PLANT, Inc. Blog - Parent Led Academic Network Team (PLANT, Inc.)

WHAT AMAZING THINGS MUSIC LESSONS CAN DO FOR YOU

8/27/2019

By Mary Beach

If your parents forced you to practice your scales saying it would build “character”, they were onto something. One of the largest scientific studies into music’s effect on the brain at the University of Vermont College of Medicine found something remarkable: Musical training doesn’t just affect your musical ability ---- it provides tremendous benefits to
children’s emotional and behavioral maturation.

Be the CEO, Not the Grunt of Your Child's Education

6/23/2019

By Mona K. Koerner, PhD

Last week I had the opportunity to share my vision for what the future of education should look like in a workshop titled, "Be the CEO, Not the Grunt of Your Child's Education" at the 2019 CAPE-NM Homeschool Convention.

For those who attended here is a copy of the slides and the bibliography with links to the video talks I referenced:

be_ceo_slides.pptx
File Size:	3858 kb
File Type:	pptx

be_the_ceo_bibliography.docx
File Size:	198 kb
File Type:	docx

The premise of this workshop is that a CEO casts a vision, makes strategic long-term decisions, and is responsible for increasing the value of the company's assets while a grunt, on the other hand, does the work that someone else comes up with and because God has granted parents with the authority to train children, parents should play the CEO role rather than the grunt role in their children's education.

What I Learned at TeenPact New Mexico 2019

2/9/2019

By Mona Koerner

This week in Santa Fe I watched the political machinations of what many called the "most extreme" abortion bill in the nation[1]. I read the bill[2], I read the existing law that the bill is repealing[3], I read the other abortion law that remains on the books[4], and I read the New Mexico Supreme Court ruling that grants a woman a right to a “medically necessary” abortion under the Equal Protection Clause of the New Mexico constitution[5].

I saw the TeenPact participants reaction to this bill and the mobilizing of people to oppose the bill. I read the rhetoric on both sides (all inaccurate and inflammatory). I spent 20 minutes in the Governor’s office listening to the secretary answer continuous calls opposing the bill. I received urgent messages via group text and Facebook to act to oppose this bill. I emailed and spoke to my representative. I discussed the issue with other moms. I saw the polarization of the people around this issue. And I prayed. And I really felt that God was telling me – “don’t waste your energy, this is not the battle I'm calling you to fight”.

Art for the Young (or Young at Art)

8/10/2018

By Deborah Klose

The goal of my classes is for the young artist or art-hesitant to learn impactful, yet simple steps to enhance and refine their art pieces.

Materials are included. We will be using professional colour pencils, graphite, soft and oil pastels, watercolour, and possibly acrylic paint. (I learned to spell colour from the cover of my very first paint box.)

All lessons are designed to incorporate basics (shape, space, perspective, texture, colour theory,…) by doing projects they enjoy. They will learn by directive art (demonstrating steps and the why of it) and then experiencing it themselves.
Homework is minimal and fun!

Although this coming year we will still draw animals, flowers, etc…, we will also be learning to draw people. I am especially excited about it.

This is a water colour painting with black colour pencil detail, by Chaeli, 14 yrs. old. Her younger sister’s favourite animal is a giraffe so we thought it would be fun.

What is a Reasonable Price for Independent Classes?

7/27/2018

By Mona K. Koerner

I often hear, "We need more affordable classes for homeschoolers." Does that mean we need more classes? Or does that mean we need classes that are less expensive? And then how are we to evaluate what a reasonable cost is for a class? Obviously, "affordable" is a relative term. If you are raising several children on a single income then 'affordable' might mean something different to you than to someone with greater income or fewer children. The problem is there is no real measure of what 'affordable' means in learning environments. In housing, the standard is that as long as you are not spending more than 1/3 of your income for housing then it is 'affordable.' What is a reasonable price for independent classes for your children?

A Network Model of Education

7/13/2018

By Mona K. Koerner, PhD

The world is a constantly changing place. The pace of change is rapidly increasing. 'Structure' is being replaced with 'interconnectedness'. Just like the large supercomputer has given way to the worldwide web, the basic unit of the economy, the organization (or corporation), is transitioning into an inter-organizational network.

