Protecting Your Parental Rights

Today I received this from Mimi Rothschild, founder of Learning by Grace.

California families are now engaged in the biggest crisis to hit homeschooling ever! And if this ruling passes through the appeals process, over 160,000 homeschoolers will be forced to go to public schools, move out of the state of California or be labeled as truants and have their parents potentially face criminal charges.

At http://www.ReverseTheRuling.com, you can learn more about this shocking issue gaining momentum throughout California, spread the word to other concerned families, retrieve information on how to e-mail your congressional representative, and practice your civil right to oppose this ruling by signing the petition and having your voice heard!

Parents, children, homeschoolers, public and private school students; this pertains to all of us. We hold certain rights guaranteed to us in the Constitution of the United States that our forefathers fought for – now it is our turn to participate in the fight for freedom!

If you value family rights, such as your ability to decide on the well-being and education of your child, click on http://reversetheruling.com/signthepetition.htm and sign the petition that acknowledges your civil involvement in righting this horrendous wrong.

Learn more. Be heard. http://www.ReverseTheRuling.com

Please take the time to sign the petition. This ruling may not only affect California homeschoolers, but could have far reaching implications. It will only take a minute to sign and remember, it's not just an issue of homeschooling, but an issue of your parental rights.

Free Informational Guide to Homeschooling

FREE GUIDE! Tammy Choleva has written this wonderful resource that we would love to share with you. If you would like to receive Walking the Narrow Path toward Freedom in Education: An Informational Guide to Homeschooling, you can sign up to receive it here - it's FREE! You will receive a download link by email shortly.

Gift Certificate Winner & Homeschool Art Contest!

And the Winner... of our drawing for a $25.00 gift certificate is...Shelly Pierson. Shelly, I hope you enjoy your prize!

Art Contest! We will be having an art contest for your children ages 7-14, This contest will run through August 31st to allow time for your children to submit their artwork.

Any media will be accepted, however, if using oil or regular pastels, please scan and send your file as a .jpeg, to prevent damage to the art work and my scanner!

Rules: Please have your children draw or paint any subject they would like. The artwork must be submitted on 8 1/2 X 11 paper, of any type. Please send in a large envelope to prevent damage from bending. The submitted entries will not be returned, so if you want them back, please enclose return postage. Please fill out and sign this form and send it with your child's artwork. This gives me permission for your child's information to be posted on our web site. We will only be using the child's first name, initial of their last name, their age and the state they reside in.

The winner will receive a $50.00 gift certificate and their art will be showcased on our front page throughout the month of October!

Myths of Learning Types

Homeschool Lessons Made Easy - Learning Types and Understanding the Myth
By Darren Michalczuk

What is a learning type?

Most educators at some point in their career have been introduced to the three learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Even First Aid or swimming teachers learn that there are three separate styles. A visual learner remembers what is seen like notes on a blackboard, posters or a demonstration. An auditory learner will remember what is heard like verbal instructions, lyrics to a song or books read in class. A kinesthetic learner will remember body movements or sensations like building a birdhouse, kicking a soccer ball or making a model of the solar system. Instructors are taught that each person falls into only one category and to reach all learners, you must teach all three styles. This is only partially true.

Why is this misleading?

Although this belief holds some truth, it is misleading. The myth of believing that people are only one type of learner can be easily disproved with two examples: a Labrador puppy and a rollercoaster. If it were true that all people fall into only one category, then there would be people who could only imagine the yelp and whimper of a young Labrador puppy, but not the shiny coat and big paws or the feel the soft fur and sharp teeth. Similarly there would be people who would only be able to visualize a rollercoaster and not be able to imagine the sounds of screams and carnival music or feel of going over the steep drops and curves. The truth is that most people can imagine all three.

Almost everyone can imagine what an elephant looks, sounds and feels like. It is also easy to imagine the colour, texture and taste of an orange. Almost everyone can imagine the sound of fireworks or a phone ringing. Almost everyone can imagine the feel of a warm fire or cool water. People are capable of learning in all three styles, not just one.

How can we develop learning styles?

