Another Reason To Homeschool Our Kids

I suppose this sort of thing shouldn't be shocking. You have to go to the original site that wrote the article and see the video. Pretty bad!!!! This Article is by Charlie Sykes

This is a video of Diantha Harris, a lifelong democrat and avid Barack Obama supporter. She is also a lousy schoolteacher, as is evidenced by the mush-mouthed kids in her class. And instead of concentrating on grammar and English, math and science, she abuses and ridicules any child who dares to speak up in support of John McCain. This video is part of a Finnish documentary on Obama fans, and it is shocking that you have to go to a foreign country to learn what goes on in our own classrooms.

See how she singles out the little white girl and mocks her for having an absent parent, who is off defending the country, and lies to her, saying her Dad would have to stay in Iraq for a hundred years? The little girl was ready to cry! Disgusting.

Diantha Harris: It’s a senseless war! [Stares at Kathy.] And by the way, Kathy, the person that you’re picking for president said [Harris shakes her head] that our troops could stay in Iraq for another hundred years if they need to! [Kathy bites her lip, looks ashamed. Other kids stare at Kathy, laugh, smirk.] So that means that your daddy could stay in the military for another hundred years!

[Kathy is on verge of tears.]

[In an interview later:]
Diantha Harris: Now I can support whomever I want to support, as long as I don’t browbeat another person for the candidate that they supported. Like I have some students that support John McCain, and when they told me that, I said ah … “that’s good’ and I just moved on. So, I think that everybody is entitled to their own personal opinion.

You know, the schools are banning kickball, dodge-ball and tag on the playgrounds because they are afraid of bullies. Seems to me the bullies are the ones with the chalkboard erasers.

Working Replica of Noah's Ark

Ok you have to see this working Replica of Noah's Ark Opened in SCHAGEN, Netherlands. This is the most incredible thing I have ever seen. I wish it were here in the USA. But since it is not you have to go to the site and see the pictures. It is the most spectacular thing you will see!

The massive central door in the side of Noah's Ark was thrown open Saturday for the first crowd of curious Pilgrims and townsfolk to behold the wonder.Of course, it's only a replica of the biblical Ark , built by Dutch Creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.

The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That's two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold. A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine -Biblical Scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been. Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with occasional help from his son Roy.

Construction began in May 2005. On the uncovered top deck - not quite ready in time for the opening - will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, and goats, and one camel. Visitors on the first day were stunned. 'It's past comprehension, ' said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw The ark looming over the local landscape. 'I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big.' There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark. Huibers said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands , where church going has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.

''If You Need Help, Ask God. If You Don't, Thank God''... 'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.' Psalm 23:6

From the web...
Replica of Noah's Ark built by a Dutch contractor. It was built approximately to scale, however is 1/2 the length and 1/3 the width of the Biblical dimensions. It was built to show the world how massive the Ark was and how so many animals could have been housed for a long time.

http://www.worldwidechristian.net/Noah

Please Don't Jump into Homeschooling Blindly

by Andrea Hermitt, Education Examiner

When I started homeschooling my children over five years ago, I noticed that the vast majority of people had little understanding of what homeschooling meant. People would approach my kids in stores and ask them why they were not in school, then they would get a puzzled look on their face when they said "I am homeschooled". Now when people see my kids in public during school time, they ask "are you homeschooled?" They often follow up by saying "That's great!" So it is evident that the concept is much more familiar and acceptable to the general public.

Because so many more people are familiar with homeschooling, most knowing someone who is or was homeschooled, many more people are also considering undertaking homeschooling themselves. Unfortunately, many of these families homeschool for only one or two years before deciding to put their kids back in school.

I say "unfortunately" because these families stop homeschooling not because they feel ill-equipped, and not because they have decided that traditional school is best for them. I say all this to express just how important it is to fully prepare yourself for homeschooling before you begin. If you are thinking about homeschooling, I urge you to take the time, do the research, make your own assessments and decisions, and do not blindly follow others into it just because it seems like it might be a good idea. Taking your children's education into your own hands is a huge undertaking, not to be taken lightly.

