Notes from a Canadian Yankee #2

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During our Sunday school opening this morning, we sang "All Things Bright and Beautiful" using a visual I had made illustrated with appropriate magazine pictures. One line of the song includes the words "He made their glowing colors". At the end of the song, one of our favorite deacons (something like a grandpa to all the children) spoke up, asking if I had made the visual. He said he knew it was me because I had misspelled "colors"! The Canadian spelling is "colours". So, up here, we have a good sense of humour, we close 99% of the stores on Labour Day, our church is in a reasonably quiet neighbourhood, and on a rainy day the children like me to read their favourite books, when they are not colouring. Oh, and that was a favourite deacon!

Speaking of spelling, many folks on this forum either home school or are considering it. I home schooled in three different states before we moved to Ontario. Like the states, each province has its own set of laws regarding home schoolers. I imagine Canada is a little more lenient in this area with a higher percentage of families living in the bush as compared to the states. Many families have to home school if their children are going to be educated, although some do it by radio and some through correspondance schools.

We lived in Texas for four years; I have heard that it is one of the easiest, if not THE easiest state in which to home school. Well, Ontario is even easier. The law states that the PARENTS are the final authority with regards to the education of their children. We do not have to report to anyone; indeed, no official has to know we are even here. We are to provide "adequate" education at least equal to the government schools, which isn't hard to do. Around here, they don't even teach Canadian history, unless it has something to do with a national holiday. I have asked around about good history texts and have only come up with one supplier for home schools. A public school teacher in our church gave a rather disgusted laugh when I asked what her school used for history. That's when my suspicions were confirmed: they don't teach it. What was it someone once said about "Those who refuse to learn from history are destined to repeat it"? So I am in the process of putting together my own Canadian history courses--a rather difficult task for a born and bred American!

To the rest of you home schooling Canadians, I ask two questions. First, tell us what the laws are in your province. And second, what do you do for history?

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), October 14, 2001

Answers

Good Post Cathy. I love to read anything you write. Sounds like Canada is a mecca for homeschoolers. You may have convinced some to join you up there!!

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), October 14, 2001.

CATHY (hehe), (sigh) you americans really need to spell. I mean i was at the piano plunking away, but i could even hear people sing it differently , thats how bad it was! You americans LOL. (i'm just kidding, some of my best friends are americans).

-- jillian (sweetunes483@yahoo.com), October 14, 2001.

Mmmmm....one of my favorite hymns. When that one is in the service we up in the choir just belt it out! There are quite a few different spellings and pronounciations between American and Canadians..like grey and gray..color and colour.. lew- tenant and lef-tenant..check and cheque. As for Canadian history, holy smokes what was I learning in school all those years ago? But we also covered British history since we are still part of the Empire and all that. Things must have changed since I was in school. I don't know the laws surrounding home schooling in Nova Scotia. I don't have the patience or the obedience of my children to homeschool and besides that, we decided that our kids will attend the french language school since we qualify (hubby is french canadian). Thats got me worried as old heck in some ways and happy in others. The student teacher ratio at this school is way small (last year the largest class was 10 kids) so my easily frustrated son should be able to have lots of one on one help from his teacher. The fact that he is so easily frustrated in English makes me worry for him in the French environment of a school day. Bilingualism is a great asset in this country so we are very sure of our decision to send the boys to this school when they are school age. Hubby is trying to remember to speak more french around the boys so it won't be so foreign to them. I am hopelessly anglophone...I speak very little french...makes for a lot of translating being done for me when we go to Quebec to visit my inlaws! lol A lot of moms at nursery school discuss homeschooling and sadly it still get a bad rap by times. I think its a great alternative!!!!!!!! Is it true that the daily lessons can be done in as little as 2 hours?? Why are kids in school all day then??? Poor little lambs (says one who will be sending her lambs into the institutional education system...sigh). I think a great thing about homeschooling is that you can round out the childs knowledge more thoroughly by using other sources such as books, libraries, and field trips that are not necessarily part of an approved curriculum , if you are so inclined. Very cool. My hat goes off to you all.

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), October 15, 2001.

Alison, you asked if the lessons could be done in 2 hours. I homeschool my daughters (ages 11 and 4) and it's a very rare day when our lessons take more than 3 hours. When it's one on one teaching, it just doesn't take as long! And we accomplish more in that 2-3 hours than my 11 year old ever did in a full day in public school. Homeschooling is wonderful.

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), October 15, 2001.

Alison, my oldest, a slow worker who is starting "harder" stuff this year is usually done by noon. The others are done way before that. My kindergartner and first grader are only doing phonics and math right now, so they are done in less than 45 minutes. Kids in regular school have to wait for the teacher to explain things. The teacher I mentioned says lots of time is wasted in the classroom. Plus, a quick student is easily bored (and makes trouble) while a slower student gets left behind. Most of the bad rap for home schooling is the idea that the children lack socialization. Kids in school are, for the most part, learning to relate to a group their own age, when for the rest of their lives they will have to relate to people of varying ages. I heard of a school in Toronto that is currently without a playground (I think it was because of a concern over the chemicals in pressure-treated wood). The little kids had to play with the bigger kids, which many of the bigger kids thought was unfair. I thought that was sad. Back in the days of the one-room schools, all the kids played together a lot, like a family.

We have friends in Ottawa where the wife is Anglophone and the husband is bilingual. The wife is learning, though, and sometimes the husband's family will get to talking French, and she will say, "Hey, I heard that!" when they thought she couldn't understand.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), October 15, 2001.



hee hee Cathy..I have surprised them a couple of times and then I think I am sooo smart. Then my husband's step mother asked how old I am and I tell her in French I am 303 years old..DUHHHHH :o) My ex sister in law was able to straighten that one out. Even though she is divorced from my husbands brother she gets invited to the family visit when we are there..for one because we always got along so well and for another she can translate for my step mother in law and me!! ha ha Again, my hat is off to all you home schoolers. My son won't even sit at the table and work on printing his name for me (tried again today). He can kind of do a B...definitely recognises the letter B..but would rather say he can't than try. I guess perserverance will prevail..eventually!

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), October 15, 2001.

Cathy -- you might try a book called "My First History of Canada" by Donalda Dickie -- it's pretty basic, but your homeschooling store should either have it or be able to get it. It's published by Red Leaf Press. There are lesson questions provided for each chapter.

I get most of my homeschool resources here in Alberta from Canadian Home Education Resources. They have an extensive collection of Canadian materials. They can be reached by phone (403) 243-4443, by fax (403) 243-9727, by email cher@cadvision.com or by mail -- Canadian Home Education Resources, 108 - 1289 Highfield Crescent SE, Calgary, AB T2G 5M2. Gary and Brenda Baradoy who own it are experienced homeschoolers and incredibly helpful people. They have a wonderful catalog available, too.

I don't know what school board you spoke to, or what grade your kids would be in, but trust me, my son was learning Canadian history when he was enrolled in regular school.

You (and other Cdn homeschoolers) might be interested that there was an article on homeschooling on the front page of today's National Post.

Here in AB we have to register with a school board as homeschoolers. We must provide an equal education to our children as they would receive in the public school system, and we have a contact assigned to us by the school board (an experienced homeschooler) who can get us resources and guidance we may need but not know where to get. In exchange for two annual meetings with this person, we are entitled to $541.00 funding per child from the school board.

Alberta is a very homeschooling friendly province.

-- Tracy Rimmer (trimmer31@hotmail.com), October 15, 2001.


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