Latest posts from Home Education Foundation
Science for Home Educators
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Are you looking for a hands-on investigative approach to add to your current science programme? Do you want to make science more fun by doing things, rather than just reading or writing? Does your child like something to work towards, like a certificate?
Science for Home Educators, run by Nathalie Thomas, a homeschooling mum and science teacher, has developed the “Science at Home AWARDS” specifically aimed at homeschooled children. Your child gets to choose 10 science investigations to complete out of a list of 15 provided. Once your child has finished these you send in the completion sheet and your child gets a certificate sent home in the mail.
There are four areas of science to choose from: Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Earth Sciences. The cost is only $5 per award, which includes the certificate mailed out to your child. You can start with just one of them or do them all.
The science investigations are sourced from a science resource from User Friendly resources written for the modern New Zealand science curriculum. It is aimed at children between 10-13 years of age, however younger children can easily participate with more parental input. Science for Home Educators has bought the licence to share this resource with registered students.
Feedback from a homeschooling mum using this resource: “my 8 year old son loved the hands on experiments and I loved the “Take It Further” activities which gave us ideas on how to explore topics in greater depth. This is a fantastic programme where kids can go at their own pace and the award certificate at the end is a great reward to work towards. Highly recommend it.”
To register, simply email Nathalie on info@science-for-home-educators.co.nz with your name, address , contact phone number, your child’s name and age and the chosen award.
For more information see: http://www.science-for-home-educators.co.nz/HomeAwards.html
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From the Smiths:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/
Updated 10 December 2011: Life for Those Left Behind (Craig Smith’s Health) page 6 click here
Needing help for your home schooling journey:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/
And
Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:
http://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/
and
Ron Paul and Homeschooling
HOMESCHOOLING CHAMPION
Ron Paul believes no nation can remain free when the state has greater influence over the knowledge and values transmitted to children than the family does.
And the truth is, no big government spending program can or will solve our nation’s education problems.
One-size-fits-all central planning simply does not work.
As a congressman, Ron Paul has been a consistent supporter of homeschooling and educational freedom.
Being a homeschooling parent takes a unique dedication to family and education.
TAX CREDITS FOR HOMESCHOOLING
In many cases, homeschooling families must forgo the second income of one parent, as well as incur the costs of paying for textbooks, computers, and other school supplies.
And with combined taxes taking almost 50 percent of the average family’s income, there is little left over for low- and middle-class parents to even consider other educational opportunities.
That’s why, during his time in Congress, Ron Paul has introduced legislation to:
* Help parents better educate their children by providing parents with a $5,000 per child tax credit for tutors, books, computers, and other K-12 related educational needs.
* Ensure that the federal government treats high school diplomas earned through homeschooling the same as other high school diplomas.
PUT PARENTS BACK IN CHARGE
Congressman Paul wants parents to have the freedom to choose the best educational options for their children, and his commitment to ensuring homeschooling remains a practical alternative for American families is unmatched by any other Presidential candidate.
As President, he will veto any legislation that encroaches on homeschooling parents’ rights.
Returning control of education to parents and teachers on the local level is the centerpiece of Ron Paul’s education agenda.
From: http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/homeschooling/
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From the Smiths:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/
Updated 10 December 2011: Life for Those Left Behind (Craig Smith’s Health) page 6 click here
Needing help for your home schooling journey:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/
And
Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:
http://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/
and
Which academic subjects are involved in engineering?
Learning the Component Parts
Engineering Resource Sheet
Find resources to help your student explore engineering with HSLDA’s free resource sheet.
Engineering is complicated science, right? Or is it math? Find out where engineering fits in the subjects you teach your children! Steve Wells talks about the academic components and thinking skills that go into engineering, on today’s Home School Heartbeat with HSLDA President Mike Smith.
Mike Smith:
Homeschooling dad and Navy Engineer Steve Wells is with me this week to discuss how engineering might fit into your homeschool program. Steve, which academic subjects are involved in engineering?
Steve Wells:
Here Steve’s answer here: http://www.hslda.org/docs/hshb/109/hshb10932.asp
Mike:
That’s very interesting! Now, are there other thinking skills that engineering requires or cultivates?
Steve:
Here Steve’s answer here: http://www.hslda.org/docs/hshb/109/hshb10932.asp
Mike:
Steve, thanks for that information today and thanks for joining us again! We’ll talk about some hands-on applications of this on our next program. And until then, I’m Mike Smith.
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Check out these “previous” and “next” programmes – more interviews with Steve Wells:
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Teachers ready for broadband challenge while teacher training institutions are ”behind the times”
Teachers ready for broadband challenge
TOM PULLAR-STRECKER
School teachers are generally well qualified to take advantage of ultrafast broadband to improve the delivery of education, according to a report prepared for the Commerce Commission.
But it said while teachers had been skilled up over the past 10 years and most were willing to ”leave their comfort zones”, the same could not be said for teacher training institutions which were ”behind the times”.
