Response to Letter to the Editor

This letter was sent to a writer for Meridian Magazine, an LDS ezine.

I wondered what you think will happen to your daughter as you home school her? I have thought about home schooling my children but the ones that I have seen home schooled turn out either socially inept or really needy. I wonder how to home school without all of the negative impact.
I see the condition of the schools today and they are nasty! I would like my children to have the comfort of being surrounded by the gospel but the support system is just not here with the home schooling. I wonder if this is a topic that you would approach. I am interested in hearing how others deal with this situation, and keep their children happy and well adjusted. (I also worry about my children being "dumb" if I cannot teach them something right. Where is the support for this?) Thank you so much. Jaime in Canada

I offer my reply below.

I think Jaime is right to be concerned about the social outcomes of homeschooling. A child who can't communicate and relate to a variety of people will not make an effective leader, employee or missionary. But I do not think it follows that the best option then is public school. After all there are socially inept kids there too, along with a lot of other stuff. The best option in my opinion is to be proactive as a parent. You have identified a concern so now you can address it. You want your child to function well socially, so what does that include? Relating to peers, relating to a variety of people regardless of age, race, religion or background. Perhaps you want them to be able to speak effectively and persuasively and not be intimidated by others. If these are the things that you are looking for in a socially well adjust person then as a homeschooling parent you can provide the oppurtunities for your child to develop them.

For instance your child may take classes in the community, privately or at the local college. For awhile my parents let all of the teenagers in our family, and there were up to four at a time, have a party once a month at our house. They could supervise and meet our friends while making it more inviting for peers to feel welcome at our house. Your child may join a club or apprentice for something that they have an interest in and will help them to make relationships with a variety of people. In high school I apprenticed with a 60 year old horse trainer and two living together interns from Austria, and worked with migrant workers from Mexico and a very moody cowboy/boss. None of these people had much in common with me except we liked working with horses, but I learned to relate to them and enjoy their company while gently letting them know where my line was. In highschool I also went to seminary Monday through Friday, church dances on Saturday and church on Sunday, so I still saw friends and people my age every day. There are ways to provide the social experiences that your child needs to be well adjusted. And if you really want your child to have other homeschooled friends to share experiences with, you could always start asking around to see if anyone else is interested. You will probably be surprised by how many people are thinking about it. I recently moved to a ward with no other homeschoolers, so I decided this summer I would teach a beginner's homeschooling class for four weeks. The first class had one person, the second had three, the third had six and I am expecting the same to the fourth and final class, all of which have said they are going to homeschool now that they know what to do. If you lead, others will follow and you soon won't be alone in the venture.

Thoughts from a homeschooling mother of four and homeschool graduate,

Background Music

I don't know anything that can develop an atmosphere like music. My husband makes amateur films as a hobby. He is currently writing the music on his computer to the film he is working on, and what a difference it makes. With the music he can decide if he wants the audience to take the scene in a light hearted way or if it is to be taken very seriously. In fact filmakers can create almost any type of mood they would like. That music is a powerful factor in putting the film together.

So, if music is so powerful in influencing the mood, atmosphere and actions of those in and watching a film, which is after all not real, isn't it even more important in influencing the lives of those that we do interact with?

I am not musical, but I like music. I have a lot of fun seeking after music that is lovely and of good report. In a way, I am, with my husband, the producer and director of our home and I get to select the music that will create the right effect. Do I want quiet, gentle music that will give us a feeling of peace? I may then play Inspired Holidays, which is original compositions for a piano and cane whistle. You can hear excerpts here, http://www.alyoung.com/sbmusic.htm. Do I want an atmosphere of excitement and energy to help me clean? In that case I may turn on Nothing But Love by the Wilkinsons. Do I want beautiful singing to just enjoy the trill of the voice? Then I turn on Lisa Arlington who sings wonderful religious music in a celtic style. I have been known to even play Christmas Carols in May if that is the mood I want in my home at the moment. I like variety, lots of variety. So in my collection you will find many classical composers, some celtic, jazz, hymns, operas, musicals, religious, folk songs and many children's collections. There is not much popular music however, mostly because I can find few artists that have a complete album of uplifting music. I wish there were more that would only sing songs about people who were kind, did nice things and were devoted to each other or to a good cause. Country music often has some very good songs that tell touching stories about how one life affects another, and I wish I could get a collection of just these. I occasionally listen to the radio in the car and I often try the country music stations as I do really like the devotion and sense of caring that goes into some of the songs, but I usually have to turn it off very quickly, because the songs I like so much are, unfortunately, a minority.

But it wouldn't be much of a quest if the good music was so easy to find. Now when I find one of those good CD's I snatch it up and treasure it. I think it is like so many other things, by having the bad, the evil, the flawed we can treasure the good, the right and the whole that much more. Then as we take those treasures and play them over and over in our homes they become part of the background music of our families and if carefully selected can help create the sense of joy and peace that we want our families to associate with home.

Starter Business

My older two kids wanted to earn some money this summer, so they decided to save their allowance of $.50 a week until they had $6 then they bought sodas which they took to The Western Festival Parade which goes in front of my in-laws house and they held up a sign and sold the sodas for a dollar, we walked down the one street and then back up again with half a dozen cousins and they made $30, pretty good investment for a 6 and 7 year old.

They made a deal that they would buy Aubrey something she wanted and then save a little more and buy Kamron something he wanted. Aubrey got a large My Little Pony with a bunch of hair accessories and then after they saved a little more they got Kamron a Viking Lego set.

Great Grandpa's Birthday

I finally downloaded the pictues from Great Grandpa's Birthday which was a barn dance in my sister-in-laws barn, two months ago. We also watched a film my husband put together of Grandpa's life. What you don't see is the pregnant mare that was due that day. She didn't seem to mind the music though.
After awhile even all the mommy's, aunt's and Grandma's danced, only a couple of the men ever did get out there, but they enjoyed watching. Aubrey absolutely loves these dances, she likes to be where everyone can see her and really wants to have the best moves=). Brennen got really into it too, but all of the pictures of him just look like he is running around in circles, which he was. Kamron and his boy cousins were playing in the fields and were not inclined to come into the barn except to eat. The two singing are my brother- and sister-in-laws. They are each in a band, one plays all orignal works while the other plays well known songs and they rarely sing together, but they did a couple of songs for the audience of mostly family.

Adorable

One thing that is great about having a large family is that we get to watch the adorableness of a variety of little children with a variety of personalities. They are all so precious. I have intended for a long time to write down all of those cute things they say, but I must admit that I don't as often as I should. So I thought I would take a minute and write down a few.

Brennen, 2yos, came into the office yesterday and went to climb on the handles of the treadmill and said, "Look at me, I'm on the banana bars." Then he paused a minute and looked thoughtful and said, "I mean, monkey bars."

We went visiting at the primary president's house, who was unaware that we homeschool year round. She asked Kamron, 7yos, "So how is your summer vacation going?" He looked at her with a very confused expression. "Am I having a summer vacation? I did not know that's what this was." That would be a long visit indeed!

Aubrey, 6yod, said this morning, "Mom, do you think it will be bothersome when I grow up and am ready to get married?"
"No," I answerered, "I think it will be all right. "
"I think it will be bothersome, " she said. "There will be so many boys who want to marry me, and I just don't know who I will pick. I will have to do eeny-meeny-miney-moe or something."

6-30-06 Aubrey played like she was riding in a carriage today. She pulled a child sized bench into the family room with her stick horses where she convinced Brennen to be the driver and she sat back and relaxed. When it came time for the kids to clean up she started grunting and looking like she was going to complain that it was too heavy, so I told her not to complain because I knew she could move the bench as she had moved it in. She said, "I used play muscles to bring it in, but when I clean up the rooms I'm in charge of I use different muscles and they're not as strong."

