The “Bionics” are a team of nine homeschooled students, started this past fall by Dustyn Crocco and coached by Heather Kemmerly. Members of the Bionics team are Grant Showalter, age 13; Noah Butterfield, age 13; Anthony Wolf, age 12; Noah Crocco, age 11; Julian Mena, age 10; Jacob Crocco, age 9; Beckett Behel, age 9; Calvin Utne, age 9; and Garrett Kemmerly, age 9. (The team spans the entire age-range of their division.)

The Bionics competed in the Virginia-DC Southeast Regional Tournament of the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) in November, along with nine other teams. As the winners, the Bionics moved to December’s State Tournament, where they competed against about 50 other teams from around the state. The 2010 FLL challenge of “Body Forward: Engineering Meets Medicine” presented the Bionics the opportunity to explore the cutting-edge field of biomedical engineering. The Bionics did well at the highly competitive state level, ranking in the middle of the pack.

The Bionics plan to continue as a team, maintaining their friendships and building their teamwork skills, as well as learning more about building and programming Lego Mindstorm robots.

The team is sponsored by the NASA Knights and New Horizons Regional Education Center, and is supported by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Welding Society.

Learn more about the Virginia/DC FIRST LEGO League.
Read an additional article on the Bionics in the Langley Researcher.

Congratulations to a Homeschooled Eagle Scout!

Ian Hill, homeschooled for seven years, achieved his Eagle Scout rank and was honored at a Court of Honor on November 21, 2010. He began as a Cub Scout in King George, Virginia, and continued into Boy Scouts, holding positions as junior assistant scout master, assistant senior patrol leader, librarian, and patrol leader. He has also earned the Order of the Arrow, the Firem’n Chit, and the Totin’ Chip. Since he will not be 18 until April 2011, Ian was able to attain a Palm award by completing five additional merit badges and demonstrating leadership abilities. Ian remains active as the junior assistant scout master.

And Congratulations to a Homeschooled Essay Writer!

Emma Shepard won first place out of more than 1,000 entries in an essay contest sponsored by Landry Academy (a homeschool organization) on the theme “How does human anatomy and physiology show evidence of God’s creation?” She won a Dell laptop with her essay titled, “The Blood Brain Barrier.”

The genesis of the project occurred when Chuck Hurst, director of the Home School Foundation (HSF), called Anne Miller, president of HEAV, about an idea for homeschoolers to help other homeschoolers in a Habitat for Humanity-style project. The HSF, which is funded through the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), has several programs to help homeschoolers who are in need, but did not have one specifically directed toward home projects. Unbeknownst to Mr. Hurst at the time, Anne (a home decorator) and her husband, Jeff, (a home builder/remodeler) both have a passion for fixing and beautifying homes—making them the ideal team to bring this project idea to fruition. Thus began the HSF’s pilot Ambassador Project, funded by the HSF and led by the Millers.

Local support group leaders and the “Homeschooling in Hampton Roads” Yahoo group were contacted in order to find appropriate homeschooling families to benefit from the home renovation. HEAV’s executive director, George Lansing, interviewed several of them, and one family, nominated by Lisa Pitts, a local support group leader, stood out. Leticia was a single mother who was homeschooling her children while on disability for a chronic illness. Leticia’s home was in disrepair, and she did not have the financial resources to fix it. Once the family was chosen and the scope of the project was determined, volunteers were recruited through e-mails, personal phone calls, the HEAV newsletter, and contacts to homeschool support groups. The response was tremendous, not only from homeschoolers who wanted to volunteer, but from businesses within the community as well. The project slowly began to move from concept to reality.

Jeff Miller functioned as the site supervisor, developing a job assessment for the project; his wife Anne, as project manager, translated this into a list of tasks. The HSF provided a budget of $5,000, although anonymous donors provided additional funding for the project. After three solid weeks of organizing, shopping, and choosing colors and accessories, SmartBoxes were delivered to the front yard and the contents of Leticia’s home were moved from the house to the storage boxes. Next, professional floor finishers began sanding and refinishing the hardwood floors while Leticia spent the week with a family from her church.

