It Takes a Village - A Few of the Offerings for Homeschoolers in the Cache Valley Area

I organized a Potluck Social for my homeschooling community. I hope a great time was had by all. There we announced and posted a few of the goings for homeschooling families in the coming school year. I've re-posted them here as an easy reference page for people wanting more details or contact info.

Cache Valley Homeschool Cooperative Group

Designed especially to support families who have teens as their oldest children, classes are for all age levels of kids – teen and elementary.   Our focus is on making sure we have a great group of teens.  Thirty families are currently involved in this group, and we could support just a few more families with teens.    Yet we sometimes have room for families that do not have teens yet, only elementary.

We offer several different choices of classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and your family can come one day, two days, or just for one class. We also have options for teens to attend, without having their families.

Please contact Janet Summit at summitsonthetop@gmail.com for more information.

Homeschool Family Choir

Beginning this fall, we will be meeting at a church in Logan most likely every Thursday evening. It will be free. Anyone can participate in this choir even if they are not homeschooled, as long as they have somebody in their family that homeschools. The more youth the better.

I plan on directing the choir for the fall and during Christmas. Plans are not firm for after Christmas yet.

If interested, please contact Mylie Laing at 435-239-7267, or 435-237-2179, or Mylielaing@gmail.com.

Journalism Class and CVHS Newspaper Team

Is your child interested in being a journalist?  Does your child want to be on the staff of the new CVHS newspaper?  Students ages 11 and up who are truly interested and self-motivated writers can join us for 6 weeks of classes on the ins and outs of journalism, followed by monthly meetings for further instruction and newspaper collaboration.  

We will meet weekly at the Logan Library on Wednesdays at 1:30 pm beginning October 1, with monthly meetings thereafter being the first Wednesday of each month.  Due to the nature of a newspaper, spots in this class/team are limited to 20 students/staffers.  Each student will need to pay $5 for class supplies and purchase his/her own copy ofThe Reporter’s Notebook – Writing Tools for Student Journalists by Mark Levin.  

Sasha Takis is the mentor for the class and the newspaper.  Email questions or requests to join to sashtak@digis.net.

Biography Club

All ages are welcome to join us on the second Wednesday each month at the Logan Library from 10:30 to 12. We will begin in September and run throughout the entire school year. Come to just listen or to share about any historical, fictional, religious, contemporary, or imaginary biographical subject or your choice. This year we hope to be adding a 30 minute presentation by local professionals who use the skills of public speaking and presenting in their everyday lives. You may attend the entire session or just come for the biographical presentation. We even sometimes have treats!

To find out more, please contact steffaniecasperson@yahoo.com.

Intermediate Ballet Class

This year I hope to be offering a ballet class for students ages 8 and older with at least 2 years of ballet training. These classes are primarily to supplement current instruction, and not to replace it. I hope classes will be offered once a week at the Whittier Center, likely on Friday mornings. They will last 1.5 hours and cost $30/month.

I am a former professional ballerina with two children who claim to want to dance professionally. I am offering these class to help them and anyone else with an ambition to be the best ballet dancer they can be.

To find out more, please contact me at steffaniecasperson@yahoo.com.

Service Club

We meet the first Tuesday of each month from 11-12 am.  Details of upcoming projects are posted on the yahoo calendar as plans are made. The kids involved so far are ages 9 and younger.   Thus far, we’ve made Linus blankets, sang Patriotic songs at an assisted living center, wrote letters to soldiers, and assembled activity bags for the hospital to name a few of our activities.

Please email questions  to Amy Waters at amwa_1950 at yahoo.com.

CVHS History Fair

Start thinking of what kinds of things you’d be interested in sharing from your history studies! This event features tables for project displays such as posters, dioramas, models, art, etc. and a program for performance entries such as recitations, readings, enactments, etc. Tentatively scheduled for November 7, location TBD, more information to follow.

Direct questions to Sasha Takis at sashtak@digis.net or watch for further information on the Yahoo group and the CVHS newspaper.  

2015 Northern Utah Homeschool Poetry Contest

“Colors” is the theme for the 2015 NUH Poetry Contest.  Entries must be submitted electronically by noon on Friday, February 13, 2015.

