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Sunday, February 28, 2010

Film focuses on Missouri’s complex legacy of slavery - KansasCity.com

Film focuses on Missouri’s complex legacy of slavery - KansasCity.com

This afternoon we went to the local high school and watched a film on Missouri's slave history. It was presented by the Plattsburg Historical Society. It was very interesting and very educational. Once aspect of the film was pointing out the differences in slaves from Missouri compared to those in others states.

The group that put it on is putting on several more around the KC area, and hopes to take it across the state. If you have a chance to go to a viewing, do so. Following the film, Dr Jimmy Johnson, dressed in character of his great grandfather slave George Washington made an appearance to answer questions.

So, today we will be putting down 2 hours of Missouri history.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Test for the US Deptmartment of the Treasury

HSLDA--Financial Literacy Challenge Opportunity

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends,

HSLDA recently learned that the U.S. Department of the Treasury has
launched its 2010 National Financial Capability Challenge. This
recognition program uses a voluntary, online test to determine and
recognize high levels of financial literacy among America's high
school students in public, private, and homeschool programs.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has asked for HSLDA's help in
getting this test into the hands of homeschoolers. High scoring
students will receive awards from the U.S. Treasury Department, and a
select group of outstanding schools and educators will be recognized.
This recognition is competitive and will look very good on a job
resume or high school transcript.

To register for this challenge, please visit
http://challenge.treas.gov/. You can then register for
the test. Please note that the deadline to register is Monday, March
1, 2010.

Students must be between the ages of 13 and 19 years old. There are
no prerequisites for student participation, and there is no charge to
participate.

We hope that your homeschool program can benefit from this unique
opportunity.

Sincerely yours,

Mike Smith
HSLDA President

Coop needs a new home

Things are starting to look up again-sort of. My dad was released from the hospital yesterday with no long term damage from his fall. He will be sore for awhile I would think.

Our 4H group is starting to work on their projects. Tonight the kids who are doing photography are meeting. In a couple weeks, more project groups will be starting as well. That just means we are getting closer to the fair and SUMMER!

The girls are working on their spelling words for the upcoming spelling bee. There are some pretty tough words on the list and some we have to look up, and others that we can not even find in the dictionary.

On the down size, our homeschool coop is not meeting this semester. Basically we lost the building we had been meeting in. So, our leadership team is trying to find us a new location before the fall semester starts. Meanwhile, we will try to meet with others every month or so to keep friendships active and for the kids to socialize some. It is sad that we lost the location we were at, as it was the perfect location. So, if anyone out there in the North KC/Kearney area has a large facility that will house around 400 kids plus their parents with rooms for classrooms, let us know!! We meet once a week. A large church or empty school would be perfect.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Info on the EXPLORE test (pre ACT) for 8th graders

There will be three different test dates this spring for taking the EXPLORE test (a pre-ACT test) designed for eighth graders. Seventh and ninth graders are welcome to take the test too. It is a new test every year now, so even if your student took it last year, they are welcome to take it again. This test will cover the same areas as the ACT test required for college admission: English, Math, Reading, and Science Reasoning. You will receive your student's test questions back, along with the correct answers, so it is a very good practice tool. Testing dates will be:

Monday, April 26, 2010, at Harmony Vineyard Church, 600 NE 46th Street, Kansas City MO 64116 from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm.

Monday, May 3, 2010, at Coronation Church, 13000 Bennington Ave, Grandview, MO 64030, from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm.


Thursday, May 6, 2010, at Brighton Academy, 10100 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park KS 66212 from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm. Brighton Academy is located in the Emmanuel Baptist Church.


