Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers Tucson, Arizona
April 2002 Newsletter
Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers
Tucson, Arizona
Mission Statement
Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers is an open, not-for-profit home education network, providing social and creative outlets for homeschooling families. We are not devoted to any one homeschooling approach, political platform, religious outlook, or philosophical ideal. Our homeschooling community supports all families, regardless of their personal lifestyle or educational choices in the area of home education. Our motto is "hozho," a Navajo word meaning "harmony" or "walking in beauty or friendship.
Quote of the Month
"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
~ Benjamin Franklin
Calendar
(check below for related articles)
Tuesday, April 2 Project Report/Science Demo
Monday, April 8 Eastside Parent's Coffee Night
Tuesday, April 9 Middle Reader's Group
Tuesday, April 16 Early Teen Discussion Group
Friday, April 19 Homeschooling Ice Skating
Saturday, April 20 May Newsletter Deadline
Tuesday, April 23 Park Meeting Changes to Mornings
Wednesday, April 24 Crafty Ladies
Tuesday, April 30 Early Teen Discussion Group
Wednesday, May 8 Sonoran Sea Aquarium Traveling Exhibit
Articles
Show and Tell / Project Report / Science Demo April 2
Starting at 11 a.m. (before announcements), our kids have the opportunity to present something for show and tell or present a project report on something they've been learning about. Immediately following Show and Tell and Project Reports will be a MODEL ROCKET Science Demo.Please join us to participate or just watch. Any questions, contact Alice G. or Marylou K.
Eastside Parents Coffee Night April 8
The Eastside parent's coffee night meets the second Monday of the month. Please join us for a beverage and time to socialize with other homeschooling parents. Please call Joleen or Mary Beth for more information.
Middle Readers Group Tuesday, April 9
Middle Readers group will meet on April 9th at 11 a.m. The book selection for April is "Sign of the Beaver" by Elizabeth George Speare.
Early Teen Discussion Group Tuesdays, April 16 & 30
We will meet twice in April at the Park. I suspect, however, that we will be on the "hot weather" schedule by April 30, which traditionally means a 9:30 start time for the general meeting. So, the discussion group on April 16 will start at 11:45 AM and end at 12:15 PM., and on April 30 it will start at 9:15 AM and end at 9:45 AM. That should give us enough time without causing anyone to fall out of bed. As always any one is welcome to come.
April 16th. The topic will be a mixture of science fiction and history. The question is where would you go and who would you want to meet if you could travel to any place in time? Maybe join the crew of the Mayflower, discuss the Declaration of Independence with Thomas Jefferson, ask Shakespeare which play was his favorite, meet Moses, Jesus, Buddha, or Mohammed. Maybe you'd like to see the 22nd or 32nd century or some other Galaxy.
April 30th. The question will be what are the things that influence the way you see yourself and this world? What effect does television, music, newspapers, advertising have on you and others? What about books, school, family, friends, church, the government? Who defines success?
Citywide Homeschoolers Ice Skating Friday, April 19
The next homeschoolers' ice skating party is April 19, from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM, at the Gateway Ice Center (7333 E. Rosewood - one block south of Speedway Boulevard and about two blocks east of Kolb Road). The $5.50 charge includes skate rental. Please pay Kathy or Vicky at the table out front to get this special group rate. This event is sponsored by the good folks at CHET SW.
Park Meeting Schedule Change Tuesday, April 23
As was agreed to at the parent's meeting last September, the start time of the park meeting will change on April 23. We will meet at 9:30 am with announcements at 10:00. Also, the last regular day of park meetings will be May 14. People, of course, can still meet at the park, but no announcements will be made.
Crafty Ladies Wednesday, April 24
Every last Wednesday of the month we continue to meet at Borders on Oracle for coffee or tea. We get together from 7:30 PM on, but some of us get there quite a bit later, after husbands come home or the kids are in bed. We chat, laugh, and a few of us bring a project to work on (knitting, crochet, sorting pictures, etc.). This is open to any parent, but so far only moms have shown up. It is a great way to get to know others better and there is always a mix of parents with younger and older children, so you can ask lots of questions too and discuss things. For more info contact Sybelle V.
