SONORAN DESERT HOMESCHOOLERS
Tucson, Arizona
November 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 12:00 noon in November.
November 2000 CALENDAR
(check below for related articles)
Tuesday, Nov. 7 --- PRE-TEEN GROUP
Tuesday, Nov. 7 --- PROJECT REPORT CLUB
Wednesday, Nov. 8 --- OSTRICH RANCH FIELD TRIP
Thursday, Nov. 9 --- PARENTS' COFFEE NIGHT
Tuesday, Nov. 14 --- SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDERS DUE
Tuesday, Nov. 14 --- EARLY READERS GROUP
Tuesday, Nov. 14 --- MIDDLE READING GROUP
Tuesday, Nov. 14 --- DEADLINE FOR ALL DECEMBER NEWSLETTER ARTICLES
Saturday, Nov. 18 --- SDH PARTY
Monday, Nov. 20 --- ZOO TOUR
Tuesday, Nov. 28 --- EARLY READERS GROUP
Tuesday, Nov. 28 --- MIDDLE READING GROUP
Wednesday, Nov. 29 --- CRAFTY LADIES
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ARTICLES
PROJECT REPORT CLUB
Project Report Club will meet under the ramada the first Tuesday of every month immediately following announcements. Any child may present a topic they have been studying, and presentations may include pictures, experiments, or demonstrations. This is a great chance for your child to practice speaking in front of a group. Questions? Call Alice G.
PRIVATE ZOO TOUR
For those who have signed up for the behind-the-scenes tour at the zoo, we are scheduled for Monday, November 20th. We need to be at the entrance by 7:30 AM, so please be on time. Breakfast is provided. For more info, call Debbie D.
PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!
On Saturday, November 18, from 3:00-6:00 PM, there will be a party for all SDH families at Lighthouse YMCA, 2900 N.Columbus (ph.295-9725). This event will be a potluck. We'll eat at about 4:30. Dessert and drinks will be provided, so just bring a good-sized dish to share and your own table service. Kitchen facilities are available. Music is planned from 4:00-6:00. There is also a game room for the kids. About 3-4 families are needed to help with setup from 2:00-3:00 and again, 3-4 families for cleanup from 6:00-7:00. Let Debbie D. know if you can help or if you have ideas for the party.
COME FEED THE DEER AND OSTRICH
Come along for a fun outing to Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Ranch, Wed. Nov 8. The ranch has ostrich and deer that we can feed. Admission is $2/person, and includes a large cup of feed. They also have information sheets on ostrich and ostrich products (eggs, feathers), and sell the products, should you be interested.
Please note that there is NO WATER on site, and NO WASHROOMS. However,
there is a service station at the I-10 exit (about 1/2 mile away).
Directions: Take I-10 north to exit 219 (about 30 miles from I-10 and Ina). Go left on Picacho Peak Rd., and then left again onto the Frontage Rd. The ranch is at the very end of the frontage road. Lots of parking is available.
There are no age or number restrictions, but if you plan on coming, please let Frances A. know by Nov. 3 so the ranch can have some idea of what to expect. We will plan to meet there at 1:30 PM, and most everyone will likely be ready to leave again within an hour.
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 the last Wednesday of the month at 7 PM at Borders on Oracle. There is indoor and outdoor seating, depending on the weather. Please contact Sybelle V. for more information.
PARENTS' COFFEE NIGHT
All are invited to a parents' coffee night at Borders Cafe, Park Mall, at 7:30 PM on Thursday, November 9 (2nd Thursday of each month). Come to get acquainted with other homeschooling parents. We'll share stories and a good laugh! For more information, call: Mary Beth D. or Felicia L.
SDH MUSIC RECITAL
Our second music recital will be held on November 15, 2:00 PM at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (maps are available, if you need one). All instruments and voices are welcome --- all ages too! Come participate or come to observe and enjoy. For more information, call Patti H.
EARLY READERS GROUP
If your child has not started to read on his/her own, then we welcome you to join us for story time. We have rotated the stories by families, each choosing one of their favorites or a seasonal choice. It has also been an option to follow up with some sort of craft, drawing, snack, or activity, depending on the story. We meet 45 minutes before our park starting time. See Mary M. if you have any questions.
MIDDLE READING GROUP
If you have readers aged approximately 8 - 12 who enjoy reading chapter books, please join us! Beginning November 14, we will be meeting at 11:15 AM. The selection for our Nov. 14 discussion is still to be decided. On Nov. 28, there will be selections from Joyful Noise --- Poems for Two Voices , by Paul Fleischman. There are some copies in the library.
PRE-TEEN GROUP (ages 10 - 13)
The first Tuesday of each month, during park time, the pre-teens meet for board games for approximately an hour. Please bring a game to share if you can. For more info, contact Becky L.
SCHOLASTIC BOOKS AND SOFTWARE
I again have Scholastic book and software catalogs available. These are good for preschoolers through teens. If you cannot make it to the park for your catalog, call me and I will mail you one. The orders need to be back to me by Tuesday, November 14, so that I can have your books in before we break before the holidays. Please remember: you can make out one check for the total to Scholastic, and make sure your name is on every order form. For info, call Sybelle V.
