Oct 23 - Native American Program at Birmingham Botanical Garden 9:30am ~11:30am for grade 1 - 6. We will: 

Did you know that Birmingham is recognized as holding the oldest and largest Veteran's Day Parade in the United States? For more information about the parade visit http://www.nationalveteransday.org/

Homeschoolers are joining the parade this year! Please contact Bri Moore self-educated@earthlink.net to RSVP to participate!!!

I would like to set a place/time to meet as soon as possible to let the kids discuss what Veteran's Day means to them and what ideas they have to honor Vet's. I will need to meet a few times to work on decorations, etc., for a float. I may have a trailer that I can borrow which I can pull with my Armada. If anyone else has a trailer and preferably a truck that could be used instead, that would be great! Also, if we have a lot of homeschoolers participating, we may need another vehicle/trailer.

I think it is time that homeschoolers are represented in civic-type events, so come on guys--let's show them what we can do!! I would think this could be listed as civic type work for school, transcripts, or scholarship applications....no? I must send in the entry form no later than October 12th, so please let me know as soon as you can if you are interested.

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Nov 14 - CIS Field Trip at UAB 9:00 - 12:00. The UAB CIS Department 3-hour field trip provides students with a broad range of exposure to computer science concepts, such as:

We will be joining another cover school for this field trip and have been allotted only 10 spaces; therefore, at this time we are offering this opportunity to Everest Academy highschoolers in grades 10th - 12th (no exceptions).  At the request of UAB, this will be a drop off/pick up field trip.  This is a FREE opportunity; however, you will need to pay a $10 refundable deposit to reserve your spot (refundable upon completion of the class).   Deadline for signup, payment, and cancellation is Nov 7. 

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Nov 21 - 23

SIFAT Retreat

The programming at the retreat will be "Around the World" (grades K through12) and "Appropriate Technologies" (grades 3-12).  Babies and toddlers are welcome to attend the retreat with adult supervision, and children under the age of 3 are free.  These programs, which will take place during the day on Saturday, teach participants about how people in third-world countries live, and are very hands-on.  (To understand how people in one country cook their food, we will build a straw oven and cook food in it, for example.)

Friday night, everyone who spends the night will sleep in the Lodge or in the International House.  Saturday night, each person will have the choice of remaining in the Lodge/International House or sleeping in the more primitive Global Village; although, adults should plan to sleep with any younger child who wants to sleep in the Global Village.  There will be an optional Christian devotional time in the evenings and again on Sunday morning as well as a quiet time and place designated for reflection for families interested in that alternative.

There are a total of 88 twin beds in the Lodge and International House, but the sleeping quarters are large open rooms, so additional people could bring cots, air mattresses, or sleeping bags.  I've left a space on the registration form (attached) for you to tell me how many people in your family would be willing and able to sleep on cots or air  mattresses if we do get a waiting list.

The SIFAT representative with whom I'm working tells me that groups usually sleep all boys in one room and all girls in another.  I'm open to your thoughts about how best to handle the sleeping arrangements.  There are basically two large rooms.  While we will have a "female room" and a "male room," of course infants and toddlers of either gender may certainly sleep with either parent.  Any ideas regarding maximum age limits for children in opposite-gender rooms?  (In other words, boys with their mothers in the female room, and girls with their fathers in the male room.)

I anticipate that this may be a popular field trip, so please don't wait to register if you are interested in attending.  I will accept registrations in the order in which I receive them via email, and will then "save" your slots for 2 weeks to give you a chance to mail your payment and registration form (attached) to me.  AFTER you email me to give your preliminary registration information AND get my return email confirmation that you do have slots reserved, please mail your family's printed registration form and a check for your full payment made out to "Vicki Hudson" to:

Vicki Hudson

4806 Pebbleshore Dr.

Opelika, AL 36804

If anyone in your family has food allergies or other medical needs that we should be aware of, please include that information somewhere on your registration form.  Please email if you have any questions, and I'll do my best to get answers for you!

Vicki Hudson

hschoolhuds@bellsouth.net

Please see the chart below for pricing information:

Option 1:  Spend two nights at SIFAT ($80 per person)

Option 2:  Spend one night at SIFAT , your choice of either Friday or Saturday night ($65 per person).  There are discounts for large families, with 5 or more members attending.

Please see the chart below for pricing information:

	FULL retreat	Partial Retreat
Per Person	2 nights lodging 5 meals programming   Total is: $80.00	1 nights lodging 4 meals programming   Total is: $65.00
Family Rate:	First 4 @ Regular Price ($320) Additional family @ $ 50	First 4 @ Regular Price ($260) Additional family @ $30
	Children 3 and under are free

SIFAT Retreat Registration for Alabama Homeschoolers.doc 4K   View as HTML   Open as a Google document   Download

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Jan 22 & 23
Atlanta Field Trip
Itinerary below:
 

Thursday, January 22, 2009:  10:00 a.m.    Atlanta!  High Museum of Art   The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army  Experience the 8^th Wonder of the Ancient World.  Discover one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20^th century---the First Emperor’s terracotta army.  Showcasing over 100 works from  the ongoing excavation, the exhibition includes the largest number of completed terracotta figures ever to travel to the U.S.    Our group rate:  Children $6 / Adults $15  (Limited to 25 participants)  For more information:  http://www.high.org/main.taf?p=3,2,1,1,3   

 

Lunch   We can take MARTA from the High Museum to Five Points in the center of downtown and lunch at Underground Atlanta  http://www.underground-atlanta.com/dining/restaurants.html or head to The Varsity –for a chili cheese dog, rings and a frosted orange…”What’ll ya have?”   http://www.thevarsity.com/menu.php

 

2:45 p.m.    CNN Studio Tour     Journey into the heart of the world's news leader at Inside CNN Atlanta. This 55-minute behind-the-scenes tour shows you exactly what it takes to deliver the news available to over 2 billion people worldwide.  Children (4-18) $9 / Adults $12  (Limited to 25 participants)

For anyone staying in Atlanta overnight or willing to drive home later… I will be going to the incredible indoor food market in Decatur (about a 20 minute drive from downtown).  The Your Decatur Farmers’ Market is a magic food emporium!  You will find more varieties of rice, fresh roasted coffee, cheese, pasta, meats, spices, fresh fruits, etc. than anywhere else in the south.  No joke and no exaggeration.  http://www.dekalbfarmersmarket.com/