Homeschool Graduations

They come in all shapes and sizes ... big and small, in a living room, in a church ... but they all have one thing in common ... their uniqueness! I think this is one of the things I most love about homeschool graduations and graduation parties. They very often are a demonstration of the talents and strengths of the graduate(s).

Tonight we will be attending a graduation "recital" and reception for a friend's daughter. She has been homeschooled all her life and her greatest love has been, and still is, music. She will be putting on a piano recital for us all to enjoy, and then we will share refreshments and an opportunity to encourage her as she heads into a new leg of her life journey.

Another friend will be enjoying the graduation of his son this weekend. 18 homeschooled friends and families will gather together to celebrate and acknowledge their shared accomplishments.

A favorite memory of mine is the homeschool graduation of my daughter's piano teacher. While it took place many years ago, it still sticks with me. The celebration was held in her home with a group of close friends and family watching on. She and her parents had put together a meaningful ceremony of homeschool recollections and a charge from her parents for the life ahead of her. What a special memory for her (and us)!

Our oldest daughter graduated from our homeschool last year. She chose to participate in our state homeschool support group graduation ceremony. She and 120+ other graduates marched into the hall together as friends and family watched. When it came her turn to receive her diploma, her dad and I met her mid-stage to share together in her special moment. We presented her diploma, which seemed very fitting to me since we helped her obtain it!

I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy a homeschool graduation this year. If you've attended one in the past, I'd love to hear some of your favorite memories.

~Judy

Grover, CO

Yesterday we went for a drive.


Driving

We went to Grover, CO so Brittany and her sister Laurel could visit the area where their grandmother was born.


Laurel and Brittany

We drove past miles--150 miles--of beautiful Colorado countryside until we arrived at Grover.


Colorado


Grover's Water Tower

We first stopped at the Sligo cemetery where Brittany and Laurel's great-great grandfather was buried. We had brunch there, listening to the wind and the birds.


Cemetery


The Davis Family Headstone

After that, we got a private tour of the Grover Museum. It was a fun little building with tons of paraphernalia from days gone by. I was happy that my homeschooling paid off by correctly naming a scythe and a bed warmer--though this one was a solid block of stone.


Museum

We did a little more sight-seeing and then drove home.


One of the Sights of Grover

Unfortunately, being trapped in a car for many hours can be a tad tedious--even with Adventures in Odyssey. Thankfully, the girls amused themselves.


Driving

So, there you have it. One of the life-long learning adventures of three grown up homeschooled kids.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Thoughts about the Internet ...

A friend pointed me to a blog post yesterday that is discussing the effects of the Internet on individuals and society. It was an intriguing, and sometimes guilt-producing read! (I'm real good at the homeschool mom guilt thing)

The author discusses the "sins" of narcissism and waste generated by Internet use and the effect it can have on family relationships.

I need some time to digest what he's written. My first read left me feeling both guilt at what I recognized as myself in some of his statements, and strong disagreement at many other statements. But it did make me wonder what effect the Internet has on *homeschool* families ... particularly moms who are often tied at home 24/7 raising and teaching children. Is it a legitimate resource for "reaching out" when one is primarily at home?

So what are your thoughts? I'd be interested in your reaction to Internetmonk's ideas.

~Judy

How do I plan for high school?!

Homeschooling elementary age children is a huge decision. Many of us couldn't imagine teaching someone to read when we started out. But homeschool a high schooler?! No way I'm up to that task!!

When I talk with folks about homeschooling a teenager, two concerns seem to rise to the surface. The first is a perceived inability to teach such hefty subjects as Chemistry and Geometry. The second is a fear of planning and keeping records that will satisfy a future college.

While the first may be "easily" satisfied with all the on-line and computer-based science and math products available, the second seems to be more intimidating. I'd like to offer a couple of thoughts that might make it less so.

For any high school course of study, it is very helpful to create a syllabus. This is as simple as establishing your expectations for your student. Here are a couple of examples ...

AMERICAN HISTORY (Junior Year)

• Read daily assignments from Core text
• Maintain a Word document of answers to all questions based on reading assignments
• Complete one research paper on an individual of your choosing from your American History studies (Length = 2-5 pages dbl spaced, complete bibliography with no fewer than three sources)

Satisfactory completion of these requirements will result in a passing grade.

AMERICAN LITERATURE (Junior Year)

• Choose 10 titles from the provided book list
• Complete the associated writing assignment for each literature piece

Satisfactory completion of these requirements will result in a passing grade.

