighttohomeschoolwasa longandhard

battle,foughtbymanycommittedparents.Butthefightisnotover.We’re in themidstof anewbattle—abattle forthe survival of home education as we know it today. Theoppositionisverysubtle.Thoseincontrolofpubliceduca-tionhavealwayswantedtodrawusbackintotheirsystem.

l �

Oversight and control are thebig issues,but it ultimatelyfunnelsdowntomoney—moremoneyforgovernmentedu-cation.Freevirtual schoolsandon-lineacademies thatareconnectedtopublicschoolsarethe“camel’snoseunderthetent.”Oneprincipalremarked,“Weonlywanttohelp.Wewanttomakehomeschoolingeasierforyou!”

ThestateofVirginiahasjoined41otherstatesintarget-inghomeschoolerswithphonecallsandmailingstoutingthevirtuesofvirtualschools.Watchout!Theseon-line,govern-ment-run schools areoneof the fastestgrowing trends ineducation.They lurehomeschoolerswith free counseling,freetextbooks,freeresources,maybeafreecomputer,andthefreeservicesofacertifiedteachertooverseeeverything!It’spromotedasanewcurriculumdeliverysystemforthe“newhomeschooler!”Inthecomfortoftheirownhomes,studentsareenrolledingovernmentschoolsandundergov-ernmentcontrol.Makenomistake:Virtualschools,thoughmeeting at home, are public schools tied to Virginia’sSOLs—notindependenthomeschools.

the threAt oF VIrtuAl SchoolSVirtualschoolsareaseriousthreattohomeeducation.

Why?Studentswhoparticipateingovernmentcontrolledvir-tualschoolsarefull-timepublicschoolstudentsanddonotcomeunderhomeschoollaws.Parentsarenolongerincon-troloftheirchild’seducation.Theyarenotabletoindividu-alizetheircurriculumtosuittheirchild’sneeds,interests,orleaningstyle.Andwhatconcernsusmostisparentswhotake

partinvirtualschoolssendthemessagethathomeschoolersdon’t mind getting the help they need through increasedgovernmentcontrol.It’slogicaltothinkifparentsarewillingtosubmittomorecontrolsthroughvirtualschooling,whynotcarryoverthesesamecontrolswithindependenthome-schoolers?Therearelotsoflegislatorswhowouldagreeandattempt to legislate new laws that would give them moreoversightoverallhomeschoolers.Governmentcontroloverhomeschoolingisattheheartofthebattle.

The National Education Association (NEA teachers’union)haspassedaresolutioneachyearsince1984statingthathomeschoolingshouldbeallowedonlyifsupervisedbyastate-certifiedteacher,usingastate-approvedcurriculum,withstate-controlledtesting.HEAVbelievesvirtualschoolsarethegovernment’sattempttobringhomeschoolersbackunderthestate’sauthority.

Thisisprobablythesinglegreatestthreattohomeedu-cationtoday.It’salreadyinVirginia,andinthetechnologi-cal age we live, it won’t easily go away. Our hard-foughtfreedoms could be lost if parents are unaware of what islurkingbehind theoffer to“makehomeschoolingeasier.”Thebattlemustbewonbythisgenerationofhomeschool-ers—homeschoolers who value their freedom more thantheyvalue“free”services.

Wehavethefreedomtohomeschooltodaybecauseofthesacrificesandconvictionsofthosewhohavegonebeforeus.Let’stakecouragefromtheirexampleandfightastheydidforourrightsasparentstofreelyhomeschoolourchildren.

RecognizedGetFew things have as much potential for boosting you up the ladder of success in college as getting recognized for your contributions. Get recognized at UMW.

10 l

2008 trIennIAl School cenSuS begInSVirginia lawrequires local schooldivisionstoreporta

censusofchildrenagesfiveto19everythreeyears.January1throughJuly15,2008,isdesignatedastheperiodduringwhichthe2008TriennialSchoolCensuswillbeconductedandcompleted.

Thecensuscountsareusedtoapportionstatesales-taxrevenuesthataresetasidetosupportpubliceducation.OnlyasummarycountwillbeusedbytheCommonwealthofVir-ginia to determine the distribution of sales tax and othermoniestocounties,cities,andtowns.Basedonschoolcen-susdata,eachlocalitywillreceiveapproximately1%ofsales-taxrevenuesforpublicschools.Locally,theschooldivisionusesthedatatoplanforconstructionofnewschoolsandtoidentifyfuturestaffingneeds.

According to the Virginia Code §22.1-281 through§22.1-286,schooldivisionsarerequiredtosubmitasum-marycountofallpersonsagesfiveto19whoresideintheircounties,cities,andtowns.Thisincludespublicandprivateschool students,homeschoolers, anddependents livingonfederalmilitaryproperty.Childrenawayfromhome,incol-lege,orinthemilitarymustalsobecounted.

Informationonthesurveymightnotbelimitedtothenumber of children in your home. The district may also“gather statistics related to the interests of education” asdeemednecessarybythesuperintendent.Thedatamaybecollectedbythedivisionsuperintendent’sofficebyasurveymailing,byaphonecall,orbyadoor-to-doorsurvey.

Thelawdoesnotstatethatresidentsarerequiredtosup-plyinformationforthecensus.Ifyouprefernottogiveoutpersonalinformation,youmaysimplystate,“Idonotcaretoparticipateinthesurvey.”The decision to participate is up to each individual family.Censustakersarenotallowedtoharassfamilies.Ifthereisaproblem,askforthenumberofthecensustaker’ssupervisorandreporttheincident.

lynchburg conSIderS relIgIouS exemPtIon PolIcy

On March 4, Lynchburg City Public Schools consid-eredanewreligious-exemptionpolicy.Theproposedpolicyrequiredallchildrenofparentsclaimingareligiousexemp-tiontosignaformstatingtheyhadconscientiousreligiousobjectionstoattendanceatpublicschool.

AuniversitylawstudentcontactedHEAVtoreporthisconstitutional law professor’s concern. The Liberty Uni-versityprofessor,RenaLindezaldfen,alsoahomeschoolingparent, testifiedbefore theschoolboardcitingcase law inoppositiontothenewrequirement.

BasedonaletterofexplanationfromScottWoodruffof

HSLDAandoppositiontestimony,theboarddecidedthatnochildwouldberequiredtosigntheform.

teStIng tIme AgAInThenewlawclarifyingthetypesofassessmentsparents

canusetoshowacademicprogresswillgointoeffectJuly1.Theduedateforassessmentsremainsthesame—August1.

Parentsmayuse1)anynationallynormedstandardizedachievementtest,or2)anevaluationorassessment,includ-ingbutnotlimitedtoa)anevaluationletterfromapersonlicensedtoteachinanystate,oraletterfromapersonwithamaster’sdegreeorhigherinanacademicdiscipline;orb)areportcardortranscriptfromacommunitycollegeorcol-lege,collegedistance-learningprogram,orhome-educationcorrespondenceschool.

new lAw chAngeS homeSchool FIlIng oPtIonS

TwohomeschoolfilingoptionshavebeeneliminatedbytheVirginiaDepartmentofEducation.Boththe“approved”correspondencecourseandSOLoptionshavebeenremovedfrom §22.1-254.1. HEAV supported these changes andworkedtowardthebill’spassageintheGeneralAssembly.

Homeschoolerswillno longerhave touse correspon-dence courses“approved”by the superintendent. Instead,aparentmayhomeschoolifheprovidesaprogramthroughdistancelearningoranyothermanner,oriftheparentpro-videsevidencethatheisabletoprovideanadequateeduca-tionforthechild.

Ifyouusea“NoticeofIntent”form,besuretousetheupdated“Noticeof Intent toProvideHome Instruction”formwhenfilingforthe2008-2009schoolyear.Thenewformwillbeavailableatwww.heav.org.

d.c. homeSchoolerS helPdeVeloP new regulAtIonS

Inresponsetothetragicmurderoffourchildrenbytheirmentallyillmother,theDistrictofColumbiadecidedtoputregulationsinplacethatwouldcloselymonitorhomeschool-ers—though there is no indication the parent in questioneverhomeschooled.

WhentheDistrictofColumbiarecentlyaskedforinputontheirnewlyproposedhomeschoolregulations,parentsintheD.C.areareadtheregulationsindisbelief.Inthepast,D.C.hadverylimitedhomeschoolregulations:TheDistrictrequiredonlyanoticeofintentandattendancerecords.

Amongotherrequirements,theproposedhomeschoolregulationsrequiredhomevisitsandapprovalofanin-depthportfolio.

l 11

Several hundred D.C. homeschoolers attended a re-centpublichearing,andapproximately30parents,includ-ingChrisKlicka andScottWoodruff ofHSLDA, testifiedagainsttheexcessiveregulations.Followingthehomeschooloutcry, theD.C.BoardvotedtoredrafttheproposalwithinputfromD.C.homeschoolers.D.C.homeschoolersmaye-mailcommentstoStephanieThomasatstephanie.thom-as@dc.gov,orcall202-724-7787.

cAlIFornIA rulIng StunS homeSchoolerS TheSecondDistrictCourtofAppeals inLosAngeles

hasruledparentscannotteachtheirchildrenathomewith-outteachercertification.Ina3-0decision,thecourtruledthatparentscouldonlyteachtheirownchildreniftheyhadateachingdegree.

