A Few Ads...

It is hard to believe the end of another year is upon us!  We finished our fall semester on Tuesday.  The books have been left to gather a little dust, and we are in the full swing of preparing for Christmas.  We don't have many ads this month.  In fact, I think this is the first time we have ever sent a Digest in December.  But we did want to let you know about a couple of great opportunities that came our way in the last couple of weeks. 
The Digest will be back in January with more homeschool doings and more posts on the blog.  Until then, all of us at the PHEA office wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

The Home School Resource Center is offering two robotics courses for the spring semester.  The middle school level course uses the LEGO robotics technology and focuses on the basics of robotics and programming.   The high school level course will cover basic C++, how to work with electronics components and the basics of Ohms Law. See below for details:

 Lego Robotics: Grades 6-8
20 weeks of classes meet on Thursday mornings from 8-10 starting January 9, 2014
Cost: $255
Lab fee:  $75
Minimum: five students

Arduino: Grades 9-12
20 weeks of classes meet on Thursday mornings from 10-12 starting January 9, 2014
Cost: $255
Additional Lab fee: $75
Book fee: $15
Minimum: four students

If you are interested in signing up your student please contact Angela or Deborah at hsresourcecenter@gmail.com or 864-354-9934.  An application can be found online at hsresourcecenter.com.

A Recent Question

Here at the PHEA office we are in the thick of printing transcripts and sending out notices regarding the Senior class ranking.  Not surprisingly we receive a lot of questions about which categories certain classes might fall under.  Below is Martha’s response to a question about how a Christian Worldview Course might be categorized.

Question:  Can Christian Worldview count as a history credit?

Answer:   When I answer questions like this, I keep in mind the freedom we have as home schoolers to direct the education of our children according to their gifts and needs.  I also keep in mind that the children will need to be able to function in the world as adults and this probably means further education beyond high school.  I try to advise parents with both of these points in mind.  Parents can choose to cover history on a totally different scope and sequence than the public school starting with ancient history and covering all areas of the world (including Biblical history) simultaneously so that the various histories are integrated.  These kids will likely walk away with a much more integrated knowledge of history than their public school (and home school) peers.  As long as the parents are covering the subject, they have that freedom.

The home school law only states that each of the subjects must be covered each year.  I have always told parents that this part means that they need to cover some of each subject but they are not required to complete a credit in it.  For some families this means doing a math class for two years then assigning the credit when they finish.  For others it may mean reading histories of a time period they are interested in or biographies of scientists or outside reading on a particular part of science with no plans for it ever be on the transcript or part of a credit.  (For my daughter in law, this took the form of studying how medieval people used herbs as medicine - research she needed to know for a novel she was writing.  I am pretty sure she has learned more science since she graduated in doing this sort of research than she did in high school!)

I also encourage families to use the public school requirements as a guideline.  For example, they only have to do 3 histories - two credits of which are specified. We do not have to do ANY of the requirements yet if the home school student is going on to college, they will be competing with all the other students for a spot at the university they want to attend.  If they do not meet the requirements that the universities set, their student will not be accepted.  The public school requirements codify what the majority of the universities require so that the majority of public school kids will be accepted into college.  So it is wise to follow those requirements as a MINIMUM of what should be covered.

At that point though we have to loop back around to the needs of the student.  You may have a student who is exceptional in music and is totally lost in math.  For this student, the parent needs to continue to cover math but at a pace that the student can actually grasp the concepts.  In the end, there may be only one or two high school math classes on the high school transcript.  For this student, if they do want to go on to college, there are ways to do that - either being accepted by a college that wants the talent of the musician so will do remedial classes in the math, or doing the same thing themselves at one of the community colleges.

The Christian Worldview class is actually a philosophy course so on the transcript it would either go under electives or under religion. Because it covers history within its scope and sequence, the parent is fulfilling the law as far as teaching history, but the class itself is not a history.