Much like a college course, a syllabus provides a clear understanding between instructor and student as to what is needed to receive a passing grade. Creating a written copy of a syllabus for each course for your student's high school folder/portfolio presents a clear picture of your child's education. It also becomes easy source material for creating your high school transcript.

My final thought is simply this ... yes, *you* are qualified to create the syllabus for each high school course your student undertakes. You are the teacher ... you know your student's abilities ... and you are best able to set reasonable goals for your child's education. A syllabus goes a long way toward removing any subjectivity in the high school record keeping process. If your student completes the expectations outlined in the syllabus to *your* satisfaction, then a 4.0 or A or A+ is automatically entered on their transcript.

Trust your instincts ... just as you were the best one to teach your child to read, you are also the best one to guide that child through the high school process!

~Judy

RSS and Firefox

...in plain English.

So, Friday I posted about how Internet Explorer has been giving Blogger some issues. And I've long be aware of the header image issue of this blog in IE (and I have not had time to try to figure out how to fix that yet).

If you'd rather not experience these issues, I suggested you get Firefox and start reading my blog via RSS. One of my friends asked that I explain these newfangled contraptions, and so I shall.


Firefox is a free web browser--much like Internet Explorer--only much, much nicer. Firefox works great, but it also lets you use AddOns like Adblock Plus--which makes it so you never have to see web banner ads ever again--and NoScript--which automatically turns off scripts from sites so you are more secure (don't worry, it's really easy to turn them back on for sites like YouTube when you want to watch a video).

In other words: Firefox replaces IE when you want to go somewhere on the web. If you need further proof, just watch this video. And then, go download Firefox. Or Google's Chrome, which is another option I really like.


RSS is a way of getting information, much like email subscriptions. The good part about RSS? You control it. You don't have to wait for someone else to subscribe or unsubscribe you.

Normally, while browsing the web and reading blogs, you have to open each page one by one. Maybe you have a Blog Bookmark folder that's filling up. Maybe you just remember your favorite URLs (like, SonlightBlog.com). RSS readers let you go to one place and then it brings you all the new content from your favorite sites. It's much faster because it's only loading the content and not each page.

I use Google Reader because I log into my Google Account first thing every day. But my wife uses an RSS reader built into Firefox. So find one that works for you.

Basically, you go to a site you like and then either click on a subscribe button, or copy the URL (like http://feeds.sonlight.com) and paste it into the "Add New Subscription" box in your RSS reader. You will now get all the new content in your RSS reader. From there you can click on the post title you want to comment on and it will take you to the site. You can also unsubscribe really easily.

As a blogger who reads the posts of hundreds of blogs every day, I couldn't do my job without my RSS reader, and Firefox makes it much, much nicer. If you haven't tried it yet, please do. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

I want your experience visiting blogs--especially this one--to be enjoyable. And if you need to get start using all these new gadgets to have a better experience, I'm all for it!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. I'll be back Thursday and then off again on Friday. So see you in a couple of days.

Gifts: Brown Paper Bag Edition

A few days ago, I came up my walk and discovered a large paper bag on my stoop with my name on it. It wasn't on fire, which is a good sign, and I figured it was a present from one of my neighbors.

The night before, at 3:45am, I was alerted to the fact that some boys where moving trashcans around. Namely, my trashcans. They were bored, and so in an act of hoodlumary and teenage rebellion, they decided to take my trashcans and put them on someone else's drive. So I, dressed in nothing more than yellow shorts, went outside to confront them. My reasoning was that, as the many cultures who went to war naked discovered: it's much scarier to be confronted with a madman in the buff.

They moved my trashcan back.

And the next day I had a bag with a note of apology and a six-pack by my front door. A kind and thoughtful gesture, though I can't stand the taste of alcohol, so cream soda would have been more fun for me.


Gifts

Also in the photo above is a gift we got from some of the kids we teach for Sunday School--since we're going on Summer Break. It is a paint can filled with s'more supplies and a very cute poem. My dad asked me to blog about it because we all need a little encouragement and some ideas of how we can bless those who serve us. And he's right. I'm terrible about giving thank you gifts, but they sure are great to receive.

And one last gift, this from the code demons of the blogoverse:


Blog Fail

It only happens in IE. It goes away if you clear your cache. It comes back if you refresh my blog.

Thank you to all my readers using Firefox, RSS, or some other tool that continues to display my blog content day after day. I will be working on this issue more next week.

Speaking of next week: I have to take some time off, so I won't be around as much next week. Sorry, friends.

Have a great Memorial Day!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I'm a Superhero, a Hunter, a Human

Mary Grace got me thinking: I like having my superhero cape askew.