Californiadoesnothaveaclearlydefinedhomeschoollaw.However,parentscanhomeschooliftheyfilepaperworktocreateaprivateschoolandhireatutorwithcredentials,oriftheirchildparticipatesinanindependentstudyprogramthroughacredentialedschool.Whatchanged?

TwoofeightchildrenofPhilipandMaryLongfiledacomplaintof abuseandneglectwith theLosAngelesDe-partmentofChildrenandFamilyServices.TheLongsada-mantly denied the abuse claim, but the agency asked thecourttorulethatallthechildrenmustattendpublicschoolsotheycouldbeobservedforabuse.

Thejuvenilecourtruledthatthefamilyhadarighttohomeschool their children, but DCFS then appealed thecase to Judge H. Walter Croskey’s appellate court, whichruled that California law forbade any homeschooling thatwasnottaughtbyacertifiedteacher.Inthejudge’sopinion,whatCaliforniahadbeenallowingwasillegal.Therulingbe-cameknownpubliclywhentheCaliforniaCourtofAppealspublishedthecaseonFebruary28.

AccordingtoHSLDA,thecourtshouldhaverestricteditsdecisiontothefamily,butinstead,issuedabroadrulingthateffectivelyoutlawshomeeducation inCalifornia.TheCourtalsocertifieditsdecisionforpublication,whichmeansthedecisioncanbecitedaslegalauthoritybyallCaliforniacourts.ThefamilyplanstoappealtheircasetotheSupremeCourtofCalifornia,whichcouldresultinareversal.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Governor ArnoldSchwarzenegger called for the reversal of the appellatecourt’sdecision.“Parentsshouldnotbepenalizedforact-inginthebest interestsoftheirchildren’seducation.Thisoutrageousrulingmustbeoverturnedbythecourts,andifthecourtsdon’tprotectparents’rightsthen,aselectedof-ficials,wewill.”

Several legal firms, including HSLDA, are presentlyworkingtoresolvethisproblem.Theyareconsideringvari-ousoptions and formulating thebest strategy for limitingtheimpactofthisdecision.

ThisrulingisonlyforthestateofCaliforniawheretherearenoclearlydefinedhomeschoollaws.Bycontrast,Virginiahasadefinitivestatuteoutliningthewaysparentscanlegallyhomeschoolandtherequirementsthatmustbemet.

12 l

onMay4,2007,ateamofsevenhomeschooledhighschoolstudentstookfirstplaceatthesecondannualAmericanMockTrialInvitational(AMTI),cosponsoredbytheNewJerseyStateBarFoundationandtheNorthCaro-

linaAcademyofTrialLawyers.In2002,formerhomeschoolerLillianPiercewasnamed valedictorian of Princeton University’s graduating class. Former home-schoolerJasonTaylorisapro-bowldefensiveendfortheMiamiDolphins.FormerhomeschoolersVenusandSerenaWilliamshavedominatedprofessionalwomen’stennis circuit since1997.Formerhomeschooler Sergeant SimonA.J.KiserwasawardedtheBronzeStarforhisvalorintheIraqwar.Thelistgoesonandon.

Whydohomeschooledstudentsexcelintheirchosenfields?IamsurethatifIposedthisquestiontoaroomfullofhomeschoolingparents,Iwouldgetlotsofanswers.Hereareafew:

• Homeschoolingteachesindependentlearning.• Homeschoolershaveamoreflexibleeducationthatallowsthemtochoosecur-

riculumthatmeetstheneedsofeachstudentandtoconcentrateonthethingstheylove.

• Homeschoolshaveanincrediblyhighteacher/studentratio.• Homeschooledstudentsaretaughtresponsibilityandagoodworkethic.

Theseanswers(andmanyothers)areclearlypartoftheexplanation.However,thesinglemost importantanswerofall isexpressed it in thewordsofSirIsaacNewton,thegreatestscientistofalltime.InalettertoRobertHooke,hesaid,“IfIhaveseenfartherthanothers,it isbystandingontheshouldersofgiants.”Inotherwords,SirIsaacNewtonsaysthathewasabletodosomuchbecauseofthescientificworkofthosewhocamebeforehim.Theybuiltforhimaplatformthatallowedhimtoseewhereotherscouldnot.Inmymind,thisisthemostimportantreasonthathomeschoolersexcel:Theyhavestoodontheshouldersofgiants,and

thathasallowedthemtoseefartherandbetterthananyotherkindofstudent.

dedIcAted enough to educAte your chIld

Who are these giants? They arethe homeschooling parents themselves.Most homeschooling parents do notseethemselvesasgiants,butbelieveme,theyare.Considertheparentswhowerehomeschooling25-30yearsago.Atthattime, there were virtually no curriculaavailable to them.ABekaBookwouldnot even sell to homeschoolers backthen!Thinkabouthowtoughitwouldbetohomeschoolyourchildrenwithoutthewealthof curricula that is availabletoday. Nevertheless, the parents whowerehomeschoolingbackthendidjustthat.Why?Becausetheyknewitwastherightthingtodo,nomatterhowharditwouldbe.That’swhyIcallthemgiants.

Not only that, but homeschooledstudents are also benefiting from thehard work and dedication of presenthomeschooling parents. Most home-schooling parents are faced with hard-ship. For some, it’s financial. For oth-ers, it’s the scornof theirownparentsorotherfamilymembers.Forothers,itissheerexhaustion,andforothers,itisacombinationofthese.Nevertheless,theyendure, and their children have a bet-ter education as a result. Homeschoolcooperatives also allowparents tohelpeachothersothatmanychildrenbenefitfromeachmother’stalents.

educAted enough to educAte your chIld

Asyourstudentgetsolder,doyouwonder if youare educatedenough to“keepup”?Canyoureallyteachyourstu-denttrigonometry,chemistry,andworldhistory?Canyoureallyhandleteachinghighschoolclasses,orevenjuniorhighclasses,toyourstudent?Allhomeschool-ersaskthemselvesthesequestions.Un-fortunately, they often answer them inthe negative. As a result, they end upsendingtheirchildrentoschoolfortheirjuniorhighorhigh school years.Well,now Dr. Brian Ray has shown us thatdespitetheirseemingimportance,thesequestions areutterly irrelevantwhen itcomestohomeschooling!

meet dr. wIle

At the

conVentIon

l 13

In a landmark study, Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America,Dr.Rayreportsontheresultsofdatacollectedon5,402homeschooledstudentsduringthe1994-1995and1995-1996academicyears.Theresultsre-affirmthemanyotherstudiesthatindicatehomeschoolingisacademicallysuperiortobothpublicandprivateschooling.Themostinterestingaspectofthedata,however,isrevealedwhen student performance on standardized tests is corre-latedwiththeparents’educationlevel.

Whileapublicschoolstudent’sacademicperformancedi-rectlycorrelatestohisorherparents’educationlevel,ahome-schooledstudent’sacademicperformanceDOESNOT!

Howcanweunderstand this? Itgoes justoppositeofthetrendthatmany“experts”wouldpredict.Afterall,theexpertssay,sinceahomeschooledstudenthasonlyhisorherparentsas teachers, thehomeschooledstudent’squalityofeducationwilldependcompletelyontheparents’educationlevel.Publicschoolstudentshaveexpertteachers;thus,theirquality of educationwill notbe strongly affectedby theirparents’educationlevel.Well,thatsoundsnice,butthedatasaysthatitiswrong!Infact,thetrendsindicatedbythedataaredirectlyoppositewhatthe“experts”predict.

What’s the explanation then? Over and over again,teacherssaythatinorderforastudenttobewell-educated,theparentsmustbe involved.That seems tobe justwhatthe data is saying. For public school students, the highertheeducationoftheparent,themorelikelytheparentwillbeheavilyinvolvedintheeducationalprocess.Thus,thein-creaseinthescoresofpublicschoolstudentswhoseparentsaremorehighlyeducatedisreallytheresultofanincreaseinparentalinvolvementintheeducationalprocess.

Well,thinkaminute.Whatishomeschooling?ItistheULTIMATEinparentaleducationinvolvement.That’swhyhomeschoolershavethehighestscores;itisalsowhytheed-ucationlevelofahomeschoolingparentdoesnotaffectthequalityofeducationforthestudent.Allhomeschoolparentsaretotallyinvolvedinthestudent’seducation.Asaresult,allhomeschooledstudentsexcel.

So, as you spend timewandering the exhibithall andlisteningtospeakersatthisconvention,thinkaboutthefactthatyouaredoingsointhepresenceofgiants.Anddon’task,“AmIeducatedenoughtoeducatemychild?”Instead,theproperquestionshouldbe,“AmIinvolvedenoughtoeducatemychild.”Ifyouarehomeschooling,theanswerisanundeniableYES!

