Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers   Tucson, Arizona

SONORAN DESERT HOMESCHOOLERS

"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."

-- mission statement

Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers

Tucson, AZ

SEPTEMBER 1999 CALENDAR

AUGUST 31, TUESDAY, 9:30 AM--PARK MEETING

Let's continue to welcome newcomers and catch up on summer happenings.

The Reading Club for older elementary age kids will

hold an organizational meeting on Tuesday Aug. 31 at

9:00 AM (before the park meeting). For more

information, contact Lalita.

SEPTEMBER 7, TUESDAY, 9:30 AM--PARK MEETING

Planning meeting for pre/very early-readers Reading Group. Please think of

ideas and when you could do something. Our Reading Group will be meeting

the Tuesdays the others do (we don't know yet). For info call Sybelle.

UA PRESENTS reservations and money due to Michelle. See related article

below.

SEPTEMBER 14, TUESDAY, 9:30 AM--PARK MEETING

There will be a discussion of mission statements for new homeschoolers after

announcements. Why are you homeschooling? What do you hope your kids will

get out of it? This is a repeat of an interesting summer park meeting

discussion.

THEATERWORKS reservations and money due to Sybelle. See related article

below.

SEPTEMBER 17, FRIDAY, 7-9 PM--TEEN PUPPET-MAKING NIGHT!

The Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers Teen Group will be meeting on Friday,

September 17 from 7-9pm at Shalom Mennonite Church- 6044 E. 30th St.

Nathaniel will be showing teens how to make hand puppets! Please bring

$1.00 for fun foam, hot glue guns, scissors, fabric scraps, cereal boxes,

and odds and ends (feathers, fur, buttons, ribbon, yarn...). Also, bring a

finger snack to share. We expect some crazy creations to come from this...

For more information call Nathaniel.

SEPTEMBER 21, TUESDAY, 9:30 AM--PARK MEETING

We continue to get to know each other. There will be a discussion of scope

and sequences after announcements. How do you know what to teach? What

should the kids be learning this year? this is a repeat of an interesting

summer park meeting discussion.

SEPTEMBER 28, TUESDAY, 9:30 AM--PARK MEETING AND USED

CURRICULUM FAIR

Let's have a SDH Curriculum Fair. Clean out your closets and

bring what you don't use anymore that is related to

homeschooling, like games, books, supplies, curriculum. Bring a cardtable

to display it and some change.

SEPTEMBER 29, WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM--HANDWORK EVENING

Parents, bring your handwork and join in an evening social. We'll meet the

last Wednesday

evening of each month at rotating homes, for adult conversation and a chance

to catch up

on cross-stitch, knitting, sewing, quilting, or whatever keeps your hands

busy!

September's night out will be at Sara's home in Oro Valley.

COMING IN OCTOBER--PARENT'S MEETING

This will be a chance to discuss homeshcooling issues or park organizational

issues. Please let Karen

know what your concerns are, so that she can make an agenda for the meeting.

INTERNET INFORMATION

Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers web site is:

http://www.crosswinds.net/~hozho/

The Southern Arizona Homeschoolers' mailing list is here:

http://www.egroups.com/group/soazhomeschoolers/info.html

You click the Join button, and if you're not already a member of e-

groups, e-groups will guide you through the process where they

ping your e-mail address to make sure it's valid and to make sure

you're not being signed up by a third party.

TREASURER"S REPORT

by Carol Toben (phone conversation summary 6/99)

Annual Dues and Contributions: $111.50

photocopy phone lists $ 13.00

Print out and mail newsletters

(does not include current issue) $ 20.00

Balance $ 78.50

Subscriptions to the newsletter and access to our phone lists run

$10/year/family. Some families have already paid. Please pay your $10

participation fee by October 1 to continue to receive newsletters and updated

membership lists. That gives you a month to "try us out" before committing

your dollars to Sonoran Desert Homeschoolers. Fees may be paid to Carol or

Lalita, our co-treasurers.

UA PRESENTS by Michelle Y.

UA PRESENTS: The School Time Matinee Series

Here are the offerings available to us this season. I have plagiarized

shamelessly from the UA Presents brochure.

All performances start at 10:00 AM.

The Carnegie Hall Jazz Band Friday, Nov. 12

. . .has earned a reputation for distinct programs that highlight new

perspectives on the jazz band tradition, saluting jazz greats and new

trends, established artists and emerging talent.

Ballet Hispanico Friday, January 21

The company fuses ballet, modern, and jazz dance forms, to provide a

theatrical insight into the dreams and struggles of immigrants in the

United States.