My Cape

I like getting excited about things like business cards. I'm okay with the fact that a small piece of paper with a little ink makes me feel more legitimate. And I enjoy sharing these small moments of my life with you.

On the other hand, I'm an introvert by nature in the sense that I feel drained when I'm around tons of people, I don't mingle well at parties, and I keep my conversations one-on-one. But I don't mind public speaking and I like having people over to my house for a relaxed get-together. And that's part of this online community that I'm sad we don't do more of: Hang out IRL instead of on our various URLs.

So, until I can practice the ancient custom of hospitality and have you over, we have to settle for this online friendship. And so, I'd like you meet someone:

Ektharian

He's my "Main"--my original, main character--in World of Warcraft. WoW is another place where I find community, friends, and people with whom I can interact. I've met a student living in Iraq, a 14-year old struggling with her worth, and several Christians who have been incredibly encouraging. And there's something about running around as a Night Elf Hunter that lets other people open up to you. You can, in some sense, be more transparent and open with people when you're not face to face.

You can also lie, so that's the other side of this.

May you--the real, human, soul, you--find the support you need both in the real world and here. And if I can ever be of assistance, please let me know.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Helpful conversations and true community

Sarita's Word

---

While homeschooling, I've found, is a wonderful experience for most families, it is sometimes quite overwhelming. Good things rarely are all peaches and cream!

As a result, I believe, finding like-minded, encouraging community is key for success and perseverance in homeschooling. Since God made us for relationship (even Adam needed Eve), a homeschool community can truly help you stay this important course.

Problem is, it can be tough to find other moms who homeschool. And that can lead to feelings of loneliness. (In my neighborhood, no one else homeschooled.) That's one of the reasons I feel the Sonlight Forums are such an important service to our customers. The Sonlight Forums give you the opportunity to interface with like-minded people who have almost assuredly "been there and done that" ... or are dying to hear from you how you are "being there and doing that."

Strange but true: I find I'm always glad to meet fellow Sonlighters. They tend to be "my kind of people"--open minded, love the Lord, have read a lot of the same books, like their children, love to learn, etc.--And so the forums offer an opportunity to meet lots of those kinds of people.

They also provide the "stretch" of engaging different ideas and opinions where minds are not-so-alike. You can find support in times of need (someone is always willing to pray), answers to questions you might not dare ask elsewhere (from deep theological concerns to practical "womanly" issues), to help in teaching your children in the most effective ways possible.

Getting a filling replaced and finding friends I can't replace
Besides homeschool advice, I find I also appreciate the easy access the forums give me to wisdom and experience in a wide range of areas. Just one example: Last week, after a routine dentist appointment, my dentist recommended I replace an old silver filling that was beginning to fail. I first went to the web to seek out information, but quickly became overwhelmed with the huge amount of information, most of which was uninteresting to me. I remembered a discussion on our forums that discussed fillings, so I went to the Sonlight Forums, and did a few searches--on fillings, silver fillings, and eventually, silver amalgam fillings. I found several threads that quickly and easily helped me find the information I wanted. Thank goodness!

Child behavior
I also double check the Sonlight Forums for tips on various children's behaviors. Sonlight parents discuss a multitude of topics, and I can always find someone with words of wisdom to share within our community. The advice is pertinent, helpful, and occasionally out-of-the-box ... a fresh perspective from moms who have walked this way before.

Sonlight Moments
My favorite forum is Unforgettable Sonlight Moments. The posts there often cause me to tear up, as they remind me that homeschooling is a precious privilege and offers many rewards. Every week, one of our employees reads one of the posts to the team at Sonlight to remind us (the people who work at the office) of the terrific people we have the opportunity to serve.

Prayer connections
At Sonlight, we begin each day with a prayer time open to all who wish to participate. One of our employees collects a list of prayer requests that our forum moderators notice and creates a list of prayer needs. She prints the list and passes it to the rooms where small clusters of us meet to pray. We cut the list into chunks and various employees pray over these specific needs by name, one at a time.

We count it a joy to partner with you in this way. The forums allow us to get the most recent updates and information to know how to pray. We also daily pray a general blessing over the homeschooling families we serve.

Community: A key ingredient to staying the course!
If you're feeling like you are making this journey alone, may I encourage you that a host of fellow homeschoolers are eager to meet you!

May you enjoy true community and find helpful advice whenever you need it. Visit the Sonlight Forums soon!
Sarita

P.S. I invite you to comment on the Beam forum and share what the Sonlight Forums mean to you. As always, you can email me at president@sonlight.com.

