Homeschooling: Drop the stereotypes

Parents merge resources in a rapidly evolving homeschool system. It's no longer just mom and the kids at a kitchen table.

NEW PORT RICHEY - Chris Rosakranse, 12, was more than a little excited about the prospect of dissecting a fetal pig.

"We've already done hearts, brains, kidneys and bones," he said as the scent of formaldehyde wafted across the room. "Oh yeah, we did eyeballs, too."

Chris is in his first year of homeschooling, having attended kindergarten through fifth grade at Gulfside Elementary School in Holiday.

So far he likes the change - especially the science classes taught by Judy Hekhuis.

Hekhuis is a certified teacher from Michigan and former director of the Pasco Christian Homeschooling Association of Holiday. She has homeschooled her three children, Isaiah, 13, Gabrielle, 11, and Noah, 8.

Over the years, teaching science became a passion.

"I love this stuff," she said with a grin. "Each week we've done a different system of the body - circulatory, respiratory, sensory, digestive, skeletal. With the pig, we're going to tie it all together."

Now her passion has made her part of the ever-evolving homeschool movement, which has grown beyond the stereotype of a mom giving her child lessons at the kitchen table.

Hekhuis teaches other homeschooled children as part of Educational Opportunities for Homeschoolers. It's a co-op in which parents pool their teaching resources. It holds classes at First Christian Church in New Port Richey.

EOHS grew out of the Pasco Christian Homeschooling Association support group, which serves some 120 area homeschooling families.

"We found there were several people that were teaching classes in their homes or in churches," Hekhuis said. "We thought we'd put it all under one roof."

"When we find a parent with a gift or talent for something who's willing, we just start another class," Hekhuis said. "Who knows? Eventually, we might even outgrow this space."

About 60 children attend class at the co-op, taking classes such as algebra, Spanish, creative writing, art, art history, sign language, keyboarding skills and fencing.

Suggested donations are from $3-$5 per class. That usually covers the cost of materials and a donation to the church for the use of space, Hekhuis said.

Students also go on field trips - anything from attending Florida Orchestra performances at Ruth Eckerd Hall to a local fire station to long distance hauls to Williamsburg, Va.

The co-op seems to work well for homeschooling parents such as Lida Schedler who teaches two art classes. "Because we all volunteer for this, we get to teach our strengths and pleasures," she said. "And homeschooling is not just limited to the mother's strengths."

"We create the things we're missing," said Terri Schryer, whose son A.J., 9, has taken algebra and fencing classes through EOHS.

Schryer opted to homeschool A.J. after he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. "He was reading at 3 (years-old) but was so distracted that I just knew he wasn't going to fit into a regular classroom," she said. "With homeschooling, you can change things to meet your child's needs."

Jonathan Lord, the third in his family to be homeschooled, enrolled in two private schools last year after testing revealed that he was lagging in math and English.

"My mom really has a hard time teaching that, and I was beginning to fall behind," he said.

Still, neither private school was a good fit for Jonathan, who after years of homeschooling found there was too much downtime for his liking.

"They'd tell me I'd have three to four hours of homework every night, but I'd have most of it done during the (school) day," Jonathan said. He added: "I didn't like changing classes, and I didn't like getting up so early."

Besides learning at home, Jonathan now takes math through a private tutor, creative writing classes at the co-op, chemistry through homeschooling classes offered at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa and duel-enrollment classes in English and Spanish at Pasco-Hernando Community College.

"I really like the college classes - especially since I'm getting high school and college credit at the same time," Jonathan said.

Jonathan's school day seems fairly typical by recent homeschooling standards, and perhaps, more accepted.

"When I first started homeschooling it was still pretty weird - it raised eyebrows," Hekhuis said. "It was thought of as just a strong Christian movement. Now more parents are homeschooling because they're dissatisfied with the schools."

Along the way, Hekhuis said, many homeschoolers have gone on to prove their worth. They've won national spelling and geography bees, become National Merit Scholars and attended Ivy League Schools.

For more information on Educational Opportunities for Homeschoolers, call (727) 376-1176. For information on the Pasco Christian Homeschooling Association call (727) 863-7720.