Clarifications and Changes for Homeschool Excellence Day 2000

The majority of the people who participate in Homeschool Excellence Day have found it to be interesting, challenging, educational, important, and uplifting. It is a busy, but very important day. This is the statement of purpose for the day, as I see it.

Homeschool Excellence Day has a two-fold purpose. First, and probably foremost, it provides a way to show our legislators the quality work that our families have done. This, along with families visiting their elected officials, has proven to be a very effective method of lobbying. It is our goal to have as many projects that the space can handle to exhibit our Excellence and promote the homeschooling movement.

The second purpose of Homeschool Excellence Day is to provide a method of encouraging excellence through competition. Having a well planned display of the projects and having them impartially judged provides a measurement of achievement to the participants.

Therefore, all rules and regulations are designed to meet the purposes of Homeschool Excellence Day. This makes compliance necessary. All requested information is necessary for a project and is important in the planning of the space and the administration of the competition.

There has been some confusion about how to classify some of the projects. In science, the confusion is determining whether the project should be in the Display or Experiment categories. In art, the problem is understanding the difference between the Open and Mixed Media categories.

A science display should be informative. It could include a diagram or a model. Some of the past displays have been, The Anatomy of a Horse, The Digestive System, and How Does a Muscle Work? The purpose of this project is to teach the viewer. The science display should include an informative paper.

A science experiment is distinctly different. An experimental project will follow the scientific method. Basically, the scientific method has the following components (phrased for younger ones in parenthesis):

• Purpose (What I Want to Learn)
• Hypothesis (What I Think Will Happen)
• List of Materials (What I Used)
• Procedure (What I Did)
• Results (What Happened)
• Conclusions (What I Found Out).

A science experiment will involve a control and variables. The control isn’t part of the experiment, but used to provide an unchanging standard for the purpose of comparison to determine the results. The experiment should involve variables. The report should covering the process of developing and performing the experiment, and the results of the experiment.

There is also a need to clarify the Art categories of Mixed Media and Open. Mixed Media is simply a 2-dimensional combination of media used for drawing and media used for painting. It does not include a project that uses any material other than drawing and painting media. A painted sculpture does not belong in the Mixed Media category. It belongs in the Open category. The Open category is for any art work that is not specifically a drawing, a painting, or a mixed media. The Open category is for all the other types of art. Some of the past entries included photography, collages, psanky eggs, jewelry, woodworking, etc. In this category, the judges are free to award more than one first, second, or third place, since comparison is sometimes difficult.

Here are the changes in the rules and requirements for September 2000:

1. Winning a local competition will not have anything to do with acceptance of the project for Homeschool Excellence Day. The key to acceptance is following the project rules.
2. A deadline for entering a project will be specific and will be determined by the postmark on thethe envelope. The deadline will be published in PA Homeschoolers and posted on their website. All entries must be submitted by (snail) mail.
3. One self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) must accompany the entry(s). If the SASE is omitted, the project number cannot be returned thereby nullifying the entry.
4. All entries must have all the information completed. Changing an entry after submission will not be allowed. Incomplete entries will be returned, if a SASE was included.
5. You will know the project has been accepted for the competition when you receive a project number and information about its placement on the project.
6. All projects are to be done by an individual. No group projects will be accepted.

If you have any specific questions you can email me at: grobbins@telerama.com, or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Marie Robbins, 6901 Spruce St., Finleyville PA 15332.

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