Paul and Gena Suarez
Hi, again, everyone! It’s great to see you! Are you enjoying this icy weather? How are things going with your schooling; any new struggles or hurdles you are trying to jump? Praise reports? What about interesting new things you have noticed in your kids? We trust your new year is going well, and that your eyeballs are deep in studies.
Our kids are more active than ever these days. It seems like the older they get, the more “personality” they come up with, which is actually kind of neat! All of a sudden their gifts are appearing out of the blue. We’ve learned so much, having four children, especially about how different they all are. The more we know our children, the more we realize how crazy it would be to mix 20 - 30 kids in a classroom and expect them all to learn and embrace the same subject matter. No wonder so many children say they hate school - they are either bored silly or, in some cases, can’t keep up.
We remember attending public schools and struggling. Some teachers had a strong interest in arts and crafts. Some focused more on historical anecdote the whole year, or seemed to speak in riddles that some kids understood but others did not. Other teachers were rigid and firm, with higher-than-high academic or societal expectations. Still others were as lax as the kids, or chose favorites/pets. All classrooms are tailored to mass learning and group activities, and, depending on the particular instructor coupled with the overall dynamics of the group of kids, can be operated in a million different ways. Homeschools, however, are custom-made for individual thinkers. For life-long leaning.
It has been exciting to see what this approach - the custom tailored approach - to teaching has produced. In a homeschool, children tend to know what they want to do with their lives much sooner than do their public schooled counterparts. Imagine cages and cages of chickens, all one on top of the other, growing for the purpose in life for which they will ultimately serve. Every chicken, while an individual bird, is really just an extension off of the whole group. They become one organism, in a sense, with their mass-produced fellow birds. Yuck. What about children? Room after room - full of mass-taught children. Everyone pursuing the same interests (whose?), all locked into the same learning schedule, each marching to the beat of the same drum (again whose?). Surely we can offer more to the little ones God has entrusted into our care, can’t we? Homeschooling allows for just that - growing young hearts and minds to the glory of the Lord.
Well, last issue we had enormous amounts of things to report on, as our travels took us all over the country. Plus, our oldest boy (Paul, Jr., 14) scared us silly with his “sneak attack” seizures he thrust upon us in Chicago a few months back. Poor Kid! That gave us quite a fright. This quarter has been a little quieter, and it’s been nice. He’s doing really well, (taller than Mom now!) And thank you to all who prayed and inquired about him. No seizures or anything scary has happened since. All the kids are doing super, in fact. Lukey, (13) got to travel on TOS business to Florida with his dad for about three weeks - just the two of them. They spent time with David Callihan and several other friends of TOS.
Paul did attend the SepCon convention in Washington DC, courtesy of our new friend, Marshall Fritz, founder and owner of the organization, Separation of School and State (www.HonestEd.com). Marshall has a lot of fantastic ideas about the government’s involvement (or rather, lack thereof) in education. Among the wonderful speakers and authors Paul got to hang out and listen to at SepCon included Michael Farris, Joseph Farrah, Cathy Duffy, John Taylor Gatto, and several other highly interesting individuals who are dedicated to home education and family values. There were round table discussions, lots of excellent sessions, and a refreshing time of fellowship. It was great and we would recommend this conference to anyone with a desire to learn about what we are all “missing out on” in public education - Paul will be back again next year.
What else did we do? Some mini trips to Phoenix and Los Angeles to meet up with upper management staff - these are always fun. We combine those with visiting with homeschoolers (readers, usually) and just having fun with our kids. One time while out in Phoenix, we stayed at a really neat bed and breakfast (actually located in Goodyear, AZ) to do 2005 scheduling with TOS Production Manager, Trish Tirado (she shoots and arranges some of our great photography, like the photo in this article). The elderly innkeepers, Frank and Elaine Billingsley, filled our kids with exciting stories about their lives - they’ve had lots of adventures! (www.IndianSpringsRanch.com) This couple has been all over the place and has some lovingly decorated their inn with some of the things they brought back from other countries. The place has a rustic elegance about it that you’d have to go see if you’re ever out that way and need an inn for the night. Not only that, it’s perfect for families because at least one of the suites has two separate rooms which join up. A large family of even seven or eight would be comfortable there, with privacy for the parents - and kept all together. We were thankful because when we travel, we have to use the laptop to keep things operating (bossing the staff who pretend to listen to us ramble), and their place has wireless internet access. That helped tremendously.
