I thought this was a great way to finish off our day at the homeschool fair. I found this article written about the fair. Hey if you don;t mind if I can brag for a moment, My kids did great at the science and art fair. Six 1st place ribbons as well as two best in show. Take a look at the pictures…http://vincentshomeschooldays.blogspot.com/ . Anyway, read the article in the Inland Daily Bulletin.
Home School Fair is a hit in Ontario
Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
Created: 05/25/2009 06:02:00 PM PDT
ONTARIO – There seemed to be as many reasons to home-school a child as there were attendees at Monday’s Home School Fair at Ontario Christian High School.
About 1,000 people from San Bernardino, Orange and Los Angeles counties as well as Northern California attended the fair in its 20th year.
The fair served children of the home-school community by providing them with a place to share their talents and abilities with friends, family members and other home-schooled students.
Home schooling consists of a parent or guardian taking on the responsibility of educating their child either directly or indirectly at home, instead of sending them to a public or charter school. Home schooling many times is religious based.
“The biggest benefit to home-schooling is that we can teach our kids our family values all while instilling our core beliefs,” said Kerry Byers, High Desert regional advisory board member to the Christian Home Educators Association of California.
Christian Home Educators Association is a nonprofit ministry that provides information, support and training to the home-education community throughout the state. The nonprofit ministry was established in 1982.
The Home School Fair was similar to a county fair as it included art workshops, carnival games, historical re-enactments, arts and crafts as well as bake sales.
But the fair for home-schoolers also had spelling bees, bible-sword drills, vendor booths, history and science projects, used-curriculum sale and Olympic-type events.
Home schooling is a private educational practice that is very individualized, said Mike Gabriel, chairman of the Home School Fair.
“Your neighbor could be home-schooled and you not even know it,” Gabriel said. “That’s the reason why we host fairs like these to showcase what kids have done and to have fun at the same time.”
Home schooling grew from nearly nonexistent in the 1970s to roughly 2 million students nation-wide in grades K-12 this year, according to a study done by National Home Education Research Institute. Home education receives no government money. Parents who home school their children pay taxes even though their kids are not enrolled in public schools.
“We don’t live a lavish life, we live a simple life,” said John Reilly of Moreno Valley. “I’d love to take a trip to Hawaii or have a vacation, but we would rather put our money into our kids education.”
Reilly has four children who are home schooled. It costs him about $1,000 a year to teach each child. “Some of the financial challenges comes with buying your own curriculum, so finding used curriculum for sale cuts the costs,” he said. “I do what ever it takes to make ends meet. God hasn’t failed us yet and I don’t believe he is going to.”
Studies done by the National Home Education Research Institute also say that home-educated students generally score above average, regardless of whether either parent has ever held a state-issued teaching certificate.
The Home School Fair had a full schedule of events, beginning at 9 a.m. with a talent showcase and concluding after 3 p.m. with an ice cream and pie-eating contest. For Heather Reilly, 14, the thought of attending public school is not an option. “Sometimes I want to experience it, but then other times I say `Well, this is where God wants me to be and I’m pe in the rfectly fine with that,”‘ Heather said. The freshman is taught by her mother. “A lot of people think I don’t have a social life because I’m home-schooled, but I’m involved in basketball, volleyball, cross country, track and field and I meet with a support group of friends twice a month.”
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