-HomeEducatorMagazine NEWS - January 2008

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

HEM NEWS - January 2008

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

Welcome to THE HEM NEWS! For more information on Home Education Magazine, see the end of this newsletter or visit our web site at http://www.homeedmag.com

Send your comments, questions and great finds to editor Mary Nix at http://www.homeedmag.com/newslett.html

In the January issue:

~ A Quarter of a Century of Empowerment ~
~ HEM Takes A Closer Look ~
~ Bet the Farm ~
~ Möbius Transformations Revealed ~
~ The Fraser Study ~
~ Questions & Answers ~
~ HEM'S Current Issue ~
~ Create A Sculpture~
~ GWS #36 ~
~ American Homeschool Association ~
~ January Webcasts ~
~ Scribbling Women~
~ Interactive Nature Games~
~ Eight Letters in Search of a Word~
~ Native American Geometry ~
~ Time Together ~
~ Spam~
~ HEM Blogs ~
~ HEM Discussion Lists ~
~ Classified Ads ~
~ The Final Word ~

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF EMPOWERMENT

The January-February 2008 Issue of Home Education Magazine marks Home Education Magazine's 25th year! Twenty-five years of empowerment and common sense articles for the diverse community of home educators. To learn more about how it all began, be sure to read Helen Hegener's HEM Editor's Blog here http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/editorial/?p=198

I hope you will join me in wishing Mark and Helen Hegener and their family my best wishes, love and a thankful heart for providing resources that have helped me to know the importance of not only knowing my rights and responsibilities, but the tools to help me learn how to do so.

If you would like me to post your well-wishes here http://homeschoolfreedom.org/25/ for Mark and Helen, send them to me at my online form mail here: http://www.homeedmag.com/groups.html.

Congratulations and thanks Mark and Helen! - Mary Nix

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

HEM TAKES A CLOSER LOOK

HEM Takes a Closer Look is an ongoing project that focuses on specific topics, compiling an easily accessed collection of the best writing and resources Home Education Magazine has made available online.

HEM Takes a Closer Look has examined the topics of Unschooling, Science, Libraries, Homeschooling Dads, Educational Games, Reading, Blogs, Gardening for Kids! Math, Diplomas, Writing, Older Kids, Physical Education, Getting Started, Learning Disabilities, Geography, Lesson Planning, Foreign Languages, Music, Virtual Field Trips, Cooking, Learning Methods and Styles, Arts and Crafts, Holidays and the most recent, Unit Studies.

For the latest edition of "HEM Takes a Closer Look" visit http://www.homeedmag.com

You can access past topics here: http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/closer_look/ (topics are listed in the menu on the right)

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

BET THE FARM

How hard is it to make money as a farmer? This interactive site lets you make decisions about crops, fertilizers, and sales. Like a real farmer, you're at the mercy of influences like weather and world events. If you do manage to make a profit over the course of the year, the game will figure your hourly wage based on the time expected to grow the crops you've chosen. (You'll need the free Flash player that you can access at the site)
http://www.cosi.org/adapt.php?parent1=onlineExhibits&page=farm&fl=1

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

MÖBIUS TRANSFORMATIONS REVEALED

Möbius Transformations Revealed http://www.ima.umn.edu/~arnold/moebius/ is a short video depicting the beauty of Möbius transformations and shows how moving to a higher dimension reveals their essential unity. It was one of the winners in the 2007 Science and Visualization Challenge.

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

THE FRASER STUDY:
Puffing Up Homeschooling and Selling Our Freedoms - Larry and Susan Kaseman

Your mother is concerned. "Honey, I just read in the paper that homeschoolers are supposed to be four grades ahead of other kids their age. I'm so worried about Johnny. He's already 7, and he still can't read."

"Wow," says your neighbor, "According to a guy on the radio, families spend $4,000 a year to homeschool. I didn't know you guys had THAT kind of money."

A mailing from your state legislator says, "I am introducing legislation to give school districts $4,000 per homeschooling family to provide them with a computer and technical support. To be sure students are learning and taxpayers' money is well spent, homeschoolers will be required to submit their work to public schools for grading and take state-mandated tests every year."

