Walk Now for Autism Speaks...

This past weekend, we went to the Autism Walk in Miami. As I said previously, I don't support the organization monetarily, but I did appreciate that there would be many parents in my same situation all in one spot. I was also looking forward to gathering information about different therapy centers and schools for Bu. Rather than participate in the walk, we walked around talking to professionals, signed petitions, and played in the "sensory tents".

In related news, we've been able to restart speech therapy, order supplements for the next month, and we've even been able to set up some occupational therapy at home to supplement what he should be getting at the center...all thanks to people like YOU donating directly to an autism family (US) instead of an organization. So once again, thank you for your continued support.

Guest Post: "Bill Nye Insults Homeschoolers"

READ ME FIRST

So, basically, Bill Nye the Science Guy posted on his facebook page that he was there to answer (good) questions. 

I posed one. 

I asked him if he would consider building a curriculum for homeschoolers. 

His response was surprisingly stacked against homeschoolers, basically asserting that homeschoolers will never be engineers because they don't work well in groups. 

From there, the conversation devolved into a war of words. 

Mr. Nye, since you claim that evidence will change your opinion, here is a list of homeschooled people. Perhaps you've heard of them? 

George Washington Carver
Albert Einstein
Michael Faraday
Ada Lovelace
Joseph Priestley
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

...just to name a few. 

Mr. Nye, your comment to me was ignorant and rather unscientific. I hope you will educate yourself soon. Some colleagues of mine plan to help you do just that. Good day, Science Guy. 

Reposted with permission from Michelle Pippen. Please visit her blog at http://sweethoneyicedtea.blogspot.de/ to read the original post. And SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!

Advice from home-schooling parents?

I know it's probably premature, seeing as my child is a year old, but I have been extensively researching homeschooling and I feel that it might be the right choice for my family.

My husband is about 60% convinced...he's concerned that our son (and any future children) might be socially crippled by homeschooling them...I have the same concern, but hope to keep them involved in sports or dance teams, etc so they can socialize with children that have similar interests. Ideally, we could have some sort of homeschooling co-op situation, where we form a group with other homeschooling families and occasionally learn together so they can meet and make friends with other homeschoolers. There are 2 problems with that, however...in the city of Miami, homeschooling seems to be at a minimum. The second issue is that most homeschoolers (from what I've seen in my research, perhaps I'm mistaken) seem to teach from a religious standpoint/curriculum, and we are raising our children nondenominationally.

I'd love to hear from any homeschooling parents about learning resources, socializing your homeschooled children, and just about your experience in general. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated! I know it's early, but this is a big decision and I want to be certain I'm making the right choice for my child(ren).