Here are some things you should do before you begin homeschooling your children:

Read at least 5 books on homeschooling. They should include books about reasons to homeschool, a book on homeschool success stories, and a few books on homeschool methods, philosophies, and learning styles. Personally I was not comfortable in my decision to homeschool until I had read about 30 books. I read them in 3 months.

Spend some time with homeschoolers. Go to homeschool support meetings. Ask questions. Arrange play-dates. Go on outings, otherwise known as homeschool field trips.

Investigate curriculums. Do not blindly follow the same homeschool program that your homeschool friend is using. Take the time to decide what your child needs and what will be best for him or her. Choose your curriculum or program accordingly.

Learn about homeschooling rules and regulations in your state. Each state has a different set of rules and regulations. They are easy to find online and through your local homeschool associations.

Make sure your kids are willing and ready to begin homeschooling. There is nothing more stressful than trying to teach a kid at home who does not want to learn at home. I am not saying you need to let your kids make the decision to homeschool, but I am saying that you need to find an approach that excites your kids even if that means using tutors and homeschool co-op classes.

I Made My Own Theme Study

I am so proud of myself. After weeks of searching site after site I never found a theme study on clocks. No not one on time, but one on clocks. I ended up spending 4 days researching different sites on the subject. I found a couple great sites that gave me most of the information and then I sent 2 days more writing the study. It's 14 pages long and I even put a lap-book together with it. I can not believe it. Me...I did it. Who would of ever thought I could or would write an e-book?

So now my husband and Mom think I should try to sell it. I know I can not possibly be the only homeschool mom who has a boy who wants to learn about clocks. Well, we will see. I'm going to contact one of my favorite e-book websites...Currclick, and see if they will sell it for me. Hopefully they only take a small percentage. So for now that is in my prayers. It would be nice to make a few dollars. Who knows, maybe it will sell really good and I might make a few more
e-books for all us homeschoolers. I know there's many other e-book stores on the web. I could advertise on my blog as well as my review board and my 2 homeschool groups sites.

Well, I guess I just put together an idea for a business selling plan. Lets see if I can implement it. Wish me good luck and say a little prayer for me!

File Folder Games

Oh boy oh boy! I just found a great site. File Folder Games I love file folder games and I have spent many a day and night trying to find some free ones on the Internet. Now this site pops up. I guess I am not the only one out there wanting this too. YEA.

Hey they are having a great contest. Here is an excerpt from their site.....

Welcome to our site! We hope to bring you some fantastic file folder games that you can put to use in your Homeschool, Children's Ministry, and Early Elementary Classroom. This will also be a great place for you to share you're own File Folder Creations, connect with other Parent's and teachers of special needs children, and find a ton of helpful and FREE resources to aid the education of your little ones.To celebrate this new site, we're giving away some really great prizes, so read below what you can enter to win, and find out how you can help spread the word about our site!

SO go on over there and check them out. I think you will be happy you did!

Score 9 out of 10

The Socialism of Public Schooling

The Socialism of Public Schooling
By Jacob G. Hornberger

While the nation is on the subject of socialism, we really ought to talk about public schooling. With the possible exception of the military, it's the best example of a socialist institution one could ever find. It's not a coincidence that public schooling is one of Fidel Castro's favorite government programs.

Actually, "public schooling" is a misnomer. It would be more accurate to call it "government schooling" because it's a government operation from start to finish. That's different from, say, public movie theaters or public restaurants. Those are private businesses that are open to the public.

Like the military, public schooling operates in a top-down, command-and-control manner. It's a perfect model of socialistic central planning, a system in which government officials plan and direct the activities of the citizenry rather than simply leaving the citizenry free to plan and direct their own affairs.

