Blog

I haven’t blogged in many months, so this is just to make it official that this area is closed for the time being. I am focusing all of my time on adding new features to the site and there is no time left to keep this updated. I’ll keep this feature open, however, because some of the old entries may still be of use.

I do intend to add blog entries again some time in the future, but this message is for those who may see the dates on the blog entries and think that this site is no longer in use. Rest assured that the other areas of the site are very active.

My wife and I attended this 4th annual conference put on by Home On The Rock. We really enjoyed the keynote speakers, Bob and Tina Farewell. As they talked and shared the stories of what their kids have done, I realized that was just what I was needing. By now, I am familiar with most of the major curriculum choices and teaching approaches, so I don’t need to hear the what or the how so much. Particularly, when Bob shared how his oldest had taken an interest in airplanes and around age 15 had his pilot’s license, was brokering airplanes, and had a larger income than his Dad. I realized that I did need to hear yet another story about how far our kids can go when you unshackle them and provide them with resources and encouragement.

Bob has started another venture, Bringing Dads Home, which is a vision that I share. I think he is still developing the vision in the near term, but I am very interested in following its development.

I didn’t get a chance to hear Ray and Donna Reish, the other keynote speakers, as much. But I did take away from them a renewed commitment on stressing character development as the foundation of homeschooling. It takes a lot of time and energy, but if our kids are obedient, if they each contribute to the housework, then that keeps mom from having her life and energy sucked out of her. She then can redirect her creative energies to teaching her children. And then we parents can stick our heads up out of the trees to look at the forest and plan some educational, or just plain fun, activities for them.

Here is another drawing contest that I learned about over on the HECLC list…

The Safe Communities program of Central Ohio is hosting an art contest with many other schools in the area. The winning artwork will be featured in a 12 month calendar focusing on traffic safety and injury prevention and will be distributed across the central Ohio area. A winner from each topic will be selected for publish in the calendar.

The contest is open to all students in grades 1 – 12. Home school students may choose from any of the four art topics in the high school student category. Four traffic safety themes have been pre-assigned to your groups. Each theme will correspond to a specific month. All entries must be completed by February 28, 2007. More details and specific contest rules are included in the attached form.

Safe Communities Coalitions in Central Ohio are working hard to increase seatbelt usage and decrease the number of fatalities on the roads. In Licking County for example, there were 26 fatalities in 2005, and in 2006 there were only 17. Every death is one too many, but a reduction of nine fatalities is great progress. Please help us to spread the message of traffic safety by asking your students to submit a piece of art to be published in Central Ohio.

We encourage you to take freedom with the contest, as long as it meets the rules and requirements. Whether you incorporate it into your curriculum or allow it to be freelance is up to you. Please help us by adhering to the guidelines and making your students aware. Most importantly though, creativity counts!

If you are interested in any of your classes/students participating in the calendar contest or have any questions, please contact me at (740) 349-6535 or at adavis@lickingcohealth.org. We are excited about showcasing the talent of all students in the central Ohio area. Thank you for your help and participation. Together, we can make Central Ohio a safer, healthier community.

CONTEST RULES

• Calendar contest open to all students grades 1 -12.
• Each grade level/school has been assigned a month and theme. Please see table below.
• Each entry must be on an 8.5” X 11” paper.
• Artwork should fill the entire page.
• Any letters or words must be very clear and legible.

The contest begins immediately. All entries should be turned in on or before February 28, 2007. Please contact Allison Davis to arrange to mail, drop off, or have the entries picked up. Please have them separated by grade level.

Each entry must include participants’ name, teacher’s name, grade level, and school in pencil on backside of entry. Make sure the information does not bleed through the paper. Indicate on the back if artwork is to be returned to the student. Arrangements will be made in the spring. Winners from each grade level will be announced in the Spring of 2007.

Winning artwork will be placed in a 12 month calendar for the year of 2008. Calendars will be distributed throughout central Ohio; in Fairfield, Licking, Union, Franklin, and Delaware Counties.

Homeschooled Student Topics and months are:

June – Never Ride in the bed of a pick up truck
October – Put the Brakes on Fatalities

January – Speed Kills
December – Impaired Driving

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact: Allison Davis at 740-349-6535 or adavis@lickingcohealth.org

I posted this on the INCHES list. It has some good details, so I thought I would post it here too for future reference.

There is a nice, upscale restaurant which I believe is called Kihachi on Sawmill Rd in the second strip mall south of 270,
on the east side of the road. It’s been about a decade since
I was there, but the atmosphere was very nice and authentic.
I think they might only be open for dinner.

If you don’t want to break the bank, you might try a tea house.
My wife and I like Fantasia on Bethel Rd. It’s southeast asian,
not Japanese, but they have a lot of Japanese magazines and
comic books in the lounging area. And just across the street
in Olentangy Plaza I noticed a new tea house has opened. They
are next to Microcenter and have the tatami mat seating you are
looking for. Both places will run about $3-4 for the tea (with
a huge number of selections). They would be a nice place to
take a child on a date for some one-on-one time.

There is a third tea place on High Street near the Short North area which I believe is called Zen Cha. It has a nice atmosphere (although it is not the Japanese tatami decor) and is a little
pricier. That would be a good place to meet up with a friend to share a new experience.

The participation was great this year, and there were many fine entries at all age levels. Make sure you take a look at the gallery of winning entries. Go to the Contests page and follow the link to see the drawings. And please congratulate the participants if you happen to know them.