Homeschooling to the Stars - And With the Stars!

What do Lindsay Lohan (Herbie, Freaky Friday), Raven Symone (That's So Raven), and Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) have in common? It's not a new movie or show, or a Hollywood extravaganza they were seen at... it is their status as homeschoolers! Each of these famous young actors join the ranks of accomplished homeschoolers who have attended Laurel Springs School, the "School of the Stars."

What makes famous young actors, athletes and scholars turn to homeschooling? For an answer, let's look to the past. Many proud homeschoolers love to tout the names of famous people throughout history who were homeschooled. Take a look at just a few!

o Presidents - George Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt
o Inventors - Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison
o Artists - Claude Monet, Ansel Adams
o Composers - Amadeus Mozart, Irving Berlin
o Actor - Charlie Chaplin
o Authors - Charles Dickens, Mark Twain
o Scientists - Albert Einstein, George Washington Carver

Who knows what inventions, political principles, art and literature we would be missing if these historical figures were not allowed the freedom of independent learning and growth! The power of learning is limitless, and the homeschooling tradition, steeped in history, continues on today with a renewed interest in all that it can offer the individual and the world.

All children are "stars" in their own right - and the dream of parents is that each child reaches up and grasps their fullest potential. Many young actors, athletes and scholars are doing just that - they are turning to homeschooling because it offers the flexibility to learn while pursuing their dreams, and to pursue their dreams through learning!

To become a child actor, performer, or athlete, young stars must be able to "take school with them" on their early career endeavors. If their program of study is geared toward their individual learning style, they can learn in less time while happily pursuing their other dreams. Laurel Springs School offers this, and has been the distance education source of choice for these young stars.

Along with actors Lindsay Lohan, Raven Symone, Elijah Wood and many others, Laurel Springs School is proud of their homeschooled athletic stars as well. Just this year, skating team Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto, both students at Laurel Springs, won the gold in the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Chad Compton won the title of top Junior Surfer in the U.S., and 14-Year-Old Alexa Glatch was named one of the top 5 Americans in the World Junior Tennis Rankings.

In the performance world, one student, Monet, is becoming a Rock star and was recently a guest on FOX's Bernie and Mac show; Melinda Sullivan won first place in the Spotlight Awards performance arts scholarship program, and is now touring the country with the CATS Troop.

In the academic world, Chelsea Bets Christenson has won the UN High School Essay Contest in both 2003 and 2005, and is officially considered one of the top ten high school writers in the nation! Yang Liu, a homeschooled graduating senior, was selected as a finalist for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

What makes these kids achieve their goals is a supportive family and a home education program that is as diverse and flexible as they are. Today, we shape tomorrow's leaders, and we find the unique mold of the future inside our children, within their hopes, dreams and talents.