Bad Day for Public School

I used to quip that I could write faster than I could read. And it was almost true.

I've been a fairly good typist ever since I taught myself by attempting to write a mystery novel at age 10 or so. I got to 83 pages of single-spaced text. That's when I went back to read what I had written. Horrified by my pathetic prose, I abandoned the project.

But reading blogs has forced me to learn how to skim. So my reading speed has much improved. I hope the same is true of my writing. That said...

While burning through hundreds of posts in my RSS reader this week, I saw a recurring theme: Major problems within public schools. Things like poor mental math ability, Hollywood in the classroom, and the lack of acceptance of those who are different [NB: that last post has mild profanity]. Stories like these cause me to pause. 'What's changed in the last few years? Was it like that when I was a kid?'

I am not a proponent of a "the world's getting perpetually worse" mentality. I think such a perspective ignores human history. But there are certainly shifts in culture. What is acceptable and proper ebbs and flows. So it is entirely possible that this is a low point--or a shift downward--for our nation's public schools.

If you find your students in similarly less-than-ideal educational environments, perhaps it's time to consider a home education. Yes?

Absolutely. Yes.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

P.S. I am going on vacation next week. I won't be back until a few days into December; at which time I will need to skim quickly to try to catch up with the thousands of posts I'll have missed. Have a wonderful time of thanksgiving! And I'll see you next month.

Note Taking - Learned Skill?

I spoke recently with a homeschooling mom who was concerned because her daughter was in sixth grade and didn't have a clue how to take notes. She was looking for a product or formula that she might use to teach this skill. I made the following, cost-effective (nothing to buy!) suggestions:

• Start off by explaining the purpose of note-taking: to keep a record of your condensed understanding of what you're reading or hearing. In other words ... don't trust your memory!
• The next step is learning to focus and concentrate while listening. If you are reading a book aloud to your student ... tell them that each time they hear what seems to be an important tidbit of information, they need to write it down. These would be things like an important date, someone's age, or a location where something occurred. This might even include any words or terms they don't understand.
• In between listening for these types of note-worthy "facts" ... suggest that they make notes that will act as "reminders". Perhaps you're reading a chapter about Washington's winter at Valley Forge. Were there things mentioned in the chapter that helped them understand "why" the army was there? Perhaps something that gave a basic explanation of "what" was going on politically at the time? These all make good reminders.
• Compare note-taking to being a newspaper reporter. They always need to be answering ... Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?
  

The ultimate goal? To be able to go back and read over their notes and come away with the same knowledge/understanding they gained when they first read or heard the information. Note-taking acts as a "refresher" of sorts.

Keep in mind ... this takes practice. You may need to prod a bit at first ... or even come alongside and take notes that they might copy. Read a few sentences from a book to your students, and then stop and say ... "If it were me, I would make a note of the following ..."

As your student gains proficiency in knowing what they need to make notes of, then help them to develop their own style of note-taking "shorthand".

• Helpful abbreviations
• Use incomplete sentences
• Use bullet points or asterisks to make points stand out on a page

Church sermons, TV or radio news reports, or even a DVD documentary all provide great opportunities for practicing note-taking. And who knows ... working with your student may help your skills to improve as well!!

~Judy

When School Starts

...and other reasons to homeschool

I attended a small Christian school for kindergarten.

But I started late.

I was "held back" a year because of my September birthday. And from what I've been reading over the past week, I'm really glad my parents kept me back.

Since I had some downtime while out in California, I picked up Outliers. I've wanted to read it for a while now. Malcolm Gladwell has some pretty brilliant insights into the world. In this book, Gladwell points to--among other things--the inherent flaw in cut-off dates for school. Students who are on the young side of the early grades tend not to fare as well as those who have almost a year advantage. That's why some parents hold their children back for a year, so as to not handicap them from life. And, yes, Gladwell insists, the disadvantage does not go away with time.

I had an advantage, I guess, because when I finally started school, I was older than many of my classmates.

But then I had an even greater advantage: I got to start homeschooling.

