“The Conservative Party of New Zealand“

Source: http://www.crisismagazine.com/2011/swedens-big-government-utopia-unmasked

…Supporters of the family did come out. With time, more Swedish people are becoming aware of what is going on in their country, despite a virtual media blackout. As the clampdown accelerates, Swedes are speaking out. Jonas Himmelstrand, the president of the Swedish Home Education Association and the founder of the family-policy think tank Mireja Institute, has been traveling the world warning of the dangers of Swedish family and education policies. In the last year he’s been to Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Canada, Hungary, and more — sometimes invited by government. Soon he will be sounding the alarm at the United Nations in New York.

“You have to see [the attack on homeschooling] in the broader scope of the view of family in Sweden,” Himmelstrand told Crisis Magazine, citing the state daycare system that now cares for more than 90 percent of children older than 18 months. “Our government has basically taken on the role of child-rearing to a certain extent.” He also noted that Swedish schools are under heavy criticism for producing poor results, both socially and academically — which may lead more parents to discover how successful homeschooling actually is.

The Domenic Johansson case, while not unique in Sweden, has homeschoolers in particular very worried. “This is a case which seems incomprehensible to many Swedes,” Himmelstrand explained, noting that he understood why it would lead to protests. “It’s not the only case where the social authorities have done something which seems to lack all sense and all humanity.”

Check out the Library page and download the catalog of the resources available from our library.

Check them out — they are run by people within our homeschooling community. See the links on the left side pane.

Date: 8:15PM Sunday March 20, 2011
TV show: “Sunday”

No class, no lessons, no teachers. It’s called un-schooling, where kids are pretty much free to…

The video is here: http://tvnz.co.nz/sunday-news/free-range-kids-15-17-video-4073333

Please check out the beginnings of our new catalog page.

H/T to Home Education Foundation for the following:

We have just heard that the Home School Robotics team has won third year in a row. (Albany Free Range team) Well done and congratulations. It’s just finishing on Stratos TV at present (just before 4pm).

http://www.robotics.org.nz

There is lots of info on their Robotics webpage.  Check it out.

If you have photography skills and could send us some photos for the picture changer above, that would be greatly appreciated.

The final picture size on the website is 960 x 200 pixels. e.g. wide and not very high so they need to be suitable for this aspect ratio.

Yes, www.mhe.org.nz was a bit of a mouth full.  We are now operating primarily at www.MHE.org which is much shorter and more in line with AHE and CHE for Auckland and Christchurch.

Source: http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/1947515840.html

PURCELLVILLE, Va., Jan. 4, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ — In a new study released today the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) estimates there are over 2 million children being homeschooled in the U.S. in 2010.  “The growth of the modern homeschool movement has been remarkable,” said Michael Smith, president of HSLDA. “Just 30 years ago there were only an estimated 20,000 homeschooled children,” he added.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2008) there were an estimated 54 million K-12 children in the U.S. in spring 2010 which means homeschoolers account for nearly 4% of the school aged population, or 1 in 25 children.

Today, homeschoolers can be found in all walks of life and with a wide variety of curriculum options, and a proven record of academic as well as social success, homeschooling is rapidly becoming a mainstream education alternative.

The NHERI study used data from both government and private sources in order to arrive at the two million figure.

To view the NHERI study -www.nheri.org/HomeschoolPopulationReport2010.html

Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a 27-year-old, 85,000 member non-profit organization and the preeminent national association advocating the legal right of parents to homeschool their children.

From the LearnEX Christmas newsletter:

Well that hardly needs any explanation does it? Dr Wile was such a popular speaker last time that we were rather surprised when he asked if we would host him again. “Yes” we said! “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Further details to come but start putting a few $ away for early June next year as he will be well worth it.

Hi Everyone, I have added a Google calendar to the website so that we can all keep up-to-date with what is happening. Check it out! Do we have any events to add?

We have Chemistry, Physics and Biology supplies, test tubes & more. Ask to view when you are visiting Dayspring. Please CONTACT US for availability and current prices if there is anything you would like. Post or email an order.