Dr. Jay L. Wile holds an earned Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in nuclear chem-istry and a B.S. in chemistry from the same institution. He has taught at both the uni-versity and high school levels and has won several awards for excellence in teaching. He has published more than 30 articles and eight books. Dr. Wile also owns Apologia Ed-ucational Ministries.

1� l

■ Mortgage Planning and Consulting ■ Mortgage Loans ■ Equity Acceleration & Equity Optimization ■ Credit Counseling, Repair and Optimization ■ Avoiding Bankruptcy and Foreclosure

■ Real Estate Investing ■ Church Financing ■ Church and Group Seminars ■ Debt Reduction, Management & Consolidation for Individuals & Entire Churches

Homeschool your teen through high school

Learn why thousands of homeschool families trust Keystone’s award- winning high school program:

Accredited program & high school diplomaCorrespondence or onlineEnroll anytimeOver 80 self-paced courses to choose fromHonors and AP courses availableSupport from highly qualified, certified teachers

www.keystonehighschool.com/achieve Toll-free 1-888-552-5122

WHY BOTHER?Ahhh…another convention. But why should I attend? Gas prices are high, my schedule is busy, and besides, I can get support and books on the Internet.

TREAT YOURSELF!Here’s a perfect use for that tax rebate check! Vision, inspiration, encouragement, sup-port, fellowship, and money-saving oppor-tunities in the Used Curriculum Sale and Exhibit Hall, and free resources valued at more than $200 are just some of the reasons you will want to be at this years’ event.

MAKE CONNECTIONSYou will also make REAL-LIFE connec-tions you just can’t get online.

n Connect with peoplen Get informed and inspiredn Take time to plan & establish prioritiesn Get Dad involvedn View & purchase curriculum materialsn Be renewed and have lots of funThis once-a-year event offers a rich variety

of resources, experts, information, encour-agement, and know-how. You can even plan to meet up with your online cyber friends!

Every year we hear from hundreds of parents who say attending the convention is definitely worth the time and worth the money. We guarantee you will be filled to over-

flowing as you make this wise investment in the future of your family.

FREE HOW-TO-BEGIN SESSIONS ON THURSDAY, JUNE 5Just starting out? Or still undecided about homeschooling? FREE introductory work-shops answer questions and give solid, prac-tical information on home education, the law, testing, and choosing curriculum. Tell a friend—this could be just what they need!

HOTEL RESERVATIONSFor up-to-the minute information on rooms, please visit www.heav.org.

VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED!Have fun and help other homeschool fami-lies! The HEAV Convention is supported by volunteers—hundreds of them! Dozens of positions are available and no experience or special skills are required—just a willing-ness to serve where needed. As a “Thank you!” volunteers get to shop early in the Used Curriculum Sale. Please contact our volunteer coordinator at [email protected], or call our office at 804-278-9200.

SPOUSES & NON-HOMESCHOOLING GRANDPARENTS ARE FREE!HEAV is dedicated to sharing vision and encouragement with home-educating fam-ilies. We realize many families live on a single income, so in order to allow hus-bands and wives to attend the convention together, SPOUSES ARE FREE!

We believe this policy promotes the im-portance of both parents sharing a vision for home education, and we hope this will be a blessing to your family. Non-homeschooling grandparents may

also attend for FREE.

SCHOLARSHIPS ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE!Our desire is to serve homeschooling fam-ilies. If you, or anyone you know, could use a full or partial scholarship to attend the convention, please give our office a call at 804-278-9200, or send an e-mail to [email protected].

RECEIVE A FREE CD PACKED WITH RESOURCES VALUED AT MORE THAN $200!

FINANCIAL LITERACY TRACKLearn how to fight back in today’s econo-my! Stretch your grocery dollars, make a fi-nancial plan that actually works, and teach your children about economics, money, and finances. Power-packed sessions!

MEET AMERICA’SCHEAPEST FAMILYEven frugal families can learn from the New York Times bestselling authors and 21-year homeschool veterans Annette and Steve Economides. The Economides feed their family of seven on $350 a month, take fabulous vacations, and paid off their first house in nine years on an average income of $35,000!

FILM & CULTURE TRACKLearn from success-ful filmmakers and authors! Gain a new

perspective on Hollywood from those who have been there. Inspiration, vision, and the practical steps for getting started in film and book writing will be offered in these informative sessions.

ALSO, TRACKS FOR DADS & STRUGGLING LEARNERS

B-10Ballroom Building

B-15 ABallroom Building

B-15 B/CBallroom Building





B-21 A/B/CBallroom Building

E-10 AExhibit Hall Building

E-10 B Exhibit Hall Building

E-10 C/DExhibit Hall Building


E-11 B/CExhibit Hall Building



E-22 A/BExhibit Hall Building



E-24 BExhibit Hall Building


Room











E-10 CExhibit Hall Building

E-10 DExhibit Hall Building









Room

Workshop Schedule at-a-GlanceWorkshop Schedule at-a-GlancePhil DownerGregg Harris

Coaching Teens Toward Better Writing

WriteAtHome

F F





















FridaySession 1

10:30-11:30 am

FridaySession 2

1:30-2:30 pm

FridaySession 3

3:00-4:00 pm

Friday Keynote Session B

4:30-6:30 pm

THE FOLLOWING SESSIONS ARE

IN ROOMS E–10 A–D

EXHIBIT HALL BUILDING

2:00–3:00 pm

Introduction to HomeschoolingYvonne Bunn

3:30–4:30 pm

How to Begin: What You Really Need to KnowYvonne Bunn

5:00–6:00 pm

Know the Law:Notifying &

TestingDemystified

Yvonne Bunn

6:30–7:30 pm

Choosing Curriculum

Vicki Bentley

Friday, June 6 Keynote Session A

8:30-10:00 am

Thursday, June 5 FREE

SESSIONSRoom

Homeschooling—Making It Simple! ~ Rick Boyer

Obedience from the HeartMarilyn Boyer

Common Sense Economics Greg Rehmke

Supporting & Encouraging the Homeschool Mom Phil & Paul Downer

Row Yourself to the BattleGregg Harris

Homeschool Marriage That Doesn’t Merely Survive but

Thrives ~ Phil & Paul Downer

Breathing Life into Your Language Arts Total Language Plus

The Way You Wish You’d Been Taught

Sonlight Curriculum

Patrick Henry College: The Homeschool College

Patrick Henry College

Setting a Paradigm for Purity

Generations of Virtue

Why Art Is Essential to Your Child’s Education

Arts Attack

Introducing Analytical GrammarAnalytical Grammar

Learn Movie Making with Stop-Motion Animation

NR Productions

KEynotE AB-21 A/B/C

What Do You Have in Your House?

Gregg HarrisManaging Household

Finances the Economizer Way ~ S. & A. Economides

Deciding What to Teach in Mathematics

Tom Clark

Vocational Realities for Aspiring Christian

FilmmakersGeoffrey Botkin

Organized (Well, Almost!)—Time Management for Busy

Moms ~ Vicki Bentley

Spiders! ~ Mike Snavely

A Brighter FutureBarry Hardy

Why Homeschool THROUGH High School

Dr. Jay Wile

Gifted & Special Education Scott Somerville

Are You Leaving (GASP!) Gaps? ~ Tammy Duby

Courtship: One Family’s Experiences

Jeff & Anne Miller & Family

Hands-On Science for Grades 7-12!

Beginnings Publishing House

Freelancing and the Homeschool Family

Jane Bullivant

And Just How Far Till the Finish Line? Enduring and Endearing Home Education for the Long

Haul ~ Kerin Morgan

A Vision of Victory for the Single Young Women of the

Twenty-First Century ~ Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin

Teaching with Tapestry of Grace ~ Tapestry of Grace

Evaluating Student Writing: You Don’t Have to Be an

English Major! ~ J. Campbell

College Planning and Scholarships ~ Barry Hardy

Teaching Critical Thinking ~ Dr. Jay Wile

Power ToolsScott Somerville

Trust in God and Keep Your Powder Dry: Vital

Military Lessons for MothersShelley Hendry

Spelling Difficulties? Here’s the Solution!Quest for Learning

Gateway to the Classics: The Right Literature at the Right Time ~ Yesterday’s Classics

Training Students to Defend Christianity

Apologetics Press

Teaching Kids About Money Isn’t Kids’ Stuff

Steve & Annette Economides

And Then They Grow Up Kerin Morgan

How to Write a Best-Selling Book ~ Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin

Multi-Level Teaching Vicki Bentley

The Horror of the Flood!Mike Snavely

You Gotta Have a Plan!Barry Hardy

Asking the Right Questions—Teaching Literature

with Socratic DiscussionAdam Andrews

Cross-Eyed ParentingMarcia Somerville

Lesson Planning 101Tammy Duby

More than a Game: Chess and Its Impact on Learning

Championship Chess

Launching Your Film Company ~ George Escobar

College Panel—Get the Facts:A View of Homeschoolers by College Admissions Officers ~Facilitated by Yvonne Bunn

Workshop Schedule at-a-Glance

Instilling a Heart for People and Missions

in Your Family Gospel for Asia

Raising Accountable Kids One Step at a TimeAccountable Kids

Math-U-See: Where Seeing Is Understanding!

