Digital Scrapbooking and a $10 off coupon offer

We all know that making a scrapbook takes time and makes a mess, but I like to do it anyway.  I have now discovered digital scrapbooking and its wonderful--no mess!!  Anyway, I wanted to share this great deal with you.  If you go to http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software to order, and enter the code of STMMMS29337 you get $10 off of your order, and $10 off anything in the MyMemories.com store. (for a total of $20).  Feel free to pass the code on-it doesn't have a limit on it as to how many people can use it.  It is a download, so you don't have to wait on receiving it in the mail either.

You can make scrapbooks, photobooks, cards, calendars and gifts that make great Christmas presents.  Christmas is't that far away, so this is a great time to get started.

Fencing anyone?? Kansas City area

You don't see this offered everyday..............

October 12 is the deadline for Fall Honor and Sword Registration.

Fall Dates are Wednesdays, Oct 26, Nov 2, Nov 9, Nov 16, Nov 30, Dec 7, Dec 14 and Dec 21 from 1:15pm - 4:00pm.

Cost is $130.00/student

To register email: Leigh Hinkel at honorandsword@gmail.com

For more information please feel free to visit our website: www.honorandsword.org
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Honor and Sword is an eight week class intended to teach young men and women character and fencing

Our goal is to counteract the declining standards in our culture by seeking ways to train up this young generation in the practical concepts that will carry them through life in a manner which produces positive relational impact. In this course young people will learn the value of character while discovering the art of fencing where manners are not merely required but inherent.

This is a fun answer for your home school PE requirement with the benefit of solid character development.

Students must be 13 or older. Lecture topics include:

* Character: Revealing What You're Made Of
* Chivalry: A Code of Honor
* The History of Fencing and The Three Weapons
* Practical Manners: In Life and On the Piste
* The Seven Effective Habits
* The Feminine Heart : Lady Captivating
* The Masculine Heart: Sir Protector
* God: The Loving Warrior
* “Coming of Age": What Does It Mean?”

Free U.S. Electoral College Map Poster (in Your Mail!) & More Online Free US Electorial college Map

Have you heard of C-SPAN Classroom yet? It's full of resources for social studies and history teachers (and homeschoolers & parents). They have a lot to offer virtually on their site, and they will send a free Electoral College Map!

Community Service Opportunities!!!

 

City Union Mission Youth Department desperately needs tutors for youth grades 2-12 (tutors must be 4 years older than those they are tutoring) on Tuesdays and Thursdays 4-6pm. Times on Monday and Thursday afternoons may be available as well. The Youth Department of City Union Mission is located in the Family Center at 1310 Wabash Ave, KCMO 64127. Please contact Kalie George at kalie.george@cityunionmission.org if you are interested!

 

You can get a letter documenting the service if you would like one - great for the transcript, especially for students competing for scholarships and military academy appointments.

There's still time to join in Carnegie Hall's Link Up!  This exciting program provides each student with a Yamaha recorder and student workbook as well as the opportunity to perform with the Kansas City Symphony inside Helzberg Hall! 

Link up linkHow does it work?  Carnegie Hall's curriculum is easily incorporated into your existing elementary music curriculum.  Teachers are invited to introduce this curriculum on their own time throughout the school year.  In addition to learning beginning to advanced recorder technique, students in grades 3-5 will learn repertoire that will be performed by the Kansas City Symphony on the Link Up concerts in May 2012.  Students will attend the concert, recorder-in-hand, and will perform these pieces along with the KCS inside Helzberg Hall! 

What do 1,600 recorders sound like? 

Find out on May 9 & 10, 2012! 

$5/person*

Reserve your seats online or call (816) 218-2609. 

http://www.kcsymphony.org/StaticCtl/LinkUPAct

Therapeutic horseback Riding in KC area

Thank you for passing this information along to people you know who might benefit from a volunteer experience, or to parents of children who could benefit from therapeutic horseback riding.  Lisa Keefe, ph. 816-808-1106

The Northland Therapeutic Riding Center (NTRC) focuses on improving the quality of life of children and adults with special needs through equine-oriented therapy and activities. At NTRC, physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, therapeutic riding instructors, volunteers, riders and horses are partners in the equine-assisted therapeutic process.