The Blind Boys of Alabama Thursday, March 16

Formed in the 1930s, this group has taken Gospel singing to new heights,

winning 3 Grammy nominations. Their style is described as a

"foot-stomping jubilees."

Children of Uganda Wednesday, April 5

. . .the vitality of East African music, dance and rhythms, performed by

children from the Daughters of Charity Orphanage who serve as goodwill

ambassadors all over the world.

The Mandinka Epic Friday, April 14

Music, song, and dance from the heart of West Africa, telling the story

of the struggle for power and the celebration of new discoveries in an

ancient civilization.

Tickets for all performances are only $3 each (what a deal!).

I need to submit our TICKET REQUESTS AND MONEY soon, since shows for the

past two seasons have sold out. If you and your child/ren would like to

attend any or all of these great performances, I will take names and

ticket payment until TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7. There will be a sign-up sheet

at the meetings or you can mail your check to me, Michelle.

Please be sure to indicate which shows you are planning to attend.

THEATER WORKS BY SYBELLE

Theatre Works USA will be putting on three plays for children in Tucson

this schoolyear. The plays are the following: 1. Charlotte's Web (appr.

preschool through 3rd grade) October 19, 1999 at 10 AM 2. Goldrush

(appr.K through grade 4-5) February 2, 2000 at 10 AM 3. The Three Little

Pigs (appr. preschool through 3rd grade) April 10, 2000 at 10 AM The ages

are approximates and would depend on the child. I have taken my child to

plays by this company at the age of just 4 and he liked them. The plays

will all be held at TCC at 260 S.Church. The cost for each ticket is $6.

Unfortunately parents pay also, but lapbabies (I'd say up to age 2 -3) do

not. Sign up (at parkmeetings) to go to one, two or all three plays.

Deadline for sign-up is September 14 (parkday). Payment needs to accompany

sign-up. you can also sign up by calling Patty at 293-1976 and send her a

check, as long as the check gets there in time for the deadline.

Sybelle

UPCOMING EVENTS BY SYBELLE

I will make reservations with the zoo for a Chrismas tree to decorate for

their Festival of Lights. The Festival is held the first few weeks of

December. Schools and organizations decorate trees and wreaths and they'll

be on display in the evenings. I will pay for the reservation. We will

need lights (anyone have extras?), a good sign that says we decorated the

tree, and decorations. It would be nice to make the decorations out of

natural, recycled, or recyclable materails. Better not use something birds

like to eat! We will have a little planning meeting early October and

maybe set a date to get together to make our decorations. The tree will

need to be decorated on November 29 or 30 from 9AM-7PM. For more info call

Sybelle.

The zoo also invites groups to be strolling carollers during the Festival.

If you like singing and can get a little group together you can call the

zoo and they would love to have you!

SWIM LESSONS

Anyone interested in swimming lessons at Ft Lowell

pool should speak to Judy or Carol at the park

meeting. The pool supervisors are willing to work out

a schedule for a class for homeschoolers as they did

last Spring, but we need to have enough people

interested. The class would probably be held around

noontime; the specific days have not been determined.

There is no charge for these lessons. The big

advantage is participants can avoid the usual parks &

rec swimming registration chaos.

GIFT GIVING IDEA BY SYBELLE

If there is a birthday, or other reason for gifts

(Christmas?), maybe you or your children would like to think globally this

year. What about people who have nothing? I found this great organization

where you can donate money for someone to go towards livestock. The

livestock goes to a family in a developing country (and domestically to

needy families) to supply them with a source of food/income. You can

choose many animals, from chickens and rabbits to goats, pigs,

waterbuffalo, and heifers! Donations run from $20 for a flock of chicks to

$500 for a waterbuffalo or cow (you can get shares in those). Go see their

website for yourself at http://www.heifer.org or call for info at

1(800)422-0474. I think our relatives are all going to be animalgivers

this year for christmas. With the program the families get instructions in

how to properly care for their animals, food to get started with and they

have to agree to pass some of the offspring on to other needy families.

