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.
  

Valentine's Day Party Thank You

I wanted to send a thank out to the ladies who stepped up and helped plan the Valentine's Day Party! It was so nice to have you work together and do such a great job! I appreciate your willingness to help out and your ability to throw such a nice party for all of the kids! Thank you Mary Hughes, Heather Job, Shannon Fitzgerald and Shannon Batchelder!!!

Mom's Night Out - Lapbooking

We have a Mom's Night Out TONIGHT!

Mom's Night Details
What: Lapbooking Lesson from Lisa Whilen. Each Mom will get an Easter kit and start on their Easter lapbook.
Cost: $10
Date: Friday, February 20th
Time: 6-8:30pm
Where: Kristen New's Home

Lisa Whilen, a homeschool mom from Palmyra, will walk us through making a lapbook. She uses "In the hands of a Child" products, in addition to many other resources for her lapbooks. You will leave that night with a lapbook in hand!