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"You could live a perfectly normal life if you were simply willing to
live a perfectly normal life!"
--- Q to second Q, "Death Wish"
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FYI...
COOL STUFF FROM OUR FRIENDS AT PBS by Michelle Y.
It all started when I got my October program guide from KUAT-TV. In it are all the featured programs for the month, which I highlight so we can remember to watch them. This issue also had a note to educators that there were free teaching guides available for "The Desert Speaks" if I would just call 574-0855 or e-mail twessel@kuat.arizona.edu.
When I did that, I learned just how much help PBS can be to a homeschooling family. As a result of making that contact, I have a wonderful activity guide that we've used weekly with the "Building Big" series, the fall teacher's guide for NOVA, science activities to go along what's happening on ZOOM, and a list of kid-friendly shows (with accompanying teacher's web sites) for every day in November. We've
been having so much fun that I've been telling everybody I know about this resource --- including you! You can also check out the KUAT web site at http://kuat.org and click on the links for "TV" and "Educational Resources."
THEATREWORKS USA
On April 2, 2001, Theatreworks will be performing a play based on "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile." This is recommended for ages K-4th grade. "Lapbabies" can come too. The price is $6.25 per person using a seat. Their performances are usually a lot of fun. I will have a sign-up sheet at the park during the month of November. If you cannot make it to the park, or if you need more info, call Sybelle V.
TUCSON CELTIC FESTIVAL AND SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES by Eileen D.
The 14th Annual Tucson Celtic Festival and Scottish Highland Games will be on Saturday, November 4, 2000, from 9 am to 5 PM at the Rillito Downs Race Track, 4502 N. 1st. There will be entertainment such as Irish and Scottish dance, music including bagpipes and a fiddle competition. There will be ancient Scottish athletics such as tossing the caber, putting the stone and more. There will be bagpipe bands,
food, vendors and a raffle. Tickets are $10 at the gate and children 12 and under are free with a paid adult. Advance tickets are $8 with the mail-in order form at: http://www.tucson.com/tcfa/tickets.htm
For more information, check out the complete site at:
http://www.tucson.com/tcfa/index.htm
SDH WELCOME GUIDE
We are interested in hearing from anyone on how useful the SDH Welcome Kit was to you, especially if you are new to SDH or homeschooling. If you have received and read the SDH Welcome Kit, please let us know if you have any suggestions or feedback. If you haven't received one yet, see Sybelle V. Please provide your suggestions in writing/e-mail so that we can better incorporate your feedback. Send your suggestions to Eileen D. or Sybelle V.
MORE FROM JOHN TAYLOR GATTO
For a decade now, John Taylor Gatto has been a strong, critical voice showcasing the many inherent problems within our educational system. Much of his writing has been collected and archived at http://www.preservenet.com/theory/Gatto.html.
You'll find gems like - "Government schooling is the most radical adventure in history. It kills the family by monopolizing the best times of childhood and by teaching disrespect for home and parents."
"An exaggeration? Hardly. Parents aren't meant to participate in our form of schooling, rhetoric to the contrary. My orders as schoolteacher are to make children fit an animal training system, not to help each find his or her personal path."
"I just can't do it anymore. I can't train children to wait to be told what to do; I can't train people to drop what they are doing when a bell sounds; I can't persuade children to feel some justice in their class placement when there isn't any, and I can't persuade children to believe teachers have valuable secrets they can acquire by becoming our disciples.That isn't true."
Gatto's realization, "I teach how to fit into a world I don't want to live in," gives us a chance to become aware that we...are giving ourselves and our children the time to recreate a world where we do want to live. A world where everyone is free to develop and grow along his or her personal path.
HEAR MOLLY MC KASSON
Molly McKasson will be speaking at the Main Library meeting room on Monday, November 6, from 7:00-8:30 PM. Molly is a former member of the Tucson City Council. This gathering is open to all who are interested in learning more about the political process. It is most appropriate for middle school age and up, but smaller children are welcome if babysitting is an issue. For more info, call Debbie D.
NORTHWEST SDH "BRANCH" MEETINGS
A few of us have decided to start meeting at Arthur Pack Park on Fridays at 9 AM, in addition to Tuesday park days. We will initially not have any structure and see how it develops. Maybe we'll be able to attract some people in the NW area for whom the drive to Ft. Lowell is just too much...Tell your friends! And of course, you don't have to live in the northwest to come. If you'd just like to get together an additional day,
you're welcome! For suggestions, call or see Sybelle V. at the regular Tuesday meetings.
TREE FOR FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
Unfortunately, there are no more trees available at the zoo for us to decorate. The plan now is to "adopt" an assisted living facility and decorate a tree for them, go Christmas carolling, bake cookies, etc. We may go to Sterling House, but no date has been set yet, so any and all ideas/suggestions are welcome. Let Sybelle V. know.