Gladwell has his own solution to the problem. It involves starting school in three month shifts so that no student is too far behind developmentally than the others. And while I think his suggestion should be adopted in the school system, I have an even better idea: Start homeschooling.

Homeschooling overcomes just about every single potential barrier to success that Gladwell has covered thus far in his book.

In fact, while reading I jumped up from the couch and said, "Everything I read points to the benefits of homeschooling! This is crazy!"

So, for those of you already homeschooling: You're helping your children start off on the right foot toward success.

For those of you not yet homschooling, you should really consider it. Sonlight has prepared all the materials for you. Just check out our customizable complete programs. And if you need help figuring out which program will be best for you and your family, be sure to chat with a Sonlight Advisor on our website.

Homeschooling doesn't guarantee success. But from what I've been reading in Outliers, teaching your children at home provides many opportunities that make success possible.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Thanksgiving

Sarita's Word

---

As autumn rolls along, Thanksgiving buzz is spreading through the Forums.

What do Thanksgiving preparations look like in my household? Well, I'm not quite a "Thanksgiving traditionalist." I know many Sonlighters are fantastic cooks who love to make exquisite holiday meals. Those Sonlighters have, perhaps, been planning the Thanksgiving menu for weeks, and what they prepare will come out splendidly.

But I'm really not much of a cook. I can do it if I need to, but I'd much rather spend my holiday doing something else.

So here's a glimpse at my past Thanksgivings. May this help inspire you to find and embrace what's meaningful to your unique family, whether that looks "traditional" or not.

When the kids were young and we lived in California, we used the Thanksgiving break to go camping! It got me out of cooking a turkey (a lot of work in my mind), and let us adventure into the beautiful outdoors. We camped at warmer spots like the Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Park. We would hike during the day and huddle around a campfire at night while John read to us. Since it got dark quite early, we'd get in a lot of reading!

After we moved to Colorado, we shifted to a fall camping trip where we'd meet friends on the weekend after Labor Day. Then for Thanksgiving, we'd meet with John's family for the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Since we shared the production of food, the task seemed less daunting.

For the last four years, we've used the week around Thanksgiving to spend extra time with our kids and their families. We set a budget and plan a week's festivities. I count it a privilege to gather with our children and their spouses and have the grandchildren spend time together. We eat together, do crafts, visit local attractions, talk and laugh. It's a blast, and I normally don't cook a Thanksgiving meal (perfect!). I love it! It takes a lot of planning to keep a diverse group from adults to newborns happy, but the memories created are priceless!

So, however you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, may God grant you the privilege of simply enjoying time with your family. And of course, may we remember in all we do that walking with God, loving our families and loving our neighbors is infinitely more important than meeting our surrounding culture's expectations of what our lives "should" look like.

I am grateful to be part of such a creative, loving and inspirational community of Sonlighters!

Blessings to you and your family,
Sarita

In Loving Memory...

I was gone since Saturday morning because I was in California for my father-in-law's memorial service.

For those of you who are friends with my wife on Facebook, that isn't a big surprise. For the rest of you... that may have come out of the blue. Sorry about that. Sometimes it's hard for me to know how to give you the heads up on stuff.

That's why I didn't post Monday or Tuesday.

But back to my father-in-law. Rather than bore you with any tidbits I could piece together, I would like to share his blog with you. He started it in March and has a few updates now and again. All of them insightful and interesting.

As a blogger, I have no better way to honor him than to share his final thoughts with you. Please, visit his blog.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Sonlight's College Scholarships

College tuition costs are huge. That's why scholarships are so helpful. I was awarded an academic scholarship as well as a small sports scholarship for swimming. That money ultimately paid for almost a complete year at my university. Talk about a major blessing!

Are there college scholarship opportunities for homeschoolers?

Well, I know there's at least one! Sonlight is giving away thirteen scholarships this year. These scholarships range from $1,000 to $5,000 a year for up to four years of your college career.

