Posted: 10 Jul 2010 05:24 PM PDT

Saturday, hundreds of people met in College Station for the Kaleidoscope Expo 2010.

It's a program that lets homeschooling parents network as well as find curriculum and activities for their kids.

"The idea is to bring information together for home school families in one place so they can help plan upcoming curriculum for the school year, we have things like art classes, math classes, Tae Kwon Do, choir, band, we also have curriculum for math, Spanish, different foreign languages," said Darlene Barnes, who coordinated the Kaleidoscope 2010 Expo.

Barnes home schooled all three of her daughters who are now grown.

"First of all we wanted the freedom to teach our children about the Lord, we thought it was very important to us, some other things were the particular learning styles of our children, the ability to plan the curriculum for the child. Our youngest one was way far ahead in math and behind in reading, so I was able to let her do 5th grade math and first grade reading when she was in first grade," Barnes said.

Saturday's event was a one stop shop of information for homeschooling Parents like Glynda Bricker.

"It's is a great place just to get to see the great curriculum they offer, get to touch it hands on stuff and talk to people, ask questions, get encouragement, some of the parents will give us ideas on what they're doing. This has worked, it hasn't worked," said Glynda Bricker of College Station.

Bricker has homeschooled seven of her kids.

"Homeschooling gives students the chance to meet a lot of different people of different ages, they get to interact with a lot of people at different levels," Bricker said.

"The parents have to be able to facilitate the learning, not actually teach every detail that there kids have to learn," Barnes added.

Barnes tells us one of the biggest misconceptions still out there is, homeschool kids have trouble learning social skills and are isolated.

"As you can see here, there are lots of people who homeschool, we probably have 700 to 800 families in the Brazos Valley who homeschool. The burden does fall on the parents, there's no way around that it is the parents responsibility that their kids are educated well and socialized well," Dalene Barnes said.

An education with many families now opting to turn their living rooms, into classrooms.

The Texas Home School Coalition Association estimates more than 300,000 Texas children are homeschooled and Texas leads the nation in number of homeschooled families.

For more information about homeschooling you can contact Dalene Barnes at info@triumphhomeschool.org

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Pageant gives participants a chance to celebrate individuality

Posted: 11 Jul 2010 04:44 AM PDT

By Erin DuBois
Associate Editor

In a world where beauty often means conformity to impossible standards, Ondrea Powell is spreading the message that it is okay for girls to be themselves, even if they are not perfect.    The 15-year-old Harleysville resident was recently chosen as a state finalist to compete in the National American Miss Pageant Aug. 15-16 in Harrisburg, Pa.

Powell's success has not come easily. Since seventh grade, bullying has been a big part of life at school, Powell said.

Everyone at school looks the same, Powell said.

Other students have long hair and tend to wear ripped jeans and sweatshirts. But Powell, who dreams of being a fashion designer, emulates New York City style by shopping at higher-end stores and sporting a short hairstyle modeled after Rianna's.

"She gets made fun of for wanting to be successful and go somewhere," Kim Powell, Ondrea's mother, said. "It really affected her school work along with her self-esteem."

Ondrea is considering homeschooling next year because of the overwhelming amount of criticism she has received, Kim said.                                                                                                 But Ondrea believes that even though there is negativity in life, you can separate yourself from it and move on to better things, Kim said. She wants to be in the pageant to show other kids that they can be different, Ondrea said.

Ondrea received a letter in the mail inviting her to an informational meeting in King of Prussia for the pageant. Contestants have to be referred to receive an invitation, and the Powells are still not sure who referred her, Ondrea said.

The invitation letter told Ondrea to come to the meeting dressed for success, but it did not tell her that she would be interviewed on the spot, Ondrea said.

After filling out a resume and participating in the interview, Ondrea went home to wait for the pageant officials' phone call. Ondrea's father, Bill Powell, sent her a text message in history class letting her know that she had been chosen to compete in the state competition.

"I freaked out," Ondrea said. "I jumped up and down and told my friends."

Ondrea received a ribbon and certificate along with the chance to compete in Harrisburg. The top five competitors at the state competition are eligible to compete at the national competition in California, Ondrea said.

The national competition can open doors to future job opportunities, since modeling and talent scouts attend, according to Kim.                                                                                                                 Prizes include a 2010 Ford Mustang convertible, but Ondrea said that she would rather win the college scholarship so she can pursue a career in one of her many interests, which include dance and singing as well as fashion design. She also plans to follow her father's advice to get a business degree.

The pageant emphasizes inner as well as outer beauty and strives to maintain an age-appropriate competition. There is no swimsuit contest, and girls under 12 years old are not allowed to wear makeup, Kim said.

"This pageant is an all-American, girl-next-door kind of competition," Ondrea said in her sponsorship letter. "It is based on personality, poise and confidence."

Thirty percent of competitors' scores is based on formal wear, 30 percent on personal introduction, 30 percent on an interview with a panel of judges, and 10 percent on community involvement, according to competition guidelines at www.namiss.com. To earn the community involvement score, competition guidelines suggest that competitors donate a children's book or stuffed animal to assist libraries, literacy programs, firefighters and policemen in their work with children.

Ondrea wanted to do more, Kim said.

