A "flower" jewelry stand made from Mountain Dew bottles!
See Epbot for the instructions.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Fun and pretty craft project for girls
(or for boys who want to make a mother's day present!)
A "flower" jewelry stand made from Mountain Dew bottles!
See Epbot for the instructions.
A "flower" jewelry stand made from Mountain Dew bottles!
See Epbot for the instructions.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Rainbow Math Party reminder and info
Hello Moms!
Just a reminder that the Rainbow themed math party is this Friday at noon--see the post I made below for the details.
ONE MORE THING, though, that was not part of the original announcement:
As most of you know, we normally do a book project for the Author's Fair, which is the first Sat. in April. This year we are doing sensory poetry, and will be making our own watercolored papers that we will then use for the artwork. I'll explain more in a separate post, but for now, I just wanted to let you know that I am planning to have the kids start their painting on Friday at the Math party! We will have the school-age kids in the adjoining classroom, and start at noon. If you are not able to make it to the party by noon, don't worry--this is something you can do at home with your kids too. (And if you can't come to the party at all, you can still be part of the book project--we are just getting a jump start on Friday.) The big kids will paint until about 12:30-45, when we will start the fun math/rainbow activities in earnest.
The moms and tots can hang out in the regular room. And if any of you don't want your kids painting, no worries--just come and hang out and play. : )
If you do want your kids to paint, then I recommend you bring the following:
--play clothes on your kids, or smocks
--any watercolor paints, if you have them
--any brushes, if you have them.
--and any watercolor paper you might have on hand. (but thick paper is not necessarily good for the project, so don't pull out your really good stuff)
I think the book project is going to be really fun, and painting with a rainbow of colors seemed an appropriate activity for our fun rainbow math party!
Post comments here if you have any questions. : )
Just a reminder that the Rainbow themed math party is this Friday at noon--see the post I made below for the details.
ONE MORE THING, though, that was not part of the original announcement:
As most of you know, we normally do a book project for the Author's Fair, which is the first Sat. in April. This year we are doing sensory poetry, and will be making our own watercolored papers that we will then use for the artwork. I'll explain more in a separate post, but for now, I just wanted to let you know that I am planning to have the kids start their painting on Friday at the Math party! We will have the school-age kids in the adjoining classroom, and start at noon. If you are not able to make it to the party by noon, don't worry--this is something you can do at home with your kids too. (And if you can't come to the party at all, you can still be part of the book project--we are just getting a jump start on Friday.) The big kids will paint until about 12:30-45, when we will start the fun math/rainbow activities in earnest.
The moms and tots can hang out in the regular room. And if any of you don't want your kids painting, no worries--just come and hang out and play. : )
If you do want your kids to paint, then I recommend you bring the following:
--play clothes on your kids, or smocks
--any watercolor paints, if you have them
--any brushes, if you have them.
--and any watercolor paper you might have on hand. (but thick paper is not necessarily good for the project, so don't pull out your really good stuff)
I think the book project is going to be really fun, and painting with a rainbow of colors seemed an appropriate activity for our fun rainbow math party!
Post comments here if you have any questions. : )
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Parties! Mark your calendars
Hello families!
We have TWO fun parties now on the calendar for the upcoming months.
Valentine's Day Party
Tuesday, Feb. 14th
12:00-2:00
In the usual downstairs classrooms there in the Children's Ministry building on the Vintage Faith church campus.
This is purely "socialization" time, with no specific educational goals, so please invite your homeschool friends, come and have fun! I'll try to bring a good Love story to read to the group, and will lead a little Valentine's Day craft for the older elementary kids while moms with little 'uns can hang out and chat. : )
Please Bring:
--Lunch for your family, if you wish.*
--A snack to share (and while this is the perfect time to break out the sweets, let's see if we can get a few healthy things in there too).
--Valentines! If your kids want to participate in this part of the fun, please have them bring a valentine for every child (and always wise to have a few extra).**
--Your own special Valentine's Day mailbox! This can be a decorated shoebox, a folder, a big envelope, a basket, whatever you want--as long as it can hold cards and probably a little candy. You can bring one for each child, or one for your family--you decide. It just needs to be labeled somehow, so each "delivery person" knows where to deliver his or her valentines.
(Moms, in my opinion, this is the time to let our healthy urges take the back seat, and get whatever little candy treats you remember most fondly from childhood. This is an Old School party, after all! ; )
*As always, every family should please bring their own plates, water bottles, napkins, etc. Let's strive to make all our gatherings as waste-free as possible.
**If we all RSVP in the comments below, it will help us all know about how many cards to prepare.
The Rainbow Math Party
Friday, March 16th
12:00-2:00
In the same downstairs classrooms there in the Children's Ministry building on the Vintage Faith church campus.
Years ago, our family started a tradition--when each child finishes a math book, we have a math party to celebrate! We make the color of the math book cover the theme of the party. Well, last year we finished several math books, but every time we were so busy we never stopped to have the parties! So now we are going to have one big rainbow themed party, to make up for it! And we would love to have our friends join us.