The report is one of a series of three looking into barriers to the take-up of ultrafast broadband, and focused solely on health and education. It was written for the commission by former Telecommunications Users Association chief executive Ernie Newman.
The internet had been ”game changing” for students, allowing them to learn when and where they wanted, he said.
”All this has changed the nature of students. They have become much more individual, and concerned with the values of individualism, than their predecessors.”
Yet schools were still delivering a ”production-line programme” that condemned slow learners to fail more comprehensively and made fast learners slow down ”to ensure they succeed less”.
Newman said it was foreseeable most students would have a digital device such as an iPad at school in the near future.
”One area that arose repeatedly as a serious concern … was the perception that our colleges of education are many years behind the times in teaching the teachers” and were not taking an ”intellectual lead in the sector”, he said.
”New Zealand is neither a world leader nor a laggard in the introduction of ICT to schools. However, our actions over the next five years will determine whether we use ultrafast broadband to improve our relative position in education, and thus our economic position, or allow other countries to overtake.”
Ultrafast broadband could result in more people having their health monitored in the home and in video consultations with doctors especially from 2014 when patients and clinicians should have access to electronic health records, according to the report.
But Newman said the health sector globally was ”one of the few sectors that has yet to maximise the transformation the internet can deliver”.
Telehealth pilots that had taken place to date were often ”ribbon-cutting” opportunities for politicians and ways hadn’t been found them to grow them to the scale required to demonstrate ”real economic benefits”.
– © Fairfax NZ News
From: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/6304794/Teachers-ready-for-broadband-challenge
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From the Smiths:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/
Updated 10 December 2011: Life for Those Left Behind (Craig Smith’s Health) page 6 click here
Needing help for your home schooling journey:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/
And
Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:
http://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/
and
On Stuff today: Homeschool bound
PG would love to hear your comments: I’d love to hear from other people who have decided to homeschool, for whatever reason. What do you find most rewarding? What is the most difficult aspect? (Link below for adding your comments)
Homeschool bound
DONNELLE BELANGER-TAYLOR
I came across this article about middle childhood soon after Christmas. It resonated with me, as it is exactly the stage Xander is at. While he’s just turned seven, rather than the six mentioned in the article, there has recently been a noticeable increase in his level of responsibility and maturity.
It’s greatly appreciated. He has always responded well to being given responsibility, but now he’s much more reliable at actually completing it. A call for a Band-Aid to fix a bubba booboo is actually answered, or even anticipated.
He really came to my rescue the other day, too. After a recent supermarket trip, I was packing our groceries and realised that I’d forgotten an essential item. With a trolley full of paid-for groceries and two approaching-their-limit two-year-olds, Xander volunteered to go on a solo expedition. I watched him from outside the checkouts as he read the aisle labels, decided which one to try, disappeared and reappeared, item in hand. He met me at the checkout so I could pay. He was so proud of his success, and I was so proud of him. He’d really helped me out, and he’d completed a task which could have been overwhelming in an unfamiliar supermarket. (A new supermarket has just opened nearby. Every single trolley is a twin trolley. On the opening day, a friend sent me a picture of the ranks of gleaming twin trolleys. I nearly swooned.)
He’s growing up, for sure. I think part of the improvement, too, is that we’re adapting how we deal with him, in light of our new understanding of him. After a couple of challenging years at school, we finally made the decision to fork out for a visit to an educational psychologist. It was very enlightening; mother’s instinct was, once again, spot on.
On a not-completely-unrelated note, this year also begins a new era for us. For a variety of reasons, we will be homeschooling Xander for a while. I’ve worked through the paperwork and obtained our exemption from enrolment (which was a challenging and fascinating process, very well designed for clarifying my aims and approaches). There’s a whole lot of factors that I’m not inclined to share (sorry), but it will probably only be for a few terms. We will be especially working on improving his fine motor skills, getting him past his hang-ups about writing, and getting him accustomed to using a computer for written work where possible.
I’m expecting to get comments along the lines of “But what about the socialisation? Won’t somebody think of the socialisation?” I am completely satisfied that with his variety of activities, friends, neighbours and homeschool network resources, he’ll be just fine. Even better than with the “socialisation” opportunities he was given at school.
Starting out with homeschooling – while toilet-training twins – is definitely a challenging situation, but doing the research and planning has been absolutely fascinating. I feel like I have a new understanding and appreciation of Xander and his abilities. Our first “school” days have gone well, but I fully expect the novelty to wear off.
I’d love to hear from other people who have decided to homeschool, for whatever reason. What do you find most rewarding? What is the most difficult aspect?
» Follow PG on Facebook
Please add you comments here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/pg-parental-guidance-advised/6301730/Homeschool-bound
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From the Smiths:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/
Updated 10 December 2011: Life for Those Left Behind (Craig Smith’s Health) page 6 click here
Needing help for your home schooling journey:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/
And
Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:
http://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/
and
2012 Homeschool Conference – Only 4 days left for discount price entry
Give your homeschooling some direction!