7-4-06 We were getting ready to leave Nanny's and Pappa's after fireworks when Nanny offered Brennen a strawberry. I told him he could take one and she put the bowl in front of him. He reached in and took out one saying, "one strawberry." He then very carefully laid it next to him on the table and then reached in again and took another saying, "one strawberry." Then another, "one strawberry." After doing this a couple more times he looked up and said with another strawberry in his hand, "I have one strawberry."

7-7-06 My pregnant sister-in-law was over and Brennen began to rough house. She stopped him and said, "Don't jump on me because I have a baby in here." He stopped and almost reverently touched her belly and looked up and said, "Is it a baby dinosuar?"

7-15-06 Aubrey had some friends over today and the older sister caught a fly in a cup. Aubrey said if she was going to keep it as a pet she needed to put air holes in the plastic wrap. The girl said she didn't want it to live, and Aubrey replied, "Good then we can dissect it, after it dies, and see what's on the inside." That's Aubrey our bug and guts queen.

7-21-06 I was just talking to Brennen and he goes, "I love my person Daddy." Then after a few minutes he says, "when I get bigger and bigger I will be a Daddy. I love my beautiful Daddy."

My Weekend Projects

Last weekend my sister-in-law took my older two children for three days. Without school to do I took the oppurtunity to work on my house. I started by going to the new IKEA in Sacramento. The two younger boys and I spent three hours there looking at ideas, we finally got some new pillows for our couch, curtains for our bedroom and a few decorating items.

I then stopped by WalMart and bought cheap curtain rods and some plain muslin for $1 a yard. I love the off-white color of muslin and had been contemplating making valances for our back windows with it. I came home and spent the rest of the day sewing. I made three valances and then made a fall colored striped curtain for our brown office room. I rearranged a couple of the other curtains and then put them all up. I then reorganized and decorated the bookcases, instead of having them just be a complete mass of books I took some out and laid some books horizontally. Then I took a table cloth with an off-white background and put it on the table and covered it with vinyl so that I could wash it. I liked the look very much. It does not feel like a completed project, but it makes it feel more like my home.

A Coordinated House or My House

I used to imagine that the reason my home was not beautiful was I just did not have enough money. If I was ever rich enough I would just buy one of those matching room sets with the decorations all chosen to coordinate with it. Then it would be beautiful.

But there has been something slowly working in me to change my mind. First of all I can't actually imagine myself living in one of those houses with everything picked out and coordinated by someone else. It simply does not express me. Plus those decorater model homes have no actual stuff in them and with 6 people in our house, we have stuff.

I live in a newer area where everyone is moving into new homes with bare white walls. As I go visiting I get to see what these women have done with their beautiful homes. Some of the women have bought all coordinated matching everythings, but in some ways they are simply not as fun to look at. And they give fewer clues as to who the occupants really are. It is the slightly imperfect paint jobs and carefully chosen pictures of the families that are more expressive of the family who lives there. It also says we have created this home. In a way a home is a blank canvas that each family gets to take and make into a painting. It is worth a little work to make it beautiful and to make it yours.

I was talking to a new sister that moved into our ward and she mentioned she had painted one of her rooms green and every time she walked into it, it made her smile. That is exactly what should happen. Your whole house should make you smile. I have a light green laundry room and it does make me smile.

I am beginning to realize that a home is not a showplace, nor is it place to come and dump your stuff, but it is a place that should express the people who live there and invite them to come and enjoy being there. I have a long way to go but I have started.

Look Who Got Buzzes!


Before the Buzz

The Irresistability of a Really Good Book

My children wanted to do our read aloud outside this evening. So we went on the patio and I began reading "Peter Pan." I read about how the mermaids would play with the bubbles, but when the children would come they would all disappear, but they would secretly watch. Pretty soon I hear over the fence our 11 year old neighbor boy say, "Is that Peter Pan?" "Yes," I say, "Would you like to come listen?" "I've been listening from here," he says. So I go on and read about Wendy's rule that all the boys must take a nap after they eat and they are all settled on marooners rock when an eery darkness begins to spread of the lagoon. "Oh, it must be Hook!" and the neighbor is now perched on top of the fence. We go on to the fight and Peter is wounded and can't fly nor swim and is left with Wendy on the rock and the tide is coming in. "Oh...but they can't really drown. They don't drown. Do they?" And the boy is now over the fence. There is a kite, Peter fastens Wendy to it and it carries her away. Peter looks out bravely and says 'to die will be an awfully big adventure.' The chapter ends and the neighbor boy is beside us. I smile and ask, "Do you guys want another chapter?" "Well, if you want to," says the boy and so there is a devoted neverbird, a mother sitting on her nest that has fallen out of the tree and is now bobbing up and down in the gentley lapping waters of the lagoon...

The Back Then's

My daughter has the cutest way of relating to history. She calls it the back thens. We have been reading "Little House On The Praire." Pa has just built Ma a little rocking chair and they have a small formal celebration when he presents it to her.

My neighbor had a garage sale last week and was selling a glider which I bought. I brough it home and my daughter was so excited. She said, "Oh Mom, put it right here and then you can read to us and we will sit around you and it will be just like we are in the back thens!"

We did read and it did feel a little like the back thens, full of delicious memories.

A Religious Educational Study

Mosiah 23:14
And also trust no one to be your teacher nor your minister, except he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments.

“Any man who will question the divinity of the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ, or will deny the so-called miracles of the scriptures is unfit to be a teacher of Latter-day Saint children.” (Improvement Era Vol. 21, p. 104)
-Joseph F. Smith

So who is supposed to teach our children?

“There is no knowledge, no learning that can compensate the individual for the loss of his belief in heaven and in the saving principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. An education that leads a man from these central truths cannot compensate him for the great loss of spiritual things.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:321-322.)
-Joseph Feilding Smith
“But some Latter-day Saints are so liberal and unsuspecting that they would just as soon send their children to Mr. Pierce down here as to anybody else. I would not do it. However good a man Mr. Pierce may be, he should not teach one of my children as long as I had wisdom and intelligence to teach him myself, or could find a man of my own faith to do it for me.” (Journal of Discourses 14:287-288)
-Joseph F. Smith

Doctrine and Covenants 93:39-40, 42
And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers. But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth... You have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments; and that wicked one hath power, as yet, over you, and this is the cause of your affliction.

Does Satan use the common educational system to take away light and truth? Are there any afflictions associated with what is being taught in the public schools?

Henry B. Eyring
“The world in which our students choose spiritual life or death is changing rapidly. When their older brothers and sisters return to visit the same schools and campuses they attended, they find a radically different moral climate. The language in the hallways and the locker rooms has coarsened. Clothing is less modest. Pornography has moved into the open. Tolerance for wickedness has not only increased, but much of what was called wrong is no longer condemned at all and may, even by our students, be admired. Parents and administrators have in many cases bent to the pressures coming from a shifting world to retreat from moral standards once widely accepted. The spiritual strength sufficient for our youth to stand firm just a few years ago will soon not be enough. Many of them are remarkable in their spiritual maturity and in their faith. But even the best of them are sorely tested. And the testing will become more severe.” ("We Must Raise Our Sights," CES Address, August 14, 2001)


“Shall we employ teachers that will turn the infant minds of our children away from the principles of the gospel and perhaps lead them to darkness and death? ...I would like to know if a Methodist would send his children to a Roman Catholic School, or vice versa? I think not. Do either send their children to "Mormon" schools, or employ "Mormon" teachers? I think not. Do we object to it? No, we do not; we accord to all classes their rights, and we claim rights equal with them. Well, shall we, after going to the ends of the earth to gather people to Zion, in order that they may learn more perfectly of His ways and walk in His paths, shall we then allow our children to be at the mercy of those who would lead them down to death again? God forbid! Let our teachers be men of God, men of honor and integrity, and let us afford our children such learning as will place our community in the front ranks in educational as well as religious matters. But would we interfere with other religious denominations? No. Prevent them from sending their children where and to whom they please? No. Or from shipping where they please? No. I would not put a hair in their way, nor interfere with them in any possible way; they can take their course, and we want the same privilege.” (Journal of Discourses 19:249-250)
John Taylor

D&C 55-4 And again you shall be ordained to assist my servant Oliver Cowdery to do the work of printing, and of selecting and writing books for schools in this church, that little children may also receive instruction before me as is pleasing unto me.