This is a one day test. You may pick which date and location works best for your family. The test time includes time for a snack/lunch break. The cost for the test at the two Missouri test sites is $20, and the cost for the test at the Kansas site is $27. You will also need to include 2 business-size SASE's (self-addressed stamped envelopes); one with a regular stamp and the other with a $.61 stamp, and a completed registration form. You will receive an e-mail you confirmation when they receive your information. If you have any questions, you may either e-mail whereismonette@gmail.com or call 816-781-5531. Monette will get back to you as soon as she can. Deadline for registration is April 10, 2010 for the Missouri test sites and April 20, 2010 for the Kansas site. Please write very clearly on the registration form as it is sometimes hard to read the email address or phone number and those are needed these to be able to contact you. :)


Student's name________________________________________________________

Address______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________



Parent's names _______________________________________________________

Phone_______________________ E-mail__________________________________



Test date/location ____________________________________________________

Please send completed registration form, 2 SASE's (with differing amounts of postage), and payment to:

Monette Anderson

901 Cambridge Circle

Liberty MO 64068

Its been complicated

This week has not gone to plan. Not at all.

Sunday, we were hit hard with snow. It was very cold and very windy as well. As a result, roads (and of course our driveway) were drifted shut. It snowed all day Sunday and as a result our church cancelled services. The girls had a friend from church spend the night Saturday night and she went home on Sunday. They had a fun time. They didn't get to sleep until around 2:30 Sunday morning, but since church was cancelled, I let the girls sleep in.

Monday we managed to get out of the driveway and JD, Rebecca and I headed to Liberty. I was shopping for a new clothes dryer. I new exactly what I wanted--the Bosch that went with the Bosch front loader washer I got last year. When we got to Lowe's, we found out it was discontinued. So, I started checking out the others, and saw NOTHING I liked. They all, every brand had chrome all over it. I don't want chrome, for one, its harder to keep clean and besides, we are talking a clothes dryer here, not a Harley Davidson.... But, Jacques (Lowe's rep we usually deal with in appliances) came out with a grin on his face. Said he found something in the back I may be interested in. There she was, my dream dryer, the Bosch in all her glory, about 40% off the original price because she was the floor model and had no box. We bought it. To add icing to the cake, I had $150 in gift certificates to bring the price down further. So, we left the store with the high dollar dryer that I wanted and I paid the only price for a standard dryer.

When we got home, we unloaded it and the girls and I headed for community chorus. (The plan was to get the dryer and most likely install it on Tues because of other commitments we had Monday night). So we had the new dryer sitting in the living room, the old one had been moved from the laundry area to the middle of the kitchen--you know, one of those messes that you usually have going on when either company comes or something happens.

Well, it happened. While we were at chorus practice, my phone and then my daughters phone started vibrating over and over. I ignored mine, after all I was trying to sing. But, Emily being a typical 13 year old could not ignore a text. That is the meanest form of torture to her. Thankfully she disobeyed me and peeked at hers, to see we had been ignoring messages from my brother and husband, who were trying to reach us. My dad had fallen on the ice, landing on his head and was in route to the hospital, where he was admitted. Today is Wednesday, and hopefully he can go home tomorrow. My mom has been staying with him most of the time. My brother went out to the area where my dad fell, and found 3 breaks in the ice--one from his head, and 2 from his elbows. Needless to say, he is sore.

After he fell, he had some short term memory loss, but that has all returned now. For a short time, he could not remember who the president was. But he could remember that he was a republican. Later, he remembered who the president was and said he was wishing he didn't. If you knew my dad, and his politics, you would agree that was a good sign! I have several cousins who like to get my dad riled up on his politics.

Oh, we finally did get the new dryer in on Tuesday afternoon. But the old dryer still has not been carried out-but, at least I can do laundry and we don't have one sitting in the living room anymore!

We are still having computer issues as well. Very often I can't get on line, or cant check my email. I have come to realize and bunch of my email has been lost--my outlook box is empty when it had at least 30 in it the night before that I had not read.

So, basically here at the farm we are now waiting for spring. Hopefully when the season changes so will our luck!! Our schooling has gotten a little behind this week, but we will be able to catch it up. (Actually we have been running ahead on our hours, so it really isn't an issue). We have gotten in our home-ec, a little social studies, our Bible readings, our spelling and a little math. I count Emilys time at the fire station towards her schooling, but we will be missing that tonight as we will be heading back down to the hospital.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Our spelling words

Since we are getting ready to do the spelling bee in May, I thought you may want to see our spelling words. We are now switching over to the bee words, in order to be prepared. Last year, we didn't find out about the spelling bee until just a couple weeks ahead. This year, we have several months notice.

