There are twelve years of archived articles from Home Education Magazine right here at the HEM website, free for the reading and right at your fingertips! From the Jan/Feb, 1997 issue - we’d already been publishing for 13 years by then - through the current Nov/Dec 2008 issue, the HEM archives offer a wonderful assortment of writing from the oldest homeschooling magazine still being continuously published.

The feature article writers and regularly scheduled columnists who’ve written for HEM over the years provide a very broad perspective on homeschooling issues, and they’ve tackled some tough subjects for our readers, such as the openly questioning article by Ruthe Matilsky titled “On Unschooling and Life,” from our March/April, 2001 issue:

How unsettling it is sometimes when I think that we have scoffed at the script and now we have to take responsibility for how it all turns out. If we’d done what was expected of us, nothing would ever be our fault. Right? Of course my husband and I don’t believe that, but I can’t help worrying. The standard good-parent line is, “All I want is for my child to be happy.” That’s easy to say when the kids are little, but what about a twenty-one-year-old daughter who is not on the college track?

Then there was “Dropping the Bombshell,” by LauraJean Downs in 1998:

Those of us who homeschool are the experts in in-law relationships, right? We simply get on the phone and say something like,”Hi Mom! I just wanted to let you know that we are going to homeschool all of the kids next year. Have a great day!” The relationship just continues as smoothly as it always did, right? Wrong!

Another complicated subject was tackled by M.S. Beltran in “Homeschooled Teens Can Rest Easier,” from March/April, 2004:

My daughter’s late rising has brought about a great deal of eye rolling and gaping disbelief from those who cannot imagine life outside the pre-set hours of institutionalized education, even though they are aware our child is not a part of that institution. Is it stubborn adherence to tradition that keeps people holding the early bird in such high regard, while the night owl is chastised for being lazy?

A favorite article was “Reflections of a Homeschooled Homeschooler,” by Rebecca Bangs Amos, Nov/Dec, 1999:

When my parents shared their plans of moving to a 500-acre farm in Northern Vermont where they would educate their children themselves, their friends responded with, “Are you crazy?” My friends wondered how I could even consider having my mother and father for teachers.

Issue after issue, year after year, Home Education Magazine’s feature article writers captured the essence and the excitement of homeschooling, the concerns and the questions of homeschooling families. Visit the HEM archives and do some reading - it’s all free - and learn why HEM is “More than just a magazine…”

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“Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat…” -from the old nursery rhyme and carol: Christmas is Coming

With the Big Day only a week away, I thought it would be nice to share some Christmas thoughts. Of course, I realize that my very diverse readership includes many who either don’t celebrate Christmas, or who celebrate one of the variations on the holiday, but at the risk of being socio-politically incorrect, I’m going to stick with good ol’ Christmas here and hope it isn’t perceived as being insensitive to the preferences of many homeschoolers. It’s just how I view the holiday, my perception, my perspective.

A friend and I were discussing Christmas the other day and she asked where the Xmas variation came from, and neither of us knew, but later I looked it up and found this interesting bit of information at Wikipedia:

The word “Christmas” originated as a contraction of “Christ’s mass.” It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.[1] In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter É¥ (chi), is the first letter of Christ. Since the mid-sixteenth century É¥, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ.[2] Hence, “Xmas” is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.

There are many such opportunities for learning related to Christmas. The other evening my Dad and I watched an engrossing program titled The Real Story of Christmas on the History Channel. As their website explains:

Christmas has had a long and varied history. It has been celebrated for centuries by different people, at different times, in different places, and in many different ways. Here you will find links to information about the different ways that the holiday we know as Christmas has been celebrated, or not celebrated, over the years.

The History Channel site offers synopses of the program with fascinating tidbits of information, like this one, under ‘Outlaw Christmas’:

From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings.

Delightful video clips of the holiday program are available to watch free. The entire History Channel website is an impressive resource for anyone teaching or studying history, of course, but these kinds of programs point out how it can be applied to many other subjects, such as Social Studies - or, of course, just enjoyed for the pure fun of learning!

The fun of learning in the Christmas spirit also shines through in two great websites, the appropriately named Xmas Fun and the thoroughly delightful Merry-Christmas.com, both featuring games, puzzles, songs, crafts, stories, jokes, coloring pages, riddles, trivia, recipes and more! These are wonderful site to explore with kids, just be prepared to spend some time - and to hear pleas for return trips to these sites!

For a truly educational experience you can also visit the Wikipedia page Christmas Worldwide, which links to information about Christmas customs in over 40 countries around the globe. How Christmas Works is a fun and informative visit, and for the artistically inclined there are the marvelous snowflake design sites like Make-A-Flake and Snowflake Builder.