Sonoran Sea Aquarium Traveling Exhibit Wednesday, May 8
The organization that is proposing to build an aquarium in Tucson (see http://www.tucsonaquarium.com/education/Edu.htm) has a traveling exhibit that they take around, mostly to schools. This sounds like a
wonderful, interesting exhibit, many of the items being ones that will eventually become a permanent part of the aquarium. Typically they set up for a week or more at a time, but they are willing to accommodate our group, and do a one-time set-up for us.
They require an indoor area with about eight banquet-sized tables for their display. So, I have managed to obtain the use of the community building in our subdivision for this. The date will be Wednesday, May 8 from 10:00 a.m. to noon. There will be a $1 per person (adult or child) charge to attend, and names and payment must be given to me in advance - either at the park, or by mail.
The exhibit is a hands on interactive type of display, and they very much expect and want the items to be touched and picked up and manipulated, etc. It is designed for ages kindergarten through to adult. Well-supervised preschoolers are welcome to attend, so if you need to bring your younger ones in order that you and your older ones can attend this is not a problem. It takes approximately an hour to go through the exhibit. We will be holding the initial talk on the lawn outside the building, so please remember to bring chairs or blankets.
Since booking this, I have been asked to include the BETT homeschooling group, as they are too small to get their own booking. The exhibit organizer had tried to book them in with one of the private high schools but the school refused - did not want younger children in their building. There will be about 15 of them - please, let's make them welcome.
Directions: From the corner of Ina and Oracle, go west on Ina to the first light, and then right onto Paseo del Norte. You will go almost to the end, where PdN ends at Magee. You want the last left before Magee (which will be the first left after the stop ahead signs). This is Comobabi. A couple of houses down Comobabi, it meets Samalayuca, and the community area is bounded by these two roads. Continue down Comobabi and you will see the building on your left, by the pool. A few yards past the building there will be a entrance to the parking area - you can also park on the side of the road, being careful not
to block anyone's drive.
Since this is private property, and I have booked it, I will be held responsible for any damage. I therefore ask that you supervise your children closely. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, Frances A. at park or by phone or email.
SDH Jobs
Many SDH jobs will be available for new people to take on next year:
Telephone contact person (answer FAQ's from prospective homeschoolers)
Web site manager (manage and update the SDH website)
Ted Walker Day at Old Tucson coordinator
Who's Who list compiler (compile a list of who does what job within the group)
Announcement facilitators (yell "announcements!" at park and facilitate the discussion)
Newcomer packet distributor (distribute packets to new members)
Bulletin board "schlepper" (transport board to and from park meetings)
If you are interested in these opportunities to learn more about homeschooling while making new connections within both SDH and the larger community, either speak with the present holders of these positions, or e-mail SDH at sdhtucson@yahoo.com.
Recreation at Udall Center
Join homeschoolers on Mondays at Udall Recreation Center for an
afternoon of fun and relaxation. Choose from basketball, foosball, pool, chess, swimming, and playground equipment. Use of the indoor facilities is $1 per child under 18, and swimming costs that same child 25 cents. Kids from SDH will be there from 1 - 3 PM, but the hours for the facility extend beyond those times. Udall requires that all children under 8 be under parental supervision at all times. If you have any questions, please talk with debbie at the park, or e-mail her at xxxxx. Thanks!
Citywide Homeschooling Information Night
SDH is participating in a Citywide Homeschooling Information Night in August. I am looking for a few people interested in helping out with this event. Most importantly, I am looking for someone to give a five to ten minute presentation on an aspect of homeschooling. Although I did this last fall, I am unable to do plan on doing it again because of a newly-developed speech problem.
If you are interested in being part of this event, which is a great way to meet other homeschooling leaders in Tucson, please speak with debbie at the park, or e-mail her at xxxxx. Thank you!
SDH Notebook
Want to keep up with what is new with the SDH, but don't have e-mail or Internet access? Check out the SDH notebook at the park. You will find copies of discussion topics from the e-mail discussion list, homeschooling articles that are listed on the SDH web site, plus other information found on the web site.
