My bigger kids are doing an overview of World History this year. Next year, we will be doing an in depth U.S. History course. In preparation, we are talking a lot about US geography but we need some help. If there still are blog readers out there, can you leave us comments on the following:
1. Where you live
2. the size of town you live in
3. your local weather (seasonal averages) including days of sunshine
4. Is your state/city homeschool friendly (can homeschoolers participate in public school or private school activities?)
5. Would you recommend your city/town as a place to raise kids? If so, what activities do your kids take part in?
I think that about sums it up. We would love lots and lots of comments. It really is a fun way to study geography (all the new kids know where all the 50 states are but learning about them in a more personal way would help us all)
. I live in New Martinsville, WV
ReplyDelete2. The population is about 8,000 total urban and rural.
3.seasonal Averages would be: January-Febuary very cold usually about 0 with major snow fall, March-April Rainy averaage temp between30 and 50,May warmer still a little rainy usually in the 80s some snow is normal, june-Aug cool mornings and hot days tepm normally between 70-90s can get to 100 mid day. sept is warm usually in the 70 kinda dry, october-dec temp cools off back to about 40 and declines. We loose our leaves about october.
4. Although the schools do not allow homeschool children to participate in school sports there are many things for children to be involved in. We have softball teams, basketball teams, gymnastics, Tae Kwon Do and Karate and many other things.
5. I would definatly recommend my town for a place to raise a faimly. It is a small town and is a safe place so children to play with out worring. Everyone knows eachother and there is always something to do.
Hope this helps, love Tella
1. We live in Boise, Idaho.
ReplyDelete2. The city population is 205,671 and the metro population is 585,207.
3. We experience all four seasons, Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall. Here is what the chamber of commerce says about Boise: 'Boise's climate is characterized as semi-arid. Boise experiences hot and dry summers with highs exceeding 100 °F (38 °C) 5.6 days in a typical year and 90 °F (32 °C) on 46 days. Yet due to the aridity, even summer nights often offer significant and crisp cooldowns. Winters are cold, with a January average of 30.2 °F, and lows falling to 0 °F or below on around 4 nights per year. Snowfall averages 19 inches (48 cm), but typically falls in bouts of 3 inches (8 cm) or less. Spring and fall are generally mild, with autumn being a quick transition period whereas spring is quite gradual. Precipitation is usually infrequent and light, and especially more lacking during the summer months."
4. Yes, homeschool children can participate in school sports! Yay! :)
5. Yes, I would most definitely recommend Boise as a place to raise a family. Although it is a big city (in Idaho) it has a quaint small town feel. Our proximity to numerous mountains opens a door to so many many mountain fun activities ~ camping, hiking, snowshoeing, mountain biking, rafting and kayaking, rock climbing. We have a museum, zoo, many many parks, and soccer is a big sport around here! Kids also play Lacrosse and ski in the winter. There are a few dance studios, water parks, martial arts, and most other typical sports ~ football, basketball, volleyball, swim teams, gymnastics, etc. Boise State University is in our town and going to their sport events is way fun! Especially their football games! :) We also have a semi-pro hockey team.
I was raised in Wisconsin, but once I moved to Boise, I fell in love with Idaho! It is a clean and beautiful place to live! Glad to help you with this project! :)
1. Santa Monica, CA
ReplyDelete2. 84,000 people but it's part of the Los Angeles, CA metro area which has 9,862,000 people.
3. Unlike most of the places in the U.S., Southern California has two seasons (not four). There is the rainy season (Nov - March) and the dry season (Apr - Oct). The temperatures are fairly constant at ~74 degrees during the day and 50 degrees at night. It's one of the few true Mediterranean climates in the world. There are 292 sunny days on average in Santa Monica.
4. California is not too friendly to home schoolers. At one point they tried to force any parent that wanted to home school to get a teaching certificate from a 4 year university. That law was struck down by the supreme court in 2008. Parents that choose to home school still have to choose between registering their children in a 'home school friendly' charter/accredited school or registering their home as a private school. Parents have reported issues when trying to enroll their children that have graduated in CA colleges. Most of the colleges want the kids to get a GED since they don't have an official diploma; however, this is just ignorance of the law as home schooled children are not required to get a GED in order to be eligible to enroll in CA colleges.
5. Santa Monica is a great place....to visit. Housing is extremely expensive here so most of a family's resources would be wasted on rent and wouldn't be available for activities and enrichment. The beach is certainly fun and Disneyland is great, but, you're better off living in a more affordable place and using some of the copious amounts of money that you'd save on rent to take a vacation here.
1. Arcola, IL
ReplyDelete2. 2700 people - very rural
3. This is snapshot of our weather:
-January the low is 16 and the high is 32 with 1.9 inches of rain a month
- April the low is 40 and the high is 62 with 3.65 inches of rain.
-July the low is usually 64 with the high being about 85 and 4.67 inches of rain
-October is about the same as April with lows of 43 and highs of 65 but with only 2.81 inches of rain.
4. Illinois is one of the very few states that is very hands-off homeschooling. We have no interaction with the state - we don't even have to register. Each community pretty much makes their own rules about school involvement though. We have lived in two small towns - both have been receptive and even invited our daughter to attend classes such as art, PE and music. We have chosen not at this time because that is just more running and waiting on her someplace! (Our daughter is only 7 and in the second grade). I see that homeschoolers are welcome to join the band but not sports - the sports are through an organization that has rules on how many school credits you have with that school (so things like football and volleyball are difficult).
5. For a very small town we have a lot of diversity. About 40% of our population is Hispanic (very, very unusual for our area), in addition to a small but growing Indian population (about 8%) we live in an Amish community. Lots of tiny farms and horses and buggies. Our town is very school orientated so although we did not grow up here and our children do not attend school, we still attend football games, ect. We are active with the recreational sports for children such as soccer and soft/baseball. And our library has activities for the kids once a week. If you like healthy eating and family orientated life you could be happy here - if you need lots of entertainment, shopping, and restaurants then you would be very unhappy here!