Another great site is Kidscare (and Familiescare). Here you can join as a

family (free) to become part of a growing movement of people who want "to

develop a spirit of compassion and volunteerism in children" (Kidscare

mission statement). The idea is that kids come up with what they could do

to help others, which does not involve giving money. Examples of what

national actions they have had: making decorated shoeboxes,filled with

pencils,paper,stickers etc, things a sick child could do in bed. This was

then send to a central address and shipped to the still-sick kids in

Chernobyl. A hat and cap drive for kids with cancer was another successful

one. When you join you receive a magazine with ideas, you have access to

their internetsite where there is a lot of stuff to use to educate kids on

the needs of other people. Local volunteerism is very much encouraged. I

would really like for people who are interested in doing something like

this to go look at their internetsite and read their info. Then I would

like to get together at one of the parkmeetings and see if we couldn't get

a kidscare club started with our children. It could be a positive way for

children of different ages to work together towards a common goal. For

example, the older children could come up with ideas, the younger children

could help realize them. We could have blanketdrives etc. (like is being

done now for the people in Turkey). I hope people are interested. This is

the site: http://www.kidscare.org No internet acces? Kidscare Clubs,

P.O.Box 1083, New Canaan, CT 06840 , phone (914)533-1101. For further

info/brainstorming call Sybelle.

GOOD HOMESCHOOL BOOKS I HAVE READ by Sybelle

"The unschooling handbook" by Mary Griffith. Even if you would never dream

of unschooling

it is very much worth reading. Very inspiring, shows you what learning

really is

(being taught does not equal learning), and what things already in your life

are really learning opportunities. I have a copy if anyone wants to

borrow. Not available at the library, I believe.

"Good Stuff; Learning Tools For All Ages" by Rebecca Rupp. In my opinion, a

must

have especially for newer homeschoolers. It is divided by subject (sbcience,

language arts, math, history, etc.) and discusses everything the author has

found is

available for teaching/learning. This includes curricula, hands-on

materials,games,distance-learning, etc.etc. Lots and lots and lots of

stuff, addresses, pnonenumbers. Available at the library.

SUMMER LEADERS' MEETING by Debbie G.

There was a meeting on July 3, 1999 of representatives from

Tucson-area homeschool support groups. The purpose of the meeting was to

share information on upcoming events for homeschoolers, and to learn more

about dealing with the media in regard to homeschooling. Tom Lewis and

his wife Colene came from AFHE (Arizona Families for Home Education) in

Phoenix to share their experiences with the Phoenix-area media. This

report will be broken into two parts. This first part will deal with

events scheduled for the coming year. The second part will recount the

>presentation given by Tom Lewis about media relations.

TUCSON-AREA EVENTS

ROLLER-SKATING AT SKATE COUNTRY NORTH

There are four dates scheduled for the coming year for

homeschoolers: October 20, 1999 January 21, 2000 March 17, 2000 May 19,

2000 The sessions run from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. The charge is $3.00 per

person. Does this include skate rental? I don't know. Let me know if you

need information, and I will find it out for you: e-mail is

a2sails@prodigy.net

HOMESCHOOL PROM 2000

Toni Rodriguez from BETT is organizing the homeschoolers' prom for 2000.

She is considering holding it at a hotel because many homeschoolers from

Pinal and Cochise Counties are interested in attending. The tentative

date is either April 27 or April 28, 2000. It will be open to graduating

8th graders, or to ages 14 and up.

SAN DIEGO MARINE SCIENCE TRIP

I don't have all the details for this trip. The dates are February 2 -

February 7, 2000. The price will include room, food, and labs. It will

not cover transportation. It will be held near Scripps Institute in La

Jolla. The entire days are planned, and will include a visit to Sea World.

Labs are located onboard a ship. It is designed for children 3rd grade

and up. Parents may attend, but are discouraged to allow as many spaces

for children as possible. Dorm accommodations will be provided. Ten

chaperones will be required for the trip. Because of the difficulties

involved in fundraising, this will be a one-time-only event. If you are

interested in more information, contact Debbie at park, or e-mail me

at a2sails@prodigy.net

SPELLING BEE

A spelling bee is scheduled for the first week in December, 1999. Call Becky

at

625-5095 for information.

SCIENCE FAIR

The annual homeschool science fair will be held at the

end of January, 2000. On Monday,October 4, at 3:00 PM, at Tucson Main

Library, there will be an organizational meeting for representatives from

homeschool support groups planning to submit entries for the fair. If

there is no representative from a particular group at that meeting, that

group will be ineligible to participate in the science fair. Information

packets will be handed out at that meeting, along with information on

judging.

BOOK SALE

The annual book sale will be held in June 2000.

This year it was held in May, and the turnout was extremely low. It was

thought that perhaps people were not ready to sell materials in May, but

would be finished with them by June. The hours for the sale will be

from 9 AM to 12 noon.