Hobnobbing

Great points from everyone on yesterday's post. Thanks for chiming in!

Tonight I'm going to a social media socializing event thingy. ...I don't actually know what's going on at this shindig, but I'm bringing my new business cards <huge grin>.


Business Card

But before I go, I feel like I must point you to one of today's Other Posts of Note: If you have not yet read Mary Grace's Bee Still post, you should. It made me cry.

It's that good.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

"Where Could He Be?"

Luke Skywalker was, of course, referring to C-3PO. But I have commandeered the quote in reference to myself. Because this is my blog, so I can do that kind of thing. Watch me.

For the two of you who may have noticed that I didn't blog yesterday--and the one who took it a step further and actually wondered, 'Why hasn't Luke posted anything today?'--here is the answer: I'm sick.

I left work at 1:30 yesterday and went right to bed. I didn't get up until 8 this morning; I had a meeting at Sonlight I needed to attend, so I had to get up. I'm still not feeling great, so your prayers are welcome.

I even had a plan for what I was going to write about yesterday, but I didn't get around to it because I was trying to get better by sleeping. And it's hard to write blog posts that others can read while you're asleep.

I was going to comment on this video. Sonlight is very aware of the fact that 99% of church giving stays in the US, and only a very small part of what goes overseas is used to reach unreached peoples. Most of it goes to the "sexy" things like relief work. That's why my parents have made a conscious effort to give to bring the good news of Christ to people who have never had the opportunity to hear it before.

What bothers me about this video--and other things like it--is that I find the comparisons unfair. Sure, it may cost a lot less to feed Sudanese children than American children, but that's because the cost of living is so high here. It really costs a ton to live in the US. And, yes, if I drove an SUV, had a gym membership, and owned a time-share, this video may speak to me more. But I don't.

On the other hand, I do give to my local church, support missions efforts, and am thrilled to participate in Sonlight's giving opportunities like the Rice Bag Project--the one coming up this year is even more exciting... in my opinion.

Yes, true religion is looking after widows and orphans. But the more I hear about the nations who refuse money and are doing better because of it, I have to wonder if just giving money is the answer. As I mentioned above: It's "sexier" and easier to feel good about, but is it really helping? Is it really looking after widows and orphans to pour money into those countries?

My guess is that it's much more of a "teach a man to fish" kind of thing.

Thoughts?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Space Shuttle Atlantis

I've been enjoying watching the folks at Atlantis repair the Hubble telescope this week. It's just awe-inspiring to me to watch (in real time) the astronauts leave the relative safety of the shuttle and float, climb and wander around the docked telescope to replace cameras and other technology. Fox has a great Shuttle live feed that I've had playing on my computer this week.

As I watched two of the guys wrestle with a particularly ornery piece of equipment yesterday, it struck me that in my lifetime I watched Neil Armstrong take the first step on the moon ... and now I'm watching live video and audio feed of a floating "service station" in the sky.

I'm choosing not to allow this to make me feel old.

~Judy

Homeschool Mom Guilt

So you want to homeschool your children? OK ... first let's see if you "qualify". Please check all that apply from the following list:

• You use cloth diapers only
• You grow all your vegetables (and then can or freeze them for the winter)
• You bake all your bread (after you've hand-ground the wheat)
• You sew all your clothes and your husband's and children's too
• You bake cookies only from scratch, with some of that hand-ground wheat and honey from the bees you keep out back
• You feed your children only whole milk, straight from the Guernsey you keep out back
• You play the piano beautifully, sing like an angel, and whistle while you work, in the garden out back
• You knit beautiful blankets from the wool you spin from the sheep you raise out back

I suspect you know where I'm going with this! A friend recently shared a blog post she read over on WorldMag.com and it got me to thinking about this topic. I suspect that WorldMag article does carry some truth to it. We moms can indeed be cruel to one another. But I wonder where that judgmental attitude really comes from? Maybe because we're not terribly confident in our own choices?

I find myself often guilty of the same behavior ... comparing myself to others and finding myself coming up short. Or I compare myself to my own self-imposed expectations, and once again come up short. Sort of like those Corinthians that Paul had to remind ...

2Cr 10:12	We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.
2Cr 10:13	We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you.

One of the great lessons that God continues to teach me in both my parenting and my homeschooling is that He and He alone sets the standards for my life. I can certainly admire the efforts and accomplishments of others, but ultimately the only plan that matters for my life is the one my Father has assigned.

