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Alberta Home Schoolers 'Thank God' After Proposed Education Act is Significantly Revised

~ Peter Baklinski

The Alberta government proposed a new Education Act yesterday that is causing parental rights and pro-family groups to breathe a sigh of relief. The new bill is substantially different from a previous version that had rallied concerned home schooling parents to arms.

"Today is a good day," said Patty Marler, government liaison for Alberta Home Education Association (AHEA), in a press release.

Marler said that home educators have "good reason to smile and celebrate" since the newly proposed Act "includes some key wording that shows the Minister has listened to Alberta parents."

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What Will Your Children Believe?

Every song, movie, book, and TV show is full of ideas about God, people, beauty, and right and wrong. Not all of these are true. Help children discern the truth through God's Word with the What We Believe Biblical Worldview Series.

"A fantastic and much-needed resource. I'm looking forward to taking my own kids through these valuable lessons." - Sean McDowell

Click here for information, including 90+ peer reviews.

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Ends November 30th

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Now is the time to check out the Scholarship Contest going on right now with our friends at CollegePlus. With a $3,000 grand prize, up to two free online college courses worth a total of six college credits, and a free Kindle Fire HD for each enrollment, you will want to get started right away!

Find out more.

Around the Web

Animal Fun from Answers in Genesis

Crockpot Freezer Cooking

National Adoption Day

Meet Nathan Exley

This coming spring our Director of Public Policy, Paul Hastings, will be leading a group of five young men to the Texas capitol for 140 days. These young men are all home school graduates, and Texas legislators will view them as the manifestation of what home schooling has to offer.

This team will be working directly with state representatives, state senators, and their staff. They will testify in committees about home schooling, track and write bills, analyze legislation, draft amendments, debate with staffers, and meet and work with other conservative organizations, all the while fighting for the right of parents to direct the care, control, and upbringing of their children.

We want to welcome Nathan Exley to our spring legislative team. Nathan is a home school graduate, Eagle Scout, founder and CEO of Tria Chordae Ministries, oldest of four boys, founder and club coach of the Brazos Valley Rhetoric Club, public speaker, blogger, and Christ follower.

Read more of what Nathan does at Brazos Valley Rhetoric Club and on his blog or find out more about THSC PAC's legislative activity at thscpac.org.

Teach reading with confidence!

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Click here for information.

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Letting Go of Perfect

A Book Review

So many moms feel the pressure to be perfect, and expectations seem much greater during the holiday season. Whose expectations are they, though, and are they in any way realistic? How do we live so that we take care of the important things but still have time for some extras?

What are God's expectations and how do I meet those while living out my everyday life? Amy Spiegel tackles all of these questions (and a few more) in Letting Go of Perfect.

Amy Spiegel is a mom of four and a wife to a college professor and clearly knows something about how life can get crazy at times. She tells stories with humor and lets you know that no, you're not the only one who has absolutely loved your life one moment and then been astonished at how on earth you ended up such a mess five minutes later.

Read the rest of the blog post.

EMS Certification and Licensing's Problem with
Home School Diplomas Now Resolved

In follow-up to previous communication, Tim sent another letter to the Texas Department of State Health Services regarding misstatements of law found in the Initial EMS Personnel Certification/Licensure Application. The goal of this letter was to gain clarification as to whether TDSHS made the requested changes to bring their applications into compliance with the current Texas Education Code.

Mr. Phil Lockwood, EMS Program Specialist, responded to Tim's letter, confirming that the problem with EMS Certification and Licensing's acceptance of home school diplomas has been resolved.

For more detailed information, feel free to read Tim's original letter to the TDSHS and Mr. Lockwood's response.

Around Texas

Now through December 31 - San Antonio Botanical Gardens
November 15 - Houston Zoo
December 1 - Houston Rockets

THSC Resources

REVIEW Magazine
Check out the electronic version of the THSC REVIEW Magazine.
Sign up for our free print edition of the THSC REVIEW.

This magazine has encouraging articles written by those who have been there/done that to help you in this great adventure of home schooling!

Home School T-shirts
THSC T-shirts are quality, prewashed T-shirts with a great message. All shirts are grey with red, white, and blue accent colors.

Front: "I home school in Texas"
Back: "where people are free!"

These T-shirts are excellent for birthday gifts, Christmas gifts or just to replace your old worn-out T-shirts.

Order today!

A Merry Heart Doeth Good

"We have to go from what is essentially an industrial model of education, a manufacturing model, which is based on linearity and conformity and batching people. We have to move to a model that is based more on principles of agriculture. We have to recognize that human flourishing is not a mechanical process; it's an organic process. And you cannot predict the outcome of human development. All you can do, like a farmer, is create the conditions under which they will begin to flourish."

~ Ken Robinson

Do you have a funny, home school related anecdote you'd like to share? We'd love to publish it
(limit 750 characters)! Please include your name and where you live, then mail it to THSC.

Home School Team Wins 1st at BEST Robotics

A Texas high school team of 16 home schooled students recently took top honors in competition. The Genesis of Robotics team attended the Denton County BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) competition at the University of North Texas in Denton, October 27.

Genesis of Robotics, along with other area high school teams, undertook a six-week challenge to build a robot modeled after the conceptual NASA space elevator. The robot needed to climb a 10-foot pole while performing tasks that simulate the delivery of space cargo, such as fuel cells and solar panels. In addition, teams could choose to compete for the top all round BEST award by including aspects of marketing, design, presentation, and spirit.

Genesis of Robotics won the following awards at the Denton County BEST competition:
1st Place Plaque - Notebook
1st Place Plaque - Presentation
1st Place Plaque - Marketing/Booth
1st Place Plaque - BEST new team (to the competition)
3rd Place Plaque - Robot
1st Place Trophy - BEST Award (Top All Round Award)

Upon winning the award, the team huddled in the center of the UNT coliseum to pray, giving God the glory!

Do you have a home school success story? Share with other home schoolers.

As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:15

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The articles in this newsletter reflect the freedom of home educators in Texas to choose from a wide variety of home school philosophies and teaching methods. Opinions and attitudes expressed in articles do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the Texas Home School Coalition. THSC does not endorse or advocate any one method or philosophy. The board encourages each home educator to seek God's will in determining what is best for him, his school, and his students.

Publication of advertisements does not signify endorsement of items or services offered.