Author Archives: bleeglaser


About bleeglaser

Vaccination Laws in Kansas City

Below are the immunization laws for Missouri and Kansas along with the religious exemption forms or procedures for school aged children, who go to school.  As a homeschooling parent I don’t see how this applies to our family at all now.  Our children aren’t in child care and don’t attend public or private school so if I understand correctly they aren’t required, by law, to be immunized.  I had a mama ask me about the laws and forms today and thought I would post this in case anyone would like the information.  Initially my husband and I were going to do a delayed schedule of vaccinations starting when my son’s immune system was established at age 3 and then spread them out so his system wouldn’t be inundated.  That was also going to give us more time to study the diseases to see which ones we thought were worth getting the vaccine for.  My son is seven and so far we have not vaccinated any of our children.

Missouri Immunization Law Review

“Immunization of the person seeking to attend school may not be required prior to attendance at the school, if a notarized affidavit on a prescribed form stating that immunization is contrary to the religious tenets and practices of the signer is submitted to the school administrator.  A child in a day care program shall be exempt from immunization requirements if the child’s parent or guardian files a written objection to immunization with the day care administrator.  Exemptions shall be accepted by the day care administrator when the necessary information as determined by the department of health and senior services is filed with the day care administrator by the parent or guardian.  Exemption forms shall be provided by the department of health and senior services.  Medical exemptions are also allowed.”  Source

Chapter 167
Pupils and Special Services
Section 167.181 link

1. The department of health and senior services, after consultation with the department of elementary and secondary education, shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the immunization against poliomyelitis, rubella, rubeola, mumps, tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria, and hepatitis B, to be required of children attending public, private, parochial or parish schools. Such rules and regulations may modify the immunizations that are required of children in this subsection. The immunizations required and the manner and frequency of their administration shall conform to recognized standards of medical practice. The department of health and senior services shall supervise and secure the enforcement of the required immunization program.

2. It is unlawful for any student to attend school unless he has been immunized as required under the rules and regulations of the department of health and senior services, and can provide satisfactory evidence of such immunization; except that if he produces satisfactory evidence of having begun the process of immunization, he may continue to attend school as long as the immunization process is being accomplished in the prescribed manner. It is unlawful for any parent or guardian to refuse or neglect to have his child immunized as required by this section, unless the child is properly exempted.

3. This section shall not apply to any child if one parent or guardian objects in writing to his school administrator against the immunization of the child, because of religious beliefs or medical contraindications. In cases where any such objection is for reasons of medical contraindications, a statement from a duly licensed physician must also be provided to the school administrator.

Missouri Immunization Exemption Forms

Kansas Immunization Law Review

“Submit a written statement signed by a parent that the parent is an adherent of a religious denomination whose teachings are opposed to immunizations.  Medical exemptions are also allowed. ”  Source

Chapter 72
Health Programs
Section 9.72-5209 link

(a) In each school year, every pupil enrolling or enrolled in any school for the first time in this state, and each child enrolling or enrolled for the first time in a preschool or day care program operated by a school, and such other pupils as may be designated by the secretary, prior to admission to and attendance at school, shall present to the appropriate school board certification from a physician or local health department that the pupil has received such tests and inoculations as are deemed necessary by the secretary by such means as are approved by the secretary. Pupils who have not completed the required inoculations may enroll or remain enrolled while completing the required inoculations if a physician or local health department certifies that the pupil has received the most recent appropriate inoculations in all required series. Failure to timely complete all required series shall be deemed non-compliance.

(b) As an alternative to the certification required under subsection (a), a pupil shall present:

(1) An annual written statement signed by a licensed physician stating the physical condition of the child to be such that the tests or inoculations would seriously endanger the life or health of the child, or

(2) a written statement signed by one parent or guardian that the child is an adherent of a religious denomination whose religious teachings are opposed to such tests or inoculations.

The religious exemption may be signed by the parent/legal guardian on the Kansas Certificate of Immunization (KCI).

More forms and details of the laws can be found on the Vaccination Liberation website for Kansas and Missouri.

If you want to learn more about vaccinations and why people are using exemption forms there is a great vaccinations series on Modern Alternative Mama.  Check it out.  She has a lot of great tips and information.

Biblical reasons not to vaccinate are listed on this website.

Dr. Alyssa Rae Zonarich does a vaccination talk locally every few months.  Here is the August 2012 registration form to give you details.  Like her facebook page to hear when the next talk is.  Very informative and always booked.  A great way to be informed on vaccines and diseases.