All three statements could have been based on a recent study of homeschooling in Canada and the US or on media stories about it. The study, "Home Schooling: From the Extreme to the Mainstream" 2nd edition, was published in October 2007 by The Fraser Institute in Vancouver. It cites Brian Ray's misleading, unreliable, and false report that by eighth grade, most homeschoolers score four years ahead of their peers on standardized tests as the basis for stating, "By grade 8, the average home schooled student performs four grade levels above the national average." (p. 14) An informal, unscientific 1995 "readers' survey" is used for the Fraser study's unfounded claim about homeschoolers' spending. The study also argues that the government should give school districts money for homeschoolers while disregarding the increases regulation that would accompany such funding. Inaccurate or ridiculous statements such as those included in the Fraser study are easy to misinterpret. It's just
a short, quick step from these statements, which are bad enough in and of themselves, to misunderstandings of homeschooling like the three examples at the beginning of this column.

This column addresses major problems with the Fraser study, explains why we should not cite the study despite its positive statements about homeschooling, and suggests ways we can minimize the damage it does.

You can read the rest of this must read article at this link: http://homeedmag.com/HEM/251/takingcharge.html

You can access other articles and columns from HEM at the link above, but you will want to get the magazine--the one you hold in your hands--to read them all! See subscription information directly below or visit your local bookseller to get your copy today.

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

HOME EDUCATON MAGAZINE INTRODUCTORY OFFER!

Subscriptions: Home Education Magazine is offering a one year introductory subscription for $20.00! (reg $32.00) To take advantage of this price HEM Online News readers should mention this newsletter when contacting us. To order write: Home Education Magazine, PO Box 1083, Tonasket WA 98855; call toll-free 1-800-236-3278; email http://homeedmag.com/orders.html. Or use our secure online form at: http://www.homeedmag.com/ORD/_hemonline.html. MC/Visa/Disc cards accepted

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Do you have questions that Dear Abby just can't answer? Questions about homeschooling and other issues that affect your family? Help is as close as your keyboard. HEM offers advice from a seasoned homeschool mom in every issue. Just send your questions to AskCarol@homeedmag.com. Of course, Carol can't answer every question in the magazine, but she will try to respond even if your question isn't published. Why wonder and worry? Send your questions today!

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

HEM'S CURRENT ISSUE

In the January February Issue of Home Education Magazine:

"Math before Breakfast" by Sue Smith Heavenrich shows us that math can be a chore for both kids and moms. Sue Smith-Heavenrich shares how she made math fun in" Math before Breakfast". Have you ever wondered what your kids will say when they look back on their homeschool years? Karen Kirkwood asked several grown homeschoolers and shared their answers in, "What They Say". When her nine-year-old son becomes obsessed with playing with a dump truck, Jennifer L.W. Fink finds herself examining her own commitment to unschooling. She tells us all about it in "Dump Truck Days".

Column topics include:

Jeanne Faulconer shares her thoughts on Mary Griffith's Viral Learning: Reflections on the Homeschooling Life and Lisa Rivero's The Homeschooling Option: How To Decide When It's Right for Your Family. Questions & Answer columnist, Laura Weldon helps readers offer answers to questions about Advanced Science Courses and Going it Alone in "Homeschooling and the Lab Sciences and Going it Alone". In, "If They Need It, They Will Learn" Tamra Orr writes that learning differently can lead to awkward moments and shares her families experiences with those awkward moments. "The Cult of Right Answers" by David H. Albert explains that the quest for right answers keeps us from learning from our mistakes. In this column David Albert argues that, in a healthy learning environment, individuals store up lessons learned from errors and mistakes for future use. "Homeschooling Through the Looking Glass: The Humpty Dumpty Syndrome" by Linda Dobson describes how easy it is to slip back into the
homeschooling groove during a wonderful vacation with her granddaughter, Emily.

Other Columnists include: Carol Narigon, Larry and Susan Kaseman, Becky Rupp and Kathy Ceceri, Mary Nix

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

CREATE A SCULPTURE

You can create a sculpture and then "virtually" place it in a museum.
http://hirshhorn.si.edu/education/interactive/flash.html


<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING ISSUE #36 NOW ONLINE!

Begun in 1977 as the first nation-wide publication for homeschooling families, Growing Without Schooling represents the original groundbreaking work of author and educator John Holt and homeschooling's early pioneer families.

Over the course of 24 years, Growing Without Schooling, widely known simply as GWS, became the gold standard for the topic of homeschooling, earning a devoted following and helping hundreds of thousands of families take or keep their children out of school. This landmark collection is made available online by the editors and publishers of Home Education Magazine.