We currently have openings for both volunteers and riders.

Volunteers serve NTRC as horse leaders or sidewalkers. Horse leaders should be comfortable grooming, tacking up and leading horses. Sidewalkers do not need horse experience, but must be comfortable around horses, as they walk beside our students as they ride. We ride on Tuesdays and Thursdays from now until Nov. 17 and volunteers are needed in one hour time frames from approximately 3-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday or Thursday each week. For more information, contact Lisa Keefe, Volunteer Coordinator, at 816-808-1106.

Therapeutic riding and hippotherapy assists riders with a variety of physical, cognitive and emotional challenges. A rider assessment and a doctor's clearance is required before participating. Parents may contact Mary Jill Webber, Co-Director, at 816-808-1209 for more information about having a child enrolled as a rider .

More information as well as rider and volunteer applications are located on our website at www.northlandtrc.org. You may also visit our "Northland Therapeutic Riding Center" Facebook page.

Discount for homeschoolers from US Toy

US Toy, 2008 W. 103rd Terrace, Leawood, KS (just about a block south of 435W and State Line), is offering all educators, including homeschoolers and Sunday school teachers, a 10% discount every day.  

Their phone number is 913-642-8247.

New Movie Coming out Sept 23

Calling all Families! Calling all Moms! Calling all Homeschoolers!

Join thousands of families nationwide to see the movie Dolphin Tale on September 23 together. It makes a statement to Hollywood to rally behind movies that “get it right” and tell great stories without all the junk, twaddle, and moral compromise! This movie has all the good stuff we want more of and is truly entertaining and inspiring from ages 5-95!!!
It’s time the conservative Christian Family and Homeschool community shows Hollywood we have a voice. But how? We need a story we can support and get behind, a story that affirms who we are and what we stand for.

Dear Friends, Dolphin Tale is such a story!

This is a family movie that will inspire, instruct, and bring you to tears because of the great story line. This movie even has two homeschool kids who play the main roles! (The casting agents went to a local support group in California and found them!)
The bottom line is that the Homeschool Movie Club wants to show Hollywood that the those of us with Christian and strong family values are a big enough market to support other great movies with traditional, conservative family values. I am hoping you will be a part of this great opportunity with me!

Homeschool Coop

Today the twins registered for their classes for the fall semester of our homeschool coop.  Our coop is located in Independence MO.  If you want information about joining our coop, let me know and I can email you the information  for our director.  It is NOT to late to join, as we don't begin until the Monday after Labor Day.  Last semester we met on Fridays, this semester we will be meeting on Mondays.  So far, it appears some of our usual families will not be joining us, but it also looks like we have a couple of new families.

Coops are a great way for kids to meet other kids, and parents to network and get new homeschooling ideas.  They also help in that kids can take a class in a subject that may not be your specialty, but is of another parent/teacher.

The twins are excited that it will be starting back up, as they have missed some of their coop friends over the summer months.

Emily, however, is a different story.  She decided that for this semester she wanted to try public school (her first time).  While she was at CIY (Christ In Youth) this summer, she drew a card that told her to be a witness at her school.  So, we are trying it out.  So far, I am not convinced it is the right choice for us.  We got off to a rough start.  I had called ahead, and arranged an appointment to have her tested, meet the principal, tour the school and pick her classes.  When we got there, the principal then informed us they could not test her at that time.  Then we were told the next day she could not pick her classes or even start school until after she was tested and that she may not be tested until after school started and her results were back....  Our tour turned into wandering the building ourselves, and a nice janitor woman kind of showed us the upstairs.  After putting my foot down, and contacting the state board of education, they suddenly could test her the next day.  Her test results were great--and she tested on college level in most subjects.

However, she had 16.5 credits on her transcript, and the school refused to accept her transcript.  They only gave her credit for 7, which is what most freshman have.  Then they put her in health, which she has already had, and gave her Biology I.  Finally the principal changed it to Biology II, but she has already had both Biology I and Biology II.  So, she is repeating 2 classes that she tested high on.  