Homebirth in Kansas City

Homebirth is on the rise in the Midwest and across the country.  Women are standing up for their right to birth how, with whom, and where they want.  My husband and I birthed all four of our children at home in Missouri.  We have many friends in Missouri and Kansas alike that have also made this choice for their births.  Below is information of the legal status of homebirth in Missouri and Kansas.

Kansas Homebirth Law

In the state of Kansas you have the right to birth anywhere you choose, and you can have any attendant you wish. Drs and CNMs are regulated by the Kansas Board of Healing Arts and the State Board of Nursing respectively. DEMs are not required to carry any license. Although there is no Kansas law regulating birth attendants, the legal precedence in Kansas is that birth is not a medical event therefore, no medical license is required to attend births (STATE BD. OF NURSING v. RUEBKE 1996)  Source

Missouri Homebirth Law

“Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who holds current ministerial or tocological certification by an organization accredited by the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) may provide services as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1396 r-6(b)(4)(E)(ii)(I).” What this means is that Certified Professional Midwives may provide services related to pregnancy (including prenatal, delivery, and postpartum services).  For the first time in almost 50 years, midwives may legally practice in the state of Missouri.  Source

Types of Midwives

DEM(Direct Entry Midwives) aka Lay Midwives:  A direct-entry midwife is an independent practitioner educated in the discipline of midwifery through self-study, apprenticeship, a midwifery school, or a college- or university-based program distinct from the discipline of nursing. A direct-entry midwife is trained to provide the Midwives Model of Care to healthy women and newborns throughout the childbearing cycle primarily in out-of-hospital settings.  Source

CPM(Certified Professional Midwives):  A Certified Professional Midwife is a knowledgeable, skilled and professional independent midwifery practitioner who has met the standards for certification set by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) and is qualified to provide the midwifery model of care. The CPM is the only international credential that requires knowledge about and experience in out-of-hospital settings.  Source

CNM(Certified Nurse Midwives):  A Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) is an individual educated in the two disciplines of nursing and midwifery, who possesses evidence of certification according to the requirements of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.  Source

List of Midwives in the Kansas City Area

Our Four Children Were Born at Home in Missouri

Big brother is observing, and dad is crying because he has a girl.

Our first child was born in September of 2005 in our home in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. As were our second and third child. Our fourth child was born in our home in Kansas City, Missouri in April 2011. We have a wonderful midwife who started as a DEM and become a CPM a long time ago. Our experience has been one of love, encouragement, and information. Our midwife is a great resource of knowledge, and she empowered us to give birth. She did not do internal exams, she never told me to push, she supported me, helped keep me calm and focused, supported my perineum, checked for a cord on baby’s neck at crowning, guided me through the 3rd stage of birth, and made sure mom and baby were doing well after birth.   I’m sure there are a thousand things that she did that I didn’t highlight but my experiences have been calm, laid back, and non-invasive. My body was built with the capability to give birth, and my midwife is my lifeguard making sure everything goes smoothly. She knows what circumstances are red flags and she makes sure we don’t miss anything and that everyone is safe. We’ve had four beautiful births that have been a great blessing to me as a mother and woman.

Teaching Writing at Home- Giveaway! (Closed)

Teaching your children to learn to write can be one of the most intimidating subjects of learning.  Where do you start?  How do you progress?  What if you miss something?  My oldest child is in 2nd grade and so I will only speak up to where we are now and my plans for the future.

At the age of 3 my daughter Ty proudly sings her ABC’s each day to show us how smart she is.  She can recite how to spell her name and she can recognize it on paper.  I have started the first four phonograms with her o, c, a, d but she has not memorized them.  She merely repeats them after I say them and I haven’t pressured her.  She traces over the alphabet with dry erase markers as well. We are doing the Letter of the Week program with her and exploring the alphabet.  She really enjoys the activities and being a part of school.

My son Jax is in kindergarten and we have been working on phonics since last year.  He has the sounds of the basic alphabet memorized and we are working through the remaining phonograms.  When I introduced the sounds of each letter I taught him the correct way to write each letter.  We use what is called the circle space and stations to help form the letters.  He is working through I Can Write-Manuscript and we are focusing on proper positioning of pencil, paper, and posture as well. Once his penmanship is established we will move on to the writing curriculum.

My son Z is in 2nd grade this year but we got behind lessons(mom’s fault) last year so we are doubling up on our writing lessons to complete our 1st grade book as well as our 2nd grade book.  We use the Writing With Ease curriculum which has prepared lessons for each day making this subject super easy at our house.  It’s a quick exercise as well, so writing is not a subject where I’m pulling teeth.  Basically I read different passages to him and he either copies a sentence, or dictates a sentence to me which I write down and then he copies.  During our writing lessons I sit and watch him form each letter and correct any errors in formation.  At some point this year we will start I Can Write-Cursive as well as him writing from dictation.

