Columnist Susan Snyder: Home can be learning experience

Friday, June 11, 2004 | 8:54 a.m.

A jumble of old lamps, chairs, kitchen appliances, furniture and stacks of used books cluttered Elissa Wahl's driveway last Saturday.

Children's clothing and shoes covered a blanket spread on her small suburban front yard. Boxes of board games were strewn across another blanket. A bar hung across the open garage door held more clothing on hangers. Knickknacks, including an old phone, filled the cracks.

A closer look revealed clues to the reason for Wahl's sale. The books were used texts about math, science and writing. School-type desks were among the furniture.

And just in case someone couldn't put 2-and-2 together, a sign told shoppers that the sale was to raise money for the Nevada Homeschool Network's convention. The event is June 18-19 at Calvary Community Church, Cheyenne Avenue and Torrey Pines Drive.

Wahl, the network president, said the convention is the perfect opportunity for parents who have considered home-schooling or just want to find ways to supplement their children's education.

Registration opens at noon, June 18, and costs $25 per person or $35 per family. It will feature nationally acclaimed home-schooling experts, workshops for teens and adults and vendors offering the latest in home-schooling materials.

Two days after the yard sale, Wahl sat in the family room where she teaches 3-year-old Elias and 10-year-old Brian. Brian was immersed in a text about the science of magic.

"He's really interested in science. We've done a lot of things with rocks this year," Wahl said.

Home-schooling is monitored by the state. Parents who choose to have their children taught at home must register an annual instruction plan.

There are four approved methods. Parents may hire a licensed teacher or may teach the children themselves under the advice of a consultant with at least three years home-schooling experience.

Parents also may use a state-approved correspondence course to teach their children. Or they may do the teaching themselves, provided they show evidence they have home-schooled for at least one year in another state. Wahl is of this last category.

"Mom? Where do we keep the blender?" Brian asked. He was standing in the kitchen, peering into cabinets.

Don't ask.

"A lot of what we do is hands-on," Wahl said. "He doesn't need my hand-holding or my direction at all times. He'll sit down and do experiments on his own. He made paper once."

Home-schooled students must complete a minimum of 180 days of instruction, just like their public school counterparts. But without lunch periods, assemblies, recess, bus rides and other distractions, the actual instruction takes only a few hours. That leaves time for physical education at the local community center and educational field trips.

"If I can give him the ability to love learning and give him the ability to find information, he's set for life," Wahl said. "You just have to be committed to your child."

Committed.

"Mom? What's a laxative? What's ammonia?" Brian asked. "And do we have Alka-Seltzer?"

"It takes a lot of commitment," Wahl said again. "It's not for everybody."