I don't understand the purpose of the testing if she isn't allowed to pick her classes based on the test results.  She is enjoying it for now, but this may be her only semester there.  She worked hard for those 16.5 credits and to have the school district not recognize them is not acceptable. 

Our week in Joplin MO

You probably noticed I have not been on here much this summer.  All summer, the girls and I have been home for a week, then gone for a week.

Last week was our last "gone for a week" week.  At least for awhile.

We spent part of our summer in Texas, then on to Flaming Spirit Christian Camp, then Mission Lake Christian Camp, then Girl Scout Twilight Camp, then VBS followed by a family reunion.  Then, last week we were in Joplin MO for 6 1/2 days.

After church, I headed up a group of homeschoolers to go to Joplin MO to work with IDES to assist with the tornado damage from the May tornado that removed between 30% and 40% of the structures in Joplin, including a huge hospital.  My church was good enough to let me use the church van to take the bulk of the group in, and then we met another family in Harrisonville and headed on down to Joplin.  IDES has their base camp set up at the West Side Christian Church in Joplin.  We slept in the church, and IDES has built portable shower houses, a laundry room, and tool sheds in the church yard.  In addition, they also have set up a lumber yard and 2 semi trailers full of supplies and tools.

Removing wood and rocks from a yard that a tornado family was moving to.

Spreading gravel at the IDES headquarters

Our group showing off some tools that were donated.  I think by the weeks end we used them all.

The shed we built.  IDES builds sheds for tornado families to put their belongings in if they are in a situation where they had to downsize or still have their land but no home yet to store their belongings.

Each week, a different team takes turns coming in and helping out, often taking up where the last group left off.  During our week, we did landscaping, cleared and burned brush, dug up a unwanted zillion yucca plants (which the kids gave me a hard time about as I drug a bunch of the better looking ones home to replant), removed a fence that was to be relocated later, removed bricks and mortar off of a house wall so that siding could be put on, helped with some roofing and siding chores, picked up glass, rocks and nails from a yard, primed the trim of a house, moved gravel by hand (2 huge piles of it), and in 12 hours time cleared a huge parking lot of the debris left from a concrete block church maintenance building.  We also removed some flower beds and enlarged the floor of an old shed site, and erected a new larger shed at the site.

Still many homes like this one standing--The kids called this photo "cook out?"

This is a pile of debris that we moved by hand.  We tried to get a bobcat, but due to all the glass and nails it had to be one on solid tires or tracks--and none were to be found in Joplin.  Under the brush is concrete blocks.

Our group.  We had 4 adults and 9 teen home schoolers.  Rick, the director was impressed by the amount of work these kids did each day.  He would make a comment to the effect that if we got done to point A or B, we could call it a day, but each day they kids were determined to get the entire project done.

The work was not easy--all pretty much hard labor and in high temperatures.  One day we had a heat index of 113 degrees, but we kept drinking water and kept on working. 

Free Book Bank by appointment only in KCMO

Here is a great book bank that is non-profit and everything is free! It is called Heartland Book Bank, it's located in the AT&T building downtown 1425 Oak Street, KCMO 64106 and the phone number is 816-472-5600. They are only there 3 days a week, so call and make an appointment.  You must bring proof that you are a teacher or a homeschooling parent.

There is a ton of teacher resource books, texts books for all ages, and just fun reading too! All kinds of books that you can ever imagine. And it's free, so how can you pass it up? See what you think, they are always getting new materials from publishers, school districts, retired teachers.

Conference in Cameron MO area

Just a reminder that the FHE Back to School Conference is this weekend. It is not too late to come. 8AM to 9AM is registration with workshops starting at 9AM.

