Exploration Education offers physical science curriculum with hands-on projects and experiments for K12.

A Christian homeschool support group that serves El Dorado, Arkansas and the surrounding areas. HEART Sponsors field trips, a newsletter, moms' night out, and physical education.

This is a Mormon-based, but inclusive, support group for the greater Dallas-Ft. Worth area. It offers educational activities, classes, discussion sessions, moms' meetings, book clubs, and physical education.

Information on homeschooler-only days at this hands-on museum with dozens of exhibits relating to the natural and physical sciences, ecology, and technology.

"The mission of The Discovery Center of the Southern Tier is to develop the intellectual, physical and emotional well-being of the children of the Southern Tier through participatory exhibits and programs. These exhibits engage the senses, challenge

[Editor: Considering Homeschooling is proud to present this special guest column by Michedolene Hogan of Unique Parenting.] By: Michedolene Hogan When parents send their children to school, they expect for their children to be taught the necessary academic skills appropriate for their age.  Yet, there scope of education is growing at an alarming rate.  Schools have begun to overstep their boundaries and assume the role of the home in many aspects such as the socialization of our children. According to the 2003 Webster's New World dictionary, to socialize means to make fit for living in a group.  This definition is similar to that found in the 1810 Merriam-Webster which states: To make social: especially to fit or train for a social environment.  In order to be properly socialized, children must be able to be sociable, having a disposition to associate and converse with others.  Children must have the ability to join in company or society and to unite in a general interest.  Children must also have the ability to work in conjunction with others in the community and conform to laws.  Children must exhibit respect for authority and an understanding of how the world works.  Observation and practice are the main tools that children employ in order to learn these social skills.  Based on the aforementioned necessary skills one would assume that the best place to learn such skills is in a classroom surrounded with peers and authority figures, right?  Wrong. What kids really learn in traditional public education settings Traditional public schools settings are not as idealistic.  Children may be surrounded by their peers but, these are not the best role models for social behavior.  In schools, children often meet peers who are involved in delinquency, low academic achievement and exhibiting behavior problems.  These are the children who get the most attention from their teachers and as a result, stand out to their peers.  In the end, our children learn an unacceptable concept of social behavior by practicing what they observe.  Despite this reality, the school continues to take the lead in training children for social situations. Raymond and Dorothy Moore, in their research on the validity of Early Childhood Education, determined that enrollment in formal schooling before ages 8-12 was not as effective as projected, but put children’s development at risk.  They presented evidence of a correlation between the following childhood problems and the increasingly earlier enrollment of students: Juvenile delinquency Nearsightedness Increased enrollment of students in special education classes Behavioral problems Early enrollment in schools interrupts bonds and emotional development that children form in the home with parents.  This damage, as found by the Raymond and Dorothy Moore, is not repaired in an institutional setting. Over 8,000 studies were conducted in the 1970’s by the Moores.  In the end, they concluded that, “Where possible, children should be withheld from formal schooling until at least ages 8-10” because, “children are not mature enough for formal school programs until their senses, coordination, neurological development and cognition are ready.” Another theory, developed by teacher John Caldwell Holt, stated that “academic failure of school children was caused by pressure placed on children in schools.”  He declared in 1980, “I want to make it clear that I don't see home schooling as some kind of answer to badness of schools.  I think that the home is the proper base for the exploration of the world which we call learning or education.  Home would be the best base no matter how good the schools were.” The school setting expects children to handle a whole new set of emotions as early as 3 years of age.  At this tender age, children do not even understand their emotions, much less know how to appropriately deal with them.  Children end up imitating their peers, whom as stated earlier may be involved in a number of behavior issues.  The impact of a child’s sociability is an absolutely harmful progression away from positive sociability and self-concept. This progression is best explained in When Education Becomes Abuse: A Different Look at the Mental Health of Children. Here is their explanation of the sequence of emotions experienced by young children in early childhood settings: Uncertainty as the child leaves the family for a less secure environment Puzzlement at the new pressures and restrictions of the classroom Frustration because they are not ready to handle the regimentation of formal lessons (unready learning tools – senses, cognition, brain hemispheres, coordination) Hyperactivity growing out of nerves and jitters from frustration Failure which quite naturally flows from the four experiences above Delinquency which is failure's twin Benefits of Home Schooling Learning in the home is the best option.  Home is the where true learning, exploring the world, takes place.  ‘Learning’ in this case includes not only academic education but also an understanding of the social environment of the world.  Teaching children in the home has countless benefits including: Home provides the proper atmosphere and value system to build upon.  Home sets the example of honoring and respecting authority.  Home teaches children how to be part of their community both physically and spiritually. Children with home as their base of exploration benefit from more time spent with warm, responsive parents, limited time with peers and free exploration under parental guidance.  The parents are in control of the social influences and the child isn't exposed to the whirlwind of emotions that come with early childhood education.  Children build a strong bond with the parents as the center example for proper social behavior and are given more opportunities to be among their community in a guided manner. The National Home Education Research Institute conducted a survey in 2003 of 7,300 adults who had been home schooled.  Their astounding results once again make a case for the home; 71% home schooled adults are active and involved in their community compared to 37% of U.S. Adults from a traditional education background.  76% of home schooled adults between 18-24 voted within the last five years compared to 29%.  The numbers are even greater in larger groups at 95% compared with 53% of traditional schooled adults.  The survey also reported that 58.9% of home schooled adults reported that they are “very happy” with life compared with 27.6% for the general U.S. Population.  73.2% find life “exciting,” compared with 47.3%. Socialization is to make social: especially to fit or train for a social environment.  Children best acquire this skill through the practice and observation in the home, not in the schools.  Raymond and Dorothy Moore recognized this need in their first publication in 1975.  That was just the tip of the iceberg in the research of socialization and teaching children.  Evidence abounds and grows continually to support the home as the best place to socialize our children.  Most recently, the NHERI statistics drive home the essential call to all parents to model their successful and productive adult lives with their children as the best social example to follow. About the Author: Michedolene Hogan lives in a quiet neighborhood of Yucaipa CA with her husband of 15yrs.  Her favorite activities include spending time with her family and crafting fun family activities.  She finds her greatest satisfaction in being a stay at home mom raising healthy children and publishes a bi-weekly newsletter offering advice for building strong families.