Each grade has several hundred words. Here are the A''s and B's".

6th Grade abbreviate
 abruptly
 accessible
 achievement
 acrobatic
 affluent
 aisle *
 alibi
 allegiance
 alliance
 amphibious
 anagram
 analyze
 armor
 asterisk
 astronaut
 attempted
 audible
 autonomous
 bachelor
 ballast
 balsam
 bauble
 bayonet
 befriend
 benediction
 besieged
 bibliography
 biennial
 binoculars
 bitterness
 blaspheme
 boulevard
 bounteous
 buoyancy


8th Grade abjuration
 abnegate
 abysmal
 abyss
 accelerator
 acreage
 acrophobia
 acumen
 adjutant
 aerobics
 aesthetic
 alimentary
 allegory
 allemande
 aluminiferous
 ambidextrous
 antihistamine
 apologetics
 armadillos
 arpeggio
 arrhythmia
 asceticism
 asymmetrical
 auspicious
 bagatelle
 bellicose
 belvedere
 beneficiary
 benevolence
 bespectacled
 bilingual
 bioscopy
 bivouac
 blithesome
 boorish
 borough
 botulism
 buccaneer
 bureaucrat

Meanwile, my laptop is in for repair, JD's computer is windows 98, so won't open sites with many graphics. My old pc with xp is acting up, won't print, and keeps telling me failure is about to happen. A good part of the time I can't access my email. But, I printed several emails off today and am working on them. So, if you sent us one and we haven't responded, we will--we are just running way behind!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Spelling Bee for homeschoolers in KC area

Announcing the Clay Platte Home Educators

Regional Spelling Bee



Friday, May 7 at 10:00 a.m.



New Location:

Platte Woods United Methodist Church

7310 NW Prairie View Road

Platte Woods, MO 64151

Near I-29 and 72nd Street
http://plattewoodschurch.org/418826.ihtml
This relaxed spelling bee is for students who want a friendly bee but with real competition. It is open to any homeschool student* who is in grades one through twelve. A copy of the rules, guidelines and word lists can be found at: http://www.cphecorp.org/spelling/

To have a successful bee we really need judges, so please consider serving your homeschool community in this way. Parents of participants may serve as judges.



Registrations are due April 23rd. We need to have at least two spellers in a level to hold the bee for that grade. If there are not enough registered spellers in a particular level the speller will be notified by April 26th and will be given the option of competing at the next highest grade level.



To register, volunteer, or ask questions you may contact Kellie Wiersma at:

spellingbee@cphecorp.org


Cost to participate in the bee:

CPHE member: $3 per speller - ($9 max per family) plus one plate of
refreshments to share with the group
Non-member: $4 per speller - ($12 max per family) plus one plate of
refreshments to share with the group


Those registering should send the following information:

Student Name
Student Grade
Parent Name
Parent Email
Parent Phone number

CPHE Member? Y/N

Once this information is received you will be given instructions for sending your payment.



Judging volunteers should send the following information:

Name, email and phone number.



* CPHE defines a homeschool as one that is in full compliance with Missouri homeschool law for ages 7-16. Students outside this age group must receive at least 50% of their education at home, exclusive of enrichment programs and/or college courses. Students from other states should be homeschooled according to their state law.


We attended this last year for the first time and Emily placed very well (I believe it was 3rd place). It was very well organized and the awards take place as soon as it is over.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Logo contest for Liberty July 4th open for ages 14 and up and poster contest for ages 5-14

Liberty Fourth of July Committee seeks Logo

Area artists young and old are invited to design a patriotic logo for the City of Liberty's 4th of July celebration-Liberty's Salute to Freedom.



The July 4, 2010, event will feature a greatly expanded celebration of freedom, complete with a parade of military and patriotic units and the reading of the Declaration of Independence on Liberty Square.



Two art contests are planned. The first, a logo contest, is for adults and teenagers 14 and up. Entries must be in a digital format. The winning design may be used on t-shirts, banners, literature and advertising.