Whether the control comes from the state government, through the state department of education, or the local government, through a school board, the principle is the same -- a group of appointed or elected government officials is directing the educational decisions of multitudes of students. That's different from the private sector, where consumers, through their spending decisions, determine the direction of entrepreneurial and business activity.
Government officials decide the textbooks and the curricula in government schools. Thus, they decide the substance of what is to be taught to the students. In socialist countries like Cuba, we usually call that process indoctrination.

An American teacher might deviate from time to time from official doctrine, but if the deviation is major and persistent, the teacher will ultimately be forced into conformity. For example, suppose a schoolteacher begins teaching students that the drug war is immoral and destructive and, therefore, that drugs should be legalized. Outraged parents would bring their wrath down upon the school board, which would pressure the principal, who would send an appropriate message to the teacher.

How are public schools financed? Through coercion. Everyone, even people who do not have children, is taxed to fund this government enterprise. It's called taking money from everyone to subsidize those who have children. Or as Karl Marx would have described this process of spreading the wealth, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."
The private sector gets its money differently. Private businesses must produce goods and services that people find sufficiently valuable to pay for voluntarily.

How do government schools get their customers? Through force. That's where compulsory-attendance laws come into play. If a parent fails to send his children into the public school system or fails to subject them to some alternative form of government-approved education (e.g., charter schools, government-licensed private schools, or homeschooling), the parent is subjected to extreme sanctions, including imprisonment. Of course, that's not the way that businesses in the private sector get their customers.

What's the alternative to government schooling? No, not charter schools or a voucher system or even a system of government-licensed private schools or government-supervised homeschooling. Those reforms leave government in charge of education and continue to rely on coercion.

Instead, the genuine alternative to government schooling is a free market in education -- that is, an educational system that is entirely free of governmental involvement -- a total separation of school and state. A free-market educational system would operate the same way that restaurants and movie theaters operate. Consumers, not the government, would decide the appropriate educational vehicles for their children, and businesses and entrepreneurs would supply those demands by providing people with educational products and services.
Advocates of government schooling claim that parents are not competent to make educational decisions for their children. That raises an obvious question: Why not? Aren't most parents products of public schooling? If public schooling has produced a nation of adults who lack the competence to guide their children's education, why do we want to continue a system that is likely to produce the same result?

Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation See more at http://www.fff.org/

The Missing Link

I just finished reading a great easy read extremely descriptive book titled, “The Missing Link: Found”. This is the first book in the Truth Seekers Mystery Series by Christina Gerwitz who happens to only be 17 years old and her mom, Felice Gerwitz, who is the founder of Media Angels, which happens to be Christian Publishing Company.

This book along with the series I think is great read for Upper elementary-Jr. High-level reading or a read aloud for the whole family. Christina found a way to stress the important work being done in Creation Science while shedding light on the mistakes in evolution all the while throwing action at every turn of the page. Oh and by the way one of the characters takes mention that she is homeschooled. The best part is the fact that I learned a few things about evolution vs. creation as well as learning some cool stuff about archeology. The book drew me into the characters and made me want to know what was going to happen in the next chapter and at the same time educated me about creation science. My next step is to purchase the curriculum that goes along with the books. I think this might be my science for 2009.

One of the other things I really like about this book was the fact that there was no sex, no kissing, no boyfriend/girlfriend relationships. It was pure clean fun. It showed how one family worked together as a family to solve problems and relied on God in every situation, even finding joy in a tremendously scary situation.

The Missing Link: FOUND can be purchased from Media Angels website for $8.99. There is also a 3-book series for $22.00 and a literature study, which sells for $6.50 each. Hey, don’t forget to look at their other products while you are at their web site. They have some great stuff. Click here Media Angel.
By the way they are having a bumper sticker slogan contest going on now until November 10th. Hey all the young ones can enter (5-17) and maybe they might win a whole bunch of great stuff from Media Angel and some of their sponsors. Check out the rules and what to do here... Media Angels Contest.

Score 8 out of 10

The Old School House Subscription

Did you ever dream of getting a horse for Christmas? You can get a sneak peek of our Fall issue and see Nancy Carter's first horse! The Old SchoolHouse Magazine.
Oh, and she's not the only one sharing her childhood pictures. You'll see photos from the 50's through the 80's.
But, you'll need the Fall issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine to go on this walk down memory lane.