This is important to know since we can help students develop skills in a specific area without relying on the excuse that they are “not that type of learner”. Although it is still good practice to present information to all three styles, don’t expect student to wait until their style comes along. Students can be taught how to understand, remember and use materials that teach to all three styles.
Some skills do not come naturally to some students. Unfamiliar words in text books need to be looked up in a glossary or dictionary. Captions for diagrams need to be read carefully. When listening to instructions, questions must be asked to clarify any information that is unclear. To truly teach a student, you don’t merely teach the information, you teach a student how to learn the information. It is like the old saying: if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. By giving a student the right skills, you teach him or her to learn for a lifetime.

Darren Michalczuk is the founder of the Brick School. He is an experienced classroom teacher who has developed many programs and resources for math, language and music. The Brick School offers quality educational posters, programs and worksheets online for elementary language arts, math and music. Materials are designed to promote effective learning strategies in an easy to understand, straight-forward format. They offer both practical solutions to learning problems and leading edge technology and techniques. It reaches both struggling students and those who need extra challenges in class.With the latest software and leading edge learning strategies, our materials are paving the way for learning. User-friendly programs give students instant feedback while they practice important basic skills. Lessons and study guides also include proven learning strategies and memories techniques. Please visit our website.http://brickschool.ca

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Homeschool-Lessons-Made-Easy---Learning-Types-and-Understanding-the-Myth&id=557365

Bodies - A Homeschool Field Trip Your Kids Won't Soon Forget!

Lord Willing, we are going on a field trip to the South Street Seaport in New York City to see Bodies.

If you have never heard of it, Bodies is a exhibition of 19 actual bodies, (cadavers) and 260 organs that have been preserved by usual methods, then dissected to show the various organs and then placed in a bath of polymer or silicone.

You are even able to view the entire circulatory system. This exhibit offers thousands of unique teaching possibilities! Free teacher's guides are also available for the exhibit. I'm a bit curious as to how it will be to look so closely at the human body. I can't wait to see God's awesome design! The exhibit will be in several other major cities soon, so if you can't make it to NY, then you may have another chance to go. What an awesome opportunity for your family, if you can stomach it!

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Montessori Home Schooling By Diane Crawford

The Montessori home schooling method was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori in the early 1900s to educate children from poor families in San Lorenzo Rome. Dr. Montessori developed a method of teaching children as children, rather than smaller adults. Instead of pigeonholing children into the common institutionalized methods such as grading and testing, the Montessori home schooling method allows children develop their talents, takes note of weaknesses, and encourages children to develop both their weaknesses, and natural talents in their own time.

The Montessori home schooling method is taught to children from as early as birth, and can go as high as year 12 education. Rather than grading, feedback and analysis is usually provided in the form of a list or narration of the child's talents, and weaknesses. An emphasis on and an approach to improving the child's weaknesses are then taken, as education progresses.

The wonderful thing that the Montessori home schooling method offers a child is a focus on what the child needs as an individual, rather than pre-set needs for the class as a whole. Learning is done at the child's own pace, and teachers take the role of a guide rather than a lecturer. One of the main goals that this method uses is to encourage children to keep their natural joy of learning, without pressuring them to compete with each other and learn when they are not yet ready, or mature enough.

Through this method of teaching, children are encouraged to be independent, and are given freedom with some set limits and responsibilities that come with having freedom.

The entire approach used in Montessori home schooling method is that children learn in an entirely different way than adults. Lessons are specially structured to children's needs, and the natural way that they learn to give children the best advantage in both an academic, and social learning environment.

Montessori Method Lessons

The Montessori method ensures that a child is never given an activity without being shown how it is of use to them. After the activity has been demonstrated, the child is then given the freedom to use this newly acquired knowledge with no limits, other than their own imagination, or when the materials or child has a risk of being a danger to themselves or those around them.

Each activity is carefully selected, and will pave the way for later activities, and concepts. Children are encouraged to repeat an activity as many times as they want to, until they become bored with it. At this stage, it is a sign that the child is ready to start the next activity.

There is never a prescribed time table, or period in which children are meant to learn certain concepts, or lessons, the speed that these are learned will depend entirely on the child, and when they feel ready to move on. However, there is a set sequence of learning activities that are used for lessons. The Montessori home schooling method was originally designed as a schooling system, but it is a very popular method that is often scaled down and used by parents for home schooling.

For more info on Montessori Home Schooling? Head on over to http://www.homeschooling4you.com/

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?Montessori-Home-Schooling&id=455085

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Drawing for $25.00 gift certificate!

