Friday, December 19, 2008
No More Posts
I will not be posting to this sight any longer. I will leave it up as a source of links for people looking for information about home schooling in the Dayton area. We have elected to enroll our daughter in the Ohio Virtual Academy. This is a public charter school that provides curriculum and a computer free of charge so that a child can be educated at home using K12 curriculum.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Long Time No Blog
Last year I started this site in an effort to unite homeschool and virtual school parents in the Dayton region. I initiated the map of homeschooling families to help others and met some of the folks who post to some of the Yahoo groups in the region regarding homeschooling. As you can see by the list of participants to this site and the number of active posts, I have hit a brick wall.
Here is what I have discovered when talking to other homeschool mothers.
Most home schooling parents want information for themselves but aren't willing to give up any.
Many want to meet other parents to share activities and allow their children to socialize but aren't willing to go out of their way to make such things happen.
These were interesting discoveries because there were several attempts to initiate park days and a regular monthly meetings but attendence, to put it mildly, sucked big time.
So I have been working on some ideas that may just start to happen and it is great news if you happen to live in Dayton. Actually it doesn't matter if you live outside Dayton but those of us in the City won't have to drive 20 miles to participate in an activity! I will start to disclose them to this site and the local yahoo groups very shortly. Maybe we can inject a bit of life into this site. I also have a bunch of links that I need to add but that is another story.
Here is what I have discovered when talking to other homeschool mothers.
Most home schooling parents want information for themselves but aren't willing to give up any.
Many want to meet other parents to share activities and allow their children to socialize but aren't willing to go out of their way to make such things happen.
These were interesting discoveries because there were several attempts to initiate park days and a regular monthly meetings but attendence, to put it mildly, sucked big time.
So I have been working on some ideas that may just start to happen and it is great news if you happen to live in Dayton. Actually it doesn't matter if you live outside Dayton but those of us in the City won't have to drive 20 miles to participate in an activity! I will start to disclose them to this site and the local yahoo groups very shortly. Maybe we can inject a bit of life into this site. I also have a bunch of links that I need to add but that is another story.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Been Quiet Lately
I've been busy lately getting our neighborhood yard sale event finalized and now that it is over I have the Southeast Festival to pull off in our neighborhood park on June 30th. Between being the stay at home dad, neighborhood association president, Priority Board precinct representative and renovating a 162 year old brick mansion while trying to maintain a 90 year old four-square and getting it in saleable shape, I have been slacking off on this blog. They say that if you want something done, give it to a busy person because they are the only people who have time to do it. I can't figure out why I have any time to do anything!
So what about this site? The map is growing. I have been busy searching for more links to add. I see that people are always looking for curriculum information, so I am trying to locate web sites that give information about curriculums. If you know any that I should add, send me the link or post it in the comments. I will be adding them soon. Just as soon as I make time! In the meantime, my 4 year old can now write her name without any help and recognizes all the letters of the alphabet. She can count to 30 in english and 12 in Spanish. Now if I could just get her to follow a direct command.....
So what about this site? The map is growing. I have been busy searching for more links to add. I see that people are always looking for curriculum information, so I am trying to locate web sites that give information about curriculums. If you know any that I should add, send me the link or post it in the comments. I will be adding them soon. Just as soon as I make time! In the meantime, my 4 year old can now write her name without any help and recognizes all the letters of the alphabet. She can count to 30 in english and 12 in Spanish. Now if I could just get her to follow a direct command.....
Monday, May 7, 2007
Dayton Area Home Educators Map
Based on some response to my previous post on acouple of Yahoo groups some people are mistaking my enthusiasm for frustration. I am certainly not frustrated. The people most willing to offer advice did not offer to be located on MY MAP OF HOME EDUCATION FAMILIES. I think some people are missing the point. This map isn't for me. It is for anyone that needs it which may not even be the people identified on it. If I were a home educator and wanted to visit the area for three weeks it would be nice to find someone locally who my kids could meet. If I wanted to buy a house, it might be nice to locate to a homeschool friendly neighborhood or one near a co-op where I wouldn't have to go far for some help if I needed it.
