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

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

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:)

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.

Children's Festival

The plan for our family today was to get up, meet some friends at the Jacksonville Children's Festival, have a picnic, and go to the library on the way home. Key words: The Plan.

In his heart a man plans his course,

but the LORD determines his steps.

~ Proverbs 16:9

So, yes, I "planned", but God had determined something else from my good intentions:)

Last night Ryan stubbed his toes (yes, toes, as in more than one!) and this morning he was uncomfortable enough to want to stay home and miss out on the Children's Festival. He could even put his shoes on, but at least there were no broken bones involved (that day will come, sooner or later!). Charlie agreed to stay home with Ryan, so I took Nathan to the festival. I also think Ryan may have been feeling the festival was for little kids, but oh well. It would be good for them to have some "guy time" together too.

Oops, I forgot to get gas....and cash to get in. Double oops, I forgot our water bottles at home too! Thankfully this was all an easy fix at the gas station and finally we were on our way. We met up with our friends and I was immediately glad for the change in plans since she too had come sans husband. We took the boys around to the booths that we did last year and I asked at one point "what's up there on the hill?" I thought it was food vendors or something else since we didn't check it out last year. Ha! I didn't know it was for the "big kids!!" I took the two older boys (mine and my friend's) up there and we made candles, created a "silk" screen print, suncatcher mosaics and realized that some of the booths were closing that we didn't even have a chance to check out! Like making a bowl on a pottery wheel! Wow! We will go again next year just to check it all out:) And I got to come home and let Ryan know it's really not just for little kids!

Ew, yuck!

Anyway, we didn't have our picnic since half our family was at home, but we did have lots of fun with our friends:) I was thrilled to come home and find that Charlie and Ryan mowed the lawn -front & back, whacked the weeds, watered the garden and were happily playing a board game together when we got home! Yahoo! Now we can just have a quick lunch and we're off the library.

At the library, Ryan spotted 2 boys from Cub Scouts, but as always he could remember names. He went to say hello and I introduced myself their mom and we ended up talking for about an hour! It cracks me up sometimes....

She had asked what school the boys go to and when I said we homeschool, she gave me "that look"....she scrunched up her face and gave a lop-sided smile and said "doesn't it drive you nuts?" Ha! If you only knew:) As usual, I heard the "I could never have the patience to homeschool", but this time it was followed by 20 questions! She, like so many, had a picture in her head of what a homeschooler's day must look like, but when I explained to her the kinds of things we've been doing lately, she was amazed! She had mentioned that it's "all or nothing" with her kids....during the school year her boys were in school all day, home to do homework, then off to baseball practice and games on the weekend - generally never home and always on the go. Now that they're home for summer, they're either in front of the tv, video games, or "bored" and home all the time. There's no middle ground. She said when they're in school she cleans the house and then isn't quite sure what to do with herself til they get home. I can't really relate to that, of course, but do I miss it? No. I love the time I have with the boys, seeing them learn and being a part of it. I love it when that "light" goes on when they get something! Do I need more down time? Yes, of course, but I can't imagine putting the boys into school just to get it. There are days when we're busy, busy, busy, and there are days when we just need to take a break...thankfully we have the freedom to do both. If my boys are bored with their schoolwork we have the freedom to "spice it up" or move on. My lesson plans are never set in stone....more like playdough:)

Anyway, I made a new friend today:) We exchanged phone numbers and the boys are already talking play dates. Funny how things work out that way sometimes when our plans change!

Thank you, Lord, for directing my steps today:)