| Mount Vernon Homeschoolers |
September 2002, Newsletter #23
Mount Vernon Homeschoolers
September has arrived and we aren't ready for summer to end. We have lots of activities planned for this year. Hope to meet lots of newbies (new people to homeschooling) We invite you all to join us or e-mail us. There will be picnics and parties and several opportunities to sign up and join in homeschooling events. We will not be signing up for Kennedy Center performances. opportunities. 4-H sign-up is at these events. The years events have a short time. Then, we begin projects in reading, math, science and for the older students geometry, algebra, and social studies. We plan to have joint studies and competitions at our house. We reward students who meet the goals in the family with video rentals, family movie night and field trips like boating or Smithsonian museum visits.
Mt. Vernon Estate SpecialOn September 4th, we meet at the gates when they open for a special, free homeschooling tour of the Estate.The grounds can be covered in two hours. We can stay together or explore at our leisure. They have everything we like. History, food, bathrooms and adventure. 9:30 Sometime during the tour we have been invited to meet a famous person. She will read a book that she has written and we can have lunch. I'll be handing out the passes to the Mount Vernon Homeschoolers. If you want to pick yours up before then, email Suzanne. 
Grist Mill Park Play Dates Wednesday 1-3This play group is for all ages. The editor has allergies. We don't make it to play group often. Other people keep the group going like the energizer rabbit. The playground is large, some tables are shaded. The not so grand canyon falls away into a pond. We see frogs and snakes and explore the environment. Mothers attend the children who dangle with no fear from the equipment on the playground. Homeschooled children help one another, they invite others into the play, and we have a few sibling rivalries once in a while. We have ages to fourteen or so. Bring water, change of clothes if a mud bath is in the offering. Come as you are and there may be others there. We are a fair weather group, if it gets too hot, we melt and come and go when we want. If its during the school year, we generally have the place to ourselves and act accordingly. This is child directed play, we let them play.Click here for a map to the park.
Not Back to School Picnic
Monday, September 17
Location is Fort Hunt Park Pavilion. We'll be there around 11:30 At the picnic, we will have 4-H information. This year is preplanned. The calendar is set. We have the usual mayhem in mind. We decided on an Adventure club last year. If you are joining, be preparing for the rocket launching in October. All ages will be involved in this and they are planning already. We have a variety of gatherings planned for Fridays. We will be having field trips a lot this year. We plan to raise ducks, and we are also going to learn more about history of Virginia and the area we live in. We have challenged ourselves to get up, get out and play tourist this year. If you have the energy, go with us and see if you can get outdoors with the eyes of a child. Plans are for all day and some 3-day trips in the spring to visit caves and science centers. We know we like 4-H because when we look at the curriculum and see what we learned about using our hands to grow things, and made scrap dragons or carved pumpkins we have learned to handle tools and have grown in our understanding of conservation We planned several walks on nature trail., We feel the leaders are still on track. Hands-on, safe for the three year olds to tag along with brothers and sisters, and fun for the older teens. Organizational meeting decisionsWe had our organization meeting on Friday, August 16, 2002. The whole group was invited to discuss activities, 4-H, meeting time and frequency. We all decided to meet on Tuesday, the second and fourth of each month. The older teens,and the younger members all spoke for the activities they like to do with the group. Children and mothers had a round table discussion. We present the calendar for 2002-2003 homeschooling year at the end of the newsletter. We will add other projects, meet for play group or get together for other activities as we brainstorm through the year.Fourteen people attended the meeting.Parties, Board games, writing club are in this years plan. We usually meet to pick apples one day in the fall. This is handled through the call list or e-mail We may vote again when we have information about Odyssey of the Mind. Veronica is in charge of getting the information. We voted to consider participation as a group and split the cost along family lines.All said this sounded great. On September 2, we will have delivery of ten ducklings and we talked about anyone in the group who wants to take one to raise. This is an interesting thing to do. How would you raise your duck? We raised duck eggs with varying degrees of success this year. And, Duck is a very nice pet. Lucky duck at our house is a people duck. Follows us everywhere, eats from the dog dish, sleeps in bed and bites the dogs tail. The other ducks raised in a group of four didn't like people as much. This can be an experiment in sociology. E-mail Suzanne if you want a duck. Five are spoken for . As you all know we raised ducks from eggs that were bought on Eggbay.com.We had a low success rate for this summer project. By ordering them we will have healthy duckling to experiment with raising as a pet that lives as long as fifteen years. 4-H We are considering giving up membership in the organization. We have been dividing the youth into Cloverbuds age 5-9 and Active H'ers age 10-up Everyone helps each other on projects, and we accept siblings age 7 months and up. We have 4 year olds doing what they can on projects and they participate in discussions and decisions. We review the calendar and do a lot of environment, embryology and other projects in community service that are traditional 4-H. Our youth are not interested in parliamentary procedure, election of kings or queens or presidents or placing anyone on a higher plane for leaders. We raise leaders, we raise followers and we have ladies and gentlemen who will open doors and spend a minute with a younger kid. We stopped taking money so the treasurer didn't have a job. We aren't sure how we fit into the 4-H concept. We volunteered for the 4-H fair last year, but we may give it up this year. We will continue to meet. We may give up the title of 4-H club. Our favorite thing to do is art.And, we have become quite good at parties.