In addition, a poster contest for youth, ages 5-14, is also planned. Poster entries may be displayed at the Liberty City Hall, on the City's cable channel, at area businesses and during the Salute to Freedom celebration.



A complete list of rules, entry form and a release form will be available online beginning January 27 at www.ci.liberty.mo.us/SalutetoFreedom or at the Liberty City Hall, 101 E. Kansas. Entries must be mailed or delivered to the Liberty City Hall by 5 p.m. February 26, 2010.


The winner will be announced at a March Liberty City Council meeting. For information go to www.ci.liberty.mo.us/SalutetoFreedom beginning January 27 or call 439.4415.




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Links for Biblical geology & Noah's Flood

Some articles you may find interesting. This came from our preacher Larry.

1. Thousands of dinosaur footprints found in China. More evidence of
Noah's Flood. See: http://biblicalgeology.net/blog/archives/293
2. Eerie silence on Tiktaalik's demise. Wiki slow to include contrary
evidence for famous fossil story. See:
http://biblicalgeology.net/blog/archives/193 3. Wikipedia silent on Tiktaalik no longer. See
http://biblicalgeology.net/blog/archives/229
4. Edits needed on Wikipedia entry for Panderichthys. Prize fossil
becomes dead-end but who would know? See
http://biblicalgeology.net/blog/archives/260

$5 for group admission at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum

Family Five Dollar Sundays

$5 Group Admission

Due to the great response from the Family $5 Week during Christmas break,
AKMA has decided to extend this fun offering for families. In an effort to
encourage family visits to the museum, the Albrecht-Kemper Museum will
offer $5 group admission on Sundays. Children are welcome to bring
friends, but all youth must be accompanied by an adult, and we do ask that
there is at least one adult per 5 children.
Gallery looking-activities and Winter-themed craft projects will be
available!

Sunday Museum Hours 1-4pm:
February 7
February 14
February 21
February 28
For more information, call the Albrecht-Kemper at 816 233-7003.

Monday, February 8, 2010

This effects all Missouri Homeschoolers!!! Please Read

This is from Brad Haines, Executive Director of Familes for Home Education.

(Here is a link to find out who your legislators are: http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx )
The Following “E-Lert” is being sent by FHE to all Missouri Homeschoolers requesting immediate action. Phone calls need to be made NOW to your Representatives regarding amendments to HB 1543 lowering compulsory age, and as many as are able need to attend the hearing on SB 805 which gives Social Workers (many without sufficient training) sole “legal” authority to remove children from their parents, without due process, based on the social worker’s assessment of the need for “protective custody.” HB 1543 will likely be debated on the House Floor sometime tomorrow (probably towards evening), so lobbying against lowering the compulsory age can continue in person throughout the day. Please pass this on to all Missouri home school and pro-family friends. (For more information if you are able to go to Jefferson City on Tuesday, Feb 9th, contact Kerry Messer when you get to the capitol at 314-971-2477)

Education Policy

Compulsory Kindergarten



Monday

February 8, 2010

5-6 pm



House Hearing Room 5

Basement, State Capitol



HB 1543

See previous E@lerts.



This bill is expected to clear the House Rules Committee with no problems and be placed on the House Perfection Calendar as soon as Tuesday morning. This will clear the way for floor amendments as soon as the bill is taken up for debate.



Rep. Sara Lampe plans to offer at least two amendments aimed at lowering the state compulsory attendance age and to hold parents criminally liable for not placing their 5 or 6 year old children in formal education.



One of her ideas is to lower St. Louis and Kansas City to age 5. The second idea is to require a minimum age of 6 for the rest of the state. Uncooperative parents would face prosecution and prison time!



ACTION NEEDED:

Call your State Representative immediately ask them to vote against any amendments proposing to lower compulsory attendance ages from the current state law of age 7.

Parents who are afraid of the sex, drugs and violence in their schools should never be forced to send their children to such schools. Those schools should be made to clean up their system rather than asking the state to criminalize good parents.

