Should Home Schooling Be Illegal?

"In February, a California state appeals court ruled that unless parents have recognized teaching credentials, they must send their children to school. The judge, citing a state education law, said that “parents do not have a constitutional right to home-school their children.” Parents and politicians were outraged, and the court will rehear the case this month.At stake is the education of the 166,000 California children who currently are home-schooled. But the court decision also could influence laws across the country. Nationwide, up to 2 million children are taught at home. Experts estimate that the number is increasing 7% to 12% a year. “If upheld, the California ruling will send shock waves nationwide,” says Richard Kahlenberg, the author of a number of books on education. He says the case “pits those who believe parental rights are paramount against those who place a premium on well-educated citizens.” Right now, only six states have strict regulations for home-schooling, usually requiring parents to have their curriculum approved, to show test scores and, in some places, to submit to home visits. Fourteen states, including California, mandate only that parents notify the state of their decision to home-school." This article was in the newspaper this Sunday.

There is a pole online at http://www.parade.com/ "Should parents need teaching credentials to home-school their kids?"



There is no proof that parents need any kind of credentials to teach there own children. It is actually the opposite, with homeschooled children scoring very well in tests and doing well in life. I was homescholed, so I tend to be a bit passionate about this.

Did you know there are a lot of famous homeschoolers? Check out this list I found at http://www.home4schoolgear.com/famoushomeschooler.html.
Famous People Who Homeschooled
Educators
Frank Vandiver (President - Texas A&M)
Fred Terman (President - Stanford)
William Samuel Johnson (President Columbia)
John Witherspoon (President of Princeton)
Generals
Stonewall Jackson
Robert E. Lee
Douglas MacArthur
George Patton
Inventors
Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison
Cyrus McCormick
Orville Wright & Wilbur Wright
Artists
Claude Monet
Leonardo da Vinci
Jamie Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
John Singleton Copley
Presidents
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Abraham Lincoln
Theordore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Scientists
George Washington Carver
Pierre Curie
Albert Einstein
Booker T. Washington
Blaise Pascal
Statesmen
Konrad Adenauer
Winston Churchill
Benjamin Franklin
Patrick Henry
William Penn
Henry Clay
United States Supreme Court Judges
John Jay
John Marshall
John Rutledge
Composers
Irving Berlin
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Anton Bruckner
Felix Mendelssohn
Francis Poulenc
Writers
Hans Christian Anderson
Charles Dickens
Brett Harte
Mark Twain
Sean O'Casey
Phillis Wheatley
Mercy Warren
Pearl S. Buck
Agatha Christie
C.S. Lewis George
Bernard Shaw
Religious leaders
Joan of Arc
Brigham Young
John & Charles Wesley
Jonathan Edwards
John Owen
William Cary
Dwight L. Moody
John Newton
Others
Charles Chaplin - Actor George Rogers Clark - Explorer Andrew Carnegie - Industrialist Noel Coward - Playwright John Burroughs - Naturalist Bill Ridell - Newspaperman Will Rogers - Humorist Albert Schweitzer - Physician Tamara McKinney - World Cup Skier Jim Ryan - World Runner Ansel Adams - Photographer Charles Louis Montesquieu - philosopher John Stuart Mill - Economist John Paul Jones - father of the American Navy Florence Nightingale - nurse Clara Barton - started the Red Cross Abigail Adams - wife of John Adams Martha Washington - wife of George W. Constitutional Convention Delegates George Washington - 1st President of the U.S.James Madison - 4th President of the U.S. John Witherspoon - President of Princeton U. Benjamin Franklin - inventor and statesman William S. Johnson - President of Columbia C. George Clymer - U.S. Representative Charles Pickney III - Governor of S. Carolina John Francis Mercer - U.S. Representative George Wythe - Justice of Virginia High Court William Blount - U.S. Senator Richard D. Spaight - Governor of N. Carolina John Rutledge - Chief Justice U.S. Supr Court William Livingston - Governor of New Jersey Richard Basset - Governor of Delaware William Houston - lawyer William Few - U.S. Senator George Mason

So, you don't have to be Einstein to figure out that homeschooling is a good choice!!!

Yummy for your Tummy!

Ok, here is the latest DeLaper recipe. This chicken is SO tender, its awesome!! Of course, you'll have to come up with sides to go with this, but you wouldn't want me to do ALL the recipe finding, now would you?

Teriyaki Chicken

1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
(Or, instead of salt and pepper, Lowry's seasoning salt)
2 lbs chicken breast, cut into strips
oil
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. honey
1/4 c. dry sherry--I used chardonnay, because I didn't have sherry
1 clove garlic, minced--I use the preminced kind that comes in a big container in the produce section of my grocery store
1 t. fresh ginger, grated--buy it in the produce section, and freeze in a freezer bag. When you are ready to use some, peel and grate, and put the rest back in the freezer

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a large plastic baggy. Drop in the chicken and shake until well coated with flour. Pour a little oil into a large frying pan, and brown chicken on both sides over med-high heat. In microwaveable dish, mix soy sauce, honey, wine, garlic and ginger; microwave until hot. When chicken strips are done, dip in sauce and place on baking pan with sides. Bake 20 minutes; pour remaining sauce over chicken halfway through baking.

Larry Boy Fan

It has come to my attention that you couldn't see Dallas' shirt in the other pictures well enough to tell she is a Larry Boy fan. Daddy DeLaper, Dallas and Josiah all had Larry Boy shirts. Isn't it nice they make one in pink?!!!

Happy Birthday!

Timothy is 3 years old! The time is going by so quickly, It seems I barely have time to catch my breath and another year has passed. This was about a week after he was born.

One of his favorite things to do is watch Veggie Tales movies. As in, first thing in the morning, before he can keep his eyes open, he wants to watch a "beggie tales". Of course, we don't watch one in the morning, we save them for nap time, but he still tries every morning!!!

So, the theme for his day was Veggie Tales, and everone dressed accordingly!

Grandma and Grandpa came over to help celebrate, but I didn't get any pictures of them. Dallas and Freeman decorated balloons to look like the characters from the shows--they are so cute! I guess I did't get pictures of those, either. But, you can use your imagination to picture a red balloon with the Veggie Tales style eyes and mouth that looks like Bob the tomato, and long thin balloon that looks like Larry the cucumber. There was also the French peas, Madame blueberry, Jimmy and Jerry gourd, Laura carrot and Junior asparagus.

He liked all his gifts, and they are getting plenty of use already. Everyone has tried out he Kid K'nex and found them to be great funand last night, everyone from Dallas down to Josiah enjoyed playing with the veggie bath toy!

Mommy Day!

Happy Mother's Day to two of the most wonderful ladies in the world. I'm so blessed to count both my Mothers as two of my best friends. Thank you for everything you have taught me, and for bing my friends!
Here is my own beautiful Mommy...
and my other Mommy who loves me as her own!

updating...

My house has been invaded!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are being over-run by monkeys, elegant little beautys, dashing heartbreakers, and piretes! Oh, my!!! What ever shall we do?










I think I shall be overcome by the cuteness of it all...

Celebrate!

We recently celebrated Daddy DeLapper's birthday. It gave us time to reflect on how glad we are for him. And, of course, gave us an excuse for cake and ice cream!
Opening gifts with eager onlookers
The children made a shirt for their birthday gift to him. Ok, so its not the most, um, cool shirt you've ever seen. But boy, are they proud of it!