We will have some rainbow-themed activities (Becky has agreed to talk about light and the color spectrum!) and some math games. So, this party will be more structured and "educational," but we will leave time for socializing too!
To bring:
--Lunch for your family, if you wish.*
--If you choose, please bring a snack that is ONE color. Be creative! Our family will be bringing a rainbow veggie tray, and a rainbow-themed dessert--but the more snacks the better!
--If your child has a math project or math accomplishment to share, please bring it, and we will make a special "Show & Tell" time during the party so all the kids can share all their fun math learning. : )
We would love to have you join us!
Questions on either of these events? Please leave them in the comments, and I'll answer as best I can.
lisa c.
We have TWO fun parties now on the calendar for the upcoming months.
Valentine's Day Party
Tuesday, Feb. 14th
12:00-2:00
In the usual downstairs classrooms there in the Children's Ministry building on the Vintage Faith church campus.
This is purely "socialization" time, with no specific educational goals, so please invite your homeschool friends, come and have fun! I'll try to bring a good Love story to read to the group, and will lead a little Valentine's Day craft for the older elementary kids while moms with little 'uns can hang out and chat. : )
Please Bring:
--Lunch for your family, if you wish.*
--A snack to share (and while this is the perfect time to break out the sweets, let's see if we can get a few healthy things in there too).
--Valentines! If your kids want to participate in this part of the fun, please have them bring a valentine for every child (and always wise to have a few extra).**
--Your own special Valentine's Day mailbox! This can be a decorated shoebox, a folder, a big envelope, a basket, whatever you want--as long as it can hold cards and probably a little candy. You can bring one for each child, or one for your family--you decide. It just needs to be labeled somehow, so each "delivery person" knows where to deliver his or her valentines.
(Moms, in my opinion, this is the time to let our healthy urges take the back seat, and get whatever little candy treats you remember most fondly from childhood. This is an Old School party, after all! ; )
*As always, every family should please bring their own plates, water bottles, napkins, etc. Let's strive to make all our gatherings as waste-free as possible.
**If we all RSVP in the comments below, it will help us all know about how many cards to prepare.
The Rainbow Math Party
Friday, March 16th
12:00-2:00
In the same downstairs classrooms there in the Children's Ministry building on the Vintage Faith church campus.
Years ago, our family started a tradition--when each child finishes a math book, we have a math party to celebrate! We make the color of the math book cover the theme of the party. Well, last year we finished several math books, but every time we were so busy we never stopped to have the parties! So now we are going to have one big rainbow themed party, to make up for it! And we would love to have our friends join us.
We will have some rainbow-themed activities (Becky has agreed to talk about light and the color spectrum!) and some math games. So, this party will be more structured and "educational," but we will leave time for socializing too!
To bring:
--Lunch for your family, if you wish.*
--If you choose, please bring a snack that is ONE color. Be creative! Our family will be bringing a rainbow veggie tray, and a rainbow-themed dessert--but the more snacks the better!
--If your child has a math project or math accomplishment to share, please bring it, and we will make a special "Show & Tell" time during the party so all the kids can share all their fun math learning. : )
We would love to have you join us!
Questions on either of these events? Please leave them in the comments, and I'll answer as best I can.
lisa c.
a little humor for your day
From the new little humor blog Homeshool Ryan Gosling
No, really, go look. A couple of those almost made me spit out my tea.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Workshop on how to do a science fair project--TOMORROW
From local homeschool mom Suki:
Hi everyone,
A while back I was chatting with a mom about the science fair, which my family loves, and she suggested that it would be helpful to have a workshop that introduces parents to how to do a science fair project. My only credentials are that I'm the daughter of two scientists and my kids have taken part in the science fair for years, but it's a great topic and I'll do my best to answer your questions or help you find the answer. We'll go through the basics: what is the scientific method, what are some common pitfalls, what do judges want to see. We'll also look at the rules for our local science fair.
Science Fair Workshop
At the Discovery Learning Center - http://dlcsantacruz.org
Tuesday, 1/10 at noon
Free for supporting members, $3-5 donation requested from others
The DLC will be open for lending library hours at that time. You can bring your children to play, but we can't have them out on the structure unless there is a parent willing to watch them out there. The workshop is designed for parents, but perhaps at the end if we have time we could have a question/answer period with the kids.
Please feel free to pass this message on to other mailing lists!
Suki
Susana (Suki) Wessling
blog.SukiWessling.com
facebook.com/SukiWesslingWriter
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This sounds fabulous--I don't know if I can make it, what with little kiddos in tow, but I would if I could!
Hi everyone,
A while back I was chatting with a mom about the science fair, which my family loves, and she suggested that it would be helpful to have a workshop that introduces parents to how to do a science fair project. My only credentials are that I'm the daughter of two scientists and my kids have taken part in the science fair for years, but it's a great topic and I'll do my best to answer your questions or help you find the answer. We'll go through the basics: what is the scientific method, what are some common pitfalls, what do judges want to see. We'll also look at the rules for our local science fair.