Families for Home Education
Back to School Conference
Saturday, August 27, 2011
The Old School House
116 W 4th Street
Cameron, Missouri
Guest Speaker Kerry Messer
Minister/Missionary to the State Capitol
and Your FHE Home School Lobbyist
A Special Update will be given on Joplin

Workshops include Homeschooling 101; Homeschooling Special Needs; Homeschooling
Elementary; Homeschooling High School; Homeschooling Dads; and many more

8AM – 9AM Registration
8:15 AM – 9AM Support Group Leaders Meet and Greet
9AM – Noon Workshops
Noon – 1PM Lunch
1PM Guest Speaker Kerry Messer; Past, Present, Posterity – Protecting Homeschooling Policy
1PM - 2PM Guest Speaker Kerry Messer; Past, Present, Posterity – Protecting Homeschooling Policy
2PM - 3PM A Special Update on Joplin, Q&A Panel, and Door Prize Drawing

We will be collecting basic school supplies to send to Joplin homeschoolers.
1 ream of paper 5 spiral notebooks 10 glue sticks 20 pencils
For each of these items you bring, you will be entered in a drawing.

This is a day of encouragement and refreshment for parents. While we love children, we kindly request that parents find childcare arrangements for their children. Nursing babies are always welcomed to attend.

For questions or more information: fhemoregion1@yahoo.com
Charyti Jackson, FHE Reg 1 Dir. 660-582-5903 or Lesa Verbick, FHE Reg 1 Assistant

Why the difference in the test scores?

After reading the previous post, those who are not familiar with homeschooling will not believe or will not understand why the difference in the test scores.  The reasons are easy for those of us who homeschool.....

• Lower ratio  My "class" has a ratio of 1 teacher to 3 students.  Sometimes its 1 to 5,  But, it is never 1 to 24 or 1 to 30 as the traditional school setting.  This means each student gets more 1 on 1 with the teacher.
• We do it till we get it right  If we don't understand it, we keep working at it.  A traditional school keeps moving according to schedule.  If a student doesn't get it, the rest of the class doesn't stop for them.  So, he gets further and further behind unless he gets worked with quickly.  When you homeschool, you can afford to adjust the schedule and learn it,  as your class most likely only has 1 to 3 in that grade.
• Less time wasted  I can tell you from subbing the in classroom that we aren't waiting for people to sit down, quit talking or goofing off, taking turns to the water fountain, breaking up fights.....Then, when it finally settles down you have good 30 minutes before the bell rings.  Here, we just sit down and do it.
• We can get more credits and electives  Homeschoolers tend to count or grade more things.  For example many traditional schools only offer home ec in middle school now.  We can offer it EVERY year.  Its called doing their own laundry, helping in the kitchen and with housework, sewing, mending, baking...every day life.  I heard a report on the radio once that said home schooled adults tended to have more and better life skills such as maintaining a budget, home ec, gardening and food preservation, cooking, making their own auto and home repairs....  This is probably why.  As kids, they were doing it for a grade, not just because they were told to do it.  If we find a TV program or video that deals with a recent lesson, we will watch it and count that time as well.  Often I will even make up a quiz to go along with it after we watch it.
• We can school year around, and not have a 3 month "forgetting break" during the summer.
• We don't rely on twice a year notices from the teachers to find our students weaknesses-IF our students even remember to bring the note home.....  We observe them at work on them immediately
• We tend to get more "hands on" and fieldtrips.  Many people learn from seeing and doing or watching much better than reading about it in a text book.
• We don't generally have to get up as early as some students do to catch a bus.  For many kids it is hard to get up at 5:30 to catch a 6:45 bus then be awake to learn at 7:55.  After school, they want to play, eat or nap, then they finally get to their homework (often after sports) and don't make it back to bed until 11 or after.  That makes it a difficult environment  to get enough rest which is necessary for our minds to work properly.
• Everyone knows (including me) traditional schooled straight A students.  If you know anything about their family or home life, you will notice that they usually have parents who are very very involved with their children and their children's friends, activities and whereabouts.  Sadly for too many kids out there, that is not the case.  Since homeschoolers parents are usually their teachers (sometimes it is Grandparents or other close family members or friends), they as well tend to be involved in knowing their children's habits, learning patterns and activities.  Involvement is a huge factor in education.

