Carnival of Homeschooling: The Mystery Hat

The Carnival of Homeschooling takes a silly turn this week with The Mystery Hat edition.

The Battlefield

Check out Dana's insightful post Christian homeschoolers have “left the battlefield?” in response to You Had Better Get Your Shovel The Master Will Be Coming Back Soon.

I have never understood those parents who think we should sacrifice our children at the alter of public education supposedly for the benefit of the masses of children who are part of the system. It's my responsibility to see my children get the best education I can provide for them, for us that was/is homeschooling. But as Dana points out homeschoolers still pay taxes to support the public schools, they still vote on "public school issues" and the public schools are still of concern to us.

Why Do I Homeschool?

Because of people like Carolyn Hileman, "You Had Better Get Your Shovel The Master Will Be Coming Back Soon". My family left the public school system so we wouldn't have to deal with people like her.

Great Letter to the Editor

Evolutionary theory does not address ‘life’s origins’ Regarding Mississippi House Bill 25, on placing a message that “evolution is a theory” in school textbooks: We have been through this before (Georgia), and such a measure will eventually be struck down. Please, let us put a stop to this now, and not waste additional taxpayer dollars on a fruitless, and entirely religious-based cause. Indeed, there is a theory that attempts to explain the facts regarding species evolution. However, evolutionary theory in no way attempts to explain origins of life, as is mentioned in HB 25. That mention is a clear mistake, or misrepresentation. In other words, it is wrong. Evolutionary theory does not address “life’s origins.” Evolutionary theory informs us as to how species change over time, and how new species emerge through that change. The ultimate origin of life is not a part of evolutionary theory. Did you know … gravity is also a theory, yet we don’t see groups “warning” people about that one (however, for an example of how silly this kind of thinking can be, see “Intelligent Falling”). Also, education makes use of a theory (Instructional Theory). Probability is also a theory. Etcetera. So, to be fair, students must also be “cautioned” about all of these theories that are associated with teaching and with what is being taught. To single out evolution is a clear attempt to insert religious thinking and biases into classrooms, and such an attempt will and should fail. Religion is a private matter, and is not in any way a part of scientific learning. Please, let us not waste any more of my and your tax dollars on this issue. Please, let us not make Mississippi look more foolish than it already does. Clay LaHatte Vicksburg

From Beverly’s Homeschooling Blog

This post was inadvertently left out of the Carnival. Having two sons I know all about brothers competing. Drop by Beverly's Homeschooling Blog to read To compete or not to compete.

Anti~Science HB 25 or Stupid in Mississippi

I do wish the nut jobs would figure out that a scientific theory isn't just some idea Joe Blow came up with. You know gravity is a theory but I don't see the nut jobs challenging it (pity).

Nut Job: Evoulution is JUST A THEORY!

Scientist: Gravity is just a theory too, why don't you jump off this 10 foot building to see if it is based on a careful and rational examination of the facts.

Nut Job: (jumps off building and goes splat)

Anyway back to HB25

The State Board of Education shall require every textbook that includes the teaching of evolution in its contents to include the following language on the inside front cover of the textbook: "The word 'theory' has many meanings, including: systematically organized knowledge; abstract reasoning; a speculative idea or plan; or a systematic statement of principles. Scientific theories are based on both observations of the natural world and assumptions about the natural world. They are always subject to change in view of new and confirmed observations. This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things. No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered a theory. Evolution refers to the unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced living things. There are many topics with unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the sudden appearance of the major groups of animals in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion); the lack of new major groups of other living things appearing in the fossil record; the lack of transitional forms of major groups of plants and animals in the fossil record; and the complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body possessed by all living things. Study hard and keep an open mind."

Carnival of Homeschooling ~ The Teal Edition

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month, and TEAL is the color that represents Cervical and Ovarian Cancer. You can get your Think TEAL shirt here and help support research and raise awareness for Cervical and Ovarian Cancer. As with homeschooling EDUCATION is the key, you can educate yourself about Cervical Cancer here. I challenge you to go TEAL for January (If you want to turn your blog TEAL the Html code is #008080).

or you can display a TEAL ribbon to show your support for cervical and ovarian cancer research.

Henry muses about how learning can take place outside of the classroom in the post Stealth education found at Why Homeschool.