Latter Day Resources
I found a web site for Books and Fun up in Provo that our LDS families may already know about, but for those who don't, it is www.ldfr.com. The phone number to get a catalog is 1-801-798-2106 and fax number is 1-801-798-2067.
Nature Education
The Game and Fish Department at 2221 W. Greasewood Rd (628-5376) has several themed boxes of educational materials. The Bird Box contained stuffed birds, tapes of bird calls, migration information, books about birds, and puppets. The Bone Box contains bones of several types of southwest animals, etc. These boxes are available for free during reserved one week periods. Call for availability and to check on the current box varieties.
Archaeological Finds
Want to play archaeologist? Old Pueblo Archaeology Center has a daily field school at the Sabino Canyon Ruin. There is a program fee, call 798-1201 for information.
The Center for Desert Archaeology offers a program for amateurs as well as several archeology tours in the Tucson area. Call 881-2244.
Finally, the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society offers special interest workshops and tours. Call 327-7235 for information.
Homeschooling Tidbit
From the May-June issue of Home Schooling Magazine (p.40):
Yes, it took two years and $1.6 million, but a Center for Workforce Development study, partially funded by the Department of Labor, uncovered a homeschooling secret: "...workers learn most of what they know on the fly, and often from each other." Seven companies took part in the study, including Siemens, Boeing...and Motorola...
Park Day at Himmel Park
Park Day at Himmel Park is going well. Join us on Thursdays at 11:00 AM. Himmel Park is located on Tucson Blvd. near Speedway. We meet at the Westside play equipment. There is a shaded play area, a place to rollerblade or roller skate, and a library. This is mainly a play park day. No official announcements will be made.
If you have any questions, contact Tara O.
Ice Skating Coupons
If your kids love to skate but you just can't take them very often because of the cost, Gateway Ice Center has provided a solution. Compliments of the management, I now have DOZENS of 2-for-1 admission coupons for any public session that Gateway offers. See Michelle Y.at the park for more details or to pick up coupons.
Shakespeare Theatre Group
The Shakespeare theatre group is really coming together. We had dozens of kids audition and most got the part they tried out for!
The following is the cast list, and we will keep you posted when the play date gets closer. Good job everyone!
Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing Cast List
`Don Pedro' -- Andrew F.
`Signior Leonato' -- Sam G.
`Signior Antonio' -- Adam B.
`Hero' -- Tessa Y.
`Claudio' -- Sean M.
`Beatrice' -- Lara R.
`Benedick' -- Jordan M.
`Margaret' -- Kyla B.
`Ursula' -- Brenna R.
`Don John' -- Fletcher C.
`Borachio' -- Foster S.
`Conrade' -- Jensen S.
`Dogberry' -- Sam V.
`Verges' -- Sam Y.
`Hugh Otecake' -- Matt F.
`Georgia Seacole' -- Cate M.
`Balthasar' -- Isabella L.
`Friar Francis' -- Vincent B.
`Maid' -- Benita S.
`Messenger' -- Brianna Metcalf
`Sexton' -- Claire J.
Watch, servants, townspeople Everyone else (everyone who didn't want
lines)
Editor's Note
I think it is time for our little newsletter to grow into something more than just a list of all the wonderful things that our group does. I have decided to expand it (unless people object) to include articles or interviews written by the parents and older kids (I know we have some writers out there), and creative writing by any of the kids, including short stories and poems. I have also decided to continue on as newsletter for another year, unless someone else REALLY wants to do it.
The following article was written by a new mom to our group, and I hope reading it inspires more of you to contribute your thoughts!
Thanks Amy!
What We'll Do On Our Summer "Vacations"
or (more seriously) Why I Intend to Homeschool
by Amy Miller Gray
I dangle physics just out of Gus' reach, where he can just barely taste it. It's a valuable insight and a skill I'm proud of, given that I was thoroughly disinterested in physics. I teach multiplication with tongue in cheek, chemistry with a big dose of irony and spelling as facetiously as possible. I know how to tease him into doing algebra - a valiant skill from someone who would sooner flush mathematics down the toilet (or better, bury it out in the desert where it's sure to NEVER be found again).
