Welcome to my Home-School-Community Blog!

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This forum is for the discussion of the following themes:

1.  Homeschooling and related educational matters with links to fantastic resources
2.  The topic of Community–what it means, what we yearn for, how to achieve it
3.  Legislation and political events that relate to home education and family life.

The goal is to discuss the topics and examine viewpoints in a manner that will be helpful and edifying to the readers, even if views may differ. This is NOT a place for blaming, flaming, defaming or name calling each other or persons discussed, and those actions will not be tolerated and will be removed.

I believe that we can learn a lot from each other, and I know that my life is enriched by hearing other points of view and how people came to their ideas.  Questions are encouraged for the purpose of understanding, with a spirit of hearing the other person’s heart.

Thanks for checking out this blog!

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Homeschool 101 Curriculum: What is the best place for last-minute homeschool books at a great price?

Some homeschool families do studies all summer long, but for most homeschoolers, August represents the beginning of a new school year.  If you haven’t gotten your curriculum yet, or you just started contemplating homeschooling for this year, you could be up against a tight deadline if you are trying to order materials from the homeschool publishers.  After all, this is the busiest part of the book ordering season, and the items you want could be back-ordered.

What can you do if you are needing to start your studies and can’t wait 4-6 weeks for your curriculum to arrive?

Covenant Home School Resource Center (CHSRC) in Phoenix is a wonderful place to get your homeschool books.

• For local people, you can drive down to the center and often get what you need and take it home the same day.

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Homeschool 101 Events: Start the school year with Not Back to School Days at Disneyland

What would you think of having a special day at Disneyland, just for homeschoolers?  Better yet, why not have a celebration there, (with a whole bunch of brand new friends) right in the middle of the school days, right at the start of the school year.  Why not call it a “Not-Back-To-School” holiday that is also a fantastic learning experience!

This is exactly what Arizona homeschoolers, and your friends across the country, are invited to do.  The Not-back-to School homeschool celebration and conference at the Disneyland Resort* is quickly approaching, and you only have a couple of days to get your reservation made.  The absolute final deadline is August 1, 2010.

This annual event has been touted by participants as “The best homeschool field trip ever!” and it is also the biggest homeschool convention in the nation.  Check out the scenario of events.

• Exclusive homeschool breakfast with Mickey Mouse on September 8
• Exclusive homeschool breakfast with Cinderelle on September 9

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Homeschool 101 College Prep: Secrets for creating an effective parent-made high school transcript

How on earth do I put together a homeschool transcript for high school that the college admissions officers will accept?

It really can be a haunting question.  This piece of paper represents the culmination of everything that you as a parent have put into your child’s education.  For the student, it is a brief summary of years of experiences, knowledge gained, and major steps leading to adulthood.  For the college admissions officers, it is one small window into the soul and character of an applicant.

Insiders convey that this document has only a few short seconds to make a big enough impression on the reviewers that they will want to look further at the young person who is behind it and, hopefully, extend an invitation to attend their school.

So what are the key things that need to be on a transcript so it will get noticed?  Here are a few items that the college admissions folks definitely want to know about you.

• Did you complete the 16 core classes that are needed for graduation?

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Homeschool 101 Field Trips: Starting the school year with a fabulous free Phoenix cultural activity

For many homeschool families, one day a week is set aside for field trips.  These may be excursions to an event or point of interest that ties in with the current study themes, or perhaps a place to learn some skills, or a cultural event just for fun.

Arizona abounds with great places to visit which are of historical and cultural significance.  The Deer Valley Rock Art Center is one such place that loves to be part of the homeschool community programming.  They are starting off the school year with a free lecture by Hopi anthropologist and tour guide, Micah Loma’omvaya from Second Mesa.

FREE lecture: “Hopi P?nawit ~ Along Ancient Trails and the Cultural Landscape of the Hopi People” by Micah Loma’omvaya, Second Mesa

Date: Saturday, September 4, 1:00 PM
Location: Deer Valley Rock Art Center
3711 W. Deer Valley Rd, Phoenix, AZ

See map to Deer Valley Rock Art Center

Here is a note from the Deer Valley Rock Art Center press release:

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Homeschool 101: Bargain bonanzas for Back-to-school supplies July 25-31!

Homeschoolers!  Get your shopping bags ready!  This is a fabulous week for school supplies, with nearly all the essentials at rock bottom prices!

Here’s a quick tip to save you time and money: Walmart will price match for the same item (same brand, same size) if you take in your ads.  That way, you can combine the deals at several stores without the time and gas to travel all over town to get a couple of deals at each merchant.

Be sure to watch the limits or requirements on each item.  Those in the list with *  * are deals specific to a store, so they likely won’t be matched at Walmart.

