December Meeting

Hello there ladies! The December KNIGHTS meeting is coming up THIS Friday, December 4^th. Anyone is welcome to attend. It will be from 2:30 to 4pm at Gretna Community Church. Please plan to bring a food pantry item as we would like to donate some food this year.

Meeting agenda:

· Start meeting and split into groups – 10 minutes

· Wrapping presents – 30 minutes

· Art/craft project – 40 min

· Closing – 10 minutes

Parents: please plan to stay and help out during the meeting.

We do need a little help this month with the projects.

Please bring:

1. Non perishable food pantry item(s)

2. Stapler(s)…….(make sure you have staples in it, please).

3. Box to wrap (shoe box, small box, etc…..no refrigerator boxes, please)

4. Wrapping paper…nothing fancy….just stuff that you have and probably won’t use.

I am looking for a few moms to coordinate some age appropriate activities for the little ones in the group as they may grow tired or not have the attention span for some of the topics this year. If you are willing to help with the little ones, please let me know as soon as possible.

See you Friday!

Acting workshop

In November we went to the Rose Theatre and did an acting workshop! All the kids had a great time and the tour was fabulous!

November Meeting

Gretna KNIGHTS Monthly Meeting

Please join us on Friday, November 6th from 2:30-4:00pm at Gretna Community Church. This year we will have a new theme for our meetings, but don't worry...they will continue to be kid-focused! Please do let us know if you will be coming to the meeting so we can plan accordingly (email to sbaker5@cox.net is fine)

For the 2009-2010 school year, the Gretna KNIGHTS will spend each month learning and having fun with life skills! Each month, we will have introductions, activities centered around life skills, and some open gym time. We chose life skills because, sometimes as homeschoolers, our focus tends to be on academics and issues of character development and practical life skills don't always get our attention. While we intend to take our children along side of us throughout our day, often times we are too busy getting math and history done for the day. We hope this year will help us all feel renewed and refreshed about everyday life skills!

For the November meeting, please come and learn about:

• Table Manners
  
• Setting the table
  
• Playing and shuffling cards
  

I am looking for a few moms to coordinate some age appropriate activities for the little ones in the group as they may grow tired or not have the attention span for some of the topics this year. If you are willing to help with the little ones, please let me know.

See you on Friday!

New Homeschool Orientation Meeting - October

Please pass the news that the next New Homeschooler Orientation Meeting is coming up soon!

Tuesday, Oct. 27^th 5:45-7:45pm

Millard Public Library

3214 Westwood Ln
Omaha, NE 68144-3556

New homeschooler orientation meetings give new homeschoolers or families interested in homeschooling the opportunity to ask questions, obtain help with paperwork, receive lots of helpful information about resources and activities in the Omaha metro area, as well as connect with other parents who are just beginning the home education journey. Plase spread the word to those you know who are new to homeschooling it or considering it. HEN members, as well as non-members, are welcome! Call or email Shana Baker for information at sbaker5@cox.net or 332-4449. Note: please do not call the library for meeting information.

Vala's Pumpkin Patch

Homeschool days at Vala's Pumpkin Patch are:

Tuesday, Oct. 6th and Tuesday, Oct. 13th

Check their website for details on cost and programs available. Click on group information and then school field trip at www.valaspumpkinpatch.com

Homeschooler Days

Tuesday, September. 29th

Tuesday, October 6th

Tuesday, October 13th

Parents and their homeschooled children may take advantage of the school group student rates and stay all day and evening. Prices vary according to the type of school tour. Apple Education, Gem Mining, and Pollination lessons need to be scheduled before 2 pm. (Call 402-332-4200 to set this up) Simply identify yourself as a Homeschool family or group. All adults are $6.50 and babies under age 2 are free. On-line booking is available for groups of 20 or more. Call for groups of less than 20 (402-332-4200)

October Meeting

Gretna KNIGHTS Monthly Meeting

Please join us on Friday, October 2nd from 2:30-4:00pm at Gretna Community Church. This year we will have a new theme for our meetings, but don't worry...they will continue to be kid-focused! Please do let us know if you will be coming to the meeting so we can plan accordingly.

For the 2009-2010 school year, the Gretna KNIGHTS will spend each month learning and having fun with life skills! Each month, we will have introductions, activities centered around life skills, and some open gym time. We chose life skills because, sometimes as homeschoolers, our focus tends to be on academics and issues of character development and practical life skills don't always get our attention. While we intend to take our children along side of us throughout our day, often times we are too busy getting math and history done for the day. We hope this year will help us all feel renewed and refreshed about everyday life skills!