To Teach or Not to Teach - Thoughts on Handling Controversial Subjects

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  It seems that we live in a world full of controversial topics. From the continuing Creation vs. Evolution debate to newer debates on marriage and legalized drug use we certainly live in an age where maintaining a clear understanding of our own beliefs and passing them on to our children can be difficult.
  Many of us have chosen to homeschool in part because we can shield our children from the influences of the world and teach them the principles that we would have them follow as they grow from youth to adulthood.  We like having the freedom to teach from a Christian perspective.  We like having the freedom to leave behind all the baffling array of arguments against our beliefs and just teach our children what we know - and believe.
  But should we only offer our students one perspective?  Should we, for example, only teach that God created the earth in six literal days without ever mentioning the opposing viewpoint?  Many parents choose not to for fear of upsetting their children's budding faith and leading them astray.  Other parents may choose to present each argument with equal weight and leave the decision as to which is right entirely up to the child.
  With our children my husband and I take a middle ground approach.  From a young age we have taught them our beliefs and we have raised them on the principles that flow from those beliefs.  I may not always explain it to my kids, but there is usually a reason behind the things we do and don't do and the standards of behavior we hold them to.  We are continually reaffirming our beliefs and theology to them, sometimes in explicit statement and sometimes by way of principle.  So we are making sure they are well grounded as, Lord willing, they come to faith and begin to mature.
  Using our own beliefs as a backdrop, we then venture into the world of the controversial.  We do not spend a lot of time talking about these things, but as they come up we discuss each topic presenting what the world believes in contrast to what we believe, limiting the discussion, of course, to the level of the child's understanding.  In doing so, we are not only affirming our beliefs, but we are giving them a defense against the attacks of the world's philosophy.
  Why do we do this?  Part of the process of passing along our beliefs to a younger generation is teaching them not only what we believe, but why we believe it.  If our children must "take it on faith" that certain things are true, they are much more likely to be swayed by the world when a more compelling argument comes along. 
  Take for example the evolution and creation debate.  In a secular setting, the debate is all but over.  College professors no longer debate the merits of evolution against creation, they simply accept that the world is a random process of evolution formed over billons of years - and they build their entire philosophy on that structure.  A student who has only been taught on the "The Bible says it so I believe it" system will suffer major shock coming into such a hostile setting is sure to have his faith shaken if not destroyed.
  A better solution would be to teach creation and affirm the faith while simultaneously teaching the student now to rationally present a defense of his beliefs.  And there are many rational, scientific proofs for creation!  One has only to look at the second law of thermodynamics: "Things tend to greater disorder" to discover that the very laws governing how nature works are opposed to a system where time produces greater order. 
  In Romans 12 Paul exhorts us to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind".  I believe that Paul is urging us to strengthen our minds in the truth, both by learning the truth and by learning to defend the truth against opposing viewpoints.  I believe that he would have us do as the Bereans did, and "find out if these things be so".  And I believe that we should guide our children to do the same thing. 

  How about you?  How does your family handle controversial topics?

What do we do all year?

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The busy registration time has ended.  We are no longer working at a furious pace trying to keep up with all the applications in the mailbox.  The middle of July through the middle of August is undoubtedly the busiest time for us.  But that is not to say that we don’t keep busy during the rest of the year.  So what do we do all year?

  Well, after the volume of incoming mail slows down a bit we take a deep breath.  Then we get busy helping the families who decide right before or right after the beginning of the Public Schools’ start that they should homeschool.  Lisa and Monica are available by phone and email to answer questions about how to get started, where to get books and how to inform the school that a student will not be attending.

  Our other major fall project is making the high schoolers’ transcripts.  We type in all the grades that were submitted at the end of last school year and now Martha is going through and checking and rechecking each transcript to be sure that everything is correct.  Fall is also busy as our new seniors are preparing to apply to colleges.  Everyone needs something a little different so we work with parents to make sure the transcripts reflect what the colleges are looking for.  Then we print and mail them – to parents, to colleges, to the NCAA, to the military academies. Fall is also when we see who has qualified for the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship.  We await the test scores almost as eagerly as the students do.  The first scores from the fall testing are coming available online and we just discovered that one of our students qualified with the higher test scores and helping them put together the submission.  The submission goes in the mail the first week of December.

