East Tennessee Unschooled Summer Camp Info

From Laura--

I have the site up and running, you can register anytime now. just a few more details to add to the site but i wanted to get registration rolling!! blurb below but check out the site for more info: http://etusc.com

East Tennessee Unschooled Summer Camp
Join us for our very first year of camp
August 8-14, 2010
Buffalo Mountain Camp location

what is ETUSC?
ETUSC is a 6 night summer camp for approximately 80 unschoolers ages 13-18. There will be many activities, camper run workshops, jam sessions, bonfires, swimming, kayaking, counselor mentoring, dancing every night, and much more.

At camp we want to stay true to the unschooling philosophy that learning takes place everywhere, all the time...especially when you're having fun! But above all, we want to encourage and be an example of a lifestyle built on the idea that our children are to be respected and trusted.

It is our hope that our campers will learn more about themselves, make lifelong friendships, and discover new interests...all while having an amazing time in a beautiful setting.

This being our first year, we have a lot of learning and growing to do together. There will be bugs to work out as we go but hopefully not too many big ones!!

peace,
laura bowman
http://sssmommy.blogspot.com
http://familyrun.ning.com
http://flickr.com/photos/sssmommy/

Yet More Reasons to Homeschool

Interesting article "Crisis in the Kindergarten: A New Report on the Disappearance of Play" at the Alliance for Childhood:

New research shows that many kindergartens spend 2 to 3 hours per day instructing and testing [emphasis mine] children in literacy and math—with only 30 minutes per day or less for play. In some kindergartens there is no playtime at all [emphasis mine again]. The same didactic, test-driven approach is entering preschools. But these methods, which are not well grounded in research, are not yielding long-term gains. Meanwhile, behavioral problems and preschool expulsion, especially for boys, are soaring. Read and comment on the Alliance’s new report, Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School.

And for those with older kids, or, something to look forward to (not):

Candy-ass vice-principal calls the bomb squad over an 11-year-old's science project, recommends counseling for the student

A San Diego school vice-principal saw an 11-year-old's home science project (a motion detector made out of an empty Gatorade bottle and some electronics), decided it was a bomb, wet himself, put the school on lockdown, had the bomb-squad come out to destroy X-ray the student's invention and search his parents' home, and then magnanimously decided not to discipline the kid (though he did recommend that the child and his parents get counselling to help them overcome their anti-social science behavior).

You've really got to read the whole story, including this link to the newspaper account.

Wonderful Sentiment

Marjorie and I served on The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers' Board of Directors together. She continues to write for the VaHomeschoolers Voice, the bimonthly journal of the same organization. I just received my Jan/Feb 2010 issue and loved this analogy from her article. (She gave me permission to pull a quote or two.)

"Long ago, a friend talked of motivating and directing her children as analogous to cultivating a rosebush that might need some pruning in order to bloom optimally. [ . . . ] I worry that I might think I have a rosebush when it turns out I actually have something that blooms best when left alone."

"How do I motivate my children? The very question shows how different my views on education are from whoever is asking the question. My response is to wonder why would I have to motivate my children?" ~ Marjorie Fichter Cole in VaHomeschoolers Voice, "He Said, She Said: Motivating Our Kids," Jan/Feb 2010: pg. 13.

Thanks Marjorie!

Book Arts Bash Deadline Approaching

From the people at the Book Arts Bash:

News: We have extended the submission deadline to January 15, since our organizers are traveling in December and may not be available to answer all your questions on time.

Welcome to the Book Arts Bash, a writing contest for homeschooled authors. The Book Arts Bash celebrates untrammeled creativity, and promotes the integration of writing across the curriculum. We put homeschooled students' best work on the desks of literary agents, best-selling authors, and other industry professionals, to encourage young writers and connect great minds.

Our first Book Arts Bash happened in fall of 2008. You can visit the contest site here to view the winners and take a look at our impressive list of judges. We had such an overwhelming number of novels submitted last time that this year we decided to focus on novels exclusively! It's going to be a novel year! What's new this time?

1. All digital.
2. All novels.
3. All free.

With larger monetary prizes ($100 for first place in each category) and critiques from literary agents in NYC and LA for the top three in each category, we're looking forward to another great Bash. We have confirmed Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants) and Holly Black (Spiderwick Chronicles) as judges.



Find out more at the website!

Carnival of Homeschool: Week 210 - The 4th Anniversary

Henry Cate and his wife are hosting this week. Enjoy!

Why Homeschool: Carnival of Homeschool: Week 210 - The 4th Anniversary