ICE SKATING

Two dates are scheduled at Ice-O-Plex: September 17, 1999 December 17, 1999

The time will be from 9:15 AM to 11:30 AM, and the charge will be $5.00 per

skater,

including skates.

CITYWIDE PRESIDENT"S FITNESS CHALLENGE

This will be discussed at the November meeting.

GEOGRAPHY BEE

This is available for hosting. Telao is considering hosting it.

HEAT

The athletic group is reorganizing. It has been tabled for this year, and is

hoping to

restart in fall 2000. They really need representatives form each support

group for the organization to work.

NEWSLETTER EXCHANGE

This will be implemented this year. It is being done as a

courtesy to the other groups in the area. One person from each support

group should be selected to receive the mailing. An updated list will be

sent out to everyone . People have enjoyed the exchange because they get

ideas from other groups, and find out new information.

HOMESCHOOL CITY-WIDE LEADERS' MEETING

There will be a November meeting of this coalition. It will be held at

Tucson's Main

Library, on Saturday, November 6, 1999, at 10:00 AM. Volonteers to

represent

SDH are encouraged to step forward. I will make sure that these dates are

posted on

the SDH website http://www2.crosswinds.net/~hozho/

Any questions? Contact Debbie or Danetta.

This is the second part of the report on the July 3, 1999 meeting. It

deals with the talk presented by Tom Lewis about homeschoolers and media

relations. Tom Lewis from Arizona Families for Home Education spoke to

the Tucson homeschool leadership group about how to deal effectively with

the media in relation to homeschooling. He discussed ways that his group

has handled interviews and publicity, and gave suggestions for ways to

improve the situation in Tucson. The AFHE state convention was being

held the following the following weekend at the Phoenix Civic Center. Up

to 3,000 people were expected to attend. AFHE is a volunteer-run

organization. Between $20,000 and $30,000 is required upfront to run the

state convention. AFHE publishes a bi-monthly newsletter for members. It

also monitors political issues affecting homeschoolers, and handles media

relations for the Phoenix-area homeschooling community. Tom feels that

the battlefront in homeschooling today is over the issue of who owns

children - the state or the parents. Arizona has the oldest homeschooling

law in the nation, written in 1912, which allowed home teaching as long

as it was performed by a competent teacher. In the 1970's, the issue of

competency was questioned by various groups in the state, and it was felt

that competency should be mandated by the state. During a debate in the

state legislature over this issue, someone stood up and questioned the

reason for the debate, because kids obviously belong to the state. Jim

Skelley responded that children are gifts from God, given to parents to

raise. CPS has been involved in stripping parental rights, and the

business community has urged that legislation be written designed to

restrict teenagers. The laws end up affecting homeschooled teenagers.

AFHE has been involved in changing state laws regarding homeschooling

since the 1970's. At that time, AFHE had prepared a package of proposed

changes in homeschooling legislation. They then approached Beth Herman, a

member of the state legislature. She asked Tom Lewis just how

many homeschoolers were involved in animal sacrifices and drinking

blood. AFHE then decided that public relations was a necessary component

of its mission to serve Arizona's homeschooling community. Tom worked

to broaden the issue of homeschooling to include as many groups as

possible. Racial and cultural minorities involved in conflicts with the

government over educational issues were highlighted to expand the

definition of exactly who homeschooled. AFHE presented homeschooling as a

religious issue and as a family rights issue, to find as much support as

possible from outside the traditional homeschooling community. Another

component of their plan required the development of networks and the

formation of alliances. This included working with both private and

charter schools, churches, and civic organizations like Youth in

Government. It also meant working with the Center for Arizona Policy,

which lobbies the state legislature on behalf of special-interest groups.

The final part of their plan necessitated the direct involvement of

homeschoolers in the state government. Participation in Legislative Days

(held every January) and attending leadership conferences were encouraged

to keep homeschoolers visible to lawmakers. Tom stressed that it is

important for everyone from legislators to CPS officials to the judicial

system to understand that child custody disputes involving

homeschooled children are marital issues, not homeschooling issues, and

that no laws affecting homeschooling should be written in response to

them.

