Thursday, September 25, 2008

Presidential Fitness Test

Hereis a great link for the Presidential Fitness Test we are practicing for this year....
http://www.presidentschallenge.org/educators/program_details/physical_fitness/events.aspx

Monday, September 22, 2008

One on one time

We will be starting week five of our school year this week...already?!?! It is such a cliche, but time is passing very quickly. So far, the school year is going well. I eased up on some of my scheduling, lightened our load with a little less activities, and tried spending more one on one time with each of my girls.

We have been starting our school day by reviewing their assignments and what the schedule looks like for the day (which seems to really help my middle child...she likes to know what to expect!). After our morning huddle, we do our one on one time, which has been really fun. A good friend of mine shared how she spent her mornings with her kids (Thanks Mary) and I thought it was worth a try! She spends one on one time with each of her kids in the am...sometimes it might be one hour, other times it might just be 30 minutes. Either way, the kids seem to really LOVE this idea! I rotate who starts out the one and one time and they are curiously excited to be with just me! They get to pick what we work on together. Sometimes it is grammar, sometimes it is math and sometimes it is a game with just the two of us! When they are not in their one on one time, they are doing work that can be done independently (and yes, even my 5 1/2 year old can work on her own for a while!)

If you have more than 2 kids and you haven't tried the one on one time, I would highly recommend it! It has been a fun way to change up our school schedule this year!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Lauritzen Gardens

We have a field trip Friday!

Friday, September 19th – Lauritzen Gardens
1:45pm-4pm
RSVP Required by Wednesday, September 17th

We will gather outside Lauritzen Gardens at 1:45 to collect payment and get organized. The tour starts at 2pm, so please be on time. If you would like to come early, you could check out the locomotives and even have lunch up by the locomotives (that area is free).

Come take a one hour guided tour of the garden and then play in the Kid Structure Outdoor Exhibit. The gardens are open until 5pm, so you can stay as long as you like. It is located close to Henry Doorly Zoo. You take the same exit, however, it is on the North side of the interstate and east of 10th Street. The signs will direct you to the “Botanical Gardens”.

https://www.omahabotanicalgardens.org/

Kids $3 (kids under 6 are free!)
Adults $7
*Please bring exact payment the day of the field trip.

Imaginative KidStructure exhibit to run through October 5, 2008

A Project of the Lauritzen Gardens Guild

Never before has a garden visit spurred such whimsy, magic and fascination for children. KidStructure, an outdoor exhibit of structures custom-designed by area architects and contractors, will ignite the imagination of all who experience these creative structures for the young and young-at-heart.

KidStructure stretches the definition of traditional playhouse design. These unique and adventurous structures will encourage interactive learning, garden exploration and, most importantly, imagination!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Star Gazing

Nebraska Star Gazing Party
Eugene T. Mahoney State Park is hosting the Stargazing 2008 parties. May 9th, June 13, July 11, August 8 and September 19, join the Omaha Astronomical Society and Prairie Astronomy club and view the spectacular sky using the powerful telescopes! Stargazing begins at the golf driving range from dusk to 11 pm. Weather Permitting. Don't forget to join the 15th Annual Nebraska Star Party at Merritt Reervoir, near Valentine, NE at the Snake River camp ground. It starts July 27 and goes to August 1. A Park Entry Permit is required. Contact: Administration OfficeContact Phone: 402-944-2523 , ext 7122 Contact Email: mahoney@ngpc.ne.gov

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Thursdays?!?!

What is it about Thursdays, November and February? I get tired when all of them come around. It just seems tougher to keep the normal rountine going! After nearly 3 weeks of school, I get tempted to slack off or get distracted and not complete my housework or our schoolwork. What is that all about? I know we have worked hard all week (or all year) and everyone is pretty tired. I know the weekend is right around the corner. I also know I should just push through it and I am ALWAYS bummed out when I do actually let myself slack off! In a proactive measure, I have scheduled lighter school days on Friday. So, today...I will not slack off! I will keep on track and do my chores and the school work we've scheduled! I will look forward to our lightly scheduled Friday! Hope you have a great Thursday!

9/11

If you have kids that don't remember 9/11, here are a few websites that may help.
http://www.familiesandwork.org/911ah/911ashistory.html

http://www.history.com/minisites/9-11

Here is a neat prayer:
http://christianity.about.com/od/patriotdayseptember11/qt/september11pray.htm

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Barbie Mummification

As some of you may know, we are doing Story of the World - Volume I for history this year. We are studying Ancient Times and the book recommends we mummify a chicken. While the thought of that is intriguing, I found some links for mummifying a barbie instead. This link is to one of the best ones, especially with the cool pyramid! We'll let you know how it goes!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aID8ID7keV0&feature=related

Here is another one...same idea
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jaminacema/319302/

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

What's this caterpillar

Jason found this site and it is really cool! This is the season for caterpillars and this is a great resource for identification of the most common furry things our kids love to bring in the house!http://www.whatsthiscaterpillar.co.uk/america/

Monday, September 8, 2008

Homeschool T-shirts

I was thinking of getting some of these for the girls (the “homeschool girl” one). If you want to go in on an order, let me know!