For example, Uber and Lyft are transforming transportation by matching passengers with independent drivers making both labor and capital external to the organization. Whereas, the economy used to be based on legally distinct entities with hierarchical organizing structures, management logic, a focus on the organization and closed participation, the inter-organizational network is a very large, mulit-hubbed structure, with coherence as an organizing logic, a system focus, and loosely controlled participation. These can be seen as different structures on a spectrum from inter-personal relationships to systems. The idea being that a system is a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole. A system is greater than the sum of its parts. The connotation is that a system will outperform a corporation.

PED Action Required

6/29/2018

Reprinted with permission from CAPE-NM
Christian Association of Parent Educators - New Mexico

Dear CAPE Families,
We want to thank you for praying for this situation pertaining to the NM Homeschool Notification form. The CAPE Board has been diligently pursuing this issue, and we have felt your prayers.

Sadly, after working with HSLDA and sending letters, emails, and having phone calls and meetings, we feel that we are at an impasse with the NM Public Education Department (PED). After our meeting with them in February of this year, we were of the understanding that the PED simply wanted to make sure that parents understood New Mexico requirements for homeschooling and would NOT require anything more to be signed by the parents except the Notification form, which we are required by law to do each year. We worked up what we thought to be an agreed-upon form which would serve as an informational statement of what the law requires of homeschool families in New Mexico.

My Robotics Experience

6/22/2018

By Angelina Anastasio

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a robotics program compiled of four different levels. It is for all ages, K-12th grade. FTC (First Tech Challenge) is the program that I am currently doing, it is for mid and high schoolers.

I started robotics when I was only 6. Just last year I chose to move on to the next level that required learning design processes, programming, building our own parts out of metal and plastic, and learning to use power tools. I wasn’t really interested in robotics when we started. I wanted to go to law school and become a lawyer, not an engineer. But my sister and I started a team anyway, with a few other friends of ours. No one had any idea what we were doing, except for my sister. We were all just doing our best and learning what we could. After a while I really started to enjoy it! I successfully learned how to build and design a part all on my own.

We made it to our first competition, however, we did not make it to the next level. So we went home and prepared for our next competition. We had multiple all day meetings and days where only one person would come just to practice driving the robot quickly. It was a very exciting and stressful time. At our second competition, we won the champions award, and we were only a rookie team! We were very proud of ourselves and excited for the possibilities to come.

A Father's Role In Homeschooling

6/15/2018

by Wes Koerner

Homeschooling as a father isn’t what I expected. I thought I’d be more involved somehow, although as the main breadwinner I knew my role would be somewhat limited. I guess I thought I’d have more time, more energy, and when I would get home from work I would jump in and help with the homeschooling. It hasn’t worked out that way, possibly due to my own deficiencies. Lack of time and the general tiredness after work kept me from being heavily involved in most of the schooling itself, although my wife always has consulted with me along the journey regarding curriculum and methods; she would do the research and pick curricula, then present me the pertinent points and we would agree on the choices. But most of the actual schooling, teaching and learning, is going on without me, while I think I envisioned being more involved at the start. Still, perhaps it’s better that way, and it’s working out well. My wife and daughter are both happy and content with homeschooling, and my daughter is a bright, happy, and intelligent student.

Homeschool Record-keeping: More Rewarding Than You Might Think

6/8/2018

by Mona Koerner

I often hear homeschool moms anxiously questioning whether their homeschool record keeping is adequate. The State of New Mexico requires homeschoolers to track the number of days of school and keep records of immunizations. I have a pile of yearly lesson planners where I have diligently recorded everything we did for 180 days each year. However, these records never inform my homeschool. In fact, I have never looked back on them (until now). It really doesn't help me to know that on October 29, 2013 we did: Daily Paragraph Editing, read 2 pages of Astronomy, wrote a paragraph on Harriet Tubman, practiced multiplication tables with playing cards, did pages 50,51 in Singapore 5A math curriculum, memorized AWANA scriptures, watched chapter 3 of Latin for Children DVD and had a violin lesson. While this may be what the state requires I submit to you that this is not the only kind of recordkeeping we should be doing. We didn't start home educating to please the state so we should develop recordkeeping systems that are consistent with why we are home educating: a desire to raise a kind, generous, thinking person.