SALT LAKE HOME EDUCATORS

Our SLHE "Game Night" was a success!

Some of the games that were shared were...

*Masterpiece by Hasbro- Buy and sell great works of art, but avoid the forgeries and financial ruin.

*The UnGame by Talicor- Ask "out of the box" questions of your co-players and get to know them a little better.

*Scattergories by Hasbro- A challenging "list" game.

*Blokus by Educational Insights- The ultimate exercise in spatial awareness.

*Luck of the Draw by Gamewright- A fun drawing game that doesn't require artists of it's players.

*Labyrinth by Ravensburger-Try to accomplish your tasks as the labyrinth paths constantly change.

*Fowl Play by Gamewright- A quick learn and even quicker to play.

Remember there is no scheduled meeting in December. Happy Holidays and we'll see you in January!!

This month we had a great discussion of "Snow School."  Everyone brought their favorite suggestions for outdoor winter fun, like making a huge pile of snow and then turning it into a snow sculpture or making a slide out of snow.  Snow shoeing and cross country skiing are great inexpensive alternatives to downhill skiing.  Like hiking, you can decide how hard you want to work by choosing your terrain. 

It's also great to look at and learn about snowflakes in the summer.  Under the right conditions, you can see large flakes complete with hexagonal symmetry (I've saw 5mm flakes last year).  It's best to take something dark outside to catch snowflakes with, such as a piece of fabric or cardboard.  Great flakes occur only when the conditions are right, so if you don't find something after a few minutes of looking, try again another time.

Snowflake Bentley is a scientist who studied and produced amazing snowflake photographs.  There's a Caldecott Medal winning children's book called Snowflake  Bentley that you can get from the library.  Or you may be interested in the detailed information and incredible photographs you can get from books by Kenneth Libbrecht.  His images were recently used for a postage stamp. Check out www.snowcrystals.com, and vermontsnowflakes.com for more info on both of these scientists.

We had a great meeting learning about all the neat ways to bring your homeschool alive with learning. Did you know there are those amongst us who keep bees? In the city? Also raising chickens or growing big backyard gardens (instead of lawns)? Kids can learn first-hand about nutrition, life-cycles and hard work!  Thanks Julie LaTendresse and Julie Van der Wekken for all of your inspiring Urban Homesteading ideas!  Check out these Local Resources:

Bees

http://www.hansenhives.com/

Worms for vermicomposting

http://rottnappleworms.tripod.com/

Utah Urban Homesteaders

http://www.utahurbanhomesteaders.webs.com/

UtahUrban Homesteaders Yahoo group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/utahurbanhomesteader/

Slow Food Utah

http://www.slowfoodutah.org/

Wasatch Community Gardens

http://www.wasatchgardens.org/

We had a great meeting about organization in March!  Charlotte McKenzie shared numerous tips and inspiring encouragement for getting organized, including:

*You don't have to throw away anything that you love, use, or want to keep.  There are plenty of things in our homes that we don't like, don't use, and don't really want that we can get rid of first. 

*Everything has to have a home.  If you can't find a place for it, you may have to consider getting rid of it.

*Organizing is about making decisions - deciding what things are important to your life and what you are going to eliminate to make room for the important things.

*Organizing takes time - schedule time to complete organization projects and to maintain your organized state once you've set it up.

*If you can plan it, you can do it!  This is really a combination of the two above points - make a plan, schedule the time, and you can get it done.

Charlotte has a fabulous blog that contains the information she shared with us and more - check it out at http://www.ornottokeep.blogspot.com/.

We had a great meeting about homeschooling teens.  It was interesting to note how families adjusted their methods to the individual needs of each child - what works for one doesn't always work for another!

Most colleges these days don't require a diploma for admission - ACT / SAT scores and other documentation (from concurrent enrollment classes or Jr. College classes) is often plenty to get you into college.  Every college is different, though, so the best thing to do is to contact the admissions offices of colleges you are interested in and asking them what they want to see.  Some will even have a dedicated Homeschool admissions officer.

Some families (and some kids) want an accredited High School diploma, and for others that isn't an issue at all.  Below are some links to check out if an accredited diploma is important to you.