  After that we all heave a sigh of relief and take a week or two to spend with family and celebrate the holidays.

  January is district count time.  We must submit the number of students we have registered (no names or addresses –just numbers!) in each school district to the school districts.  This makes a nice four or five hour job for someone, counting rows and rows of grade levels.  Then we check to see if the school district address has changed (Greenville’s office has moved three times in the last four years!) and we send those off.

  February and March are our quiet months.  Not many applications come in, and the phone calls and emails are usually questions from parents who are already registered.  We spend this time putting stamps and return addresses on hundreds of envelopes so they will be ready for the mailing in April and the registering in July.  We normally need about three thousand envelopes on hand.  We also prepare the envelopes to mail our soon to be graduating seniors their records.  Each senior’s file will have a large mailing envelope with copies of the Disposition of Application ready to have the transcripts inserted when we complete them in early June.  All this preparation allows us to be more efficient at the busy times. 

  In April we turn our minds to the next school year, updating and improving the application as needed.  Then we print a thousand renewal applications and fold and stuff them into envelopes.  Each envelope gets a label and then heads to the post office.

  We start gearing up for the second Palmetto Fellows Scholarship submission in May.  We work on a much tighter time frame for this one as we have to type in all the grades and calculate the final senior class ranking between the middle of May and the second week of June.  When that is done, Martha disappears into the office and prints and prints and prints all those transcripts to be sent to the families.

  By the time we finish the major transcript work it is July again and we are getting ready for an avalanche of applications.

  So all in all we manage to keep quite busy all year.  What is missing from this broad description is all the little things that happen occasionally, but can make a big difference in the life of a homeschool family.  In addition to the general questions about homeschooling, we also help take care of our families whose homeschool has been questioned for one reason or another by the authorities.  While this doesn’t happen terribly often, when it does, Martha spends a lot of time talking to the family and talking to whatever entity is concerned about the homeschool, helping to make sure that the rights of the family are protected.

  Martha also spends a good bit of time talking with people from many realms – from school employees checking to see if a family is registered to people at the Commission on Higher Education to ensure that the high school transcripts we produce meet the requirements for both state scholarships and for colleges around the state and from admissions staff at various colleges to parents trying to decide if home schooling is the best choice and how to go about it.

  Through the years we have come to see just about every facet of homeschooling.  While much of our day to day work centers on the high school students – the seniors in particular, yet we are very in touch with young families as well.  If we can help you in any way don’t hesitate to call!

More Lessons From Mom

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I have been a lot more relaxed this school year, thanks in large part to the advice from both my mom and my mother-in-law.  As a bit of a follow-up, I'd like to share another piece of advice they have given me and how I have (finally!) been able to apply it to my own homeschool.

You don't have to complete every workbook page or lesson.