You can apply for these scholarships if you have used at least five Sonlight Core programs over your homeschooling years. Access to these scholarships is just one more incredible benefit of using Sonlight as part of your homeschool journey.

Have a college bound graduate? You still have time to apply! All applications must be submitted by December 7, 2009. Click here for both Sonlight's scholarship application and the complete criteria.

Don't have a college bound student yet? You can listen to interviews with past scholarship winners on Sonlight's Speeches and Interviews page. Hearing from homeschoolers who have been so influential and successful is inspiring. Their accomplishments also underscore the fact that homeschooling really does work <smile>.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Lying for God

I first bumped into Greg early in my Sonlight blogging career because someone linked to one of his anti-homeschool posts. Interested in hearing his dissenting opinion, I was even more pleased to discover that he was a huge anti-creationist as well.

I've been happily following him ever since.

And honestly, if you can get beyond the language that slips in--and pours out in the comments--it is fascinating to browse his posts. Like the one from yesterday about a common Christian lie. You've heard the chalk story, yes?

I've seen it pop up now and again across the blogosphere. It seems that people, and we Christians are no exception, really love to hear tales about how our side "wins" in this or that situation. But the Snopes article says it well, I think.

Chalk this one up as a charming parable, one not grounded in the facts as reported. It's David and Goliath in a classroom setting, the shaking-in-his-boots student taking on the ogre of non-belief in the form of a fearsome professor.

And I think it is important to keep this parable in the back of our minds as we listen to other things. What other lies are out there that we may be in danger of spreading?

Homeschooling allows us the unique opportunity to walk through these topics with our children. May we use these opportunities well!


Now, for something lighter from Greg: A very fun video about Auto-Tune. I know I've heard the sound before, but I didn't know the history. And, come on... this video has Weird Al in it. So, go ahead: Give it a little look-see.

[NB: Obligatory notice: The video contains some pop-rapper-type video clips that contain women in typical pop-rapper-type apparel.]

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Children Learning at Home

Brittany is a young mom. She has the common frustrations, fears and failures. The kids act up. She wonders if she's having a positive impact. She gets upset (but no more than her husband). Brittany currently has two little girls who try her patience, pick their noses and get incredibly excited when the rat takes a piece of hot dog from their hands. It's a fairly typical young family.

I mean, you have a pet rat. Right? Right?

And like most young families, these girls are learning at home. They're learning how to get dressed, how to not talk with their mouths full, how to identify shapes and colors, as well as how to play well with their sister.

But the fear lingers: Are the kids learning anything?

Brittany is happy to announce that, yes, yes they are! In fact, after many... many... many admonitions to keep her mouth closed while chewing, Brittany has seen some considerable improvement in the three year old. Brittany was so excited, she told me about it on the phone today.


This is home education.

And home education works.


Children all over the world learn how to tie their shoes, scribble pictures, count, sing, recognize shapes, identify animals and plants, attach significance to dates and so much more!

...all at home.

And that is why homeschooling is such a great option. Homeschooling is merely a natural continuation of something every parent does with the children they care for.

I've said all this before. But today I'm seeing it play out in my own house.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Pulled Away

Yanked from the Blogosphere

I'm so sorry, friends! I haven't been around the blogosphere because other things have pulled me away. This means I currently have 911 unread items in my RSS reader. I have a lot to do to catch up with all of you!

Unfortunately, the rest of this month will be pretty crazy. I'll do my best to keep you posted with what's going on.

Your thoughts and prayers are most welcome!

How can you pray for us here at Sonlight? Well, we're doing a presentation tomorrow morning for a project. Unfortunately, I just started thinking about it a few days ago. So we all need wisdom--especially me--as I "take the helm" of this monstrosity. Don't get me wrong: It's totally sweet. But right now it feels a bit like Frankenstein's monster...

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Props from Two Years Ago

Tip of the Day:
Keep the things you've made just in case.

I needed a prop we used a couple years ago for something I was working on today. It was a pizza box that we had dutifully smeared with oil to make it look like it was grease-stained.