As the map grows (and it is starting to as others realize its potential) and I am able to color code it for e-schools and Christian homeschoolers and add meeting locations with regular days and times, then the true value of this information will become more apparent.
As a reminder for those who are opposed to E-schools. Many people have never heard of E-schools or even know what they are. It would certainly be a viable option for parents who don't have a GED. Many E-school parents may not be aware of the other homeschool options. I have come to understand that some parents have children in E-school while unschooling another and sending a third to private school. Parents obviously exercise their rights to choose how to educate their children.
I got an email today from Ohio Virtual Academy in response to a question. There are 257 students registered in Montgomery County. Ohio Virtual Academy is just one of some 41 E-schools in Ohio.
So, if we add the 257 students to the 160 homeschool students in the Dayton Public Schools district we are up to 417 students at least in and around Dayton who are educated at home.
If you want to be on the map, E-mail me at garyleitzell@aol.com.
As the map grows (and it is starting to as others realize its potential) and I am able to color code it for e-schools and Christian homeschoolers and add meeting locations with regular days and times, then the true value of this information will become more apparent.
As a reminder for those who are opposed to E-schools. Many people have never heard of E-schools or even know what they are. It would certainly be a viable option for parents who don't have a GED. Many E-school parents may not be aware of the other homeschool options. I have come to understand that some parents have children in E-school while unschooling another and sending a third to private school. Parents obviously exercise their rights to choose how to educate their children.
I got an email today from Ohio Virtual Academy in response to a question. There are 257 students registered in Montgomery County. Ohio Virtual Academy is just one of some 41 E-schools in Ohio.
So, if we add the 257 students to the 160 homeschool students in the Dayton Public Schools district we are up to 417 students at least in and around Dayton who are educated at home.
If you want to be on the map, E-mail me at garyleitzell@aol.com.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Location, Location, Location
I posted this to a couple of local Yahoo Groups today.
Call me crazy and correct me if I am wrong but I am getting the feeling that homeschooling parents are a hard group to get together or to co-operate at organizing events. If these yahoo groups have around 100 members but can only get 4 to show up on any given day then that says something about our society. I'm not trying to knock this group, I am just pointing out a definite quirk. I am having the same difficulty with my homeschool blog. I invited everyone, got five to participate but in the end it is up to me to keep the thing going when I've been told by so many that it was a fantastic idea. We all seem to want to work with others or get information from each other but when it comes time to actually commit, the pool of people runs dry. We are only tapping the tip of the iceberg. We are only getting to the people seeking information on an ongoing basis.
I am willing to try something completely different to help everybody but it requires everybody in this group to participate if it is going to be successful. I am cross posting this message to other groups so you may see it duplicated but will require someone else to post it to WILC since I cannot participate in that group yet since my daughter is only 4. If you like the idea and can post this to some of the religious homeschool yahoo groups then that would help me too. If everyone will send me an email with their email address and the street or a cross street that is near their home and a zip code, I will put it on a map like the one we are doing for our neighborhood yard sale next weekend which you can view here. Each dot will be identified only by an email address so contact can be made between homeschoolers. If this works then maybe I could identify things better but the initial idea is to get an indication of where we all are. The result may be quite enlightening!
For suspicious minds, here is why I want to do this and how it may be beneficial (Bear with me);
I asked a member of the Dayton Public School Board to tell me how many children are home schooled within the DPS district. The answer was 160. My next quest will be to see if I can get the virtual academy charter schools to tell me how many students they have in the DPS district and in Montgomery County. I'll bet the numbers will be in the hundreds. Over time, and I am sure it will take several months, this map will start to "light up" as more people find it, are willing to participate and are able to communicate with others who live in their very own neighborhoods. The numbers of homeschoolers will only increase as our public education system struggles with the paradigm that if they keep throwing money at the problem it will take care of it.