Math-U-See/Math+Plus

Rosetta Stone’s NEW Version 3 Foreign Language Curriculum ~ Rosetta Stone

How to End Every Discipline Time with a Posi-tive Conclusion ~ National

Center for Biblical Parenting

F

F F F

F F F

F

F

F

F F

F

F F

F

Identifying If Your Child Has a Learning Glitch

Dianne Craft

Smart Kids Who Hate to Write Dianne Craft

Teaching the Right-Brain Child (Part 1)

Dianne Craft

11:3

0 a

m-1

:15

pm —

Sup

por

t Gro

up L

eade

rshi

p L

unch

eon

(E-2

5 A

/B)

– So

arin

g to

yo

ur

Stre

ngt

hs

~ J

an

e B

ulliv

an

t

11:

30 a

m –

1:30

pm

LU

NC

H

KEynotE BB-21 A/B/CSeasons of Life Gregg Harris

25th HEAV Anniversary Celebration

Phil DownerGregg Harris

F





















Room

Steve & Annette Economides Barry Hardy Greg Rehmke Jane Bullivant Geoff Botkin Adam Andrews

Coaching Teens Toward Better Writing

WriteAtHome

F F





















FridaySession 1

10:30-11:30 am

FridaySession 2

1:30-2:30 pm

FridaySession 3

3:00-4:00 pm

Friday Keynote Session B

4:30-6:30 pm

THE FOLLOWING SESSIONS ARE

IN ROOMS E–10 A–D

EXHIBIT HALL BUILDING

2:00–3:00 pm

Introduction to HomeschoolingYvonne Bunn

3:30–4:30 pm

How to Begin: What You Really Need to KnowYvonne Bunn

5:00–6:00 pm

Know the Law:Notifying &

TestingDemystified

Yvonne Bunn

6:30–7:30 pm

Choosing Curriculum

Vicki Bentley

Friday, June 6 Keynote Session A

8:30-10:00 am

Thursday, June 5 FREE

SESSIONSRoom

Homeschooling—Making It Simple! ~ Rick Boyer

Obedience from the HeartMarilyn Boyer

Common Sense Economics Greg Rehmke

Supporting & Encouraging the Homeschool Mom Phil & Paul Downer

Row Yourself to the BattleGregg Harris

Homeschool Marriage That Doesn’t Merely Survive but

Thrives ~ Phil & Paul Downer

Breathing Life into Your Language Arts Total Language Plus

The Way You Wish You’d Been Taught

Sonlight Curriculum

Patrick Henry College: The Homeschool College

Patrick Henry College

Setting a Paradigm for Purity

Generations of Virtue

Why Art Is Essential to Your Child’s Education

Arts Attack

Introducing Analytical GrammarAnalytical Grammar

Learn Movie Making with Stop-Motion Animation

NR Productions

KEynotE AB-21 A/B/C

What Do You Have in Your House?

Gregg HarrisManaging Household

Finances the Economizer Way ~ S. & A. Economides

Deciding What to Teach in Mathematics

Tom Clark

Vocational Realities for Aspiring Christian

FilmmakersGeoffrey Botkin

Organized (Well, Almost!)—Time Management for Busy

Moms ~ Vicki Bentley

Spiders! ~ Mike Snavely

A Brighter FutureBarry Hardy

Why Homeschool THROUGH High School

Dr. Jay Wile

Gifted & Special Education Scott Somerville

Are You Leaving (GASP!) Gaps? ~ Tammy Duby

Courtship: One Family’s Experiences

Jeff & Anne Miller & Family

Hands-On Science for Grades 7-12!

Beginnings Publishing House

Freelancing and the Homeschool Family

Jane Bullivant

And Just How Far Till the Finish Line? Enduring and Endearing Home Education for the Long

Haul ~ Kerin Morgan

A Vision of Victory for the Single Young Women of the

Twenty-First Century ~ Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin

Teaching with Tapestry of Grace ~ Tapestry of Grace

Evaluating Student Writing: You Don’t Have to Be an

English Major! ~ J. Campbell

College Planning and Scholarships ~ Barry Hardy

Teaching Critical Thinking ~ Dr. Jay Wile

Power ToolsScott Somerville

Trust in God and Keep Your Powder Dry: Vital

Military Lessons for MothersShelley Hendry

Spelling Difficulties? Here’s the Solution!Quest for Learning

Gateway to the Classics: The Right Literature at the Right Time ~ Yesterday’s Classics

Training Students to Defend Christianity

Apologetics Press

Teaching Kids About Money Isn’t Kids’ Stuff

Steve & Annette Economides

And Then They Grow Up Kerin Morgan

How to Write a Best-Selling Book ~ Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin

Multi-Level Teaching Vicki Bentley

The Horror of the Flood!Mike Snavely

You Gotta Have a Plan!Barry Hardy

Asking the Right Questions—Teaching Literature

with Socratic DiscussionAdam Andrews

Cross-Eyed ParentingMarcia Somerville

Lesson Planning 101Tammy Duby

More than a Game: Chess and Its Impact on Learning

Championship Chess

Launching Your Film Company ~ George Escobar

College Panel—Get the Facts:A View of Homeschoolers by College Admissions Officers ~Facilitated by Yvonne Bunn

Workshop Schedule at-a-Glance

Instilling a Heart for People and Missions

in Your Family Gospel for Asia

Raising Accountable Kids One Step at a TimeAccountable Kids

Math-U-See: Where Seeing Is Understanding!

Math-U-See/Math+Plus

Rosetta Stone’s NEW Version 3 Foreign Language Curriculum ~ Rosetta Stone

How to End Every Discipline Time with a Posi-tive Conclusion ~ National

Center for Biblical Parenting

F

F F F

F F F

F

F

F

F F

F

F F

F

Identifying If Your Child Has a Learning Glitch

Dianne Craft

Smart Kids Who Hate to Write Dianne Craft

Teaching the Right-Brain Child (Part 1)

Dianne Craft

11:3

0 a

m-1

:15

pm —

Sup

por

t Gro

up L

eade

rshi

p L

unch

eon

(E-2

5 A

/B)

– So

arin

g to

yo

ur

Stre

ngt

hs

~ J

an

e B

ulliv

an

t

11:

30 a

m –

1:30

pm

LU

NC

H

KEynotE BB-21 A/B/CSeasons of Life Gregg Harris

25th HEAV Anniversary Celebration

Phil DownerGregg Harris

F

Teaching Composition to the Elementary and High

School StudentFor Such a Time as This

Combining Classical Education, Charlotte Mason, & Unit Studies

with a Christian PerspectiveMy Father’s World

Saturday, June 7 Keynote Session C

8:30-10:00 am

SaturdaySession 5

1:30-2:30 pm





















Room

KEynotE CB-21 A/B/C

Building World-Changing Leaders for Christ

Phil Downer

Children’s Program Video Presentation

SaturdaySession 4

10:30-11:30 am

Stretching Your Grocery Dollars—Without Becoming

a Coupon Queen ~ Steve & Annette Economides

What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Homeschooling

Scott Somerville

Do Not Eat the Bread of Idleness ~ Bread Beckers

Math on the Level: Family Lifestyle Learning

Math on the Level

100 Years of Hollywood History ~ Geoff Botkin

Son of a Single Mom: Hope for Families Without

Fathers ~ Rick Boyer

“Teaching” the Junior High & High School Sciences at Home

Dr. Jay Wile

Exploding the Myth of the Per-fect Homeschool

Jane Bullivant

Path to Financial Peace Barry Hardy

The High School Transcript: It’s Easier Than You Think!

Janice Campbell

Delight-Directed Study: A Good Idea Even Better ~ Gregg Harris

Teaching the Classics from Seuss to Socrates—Literary Analysis for Everyone ~ Adam Andrews

Homeschooling Your Gifted Child ~ Moving Beyond the Page

Home School High School Foot-ball: It’s More Than Just a Game!