An introduction by Patrick Farenga, President of Holt Associates Inc., presents the online collection at: http://www.unschooling.com/gws/.

The latest issue to be added to this collection is GWS Issue #36.

In addition issues: 7,8,14,15,18,20,22,24,26,28,30,31,49,52,53,54,68,69,70,77,78, 86 and 87 are available. Many more will be added as old, outdated formats such as magnetic tape and floppy disks are translated into readable formats and uploaded.

This historically important homeschooling archive is being reprinted with the kind permission of Holt Associates, and is presented as a free service to the homeschooling community by the editors and publishers of Home Education Magazine.

You can read Growing Without Schooling Issue # 36 here: http://www.unschooling.com/gws/?cat=28


<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

THE AMERICAN HOMESCHOOL ASSOCIATION

The American Homeschool Association (AHA) is a service organization sponsored in part by the publishers of Home Education Magazine. The AHA was created in 1995 to network homeschoolers on a national level. Current AHA services include an online news and discussion list, which provides news, information, and resources for homeschoolers, media contacts, and education officials.
http://www.americanhomeschoolassociation.org

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

JANUARY WEBCASTS

NATURE's RAVENS explores how these all-black creatures acquired their dual and contradictory images -- as birds of both life and death.

Long recognized as one of the most intelligent birds, the raven also has a less than savory image throughout history as a scavenger that does not discriminate between humans and animals.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/ravens/

Dutch artist Theo Jansen demonstrates his amazingly lifelike kinetic sculptures, built from plastic tubes and lemonade bottles. His "Strandbeasts" (Beach Creatures) are built to move and even survive on their own.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/162

The 5 Browns: In Focus
http://musicbox.sonybmg.com/video-player/the_5_browns/?bcpid=263813194&bclid=270912255&bctid=1311281506

Beatle's Shakespeare
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOpEZM6OEvI

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

SCRIBBLING WOMEN

Scribbling Women, a project of The Public Media Foundation, dramatizes stories by American women writers for national radio broadcast. This site provides classroom resources for teaching the rich tradition of American literature by women.
http://www.scribblingwomen.org/home.html

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

INTERACTIVE NATURE GAMES

Interactive multimedia adventures from PBS Nature. The site says you can have fun and learn about the natural world at the same time. The featured game when I visited was Turtle Voyager- Great ocean currents brought Adelita the turtle to Mexico. At 30 years old, she is ready to return to Japan to lay eggs. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/turtles/game.html

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

Eight Letters In Search of a Word

I had to share this game with you! It is addictive!
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/games/Eight1.html

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

NATIVE AMERICAN GEOMETRY

NATIVE AMERICAN GEOMETRY is a physical, proportional geometry that originates from the simple circle. A growing body of architectural and iconographic evidence from Native America suggests it was a relatively common tradition that has been practiced for at least two thousand years. This is the same type of geometry that was discovered and developed by the ancestors of many peoples in many places, from China to the Mediterranean Basin to the British Isles. Currently, it resides among the logo designers of Madison Avenue. Generally, it maintains a similar methodological structure to the Middle Eastern tradition of classical geometry that is limited to operations carried out by the compass and straightedge, or two sticks and a rope.
http://www.earthmeasure.com/index_earth.html

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

TIME TOGETHER

I have wonderful memories of New Year's Eves gone by and hope for other New Year's Eves of the future. Instead of writing a list of New Year's resolutions, I like to write a list of what I'm thankful for. Always on the top of my list is time with my family and friends.

In my state, children attend school 190 days a year, so if you think about it, every year we have been able to home educate our children is at least 190 more days we were able to spend together compared to if they had attended school. What a gift we have to be thankful for!

As they have become teens and adults, we still enjoy time together and I believe we owe a debt of gratitude to the home education lifestyle for the strength and closeness it has helped our family develop over the years. In case you missed it last July, Larry and Susan Kaseman wrote some wise words on the subject in, "Strengthening Families Through Homeschooling," http://homeedmag.com/HEM/244/takingcharge.html.