  I usually receive this advice when I show up at one house or the other a little late and feeling harried because there just isn't time to squeeze all the things I feel like we need to cover into a reasonable school day.  And yes, usually does mean I have heard this advice more than once.
  I tend to be a "by the book" kind of person, which makes it really hard to me to skip pages with out feeling guilty or worrying that I am somehow endangering my children's education.  While I know that my children are not going to end up illiterate and ignorant just because we failed to complete half a math page in second grade, identifying which pages can be skipped without missing important concepts can be a hard task.
  In the past, I have felt that certain subjects could not be skipped at all.  Giving my students a good foundation in math and reading have been so all important that other, to my mind at least, less important things have slipped through the cracks.  Science experiments and creative writing are always the first things to get dropped.
  But science experiments and creative writing are important too, so this summer I spent some time evaluating our school day to see how I could put all those "less important" things back in my teaching without stressing over the other work.
  One of the main things I did was to plan for busy days.  We keep the same schedule from week to week as far as the activities we do outside of school, so it isn't too hard to pinpoint those days when I need to plan a little less school work.  Time consuming activities are planned for the days that I can run a little late with school or when we can get back to it after lunch.
  I also gave myself the option to skip certain activities if they did not fit in the day.  I plan to do math flashcards every day.  We only do them two or three times most weeks, but that is two or three times a week more than we did last year.
  I have found it helpful to decide what is important today.  We are currently working through a five week science project involving plants.  Some of the experiments are timed to be done at a certain point in the plant's growth, and if we are off by a day or two they don't work as well.  So science has the priority right now.  We haven't had a chance to do many flashcards, but we are almost done with the science project, and I know that we will have more time for flashcards in a couple of weeks.
  I think part of the reason I have been afraid to skip a workbook page or lesson is that I'm afraid we will miss something important.  I have spent a lot more time this year flipping though the books (usually while I am waiting for my kids to finish an assignment) to see where we are headed.  Knowing where we are going gives me a better sense of the importance of a particular page or lesson.
  Another thing I have started doing is to try to identify which portions of a lesson can be skipped if necessary.  Today we had ten examples in our math textbook and twenty-five problems in the workbook.  I decided that it would be a better use of our time if we only did one or two of the examples from the textbook and then I planned to work with my daughter on part of the workbook page.  As it turned out, when I tried to work with her on the workbook page, she allowed me to coach her through two problems and then took the book saying, "Mom, I've got this."  Music to my ears!
  I'm lucky to have two moms who support my homeschool living just a few minutes away.  They often give me a hand on days when I am pressed for time, and you can bet those grandmothers are happy to teach their grandkids!  But that is the subject for another blog post. 
In the mean time...

What about you?  How do you fit everything into a busy school day?

 

Homeschool materials for sale

Contact: Connie Hatfield: 864-616-289

Book: “Homeschooling the Teen Years” by Cafi Cohen 2000                                                                 $ 5.00

Bright Ideas Press: “All American History Volume II The Civil War to the 21^st Century”
Complete Curriculum
Student Reader                                                                                                                                       $10.00
Student Activity Book                                                                                                                              $ 5.00
Teacher’s Guide & Answer Key                                                                                                              $ 5.00

 Walch book: “150 Great Books: Synopses, quizzes, & tests for independent reading” (grades 7 to adult)     $ 8.00

Walch books: Life Skills Literacy:
"Things to Know About Medicine and Health”                                                                                         $ 5.00
"Things to Know About Cars and Driving”                                                                                                $ 5.00

BJU Press: “Math 6 Reviews” Activity book                                                                                              $ 5.00

Educators Publishing: “Wordly Wise” book 2 (grade 5)                                                                            $ 5.00

Audio Memory: “Grammar Songs” on cassette tape (grades 3-8)      New in original pkg                       $ 5.00

HomeScholar Book: “Literary Lessons from The Lord of the Rings”  Teachers ed 2004 Spiral bound    $30.00
(The above book is a complete literature curriculum for secondary students, by Amelia Harper: ISBN: 0-9754934-0-X. Companion student edition is available: ISBN: 0-9754934-1-8)

Alpha/Omega complete curriculum kit: Lifepacs Language Arts 10                                                         $10.00

Alpha/Omega Lifepac books: Health Teacher’s Guide                                                                             $ 5.00

Language Arts 10 Teacher’s Guide                                                                                                          $ 5.00
History & Geography 10 Teacher’s Guide and Lifepac units 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, &10.                                        $ 8.00

Wadsworth Publishing: “Your College Experience Strategies for Success” The Freshman Year Experience Series  3^rd ed.                                                                                                                                                              $8.00

Webster’s “New World Student’s Dictionary”   ISBN: 0-671-51087-8                                                       $10.00  OBO

 Please call and make me a reasonable offer on  any of the books listed below:

 Saxon “Algebra ½”: 2^nd ed.
Saxon “Algebra 1”: 2^nd ed. (2 copies)
BJU Press “The Physical World” ISBN: 1-57924-420-3
“The Life of Christ From the Gospel of John” 3^rd printing
BJU Press “World History”: 2^nd ed.
Sadlier-Oxford “Writing a Research Paper” ISBN:  0-8215-0761-3
BJU Press “Geography” Activities book ISBN:  0-57924-300-2
South-Western “Applied Computer Keyboarding”: 4^th ed.
A Beka “Themes in Literature”: 3^rd ed.
TAKE TENN “Learning How to Study” workbook
BJU Press “Vocabulary” Level B workbook: 2^nd ed.
The Wilds Music “We’re Singing”: 7^th ed.

