Used Curriculum and Book Sales

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  The rest of my family thinks I'm a bit crazy, but I love this time of year.  We have twenty-two days of school left (not that anyone is counting...), and I am busy planning for next year.  I have instructors' guides and catalogs spread across the house, and raids on both grandmothers' libraries are pending.
  At least part of my planning mania is fueled by the fact that May is book fair month in the Upstate, and I want to be prepared.  I love books and I love to be able to purchase books at a good price.  I try to use the book fairs to get a good start on what I need to purchase for the next school year.  Here are some tips for making the most of the upcoming book fairs:

• Know what you need.  I check my library and those available to me (the Greenville Library system, and the libraries of various family members) to see what I have, what I can borrow and what I need to buy.  I make a list of the books I need to buy and bring it along to the book fairs.  This keeps me focused amid a sea of beautiful books.
• Have an idea of how much you can spend (and bring plenty of small bills).  Some years I set a dollar limit for myself.  Other years I add another column to my "shopping" list with the price I would pay buying the book new.  This allows me to decide whether to buy the book new or used.  Most of the sales are cash only so plan accordingly.
• Check the publication date and decide whether an older edition of a book matters to you.  I was somewhat amused by the model computer in my daughter's science book.  The book was a late 90's edition and pictured a computer with a floppy drive.  We used it as a springboard to a discussion of how quickly technology changes and then completed our own drawing of a more modern computer.  But another time I might look for a more recent copy of the book.
• Keep your eye out for unused or lightly used workbooks.  I often find copies of the workbooks I need for just a dollar or two.  When you have more than one child in elementary school (where every subject seems to have its' own workbook), this can be a real money saver.  Be sure to thumb through each workbook though.  Some books have only a few used pages (easy enough to erase), but I have bought one or two that needed a good hour of erasing to be useable (not worth the savings in my opinion).
• If possible leave little ones at home.  Most of the book fairs do not allow strollers, and the rooms can be fairly crowded.  And it is very hard to look at books and keep an eye one a toddler.  If you can find a babysitter you will find the shopping experience much easier.  That said older children can be a real help buying books -their sharp eyes are good for spying something you might have overlooked.
• Look for one or two books that can be read right away.  I use the book fairs as my major stock-up for next year, but I always try to pick up at least one or two books that we can enjoy immediately.  Everyone at our house loves books so it is something akin to torture to bring home a stack of books that must wait until the fall. The books I get for immediate reading are usually a dollar or less so they don't take up much room in my budget.
• Book fairs are a two way street.  So far I have only been on the buying end of book fairs, but they can be a terrific opportunity to clean out your own shelves and maybe make a little money (so you can buy more books!).  Check the website for each book fair and decide where you want to sell.  Each book fair has its own setup and specific rules for how to sell you books.

There are three book fairs (that I know of) coming up in the next month or so.  Here are the details:

1. Family TOUCH's Annual Used Curriculum & Book sale will be held Tuesday, May 13th from 3:00-6:30 PM at Taylors First Baptist Church in the Fellowship Hall.  This is a one-time consignment sale.  Books will be arranged by subject and grade to make your shopping experience easy!  A great place to get most of your curriculum needs!

Buyers, this is a CASH ONLY sale.  No strollers are permitted. Rolling carts and backpacks are fine. You do not need to sign up to buy at the sale.  Doors will open at 3:00 pm.

Seller registration up is open until May 11, 2014.  You must sign up in advance to sell books. For sign up information visit:http://www.homeschool-life.com/sc/touch/

2. Upstate Homeschool Co-op Book Sale: Monday, May 19, 2013 from 5:00- 8:00 PM in the Taylors First Baptist Fellowship Hall.

To sell your material: Sign-Ups Start May 1, @ 8:00 AM at the UHC website: https://www.homeschool-life.com/sc/upstatehomeschoolcoop/

When reserving a table you are agreeing to:

Pay fee for the table (correct change preferred) upon entering (Fees: Upstate Members: $5 per table; Non-members: $10 per table).

Be ready to begin clean up at 8:00 PM sharp

You will need clean your table and the area around it before leaving

Someone on the book sale team must check your table before leaving

You can bring your items anytime between 3:00-4:30 pm, but after 4:30 the outside doors will be locked until 5:00 when the general public will be allowed to enter.