“We had to pay our own schoolteachers, raise our own bread and earn our own clothing, or go without; there was no other choice. We did it then, and we are able to do the same to-day. I want to enlist the sympathies of the ladies among the Latter-day Saints, to see what we can do for ourselves with regard to schooling our children. Do not say you cannot school them, for you can... I understand that the other night there was a school meeting in one of the wards of this city, and a part there--a poor miserable apostate--said, "We want a free school, and we want to have the name of establishing the first free school in Utah." To call a person a poor miserable apostate may seem like a harsh word; but what shall we call a man who talks about free schools and who would have all the people taxed to support them, and yet would take his rifle and threaten to shoot the man who had the collection of the ordinary light taxes levied in this Territory--taxes which are lighter than any levied in any other portion of the country?” (Journal of Discourses 16:19-20) Brigham Young
“I can say that it is good and wise and judicious in parents to instruct their children in the way. If they wish the word of the Lord upon the subject, I will give it to you and you may, any of you, write it down if you please. It is the will of the Lord our God that we teach our children the way of righteousness from the Holy Scriptures and there is no better method than for mothers to teach them at home, and in the Sunday Schools.” (The Teachings of President Brigham Young, Vol. 3)
So what other reasons are there to seek alternative routes to the popular mainstream method of education?

To give them the education that the parent (and child) think is the best and most beneficial to the child.
To protect them from evil and just inappropriate things in the public school curriculum.
“We urge families to protect their children in every way possible. We live in a permissive world, but we must make certain that we do not become part of that permissive world... The home is the teaching situation." (Ensign, Nov. 1974, p. 7) Spencer W. Kimball
To reclaim the time with the child.
To provide them with a more well rounded social environment.
To be the primary influence on shaping their character.
To keep the family unit in tack.
To keep the child safe.
“In many places it is literally not safe physically for youngsters to go to school. And in many schools - and it's becoming almost generally true - it is spiritually unsafe to attend public schools. Look back over the history of education to the turn of the century and the beginning of the educational philosophies, pragmatism and humanism were the early ones, and they branched out into a number of other philosophies which have led us now into a circumstance where our schools are producing the problems that we face.” (Charge to the David O. McKay School of Education at BYU, October 9, 1996) Boyd K. Packer
More flexible lifestyle and schedules.
To keep the child safe.
For health reasons.
To provide a more sound spiritual education
To Teach them truth
“This is one of the great obstacles in the way of the education of our children: the books which are in our schools, and from which our children are taught, contain theories that are unsound; they are based upon false premises that lead to wrong conclusions; and it requires the utmost care on the part of parents and teachers to prevent bad effects following education based upon such textbooks... It is a difficult thing, in the midst of...false doctrines and theories which come to us and our children in the guise of science, to prevent the spirit of unbelief from influencing us.” (Gospel Truth, p. 245) Joseph Feilding Smith

So why do we educate children at all?
To develop character, right thoughts and right actions
“Character is the aim of true education; and science, history, and literature are but means used to accomplish the desired end. Character is not the result of chance work but of continuous right thinking and right acting. . . . True education seeks, then to make men and women not only good mathematicians, proficient linguists, profound scientists, or brilliant literary lights, but also honest men, combined with virtue, temperance, and brotherly love -- men and women who prize truth, justice, wisdom, benevolence, and self-control as the choicest acquisitions of a successful life. . . . It is regrettable, not to say deplorable, that modern education so little emphasizes these fundamental elements of true character. The principal aim of many of our schools and colleges seems to be to give the students purely intellectual attainments and to give but passing regard to the nobler and more necessary development along moral lines.” (Gospel Ideals p. 440-441)David O. Mckay
To give them job skills
To make them more interesting to talk to and have more things that they can relate to during life
To help them understand other times, cultures and peoples so that they can build connections and understand similarities and differences
To understand the facts of situations and not be mislead by made up facts, for instance many people believe that education is part of the constitution or at least one of the amendments but as Ezra Taft Benson says “There is absolutely nothing in the Constitution which authorizes the federal government to enter into the field of education. Furthermore, the Tenth Amendment says: "The powers not delegated to the United States Government are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Nothing could be more clear. It is unconstitutional for the federal government to exercise any powers over education.” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 298.) I would say that most Americans have not read the constitution and because of that and in my opinion their lack of logic studies they are persuaded to believe the constitution says things that it does not.
To help them to be able to think so that they will not be swayed be popular opinion
To be able to express themselves and persuade others to the right
It is a commandment from God

My Background as it Pertains to Education

I come from a large family of ten with various foster children thrown in from time to time. I attended a public kindergarten in Orangevale, but my mother was displeased with the school and so pulled me and my 3 older siblings out to homeschool when I was in first grade. In second a new school opened in the area and they came to my mom and asked her to be PTA president. She accepted and enrolled us in this school. I still remember her being there almost daily with my youngest brother at the time in tow.

The next year we moved to Wilton and we attended a little country school. I was very shy as a child and so mostly played with my younger sister until they split our recesses, I remember how hard that was on me, but I made a few other friends. In sixth grade I tested at the 99th percentile in what was then the CTBS test, but around the same time I tested for GATE and found that I was not smart enough to get in. I thought about this and began to suspect that perhaps testing did not really tell how smart or not a person was.

For seventh grade I had to be bused in to Elk Grove one hour and fifteen minutes each way. I can honestly say that is the closest I have ever come to feeling what the cruelest torture must be like. As I said I was very shy and all the friends I had had were placed on different tracks and I wore glasses and children of that age when too little watched and directed can be very cruel. But I got all A’s and rejoiced in the days when I was picked up. I can remember one time accidentally missing the bus, and the feeling of relief that swept through me. I was sorely tempted to miss it more, but I knew it was very inconvenient for my mother to come all the way to town and get me. In eighth grade a teacher I had liked very well came up to me in the hall and said she had been talking to the other teachers and found that I was starting to be very disruptive and a trouble maker. For the life of me I could not think of a single instance that she could be referring to. That is when I realized that the teachers must gossip just as much as the students and my respect for the profession lowered dramatically. I no longer viewed them as people who had my best interest in mind, but for the most part just people with a job. The highlight of that year was a PE class where we studied self defense for six weeks, as the final we were all to walk down an ally with the other children lined up on each side and one of the boys would spring out and attack us and we were to defend ourselves. The boy secretly chosen to attack me was one who had earlier in the year pinched my behind and I had turned around and slapped. He sprang out at me rather violently and nearly ripped my shirt off exposing me to most of the class. I could not defend myself well and I remember looking up at the teacher and instead of protecting me he was standing there taking notes.

I had a foster sister move in with us at that time who was my age and very popular. We did not get along at first but after being stuck an entire summer in the country together with no way to go anywhere we became very good friends. That summer also I met a boy at EFY who had a great many friends from the Elk Grove wards-they were mostly boys, the Wilton ward was mostly girls, because of this and because of my connection to my foster sister I found myself suddenly popular. Because of seminary I no longer rode the bus in the morning. I was in honors classes receiving straight A’s going to numerous parties and dances and in general having a very different time than the previous two years. I went to Elk Grove High which was reported to be the best high school in the area. It is still a selling point with Realtors to say that a house is in the Elk Grove district. Yet I can remember thinking that if this was there best I’d hate to see their worst. During that year the art department decided to paint a mural on the wall of the American flag being burned. This set the cowboys in an uproar and fights broke out. I can remember one girls head getting smashed into a locker, knocking her unconscious. I took ag classes where the cowboys were. But ag was also one of the places to buy drugs. I can remember the teacher would be attempting a lecture and a backpack would fly through the air to another student, that student would take out a bag of white powder put some money in and the backpack would fly back across the room. I can remember thinking that there was no way that teacher could have missed that. But of course nothing was ever done.