Free to anyone who buys anything above: Old, but unused: Hampton Park Christian School Academic Planner (can be used for any year)

 

On the River Flows

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  Welcome to the new school year!  I can't believe how quickly the summer has sped by.  It seems like only a few weeks ago that we heaved a sigh of relief and put the school books away for a while.  But here it is again - school!
  I love the start of school; the promise of new things, the smell of new books, maybe even a hint of fall.  I enjoy putting new pencils in the kids' pencil boxes and putting unread books on the shelf, and yes, for a few weeks at least, I even enjoy doing lesson plans.  But often that grand feeling of newness gives way to stress as I begin to feel like we have got to get all this schoolwork done - now! In the first week of school!  Or their educations will be ruined forever!
  This year I have been a lot more relaxed, in part, I think, because I made it a point not to stuff the first few weeks of school with too many things.  I am beginning to know my limits and to plan accordingly. 

 Also, all the advice from my mom and my mother-in-law, who both homeschooled, is finally beginning to sink in.

  From their perspective, as moms who have schooled their children successfully though high school, they can see the forest for the trees as it were.  While I am so focused on the day to day, they can see that it is not the little things that make a great education, but rather the goals and philosophies that underlie and guide what we do from day to day ensure that we are on track to a good education.
  Sure, the forest and the trees are a great analogy, but I have found myself thinking more lately of a river.  Our lives flow on from day to day, and how often I struggle with the little difficulties, the rocks in the stream as it were.  But if I could look ahead and see where the river is flowing - as my moms look behind and see where it has come from - perhaps I would flow on a little more peacefully.
  But for now, this is enough - life flows on, and I am content to flow with it.

As we go into the new school year, please don't hesitate to call us if you have any questions or concerns.  All the ladies in our office are veteran homeschool moms and well qualified to advise.

Recent ads

Here are a few ads that have come our way recently...

Celebrate Laurens and Feed the Hungry is booking local talent from the Upstate to perform at the Celebrate Laurens and Feed the Hungry event to raise funds to provide Thanksgiving grocery bags to needy families in Laurens on Saturday, September 14, 2013 from 2:00pm-8:00pm.  This opportunity is open to sing groups, bands, choirs and soloists either singing or playing an instrument.  Half hour time slots are available as are performance slots for individual pieces.
Questions/Signup/Contact: Jon Orcutt (864) 350-3444 jonorcutt@backroads.net

Geography Bee is Back! Sign your child up today!

        Ø  The National Geography Bee, run by the National Geographic Society, will begin this fall with local Bees around the country. These are open to all 4^th - 8^th grade students.  

Ø  In Greenville County, home schooled students will participate in our local Bee at the Pelham Road library.   

Ø  A basic study guide is available upon request. The guide describes Bee procedures and includes preparation tips and resources.

Sign up begins immediately and continues through October 15. Two practice sessions will be held before the actual event which takes place on November 21st.

The fee per student is $5.00 and is due by the date of the first practice.  The fee helps to offset the $120.00 fee required to register our local Bee.   

 Contact Stephen and Joanna Enjaian to sign up at:  enjaian@msn.com or 963-1560

 

Homeschool PE at the YMCA

The Caine Halter YMCA on Cleveland Street has a Home School P.E program. They offer a gym and swim format.  For the gym aspect, their goals are to be physically active, learn the basics of sports/games, stress the importance of cooperation and teamwork.  With the swim portion, they will teach beginners learn to swim.  For the more advanced swimmers, they would focus on stroke improvement.

The P.E. group will meet on Tuesdays.  Gym will be from 1-2pm and swim from 2-3pm.  For rates and a list of which sports will be covered each session, contact the Jamie Johnson at 864-679-9622.