Persons selling items @ the sale will be able to “shop” from 4:30-5:00

You may share a table but only one person should register. To avoid confusion discuss with your partner who will register. You will be in charge of your own table and can label your materials in whatever way you deem best.  If you have any questions, you may contact Kendra Alexander at jandkalexander@hotmail.com

3. EHE Used Curriculum Sale: Thursday, June 12 from 4:00-7:00pm in the Rock Springs Baptist Church Gymnasium.

This year's sale will be yard-sale style.  Each family is responsible for selling their own merchandise.  Tables will be provided by the church. 

Please adhere to the following guidelines:

EHE members can sell for free. Non-EHE members: there is a $5 rental fee.  All proceeds will be donated to the Rock Springs Foster Care Ministry.  Educational Material ONLY may be sold...that includes CDs, DVDs and Computer games.  Reading books may also be sold.  The seller is responsible for set up and clean up of your table.  The seller is responsible for their own sales, which includes bringing starter funds to make change for customers. EHE is not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged material.  To sign up visit: http://www.homeschool-life.com/sc/ehe/

Making a Portfolio

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  The 2013-2014 school year is winding down for most families.  The ladies in the PHEA office are hard at work getting all the transcripts updated and ready for the mad dash to the finish line - all the transcripts and the class ranking must be finished by June 15th.  We are also hard at work folding and stuffing and labeling the renewal applications. 
  While I spend a lot of time planning and counting and calculating our 180 days of school, and making sure I have met the requirements to complete all our days with accurate lesson plans, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about another requirement - the portfolio.  Usually I just dump all my kids' work into a box with the lesson plan book and figure I've done well enough. 

  At it's most basic, a portfolio is a sampling of the work your student has completed throughout the school year (or in my case a file box with everything we did that year).  While we are required by law to keep a portfolio, a portfolio can go a long way toward validating your grades and your homeschool if they are ever brought into question.  We know of at least one case in our state where a family was charged with educational neglect because they did not have any records to show for the work they had done.  Even though the students tested at or above grade level the family was forced to put their students back in public school because they had no records to show that they actually were homeschooling.
   I attended a workshop last year on making a portfolio which encouraged us to do a little more than just dump all our files into a box.  I wanted to share some of that information with you.
 At the workshop we were encouraged to evaluate our student's work each week and pull out one or two pieces of work that were representative of the work done that week (both good and bad).  We were then encouraged to go through those papers once a quarter and again select a few representative samples.  Those samples should then tie in with our semi-annual grade reports to help show why our student received the grade he or she did.
  For example, my third grader struggles with spelling.  We have tried a different approach this year and her spelling while still a bit wobbly is greatly improved since the beginning of the year.  My progress report at Christmas noted that while she did well learning the rules, she didn't have much of a feel for when a certain rule would be used.  At this point she seems to be getting some idea of when a rule will be used and she is also starting to recognize when a word looks wrong.
  The examples in the portfolio should bear this assessment out.  I will include both spelling tests and examples from her writing showing many misspelled words from the beginning of the year.  Other examples of her work will show improved spelling as well as multiple eraser marks where she attempted various spellings and realized that they were wrong.
  Similarly for other subjects the examples I choose should go with my assessment of the work done over the course of the year.
  At the workshop, it was suggested that we might want to include an explanation telling why we included certain items in the portfolio - pictures from a field trip for instance.  Together with the semi-annual reports the portfolio gives a good picture of the work accomplished in a school year.
  It was pointed out to us that another benefit of making an organized portfolio was that it is encouraging to the students as well.  The speaker and his wife stored their portfolios in three-ring binders on a shelf in the schoolroom.  Their children liked to look back through the portfolios from time to time and see how much progress they had made. 
  I haven't been pulling out examples for the portfolio very consistently, but I have plans to take some time at the end of the school year to make a well-organized portfolio. 

Think about taking some time to make a portfolio this year.

Legislative Update from SCHEA

Many thanks to South Carolina Home Educators' Association for passing this along!
 

