Announcements
(NEW) The Earth and Space Science Laboratory (ESSL), located next to Lincoln Elementary School, has information on its website for Summer Planetarium shows which begin on June 29th and run through August 5th. Cost is $4.00/person if you buy your ticket at the door. Buying on-line costs an additional dollar.
https://sites.fcps.org/essl/
(NEW) The Great Frederick Fair and the Maryland State Fair 4-H Online Entry Systems are now open and available to receive entries.
For The Great Frederick Fair Entry System
(NEW) Question from HSF reader: "My daughter is 12 and this fall will be our third year homeschooling. She is passionate about fashion design and sewing and was unfortunately not blessed with a mother that has any sewing ability. I feel I need to nurture this and help her explore this potential. Thanks so much!" If you know of anyone offering sewing lessons, please contact Christy at cmossburgVP@gmail.com.
(NEW) The Frederick Warriors, a Christian homeschooling basketball ministry, will start preparation for their 8th season of competitive play against Christian schools in the 4-state area by holding weekly skill clinics for Middle School through Varsity players throughout the summer. The clinics will be held Monday evenings from 6:00- 8:00 p.m. starting June 21 and players are encouraged to attend as many of the weekly gatherings as possible. Our experienced coaches will utilize instructional Better Basketball.com DVDs as part of their teaching. If youâre interested in playing with the Warriors this winter the summer is a great time to start! Please contact Philip Passarelli at philip.passarelli@samhsa.hhs.gov or 301-432-5638 for more information.
(NEW) The Western Maryland homeschool choir is starting up again soon. Details are not all together yet, but will depend alot on how many children/teens are interesteed. If you would like to join, please email Jennifer at: momof1redhed@yahoo.com or log onto the group at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/westernmdhomeschool/
From The Frederick Force: Competitive home school basketball program for boys and girls is launching its first season. The Frederick Force will field both Varsity and Middle School teams for the upcoming season. We have experienced coaches who will emphasis the fundamentals while developing Christian character. The Force will play Christian, home school and private schools in the area. There will also be spring and fall skills clinics available for athletes looking to improve their basketball game. Contact John and Lisa Quick at quick23@verizon.net, 301-253-2363 or Barry and Kelly Blickenstaff at blickenstaff5@verizon.net or 301-293-1923.
Homeschoolers Craft Fair: September 20, 2010, 1-4PM at Ridge Road Park, Germantown (rain date Sept 27). Get those creative juices flowing and mark your calendar for the 1st Annual Homeschoolers Craft Fair! Bring a table to display your crafts which you are selling. There are picnic benches at the park but hopefully we will have a good crowd and those won't be enough space. Crafts can be made by the children or adults. They can be small like pet rocks, they can be watercolored greeting cards, they can be small craft kits that can be made at home. Just about anything you would like to make can be sold. You might also sell baked goods or drinks to the shoppers. There will also be a table for a Curriculum and Book Swap. Bring some you don't need and leave with some you do! Spread the word to other groups so we can have a great turnout. Contact: Mary Ann Varley at varleyfour@yahoo.com.
Pry House Field Hospital Museum needs volunteers for 19th c. kitchen garden. The museum, located at 18906 Shepherdstown Pike, Keedysville, MD (on the Antietam National Battlefield) is planting an authentic 19th century "kitchen garden" this summer. "We are looking for volunteers to help us prepare, plant, maintain and harvest the garden, as well as plan next year's plot. We use this garden for educational purposes, and would like to involve homeschoolers in both working in the garden and learning about the traditional/medicinal uses of plants and herbs. All are welcome, hours are flexible. Thanks! Mary Penxa at mpenxa@hotmail.com."
From Janet Noffsinger, Homeschool Monitor, Frederick County Public Schools: "I want to compile some resources both books and websites that are really fantastic for home school resources. Would you have our home schooling families email me with any information that may help other home schooling families enjoy their special resources? I want to do this over the summer and have these materials available for fall visits if I can make it happen. There is so much now and it is so helpful to have recommendations from parents who have actually used them. Thanks so much." Please email Ms. Noffsinger at Janet.Noffsinger@fcps.org.
Homeschoolers in the News
HSF Families in the News! - Congratulations to Frederick County homeschoolers for recent accomplishments at National History Day!