 

Boxadoo

Jason and Joanna Herndon, homeschool parents of four have created a homeschool management tool called Boxadoo that they would like to share with the homeschool community. Boxadoo is an online tool that allows you to create a portfolio, record grades, upload photos, videos and manage events. 

They are currently working on sign-ups for our BETA that will take place in the next few weeks. They are excited to sign up homeschool families and allow them to check out the features and hear feedback during this initial BETA testing. You can find them at http://www.boxadoo.com/ or on Facebook at facebook.com/boxadoo. On their website, they will be collecting email addresses for those interested in participating in the BETA.

 

Grand Opening!

Reedy River Book Company, formerly “Brooks with Books” has a new store in Taylors, SC.  They are a seller of vintage books: classics, collectible and many books that are great for home educators because of the excellent writing styles, moral values and good, clean entertainment. To celebrate their new store they are having a huge Grand Opening Sale on Saturday, September 14^th.  They will open at 8:00 am and finish up around 3:00 pm, rain or shine! There will be lots of fun activities for the kids, as well as food and drinks. Everyone who visits on that day will receive 20% off any purchase, but homeschool families will get an extra 10% off—30% total!

Please plan to join them for some great book deals. You can find them on Facebook at Reedy River Book Company.

Art and Essay Contest
The South Carolina Foundation puts together a yearly Art and Essay contest for the Middle and High School students throughout the State. This year’s theme will be “Connecting Cultures in the Digital Age: How does Social Media Change the Future of our World?”
First-third place winners in each category win a trip to Turkey in the summer of June 2014 as well as a cash prize or iPad for first place winners. Please remember that the airfare is not included in this prize.
All essays and artwork will be due Dec 20th.
Art and Essay Awards Ceremony will take place Feb 22nd in the USC Law Auditorium in Columbia, students will be notified that they placed, but cannot be told where they placed.
Contact Christina Bell with any questions if you are in the Upstate (West of Columbia) at 864-991-8089 and if you are in the LowCountry area (Columbia to Charleston Areas) please contact Paula at the Columbia office 803-386-4377, her email is pludwig@scdialogue.org You can find more information on their website www.scdialogue.org/contest.

The Common Core

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We have had several questions about the Common Core curriculum which is being put in place in many states and how it affects the home school community.  Below is Martha's response to some of those questions.

I have been asked about my thoughts on the Common Core Standards.  All states have state approved standards that define what each class is supposed to cover. This defines the college prep level for the high school classes.  My understanding is that South Carolina is moving to put the Common Core Standards in place.  I have read (on HSLDA and Parental Rights websites) about the controversies associated with the standards.  Within the standards there are requirements that deal with what has to be taught.  One of the biggest concerns to home school parents is over being required to teach things that are politically correct at the moment - global warming, evolution, etc.  From what I have read, I believe that the home school organizations are concerned most about the Federal Government coercing the States into adopting the standards that they (the Federal Government) wants the States to have.  I do understand the organizations' concerns.  This is a continuation of a long line of laws meant to shift rights and responsibilities granted to parents and/or the States by the US Constitution to the Federal Government. Here is a link to a recent HSLDA letter expressing some of their thoughts (http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/2013/201305030.asp).  I agree with them in general and find this trend very disheartening.

There are two things to keep in mind on this front.  First, these standards are for the public schools.  Home schoolers have never been required to meet the public school standards (though there are those who are pushing for that kind of regulation).  PHEA does ask parents to use the South Carolina standards (which when implemented will be the Common Core standards) to determine if their honors classes have exceeded those standards that are required for the college prep level of the class.  In doing this we expect parents to use their God-given wisdom and reasoning.  I want them to understand what level of work is required for the college prep level.  Based on information we receive from parents, I am certain that many do not know this.  If they want to designate a course as honors, I want them to be able to tell me how their course is more rigorous than the college prep level.  That does not mean that I am requiring that they follow every single point of the standard.  It is common knowledge that even the public school teachers (who are required to follow these standards) are not able to get in every point of the standards.

