Scholarships available for homeschool families.

Found this on Facebook earlier today - check it out, especially if you could use some $$ to keep or start homeschooling.

The Single Homeschool Mom: Scholarships: I am pleased to offer financial assistance to current and prospective home schoolers in the form of a scholarship. Four (4) scholarships...  click the above link to learn more...

Into the groove

So, we are finally into a schedule that is working for us this year.  We are enjoying the classes that we are taking out and about, and we're loving the learning that is happening at home. 

We signed up for cable TV a few weeks ago.  It has been a bit of a distraction, but we're getting better about turning the TV off and turning our brains on.  That said, I love cable TV!  There are so many great shows to view.  Who knew? 

I'll share some of our favorite "new-to-us" shows soon.  In the meantime, if there's a show you want to recommend to me, feel free - we're totally tuned-in!

Enjoy your journey!

Comparisons

Why in life are comparisons so important?  J asked if he could study history and science (which we already do daily, but without labeling them as such).  The reason he asked is because he was comparing school notes with a fellow homeschooled friend, and the friend is working on high school level work.  Why do we have to compare?  Why do we have to do what the other child is doing?  Part of me feels frustrated, but part of me is happy that this will make J work on something different (other than Legos.)

I have a Sonlight World History core that I've been holding on to (okay, hoarding!) in case one of the children becomes interested in history, and voila, it looks like now is the time to pull it out.  I'm actually pretty excited, because I wish my parents had taught me with Sonlight - it's the exact type of program I would have LOVED in school - lots of reading.  Umm, which reminds me, I'll need to add some hands-on projects for J.  He's an auditory and kinesthetic learner, which makes for hands-on and lots of reading aloud by me.  Wish us luck!

I'll let you know how it goes.  :)

Owl mini-study

J and I have been really into owls lately.  We started our interest in owls by reading some of the Guardians of Ga'hoole book series.  We watched the movie (disappointing - it didn't really follow the books at all).  We attended a Raptor, Inc. presentation with live owls - they even had a barn owl, he was beautiful.  We learned that there are only maybe 50 pairs of barn owls in all of Ohio. 

We studied a few books about owls and owl breeds.  Overall, we definitely expanded our interests to include owls.  J is even thinking about volunteering with Raptor, Inc. when he is old enough.  Fun times.

Our Halloween Dance is coming up!

What:  Family Halloween Dance
When: Friday, October 21, 2011 7 PM to 10 PM
Where:  Clermont County Fairgrounds 4-H Hall 1000 Locust St. Owensville, OH 45160
Who:  You, your family, your friends
Hosted by:  ALIVE 4H Club

Admission:  1 canned good (to be donated to a local food pantry following the dance) or $1 per person

Snacks:  Light snacks(chips, pretzels, popcorn) and beverages will be provided by ALIVE 4-H club.

Raffle Tickets:  $1 each or 6/$5 or 15/$10.  Raffle items include but are not limited to theme baskets (pets,sports, green cleaning (2), cooking, get "schooled", movie basket) and items from and gift certificate to local businesses . We will also be drawing door prizes throughout the night.

Attire: COSTUMES!

Pumpkin Carving Contest: Bring a carved pumpkin with you and you could be named “Pumpkin Carver Supreme” and win a prize! FREE!

Costume Contest: Open to EVERYONE! We will award prizes for the cutest, scariest, most creative and best costume overall! FREE! Please keep costumes tasteful!

GLO BRACELETS for sale the night of the dance!

Need more info?  Leave a comment here on the blog and we will get back to you!

Monday Co-op & Hands-on science class

Yesterday was our first day at our new-to-us Monday co-op.  The kids truly enjoyed all of their classes.  J even asked if we could have Monday group everyday (LOL).

I'm facilitating the hands-on science class.  Yesterday we played with lemons and lemon juice.  We performed three experiments:  shiny pennies, lemon wet cell battery, and fizzy lemonade.  Shiny pennies was simple - lemon juice in a cup on top of dirty pennies.  The kids were amazed by the shined up pennies.  The wet cell batteries were a mixture of successes and failures.   Some of the kids loved the fizzy lemonade, and some did not!

Enjoy your week!

Weekly Wrap-Up: September 23

 

I think we are finally getting into a groove with our week, it feels good!

On Monday, we have our new co-op, we joined this group over the summer and have really enjoyed getting to know some "other" homeschooling families.  It's definitely a relaxed homeschool group, so we are fitting right in.  Our classes start next Monday.  The kids are taking drama, hand building clay, hands-on science, photography and more.  It should be a fun time.  We're pretty excited.

Tuesday we enjoyed at home - I caught up on some housework.  S worked on some math and writing, two things she really wanted to do.  A volunteered at a golf outing, it was a great experience for her.

On Wednesday, we finally had our egg drop for Invention Convention club.  Each family brought miscellaneous materials from home, and then each child made an egg container designed to keep an egg safe in a fall.  Then, we dropped the eggs.  Most of the designs were successful.  It was a great experiment.  My kids have still been talking about how they would change their design, so we might go drop another set of eggs.

Thursday was at the park with our new group of Unschooler friends.  It was great to connect with friends - I had fun, the kids had a blast.  The park was awesome - playground and skate park, two of our favorite things.

Today we had Leaves of Learning.  The kids are loving their classes, and making some new friends.  All in all a great addition to our week.

Tonight, A had her second social dance lesson with a group of local homeschooled teens.  It looks so much fun, I want to join in. The teens seem very nice and friendly.   Tonight they worked on spins - A said she was very dizzy.  She also said it was very fun.

So, crazy, full week, but it was good.  Next week I start teaching hands-on science - I'm a little nervous.  We're focusing on lemons for our first class, I'll share the experiments we're going to try in my next post.

To see what other homeschoolers are up to, stop by Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers Weekly Wrap-Up.