High School Sports Expectations, Gifted and Talented Support
By Heather Idoni
Added Friday, March 03, 2006
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The Homeschooler's Notebook
Encouragement and Advice for Homeschool Families
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Vol. 7 No 9 March 3, 2006
ISSN: 1536-2035
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Copyright (c) 2006 - Heather Idoni, FamilyClassroom.net. All Rights Reserved.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Notes from the Editor
-- High School Sports
Helpful Tips
-- Send yours in!
Question of the Week
-- Your Questions
-- Your Answers
Editor's Picks
-- TAG Email Group
Announcements
-- Subscriber Information
-- Sponsorship Information
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Notes from Heather
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High School Sports
One reason families will cite for the decision not to homeschool at
the high school level is the fear that the opportunity for organized,
competitive team sports will be missed.While community club
sports experiences for younger children (ages 5 to 14) seem to abound,
students age 15 and up are often left high and dry when they do not
enroll in public, private, or established charter schools.
In most states, the decision to include independent homeschooled
students on public school teams is left up to the individual school boards.
Even when homeschoolers are initially accepted on a team with little or
no requirements beyond maintaining a certain minimum grade point
average, communication breakdowns with parents of non-homeschooled
players can result in changes to policies.Students who were previously
playing without a problem can face the heartbreak of being pressured into
higher fees and/or more requirements (such as finding "connection" with
the team by spending time in classes at the school, etc.)
Once a child has been a part of a team, actively playing and travelling to
out-of-town games, etc., he/she is connected!!Relationships with other
team members (for better or for worse) and with the coaches are
established.It can be heartbreaking to be faced with a decision to quit
homeschooling or be forced to leave the team.But many have
unwittingly walked right into this kind of situation.Sadly, many buckle
and enter their children into the public school.
In the next newsletter I will share with you some suggestions for plan-
ning ahead to avoid this situation in the high school years.If this can
help even one family to KEEP homeschooling through high school grad-
uation (yes, I feel strongly about this!) then I will be glad to have taken
the time to share on this topic.
PS ... I still want to read YOUR "sports stories" -- positive, negative, or
otherwise!I NEED your input!What is the situation in your area?
Send me those emails!!Mail to:heather@familyclassroom.net
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HELPFUL TIPS
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[Here's your chance!Send YOUR ideas along to
HN-ideas@familyclassroom.net]
We didn't get any tips this week!C'mon... I know there are many
creative parents out there.;-) Share!!
Send YOUR ideas to:HN-ideas@familyclassroom.net
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Last Issue's Question Was...
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Last week I invited our readers to write regarding their experiences
with organized sports, particularly at the high school level.While
my personal experience with our local public school was initially
a disappointment, one of our readers in Minnesota has definitely
had a much more positive response!
And thanks to Debra in North Carolina for sharing about a success-
ful homeschool sports program in her area.
Keep those emails coming!
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Our Readers' Responses
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"We are in Minnesota.I know the 5 districts around us are open to
home school students, as long as they meet the same criteria as
public school students regarding grades, fees, and rules (football,
baseball, basketball, soccer and wrestling teams).We are in a very
good district, and there were quite a few other home school students
who went before us in school sports.
Due to MN law, I don't have to turn in grades, but I did have to sign off
on a form stating that I realize students with GPA's below 2.0 are not
eligible to participate on school teams.One thing with grades - though
I haven't been asked for the proof, be sure to keep track of all grades
and standard tests, etc. and keep a portfolio of student work to back
it up.
Three years ago I called to see if the school would allow my son on
the 7th grade school team (I didn't know any other way to find out at
the time, so just called the school direct and asked), then I went into
the athletic director's office and picked up the proper forms for physicals
and high school sports regulations and such.While at the athletic
directors office, I did double check once again, telling them he was
home schooled and asking if it was it ok for him to participate.We
were told it was no big deal so we had the forms filled out at the
doctor's office, signed off on the permission forms and such, then took
everything and the regular sports fees and signed up.They gave us the
necessary approval forms and then we went to the first practice.Initial
practices are in the paper, so we just go and start - the most important
thing is for your child to let you know if there are time or location
changes and to be sure the coach has your phone number.The
coaches we have encountered really haven't cared where the kids go to
school during the day - they just expect kids to follow team rules and
regulations and do their best at practice and games.