On Friday, August 27, volunteers prepped the house by removing doors, sanding and priming trim, covering floors, and generally preparing for the next big workday. Saturday dawned bright and clear and volunteer work crews showed up and revamped the entire house and grounds under Jeff’s able direction! Every room in the house was painted—walls, ceilings, closets, and trim. Multiple repairs were made, including fixing gutters, replacing fence posts, repairing a chain link fence and gate, and correcting drainage problems in the yard. Volunteers participated in mulching, weeding, moving a phone line, replacing a large picture window, and installing exhaust fans in both the kitchen and bathroom. The team moved appliances and hung shelves to make the laundry room more functional, and installed new window blinds throughout the house. Old furniture was painted and repurposed, and new sofas, lamps, pictures, and bedding were purchased. No detail was left undone and the house was completely redecorated. Volunteers made multiple trips back to the home for days after the planned work weekend to be sure everything was fully finished. Although the scope of the work was ambitious, the team was committed to seeing an excellent job through to completion.

They certainly accomplished that goal! Upon seeing their new home, Leticia’s children excitedly exclaimed, “Everything matches! It’s like a hotel!” Leticia loved absolutely everything. She saw it as the fulfillment of a dream, having always wanted to provide for her children the lovely home she had never had as a child. And the Lord was clearly at work in every detail. When making decorating choices about window coverings, Anne felt led to use the more expensive wide plantation blinds rather than cheaper mini-blinds. When Leticia saw the window coverings, she cried; she told Anne she had always dreamed of having wide blinds in her home, but never imagined she would ever have them. She kept reiterating how blessed she felt by the Lord, and that she could see God taking care of things in their lives far beyond what she could ever have imagined. For her children, who do not have a father in their lives, it was a beautiful model of the care and love of their perfect Heavenly Father.

When asked what the most fulfilling part of the project was, Anne replied, “Being used of the Lord to create the beautiful home this family has always wanted.” Even after the project’s completion, Leticia’s family continues to experience its blessing. Leticia learned that prior to the renovation, her children had been ashamed of their home and had not wanted their friends to visit and see how they lived. Since the Ambassador Project, Leticia’s family has begun having people into their home; Leticia’s desire to practice hospitality in her home is being fulfilled. It is the weaving of a lovely tapestry of Christian service: The family that was served is now serving others.

The HSF hopes this will be the first of many Ambassador Projects throughout many states, and is currently looking for a Virginia Ambassador to do similar projects in local homeschooling communities. Anne explains that the response to the Ambassador Program has been tremendous. She says, “Almost all the people who worked on Leticia’s house said, ‘We want to do this again. Please let us know when there’s another project.’” Even local businesses got excited about the work. An auto mechanic and an architect offered their services, Starbucks donated coffee for volunteers, Lowe’s and Home Depot provided discounts on supplies, Target gave gift cards, and Sherwin Williams donated paint. The willingness is there, both with volunteers and with business donors. What HSF needs now are people who can identify families who have needs and people who are willing to be the hands and feet of the program on a local level to organize and execute projects.

Anyone interested in bringing the Ambassador Program to his or her community should contact the HSF. Projects do not need to be as comprehensive as this one; Ambassador Projects could be as simple as painting someone’s house or replacing appliances. The most important quality is a willingness to help other homeschoolers. It was through such willingness that the Lord blessed Leticia and her family, and all of the many volunteers who participated in the project. Anne sums up the “payment” for efforts like this: “We just loved doing the work. We were more blessed than Leticia was! She can hardly believe it, but through giving, we got back so much more than we gave. The pay may not be much, but the rewards are out of this world.” The Ambassador Project, through this “Extreme Home Makeover,” not only rejuvenated one homeschooling family’s home, but their lives—and the lives of all those involved.

This is the first year five of the six EI team members worked with LEGO Mindstorm, and the first year any of them did programming or building with the newest version of the FLL robot system. Team members ranged from 9 to14 years old, the full age range for Division 2.

Robert Hudgins said one of their strategies was to “learn everybody’s strengths and use that to make the team better.” No one had to do everything (some tasks were researching, designing, programming, building the robot, skit designing, and costume making), but all members contributed to EI getting first place in research. One member did no programming, but helped plan missions on the map, worked on the research skit, and had a special skill — keeping the group calm! The kids learned about math, computer programming, and even drama.

Note: You can view the actual study referred to here.

Contact: Ian Slatter, Home School Legal Defense Association, 540-338-8663

PURCELLVILLE, VA, August 3 /Christian Newswire/ – Last week, a study titled “Exploring Academic Outcomes of Homeschooled Students” was released and showed that homeschooled college students significantly outperformed their peers. “This is great news for the homeschool community,” said Michael Smith, president of HSLDA.  “Once again, homeschooling parents have shown they are more than capable of preparing their children for all aspects of life,” he added.

