June is Here!

Bring on the Sun and the Fun

The Healthy Homeschool's June 2008 Newsletter

It's Summer! Already?

This happens to me every year. It seems I've just barely gotten over my joy at spring's arrival and then suddenly I wake up one morning and June has arrived. With determination, I vow to enjoy, all the more, each and every spring-like moment left before the summer heat moves in to burn off the magic of spring.

As always, my gardening endeavors mirror - in some way - thoughts in a parallel universe: my homeschool. These days I find myself striving to enjoy the home stretch with one of my students. I'm also pondering what we accomplished this school year and goals yet unmet.

The Prospects Ahead

Lest I sound sad, I am actually very excited about the prospects ahead this summer, and for my son in the long run. A unit study about the election process is planned, as well as a North Carolina unit study and a couple or three trips to various places in North Carolina, along with some local field trips. Whether you school year-round or have wrapped up your year and are gearing up for a summer of R&R, I hope you have a joy-filled summer ahead.

Swans in River, Stratford-on-Avon, En...

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Summer is a Time of...

enjoying swans on a lake
picnics in the shade
bright orange daylilies
family field trips
dragonflies
walks on the beach
collecting little bits of nature

Our North Carolina Homeschool Conference

I had the pleasure of attending our North Carolina Homeschool Conference on May 22nd and taking in two very good lectures. Some thoughts I came away with were:

the need for abiding by the homeschool laws for our state
making sure my high school student is accomplished in the three R's
doing as much as I can to prepare him (and his transcript) for college, even if he thinks he's not going
expecting real work from my high school student
not too quickly leaving the "sanctuary" of our home, even though it's high school
the more you venture away from home, the more of those benefits of being home you'll lose
the benefits of letting high school students ease their way into the world by way of co-ops and trusted, known adults
giving high school students deadlines for their assignments to help prepare them for college

Thoughts On Language Arts

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Look at good writing
Copy good writing
Write on their own

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Thoughts on Late Bloomers

Roses to Remember

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Often it's the rose that blooms last that smells the sweetest and climbs the highest.

I just wanted to remind you to take heart if you have a late bloomer. I heard many encouraging words at our state homeschool conference about late readers and late bloomers in general. Just keep at it! Your efforts will be rewarded.

Students Climbing Higher

This year I want to really let my students excel with their personal talents. It is good to carefully help each student cultivate their own personal talents. Our goal is for careful record-keeping as well, to ensure there's some way to show on their transcripts what our children have participated in for extracurricular activities. What are colleges looking for?

An area of strength
Leadership
Community service

An example of showing this would be to document our son's playing viola at a wedding and sitting first chair. Another example would be having our poet son put together a book of his work to sell by way of print-on-demand on line.

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