So what does this mean on a daily basis? Huge boatloads of grace! Grace towards myself, when I fail to reach the expectations *I've* set for myself (or for my spouse or children). Grace towards friends and acquaintances who make different choices from mine. Or put more plainly ... cut myself (and others) a break!

Keep on keeping on ...
~Judy

Friday Funnies and Other Stuff

I love encouraging new bloggers--especially kids, just starting out in their writing. However, sometimes what they post is just way too stinkin' cute to not share. And in this particular case, it was a typo that left me smiling. This is from a new, 10-year old blogger:


My Interests: sinning

I know typos are a common occurrence, but sometimes they're just classicly wrong <smile>.

There is a great post on the subject of human-chimp DNA similarities which made me smile for two reasons: First, because it's funny. And second, because it finally gives me some information I've wondered about for a while. Definitely worth a the read.


Ken


Puerile: adolescent; displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity
Sophistry: a deliberately invalid argument displaying ingenuity in reasoning in the hope of deceiving someone

Brought to you by Michael Egnor

Have a great weekend, and I'll see you Monday!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. And one more post I think you should read, though I felt like I couldn't link to it directly in my Other Posts of Note because of the title.

The Cynic, the Saint, and the Manager

Mr. Deity: "Fully God and fully human, that's how you do the whole 'sinless life' thing."

Jesus: "Well, that hardly seems fair."

I've gotta say: I love the wide variety of blogs I read. In fact, if you just poke through my Other Posts of Note, you can find stuff from a wide variety of perspectives. I mean, just today I've got some John Piper, Evolutionary Morality,and even a little Doug Phillips--to say nothing of the funny stuff I bump into. My hope is that this keeps me sharp and smiling.

So, what should we make of Mr. Deity's inability to make things fair/logical? Well, let's work through it, shall we?

1. Three days (well, 36 hours). Prophecies. This has pinged the back of my mind now and again: Three days? Really? I think the scholarly response would point to how prophecies work, their vantage point of history (with a compressed future), and the fact that it really was the third day. But, in the end, I haven't run into any Jewish teachers who discredit the resurrection account based on this issue, so I think we're cool with this as the three day period.

2. What Jesus gets from this. "Full partner." and 3. Why God can't do it Himself. "I'm not chicken." These points play off the difficulty of the Trinity: God, three Persons, One God. That's a pretty easy one to pick on--as Clint Eastwood does--but if you accept that Jesus and "Mr. Deity" are one, both of these issues disappear.

4. Can't You just forgive? Sin. This is another thing I've thought about, especially in light of Greek mythology. Who has power: The gods or the Fates? So why does God need blood for forgiveness? Who is He bound to? Reading all of Hebrews 9 sheds a little light on the subject, but Hebrews isn't an easy book to understand. It seems that God demands it Himself. Why? I don't really know.

5. Fully God/fully human. We're damned anyway. This goes back to the Fall, where we were set up well and decided to trade it in to become like God. And as humorous as it may be to see Mr. Deity gloat over our destruction, that's not how God is. Instead, He has provided a way for us to get back to Him, despite our demonstrations of human defiance.

6. Created way beneath God. Expected to live up to His standards or be damned. Again, this is a severely distorted view of God. He used to walk with us and connect with us. And then He did it again. His standards are not hard to keep, until we decide to rebel against them.


In the end, all of these points come from the cynical point of view--which is why it can be funny. But cynicism is hardly good discourse. And while I am hardly a Saint, I am one of the saints, and I thought I should point out that there are perfectly legitimate answers to these questions.

And I've learned something by watching Sonlight's general manager: It's easy to be cynical, to declare that you are not "duped" by this or that, and it is really hard to give an answer that will satisfy the cynic. But the great managers, like Wayne, can take such complaints and sometimes offer insights and words of wisdom that cut to the center of the issue.

Because cynicism is rarely--if ever--about really addressing a question. It's about making your point sting so you feel better about your position. I've been there. But seeing really great people respond with gracious, well-reasoned responses that point out the flaws in cynic's thinking has inspired me to try to do the same.

Try is certainly the operative word here. But I am trying.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Homeschooling and the Economy ...

Having recently spent a weekend at a large homeschool convention, and trying to discern if attendance was up, down or stable, I decided to do a bit of surfing to see what the Web had to say about the effect of the economy on homeschooling today.

I came across an interesting article titled "Number of homeschoolers continues to rise despite the economy". According to the author's research, homeschooling continues to grow at the rate of about 8% per year. Yet another article discusses how the high price of private schooling is forcing some to turn to homeschooling when they can no longer afford tuition.

