Interesting!

HOMESCHOOLED: HOW AMERICAN HOMESCHOOLERS MEASURE UP

Once upon a time, all children were homeschooled. But around 150 years ago states started making public school mandatory and homeschooling eventually became illegal. It wasn't until the 90's that all states made it legal again. Today, with more than 2 million homeschoolers making up 4% of the school-aged population, it's the fastest growing form of education in the country.

HOMESCHOOL HISTORY

• 1840: 55% of children attended primary school while the rest were educated in the home or by tutors.
• 1852: The "Common School" model became popular and Massachusetts became the first state to pass compulsory attendance law. Once compulsory attendance laws became effective, America eventually relied entirely on public and private schools for educating children. Homeschooling then became something only practiced by extremely rural families, and within Amish communities.
• 1870: All states had free primary schools.
• 1900: 34 states had compulsory attendance laws.
• 1910: 72% of children attended primary school.
• 1960: Educational reformers started questioning public schooling's methods and results.
• 1977: "Growing Without Schooling" magazine was published, marking a shift from trying to reform public education to abandoning it.
• 1980: Homeschooling was illegal in 30 states.
• 1983: Changes in tax law forced many Christian Schools to close which led to soaring homeschooling rates.
• 1993: Homeschooling become legal in all 50 states and saw annual growth rates of 15-20%.

Today:
32 states and Washington D.C. offer Virtual Public Schools - free education over the internet to homeschooling families: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia (DC), Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
4 States offer tax credits for homeschooling families: Iowa, Arizona, Minnesota, Illinois.
10 States don't require notification of homeschooling: Alaska, Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut.
14 States require notification of homeschooling: California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Delaware.
20 States and D.C. require notification of homeschooling, test scores and/or professional evaluation of students: Washington, Oregon, Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, New Hampshire, Maine, D.C., Hawaii.
6 States require notification of homeschooling, test scores and/or professional evaluation of students; plus other requirements like curriculum approval, parent qualification, home visits by state officials: North Dakota, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rode Island.
No Federal help is available to homeschooling families yet. The IRS says that homeschooling costs "are nondeductible personal, living, or family expenses."

HOMESCHOOL GROWTH

Home schooling is the fastest growing form of education in the country.

• 1999: 850,000 homeschoolers (1.7% of the school-aged population)
• 2003: 1.1 million homeschoolers (2.2% of the school-aged population)
• 2007: 1.5 million homeschoolers (2.9% of the school-aged population)
• 2010: 2.04 million homeschoolers (4% of the school-aged population)
• From 2007- 2009 home-schoolers increased ate a rate of 7%/year
• From 2007- 2009 public-schoolers increased at a rate of 1%/year

HOMESCHOOL PARENTS

Education Level of Homeschooling Parents (Fathers/Mothers)

• No High School Degree: 1.4% / 0.5%
• High School Degree: 8.4% / 7.5%
• Some College: 15.4% / 18.7%
• Associate's Degree: 8.6% / 10.8%
• Bachelor's Degree: 37.6% / 48.4%
• Master's Degree: 20% / 11.6%
• Doctorate Degree: 8.7% / 2.5%

Number of children in homeschooled families:

• 1 child: 6.6%
• 2 children: 25.3%
• 3 children: 26%
• 4-6 children: 35.9%
• 7+ children: 6.3%

Most important reasons parents say they homeschool their kids (students, ages 5-17, 2007):

• 36 %: To provide religious or moral instruction
• 21 % : Concern about the environment of other schools: safety, drugs, and negative peer pressure
• 17 %: Dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools
• 14 %: Unique Family Situation such as time, finances, travel, and distances
• 7 %: Nontraditional approach to child's education
• 4 %: Child has other special needs
• 2%: Child has a physical or mental health problem

HOMESCHOOL STUDENTS

Standardized achievement tests: On average, homeschoolers rank in at the 87th percentile. (Note: The 87th percentile is not the test score. It is the percent of students that scored lower... so, only 13% of students scored higher.)

