Rally Day

Dear TN Homeschoolers,

As you plan your schedules for the up-coming 2010-2011 school year, we wanted to give you the date for Rally Day. Please read this over and forward to your home school friends, support groups, tutorials and co-ops. Thank you!!

Rally Day 2011 is Tuesday, March 22nd.

It is our hope that you will add this to your family's home school schedule, to your tutorial, co-op and support group's schedule and plan to be on Capitol Hill for the THEA Capitol Hill Rally & Reception Day on Tuesday, March 22, 2011.

Rally Day is all about joining together to bring the "good report" of home education to our state lawmakers, about having a face-to-face presence of hundreds, thousands of Tennessee home schooling families on Capitol Hill, for the ultimate purpose of preserving our right to home school our children!

Though it was first organized in March of 1985, you may have never been to Rally Day. We encourage you to not miss this year's event!! In case you've never been, the info on last year's Rally Day is still on the THEA web site. Read about what goes on: www.tnhea.org.

Think about this, if we don't make an effort to protect our right to home school, our parental rights, who else will?  So as you plan your school year schedule now, we earnestly request that you plan for Tuesday, March 22nd as a day to be with other Tennessee home schoolers on Capitol Hill.

Remember, too, that it's a great civics lesson for your children

• to hear from our state leaders during our morning Rally in the historical War Memorial Auditorium

• to be in the halls and in the offices of your state lawmakers, making face-to-face contact with them, shaking their hands as their constituents

• while hundreds of other homeschoolers are also meeting with their legislators, and all of you are delivering the Cookie Bags & Rally Day Booklets to their offices for the staff and the legislator

• while your children's Science Fair projects, art work, & your Support Group activities,Team Sports programs & other displays "explain" our myriad activities with tri-folds covered with pictures, with trophies & ribbons and other items filling the tables which line the busy Legislative Plaza hallways, debunking any myth that our children are not socialized

• while the United Christian Academy home schooled teens serve the legislators and their staff our catered luncheon

• and home schooled musicians play beautiful music for them

• while in the afternoon, you go across the street to the Capitol, sit in the Senate's Gallery and observe our students below in their Student Congress debate within our Senate Chambers

Many legislators and their staff tell us how special Rally Day is to them. They have told us how unique it is to have families, parents & children, in their hallways & offices, to hear our beautiful music wafting through their office complex, to see our displays, enjoy our delicious lunch and the home-made goodies delivered by you in our signature red, white, blue Gift bags.

As we join together for our day on Capitol Hill we bring a very strong message to those who make our laws that home schooling is thriving in Tennessee, that the rights of parents must be protected and guaranteed by our state laws and that we hold our lawmakers accountable!

Mark your calendars now to join with your fellow Tennessee home educators for Rally Day 2011 !!

Til then we hope your 2010-2011 school is a great one!

Don't forget to forward this on. Thank you!

See you on March 22nd!

See www.tnhea.org for updates.