While I am not an expert on economic or social trends, I am certain that the change in our economy will affect homeschooling as much as it does anything else. Creeping closer and closer to the half-century mark, my experience has been that folks spend their money on their priorities. While homeschooling may require more of a sacrifice this year than it has in the past, I do believe that parents will find creative ways to make this type of education possible if it is a priority. That is certainly *not* to say that those who choose not to homeschool do not see their childrens' education as being important.

Feel free to share your comments about how the economy will affect your homeschooling this year. Perhaps you've come up with some creative ways to make it more affordable ... or perhaps the quality and value of your curriculum materials far outweighs cost and you've chosen to cut back in other areas. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

~Judy

Teaching Science ... Remember HENSA?

H.E.N.S.A. = Home Educators Neglecting Science Activities. A group that was birthed some time ago on the Sonlight Forums, and continues to exist ... HENSA is reflective of many a homeschool. By the time you get Math and Reading and Language Arts and Writing and History out of the way, who has time for Science?! Especially if you also have to make time for piano lessons, and baseball, and flute lessons, and basketball, and ... well, you get the picture.

When my children were in the K-4 or 5 years, I came up with a solution to my HENSA woes that worked out pretty well in our homeschool. Each quarter of our school year (every 9 weeks), we would take a "week off" from all other subjects (except math!) and enjoy a science week. That science week would focus on a single topic ... perhaps weather, or astronomy, or electricity, etc...

As I planned my school year each summer, I would choose four science topics to enjoy for the coming year. I would then make certain to collect anything I needed for each of these weeks as they drew closer. I usually spent some time on-line during the summer, checking for special Science books or supplies that might round out our topical studies. Then a couple weeks prior to each Science week, I would visit our local library to add to our stack of books for study.

Once each Science week arrived, we would pull out our stacks of books and science materials, each student would grab their Science "notebook" (3-ring binder with lined and unlined paper), and we would begin our adventure. This might involve some reading about the topic on their own, some reading that I would do aloud, and any activities or experiments that might relate to the topic at hand. I usually tried to include one or two Science videos related to the topic as well. I would make sure that we wrote down any new Science "words" in their notebooks, being certain they understood what they meant. We also sketched (or you could take photos of) the experiments we tried. These all made for a wonderful Science notebook.

My primary goal was to ignite an excitement in my children for learning about Science. Since I viewed these weeks as being "discovery" oriented, I wasn't terribly concerned about mastery of the material. At a time when our major focus was on learning to read well and establishing the fundamentals of math, this approach to Science was enjoyable for all of us.

So don't obsess about Science ... and proudly wear your HENSA badge year-round, with the exception of four weeks when you enjoy exploring God's creation with your children!

~Judy

Say It to My Face

I've muttered things under my breath before.

In fact, I think I did that just yesterday.

And this morning, I responded to one of my dad's posts and, after submitting my comment, I began to wonder: Should I have said what I did in the way that I did? I think what I said is accurate, fair, and insightful--like most of what I write <cough>--but would I say it Swanson's face? Would I post such a comment on his blog--assuming he ever enabled comments?

Probably not.

Similarly, how I talk to Amber or Justin about our MathTacular projects is very different from what I would say to my mom. Does that mean that I'm lying to either party? Am I disingenuous?

I don't think so.

I am, however, hopefully responding in such a way that makes sense to my audience. I'm attempting to speak to them in a way they understand. My words change, not because my message is different, but because my audience is. Blogging, however, makes this much harder because anyone can come across my words. That's scary.

And when we are critiquing the ideas of another, how do we apply Psalm 19:14? I want my words and thoughts to be pleasing to God, and part of that is watching my doctrine which often means working through what appear to be errors in others' ideas.

Hmm... now I wish more than ever that Swanson would post his ideas and allow people to comment. Then I could say these things to his face, and I think it be helpful. As it is now, I fear that my words are not as gracious or uplifting as they should be. But I don't know, Jesus wasn't particularly mild when it came to urging for correction...

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

The Empty Marketplace

My best friend said something that's been nagging me for a while now. We were discussing various positions and opinions on a couple of our pet topics, and I said something about how people didn't really think about their positions. That's when he said:

All through college, everyone kept talking about this "marketplace of ideas" as if people actually had thoughts and could defend them. I haven't seen that, have you? People have opinions, but there isn't the general sense of true thought and give and take of concepts.

Shocked, I realized that was my experience as well. The "marketplace of ideas" is oddly empty.


The Empty Marketplace

Oh, sure, it is possible to bump into a fellow traveler now and again, but there's no Forum or Areopagus where you'll always find a group of thinkers discussing the latest ideas in the general public. You can find such places online, like the Sonlight Forums, where small groups of people will get together and discuss all sorts of things. But I have yet to find a true "marketplace of ideas."

