LOCAL
A6 — THE OBSERVER
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2022
Homeschoolers get three R’s and then some
Enterprise-based
group gives kids a
solid education
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE —
Readin’ and ’ritin’ and
’rithmetic — and a whole
lot more — are a part of the
County Christian Liber-
Schola Community’s home-
school program.
“In most cases parents
send their kids to school,”
said Michael Caine, com-
munity coordinator for the
program. “In our case, par-
ents accompany them.”
‘Celebration’ Tuesdays
That goes for the
approximately 50 students
up through the 11th grade
who homeschool four days
a week and then gather
Tuesdays at Enterprise
Christian Church to share
what they’ve been doing.
“Tuesday’s almost a cel-
ebration, a community
day,” Caine said. “It’s the
day students bring what
they’ve been working on
all week. For us, the whole
scheme is you work hard
all week to be prepared for
Tuesday.”
He said the program isn’t
so much of a school in the
formal sense.
“We’re more of a group
of homeschoolers, not really
a school,” he said.
During the four days a
week the kids are home-
schooling, they take part
in the usual bevy of aca-
demic coursework found
in most schools. They also
are able to join in Wallowa
County school athletic pro-
grams and other commu-
nity off erings.
Although there is no
formal athletic training in
the program, families make
up for that.
“Our families are hyper-
active in the sports com-
munity,” he said. “We have
a huge number of cross-
country runners, several
track runners and lots of
soccer players.”
There’s also what Caine
calls “para-educational
programs.”
“We have some really
high participation rates in
Wallowology programs and
Josephy Center programs,”
he said, as well as an educa-
tion course in nature. Partici-
pating in community theater
and performing arts also are
part of the curriculum.
Those programs are
something unique to Wal-
lowa County, as the fam-
ilies here are able to take
advantage of many of the
programs and resources in
the community.
Michael Caine/Contributed Photo
Students in Bobbi Thomson’s sewing class work with volunteers from the Wallowa Mountain Quilter’s Guild and Enterprise Christian Church
during County Christian LiberSchola Community’s homeschool program.
Sewing
One such resource is vol-
unteers from the Wallowa
Mountain Quilter’s Guild
and Enterprise Christian
Church involved in sewing
and quilting. They bring
their sewing machines
on Tuesdays and teach a
group of about nine 6- to
8-year-olds. Right now,
they’re working on quilt
squares for quilts — to be
provided both locally and
internationally.
“We start out with the
basics. We teach them
about the sewing machine,
we teach them how to sew
on buttons. They made a
bookmark, they’ve made
‘bowl cozys’ (to place
a hot bowl of soup in),”
said Bobbi Thomson, a
guild member who is in
her third year teaching
the class. “Now we’re
advancing onto quilt
blocks for an expectant
mother and the Ukraine
through the Prairie Creek
Quilt Shop.”
Thomson said the 10.5-
inch quilt blocks will be
either assembled into
quilts by the quilt shop or
by another organization
and ultimately shipped to
Ukraine.
“They’re trying to
make as many personal
quilts as possible to send
to Ukraine,” she said.
Thomson said the five
boys and four girls enjoy
what they’re doing.
“They’re all in favor
of this,” she said. “When
we’re done with that
project, we’re going to do
a Mother’s Day project.”
Caine is pleased that the
boys are some of the biggest
fans of the sewing class.
Michael Caine/Contributed Photo
Middle-school students work on their English grammar in Carrie
Kilner’s class during “celebration” Tuesday of the County Christian
LiberSchola Community’s homeschool program.
“I think it’s very true
that our boys are some of
the most enthusiastic stu-
dents in our sewing class,”
he said.
And the projects bring
out some of the best in the
kids, as they’re more into
making things for others
than themselves.
“They’re very gen-
erous,” Thomson said.
“They want to make
things for other people.”
Thomson said she
believes that in our dis-
posable society, teaching
the craft of sewing is
something that needs to be
encouraged.