I can make my boy laugh at the contrasting theories of evolution and
creationism. Excuse the immodesty, but that's why he probably won't be going to school. I can teach him better, longer, harder and (although I know I'm hawking to the addicts/preaching to the choir here) with longer-lasting sudsing action than They ;) can. And the other underlying (selfish!) motive: I WANT to.
I am having the best time of my life with this boy. Sure, we argue. But his evolution is the most fascinating phenomena I've ever witnessed or had the pleasure to participate in. I figure I've got another decade (probably less) before he'll be chasing his interests without need of my help/input/participation.
There are friends and relatives who will be surprised at my choice. They enjoy their children too; they certainly love them. But they don't find it necessary to "sacrifice" work or the joy they get from their new SUV and sprawling three-bedroom home. My husband and I evaluated our priorities about a year ago and decided that the most important thing to all of us is spending time together and to play more than we work. Our lives are passing too quickly already; there are too many things we want to do that we're not going to
sacrifice living-adventuring-exploring-laughingfor work (much).
We don't dislike money; it's just (really) unfortunate that the things we like to do (archaeology, climbing, reading, exploring/traveling, researching, writing, studying our family histories, fencing, sailing, horseback riding) don't pay. But we're not willing to do work that doesn't interest us (beyond basic needs).
(And we're lucky that the things we want don't cost all that much.)
This is a decidedly unpopular attitude in our socioculture. Somehow our industrialized economy has found a way to keep everyone on the treadmill and each cog in his place on the chaingang. It's amazing to me that we've all agreed with car manufacturers that we need a new one every two or three years and we're all in silent agreement that it's more important to keep our lawns low than to play stickball with the kids.
So we made a fairly big change, left our three-bedroom house, took Gus out of Montessori and moved across the country to rent a two-bedroom apartment. (Hi everyone; we just arrived in Tucson three months ago!)
Gus is so much happier. I didn't realize how stressful school was to him or maybe I was in denial. (He did ask, a couple days a week, "Do I have to go to school today?")This four-year-old, who I was forced to abandon to daycare at nine weeks old, is finally my playmate every day. He's been freed from school and he loves it. Talking to a Cincinnati friend on the phone last month, he
announced, "I'm not going to school anymore!"
The other day, it occurred to me that I hadn't yet told him about the idea of homeschooling, despite the seven weeks we've spent making SDH friends.
["Gus, did you know that Ingo, and Amanda, and Hannah and Ben and Alex and Jordan, Isaiah and Hunter and all the friends you've been playing with every week DON'T go to school?"
Gus paused. "What, are they WILD?"
After turning my face to laugh (so he wouldn't think I was laughing AT him), I said, "No, their parents teach them at home."
I watched while he absorbed this. He put his hand on my arm and said, so earnestly, "Mama, can you teach ME at home?"
It was like a commercial for homeschooling ; )]
Gus would probably be okay in school but I think I can do better for him. Certainly a 1:1 ratio (or actually 2:1!) is a good teacher-child ratio.
Three years ago, I considered becoming a bonafide in-class teacher. I visited three public elementary schools for a few hours each and was shocked by the amount of time spent in the classroom preparing to learn, handling administrivia, and keeping classroom order. As I reflected on the amount of time I spent just in "school support hours" getting ready in the morning, detoxing in the afternoon, waiting through assemblies and announcements and the dailies of information that did not pertain to me, shuffling between classes, getting into class, waiting for the teacher to handle classroom
issues - Most "school time" is NOT spent learning anything academic.
When I first began considering homeschooling (about a year ago, when Gus was not liking school), my husband and I discussed "Isn't school itself an education, into the doldrums of daily life, into the societal structure of a subculture that you may or may not WANT to participate in, but is nonetheless thrust upon you as will be the society of work, of companies, of corporations?"
And as soon as we asked the question, we started asking ourselves if THAT is the expectation we want to pass on to Gus, that he should aspire to merely fit in to someone else's idea of order and structure.
How damaging to individuality! To creativity! To THOUGHT!
And then I realize - despite the private school education my parents paid for all my schooling years: I didn't start really start thinking THINKING until I was 17!