Here is a blog article that I found very informative especially if you choose not to purchase a prepared curriculum.  And here is a resource website for teaching writing as well.

The Giveaway!

In honor of being back to learning my giveaway this month is writing curriculum!  We love this program and it has helped my son develop a foundation as a writer!

“Young students who learn to write well need one-on-one instruction—something which your child’s classroom may not offer. In The Complete Writer series, Susan Wise Bauer turns every parent into a writing teacher. No experience is needed. Drawing on her fifteen years of experience in teaching writing, Susan lays out a carefully-designed sequence of steps that will teach every student to put words on paper with ease and grace.”

I am giving away The Complete Writer: Writing With Easy Instructor Text.  These can also be purchased online from Peacehill Press for $29.95.

Subscribe to Win: Amber Teething Necklace

Post Comment Below to Win: Writing Curriculum

Share with us in a comment below: the age of your child/children, if you homeschool/or plan to, and any teaching writing experiences you have to enter to win: The Complete Write- Writing With Ease! A winner will be picked at random and announced October 1st. Thank you for participating and sharing with us!

10/5/12  And the random winner of the Writing Curriculum is… Adrianne!  Thank you to everyone who contributed by sharing with us!

Also this month’s random subscriber winner of the Amber Teething Necklace is… Couponforfive!  Congrats and thank you for subscribing to my blog!

What is an Hour of Instruction in Missouri?

Families for Home Education in Missouri, aka FHE, was created to protect the inalienable right of the parents of Missouri to teach their own children without state regulation or control.  FHE has an essential resource book for Missouri home educators titled, First Things First.  Below is an excerpt from that book, and the emphasis is mine in regards to unit hours.

“This has probably been one of the most debated and talked about topics in the Missouri home school community since the law was passed. This issue has not been decided in a court of law. Over the years, FHE has provided documentation and opinions from educations experts and lawyers in order to provide guidelines for the home school community. However, the bottom line is that the responsibility of accurately recording the hours of instruction lies with the parents. Remember that this documentation is designed to serve as your defense, so it is to your advantage to be cautious in recording hours.

Home educators often worry about what constitutes an hour of instruction. The term isn’t defined in the law and is therefore subject to some interpretation. In a formal classroom setting, an hour of instruction is a typical classroom session, a unit of educational instruction or activity. For example, an hour in the typical classroom does not constitute 60 minutes on the clock. In most classrooms, it is between 45-50 minutes. Instruction away from home for field trips, choir practices, private lessons, etc. may certainly be added to your plan book/diary and log. Because of the nature of home education, most of our children receive far more than 1,000 hours of instruction throughout the school year. To be safe, we should document as many of these hours as we can.

It is highly unlikely that you will ever need to produce the log for anyone. The only person who has the authority to request to view your log is the prosecuting attorney in your county. This is not a routine practice, and should only occur if someone reports you to his or her office for educational neglect or truancy.”

There are many families homeschooling that interpret this to mean that when you have a curriculum to follow for one school year and your child accomplishes one unit/lesson of this curriculum, that you can count that as 1 unit hour.  So if your child is advanced and can accomplish the lesson in 15 minutes that you can count that as 1 unit hour.  While there was a time that this was true it is no longer the case.  About 10 years ago the interpretation of the law was clarified in the homeschooling legal community.  The 1,000 hours of instruction is a literal meaning and all hour requirements must be met to be complaint.  So if your child does math for 15 minutes, you can only count that 15 minutes.  Now if your child does math for 50-55 minutes it’s perfectly fine to round up to an hour, but only as long as you also round down.  So doing math for 35 minutes would be recorded for 30 minutes.  This is in regards to elementary and middle school.  And don’t get overwhelmed, I’ve found getting my hours is super easy!

In high school: “a completed credit towards high school graduation shall be defined as one hundred hours or more of instruction in a course.”  You need 16 statutory credits(100 hours each) to not be considered a drop out.  But colleges are looking for 22-24 academic credits(completed course, ex: Algebra 1).  As my children are not in high school I will not delve farther into that topic today and I would encourage you to become familiar with the state law if you do not live in Missouri.

This information is current as of the 2012-2013 school year and was provided by the legal defense attorneys of FHE and HSLDA per LSHE.

