Came across this and thought it was relevant.   This doesn’t apply to all teachers or all CEO’s, but those entrusted with a child’s education DO make a difference.

What do Teachers Make?

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?”

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.”

To stress his point he said to another guest; “You’re a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest What do you make?”

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, “You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began…)

“Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can’t make them sit for 5 without an iPod, Game Cube or movie rental.

“You want to know what I make?” (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn’t everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

“Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn’t everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant…. “You want to know what I make?”

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?”

His jaw dropped, he went silent.

More Pictures Here

Museum Attractions - Website

City Museum’s MySpace

Putting together a curriculum is hard work. Some families are lucky to purchase an entire program and it works wonderfully for all their kids, end of story. Not so for us. We prefer to piece it together matching studies to the kid’s interests and learning styles, challenging their capabilities while recognizing this mama’s patience level.

Kaci and I attended the St Louis Homeschool Expo on Friday and Saturday. I had gone into the conference with definite plans outlined on my handy dandy Excel spreadsheet. I had done my homework, researched websites, verified via Cathy Duffy, discussed with the kids, and felt confident to go forth and PURCHASE.

HOWEVER.

Nothing is final until the SMELL TEST. There is a certain chemistry that occurs when book and brain connect - a feeling of “Ahhhhh, expectations exceeded” and you scamper to the check out line and empty your pockets.

This did not happen for a couple of my selected choices.  When I look at a page, my eyes cross and I start mentally reciting The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, I’m fairly assured it is not a good fit for my family.  And me.  Especially me.  When there is a User’s Handbook to explain the Teacher’s Guide which is 4 inches of Times New Roman 8 - put the book down and move away.

I intended to sleep on it, pray and go back the second day with renewed vigor! Instead, we went to dinner and I sucked down a margarita to reward my day of planning and plotting. Since I’m a lightweight in tequila smackdown , it is usually a one-two punch and I’m out. That eliminated any opportunity of subliminal sleep planning - since any minute quantity of liquor turns my brain function into sludge.

So Day Two, we returned to the conference. I knew what I was mentally seeking, so I proceeded through various vendors doing my best to ignore their sales pitches. It’s one thing to find something I love, love, love, but if my kids hate, hate, hate it - I just waste money, time AND my coveted patience! It’s more important that we continue to foster a love to learn rather than force-feed a subject just to mark it off our list.

So, without further ado, here is a broad outline of our upcoming school year:

HIStory: Diana Waring’s Ancient Civilizations and The Bible (history with a Biblical world view) and we will incorporate Draw and Write Through History

Math: Continuing with Math-U-See (Dad teaches this!)

Science: Considering God’s Creation This is a broad overview of Science with a Christian perspective.

I turned Nicholas loose to “shop” and he spent the entire time at this vendor: McWizKid Science

So, we will incorporate all of these goodies into our science study.

English: Hands On English - grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, and study skills. This will be scheduled through the next 3 years.

Spelling: Spelling Power (this is a long-term spiral curriculum)

I also purchased:

D.C. Rap Cds for: Multiplication, Division, States & Capitals and The Solar System (I already know this will drive me batty, but my son will have his facts memorized in a heartbeat!)

Bright Minds - Reading Detective (computer game style program) to help children understand more challenging reading concepts such as drawing inferences, making conclusions, determining cause-and-effect, and using context clues to define vocabulary

Bright Minds - Building Thinking Skills (computer game style program) to improve vocabulary, reading, writing, math, logic, and figural-spatial skills, as well as visual and auditory processing.

We will also finish up our unit on the Presidential Election in November (we’re making a lapbook) and I’m using Geo Scribes to start learning basic information about the United States. The kids each have a sport they participate in and weekly music lessons.

Anyone else have plans for next year? I’d love to look at yours.

This is one of my favorite analogies. It supports the very core of my beliefs to raise my kids to be whoever they are, just as God intended them to be.

Why a Bee?
Author Unknown

Once upon a time the animals had a school. They had four subjects: running, climbing, flying, and swimming-and all animals took all subjects.

The duck was good at swimming, better than the teachers in fact. He made passing grades in running and flying, but he was almost hopeless in climbing. So they made him drop swimming to practice more climbing. Soon he was only average in swimming. But average is OK, and nobody worried much about it except the duck.