Tax Bills - H4624 & S279

There have been several questions about two bills that are currently in the legislature in South Carolina--one in the Senate and the other in the House.  There are some differences in them--one is a credit against your taxable income, the other is a deduction against your taxable income.  One would go into place this year, the other next year.  Neither one of these bills is tied to family income.  Since both of these bills are deductions or credits, they would not have the strings attached that a voucher would have.  Essentially they would allow you to keep what is rightfully yours anyway and would help to offset some of your expenses. Here is the problem.  S 279 was introduced in January of 2013 and has been sitting in the Senate Finance Committee ever since.  H 4624 was introduced in February of 2014 and is currently sitting in the House Ways and Means Committee.  In order for either one of these bills to pass, they need to be passed before this legislative session ends in May of 2014--just two months from now.   After that, they are null and void and the process will need to begin again in January with a new legislature.   That means the bill needs to come out of committee, be voted on on the floor, be sent to the other chamber, go through committee and be voted on there.  All of this is possible--but not likely unless our legislators begin to feel some pressure.   If you like either one (or both) of these bills, this is the time to do something about it. Waiting until Home School Day at the Capitol will be too late.  You can go to www.bosticlaw.com  to sign and share a petition.  There is also a Facebook page for H4624. https://www.facebook.com/groups/SCHomeandIndependentSchooling/. Either send your representative an email thanking them for their support or an email to encourage their support; ask them to sign onto this bill as a co-sponsor.   Your legislators need to hear from you!  They value your input.   You can find more information at www.schea.net/legislation   H 4624 Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, a parent or legal guardian who teaches one or more qualifying students at home as authorized pursuant to Section 59-65-40, 59-65-45, or 59-65-47 may claim a credit against their State of South Carolina taxable income of up to five thousand dollars but not to exceed amounts spent on instruction-related expenditures. The credit allowed by this subsection may be claimed fully for the tax year in which the home school term begins provided the qualifying student completes the school term for that school year.   S 279  Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, a parent or legal guardian who teaches one or more qualifying students at home as authorized pursuant to Section 59-65-40, 59-65-45, or 59-65-47 may take a deduction against their State of South Carolina taxable income of up to two thousand dollars per home school student for instruction-related expenditures.  This deduction is limited to a total of two thousand dollars per child per year regardless of the number of taxpayers incurring home school instruction-related expenses on behalf of that child. The deduction allowed by this subsection is fully deductible for the calendar year in which the home school term begins provided the qualifying student completes the school term for that school year.

South Carolina Home Educators Association
PO Box 2707, Irmo, SC  29063
803-772-2330
schea@schea.net
www.schea.net

Great Resources: Multiplication Mosaics

Amazon

  I started the school year with fresh resolutions to help my daughter memorize all her multiplication facts.  I had a nice pack of multiplication flash cards to help us, and we worked very hard for about three weeks - until we got sidetracked by other projects.  I tried a few times to pick back up on the flashcards, but I wasn't able to get them into our school day on a regular basis. 
  So I was very excited (probably more than my daughter) when she unwrapped a package from Grandma and pulled out this book: Multiplication Mosaics by Evelyn Christiansen.  I quickly added it to my lesson plans for the second semester, and we are now merrily working our way through the book - and memorizing math facts at the same time!
  The book is set up as a fill in the blank.  Each problem is set up in the following manner: 8 X __ = 16 (orange).  The student must fill in the missing number.  Then using the multipliers she finds the appropriate box and fills it in with the listed color.  If the student works each problem correctly, the chart quickly becomes a beautiful pattern or picture. 
  There are 30 mosaics in the book, so we don't do one every day - I reserve them for days when we have lighter math lessons.  So far we have made trees and flowers, dinosaurs and trucks.  It is fun to see the pattern emerge as we work each problem.
  The problems are presented in a fairly sequential order, so most of the first patterns are colored in the bottom left of the grid.  As we have progressed, adding problems that take us into the 7 and 8 multiplications facts, the patterns have spread across the grid.
  And the math facts seem to be sticking pretty well too.  Where she often had to stop and calculate problems like 4 X 6, now my daughter fills those in quickly and moves on to the harder problems. I haven't told her this, but she is also getting some good practice plotting items on a graph.
  The publisher, MindWare, also has books for addition, subtraction, division, decimals and Pre-Algebra.  Each book is $12 or $13.  You can find them on Amazon.com or on Fat Brain Toys.  Fat Brain Toys has sales pretty often so keep your eye out for a better price.
  If you or your student are discouraged by flashcards, I highly recommend Multiplication Mosaics.

Logic - Or What Do They Teach in Schools These Days?