Pizza Delivery

Thankfully, we still had it. Otherwise the thing I was doing would have become an even bigger hack-job and required a lot more time.

Ah... the world of media production: Where lying fabricating reality is a way of life.

The only problem with keeping stuff you make is that you have to find a home for it. And space is limited. At least, it is at my house. Especially when you start covering walls with bookcases...

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

It Takes Time to Get to the Future

"Rome wasn't built in a day."

I think that's how they put it. Great things may be coming, but they take time to get here.

Which is unfortunate.

I'm currently working on three major projects right now... all of them awwwh-summm! But when can I tell you about them? That's totally unknown because, well, it's going to take time. And my wife won't let me work much over 40 hours a week, so I can't exactly powerhouse through these things either.

And I want to get them right. That slows things down too.

But there is some really cool stuff in the works.

I just hope I don't have to wait until 2012 to show them to you. <smile>

Ah, the pain of being a blogger who works on things. Sometimes it would be much easier if I just reported on stuff after it was out. You know, those product reviewer types. But no. That's not me...

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Why People Hate Sonlight

One of my bloggy friends mentioned googling hate sonlight. And I thought, 'Hmm... I should write a blog post about the things that make Sonlight horrible so when people search for it, they hit my blog!' <Bwahahaha ha!>

Of course, those who have swung by my blog searching for "sonlight curriculum bad" only stuck around for 40 seconds.

So, please, before you close this tab, here are 27 Reasons NOT to Buy from Sonlight. The article contains a list of 27 things that make Sonlight a bad choice for your family. If you're looking for reasons to hate using Sonlight, 27 Reasons is the article for you.

What are the reasons I've heard? For your reading pleasure:

3 Reasons People Hate Sonlight:

1. I once chatted with a homeschooler--my age--who said that Sonlight was way too easy and it bored him. Not sure how that could be true, but I can't really argue with his experience. My guess is that he just didn't have a properly selected Core. If you need help choosing a Core that will best fit your family, chat with an Advisor (yes, it's free).


2. I've read several blog posts about how Sonlight brainwashes people and feeds them lies. Unfortunately, people on both sides of issues claim this. So Sonlight is probably more in the middle than is comfortable for some (see Reason 11).


3. Sonlight has way too much to do! This complaint is raised in Reason 6, so you should already know about it..

Bonus 4th Reason: And, of course, Sonlight costs money. That's because you get a hundred pounds of books and materials. And, well, that costs money. So that's not a good reason to hate Sonlight, but it is a legitimate complaint: When you buy lots of good stuff it costs money. I don't like it either.

What are some the reasons you've heard why people hate Sonlight?

Granted, I love Sonlight. But I know Sonlight's not for everyone.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

The Emotional Climate in Your House

Sarita's Word

---

When the sun breaks out after many days of gray drizzle, my spirits lift. How about you? It's no surprise that the climate around us can really affect how we feel and act.

Since you spend all day with your family, you probably pay attention to the emotional "climate" inside your house. Just like you can't ignore the weather when it's 75 degrees and sunny, it's hard to let your family's mood go unnoticed. You probably know from experience how much everyone benefits when you and your spouse have been communicating particularly well. And chances are you've also seen how sibling rivalry or unchecked anger can drag the whole family down.

So how can we cultivate favorable climates in our families? How can our houses (filled with noise as they may be) truly be places of peace?

I don't have all the answers, but I have thought a lot about these questions. When the kids were young, I found a few ground rules helped the whole atmosphere of the family. We intentionally follow these principles in the Holzmann house:

• No put downs
• Keep short accounts
• Make charitable assumptions
• Don't take up the offenses of others

Let's take a brief look at each of these, and then I'll ask you to share what principles you've found particularly helpful in your home.

No "put downs"

This has always been a firm family rule. It forbids any insult directed at other people or at oneself. Not only was this an easily definable way to keep the kids from picking at each other, it also prevents unintentionally hurtful sarcasm and stops us from indulging in discouraging "self-talk." I believe that if we can manage our tongues (a difficult task indeed!), our hearts often follow suit.