Noah Pritt (7th grade) placed third for his junior paper, "Descartes' Analytic Geometry: Plotting the Future of Mathematics." Emily (11th grade) got "Outstanding Entry for Maryland" and 7th place for her senior paper, "Sign Language Linguistics: William C. Stokoe and the Birth of Deaf Culture." The third place winner in the senior paper category was a homeschooler from Montgomery County, Eric Keen. His paper was called, "Feeding the World: The Haber-Bosch Process." You can find more information about the local winners here.
Also, congratulations to two winners of Dancing Bear's writing contest, Avery and Ashlyn Thomas, daughters of former HSF editor Krista Thomas. See more details here.
(NEW) Home Schooled Champs
Link: Frederick News Post, June 29, 2010
(NEW) Homeschooled Students Bring Home National LifeSmarts Title
Link: Frederick News Post, June 27, 2010
(NEW) Friends hope to find friends for lonely animals, seniors
Link: Frederick News Post, May 09, 2010
Homeschool Leaders Go to Washington
Link: www.hsdla.org, May 11, 2010
Classical Conversations: an editorial by Sam Bennett
Link: Frederick News Post, April 27, 2010
Homeschool Guilt: When a Child Returns to Public School
Link: Psychologytoday.com, April 10, 2010
Book Review: Love in a Time of Homeschooling
Link: Washington Post, April 6, 2010
Homeschoolers Do Well in FCPS Science and Engineering Fair
Link: fcpl.org, website of Frederick County Public Schools
Homeschooling on the Rise in Fairfax County
Link: Washington Post, April 1, 2010
How Do You Teach Middle Ages History?
Link: Washington Times, March 9, 2010
Why Our Kids Don't Go to Kindergarten
Link: Salon Magazine, March 15, 2010
Frederick County Christian Homeschoolers Place 4th in Local MathCounts Competition
Link: Frederick News Post, March 9, 2010
Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Homeschool
Link: Time Magazine, March 10, 2010
Top home-school texts dismiss Darwin, evolution
Link: Forbes Magazine, March 3, 2010
Children Teach Themselves to Read: Unschoolers' accounts of how their children taught themselves to read.
Link: Psychology Today, blog of Peter Gray, February 24, 2010
Beat the Burnout
Link: Washington Times, February 24, 2010
Muslims turning to home schooling in increasing numbers
Link: Washington Post, February 21, 2010
High Schools to Offer Plan to Graduate 2 Years Early
Link: New York Times, February 17, 2010
German Homeschoolers Granted Political Asylum
Link: Washington Post, January 26, 2010
Homeschoolers Fight For Access to Public School Teams
Link: Sports Illustrated, January 14, 2010
Homeschooling Grows Up
Link: Washington Times, December 13, 2009
Homeschoolers Thrive at Bees
Link: The Washington Times, November 22, 2009
Home is Where the School Is
Link: The Capital-Hometown Annapolis, November 15, 2009
If School Is Cool, We Win
Link: BaltimoreMagazine.net, November 13, 2009
Homeschooling, How We Do It (Part 2 of 2)
Link: Salon Magazine, October 19, 2009
Owner Eyes Growth for Homeschooling Website
Link: Maryland Gazette Business, October 22, 2009
Home School
Editorial by local homeschooling dad, Sam Bennett, in FNP
Link: The Frederick News Post, October 13, 2009
Confessions of a Homeschooler (Part I of 2)
Link: Salon Magazine, September 28, 2009
Networks Provide Social Outlets for Home Schooled Students
Link: The Carroll County Times, September 15, 2009
From Homeschooing to Unschooling
Parents believe in letting children set the pace
Link: The Baltimore Sun, September 3, 2009
Telos Academy at Mindworks Gets New Director
Educational program for homeschoolers gets new director
Link: Frederick News Post, August 8, 2009
A Child's Greeting to the President
Link: Frederick News Post, April 5, 2009
Parents Discuss the Value of Homeschooling
Local parent discusses pros and cons of homeschooling in Frederick County
Link: Frederick News Post, January 23, 2008
Editor's note: Links may or may not be available depending on the news organization's archiving policies. We apologize for any inconvenience; copyright laws apply, therefore we cannot print these articles directly on Homeschool Frederick!