The eagle was considered a troublemaker. In his climbing class he beat everybody to the top of the tree, but he had his own way of getting there, which was against the rules. He always had to stay after school and write, Cheating is wrong 500 times. This kept him from soaring, which he loved. But schoolwork comes first.

The bear flunked because they said he was lazy, especially in winter. His best time was summer, but school wasn’t open then.

The penguin never went to school because he couldn’t leave home, and they wouldn’t start a school out where he lived.

The zebra played hooky.  A lot. The ponies made fun of his stripes, and that made him very sad.

The kangaroo started out at the top of the running class, but got discouraged trying to run on all fours like the other kids.

The fish quit school because he was bored. To him all four subjects were the same, but nobody understood that.  They had never been a fish.

The squirrel got A’s in climbing, but his flying teacher made him start from the ground up instead of the treetop down. His legs got so sore from practicing takeoffs that he began getting C’s and D’s in running.

But the bee was the biggest problem of all, so the teacher sent him to Dr. Owl for testing. Dr. Owl said that the bees wings were just too small for flying and besides they were in the wrong place. But the bee never saw Dr. Owls report, so he just went ahead and flew anyway.

I think I know a bee or two, don’t you?

Tens of thousands of parents could be subject to criminal sanctions after a California appeals court ruled parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children.

Read more:   Court Ruling

U.S. Supreme Court, 2000

One of our homeschool challenges has been writing. Not only the task of penmanship or improved cursive, but basic composition. We’ve worked on rhetoric by learning to outline, summarize, capture the thought while practicing grammar rules and correct spelling. We’ve incorporated “diary” style writing as a daily assignment.

Both kids have their own personal journal and they write whatever they want. In turn, either their dad or I read it and write a note back to them. We’ve found it is an additional way to communicate and we can fit in a lot of subtle lessons. For them AND us!

We visited the Children’s Museum this week - and the kids played “news”.   Here is Lexi giving the weather report while Nicholas is the cameraman/producer.

I created this little checklist for my kids to help them narrow down their choice of a Presidential candidate.   Some of the information is brand new to them.  It’s interesting to watch them ponder right from wrong and discuss the “gray areas”.   I’m trying very hard to present the issues without bias, other than how they fit in our personal family values….which is contradictory, I know.   We’re teaching them, but we want them to have open minds and make intelligent, independant choices.  They may not (and do not) always agree with us, and that’s OK.   You can use  GlassBooth  or FamilyEducation websites to explore the issues and see where each candidate stands.

Kid’s Checklist to 2008 Key Issues

 We’ll be announcing their candidate soon (although they are quickly dwindling!!).  Have you done YOUR homework?  Who represents your interests?

Kellie Ann, over at The Hilltop Academy wrote this funny, but accurate post A Math Lesson: Their Way vs. Our Way.   Click it on, read it and snort right out loud.   Do I have to bribe you with chocolate?  Ok, there’s chocolate there too.  Go…Scoot!

“Why did you decide to homeschool”?” is a question I field much too often.  I’ve come up with a list of reasons that I rattle off.   We’re relatively new homeschoolers, having just completed our first year.  I suppose I have the need to defend our choice, although the longer I homeschool I’m surprised the answer isn’t obvious.

 More relevant “Why did you choose public school?”  What research did you do.  Do the statistics impress you? 

A National Center for Education Statistics, or NCES, report using data from the 2005-06 School Survey on Crime and Safety arrived at several disturbing conclusions:

• Students ages 12–18 were victims of about 1.5 million non-fatal crimes at school, including thefts and violent crimes.
• Six percent of students reported they had carried a weapon on school property during the previous 30 days.
• Ten percent of male students in grades 9–12 reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property in the past year, compared to 6 percent of female students.
• There were 14 homicides and 3 suicides of school-age youth (ages 5–1 at school.
• Twenty-four percent of students ages 12–18 reported that there were gangs at their schools.

I know for me, I sent my kids to school because it was expected.  It was what everyone DID.  Homeschooling was something those churchy people did - it wasn’t really a consideration for me.  Besides I’d never have the patience or time to do it myself. 

My family is my first priority.  And yes, I want to protect my kids.   I’m sure it’s everyone’s - I’d just be happier if I had made an educated choice to begin with.   I wonder how many other areas of life we just do…because it is done….and it worked fine.  Or did it?

Some other things to read:   Bug Off!   Kamp Krusty