Also, those parents who do not believe a child is developmentally ready to go to kindergarten should not face prosecution for doing what is best for their own child!




Social Workers

Your Children or Theirs?



Tuesday

February 9, 2010

8:15 am



Senate Committee Room #1

1st Floor Missouri State Capitol



SB 805





The Senate Health, Mental Health, Seniors and Families Committee (Senator Norma Champion, Chairman) is scheduled to take public testimony on Senate Bill 805. Any Missouri resident may participate and all concerned citizens need to be present. The State already claims too much authority in removing children from their homes.



This bill expands the list of people empowered by the State with the authority to remove your child(ren) from your home even though many others already have this subjective power.



SB 805 Allows social workers with the Children's Division to request a juvenile officer to take a child into protective custody even though they have never received any training regarding law enforcement or legal jurisprudence. They do all their work under civil law where criminal law and constitutional rights mean little to nothing.



Current practice is for social workers to have law enforcement or certain authorized persons to assist when taking a child from a home. This bill would allow the social worker the unilateral right to sweep up children with no properly trained law enforcement officer involved.



ACTION NEEDED:

Please attend the public hearing at the time and location listed above. You have the right to have your appearance noted for the record, or to speak to the committee about your concerns if you so desire. It is important that as many folks as possible come to Jefferson City for this hearing to remind Senators how serious it is to take children away from parents, even if the social worker grew up in a better socio-economic situation and cannot understand how poorer people still love their children!






__._,_.___

KC area Incredible Kids

March 15 is Incredible Kid Day and KCParent.com will be celebrating incredible kids with a feature article. We want to know about outstanding Kansas City Kids who deserve recognition for achievements, awards, volunteer work, etc. Simply send nominations including the child's name, age, location (Kansas City area) and contact information to kristina@kcparent.com by March 1st. You may submit multiple entries.

Emily is back

This past weekend Emily went to Columbia MO for the weekend for a 4H leadership teen conference. She had a lot of fun, and learned a lot. She also had a tour of the MU campus. Her classes included Skits, Trips & Awards, Parli Pro and Etiquette, Global Education, and Self Defense. She got to meet with other 4H kids from her region and other regions. Being homeschooled, she thought it was cool that she got to ride a school bus from the hotel to the MU campus.

Yesterday it started snowing, and it has not stopped yet. It is also blowing, so we have some drifting as well. somehow a little calf managed to get out of the pasture and into the back yard, but its momma called it back. I was grateful the momma called it back, as I was afraid she might opt to go after it herself. Her momma has been known to climb the gate like a ladder a few times.

They have cancelled the community chorus practice for tonight, along with a few other activities. Hopefully we will still be able to have 4H tomorrow night.

Friday, February 5, 2010

We are breaking down and down and down....

In the last month, we have broken, fixed, replaced or still waiting to fix or replace ALL of the following....

furnace--fixed--thanks Alex and if anyone in the KC area needs a great furnace man, let me know and I can give you his info.

dishwasher--on the to replace list--if I "whack it" just right, it won't leak.

clothes dryer--waiting on Lowe's next sale to be replaced. I already have 3 gift cards waiting to be applied towards the purchase.

suburban--waiting on the husband to have 2 days off in a row where nothing else breaks to over ride it

my cell phone--replaced for free at Radio Shack--AT&T store was going to charge me for it, and said my name was not on the account. So, we went to Radio Shack, who did show my name on the account and told me I actually could get one for FREE since I was due for a regrade--so I now have a new working Free phone!!

My PC and my laptop...I am planning on getting a virus scanner tonight and hopefully that will fix it--I can get to my email, but not to any websites, so downloading a free one off line is not an option at this time.

2 out of 3 of the microscopes quit. I think one is a wiring issue (aka job for my dad), and the other may just be a light bulb that needs to be replaced.

There is a CD stuck in the pick up CD player--it will play but won't eject. Any tips for how to fix that one???

We also lost a cat, rabbit and a calf. The calf was actually a stillborn one we were not even expecting. Not sure how the cat got hurt.