I have never cussed in my life, but because I constantly was hearing these words they would be the first that would come to my mind when anything happened. I began to tire of the popularity thing and the who is going out with who and the gossiping and in some cases the guess who got pregnant, …well he’s not going on a mission. At this time my older sister asked to homeschool her last year of high school. Before then I had not thought of it. My friends convinced me to go high school again for tenth grade, but I began to get more and more irritated. and finally in October I decided to be homeschooled.

When I went around to each of my teachers to have them sign the final paperwork, my two honors teachers both told me it was wonderful that I would be homeschooled and I would learn so much more. My PE teacher told me that homeschooling was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard of and it was a terrible thing that my parents were doing to me. The others were indifferent or merely looked annoyed. I was not prepared for the reaction I got in the office. I asked at the counter for the necessary signatures the principal must have overheard why because he came out of his office screaming. He grabbed the paper and actually yelled at me I can’t remember everything he said, but I do remember him saying that if I left I would never be able to come back. I knew that to be a complete lie and I remember thinking how silly it was that this man who did not know me and had never spoken to me before should be so upset about my educational choices. I felt that the only thing he could truly be concerned about was the money he would miss. I was perfectly calm though as I again asked for the signatures. He angrily signed and I left.

A new chapter opened up to me and I felt very excited. My mother also took my three younger brothers out of that little elementary school that I had gone to. The one in sixth grade had really been having trouble with pornography that was being passed around. He did not want to look at it, but it was so openly displayed by his friends that he had gone to my mother crying and asking for help.

She enrolled us all in a charter school and had so much fun ordering the supplies. I can remember how excited she was when she got some very good colored pencils for me. I did not understand the difference, but she was an artist and knew. I had passed her in every subject except art and grammar (I’d never had any of the latter) already, but this was no great difficulty as she could learn and I could self teach--except in math. I got stuck there; in Algebra 2. Later I just took it in college, and I actually went on to take trig for the fun of it.

My mother had decided to follow the scope and sequence of the public school so I just took those subjects with the addition of psychology and sociology and art. A friend and I took biology together. We followed a textbook and did a science lab kit dissecting squid, fish, mice and cow eyeballs on her kitchen table. Gross, but fascinating. I also began apprenticing for a local horse trainer and learned to break horses. I helped build a log cabin and milk goats of another homeschooling friend. I went to an LDS coop with about 25 kids where we did projects, herbal tea parties, recitals and put on plays.

I babysat a lot at this time also. I occasionally watched two little boys ages two and three and their behavior and the stuff they knew so shocked me that I knew that I could never send my future children to school with other children who knew and discussed these subjects. And so the decision to homeschool my children was made.

When I was a Junior the overseeing teacher came to me and told me that all I needed was an American Government and an Economics class to graduate so I finished both classes in the remaining two months and graduated on my 17th birthday.

I immediately went to the local college where I attended institute also. By this time I had pretty much figured out how to read most teachers and easily got an A in most classes. I remember the semester I was engaged everyone told me to forget taking classes as I would be so distracted I wouldn’t do well. So I took a full load and was determined to do well in everything. I took an economics class that semester from a teacher who spoke very broken English, it was very hard to understand him, but he had this way of emphasizing what would be on his tests so I memorized those things and got the third highest marks of all of his students. When some econ majors asked me to help them understand it I had to honestly admit that I did not really understand it at all, but I just memorized the answers for the tests. I decided then that the testing and grading thing was really pointless and would not do it to my own children if I could avoid it.

After my first son was born I began studying educational theory. I spent the next five years doing so. I can honestly say I learned more at this time than all of college. I also spent that time refining my goals for my children and researching supplies and resources. This has been a continuing process.

I now have 4 children and will be going into our fourth official homeschooling year, and I love it. But the adventures with my children would make this extremely long so I will have to write about them later.

Alternative Schooling in Yuba County

So what are the legal requirements to homeschool in the state of Ca?

In all cases the list of subjects that must be taught are for 1-6 grades English, Math, Social Science, Science, visual and performing arts, physical education and health. For grades 7-12 the above are required along with foreign language, drivers education, applied arts and vocational education offered. Students in grade 7-8 must take one semester of parenting, health and self esteem studies.
Also children between the ages of 6 and 16 must attend school.
There are four options
1. File an R-4 online, http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/rq/ between October 1st and 15th.
When you file and R-4, you are in essence becoming a private school. The requirements are that you keep a copy of all students immunization records, a list of staff with a statement of what makes them ”capable of teaching” and attendance and that you offer education in the core subjects with a list of courses. If your child has been in another school you are also supposed to send a letter requesting the child’s cumulative records, you are not responsible for getting it though as often they are not actually sent. If you are going to teach students who are not your own children you also need a tuberculosis certificate and a criminal record summary for each teacher. You can also obtain a print copy of the R-4 and send it in to the state, not the local district anymore. Students in private schools do not need to take state test and can be issued a diploma on completion of the schools requirements a list of which must be kept.
2. Homeschool through a private cover school. Some can be found at http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/CaliforniaCovers.htm
These school let you be part of a private school but all of the instruction is done at home. They keep the records and issue the diploma. Each school is run a little differently some do not do much more than that while others provide online or mail in classes, available teachers for questions, support staff, service for special needs children, curriculum development for specific children or help with selecting a course of study.
3. Join a charter school offering an independent or Homeschooling option. They keep the records, provide services and funding. For a list go here http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/CaliforniaCharterList.htm.
4. Homeschool under the tutor option. To do this the primary teacher must have a Ca teaching credential and must provide tutoring in the required subjects between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays, 175 days a year. No notification is necessary.

So what possibilities are there for alternative ways of educating our children?

As we look at the options of how to school our children, may I suggest that we filter them through the words of the prophets and the only method that should be used is one that leaves the content and the method of instruction up to the parents. It is not the place of the government.

Any system, therefore, which forcibly takes from the parents the power to control what their children are taught, and who teaches them, is contrary to the Lord's plan. It deprives parents of their most sacred stewardship and takes the child away from those who are most deeply concerned with his welfare. No state employee whose purpose in teaching is to get gain can be expected to serve the interests of the child as well as the parents who render their service without compensation. More especially this is true when the teacher is prohibited by law from instilling faith in the child... Since state-financed education is one of the principle doctrines of communism, those who accept it have adopted much of the socialist program... It is a widely recognized fact that public schools and universities are the foremost advocates of socialism because they teach it both in theory and in practice. (The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil, p. 135-136.) H. Verlan Andersen
The Lord holds parents personally accountable for the teaching of their children and if they fail to discharge this duty properly, the sins of the children rest upon the parents (D&C 68:25, 2 Nephi 4:4-6). If parents are to be held accountable, then they must be given the right to control what is taught to their children and who teaches them. Both of these rights are denied under the typical laws providing for public schools. (The Book of Mormon and the Constitution, p. 185) H. Verlan Andersen

Now with this in mind what forms of education are there?

Charter Schools- Charter schools are set up to provide students and parents more choices in education and are a government run alternative to traditional public schools. There are currently 4 charter school options that cover Yuba county and allow independent study working mostly like this. An Educational Specialist oversees each student visiting with them from once a week to once a month, according to the needs of the students. At these meetings the teacher collects sample work, attendance and records what the student has done. Funds are allotted to the students which can be used to purchase supplies from approved vendors (this is usually a very wide variety of catalogs and locations), and classes can be taken through tutors, private companies, community resources and the schools. State tests must be taken and one is supposed to follow the state standards. Some of the charter schools arrange field trips, have resource centers where supplies can be checked out for as long as they are needed.