The study covered homeschoolers from 2004-2009 at a mid-sized college in the upper Midwest. Among the major findings:

Homeschooled students earned a higher first-year GPA (3.41) when compared to other freshman (3.12).

Homeschooled students earned a higher fourth-year GPA (3.46) when compared to other freshman who completed their fourth year (3.16).

Homeschooled students achieved a higher graduation rate (66.7 percent) when compared to the overall student population (57.5 percent).

Other research has shown that parents spend on average $500 per child, per year to homeschool. In comparison, the average public school spends over $10,000 per child, per year. Homeschooling is proving itself everyday to be a credible and cost-effective method of educating children.

Other examples of homeschool success can also be found in the college preparatory area. Patrick Henry College Preparatory Academy, which conducts online AP* classes with a Christian worldview, released its results today for the May 2010 United States Government and Politics AP* Exam.

Reported scores for homeschooled students who studied with PHC Prep averaged “3.75″ on a scale of 1-5 (with 3 being a pass). Last year’s national average for the same exam was “2.78.”

As millions of children go back to school in the next few weeks, it’s important to remember the hundreds of thousands of homeschool families (representing over 2 million homeschooled children) who are achieving amazing results on a fraction of the budget.

*Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.

Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a 27-year-old, 85,000 member non-profit organization and the preeminent association advocating the legal right of parents to homeschool their children. ]]> http://blog.heav.org/homeschoolers-did-it/new-study-shows-homeschoolers-succeed-in-college/feed/ 0 http://blog.heav.org/homeschoolers-did-it/virginia-homeschooler-finalist-in-rubberband-contest/ http://blog.heav.org/homeschoolers-did-it/virginia-homeschooler-finalist-in-rubberband-contest/#comments Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:14:14 +0000 Blog http://blog.heav.org/?p=682 Benjamin Dabney, a 12-year-old homeschooler from Radford was recently named one of the top two finalists in the Science and Engineering Category of the 2010 Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors. His invention, the “ElastiBed,” is an easy-to-use framework for mosquito netting he hopes will help prevent malaria and save lives in developing countries. Read more about the contest here.

Below is a pictorial explanation of the “ElastiBed,” followed by a press release with more details.

A hearty congratulations to Benjamin!

A PICTORIAL EXPLANATION BY THE INVENTOR

My invention, the “ElastiBed,” provides a safe sleeping haven for children and infants in developing countries by protecting them from the harmful effects of mosquitoes, the primary carriers of the deadly disease malaria.

When a mosquito net is draped over the cube and tucked under the edges, this invention will keep mosquitoes out so kids have a bug-free place to sleep during the night.

The “ElastiBed” is a framework structure that consists of 12 pieces of PVC piping that fit into specially made sockets with rubber bands strung through, to make a cube. (These PVC sockets provide rigid joints and are the corners of the structure when in use.) The rubber bands are critical to this invention, keeping the cube flexible, allowing it to collapse and expand as needed.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RUBBERBAND CONTEST FOR YOUNG INVENTORS ANNOUNCES RADFORD YOUTH AS A 2010 FINALIST IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Benjamin Dabney (12 years old) from Radford, Virginia, was recently named a finalist in the 2010 Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors. His invention, the “ElastiBed,” was chosen as one of two finalists in the Science and Engineering Category of this national competition. Sponsored by the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Akron Global Polymer Academy, and the University of Akron, this competition encourages students in grades 5-8 to demonstrate their creativity and ingenuity by creating an invention that incorporates the use of rubber bands.

Using rubber bands as a key component, Benjamin’s “ElastiBed” was designed to help fight the spread of the deadly disease malaria among children and infants in developing African countries. Mosquitoes, which attack their victims at night as they sleep, are the primary carrier of malaria in those countries.

The idea for the “ElastiBed” came after Benjamin read an alarming article in Scientific American, which explained that even though a variety of organizations are sending mosquito nets to developing countries by with the intent to provide a safe sleep haven, many mosquito nets are used improperly or simply not used. Beds with high frames and posts are rarely seen among the majority of the population. Roll-up mats or low-framed beds are common. Because of this and the lack of overhead supports in the thatched roofs that dominate the region, there are no convenient locations to hang the nets. In addition, many standard mosquito nets are bulky, making their use in the relatively small homes a time-consuming and laborious task, both during set-up at night and take-down in the morning.