The gentleman, Frank, was a fighter pilot during his younger days in Korea and Vietnam, and answered question after question that our boys pummeled at him. They have tiny scorpions about their grounds (a pool, too), and our oldest son, Paul, got to dissect one with Frank, who also let the boys have a ride on his tractor. This is not your average B&B; it’s better, and we have to say, the food was delicious. Elaine is quite the breakfast cook, and when she’s off teaching at the local college, Frank dons the chef hat and rustles up the grub. She put out an enormous spread for our family in her large dining room (the main house is massive), and shared stories of her travels as a girl to Europe. The whole stay was comfortable, cozy, and educational. Our kids had a great time swimming and hunting for scorpions, but their highlight was definitely Mr. Billingsley. When it was time to say goodbye, after our four-day holiday in sunny Arizona, the Billingsleys bundled us up with sweet potato pancakes in a gourmet mix as well as Indian Springs Ranch specialty soups. Go see them when you are in the Phoenix area, and tell them we said Hi!
TOS Senior Editor, Jen Ig, had a neat accomplishment we thought we’d mention. She’s won a couple awards from Writers Digest already, but for 2004, Crosswalk.com named her article, “Alone, Yet Not Abandoned” (first appeared in TOS Magazine also in 2004) as the number five article of the year in Crosswalk Home School. Terri Miller, whose article “Do Not Grow Weary” was number two. Both of these pieces first appeared at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine! Congrats to both wonderful writers!
OK, so let’s get the show on the road. This issue is full of great speakers, and we are eager to bring them to you! The theme this issue, if you hadn’t noticed, is Civil War. It’s also our big Conventions issue. But even further, it’s our Classical Education edition. OK, it’s three themes then; we are packed OUT! What a platform of classical educators: Susan Wise Bauer, Martin Cothran, John & Diane Wheeler, Fritz Hinrichs, Christine Miller, Kate Kessler, various classical colleges, and others who have things to say to TOS as well. That whole section is dripping with intelligence and brains. (We are not featured. At all. Nowhere remotely near the area.) And take a gander at our Excellence in Education Award winners for 2004. Dr. Heather Allen, TOS Senior Analyst, crunched the numbers, and the wins may surprise you! We’ve got some good ones this year!
Oh, before we jump into the issue, though, check out page 13. This is the biggest and BEST promo TOS has ever brought you. Supplies are very limited, as the promo is already about halfway sold out at the time of the printing. (Internet word gets around fast!) We still have some left, so hurry! What do all two year subscribers (renewals qualify this one last time) receive? For one thing, they automatically upgrade to a THREE-year subscription, so one extra year is tacked on, free. Above that, they get 19 free gifts from our participating companies, who are delighted to show you their excellent learning resources. We hand-selected these companies - it was by invitation only for this beautiful Winter 2005 promo. They are well-known and trusted in the homeschool community, so go see what they have for homeschoolers. Have a look at page 15, 16, and 17 to ogle everything you get - but only 3,000 are receiving this special. You’ll want to head over to www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com or call 1-888-718-HOME right away.
Well, we should shush now. How do you put up with all this chatter, anyway? Turn the page.
Drop us a line and tell us how it’s going. Until next issue, God bless you, and be well.
– The Suarez Clan / Publisher@TOSMag.com
Did you enjoy this article? You'll find each issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine packed with great articles to inform you, encourage you, and remind you that you're not alone. Plus, you can receive 19 free gifts when you subscribe. Subscribe today!
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com |
|
|
|
|