So my point is simply this: So many wonderful resources support this special time of year, and learning becomes so much fun and so easy to enjoy, that one wonders why the public education system considers this a sort of unofficial “time off from learning.” Now I doubt there actually is such a thing as a moratorium on learning, since even “not learning” is educational in its own way, but I trust you know what I mean, dear reader.

When I was little, Christmas always brought the most interesting kinds of learning as my parents wrapped up telescopes, books, microscopes, globes, chemistry sets, musical instruments, games, construction kits, aquariums, and once even the Encyclopedia Brittanica! There were plenty of Barbie dolls and train sets, of course, but they just brought different types of lessons. A child who’s engaged and interested in life will find learning almost everywhere. It’s only when children become disengaged and disinterested that learning becomes strained and difficult.

When I was small and walked to school I remember looking forward to being away from the school and the “teacher’s dirty looks” almost as much as I looked forward to Christmas itself. Two whole weeks without the burdens of school! The excitement of ringing in the New Year was tempered by the knowledge that soon afterwards it would be back to the classroom for me, and learning would be transformed somehow from simply a common everyday occurrence to something almost grim and unsavory, even though I was a better-than-average student. I was lucky; my parents seemed to have an innate understanding that school was not a good place for kids, and they didn’t object too strenuously when I unceremoniously dropped out. And then Mom found John Holt long before I did, and my two youngest siblings never went to school at all until my sister decided to give college a try (and made the Dean’s list). But I digress…

Christmas is filled with the very best kinds of learning: Caring, giving, sharing, togetherness, love… And the learning isn’t just limited to the youngsters; if we keep our hearts open this season we’ll learn new ways of celebrating, if we pay attention to those around us - really pay attention - we’ll gain new insights and understandings.

I hope your family’s Christmas is merry and bright, filled with small kindnesses and simple joys. I hope you have gingerbread cookies, sleigh bells, pine-scented candles and at least one concert of Christmas carols. I hope that small thing you’re secretly wishing for is under the tree, with a lovely ribbon. And as always at this time of year, I give a prayer for peace on Earth and good will towards men.

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I’ve seen an interesting letter referenced on blogs and lists a couple of times now, in response to a November 12 fund-raising alert from HSLDA, which stated in part: “…And whenever private educators accept grants and benefits, there are conditions to receiving those benefits, including being subject to regulation. Just because the federal government has no constitutional authority over home education, however, doesn’t mean that federal bureaucrats or legislators might not attempt to impose some form of regulation over private and home education.”

The apparent letter of reply to that solicitation came from an interesting source: Dr. Patrick J. Wolf, a Professor and 21st Century Chair in School Choice in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions. Dr. Wolf wrote, “I cannot tell you with any certainty what policies President Obama will pursue regarding homeschooling, since, as you correctly observed, he has been strategically evasive regarding the issue. What I can do is provide you with some reasons to be more or less concerned about the future of homeschooling in America.”

Dr. Wolf, who holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard, then outlines three potential reasons for concern - and five reasons those concerns are probably unfounded. It’s an interesting read, especially this part: “Obama does speak of requiring “greater regulation” of and “accountability” in independent charter schools. Such language suggests that Obama may be skeptical of the effectiveness of autonomous educational institutions that are free of government control.”

Ever more reason to develop ways to distinguish between “autonomous educational institutions” and “autonomous educational methods.

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Illinois blogger Susan Ryan found an interesting little item, and I’m wondering if anyone is seeing similar activity in their own states?

Susan wrote:

This ‘guide’ was written up by counsel for the IL Principals Association and was posted on Market Watch:

Homeschooling Law Resource Guide - Released by the Education Law Association

Last update: 11:04 a.m. EST Dec. 3, 2008

DAYTON, Ohio, Dec 03, 2008

The Law of Homeschooling is a resource guide that provides information on recent updates to homeschool statutory and regulatory requirements for all fifty states as well as Washington D.C. This publication takes an in-depth look at each state’s legal requirements under which parents may provide a home-based education to their children. (Read more at Susan’s blog.)

Anyone know anything about these folks?

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A friend sent me a link to a humorous homeschool video on YouTube today and when it was over a couple more were offered, so I watched them too… I knew there were a few clever homeschool videos out there, but I was amazed to find there are dozens of good homeschool humor videos! Some of them are really clever and well done, while others, well.. not so much, but all in all they’re a wonderful testament to the humor, diversity, inspiration and boundless creativity of homeschoolers!

Here are a couple of my favorites:

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