WE BELIEVE FROM SEA HOMESCHOOLERS WE BELIEVE in the power of education to change the world. WE BELIEVE learning is how we get to be who we want to be in this one wild and precious life. WE BELIEVE all education models should meet the learner where they are and handcraft a journey through learning that centers on the unique intellect, strengths, challenges, and needs of the individual. WE BELIEVE an evidence-based education is integral to the traits of egalitarianism and compassion, and that those two traits are essential for people to live together in harmony. WE BELIEVE every homeschooling …
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Renaissance of a Handcrafted EducationFrom the time I was pregnant with my son, Sean, until he was a toddler, if you had asked me what I wanted him to be when he grew up, I would have told you I wanted him to be a Renaissance man. To me, the term Renaissance man means a person (male or female) who has a deep and nuanced knowledge over a broad range of fields. It refers to a person who is literate and can express oneself through writing, speaking, or both; a person who is a creative thinker; someone who is not …
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What Is Secular Homeschool Curriculum?It can be challenging to find secular curricula and programs for your homeschooled children. To help, SEA Homeschoolers developed these definitions explaining what constitutes secular academic materials. Read on and be sure to connect with SEA Homeschoolers today! Secular Homeschool Curriculum: Science Secular science curricula and programs use empirical evidence-based information from peer reviewed research. Secular science curricula present the accepted facts, principles, models, and theories explaining how the natural and physical world works as recommended by a majority of practicing experts in that area of science. They do not incorporate religious philosophy into the curriculum …
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The Benefits of HomeschoolingThere is a revolution going on right now in education. It’s called homeschooling. I am part of a fringe group in this revolution. You don’t hear a lot from us, but there is a group of homeschoolers who consider our style to be secular, eclectic, academic homeschooling. You don’t hear from us because on the one hand we are the unloved mongrels of the homeschooling community, so we keep a low profile, and on the other hand, we are too busy figuring out how to best facilitate our children’s education. We spend too much time on academics …
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Why Neutral Science Isn't Neutral by Blair Lee Are there any science types reading this title wondering who I am? Or do you know who I am and think I've finally lost it? I am not talking about science as it is practiced and taught at most universities throughout the United States. I'm talking about the special brand of “neutral science" found in the homeschool community and increasingly in public schools in the United States. The neutral science I'm referring to is science that suffers from omission. These are middle and high school level science courses that leave out the …
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Advice on Homeschooling to College By Blair Lee, MS This year is an exciting one for us. Our son, who was homeschooled from 1st grade until he graduated, is going to college. He applied to nine colleges and was accepted at six of them and was put on the waitlist of one of them. He received scholarship offers at three of the colleges. In the end, and after some soul searching on his part, he accepted the offer from the college that was closest to home, San Diego State University. We have a close-knit family, and he decided that he …
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A Graduation Letter to Homeschooled Students As our homeschooling journey comes to an end, it feels bittersweet. I am proud of the person my son is growing into, yet reaching homeschool graduation means we close a chapter that has been so meaningful in our lives. I know it can be hard to see the end of the journey when you’re still on the path, so I would like to share with you my thoughts on what it means to receive an education handcrafted to focus on a learner’s strengths, challenges, and passions — something all homeschoolers gift their children. Dear …
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By Kate Laird Kate Laird will be participating in SEA Homeschoolers’ School of Choice Week, 2017, airing from January 22 to 28, 2017. Kate’s podcast will air on January 25. Our school is an intersection of classical education and unschooling. I think of my philosophy as unschool when you can; teach when you must. Children love learning, they love making discoveries and they love being left alone to learn. I trust them to do this. Almost. If I left my children to completely unschool, they would read thousands of books and paint thousands of pictures, but they wouldn’t do math. …
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“Life is all about the journey, not the destination.” We’ve all heard it a thousand times and when times get tough, we use it to comfort ourselves. For me, it’s something else. For me, it’s pure rapture. As a kid staring out of the car window, every clutch of trees in the interstate median had a Robinson Crusoe sanctuary just beyond the first line of pines. Every wooded lot was an exotic jungle and every mound of construction dirt a faraway desert dune. There was something magical and exhilarating about the continual line of experiences that the road served up …
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How did you learn the scientific method? If I were to ask you what the scientific method was, would you rattle off a series of terms? Would you say to me hypothesis, procedure, observations, data and calculations, results, and conclusion? What does this series of terms mean? Why is the scientific method so significant it is a component of all well done scientific studies? More importantly for you as a homeschooling parent, how can you make sure your children are learning the scientific method in a meaningful way? The Scientific Method: Defined The scientific method is an investigative method based …
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“I am, I can, I ought, I will.”* If you’ve been homeschooling for any amount of time, chances are you’ve heard the name Charlotte Mason. She has made quite a name for herself in the modern homeschool movement, despite the fact she lived over a hundred years ago. Charlotte Mason (1842 – 1923) was a British educator who advocated for improving the quality of education for children. She promoted the idea of a “liberal education for all” not just those of a certain social class. If you’ve ever searched for Charlotte Mason inspired curriculum or information, you probably found a …
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The first time I thought about how others learn best was 40 years ago. I went to high school in Conroe, Texas, which is outside of Houston. Our Spanish teacher recruited several of us to volunteer with her church to assist migrant farmers who were illiterate and/or did not speak English. Our job was to help the men learn to read. Working with them was a powerful experience. It is rare for a young person to be made aware of how important knowledge is for adults who don’t have it. Even when parents push you to do well in school, …
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