Science Fair Workshop
At the Discovery Learning Center - http://dlcsantacruz.org
Tuesday, 1/10 at noon
Free for supporting members, $3-5 donation requested from others
The DLC will be open for lending library hours at that time. You can bring your children to play, but we can't have them out on the structure unless there is a parent willing to watch them out there. The workshop is designed for parents, but perhaps at the end if we have time we could have a question/answer period with the kids.
Please feel free to pass this message on to other mailing lists!
Suki
Susana (Suki) Wessling
blog.SukiWessling.com
facebook.com/SukiWesslingWriter
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This sounds fabulous--I don't know if I can make it, what with little kiddos in tow, but I would if I could!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
On our Christmas party and sharing the fun with the greater SC community
Hello Moms!
So, I have had a very interesting exchange today via emails with the local Santa Cruz Homeschool Yahoo group (my main source of info for all things homeschool in this area--which I why I occassionally quote good stuff from the group here, for the benefit of you all). As most of you know, when we have a special "Vintage Homeschool Group" event and I tell you all to invite friends, I also send an invite to all the families on the Santa Cruz Homeschool Yahoo group. This is usually for the "Back to School," "End of School," "Valentine's Day," and "Christmas" parties. Do you remember Hilary who came a couple of times with her son, or Zan who came a couple of times with her son and daughter, or Susan who came once with her young son and daughter? These are just some of the people who have visited our parties from the greater SC homeschool community to be friendly and join in the fun. I am so glad they did, and I hope they felt welcome.
Well, today I posted a group-wide invitation to our Christmas party. What follows are the emails that came as a response this afternoon. I'll explain at the end why I am sharing this dialogue with you all, but I think you will be able to figure it out:
------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello all!
Our Vintage Homeschool Moms group is having our annual Christmas party next Monday, Dec. 19 from noon until 2:30 there at Vintage Faith Church in S.C.
All familes are welcome!
Please check out this link for more details: http://vintagemoms.blogspot.com/2011/12/old-school-monday-christmas-party-is-on.html
Hope the rest of your week is a merry one! : )
lisa c-------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was wanting to find out more about the Vintage Faith Church a
while back when some friends were talking about the Abbey
coffeehouse the church runs, and was very disappointed to find out --
from the web site and from reviews of a book by the pastor -- that
they are anti-gay. Would "All families are welcome" really apply to
all the local two-mom homeschooling families and LGBT homeschooling
teens I know?
In general Santa Cruz has a lot of LGBT-inclusive and welcoming
churches and other houses of worship -- just for one small example,
it is my experience as a person who has danced in both the Downtown
Santa Cruz Holiday Parade and the Santa Cruz Pride Parade that the
latter has a lot more churches in it -- so yes, it was an unpleasant
surprise that a church that seems to want to make a big deal of
having a hip coffeehouse would not be included in that number.
I hope we will all remember that homeschooling families are a
diverse group.
T--- T------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi T---,
Thanks for your honest and sincere email response to my invite. The Vintage Homeschool Moms group is just that--a bunch of moms who enjoy getting together to have fun and encourage one another in our homeschooling and parenting. The Christmas party is not a church-sponsored event, but we routinely use the Vintage Faith Church classrooms for our gatherings, since they have such great facilities (like a bathroom in the classroom, the gym for the kids to run around in, etc.). We call ourselves "Vintage Homeschool Moms" just because most of us happen to be, but we have families from other churches join us, and have welcomed Jewish, agnostic, and atheist parents as well. I am the organizer for most of the gatherings we have, and I love to invite new people--you never know who might really want to get their kids out of the house for a fun, casual event with other homeschool kids, or what mom might be struggling and need a few kind words. : )
So, we do not claim to represent the overall Vintage Faith Church, and I am sure all of us moms in the group have different opinions about all aspects of life, just like all of us here on the homeschool group forum do. I can't speak for any of the other moms (or dads, who are welcome and sometimes come too!), but I personally welcome any homeschool family who feels comfortable with us. What I can speak for the other moms about is that yes, most of us are trying to live as followers of Jesus Christ, and believe each and every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect.
You are right that this will not be an all-inclusive gathering, in the sense that we will be celebrating "Christmas" and not "the Holidays" and God might very well come up in the conversation as moms chat. ; ) I posted the invite with the assumption that anyone who wants to avoid such things would simply disregard it. But it will not be a religious gathering in nature (i.e. other than the fact that Christmas is what it is, we are not out to convert you), and so I invite anyone who is comfortable with such a dynamic to please feel free to join us.
lisa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, thanks for doing the research T---. I'll look into this too. I've been to The Abbey twice to knit with a friend, just assuming they were friendly. As another lesbian mom, I won't be spending my money there anymore.
A--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Lisa,
I was confused by some parts of your reply (below), so I was hoping you could clarify a few things:
- Is T--- correct that this church has an anti-gay theology? I understand that your group is not church-sponsored, but some might consider this information relevant in deciding whether to attend an event at their facility.