In essence, the “ElastiBed” is a collapsible frame structure, easily put up or taken down, that provides a framework for mosquito nets to be draped over. The contest required rubber bands to be an integral part of any inventor’s design. In this case, the rubber bands serve two purposes: ease of setup and storage, and structural size flexibility, allowing nets of various sizes to be used.

When a mosquito net is draped over the cube and tucked under the edges, Benjamin’s invention, to quote the young inventor, “Will keep mosquitoes out so kids have a bug-free place to sleep during the night.” In the morning, all that needs to be done is to take off the net, collapse the frame, and store it until it is needed again.

More information on the competition can be found on the following websites:
http://www.nmoe.org/rubberband.htm

http://rubberbandcontest.org

Additional information is also available from Gay Evans, Assistant Executive Director, National Museum of Education.
Address: 80 W. Bowery Street, Suite 305, Akron, OH 44308
E-mail: info@nmoe.org
Web: www.nmoe.org
Phone: 330-376-8300
Fax: 330-376-0566

Please feel free to contact Benjamin by email at dcdmail@hotmail.com, or by phone at 540-731-5281, if you would like to talk with him further.

After seeing Princess Elizabeth of the Elizabeth River Project give a presentation and learning about River Star Schools and the Youth Recognition program, the Wilds were inspired to make a positive impact on the environment and their home river.

Gabrielle and Meredith began collecting recyclable trash and channeling it into the recycling stream. The results are impressive! So far, these two young ladies have

• removed 217 pounds of pollution out of air,
• saved 62 trees from being cut down,
• saved 14,842 kilowatts of energy from being used to produce new paper,
• saved 7.24 barrels of oil,
• saved 13,394 pounds of lumber from being made into virgin paper,
• saved 86,880 gallons of water, and
• saved 11.6 cubic yards of landfill space.

“We started collecting recyclable paper from our neighborhood as a homeschool project. It was also a way to help Gabrielle cope when she saw local trees being cut down, which saddens her immensely. Even if the old tree is a danger to homes or wires, it brought her to tears,’ says Mrs. Wilds.

“Here in Swimming Point, SPSA doesn’t offer us many options in paper recycling as we are clumped together with the business recycling in Olde Towne. They will not pick up cardboard, chipboard, magazines, catalogs (which fill our mail slots daily), etc. So Gabrielle, Meredith, and I started collecting on the first Friday of every month. We take our Jeep with our trailer around the neighborhood and collect whatever anyone puts out for us.” According to Mrs. Wilds, the tiny clean-up crew began in October 2007 and have since collected over 7,200 pounds of paper that would have gone into the landfill. “We take our paper to the Tidewater Fiber Corporation in Chesapeake to add to their fiber piles,” she says.

“We and our neighbors save our paper products throughout the month. Our house alone can fill the large garbage can that our city provides us with each month. No garbage, just paper products,” explains Mrs. Wilds. “We can see our impact on the landfill by each trailer full of paper we take to recycle. There are only about 14 households that regularly donate, so we could do much better–but we are thankful for those who do participate! The project takes only about three hours a month, yet it has made a huge impact on the environment and on how people feel about recycling in Swimming Point.

The commentators loved Tim Tebow! They gave his Christian testimony for him throughout the game! They talked about his strong faith, his good character, his leadership skills as quarterback of the Florida Gators, and the respect everyone who knows him has for him. During the game, they discussed his family’s missionary background, including where he had been on the mission field and how he had served the needy by feeding children in third world countries and living in a leper colony.

The commentators mentioned his homeschool experience several times. They even talked about Florida’s homeschool laws that allowed him to play on a public school sports team, leading to his outstanding college career and winning the Heisman Trophy last year–the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman.

John 3:16 was painted on his face for the world to see. Then at the end during the award presentations, he thanked Jesus Christ for the victory! What a great witness for the Lord!

Homeschoolers are shining! Like the national spelling bees and geography bees, sports are a showcase for the success of homeschooling!

Yvonne Bunn

P.S. Mom’s may wish to read “Mothering Tebow: Scripture & Faith Are Her ‘Secrets’ to Parenting Tim Tebow, Mom Says” for a glimpse at the training Tebow received at home.