Homeschooling vs Public Schooling

I'd like you to read this interesting article on a blog.  It is from Feb of this year...  http://homeschoolingunited.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/a-little-something-to-remind-us-all-of-why-we-do-what-we-do/

It cites the differences between test results of homeschoolers and public schoolers.  Its very informative and factual.  

"Drawing from 15 independent testing services, the Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics included 11,739 homeschooled student from all 50 states who took three well-know tests–California Achievement Test, Iowa Basic Skill, and Stanford Achievement Test for the 2007-08 academic year. The progress Report is the most comprehensive homeschool academic study ever completed.

National Average Percentile Scores
Subtest          Homeschool          Public School
Reading                89                                50
Language             84                                50
Math                     84                                50
Science                 86                                50
Social Studies     84                                50
Core-a                  88                                50
Core-b                  86                                50
Core-a is a combination of Reading, Language, and Math
Core-b is a combination of all subjects that the students took on the test.

There was little difference between the results of homeschooled boys and girls on core scores.

Boys – 87th percentile
Girls – 88th percentile"

This statement is great--defeats the argument we hear most often.....

"Educational level of parents:

Neither parent has a college degree – 83rd percentile
One parent has a college degree – 86th percentile
Both parents have a college degree – 90th percentile

Whether either parent was a certified teacher did not matter.

Certified (i.e. either parent ever certified)-87th percentile
Not certified (i.e., neither parent ever certified)-88th percentile"

Great information isn't it?

I.D.E.S. and Joplin MO

In August, I am leading a team of volunteers to go work in Joplin for 6 days.  This is to assist with the cleanup and rebuilding from the tornadoes in May.  We will be under the direction of I.D.E.S....http://www.ides.org/joplin.html

International Disaster Emergency Service or IDES has been supported by the Christian Churches since 1973.  When a disaster strikes, IDES goes in.  Various Christian Churches make up the teams.  Each team has between 10 and 15 members and go in for 6 days at a time.  When they arrive, they take up where the team that just left left off at. The next team to come in takes up where that one left off...So it goes until the job is done.  If one project is done, they start another, and keep going as long as the donations keep coming in.

On our way home from our vacation in May, we came through Joplin, just hours after the tornado hit.  Originally our plan was to eat breakfast there (as had driven straight through from TX) and then to show the girls Ozark Christian College.  As we got off the exit ramp we  saw a semi laid over, then every thing was fine again for several blocks.  Then, we turned the corner and it looked like a war zone.  A friend of mine since early childhood lost his home and vehicle in the storm (He had no insurance on the home).  Of course all the contents were also destroyed or blown away.

My team is responsible for raising our own support, as far as fuel to get there and back, and to operate on all week, as well as our food for the week.  However, a dorm and showers have been made at Westside Christian Church in Joplin for us to stay at.  We will be able to use their full kitchen and laundry area as well.
If you would like to help support our team, contact me and I can give you more information.  If you want to send money to ides, their information is on their website for you to donate online or you can send it to their offices in Indiana at:  

International Disaster Emergency Service
PO Box 60
Kempton, IN 46049-0060

Please specify where you want  your money to go:  such as Joplin, Katrina or any of the projects listed on their site.

Please keep my team in your prayers.  We still have a few spots to fill on it as well.

Vacation Bible School (VBS)

Come join Clay County Christian Church for VBS this year. It will be held July 31 (Sunday), thru August 5 (Friday). from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday night will be our program. Our theme is a visit to Bibleland. We are located at 1200 B Highway, Liberty MO. The church phone number is 816 792-0282.

Children PreK (3 yrs) through 6th grade are welcome. Sunday night we will be issuing passports and will begin our journey.

More camp

Sunday, Emily leaves for "Deeper Life" at Mission Lake Christian Camp.  The twins leave for a week of scout camp.  Emily will be a camper, but the twins will be helpers.  Emily will be gone all week, but the twins only spend every other night at camp, as it is actually day camp that they are helping with (spending the night every other night is just for the teen helpers).  I'll probably get confused, and pick up the wrong kid at the wrong place on the wrong day....  This is probably a test and I will fail at it....