So, I found it interesting that someone would criticize homeschoolers for not participating in the market of ideas, "especially when it comes to biological science."

Thankfully, Dana Hanley gave an excellent response. She pointed out, and I think rightly, that public schools do not have a market of ideas. Rather, children are taught to a test and little else.

What fascinates and bothers me is that we don't seem to have grown out of this. To this day, I see very little discussion and mostly just name calling the likes of which you'd find on a typical playground. May we, as adults engaged in the world of lifelong learning, set up our booths so those looking for good ideas will find us when they wander down the empty aisles marketplace of ideas.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Bullied?

I stumbled across the following quote today, and I liked it, so I'm sharing it with you:

All half-decent parents home-educate their children, in effect, until children learn to educate themselves.

I also read an interesting article about HR 1966, based on some comments by Sebastian which alerted me to its existence.

Here's what I perceive as the dilemma: No one thinks bullying is a good thing--much like hate crimes or other maladies--but in our effort to eradicate them we create much bigger problems. In both of these instances, free speech is eliminated under the guise hope of stopping evil.

And so we take a few more steps toward the world portrayed in V for Vendetta: A world where we give up our liberties for "safety." ...which reminds me of that quote: They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

My guess is that all half-decent people don't partake in hate crimes or cyberbullying, and legislation isn't going to stop the real instances of it happening. And, really, what have the "zero-tolerance" policies of our local schools done to end violence and bullying in the real world, where it is easier to monitor?

May our children learn to be gracious, kind, and loving in a world that is quickly clamping down around them. And may we have the wisdom to know how best to speak in a world that is slowly trying to censor us.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Moms, Pics, and Beams

Happy Mother's Day!

Speaking of Mother's Day, we sent out an email to almost 105 thousand people yesterday (and it took many, many hours to do so). If you didn't get that email, but want the Mother's Day wishes, you can get it via RSS on our Sonlight Feeds page. Just click on the "Sonlight Special Offers" link near the top and add it to your reader.

You can also get the Beam there too.

And Ariana is absolutely right: I broke a cardinal rule of blogging by not posting a picture of my haircut. To make up for it, I had Bo snap one of me looking penitent:


Haircut

Unfortunately, I don't have my nice camera here, so we had to use one around the office. And I didn't get a before and after. Sorry!

Happy Mother's Day, moms! Have a great weekend.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

"compensation at least a midget while"

Remember this post where someone just threw together a bunch of hot keywords into an almost unintelligible post?

Well, I found an even better one this morning: Check this madness out. Something took a legitimate blog post and added random words to it. More than that, they took my comment (at the bottom of the post) and made me sound incredibly eloquent:

I’m so eager you own broach tools that spur in compensation you and your species, and that Sonlight was deal of that in compensation at least a midget while [smile].

Yeah.

I never imagined--when I first started blogging--that it would come to this. But I guess that's just one of the prices you have pay when you're famous: People twist your words.

---
In other information, they obtained my of hair in order to cut off on the night yesterday. My woman which cuts off far by around 3 quarrels and I observes by very small person which wild.*
---

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. While not quite as painful as bamboo, getting a sliver of carrot under your fingernail is not pleasant. Who knew making smoothies could be so dangerous?

^*Originally: In other news, I got my hair cut last night. My wife chopped off about three inches and I look much less like a wild man.

Winsome Ambassadors

[title link here]

I read a post today that brought up the oft shared experience of waiters and waitresses around our nation: Christians are terrible tippers. On top of that, we can often be "demanding, complaining, and down right annoying" right after we finish saying grace, and then "leave a small tip with a track on how to become a believer."

Ironic.

Sad.

May we always be generous with our blessings, beginning with our physical stuff and time, and then sharing our hope and joy. This is certainly an area I'm growing in. And this morning in Large Group Prayer, my mom shared with the company about how we came to give to the organizations that we do.

I now purposely leave large tips when I go to a restaurant. I try to be friendly and courteous. I want to be a winsome ambassador in how I act and how I give.

And may your children see your good works as well.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. Heather's post is one of the many that I find every day and include in the "Other Posts of Note" section on this blog. I think these posts are encouraging, thought-provoking, and often very funny. Enjoy!

The IG: Schedule, Notes, and Love

Yesterday I mentioned our Instructor's Guides. And it turns out that our IGs are super important.

We've been asking for feedback from customers about how much they've enjoyed using Sonlight. So far the results are stellar: Homeschool families love being Sonlighters.

