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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Year in Review: Phoenix homeschooling heroes

Sharing good news is a great way to end the year.  Four Phoenix area homeschoolers have been nominated to the America Inspired contest that is sponsored by Examiner.com.  The goal of the contest is to find people who have done amazing things in these five categories:

• Leadership
• Sacrifice
• Passion
• Overcoming Adversity
• Outstanding Youth

Nominations were collected through stories written by Examiners up through December 23.  A committee is reviewing all the submissions and will post the top five candidates in each section on January 9, 2012 for public vote.  Readers will give assent to their favorites until January 27.  Winners will be announced on February 1.  The subject of the top vote-getter nomination will receive a cash prize of $50,000.  The top stories in the other four categories will garner $10,000 each for the inspirational person described therein.

Nominations for America Inspired from the Phoenix Homeschooling community:

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2011 Year in Review: Phoenix homeschooling

Arizona homeschoolers are a diverse lot, but during 2011 a number of items caught the attention of the local folks.

Presidential elections are great ways to catalyze the community into conversations and actions.  Ron Paul appealed to homeschoolers to join his specially-designed homeschool coalition to work his campaign. Homeschool friendly Mitt Romney began an early campaign in Phoenix.

Personal stories of success are always great hits.  Some very young homeschoolers were featured who have done some amazing work for their age.  Gavin Lewis works to save the oceans, a passion he has had since age six.  (He is only eight now, but has a huge repertoire of accomplishments.)  Kenzie Brown, also eight,  did a research project to find out if man’s presence has an impact on the amount of rainfall that happens in more concentrated areas.  Even homeschool parents can be an inspiration, such as a dad who created a Bible memory game for the Android.

 After a few years of being overlooked for ASU merit scholarships, the AIMS scholarship included homeschoolers for a very small window, which ends in 2012. The Grammar Bowl, which is happening for this next month, is a contest that will net a skilled student $5000 plus a trip to DC and other prizes.  Transcript preparation is not difficult, but it does bring moments of panic to some, so help in this area is always appreciated.

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Challenges of providing homeschool services with a non-profit resource center

At the turn of the 21st century, homeschool materials and resources were starting to have a significant place in the educational marketplace, but there were very few places, and none in Arizona, for a homeschooler to find information in one place.  Karen Borg and a small handful of others dreamed of a one-stop location that would be a hub for the most important things homeschool families needed: Encouragement and knowledge, access to curriculum, classes to aid parents in subjects they couldn’t handle, student testing, and a place to network with other like-minded folks.  Covenant Home School Resource Center in Phoenixbecame the fulfillment of that dream in 2001. (Read Part 1and Part 2)

There have been many challenges for Karen and CHSRC in ten years.  Most years, staffing levels have been minimal, so everyone has several roles.  Karen generally spends 10-12 hours a day at the center—teaching, preparing lessons and labs, and overseeing all the operations.

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Covenant Home School Resource Center: Measuring Karen Borg’s leadership impact

As a principal of a tiny Christian school in Phoenix, Arizona, Karen Borg personally knew the needs of families wanting a quality education for their children.  Many families were homeschoolers and embraced the freedom of home education.  When the school closed in 2001, Karen became the foundress of Covenant Home School Resource Center, a fitting next step in her passion for teaching and nurturing a generation of students who have the drive to succeed.  (Read Part 1)

Parental choice in education is a strong core of Karen’s approach to her work.  She believes the family is the most important institution, and home schooling, or small parent-run schools are an extension of the family.  She wants other families to have the same educational options that she had for her children.

Over the years, Karen has helped create workshops for parents, study aids for the students, and a network of relationships within the larger homeschool and private school community.   The resource center has been a perfect venue for imparting love of learning to the children and tools for parents for helping their children excel.

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Karen Borg: Ignited by love of teaching and passion for homeschooling families

A homeschool connection has been part of Karen Borg’s DNA since before her children were born.  Her church, Reformed Presbyterian in Phoenix, decided to start a small Christian school for their members in the late 70s.  She began volunteering with the school right after her first child was born for the 1979-1980 school year.  Even though he was a long way from being school age, she wanted to see it succeed so it would be there when her children were ready.