Bret and Polly Parry have been selected by Tom and Colene Lewis

to act as public relations directors for the Tucson area. They are the

designated media contact persons in regard to all homeschooling issues and

major events. They will prepare letters of introduction for all the media

in Tucson - radio and television stations, and daily and weekly

newspapers. They will coordinate any special letter-writing campaigns,

and will select and prescreen homeschooling families who will be listed

as available for media interviews. They will write and issue press

releases for homeschooling events in the Tucson area, and will work on

establishing a list of people available for public-speaking engagements

concerning homeschooling. Tom gave some examples of effective use of

power by homeschoolers. One was a press release that AFHE issued in

response to comments made by state senator Lela Alston, serving on the

education committee. The protest was arranged on Friday, and was held on

the following Monday. That particular Monday fell on a holiday weekend,

so television stations were looking for stories to air. The protest ended

up being covered by 3-4 stations. A second example of homeschoolers

using their power was when House of Representatives bill HR 6 was under

consideration. This bill would have placed both homeschools and private

schools under the direct auspices of the federal Department of Education.

Homeschoolers were notified nationwide, and representatives in

Washington, D.C. received over 1 million telephone calls opposed to the

bill. The bill was subsequently dropped.

AFHE has made use of its

membership in the Arizona Speakers Bureau to find opportunities to speak

to groups and organizations throughout the state about homeschooling. Tom

mentioned that when speaking about home education, avoid badmouthing

public education. Don't be "anti" anything - be pro homeschooling. On a

local level, public relations strategy consists of: knowing your

audience, inviting the media out to events like science fairs,

graduations, proms, give the media stories to cover to engage the

issue of homeschooling at a level higher than mere sensationalism,

make a tool - give reporters something visual; at a graduation ceremony,

dress the graduates in caps and gowns, provide documents and analyses

that lead to desirable conclusions; do some of their research for them,

develop sound bites: "We practice parent-guided rather than

institutionally-directed socialization," "It's not the cream, it's the

process," "Homeschoolers compare favorably to publicly-educated

students," "Homeschoolers are doing well enough to be left alone."

Press releases should go out no earlier than about two days in advance of

the scheduled event. Home visits are a violation of the Fourth

Amendment. When dealing with the media, be excited; be confident.

Realize that what homeschoolers see as normal is unusual and different to

everyone else. Local support groups need to notify media of stories to

cover, like science fairs. They need to invite media to these events, and

then need to create, write, and direct the stories. By inviting the media

to cover a particular event, you are maintaining a good deal of control

in the situation. If letters to editors are submitted, make sure that

they are proofread by someone other than the author - grammatical errors

hurt the image of homeschoolers. Support groups need to openly visible

through volunteerism and hospitality. Every support group should develop

displays that can be set up during events, then stored afterwards for

future use. Update them periodically, bring them to legislative days.

Have a member of the group serve as group historian. When dealing with

the media, remember to separate homeschooling issues from other issues

when news stories arise. Be ready for questions before they are asked.

When preparing for a media interview, do not feed into a stereotype. Make

sure that the children are wearing shoes, that the house is clean and

orderly. Have vestiges of an educational environment visible - desk,

bookcases, blackboards. Relax. Come up with possible questions so that

answers can be prepared and rehearsed. Allow the children to be

interviewed. Tone down the religious talk. Think of ways to state things

that are non-inflammatory and don't feed into preconceptions. There are

two ways to get media coverage. One is to wait for the media to come to

you so you end up with little control. The other is that you approach the

media with a story, give them what they want, and you will retain more

control. AFHE is conducting a state-wide survey to better serve the

homeschooling community, and to understand what homeschooling is today,

how it has changed in the eight years since the last survey was

conducted. Copies of the surveys will be distributed by local support

groups and returned to AFHE. AFHE can be found on the web at

http://www.afhe.org

AUGUST POOL PARTY

We thank Sharon Eakers for arranging our wonderful End-of-Summer Pool Party!

When each person contributes what they can, it makes Sonoran Desert

Homeschoolers an exciting, happening group!

Thank you, thank you, Sharon!

_____________________________________________

FROM THE AUGUST NEWSLETTER: FOR THOSE WHO DID NOT RECEIVE AN AUGUST

NEWSLETTER...

HOMESCHOOL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mary Beth would like to publish a bibliography of books pertaining to

homeschooling that SDH members have found useful, informative,

enlightening, challenging or reassuring. The list will be available to new

homeschoolers and experienced ones who need a "re-charge". Please submit

your favorite title (or two or three) with author's name to daught@the

river.com or to Mary Beth at park meetings.

A VARIETY OF THOUGHTS by Michelle Y.