- You said that most of the members of the group are in fact members of the church. Does the group have an explicit understanding that gay families are welcome and will not be subjected to anti-gay attitudes? If not, a reasonable person might assume that the stance of the church is the (unspoken) stance of the group.
- Statements like "every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect" are often code for "hate the sin, love the sinner." Is this in fact what you meant to convey?
We are indeed a diverse group, and should be free to announce gatherings etc. that would not suit all of us. I do think, however, that accurate information about the nature of a group would be helpful.
Thanks in advance for clarifying,
M--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaking as an all inclusive mom, I feel that you both are being very unfair with your expectations and judgements. I also feel the tones of your reply/comments are very negative and unaccepting themselves. Let us keep our personal feelings aside and ask objective questions with the expectation of a reasonable answer.
Sent from my LG phone
[no name given]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are referring to my comment, I don't see how declaring that I won't spend money in a cafe that funds an anti-gay church is being unfair to anyone, least of all Lisa, who wasn't representing The Abbey. I want all homeschoolers to feel welcome posting here, but I also want to be reasonably informed about the politics/religious leanings of any group or event I choose to attend, so I welcome the discussion that has followed Lisa's posting.
A--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi M--,
Your questions are reasonable. I was trying to avoid speaking for the overall church, for several reasons. Mainly I don't feel qualified to speak for the church, so hope all of you who are really interested in knowing the church's stance on such issues will go directly to the source, and call and set up a meeting with one of the pastors. D-- K------ is the pastor who I think T--- was referencing in her email, and he is a very sensitive man who is always available for such discussions. If you would prefer to speak with a woman, K------ J----- is not a pastor, but is one of the members at the heart of the church. I understand why some of you want to know the church's stance on gender identity, GLBT families, etc., esp. in regards to the Abbey coffeelounge, since we all want to support business (or in this case, non-profits) that align with our personal values.
I tried to be clear that I was not speaking for the other moms/families in the Vintage homeschool moms group, but you are raising an excellent question about whether or not the other moms would welcome gay/lesbian families. To be candid, I don't know. What I do know is that they have welcomed every other family who has come, and I will never invite the greater homeschool community to an event that is specifically religious in nature or at which they might not be welcome.
I do want to address your question about whether my statement "every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect" was code for "hate the sin, love the sinner." While every single word I chose is loaded with meaning, and intentionally so, please take them together in their most beautiful, person-affirming way. I personally respect people of all faiths, cultural backgrounds, etc, and hope those of you who know me even a little in person would agree that I live out these beliefs. (I feel like I am supposed to whip out my "diversity portfolio" at this point, or show you my gay and lesbian parent personal references. ; )
I am not offended that you are asking, esp. since I am sure others are wondering at this point, although it is certainly uncomfortable. I enjoy being a part of this homeschool group because it represents the whole broad spectrum of our greater Santa Cruz area, and in fact do not choose to participate in groups that purposefully exclude a variety of world views. But within this group, I hope there is enough room on the spectrum of ideas for mine too. It is healthy and wise for such a group to avoid entangements that come with seeming to promote certain views above others. I have been sharing only those events and ideas that seemed to be relevant to the greater homeschool community.
So, everyone, do my clarifications and assurances here suffice? Do we all agree with M--'s statement that "We are indeed a diverse group, and should be free to announce gatherings etc. that would not suit all of us"?
Ironically, I have to run to church now. ; ) But please feel free to email again if we need to further the dialogue.
lisa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That was all the emailing that happened today. If more views come forth, I will add them to this post, because I think this is an important dialogue that you all should be aware of, since it concerns you specifically.
Tonight when I was at the kid's choir practice, I had a chance to share some of this with a few of you, and was so glad to get the response I expected from you, which was that you were unhesitatingly willing and even glad to open our special events to all homeschool families, and only hoped that any who came would be as willing to tolerate our views as we would be willing to tolerate their views.
I think it was actually really cool that such a conversation happened in that public forum--that people were talking about churches being welcoming or not, Christians being loving to others or not, esp. those with whom they might disagree. I am sure not only the parents who participated in this dialogue thought about the implications, but surely so did all the parents who just read the responses and did not chime in.
I want you all to have the same chance, to think about these things, and what response we as a body of believers in Jesus Christ should have to our surrounding community. I do hope that us Christian homeschool moms (wherever we are!) would genuinely welcome any family who we encounter--that we can love them without fear, from the fullness of Christ's love for them.
Since the SC Homeschooling group has been given this blog link for the information about the party, I have written this with the expectation that some of the readers might be more curious about us after the email exchange and might stop by this blog. I hope whatever we say here will reflect who we really are, and we will be seen for the friendly bunch we are. So, please feel free to comment, and "let your gentleness be evident to all--the Lord is near." : )
much love to you all,
lisa
So, I have had a very interesting exchange today via emails with the local Santa Cruz Homeschool Yahoo group (my main source of info for all things homeschool in this area--which I why I occassionally quote good stuff from the group here, for the benefit of you all). As most of you know, when we have a special "Vintage Homeschool Group" event and I tell you all to invite friends, I also send an invite to all the families on the Santa Cruz Homeschool Yahoo group. This is usually for the "Back to School," "End of School," "Valentine's Day," and "Christmas" parties. Do you remember Hilary who came a couple of times with her son, or Zan who came a couple of times with her son and daughter, or Susan who came once with her young son and daughter? These are just some of the people who have visited our parties from the greater SC homeschool community to be friendly and join in the fun. I am so glad they did, and I hope they felt welcome.