The links will take you to the Phoenix store ads for July 25-31 (Fry’s is only good to July 27).  Be sure to read the ad for the full details.

Read more.

Homeschool 101: Best places to get great deals on school supplies and special teacher rewards

Calling all homeschoolers who love bargains!  We are officially in the in most exciting weeks of the school year when educational supplies are on sale for several weeks!  The major vendors are in massive competition for the sales of school materials, so if you are watchful and patient, you can get nearly all your consumables for a fraction of the normal cost.

Stores to watch include:  (The links show the Phoenix ads for the week of July 25-31)

• Walmart
  
• Target
  
• Staples
  
• Office Max
  
• Michaels
  
• Fry’s
• Albertsons
• Safeway

While the grocery stores may not have as many goodies for a fabulous bargain as the office supply stores, you can get some great deals on a few individual items.  (Last week, Fry’s had 24 pack Crayola crayons on sale for $.25, and if you bought 10, you would get a catalina (store script) good for $4.00 off your next purchase of anything.)

Additionally, the office supply stores often have a Teacher Rebate Card and Teacher Appreciation Day.

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Homeschool 101 Events: Still lots of great homeschool activities to round out the summer

Homeschool 101 Events: Still lots of great homeschool activities to round out the summer.

July and August Homeschool Events in Phoenix

July is nearly over, which means the public schools will be starting in a couple of weeks.  Even though many homeschoolers start the year about the same time in early August, there are still some great opportunities for family fun and getting resources for your continuing homeschool journey.

July Events

• Harkins family movies for a great price
  
  Get out of the heat and enjoy some summer favorites with all the kids!

• Summer reading programs through libraries, bookstores and websites

  Keep your students fresh in their academic skills by encouraging them to read (and get some really cool prizes!)  Parents can join in the fun by reading with and to your children.  Reading aloud as a family is one of the key factors in comprehension, vocabulary development and language skills.

July 23-24

AFHE convention-Children are a gift from God

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Homeschool 101 Resources: AFHE convention offers Jan Brewer visit and Michael Farris as key speaker

Homeschool 101 Resources: AFHE convention offers Jan Brewer visit and Michael Farris as key speaker.

If you are headed to the Arizona Families for Home Education homeschool conference this weekend, here are some tips for making the most of your time.

If you have pre-registered:

• Bring your name badge that was mailed to you
• Check the convention workshop schedule, decide on the sessions that you will attend, and print off the handouts for eeach session, and bring them with you.  There will not be hard copies available at registration.
• Read through the Convention FAQ’s
• Read Getting the Most From the Convention

If you have not pre-registered:

• You are still welcome to attend and pay at the door

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Homeschool 101 Field Trips: Free Sizzlin’ Summer Saturdays in July at the Heard Museum

Homeschool 101 Field Trips: Free Sizzlin’ Summer Saturdays in July at the Heard Museum.

In the sweltering Phoenix heat, leaving the house can be a big event, but homeschoolers may want some new venues during the summer for a change of pace.  Why not check out some of the valley’s free offerings as a way to stay cool and learn some new things at the same time?

The Phoenix Heard Museum is home to Native American artifacts and history, and happens to be free for the community on Saturdays during July.  Music, interactive activities, treasure hunts, book signings and free treats will help you and the family forget about the thermometer for a few hours while you increase your cultural IQ.

There are only two Saturdays left, so get your family or your homeschool group and check out these great activities.  The museum is open 9:30-5:00, and the events begin at 10:30.

Saturday, July 24:  “Chill Out!”

• Arctic Spirit exhibit:  Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection
• “Cool” hands-on Arctic artwork for the kids to make
• Every Picture Tells a Story full of hands-on in-gallery Arctic based activities
• More Hands-on Activities:
  • Make cowrie Shell necklaces
  • Paint polar bear pins
  • Paint windchimes

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AZ AIMS scholarship is unchanged–for now–but more cost saving cuts for the funds are likely soon

AZ AIMS scholarship is unchanged–for now–but more cost saving cuts for the funds are likely soon.

The Arizona Board of Regents met on Thursday to decide the fate of the AIMS Scholarship, also known as the Regents High Honors Endorsement.  This has been a tuition waiver at Arizona state universities specifically for those students who exceeded standards on all three portions of the Arizona AIMS tests  Several proposals were on the table, one of which was to have the gift be a one-time $1000 package rather than full tuition for four years.

That action was dropped under the the persuasion of Regent Dennis DeConcini, but no further action was taken at the July 15th meeting.  According to the press release from the Board of Regents,
A decision is scheduled to be made at the August 4-5, 2010, ABOR meeting to be held at the ASU Tempe
campus.

No indication is given as to what type of plan may be under consideration, but all three of the state universities want to cut the program and use the money saved for other scholarships.

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