Keep short accounts

I learned this one from my friend, Becky, who worked on a team overseas for many years. In her time overseas, team tensions frequently rose between people from different backgrounds with very different ways of doing things. When her team committed to "keep short accounts," they realized it was much more effective to ask forgiveness than to allow hurts to fester.

Instead of building up long tallies of who did what against us and harboring guilt about what we've done to others, keeping short accounts means we ask for forgiveness and forgive generously and often. Even if someone who wronged us doesn't ask for forgiveness, we can discuss the situation with him or her when appropriate and then choose to not hold a grudge.

In our family, our oldest daughter, Amy, modeled this for all of us. When she sensed tensions between her siblings, she would (on her own initiative) pull a family meeting between the four children. She would point to one child and say, "Talk. Tell us what's going on." And then give the next child a chance to respond. Through these impromptu meetings, our children (who are very different from one another) learned to keep short accounts and get along. If you can encourage your children to do similarly, they'll build a great life skill.

Make charitable assumptions

Just as we can extend grace to others by keeping short accounts, we also show grace when we choose to make charitable assumptions. If a friend does something that hurts me, I can choose to assume that she is acting from good motivations and that there is something I just don't understand about the situation. Many times, what we assume is a personal attack on us is really just a misunderstanding, a momentary lapse of judgment or a result of outside factors completely unrelated to us. As we adopt a humble attitude we can choose to believe the best about others.

I should mention that keeping short accounts or making charitable assumptions doesn't mean you have to make unwise decisions. If a friend has proven again and again that she can't be trusted to keep your personal struggles private, it may be wise to choose not to share things with her that you don't want others to know. Making a charitable assumption doesn't mean you should assume that this is the time she'll prove worthy of trust. But it does mean you grant her grace by not assuming that she's trying to tear you down.

Don't take up the offenses of others

The last principle means that even as we support our family members and friends, we don't take up their interpersonal struggles as our own. If a friend is frustrated with my pastor, I can be supportive and encourage her to talk with him and resolve the issue, but I don't have to become a crusader to take her cause on as my own. Within your family, this prevents issues from blowing out of control and can keep your kids from ganging up on one another. More often than not, when we take up someone else's problem, we don't even understand both sides of the issue we're fighting.

What about you?

Now I'd love to hear your wisdom. What basic principles or "ground rules" does your family have to cultivate a positive environment that helps everyone thrive? Click here to share your thoughts!

May God grant your family peace as you journey together.

Blessings,
Sarita

Silence and Spin

Last night one of my friends mentioned that the director of Planned Parenthood had resigned and was now working for the Coalition for Life.

"Whoa! That's crazy," I said.

And a little misleading.

Turns out that it was a director of an abortion clinic in Texas.

Still... it's interesting. To me, at least.

First: Cool "win" for pro-lifers. So why haven't I seen this on the blogs? Have I just missed the ones that are talking about it?

Second: Lame "spin" that boarders on lying. Some small-time director had a change of heart. That's nice, but hardly earth-shattering. Is that why I'm not hearing about this more?

Third: Why can't I find any major news stations--or news websites--talking about this? I mean, KBTX isn't exactly nationally known... right?

So where is the spin and what is the cause of the silence?

And what do you make of this post?

How long do we have to wait before 20-20 hindsight starts to kick in? Or is that just a myth? What do we really know of history and how do we interpret it? What of people's motivations? And how do we get beyond our own biases and, as Simon and Garfunkel put it, seeing the things we want to see and disregarding the rest?

I just got the strange sensation that news reports are like textbooks. Somehow the presentation feels similar. The vignettes of solid facts that often lack emotion or, worse still, present a monochromatic world. I don't like that. That can't be the way things are.