Well, today I posted a group-wide invitation to our Christmas party. What follows are the emails that came as a response this afternoon. I'll explain at the end why I am sharing this dialogue with you all, but I think you will be able to figure it out:
------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello all!
Our Vintage Homeschool Moms group is having our annual Christmas party next Monday, Dec. 19 from noon until 2:30 there at Vintage Faith Church in S.C.
All familes are welcome!
Please check out this link for more details: http://vintagemoms.blogspot.com/2011/12/old-school-monday-christmas-party-is-on.html
Hope the rest of your week is a merry one! : )
lisa c-------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was wanting to find out more about the Vintage Faith Church a
while back when some friends were talking about the Abbey
coffeehouse the church runs, and was very disappointed to find out --
from the web site and from reviews of a book by the pastor -- that
they are anti-gay. Would "All families are welcome" really apply to
all the local two-mom homeschooling families and LGBT homeschooling
teens I know?
In general Santa Cruz has a lot of LGBT-inclusive and welcoming
churches and other houses of worship -- just for one small example,
it is my experience as a person who has danced in both the Downtown
Santa Cruz Holiday Parade and the Santa Cruz Pride Parade that the
latter has a lot more churches in it -- so yes, it was an unpleasant
surprise that a church that seems to want to make a big deal of
having a hip coffeehouse would not be included in that number.
I hope we will all remember that homeschooling families are a
diverse group.
T--- T------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi T---,
Thanks for your honest and sincere email response to my invite. The Vintage Homeschool Moms group is just that--a bunch of moms who enjoy getting together to have fun and encourage one another in our homeschooling and parenting. The Christmas party is not a church-sponsored event, but we routinely use the Vintage Faith Church classrooms for our gatherings, since they have such great facilities (like a bathroom in the classroom, the gym for the kids to run around in, etc.). We call ourselves "Vintage Homeschool Moms" just because most of us happen to be, but we have families from other churches join us, and have welcomed Jewish, agnostic, and atheist parents as well. I am the organizer for most of the gatherings we have, and I love to invite new people--you never know who might really want to get their kids out of the house for a fun, casual event with other homeschool kids, or what mom might be struggling and need a few kind words. : )
So, we do not claim to represent the overall Vintage Faith Church, and I am sure all of us moms in the group have different opinions about all aspects of life, just like all of us here on the homeschool group forum do. I can't speak for any of the other moms (or dads, who are welcome and sometimes come too!), but I personally welcome any homeschool family who feels comfortable with us. What I can speak for the other moms about is that yes, most of us are trying to live as followers of Jesus Christ, and believe each and every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect.
You are right that this will not be an all-inclusive gathering, in the sense that we will be celebrating "Christmas" and not "the Holidays" and God might very well come up in the conversation as moms chat. ; ) I posted the invite with the assumption that anyone who wants to avoid such things would simply disregard it. But it will not be a religious gathering in nature (i.e. other than the fact that Christmas is what it is, we are not out to convert you), and so I invite anyone who is comfortable with such a dynamic to please feel free to join us.
lisa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, thanks for doing the research T---. I'll look into this too. I've been to The Abbey twice to knit with a friend, just assuming they were friendly. As another lesbian mom, I won't be spending my money there anymore.
A--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Lisa,
I was confused by some parts of your reply (below), so I was hoping you could clarify a few things:
- Is T--- correct that this church has an anti-gay theology? I understand that your group is not church-sponsored, but some might consider this information relevant in deciding whether to attend an event at their facility.
- You said that most of the members of the group are in fact members of the church. Does the group have an explicit understanding that gay families are welcome and will not be subjected to anti-gay attitudes? If not, a reasonable person might assume that the stance of the church is the (unspoken) stance of the group.
- Statements like "every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect" are often code for "hate the sin, love the sinner." Is this in fact what you meant to convey?
We are indeed a diverse group, and should be free to announce gatherings etc. that would not suit all of us. I do think, however, that accurate information about the nature of a group would be helpful.
Thanks in advance for clarifying,
M--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaking as an all inclusive mom, I feel that you both are being very unfair with your expectations and judgements. I also feel the tones of your reply/comments are very negative and unaccepting themselves. Let us keep our personal feelings aside and ask objective questions with the expectation of a reasonable answer.
Sent from my LG phone
[no name given]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are referring to my comment, I don't see how declaring that I won't spend money in a cafe that funds an anti-gay church is being unfair to anyone, least of all Lisa, who wasn't representing The Abbey. I want all homeschoolers to feel welcome posting here, but I also want to be reasonably informed about the politics/religious leanings of any group or event I choose to attend, so I welcome the discussion that has followed Lisa's posting.