Contract for Good BehaviorAs usual, we will not collect fees. We will continue to provide snacks and drink and pay for the cost of materials as needed for our own children. We do share our time and materials and help everybody to have a success filled time with no crying or fussing from brothers and sisters. Moms are not expected to have to take time to tell children how to behave, my children are expected to work on project and not go play or sit on the doorstep moping. If they do, we Moms will go to our rooms and ignore them. This year I am instituting the no handling clause. Lisa and I must retire from 4-H leadership and pass the crown of authority to others. We're supposed to share leadership. Now, that's the one reason we are thinking of not going 4-H. We have to make somebody else it. Any volunteers for leaders? Other RecommendationsThe Violin Studio, Patricia Kim. Suzuki method. Homeschooling mother, understands how our children think and works toward excellence. Parent listens and the child has special time to learn about music. Recitals twice a year. Telephone number (703) 876-6000.American Tukong Martial Arts Academy, 7680 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306. Moved to the Hybla Valley shopping center on Route 1, and the price is $59 per month. My daughter lost from a fourteen to a size 10 in 6 months. She has become quite strong and it has helped her assertiveness. Tuesdays and Thursday. Quite often we as homeschoolers lose discipline. At least the youth have a chance to be physically fit and it can re-shape them. We might need a Mom's group. (703) 765-9660. Turn off TelevisionTis the season for reason. If the children are glued to the set, if Sony Playstation, Game Boy and Nintendo consumed the every waking moment, make them work for TV time. For every six books, one hour of television to distort your brain. I am serious about this. If it isn't Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, PBS, or Steve Irwin with his behind in the alligator's mouth while Mom yells at the boys to not get ideas. Turn it off. We need accountability. If I am not in the room, it isn't proper behavior to leave the children in the room. The slate of shows coming up on Disney (where parents are boobs), Fox where the new shows feature teens in near breakdown screaming for Mommy while chains rattle in the background. The parents put the teens in situations the young people can't understand desertion and thrill seeking. Both weeks of one show have this theme. Is it subliminal? Or is this something to further alienate a fragile growing human being. Show how much Mommy doesn't care. Daddy is in the room with his own ghost and doesn't have time for a child screaming bloody murder. Grandma is yelping about coming to help. The frantic teen is bleating and crying.Who cares if these children are crying for help in the darkness? It sure is fun to watch. My children are begging for this stuff. I am in denial. And, close to throwing the television in the trash where it belongs. Fox has become a bad word in my list of ugly. During the unschool year, we have the dictatorship to turn it off. If we want excellence, we will take the power and switch off. There is the great outdoors or the inner peace of a book. If the teens want scared let them read the classics or watch them on Hallmark Hall of Fame. Better yet, write one of their own about the meanest Mom and how much life there is without the hours being chewed up in the flicker of a hateful screen.