Utah Electronic High School
http://www.schools.utah.gov/ehs/default.htm
An article from Deseret News on UEHS from a year ago:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,640188194,00.html

Another online high school:
http://openhighschool.org/

North Atlantic Regional High School (you provide detailed documentation of your work,  they produce a transcript and give credit for the work)
http://www.narhs.com/

BYU online learning
http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/

New Century Scholarship  (explicitly open to homeschoolers, a scholarship that your student automatically receives by completing a particular and rigorous course of study by the end of high school)
http://www.utahnewcentury.org/

Members can see more details of what was discussed at the meeting on our yahoo group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saltlakehomeducators/.

At our January meeting, we shared some of our favorite free or inexpensive resources.

www.discoveryschool.com You can create your own crossword puzzles and word searches. Also has free lesson plans and other things.

www.utahkidsclub.com Has a calendar of free events in the community.

www.ambleside.org  A free Charlotte Mason curriculum.

www.tobinslab.com The original source for lapbook information. You can also look up ?lapbooks? on google.

http://math.about.com Free printable math worksheets

www.learningpage.com Free K-3 math, science and language pages, mini-books, readers, etc.

www.amazon.com Has used books for sale

www.abebooks.com A source to buy used books

www.sitesforparents.com Lists many, many sites that may be interesting to homeschool parents.

www.mathfactcafe.com Free printable math worksheets, flashcards, etc.

http://www.krazydad.com/puzzles.php Free printable sudoku and kakuro puzzles.

www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm Or do a search for ?Mathematics Enhancement Programme,? a free British math curriculum for years 1-9. It has lessons plans and student practice sheets. There are also some online interactive (computer correcting) worksheets.

www.starfall.com Fun phonics games and beginning reading material.

www.librivox.org A source for free audio downloads

http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/  Another free audio download source.

www.edwardrhamilton.com Discount bookseller. They have a free catalog.

www.rainbowresource.com  A homeschool supply company with a huge phonebook-sized catalog. You can read reviews of almost everything in the catalog. The prices are good too.

www.homeschoolreviews.com Many homeschool resources reviewed by homeschool families.

www.cathyduffyreviews.com Cathy Duffy?s reviews of many homeschool materials.

www.donnayoung.org  Free planners and other forms.

www.k9webprotection.com Free and good quality internet filter. Provides different levels of filtering.

We also shared money-saving tips.  Everyone had a lot of great ideas. Thanks!

- Library. Get books, audiobooks, videos, magazines from the library. We have two great library systems in the valley. Interlibrary loan is also available if the two library systems don?t have a book that you really want to check out. You can also request that your local library buy books.

-Tap into wealthy grandparents or other relatives

-Give a list to grandparents and other relatives for the things you really want them to give you.

-Check DI, Thrift Stores and yard sales. Sometimes the dollar store has cheap flashcards.

- Redefine what you ?need.?

- Determine your educational goals. We can?t use every idea at once. Which subjects are most important to your family?

- Finish what you already have. ?Shop? on your own shelves.

- Lapbooks. Once you know how to put them together you can use them for any subject or topic. They are cheap or free to make. Plus they are fun!

- Use plastic slipcovers over worksheets with dry erase markers.

-Use studies or materials  that cover a lot of areas, for example unit studies, using the Cub Scout or Girl Scout program for family projects, making projects for homeschool that can be given away as Christmas presents, etc.

- Family memberships to museums, zoo, etc. usually pay for themselves in two visits. Focus on a different membership each year so that you get full use out of it.

-StartWrite software allows you to create your own handwriting sheets. Also Draw Write Now books (Some are available from the library.) have art lessons and handwriting copywork.

-Use friends to help teach lessons. Tap the passions and expertise of those around you.

- Do a web search for literature guides like Spark Notes. There is a great wealth of info about the texts.

For our September meeting we had a tea party. We enjoyed various herbal teas and read poetry. Several people shared a favorite poem or a poem that their children enjoy.

The idea of teatime poetry is to simply enjoy poetry with your children.  First prepare a nice teatime treat (or buy one) and set a nice table. Then, while the tea steeps, everybody looks through poetry books to find a poem to share. Finally, between sips, each person gets a chance to read-aloud a poem of choice.

When everyone is done sharing poetry, you can read any book aloud while your children finish sipping and munching. Try it sometime. It?s a lot of fun.

For more details, check out www.bravewriter.com/BWL/bwlteatime.html
Also, please note the sidebar. Our October meeting has been changed to Wednesday, October 22 because of a scheduling conflict with Barnes & Noble.

