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HOME LIFE NEWS
In Search of the Perfect Homeschool.
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How to Homeschool and Love it...
| Sept. 2010
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Welcome to the new school year. Wow! We have been busy the last few weeks! Over 1200 new students have joined the HLA family this year! And if you are like the rest of us, you've also joined the search for the perfect homeschool! So...We thought we'd dedicate this first newsletter of the 2010/2011 school year to homeschooling perfection, and link to a few articles which will tell you exactly how to succeed, which are the perfect books to use, and how you can have a perfect homeschooling experience day after day, each and every day of the year!!! Sound good?
But, alas... after days of searching, I'm afraid to tell you... those items... don't seem to exist. 
Let's admit it. There is something in us that takes this very seriously. And of course we should! This is our kids' lives we're talking about! We really have only one shot at K-12th. Then they're on their own in the big, big world. Time is marching on. And we have got to get down to business - fast! That's some pressure, isn't it? That's why we wanted to give you all the answers in this newsletter. But, alas....
Fortunately, none of us have to have all the right answers. We just have to have some very good answers. And, more importantly, if we really want our children to love homeschooling, we must have the right heart.
Fostering the right heart in a child begins with having the right heart ourselves. If we love learning, our kids will love learning. If we are continually interested in new things, our kids will be interested in new things. If we constantly look up answers to questions, our kids will constantly look up answers to questions. If we dedicate ourselves to education, our kids will dedicate themselves to it as well. That's the real heart of home education upon which all the details are built.
With that in mind, here are some of our favorite articles from around the web. They are not the perfect standard for homeschooling excellence or homeschool thought. But, they are some excellent writings on how to have excellent homeschooling success. We hope you enjoy. -David
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You Can't Get an Education From School Booksby John Taylor Gatto.
One good way to see the difference between school books
and real books is to examine the different customs that separate librarians
from school teachers. Librarians are the custodians of real books. And
school teachers are the custodians of school books. Somewhere in the differences
we're going to find a key to unlock the secret of the war between education
and schooling. Read more...
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 Top 10 Gems - "What I wish someone would have told me during my first year of homeschooling." - Linda Dobson
I wish someone had told me that it is better to jump in, get
started, and learn from your mistakes than to sit worrying and trying to
decide what to do, and how to do it perfectly.The homeschooling experience changed us all individually...it also
greatly changed our family dynamic. Maybe the best first year advice
would have been, "Hold on to your hat; you won't believe who you are
next year!" Read more... |
 Identity Directed Home Schooling
by Chris Davis
I don't consider my children's teen years a time to
simply endure, as in "This too shall pass." Instead, I prefer to say
that these are the "Years of Identification." I use this phrase because I
believe that too many parents dislike and fear adolescence; but if they
understood the dynamics of the teen years, they would look forward to
them with real excitement.
I believe that when God gives a child to
parents, that child comes prepackaged with a set of giftings and
callings uniquely his or her own. Inside that child is a seed which, if
properly nourished, will grow up into the mature expression of what is
within that seed. Just as simply as an acorn (which looks nothing at all
like an oak tree) becomes an oak tree under the right conditions, so a
child will (under the right conditions) grow up to become exactly the
person his Father created him to become. Read more...
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 The Relaxed Homeschool Mindset by Dr. Mary Hood"Relaxed homeschooling . . . isn't that an oxymoron?"
The problem with most of these readers is that they misunderstand what
"relaxed homeschooling" is all about. It isn't a method. Relaxed
homeschoolers may use all kinds of methods as they tailor things for
each individual child. It isn't a curriculum, or the absence of a
curriculum. I've used various books and materials over the years,
including some textbooks when a child asked for them or when I thought
they were a useful resource in the upper grades. It isn't really a
philosophy, either, because I don't have the time to create a whole new
philosophy, and you don't have time to study one. Read more... And this is a great interview with Mary Hood about the method. |
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Message
Top Prize
1 Year of FREE registration (2011/2012) and $200.00 Check for Books or Whatever You'd Like!
2nd. Place 1 Year of FREE registration (2011/2012) and $75.00 check
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GRADE
REPORTING
Our goal is
to provide flexibility
with accountability
for all teachers
of HomeLife Academy.
---------------------------
The TARGET dates
for grade reporting are
JAN 15TH
&
JUNE 15TH
of
each school year.
These are target
dates in order to
accommodate the
many different
teaching schedules.
MORE REMINDERS WILL BE SENT CLOSER TO TIME.
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Home Life News is a monthly newsletter
resource provided to all HLA teachers.
HomeLifeAcademy offers parents
the freedom to choose their own books and custom design a
learner-centered educational plan to meet the interests and needs of
each individual student. From Kindergarten to graduation, HLA provides
record keeping, transcript, counseling, resource links, college
placement and more, allowing parents to do what they do best, lead
their children into a life-long love for learning! |
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