Tracie & Dave Hollis

Great Spelling Made Easy Schola Publications

You Can Teach Latin Using a Christian Program, Even If You Don’t Know It! ~ Latin in the

Christian Trivium

Lap Books™ Across the Curriculum ~ Tammy Duby

Teaching a Houseful Marcia Somerville

Art: The Glue that MakesIt Stick ~ Miller Pads & Paper

Help for the Teenager Who Wants to Drive ~ National Driver Training Institute

Building a Work Ethic in Your Children ~ Marilyn Boyer

When the Weary Need Encouragement ~ Kerin Morgan

Ecohysteria: A Scientist Examines the “Environmentalist” Movement

Dr. Jay Wile

Homeschool Hospitality: Dolley Madison Without the White House Purse and Staff ~ Shelley Hendry

Basic Financial Planning: Restoring HOPE & Peace in Your Home ~ Barry Hardy

Learning and Teaching Global Economics ~ Greg Rehmke

Dad’s Irreplaceable Role Phil & Paul Downer

Identifying and Avoiding Trouble Spots in Math ~ Tom Clark

Reaching the Reluctant Writer Institute for Excellence in Writing

The Power of Blessing Our Daughters ~ Daughters 4 God

Becoming AmericansColonial Williamsburg

Foundation

It’s Much More Than Maps Geography Matters

SaturdaySession 6

3:00-4:00 pm

Tomorrow’s Revisionist History 101: “The Pilgrims Feasted on the Indians” ~ Geoff Botkin

Babies, Babies Everywhere! Kerin Morgan

Dinosaurs! ~ Mike Snavely

Beat Homeschool Burnout Jane Bullivant

Passing It On: Why Do We Need to Teach Our Children About

Money? ~ Barry Hardy

Father and Son Training Programs

ALERT Academy

A Tale of Two Fathers Gregg Harris

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow & Paul Revere: A Case Study in the

Unit Study ~ Adam Andrews

Classical Education Made Do-Able Classical Conversations

A Practical Guide to Making Scripture Central in Your Home

Education ~ Vision Forum

How to Do Real Science That Sticks to Your Brain

Supercharged Science

The 4 C’s of LEGO Learning LEGO Education

3:30 pm –5:30 pm

Class of 2008 Graduation CeremonyThe Pursuit of Happiness ~ Scott Somerville

SaturdaySession 7

4:30-5:30 pm

Ask a Homeschool Parent!Panel of Veteran Homeschoolers

The Christian Communicator: A Vision to Touch Hearts and Lives

for Eternity ~ Shelley Hendry

The Goal of Service As a Family ~ Eric Wallace

FExhibitor Workshop

Teaching the Right-Brain Child (Part 2) ~ Dianne Craft

The Biology of Behavior (Part 1) ~ Dianne Craft

The Biology of Behavior (Part 2) ~ Dianne Craft

Sing

le P

aren

ts' L

unch

eon

in th

e M

arri

ott H

otel

Res

taur

ant a

t 11:

30 a

m–2

:00

pm

11:3

0 a

m –

1:30

pm

LU

NC

H

FF F

F F F

F F

F F F

F F

F F

F F

Steve & Annette Economides Barry Hardy Greg Rehmke Jane Bullivant Geoff Botkin Adam Andrews

F

TIME TO SHOP!

(Spouses are always free!)

QueStionS? Call: 804-278-9200 ViSit: www.heav.org e-mail: [email protected] online today at www.heaV.org!

(names and doB)

(names and doB)

Preregistration oPtions Mbrs / non-MbrsFull 3-Day Convention (spouse free) ❏ $55 ❏ $70 $______ Includes ALL Shopping (UCS & Exhibit Hall) & Workshops

FriDay only (spouse free) ❏ $40 ❏ $55 $______Exhibit Hall, UCS & Workshops

saturDay only (spouse free) ❏ $40 ❏ $55 $______Exhibit Hall, UCS & Workshops

shoPPing only (spouse free) ❏ $20 ❏ $25 $______Exhibit Hall (Th.-Sat.), UCS (Fri.-Sat.) & Choice of Keynote Session

granDParents (non-homeschooling) FREE $______

teen/young aDults (13 & uP) $20/one; $40/two or more $______

‘tweens (10-12) $20/one; $40/two or more $______

ChilDren’s PrograM $20/child per day ❏ Fri. ❏ Sat. $______

Donation (Thank You!) ❏ Scholarship ❏ General $______

heav MeMbershiP $35 per year ❏ New ❏ Renewal $______❏ $75 Sustaining Member ❏ $750 Lifetime Member

granD total $______

PayMent MethoD ❏ Check/Money Order ❏ MasterCard ❏ VISA Card #______________________________________Exp. Date_____________Signature_________________________________________________________

leaDershiP lunCheon Contact the HEAV Office

volunteer I’d Like to Volunteer! Please Contact Me For:Specific Area ________________________________ ❏ Wherever Needed❏ Thursday ❏ Friday ❏ Saturday

(NamesAndDOB)

preregiSter & pay online!

OFFICEUSEONLY:PMK/RCD_______________________________

FREE

OFFICEUSEONLY:ORG#_______________

(NamesandDOBofchildren(ages4-12)registeringfortheChildren’sProgram)

nameS aS they Should appear on name tagS

Parent/s___________________________________________________________

Grandparent/s_____________________________________________________

Teen/s&YoungAdult/s____________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

‘tweens____________________________________________________________

ChildrenforChildren’sProgram_________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Address____________________________________________________________

City____________________________State___________Zip________________

Phone(______)_____________________________________________________

e-mail___________________________________❏ pleasesendnewsletter

to preregister,sendformandpaymentto:HEAV,P.O.Box6745,Richmond,VA23230-0745;orpreregisteronlineatwww.heav.org.preregistration deadline: may 19—afterthat,registeratthedoor.

� RegisteR today! • www.heav.oRg

l 1�

0

5

2 5

7 5

9 5

1 0 0

M R M B W M A G A D

T u e s d a y , M a r c h 2 5 , 2 0 0 8 1 2 : 4 0 : 3 4 P M

1� l

A lthoughtherearemanywaystoapproachhighschoolrecord-keepingandtranscripts,theidealthingistostartplanningwhileyourstudentisstillinmiddleschool.Awell-madetranscriptislikearesume—itsummarizes

yourstudent’sknowledgeandexperienceinawaythatallowsanevaluatortoeas-ilycompareyourstudenttoothers.Forcollege-boundstudents,atranscriptisamarketingtoolthatconciselyshowcasestheirachievementsanddemonstratesthebreadthanddepthoftheirstudies.

There are basic subjects that need to be covered on every transcript, butjusthowyoucover themdependsupon the student’sgoalsandabilities.Mini-mum requirements for graduation include: English (including Literature): 4yearsMath(AlgebraIandhigher):3to4yearsSocialSciences(History,Govern-ment,Geography):2to3yearsLabSciences(Biology,Chemistry,Physics):2to3yearsForeignLanguage:2to3yearsArts(Visualand/orPerforming):1yearElectives:1to3years

conSIder PlAnS, leArnIng Style, & reSourceSAsyoudecidehowyourstudentwillcoverthesesubjects,itisimportanttocon-

siderthestudent’slearningstyle,plansforthefuture,andtheresourcesavailable.Justasinearliergrades,you’llfindthatyourstudent’slearninghappensmoreeasilywhenhislearningstyleisconsidered.Auditorylearnersdoverywellwithaudioresources;visuallearnersdowellwithbooks;andkinestheticlearnersdobestwhentheycanmovearoundandexperiencelearninginahands-onway.Eachoftherequiredsub-jectscanbecoveredinawaythatfitsthelearner.

Thesecondthingtoconsiderwhileplanninghighschoolisthestudent’splansfor the future. Ifheor she iscollege-bound,youmustnotonlykeepexcellentrecords,butyoumustalsoensurethatyourstudent’sstudiesmeetorexceedtheprofileofthedesiredcollege’saveragestudentadmitted.(YoucanusuallydiscoverthisonthecollegewebsiteorinratingmagazinessuchastheUSNewsCollegeGuide).Stategraduationrequirementsareminimums—itisthecollege’sexpecta-tionsthatshouldguideyourplanning.

Asyoureachthebeginningofhighschoolandstartfulfillingrequirements,takethetimetocreateyourblanktran-scriptformonthecomputer.Decideonaformat,andcreatethebasicdocument,using the table function in your wordprocessing program to keep the infor-mationstructured(therearecomplete,step-by-step instructions inTranscripts Made Easy).Eachtranscriptmusthavethreesections:anIdentificationSectioncontainingcontact information for thestudent and school; a Course Recordsection,themainbodyofthetranscript,containing the list of courses stud-ied, grades received, and grade pointsgranted; and a Basic Information Sec-tioncontainingthegradingscale,akeytoabbreviations,andasignaturelineforthecertifyingparent.Thissectionmayalso contain important test scores, aswellasawardsandachievements.

When you have created the tran-script form, you have a structure thatmakesiteasytofill intheblanks.Youcanevenfill it inwith anoverviewofyour planned high school curriculumand save it as “Transcript Plan.” Youmay end up making small alterationsor taking unforeseen electives, butchancesare,yourcurriculumplanwillbe very similar to your student’s finaltranscript. Having an organized planandaplacetoquicklyandeasilyrecordexactlywhatyoudid,willhelpyoufeelmuch more relaxed and secure abouthomeschoolingthroughhighschool.

Attheendofeachsemester,recordyour student’s grade, and make surethat the class is titled descriptively onthe transcript. Rather than listing just“English”astheclasstitle,chooseati-tlethatoffersa littlemoreinformationabout what the student has covered.Forexample,youcouldlist“EnglishII:SurveyofAmericanLiterature,”whichindicatesthatthisisthestudent’ssecondyearofhighschoolEnglish,andthatheorshedidasurveycourseinAmericanliterature. Similarly, “Saxon Algebra I”ismoredescriptivethan“MathI,”and“WesternCivilizationto1608”isabet-terclassnamethan“History.”Yourgoalistoprovideenoughspecificinformationsothatanevaluatorcanunderstandthescopeofyourstudent’sachievements.

come heAr

JAnIce At the

conVentIon!

l 1�

2500 WEST BROAD STREET • RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23220 • (804) 864-1400 • 800-659-1727 • www.smv.orgSCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA

S U M M E R F A M I L Y A D V E N T U R E AWA I T S !