Re: park safety issues -- I like the suggestion of providing

some more structured games and activities for all the kids. However, the

idea that we discourage the 9+ kids from using some of the

equipment caught my attention. At that age, our children still enjoy

slides and climbing. It seems unfair to tell them that they're too young

to go off with the teens, but they're too big for the equipment. And who

would be responsible for enforcing this rule? I understand the concern

for the little ones' safety, but my observation is that bigger kids have

a kind of radar that helps them avoid squashing toddlers --- otherwise,

only the eldest child in a family would ever survive!

Re: news media --- I, too, dislike the idea of news people showing up at

the park, filming our children, and possibly misrepresenting what they

see our kids doing there as our idea of "schooling." We are not teaching

our children at the park, we're socializing, but I'm not sure people who

are uninformed about homeschooling would make that distinction. I also

think it's a mistake to avoid reporters. After all, we're not doing

anything wrong, we're just doing it different, and the community at large

would benefit from knowing more about us. The suggestion of assembling

a press package and having a few designated speakers from the group, plus

a policy about not allowing our children to be filmed without our

knowledge and consent, would make me more comfortable with press

coverage. I am too cynical to believe that it will totally prevent any

more biased stories about homeschoolers, but at least we won't be caught

off-guard every time a reporter shows up.

On a personal note, I understand that SDH is still getting on its feet,

but I am longing for a little more structure in our meetings beyond

announcements. I am one of those new homeschooling parents with the

questions that you've all answered a zillion times, but I also think that

experienced homeschoolers must have issues to discuss as well. With as

quickly as children grow and change, I can't believe that once you get

your "routine" down, you never need to make adjustments or that you no

longer have need of the information that other parents have to share.

For instance, Sam and I seem to be headed in the unschooling direction,

but I'm still a little worried about the possibility that my son will

never pick up a pencil to write or do math again. There have to be

unschoolers or semi-unschoolers in our group, but I don't have the first

clue about who they are so I could ask them how they've dealt with this

concern. So this is my request for a regular discussion (even monthly

would be good) about homeschooling issues at our meetings.

IDEAS FOR WRITER'S WORKSHOPS by Sue Moore

(from an online SOAZ post, reprinted with permission)

I thought I'd share something that really helped my son and some other boys

here.

Last year, for about 3 months, we had a Writers' Workshop. I got the

basics for it from a book called "Writer's Co-op: A Planning Guide"

which I bought from Lifetime Books for $6.00. (It's on page 146 is

you have the 97-98 catalog. Their phone # is: (941) 676-6311)

I took what she offered and tweaked it to fit our group better.

First off, out of the 5 families I pulled together, I was the only

mom who wrote. So rather than do it as a co-op, we did it as a

workshop. We met once a week on Fridays right after lunch. Each

meeting consisted of:

"Sue Time" - that's the "OK let's get together and get down to

business" portion. I outlined what we'd be doing for that day. Total

time - about 5 minutes or less

Author's Chair count - Took a quick survey to see who had brought

something they wrote that they wanted to share. The actual sharing

is done later, but you get a count early in case you need to cut

other things short to make time.Time - 1 minute

Group exercise - This is the fun part! Everyone (moms included) had

to have a notebook just for the workshop, and they had to bring

something to write with. Each week I'd come up with a different

topic to write about. Sometimes I gave them sentence starters, other

times we focussed on things like using our senses and writing full

descriptions of things. (More about some of this later.) Total time

- 1 minute to share the topic and 5-10 minutes to write...depending

on topic, the interest level, etc.

Group Exercise share time - everyone (Moms included) are encouraged

to share what they have written. These readings are done from right

where the person is sitting. Others can make encouraging remarks,

but there is no critiquing of any kind allowed...especially not from

Mom or siblings.

Author's Chair - At this point, every shild who would like to share

something they have written on their own has a chance to do so. A

special chair is used, and the author gets to sit there until his/her

piece is read and discussed. Kids can share complete works or

works-in-progress. If the author has anything in particular she

wants feedback on, she asks for it beforehand. After all, we can't

really comment on how realistic a dialogue is unless we've been

listening for that. All listeners are encouraged to make comments

about the works. They can't say things like "That stinks!" but they

can say things like, "I think it would be better if the main

character was a dragon instead of a goldfish." Total time - good

question! HTat depends on how lively the discussion gets. Early

meetings were shorter because kids were shyer, but in later meetings

everyone wanted to share something they had written.

Snacks: brief time for snacks if you'd like. Since I was in charge

of leading the group, someone else was in charge of bringing the

snacks - and it was never my responsibility!