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4-H (continued)Lisa is leader of the Active H'ers. The group is from ages 10-up. Suzanne is leader of the Cloverbuds, ages 9-under. 4-H is connecting with homeschoolers who want to use their hands to make real things, their hearts to embrace and good health (nutrition, physical well being) and learn more about community. This year, we decided to be hands-on and active. We include an invitation to others. Last year, we felt that the other mothers walked out when we asked them to volunteer as a core group. They found other organizations and made other associations. Lisa and Suzanne volunteered and we had the best time with some help from Lisa L and Annette. We had the best year ever. So, we took the easy way out and planned another year. Sign in if you want. The cost is snacks, and admission for you and your family to wherever we go. Some cost for supplies if we do building with wood or making costumes. We aren't determined to have everyone come if they have something better to do. We just make it fun and leave it to the group. We became quite good at parties last year. Mothers or Dad's come with their children and we participate together in clean up. In the past, we have leaned heavily on Science. We are looking at cooking for chemical changes, pumpkin carving gardening,crafts, parties, board game days and movie days . And, we reaped benefits from belonging to 4-H.We filled the calendar with lots of fun things to do. It didn't take very long with the children helping us with their favorite activities from years past.Who We Are and Where We Are
This newsletter is written for homeschoolers in the Mount Vernon area
of Alexandria, Va. Although, several nearby areas have a variety of
offerings for teen groups and all ages, we welcome all ages and don't
have an agenda about styles of homeschooling. We don't mind secular,
religious or whatever denomination or belief, because we can learn and
appreciate where we are coming from in the homeschooling movement. We
can even tolerate the idea of schooling our children. Or, unschooling
our children. This works because individuals make it work.. a group of
four to six parents joined together for conversation on a Sunday
afternoon. It was fun. Sometimes, they met at Mount Vernon Unitarian
Church, where we were mostly quiet about homeschooling, because it was
radical behavior back then. As, we talked we found interests in common.
We founded play group. We had lots of good ideas. Baby sitting co-op.
Field trips. Owl pellets, science fair, 4-H, boy scout and girl scout
troops, board games, parties, newsletters, support group, sports day.
Curriculum fairs. We've tried a lot of things. We haven't done it all.
Homeschooling is outside the norm. We are in Virginia. It has to be revolutionary. Most of the neighbors who find out we homeschool still treat our family like we are strange. Told my children not to tell anyone who asks that we are homeschoolers. This is our business. Some people are really critical of homeschooling. But, it works for us. Homeschooling is right for my family. Every year, we discuss if the children are satisfied with homeschooling. The sense of worth is defended by one and all. If the circumstances change, we are open minded and we will change also. We have s feeling of fitting in to the community.As parents, we wonder what will our children do when it's time for college? Will they be accepted? Will they be capable of finding places with jobs and lives of their own? Word from several sources is they can choose higher education,or they can choose what is right for them and succeed. Because the children have learned so much and so fast. The style of learning is different for each one. We accept that. In my neighborhood, homeschooling has been catching.
Hopefully, we can join in fun and come together for another year. I have been disappointed with the loss of friendship and companionship when some folks couldn't get along. People come and go. I have wanted a meld, but personalities clash and some folks report on feeling unwelcome. We all have barnacles. I apologize for the feelings that are exacerbated in the group. I ask that we treat one another as extended family. Respect our differences. Support our foibles. Show our children another way to live. Forgiveness, and ultimately a utopia where we have community. Wait, we have to go back to the 19th Century. History would tell us the story. And, no exclusion. We can't build a wall around ourselves. Let's just keep the lines of communication open. And, remember. I'm okay. You're okay. (By the way, the boys have finally got it. I just look at them nasty and they stop it. The girls were always better behaved. We still have teen-age angst. Paradise is always out of reach. Even in homeschooled families.) Favorite Things
Scholastic books (1-800-223-4011), Carnival Book Clubs (1-800-811-3644). We can sign up as
homeschoolers for these programs. They offer reading by grade level
and my child always asked if she was keeping up with school children.
So, I arranged for the book club to be sent to our home. She has
outgrown these, but recently we found some offerings that sent us to
the mailbox. The build your own eye kit arrived and the box of books
was so enticing. We missed the free books.
Request for Writing ClubThis idea came from Cecilia L. She started a Writing Club for the younger children. We had it at Sherwood library. We brought writing supplies, colors, markers, staples. The rule was to have a book in progress. We had three year olds joining in this project. It was wonderful. We let it go. Some of the children are asking for it back. They want writing Club divided by age and they want to write again. We have two writing clubs scheduled for 2003.Notes: (things we're committed to trying this year)
Time for a 'Thank you all'
Thank you Lisa L, and Thank You Lisa N. Thank you Annette, thanks to all the children
who participated. Big 'pat you on the back' and let's have another
great year. See you all real soon.
