Camping with Kids

Our homeschool camping trip to Fish Lake was pure fun! We camped (of course!), we fished, we swam, we had smores! And best of all, we were with our friends:)

Homeschool Olympics 2008!

Here's an excerpt from the Front Page of our Homeschool News, Fall Edition:

MEDFORD- On Friday, August 15th, Olympians from around the Rogue Valley came together for a day of track and field events at Holmes Park. On a record-setting day of 108 degrees, 16 homeschool kids were hot to compete for the gold!

And from the Sports Page:

MEDFORD- On August 15th, homeschool kids across the Rogue Valley came together the Medford Homeschool
Olympics. Children were divided into 2 different categories, according to age, and given the opportunity to
participate in 7 events to compete for the gold! Congratulations to our Olympic Champions! Way to go!

Here's all the medals the boys won!

Ryan:

1 Gold (Discus)

2 Bronze (Javelin, Shot Put)

Nathan:

3 Gold (Long Jump, Discus, 100 Meter Dash)

1 Silver (Relay Race)

The day was so much fun and well worth all our hard work!

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 3:14

I made the local news!

Check out this story from MailTribune.com:
News - Talent holds Friday growers market
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080821/NEWS/808210332&emailAFriend=1

Me and my tiny booth in 108+ degree heat! Yikes!

Other Homeschool Discounts!

This list could go on and on, when you start adding in LOCAL business, but for starters this is good!

Office Depot:
http://www.mystarteacher.com/

Barnes & Noble:
register in-store for in-store discounts (not valid for online purchases)

Joann's Fabrics & Craft Stores:
See store manager for details.

Staples:
http://www.staplesrewardscenter.com/SORC/UserManagement/Login/LearnTeachersRewards.aspx

Borders/Waldenbooks:
http://www.borders.com/online/store/BRLandingView
http://www.borders.com/online/store/GroupSavingsServicesView_gssoverview
from their site: "Borders also offers a Classroom Discount of 20% to preschool through 12th grade teachers and librarians (as well as homeschoolers) in support of children's literacy. To determine which program is right for you, please visit the above pages."

FedEx/Kinko's:
https://psg.kinkos.com/educator/

Pizza Hut's BookIt! Reading Incentive Program (Grades k-6):
http://www.bookitprogram.com/enrollment/homeschool.asp

A Barefoot Story

I had to share this new video from Barefoot Books:)



Visit my website at www.mybarefootbooks.net

Searching for the books

It has been a challenging week of gathering all my school supplies for this new year. We actually had our "official" first day of school on Monday, but we are still missing a few components...
I have been faithfully watching several items on Ebay and Amazon, trying to get the absolute, rock-bottom prices, if possible.....<drum roll, please>....and I think I've done it!!! Believe it or not, I am down to the last three items on my "gotta have it" wish list! Whew!!! What a relief:)
On top of that, I had listed some items of my own on Ebay, sold 2 totaling over $50 and that's covering what I'm getting without dipping into our pockets! Yaaa-hooooo!
Okay, you can tell I'm a little excited:)

Cub Scout BBQ and Swim Party

Sunday we had fun with some of our scout buddies:) What fun! Is it any wonder why Nathan says he "changed his mind" and wants to be a cub scout this year???

So much fun! And if that wasn't enough we went with another family to Dairy Queen for Blizzards & cones on our way home:)

COMING SOON:

Homeschool Olympics 8/15/08
Basketball, Track & Field Events with all our homeschool buddies!

Group Camping Trip 8/22/08~
Camping at Fish Lake with <yes!> our homeschool buddies again!

Vacation! Camping, Fishing & visiting w/ Papa & Grandma Jo:) 9/1/08~
After their long trip up through our old "stomping grounds" in Idaho & Montana, they'll be coming 'round the mountain into Medford for a visit. Can't wait!!!

Check back soon for new pictures! xo

Savings!

