Deseret Homeschool Association
October 2012 Newsletter
Debunking homeschooling myths, and overcoming the defeatist
things we tell ourselves
Ooohhh…that’s a biggie!!!
There are so many things to choose from, but I will focus on
the one that stands out most in my mind:
I can honestly say that the very biggest, most terrifying myth that I’ve
told myself as a homeschooling mom--the one that would keep me awake at
night--was the defeatist thought of ruining my kids for life!!! “What
IF they don’t get all that they need?
What IF I hold them back in some way?
What IF I ruin them? What IF they
can’t handle socializing outside of the walls of my home? What IF I totally screw them up???” I don’t really care all that much about what
anyone else thinks of our decision to home school . . . they have the right to
their opinion, but it doesn’t have to ruin my day. However, the thought of ruining my kids . . .
now that would be a very bad day!
I am here to tell you that I have not done it all right; we
have had some pretty lousy years. On the
other hand, we have also had some mighty outstanding years (hooray!). We did not begin each and every day with the
most fabulous of devotionals--I just did my best. We did not always get to “My Plan” for the
day . . . truth be told, most often we did not.
BUT I am going to say I’d like to pat myself on the back, because I
didn’t let “My Plan” come before watching and paying attention to what my kids
most needed. I would observe them in an
effort to really see with my eyes and my heart where they were, how they were
feeling, if they were “getting it” or if we were just going through the motions
in an effort to simply earn another check mark on the list.
It really isn’t about how great we are as educators or how
many lessons we can say we’ve accomplished on any given day . . .
It is so much more about how well we see our kids’ needs,
their strengths, their weaknesses, their gifts and their talents. It is also about knockin’ out the myths they
tell themselves. It is about being a
cheerleader for your kiddos and letting them know YOU BELIEVE IN THEM . . . it
is about picking them back up when they feel defeated and starting over again
--together.
Now that I have two daughters that have graduated and moved
past their days at home under my “instruction,” I can see that I didn’t screw
them up at all. They are far from ruined
. . . they are beautiful inside and out.
The characters they possess and the countenance they carry with them and
share with others shines and brings a smile to my face. They have confidence in who they are and in
just how fabulous they are. They know
that nothing in this world is too big for them to tackle if they have the
desire!
On days that I look at all the kiddos still in my home and
go back to the “What ifs” that leave
me feeling defeated and weary, I try to remind myself of just how much I love
the people our girls have turned out to be . . . that gives me all the strength
I need. I didn’t do anything that YOU
and every other parent in this world can’t also do . . . I just loved them with
all of my heart and gave them ALL that I could possibly give. I believed in them and I enjoyed my time with
them. I laughed with them and learned
with them and cried with them and shared my thoughts when I was afraid I was
not doing all they needed. Together, we
always worked through knocking down those nasty myths and defeatist thoughts. I am so grateful to say I would be thrilled
to shout from the rooftops (if only I could climb on top of one) that I know
there is no kid-ruining going on here . . . there is only magnificent refining
happening day in and day out.
I would add that one day these kids of mine will do amazing
things . . . they will become amazing mothers and fathers, they will become the
mentors and leaders that will change this world, they will become all that they
dream of because they know that the only thing holding them back could be fear,
and they are bigger than fear any day of the week!
How’s that for knocking down some silly ol’ myth??? We’ve got this if we only believe in
ourselves and Look Up for help when we need it most.
Wishing you a BOOtiful October!!
Stacey Lytle
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Happy October wonderful ladies!
This month’s theme for DHSA is a fantastic one and I want
to reach out to each and one of you wonderful women to give and receive in this
journey of homeschooling our families. As I have pondered what ‘resources’ to
bring to you each month the Spirit spoke to me clearly in the pouring in of
e-mail, conversations and chatting with others. I heard it loud and clear –
there is a need in our community to connect to each other. The new homeschooling
mother who ‘never planned on doing this’, the mom and dad who ‘don’t know where
to start’ and the seasoned family who joyfully states ‘My kid is so interested
in classic literature and Shakepere but I don’t know anything about that
topic!’. Each and every one of us has a role of learning and teaching at all
times.
Are you passionate
about a style of education that you would love to share? Are you new and hoping
to reach out and just have an ally to cheer you on? Or perhaps you’d like to
share your space with someone who is in desperate need of inspiration and a cup
of cocoa? I would love to hear from you wonderful ladies of DHSA if you are in a
role of giving (such as, do you TJed, work box or IDEA? Etc) or like me – are
you seeking a mentor, a woman to share her story and an ally when the kids are
grumpy, your laundry is still staring at you, and your in need of a pick me up
to carry on!