Community Resources in Education, Camptonville Academy or CORE http://www.coretca.org/
(530) 478-9458.
922 "G" Street, Marysville
Classes four days out of the week such as recorder, PE, upper level maths, sciences, SAT prep, Western Expansion, Sign Language, Grammar, Yuba and Sutter Parks and Rec classes paid for. Also private tutoring from Sylvan’s or other private tutors who teach music, sewing, horseback riding etc.
Covers Yuba, Sutter, Placer and Nevada Counties.
This school gives funds based on student need, some need more so they get more, some less. Same restrictions in content. A supervisor meets with you every 5 to 20 days based on need.


Twin Ridges Home Study Charter School. www.twinridgeshomestudy.org
530-292-3305
Closest Site is Beale Air Force Base, serving students on and off base they offer Spanish, writing, drama and art. Classes are less expensive than other charters. They set up field trips regularly for students to attend.Offers a computer and many software programs. The centers offer curriculum that can also be checked out, other centers are in Nevada City, Truckee, Auburn.
Teachers meet monthly with students to get their report, usually at the learning site or other public place, can meet at students homes.
Children get $1000 for curriculum, felid trips, enrichment classes, tutors and other lessons.


South Sutter Charter http://www.sscs.cc/
1-800-979-4436
2452 El Centro Blvd.
East Nicolaus, Ca 95659
Pretty laid back,openly address the silliness of the STAR testing. Parent choice very new like how Horizon was ten years ago. Centers in Camp Pollock, and Elk Grove are very specific such as oil painting, colonial life, Shakespeare, Fashion Design, gardening, dessert making, yoga, biology, algebra, career explorations, mountain men of America etc.
Teachers meet every 20 days with students for report.
Covers Sutter, Butte, Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, Yolo, and Yuba counties.
Children get $1600 in funds per year.


Horizon Instructional System www.hiscs.org
2800 Nicolaus Rd., Ste. 100, Lincoln, CA 95648-9660 (800) 338-8003
Learning centers in Auburn, Roseville, Elk Grove, Grass Valley, Placerville, Sacramento and Lincoln. Also has a Lincoln Montessori 5 day a week school. Learning centers have classes from 1 to 5 days a week covering music, art, history, science, history, math, sewing, acting, lego engineering. Tutoring, private classes, field trips are offered. They have science fairs, and music recitals. Warehouse of lending supplies in Lincoln resource center.
Children get $1000 for curriculum and classes, etc.


Other charters are-
Charter Academy of the Arts, http://www.mcaa.mjusd.k12.ca.us/
1919 B Street ● Marysville, CA 95901 ● (530)749-6157
7th through 12th grade site based Charter school that focuses on the arts such as drama, media, art, and music.

High School continuing education for Yuba County, 1917 B Street
Marysville, CA 95901, 530-741-6128

Cooperative Schools-This is when a group of (usually) moms set up classes for there students together. For instance when I was in high school there were five families (about 23 kids) that met together every Fridays we would do a science experiment, a geography lesson and sometimes music or memory recitals, put on plays, do art projects, outdoor games, have a formal tea party, hold graduations and socialize. Other groups do a more formal school where everyone involved studies the same history, science etc and a parent teaches and does projects for the subjects 1 to 5 days a week. Some groups just take field trips once a month together others do once a week park and socializing times.

Tutors-This is the method that the upper-class used up to 150 years ago. A tutor is employed to teach the students the subjects set forth by the parents. Today tutors can come to your house to teach, college students often make good tutors and this works well for areas a parent may not feel comfortable teaching, for instance if your child has reached calculus and you do not feel confident teaching this subject a math major from the local college can be hired to come and help your student. There are also tutoring centers which usually focus on keeping the children at or above the state standards in reading, writing and math. Mentors can also fall under this category.

Cottage or Mom Schools-This is when one mother teaches several students who are not her own children in her home. She may teach just part of the subjects like history and science or she may teach all of the required subjects, in essence becoming a small private school.

Classes-Students may be enrolled in individual classes in the community, in other schools, in college or with private instructors. For instance if a parent does not feel comfortable teaching math then the child may take one of the math classes at the charter school. Or if the child wants to earn dual credit he may take a class at the college. Clubs are also a good resource here, for instance there are debate, mock trial and applied science clubs with annual national and statewide competitions

Online, Video and Computer Schools-These schools can be taken as a complete curriculum or just one class at a time. Some of these are videos of a private school and then the videos are offered or a streaming video online is watched. In some cases the teacher is available for questions, to give and grade assignments and to spend one on one time via instant messenger, email, letters or phone calls to give the student further direction. BYU has a 7th grade and up program where the student either does the work and participates in the discussions online or via mail and then the teacher gives feed back on the work. Liahona Schooling also offers LDS education in this way with every subject taught from an LDS perspective, http://www.liahona-homeschooling.com/. Calvert is a private school with many courses offered via video, and some for 7th and up offered via streaming video. K12 is a computer based school based on the core sequence.

Apprenticeships- These are usually used for vocational training or visual, performing and applied arts. For instance when I was in high school I became an apprentice to a horse trainer and had hands on experience breaking and training horses. If a student has an interest in being an engineer or a businessman one can often find someone who is willing to take the student on as free labor in exchange for training about the field.

And last, but not least Homeschool- All of the above can be used as part of a homeschool, but this can also include direct instruction from the parents, family projects and trips and really whatever the parents and students deem worthy of their time. It is education that originates from the home. Often people view this as the parent directly teaching and lecturing, the students filling in worksheets and taking tests, while this is one method it is only one, but we will get further into all of the ways of teaching children in the next class.

Are We Raising Puppies or People?

I stopped by a garage sale the other day and got looking at some children's items when they asked me if I had kids. Yes, I told them I had four. "You look too young to have four!" Then after asking me if they were boys or girls, the woman smiled and said, "the girl must have been the last one, right?" When I told her the girl was the second, she looked dumb founded. I could see that she honestly couldn't comprehend anyone wanting more children once they had had their boy and girl. She said she would never have another, one was enough.

I can't help, but be concerned at the view point expressed. People talk about having children almost as if they were contemplating acquiring a dog. "It would be so fun!" "They are so cute!" "Maybe we'll have two and then they can play together." And then the same people look at anyone with more than two in the same way they would if someone had a house full of puppies. "That is too much." "They will never get the attention they need." "It must smell." (Okay I've never got the last comment.)

I'm not raising puppies, nor did I have children because they are cute and fun. I am raising children who are gifts from God. I am raising them because that is a big part of my mission to this earth. I will go into why children are so important on another day.

Next time I am pregnant and surrounded by my little children on every side and then get one of those comments from the entrenched in the world type of person, I want to explain this way; If a person you knew managed a small retail chain of four stores and then added another store you would think he was very successful and doing well. It is the same with me, God is giving me a promotion.

Servant or Student?

On an elist I was on one woman wrote in about how she was having such a hard time with her son who would rather play then do school. I know very few young children who prefer the latter and I have been exasperated by it with my son before. But I came upon a solution earlier this year that has worked very well and I offer my reply below.

One thing that is said around here if complaining, inattentiveness or dawdling occur during school time is that they can be a student or a servant. I know that this my not appeal to everyone as it can put chores in a negative light, but it has helped tremendously in putting school in a positive light. The first time their behavior is not what it ought I just ask in the most pleasant manner, "do you want to be a servant or a student?" The answer is always student. But if any negative behavior appears again, they get a chore to do like washing the chairs, cleaning window sills some of the non-assigned seasonal chores. It has removed my emotions from the occurance because it saves me from having to do the chores and is therefore a pleasant and not a negative thing to me, and if they complain at the chore I get two chores done=). It only occurs rarely now which has made school much more pleasant, because the children know that the alternative to school is NOT play time, it is work time.