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"Logic!" said the Professor half to himself. "What do they teach in schools these days?  There are only three possibilities.  Either your sister is lying, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth.  You know that she doesn't tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad.  For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth."    -  The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

  This is one of my absolute favorite parts of the entire Chronicles of Narnia series.  I love how Peter and Susan, trying to be so mature in the way they handle their squabbling brother and sister, go to Professor Kirk for advice, and he stands them on their heads with logic, forcing them to think through the situation rationally.
   Until this fall, I quoted this to my kids a lot.  One of them would draw a rather nonsensical conclusion from a conversation, and I would wonder aloud, "What do they teach in schools these days?"  But as I was mulling over our curriculum for the current year, I was rather chastened to realize that as my children's teacher, I am the school and perhaps I should stop wondering why logic is not taught and teach it already!
  So why teach logic?  In short, because it doesn't seem to come naturally to many people.  Some people are really good at putting two and two together.  They can look at an argument for or against something, compare it with information they already have and reach a logical decision or conclusion.  For other people relating information they are receiving to information they already have doesn't seem to happen easily, if ever.  And I have noticed with my own children that this is something I must guide them in rather than expecting this skill to be innate. 
  Learning how to think and reason and come to rational conclusions really is the basis of all learning.  Without the skills to consider a topic and compare it with other information, memorizing facts and dates is useless.  It is learning how to apply those facts and dates to the issue at hand that is important.
  And so, as we go through our English and our Math and Science and Social Studies, I try to show my students how what they are learning builds on what they already know, and stretch their minds to further applications of the principles we are learning.  I am trying to connect the dots of all the things we discuss into a cohesive education that will prepare them to go into the world with good thinking skills.  And along the way I am trying to help them learn how to connect the dots for themselves so that even when their formal education is over they will go on adding to what they have learned.
  This year I picked a couple of books that would help me teach more formal logic. These books use examples to explain how to think about various arguments which are presented.  For example, my daughter just finished a section on "All Statements".  In an all statement, students are given a sentence which applies to an entire group (All cats are mammals) and then asked to evaluate a second sentence based on the first (This animal is not a mammal; the conclusion then is that the animal is not a cat.).  It seems very simple to spell it out like that, but learning on simple sentences helps students to identify the same structure when they are confronted with more complex arguments.
  As an added benefit, my kids really look forward to our logic lessons (it is the first thing they want to do on Friday mornings).  They enjoy looking at the words and learning how they relate to one another.  They enjoy seeing the patterns and sequences in the logic book, and I gladly apply them to our other subjects when it seems appropriate.

What about you?  Do you teach logic?

 

Connecting with Other Homeschool Families

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Community Question:

  My family lives in a rural part of the state and we attend a small church without many children.  Co-op classes or sports programs are not a good option for my family.  How can we connect with the homeschool community?

  You may not be as alone as you think.  There are support groups all over the state that get together on a regular basis for activities, and unlike co-ops and other classes, there is often no fee to join or participate.  Check out the support groups page on www.schea.net to find a support group in your area.

  Try your local library.  Libraries are a great source of fun, free activities.  Our library offers activities specifically for homeschool students at many of its branches.  They also have a great variety of offerings for all ages from toddler classes to family film nights to knitting groups.

  Consider taking part in some of the statewide events coming up this spring.  The Home School Day at the Capitol is coming up on April 30^th.  All events are free, and if you get the code from the SCHEA website the week of the event, parking is also free.  Homeschool families from across the state will be there so this is a great time to connect with other families - and you never know you might just find that some of them live nearby.  All the information is on the SCHEA website: http://schea2.azurewebsites.net/

  In a similar vein, the Teach Them Diligently conference is coming up April 3-5 in Spartanburg.  Admission is $65 for the whole family, and there are plenty of events planned for the kids as well as the parents.  For more details check out the website: http://teachthemdiligently.net/locations/spartanburg-sc

  Be sure to check out the recent ads page of the blog for other events coming up.

  Finally, if you are looking for a little encouragement for yourself, consider getting involved in one of the online communities for homeschoolers.  Our curriculum provider has a forum where parents can ask questions and connect with other parents who are using the same books.  I did a quick search of general homeschool forums and found several to choose from.  Please do note that while the internet can be a great place to connect with people, you should be careful about giving out personal information.

  These are just a few ways to get involved in the larger homeschool community.  But I'm sure there are other ideas out there.  If you have an idea for connecting with the community please comment below.

