Here is an article on the lack dearth earned freedom from government accountability for Illinois homeschoolers.

Lovely quotes to get you clicking:
I would have assumed to some degree that we had accountability over how many home schoolers there were, where they were located, and that they would be tested,” Lightford said.

“So you don’t even know your child’s aptitude or ability or where they are? At what level?” she asked, still sounding astonished. “That’s scary.”

I hope she didn’t hurt herself too severely with that leap.

There is some sanity and perspective, from a Democrat no less:

State Sen. Don Harmon, D-39th, of Oak Park, takes a more “if-it-isn’t-broken” perspective on the issue.

“The notion of regulating home schooling seems to be a solution in search of a problem,” Harmon said. “We have an awful lot of issues to fix in our education system, but the home schooling system seems to be working just fine.”

MFS at MentalMultivitamin has penned a great piece about not letting life derail learning.

Unschoolers, avert your eyes.

Here is a link to a fledgling group of homeschoolers providing a service to exchange homes as a way of enhancing education, recreating and honoring budgets.

Here is a decent article about a large homeschooling family. Seems like old news to me, but I’ve been alternative for so long I can’t see mainstream from here.

I’m saddened by the numbers of homeschooling children “we” send to public school when they hit middle school and high school. It seems that we send boys in more numbers than we do girls.

I’m relatedly saddened by the fact that the homeschooling community has become “politically correct” and we seem to be adopting a “whatever works for your family” tone.

On one board I used to post, it was not okay that some homeschoolers did so out of political response to public school. The choice to homeschool for your family’s needs was accepted. Being against public school was not.

As we homeschoolers mainstream, we are losing the passion core. It’s a trade off, I know. One reason I hear less adversarial remarks about homeschooling now is because it’s become more common, known and the myths slightly less believed.

But we’ve lost something precious in the midst of honoring other choices.

I think, also, we forget that “school” is the ever present option, solution and remedy in our culture. “Going to school” is so indoctrinated that even for staunch homeschoolers, “school” becomes the default solution.

Homeschooling readers, I encourage you to stay the course. Evaluate each challenge, situation and nuance with the homeschooling status of your family in mind and seek solutions within the homeschooling resources. Chances are great there is one. Often, it’s as simple as focus, regrouping, discipline and time.

Blogging Again.

I’m going to start with a simple update. I’ll work up to the caustic, insightful, intriguing and witty commentary that I like to believe I had when I diligently posted to my homeschooling blog.

Did you know I was once mentioned on the Instapundit? /pathetic attempt at increasing hit count.

I am Joanne Ketch (used to be Davidson and now married to a Montgomery). I have built and maintained a presence online for about 8 years now. I’m known for my “discipline advice”, for My Bean Dip response and to a lesser degree as The Happy Homeschooler.

I began blogging with 3 small children, only one of whom was old enough to homeschool. He’s now in 7th grade. My daughter is in 5th and my youngest in 3rd.

In spite of being attachment parented, alternatively medicined, not spanked, nursed forever and homeschooled they do eat solids, are weaned, can talk to other kids and are well behaved.

I own the PositiveParenting-Discipline list at Yahoo Groups. I started it because I used to own the PositiveChristianAP list (my friend Crystal now owns it) and I had moms asking if they could “pretend to be a Christian” so they could benefit from the discipline advice. I created the Positive Discipline Resource Center which served for several years assisting families seeking ideas on how to parent in a firm but non punitive manner. Thanks to my dear friend Rebecca at , I have a new, more professional site.

It’s good and intentional timing, too. Because *drum roll*, I am finally writing the book that I’ve known was my destiny. My destiny! How dramatic!

I’m now offering seminars, classes and other ways for people to pay for my time and help. See my discipline site for more info.