It is my belief that if our city and the Miami Valley region were so homeschool friendly that it was sickening and if there was a strong network of established homeschooling and virtual charter school families identified in all neighborhoods then it would attract educated, like minded people to Dayton and the suburbs. Some of the children of these educated parents will end up in the public school system at some point causing test scores to go up. Something our City officials and school boards are missing completely. People will no longer use Dayton Public Schools as an excuse not to live in the city where housing values are a bargain compared to the rest of the nation. People may actually want to move here because of it. Those of us who want to can create their own co-ops and true neighborhood schools. We would be able to locate local parents with similar interests.
Why am I the only person who knows of 8 or 9 other homeschooling families in my own neighborhood? If there are 500 of us within a 20 mile radius of the City why don't we know it? If there are 500 of us, then we can see where the higher concentrations are located and ask the public school districts, private schools or community centers and libraries for services, resources or such things as open gym time. We could also establish neighborhood teams if people were so interested. Neighborhood co-ops could begin to form. If we can do stuff like this then you will never have to deal with that "socialization" stigma that we get whacked with all the time. My motivation for this is purely selfish. I have acquired the last house I will ever live in (within Dayton city limits) and I want to make my life easier when it comes to educating my daughter and being a little selective with regards to who she plays with. I mean, why should she play with someone who thinks a screwdriver is used to steal a car or stick in an electrical socket when she can play with someone who wants to grow up to be an engineer. I can make life easier for many others in the process which is why I am making this suggestion.
Remember, my daughter is only 4 so I have some time to get this done. If you want to benefit from it sooner don't sit back and wait. This won't cost a dime, you won't be contacted by phone and I won't try to sell you a set of encyclopedias! I don't need to know who you are, just an idea of where you are. If people want to change information or expand on this concept then we can see after the initial map is set up. If you live in Springfield or even Wilmington, send me the info. It may be beneficial to someone. You will become a dot on a map with an email address. If everyone in this group participates then at the end of a week I could have an extensive map for all to view. I am posting this to my blog in case you want to forward the message to people who aren't members of this yahoo group. I'm just the maker of the map. What we choose to do with the information will be up to us as individuals.
OK. Tell me I'm crazy or send the email so I can get this project started. Of course if someone has already done this, please tell me so I don't waste my time and can add the link to my site!
Call me crazy and correct me if I am wrong but I am getting the feeling that homeschooling parents are a hard group to get together or to co-operate at organizing events. If these yahoo groups have around 100 members but can only get 4 to show up on any given day then that says something about our society. I'm not trying to knock this group, I am just pointing out a definite quirk. I am having the same difficulty with my homeschool blog. I invited everyone, got five to participate but in the end it is up to me to keep the thing going when I've been told by so many that it was a fantastic idea. We all seem to want to work with others or get information from each other but when it comes time to actually commit, the pool of people runs dry. We are only tapping the tip of the iceberg. We are only getting to the people seeking information on an ongoing basis.
I am willing to try something completely different to help everybody but it requires everybody in this group to participate if it is going to be successful. I am cross posting this message to other groups so you may see it duplicated but will require someone else to post it to WILC since I cannot participate in that group yet since my daughter is only 4. If you like the idea and can post this to some of the religious homeschool yahoo groups then that would help me too. If everyone will send me an email with their email address and the street or a cross street that is near their home and a zip code, I will put it on a map like the one we are doing for our neighborhood yard sale next weekend which you can view here. Each dot will be identified only by an email address so contact can be made between homeschoolers. If this works then maybe I could identify things better but the initial idea is to get an indication of where we all are. The result may be quite enlightening!
For suspicious minds, here is why I want to do this and how it may be beneficial (Bear with me);
I asked a member of the Dayton Public School Board to tell me how many children are home schooled within the DPS district. The answer was 160. My next quest will be to see if I can get the virtual academy charter schools to tell me how many students they have in the DPS district and in Montgomery County. I'll bet the numbers will be in the hundreds. Over time, and I am sure it will take several months, this map will start to "light up" as more people find it, are willing to participate and are able to communicate with others who live in their very own neighborhoods. The numbers of homeschoolers will only increase as our public education system struggles with the paradigm that if they keep throwing money at the problem it will take care of it.