Four Squares explains how she manipulated her home environment to foster a love of learning in her children, in the post Accessibility

NerdMom presents Making Money, Keeping Money: Bargain Books for Teachers and Homeschoolers! posted at Making Money, Keeping Money.

Kim over at Countdown to College announces a college prep/graduation prep workshop in Denver and offers a contest, the Pre-Launch Challenge for workshop discounts and a free college prep personal consultation.

In other news, Mother-Lode hits paydirt on New Year's eve with a more grown-up celebration of old and new with her mostly grown-up children in a night-time geo-caching treasure hunt.

In an online vote, TEAL was voted the most popular shade of blue just ahead of cornflower blue. Today homeschooling is a popular educational choice for many parents.

Homeschooling isn't for everyone. Tammy at the totally revamped Just Enough, and Nothing More takes an honest look at their mistakes and what they did right.

And we have all probably bought a popular curriculum and then for some reason not used it. Sandy presents her solution in Use It Up posted at Falling Like Rain.

Unit studies are a popular with some homeschoolers. Missouri Homeschool Daily Log explains the basics of unit studies in the post What is a unit study?

Laura presents tips for Practical Homeschooling posted at Practical Homeschooling.

Cristina's comics are popular with our family check out her latest Home Spun comic strip #307 posted at Home Spun Juggling.

TEAL gets its name from the fact that it surrounds the eyes of the Common Teal (Anas crecca ), a member of the duck family.

Other ducks with TEAL in their name:
The Ringed Teal, Callonetta leucophrys
The Green-winged Teal, Anas carolinensis
The Black Teal, Aythya novaeseelandiae
The Brown Teal, Anas aucklandica
The Silver Teal, Anas versicolor
The Cape Teal, Anas capensis
The Marbled Teal, Marmaronetta angustirostris
The Campbell Island Teal Anas nesiotis

A small duck of shallow ponds, the Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors ) breeds across much of the central and northern United States and Canada. Rather dull in plumage overall, it reveals its powder-blue wing patch in flight.

Some people still consider homeschoolers odd-ducks.

We often enjoy trying new and different things, including recipes. HowToMe presents How To Bake Rusks posted at HowToMe.

Dana presents Homeschooling family values posted at Principled Discovery.

Dana presents Into the Snow posted at Simple Pleasures.

Christinemoers presents Brainiacs - Pom-Pom's posted at Welcome to my Brain.

Many homeschoolers enjoy reading, for those of you searching for a book to read, TEAL is also the name of a character in the novels of Leslie Charteris. The character's name is Claud Eustace Teal (Mr. Teal).

Everyone in my family loves to read, but I know some of my friends struggle with getting their kids to read, especially if they have sons. Guys Lit Wire will help guys find the reading material they want. Check out their review of Ender in Exile, by Orson Scott Card.

The Wright Brothers: Pioneers of American Aviation by Quentin Reynolds is reviewed at MGTutoring.Com in the post A Wright Brothers Anecdote.

Summer presents The 4 year Old Is Reading posted at Wired For Noise.

Kathy presents Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes: Homeschool Review posted at HomeSchoolBuzz.com.

Susan Gaissert presents The Wizard of Mumbai posted at The Expanding Life.

Often homeschoolers are history buffs. Here is an interesting historical tidbit, the Thurston Teal amphibious aircraft, also known as the Schweizer Teal was designed by David Thurston in the United States and first flown in 1968.[1] A total of 38 Teals were manufactured.[2]<>

We love History here and I am always pleased to learn new and interesting tidbits. Thanks to History is Elementary I now know about The Great State of Franklin.

ChristineMM presents Mini Lesson in Neuroscience for My Kids posted at The Thinking Mother.

Amy Smith presents Celebrating Chinese New Year posted at Kids Love Learning.

Sally Johnson presents Free Online Science Classes posted at Diamonds in the Rough.

The Whited Sepulchre presents The Whited Sepulchre: Where Will Malia And Sasha Obama Go To School? posted at The Whited Sepulchre.

Shauna presents Inauguration Resources posted at Treasure Seekers.

The Life Without School Community Blog offers Some Practical Advice on College Entrance, by Bettina

Miscellaneous post
Simon Cowell presents A Basic Introduction to Adverbs posted at Learn English Online.

Thomas J. West presents Technique Targeting: Becoming Your Own Music Teacher posted at Thomas J. West Music.

Nancy Miller presents OEDb's Online College Rankings 2009 posted at OEDb: Online Education Database.