For a more personal update, I was married for nearly 13 years. The actual marriage was over long before “that” and the formal end came last August. It takes 61 days minimum to divorce in Texas. I got mine on day 63 and that’s only because my attorney was not available on day 61. I dated. I met a man about a year ago and we dated very casually for several months before we, let’s say, heated up. Mr. Montgomery and I wed on June 16. He is my full and equal partner. He’s recently taken on another role here, known as Coach for my oldest’s Little League team.

Although I had to declare bankruptcy after the divorce, I consider myself rich, blessed and abundantly provided for in the ways that matter most.

I plan on returning to school in the spring to acquire my Masters of Social Work. I indend to use it to assist families in building life skills to make their home a happy, ordered, connected one.

We school eclectically. I used a mix of resources that I gratefully accepted when I was a single mom. I homeschool 2 additional children which served as my only income after the divorce. As they are not mine, I will not comment on them here. My “students” range in age from 8 to 12.5.

I am the Happiest Homeschooler to be back, happily married and moving towards building a career in assisting families while still mothering my own.

Some of my devoted and wonderful readers were unable to find and read the linked post below. I’ll cut and paste. It’s from my other blog.

We are leaving our church. Not our denomination, but the location at which we’ve been worshipping for 9 months. I don’t regret going or joining. It was clear we needed to find someplace, and quick!

But, I ignored the inevitable. It’s inevitable that any church that would wholeheartedly embrace this nonsense would not be a long term situation for us.

The symptom of the problem was Children’s Church. At first, Mike and I thought that it was annoyance at having to wait for our children after “our” church service was over. In talking it through, however, we discovered the real problem was the very *existence* of Children’s Church. And even with that realization (it *is* Epiphany Season) we acknowledged that the existence of Children’s Church was but a symptom of the disease.

I’ve diagnosed the problem and named the disease: Superfluparents. Our culture suffers from a chronic and acute case of superfluparents. The symptoms are expert driven parenting decisions, preponderance of parenting books, handing over of children to institutions at earlier ages, for longer periods of time. The condition is characterized by a gradual decline in parental authority, a deterioration of the family unit as socialization vehicle, the slow give away of each aspect of the child’s life to someone/someplace else. Advanced stages of the disease are shown by children who care more about peers than parents, parents whose “dealing with children” muscles have atrophied due to lack of use, and the assumption that children’s needs are best met in groups of children.

Mike and I talked extensively and worried much. Our children have developed relationships, routine and affection towards our (soon to be former) church home. They’ve been uprooted recently by a 1200 mile move. Mike is gone a lot. Leaving was not a situation we contemplated lightly. In fact, we prayerfully asked God to provide us with a clue.

And we got that clue; clear as a bell. Sunday, during the sermon, our (soon to be former) Pastor proudly exclaimed that our church would soon offer Children’s Church every Sunday. Amazingly, in the same passionately delivered sermon, he stated the church’s desire for the youth to get involved “more.” I glanced at the youth - it was easy. Our (soon to be former) youth sit together, sans parents. The youth in question were presumably reared in the pews. It might not be difficult to get a “buy in” from them. But, I thought of the Children’s Church soon to be youth. They would go from the Presbyterian baptismal sprinkle, to the nursery, to children’s church, to the youth area. And they would rarely, if ever, worship next to their parents.

I’ll be honest; I like my children next to me in church. I like for them to see me reach for a tissue, to nod my head in agreement, to shake my head vigorously, to bow my head in humility. I like for them to know that God transcends *age*.

Jesus did not say “Send the children to children’s church and the rest of you follow me.” I believe with every fiber of my being that the family is the Divine design for socialization, nurture and training a child in the way they should go.

I realize with the raging epidemic of superfluparents, it will be difficult to find a church free of manifestation. But, I’d like to at least find one that isn’t riddled with it. The same sermon contained the happily offered information that adult classes would also be age segregated. ^shrug^ I know what’s it’s like to be the parent of a 9, 7 and 5 year old. I’d rather talk to the parents of grown children who have some experience, strength and hope to offer.