Supermarket Hugs

We went to the store yesterday. When we were waiting in line Logan, my 1yods, began to get fussy so I took him out of his seat to hold him. He saw Kamron and stretched out his arms to him. Kamron took him and Logan gave him the biggest hug resting his little head on Kamron's shoulder. There was an audible "aahhh," from the people in line behind me. He then went to Aubrey and gave her a hug. He is such a little teddy bear.

It is nice to get positive reactions when I take my children to the store. Four children is not the norm in California. I get so many comments like- wow, you must be busy, you have your hands full, are they all yours?, and even, are you done? I find though that when I feel overwhelmed I get more of them and deal with them less well. But when I am cheerful, talking and playing games with them as we go things go so much better and I can handle the comments more easily. I am more likely to come back with I know, isn't it wonderful? Yep, aren't they beautiful and we have no news at present. After the last one I almost always get, "you want more?" To which I respond with either yes or I repeat that we have no news at present, which politely tells these strangers that it is really none of there business.

About a month ago I went to the store and an older woman smiled and asked if she could help me. I told her that we where alright but we would walk with her if she wanted. She was very pleased and talked about her 5 children, her hobbies and how excited she was to see someone with so many children. She asked me if I could come visit her at her house as her husband couldn't walk and loves children. We also found we both liked to write and discussed that. She gave me her number and then we parted to finish our shopping. When I was in line she came back into the store to find me and ask again if I would come visit her as she really would like it. So about two weeks later I called her and took the baby and did go visit her. She was so happy to see us. Her husband looked very serious at first, but when he saw the baby his entire face lit up and his eyes just sparkled. He showed Logan all of the buttons on his chair and Logan thought it was great. She later invited me to her 92nd birthday party and then began discussing her writing, saying she was old but not done yet and now that she wrote regularly for the newspaper she was going to start writing childrens books next. I said good-bye, glad that I went and a little more at ease with the whole shopping with kids thing.

Understanding Jared

In the book of Ether the brother of Jared was a prophet at the time of the tower of Babel. I've read the book many times and until recently there was one part I never fully understood. Jared obviously believed in and loved God. But whenever there was something important to pray about he would ask his brother to go pray for them. I always wondered why he didn't just pray himself, I mean he obviously had faith that his brothers prayers would be effective.

But through some experiences with my oldest son who is only 7 I have come to realize a few things. I have faith in God, I love Him and am truly grateful for all he has done for me, I trust him to take care of me and my family. But my sons' faith goes deeper and is in a way more pure than mine. He has had many experiences that I have seen and in a way make me want to get him in on the important things I am praying about. He has lost things and prayed, only to have someone be inspired and find it. He has prayed for confidence in certain things and been given it. One time we had a six month old kitten that ran away and was gone a little over a month when one night Kamron knelt down and asked Heavenly Father to bring the cat back tomorrow. He hadn't prayed for a specific time before or quite so directly about the cat. He told Him that he would be very kind and gentle with it, but just please bring him home. We had put up signs weeks earlier and I was pretty much convinced that we would never see the cat again. But Kamron had faith and the next day when he went out to play in the afternoon, there was the cat sitting on our back patio ready to come in. I was amazed and humbled as I was when he was younger and before his Dad left the church. Kamron got very sick and after awhile he asked for a blessing. About an hour later I went in to see how he was doing. When I asked him if he still felt sick, he looked at me with this look on his face that said, 'duh.' And said very seriously, "Mom, when someone gives you a blessing then you are not sick anymore."

That child has faith in a very real God, and while I have faith also, I'm afraid mine is more like Jareds' and my young sons' is like that wonderful, but imperfect brothers'.

Daddy Got a Job!

My husband had been looking for work for a few months as the work he had been doing for his dad had slowed to the point that they couldn't both make a living. He had had many unsuccessful interviews and things were starting to get tight. I was blessed with the oppurtunity to do the contracts for a Real Estate transaction that helped a little, but that money was not going to last much longer. Anyway, Kevin got a call from a recruiter who set up a phone interview for a desktop support job for Johnson and Johnson. After the interview my husband told me about it and asked if we could say a family prayer that he would get it. You have to understand that my husband is not an active member of any church and doesn't know what he believes, but these glimpses of faith reassure me that Paul's council to the wives of non-christian men is not in vain. Anyway, I said a prayer and then my husband said a prayer and then my three older children said faith filled prayers that as my son put it "Daddy will get this job and work hard and do well at it so that it can further our family."

Usually after the phone interview there is a series of interviews as a company narrows down to who they think will best work out for the job. It was Thursday when he had the phone interview so we didn't expect a call to see if he was going to make it to the in person interview until the next week. But the next day they called and said, we want to offer you the job. Just like that, without ever even meeting in person. After my husband called me, I gathered my children around me to offer a prayer of thanks. I was so grateful that we had included our children on that prayer as all of our testimonies of prayer have been strengthened.

Later we had a salesman come into our house, he mentioned that this was a new job for him. And my daughter pipes up with, "My daddy just got a new job too. We just prayed about it and then he got it." I'm so thankful to a loving Heavenly Father who gives us these experiences.

A Birthday and a Smile for Mom

Today was my daughter's birthday. She has a Bitty Baby doll sold by the American Girl company, and so I got several things from their clearance section for the doll. She was completely not expecting it as she knows the things are rather expensive. Anyway she was adorable as she opened her presents with, "Ooooh, look. Ooooh, wow. Mom, I just don't believe it. Thank you."

Later as I was helping her fold all of the little clothes and put them in a straw suitcase for Bitty (okay, I admit I still love dolls), she kept saying that she couldn't believe she had these things from the catalog and then she takes a deep breath and says with her voice full of emotion, "Mom, I think you are almost as nice as, or maybe, even some more nice than ... Kamron." The highest level of compliment this sweet daughter could give was to put me on the same plane with her dear brother. I couldn't help but smile, and when I told my husband I couldn't help feel gratitude for that beautiful relationship.

Dinner

My husband has recently gotten a new job working on the computers in one of the Johnson and Johnson facilities. This allows him to have a regular schedule and to be home a little after six each day. It has been a long time since we have been able to eat dinner together consistently. I have been making menu plans and serving full meals to my family. I am not the best cook, but I am improving. I can now cook a dozen or so dinners that are pretty good. First I make sure there are at least three different items and four is better. I always serve a vegetable and a grain product sometimes a meat and just as often fruit. I make sure that the food served is of varying colors. Picture Alfredo pasta with rolls and corn, compared to Alfredo pasta with bacon bits and parsley, rolls with strawberry jam and peas. I am glad that God made vegetables in such beautiful colors, with so much of the other food in the brown to yellow range it is so nice to throw in greens, oranges and reds.

So what is for dinner tonight? Green salad, tamales and rice pilaf.

Socializing

I took my son in to get his ears checked after he had complained that he couldn't hear very well. After telling me that children don't mention when they can't hear, they just start turning the TV up louder and things like that, the doctor asked me what his teacher thought of the situation. I informed him that this child had mentioned it and he was homeschooled so I was his teacher. His response was why? I told him because I wanted to. After he asked why again I said because I thought the public schools were not a good learning environment. He said, "Well yes, but we encourage it so that your children will learn to socialize so that they will learn street smarts."

There were so many things wrong with that statement I don't know where to begin. First of all that he thought that it even mattered what his "we" think. He was meeting my child for the first time and yet he thought he knew enough about him to set his whole course of childhood. Next that he could admit that the schools were not good learning environments and just dismiss it out of hand. And then the whole socialization thing, which we all know is a very weak argument. Children learn to make friends based on age and popularity, which are not very worthy requirements as far as friendship is concerned. And far as street smarts, I can only assume he means things like how to deal with bullies, name calling, being picked last, how to defend oneself, get in someones face, make fun of people and the like. No thanks I'll take the other kind of socialization.