And that's why I like the wild, emotional, conflicting world of blogs. This jumble of opinion and personal experience reminds me of the literature that made up my historical studies as a child. Granted, there are few blogs that match the literary quality of the award-winning books I experience because of Sonlight. But the human reality is similar. And I like that. What's more, I think more literary modes of presentation allow us to see more clearly what is spin and what is better left unsaid.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

Education sans Academics

So much learning takes place outside of the academic setting. Here's one example that we got to participate in yesterday:


Tower Building

Motor skills, physics, color and shape recognition, socializing... naturally with just a bucket of blocks.


The Joy of Blocks


Higher! Higher!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father

The Holidays are Coming ...

For some people that statement brings feelings of excitement and fond memories of childhood holidays ... for others it creates a feeling of dread and the wish to just fast-forward to January.

I suppose there are a multitude of reasons why some folks love the holidays as much as others hate them. In fact, I've had some years where I couldn't wait for Thanksgiving to arrive, and other years when I wished we could just avoid the whole mess. Current family dynamics, age, the economy, and a whole slew of other factors play into how you perceive the holiday season.

So how to avoid the holiday doldrums when they come rushing in? Two simple approaches have helped me immensely in past years. 1) Get my focus off myself, and 2) Do some advanced planning.

Get your focus off yourself
Those years when I've struggled the most, and tried to determine why, I've usually found that I am hyper-focused on my physical struggles, family struggles, or disappointment in others. It has been very helpful for me to name the issue, whatever it might be, and consciously work to leave it with the Lord. If I can daily shift my focus off from me and on to those around me, my attitude improves tremendously. Certainly the holidays are not the time to become a martyr, so I'm not suggesting totally ignoring personal needs. But looking for little things that might work to improve my spirits is much more fruitful than using that time to dwell on life's troubles or injustices.

Do some advanced planning
Most often the stress and hair-tearing of the holiday season can be avoided with a little proactive planning. As much as I'm able, I try to map out the events of November and December well in advance. Around those activities I plan our meal schedule. Based on that schedule I try to plan my grocery shopping so I only have to go once or twice. There's nothing more frustrating to me than being stuck in an over-crowded grocery store during the holidays.

Getting my kids involved with the planning is also tremendously helpful. With my focus on others instead of myself, it becomes less important that every event is planned "correctly" than working on the project as a family. We schedule hospitality times in our home, create a menu, and brainstorm decoration ideas.

I also take a serious, realistic look at our budget, and plan our gift giving based on what is possible. 61% of Americans list lack of money as being their greatest holiday stress point. Shifting our focus to relationships and creativity can go a long way toward relieving this issue.

Not creative? Need a jump-start for holiday meal planning and gift-giving? Here are some great resources to check out as we head into November.

• Sonlight's Home for the Holidays Forum
• Holiday Party and Gift Ideas
• Christmas Card Ideas
• Christmas Ornament Ideas
• Christmas Corner
  
• Thanksgiving Recipes
  
• Christmas Recipes

(Standard caveat - I cannot vouch for all the content on each of these sites, so browse with care).

I'd love to hear your ideas for a stress-free, enjoyable holiday season. Feel free to share! And most of all ... I wish you a relaxing, family and Christ-centered holiday season.

Blessings ...
~Judy

Learning to Listen

When the girls first got here a few weeks ago, they weren't particularly interested in listening to books. When offered, they politely declined. They did, however, beg for the same story to be read to them again when it was bedtime. I suspect, however, that their motivation had more to do with the alternative than to the enjoyment of a story.

I have often read comments from parents who say that their children simply don't like to listen to stories. Several families have shared that Sonlight simply didn't work for them because their kids didn't want to listen to the books. In fact, that sometimes lasted for a year or more.

But eventually their children came around. Listening to fantastic stories is now a family favorite pass time. It may take a while, but eventually the joy of engaging in a tale together begins to take root.

It has with the girls at our house.

Listening to stories, I believe, is a skill that needs to be learned. And there's really no better way to learn how to listen than with Sonlight's curriculum. The girl's are still developing this skill. It took a week or more before they were okay with a new book. And they're still easily distracted. But the change has begun.

Has your family discovered the wonderful shared experiences that reading books together can bring?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father