The second thing to keep in mind will sound heretical when I just state it - but I think my reasoning will make the statement make sense!  I believe that parents should teach those controversial subjects.  I have always taught them in my Biology classes.  I want my students to know 1) what the world has to say about the topic, and 2) how to think through the actual science and whether the current teaching is supported by the science.  We begin by learning what the scientific method is and then analyze the data and the conclusions.  A parent can (and I think should) teach their children many different worldviews and topics, teaching them how to apply the truth of the discipline (such as the scientific method) and even more importantly the truth of Scripture to their understanding of the topic.  There is a time for sheltering our children from the confusion and harm these views can do.  I believe that in early schooling children should be taught the basic values of the parents.  I also believe that as they grow into middle and high school that students must learn how to apply those values to all the other value systems they will meet in the world.  The parent who has not taught his child how to think through other points of view, leaves that child wide open to the attacks and seductions of the world once the child is out in it. 

In light of these two thoughts, I do not see the Common Core Standards as something to be up in arms about.  Keeping in mind that they do not apply to us, we could easily comply with the requirements by teaching the topic and then doing the very typical home school method of thoroughly analyzing the topic to 'see if these things be so'.

Interview with Mark Freitag

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I am pleased to have Mark Freitag as my guest today.  Mr. Freitag has been thee Math teacher at the Home School Resource Center since it opened in 1998.  He is a former homeschool dad with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire.  Mr. Freitag is also a pastor at Fellowship Bible Church.
  As an additional note, the Home School Resource Center will be hosting a sign up day on Tuesday, July 30th from 3:00 to 4:30 pm and from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.  Mr. Freitag will be on hand to answer questions about the appropriate math class for your student.  More information can be found at hsresourcecenter.com.
 
Welcome! How did you get started working with homeschoolers?
Soon after we were married, my wife and I had gotten involved in teaching Sunday School in our church.  I enjoyed the interaction with the students and some folks thought I had a good sense of how to teach.  As my own children were being homeschooled my wife did the majority of the teaching.  When the children progressed in grade level and the workload increased for everyone, I increasingly spent time with them on math and science questions.  I found out an important truth: you find out if you really know something when you can help someone else “get it.”  I found I had to work at figuring out how to explain things to young students in a way that they could grasp.  It was a challenge I found rewarding for both me and my children.  So much so that in 1998 when the Home School Resource Center opened I quit my day job and signed on.  It was big step of faith

What is your favorite thing about teaching homeschoolers?
All students are different and have different ways they learn.  But one trait all students ought to have in common is curiosity.  I love it when students ask questions that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no.  When the class can get past just wanting to know “did I get the right answer?” I know we’re making progress.  Adding logical thought processes and a bit of analysis to curiosity can make for a strong foundation for doing well in math and science.  Seeing students get over the “I hate math” syndrome (where does that come from anyway?) to “what happens when . . . ?” is my favorite thing.

You have been teaching home schooled students for over fifteen years, how has homeschooling changed in that time?
Lots!  Students have access to more information and demonstrations and how-to articles and courses on-line than ever before.  So, for most students there is little excuse for not being able to find out things about the subject they are studying or find tutorials on any math problem.  The issue is still one of learning how to study.  That hasn’t changed, and probably never will.  Sometimes I think homeschool parents think that since technology makes everything so much easier to access, in vibrant colors, with all the latest toys, that their child can’t help but make better grades.  They still need to learn to read and study for understanding as well as content.  They still need to know that life is a continuous series of “word problems” that need to be worked through with care using sound reasoning skills.

How important is a solid foundation in math?  Can you give us an idea of some of the basics you like your students to know before they begin Pre-Algebra?
 Math is the language of science.  All technology (the “stuff” we use every day) is applied science.  Every interaction one has with the natural world or the physical world or society requires application of known facts and reasoning skills.  Math supplies the students with the “toolbox” of skills to succeed in all of those various interactions.
At the Pre-Algebra level, a student is really demonstrating whether he / she has a good toolbox of skills and concepts to make additions to.  1) arithmetic (adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing whole numbers, the number line), 2) fractions (the basic concept plus their relation to percents and decimals), 3) factors and multiples of composite numbers, 4) number theory (prime numbers, patterns, and sequences), and 5) geometry (basic ideas such as polygon shapes and names, area and volume).

