Borders Supports Homeschoolers

I don’t know if the policy at Borders (books and music) is the same in other areas, but here in Phoenix they are great supporters of homeschoolers. Yesterday we visited a local Borders in search of new workbooks. The Boy zoomed through his remaining first-grade workbooks and is nearly through the second-grade workbooks we bought a couple of months ago. We found some great third-grade language, science and math workbooks and a special anatomy book for children that we thought would be helpful to use in preparation for our trip to Body Worlds 3 in a couple of weeks. Signs throughout the store advertised Educator Savings Week with 25% off for educators. We asked if homeschoolers are eligible for the discount and were immediately given an enrollment form, no questions asked and no proof of our homeschool status needed. I had a coupon to use for our purchases yesterday, so we decided to return in two weeks for the Educator Savings sale and stock up on other workbooks and such. Needless to say, I am a big fan of Borders!

Homeschooling at the Agricultural Fair

We saw a little blurb in the local paper about an agricultural fair at one of the parks in town and decided to take a homeschool road trip.  Very educational on many levels.  There was a blacksmith “making things with fire and a hammer”, as The Boy put it.  A new-born calf, baby pigs and sheep and goats.  Chicks, chickens, roosters and peacocks everywhere.  He won some soy crayons and a coloring book about recycling by correctly answering questions on a quiz sheet at one booth.  Another booth featured crops grown in Arizona.  Did you know that enough pecans are harvested in Arizona each year to make 10 million pecan pies?  Now that’s science I can get behind!  Tractor pulls, of course.  However, a nearly traumatic situation occurred when we wandered over to the barn where a cow was being milked with a milking machine.  We have at various times explained to The Boy where milk comes from, but the real thing was a bit more than he expected, poor city-raised child.  His comments greatly entertained the crowd around us.  At least he hasn’t given up on drinking milk.  An actual traumatic event occurred as we were leaving, but the trauma was mine.  The fair was held in a park that used to be part of a large farm/ranch, and many of the original buildings are still standing. The main farmhouse has been restored and was open for self-guided tours, so we toured.  First I noticed a small table that was the exact twin of one I’ve had for years.  Then I saw a huge old radio with big dials like one I remember listening to in my grandmother’s house.  Kitchen utensils, laundry supplies, embroidered doilies, an old toilet with the water closet mounted up near the ceiling-  all were uncomfortably familiar, albeit dimly so.  Daughter was hugely entertained as I pointed out items in every room that I could remember from somewhere in my past.  How did my past become antique?  As I said, trauma indeed.  Our educational homeschool day at the agricultural fair cost us exactly $4.00.  And the trauma?  Priceless.

Homeschool, Sample Tests, Social Skills and Television

I think we’re working the kinks out of Desert Homeschool. The Boy’s Mom (aka Daughter) has been following his lead, answering his questions about things in the news or on good old Discovery Channel. I know many people frown on television for children, but some of the channels are really interesting. We like Discovery, Discovery Science, and the History Channel. It’s amazing what lessons can be found on Home and Garden TV if you think about it. Why different plants grow in different areas, how to measure a 2×4 (although we use paper), recycling.

We’ve been wondering, though, if we shouldn’t have some idea of what sort of curriculum is recommended for a bright 6-year-old. Not that we’d necessarily follow it right now, but it would be good to know. Well, today Daughter found some sample AIMS tests on the website for the Arizona Department of Education.  There are sample tests for third through eighth grade and one for high school.  We printed out the third grade test, just to have some idea of what the public school system here thinks a third-grader should know.  We’ll see what that’s like and let you know.

The other issue we’ve bumped up against concerns the “he needs school for socialization” dicta of well-meaning (I assume) friends-and-family.  So far we have just nodded, smiled vaguely, and changed the subject, but I think Daughter is going to blow up at the next f-a-f who tells her that The Boy will be the equivalent of a social outcast unless he attends the local juvie factory and learns the socially accepted form of ill manners.  Excuse me, but I get a bit snappish at this.

Anyway, we all keep learning.  The Boy has decided he doesn’t hate math after all, Daughter has learned that he likes chamomile tea, and I am learning how much I don’t know about all this.  Growth is good.

Homeschooling Help From Grammar Girl

Have you run across Grammar Girl yet? She has a great way of making grammar interesting and fun- really! And I don’t say that simply because she is from the Phoenix area (we call it “the valley”), too. You can read the site, but do yourself a favor and check out the podcast. Homeschoolers everywhere might just become grammar aficionados.

Homeschooling: A Financial Perspective

Here’s an interesting article on Kiplinger.com that addresses the financial aspect of homeschooling.  Interesting, as I said, but I don’t know that I necessarily agree with all of it.  The author assumes a cost of $600 to $1500 per child for an “all-inclusive” curriculum.  Can this be right?  Granted, we at Desert Homeschool are at the beginning of our homeschool adventure, and we certainly didn’t choose to homeschool for financial reasons, but I question the need to purchase an expensive curriculum every year.  Would someone who has homeschooled successfully please let me know if you purchased an annual curriculum?

That issue aside, I was caught by this statement:

“In 2003 more than a million children were being taught at home, a 30% jump from 1999. Estimates now put the number closer to two million.”

Two million!  Two million of the next generation being given quality educations by caring parents.  I have great hope for the future.  I wonder if one of these two million homeschooled students will be the discoverer of a method to banish cellulite.  Or something less trivial.

GPS Mapping: An Addition to Your Homeschool Curriculum

GPS mapping (that’s Global Positioning Systems) would make a great subject for homeschool lessons, don’t you think? You’ve got geography there, of course, and you could probably work math in too, by figuring out how far one place is from another. Reading, naturally. My friend, Ron, has a great and informative blog on GPS mapping so take a look and see what you can add to your homeschool curriculum.

100 Top Homeschool Sites

Due to some health issues, we didn’t get to make our field trip to BodyWorld 3 today. Bummer, but the exhibition will be in Phoenix for several months, so I’m sure we’ll get there before it leaves.

Since I had some unexpected time available today, I did a little internet surfing for information to add to our knowledge here at Desert Homeschool. I found this page, http://www.letshomeschool.com/top100.htm, although I haven’t had time yet to investigate all the sites. Maybe you’ll find something useful there, too.

Homeschooling at Body World: A Science Experiment

Do you know about the exhibit known as Body World? This is the exhibit involving plastinated human bodies. Very controversial, from the comments I’ve read. Well, it’s here in Phoenix and we’re taking The Boy to see it Monday. Daughter is in nursing school, so this is right up her alley. The Boy (6-years old, reads everything he can get his hands on) has been following advertisements for the exhibit in the paper and on TV. He has been asking to go to the exhibit since the first advertisement he saw. Monday is a holiday for me, so naturally, instead of indulging in a new book or playing on the computer, I’m going to look at plastinated bodies. Not sure how I feel about that, but I’ll let you know. Have you seen it?