Inspiring Parents took another deep dive into writing support on Wednesday on March 4. If you missed the live webcast you can sign up to request the recording at either of the links below.

Easy to Use Elementary Writing Strategy

http://bit.ly/Elementary_Writing_Strategy_Recording_Sign_Up

Middle to High School Writing Strategies

http://bit.ly/Middle_HighSchool_Writing_help_Recording_SignUp

On Wednesday, April 1, Inspiring Parents will focus on basic computer literacy. Bookmark this link for Inspiring Parents webcasts and grow your homeschool teaching toolkit. http://bit.ly/InspiringLink

If tickets for all family members are not booked, your student ticket may be cancelled and you will be unable to attend the field trip.

Each year, the State of California requires public schools to reach a 95% participation rate for state standardized testing (CAASPP testing, sometimes also referred to as SBAC testing). If a school has less than 95% of its students participate, they are at risk of losing their charter and WASC accreditation. We are not asking our parents to change their homeschool style or “buy-in” to Common Core State Standards. However, we do need your support in ensuring that our students are in attendance at testing and that they do the best they can. Your participation in helping us meet the minimum 95% requirement is one important way you can aid in safeguarding the survival of our charter. Our school is penalized on our performance levels in math and language arts when we do not meet the 95%.

A second way you can help is to make sure your students are familiar with the testing platform. This will give them the best advantage to show what they know. Please utilize this resource of How to Take a Practice Test and Check-Out Designated Supports to walk them through how to navigate the testing portal. We know our homeschool students are smart and we need to make sure they do their best during state testing to demonstrate that our programs are working. Even if a student scores below grade level, our school can benefit academically when students show growth from year to year.

Inspire Charter Services’ Testing Department has created a series of presentations in response to questions and concerns received from our homeschooling families about state standardized testing. I hope you will find these videos, along with the additional supporting resources and articles, to be helpful in alleviating any fears or anxieties your family may be facing with regards to testing. Please take the time to review these Parent Testing Videos and Resources to see if you feel any would be beneficial for your family. We would also appreciate it if you could complete this Parent Testing Video Survey and give us your feedback.

We appreciate the opportunity you have given us to partner with you in your homeschooling journey. We look forward to many more years of supporting the homeschool community and their unique styles of education

Julie Bogart, creator of BraveWriter shared techniques for how to incorporate writing across the curriculum and ways to make it fun.

If you missed the live webcast, click on this link http://bit.ly/BraveLearnerFreeResources to add your email address and receive Writing Across the Curriculum, Writer's Jungle and High School Writing Help, as well as the Brave Learner Companion Guide.

Instructions to access Academic Video Library can be found here.

"Recently, my younger son expressed some frustrations to me, including how he feels about his homeschool subjects and how he wants to learn. So, I made a smoothie, ignored the dishes, and I sat down with him and we worked out a schedule that will help him feel good and also hold me accountable too.

It’s April and I tend to get a bit distracted (see above). We aren’t buying anything new. We aren’t cracking whips and buckling down.

He spoke. I listened. He acknowledged. I planned just enough. It felt good.

I went ahead and did this for my other two kids. Each one had input into their spring term schedules. My kids are all working on different things at this point. It can be overwhelming because I feel like I’m not staying on top of everyone’s everything. In the end, that’s not my job. My role is to be an Educational Opportunity Provider. We can flow with the seasons and our energy levels. It’s spring and it’s a good time to both shake things up and create a flowing routine."

Minimum Age: 12. For questions, call: 949-497-8324 Mon-Fri; 949-923-2235 Sat/Sun. Parking: $3.

Full details and online reservations required here.

Parenting OC returns to the Discovery Cube for its 14th Anniversary Edition of the Kids’ Summer Opportunities Jamboree event. The free event will take place on March 14th, 2020 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. This is the fifth year Discovery Cube partners with Parenting OC to host the summer-fun planning extravaganza.

“We are excited to once again partner with Discovery Cube OC and the Cube team to present this event,” said Parenting OC publisher Randall Tierney. “There simply is not better venue for the kind of enrichment and fun learning opportunities that we bring to the Jamboree.”

This year, Jamboree will have special guests, games and many new exhibitors featuring family travel destination spots, summer camps, and school information.

Where: Discovery Cube, 2500 N. Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92705.

When: Saturday, March 14, 2020.

Price: Included with entry to the Cube.