Here are a few more articles that address the importance of time together and share how some families do spend their time with each other

A Gift of Time - Sue Smith-Heavenrich
http://www.homeedmag.com/HEM/185/sotime.html

Time For Family Baseball - Earl Stevens
http://www.homeedmag.com/HEM/HEM143.97/143.97_clmn_tal.html

Homeschooling Fathers - Gary Wyatt
http://www.homeedmag.com/HEM/HEM141.97/141.97_art_fthrs.html

Super Mom and the Bratty Kids - Debra Newby
http://www.homeedmag.com/INF/STRT/strt_art_sprmom.html

Let's Not Institutionalize 3, 4, and 5 Year Olds
http://homeedmag.com/HEM/245/takingcharge.html

Here are a couple time-saving resources so you have more time to spend with your family:

Homeschooling Tips and Time Savers
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/1578/tips.html

Flylady.net
http://www.flylady.net/pages/About_FlyLady.asp

Each of you are at the top of my thankful list as well. Thank you for sending in great finds, for reading this newsletter and for your many kind words of encouragement that you send along!

Happy New Year!

Mary Nix

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

HEM BLOGS

HEM News & Commentary
http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/newscomm

HEM Editor's Blog
http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/editorial/

HEM Support Groups
http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/groupnews/

HEM'S Guide to Homeschool Resources
http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/resources/

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

HEM DISCUSSION LISTS

HEM's free email discussion lists are a wonderful way to access the online homeschooling community, and you can choose whether to receive a list's messages in your email box or to read them at the lists' home page on the Internet. Either way, you'll meet lots of interesting people who care about the list topic.

HEM Networking
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HEM-Networking
General discussion list on homeschooling issues.

HEM New Homeschoolers
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HEM-NewHomeschoolers
Specifically for those new to homeschooling.

HEM Unschooling
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HEM-Unschooling
Explore this relaxed approach to learning.

HEM Writers
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HEM-Writers
Editors, columnists and those who want to write for HEM.

Short-Term Homeschooling
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ShortTermHomeschooling/
Editorial group working on the new book by this title.

HEM-Recipes. The Homeschool Kitchen Online!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HEM-Recipes
This discussion list is an online extension of Christine Gable's column, offering an expanded collection of recipes, menus for family meals, tips and ideas about cooking, and most importantly, an online source of networking, information, resources, and friendship!

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

HEM NEWS UNCLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

For information on purchasing unclassified advertising space in this newsletter, please contact the editor at Newsletter@homeedmag.com. Please use "Mary: Send Ad Info" as your subject line.

__________________________

THE DAY AFTER GRADUATION
www.thedayaftergraduation.com

"The Day After Graduation"
"I found its message to be both practical and inspiring and thus very useful for graduates at all levels. With so many of our teenagers and young adults confused by the mixed messages society and the media sends them, this is precisely the type of idea we need to spread; that we are in control of our life outcomes, and that our actions have consequences." Joel L. Klein, Chancellor, New York City Department of Education

__________________________

WOZA BOOKS ANNOUNCES THE CALL TO SHAKABAZ
www.wozabooks.com

In a fantasy adventure of a different color, four children travel to the distant land of Faracadar to retrieve the powerful Staff of Shakabaz from the evil enchanter Sissrath. Set in an African American cultural context (featuring Black characters), this book delivers a magical climax that demonstrates the fundamental principles of nonviolence. Winner of an iParenting Media Award, this book will inspire deep discussion on many issues faced by contemporary youngsters.

__________________________

FUN BOOKS - LOOKING FOR UNIQUE FAMILY RESOURCES?
www.FUN-Books.com

We carry books, games, audio recordings, GWS magazines and more. To celebrate the owners' 25th wedding anniversary, we are offering incredible deals throughout our site. We have many items on sale, including the awarding-winning Rosetta Stone foreign language program. Owner of former John Holt's Bookstore. FUN Books, PO Box 1360, Pasadena, MD 21123-1360;
http://www.FUN-Books.com

__________________________

REACH MORE HOMESCHOOLERS AND STICK TO YOUR BUDGET!

If you would like your ad to appear in HEM's Online Newsletter, where it will reach over 17,000 subscribers-and then be viewed by thousands more online-write to editor Mary Nix at Newsletter@homeedmag.com for details. Please use "Mary: Send Ad Info" as your subject line.

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

THE FINAL WORD

"The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking." ---A. A. Milne

<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**<<**

Thanks for reading The HEM News!
Pass it on to your friends!
To subscribe, visit our web site at
http://www.homeedmag.com/wlcm_hemnewsltr.html

Have a wonderful month!

Mary Nix, Newsletter Editor
Newsletter@homeedmag.com
Mark and Helen Hegener
Publishers of Home Education Magazine
http://www.homeedmag.com