It is my belief that if our city and the Miami Valley region were so homeschool friendly that it was sickening and if there was a strong network of established homeschooling and virtual charter school families identified in all neighborhoods then it would attract educated, like minded people to Dayton and the suburbs. Some of the children of these educated parents will end up in the public school system at some point causing test scores to go up. Something our City officials and school boards are missing completely. People will no longer use Dayton Public Schools as an excuse not to live in the city where housing values are a bargain compared to the rest of the nation. People may actually want to move here because of it. Those of us who want to can create their own co-ops and true neighborhood schools. We would be able to locate local parents with similar interests.
Why am I the only person who knows of 8 or 9 other homeschooling families in my own neighborhood? If there are 500 of us within a 20 mile radius of the City why don't we know it? If there are 500 of us, then we can see where the higher concentrations are located and ask the public school districts, private schools or community centers and libraries for services, resources or such things as open gym time. We could also establish neighborhood teams if people were so interested. Neighborhood co-ops could begin to form. If we can do stuff like this then you will never have to deal with that "socialization" stigma that we get whacked with all the time. My motivation for this is purely selfish. I have acquired the last house I will ever live in (within Dayton city limits) and I want to make my life easier when it comes to educating my daughter and being a little selective with regards to who she plays with. I mean, why should she play with someone who thinks a screwdriver is used to steal a car or stick in an electrical socket when she can play with someone who wants to grow up to be an engineer. I can make life easier for many others in the process which is why I am making this suggestion.
Remember, my daughter is only 4 so I have some time to get this done. If you want to benefit from it sooner don't sit back and wait. This won't cost a dime, you won't be contacted by phone and I won't try to sell you a set of encyclopedias! I don't need to know who you are, just an idea of where you are. If people want to change information or expand on this concept then we can see after the initial map is set up. If you live in Springfield or even Wilmington, send me the info. It may be beneficial to someone. You will become a dot on a map with an email address. If everyone in this group participates then at the end of a week I could have an extensive map for all to view. I am posting this to my blog in case you want to forward the message to people who aren't members of this yahoo group. I'm just the maker of the map. What we choose to do with the information will be up to us as individuals.
OK. Tell me I'm crazy or send the email so I can get this project started. Of course if someone has already done this, please tell me so I don't waste my time and can add the link to my site!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Compare School Information
If you are interested in checking out school statistics then this site might help. This is the online site for "greatschools". For those interested in the Ohio Virtual Academy you can link directly to their report. It gets really interesting when you start to compare the finances and cost per student at the different schools.
Just a reminder. Wednesday is playgroup at Walnut Hills Park 10 AM to noon. Over the summer we may expand this to a craft event and a cookout every Wednesday so if you are interested please stop by!
Just a reminder. Wednesday is playgroup at Walnut Hills Park 10 AM to noon. Over the summer we may expand this to a craft event and a cookout every Wednesday so if you are interested please stop by!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Finding the Mother Lode!
Homeschool Blogs are everywhere! I mean EVERYWHERE. Sometimes they are hard to find though. However, I have located two that are an excellent resource. The first one Is called WHY HOMESCHOOL and the second one is THE THINKING MOTHER. They not only inspire the homeschooling parent, but these two have an abundance of links to other homeschool blogs and resources. The other blogs that they link to in turn link to more blogs and resource sites. Before you know it you have travelled around the world within a few mouse clicks! These two sites generate a lot of traffic to their sites too. A lot of that has to do with the fact that they have been around for a few years. Maybe this site will be as beneficial in a couple of years. So, if you live around Dayton, Ohio and would like to contribute to this site or want me to link you your homeschool blog then send me an email. In the meantime I will continue to search and pull as much information that I can to this site so Dayton parents don't feel like they are alone.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Home School Library Group
On Tuesday April 24th the East Dayton Branch of the Montgomery County library has a homeschool group meet at 1 PM. This is located at 2008 Wyoming St. in Dayton. They do this twice a month on Tuesdays.