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| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| September | |
| Sept 3 2002 | First day of School |
| Sept 4 2002 | Meet at the gate to Mount Vernon. The group has free passes to visit Mount Vernon. See Suzanne to receive your pass. |
| Sept. 17 | NOT BACK TO SCHOOL PICNIC Ft. Hunt Park Pavilion 11-3 If anyone wants to examine us, this is the time and this is the place to meet the unschoolers. Games, play, picnic. We each bring lunch and one thing of two to share. We have grills and bathrooms are available. We will not be handling Kennedy Center sign up. That may be a thing of the past. Cecilia is moving. We issue an invitation to those who are looking or thinking about homeschooling. Come on by and visit. We haven't closed ranks on joining us for Tuesdays for our activities. Email Suzanne. Email Lisa |
| October | |
| October 1 | Rockets 11:00 Alden is checking about different rockets for different ages. Prefer you think about building it from scratch or a kit. We'll mention stomp rocket, and rockets that go off with a boom. We'll build them and decide when we'll go to Grist mill park to send them into the atmosphere. Mention of places to look-Zainy Brainy, WalMart, Estes.com. |
| October 14 | Columbus Day |
| October 15 | Movie Day We'll let the kids decide on the movies. Popcorn, snacks and clean-up later.11-3 |
| October 29 | Pumpkin carving or painting 11:00 Bring your own pumpkin and we will carve. |
| November | |
| November 4-5 | Student Holidays |
| November 12 | Eat fest at Old Country Buffet 11:00 |
| November 26 | Pumpkin Pie making Pilgrim puppet play |
| November 27 | Fairfax County Schools out 2 hours early |
| November 28-29 | Thanksgiving |
| December | |
| December 10 | Christmas Craft Party Buffet and cookie exchange (doubt we'll bring any home) |
| December 23rd - January 3rd | Fairfax County Schools winter holiday |
| January, 2003 | |
| January 7 | Writing Club This was originally a once a month club that met at Sherwood Library. The older group met with a librarian for a book club that discussed a book selected by the librarian. The younger crowd of siblings was asked to bring a story and read in a circle to the others. We started bring art supplies, tools to put stories together. We worked with the children to write a story on pages with art done by them. We sat in a circle and children sat on laps and read stories. All of them loved this. |
| January 20 | Martin Luther King birthday |
| January 21 | Kid's Birthday celebration. I'll bring the cake and punch and we'll party with games musical chairs.A party for everyone in the group-Birthday or not. |
| January 30-31 | Student Holidays for Fairfax County |
| February | |
| Feb 4 | Writing Club II Read stories. |
| Feb. 17 | Washington Birthday |
| Feb. 18 | Falls on Dolan's birthday. Party. Catapults, physics, medieval history (maybe field trip National Cathedral for and brisk run in the garden and a look at gargoyles. All of Dolan's favorite things. |
| March | |
| March 4 | Plant sunflowers, pumpkins and melons in foam cups |
| March 18 | Watercolor for Veronica. May do a scene. |
| April | |
| April 1 | Ukrainian Eggs for Easter blown eggs, takes time to dye and create. |
| April 7 | Fairfax County Schools student holiday |
| April 14-18 | Fairfax County School spring holiday |
| April 15 | Ukrainian eggs |
| April 29 | Science Fair Learn to make smoke bombs-Alden. Choose area of study, rocks and minerals, fossils, crystals.Report. |
| May | |
| May 13 | Science Week Make rock crystal candy as a group. Talk about chemistry, Newton's Science and Experiment with feather and rock. |
| May 26 | Memorial Day |
| May 27 | Science Fair Day Show your project and let others do experiments. |
| June | |
| June 10 | Bayfront Park in Calvert. Shark teeth collection. Sand castle building |
| June 20 | Last day of school for Fairfax County Schools |
Several families in the immediate vicinity. The newsletter was going to
twenty-eight and has expanded to 150. Some of these people use it to
organize other groups and some don't want the quirky view of Mount Vernon.People
come and go. Your welcome to come as you are. Nobody wants to change
your beliefs. We are all in this together. Support is part of our
inherent worth. A newsletter is a bully pulpit. These are my views. Send your views and they can be included in the next newsletter.