• Boys: 87th
• Girls: 88th
• Reading: 89th
• Language: 84th
• Math: 84th
• Science: 86th
• Social Studies: 84th
• Core: 88th
• Parents income <$35,000: 85th
• Parents income $35,000-$70,000: 86th
• Parents income >$70,000: 89th
• Parents spend <$600/child/year: 86th
• Parents spend >$600/child/year: 89th
• Neither parent has a college degree: 83rd
• Either parent has a college degree: 86th
• Both parents have college degrees: 90th
• Neither parent has a teaching certificate: 87th
• Either Parent has a teaching certificate: 88th

Grade Placement compared to public schools:

• Behind: 5.4%
• On track: 69.8%
• Ahead: 24.5%

WHEN THEY GROW UP

Homeschooled Adults' Perception of Homeschooling
"I'm glad that I was homeschooled"

• Strongly Agree: 75.8% 
• Agree: 19.4% 
• Neither: 2.8% 
• Disagree: 1.4% 
• Strongly Disagree: 0.6%

"Homeschool gave me an advantage as an adult"

• Strongly Agree: 66.0% 
• Agree: 26.4% 
• Neither: 5.7% 
• Disagree: 1.5% 
• Strongly Disagree: 0.4%

"Homeschool limited my educational opportunities"

• Strongly Agree: 1.0% 
• Agree: 4.2% 
• Neither: 6.6% 
• Disagree: 29.2% 
• Strongly Disagree: 58.9%

"Homeschool limited my career choices"

• Strongly Agree: 0.9% 
• Agree: 1.2% 
• Neither: 3.9% 
• Disagree: 18.8% 
• Strongly Disagree: 75.3%

"I would homeschool my own children"

• Strongly Agree: 54.8% 
• Agree: 27.3% 
• Neither: 13.5% 
• Disagree: 2.8% 
• Strongly Disagree: 1.6%

Homeschooled / General Population

• Participate in an ongoing community service activity (71% / 37%)
• Consider politics and government too complicated to understand (4.2% / 35%)
• Read a book in the past six months? (98.5% / 69%)
• Continue on to college (74% / 49%)

"Taken all together, how would you say things are these days--would you say that you are ..."

• Very happy (58.9% / 27.6)
• Pretty happy (39.1% / 63%)
• Not too happy (2% / 9.4)

HOMESCHOOL COST

Average homeschool family spends $500/child/year.
The average public school spends $9,963 per child per year, not including capital expenditures or research and development.

Sources

http://www.synergyfield.com/homeschooling_parent/homeschooling/a-brief-history-of-american-homeschoolin/
http://www.education.com/reference/article/home-schooling1/
http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/christian-education/homeschool/homeschool-history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_education_in_the_United_States
http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/home-schooling/
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009030.pdf
http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/ray2009/2009_Ray_StudyFINAL.pdf
http://www.hslda.org/docs/media/2009/200908100.asp
http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/543/666
http://www.nheri.org/HomeschoolPopulationReport2010.pdf
http://blogs.christianpost.com/bright-ideas/home-schooling-state-laws-infographic-11302/
http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/HomeschoolingGrowsUp.pdf
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2903485/posts
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/advice/20041109a2.asp
http://www.hslda.org/earlyyears/Costs.asp
http://www.homeeddirectory.com/articles/1_feb10
http://www.k12.com/schools-programs/online-public-schools#.UfATehZdU6o
http://www.connectionsacademy.com/our-schools/availability.aspx

http://www.topmastersineducation.com/homeschooled/

Little Dresses Ministry

http://www.littledressesforafrica.org/blog/ and http://www.littledressesforafrica.org/blog/blog-2/

We're back!

Whew!  What a loooong hiatus.  Things are finally starting to settle.  Our move from Georgia to Kentucky was interesting to say the least.  Our Georgia home was twice the size of our already furnished Kentucky home.  So finding space and sifting through things to keep versus things to donate has been very tedious.  I think we have the hang of it now.