For rules and other information contact Sasha Takis at sashtak@digis.net or watch for further information on the Yahoo group and the CVHS newspaper.

Homeschool Swim Lessons

The first lessons will be the last week of August (held the 26 & 27) and classes are held Tuesdays or Wednesdays at noon. (You chose the day.) Registration begins next week. You do NOT need to be a Sports Academy member.

Call Sports Academy to register for homeschooler class.  

Harmony Ed’s Options Day

Harmony Ed's new Options Day program may start here in Cache Valley. It is a co-op type group that would meet at the Whittier Center on Wednesdays for three hours. From 9-noon. Classes are for teenagers and elementary. We also need teachers and they are compensated.

Contact Layna May at 435-713-5651 or laynamayjojo@yahoo.com

Chess and Strategy Game Club

Bring a chess board if you have one. Parents who know chess are welcome to help teach. Those who don't are welcome to learn. We try to get each child through 3-4 games, 1-2 with peers, 1-2 with adults. Those interested in the BSA Chess Merit Badge can complete all requirements here (please find a merit badge worksheet online and bring a printed copy). Other games we have played include King's Table (hnefatafl), 9 men's Morris, Dominion, and Agricola.

We meet every other week on Friday nights starting in September (Dates TBA via CV-HS listserve). Come at 7pm and stay until 9pm. If you want, bring a treat to share. Recommended for ages 6+. Parents must attend (no drop offs please). Younger children are welcome to play in the basement/backyard if a second parent is available to help monitor them. Unattended and unruly children will be put to work weeding the garden.

1080 Grandview Dr. Providence. RSVP requested by 6pm the Friday of each club meeting (reply to CV-HS email or via text to 574-323-7006).

Figuration

Because practicing figures takes iterations, I am thinking of starting a math fun practice activity for ages 5-8 or so.  It would meet weekly at the Logan Library, probably on Fridays and would include math art, games, stories & crafts.  

Kirsten Swanson at 512-1440, kirstenis@gmail.com

Park Days

Wednesday mornings at 10 for now, a different park each week. Weekly locations and times are posted on the calendar. If there is any interest, we will probably continue into October.

Cara Crump - organizer. cararicks@yahoo.com

Guardians Group

We are having our final planning meeting this Tuesday, AUGUST 5th from 9 am to 12 pm at the Deweyville Park. Bring the kids for that planning meeting. We will be deciding final mentorships, fees, etc.

This is a not-for-profit commonwealth and we utilize TJED principles . We offer fundraising to help offset the small costs we do have for supplies. We meet at two homeschooling families homes that are right next to each other in Garland, Tuesdays from 9 am to 3 pm.

Thursdays are optional and are our club days. We have a Liberty Girls, YASA, Knights of Freedom, Belt Loops, Youth- service, Temple trips, games, dancing that will be rotated. In addition, there are FHE nights, book clubs for moms, monthly field trips, theme nights, movie nights and other activities for youth as well.

If you have questions after looking at the website, ww.guardianscommonwealth.weebly.com, please feel free to email Tammy at wcheftammy@msn.com.

Lively Learners Group

Lively: full of life, active, animated, keen, strong, vivacious, exciting

Learners: students who acquire knowledge or skill by instruction and experience

Our Mission

To provide group learning projects and mentoring for students who love to learn, primarily between the ages of eight and thirteen years old, and their parents, within our homeschooling community, through projects taught by the parents and based on what the parents are passionate and excited about, with input from their children about what they want to learn, connecting a network of strong families to support one another, as well as a positive social environment for their children.

Most classes will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-12 at my house in downtown Logan. Examples of classes are: A Little House on the Prairie Christmas (the 6 weeks before Christmas break), Science Fair prep (6-8 weeks before homeschool science fair), Things that Go, etc., as well as a Keepers of the Faith Club (for girls age 7-14) and a monthly book club.

If anyone is interested, please contact any of the following:

Greta Ward        greta7302000@gmail.com    435-512-3574

Heidi Hillman    hillman.heidi@gmail.com      801-637-8910

Tammy Jensen  tammyjensen1@yahoo.com  208-852-0405

Nature Study Group

Meets once a month at different locations in the valley (and some outside the valley also). The focus is primarily on nature exploration, secondarily on instruction. Participation is free unless we go on field trips that require a fee, but that would be infrequently. The Nature Study Group includes activity like short hikes, looking at pond life, going birding, learning tree and flower

identification, completing nature journals, etc. Mild to moderate activity level.