Plus, do you like to create holiday memories? The brand new TOS holiday E-Book can be yours, too. It's all about the fall and winter holidays - mainly Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it's not even for sale yet. This is your chance to get it first - for FREE ($12.45 value)!
Normally when a person subscribes, their subscription starts with the upcoming issue which can take a while. But, TOS thought about that when they planned their Fall Special.
If you subscribe now with their Fall Special, you'll get

Almost 50% off the cover price for 2 years The current Fall issue as soon as it is ready
6 Bonus gifts
12 months of Teacher's Toolbox, which contains a FREE E-Book every month PLUS, the new E-Book, Homespun Holidays for FREE!

This is over $250 worth of product for only $39!!
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE NOW!
(Please link Click her to subscribe now to this url The Old School House Subscription

One 2 Believe In, Nativity Set

I was so excited the other day to get a big box on my front door and in this box was a beautiful nativity set just right for children to play and learn with. My kids tore through the box and started playing with it right away. I was going to put it back in the box and save it for Christmas, but then I had a revelation! They can play with it all year round and then I can gather the pieces up at Christmas time and put it on the coffee table. Then maybe those little hands will stay away from my stained glass nativity set! So now it sits out for them to play with. They even incorporated it with their Little People play sets.

The set contains a very small storybook and 17 figurines. The pieces are VERY sturdy soft PVC. There is a star on the manger and I really thought it would just pop off, so I pulled and pulled and there it stayed! It's everything you need to share the Nativity story with your children. However I really wished it had a bit bigger storybook to go with it or some sort of mini curriculum for a school project, especially if you are to give this as a gift to an un-saved friend. It would be nice to have a little more meat in the storybook.

This set is recommended for children at least 3 years old, because there are some small parts. Now according to the description on the One2Believe web site, the nativity is made from PVC, which could be a danger to children who put things in their mouths. One 2 Believe has many toys available and the nativity is only $24.95 so you'll want to be sure to check it as well as all their other toys all out at One 2 Believe In .

Score: 10 out of 10

Homeschooling A B C’s by Knowledge Quest

Now first let me say that I am not a reader. When I first set out to homeschool I got book upon book upon book on how to homeschool, different curriculum's to choose from and general education books. Did I read them all cover to cover? No! I skimmed over each book. Read the table of contents and read the chapters I thought were good.

I was given the opportunity to review a product called Homeschooling A B C’s. Terri from Knowledge Quest has put together a wonderful weekly study for new homeschoolers who are like me and do not want to read a 500 page book to find out how to homeschool.

When you sign up with Knowledge Quest you get a weekly email with a link to your next lesson starting with A and moving forward till you get to Z. That’s 26 lessons in all. But now this is not just s reading, you get 10 awesome bonus gifts AND over $250 worth of homeschooling curriculum and a little homework to teach the teacher how to do things. I want to wet you appetite so here are some of the topics you will study.


Determine your philosophy of education
Understand your children's learning styles
Learn the in's and outs of buying and selling curriculum
Find out how to get and stay organized
Learn how to teach multiple ages at the same time
Make the most of field trips
How to handle the "S" question - socialization
How to start each day WELL and keep it going that way
Get hundreds of dollars of free curriculum


Now here is one of the best things. It all comes from a Christian point of view. So now the question is how do you get your hands on it and how much is it? Right? Well is it $10.00 a month that’s $60.00 total. Now I know money is tight right now, but if you are thinking about homeschooling and really just are feeling too scared, or your ready to start and don’t know exactly where to start, then this is the e-book/weekly study you need to have. Beside I added up all the books on homeschooling I have on my shelf. They added up to around $180.00. So this is a much better deal and it gives you all the information you need to get your homeschool up and running in as little as 48 hours. Stop by their website Homeschool ABC's and check them out.

Score 8 out of 10