Don't forget, If you are currently subscribed to our bi-monthly newsletter Comforts of Home. you will automatically be entered in a drawing for a $25.00 gift certificate. If you are not subscribed and would like to be entered for the drawing, you can subscribe here. The drawing will take place on May 14th. The winner will be announced the next day.

Spring Fever Hits - Homeschool Journey

Can someone please explain to me why today *feels* like a Monday? I also have the worst case of distractionitis that I have ever had. I couldn't focus to save my life!

Maybe it is the blooming flowers, the warm air and the hint of green on the trees that is causing my issues. After all, who wants to be inside staring at a computer screen, when the fresh air is calling. I am suddenly back in a school room staring out the window, daydreaming of what I would do when the bell rang.

On that note, I think we will do our math lessons on the porch today. Maybe it will be a quick cure.
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$25.00 Gift Certificate Drawing!

Don't forget, If you are currently subscribed to our bi-monthly newsletter Comforts of Home. you will automatically be entered in a drawing for a $25.00 gift certificate. If you are not subscribed and would like to be entered for the drawing, you can subscribe here. The drawing will take place on May 14th. The winner will be announced the next day.
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New Products!

The History Portfolio Series has just arrived! If you haven't seen these yet, you will want to take a look! These portfolios are a fabulous way to keep track of your children's written projects, reports, colorful drawings, photographs, and clippings. Each book is designed for use by an individual, child or adult, and will become a unique record of the student's "journey through history".

Designed by Barbara Shukin, the History Portfolio Series is an engaging history curriculum that is adaptable to your method of teaching. It supports Classical and Living Books approaches and homeschooling with notebooking. Filling in the pages involves reading, writing, geography, art, literature, science... you decide! History inspires the imagination. The History Portfolio Series can capture the inspiration.

In each of the four volumes of the History Portfolio Series a Table of Contents provides a comprehensive guide to ensure that important subjects are covered. The table of contents organizes history into topics, and even suggests ideas for filling in pages of the Portfolio. Main topics include specific works of literature, important people, works of art and architecture, important names and events in history, plus advances in science and technology. Think of the table of contents as a history spine for you to rely on.

Several resources in the Portfolio - in addition to the table of contents - will help with filling in the boxes, including Topics for Narrations and Reports and Important Dates and Events. You can rely on the Book Recommendations resource to steer you to some very high quality literature. Here you will find titles of books written by authors who are passionate about their subjects, and often speak directly to the reader in a simple, conversational style.

There are five volumes of The History Portfolio Series. Ancient History Portfolio Junior, Ancient History Portfolio, Medieval History Portfolio, Renaissance History Portfolio, Modern History Portfolio and a Teacher's Guide that compliments the Ancient History Portfolio. Other Teacher's Guides will be published soon. Read more about the History Portfolio Series.
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Homeschool News

From World Net Daily - POLICE STATE, GERMANY Homeschooler flees state custody. Melissa Busekros surprises parents at 3 a.m. Melissa Busekros, the schoolgirl taken by police and placed in a psychiatric hospital because she was diagnosed with a "school phobia" and was being homeschooled, has fled state custody to make a midnight trip...read the full article here.
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Feature Book

The featured book for this week is Hitty Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

The charming and adventurous memoirs of an exceptional doll named Hitty. Her story begins in Maine in the early 1800s, where she is transformed from a piece of sturdy mountain-ash wood into the valued playmate of a young girl named Phoebe Preble. When the inseparable pair join Phoebe's father on a journey aboard his whaling ship, Hitty's one hundred years of exciting adventures begins! Join this doll of great charm and character as she travels all over the world, from India to Philadelphia to New York. Whether she is traveling with a snake charmer, attending the opera, meeting Charles Dickens, becoming a doll of fashion, posing as an artists' model, or being stolen away on a Mississippi riverboat, one thing is certain... no doll has led a life like Hitty's! The 1930 Newbery Award winner. Ages 9-12. Purchase Hitty Her First Hundred Years.

To Love Honor & Vacuum - Advice For Homeschool Moms

Today Sheila Wray Gregoire is joining me for a chat about her book, To Love, Honor and Vacuum: when you feel more like a maid than a wife and a mother. The book also has an appendix for homeschoolers.