Leaving all our Georgia friends and church family has been very difficult for us.  Fortunately, the move "home" made it easy and we're once again surrounded by friends and family, even if we miss those in Georgia terribly.

So... things are coming to an order... slowly but surely.  Life is crazy for our growing Mabry family.  There's never a dull moment.  Our diva, Cora, loves dance and all things girly.  Our pink tomboy, Elayna, loves all things outdoors, dirty, and hands-on.  Moving to the country has been good for all of us!  We no longer have television and are enjoying every moment of it!  (Of course we still watch the occasional movie online.)  The girls love being outside and we're making quite the country home.  There's always something to do: for the home, family, church, homeschool, property, etc.

Speaking of country home, let's not forget to mention the chickens, pigs, bees, and baby.  Yep, we have 15 chickens (soon to be less if the jerk roos don't straighten up), a pig to slaughter this fall which currently lives on a friend's farm, another pig we'll acquire this summer, one hive with three more on the way this week, and a baby due the day before Thanksgiving.  We have A LOT to be thankful for and we're looking forward to more regular updates for our friends and family near and far.

I make no promises to the frequency of blog posts, but I'm definitely shooting for at least once a week.  :)  Stay tuned...

Dinosaur Puppet Show

Bad dinosaurs die, always.  Nice dinosaurs are happy and fun (notice their smiley faces and how they double as slides and horses for the caveman).  So you know.

Forest Fairy Elayna

I know, I know. The quality of these photos is very craptastic.  However, in my defense, I'm not exactly sure where the camera is... let alone the battery or charger.  So my iphone will have to do.  And it doesn't do well.  The photos aren't OCD aligned and text isn't consistent.  Being after midnight, I'm ready for bed.  This is a milestone and I've been really bad about blogging.  It must be done!  Even with all the errors, enjoy the post anyway!

This weekend was Elayna's ballet recital.  Randy & Renee were able to come down for the weekend and we're so excited they're here.  Cora bursts out in random bouts of squeals, gets really quiet, and then whispers, "I'm so excited."  It's hilarious and yet kinda creepy at the same time.  It should be documented, really.  Elayna has been capitalizing on her time with the grandparents and is totally "all jacked up on Mountain Dew"-ish.

Anyway, here's what out afternoon looked like:

Isn't she the cutest Forest Fairy ever?!

One of the backstage moms brought movies... best idea ever since the academy director insisted on keeping several dozen toddlers and preschoolers cooped up in itty bitty rooms for multiple hours each day this past weekend. Sheesh. They take this recital business very seriously. 

We brought a half dozen coloring books and a box of crayons. Notice how nobody wanted Bible Stories?

 Elayna KNOWS this dance and has been performing it for the family on a daily basis.  She was uber excited about the recital... up until the fairies lined up to go on stage, then she got a real bad case of backstage jitters.  

There was a strict "no cameras" policy, so we don't have any pics of the actual dance, but here's her rehearsal video.  Elayna's the second one from the right.  Folks, she knows this dance and can do it in her sleep.  WHY she kept watching and following the girl next to her, I don't know.  But it made the crowd chuckle a few times and she had fun.  ***CAUTION: The volume may be loud.

After the intermission Elayna was allowed to leave the holding cell and join her family for the rest of the show.  Here she is with the flowers Ryan bought her.  Why is she not in costume?  Oh, it's another one of the director's rules "No costumes outside of the dressing rooms or off stage" and I think it's silly.  I mean, come on, this is a children's dance recital, not some Broadway production.  Although tickets were a whopping $20 each (there was a mandatory 5 ticket purchase, per child per class), so... maybe it was on some level and I just didn't realize it?

Elayna finished the "production" (director's word, not mine) on Daddy's lap.

And this is how Cora spent the whole show.

Elayna suckered spare change out of Mooma.  She's making a wish.

And now she's picking the penny back up...

So she can make another wish.  Funny girl!

Sunscreen, yes please!