I have attended two of these. The first one had 4 parents and the second on had just two. There is usually a story or poetry and a craft of some kind. I got to discuss whether I should put this site together with the other parents. I plan to be there since it is close. I would recommend that everyone attend who can. The library wants to get more involved with the home schooling community. If people don't support the library's effort then they will withdraw from offering the facility. If we can make this program a success in East Dayton, I'm sure the library would be willing to expand activities directed at home schoolers to other branches.
I have attended two of these. The first one had 4 parents and the second on had just two. There is usually a story or poetry and a craft of some kind. I got to discuss whether I should put this site together with the other parents. I plan to be there since it is close. I would recommend that everyone attend who can. The library wants to get more involved with the home schooling community. If people don't support the library's effort then they will withdraw from offering the facility. If we can make this program a success in East Dayton, I'm sure the library would be willing to expand activities directed at home schoolers to other branches.
A Follow Up to My Last Post
I sat through a long presentation by Dr. Mack from Dayton Public Schools on Thursday evening at the Southeast Dayton Priority Board office. He made every effort to explain how changes in State funding are causing a projected $30 million deficit in their $182 million spending budget (Not $225 million since they have to give charter schools $43 million.) That is still over $11,000 per child. He did elaborate on the fact that 20% of DPS students are "special needs" cases and some of those cause the costs of education to be higher since private and charter schools are not obligated to teach those students.
I asked one question. "If the 6000 charter school students attended DPS, would we need the levy?" His answer was a firm "No." Which pretty much proved the point of Wednesdays post.
I also pointed out that a private school education costs $5000 to $7000 a year in this region.
I think it is wrong for any organization to impose a tax when you fear and cannot keep pace with your competition.
I asked one question. "If the 6000 charter school students attended DPS, would we need the levy?" His answer was a firm "No." Which pretty much proved the point of Wednesdays post.
I also pointed out that a private school education costs $5000 to $7000 a year in this region.
I think it is wrong for any organization to impose a tax when you fear and cannot keep pace with your competition.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Public School Ratings
I picked up a copy of this at the local library a couple of weeks ago.
This week I decided to look at it. I noticed that it ranked public and charter schools and listed the number of students for each school. I grabbed a piece of paper and then I did some number crunching since those of us who live in Dayton are facing an emergency school levy vote next month. Dayton Public Schools is wanting to raise $30 million a year to support their $225 million a year budget.
Here are the results. I must state that all of the information came from this booklet so if you don't believe me, go get yourself a copy and do the research! I won't be biased either and all opinions expressed are my own (not that I'm giving one).
The booklet lists 86 schools. Dayton Public Schools make up 34 of those and charter schools account for 17 the rest are private or special schools and they aren't required to release performance results.
16121 students attend DPS (73%) while 5885 students attend charter schools (27%) the number of publicly funded students totals 22007.
Of the 34 DPS schools 4 are new and have no rating from the Ohio Department of Education. The rest are as follows
Academic Emergency 4
Academic Watch 11
Continuous Improvement 13
Effective 1 (Stivers)
Excellent 1 (Dayton Early Colledge Academy)
The "No child left behind" law requires that schools exhibit "adequate yearly progress". For DPS only 8 achieved this while 23 failed (3 of the new schools have no statistics).
Now for the Charter Schools
Academic Emergency 3
Academic Watch 2
Continuous Improvement 9
Effective 2
Of these, 4 achieved the AYP while 11 failed.
The Dayton Daily News reported several months ago that the DPS annual budget is $225 million. Divide that by the 16000 students they claim to have (and this report verifies) and you get $14062 per student. If the results don't improve the number of DPS students will decrease and charter school numbers will increase.
You can play around with the numbers to accommodate this and maybe the real reason for the emergency levy will reveal itself. I will give you a hint.
If every child attended DPS the cost per child drops to $10,227. If the attendance drops to 15,000 students the cost goes up to $15,000 per child.
