SCAIHS ADVANTAGE

SCAIHS ADVANTAGE
Volume 2, Issue 1
SCAIHS Staff
Elementary Department
Emily Lipscombe, Director
Sarah Filbey
Letitia Taylor
Middle & High School Department
Beth Martin, Director
Rebecca Pope, Asst. Director
Jan Lane Special Needs
Beth Moore, Director
Nancy Willoughby
Front Office
Katina Prescott
Carme Johnson
IN THIS ISSUE
•
Homeschool Day at the
Capitol
•
SCAIHS Members' Facebook
Group
•
Early Renewal
•
Student Achievements
•
Senior Graduation Ceremony
SCAIHS Has Relocated
Be sure to visit us at our
new location:
613 St. Andrews Road
Columbia, SC 29210.
Both the office and
bookstore are open
Monday-Thursday from
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
SCAIHS members receive
a 15% discount off most
items in the bookstore.
Spring 2016
What Should Your Child’s Classroom Look Like?
Zan Tyler
Some of the most traumatic memories I have of our first few years of homeschooling (1984-88) involve standardized testing. These nightmarish memories rank right up there with the threat of jail from the State Superintendent of
Education when my husband and I first decided to homeschool Ty, who was
then six-years-old.
During those years in South Carolina, homeschooling parents were required
to have their children take standardized tests in classrooms in the public
schools for which they were zoned. I have vivid memories of taking my
sweet little boys (Ty and John) to these schools and handing them over to
teachers they had never met, to sit in a classroom full of children they didn’t
know. They were required to take these important year-end tests in totally
unfamiliar and, sometimes unfriendly, environments. Rather than serving
as helpful diagnostic tools, the test scores became a large part of the criteria
our local school board used to determine whether or not we could continue
homeschooling.
While Ty and John were testing, I spent a good deal of time wandering
around the halls of the schools, examining the facilities, as well as the samples of artwork and schoolwork that were displayed on the walls in the
various corridors.
The schools in our public school district are expensive and well-kept. Every
year I would experience a new round of angst and depression as I surveyed
those first-rate facilities that my sons were “missing out” on. The grounds
were well-kept. The playgrounds were well-equipped. There were art rooms
and music rooms; the cheery school cafeteria also doubled as an auditorium
with a stage for performances and programs.
In those early years I often wondered if our modest home could come close
to offering our children the same opportunities that our school district’s
multi-million dollar facilities offered.
Lessons Gleaned from My Wanderings
After homeschooling my own children for twenty-one years and being
involved in the homeschooling community for over thirty years, I no longer
worry about these things. I have seen and continue to see the amazing fruit
born in children who are taught at home. Here are some discoveries I made
during our homeschooling journey that often surprised me, but always encouraged me. I hope they will be a blessing to you as well.
1. Facilities, no matter how expensive or beautiful, do not educate or teach.
2. For homeschooling families, the world truly becomes your classroom. (Continued on page 2)
(Continued from page 1)
3. Field trips, travel opportunities, mission trips, and internships expand your child’s horizons far beyond the
walls of the most beautifully appointed classroom.
4. Time with immediate and extended family abounds because your child is not confined to a school schedule
or classroom, beautiful though it may be.
5. One-on-one education that focuses on the needs and giftedness of each student empowers children and
encourages them to become a life-long learners.
6. In the homeschool environment, dialog and constant interactions are the norm—and number in the hundreds
daily. In the traditional classroom environment, the child has personal interaction with the teacher on
average about eight-to-ten times a day. Constant dialogue is crucial in developing critical thinking and
leadership skills.
7. In the homeschool, education and “real” life intersect on a daily basis.
8. Homeschool families are free to pray, read the Word of God, and incorporate a biblical worldview into all of
learning.
God is the Ultimate Superintendent of Education. He orchestrates opportunities for our children beyond our
abilities to imagine or provide. The presence of the living God transforms the most humble home into a holy
place of powerful learning and growth.
The Answer to the Question
What should a homeschool classroom look like?
Henry Ward Beecher, a pastor in the 1800s and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, said this: “The mother’s heart
is the child’s school-room.”
Proverbs 24:4 says, “By knowledge the rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure” (Holman
Christian Standard Bible).
From these two sources we learn that our hearts, which are “the child’s school-room,” must be appropriately
decorated. If we allow Christ to be our Interior Decorator, He will create the most fabulous schoolroom imaginable for our children—a room that is furnished with “precious and beautiful treasure.”
My prayer is that God will provide you with an eternal vision for developing vibrant, effective homeschools and
families. And to remind you that as you seek Christ daily, He will decorate your lives and homes with precious
and beautiful treasures from the storehouse of His unfathomable riches and grace.
As the Director of Apologia Press, a division of Apologia Educational Ministries, Zan Tyler’s goal is to develop and
publish biblically based resources that will empower parents in the purpose and process of homeschooling. She is the
author of 7 Tools for Cultivating Your Child’s Potential. Zan and husband, Joe, homeschooled their three children
from kindergarten through high school, for a total of 21 years. When Zan began homeschooling in 1984, she was
threatened with jail by the South Carolina State Superintendent of Education. Zan founded the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools in 1990 and serves on the Board of Directors. The governor of South Carolina
awarded Zan the Order of the Palmetto in 1998, the highest honor a civilian can receive. In 2015, she was awarded
the Chris Klicka award by HSLDA. Zan serves as an ambassador for the Home School Foundation, which exists to
serve homeschoolers in need and formerly served as the National Grassroots Director for ParentalRights.org.