Here is a sample of a spreadsheet that can be used to track your hours.  To understand more about hours visit my post on Homeschool Beginnings.

My 2012-2013 hours log was a rewards chart.  So that when my child accomplishes his goal he gets something special like going miniature golfing or paint-balling, etc.  If I needed to produce my hours log to an official I would give them this sheet and NOT my lesson planner.

For 2013-2014 I created my own 3 ring planner and put my log sheets in the front.  Here is what it looks like for each child.

Log2013-2014

 

Homeschool Mother’s Journal: September 7, 2012

Picking up Jax from 1st day of Kindergarten enrichment

This week was a big milestone for us.  My second child went to enrichment classes on Tuesday for the first time.  It was his first time to be away from mom and dad or family.  I have been working with him on “school” things and he is in Kindergarten, but there was never that pivotal moment until this week.  He got a new backpack, decided if he wanted the school lunch, mom took lots of pictures, and we left him.  He had a friend in his class that we’ve played with before, so that was wonderful for mom and dad to leave seeing him with his buddy.  And he loved it.  It was so good for him and makes the financial aspect of sending him so worth it.

Another milestone this week is that I’m tired of diapers.  So I’ve decided to put the energy into potty training my baby.  She was ready a long time ago and I just wasn’t ready to invest the energy to putting her on the potty 3 times an hour.  She’s doing great, and in another week I think she will be to the point of feeling awkward peeing anywhere but the toilet.  So that is really exciting for her and bittersweet for the cloth diapering mama that I am.  But it’s okay, 6 years of cloth diapering is enough for me.  I’m ready to move forward out of babyhood forever and into toddlerdom for the last time!

My oldest child is almost to the point of reading fluently.  I can feel it.  He’s feeling more confident.  He doesn’t get frustrated reading.  And he loves books.  I read to my children each night at bedtime from series like the Magic Tree house, Narnia, or the Kane Chronicles and they all love it.  I look forward to when he can enjoy that reading on his own and not wait for mom.  Right now we are working on preparing for his upcoming 7th birthday party.  He plays the Skylanders video game and that is our theme.  So since there is nothing on the market for that, we are going to be crafting and creating it all.  I will post more on what we do after the party so I have pictures.

And my third child is halfway through her terrible threes headed for the fearsome fours.  Getting enough sleep at night, a good nap during the day, and not being hungry ever are the keys to keeping preschoolers happy.  So when we have a late night, like last night, and she’s whining and crying as we are getting ready for bed, I take a deep breathe, remind myself that I could have prevented this by taking care of those basic needs, and get through it.  I don’t blame her, or title her a trouble child.  It’s my fault she’s up late, or didn’t get a nap, or I didn’t have a snack at 3pm.  Sometimes those things happen and that’s life.  But it’s not her fault and I shouldn’t be angry at her, or scold her, for her natural reaction to the imbalance.  But I do look forward to when she’s five.  Of course her little sister will be three at that point…..sigh.  😀

Literature Curriculum for Classical Education

My son and I LOVE our literature curriculum.  I go online to my local library website and I place holds on the books on the book list for our history lessons and corresponding literature lessons.  The library calls my cell when the books are in and we swing by to pick them up.  Then we cuddle on the sofa for story time and get whisked away to far off places and learn the history, culture, religions, and myths of ancient times.  After I read to my son he tells me his favorite part of the story in complete sentences and I write it down for him.  Then he draws a wonderful picture about it and when he’s finished he tells me all about his drawing.  He has this book filled with his words and his drawings and it is truly a treasure to us both.

  

Not only is the book list, and correlation with our history curriculum, top notch, but this program is also FREE!  I downloaded it, printed it at home, and took it to Kinkos to have it bound with a cover.  I’m giddy with this and it’s the favorite part of our day!  Thank you Classical House of Learning(CHOL) for such a great program!  You have blessed our homeschool days!

Classical Education

We classically educate our children as outlined in the book The Well Trained Mind.  “Classical education depends on a three-part process of training the mind. The early years of school are spent in absorbing facts, systematically laying the foundations for advanced study. In the middle grades, students learn to think through arguments. In the high school years, they learn to express themselves. This classical pattern is called the trivium.”  The early years are categorized as the Grammar stage, the middle grades are the Logic stage, and in high school it’s the Rhetoric stage.

With classical education you do a four year cycle following the course of history.  The first year is Ancient times, next the Middle Ages, followed by Early Modern, and ending in Modern times.  So for my son in 1st grade I downloaded the Grammar stage for Ancient history from CHOL.  And for 2nd grade I downloaded the Grammar stage for Middle Ages from CHOL.  Our literature lessons from CHOL correspond with our history lessons from Story of the World.  So if our history lessons are about Ancient China, then our literature lessons are as well.  It really helps my son to absorb and retain the information about the different cultures and events.