If you multiply the difference of $4800 by 6250 charter school students ( DPS students have to go somewhere) you get $30 million.
Can you imagine what a homes schooler could do with a $10,000 budget!
This week I decided to look at it. I noticed that it ranked public and charter schools and listed the number of students for each school. I grabbed a piece of paper and then I did some number crunching since those of us who live in Dayton are facing an emergency school levy vote next month. Dayton Public Schools is wanting to raise $30 million a year to support their $225 million a year budget.
Here are the results. I must state that all of the information came from this booklet so if you don't believe me, go get yourself a copy and do the research! I won't be biased either and all opinions expressed are my own (not that I'm giving one).
The booklet lists 86 schools. Dayton Public Schools make up 34 of those and charter schools account for 17 the rest are private or special schools and they aren't required to release performance results.
16121 students attend DPS (73%) while 5885 students attend charter schools (27%) the number of publicly funded students totals 22007.
Of the 34 DPS schools 4 are new and have no rating from the Ohio Department of Education. The rest are as follows
Academic Emergency 4
Academic Watch 11
Continuous Improvement 13
Effective 1 (Stivers)
Excellent 1 (Dayton Early Colledge Academy)
The "No child left behind" law requires that schools exhibit "adequate yearly progress". For DPS only 8 achieved this while 23 failed (3 of the new schools have no statistics).
Now for the Charter Schools
Academic Emergency 3
Academic Watch 2
Continuous Improvement 9
Effective 2
Of these, 4 achieved the AYP while 11 failed.
The Dayton Daily News reported several months ago that the DPS annual budget is $225 million. Divide that by the 16000 students they claim to have (and this report verifies) and you get $14062 per student. If the results don't improve the number of DPS students will decrease and charter school numbers will increase.
You can play around with the numbers to accommodate this and maybe the real reason for the emergency levy will reveal itself. I will give you a hint.
If every child attended DPS the cost per child drops to $10,227. If the attendance drops to 15,000 students the cost goes up to $15,000 per child.
If you multiply the difference of $4800 by 6250 charter school students ( DPS students have to go somewhere) you get $30 million.
Can you imagine what a homes schooler could do with a $10,000 budget!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Ohio Virtual Academy Information Sessions
I got an email today with parent information sessions details from Ohio Virtual Academy. Here is a link in case anyone reading this has an interest.
http://ohva.org/calendar/parent-info-sessions.html
http://ohva.org/calendar/parent-info-sessions.html
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Mark Your Calendars!
Taken from the Library webpage.
The Dayton Metro Library's semi-annual booksale returns this spring. The sale will be May 4th, 5th and 6th at Hara Arena (1001 Shiloh Springs Rd.). Hours of the sale are Friday 4 - 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., and Sunday 1 - 3 p.m. or while supplies last. Free admission and free parking!
We go to this every year and I must say that we have more books then space to store them! On Friday hardbacks are $1.00. On Saturday they are 50 cents and on Sunday you can get a box load for a $1.00!
The Dayton Metro Library's semi-annual booksale returns this spring. The sale will be May 4th, 5th and 6th at Hara Arena (1001 Shiloh Springs Rd.). Hours of the sale are Friday 4 - 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., and Sunday 1 - 3 p.m. or while supplies last. Free admission and free parking!
We go to this every year and I must say that we have more books then space to store them! On Friday hardbacks are $1.00. On Saturday they are 50 cents and on Sunday you can get a box load for a $1.00!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
If you eschool which eschool and why?
I'd also be interested in hearing which eschool people chose and why as that is the way that we are leaning for our 12 year old middle schooler.
Thanks,
Eileen
Thanks,
Eileen
Glad to see Dayton area non-public school families will have a way to get to know eachother
If there wind up being enough of us park days would be nice or even jsut having coffee's etc. We could even meet at libraries by just posting what day time we intend to go and other could show up.