The Resource Center has added classes for younger math students this year.  Why?
I have seen an increase in the last five years or so in the number of students who are not ready for Pre-Algebra (see #4 above).  The basic understanding of math as a language is not there.  At the same time, there is a lack of understanding what the student is trying to do with any given problem.  As one student put it, “Show me how to do one problem and I can do any like it.”  Higher levels of math (and the rest of life!) are never like that.  The student has to have an orderly, usable, and ready toolbox with a recognition of what skill or concept is to be used.  To extend my analogy, a mechanic must know whether the problem is electrical or mechanical, and then he must know whether to use a wrench or a screwdriver to probe deeper, run more tests, or repair a part.  Math is the toolbox to solve science and technology problems.  It continually builds upon itself.  A good foundation (toolbox) is absolutely essential. 
There is also a nationwide push to require a core curriculum of math concepts at every grade level.  One result of this is that some subjects that used to be Algebra 1 are now required learning in Pre-Algebra, and Algebra 2 concepts moved down to Algebra 1, and so forth.  Geometry concepts are added in at appropriate levels as well (even though Geometry as a separate course is still required).  The core standards follow what is known as STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).  The goal is to get more students interested in math and science related careers.  The practical benefit for all students is that it is a tool to help them learn to make sense of the given problem, determine what mathematical model fits best, and calculate viable solutions.  Or, the way I like to put it, “What do you know?  What do you need to know?  What do you do?”

I know parents often feel like they need to keep their student moving up to the next level each year so they have enough high school credits, but at the same time the student isn't always ready for the next level at the beginning of the school year.  If I had to choose between repeating a math class and moving to the next level, which would you recommend?
Well, my dad used to say, “You find out what you learned in the last level when you get to the next level.”  But sometimes a parent or teacher can tell that their student has not captured the basic concepts in the last level.  Knowing how much harder it is going to get for a student who is weak in certain areas of math at the elementary or Pre-Algebra level, I would suggest either re-testing or remedial work.  This is a parental decision, of course, but some things to think about are: What are my child’s bents and aspirations (not everyone needs straight A’s in math)?  What is my hurry?  What difference will it make if my child starts high school a year later than we originally thought?  What other courses at the high school level will be adversely affected by a weak math background?  Is the issue lack of effort or lack of understanding?  Is there some way to help my child see that math is a tool or skill to be learned in order to do something else.  Learning to add and multiply fractions is an exercise to be practiced just as learning to dribble and pass a soccer ball is a step in learning to play the game of soccer.

How can I prepare my students so that they feel confident on the math sections of the SAT and ACT?
The academicians who devised the textbooks that I teach from say it this way, “The Standards for Mathematical Practice in the Common Core . . . stress the importance of strong problem solving and reasoning abilities to develop mathematical proficiency.”  So, first of all it involves practice – what I call “the grunt work.”  You just have to do it.  But, it is also involves practicing the right things.  In the case of the Standardized Testing problems it is practice in recognizing a) what kind of problem is being presented (what do you know?), b) knowing what mathematical models fit the problem (what do you need?), and c) seeing what mathematical manipulations are required to reach a logical solution (what do you do?).  Then do some more of a different type . . .

If you could give every homeschool parent one piece of advice what would it be?
Instead of putting it as “advice” let me raise a question that could be put to the student.  When I was growing up I would be asked by adult friends of my parents or by my grandparents, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  I think a better question is, “How do you want to be when you grow up?”  Do you want to be successful in business, or in raising your children, or in being able to explain why you believe what you believe?  Are you always wanting to learn new things?  Do the changes in our world frighten you?  Excite you?  Cause you to ponder outcomes or consequences?  Critical thinking and reasoning skills are a requirement in any career, home, church, and community.  Don’t partition off mathematics or science or history or language skills or art or geography from one another as subjects to be checked off on a list.  They are meant to be thoroughly integrated, wrestled with, curiously probed, related, and enjoyed.