Summer ?School? Ideas

Summertime.  It isn?t just sunnier.  It isn?t just swimming lessons.  It isn?t just the neighbor kids knocking on the door at 9am asking to play.  Summer feels different.  Or, at least, that was the consensus at the May SLHE meeting.  So what do the meeting participants do with their summertime?

Make calendars and lists of fun things to do and places to see.  We like to schedule fun activities and learning opportunities in order to assure that we fit in some adventure and some down time.  We sometimes get up and out early, so we can rest or nap in the afternoon.

Create ?summer camps? for kids.  Whether based on other camps we?ve seen or just based on some idea the children come up with, we like to get groups of children together to do biology, chemistry, sewing, history, discuss book series, or use a rope to ?see? the length of a particular dinosaur or whale.

Get outdoors.  When hiking, camping, running in the sprinklers, or playing in the park, we look for birds, plants or other interesting specimens waiting to be discovered.  We love seeing moose at Silver Lake or deer by the side of a walking trail.  We like to see the stars in a clear night sky. 

Offer choices.  A great idea was to put different activities in different envelopes and let the children choose one to do each day.  One idea was to take children to the zoo and have them choose animals to draw or perhaps just classify as carnivore or herbivore.  One idea was to let the children choose books and educational videos from the library.  One resource mentioned was backyardcapers.com.

Whether swimming, rock climbing, rock hunting or lying in the sun, we wish you a great summertime!

Writing:   Write letters, thank you notes, lists, do Mad Libs, or start a journal

Reading:   Join you local library?s Summer Reading Club or take turns reading a classic novel and then watch the movie (Treasure Island, Heidi, Dr. Doolittle, etc).

Math:   Cook, count in another language, learn to read maps, or play games that encourage math skills and logic.

Art:   Get books on art and start filling a sketch book.  Draw what you see in nature, superheroes, family members, or whatever else strikes your fancy.

History:   Take a vacation to somewhere new and learn all about it?s past, present, and future.

Science:   Spend time outdoors outside observing nature.  Take notes, draw what you see, try experiments, and share what you?ve learned.

SHARED WISDOM

By Melinda Canfield

At the April meeting we voted unanimously to approve the changes to the bylaws for our SLHE charter. To review our new charter, check out www.saltlakehomeed.org (the SLHE Charter link). Remember, your contribution to our community may be large or small, ongoing or a one-time event depending on your situation. One of the great things about SLHE is the way we work together and share ideas and outings!

 After the vote we discussed square-foot gardening.

Some of the key points of square-foot gardening are the following:

? Make boxes for your garden. These boxes are generally 4 feet x 4 feet. They may be smaller, but not any larger.

? Make a square-foot grid to place over your garden. This helps with really visualizing square-foot gardening.

? Use a soil-less mix of 1/3 peat or coir (coconut fiber), 1/3 vermiculite or perlite, and 1/3 compost.

 Reasons why you might consider this type of gardening? It?s easy! No tilling and practically no weeding. And you can garden in a very small space. For more information you can read Mel Bartholomew?s book Square Foot Gardening or check out his web-site at www.squarefootgardening.com. For supplies, check your local gardening store or Steve Regan Company at 4215 South 500 West.

SHARED WISDOM

By Melinda Canfield

At the March meeting we discussed two topics,   starting seedlings and the proposed changes to the bylaws.

Starting Spring Seeds:

   Right now is a great time to start sprouting seeds for your spring and summer gardening.
If you want to start plants from seed, you need basically four things: soil, water, light and a warm place (warmer than outdoors in the early spring). For light indoors you can use ordinary fluorescent lights. However, be sure that the lights are very close to the plants as fluorescent light isn?t as powerful as sunlight. You can also use outdoor sunlight if you cover your plants to create a mini greenhouse. Just remember to bring your plants in at night if it gets cold.

Here is a recipe for potting soil:

·        3 parts peat

·        1 part sand

·      1 part vermiculite or perlite

·      1 part pure clay kitty litter.

The sand and clay give your potting mix a little more weight, but they are optional unless you are starting xeric plants.

SLHE Charter Discussion:

Most of the discussion centered on ?bylaw #5? which says that all members should contribute 1 service to the group in order to foster community. Contributions may be large or small, ongoing or a one time event, and depending on individual circumstances. The changes have been updated and uploaded to the website: www.saltlakehome-ed.org (SLHE Charter link)

See the rewritten ?bylaw #5? on the website. For further discussion, use the message board ?Cafeteria?.  We will vote on the bylaw changes at the April meeting. Please attend!