For the October meeting, please come and learn about:

• Pledge of Allegiance and Patriotic Songs
• Friendships
• Introductions and Handshakes

I am looking for a few moms to coordinate some age appropriate activities for the little ones in the group as they may grow tired or not have the attention span for some of the topics this year. If you are willing to help with the little ones, please let me know.

See you in October!

Typing practice

This is a great website for typing practice! They have games and levels for all levels!
http://www.freetypinggame.net/

Great article...

I got this article in an email from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. It has some great things to say and inspire us all! ENJOY!

Planetarium Field Trip - September

Friday, September 18 - 9:30-Noon

Come visit Morrill Hall and the Mueller Planetarium! You will see a show in the planetarium and then take a self-guided tour of Morrill Hall!

Mueller Planetarium is located 14th & "U" Streets in the University of Nebraska State Museum (Morrill Hall) on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus.

For directions and parking information, please go to their website at:

http://www.spacelaser.com/info.html

For information on what Morrill Hall has visit their floor plan page (there are 3 floors of things to explore) at:

http://www-museum.unl.edu/museum_info/third.html

Field trip for the planetarium/Morrill hall showings are $4 per child and $6 per adult. I will check on the price for preschoolers.

RSVP Required

All shows are now in the "fulldome" format.

5th graders should plan to pick one of the shows. If they choose both, we just need to make arrangements to pay for both shows.

Dawn of the Space Age

<http://www.spacelaser.com/dawn.html>

11:00am-11:45am

Re-live the excitement of the early days of space exploration, from the launch of the first artificial satellite Sputnik, to the lunar landings and privately operated space flights. Ride the Space Shuttle to the International Space Station and experience future Mars exploration.

Running time 45 minutes

Appropriate for grades 5 and up.

Secret of the Cardboard Rocket

http://www.spacelaser.com/cardboard.html>

9:45-10:20am

A fantastic adventure as two youngsters build a cardboard rocket and go on an adventure exploring the solar system.

Running time 35 minutes

Appropriate for grades 1-5

Ice Cream Social for the family

Thanks to everyone that came to the ice cream social! We had good food and good fun!

Recognition

This is a great site I found today. http://www.123certificates.com/

You can make free customized printable certificates! I don't know if you do a lot of recognition for your kids, but I really think there is a lot of value in it and I should do it more! Be genuine and don't ignore things that need improvement, but if your kids are doing something well, let them know!

No matter who you are or what you do, getting recognition for your work can put a little bounce in your stride or a smile on your face. It is nice to know others appreciate what you have done! Forge ahead and tell your kids what they are doing well. If you think it is a little bit corny, try it and see what happens! Be positive and give your kids a friendly note that will fill them up and make them proud of what they do every day!

Back to school....again!

It is time for the first day of school at Baker Benediction Academy. We plan to start our school year this coming Tuesday. You might ask, "Why Tuesday?". Well, that is the beauty of homeschooling! Jason is in a golf tournament on Monday and he wants to be part of the festivities, so we are starting Tuesday. Simple and convenient....gotta love homeschooling! I am really looking forward to this year. I love new beginnings and each school year provides us with one! We will have a 5th grader, 3rd/4th grader and a 1st grader this year. The Baker girls still get new school supplies and books, new first day outfits and pictures. However, we do recycle the back packs! The first day of school, we always do something fun like play in shaving creme and do treasure hunts and the first week of school is usually only half days to slowly ease the girls back into our schedule....again simple and convenient!

Here is to your first day of school! May it be all that you hope for and may your kids end the day glad to be homeschooled!

P.S. If things don't go as planned (as they sometimes will), don't despair! With homeschooling, you can make each day a new day! You can always bring something fun and new into the day and delight your children in a whole new way.

Mud stomp - 2nd Annual!

Please join us for the 2nd Annual Mud Stomp event! We are meeting Friday, August 21st at 1pm at the Eastern Nebraska 4-h center near Gretna! Wear OLD clothes or an old swim suit and old tennis shoes or strapped sandals. Flip flops and crocs are NOT recommended! They may get lost in the mud!

Home alone?

Are your kids getting close to that "magic" age of staying home alone? Have you ever wondered what the restrictions or requirements are in Nebraska for kids who stay home alone?

