In May Home Education Magazine’s Hands-On Learning columnist, Kathy Ceceri, suggested the idea of doing something to help families who are pushed into homeschooling by a disaster like last year’s Gulf Coast hurricanes or other unexpected circumstances.
Kathy explained: “When Hurricane Katrina forced families from their homes, the news carried stories of parents being provided with school books in an attempt to help their children keep up while they were displaced. Homeschoolers could have been an invaluable resource to help these families educationally. It would make sense for schools to approach homeschoolers for advice, but I sincerely doubt that is likely to occur. Still, homeschoolers can help parents directly, with suggestions for setting up an “emergency homeschool.”How about soliciting HEM writers and readers for a list of basic supplies (Internet access, reference material, good books, math “tools,” etc.) families can be stocking up on along with canned goods and batteries?”
We took Kathy’s suggestion to heart and have been compiling material for a book to be released this fall. This new discussion list is a place for discussions about the upcoming book, and a place to share your own experiences, ideas, and suggestions for potential inclusion in the book. Anyone interested in contributing is invited to join the Emergency Homeschooling Discussion List and help us ready this title for publication.
Helen
mark
david