Interested persons should contact Jamie Wilde at jamie.wilde@gmail.com

Homeschool Karate

Homeschool Karate is held Wednesdays at 5pm. Cost for the homeschool class is $25/month. Students may add more classes each week at the regular rates. (Classes twice a week cost $60/month, 3x/week is $80).

For more information contact Matt Lundgren 435-881-4877.

Thinking Big, Obvious Thoughts

The Homeschool Potluck Social was yesterday. I had a great time, so there is one measure of success. :) I've always said, if it's not fun, it's not worth it. More important than my own enjoyment, however, I hope everyone who came went home with what they were looking for, whether that was just a fully belly, or new friends or an idea of new directions they want to head in over the coming school year.

I came home thinking the sorts of things I always think after spending time with homeschoolers. "Wow! Everyone was so great!" "Their kids are doing great things." "That family is so lucky." And, as usual, these thoughts led to reflection on MY family and what we are doing. Sometimes I feel we just don't measure up.

That feeling has led to great inspiration on things we can do, on changes I can make as a mother to serve my children better. But sometimes these comparisons don't serve me at all. Just because the Jones's are doing XYZ, the Caspersons don't need to do it too. Even if the Jones's are homeschoolers like us. Even if the Jones's kids are the sort of smart, going-places kinds of kids the Caspersons hope to have.

My deep, obvious thought is this: Just because we like and admire people, we don't need to do what they do. That we are friends and have similar values doesn't mean we need to make the same choices.

Duh.

So as I lay awake thinking of all the cool things everyone else was doing, I released the hope that I would do the same things, just because we could, or because they were cool things to do.

Releasing this desire and comparison is HUGE for me. I can feel a bit overwhelmed with all I want to accomplish. How on earth can I balance all that AND nurturing and providing for my family the experiences THEY need? I have wondered.

Last night I realized what it is I REALLY want to do, at least in the short term. My desires: Pay off the house and travel the world with my family, and while pursing those, be fully engaged as a mother and in the educations of my children. Those goals are unlikely to result in me being famous or having my own business or being a great influence or making lots of money. (They TAKE money. This morning as I excitedly announced that I had figured out my life, my husband restated, "So what you are really saying is that you want to make a lot of money." "No honey," I clarified, "I want YOU to make a lot of money.")

Sometimes it feels as useful to know what it is you AREN'T going for as it is to identify what you DO want. True for trying to homeschool kids. True for life.

PS: GO Honey! :)

Why I LOVE Story of the World

I've written quite a bit on my blog about the power of stories. So it's no wonder my family's history studies thrive as we utilize Story of the World. If you are unfamiliar with Story of the World, it is a broad overview of history told in story form and broken down into 4 general periods of time. I reviewed our experience with it recently on a homeschool yahoo group. I wanted to re-post that review here to reiterate the amazing power of stories in our studies. Here you go...........

I LOVE Story of the World. Is it a complete understanding of history? No. Is it my religion's take on history? No. But it claims to be neither.

We love it because it is engaging. The whole family can enjoy it together. It sparks interest and curiosity that can be added upon. (I can't wait to study the Byzantine empire from what we've learned about it in Story of the World - watch out Culture Club!)

Utah Online School uses a history curriculum that follows the Story of the World outline, but presented in that format, it felt dry, academic. History is neither dry nor academic. It IS engaging because it's a story of where we've come from. Presented as a story, kids not only hold interest, but hold information as well. I imagine mine can recount so much better the stories they have heard from Story of the World than they could recite details from the lessons that followed Story of the World.

THIS year we've dropped Utah Online School, and feel so liberated to move at our own pace through the Middle Ages. Presently, that looks like our family listening to Story of the World in the car, and then looking up online all the fun characters, places, and events that we hear about to find out more. I imagine we'll listen to the entire period many more times, but one quick listening has given me a better overview of the Middle Ages than I ever enjoyed after my years spent in school history classes.