Since our experience has been positive, my oldest may decide to parti-
cipate on our high school hockey team next year, but if he doesn't,
there are three non-school options available to him here in the State of
Hockey!Overall, our experience with the public school sports (and
band) has been positive.
As far as club sports - watch the papers.They have sign up times and
in our community, the local community center usually knows who to
contact for different sports.Don't be afraid to make a phone call.With
many club level sports, it doesn't matter what type of school kids attend,
they are still eligible to participate.Many just have school district
boundaries and will let you know which club you should be joining based
on where you live.
We participate in club level soccer, swimming and hockey as well with
the three younger kids.So far it has been great.Though none of my
kids have participated, our home school group does offer basketball and
baseball leagues." -- Lucinda in MN
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"We are part of a very successful homeschool football program in North
Carolina.The HFL http://www.homeschoolfootballleague.com/ is a
growing league for boys and dads, currently in North and South Carolina.
It is funto participate in a league that emphasizes sportsmanship and
character.I have 2 boys, ages 6 and 12 that love to play football.We
have been extremely pleased with the leadership in the Homeschool
Football League." -- Debra in NC
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Answer our NEW Question!
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"I work full time. My husband is disabled and home schools our teen-
age son. We don’t seem to have any local organizations for dads.My
husband would like to participate in group activities but they all consist
of moms and he’s just not comfortable. Can we hear from some dads
about what are they doing?" -- A Mom in Arkansas
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Send your responses to:HN-answers@familyclassroom.net
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ASK YOUR QUESTION
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Do you have a burning question that you can't ask just anyone?
Send it to HN-questions@familyclassroom.net and we'll see
if our readers can help you out.
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HEATHER'S PICKS
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This week I wanted to share with you a wonderful email group
particularly for Christian parents of gifted and talented children!
This warm and inviting group was founded by Maggie Hogan of
http://www.brightideaspress.com and strictly moderated by
Luanne Riley of the Homeschool Encouragement Center.It is
a safe haven for those moms who have been previously judged
for "bragging" too much on their child!Come join a safe haven
for Christian parents to talk about the joys and challenges of
raising gifted and talented children.330+ members.
[Note:I searched for an inclusive group on this topic so that I could
include a link here... but I couldn't find one that wasn't regional.If
anyone knows of a good one, I will be happy to put the link in the
next newsletter. - Heather]
-- From the HSGifted group page:
You know your kid is gifted when:
His bedroom looks like a mad scientist’s laboratory.
Your 7 year old has recreated Middle Earth in perfect detail. With
Legos.
Your 14 year old speaks and writes a foreign language fluently.
One that he invented.
Your 2 year old insists on putting together his jigsaw puzzles color-
side down so it won’t be so easy.
You go to the bookstore and have to put your foot down because
while you were browsing your 9 year old headed to the check out line
with $500 worth of science books.
Your 4 year old cries when she hears national news reports about a
famine in Africa.
And here is a personal favorite from Maggie's experience: You told
your son that he and his friends must stay outside to play. Later you
find that they took the TV and Nintendo game up on the rooftop to play.
They were, after all, playing outside.
Intellectually gifted kids are not always the honors students with the
best scores. Some kids don’t test well and some gifted kids aren’t
academically inclined. It’s not always easy being gifted!
The group link is:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HSGifted
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Interactive Email Group
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In an effort to help our readers become more of an interactive
community, we have set up an email loop at YahooGroups called
"Homeschool-Notebook".
Please sign-up for the group and take our poll, even if you want
to go "no mail" for the loop.This will help me to understand what
ages your children are, how you school, etc.(The information will
be kept anonymous and private, of course.)
Here is the link to sign-up and take the poll:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/homeschool-notebook/
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
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