Also needing to fix a fuel line on the big tractor--that's another project on the husbands list.

Oh, and the stove oven has a short in it--sometimes she bakes, sometimes she doesn't. We have a backup stove from my parents in the basement kitchen we are making, but the outlet for it has not been put in yet. But, if worse comes to worse we can switch those out.

So goes life on the farm.

It started snowing last night and is still snowing this afternoon. So far about one inch is on the ground.

Monday night I had a big shopping trip at CVS. (I'm bragging here). My bill started out around $72. Then they took off my extra bucks, coupons and my buy one get one free items. I got it down to $26. After I got home, I realize they overcharged me on the cereal. It was supposed to be 2 for $4.00, and one 2 boxes they did charge me right. But, on the other 2--different type, same brand, same sale, they charged me $4.99 a box, which was the original price. So tonight I will be going back for a refund. Then, they also charged me for 2 boxes I didn't buy at $4.99 each. But, I already called them and we will work it out. That will then bring that bill down to around $10. The trick is to match the really good sale items with coupons and to be in the bonus buck program.

Reduced rate at CoCo Key!!

Holiday Inn Kansas City - SE

More splash, less cash!

Have you heard? CoCo Key in Kansas City has lowered its prices! Through the end of February, you can get weekend day passes for $15 each and weekday passes for $5 each! Overnight package rates start at just $139 per night!

Book an overnight getaway today!

Or, plan a family play day!

Holiday Inn Kansas City - SE
9103 East 39th Street - Kansas City, MO 64133 - 866-754-6962

This is a huge savings!!
CoCo Key is an indoor water park, with activities for all ages, including a kiddy pool. Makes a great day of swimming to add to your PE activities. Our girls love it there, and these prices (esp the daytime $5 weekday one) make it affordable fo the entire family.
Call first, as in the past to get the reduced rate you had to show up by a certain time--so call to get the scoop first.

For those without dental insurance--

This came from my friend Jenny. I am grateful my husbands job is still there and he has good benifits. Every week we hear of 2-3 more friends or family members who have lost their jobs.

DOCTORS WITH A HEART DAY!


WHAT: Providing FREE dental treatment to families WITHOUT access to dental care or who do not have dental insurance
WHEN: Friday, February 26, 2010
WHERE: Seaport Family Dentistry 2 Westwoods Drive, Liberty, MO
SERVICES: Cleanings, exams, x-rays, fillings, extractions

An appointment is required and must be made on February 12 between 10
a.m. and 12 p.m. by calling 781-1430.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Our History Lessons

I was asked to give some more information about our history. All the girls use Alpha Omega Publications LIFEPAC History and Geography. We use 2 sets, the 6th grade set for the younger girls and the 8th grade set for Emily.

Basically the LIFEPAC books come as a boxed set, containing 1 teacher book and 10 - 12 student books. The student books are broken down, one unit per book. Each unit is further broken down into chapters. The student books are those that you can write in, but we don't. Emily's books get passed down to the twins, and the twins do theirs on separate paper. That way, they can be used again or used for tutoring.

Each chapter has a list of objectives and vocabulary words (which make great spelling words). There are self tests every so often. The books are in color and contain a lot of maps and pictures.

The teachers book states how to reach the objectives and gives various Bible verses to look up that go along with the lessons, experiments, additional readings, and of course tests and all the answers.

Right now the girls just finished working on the globe--they learned the longitude and latitudes, continents, time lines, mapping and geography. Next we start the continents in more detail and learn some history of each.

You can buy the LIFEPACS directly from alpha omega at http://www.aophomeschooling.com/index.php?utm_source=cj&utm_medium=cpa&PID=2203897&afsrc=1, from a Christian book and school store or off ebay. However, make sure if you go through ebay that you are getting the complete package with the teachers book and all student books.

Expect to pay around $45-$50 per LIFEPAC new. For some, this may seem like a lot, but remember, we don't write in ours--and 3 girls use it. So, that makes it around $16 per girl. Then I can resell them for around $20 when the youngests are done with them. On ebay, I have gotten LIFEPACS for as low as $25 plus shipping.