A--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi M--,
Your questions are reasonable. I was trying to avoid speaking for the overall church, for several reasons. Mainly I don't feel qualified to speak for the church, so hope all of you who are really interested in knowing the church's stance on such issues will go directly to the source, and call and set up a meeting with one of the pastors. D-- K------ is the pastor who I think T--- was referencing in her email, and he is a very sensitive man who is always available for such discussions. If you would prefer to speak with a woman, K------ J----- is not a pastor, but is one of the members at the heart of the church. I understand why some of you want to know the church's stance on gender identity, GLBT families, etc., esp. in regards to the Abbey coffeelounge, since we all want to support business (or in this case, non-profits) that align with our personal values.
I tried to be clear that I was not speaking for the other moms/families in the Vintage homeschool moms group, but you are raising an excellent question about whether or not the other moms would welcome gay/lesbian families. To be candid, I don't know. What I do know is that they have welcomed every other family who has come, and I will never invite the greater homeschool community to an event that is specifically religious in nature or at which they might not be welcome.
I do want to address your question about whether my statement "every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect" was code for "hate the sin, love the sinner." While every single word I chose is loaded with meaning, and intentionally so, please take them together in their most beautiful, person-affirming way. I personally respect people of all faiths, cultural backgrounds, etc, and hope those of you who know me even a little in person would agree that I live out these beliefs. (I feel like I am supposed to whip out my "diversity portfolio" at this point, or show you my gay and lesbian parent personal references. ; )
I am not offended that you are asking, esp. since I am sure others are wondering at this point, although it is certainly uncomfortable. I enjoy being a part of this homeschool group because it represents the whole broad spectrum of our greater Santa Cruz area, and in fact do not choose to participate in groups that purposefully exclude a variety of world views. But within this group, I hope there is enough room on the spectrum of ideas for mine too. It is healthy and wise for such a group to avoid entangements that come with seeming to promote certain views above others. I have been sharing only those events and ideas that seemed to be relevant to the greater homeschool community.
So, everyone, do my clarifications and assurances here suffice? Do we all agree with M--'s statement that "We are indeed a diverse group, and should be free to announce gatherings etc. that would not suit all of us"?
Ironically, I have to run to church now. ; ) But please feel free to email again if we need to further the dialogue.
lisa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That was all the emailing that happened today. If more views come forth, I will add them to this post, because I think this is an important dialogue that you all should be aware of, since it concerns you specifically.
Tonight when I was at the kid's choir practice, I had a chance to share some of this with a few of you, and was so glad to get the response I expected from you, which was that you were unhesitatingly willing and even glad to open our special events to all homeschool families, and only hoped that any who came would be as willing to tolerate our views as we would be willing to tolerate their views.
I think it was actually really cool that such a conversation happened in that public forum--that people were talking about churches being welcoming or not, Christians being loving to others or not, esp. those with whom they might disagree. I am sure not only the parents who participated in this dialogue thought about the implications, but surely so did all the parents who just read the responses and did not chime in.
I want you all to have the same chance, to think about these things, and what response we as a body of believers in Jesus Christ should have to our surrounding community. I do hope that us Christian homeschool moms (wherever we are!) would genuinely welcome any family who we encounter--that we can love them without fear, from the fullness of Christ's love for them.
Since the SC Homeschooling group has been given this blog link for the information about the party, I have written this with the expectation that some of the readers might be more curious about us after the email exchange and might stop by this blog. I hope whatever we say here will reflect who we really are, and we will be seen for the friendly bunch we are. So, please feel free to comment, and "let your gentleness be evident to all--the Lord is near." : )
much love to you all,
lisa
The Old School Monday Christmas Party is ON!
Hello all you Vintage Moms!
Ok, so I got permission from the church to use our usual classrooms next Monday, December 19. So please come join in the holiday fun! We will meet the usual time, from noon until about 2:30. We will chat and play and do a few ornament crafts.
We will also have a Christmas cookie exchange! Here's how it works:
--each child who wants to participate should bring one dozen cookies on a plate.
--we will place all the plates of cookies out when everyone is there
--each child who brought a plate of cookies gets to go through the cookie buffet with an empty paper plate, choosing a dozen cookies, whatever strikes his or her fancy.
--so this means every child leaves with the same number of cookies he or she brought, but gets the fun of trying other family's favorite holiday treats. : )
--and of course our children will share with their siblings and daddies and mommies, right? ; )
I'll bring the empty paper plates, so here is what you may want to bring:
--one dozen cookies per child (IF you want to participate in the cookie exchange)
--lunch for your family (IF you want to), including drinks*
--one non-sweet snack to share with the group
Please feel free to invite friends!