IN CASE YOU MISSED THE OCTOBER PARENTS MEETING...by Danetta M.
This was an especially good meeting with a deceptive title. Not many people were willing to brave a rainy night to talk about Scope and Sequence (when is the child supposed to learn what?), but like most things done by homeschoolers, a simple subject became a fascinating evening of discussion. Of course, it was decided early on that scope and sequence, and the related topic of a core curriculum, couldn't be
addressed without a consideration of what ends one hoped to achieve. I have never heard the reasons for why families homeschool articulated so coherently.
Once the why was discussed, the question of "How are we going to get where we want to go?" could be addressed. The highlight for me was the discussion of what should be contained in a core curriculum. No consensus was reached (or needed), but the ideas expressed were stimulating and some were new to me. I felt personally enriched by the evening. What a great way to get to know some fellow homeschoolers!
Look for the next parent meeting after the holidays.
FAMILY UNSCHOOLERS NETWORK RESOLUTION
To fully appreciate the following, you should first read the NEA
2000-2001 Resolutions, B-68. Home Schooling located at:
FUN 2000-2001 Resolutions
RU-4.0 Public Schooling
The Family Unschoolers Network believes that public schooling programs cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When public schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all parental requirements. Public schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family who choose to attend public school.
As long as the expenses of public schooling are borne by the taxpayers, those funds must also be made available to parents/guardians for use in the educational program of their choice whether that be public schools, charter schools, private schools, or
homeschools. Instruction should be by persons who are approved by the appropriate parent or guardian, and a curriculum approved by the parent or guardian should be used.
The Network also believes that public-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities that are not open to all students. Extracurricular programs paid for by the taxpayers must be open to all residents.
The Network further believes that local homeschool parents should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering a homeschool setting from a public school setting. (1988, 2000)
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1) Public school programs artificially segregate children by age and require seating at desks set in rows. This does not permit a normal social interaction with other children or adults such as may occur in everyday life outside of a school setting. The low number of adults encountered in the public school setting provides little opportunity
for children to see the modeling of appropriate social behaviors and they are thus more likely to see only the behaviors of other children their own age without an appropriate social context. In addition, public schools cannot provide the customized, extensive and flexible curriculum available to the homeschool. The public school setting artificially schedules learning and segregates it into separate subjects with a limited amount of allocated time per day. This limits activities to what can fit the allocated time slot and to what can easily be classified as related to a particular subject. The predetermined schedule also means that many children will either not
have enough time to master the material before moving on, or will have to waste time on material they have already mastered before moving on.
2) Parents have a compelling interest in the education of their children and should therefore be able to determine the requirements that must be met when their children are educated in public school.
3) Test scores and evaluations from public schools may not be accurate indicators of knowledge or proficiency and are often of little value in determining grade placement or credits for a homeschool setting. The scores often reflect only the ability to
memorize material long enough to complete a test, and the skill set being evaluated is often limited. Therefore, the Network recommends that the initial months of homeschooling a former public school student be used primarily to explore the interests and abilities of the student while allowing the family to adapt to the challenges of the independence and integration of the flexible and multi-disciplinary environment of homeschooling which can provide hands-on, "real world" activities not available in public school settings.
The above may be reprinted freely as long as it is used in its entirety and includes this note.
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(ANOTHER) QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"Wisdom is the daughter of Experience. Truth is only the daughter of
Time."
---Leonardo da Vinci
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EDITOR'S FOOTNOTE
The rumors are true: I have been audacious enough to take a class WITHOUT my children. Even more startling, the subject of this class does not pertain to child development, child rearing, or homeschooling. None of my classmates even knows that I am a parent, nor do they ask. I feel like I slip into a parallel universe for those 3 hours on Tuesdays, one in which I can be undistractedly devoted to something that is of no tangible benefit to anyone else. It is a peculiar flavor of weirdness.
It has also been a powerful antidote to the "Mom as Vending Machine" state of mind I'd been in. Over the past several years, time for my own interests had to be stolen, not scheduled, because everyone else's needs always seemed so pressing --- but I had ceased to be a good sport about it. Taking this class was almost an act of defiance, despite the fact that the only person who was holding me back was me. It has been invaluable over the past 6 weeks, for the children and for me, to see that the world doesn't tilt any differently on its axis just because I am not there to hold it in place. It is both humbling and liberating to arrive at this realization.
Much as I love homeschooling and the opportunity to share more fully in my children's lives, I have been missing the part of myself that existed before they did. It's been good to find that it has not withered too badly from neglect, and I am determined to find a more of a balance so that it can actually thrive. 'Cause at my house, that saying is true: If Mama isn't happy, NOBODY'S happy!
On a business-related item, please be aware that the DEADLINE FOR DECEMBER'S NEWSLETTER IS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, because I am realistic about how little work I am going to do on it during Thanksgiving week. As usual, we aspire to get each newsletter to you on or before the 1st of the month, barring any catastrophes in my life or Eileen's.
See you all in November,
Michelle