Also, kids were required to write in their writing notebooks for at

least 10 minutes a day. They could work on a different piece every

day, spend a week or more on one piece, or use that time to go back

an polish up a story. We had some very specific rules for this time

- mainly for the moms. This is a time for creativity, not a time for

correction. Moms, dads, sisters, friends, brothers, cousins, etc...n

o one was allowed to pick at what was being written. If your 13 year

old is writing up a storm and spells "cat" "K-A-T" You leave them

alone and let them write. Of course, it will have to be fixed later

when the editing portion comes in...if they choose to get to that

point with that piece. They may get halfway through a story and

decide that they don't like writing it anymore. No problem - go on

to something else.

I gave outside assignments rarely. One of these was the first week.

I gave them a paper with about 10 sentence starters they could use,

if they chose, during their daily writing time. Things like "The

funniest thing I ever saw at the grocery store was..." or "If you

want to have a really fun time, you should go to..." I shared my

page the first day, had them write during the group exercise using

one of them, then they had to bring at least 5 original ones the next

week. Another mom typed up the master list, and then all the kids

had a nice long list to go by, if they chose.

Other group exercises were things like -

The host family baked fresh cookies, the kids all ate a couple then

had to write about the cookies using the best descriptions they

could. (some included space aliens or gorillas, but the descriptions

were there.)

Trip to the zoo - our zoo is small, but if you go to a larger zoo,

this can still work. We met together just inside the gates, and I

gave them a worksheet of sorts to help them write animal

descriptions - questions to help them get past the overall color and

size and get them being more observant. Some of the questions could

be answered by reading the signs. Two girls really got into it and

called the zoo keeper to get more information about the tiger.

Editing marks - have a huge posterboard with common editing marks,

make up a worksheet that is pretty messed up and let the kids have

fun finding the errors and correcting them using the proper editing

marks.

Poetry - read several different types of poetry and have the kids

write some of their own.

Well, I hope these ideas help a little. Everyone - pre-teen boys

included - loved the Writers' Workshops and wanted to start them up

again after we were done with JASON Project... Ideally, we would have

finished off with an Author's Party and would have collected finished works

and had them printed and bound, but 3 of the 5 families had family crises

right before

Thanksgiving, so ti never came to be.

(For more information, contact Sue Moore at s-moore@worldnet.att.net)

CREATIVE HOME EDUCATION IDEAS

The following is reprinted from the America Online Homeschool Connection

with permission by the author. I reprint it here because it shows how varied

home education curriculums can be, and it may inspire you to new creative

heights in your own home education endeavors. If you would like to

contribute ideas, the author's email address is at the bottom of her article:

<< I am a mother of a young adult who is now living on his own in another

city. When he was born I was young, dumb and single. I made a choice at

that time which was one of scores in front of me. It was probably one of the

best choices I've ever made. I joined a group of La Leche League mothers

when I had a question about nursing. While I never intended to stay

involved--I did for about six or seven years. Because those women became my

friends and my mentors I consistently made choices that were in the best

interest of my son. I believe that had I joined up with a support group of

single young mothers I would never have learned the values lessons that I

gained from this group. I even had the opportunity to write about my choices

in a book called Staying Home Instead. (I don't even own a copy of

it--that's how dumb and poor I was.)

Anyhow, now I've gone on and earned a number of degrees and worked my way

from being an aide in the dietary department (before Drew was born) to an

administrator of a nursing home (today). I am writing a curriculum for home

schooling so that people will use my nursing home as a classroom and

laboratory. I want kids to become involved and learn the richness of the

lives of people who are living here. I already have quite a lot done but

until now I

did not know of a particular forum for getting it out--except in my own

neighborhood.

Just as an example--last night after supper Mrs. Reinhardt told us stories

about how she and her sister came to the decision to try to excape from the

Nazi war camp, how they finally made their escape and what they gave up--and

ultimately gained by making that choice.

While that story is facinating...there are also simple methods of learning in

our facility. Do you know how many different types of wheel chairs we have?

I can think of 17 different types without leaving my computer to look. Do

they all move the same? Are some easier to push? If you are helping people

wheel to the dining room for lunch you might find out. Even people who can

no longer tell their stories can teach.

If you would like to contribute to this series, have ideas or questions--or

can refer me to a resource for publication (I am writing for use in my own

home right now, but think that the series has value and should be shared)

please send me a note at

JamieZieg@aol.com

STARGAZING FOLLOWUP

As I helped the astronomers pack up their equipment at the end of the

night, all of them had nothing but positive things to say about the

kids. I thought that all of you would be interested to know that they

felt this was one of the best groups they have worked with. They said

the kids were interested, well behaved, and well prepared to learn. One

of them noted how the parents were right there, learning with their

kids.