We passed the second phase of 4H for the year. (Phase 1 was contest day in March).  Last Sunday we had the first shooting sports contest, and the girls turned in their projects.  I think this year we have 2 or 3 projects going to the state fair and or interstate fair, in addition to Emily doing her speech at state.  2 of the girls are also on the state archery team, and one is an alternate for the BB team.  Next, we have the small animal show.  That is always interesting, taking a vehicle full of cats, rabbits, chickens, ducks and what nots to the fair.......2 years ago a chicken got loose, and last year a cat broke out...Hopefully this year we will not have any escapees....(yeah, dream on..something WILL get loose...)

As for our homeschooling (we go year around) the girls have been working some on math, in the garden, and on science and reading.  We are combining our reading, language and history, as I have the girls reading true historical books, then writing a book report on them.  I am splitting the time between the 3 subjects and the grade.

The garden continues to grow.  I think Duke has finally figured out to leave my garlic alone (the lab was pulling it up as fast as I was replanting it.  He wouldn't eat it, just kept pulling up the plants then leaving them).  I have been very impressed with the raised beds.  Today I found some more herbs on clearance, so will get them in the ground tomorrow.  I am watching kids tomorrow (in split shifts) and one of them loves to "help" plant in the garden.  If only kids continued to "love to help" when they are teens the way they do when they are 2 or 3 years old!

I've been spending a lot of time this week working on my new business--rearranging my outlines some and buying some more equipment.  I've had real good luck on ebay this week--found a couple of CPR manikins for $40 that are in new condition.  The same ones in the catalog are now $87.  So, got 2 for less than the price of one, and free shipping.  Next year Emily will be old enough to take the instructor class as well, then we will have another one to help teach.   That will also give her some business experience, as well as the science and health she will learn while doing it.  I also started a second site, for my new business, http://qualitycprandsafety.blogspot.com.  Take a peek and let me know what you think of it.   Since I am doing my own scheduling, this will work out great with homeschooling.  I can schedule what classes I teach around or homeschooling or vice versa.  My goal is to work my way up to about 12-15 hours of teaching a week.  It does seem though, to come in spurts, but that is mainly due to word of mouth after a class.

Historical Mt Gilead event for young girls

Girls Ages 8 - 13 years,

 

The Clay County Historic Sites are hosting a "Tea with American Girl Doll Addy (1864) at historical Mt. Gilead Church in Kearney, on Wednesday, July 27, 9:00 a.m. to noon.  We will be doing time-period games, crafts, serving refreshments, and a readers theatre story about Addy called "Friendship and Freedom".  Girls, ages 8 - 13, will learn a little about what life was like for children during the Civil War.

 

The fee is $10 and reservations are required.  Call the James Farm Museum at (816) 736-8500 for more info or to reserve a spot.  Seating is limited.

If you cannot make this date, another date, Saturday, August 20, 9:00 am - noon, will also be offered.

Buying fireworks in the KC area?? Look what this tent supports!!

As we celebrate our Nation’s Birth come and purchase your Fireworks from the tents representing Hillcrest Transitional Housing
 http://www.hillcresttransitionalhousing.org/  They are an outstanding ministry that assists homeless families in crisis. Check their website to see how valuable this organization is to society.

The Morton Family runs two tents this season:

Lee’s Summit :  Summit Shopping Center :: Parking lot in front of Side Pockets and to the side of Waid’s Restaurant.  Big Yellow and White tent easily seen from 50 Highway.

Independence:  Black Cat Tent on 40 Highway in the parking lot of the Strike and Spare Bowling Alley, just west of Sutherland Lumber

Discounts to the following groups:

*Military with ID
*Civil Service (fireman, police)
*Home School families (come in and say you Home School and saw this email)
*Volume Discounts
*Black Cat coupons accepted

Blueberries and Potatoes

We planted and mulched 2 blueberry bushes.  The like acidic soil, so I will be mulching them this fall with oak leaves.

Potato plants are doing well in their bed made of plastic pallets.  Chickens don't like it though, they can't get to the potatoes to dig them up and peck at them like they did last year!

Earlier this evening I caught one of the labs in the cantaloupe bed.  He and I had a "discussion" about that.....