Our girls know how important their skin is. Even if it's only because they've snuck into a bag they're not supposed to be in. The weather here has been insanely warm. Swimming warm! We had a slip n slide block party just yesterday and it's only gonna get warmer!

Lazy Saturday morning. Cora's watching Mickey Mouse with her BFF.

"ELAYnA"

That's how she spells her name. Elayna found one of my spare packing logs and went to town on it. The girl LOVES schoolwork.

It's an "X".

Driving down the road, this was the conversation (?) between Elayna and me.

Mom! Mommy!
What?
Mama! Look!
What?
MaMA!
What?
Mommy!
Elayna, what?
Look! Mom! Look!
What do you see?
Mom!
Tell me.
It's an "X".

Yes, that's right. My kid had a crazy excited freakout over an "x".

Leonard Theodore Sasseen

So random family trivia, Ryan's great-great-grandfather was in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.  (I think that's right, someone correct me if I'm wrong.)  I've posted all the pics I can find of him online, but the family has more memorabilia safely stored away.  Granny and Renee are even more interested in this than I am.  On our trip out to Washington, Renee and I stopped at Buffalo Bill's house in Nebraska.  Check it out.  If you choose not to, the only significant photo you're really missing out on is this one.  That's Renee, the funnest mother-in-law ever.  She will kill me for posting this picture.  But you should know we have a no-holds-barred sort of a relationship, like friends.  It's great.

These pics were all pulled off an auction listing that sold over the summer.  I so wish we'd caught it sooner so we could've added these photos to those already stored.  It really makes me wonder who had all these pics of him specifically.  Someone who could've been a distant relative?  (Anyway, some photos blow up nicely, but others not so much.  Enjoy.)

There was a bit of scandal on set, with rumors of women dressed as men to get close to their boyfriend cowboys.  And Ryan's great-great-grandfather was pulled into it!  Here's a copy of the letter sent to his wife, explaining the mishap.

The letter is dated for June 25, 1913 is addressed to L.T. Sasseen's wife and reads, "My dear Madam: I regret very much that through a mistake of our press agent, the name of Mr. Leonard Sasseen, appeard in an article which went the rounds stating that some old sweetheart of his from the west had followed him in male attire.  This being the first season of Mr. Donalson with us, he was not familiar with the cowboy riders, and in this way got the name of Leonard Sasseen when he should have used Mr. Thomas Collins.  I regret this very much as Mr. Sasseen has been with me a great many years, and his conduct has always been above reproach.  I can assure you that your husband, Mr. Sasseen, had absolutely nothing to do with this story, and I am very sorry by mistake his name was used and that it has caused you and his family any annoyance.  I have written the Messenger who carried the story making a full explanation to them, and I trust that their denial of the article may fix everything all right.  Yours respectfully, (not sure of the first signature and) Pawnee Bill (Buffalo Bill)".  

We Love Kentucky!

Never thought I'd be that put-my-kids-in-matchy-matchy-outfits mom, but apparently I am.  Get used to it.  They're stinkin cute and I love it.

Elayna's got the dandelion wish down, but Cora's still trying to figure out how to blow all the seeds off.

This is my favorite picture of them.  Loving on each other with Grandaddy Rex's barn in the background.

SOME watchdog!

Fire trucks, an ambulance, and a small army of workers are right outside our house and Mati never barks or lets me know or anything. I wake up to a blazing red window and immediately start freaking out on my exhausted, just back from the field, sleeping like a log husband.

But being the grumpy bear he is, gives it a half a thought and rolls back over, telling me to find out if everything's okay. What?! The block could be burning down and he'll just leave it to chance? Not me! I'm putting some clothes on when I see a monster walk right past our window. Firefighters in full getup are knocking on our door wanting to check our home for Carbon Monoxide. Okay... please do! They explain that our neighbors had very high readings and just wanted to check things out on our side of the duplex. What does Mati do? Not a thing. Oh she knew they were in our house, but didn't offer one bark or even so much as a boof. THAT was weird. Well they didn't find anything and didn't recommend we evacuate the house since it wasn't likely to seep through our common wall. Y'all, my mind is not at ease.