Well, here is a great link for the "guidelines" in Nebraska.

http://www.hhs.state.ne.us/Children_Family_Services/HomeAlone.htm

Fall Planning

The KNIGHTS group will be having a fall planning meeting in early August. If you would like to participate in the meeting or contribute in any way, please email me!

Summer Break

The KNIGHTS group typically takes the summer off with no official group meetings or field trips. Over the summer, we hope to have a pool party, a few play dates and a lake day, so watch your email and the blog for updates!

See you in September!

Summer Movies

Be sure to check out the summer fun section of the blog....it is down and on the right hand side. Three different theaters are doing summer movie specials for kids on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays!

Can I get an extension, please?!?!?!

Okay...I'll admit it....this time. We didn't finish school on time. Yes, you heard me. I didn't get it done! The problem wasn't the kids, the problem was the Mom. I admittedly had too much on my plate and realized I am NOT superwoman!

Something I have asked myself in the last week....Do we have to finish our books? No, we don't have to finish our books. Even public school teachers don't always finish their books. I, however, would really like to complete the circle of our learning this year. So for me, it is not about finishing the book, it is about completing a task and accomplishing our goal. Some books we simply close and pick up in the fall (ie: art, science). Some books, however, I would like to complete and will take the time needed without pressure or stress to do that for my girls (ie: math, english and history).

So, rather than go crazy trying to "get it all done" this week, the girls and I all agreed we would simply "get an extension" on school and finish our studies next week. They actually don't seem to be too bummed about it (maybe because many of their Millard school friends are actually still in school as well!)

If you are in the same boat, don't beat yourself up. Sometimes life happens and we simply "school" around it! As homeschoolers, we don't have to live by boundaries of the public school calendar. Make your own calendar. As I read in a Teaching Home article, make a plan to "Finish strong"...on your own terms!

Kindergarten Graduation

Kindergarten graduation is approaching quickly for my youngest daughter. It doesn't seem possible that we have come to this milestone already. She is so much fun to be around....very loving, witty and keeps us all on track around here! We have homeschooled her from the very beginning, so this milestone seems bigger than with my other two kids. With my oldest girls, we sent them to the local church preschool and I pretty much took it from there. With Shelby, she and I started from scratch! We had challenges along the way, the biggest of all her vision. Once we got that figured out, it all fell into place! It is just so much easier to learn to read when you can see ALL the letters the way they SHOULD be! Congratulations to all the graduates, including Shelby. You are all wonderful in God's site!

Homeschool Track and Field Day

Please join us for the homeschool track and field day on Saturday, May16th. You can register online at . http://www.homeschooltrack.org/main/Login. If you haven't registered yet, please do that first. You will create a username and password that are unique. Then, you will be asked to enter the first time HEN password. Enter: omahahen. After that, you can log in and fill out the registration forms. Be sure to check out the Tips and Q&A section of the website. Email or call me if you have any questions.

4 weeks and who is counting....

Well, we have only 4 weeks until the "official" end of school year. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have worked hard this year and learned lots about Ancient History as well as many other things! Poetry memorization was new to us this year and the girls are working hard on their final memorization practice of all their pieces! They continue to amaze and delight me with their talents!

While the end of school year is coming quickly and we will "officially" end the school year May 22nd, I still plan to covertly "do" some school over the summer and between trips to the pool. We plan to do science (while there are lots of birds and bugs to explore), art (since we can get messy in the drive way), and math facts (who doesn't need to practice those anyway) over the summer months.

Spring break

Yeah! Next week is spring break for the Baker family! We typically take a week long spring break during the week of April 15th since Jason is a CPA. The girls are excited and I am excited too! It is always nice to take a break from the regular schedule. Do we stop "school" completely? Yes, pretty much...unless one or two of the girls didn't finish their work from last week. We simply enjoy a break from our regular schedule so I can get a few projects done and the girls can spend some time with Jason. Enjoy your week!

Pudewa handout link

Hi everyone! For me, the highlight of the conference was definitely attending the Andrew Pudewa sessions. He continually inspires me to inspire and encourage my children in their writing and speaking intiatives! It really is okay to HELP them as much as I can!