I hope to connect us because we really are the best
resources for each other.
Macy Huberty
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What About Socialization?
We’ve all heard this one, usually from people who aren’t
homeschooling themselves, or maybe from the grandparents or other relatives who
worry we’re screwing up the kids.
I remember asking this question to the homeschooling moms I
knew when I was just starting to think about taking the plunge into
homeschooling myself. I always felt the answers were vague or even
dismissive. This was so frustrating,
because I was really concerned about this, but it wasn’t until one of the moms
turned the question back to me and asked, “Well, what about it?” I then realized I didn’t even know what I was
asking. Talk about awkward!
Before I could ask others, “What about socialization?” I had
to define what it meant to me. So I sat
down and made a list of what I felt “socialization” encompassed. For me, socialization is more than making
sure my kids have opportunities for playmates, playdates, and prom. It’s about building character and turning out
someone who is:
·
able to recognize and react appropriately to social cues like
body language and tone of voice
·
comfortable initiating conversations
·
self aware, but not self important
·
able to put others at ease
·
polite and respectful by default
·
diplomatic
·
able to listen attentively to others
·
friendly
·
genuinely interested in other people
·
able to handle criticism and praise graciously
·
able to deal appropriately with anger and disappointment
·
confident
·
emotionally stable
·
kind
·
optimistic
·
familiar with current events, pop culture (to some degree,
anyway), and social trends
·
able to politely extricate him/herself from unpleasant or
inappropriate conversations and situations
·
able to work well as part of a team
·
clean in body, mind, and speech, and dresses modestly and appropriately
for any given situation
I admit,
it’s a lengthy, though not exhaustive, list (and your list may be different than mine) but
where best to learn the skills on “the list” than at home? Fine tuning will come with interactions
outside the immediate family—but fulfilling this list is a process that starts
at home, where kids (and adults!) can practice, practice, practice—and have a
soft place to fall when they commit a faux pas.
And as far as social opportunities go, we have had to reach
outside our comfort zone and initiate friendships and playdates. We’ve had to be very intentional about
finding friends and activities, through community events, classes, sports,
service projects, co-ops, DHSA, and church. It’s been a great adventure, made
us more interested in our neighborhood, our community, and people in
general. We continue to have ample
opportunities to develop and test the social skills on our list.
So, what about socialization? You tell me!
Cheers!
Marissa Pineda
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"Home schooled kids are too sheltered and don't know
how to live in the world."
Have you ever heard that one?
Are our kids sheltered? Probably, yes. Is that a
bad thing?
I remember a story I heard soon after the tsunami in
2011 that devastated Japan and shocked the world.
The story was of a wise Mayor of a small town in
Japan who remembered history and learned from it. Does that sound like a
homeschooling philosophy? This mayor had lived through an earlier tsunami and
remembered the death and destruction that had been the result. He made it his
goal during the 40 years he was mayor to build a wall on the side of the town by
the ocean. It would be 51 feet high and over 600 feet long. Everyone scoffed
at him and it was a major effort to get the town council to agree to the plan.
in the end 30 million dollars were spent creating this wall. He was made fun
of for this project and died in the 80's - never seeing the final results of his
efforts - but when the tsunami came in 2011, the wall was there and only a small
amount of water got into the town. No homes were carried away by the tsunami,
and in fact they barely got wet. Only one person died because he had left the
safety of the town and gone to check on his boat. Now those people who had made
fun of the mayor went to his grave to pay their respects.
As home school moms we
are building walls around our families to keep them safe. We are teaching our
children to build their own walls - brick by brick each day. We build those
walls by keeping the commandments, teaching our children to stand up and do what
is right, and asking God to walk with us daily. We teach them the true
priorities of life by example and loving instruction and our children come to
understand their amazing importance as children of God as they see that they are
one of our very highest and sacred priorities. It is not easy and there are
many people that make fun of us for the things that we are doing - but in the
end each one of us needs those walls to be able to survive in the hard
times. Are we sheltering our
families. Absolutely. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not!
Ruth Hansen
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Check out our field trips! On, Wednesday, September 26th, we went to the Old State Penitentiary. This was so
much fun. I learned incredible things like the youngest prisoner was 10 years
old. Also, there were five hundred jail break attempts but only ninety escapees succeeded.