OPENS MAY 3

IN THE

IMAX®DOME

NEW EXHIBITIONSScience UnpluggedOpens late June 2008

Hubble Space Telescope:New Views of the UniverseJuly 17–Oct. 26, 2008

EVENTScooper Bowl XVISaturday, June 21, 2008 10 a.m.–4 p.m.Music, dancing, performers,contests and family fun, plusall the ice cream you can eat.Rain or shine.Sponsored by

GIANT SCREEN FILM

Showing until June 5, 2008

NOTE: The realistic, computer-generatedfootage of the underwater creatures in Sea Monsters: may not be suitable forvery young children.

LIVE THEATER

All About the Weather (From a Windbag!)by Douglas Jones June 25–Aug. 10, 2008Thursdays–Sundays at 10:30 and 11:45 a.m.

CARPENTERSCIENCETHEATRE

COMPANY

Home-school families save 20% off on museum membership. To join, call (804) 864-1549 or visit www.smv.org click Membership.

Save20%

Visit our website to find out how to order Iowa tests that you can administer yourself*, how to schedule a W-J III test, and for other information on nationally standardized tests.

Group discounts available*Some restrictions apply

Specializing in

The Iowa Tests® for grades K-12 and

Woodcock-Johnson® III for ages 4-99

Achievement, Cognitive, Career and Practice Tests www.HomeSchoolerTests.com

National standardized achievement tests

•ITBS® and ITED® •CogAT® •Interest ExplorerTM •Test for SuccessTM

Your Child is Uniquely & Wonderfully Made

Triangle Education AssessmentsDebbie Thompson, M.A.5512 Merion Station Dr.

Apex, NC 27539 • Ph. 919.387.7004Toll free 1.877.8.GET TEST (1.877.843.8837)

[email protected]

Assigngrades toeachclassas the studentfinishes the semester.Each lettergradehas anumerical equivalent:A=4,B=3,C=2, and so forth. If the studentis taking college-level classes, thegradepoints assignedwouldbeweighted,orhaveanextragradepointadded,sothatA=5,B=4,etc.Honorsclassesareusuallyweightedbyhalfagradepoint,sothatA=4.5,andsoforth.

Tocalculatethegrade-pointaverage,addtogetherallthegradepointsearnedinthesemester,anddividebythenumberofclassestaken.ManycollegesdonotincludePhysicalEducationgradesinthegrade-pointaverage.

Tocalculatethecumulativegrade-pointaverage,addtogetherallthesemestergrade-pointaveragesanddividebythenumberofsemesters.Donotaddthecur-rentsemestertothepreviouscumulativegrade-pointaverage,oryourtotalwillnotbecorrect.Tomaketheprocessextrasimple,youmaywanttovisitthefreeGPAcalculatoronmywebsiteatwww.FreeGPACalc.com.Nomatterhowyoufigurethefinalgrade-pointaverage,youcanbesurethateachcollegethatreceivesyourtranscriptwillrefigureittoensurethatallstudenttranscriptstheyreceivearecalcu-latedinthesameway.

Thereisnoperfectsinglestyleoftranscript.Aslongasthethreesectionsarein-cludedandstandardizedtestscoressupportthegradesyouhavegiven,thetranscriptwillbecomparableincontentandformattotranscriptsfromtraditionalschoolsand

willactasanoverviewofyourstudent’sacademichistory.Andbestofall,itwon’tbenearlyasdifficultasyoufeared!

Janice Campbell, author of TranscriptsMadeEasy:TheHome-schooler’sGuidetoHighSchoolPaperwork and GetaJumpStartonCollege!APracticalGuideforTeens, homeschooled her four boys from pre-school into college. Visit her blog at www.Jan-ice-Campbell.com and sign up for her free e-newsletter at www.Everyday-Education.com.

1� l

w henyoudecidedtohomeschoolyourchildren,youmadea shrewdmove:Youchosetotreateducationasacommodity.Notcontenttomeekly accept the government’s general-issue brand, you declared

yourselfaconsumerintheeducationmarket,withthesamerightsandprivilegesofallconsumerseverywhere—namely,therighttochoosebetweenoptions;therighttodecidewhether,andwhat,tobuy.

Boy,thedecisionscamethickandfastafterthat,didn’tthey?Whichbooks to read?What tests to take?Whichmath curriculum is best?

WhichbookpreparesJohnnyforthecollegeboards?Whataboutphonics?Latin,French,bothorneither?Sciencenoworsciencelater?

Everyhomeschoolerisbynecessityacurriculumdesignerandmakesimpor-tantdecisions. Itmaybehelpful to consider that although thenumberof cur-riculumchoicesonthemarketincreasesdaily,therearereallyonlythreetypesofeducationfromwhichtochoose.

PrActIcAlFirst, there is “practical” education. This kind of education is designed to

givestudentsabasicsetofskillsthatwillenablethemtofunctioninsocietyandwillhelpthemavoidbecomingaburdenonthepublicweal.Theseareskillslikereadinganewspaper,drivingacar,balancingacheckbook,operatingacomputer,playingonabasketballteam,orfillingoutajobapplication.

Theultimategoalof“practical”educationisthecreationofgoodcitizens.Stu-dentswhoaretheproductsofsucheducationlearnhowtobehave,andtheirparentsandteachersareprimarilyconcernedwithhavingthemturnouttobewell-adjustedcitizensoftheirneighborhoodsandcommunities.

ProFeSSIonAlThe second type is “professional” education.This kindof education isde-

signed to produce experts in a particular discipline. The fields of engineering,highermathandscience,advancedcomputerprogramming,architecture,medi-

cine, law, business, and informationtechnology teem with students whohavethissortoftraining.

“Professional”educationproducesstudentswhoknowlotsandlotsofin-formationaboutarelativelynarrowfieldofinquiry.Thesestudentsareexperts-specialists.Theyhavebeentaughtmorethansimplyhowtobehave;they’vealsobeen taughthow toperform—that is,toapplytheirspecificknowledge,whenasked or hired to do so, to a specifictype of situation. Parents who desirethiskindofeducationfortheirkidsareoftenprimarilyconcernedwithhavingthemgetgood,highpayingjobs.

PhIloSoPhIcAlThe third typeof educationavail-

able to the choosy consumer is “phil-osophical” education. This kind ofeducation is concerned primarily withreading great books, studying worldlanguages,andwritingaboutideas.It’sdesignedtogivestudentstheabilitytotell the difference between truth andfalsehood, to recognize the timelessprinciples that make successful societ-iespossible,andtocommunicatetheseideastotheirneighbors.

A “philosophical” education pro-ducesstudentswhoarenotonlycapableofchoosinggoodoverevilbutarealsocapable of leading their fellowmen inthepursuitofgood.Inshort,whilethepracticalstudentknowshowtobehavelikeagoodcitizen,andtheprofession-al student knows how to perform likea specialist, the philosophical studentknowshowtothink—likeastatesman.

educAtIon ShoPPIngOf the three types of education

mentionedhere,thefirstistheeasiesttoget.Itisavailableineverypublicschoolin America, though you really don’tneedtogotoschoolinordertogetit.Indeed,mostparentswhohavedecidedon homeschooling have probably alsodecided that they can provide a sound“practical” education on their own—perhapswithoutanycurriculumatall.

The second kind of education,however—the“professional”kind—re-quiresintensivestudyandtraining,andisusuallyundertakenatthecollegelevel

Three Kinds of Education: A Buyer’s GuideAdam Andrews

heAr AdAm AndrewS At the conVentIon!

l 1�

orabove.Ifyou’reafterthiskindofeducationforyourstu-dent,themostproductivethingyoucandoistohelphimdevelopgoodstudyhabitsso,whenhegoestocollege,he’llbeabletohandlethementalworkload.

To do this, you should choose curriculum materialswhose reading assignments are challenging, plentiful andcontinuous.Theabilitytoconcentrateforextendedperiodsoftimeonwhatonereadsisabsolutelyessentialforsuccessinaprofessionalfield,andpracticeistheonlywaytogetthere.

Inthefinalanalysis,parentswhochoosea“philosophi-cal”educationgetthemostbangfortheircurriculumbuck.This isbecauseaphilosophicaleducationdoesnotneglectthekindsofskillsthatmakeagoodcitizen,anditalsopro-videsnecessarytraininginthehabitsofmindthatmakegoodspecialists. Inotherwords, thegoalsofboth thepracticalandprofessionaleducationarealmostautomaticallymetbythestudentwhopursuesaphilosophicaleducation.

Butaphilosophicaleducationprovidesmuchmore.Theterm philosophical means “pertaining to the love of wis-dom.”Aphilosophicaleducationisthereforeaneducationinideasratherthanskillsorhabitsonly—ideaslikeLiberty,Virtue,Sacrifice,Love,Beauty,andTruth.

