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!