*Remember, we would like to make our gatherings as waste-free as possible, so if you could bring your own reusable cups, little plates, etc. that would be so helpful!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Homeschooling and the S word (Socialization)
I received some emails today from a local homeschool yahoo group that were just too good not to share with you all!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
#1
Since you may be having conversations about homeschooling with relatives this weekend, you might be interested and share the following article and research findings below. (Thank you to Dale for sending this website!)
Wishing you a warm, fun and gratitude-filled time with family,
Jasmin
Social Development
http://www.k12academics.com/alternative-education/homeschooling/homeschooling-methods/social-development
A common concern voiced about homeschooled children is they lack the social interaction with peers that a school environment provides. Many homeschooling families address these concerns by joining numerous organizations, including independent study programs and specialized enrichment groups for PE, Art, Music, and Debate. Most are also active in community groups. Homeschooled children generally socialize with other children the same way that school children do: outside of school, via personal visits and through sports teams, clubs and religious groups.
Some homeschooling proponents have argued that homeschooling actually enhances the student's social development. Arguing that the school years are the only time in a person's life that he or she will be artificially segregated into chronologically-determined groups, these advocates assert that homeschoolers have a more normal interaction with persons across the age spectrum. This, in turn, results in more influence on the child from adults, and less from other children, leading to more mature youngsters.
In 2003, the National Home Education Research Institute conducted a survey of over 7,300 adults who had been homeschooled (over 5,000 for more than seven years). Here are some of the study's findings:
"Homeschool graduates are active and involved in their communities. Seventy-one percent participate in an ongoing community service activity (e.g., coaching a sports team, volunteering at a school, or working with a church or neighborhood association), compared with 37% of U.S. adults of similar ages."
"Homeschoolers are more involved in civic affairs and vote in much higher percentages than their peers. For example, 76% of homeschool graduates surveyed between the ages of 18–24 voted within the last five years, compared with only 29% of the relevant U.S. population. The numbers of homeschool graduates who vote are even greater in the older age brackets, with voting levels not falling below 95%, compared with a high of 53% for the corresponding U.S. populace."
"Of those adults who were homeschooled, 58.9% report that they are 'very happy' with life (compared with 27.6% for the general U.S. population). Moreover, 73.2% of homeschooled adults find life 'exciting', compared with 47.3% of the general population."
ERIC, the Education Resources Information Center of the U.S. government, has published multiple articles on homeschooling. Here's an excerpt from one which examined several studies on homeschool socialization:
"According to the findings, children who were schooled at home 'gained the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to function in society...at a rate similar to that of conventionally schooled children.'
"The researcher found no difference in the self concept of children in the two groups. Stough maintains that 'insofar as self concept is a reflector of socialization, it would appear that few home-schooled children are socially deprived, and that there may be sufficient evidence to indicate that some home-schooled children have a higher self concept than conventionally schooled children.'"
Email #2, from Nancy:
And read more here:
Education.com article on the research: http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Socialization/
And this article from Homeschool Review has appeared on these lists before:
http://homeschoolreview.blogspot.com/2011/03/socialization-versus-socializing.html
Here is HSLDA's brochure in pdf form on homeschooling and socialization/citizenship, etc., with charts to show the research results, with homeschoolers having much higher scores.
http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/HomeschoolingGrowsUp.pdf
My favorite part of the studies is that everyone talks about the 'real world' vs. homeschooling but I can't think of anything more real than children and teens who hang out together with their parents, their friends' parents and friends siblings, and actually talk and have fun as opposed to children who have endured the artificial segregation at most schools. I found that my children's friends in traditional schools felt uncomfortable speaking to us parents or their siblings.
And something you might also want to do is to write a daily log of your activities (whether it is academic, cooking from scratch, making a giant tube contraption for the pet rat, or searching online for greek word roots) and then compile that log into a few paragraphs for each "subject area" at the end of the month (for your consultant teacher and/or your own records) and then review it at the end of your year and write a one-page summary for that time period. I know it amazed me to see what we accomplished when it didn't seem like we were doing enough "school" stuff. Then if you like, mail it (with love and intent to share) to the grandparents - like I did - (especially if they are doubtful about homeschooling merits) and hopefully they will share it with the doubting aunts and uncles also. They might just be amazed at how many books your child has read, the interesting volunteer experiences they had, how many group activities they did, and the unique things they studied, and tell you that they had no idea that homeschooling was like this.
- Nancy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
#1
Since you may be having conversations about homeschooling with relatives this weekend, you might be interested and share the following article and research findings below. (Thank you to Dale for sending this website!)
Wishing you a warm, fun and gratitude-filled time with family,
Jasmin
Social Development
http://www.k12academics.com/alternative-education/homeschooling/homeschooling-methods/social-development
A common concern voiced about homeschooled children is they lack the social interaction with peers that a school environment provides. Many homeschooling families address these concerns by joining numerous organizations, including independent study programs and specialized enrichment groups for PE, Art, Music, and Debate. Most are also active in community groups. Homeschooled children generally socialize with other children the same way that school children do: outside of school, via personal visits and through sports teams, clubs and religious groups.