She began by collecting soda tabs at Souderton Area High School. The Ronald McDonald House uses the money from recycling the tabs to help the families of children with cancer.

Now she is collecting soda can tabs at her parents' offices and plans to approach local businesses about collecting them there as well, Kim said.

Ondrea is making a "Team Ondrea" T-shirt to raise sponsorship money and will donate one-third of the proceeds to Ronald McDonald House.

"It's really taking off," Kim said. "It's almost not about the pageant anymore. This is something she wants to do besides."

While she was shopping for the formal-wear portion of the competition, Ondrea began thinking about girls with cancer who are too ill to attend prom. Now she dreams of bringing the prom to them with the help of local dress shops. She hopes to locate a venue to decorate for the event and to find seniors who would escort the girls.

"It's turning her into a humanitarian," Kim said of the pageant.                                                           Ondrea said that her journey has been long, but she has received a lot of support from her parents and other adults.

Support came from a surprising source when Ondrea contacted the Ralph Lauren company as part of an assignment for school. She interviewed three employees, and one of the designers told her that he got picked on when he was in school.

"This was a very good inspiration because of what I've been through," Ondrea said. The employees sent her a group photo and encouraged her to contact them in the future about internship possibilities.

Ondrea looks to her parents as role models and calls herself a "daddy's girl." Ondrea said that she respects her mother for raising her on her own until Kim met Bill when Ondrea was five. Bill adopted Ondrea in 2007, but Ondrea started using his last name long before that.

"We bonded," Bill said. "She promised me she would never say that I'm not her dad."

Supporting Ondrea in the pageant is a "no-brainer," Bill said, and he is proud of her ambition and good heart.

"There is a lot of uniqueness to her," Bill said. "It's really neat to see her come into her own person."

The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of MontgomeryNews.com.

Donna Jennings wrote on Jul 7, 2010 9:29 AM:

Mom Powell wrote on Jul 7, 2010 10:41 AM:

Sara Mathe wrote on Jul 7, 2010 3:52 PM:

Beverly wrote on Jul 7, 2010 6:11 PM:

" Congratulations on your success at the pageant. As a parent, it is so encouraging to see kids doing great things!

BTW - Good choice to go with National American Miss. My daughter was in it as well (in Ohio) and loved it. First, I checked it out and was amazed at what a great program it is and that I had not heard about it. Really like the emphasis on job interview skills, community service and public speaking at NAM.

Snaps to you for your resourcefulness, and for perseverance in making your dreams come true. Keep up the good work! "

ONDREA wrote on Jul 8, 2010 8:01 PM:

Michelle Koshinski-Cheatum wrote on Jul 10, 2010 1:09 AM:

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Barrel racing vital for Harrah entrant

Posted: 10 Jul 2010 09:55 PM PDT

Harrah resident Sidney Forrest's life reads like a novelty T-shirt: "Barrel racing is life, the rest is just details."
The 15-year-old said she developed a love for barrel racing at a young age because her parents raced. She also loves the adrenaline rush. Forrest loves barrel racing so much her family began homeschooling her during sixth grade so she could pursue her passion full time.
Forrest said she begins her day at 7:30 a.m. by feeding her horses. She then performs school work and trains her young horses.
Though Forrest said her competitive horses are in "full bloom" and only need to be ridden for exercise, this hasn't always been the case.
"Twig," the horse Forrest will compete with at the International Finals Youth Rodeo Monday through Saturday, suffered from an eye injury last year.
"We were on the road and we're not sure what it was, but it almost went all the way through my horse's eye," Forrest said. "Now he can see out of about half of his left eye. It's taken a long time for him to get over it."
Annie Forrest, Sidney's mother, said her daughter helped to rehabilitate the horse.
"She stayed with him overnight in the stall a few times to help get him healed," Annie said. "He sure knows Sidney loves him."
Annie said prior to purchasing Twig, her daughter had another horse named "T.C.," who helped Forrest win several world titles. Forrest and her family made the decision to sell the horse after seven years because she outgrew him.
"When she bought Twig, Sidney did all the business herself," Annie said. "She's so self-motivated and dedicated."
Annie said the IFYR is her daughter's "comeback race."
"I haven't been able to run Twig because of his injury," Sidney said. "I'm excited. I'm hoping to go after a world champion title next year."
This will be the first time Forrest will compete in the IFYR. She will be one of 249 youths participating in the barrel racing event. She will be one of around 900 contestants from 31 states at the IFYR. She is among 28 competitors from the Tri-County area and Harrah particiapating in the world's richest youth rodeo.
"Last year I went to watch a friend," she said. "Usually, I compete with the International Professional Rodeo Association, but we saw how popular the youth rodeo has become."
Annie said her daughter had always wanted to participated in IFYR, but she wasn't able to in the past due to other competition commitments.
"I really feel like she might have a good shot at winning," Annie said. "I am very proud of her."
Forrest said she would like to thank her family, friends, sponsors and God for supporting her passion.

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Homeschooling

Sunday, July 11, 2010

“Kaleidoscope Expo 2010 for Homeschooling Families” plus 2 more

“Kaleidoscope Expo 2010 for Homeschooling Families” plus 2 more

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