Which is awesome.

What's even more telling, however, is that there is over a 10 point difference between the satisfaction level of those who use our IGs and those who don't. Those who get the whole "Sonlight experience" with an IG--the schedule, notes, answer keys, activities--absolutely love using Sonlight. That's because Sonlight is so much more than a very large pile of books. It's an entire package.

Those who forgo the Instructor's Guide and only buy books and materials from us tend to be highly satisfied, but not nearly as much. With our current data it looks like they rate us 13 points lower than their friends who purchase an IG.

The message is clear: One of many incredible aspects of Sonlight is the Instructor's Guide. You just don't experience Sonlight without it.

We want families to be thrilled with their homeschool journey, and so we're trying to get the word out: You will have a better time if you get the completely Sonlight experience with an IG.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

'Tis the Season for Testing

Next to socialization, testing is probably the second most "hot topic" for homeschoolers. Should I or shouldn't I? Do I have to? What am I required to do?

I'm certain most of us realize that not all children test well. There are also students who do better with an "oral" exam as opposed to something on paper. Still others do great with essays, but really suffer when it comes to True/False or multiple choice tests.

Much like anything else in homeschooling, your first step is to decide what works best for your family, and for each student within your family. Your next stop should be your local support group or perhaps the HSLDA web site to find out what your area's homeschool regulations require in the area of testing. Once you have answered both of these questions, you can move on to make decisions about the values of testing, types of testing, and what is available in your area.

A couple of things to consider when deciding whether or not to test your children. Testing sometimes provides an unbiased review for you as the teacher. It helps to point out areas of need and highlights areas where your child excels. I remember one of my kids consistently scored low a couple of years in the area of punctuation and capitalization. I had not seen it during the school year, but the testing showed me an area where we needed a bit of remediation. Seeing areas where your student excels may provide a jumping-off point for extra-curricular activities. Finally, testing may also be good "practice" for your students. If higher education is in your child's future, it's worth having them experience testing while still at home, than to have it be totally unfamiliar when they reach college.

Where to go for testing services? One of the most frequently used options I'm familiar with is the Bob Jones University Testing Service. They primarily provide the Stanford and IOWA tests, and your ability to administer some of their tests will be based on your having a college degree (Bachelors). Seton provides the CAT-E standardized tests for homeschoolers. While I have no experience with these, I know many homeschoolers who use them and are pleased with the results. Their pricing is very reasonable. From the Family Learning Organization you can obtain the California Achievement Tests. Again, I am not personally familiar with this organization, but they are another option.

Whether to test or not is a personal decision ... what is "right" for one family may not be for another. There are many alternatives to testing as well ... probably as many as there are homeschooling families! But we'll leave that to another post.

~Judy

Packages, Programs, and Products

Sonlight's homeschool experience is based on Core programs. These packages include History, Geography, and Literature (as well as Bible in the upper grades). To this you can add other subject options that fit your family: Math, Spelling...

Here's what I learned today: Sometimes customers swing by our site and want to purchase just our History... and they are so excited that they buy it without even reading the description of the package which alerts them to the fact that it's just a package of books and you need the Instructor's Guide for it to be a complete history program... and if you're going to shell out the money for that, a Core would be a great option for you!

They totally don't see any of that.

The same is true for our Literature packages as well.

So, lesson learned. Now we're working on making that clearer. And, honestly, I was super confused for a couple hours while I tried to sort all of this out. Thankfully, I work with great people who very patiently talked me through the steps and everything that goes into this. And, hopefully, I'll be able to do the same for you now too <smile>.

But it's going to take a little time. There's so much to be done.

And if you come across anything that is confusing to you, please let us know. I can't fix everything instantly--wish I could--but I'm always looking for ways to make it even easier to use Sonlight and our site. Thanks!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Friday: Flux and Feeds

Bo, my intrepid buddy in the web department here, needed an invalid item for testing purposes. So we created one:


Flux Capacitor

We try to keep things light and fun around here as we work through rigorous tests, bug fixes, and error corrections.


And I finally got a pet project of mine going. I'm working on making it possible to subscribe to Sonlight's major email content via RSS. That way you can have everything in your RSS reader instead of your inbox.

Awesome?

Oh, yes.

So, please, check out the Sonlight Feeds page. Remember, this is still really early--beta, if you will--so there may be some issues. Please let me know if you have any, or if you think of anything I can do to make it even better. More options are coming soon, but for now you can "click on Ms. Sarita's newsletter" and get it via RSS.

Until Monday!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father