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Homeschool USA

28 images Created 14 Nov 2008

For the Smith family, homeschooling was a logical choice. Of the three boys being raised in a Los Angeles suburb by Jeanne and Steve, two were excellent students at the local elementary and the youngest was eager to join them. When Jeanne discovered that Andrew would be denied entry into Kindergarten because of his age (he was not quite 5), Jeanne decided to pull all three and joined the largest social movement in the counntry to homeschool her children. Officially called Mission Prep, Jeanne spent countless hours preparing, working with and evaluating the boys who worked in a 10x12 converted room in their rented home. Field trips for Science involved searching for stages of plant life in the nearby alley, history involved role playing and the clan made regular trips to the LA Central Library to select books.

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  • Left to right, Bryce, Trevor and Andrew work on Language Arts in the 120 sq. ft bedroom that serves as Mission Prep's only classroom. The three boys were pulled from the local elementary school and taught at home by their mother who was unhappy with the academics at the neighborhood school
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  • The school day at Mission Prep, the official name the Smith's gave their home school, begins with Trevor leading the family in the Pledge of Allegiance.
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  • The family's small, rented home only has one 10'x12' room for the classroom. Jeanne, like most homeschoolers, utilizes all resources. Sidewalk chalk and the driveway become a chalkboard for Andrew learning to write his ABC's with help from Trevor.
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  • A history lesson on how various kings and rulers had theories on how to protect their country from..invaders. Each child, including two friends on spring break from the local elementary school, took turns being king for a moment.
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  • As in any school, sometimes the children need to be reminded to behave.
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  • Andrew shows Jeanne how he put the alphabet cards in order. Andrew was considered too young to attend the local elementary school, so Jeanne decided she'd school him at home.
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  • Jeanne incorporates a variety of lessons outside the home. A science field trip down the alley behind their home in search of flowers coincided with a lesson on the various stages of flower development. Andrew spotted a flower but needed help from Trevor to reach it.
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  • A little love for the teacher. Homeschooling does have it's advantages.
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  • Trevor practices his poetry in the bathroom before he has to recite it to Jeanne during Language Arts class.
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  • Jeanne has the boys recite poetry in the home's living room as part of Language Arts.
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  • A box of grass seed tossed aside, a science lesson in the backyard ended with Jeanne initiating an impromptu water fight on a hot January Friday.
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  • Trevor and Andrew can't wait for their homeschooled friends to arrive for a joint art lesson, so they stand by the street watching for their car to arrive.
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  • Jeanne reminds Bryce to finish his science paper at the kitchen table.
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  • Jeanne takes the kids on a field trip to the Los Angeles Central Library. They took the subway to the downtown library where each was allowed to check-out any 10 books on their own library card.
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  • Jeanne works to keep the boys, Trevor in center,  interested and challenged, though by Friday afternoon, like in any school, attention can sometimes wane.
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  • Jeanne had Bryce return to the classroom following this singing lesson for not being quiet. He had to write "I will be quiet during singing" once.
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  • As school was adjourned for lunch, Bryce was told to go into the classroom and write "I will be quiet during singing time" after goofing-off more than Jeanne would like.
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  • PE class in December begins at 8am and consists of 30 minutes of stretching in the living room followed by basketball or handball on the driveway.
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  • Keeping three boys on three different curiculums for three grade levels is a lot of work. And it's only 11am.......
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  • Jeanne was nervous about taking her boys to Haynes Elementary during regular school hours. Trevor and Bryce were pulled from the school at end of previous year and the principal does not support homeschooling. While visiting, Bryce decides to ask his mom a question as Andrew looks on.
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  • Jeanne takes her sons to the local elementary  school playground after school lets out so they can play with their friends. This is the school Trevor and Bryce attended and still have many friends. Here, the boys wait outside the school for the bell to ring.
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  • Old friends..........Bryce finds his friend, Casey, with whom he attended kindergarten on the playground of Haynes Elementary School. Bryce attended Haynes the previous year before being pulled out for homeschool. Jeanne takes her sons to the playground after school adjourns so they can play with their friends.
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  • The prevailing approach at Mission Prep school is that if the boys enjoy the lesson, they're apt to learn and retain more. In an effort to introduce mathmatical fractions to Bryce and Andrew, Jeanne took them to the kitchen to cut vegetables into sections and explained how each section is a fraction of the whole. The lesson continued with the the boys tasting each and recording their preference on tiny cards. The data was then used to make a graph.
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  • A science field trip down the alley behind their home in search of flowers in various stages of development.
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  • As the school day comes to an end Andrew checks to see if the rain had stopped. Morning PE had been cancelled  and Jeanne promised to have PE at the baseball batting cages at the end of the day if the weather permitted.
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  • Jeanne Smith celebrates after she and Bryce beat Andrew and Trevor during a game of handball against the garage during Physical Education time.
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  • Jeanne takes the kids on a field trip to the Los Angeles Central Library. They took the subway to the downtown library where each was allowed to check-out any 10 books on their own library card. Waiting for the train back home Trevor, right, reads about airplanes while Bryce attacks his book on chess moves in hopes of gaining an edge against his father.
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  • Jeanne spends a little extra time with Trevor in the bedroom they converted into the classroom.
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