T-shirts are $5.99. Shipping is 0.75 cents. If we order 10 or more the group name can be added to the back of the shirt for $1.50. If we order 26 or more it can be added for $1.
They also have tote bags and other things.
http://www.greathomeschooltshirts.com/

Here is a link that takes you to the shirts they have:
http://www.greathomeschooltshirts.com/productpage123.asp?CategoryID=1

Let me know and I would be happy to put together an order, but it has to be by end of day on Wednesday!

Shana B.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Husker Schedule


Our group toured Memorial Stadium last spring. Don't they look official at the press conference table?!?!? We are also BIG Husker fans in our house! Make sure you know when the games are by clicking on this link:

Friday, September 5, 2008

CoCo Key Homeschool Days


Feel free to take your homeschool family to CoCo Key and enjoy the water park at a great discount!

If you visit http://tickets.cocokeywaterresort.com/ and enter the Store Name OMAHA HEN, you'll be taken to the homeschool discount. It's $8 per person on Tuesdays/Thursdays before 3pm, and then there's a smaller discount (20%?) the rest of the week. Or, you can buy tickets at the door by asking for the homeschool discount, but if you choose to do this, I'd recommend calling ahead to make sure that we have occupancy (really only a potential issue during public school vacation time).
Enjoy CoCo Key - they're glad to have homeschoolers back!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Monthly Meeting Reminder

Reminder:
Gretna KNIGHTS Homeschool Group Monthly Meeting
This is a kid focused meeting so they can have some fun with other homeschooled kids! Moms come and have fun WITH your kids and the other Moms.

Where:
Gretna Community Church (the church next to the Speedee Mart on Hwy 31/6)
321 S. HWY 6 Gretna, NE 68028

When:
Friday, September 5th from 2:30-4:00pm. Please be ON TIME! We are going to start the meetings promptly this year so we can all get home on time and make dinner! We will meet on the first Friday of the month from September until May.

What we’ll do this month:
1. Round Table Time – Introductions and birthday recognition. We’ll talk about what we are going to do this year as well (field trips, music concert, Mom’s nights, play dates, etc.)!
2. Show-n-tell – Please bring something from summer to share with a small group of other kids your age (from vacation, from family things, from school projects, from the creek, from the ER, etc.)
3. Presidential Fitness Preview – Daryl Kucera from Fast Forward will come visit with our group about some neat plans for the Presidential Fitness Challenge.
4. Free Gym Time

What to bring:
Moms:
1. Bring ONE of your favorite curriculum finds this year…Only ONE thing! Please make sure it is labeled with your name. We’ll have them in one of the classrooms for you to browse through during the meeting. Feel free to ask questions!
2. Bring your calendars so we can set our 1st Mom’s Night Out!
Kids: Bring a water bottle and something for show-n-tell!

Just for Moms:
I’ll have some sign up sheets for some things this year. Please prayfully consider how you can help us out! We will have sign up sheets for you to:
· Host a Mom’s night out (ie: playing bunco, curriculum share, cookie exchange, wine/cheese/cracker night, game night, etc.).
· Lead a large group PE activity during our monthly meeting once during the year (you pick which one…Oct, Dec, Jan, Feb, Apr)
· Lead a craft activity in November or February
· Someone to help out with helping the kids do some short plays for the year?!?!?!?

We would like to work on communication skills this year with the kids, so you will start to see something small every month that will help them become more confident with speaking in a group setting! Please start to talk to them about this and introduce this concept. We know every child is different and each child’s comfort level varies, however, everyone has expressed an interest in spending time on this skill!

I look forward to starting the year off! Please call or email me if you have ANY questions! Don’t forget to check out the new blog site! There is lots of info on the site, including a calendar of activities!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

September Events

Grab your calendar and mark down these dates. More details are on the google calendar at the botoom of the page.
  • Friday, September 5th - 2:30pm KNIGHTS Meeting
  • Friday, September 19th - 2pm Lauritzen Gardens KID Structure Field Trip
  • Friday, September 26th - GO (General Outing) Day at Omaha Children's Museum
  • Tuesday, September 30th - Vala's Pumpkin Patch Homeschool Day
  • Wednesdays all month - 2:30pm - Gretna Girls PE Activities (Softball & Tennis)
  • TBD - Mom's Night Out (Game night)

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Good and Muddy


We had a great time at our mud stomp down in the creek at the at Gretna 4-H Camp! We hiked a little bit, climbed down to the creek bottom and then got really, really muddy! Twenty-three brave kids came and stomped through the muddy creek! What a fun mess we had!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Grandparents Day


Don't forget...Grandparents Day is coming up on Sunday, September 7th! Mark your calendars and make sure to mail something soon (how about a drawing from your kids?!?!) or call them on September 7th!