Ok so if the truth be know 3 of the lst 4 times i"ve seen my mom have been meeting her at Sam's club which is 1/2 for both of us; lets accomplish somethign we need to do-get groceries; and we still get to see each other.
Eileen
Ok so if the truth be know 3 of the lst 4 times i"ve seen my mom have been meeting her at Sam's club which is 1/2 for both of us; lets accomplish somethign we need to do-get groceries; and we still get to see each other.
Eileen
Starfall Website
Here is a great early learning website that I was told about. If you haven't seen it yet then you need to check it out. I think it was designed with home schoolers in mind.
www.starfall.com
www.starfall.com
Why I am Doing This!
Now that I am a parent, I have to consider the education options for my child. There are three basic options. Public schools/charter schools, private school or attempting to do the job myself. Dayton Public Schools at this point are out of the question. I have nothing against the beautiful new schools that they are building or the quality of the teachers. My problem is what they have to tolerate from the students. A teacher should not have to be a baby sitter for 30 children and since the needs of the unlearned appear to be greater than the needs of the learned, I fear that my child won't be getting the education that she deserves. These problems exist in charter schools too because they are publicly funded. Private schools may exhibit a higher level of education but still house cliches and provide an environment where peer pressure determines ones social status.
Over the last few years I have been amazed at how many people home school their children. Within a two block radius of my house I found eight families and the interesting thing was that they didn't know each other. There are several co-ops in the region geared towards a particular style of teaching that some of these families participated in BUT there is no central information system for everyone to tap into for resources, events, support or that provides for true neighborhood schooling to actually exist.
I have been using the Blog format for a couple of years to provide information to my neighborhood and have recently opened it up to group participation in the hope that it will take on a life of its own without my having to verify or edit information. I tried a similar thing with the neighborhood home schoolers but have realized that the source of participants is too limited and needs to be expanded upon in order to be effective. If I can get some 60 team members from the Dayton area then the few who are posting on a regular basis make this site happen for the other members and anyone else who reading it.
For those of you who aren't familiar with this "Blog" format (which is short for Web Log) I can tell you that with a little tweaking, I can add links to the basic page that may be useful and I can ask any home schooling parent to become a team member which will allow them to post directly to this site AND add photos or hyperlinks if they want to. Anyone registered with Blogger.com can make comments to any of the posts. All that I ask is that posting should be home school related and should be informative.
If you are reading this and know anyone in the vicinity of Dayton, Ohio who has an interest in the Home School alternative let them know about this site and encourage them to contact me so that they can join. Hopefully we can all make Dayton a home school friendly city which may encourage educated people to relocate here because we have an established group of home schoolers pooling their resources and sharing the experience.
Over the last few years I have been amazed at how many people home school their children. Within a two block radius of my house I found eight families and the interesting thing was that they didn't know each other. There are several co-ops in the region geared towards a particular style of teaching that some of these families participated in BUT there is no central information system for everyone to tap into for resources, events, support or that provides for true neighborhood schooling to actually exist.
I have been using the Blog format for a couple of years to provide information to my neighborhood and have recently opened it up to group participation in the hope that it will take on a life of its own without my having to verify or edit information. I tried a similar thing with the neighborhood home schoolers but have realized that the source of participants is too limited and needs to be expanded upon in order to be effective. If I can get some 60 team members from the Dayton area then the few who are posting on a regular basis make this site happen for the other members and anyone else who reading it.
For those of you who aren't familiar with this "Blog" format (which is short for Web Log) I can tell you that with a little tweaking, I can add links to the basic page that may be useful and I can ask any home schooling parent to become a team member which will allow them to post directly to this site AND add photos or hyperlinks if they want to. Anyone registered with Blogger.com can make comments to any of the posts. All that I ask is that posting should be home school related and should be informative.
If you are reading this and know anyone in the vicinity of Dayton, Ohio who has an interest in the Home School alternative let them know about this site and encourage them to contact me so that they can join. Hopefully we can all make Dayton a home school friendly city which may encourage educated people to relocate here because we have an established group of home schoolers pooling their resources and sharing the experience.
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