I spent some time in special education classes as a child for a physical handicap -- a bone disease that, thankfully, that did not progress far enough to cause permanent damage.  Of course, my participation in these classes was more about the additional revenue the school would receive from the state than any benefit I received concerning my handicap.  Now, I will qualify this with the acknowledgment that there are likely many good people caring for these children in most schools.  However, like any public school teacher, these special needs teachers are strangers caring for children that especially need the loving kindness of mom. A hat tip to Fearfully and Wonderfully Made for this article from CNN about children forced into cell-like school seclusion rooms.   (UPDATE: Just an update to note that I never saw anything like this article describes.  I didn't really spend much time there.  But, I do remember one incident of a teacher berating and humiliating a quadriplegic student for soiling himself.)  "Seclusion rooms, sometimes called time-out rooms, are used across the nation, generally for special needs children." "A few weeks before 13-year-old Jonathan King killed himself, he told his parents that his teachers had put him in 'time-out.'" "The room where Jonathan King hanged himself is shown after his death. It is no longer used, a school official said." "'We thought that meant go sit in the corner and be quiet for a few minutes,' Tina King said, tears washing her face as she remembered the child she called 'our baby ... a good kid.'" "But time-out in the boy's north Georgia special education school was spent in something akin to a prison cell -- a concrete room latched from the outside, its tiny window obscured by a piece of paper." "Called a seclusion room, it's where in November 2004, Jonathan hanged himself with a cord a teacher gave him to hold up his pants." Now, your state may offer you all kinds of "help" for your special needs children, even if you home school.  But, is that something you really want? In other instances of alleged abuse, from the article: A Tennessee mother alleged in a federal suit against the Learn Center in Clinton that her 51-pound 9-year-old autistic son was bruised when school instructors used their body weight on his legs and torso to hold him down before putting him in a "quiet room" for four hours. Principal Gary Houck of the Learn Center, which serves disabled children, said lawyers have advised him not to discuss the case. Eight-year-old Isabel Loeffler, who has autism, was held down by her teachers and confined in a storage closet where she pulled out her hair and wet her pants at her Dallas County, Iowa, elementary school. Last year, a judge found that the school had violated the girl's rights. "What we're talking about is trauma," said her father, Doug Loeffler. "She spent hours in wet clothes, crying to be let out." Waukee school district attorney Matt Novak told CNN that the school has denied any wrongdoing. A mentally retarded 14-year-old in Killeen, Texas, died from his teachers pressing on his chest in an effort to restrain him in 2001. Texas passed a law to limit both restraint and seclusion in schools because the two methods are often used together.