Listening to those comments just reminded me how much fun it is to

homeschool and how great it is to be around other parents who also enjoy

being with their kids. Keep watching those stars.

Brian M

A GREAT QUOTE

" Opportunity is missed by most people because

it is dressed in overalls and looks like work "

- Thomas Edison

JOKE OF THE MONTH

Q. How many homeschooled kids does it take to change a light bulb?

A. Only one, but you need to write it down as Life Skills or Science.

VET CLINIC TOUR

My name is Blake Herrington. I am a licensed veterinarian practicing small

animal/avian medicine in Tucson. I thought that it might be fun to conduct an

informal tour through our clinic some evening. Those parents and children

with an interest in the animal sciences could gain exposure and insight as to

the way that a comprehensive veterinary clinic functions..

At some point in the future I'd like to provide a surgical experience ( dog

spay or neuter ) to those who would be interested.

I'm looking at a date in September for this initial outing. Please contact

Danetta Mecikalski or me with any input. My E-mail is ekalb@flash.net

SCHOLAR'S BOOKS

My friend, Mary Beth, mentioned that she was going to Scholar's Books.

It is a

place down by the university on Speedway near Tucson Blvd that buys used

textbooks for the university and community college classes. I thought I

might be able to find a chemistry book there, and I have meant to visit that

store for two years, so I asked her if I could go along.

What a wonderful place! I walked in and the first thing that I saw on

my right was a bookshelf entitled: Middle School, High school, and

Homeschool. I felt like I had come into a place just for me! There were

elementary books in the back room and college texts on the left, so that if

you had a child with a special interest in anthropololgy or philosophy, you

could find some wonderful materials.

I ended up finding an annotated teacher's edition of an algebra book

(the same kind that the publishers won't sell to homeschoolers!) and an

annotated teacher's edition of a chemistry book with student study guide. I

bought an unrelated lab manual that covered all the basic stuff in the same

order that they all do anyway. The lab manual and the textbook will mesh

well. The cheapest book I bought was $5 and the most expensive was $20. The

copyright dates were from 1990-1994.

Don't hesitate to check it out! Any other suggestions of places you

have found have

great home education materials?

NEWS YOU CAN USE: BETHANY'S LAW

The governor signed Bill 1282 which should help end some scholarship

discrimination againat homeschoolers. Bethany is a Phoenix homeschooler

who had great SAT scores but was turned down for Regent's scholarships

because she did not have a class standing. Out of her frustruation came

her proposing a bill to end scholarship discrimination at the 1999 YMCA

Youth and Government Program. It passed in the mock government session and

was then introduced into the real Arizona legislature by AFHE (Arizona

Families for Home Education, www.afhe.org) and the Center for Arizona

Policy.

In the past, homeschoolers had no class standing, being 1 in a class of

1. Some sort of objective index of merit will be developed for

homeshoolers, perhaps based on thier SAT/ACT college entrance exam scores.

CURRICULUM CATALOGS

Mary Beth has collected a variety of home education catalogs. These will be

available at some park meetings to peruse. And, if you

really like a particular catalog, you might order it by calling the 800

number usually printed on the catalog.

For those with email access there is a pretty comprehensive curriculum

resource list at: http://members.home.net/ct-homeschool/guide.htm

Happy hunting! -Mary Beth

4-H BUG CLUB

THE 4-H Creepy Crawly Bug Club will have its first meeting of the year on

September 2 from 2:30-4:00 at the Plaza Del Sol Mobile Home Park Recreation

Center. The address is 1655 W. Ajo Way (near Mission) and directions to the

rec center are available at the entrance guard shack. Thereafter, meetings

will take place on the first Thursday of each month. This first meeting is

an IMPORTANT meeting, where parents will be asked to assist with the projects

for the coming year. Call Debbie for further information.

OTHER PROJECTS AND EVENTS

Debbie also coordinates the Book-It Reading Club and the Music in the Schools

events sponsored by the Tucson Symphoney Orchestra. Contact Debbie or catch

her at park meetings for more information about

how your child can participate.

AND THAT'S ALL FOR THIS ISSUE!

SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE THE 22TH OF SEPTEMBER FOR THE OCTOBER NEWSLETTER.

Please submit articles to Danetta, until she can get more editorial help.

Thanks, Mary Beth for doing this mailing!