Tag Archives: schools

‘Blessings’ Founder Faces Prison

As recent events grimly reminded us, good and evil are often intertwined and that can also be true of social consciousness. I was sad to read recently that Stan Curtis, the man who founded “Blessings in a Backpack” is facing counts of tax fraud and money laundering. “Blessing in a Backpack” is an incredible program that was started by Curtis, a stockbroker who grew up orphaned.  Each week, the program sends backpacks filled with food items such as peanut butter, tuna, crackers, and cereal home with school children who live in food insecure households.  The food is donated by local companies … Continue reading →

Divorced Dads Out in the Cold

An article in the Sun Herald on Sunday by Danielle Teutsch, highlighted some of the problem being faced by families where there is divorce. The Australian Institute of Family Studies tells us that 22 percent of Australian children have divorced or separated parents. Around 45,000 children are currently affected by divorce. Half of the divorces in Australia involve children. As Mick and I go into schools to teach children it is apparent to us just how many of the children are affected. Many have a father living in another state that they only get to see once or twice a … Continue reading →

Purses, Parents, and Principals

Here’s a question for all you moms out there: How lost would you be without your purse? Mothers and daughters in Indiana are answering that question, but administrators at a local high school in the state don’t want to hear it. It’s been all over the news: Female students at Hanover Central High School in Cedar Lake, Indiana just want to carry their purses to the bathroom, but the principal there says, “No way!” The school already has a policy that bans backpacks and book bags in classes, but this year it amended that rule to prohibit purses as well. … Continue reading →

Resources for Responding to Racism

As a thirty-something raised in the Pacific Northwest, I have always known about racism, but seldom witnessed it. I lived a very sheltered childhood, and thirty-some years later still feel a bit of shock whenever I hear of a racist incident: “That happened here? Nowadays? Really?” My daughter’s Camp Fire group had a member who was adopted from Ethiopia. The mother and I began comparing adoption experiences. I was shocked when she told me her daughter had been experiencing blatant racism at school. Fellow second graders had been taunting her on the playground, “You don’t belong here. Go back where … Continue reading →

Let Schools and Others Know When Things Change

The reality of the single parent home is that we become quite adept at adjusting to changes There may be moves or school changes, our custody arrangements may change over time, our families may expand or contract as the months and years pass. We may be so busy dealing with the day-to-day realities of caring for our family that we forget to let schools, day care leaders, and others who need to know aware of how things have changed for our child. I have written before about how our custody arrangement has morphed over the years. Additionally, both my children’s … Continue reading →

Distance Learning Homeschool Programs Co-Et

In my post on hybrid homeschooling, I talked about combining homeschooling with distance learning or local classes. Here is the list of Distance Learning Programs you can use. Core Curriculum of America provides of secular and non-denominational Christian based curriculum. The program is for students k-12 and includes all materials, as well as record keeping forms. A certificate of completion is also included. Curiculum is customized for each student and prices range from $399.00 to $419.00. Desiderata School provides accredited curriculum for grades K-12. There is an independent/ directed study program for students within 50 miles of a student center, … Continue reading →

Reasons I am Glad We Homeschool: A Child’s Most Basic Needs

Children and humans in general have a few very basic needs that at minimum should not be restricted. They are the need to breathe, the need to eat, the need to eliminate. Without these needs, a child will be unable to learn, focus, and even survive. This past week there were two incidents in the news where the basic need to eliminate was denied to two middle school boys. The first incident involves an honor student child in California who claims the teacher told him to urinate in a bottle instead of allowing him to go to the rest room. … Continue reading →

Separation of Church and State

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There have been many of drawn out debates even among Christians regarding the separation of church and state. Initially the separation was intended to keep the government from establishing a statewide religion, not to keep religion and faith out of the state. Many argue it’s a fallacy that the United States was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, but I very much disagree and believe the proclamation of this belief to be a ploy of the enemy to break down the moral fibers of our nation and ultimately remove God. Just see what some of our founding forefathers had to share about … Continue reading →

Schools Battle Childhood Obesity

Researchers from Indiana University and Ohio State studied the growth rates of body mass indexes of more than 5000 children. They found that the five and six year olds’ BMIs increased nearly twice as much during the summer than during the school year. The monthly growth rate of their BMIs decreased when school was in session. The researchers believe that the increase in weight was due to a more relaxed lifestyle. During the summer months, children have more leisure time to watch television, play video games, and be idle. In addition, they may have more time to snack on junk … Continue reading →

Have Schools Gone Too Far With Their No Tolerance Policy?

Many schools, especially high schools, have enforced a policy they call “No Tolerance.” Basically, it states that anyone involved in a fight is suspended. In many schools, a fight consists of both physical altercations as well as verbal. Often times, the police are called out to make a report. I have to say, while I understand their point of wanting to crack down on violence and threats, I am not sure I am a big fan of this policy. Let me explain. I have a student who is a high school senior. He happens to have just turned 18 as … Continue reading →