I love Story of the World because it is NOT a curriculum. When someone else was deciding what we focused on in history, at what pace, and then provided little tests to make sure we remembered what they thought we should remember, history became a chore. Story of the World is what my kids WANT to do, and it sparks further exploration into the exciting, messy and nuanced tapestry of "what has been" that none of us will will ever comprehend fully. So while it may not claim to provide a full understanding of history, for our family it has aided the development of an attitude towards history that I hope will serve my children for their entire lives.

Reading and Personality

On my homeschool yahoo group recently a mom was asking about her child who seemed to be struggling with reading. Great suggestions were offered by moms with kids who had delayed reading for various reasons. Some of the reasons suggested mental development. I acknowledge elsewhere in my blog that each brain develops at it's own pace, allowing growing kids to master different skills at different paces. We, as a society or not overly concerned that all children begin walking when they are one. I'm not sure why we panic more about a non-reading 5, 6, or 7 year old who is otherwise learning and engaged in activities appropriate to the child's temperament.

I've alluded on this blog to MY experience with my now 8 year old daughter and her journey in reading mastery. I posted to the list an update and fuller picture of what that journey has looked like, and thought I should re-post those thoughts here. I'd like to add here that when this daughter was 6 and would be heading into 1st grade, I was concerned that she hadn't yet mastered even the basics of reading I thought were standard for kids on the completion of kindergarten. God told me my daughter was learning about herself. Once she'd figured her out, reading would come. What I share below seems to indicate that this has been the case.

I have similarly wondered if my now 8 year old has any learning disabilities. Her brother, whom I taught to read without any programs or curriculum was above grade level (as near as I can tell). But he was a mild kid who did what I asked and believed what I said. (Yay!)

My daughter, on the other hand, was high strung from birth. If I would caution her little 18 month old self about climbing the stairs, she would scream at me. She wanted to do everything herself. I think she preferred falling multiple times to being told what to do or how to do it. Reading started with similar frustrations. She wanted instant mastery. If I told her a letter made a different sound in a word than the sound she thought it should make, she would throw a tantrum.

So we waited. And waited. She loved to "write. " She would spend hours writing notes, ignoring any thoughts I had about letter formation and spelling. So I stopped suggesting. She also got frustrated when no one could read what she had written, but it was a lesser frustration than fielding suggestions from mom. Eventually this desire to communicate led her to ask how words were spelled and try to uniformly form letters.

It was through writing and self-expression that her reading came. I began to type the books that she would dictate and she, familiar with the words and story structure, began to work on reading them back to me. She felt grown up and important, having written, illustrated, and READ her own children' s books. I think it was that grown-up-and-important feeling she was so angry to preserve in the reading process. Even minor corrections seemed to be diminishing to her. 

So "progress" over the last 3 years has been "slow." However, as I've let her learn and do on her own time table, she has loved reading. Just this summer we've pulled out some phonics readers and I'm amazed at where she is at without any directed work or specific instruction. AND along with her reading skills, her patience and personal skills have grown too. I can offer help without a melt-down now. And, having preserved the love, reading is something we now can work on for longer stretches together and have it be a pleasant experience instead of a fight.

I have read about delayed reading - how at times one's mind is not ready. I've heard of learning disabilities that can slow a would-be reader down. For my daughter, I really think it's more about who she is. I don't know if that helps anyone struggling with a kid "behind" in reading. But I have no doubt my independent-to-the-extreme daughter will some day be a great reader, and in the time before she gets there, we are enjoying the journey and process of her growing in more than just academics.

Our Common Core

I have been writing the governor and our local representatives about Common Core. I've been asking them to identify the end they hope Common Core's adoption will serve. Are we going for higher graduation rates, fewer remedial classes needed in college, higher rankings compared to other countries on test scores? Common Core propaganda commonly references becoming "more competitive in the global marketplace." I DOUBT we intend to measure success by jobs - after all, Common Core only effects primary education. I doubt high school graduates will be employed doing much that would impress the general populous. (In fact, I doubt the outcomes of Common Core's adoption are being measured at all. That's too much accountability. But that's for another post.)

But, in fact, employment IS part of the aim of MY homeschooling efforts. I want my soon-to-NOT-be-minor children to BE impressive. I want them to be desirable as employees (or students, with an eye on securing a job after college graduation because of their experience). So I have my own set of standards. And I believe MY standards are going to give MY homeschooled kids an edge over most kids in high school.