Hi Sheila. Thank you for joining me today. First, I would like to ask you What's the best advice for a busy mom who feels that the only words out of her mouth are "hurry up, we've got to go?"

Take a deep breath, lock yourself in your room, and eat a bit of chocolate. Well, that’s more or less my advice for anytime we feel stressed, but let’s deal with this one first. Families today are way overscheduled. And homeschoolers often homeschool precisely because we don’t want to be overscheduled. But then what do we do? We figure since we have all this extra time we’ll sign the kids up for swimming, and gymnastics, and karate, and homeschooling co-op. And because we’re now such good teachers and organizers, we agree to oversee the Easter pageant, or organize a women’s retreat. And then all of a sudden our lives are out of control!

In To Love, Honor and Vacuum I talk a lot about how society makes us feel that we do a disservice to our kids if we keep them at home, because we’re supposed to be enlarging their lives with all these amazing opportunities out there. But your kids need you; they don’t need a ton of activities. And you’re called to your kids and husband first, not to every activity in the church. Sit down with your kids and your hubby, if you have one, at the beginning of each term and figure out what you will do for outside activities, and let the rest go. Your kids will survive, even if they don’t play soccer this summer.

Why do we get so guilty and upset about the state of our homes?

Women, especially women in the church, have come to see our identities as being caught up in whether or not we’re good housekeepers. When kids walk behind us while we vacuum, carrying a box of crackers and scattering crumbs in their wake, we feel defeated and despondent because we can’t seem to get the house clean while Martha Stewart never has a problem. She even has time to collect pine cones and make them into centerpieces, while we don’t have time to fold laundry! What is wrong with us?
Absolutely nothing. Remember Mary and Martha? Martha wanted to impress her guests. Mary wanted to listen to Jesus. That’s what our homes are about: being places where we can learn about Jesus. Of course, a certain level of cleanliness is vital. You shouldn’t fear catching a communicable disease in the kitchen. But if you have magazines and science projects around the house, think of them as conversation pieces, rather than things that prevent you from having people over. Don’t be perfect. Be real. It’s better for everyone.

Why do you say that many moms serve their kids and their husbands in the wrong way? Isn't serving supposed to be good?

Of course serving is good! But some of us can forget that Jesus taught us not just to serve, but to serve in a certain way. When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, Peter flipped out. He wasn’t upset because he was getting his feet washed; lots of people had presumably washed his feet in his lifetime. It was because Jesus was doing it. Jesus was doing something lowly, but He wasn’t lowly Himself. And that made people sit up and take notice.

In the same way, I think, we are going to do lowly things. We’ll wash dirty underwear and clean up after kids puke. But we aren’t lowly. What’s the difference? I show in To Love, Honor and Vacuum that a maid does things for you without you even noticing. A proper servant serves in such a way as to point you to Jesus. If your son walks in the door and drops his coat on the floor and his backpack on the couch and then goes and plays a video game, and you pick up his stuff, you’ve taught him to treat you with disrespect. You’ve taught him to act in an unChristlike manner. And that’s just plain wrong. That’s not Christian serving.

Similarly, if our 15-year-olds don’t know how to prepare a meal, because we are always making gourmet things for everybody, we’re not properly preparing them to leave the nest. Serving doesn’t mean we do everything for people. Serving means we act in such a way as to help them look more and more like Jesus everyday. Ironically, that may mean sometimes that we don’t clean and don’t cook and don’t tidy. That may be someone Else's job. And it’s serving them to let them do it! So put your feet up, get out that chocolate, and supervise as your kids clean the bathroom. You’re doing them a favor!

Are there ways in which the Christian community makes our lives more difficult, even if they don't mean to?

This may sound like I’m about to commit heresy, but just bear with me for a moment. I love my husband. I love my children. I really do. But they are not the sum total of my life. I think sometimes in Christian circles family gets elevated so much that we believe that is women’s primary and only aim. And then, when we have “achieved” it and we have our husband and our kids, we expect that this will make us happy. If it doesn’t, if we find ourselves instead overworked, or tired, or feeling a little lost, we think we’ve somehow rejected God’s will for our lives. I think we should be able to talk more realistically about how hard it can be to be home with kids constantly, and to deal with the laundry and the crumbs and what happens when little boys miss the potty. And we need to remember that our peace comes not from our families, but from our relationship with God. The greatest thing God has ever given me is my family, but there are still times when I get tired. That’s just real life, and by saying otherwise I think a lot of stay at home moms feel really guilty.