Cary Anderson presents Campground Safety posted at Campground Safety.

Becca presents The Best Activity for Pre-schoolers Ever! posted at Inspiration for Mothers . Com.

Spanish Learner presents Using Connecting Words In Spanish posted at Learn Spanish Blog.

English Speaker presents Learn English - English Speaking Tutorial » Blog Archives » Introducing Your Children to English Speaking Schools posted at English Tutorial.

Smart Camper presents Racing An Airstream posted at Go Camping - Life's An Adventure.

Concerning Kids presents Some Thoughts On Affordable Child Health Insurance posted at Concerning Kids.

Coffee Addict presents Top 10 Coffee Alternatives: Avoid the Negative Effects of Caffeine My Caffeine Addiction posted at Caffeine Addiction.

College Degrees presents Can EB Visas, Foreign Degree Evaluations Fix the Housing Crisis? posted at TheDegreePeople Blog.

Concerning Kids presents Help For Single Parents Raising Children posted at Concerning Kids.

Karen presents We Must Do Something posted at The Stone Age Techie.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Top 10 Brain Fitness and Cognitive Health Books posted at SharpBrains.

One Language presents Learn English Articles » Blog Archive » Simple English Sentence Construction posted at Free English Lessons.

PicktheBrain presents Advancing From Paralegal to Attorney posted at Paralegal Training.

John Tedder presents » Can Kindergarten Scar You For Life? - Tedder’s Random Notes posted at Tedder's Random Notes.

Denise presents MathCounts ? Ready or Not, Here It Comes posted at Let's Play Math!.

Concerning Kids presents The Top Child Vitamins Available Today - A Helpful List posted at Concerning Kids.

Thank you for reading The TEAL Edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling. Next weeks Carnival will be hosted by About Homeschooling to submit a post click here. And an extra thank you to everyone who submitted their post early. I got to go visit Hubby for a romantic weekend in San Diego and it made getting the Carnival up so much easier to be able to do most of the work Thursday, before I left. My apologies for any mistakes. ~Alasandra

Homeschool Showcase

Drop by Homeschool Showcase (Formerly The Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers) #15 for some great post while I put the finishing touches on this weeks Carnival of Homeschooling.

The 2008 Weblog Awards

Pharyngula (PZ Myers) is a finalist in The 2008 Weblog Awards ~ Best Science Blog. You can vote for him here.

Why Homeschool celebrates 3 years of CoH

Please join me in reading Why Homeschool: Carnival of Homeschool: Week 158 - The 3rd Anniversary.

I'll be hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling this coming week and I would really appreciate it if you could get your submissions in early.

Click here for information on submitting a post.

Homeschool Blog Awards ~ The Winners

Best Adult Homeschool Blog
Get In, Hang On 52 votes (19%)

Best Group Blog

The Homeschool Classroom 33 votes (32%)

Best Teen Blog

Quilted Story, which has been renamed Just my cup of coffee 33 votes (56%)

Three years

January 6th will be the 3rd anniversary for the Carnival of Homeschooling, please consider submitting a post. The Cates will be hosting the CoH.

Carnival of Homeschooling #157

Drop by Practical Homeschooling to read the 157th Carnival of Homeschooling: A Carnival of Reflections.

Daily News puts homeschooling in the headline

Tragically another child died of abuse at the hands of his Mother. Unfortunately the Daily News used his death to vilify homeschooling. Should homeschooling be in the headline? Mother charged with beating obese son to death: I homeschooled to spare boy fat taunts. Would the headline have read Mother charged with beating obese son to death: I sent him to public school so he could get used to fat taunts if he had attended public school? I don't think so.

They make a big deal out of the fact she filled out the necessary paperwork to homeschool. They are less concerned with the fact that

Sekulski was in Manhattan Family Court yesterday, where a judge dismissed a 2005 warrant on a visitation case involving Jaquan. Details of the case were not available Monday.

So apparently the courts were involved with this family but failed to protect the child

"She said her son was too fat for school - she could do a better job with him at home. He didn't have anyone around to help him," a police source said. Neighbors said they never saw Jaquan.

No one around to help, what about the neighbors. She lived in an apartment surly they heard the beatings. And shouldn't the fact they never saw him have raised red flags. Seems there were plenty of people around to help, but no one did.

