Archive: Sports

People who work at home and home schoolers are almost an invisible sub-culture in Lansing and the surrounding area.  You don't tend to see them or even know about them unless you are one.  So it might be surprising to learn what a large and active home school community there is here and in Tompkins County as a whole.


You would think that home schooling isolates kids, but the local community finds ways to bring them together to interact, and to have some fun.  Mondays from 1pm - 2:30pm you'll find a group of them at The FIELD on East Shore Drive in Lansing, where Mike Carpenter and Fritz Schmidt have organized a ten week soccer program.  18 kids from about a dozen families showed up last Monday, aged 8 to 13 years old.  They came from Candor, Newfield, Ithaca, Danby, Trumansburg and Lansing.  "It grows and shrinks from week to week," says Schmidt.

Carpenter, a contractor specializing in solar panels and wind generated energy installations, came up with the idea when his 11 year old began home schooling.  "There really wasn't a program for that was developed for home schoolers," he says.  "I like to do more of a relaxed atmosphere, not a 'win at all costs kind of thing, but something that is more fun where you learn soccer skills.  What kids at this age need is to learn the rules, learn the skills, learn to play the game and learn to have fun."

When the two learned that the soccer field is available for a reduced rate during school hours, they offered it on-line to all home schoolers for $35 per family for ten weeks.  The Finger lakes Unschoolers Network, also known as Funschoolers, has an e-mail list that allows them to communicate about programs like this, and to share ideas and announce events.  "There is a meeting at Stewart Park annually that has grown year after year," says Schmitt.  It's gotten huger and huger.  That is a connection where parents meet and share resources."


Carpenter has been coaching soccer for 40 years.  "I have an 11 year old, but I also have a 38 year old so I've been coaching soccer for a long time."  He and his family have also put together a school called "Northern Light Learning Center" which meets at Saint Paul's Church.  "We rented a few rooms and parents contribute a little bit, but mainly their time and skills to create a class," he says.  "You enroll with a small fee and you commit to creating a class.  A lot of the classes can be used in the home school reports."

"It's not really a school," he explains.  "It's a loose conglomeration of people who wanted to have a larger context and a bigger space so we could come together and do programs.  We started it in the Fall last year, hoping for 20 families.  We got 50 for the first semester.  We're up to 65 for the second semester.  Right now we're in Saint Paul's United Methodist Church down town.  We're looking for a space for next year."

Home school parents must report to their school districts on their activities.  After notifying the district they intend to teach their children at home, they must submit an "Individualized Home Instruction Plan," and then send quarterly reports to their district.  The State also requires an annual assessment with test results.  The soccer program can be used to help fulfill physical education requirements.


Even before the parents organize the game, the kids are clearly having fun on the field.  "The older kids are very careful and respectful of the little ones," says Schmidt.  "The little ones have an amazing skill level."  The program is still open to home school families.  Says Carpenter, "If there are any home school families who are looking for programs, we're trying to make it open to everybody who's in the home school community."  

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