As you may already know, Michaels Arts & Craft stores offers a 10% Educators Discount. BUT! I found a way to save even more money:) If you haven't already, go to www.michaels.com/theknackfaculty (check my favorite links) to sign up for a special newsletter just for teachers. About every other week or so, I have been receiving an email with a coupon for 20% off of my entire (reg.priced) order! Plus, last week I also received a coupon in the mail for 20% off:) Between these and the 40% coupons that come out periodically, you'll have no excuses for paying full price on your homeschool crafting supplies!

I had to share:)

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas!

I better post these photos from our Solar System study this summer. The boys and I had such a blast learning about the different planets and the stars. I think their favorite part was remembering planets in order with the ol' "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas!" (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) Yes, we know, there's some big controversy over whether or not Pluto is even a planet, but that doesn't stop us:) Whether it's a moon or a planet, it's there, right?

Note: We bought one of those standard solar system kits (from Michaels), but since it's difficult, not to mention boring, to paint styrofoam balls, we covered ours with a salt dough mixture (See Below for recipe) and let it dry completely before painting it. Big difference from what the box shows to do and what we accomplished! I'm so proud of my boys:)

Salty Map Dough (adapted from the Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions):

1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. salt
1 1/8 c. warm water

1. Mix flour and salt together in large bowl.
2. Slowly stir in water until mixture is the consistency of sticky bread dough. (We ended up adding a little extra water so the mixture was more like a paste to spread onto the styrofoam balls.)
3. Use immediately!
4. Allow to dry completely before painting.

Note: This recipe makes more than you will need for the solar system model, but it's better to have more then not enough! Also, we used acrylic paints to paint ours, plus we added an irridescent glitter to Saturn's rings. Lastly, we recommend using a hot glue gun for adherring the planets to the wire...craft glue was not secure enough to last for any amount of time.

Finally!

Ok, so this is my first entry in my Adventures in Homeschooling and, yes, it's long overdue! In my defense, we haven't been doing much school work lately with all the preparation we've been doing for VBS. Oh well, our new school year officially starts Monday so it's time I get my act together!

Something to share (because I'm oh-so-thankful!):

Yesterday my friend Michelle and I drove out to Grants Pass to check out someone's "huge
homeschool sale"....and huge it was! We both came home with a ton of resources, plus several items off of our individual "lists" (you know, the wish/want lists we all have!) Well worth the drive out there:)

Ok, I'm off to enjoy my last 2 days of summer! hahahahaha:)

The Next Countdown Begins!

Deschutes County Fair Photos

Good Times

After a very busy week or two, I am finally able to get these pictures posted:) Seems like there hasn't been time for breathin' lately! I've been busy, busy, busy getting all the decorations & props ready for VBS at our church. Topped it all off with a 9 hour day at the church on Sunday to put it all together. Whew! Looks good:)

Like my jelly fish, crab & anemone? You can barely see the clown fish! (Thanks, Amber, for the jellyfish idea!!!) xoxox
These are my blurry pics from the performances:)


W had a great visit to Redmond last week. Got to hang out with Angie & Brandon & Alisha too. Ryan went home with Angie when she brought Alisha out last week and was able to spend a few days on his own visiting his auntie and uncle. (Gave me more time to work on my paintings for VBS too, since I wasn't playing referree to the boys!) Took the kids to the Deschutes County Fair while were there. The Elmer Boys +1 ~Tim & Mike & Brian~ met us there as well:) Check out the prizes "the boys" won for my boys! You should've seen us trying to cram them into my car to get them home! (the prizes, not my boys!!!) Good times... Here's my new favorite photo:)


On Saturday, I decided to treat the boys to some "attention" by taking them to the park. I happened to read in the paper that morning about one of the local tv stations hosting an annual Kids Day Festival (how did they know we celebrate Kids' Day???). We went to check it out and there were over 90 vendors there with games, booths, activities, crafts and prizes for the kids! Whoo-hooo!!~ We had a blast:) The only thing that wasn't free was the food, but I knew Parks & Rec was having their Family Fun Day and BBQ so we hopped over there and had a free lunch and the kids played some more games! Ryan even got to get dunked in the dunk tank!! (heehee, Nathan and I got to dunk him!!)

God is so good to us! We were even blessed with a yard sale on our way home and we were given a ton of school supplies for, you guessed it, FREE!!! Thank you LORD!!!