Seminar - Homeschooling High School - Options for Your Unique Learner

Home Schooling High School
A Seminar of Options for Your Unique Learner

Date: May 25, 2011 7p.m. to 9 p.m.

Place: MacLeod Trail Co-op Community Room, 8818 MacLeod Trail SE

Cost: $25.00 per Adult, $40.00 per Parenting Couple, Teens free with an adult

Register: Online http://www.attachmentparenting.ca/education.html
Or send a cheque to APCA 12018 Lake Erie Rd SE, Calgary, AB, T2J 2L8

Presented by: Judy Arnall, BA

Due to limited space, pre-registration is a must!

In this workshop, participants will learn:

• Unschooling High School and getting into Post-Secondary Programs
• Options for Earning a Diploma
• Options for Marks and Credits in Subjects Without a Diploma
• Resources available for online, in-person and correspondence courses

Judy Arnall teaches parenting at The University of Calgary, Continuing Education, Chinook Learning, and Alberta Health Services. Judy is the author of the Canadian bestseller, Discipline Without Distress: 135 Tools for raising caring, responsible children without time-out, spanking, punishment or bribery and the newly released DVD, Plugged-In Parenting: Connecting with the Digital Generation for Health, Safety and Love. Judy is the parent of 5 homeschooled children.
Jarnall@shaw.ca
403-714-6766 for more information.

Discipline Without Distress: How to Win Cooperation Without Tantrums and Defiance

Discipline Without Distress: 135 tools for raising caring, responsible children without time-out, spanking, punishment or bribery

Discipline that you and your child will feel good about!

Now an International Bestseller!

At last, a positive discipline book that is chock-full of practical tips, strategies, skills, and ideas for parents of babies through teenagers, and tells you EXACTLY what to do “in the moment” for every type of behavior, from whining to web surfing.

Parents and children today face very different challenges from those faced by the previous generation. Today’s children play not only in the sandbox down the street, but also in the World Wide Web, which is too big and complex for parents to control and supervise. As young as age four, your children can contact the world, and the world can contact them. A strong bond between you and your child is critical in order for your child to regard you as their trusted advisor. Traditional discipline methods, no longer work with today’s children and they destroy your ability to influence your increasingly vulnerable children who need you as their lifeline! You need new discipline tools!

Help your child gain:

• Strong communication skills for school, career, and relationship success.
• Healthy self-esteem, confidence, and greater emotional intelligence.
• Assertiveness, empathy, problem solving, and anger-management skills.
• A respectful, loving connection with you!

You will gain:

• An end to resentment, frustration, anger, tears, and defiance in your parent-child relationship.
• Tools to respectfully handle most modern challenging parenting situations, including biting, hitting, tantrums, bedtimes, picky eating, chores, homework, sibling wars, smoking, “attitude,” and video/computer games.
• Help for controlling your anger “in the moment” during those trying times.
• A loving, respectful, teaching and fun connection with your child!

“Offers a wealth of ideas and suggestions for raising children without the use of punishment of any kind.” Linda Adams, President and CEO of Gordon Training International

Available at:
Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
ChaptersIndigo
Professional Parenting
Barnes and Noble

Plugged-In Parenting: How to Teach Your Child Digital Citizenship

Plugged-In Parenting: Connecting with the Digital Generation for Health, Safety and Love

Are you too busy to read? This DVD is for you! Learn how online learning affects certain types of children and how experiential learning can complement digital learning tools and strategies. Learn what is Digital Citizenship and how to impart the principles to children at home, school, and in homeschooling.

PLUGGED-IN PARENTING offers two hours of tips, ideas and non-punitive strategies for parenting digital children from babies to teenagers, in every aspect of digital intelligence including cybersafety, netiquette, cyberbullying, social media guidelines, health promotion and even the academic benefits of computer and video-gaming. You will appreciate the valuable parenting demonstrations that show how to keep kids connected to you while you set healthy limits on video/computer games, social media and cellphones. This DVD is ideal for busy parents and caregivers who want accurate researched information but have little time to read books. Keep your digital children safe, healthy and happy, without losing your vital relationship connection!

Authored by Judy Arnall, the bestselling author of "Discipline Without Distress: 135 Tools for raising caring, responsible children without time-out, spanking, punishment or bribery."

Available at Chapters.Indigo
and Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
Professional Parenting

Schedule of Learning Outcomes for Students Receiving Home Education Programs That Do Not Follow the Alberta Programs of Study

1 A basic education must provide students with a solid core program including language arts, mathematics, science and social studies.

