Recognize! Most mornings I take our English lab, Fortune, for a walk. I was steps out the back door, heading for the trail, treat pouch in hand when I sensed something was missing. I stopped, slipped my hand into the pocket of my hoodie and then I knew. My phone- I was missing my phone! I…
We are in a quiet time of year here at Basic Skills- a time of preparation for the next testing season which will begin in March of next year. I’m guessing most of you will continue home schooling for the next two to three weeks and then take a break from the books as the…
In keeping with the Black Friday holiday sales, we have decided to offer an early bird discount ($5.00 to $10.00 off the cost of testing per student) to families who register and pay now for remote testing that will take place next year, 2024. If you’re planning on testing, this is one way to save…
Can’t read, can’t write, can’t add, can’t subtract? That’s OK. The Oregon Department of Education just voted unanimously last Thursday, October 19, to confirm students don’t need to prove mastery of reading, writing or math to graduate. They cited “harm to students of color” as the reason. To learn more about this decision, read the…
A number of years ago before AI, one of my tutors was working with a student in writing. She was struggling and often turned in assignments late with mediocre content. On one occasion, a miracle occurred, or so it seemed. She submitted an exceptional five-paragraph essay. There were no punctuation or grammatical errors, her topic sentences…
If you want to opt out of the standard achievement test requirement for home schoolers because you suspect your child has a learning disability, here are the steps: Get a diagnosis. Awareness that your student seems to have difficulty in processing information, in expressing themselves verbally or in writing, reverses letters or numbers, or is…
In one of my previous articles, I said to opt out of testing, the student will need to be on an IEP or PDP. While similar in function, there are some differences. The “Away Game” Option The IEP is a document created and managed by the public school. It is framed to adhere to all federal, state and…
It’s been awhile since I wrote part 1 of The End of Home Schooling so you may want to read it in our archives (click here) to understand the context of the following. So, who did or should the graduates have identified with? Our speaker gave them a few moments to ponder the question and shocked…
On a weekly basis, he sees a man who comes to an outreach ministry for support and help. The visit always begins a little awkwardly– the man smells and looks like he just arrived from a campsite. Actually that’s pretty close to the truth; hours before he was dozing in a sleeping bag. He and…
Screen time. Do you keep going back for more? If we’re honest, the answer is yes. Our addictive technologies and various platforms have most of us hooked. Two years ago, Jenny and I decided to pull the plug on our TV subscription. The service was fine, but we mutually decided we could do without…