I almost hesitate to share them because my kids would lose their competitive edge if MY standards became standard. But as the school systems seem to refuse most reforms that would actually positively effect outcomes, I'm pretty confident letting these get out won't change things a bit.

My standards that will give my kids a competitive edge when it comes to employment are relatively simple. I don't need 450 pages to spell them out. OR 150 pages. I hardly need a paragraph. They are these:

1. Good Posture
2. Clear Enunciation
3. Eye Contact
4. Diligent Work Ethic

I realize these standards don't cover nearly all the skills my kids will need to survive, to be gainfully employed. But neither are the bare skills of math and language arts all that is needed. I'm not poo-pooing high academic achievement. I AM saying what may really make a difference to an 18 year old looking for a job or trying to impress anyone in the "real world" might not be what is covered in school at all.

Governor Herbert Wants to Hear From ME about Common Core?

Coming back from SLC recently, I heard a news excerpt about the Governor's requested review of Common Core by the State Attorney General to determine if, legally, the Common Core represents federal intrusion into the public schools. With this announcement, he included a survey at utah.gov/governor/standards which he encouraged everyone to visit and chime in to.

I was impressed, hopeful, and a bit skeptical. 

What struck me, before even visiting the website, was the time frame. The survey is only up through August. This reminded me of the "ample opportunity for public input" that was allowed before Common Core's adoption. Ha!  Try a few weeks in the summer when school, and especially school policy and bureaucratic headaches are farthest from what anyone wants to think about. So, they're doing it again, I thought to myself. Still, I didn't want to miss THIS tiny summertime window to chime in, so I visited the page I mentioned above.

And the rest of my skepticism was confirmed. Turns out the Governor doesn't want to bring people to the same point of reference, find common ground, really hear concerns, or field other suggestions. The survey is a joke if it claims to be anything but a propaganda piece for supporters of the Core. There are no fields to list real concerns about federal involvement, data mining, loss of public control. There is no legitimate place to call for a change of anything but the edu-speak language of what is taught and when. He doesn't want to hear from me. Or you. Or anyone, unless you are one of the few, the proud, the bold who have read through the 450 page document on English standards, and would like to tweak a few things here or there - and please be sure to list standards and the age to which they apply specifically. (Oooh. The Math standards are only 155 pages!)

I know I'm supposed to swallow the suggestion that a group of removed experts have come up with an answer to all our educational woes and that their agenda really has my child's best interest in mind. I am surprised such "smart" people hope to gain that trust without any REAL opportunity to hear from those who really do care most about the kids: their parents. Nice try, Gov'nah. You'll find true listening difficult while your primary concern is that you appear to be listening.

Fun with Mom Camp

So, as you may have gathered from an older post, this has been a summer of field trips! We have LOVED it!

My oldest loved the training he got over a 5 week span of time. We ALL loved the taste of "big city" life. My seven year old remarked that she felt "like a regular person" in Salt Lake. She was trying to describe that small feeling you have surrounded by a lot of people. I chuckled to think how she would feel in Asia, or any of America's larger cities!

Anyway, we love getting around on public transportation. We loved the city's museums, activities, and cultural offerings. Interestingly, it seems summer is the time to do just that - get out and get a broader exposure - but I'm surprised how many kids we saw involved in camps or day-care activities of one sort or another (identifiable mostly by the matching t-shirts, but that failing, by the large same-age child to adult ratio).

This surprised me because enjoying these adventures WITH my kids has felt just like what I'm supposed to do as a mother. I'm sure families have good and significant reasons for enrolling their kids in summer camps. As we saw these camps hit many of the destinations on our list, there is no doubt the camps have fabulous learning as part of their programs. But I wondered how the mothers felt about missing out. Regardless of their feelings, I felt a bit of sadness for them - that they weren't there to take it all in, to process it all, and to relive the happy memories WITH their kids.

I half-jokingly think it would be wonderful to print up a bunch of t-shirts and have my kids and their peers, AND THEIR MOMS hit all of these same destinations. 'Cause hey! Everybody loves a good day camp. Ours would be "Fun with Mom" Camp. This idea has NO copy right, so steal it, if you feel so inspired. :) (Ooh, and send me the t-shirt design!)