Do you have any advice for overworked homeschool moms that receive very little help from their husbands or extended family?

Eat chocolate.

Okay, other than that? Sometimes, when we’re doing it alone, we feel all the more need to jump in with both feet to prove we can do it. But we bite off more than we can chew. Remember that your goal is to raise an independent, responsible adult, not a child who can impress the neighbors. Keep your eye on the future, and let all the other stuff go. Don’t get a curriculum that demands too much of you; get something that teaches the basics and leaves lots of time for family bonding so that you can do the moral character forming activities that are so vital. Don’t get your kids involved in everything under the sun. Get them to help clean up so it doesn’t all fall in your lap. And don’t beat yourself up! We all will have days that don’t work. I had one today! I gave up on school and just read Anne of Green Gables out loud for five hours. My throat is killing me, but we had a great time. The math didn’t get done, but we had amazing conversations about honor and duty and love, and that will matter more in the end than anything else. Focus on small things that will lead to your goal of raising loving adults. That’s what ultimately matters.

To find more encouragement to get your kids to help at home and make your marriage less stressful, you can pick up To Love, Honor and Vacuum ($13.00) at http://www.sheilawraygregoire.com/ Sheila Wray Gregoire blogs at www.homeschoolblogger.com/SheilaG. She also writes a syndicated newspaper parenting column, Reality Check, which she sends out by ezine every week. You can sign up for it here, and you’ll be entered in a draw to win a bunch of Sheila’s books and audio recordings! She’ll make the draw April 30.

Homeschool Headlines & Rainy Day Boredom Busters

Nor'easter. Is that a word that should be exiting my lips in mid-April? NO, not in my opinion anyway. Who ordered this depressing weather? We have had enough and we may have to resort to an indoor playground if this lasts much longer. Even worse, there are flood watches and warnings in every county in the state..so I guess I am feeling pretty grateful that we are only missing the sun and not our home.

Here are a few links to rainy day activities to keep your homeschoolers from boredom when the schoolwork is done.

Play Post Office - Instructions on making a play school post office.
Home Jeopardy - These fun instructions are for playing Home Jeopardy.
Other great Rainy Day Ideas - A variety of different activities to amuse the kids.
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Homeschool Headlines-

HSLDA - The U.S. Marine Corps recently announced that homeschool graduates after a long struggle to be treated equally are eligible for all enlistment programs.

The statement was made by Master Sgt. James D. Edwards, Marine Corps recruiting command public affairs chief, in a recent article in which he said: “Home-school graduates are afforded the same opportunity to enlist as graduates from public and private schools. They can sign up for all enlistment programs, as long as they are mentally, morally and physically qualified for enlistment and score appropriately on the required Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery Test. And they can often receive an enlistment bonus.”

This is music to the ears of homeschool graduates who desire to serve their country...read full article here.
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Homeschool Books-

Since I really love this coloring book I decided to use it as our feature book this week. The Renaissance Coloring Book from Bellerophon Books is a super way for kids to learn about art history while coloring their own masterpiece. Another great boredom buster for those rainy days. You can find it here.

Our feature book for this week is And So They Build by by Bert Kitchen

This children's picture book describes in text and beautiful illustrations, twelve animal architects and the purpose behind their unusual structures. Some of the animals included are Australia's mallee fowl, satin bowerbirds and swallows, cubiterme termites and harvest mice.

This look at fascinating animal behaviors is a wonderful edition to any home library. You can purchase it here. Softcover · Ages 4 and up.

Blue Thistle Books publishes a bi-monthly newsletter Comforts of Home. Bringing you encouragement for your homeschooling journey, educational articles on homeschooling styles, parenting tips and support, teaching suggestions, craft projects and ideas, book reviews, special discounts on curriculum, and most importantly, humor - because every homeschooling parent needs a good laugh! Even if you are just thinking about homeschooling, we would love to have you join us! Stop by Blue Thistle Books today!

Homeschooling Germany & The Right to Life

I have officially deemed it a "lets scrap everything and go to the park day." My kids love me tons on days like this. Hey, what can I say, everyone needs a little down time. I am finding myself being more attracted to the outdoors this time of year than they seem to be.