While these may seem like greeting-card clichés, thetruthisthatsuchideashaveruledhumansocietysincethedawnoftime.Thehistoryoftheirruleispreservedforusintheliteratureofthecivilizedworld,anditishere—inlitera-ture—thataphilosophicaleducationbegins.

Here are three questions you can use to determinewhetherthecurriculumchoicesyou’reconsideringwillcon-tributetoyourstudent’sphilosophicaleducation:

1.Willthesematerialsrequiremystudentstoreadex-tensively?WillmystudentsencounterclassicsoftheEnglishlanguagesuchastheworksofMilton,Shakespeare,Dickens,Wordsworth,ortheKingJamesBible?Willtheyencounterclassicsof ancient literature, such as theworksofHomer,Sophocles,andVirgil?Ifnot,whynot?

2.Will thesematerials require or facilitate thediscus-sionofideas?Whatkindofwritingwilltheydemand?Willmystudentsbetaughttorespondtotheirreadingoutloudandonpaperonaregularbasisinordertodevelopskillsofanalysisandself-expression?Ifnot,whynot?

3.WillthesematerialsteachMEtoleadmystudentsintheseareas?

Keepingthesequestions inmindcanhelpyouchoosewiselyandbecomeaneffectiveconsumer intheeducationmarketplace.

Adam Andrews is the director of the Center for Literary Education and a homeschool-ing father of six. He is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Washington in Seattle and a Henry Salvatori Fellow of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He and his wife, Missy, are the authors of TeachingtheClassics:ASocraticMethodforLiteraryEducation. Visit HEAV on the web at www.heav.org!

20 l

the“GREATDEBATE”occurseveryyear:“AmIex-pectingtoomuchofmychildornotenough?”“Isthisgroaningandmoaningaboutwriting just adiscipline

problemor‘characterissue,’oristherereallyaproblemhere?”CommoncommentsIhearfromhomeschoolmoms:Shecantellmetheanswerswellorally,butthenittakes

heranhourtowrite itdown.Whenhewriteshis spellingwords to learn them, he leaves letters out of the words.Whenhewantsto,hecanwriteneatly;he’sjustsloppy.

SymPtomS oF StreSS In the wrItIng SyStem1.Reversalsinwrittenlettersornumbers(youngerchildren)2.Poorspacingofwordsinasentence3.Laboriouswriting-takesalongtimetocompleteanas-

signment4.Printsinsteadofusingcursive(olderchildren)5.Copiespoorlyfromthebook6.Knowscapitalizationrules,butignorestheminwriting7.Makesletters“bottom-to-top”8.Goodorally,butwrittenworkispoor

Ifyourchildexhibitssomeofthesesymptoms,itwouldbeworthwhiletodosomefurtherinvestigatingtoseehowpervasivethiswritingproblemis.

Further InVeStIgAtIonCheckyourchild’seye/handdominance.Therearesev-

eralwaystodothis,butoneeasywayistotearasmallholeinapieceofpaperandhavethechildholditatarm’slengthwhile peering through the hole at an object on the wall.Instructthechildnottomovehisarmswhileyougobehindhim,coveroneofhiseyes,andaskifhecanstillseetheob-jectwithoutmovingthepaper.Dothesamewiththeothereye.We sightwithourdominant eye, sowhen you coverthateye,theobjectonthewallwillseemto“disappear.”

Ifyourchildisleft-eyedandright-handed,orright-eyedandleft-handed,heis“mixeddominant.”Thisinvitesagreatdealofconfusioninthewritingprocessandrequiresconsider-ablymoreenergytowritethanforachildwhois“uniform-dominant,”right-eyedandright-handedorleft-eyedandleft-handed.It’sasiftheyarestartingthewritingprocesswithonly“halfabattery.”Thereforewerecognizemixeddominanceasbeingapossiblefactorinthechild’sabilitytoeasily“thinkandwrite”atthesametime.Thewritingprocessdoesnotbecomeautomatic,sothechildhastocontinuetothinkaboutletterformation,ratherthanthesubjectmatterheiswritingabout.

Anothergood investigativeprocedure is tosee“how”thechildmakeshisletters.Haveyourchildprintthealpha-betusinglower-caselettersonly.Watchyourchildcarefullyashedoesthis.Looktoseehowhemakeshis“o’s”Achildwho is naturally “hard-wired” for right-handedness willmakehis “o’s” counterclockwise.A childwho isnaturally“hard-wired”forleft-handednesswillmakehis“o’s”clock-wise.Ifyourchilddoessomethingoppositetothis,thatisasignofmajorstressinthewritingsystem.Watchtoseeifhereversesanyletters,orhesitatesbeforedirectionalletterslike“b,d,p,z.”Seeifyourchildmakesletterslike“f,i,l”frombottom-to-top.Thisisaverticalreversalandalsoindi-catesstressinthewritingsystem.Seeifthebeginningofthealphabetismadewithlargeletters,andtheendmademuchsmaller.Allofthesecharacteristicsareindicatorsthatthereisarealreasonwhythischildisresistingwritingassignmentsandthatheisnotjustanargumentativechildoronewhohasacharacterproblem.

Some SolutIonS• Reducetheamountofwritingthechildhastodo.In

math,onlydoeveryotherproblem.• Eliminate copying work wherever you can. Copying

is thehardest thing for themtodowhen theyhavea“writingglitch.”

• The“writinggate”willnotbethebestlearninggateforyourchild.Thereforedon’twritespellingwordsfivetimeseachandexpectthechildtolearnthem.Remember,he’sthinkingabouthowto formthe letters,nothowto re-member the spellingword.Showthechildhowto take“pictures”ofhisspellingwordsandstorewordsinhispho-tographicmemory.Thisiswhatspellingbeewinnersdo.

• Chooseacurriculumthatdoesn’trequiremuchwork-book work. Or, have the child answer the workbookquestionsorally,ratherthanbywriting.Rememberthat

get helP From

dIAnne At the

conVentIon!

l 21

ever, requirediligenceon theparent’spart toconsistentlyandcarefullymonitorthevitalwritingexercisefourdaysaweekforsixmonths.However,whenthis isdone,writingbecomesfluent.

Dianne Craft is president of Child Diag-nostics, Inc. in Littleton, Colorado (303-694-053), which diagnoses information-processing problems in children and gives corrections for the problems. Visit her web-site at www.diannecraft.org.

workbook writing was designed by schools to assigngrades for a child or to keep students busy while theteacherworkswithothers.Neitherisneededinhome-schooling.Savethechild’swritingenergytowritepara-graphsandessaysforlanguageandhistory.

• Correct a child’s learning glitch by giving him a stablemidlineor“plumbline”aswethinkof it.Theexercisethat rehabilitatesachild’svisual/motor systemwascre-atedbyDr.GetemanandDr.PaulDennison.It isper-formedusingalargepieceofconstructionpaper,withalarge“eight”drawnon it.Thechild sitsdirectly in themiddleofthe“eight”toencouragethebodytorecognizemidline.Thislow-tech,inexpensiveexerciseisdescribedintheBrain Integration Therapy Manualanddemonstratedinthevideo“UnderstandingandHelpingtheStrugglingLearner,”bothavailablefromwww.diannecraft.org.

Whenworkingwithbrightchildrenwhoresistwriting(orputtingapencilintheirhandtodolengthymathprob-lems,preferringtodothemintheirhead instead), it is soeasytoassumethattheyarejustbeinglazyoruncooperative.Onceyoucorrectthemidlineissue,however,youfindthattheybecomewillingparticipants inwriting.This isoneofthemostcommonlearningglitcheswefindinbrightchil-drenwhoarenotcompletingthewrittenworkrequiredfortheir grade, andwhohavenot learned the spellingwordsthatwehavetaughtthemthroughoutthegrades.Itisalsotheeasiestofthefourlearninggatestocorrect.Itdoes,how-

22 l

onesmackinthemiddleofabulls-eyetarget. He complemented the farmeronhisgreatmarksmanship.

“It’s nothing,” the farmer repliedmodestly. “I learned a long time agothat it’seasier toshoot thearrowandthendrawthebulls-eyearoundwherethearrowgoes.”

Today,IfearwearetoomuchlikethefarmerandnotenoughlikeDavidorEinsteinorEdison.Inwantingonlysuccess, we miss out on what can belearnedfromfailure.

CharlesDickenswrote,“Everyfail-ureteachesamansomething,ifhewilllearn.”

Donotbeintimidatedbythepros-pect of failure. There is so much tolearnthere.

When you approach the end ofyour days, do you want dreams? Ormemories?

In the epilogue to The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky wrotethis:“Youaretoldalotaboutyoureduca-tion—butsomebeautiful,sacredmemo-ry,preservedsincechildhood,isperhapsthebesteducationofall.Ifamancarriesmanysuchmemoriesintolifewithhim,heissavedfortherestofhisdays.Andevenifonlyonegoodmemoryisleftinourhearts,itmayalsobetheinstrumentofoursalvationoneday.”

