SONORAN DESERT HOMESCHOOLERS
Tucson, Arizona
http://www.crosswinds.net/~hozho/
August 2000 Newsletter
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 "Hohzo," a Navajo word meaning "harmony" or "walking in beauty or friendship."
**PLEASE NOTE** Park meetings begin at 9:30 AM. **PLEASE NOTE**
AUGUST CALENDAR
(check below for related articles)
Tuesday, Aug.15, 7 PM --- ORGANIZATIONAL COFFEE
Wednesday, Aug. 16, 7 PM --- HOMESCHOOLING INFO NITE AT MISSION LIBRARY
Tuesday, Aug. 22, 9:30 AM --- FORMAL PARK MEETINGS RESUME
Thursday, Aug. 24 --- DEADLINE FOR ALL SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER ARTICLES
Last Wednesday of every month, 7 PM--CRABBY...OOPS! I MEAN
CRAFTY...LADIES
Saturday, Aug. 26, 1:30 PM --- HOMESCHOOLING INFO NITE AT WILMOT LIBRARY
Wednesday, Aug. 30, 6:30 PM --- HOMESCHOOLING INFO NITE AT COLUMBUS
LIBRARY
ARTICLES
CRAFTY LADIES
Meet to sip, talk about the travails of homeschooling and parenting, and catch up on projects. If you have a project you just can't get to, or you just need time to get away and recoup, please join us
at 7 PM at Borders on Oracle. There is an outdoor seating area for beautiful summer nights and an indoor cafe for when the night gets too hot. Please contact Sybelle V. for more information.
HOMESCHOOL INFO NITE/AFTERNOON by Karen M.
Well, it's a done deal, the info nites are on! I have folks who are committed to speaking, BUT if you are interested in just showing up so others can talk to you, I would appreciate it. Here are the days, times, and locations:
Mission Library, Wed., Aug. 16th, 7 PM
Wilmot Library, Sat., Aug 26th. 1:30 PM
Columbus Library, Wed., Aug. 30, 6:30 PM
Mission Library, Wed., Sept 27th, 7 PM
Hope to see you there. It's sure to be a blockbuster event of the year!
(Keep your fingers crossed that someone shows up!)
ORGANIZATIONAL COFFEE
A parent's meeting to start off the year will be held at Danetta M's house at 7 PM on the third Tuesday in August. We'll plan for the year and find out who is volunteering to organize activities. We'll
also discuss the ideas suggested in the survey. If you are interested in volunteering time or ideas, please come, as many of the positions on the Who's Who list will change and be available at the start of this new year. We need your energy! For directions, and to RSVP, e-mail AZDanetta@aol.com or call her at the number on the member's directory.
REGULAR PARK MEETINGS
Our regular park meetings for the academic year will be kicked off by our annual Get Back Together Potluck Brunch on Tuesday, August 22 at Ft. Lowell Park. We will meet Tuesdays at 9:30 am at Ft. Lowell Park for the first couple of months until the heat dissipates, then we will be meeting at noon for most of the remainder of the academic year. We encourage members to bring their own drinks and paper/plastic ware to our potlucks. Our first meeting will be social, a chance to catch up on summer adventures and meet new folks.
WHY DOES MY NEWSLETTER COME FROM EILEEN?
If you are new to SDH, I'd like to let you know about how the SDH monthly newsletter is edited and distributed to our group.
Once you have paid dues to Carol T., she informs me (Eileen D.) and I add your name and address info to our roster. It's my job to keep the list updated. Any articles you'd like included in the newsletter should be given to Michelle Y. who edits our newsletter. She sends the completed issue to me for distribution. Based on the info you've given me, you will receive your newsletter either by e-mail or regular mail. If you do have e-mail, it really helps keep printing and postage costs down to send your newsletter in that format.
The form at the end of our monthly newsletter is for new members to fill out and return to me. You can also send me the info via e-mail. I'll always have copies of the current roster for members to review and make changes.
SEPTEMBER USED CURRICULUM SALE
Coming up in September, we will have our Second Annual Used Curriculum Sale. Remember how great it was last year? Clean out those closets and get a few dollars for the curriculum materials in good condition that your children have outgrown. If you're looking for bargain curriculum materials, be at the sale early! CD's, videotapes, language tapes, books, workbooks, textbooks, photosynthesis
posters...You get the idea. A September park date for the sale will be set at the Organizational Coffee (see article above).
PRE-TEEN GROUP (ages 9 - 13)
The first Tuesday of each month, during park time, the pre-teens will meet for board games for approximately an hour. Please bring a game to share if you can. For more info, contact Becky L.
MIDDLE READING GROUP
We meet the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month just before the park meeting. Each week, a different family chooses a book or short story and leads a discussion. Interested adults can meet at the first park meeting, after announcements, to discuss what we'll be doing. Children should be comfortable reading chapter books. For more info, contact Denise H.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacationless class."
-- Anne Morrow Lindbergh
FYI...
The May/June issue of Home Education Magazine features an interview with Misty Dawn Thomas who is the chairwoman of the Ani-Stohini/Unami Nation and founder of the Native American Home School Association.
HOMESCHOOLERS WIN FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD AT NAT'L SPELLING BEE
Washington, D.C.--George Abraham Thampy, a 12-year-old home school student, is this year's Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee Champion. The final competition was held today in Washington, D.C.
Right behind Thampy were home schoolers Sean Conley in second place and Alison Miller in third.
"This is outstanding confirmation of the academic excellence of home schooling. I can't wait until home schoolers are winning Oscars and the presidency," said Michael Farris, president of the Home School \Legal Defense Association.
Thampy's winning word in the fifteenth round was "demarche," a step or maneuver. Miller, 14, sponsored by the Albany, New York Times Union, continued until the twelfth round, in which she misspelled "venire." Conley, 12, sponsored by the San Francisco Examiner, was finally stumped in the fourteenth round by "apotropaic."
Thampy and other home schoolers have performed well in national academic competitions. Last week in Washington, D.C., Thampy won second place -a $15,000 scholarship - in the National Geography Bee sponsored by National Geographic. Jonathan Janus, a home schooler from South Carolina, won third place in the Geography Bee.
Although home schoolers comprise perhaps two percent of the school age population, at the outset of this year's spelling bee, 27 out of 248 contestants were home schoolers, or 11 percent. This was an increase from almost 10 percent in 1999.
Rebecca Sealfon, from Brooklyn, New York, the 1997 champion, was the first home schooler to win the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee.
(ANOTHER) QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one."
--Malcolm S. Forbes
INTERNET INFORMATION
Chinaberry Book Service - This favorite children's book catalog is going online:
http://www.chinaberry.com/
American Library Association - How to Raise a Reader:
http://www.ala.org/parentspage/tfp2.html#raise
Exploratorium: The Museum of science, art, and human perception:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/
Ask Jeeves for Kids - kid-friendly internet search engine:
http://www.ajkids.com/
U.S. Library of Congress - American Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ammemhome.html
Homeschooling On The Cheap:
http://www.bcpl.net/~owl/homeschool/HomeschoolingOnTheCheap.html
Highschool Hub - portal for high school studies (includes SAT
Question of the Day):
http://www.highschoolhub.org/hub/
EDITOR'S FOOTNOTE
That went pretty well, I think. Many thanks to all who contributed, and especially Danetta, who asked the important questions like, "So what are you going to do about a format?" Format?? I'll keep working out the bugs as I go along.
If you have articles or dates that you'd like included on the calendar for September, the deadline is AUGUST 24. Publication date will be on or before the 1st of each month, barring any catastrophes in either my life or Eileen's.
Have a great (home)school year,
Michelle Y.