Some homeschooling proponents have argued that homeschooling actually enhances the student's social development. Arguing that the school years are the only time in a person's life that he or she will be artificially segregated into chronologically-determined groups, these advocates assert that homeschoolers have a more normal interaction with persons across the age spectrum. This, in turn, results in more influence on the child from adults, and less from other children, leading to more mature youngsters.
In 2003, the National Home Education Research Institute conducted a survey of over 7,300 adults who had been homeschooled (over 5,000 for more than seven years). Here are some of the study's findings:
"Homeschool graduates are active and involved in their communities. Seventy-one percent participate in an ongoing community service activity (e.g., coaching a sports team, volunteering at a school, or working with a church or neighborhood association), compared with 37% of U.S. adults of similar ages."
"Homeschoolers are more involved in civic affairs and vote in much higher percentages than their peers. For example, 76% of homeschool graduates surveyed between the ages of 18–24 voted within the last five years, compared with only 29% of the relevant U.S. population. The numbers of homeschool graduates who vote are even greater in the older age brackets, with voting levels not falling below 95%, compared with a high of 53% for the corresponding U.S. populace."
"Of those adults who were homeschooled, 58.9% report that they are 'very happy' with life (compared with 27.6% for the general U.S. population). Moreover, 73.2% of homeschooled adults find life 'exciting', compared with 47.3% of the general population."
ERIC, the Education Resources Information Center of the U.S. government, has published multiple articles on homeschooling. Here's an excerpt from one which examined several studies on homeschool socialization:
"According to the findings, children who were schooled at home 'gained the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to function in society...at a rate similar to that of conventionally schooled children.'
"The researcher found no difference in the self concept of children in the two groups. Stough maintains that 'insofar as self concept is a reflector of socialization, it would appear that few home-schooled children are socially deprived, and that there may be sufficient evidence to indicate that some home-schooled children have a higher self concept than conventionally schooled children.'"
Email #2, from Nancy:
And read more here:
Education.com article on the research: http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Socialization/
And this article from Homeschool Review has appeared on these lists before:
http://homeschoolreview.blogspot.com/2011/03/socialization-versus-socializing.html
Here is HSLDA's brochure in pdf form on homeschooling and socialization/citizenship, etc., with charts to show the research results, with homeschoolers having much higher scores.
http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/HomeschoolingGrowsUp.pdf
My favorite part of the studies is that everyone talks about the 'real world' vs. homeschooling but I can't think of anything more real than children and teens who hang out together with their parents, their friends' parents and friends siblings, and actually talk and have fun as opposed to children who have endured the artificial segregation at most schools. I found that my children's friends in traditional schools felt uncomfortable speaking to us parents or their siblings.
And something you might also want to do is to write a daily log of your activities (whether it is academic, cooking from scratch, making a giant tube contraption for the pet rat, or searching online for greek word roots) and then compile that log into a few paragraphs for each "subject area" at the end of the month (for your consultant teacher and/or your own records) and then review it at the end of your year and write a one-page summary for that time period. I know it amazed me to see what we accomplished when it didn't seem like we were doing enough "school" stuff. Then if you like, mail it (with love and intent to share) to the grandparents - like I did - (especially if they are doubtful about homeschooling merits) and hopefully they will share it with the doubting aunts and uncles also. They might just be amazed at how many books your child has read, the interesting volunteer experiences they had, how many group activities they did, and the unique things they studied, and tell you that they had no idea that homeschooling was like this.
- Nancy
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Free Charlotte Mason materials in need of good home
Hey everyone!
Are any of you interested in a small stack of printed materials on Charlotte Mason homeschool ideas/practices? I have some materials to pass along, so please spread the word!
Please let me know ASAP. : )
lisa
Are any of you interested in a small stack of printed materials on Charlotte Mason homeschool ideas/practices? I have some materials to pass along, so please spread the word!
Please let me know ASAP. : )
lisa
Monday, November 14, 2011
Reminder--Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Party THIS FRIDAY
Hello all!
Anyone interested and planning to join us, please scroll down to re-read the post I made a few weeks ago, where you can find all the details you need to know--what to bring, etc. And please feel free to bring friends!
*Also, don't forget you can pre-pay for your box online, and then be able to have your box tracked as it is shipped and handed out! TOTALLY the way to go if you and your kids are studying world cultures, geography, etc.
ALSO, if you received this post today in your email inbox, would you please leave a comment to this post? That will help me know not only that the post notifications are back up and running, but also that the comment feed is running. Thanks!
Hope you all have a great week!
Anyone interested and planning to join us, please scroll down to re-read the post I made a few weeks ago, where you can find all the details you need to know--what to bring, etc. And please feel free to bring friends!
*Also, don't forget you can pre-pay for your box online, and then be able to have your box tracked as it is shipped and handed out! TOTALLY the way to go if you and your kids are studying world cultures, geography, etc.
ALSO, if you received this post today in your email inbox, would you please leave a comment to this post? That will help me know not only that the post notifications are back up and running, but also that the comment feed is running. Thanks!
Hope you all have a great week!
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