SCAIHS ADVANTAGE º PAGE 2 º SPRING 2016
Homeschool Day
at the Capitol
SCAIHS Members'
Facebook Group
All South Carolina homeschoolers are encouraged
to meet at the State House in Columbia on Tuesday,
April 19, 2016, for HOMESCHOOL DAY AT THE
CAPITOL.
We encourage you to join the SCAIHS Members
Facebook Group. You will have to first log in to
Facebook, and then search for SCAIHS Members. Once
you find the SCAIHS Members group, you may request
to join the group.
You will have the opportunity to meet Senators and
Representatives and even observe the current General
Session. This is a great civic experience for the whole
family!
We regularly post lots of information to this group
including field trip opportunities, extra curricular
options, and special deals for homeschoolersWe
encourage members to post things, too!
Although Homeschool Day at the Capitol is free,
registration is required for tours of the State House, the
Governor's Mansion and Trinity Episcopal Church.
General Registration for Homeschool Day (even if you
are not participating in the tours) is encouraged, but not
required. Free parking passes will be emailed to those
who register.
This is a closed Facebook Group, so you must request to
join. Also, please be sure to check out our regular Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/scaihs/?fref=ts.
For more information about Homeschool Day at the
Capitol--including information about the business
card contest and scavenger hunt--visit http://schea.
net/2016-homeschool-day-at-the-capitol/.
If you plan to attend the Lowcountry Homeschool
Convention May 13-14, 2016, be sure to come by the
SCAIHS booth!
Come Visit SCAIHS
in the Lowcountry
The convention will be held at Charleston Southern
University in North Charleston.
Box Tops Contest
Don't forget to keep clipping and collecting Box Tops for
Education. The family who submits the most Box Tops will
receive $350.00 off their SCAIHS membership for the 20162017 school year. Second place is $100.00 off membership,
and third place is $50.00 off membership. Box Tops may
be submitted to the SCAIHS office anytime throughout the
year. The deadline for submitting Box Tops is May 7,
2016.
Early Renewal Discount
SCAIHS is now accepting applications for the 2016-2017 school year for Renewing or Former Members.
• If you pay in full March 1 - April 15 you will receive a 10% discount.
• If you pay in full April 16 - May 31 you will receive a 5% discount.
Online applications are available at https://schomeschooling.com/scaihs-new-member-application/.
*Be sure to use the Discount Code Marcherrific (good 3/4/16 - 4/15/16)
If you have any questions, please contact Katina at scaihs@scaihs.org or 803-814-0353.
Please note: This discount does not apply to Auxiliary or K5 memberships.
SCAIHS ADVANTAGE º PAGE 3 º SPRING 2016
c
m
s
offi
The Board of Directors
of the
A special "THANK YOU" to Simplified
Office Solutions for helping us move
into our new office, and to Whitehall
Carpet Cleaners for cleaning the carpets
in our new office.
South Carolina Association
of Independent Home Schools
announces the Commencement Exercises
of the Class of 2016
Saturday afternoon, June fourth
Two thousand sixteen
at two o’clock
Cornerstone Presbyterian Church
5637 Bush River Road
Columbia, South Carolina
******
United States Senator Tim Scott
SCAIHS Bookstore
If you are in the Columbia area, shop for
curriculum in person at our bookstore. We
have new and used items, and SCAIHS
members receive a 15% discount on most
items. The bookstore is open MondayThursday, 9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
will deliver the commencement address.
SCAIHS ADVANTAGE º PAGE 4 º SPRING 2016
SCAIHS STUDENT RECOGNITIONS
SCAIHS students are doing wonderful things!
Congratulations to the following SCAIHS students:
Mary Kathryn Davidson has been selected as an Aspirations in Computing – South Carolina award recipient. The
award is part of a national effort to encourage more young women to choose careers in technology and is organized
in South Carolina by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and IT-oLogy.
Mary Kathryn will be among those honored in April at a reception sponsored by Columbia College.
Emma Imholz (right) was cast in the role of Audrey in the production of
Little Shop of Horrors, which was presented by the Westwood Actors’
Theatre on March 17-18 at Westwood High School. Congratulations,
Emma!
Amy Harrington, SCAIHS graduate, has been awarded the Magellan
Scholar grant through USC, which will be applied to her undergraduate
research. The project she is working on is testing the effects of Resveratrol
(a compound naturally derived from red grapes) on reducing liver
inflammation associated with autoimmune hepatitis. The hope is to identify natural alternatives to current treatment
methods for autoimmune hepatitis, with less side effects.
Amy is a junior Biochemistry & Molecular Biology major. Her research mentor is Dr. Venkatesh Hegde from the
Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the USC School of Medicine.
Dawson Jacobs (left) earned a spot in the USA Climbing Bouldering Youth National
Competition in the Male Youth A in Madison, Wisconsin. Congratulations, Dawson!
Thanks to Kate Chalfant for the videos she has filmed for SCAIHS. Most recently, she
interviewed SCAIHS graduate Elise Porter. The video is posted on our SCAIHS Facebook
page, as well as on the SCAIHS YouTube page.
Thank you, Congressman Joe Wilson, for supporting the rights of South Carolina
homeschool families. SCAIHS Student Council families enjoyed celebrating School Choice
Week (January 24-30, 2016) with Congressman Wilson.
SCAIHS ADVANTAGE º PAGE 5 º SPRING 2016