Why It Matters - A Word from the Administrator

   Written by Martha Freitag        

            This has been an interesting week in the PHEA office . . . one where someone is asking the question, “Why does it matter?” while someone else is experiencing the pain of finding out the hard way that it really did matter.  What is ‘it’ you ask?  RECORDS.  Records and more specifically turning them in to PHEA.

            This week we have had two families wanting to register with us.  They have high school students – seniors actually which makes the issue even more critical.  Neither wants to turn in grades to us, so they are asking, “Why does it matter?”

So here is the answer to why it matters.  First, we all know that the home schooling law in South Carolina requires us to do semi-annual progress reports.  By the time your student is in middle school, these reports should be in the form of numerical grades.  (The exception to this is with our special needs students.)  This means you do have the records, so the real question is, “Why do we have to send them in?”

Most of you know this is a fairly new policy for PHEA so let me explain how it came about.  All home school associations are accountable to the State Department of Education.  When they make a law or give the authority to another entity to make the rules, we have to abide by the laws and rules.  These laws and rules (especially the rules) are subject to change.  When they change, we have to change as well.

One of the laws is that we must use the South Carolina Uniform Grading Policy (SC UGP).  We began helping parents with transcripts as the SC UGP can be confusing to work with.  Around that same time, the Commission on Higher Education (CHE) changed the rules of how to apply for the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship.  Originally home schoolers could apply directly to the CHE for the scholarship.  There were so many issues with the GPAs and transcripts that the CHE made a rule that home schoolers could only apply through their associations and just like that we had to change.  In order to apply for the scholarship, the associations had to provide a class ranking.  As leadership at the CHE has changed, so too has the interpretation of the rules that are in place governing this scholarship.  It has gone from 1) telling the top seniors and just providing the names and school districts of the rest of the seniors (no addresses or other identifying information) to 2) doing a GPA for all seniors to 3) doing a class ranking for sophomores, juniors and seniors (because students can qualify in each of those years) to 4) providing a document to the CHE stating our policies on who and how we do the class ranking.  We have to abide by this if we want to be able to nominate students for these scholarships.  So a large part of why it matters is because PHEA has to follow the law and the rules.  When a family does not follow our policies, they actually put the entire association and all its members in jeopardy.  The State Department could revoke our status as a legal association.

There is however another reason, much closer to home for why it matters.  As home school parents, we pour our heart and soul into preparing our children for the life ahead of them.  We would not intentionally do something that would make their future more difficult, but sometimes we are too short sighted and do not follow through with paper work.  I have had countless parents tell me, “My senior is not planning to go to college, so we don’t need to do a transcript.”  This brings us to the family who learned the hard way why it matters.  Every year we receive requests for older records, sometimes from the parents, sometimes for the students themselves.  It may be that there was a fire or flood that destroyed the records or it may be as simple as the parent not keeping the records once the student has left home.  This week we had a young lady ask for copies of her transcript and diploma.  When we went to the file, we had nothing for her.  We checked the family’s file and they were not registered with us during her senior year, though they were registered both before and after that.  We have no record that the family home schooled or that the girl graduated.  Our hands are tied – we are unable to help her because her parents did not follow through with the paper work.  And here is the really rough part, the girl graduated in 2004!  Now, ten years later she needs her records and there are none.

None of us knows what the future holds.  We may have a student that we know for sure will not be going on to college when they graduate.  We do not know however if in the course of their lives, they will decide they do want to go on.  If they do, they will need access to those records.  It is not only for college either, that they need the records.  More places are requiring a copy of the high school diploma for employment.  Also this week, we had a mom call us asking if she could come pick up the diploma she had just ordered rather than waiting for it to come in the mail.  Her daughter graduated in December and was already working.  There was a new law passed that people employed in this field must have a copy of their diplomas in their work files.  If she did not bring it by the next day, she was going to be fired.  We have had graduates contact us to get their records to: to go on to college, to work in their chosen field, and to join the military, even to become a New York City fireman (after 9/11). This young man had graduated from college but the NYC FPD rules required the high school diploma.  Since none of us can tell our children’s futures, we need to do everything we can to make sure they can pursue whatever dream God leads them to.  So next time you sit down to fill out those horrible class ranking forms, do it lovingly, knowing you are making sure your child will have access to their records even if it is ten years from now.  It matters!