So for all of you who are finding yourself itching to get outside, put down those textbooks, grab your sidewalk chalk and do math in the driveway, or take a nature/nurture walk. Spring is a time to refresh and renew. I guarantee you will all feel more thankful for today!

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'Youth Worker' Lies About Homeschool Student

World Net Daily- A youth services social worker apparently has lied to a German television station about a 15-year-old homeschool student ordered into a psychiatric ward because of her "school phobia," and another employee of the same state division shut down a scheduled 1-hour weekly visit with her family when her father showed her the statement.

According to the International Human Rights Group, who has a representative working with the family of Melissa Busekros in Germany, the incident yesterday was reported by Melissa's parents to Richard Guenther, director of European operations for IHRG, and his wife Ingrid.

Nearly two months ago the 15-year-old was taken by police...read the full article here.
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The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Brings ‘Fight for Dear Life’ to Homeschool Families

Johnson City, TN March 27, 2007 -- No one should have the right to choose when to end a person’s life, but on March 31, 2005, Terri Schiavo died after 13 days of agonizing thirst and dehydration, forced upon her when the court ruled in favor of her husband’s demand to remove her feeding tube.

Now, on the second anniversary of Terri’s tragic death, TOS Magazine (www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com) will publish Christine Field’s exclusive interview with the Christian Law Association’s David Gibbs, an attorney who fought to save Terri’s life. As part of a promise...read the full article here.

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Blue Thistle Books publishes Comforts of Home, a bi-monthly newsletter for homeschool families. Bringing you encouragement for your homeschooling journey, educational articles on homeschooling styles, parenting tips and support, teaching suggestions, craft projects and ideas, book reviews and new product news, special discounts on curriculum, and most importantly, humor - because every homeschooling parent needs a good laugh! If you would like to subscribe, you can do so here.

Wing Nuts: Screwy Haiku

Our featured book this week is Wing Nuts: Screwy Haiku by Paul B. Janeczko

Introducing senryu! What is a senryu?/A funny poem that is/Almost haiku-ckoo. The kissin' cousins of haiku, these short, punchy, and punny poems take every imaginable subject and make the reader look at life through a circus mirror. Tackling a wide range of child-friendly subjects (including babysitters, jump-roping, snoring parents, spoiled pets, and Grandpa's underwear), this spirited collection of senryu will leave children rolling in laughter as they untangle the riddles and word play. Hardcover · 32 pgs.

Homschool Burnout, Field Trip & Future Nominee...Naah

What more could a mother ask for than to have her thirteen year old daughter sitting next her on the way home from the *best* field trip ever, grinning ear to ear, looking at you like you like you are the next nominee for mom of the year? That friends, is a mother's dream.

The butterfly conservatory was just the thing we needed to cure the doldrums. A little taste of the tropics on a single digit day. If you live in the northeast you may have been to Magic Wings, if not, please do visit. You won't be sorry!

Next on our trip was Yankee Candle Factory. Ninety thousand square feet of enjoyment, toys and chocolate. Their on-site restaurant Chandlers, with their award winning children's menu, was in itself worth the trip. A truly delightful afternoon.

So how important is it to take a break and regroup when you feel burnout setting in? Mike Farris from HSLDA's Homeschool Heartbeat says,

"And don't neglect yourself physically. Homeschool moms are doing a herculean task, especially if they have a large family. Recognize your signs of fatigue and allow yourself the rest you need. A day off from school to play in the park or putter around the house may be just what the doctor ordered. Taking care of your needs will help you serve your family for the long haul."

Taking a play day is absolutely necessary for your families mental health. In my experience homeschool parents tend to subconsciously magnify the requirements of essential school work, feeling as though they are never doing enough, or in competition with the corner elementary school. Often, the origin of unnecessary stress, is usually from within and rarely caused by things that are necessary for survival, but from things that could easily be put aside temporarily, or until a better time arrives.

I always ask myself, "What is the worst thing that will happen if this task does not actually get done?" Usually the answer is not anything earth shattering that will leave my children completely uneducated without any opportunity for a future. I in no way mean to minimize the desire for every child to have an superlative education, however, it was not so long ago that our country focused mainly on the three r's, and to some level, I think we all wish for a simpler time. So, to this I say, go have fun while you watch your children and your heart smile! I guarantee, you won't be sorry.