And now neither one of us is sleeping. Ryan because of all the engine sounds and lights flashing just outside our window and me because I have this sense of responsibility to stay awake and protect my family in case they all pass out from poisoning. I know, that's dramatic.

Anyway, everyone's okay (I think). I'll be sure to visit them in the morning.

I am, however, just a bit dismayed at how little Mati, our protector from all things evil, cares about neighborhood happenings. We could all be dead and she'd be like, "My bed's so warm. I'm a happy dog."

Funny Girls

We can't take them anywhere.  These photos were taken at Reece & Lauren's Kentucky reception back in November.

Where's Waldo?

... er, I mean Shelby and Nosey.

If you've been on facebook, then you know Mr. Beta died.  We'd had him since Ryan was deployed, and that was nearly four years ago.  Poor guy, he lived a long and healthy life.  Anyway, that's his moss ball in with the frogs.  Their bamboo died, so now they have a new plant, a fake plant, their old rock, and a fancy schmancy new home twice the size of their old.  (It was kinda cramped and they tried to kill each another on more than one occasion, typically around feeding time.)

Do you see them?  Points if you can find both.

Shelby came out to say hi.

Ready, Set, Curl

After I braid or roll the girls' hair, their heads are wrapped in toilet paper while they sleep so everything stays nice and neat.

"Sister hair." (Because her hair's curly like Sister's.)

We Are Spur Holders

Ryan's in the Army, more specifically the Cavalry.  Are there horses?  Pffft, no.  Do they still use riding jargon?  Yes.  Is that silly?  I think so.  Nevertheless, each year, soldiers and their spouses have the opportunity to earn their spurs in what is called a "Spur Ride" (go figure, yeah?).  Soldiers earn them over a course of 2-4 days which include a road march, land navigation, other physical events, an obstacle course, let's not forget shooting things, and other tests of soldier abilities.  Most pass but some drop out.  All for the honor of wearing their spurs on certain days and to specific events.

But it doesn't just end there.  The Army and soldiers encourage their wives to participate in the severely watered-down mock version of a Spur Ride so that they too can wear spurs.  I earned mine when we were at Ft. Lewis, Wa.  Check it out.  And while I could've gone through all the obstacles again for the fun of it, I decided not to.  Instead, I proudly wore my spurs and took the girls to visit our Captain Mabry officiating.

They were so excited to see him.  And I think he was happy to see his girlie girls too.

This one cracks me up.  Cora looks like complete and yet very trusting dead weight.

Elayna did not want to give up that water balloon, which would later be used to ambush a few wives moving from one cover to another while trying not to get pelted and soaked by a bunch of soldiers.

Playing a good ol' game of "Beat the Baby/Toddler".  It's a favorite in our house.

Cora managed to finagle the Stetson from Elayna.  It was probably while she was being beat.

She's such a Daddy's Girl.  No really.

And Elayna has her moments.

One of the perks of being married to the Troop Commander is getting to play with the big boy toys.  There was some down time before the next group, so Ryan took me to the simulator so we could shoot things.  It's a giant box with a tiny, tiny cockpit-like thing where we got to wear the gear and flip a bunch of switches.  Folks, it was a giant video game.  This is how it worked: I'd watch the screen which displayed a nightvision-like desert scene.  It spanned what would be several acres and I had to find the one tiny target/moving vehicle, switch a bunch of controls I couldn't remember, and attempt to shoot it.  I was really bad and only managed to kill one guy.  Ryan is happy I'm not one of his soldiers.  I too am very happy to not be responsible for the safety of our country.

It's a really bad photo because when I ask Ryan to take a picture, he takes it literally.  To me, "take a picture" means take as many as you possibly can so that way there's bound to be at least a few good ones.  To him, "take a picture" means take one.  Literally "a" picture.  That's the man I love.