And of course there are the ignorant comments

cliffdonovan Dec 30, 2008 1:02:02 AM Report Offensive Post she probably home schooled him so she could get some monies coming in from somewhere for people who homeschool their children. like
funding or whatever. becasue your child isn't being taught at the public schools, they shouldn't get money for him, so where else does the money go? you can tell this nutjob never homeschooled her son a day in his life. she was too busy abusing him. and who for a minute thinks she filled out those papers by herself? there are organizations to help people fill them out.

Homeschoolers do not get money for homeschooling their children, and as far as I know there are no organizations to help you fill out the paperwork.

This boy did not die because he was homeschooled. He died because CPS dropped the ball, he died because the neighbors didn't get involved, shame on the Daily News for implying that homeschooling was to blame.

Homeschool Showcase (Formerly The Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers) #14

Catch up on the latest homeschool post at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers: Homeschool Showcase (Formerly The Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers) #14

CoH ~ Paris

Enjoy the City of Lights with the Carnival of Homeschooling.

Why do public school Mothers have to trash homeschooling in order to feel good about themselves?

Why do public school Mothers have to trash homeschooling in order to feel good about themselves? Kathleen Byrne Confessions of an autism mother: Why I’ll never homeschool.

I know. I know. Never say never. I feel so strongly about this topic that I honestly think that I’ll always hold our local school system responsible for the education of my children, including my daughter on the spectrum. Notice I didn’t write local “public” school system. I’m open to private, parochial, or some in-between “non-public” school, another category that we have here in New York.

So she is just against homeschooling although many of her reasons for not homeschooling would apply to private and parochial schools too. Apparently Ms. Byrne is one of those people that believe that only parents who are able to afford the tution at private or parochial schools should be allowed to choose an alternative to the public school system.

We Americans pay taxes, a lot of taxes, to provide every child an education. From a purely financial point of view, paying taxes for public education and then keeping your child home and bearing the financial burden of educating them simply doesn’t make sense. New York City Schools alone has a $21 billion dollar annual budget. Why write a school tuition check and then keep your child home?

This argument would apply to sending your child to private or parochial schools as well as homeschooling; so why she just applies it to homeschoolers is beyond me. The answer is simple I pay taxes for a lot of things I don't use, everyone does. Single people who don't have kids and older couples whose children are grown still pay taxes to support the school system. By paying these taxes I am insuring that all children have the opportunity to get an education. But I owe my children the best education I can provide for them. For my children it happened to be homeschooling

I’m as anxious as the next mother about dropping my children off at school and placing their education into the hands of others, some capable, some not so capable. It seems inevitable that our children will experience some bad teaching, just as they will have to cope with bad bosses, bad public servants and other incompetents in positions of power. Shielding them from bad authority figures will make the transition into adulthood harder than it has to be.

In the real world incompetent people get FIRED and you are free to seek employment elsewhere if you don't like your boss/job. Personally I would find my child being exposed to "bad teaching" (honestly I am not sure what Ms. Byrne means by that) for any length of time unacceptable.

Finally, I am dismayed that, when faced with fighting the system and making it better or fleeing the system to make the same mistakes on someone else’s children, homeschooling parents choose the latter. Schools are our children’s first civics lessons, citizens coming together and pooling resources for the common good. Homeschooled kids learn that it’s better to take care of your own than to fight for a common cause.

Well I am dismayed that any Mother would sacrifice her children to a cause. Schools (and I notice she didn't say public schools) should not be our children's first civic lesson. Their first civic lessons should be going with Mom or Dad to vote as toddlers as they mature there are many worthy community events they can take part in. Sadly I am left wondering why Ms. Byrne felt the need to trash homeschooling in order to justify her decision to send her child to public school. Maybe she really believes she is sacrificing her child to the common good of public education. In which case I feel sorry for both Mother and child.

Carnival of Homeschooling #155: Smoky Mountain Edition

We have enjoyed several mountain vacations, so I really enjoyed the theme of this weeks CoH, Carnival of Homeschooling #155: Smoky Mountain Edition.

Showcasing Homeschoolers

Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers: Homeschool Showcase (Formerly Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers) #13

Anniversary Gifts Edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling

SuperAngel's parents are celebrating their 20th anniversary, which inspired this weeks CoH theme, find out what traditional & modern presents are associated with anniversaries 1 through 20. Does anyone know what presents are associated with your 22 anniversary which is the one my husband and I will be celebrating in June.