I am so thankful this week is over. I spent a lot of time in the hospital this week. My husband has a goiter on his thyroid that we had to have scanned on Wed. and Thurs. because thyroid cancer runs in his family. While we were at the hospital for his testing, we visited the director of Camp LRCA, a dear friend, because he went in for excruciating back pain. After all the testing, he found out he had broke a vertebra due to cancer in his blood. We were so shocked! He had surgery on Wednesday, so I stayed with the family most of the day. Thursday we were able to see him. The pain is now tolerable, but he has several more surgeries and radiation treatments ahead of him. I am rather exhausted today and I’m sure it’s emotional. I did get my workout in and am right now enjoying my post workout shake while checking up on you guys. Tropical Pina Colada Post Workout Shake 1/2 cup chilled green tea 1/2 cup coconut milk 1 cup ice 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 1/4 cup frozen pineapple 1/2 medium banana Blend it up and enjoy! I signed us up for the Indiana Homeschool Convention in Indy. Anyone going? It would be really fun to meet some of you there. We decided to put our 11 year old in the childrens conference for the first time. I think she will enjoy it a lot and since it’s with other Christian homeschoolers, I feel pretty good about it. My teenager will be attending the conference with us and boning up on college information. The babies will be staying with my husband’s best friend who lives in Indy. I haven’t been to a homeschool conference in two years and I feel like my cup is empty. I need to be filled back up again. I did attend Cindy Rushton’s Ultimate Homeschool Expo which really helped me this school year, but I think getting away from home and physically being around other homeschoolers will really get me excited and re-energized. My husband is going to a training conference for 3 weeks so life will be rather hectic around here for awhile. I feel no matter how many times he has gone on long trips, I will never get used to it. I don’t feel complete when he’s gone. I hope everyone has an awesome weekend. I plan on savoring every moment with hubby before he flies out for 3 weeks. Keep sending me your questions. I love it! Hugs~~ Post from: Homeschool Fitness Coach

We had a very unusual warm day last week. I wanted to take advantage of the chance to get the kids outside and moving. Exercise for kids should not be like ours. They need to have fun, move and play. This is how physical education is done at the Ramos house. Get outside and play with your kids. Create some awesome memories. Post from: Homeschool Fitness Coach

If you have been considering homeschooling, let that public school indoctrinated peer pressure kick in... From WND:  A homeschooling movement is sweeping the nation – with 1.5 million children now learning at home, an increase of 75 percent since 1999. The Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics reported homeschooling has risen by 36 percent in just the last five years. "There's no reason to believe it would not keep going up," NCES statistician Gail Mulligan told USA Today. A 2007 survey asked parents why they choose to homeschool and allowed them to provide several reasons. The following are the most popular responses: Concern about the school environment, including reasons such as safety, drugs or negative peer pressure – 88 percent A desire to provide religious or moral instruction – 83 percent A dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools – 73 percent Nontraditional approach to children's education – or "unschoolers" who consider typical curriculums and standardized testing as counterproductive to quality education – 65 percent Other reasons, such as family time, finances, travel and distance – 32 percent Child has special needs (other than physical or mental health problems) that schools cannot or will not meet – 21 percent Child has a physical or mental health problem – 11 percent Parents who report that they homeschool to provide religious or moral instruction increased from 72 percent to 83 percent from 2003 to 2007. Above all other responses, parents cited providing religious and moral instruction as the most important factor in the decision to teach their children at home (36 percent). The second most important issue was concern about the school environment (21 percent), while the third reason was dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools (17 percent). Research has shown the positive effects of homeschooling through the years. While some critics say teaching children at home may stunt their social growth, studies indicate homeschooled students fare well or better than public and private school students in terms of social, emotional and psychological development. Additionally, homeschoolers earn higher marks than peers who attend public schools. Academic Leadership, an online journal, cites findings from at least three nationwide studies across the United States and two nationwide studies in Canada. "The home educated in grades K to 12 have scored, on average, at the 65th to 80th percentile on standardized academic achievement tests in the United States and Canada, compared to the public school average of the 50th percentile," it states. Three studies also show that demographics, income and education level of homeschooling parents are generally irrelevant with regard to quality of education in a home setting. On average, homeschoolers in low-income families with less formal education still score higher than state-school averages.