How about the first serial murderer,who was a woman? Lyda Southard killed four husbands and two
relatives by boiling fly paper and making arsenic. She put it into muffins and served them. The reason she did it was for the insurance money. The
best story of the day was about a young man from Idaho who joined Butch Cassidy and
The Sundance Kid to rob stage coaches. He was caught and got a six year
sentence. On Christmas Eve he escaped from prison, but was caught. What he
didn't know is that the ladies in his home town had written letters of how good
of a kid he was, but had just got mixed up in the wrong group. He was granted a
pardon and was to receive it on Christmas day as a gift. He messed that up! He tried to escape again, while running away from the prison a guard shot him in the leg. So they had to amputated his leg. Later he climbed up
on a three story cell block and tried to commit suicide only to survive the
fall but crushed his arm. He was sent to a insane asylum, where he escaped,
stole and horse and road 500 miles to his brothers. The sheriff in town
contacted the warden about finding the young man and asked if he wanted him back.
The warden said "NO"!
Kimberly Wing
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Announcements
PE, field trips, Mothers' Meetings, acting classes, inspirational quotes, and more!
Thanks to all who gave us your feedback on the PE survey-- we hope we are able to accommodate as many of you as possible as we begin to implement our PE program. Here is what we have so far:
PE Times: We will meet afternoons from 2pm to 3:30pm.
Location: Outdoors (dress for the weather and always wear tennis/court type shoes) at the Charter Pointe Subdivision park located at 9301 Mossywood Dr. (Located off of Lake Hazel Dr. between 5 Mile and Maple Grove)
Days: We are going to be rotating between Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and meeting twice a month thru December. If interest and numbers are consistent, we will try for weekly meetings beginning in January.
Ages: We have all ages from 4 to 16. Parents are welcome to stay and play, or bring a book and relax.
October Theme: Group Games! Join us for active cooperative games where acting as a team will be the focus.
Dates: Monday, October 1st
Wednesday, October 17th
Friday, November 1st
November Theme: Hoops! Learn basic basketball skills, dribbling, passing, shooting. Play games using a basket ball (not just playing basket ball!)
Equipment Needed: Bring Basketballs!
Dates: Monday November 12th
Friday, November 30th
December Theme: Hit the Ice!! Ice Skating at Idaho Ice World. If there is enough interest, we would like to find a teacher to introduce basic ice skating skills for the first 30 minutes.
EXTRA COST: $5 per person each time. There will be an additional cost if a lesson is added.
Dates: Friday December 7th
Friday, December 14th
January Theme: Rock Climbing
EXTRA COST for rock climbing (possible merit badge available)
Dates: TBD
February Theme: Karate
EXTRA COST is unknown at this time, location TBD.
March Theme: Soccer Ball skills, soccer and kickball
April Theme: Bowling
EXTRA COST is unknown at this time, location TBD
May Theme: Fun in the Sun!
For questions, comments, etc. about P.E. contact Michelle Gonzalez at 275-9208 or idahogonzalez@hotmail.com
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Mothers' Meeting: Join us on Saturday, October 13th at Jeneen Haven's home. (Time and address will appear here soon.)Come share your homeschooling story and tell us about your ups and downs, struggles and successes. What do you feel you've done right? What have you learned from other homeschool moms? What's the best piece of homeschooling advice you've been given?
Pumpkin Patch Field Trip
Pumpkin patch field trip at the Farmstead off Eagle road. Friday, October 19th at 10:00 am.
It's $4.00 a kid. They get a pumpkin and can do part of the corn maze. Plus there are other activities. Adults are free and so are kids under two. Please email Kimberly at sosiouxmeto@msn.com or call me at 968-3111 just so I can get a head count on who's coming.
You will pay at the gate. You can read more about the field trip at: http://www.farmsteadfestival.com/field-trips/
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Mark your calendars
for the DHSA Halloween Party!
Where:
Lake Hazel
10489
Lake Hazel Rd.
When:
1:00-2:30
What to wear:
Your costumes!
Cost:
$1.00 per child over 3 years of age
Please
prepay through the DHSA Paypal account. (Paypal
account info coming soon.) We cannot accept money at the Library.
Volunteers Needed:
We need help to make this party a success!