If you attended his session or not, you may be interested in checking out his handouts from the talks. Check out this link for the handouts:

http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/index.php?q=page/conference-talk-handouts

NCHEA Homeschool Conference in Lincoln

The homeschool conference in Lincoln is tomorrow and Saturday. This is a great local conference. YOu will be refreshed and enjoy the company of other homeschool moms and dads! Check out the details at http://nchea.org/.

There is a corresponding kids conference as well! Any child ages 5-12 can attend it! My girls love the CEF conference. I trust the staff with my kids and have always been glad to send them. Details for the kids conference can be found at http://www.geocities.com/nchea4kids/. Space is usually limited so don't delay. I checked the website this morning and they still have space, so check with them to see if you can still get your kids registered or not!

I CAN do this today...

Have you ever woken up and said, "I CAN do this today" to yourself? I often do, in fact, a lot lately. My husband just kind of looks at me wondering what he should say. I think he thinks it is a trap statement...kind of like, "Do I look fat?" I just usually look at him and ask him to tell me, "Yes, you can!". That is all we need sometimes....a little affirmation that we can get through what we have on our plate today.

Today was one of those days. Mondays are usually my favorite days. They are a new start. They are fresh and bright for me. Today I was a bit overwhelmed with school, lots of laundry (why do I wait for days to put in a load anyway?), housework, helping the kids finish their science projects, Jason in the middle of tax season, planning for the track meet, planning for Kindergarten Graduation and probably 5 other things I have on my mind!

Well, I did do it today. We did complete what we needed and I do feel a little frazzled, but proud of what we did. The kids played outside, we got 2 of the 3 science projects 90% complete, the track stuff is on track as well as the Kindergarten planning. I still have lots of laundry (although less than this morning) and a messy house with magazine clippings all over thanks to my 6 year old and her animal home project. Dinner is in the oven and I can take a deep breath and know that tomorrow, I CAN do it all over again!

Cool History Website

I am all about finding great resources for me as a teacher and fun things for my kids. I was searching today for a dice coloring page (no, the kids are NOT going to Vegas!). It was for a probability science fair project. Anyway, when I was doing my Internet search, I found this cool site that had all these neat resources for Roman dice games. It is a BBC site with History for Kids! ENJOY!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids/

New Homeschooler Orientation

I have taken on the great task of doing the New Homeschooler Orientation Meetings for HEN. I am thrilled to do this. I am excited to see all the faces of those families considering or new to homeschooling. I still remember going to my first orientation. I was so confused, excited, full of anticipation, and scared stiff! I had lots of questions and weighed all the pros and cons for the situation! If you have any practical and fun tips for new homeschoolers...be sure to post them in the comment section. Here are some good ones to start with:

Shana's Practical Tips for Homeschooling

• Buy an electric pencil sharpener
• Join HEN and HSLDA
• Remember why you are doing this and write it down...you will refer to it and need it later!
• Be flexible with your schedule...think outside the box
• Printers and scanners can be a life saver...VERY useful
• Let your kids move...or bounce...or roll...or read upside down
• Have a plan for when things don't go as planned
• Subscribe to HEN etree and HS etree (it's free)...just send "subscribe" to hsetree@gmail.com and send "subscribe" to etree@omahaHEN.org
• Don't compare yourself to others. Do what is best for your family
• Use the Internet...google and YouTube anything and get lots of ideas
• Let your house go...a little bit (you cannot do it all...all the time)
• Ask to look at curriculum...homeschoolers like to share
• Teach your kids "life skills"
• Get your family involved (Moms, Dads, Grandparents, Siblings)
• Get involved in your community
• Get involved with a support group
• Use your public library
• Get Dad hooked up with Family Man Ministries at http://www.familymanweb.com/
• Pray for grace and gentleness and don't yell so much at your kids!
• NEVER give up (from my 10 year old!)

CoCo Key

A few families are meeting at CoCo Key on Monday, February 23rd! Feel free to join us! Here is the information on CoCo Key again!

Homeschool Days are on Mondays now! Homeschool families will continue to receive passes for just $8 each! Please remember this discount is not available when public schools are on a break.

Operating hours on Monday are 10am-3pm.

Homeschool discount passes may be purchased one of two ways:

• Advanced purchase online. Visit http://tickets.cocokeywaterresort.com and enter the store name Omaha HEN. This will take you directly to your discounted tickets. Advance purchase is the only way to guarantee admission to the park at the homeschome school rate.
  
• At the door. If you choose this option, please call ahead in the morning to make sure that the Homeschool discount rate is available.