Only 4 days left
for discount price entry
If your children are coming up to secondary level, we have a range of providers coming along to give a summary of what their particular curriculum/program can do for you.
John Oehley has a workshop that will be covering different aspects of Career Planning/Guidance for today’s complex employment options/choices, while Erena and Judith will be demystifying the Cambridge International Examination process!
If your children are still in the primary/middle school years, you may be interested in doing something totally different, something that you may never have thought about doing before! Come and hear what Margaret, Cally and Johanna have to show for their many years of homeschooling experience!
2012 Homeschool
Conference
Saturday, 11 February, 2012
Hillcrest Baptist Church
Corner of Clyde St and Knighton Rd
Hillcrest
Costs for registrations prepaid by 27 January 2012
$20.00 per person – THEN Members
$30.00 per couple – THEN Members
$35.00 per person – non Members
Cost from 28 January 2012 and on the day – $40.00 per person THEN member or non member.
Registrations are now open.
More details and online registration
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From the Smiths:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/
Updated 10 December 2011: Life for Those Left Behind (Craig Smith’s Health) page 6 click here
Needing help for your home schooling journey:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/
And
Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:
How we learn…
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From the Smiths:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/
Updated 10 December 2011: Life for Those Left Behind (Craig Smith’s Health) page 6 click here
Needing help for your home schooling journey:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/
And
Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:
HSLDA: Swedish Pol to Social Services Minister: Take Homeschooled Kids!
Swedish Pol to Social Services Minister: Take Homeschooled Kids!
“The law should be amended so that social services are able to intervene when children are kept away from school by their parents.”
In a controversial opinion article in Aftonbladet, a prominent Swedish newspaper, Lotta Edholm, one of the leaders of Sweden’s liberal party, has called for a change in the country’s social services law to encourage social workers to take children away from homeschooling families.
Lotta Edholm
Edholm writes in her blog “That the Deputy Minister of Social Affairs, Maria Larsson … should take an initiative to change the social services act so that the social authorities can intervene when children are kept away from school by their parents.” Read more…
 Jonas Himmelstrand |
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“Home education is an effective and perfectly legitimate way for children to learn. Edholm’s argument is totalitarian and breaches fundamental democratic principles.”
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FINAL CALL TO BOARD THE EXEMPTION TRAIN!
The Exemption Process - The Ministry’s Perspective
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Family Name: …………………………….
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Suburb: …………………………………….
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Home Phone: …………………………
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Mobile: ……………………………………
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Email: …………………………………………………………
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AHE Member: Yes / No / I’m applying
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Smiths:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/
Updated 10 December 2011: Life for Those Left Behind (Craig Smith’s Health) page 6 click here
Needing help for your home schooling journey:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/
And
Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:
NZ Children’s Book Review Blog
The idea of the blog is to provide teachers, parents, librarians and students (approx Years 7-10, ages 10-14) with a resource for the study of New Zealand books and authors. Each month a new book/author will be featured. In the first week of the month I will review a book, in the second week I will interview the author, in the third week I’ll provide a writing tip for students and in the fourth week of the month I will publish a student’s story which will have been selected by the guest author. Students will need to submit their stories to me, I will shortlist them then pass them onto the guest author for them to choose their favourite.
This site is more than a book review site. With each book review I will add pertinent links to reinforce or expand the topic so students can explore the subject in full if they choose. It is also a site to come to for writing tips (I will always ask the author for their best writing tip and I will provide one a month as well) and provides an opportunity for students to see their own work published on line. Unfortunately I will not be able to publish every story received and initially will publish the guest author’s favourite as outlined above. If there are heaps of good stories (and I’m sure there will be) I’ll start a new blog just for that.
I haven’t yet formulated the competition aspect of the blog but want to open up the competition to all homeschooled students for the February issue. Diana Menefy will be the guest author. I hope you can get this information to as many families as possible so they can have a go. Competition details just for February are below. Note that these may change after February and families should check on the Competition page on the blog for any new instructions.
Competition Details (CLOSES 10 FEB 2012):
- Aimed at students in Years 7-10 (approx ages 10-14) although I will accept entries from either side.
- Each entry must include the student’s name and age and the title of the story.
- Stories can be on any topic but must be 750 words or less.
- There is no payment for stories and no guarantee a story will be published on the blog.
- The story must be the work of the student submitting it. First rights revert to the student author upon publication, although I reserve the right to anthologize material originally published here in electronic or printed format. I will advise if this should be the case so please ensure contact details are supplied with the submission.
- Please submit stories in the body of an email (NOT as an attachment) to kderrick@xtra.co.nz with Writing Competition February in the subject line.
- Any questions contact me kderrick@xtra.co.nz
Looking forward to lots of submissions between now and 10 Feb.
Regards
Kathy
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From the Smiths:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/craig-smith-26-january-1951-to-30-september-2011/
Updated 10 December 2011: Life for Those Left Behind (Craig Smith’s Health) page 6 click here
Needing help for your home schooling journey:
http://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/
And
Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:
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