Mommy Moment Mondays Sept 3, 2012


Today I’d like to share a cup of tea with you.  I’d like you to sit back and relax in your chair while I warm some water on the stove.  We can hear the birds chirping outside the window, the sounds of children playing nicely in the yard, and the sweet smell of pancakes.  The water is warmed now and the steam billows out as I fill your cup.  You seep the tea bag into the steaming water and slowly stir it with a spoon.  Just enjoying the calmness of the moment.  Add sweetener and cream as you desire, mixing it all together.  Then you take that first warm sip and your body thanks you as you relax even more into your chair.  Taking deep, slow, purposeful breaths as your body and mind take these moments to prepare for the day.  Keeping your mind clear and just focusing on the beautiful moment.  A moment of calm, warmth, and peace.  As you empty your cup you find you have more energy for your day.  Your heart is lightened and warm with happiness.  You are ready for your blessed and productive day.


Homeschool Mother’s Journal: August 31, 2012

Homeschooling was not the easy decision.  Having my children home all day and being the one ultimately responsible for their education is not the easy choice.  We chose to homeschool our children because we felt it was the absolute best option for them.  We felt that we would be better able to customize their education to their needs and interests.

We’ve had such fluidity to our days with our children as infants that transitioning to a more structured day has been a struggle.  I think it’s been hardest on mom in fact.  Being at the end of our third week of school we finally hit our goal for hours!  I’m so giddy over this fact.  And looking back at our week it wasn’t as bad as I thought that many hours would be.  We survived, got our work done, and still had play time and time for errands.

Next week we start enrichment, piano lessons, ballet, and soccer too so that will make things interesting.  Little things that helped with hours this week were counting things like bedtime reading, helping cook meals, and reading time at the library.  Overall it was a successful week and I feel a satisfying sense of accomplishment.  I can do this.

Wordless Wednesday Aug 29, 2012

<a href=”http://brookie-lee.com/category/wordless_wednesdays/”><img title=”Wordless Wednesdays at brookie-lee.com” src=”http://brookie-lee.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/250x250WW.jpg” alt=”” width=”250″ height=”250″ /></a>



Day-in-the-Life in KC

Note: our wonderful checklist took all the whining out of our day.  Z knows what I expect from him each day and he loves checking off each activity in his quest for free time!  This was a must have for my child.  I’m sure that not all children need something like this but he really does and it has made a huge impact on how smoothly our day goes.

As part of the Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop this post is about a day-in-the-life at our house.  Really this post is a combo as I’m going to include our week last week.

Monday we started with our lessons and schedule and then at the last minute we decided we would join a homeschool meet-up at a local park.  Then we went clothes shopping for the season and ended with buying vitamins and veggies at the local health food store.

Tuesday we worked on our lessons for most of the day.  Focusing a lot on our Math and Reading.  And we ended the day visiting the Chiropractors office.

Wednesday we took the day off lessons and spent the day with grandma.  We went swimming at a local indoor pool with slides and other fun things.  Then we played with grandma and enjoyed our time with her.

Thursday was back to our lessons.

Friday was another great day of lessons.  Several days of schedule and lessons, but with some fun and spontaneity to keep things interesting.  A great way to ease back into a full school year.

August has a gentle schedule and busy September is just around the corner with piano, soccer, ballet, and enrichment to crowd into our time slots.  December will change things up with less activities but more festivities.  And I look forward to the calm and quiet that a new year brings.

Below is our daily schedule that I use as a fluid guideline.  Sometimes our quiet hour is longer waiting on my children to awake on their own and other days they burst downstairs once they hear the timer.  Sometimes math takes 1 hour and reading 15 minutes.  It just depends on the needs of each child.  I have curriculum that I believe in, a schedule to help keep me on a track, and intuition to follow the needs of my children.  And I’ve done the math and I know that we can afford some fun and spontaneity thrown in there at random and still meet the state requirements.

This post is linked up over at the iHomeschool Network – click below to link up your family’s 2012-2013 curriculum!

“Not” Back-to-School Blog HopNOT Back-to-School Blog Hop on Brookie-Lee.com:

  1. Curriculum Week: posting 8/6/12
  2. School Room Week: posting 8/13/12
  3. Student Photo Week: posting 8/20/12
  4. Day-in-the-Life Week: posting 8/27/12

iPhone Photo Dump