The problem is that most people have forgotten that there is another kind. Let me describe it to you. We go to co-op on Fridays, it is at a Bible Church which is on about 20 acres, so there is lots of room for the kids who are not in classes to play. Aubrey takes an art class and Kamron plays outside with other children that range in age from 2 to 13, a game of knights is going on. Kamron has brought along his wooden sword and sheild and is at the center of the battle. There is a big hill and a large rock and the kids are defending the rock and some take prisoners up to the rock. As the little ones go up an older boy leans down and takes their hands so they won't fall. The sword play gets more energetic and Kamron's wooden sword gets broken. He is obviously distressed. One of the older boys comes over and tells him that he has wood working equipment at home and will make him another sword and bring it next week-even though he was not involved in breaking it. The children break up into different groups some to play hacky sack and others to run races. The younger children who want to play hacky sack are given a try, the older children smile at their attempts but don't tell them to go away. Aubrey and another girl come out of the art class they help the teacher carry supplies and are busy talking with her. Brennen is running around me pretending to be a wolf and the other mothers all smile at him which only encourages his antics.

In this type of socialization there is acceptance and encouragement for everyone. The children only see each other for a couple hours once a week so the family bonds are still stronger then the friendship ones. Adults are always present to nip anything inappropriate in the bud and this keeps the activities pleasent. There is no age segregation in fact many of the kids play with the adults just as enthusiastically as the children. Many of the parents climb the big rock or go down the slide and seem to geniunely enjoy being with their children.

I'll take this kind of socialization over lessons in street smarts any day.

Don't Feel Qualified to Teach History?

Some homeschooling mothers don't feel qualified to teach various subjects, and some use this as an excuse to send their kids to public school. So let's look at this as it relates to history. Are the public school teachers better qualified?

Well, the short answer is, not likely. They may be licensed to teach history, but are not required to take classes in the topics they teach. For instance a 7th grade US history teacher may fulfill licensing requirements by taking social studies classes, or women and minority in history classes, but do not need to actually take any US history courses. But surely these teachers who teach US history study it on their own. Maybe some, maybe not. For instance when bogus US history material made its way into the public school curriculum stating, that Muslims came to America in 889 and then intermarried with natives, none of the 1200 teachers in 155 cities questioned it. Or when teachers went to a Muslim education conference lesson plans were quickly created with multiple errors, such as the Koran includes the Old and New Testament. Of course when these poor student are tested on the material they would flunk if they did answer "correctly."

Textbook writers have an agenda. They can present facts or even falsified statements in such a sequence that lead children to believe whatever they have set them up to believe. Students in government controlled schools no longer take logic and so they do not even have the tools to question these arguments or understand the fallacies presented. The textbooks are full or errors, this is not news to most people. But why? Well the textbooks are a jumble of political correctness and special interest group agendas-they are not books about what actually happened in our history. Of the 533 errors found by the Texas texbook reviewers 351 were admitted to be errors and the other 30% were "misunderstood." The misunderstood facts were not fixed. So tell me if a text is misunderstood by an adult how is your 8 year old going to come to the correct meaning. Do we care? Perhaps it is just okay with most people that their children are going to grow up with a completely inacurrate understanding of what happened in our past. They will go on to form their opinions and cast their votes based on what they have been taught. If the premise is wrong and you build upon it then the conclusion will ultimately be wrong, children do not understand this, but their parents should.

So what do I suggest? Teach your own children history yourself. Preview materials, use primary sources and stay far away from any texts approved by the government schools. You are just as qualified to teach history as someone who has a license and probably more so, because you care about your children and you are not limited in what you can use to teach.

For more information see http://www.washtimes.com/specialreport/20040328-125027-5592r.htm and http://www.educationnews.org/Commentaries/
What_Happens_When_History_Teachers_No_Longer_
Understand_the_Founding.htm

Pressure to Remove all References to Mom and Dad From Classrooms

'Mom,' 'dad' to be axed from school textbooks?March 9, 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

A traditional-values organization in California is warning the state's residents that a bill pending in the Legislature, if approved, could remove all references to gender in public schools - threatening even references to "mom" or "dad" in textbooks. If the bill, SB 1437, were to become law, warns the Capitol ResourceInstitute, "it could potentially require gender-neutral bathrooms in our schools and all references to 'husband' and 'wife' or 'mom and dad' removed from school textbooks as the norm." Sponsored by Democratic Sen. Sheila Kuehl - a lesbian actress best known forplaying Zelda in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" in the '60s - the legislationwould add "gender" (actual or perceived) and "sexual orientation" to the law thatprohibits California public schools from having textbooks, teaching materials, instruction or"school-sponsored activities" that reflect adversely upon people based on characteristics likerace, creed and handicap. States Capitol Resource Institute on its website: "The reason this is such an outrageous bill is because it is the most extreme effort thus far to transform ourpublic schools into institutions that disregard all notions of the traditional family unit. SB1437 seeks to eliminate all 'stereotypes' of the traditional family so that young childrenare brainwashed into believing that families with moms and dads are irrelevant. To read entire article: <http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49171>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49171


Another demonstration of special interests groups trying to use the schools to educate the kids into the viewpoints they want future voters to have.

Aubrey's Water Color Pencil Sketches

I originally did not get Aubrey a nature journal, but when she saw Kamron's she wanted one too. The Four O' Clock sprouts are her second entry. I am glad for all of the encouragement I have gotten to get quality art supplies. We got a set of primsacolor watercoler pencils, they are fabulous. After we drew in our nature journals we had an art lesson and learned more about how to make the pencils blend using the paint brushes. You can kind of see Aubrey's rose in this picture, she really did a fabulous job. Kamron will even use these-he is usually not very willing to color or write or any art, Aubrey draws daily and absolutely loves it.

Kamron's Nature Notebook

Here is Kamron with his nature notebook. We are growing a variety of seeds for our garden and Kamron drew the sweet pea sprouts. He still dictates the writing parts to me. This is his first plant entry, everything else has been rocks which both kids love. I had intended to study stars, but we got a rock identification kit and the kids have been fascinated, so we gave up on stars and have been doing rock experiments. Both kids can identify 8 to 12 rocks, and so can I! I love homeschooling, I get to close all of those gaps in my own education.

The Blessings of Our Physical Bodies

Before my mother died she had a vision where she saw what Heaven was like. She saw that there was much work to be done in teaching the gospel to those who had not had the chance to have it while they lived on the earth. My mother has an outgoing spirit and was always excited to do God's work, so I know she is busy in Heaven serving. But I can't help but think of all of the physical service she gave on earth. She could make almost anything, she sewed many of our clothes and presents. She knitted, crochetted, painted, drew, worked with cross stitch, plastic canvas and many other things. I'm not sure a day ever went by when she did not work on something with her hands. As busy and happy as she is now I bet she misses her body. It was not perfect, she was often sick, she was overweight and in the end it took her from us. But I bet she misses all of things she could do with those hands, all of the skills they had learned in her fifty years. She always took such good care of them, putting lotion on them in the evenings, sharing dolops of it with her children. Those fingers that had almost no fingerprints-when she was getting certified for foster parenting they couldn't get any prints from her fingers for a long time and through several visits. I bet she misses them.

People complain about their bodies wanting to be thinner, have a shorter nose, be taller or whatever. They are constantly comparing themselves to others, never catching a glimpse of what a miracle our bodies are. Think of how hard it was to learn to type, play the piano or crochet at first, but as your fingers built memories of what to do it got easier and easier. They don't usually work perfectly, but they allow us to do so many things. God knew we needed them to have all of the experiences He wanted for us, and what a blessing they are! Who was it that said, "if there was nothing else my thumb would convince me that there is a God"?

I will miss my body when I no longer have it, that is why I will try to appreciate it today and everyday. I thank God for the plan of Salvation and that we will someday be reunited with our perfect bodies, not to be separated ever again. I truly appreciate all of the hand skills which I am able to develop and I thank God for the hands which I have been blessed with.

My Best Educational Tip-Tapes

When my oldest son was 2 I started putting on scripture story tapes at nap and bedtime. By the time he was 3 he could recite many of the stories word for word. We later added "Scripture Scouts" and "The All About's"-all are must have CD's for the LDS family, I can not tell you how many gospel principles my children have learned from these. The kids also listen to much of their school books on CD.