2 Students are expected to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will prepare them for life after high school. A basic education will allow students to

(a) read for information, understanding and enjoyment,
(b) write and speak clearly, accurately and appropriately for the context,
(c) use mathematics to solve problems in business, science and daily life situations,
(d) understand the physical world, ecology and the diversity of life,
(e) understand the scientific method, the nature of science and technology and their application to daily life,
(f) know the history and geography of Canada and have a general understanding of world history and geography,
(g) understand Canada’s political, social and economic systems within a global context,
(h) respect the cultural diversity, the religious diversity and the common values of Canada,
(i) demonstrate desirable personal characteristics such as respect, responsibility, fairness, honesty, caring, loyalty and commitment to democratic ideals,
(j) recognize the importance of personal well-being and appreciate how family and others contribute to that well-being,
(k) know the basic requirements of an active, healthful lifestyle,
(l) understand and appreciate literature, the arts and the creative process,
(m) research an issue thoroughly and evaluate the credibility and reliability of information sources,
(n) demonstrate critical and creative thinking skills in problem solving and decision making,
(o) demonstrate competence in using information technologies,
(p) know how to work independently and as part of a team,
(q) manage time and other resources needed to complete a task,
(r) demonstrate initiative, leadership, flexibility and persistence,
(s) evaluate their own endeavours and continually strive to improve, and
(t) have the desire and realize the need for life-long learning.

Aligned/Blended Home Education Programs in Alberta

Aligned/Blended Versus Traditional Programs: Do you know what you are signing up for?
Here is an analogy to help you decide what fits for you and your family:

Aligned/Blended Program
Imagine the aligned program is a like a school classroom. The certified teacher sits in the teacher’s chair and the children are doing schoolwork mandated by Alberta Education and covers the Alberta Program of Studies. The parent is the volunteer aide, unpaid, and under the teacher’s supervision. While the teacher is out of the classroom, having coffee, the parent volunteer sits in the certified teacher’s chair and assumes the role of the teacher while she is out. Now, imagine a child having trouble with an assignment or refusing to write an essay.

Is the government and administrators going to come and fire the parent volunteer? No. Will they hold the parent volunteer responsible? No. Do they expect the parent volunteer to document what was learned and what wasn’t? No. Will they take away the resources (funding) in the class because the child isn’t learning? No. Will they supervise the paid teacher closer and figure out what is wrong with the teaching methods? Perhaps. Will they kick the child out of the class and tell the parent to homeschool him? (Asking parent to drop down to tradional instead of aligned) Not on your life! The certified teacher will come back and assume control of the classroom and the parent volunteer aide, who has been helping the teacher will be back in the volunteer role on the side.

The teacher will continue to mark the assignments that the parent handed out and which the parent provided tutoring on. The teacher will gather the assignments that the parent volunteer facilitated on their behalf while the teacher was having coffee, and will submit them to the government as evidence of their teaching the curriculum. If there is no evidence of teaching/learning, the teacher, and school board will be answerable to Alberta Education. Not the parent volunteer aide.

When you are homeschooling on a blended or aligned program, you are the parent volunteer aide. All you do is help the paid teacher carry out her work. You are not responsible for delivery, assessment or even documentation! That belongs with the teacher, the administrator and the school board. Alberta Education funds the school to pay for the teacher,(not the parent volunteer aide) classroom, resources and administration and therefore expects all to follow it's mandated Alberta Program of Studies.

Traditional Program

In the above analogy, the parent pulls the child out of the school and takes them home or in the community. The parent and child decide which philosophy, curriculum, and goals will be met in the year. The parent can use whatever resources they choose. The parent is totally responsible to Alberta Education for meeting the targets in theSchedule of Learning Outcomes for Students Receiving Home Education Programs That Do Not Follow the Alberta Programs of Study

The School board gets some funding and has to share half the amount with the parent. The parent is responsible to Alberta Education for the planning, delivery and evalution of the Traditional program. The certified teacher is only responsible for ensuring that the child is progressing toward the goals set out in the above Learning Outcomes. No marks will be given.

Hopefully, this will help parents decide what type of program is beneficial for their families.

Argyll Edmonton Public School Board

Argyll offers grades 1 to 12 and supports traditional and blended programs from grades 1 to 12. Also offers online classes for junior and senior high.

What I like...

Argyll offers on-site classes to cover outcomes and has a huge resource library on it's Calgary site so home educators and peruse materials before purchase.

What needs improvement...

The school board needs to provide greater support and unlimited teacher help in the blended program when students and parents require it.

What this board does well...

Argyll is unique in offering an Alternative High School Program for marks and credits. Home educators can design their own high school course that is geared for personalized learning that takes into account the individuals' interests and desired outcomes.

Vermillion School of Hope

School of Hope offers a full curriculum program from Grade 1-12. They offer online classes for the older grades and fully support traditional programs.

What I like...

They offer on-site, one-day classes in Calgary and plenty of field trips. They have been supporting homeschoolers for decades and their facilitators are truly supportive and encouraging. They offer special needs and IPP testing and provide special ed funding and resources.

What Needs Improvement...

Greater communication methods need to be encouraged between administration, facilitators and parents. Currently, parents can only contact the school inside the school website. Funding receipts are intensely and overly scrutinized in a needlessly bureaucratic manner.

Something this school board does well...

School of Hope offers a lot of flexibility in terms of teaching styles, learning styles and curriculum/resource choices in their blended/aligned programs. Ideal for parents who are starting and need structure/intense support in their program with a basic curriculum to start with.