What a waste! I remember confusing my teachers by producing stellar essays that got As and, in the next breath, turning in chemistry exams that went kerplunk.
For a few years before then, I had some sparks of original thought - and they were mostly aimed at evading or outsmarting teachers. I still laugh at the memory of the old bag stereotype of an English teacher, Miss Hickman, who called on whoever was skulking in the back rows. So, when I hadn't done my homework, I sat RIGHT in front of her desk and waved my hand WILDLY whenever she asked for a definition or asked a hypothetical question. Got them all right ; ) and she looked for someone else to call on. And gave me As.
My performance (read: grades) were completely erratic, based on such
random factors as the format of the assignment and the amount of creativity, autonomy and flexibility allowed in design of the project. A (supposedly) three-month-long science project wherein we were required to set up an experiment and observe results over a period of time. Composing the night before the due date, I wrote elaborate fiction about the fictional mice that I supposedly fed DDT. Read: No mice were killed, harmed or even involved in the execution of that project. I got a B+. I astonished my eighth-grade history teacher (who had cast me as a boy-crazy flippertibidget) by leading the class in the "Country-Building" exercise wherein I was assigned Zaire and negotiated it into the most powerful nation in the class.
I remember the spring I began to question and wonder and convince myself, despite my teachers, that I was a smart girl. It was TREMENDOUS fun, to figure out that I was not what they said I was. And to find that I had interests and abilities, creativity they had ignored because I didn't conform.
And now, as I remember my plan to possibly put him into preschool here in Tucson, I'm shocked at myself for assuming that a bevy of "teachers," board-certified by whatever governmental institution made up some list of requirements they adhered to, would ever know better than I what is best for my boy. I've never allowed any other self-proclaimed authority figure impose their preferences on us.
His doctor told me, "What's he doing sitting on your bed? He's seven months old!" So I didn't tell her he was sleeping there, too and I also reminded myself that I was there for medical issues, not lifestyle ones. His daycare told me, "You have to breastfeed him in the back. This is a TODDLER area." So I reminded them that I was paying THEM to care for him when I couldn't.
My parents gave me the "best" junior high/high school education money
could buy in Cincinnati, Ohio, circa 1978. But I am still, 18 years after graduation, deprogramming myself from "college preparatory school." My parents thought that if they placed me on the board scores-report cards-admissions-resume-degree path, I would succeed. My entire life was aimed toward appealing to a future unknown human resource administrative assistant so that she would turn me over to her supervisor.
That path turned out to be wholly irrelevant to my actual interests and goals - and since my grades were inconsistent, it was thoroughly distracting. I had to study subjects that did not interest me and was meanwhile chided, redirected and misunderstood by teachers and a school administration that had mislabeled me.
By contrast, I was an excellent student in college. Free of the consensus that had been decided upon me in high school, I picked classes like candy from a pretty dish. I went boldly to class and LEARNED. I excelled and had fun. It's interesting, in retrospect - I bet my high school teachers expected me to blow off college or to waste it. Yet I eschewed the party lifestyle of many of my college classmates.
But enough about me.
My wish for Gus, as a result of the coming years of homeschooling, is that he continue to be the darling, bright-eyed, emotionally vulnerable kid he is now, strong enough to confront any evil. He will be so certain of himself that he won't assume that a teacher or policeman or politician knows more than he. He will follow his interests and pursue them until he tires of them. He will exhaust his
own interests and ignore things that don't interest him. He'll know how to find out what he wants to know.
There is one question that will remain unanswered until Gus can answer it for me in about 20 years. I hope that if he does avoid "school" until his college years, that he will not wish he had some experience of school. I grew up without religion and because of that, I lack some cultural knowledge and understanding. But that loss is minor, and one I'll have to accept. I think my parents would agree that they much preferred my oblivion to religious indoctrination. And to take conventional schooling at its most extreme, it CAN be that bad. I can do better.
Since there are as many varying reasons for homeschooling and ways to do it, I would love to hear from more experienced homeschoolers on these (and other topics. I would really like for this journal to become a grounds for discussion. If you haven't already, please sign up at xxxxx to participate in a conversation about why and how you homeschool. All opinions are welcome and respected.