TheonlywayIknowtohavemorememories than dreams is to have hadfailures.Becausefailure,byitsveryna-ture,impliesattempt.

Formanyofus, success is seenasGod’sblessing,andfailureasHiscurse.Yet, theBible says inProverbs24:16:“…arighteousmanfallsseventimes.”Consider that. A righteous man—onewith God’s favor—falls seven times.But then it adds this, “and gets backupagain.”

Inthefuture,bewillingtofall—evenseventimes.Butgetbackupagain.

May the Lord bless you in yourfallingdownandyourgettingup.

Michael Grice and his wife, Nancy, have homeschooled their five children since 1992 (two are now in college). He writes from Virginia Beach.

y ourfamilyandfriendswishyougreatsuccessinyourfuture.Ihopeyouwillhavefailures.

Consider, for amoment,David ashe faced thegiant,Goliath.Youknowthestory.GoliathhadbeenharassingandintimidatingthearmyofIsrael.David, the young shepherdboy, toldKingSaul, “TheLordwhodeliveredmefromthepawofthelionandthepawofthebearwilldelivermefromthehandofthisPhilistine.”(1Samuel17:37NIV)

TheBiblegoesontosaythatDavidchosefivesmoothstones,puttheminhisshepherd’spouchand,withhisslinginhishand,approachedthePhilistine.

Youknowwhathappenednext.DavidgrabbedastoneandknockedGoliathdownandthenslewhimwithhisownsword.

Myquestionisthis:“WhydidDavidchoosefivestones?”HeknewwhatGodwascapableofdoing.HetestifiedtoGod’sdeliveranceofhiminthepast,andheboldlyforetoldwhatGodwasabouttodotoGoliaththroughhim.AndDavidwasright.

So, why FIVe StoneS?Perhaps because David knew from experience that sometimes the first one

misses.Sometimes,youhavetotryasecondtime.Orathird.Orevenafifth.Faithrequiredonestone,butexperiencegatheredfive.

Duringthespaceraceofthe1960sbetweentheSovietUnionandtheUnitedStates,theworldwatchedAmerica’ssuccessesandfailuresliveontelevision.ButtheSovietstapedalloftheirs.Theirsuccesseswerebroadcast;theirfailuresneverseen.

Inthe1990safterthefalloftheSovietUnion,somevisitingRussianscien-tiststoldtheirAmericancounterpartsthatAmerica’swillingnesstobroadcastlivealwaysimpressedthem.Privately,thesescientistsyearnedtoliveinacountrythatwasnotafraidtoshowitsfailures.

WhenAlbertEinsteinleftGermanyandcametoAmerica,establishinghimselfatPrincetonUniversity,hewasaskedwhatheneeded forhiswork.“Adesk, achair,somepaper,andpencils,”hereplied.

Andthenheadded,“Oh,Iwillalsoneedabigwastebasket,formymistakes.”AfterThomasEdison’sseven-hundredthunsuccessfulattemptto inventthe

electriclight,hewasaskedbyaNew York Timesreporter,“Howdoesitfeeltohavefailedseven-hundredtimes?”

Edisonreplied,“Ihavenotfailedseven-hundredtimes.Ihavenotfailedonce.Ihavesucceededinprovingthatthoseseven-hundredwayswillnotwork.WhenIhaveeliminatedthewaysthatwillnotwork,Iwillfindthewaythatwillwork.”

Morethan2,300additional“successes”weretofollow,untilEdisonfinallyfoundthewaythatworked.

Contrast thosestorieswiththatofa farmer:Asalesmanwhowasvisitingafarmernoticeddozensanddozensofarrowsstickinginthesideofthebarn,each

l 2�

Only after many miles of supervised driving can a new driver develop safe driving habits. The National Driver Training Institute’s award winning curriculum,

Help for the Teenager Who Wants to Drivewill equip you to safely navigate your way over these miles with comprehensive text, family friendly videos, electronic testing, and friendly technical support. Let us help you create a safer driver for life.

Prices start at $117.00 for initial enrollments. Siblings may enroll for only $72.00. HEAV members qualify for a special discount. Call toll free 800-942-2050 or use the promotional code, heav, when you direct your browser to

www.USDriverTraining.com Founded in 1998, NDTI is a non-profit driver education organization which requires the involvement of a parent or guardian in the training process. As one of the nation’s first Graduated Driver Licensing programs, NDTI is a leader in driver

education, assisting in research, writing legislation and testifying before legislators across the United States. For more information please call (800) 942-2050 or visit www.NationalDriverTraining.com.

Our Premium Program

The Road is Waiting . . .

Get a 10% discount online when you use

heavas your

promotional code.

2� l

heAV board of directorsAnne miller | President Williamsburg | [email protected] linder | Vice PresidentManassas | [email protected] boyer | Board MemberRustburg | [email protected] moore | Board MemberVirginia Beach | [email protected] ryan | Board MemberPurcelleville | [email protected]

Advisory boardyvonne bunn | [email protected] Feldman | Virginia [email protected] linder | [email protected] & karla Sherman | Williamsburg

heAV StaffJim bentley | Executive [email protected] yvonne bunn | Director of Homeschool [email protected] Feldman | Convention [email protected] clark | Office [email protected] bentley | Curriculum [email protected] wright | Financial [email protected] Fisher | [email protected]

Publications StaffAnne miller | Director of Publications & [email protected] loop | Asst. Director of Publications & [email protected] kay Smith | Magazine [email protected] williams | Advertising [email protected] dillie | Update [email protected] ellyson | Update Editor Anna dykhoff | Update Graphic DesignerSusannah miller | Graphic [email protected] melissa barnes | Editor/Proofreader

Send address changes to: Home Educators Association of Virginia, 22��-G Dabney Road, Richmond, Virginia 23230-0��; Fax: �0�-2��-�202; E-mail: [email protected]; Phone: �0�-2��-�200; or Web: www.heav.org. For fastest service, send your for-mer and new addresses.

want to advertise in this spot? heAV members receive a free ad!

JoIn heAV todAy!

UniqUe All-OccAsiOns Gift ideAs!Browse through 100’s of beautiful scenic, floral, and nature photographs by Seth Fisher in 3 sizes of prints and high-qual-ity, blank note cards at: throughmylensphotography.com. Attention! Been putting off a family picture? Having a spe-cial event? Need a portrait for the holidays? Give us a call at: 757-877-6902 for on-location photography!

Preserve your Homeschool memories with Close To My Heart Scrapbook and Craft Supplies, card kits, scrapbook kits, acrylic stamp sets, pads, and more! Made in the USA, affordable, quality products. I also offer workshops, parties, and clubs. Excellent business opportunity also! Mention this ad and get 15% off your order. Idea books $3.00. Contact Robin at 434-746-0604. Visit my website at www.shopwithrobin.myctmh.com or email me at [email protected].

JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH CLASSES IN CENTREVILLE C.H.E.S.S. Offers affordable, small classes in Western Fairfax County, meeting Mondays and/or Wednesdays, September - May. Our teachers have a passion for home-schooling. 2008-2009 Classes: SAT Math Prep, Algebra I & II, Pre-calculus, Calculus, Geometry, Beginning Spanish, Spanish I, II and III, Effective Writing, British Literature, Published Student, Journalism, Creative Writing, Physical Science, Biology Lab & Lecture, Chemistry Lab & Lecture, Physics, Debate, Art, Choir, Piano, US Government, American History, Virginia History, IMHO, and more. Meeting at Centreville Baptist Church, 15100 Lee Highway. Contact: Tara, Mon-Fri 10:00 am - 5:00 PM 703-753-1901, www.chessclasses.org

Regent University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097; Phone 404.679.4501) to award the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. Regent University is certified by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to operate campuses within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Christian leadership to change the world.Regent.edu/GovCamp

Does your summer need a littleintrigue? Regent University’sGovernment Camp offers high

school students an exciting opportunityto enter the fascinating world of nationalsecurity, corporate intelligence andcounter terrorism. At this stimulating 5-day event you’ll gain access to high-levelmilitary, political and corporate installationsthat are off-limits to civilians. You’ll also interact with some of the top military, political, academic and corporate leaders in the national security and counter-terrorism world.

In short, you’ll learn what only a few can know. This one-of-a-kind encountertakes place July 14-18. Spaces are limited.Your deposit of $100 reserves your place.Register before May 30th and receive a10% discount. For more information

about accommodations, school credit,schedule and other details go to www.regent.edu/govcamp.

When it comes to having fun this summer, there’s no mystery. Sign up now and sign on for an experience like no other. Regent University’s Government Camp: A summer camp that prepares you for a life of leadership.

RegentGovCampAd-HEAVSp08 1/30/08 3:30 PM Page 1

2248 G Dabney Road • P.O. Box 6745 • Richmond, VA 23230

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIdPermit No. 2��

Richmond, VA 23230

Train up a child in the way he should go…

convention

Information

Inside!

25

Home Education - Home Educators Association of Virginia

Documents

Transcript of Home Education - Home Educators Association of Virginia