Moms and
Teens can help! Please email Kami Hymas
at kami@hymasfamily.org to sign up to
run one of the following activities or to bring cookies.
|
People
|
Activity
|
|
1
|
Touch and Feel boxes (3-4
or more)
|
|
1
|
Pin the nose on the Pumpkin
|
|
2
|
Halloween Craft
|
|
1
|
Pumpkin Ring Toss
|
|
1
|
Game geared for older kids
|
|
1
|
Bean Bag Toss
|
|
2
|
Cookie Decorating station
|
|
1
|
Coloring Pages station
|
|
2
|
Drink Table
|
|
2
|
Set up
|
|
4
|
Clean up
|
|
People
|
Food to Bring
|
|
5
|
24 pumpkin shaped sugar
cookies
|
Happy October and
we’ll see you on Halloween!
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DHSA Family
Dance
Friday,
October 12th
6:30pm-8:30pm
Holy
Nativity Church
828
W Cherry Lane
Meridian,
ID 83642
Come join us for some family fun and dancing! Casual dress.
This is a free event. Please bring a finger food or dessert to share.
Are you interested in learning a new dance? Plan to join us at 6pm for dance instruction.
Melissa
+++++++++++++++++++++
Parent Mentoring
Seminar
Saturday
October 20th, 6 hour Seminar
Bonus:
Youth Seminar (ages 12 - 18) Friday October
19th Times and Location, Boise area, to Be Announced! The location will
be determined based on the amount of people that RSVP.
Cost:
$65 for the family ticket - all youth and parents.
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THE DHSA SCIENCE FAIR IS COMING UP!!!
Do you have a budding scientist? Do your kids like to blow up soda and Mentos? Take things apart and put them back together? Do you have a kid who wants to know what cereal stays crunchiest for the longest time in a bowl of milk? Does your kid know anything and everything about birds/bats/reptiles/etc? Have a bug or rock collection? Bring 'em down and show 'em off!
November 14th from 1 to 3 PM
at the
Caldwell Library: 1010 Dearborn Street, Caldwell, ID
83605.
Bring
your experiments, projects, and/or research and be prepared to present your
findings! (In order to accommodate all our participants, we ask that you keep
your presentation in the two to three minute range.)
Please register by November 7th, 2012.
To register, e-mail Stacey Lytle at
dhsa.president@gmail.com and put “Science Fair” in the subject line. In your
e-mail, please include each participant’s name, age, and a brief description of
your science project/experiment.
Stacey
Chill Skillz - Super fun acting class that teaches social skills!
Chill Skillz uses a sketch comedy format where kids learn several different skits, and each skit teaches a life skill such as communication, stress management, social skills, conflict resolution and emotional insight. The kids have a great time playing different characters and learning acting skills, and in the process, they learn life skills as well. Chill Skillz was created by Leta Neustaedter, LCSW as a way to combine her two areas of expertise as a mental health professional and an actor/musician. Chill Skillz was done as TV show on Treasure Valley Community Television for 3 seasons and is now being offered in a "live performance" format through these acting classes. Each acting class is comprised of 4 or 5 different comedy skits.
Grades: 1-6
8 weeks
Wednesdays 10am-11:30am (Performance on the last day!)
Dates: Oct 17 -Dec 12 (No class on Halloween)
Tuition: $95 (Family discount - 10% off for siblings)
Location: Metamorphosis Performing Arts Studio, 511 W. Main St downtown Boise
All materials and scripts provided.
Class limited to 10 students.
This class addresses criteria in the Idaho Content Standards for Humanities, Language Arts, and Health!
You can get links to Leta's professional and performance resumes on her website. She has 20 years of experience working with children as a therapist and arts educator, and she has directed more than 30 children's theater performances through her own company, the YMCA and TrICA.
Website: www.metamorphosisstudio.org
To register or get more information contact Leta: metamorphosisstudio@hotmail.com
Several episodes from Chill Skillz Season 3 are on youtube! Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAyns02mv4A&list=UUzUUycBpNtlTtanJFPBeK_g&index=6&feature=plcp
Adelia Brown was the lucky recipient of a slew of home school curriculum material for kindergarten age. If you have any interest, give her a call at: #963-0107.
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Dayna Baldwin wrote in to share some quotes. She says, "I love these quotes out of a book I'm reading in Home Schooling 101 The Essential Handbook by Mark and Christine Field
"The good life is the one you have."
"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."
"If silly things were not done, intelligent things would never happen. Mistakes must be kept in perspective. Understand that on the heels of every mistake is a valuable lesson and another opportunity to improve. You will fail. But fail forward."
"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."
"If silly things were not done, intelligent things would never happen. Mistakes must be kept in perspective. Understand that on the heels of every mistake is a valuable lesson and another opportunity to improve. You will fail. But fail forward."
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