A Homeschool Community for Classical Educators
I am often reminded of the shoulders of giants that we stand upon. When we...
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We submitted a request with questions after my last post to you all. They called...
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I am often reminded of the shoulders of giants that we stand upon. When we hear a knock at the door during school hours, we don’t have to tell the children to run and hide because it could be CPS doing a check to make sure we aren’t “illegally homeschooling.” When we choose our curriculum in AZ we do it without oversight or fear of any testing requirements. One of those giants I wanted to mention is Mike Smith, the President of HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association). It was Read More …
by Lisa Serra Soon I will be retiring from this career to which I have devoted myself. I began homeschooling my oldest son in 2002. At that time, I had three children. My path into homeschooling was circuitous like most of yours. I had a precocious son who could read and understand math like a second grader but he couldn’t sit still for more than five minutes. In the spring of 2002, my husband and I sat through kindergartens that were traditional, child-centered, Montessori, and one that was so esoteric Read More …
We truly have the best homeschool law in the nation. Our law is so wonderful because it is simple and straightforward. If you want to homeschool all you need to do is say you will and file the affidavit. There’s no testing, teachers or school districts checking up on you, no curriculum or instruction review. But it was not always so. The original 1912 state statue required education through the eighth grade must be accomplished by a “competent teacher”. As homeschooling started to gain momentum it was decided that a Read More …
We submitted a request with questions after my last post to you all. They called my husband very promptly, excellent customer service. The big question on my mind was can ESA contract families continue to get HSLDA protection. I’m not willing to give that up. The answer is that you can continue to be HSLDA members with ESA contract status. The only thing is they won’t get involved with arguments over what is a qualified purchase. They said, “That’s between you and the state.” So if you buy curriculum and they say, “No, Read More …
Visit us at the Memoria Press booth. We will be there showing curriculum and talking about co-op. July 15th and 16th (this Friday and Saturday). Visit AFHE.org to learn more (registration will be at the door at this point).
A couple things I want you to pray for: 1) That current homeschooler groups would broaden their definition of homeschooling to include ESA contract homeschoolers. I have heard from several homeschoolers that have been denied community because they have ESA status. Those families likely have special needs children (because up to this time it was military, foster, or special needs). That is so sad to hear. They are homeschoolers just like any of us, the only difference is that they are taking back their tax dollars and using them for Read More …
Since my last post, Governor Ducey has signed the ESA expansion bill (yesterday). It is groundbreaking — the whole country is talking about it. Highlights: Everyone now can apply and participate in ESA But you don’t have to. You do not have to participate if you don’t want to. It doesn’t affect current homeschoolers at all. If you choose to participate you do give up your “legal status” as a homeschooler (you are not supposed to file the affidavit and if you already have you are supposed to revoke it. ESA is a contract with Read More …
Hi homeschooling friends,Ever since this new ESA bill passed the house and the senate I’ve been doing a lot of research on what it means and what the legal implications are. In summary there are basically six categories of education in Arizona (public, private, charter, online charter, homeschool, ESA contract students). So homeschooling is one category and ESA contract students is a completely separate category. All categories have their own laws/requirements. What I don’t get, is why for whatever reason, the Arizona law is written to make ESA it’s own separate category. I don’t understand why it can’t be one in the same. Homeschoolers who accept ESA and homeschoolers who do not. Read More …
By Jason Kenner of onparent.com Teen Businesses Can Boom If you’re a teenager thinking about starting your first job, you might be intimidated. After all, the only successful people out there are in their 30s and older, right? No! There have been many very successful businesses founded by teenagers, including Dell, Facebook, and Subway. While you might not strive for this type of success, it is possible to create a business now to help you pay for a car or college or to give you a head start in saving for adulthood. Today on Read More …
By Ashlea Anderson In 2014 I was at a routine eye appointment. I did not expect to be diagnosed with an eye disease that required immediate treatment. Within a week, I was in the parking lot of an eye specialist waiting for my appointment to treat my retina. This was already a season of discouragement for me. After seven years of marriage, I longed to be a mother. I began to feel the discouragement that brings hopelessness and that was compounded by the fear of possibly loosing my eyesight. As Read More …