Covenant Christian School (CCS) was homeschool friendly from the beginning.  The classes met half days with parents as teachers in a small, Christ-centered community.  Many of the early families were homeschoolers who wanted a sort of co-op setting, long before homeschool co-ops became the vogue.  Grade levels were combined to have a maximum of 10-15 students per classroom, and the focus was on solid college preparation.

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Extreme volunteer: Patty Sepp leads homeschool Youth & Government team to honors

I believe that parents should have the option to educate their child(ren) in the most appropriate setting.  Our family chose to use both the homeschool and public school settings, depending upon our own child’s passion.  However, my heart had a special place for homeschooling because it gave our family a special bond and appreciation for education that is very lacking in our society. 

Patty Sepp has a very full life in the homeschooling community, even three years after her youngest graduated from high school.  In addition to numerous geography related classes and offerings, she specifically targets teen leadership development as an advisor for the Glendale, Arizona YMCAYouth in Government program.  Students in each chapter spend several weeks learning about the governmental and legislative process.  Then, all the chapters in Arizona have a Model Legislature weekend at the state capitol.  It is a very in-depth program with weekly assignments, and is time-intensive for the advisors.

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Passion for geography fuels homeschool mom’s award winning classes

Passionate is a word that describes Patty Sepp in a number of areas.  As a homeschool mom and community leader in Phoenix for 24 years, Patty definitely has a passion for education and homeschooling in particular.  She also has a zealous fire for developing teen leadership and for the often-maligned subject of geography.

In 1987, Patty began homeschooling her three (and later four) children.  Quickly getting involved in a homeschool support group, she took on leadership and support roles.  When the National Geography Bee competition debuted in 1989, Patty’s oldest daughter was eligible, and with coaxing from a friend, Patty became coach and proctor for a homeschool team.  This ignited her passion for the subject, a totally new direction from her previous teaching experience in vocational education.  For many years since, she has headed up school-level competitions for the homeschool community, with several of her students going on to the Arizona state Geography Bee contests.

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Debate champion uses homeschool debate as tool for strengthening academic skills

Matthew du Mée understands the values and character qualities that one learns through debate team.  Participants must learn to think clearly and present arguments concisely.  They must be able to quickly assess the other person’s perspective and formulate a response that follows proper logic, and they must be attentive to the interaction on many different levels.  All of these are superb attributes needed by lawyers.  These skills and more were mastered by du Mée when on debate teams at Patrick Henry College and Harvard Law School, evidenced by his many wins in competitions for debate and moot court.

As a currently practicing attorney in Phoenix, the former homeschooler and his wife have established debate camps and debate teams for homeschoolers in the valley.  They have taken leadership in filling the gap in this area, and believe it is one of the most important tools that homeschoolers can develop.

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From homeschooler to attorney: Homeschool success story for Matthew du Mee

Homeschooling can be a lifelong adventure for those who choose to give back to the homeschool community once they have graduated from high school and college.  For homeschooler, Matthew du Mée, returning to his roots in Phoenix gave him opportunities to be involved as a mentor and coach for homeschool students.  Not yet 30, he has a large array of accolades and honors from his schooling years, and he has a heart to see others succeed.

• Please give a brief background on your involvement with homeschooling.

My parents decided to homeschool me from kindergarten onward, at a time when homeschooling was still unconventional and unpopular.  In 2001, I earned a perfect score on the SAT and received the only full scholarship toPatrick Henry College, a new school that recruited homeschoolers and equipped students to make a difference in the public arena.  I graduated summa cum laude from PHC and received the award for top male leader, as well as the top orator award, which was a result of many championships won in debate and moot court competitions.  I also won two moot court competitions against law students from Oxford College, despite only being an undergraduate.

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The impact of ocean rescue on the personal level for homeschooler Gavin Lewis – Phoenix Homeschooling | Examiner.com

With any calling and passion, there is a great deal of one’s self that must be put into the effort for the long-term.  With the determination and tenacity of a seasoned cause champion, Phoenix homeschooler Gavin Lewis is willing to put forth his time, energy, and resources to persuade others to take care of our planet, especially the oceans.  Beginning at age six, he has found creative ways to work and raise funds for ocean rescue.

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of Gavin’s interview.  Part 5 continues here.

What has been the greatest sacrifice to be involved in saving the oceans in this way?

It takes a lot of time to make and sell my magnets and keep my website and stuff going. It is fun though and it is worth it to help make a difference.

How do you plan to continue your mission over the next few years?

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