“It’s becoming a lost
art,” she said. “We need
to encourage kids to know
how to sew.”
Sound scholarship
With the oldest student
in the program in 11th
grade, the issue of high
school graduation won’t
be coming up for another
The Oregon Hunters Association
Union/Wallowa Chapter would
like to thank the following
participants and donors for their
contributions in support of our
2022 Online Fundraising Events
2022 Online Banquet Donors List
Anthony Lakes Ski Area
Aquarium of Boise
Arrowhead Chocolates
Avista Corp.
Baker City Frontier Express
Beamers Hells Canyon Tours
Buffalo Peak Golf Course
Chad Carlson
Cheyenne Cafe
Coastal Farm & Ranch
D + B Supply
Eagle Cap Chalets
Gerry Funk
Goodwood Barbeque
Great Wolf Lodge
Hells Canyon Adventures
Hines Meat Co.
Joining Water Raft Rental
Joseph Branch Railriders
Josh Chronister
Kenetrek
La Grande Country Club
Liberty Theatre Café
Manulife
Nosler
OHA Pioneer Chapter -
Duane Johnson
R + R Drive In
Roaring Springs Water Park
Take Down Guide Service -
Bryan Jones
Terminal Gravity
Vista Hot Air Balloon
Wahooz Family Fun Zone
Wallowa Lake Lodge
Wallowa Lake Tram
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Work Sharp
year. As for a diploma,
that’s more of something
the family will deal with
in conjunction with the
program.
“When it comes to a
diploma, the homeschool
family is responsible,”
Caine said. “A diploma is
a cooperative engagement
between the family and
our school group.”
He said the state doesn’t
require any “state stamp
of approval that goes on
homeschoolers’ tran-
script,” although stan-
dardized tests are required
every two years.
College-bound students
are urged to prepare for the
SAT test that is used as a
benchmark to prepare for
college.
“A good homeschool
endeavor prepares a stu-
dent in so many ways,”
Caine said. “It’ll prepare a
student to be a good father
or mother or electrician or
plumber or college student
or whatever.”
He said the home-
schoolers learn in some of
the most advanced educa-
tional methods.
“Some of our educa-
tion focuses on the Soc-
ratic method, which pro-
vokes students to speak
intelligently, to present
intelligently on subjects
they’ve mastered,” Caine
said. “The reason that’s
essential is that in so many
ways, we prepare our stu-
dents to become good doc-
toral students, and to speak
well to it.”
According to the Stan-
ford University website,
the Socratic method aims
not to strike fear in the
hearts of students so that
they come prepared to
class, but to strike fear in
the hearts of students that
they either cannot articu-
late clearly the values that
guide their lives, or that
their values and beliefs do
not withstand scrutiny.
“A lot of our education
does aim for the highest
educational goals,” Caine
said. He said homes-
chooling yields some posi-
tive results.
“Colleges tend to like
homeschoolers a lot,” he
said. “They have a certain
sense of this world that
others don’t.”
Program’s not new
Caine said the Liber-
Schola program has been
going about nine years.
Although he is not a cre-
dentialed teacher, he
doesn’t discount the value
of postsecondary degrees.
“I know a lot of people
work very hard to get
those degrees and I’m sure
they’re very valuable,” he
said. But his drive is from
his passion for helping kids
learn.
“I do have a passion for
education and have taught at
the college level,” he said.
And that’s true of the
other parents of home-
schoolers.
“We just want to be a
more integral part of our
kids’ education and to
shepherd our children,”
Caine said. “We do feel
that their academics is just
one part of shepherding
them.”
Then
NOW
2022 Graduates
y
l
n
O
49
$
Includes full color. Three line maximum message.
T HE O BSERVER
Jennifer Smith
High School Name
Congratulations Jen!
We are so proud of you!
Love, Mom & Dad
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Name of graduate:
School:
Message:
Call Devi 541-624-6007 or email
dmathson@lagrandeobserver.com