Aubrey,5, has "Just So Stories," "Winnie the Pooh," "Pooh Corner," AA Milne Poems all read by Charles Karault (Kamron once whispered to me, "Mom I realy like Winnie the Pooh, but don't tell my cousins." You will also find that these are quite suitable for children up to about 8, if they haven't been raised on TV. I also enjoy them.) She also enjoys the "Standin' Tall" series by Janeen Brady (I picked the whole thing up at a library sale for $2!) We also have a CD set called "50 Famous Fairy Tales," these are the real fairy tales and not watered down versions. Also the Tales of Peter Cottontail have inspired forts to be built in the 'dear old briar patch.' The Uncle Wiggily stories have a comfortable predicatable patterns that help the children learn basic story telling with beginning, middle, end,- introduction, problem, resolution.

Kamron who is 7, has not been raised on much TV, so his attention span tends to be longer than most kids his age. He loves "The Story of The World," series which is actually a history text on CD, but he just devours it. He also loves almost everything read by Jim Weiss. How many 7 year olds climb into bed excitedly with, "Oh good, I love Shakespeare." We also have everything for AO year 2 that Alcazar Audio offers, http://www.alcazaraudioworks.com/schooling.html. He also listens to "Pilgrim's Progress."

The best thing about tapes and CD's is that they are a very valuable source of education that does not take my time. Gospel understanding has been increased, history has been learned, musical instruments can now easily be identified by sound, spanish songs have been learned, imagination has been sparked, great literature has been made apart of our lives and vocabulary has been increased by the audio gold mind. I can't recommend making tape time a part of your children's routine highly enough.

Flour Sack Towels

What is a flour sack dish towel? Flour used to come in cloth bags of varying sizes 10, 25, and 50 pounds being the most common. The cloth of these sacks had to be very sturdy and with a very fine weave. It also had beautiful prints to attract the attention of buyers. After the bag was emptied the lady of the house would often take the seam apart and then boil the cloth to soften, shrink and clean it. She would then hem the sides. Then she had a cheap new dish towel or lap apron. Today the sturdy material can be found as ready made dish towels. You can see them here http://www.hopechestlegacy.com/vintage_print_flour_sack_towels.htm.

As a girl I didn't know anything about these towels, but my mom had several that were all white. We would use them to dry dishes, but the thing I remember most about them was that whenever she would bake bread and set the dough to rise in the huge silver mixing bowl she would use one of these towels to cover the bowel. I bought a few of these towels with their delicate patterns a little while ago and I love using them. They are bigger and prettier to look at than many kitchen towels. It is one of those things that helps me to "embrace the work." And it is another connection to my mother and her love for her family.

After my third child was born I also figured I had a large enough family for a large silver bowl. This is known around her as the popcorn bowl. I also use it to make up large batches of things and to raise dough. I find the more connections I make to my tools the more I enjoy the work I do at home.

Poetry Reading

As a child I can remember complaining to my mother about poetry. She pointed out a book on her shelf next to her bed and said that was her favorite poetry book. I remember looking at the book, it had a lot of pages with illustrations of babies growing in a mothers womb, and I remember not understanding the words, which didn't suprise me as I was pretty sure people didn't really understand poetry. It didn't change my dislike for the subject.

Later when I was homeschooled, during my last two years of high school, my mom suggested that I do a poetry unit. I read about poems, followed formulas and illustrated my own poetry book. I began a little and mostly depressing poetry book of my own. I wrote free verse and sent a couple off to be published. I got a letter back saying they had accepted one for publication, the one my mother said was very good and I was rather proud of myself. The book was $40 if you wanted to see your work in print with all of the other selections. We couldn't afford $40 for a book so did not get it. My dad said that they published everyones poems that are sent in just so they can make money on selling them the book. I was crushed to think they hadn't chosen it on its merit, so I never wrote poetry anymore. I had never had interest in reading poetry, so it was written off as a lost subject.

As I began homeschooling I read what Charlotte Mason said about poetry. I figured that I should give my kids the chance to hear it even if I didn't like it. We started with "When We Were Very Young" by AA Milne. I really fumbled it in my reading, trying to read it a sing-song way which didn't work and then trying it just like any other read aloud and that didn't work either. Then we got a tape, the "Tales of Winnie the Pooh" by AA Milne read by Charles Karault and it had both of his collection of poems. I was fascinated, that poetry was fabulous. Then I read it again to my children and this time I got it. I was so excited. I love reading AA Milne's poem now. I can't recommend them highly enough.

We branched out to "A Child's Garden of Verse," by Robert Louis Stevenson, and "Sing Song," by Christina Rossetti. The former is great and the latter is a bit sad, in a way it is a gentle introduction to death. We have explored many emotions with these books. We have also read parts of a few children's anthologies and are now reading Walter de la Mare. Do I always get it? No. But sometimes I do, and that is worth the effort.

So how do we do this? It is very simple, I read them one poem every morning at breakfast. Sometimes we talk about it, sometimes we don't.

The Stay at Home Daughter

In some of the general Christian circles there is a movement towards keeping daughters home and not sending them away to college. There are many reasons for this and I see many possible benifits to it. I am not sure it would be the best thing for every daughter, but a child should no more go to college just because everyone else is doing it than anything else. It ought to be a matter of prayer.

The women of the LDS church are asked to gain as much education as possible, but does this have to mean a college degree. What if a daughter were to stay home and learn from her mother instead, learn to keep a home, sew, cook, care for children, garden? What if she were to spend her time reading books on these subjects, learning educational theory, child development, the use of herbs and whole foods to increase health? What if she learned business principles and started a home based business?

For the future stay at home wife and mother wouldn't the above skills and knowledge benefit her far more than a degree in anything. I see great benefit in learning these skills before the children come and not waiting until they are here to stay home and figure it out.

Would she not be a great benifit to those around her? There are many young mothers without family near and a young woman who could come over from time to time and offer constructive and imaginative activities for the little children would be a great service indeed. She would be available to go and oversee the running of a relatives' house who has just had a baby or who is sick. This would give her experience, endear her to her family and truly help them. There are elderly people who would be pleased with a visit that a stay at home daughter could give. There is church service to be given. Wouldn't this be better than the often gossipy activities that many young adults are involved in? Good and Christlike habits could be developed.

I hear the questions already, but how will she meet someone to marry? What if something should happen to her spouse how would she support the family without a degree? Shouldn't she get out and experience life before she is tied down by the home?

My answers would be that if one prays and follows the promptings that follow God will provide a worthy husband. There are student wards, institute, friends of the family, friends of friends. Believe it or not women used to get married before they all started going off to college. After one gets married, what if something should happen to her husband? Lets consider this. How relevant is a degree that is ten, fifteen or twenty years old with no work experience? It isn't very. I think that having experience with running ones own homebased business would be much more benificial, because not only can it help if something should happen it can also help the family when the husband is working and with the wife and mother still staying at home. Also the wife would come into the marriage with no student debt, which is a great benifit to the young family. Also gaining knowledge and experience in homemaking which she is much more likely to do is of greater benifit than the skills and knowledge that she very likely will not be using.

As far as experiencing life, yes she should-real life. Life where people help people, where she can observe how other families are run. Not life that exists in a bubble of all single approximately the same aged people all living away from their families. This type of life tends to be puncuated by the pursuit of fun; the parties, the dances, the trips to Europe, shopping, eating out, movies. How many of these things are really beneficial to preparing for ones callings in life? How many set up bad habits of spending money needlessly, of setting up unrest when one needs to stay home, of setting up an addiction to eating out and seeking entertainment?

I do not think that every girl should choose this option, but perhaps they should think about it and pray about it. It is one that certainly those around them should see value in. I think we would be better for it if many of the girls did stay home and continue their education there.