June 2010
Announcements
(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) Hagerstown Area Youth Soccer League (HAYSL) Fall Season Registration: Note: New players must bring a copy of their birth certificate.
Saturday June 12th from 10:00 till 2:00 at the Fairgrounds Pavilion nearest the playground.
Thursday June 17th from 6:00 till 9:00 at Haven Lutheran Church
Saturday June 26th from 10:00 till 5:00 at the Valley Food Court
You may pre-register at www.eayso.org. Hagerstown is region 627.
(You will not be registered unless you bring 3 copies of the pre-registration form to one of our registrations). Cost is $55.00 per player, checks or money orders payable to "HAYSL" All NEW PLAYERS must bring a copy of their birth certificate to the registration. For additonal information please contact Lynn Bowers at lbowers123@aol.com.
(NEW) 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.
(NEW) Wolfsville Myersville Athletic Association has recently opened its registration for Fall Soccer for Pre-K through 3rd Grade for Intramurals and ages 6 through 14 for Recreational Travel Soccer. Homeschoolers are welcome. Registration forms are available from the website at WWW.WMAASPORTS.ORG. Registrations are due by June 30 for Travel Soccer and July 15 for Intramural. Intramural practices and games are held on Saturday mornings for eight weeks at Doubs Park in Myersville. Recreational Travel teams usually begin practice (twice per week)a couple weeks prior to the first game. They play eight games through the Frederick County Youth Soccer League. Four games are on their home field (Doubs Park) and four games at other fields in Frederick County. WMAA Recreational Travel Soccer coaches are required to attend a sportsmanship class, have a background check, and have a coaching license (E Class min.)
(NEW) 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.
(NEW) 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.
The first annual Torch Homeschool Book Sell-Off will be held at St. Peter's on Friday, June 4 from 10AM to 1PM in Sappington Hall. St. Peter's is located at the intersection of Route 26 and 75 outside Frederick. Let's spread the word to the homeschool community and help move out inventory! If you have any questions, contact Krista Thomas at thomas.krista@verizon.net or 301-401-3756.
From HSF reader Janet Brown: "The American Cancer Society's (ACS) of Frederick County is pleased to announce the development of a "Tweens and Teens! Cancer Support Group”. This support will be offered free-of-charge to Frederick County 5th-12th grade students affected by cancer either as patients themselves or as family members, friends, neighbors, etc. of a patient. The group will periodically meet amidst food, fun and activities to share their feelings, concerns and hopes with their peers, ACS facilitators and professional counselors.
Many of the logistics are already in place towards a Fall 2010 charter get-together but in order to proceed, we need your help in determining how many students might attend. To assist us in counting potential attendants, we are asking parents and associations such as yourselves to forward basic information to us concerning students you become aware of that would benefit from this support group. We will be collecting this information throughout the remainder of this school year - January through June. No personal information is being sought! We would simply like the (sex/grade/relationship to a patient) associated with the student being counted; for example, an “8th grade boy whose Mom has cancer” might be sent. Questions concerning this program and student reports may be sent to ACSTweensandTeens@gmail.com. You may also contact Laurie Frey at 888-866-0757 to report a student if you prefer to keep your e-mail address anonymous. Thank you all so much for assisting us in this vital program! We look forward to announcing the first “ACS Tweens and Teens! Cancer Support Group” get-together."
Homeschoolers in the News
(NEW) 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!