Homeschool Nations - Connecticut - Homeschool Blogger

Connecticut Blog will be closing as of November 6, 2009

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 06:58:00 -0600

Hello to all my subscribers to the Connecticut blog:

The Old Schoolhouse (who ones all the homeschoolblogger state blogs) has decided to close all the state blogs on November 6, 2009. I want to thank all the subscribers to the Connecticut blog for taking the time to read various posts I have put up over the last few years. I have enjoyed digging up info for you, and hope that you will continue to find information elsewhere.

Have a wonderful homeschool year!

Home School Day at Old Sturbridge Village

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:54:00 -0500

Good day!

You are invited to attend Old Sturbridge Village’s Kick Off the School Year Home School Day! We are looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday, September 15^th. This is a great opportunity for you and your children to gain exposure to the life and work of an early 19^th century rural New England community.

Enjoy the beauty of OSV with home school families from all over New England. Garden talks, demonstrations, and performances are planned for all audiences throughout the day! See the Daily Event Listing (posted two weeks in advance) for performance and program times, Food Services options, and special exhibits.

Please pre-register online today. Check in at the Visitor Center at the Main Entrance, off of Route 20 in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The Visitor Center and Museum grounds open at 9:30 am and will close at 5:00 pm. Please see the attached flyer for specific information about Studios, Village & Craft Center Activities.

We invite you to picnic on the Common with other home school families from 11:30-12:30. We provide the grass only. Please bring your own blankets. You will be able to go back to your car to retrieve your lunch after you are admitted.

Dress for the unpredictable New England weather! Tickets are non-refundable.

Contact Kathy Kime, Education Coordinator with any questions or concerns, 508-347-0335 or at www.osv.org

Summer Sewing Classes

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 07:08:00 -0500

Hi Everyone,

I hope that your summer is going great and you are finding somethig fun to do inspite of this lovely weather we've had all summer. I guess we needed this much rain.

How about some sewing lessons?

I have held sewing classes all summer long and there is still the month of August. I have new classes and new prices in response to the shift in our economy. Plus, I have new summer hours:

8:30am-1:00pm Monday-Friday

4:00-9:00pm Monday

6:00-9:00pm Thursday

You can schedule your lessons at your convenience during those times.

Please take a look at my website for more information on classes offered at www.sewshouldyou.com. Homeschoolers who take the entire 4-level course will receive a certificate and documentation for their portfolio and get 1/2 credit.

If you have any questions, you can email me at info@sewshouldyou.com.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Karlie Lebatique

To Israel with Homeschool Travel

Tue, 26 May 2009 15:29:00 -0500

A special message from Homeschool Travel…

Read this if visiting Israel with your family has been a long-time dream…

The Jews of Israel are fond of saying, “No one comes to Israel unless God, Himself, invites them.”

Is He inviting you? Are you going to accept His invitation?

Although travelers with our groups may never have met one another, those who come to Israel with Homeschool Travel are not strangers. They pray for one another weeks before they arrive; and they arrive with a common desire: to experience the Bible in the Land of the Bible and to get to know the people who have answered God’s call to resettle the Promised Land. What none of them yet know is that their families will be forever changed and they and their children will return home with a deep understanding of the real issues facing Israel, her people, and the entire Middle East.

Homeschoolers are unique travelers to Israel and tour guides continually comment on this uniqueness. Unlike many who come to Israel, most homeschoolers already know their Bible. This makes guiding a group of homeschoolers through biblical Israel a real treat.

Most who read their Bible form mental pictures of what the Bible stories look like: crowds coming to the Jordan River to be baptized; feeding 5,000 men on a hillside; Jericho; Jerusalem; the healing at the Pool of Bethsaida…

Then, one day, they come to Israel and actually stand in the place where David killed Goliath. They drink from the same spring Gideon’s soldiers drank from. They work alongside archaeologists uncovering treasures from beneath the Temple Mount. They walk in the footsteps of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They retrace Jesus’ life and ministry. They share a Sabbath meal with Orthodox Jews in an Orthodox Jewish community.

It is then that they realize the stories are real. They happened! They are looking at the actual house where Jesus lived, the actual well Abraham dug, the actual valley of Armageddon spoken of in Revelation. They never read their Bible the same way again!

The special treat for our homeschooling travelers is when they spend the weekend with Orthodox Jews in their Orthodox Community and share a Sabbath meal with their hosts.

Your students will earn High School Credits while on this trip!

For years, homeschoolers have been receiving credit for courses their parents have created. Why not give your students credits in such courses as

History of Israel

History of the Middle East

Archaeology of the Promised Land

The Israel-Palestinian Conflict

As a homeschooler, you may give credit for all valid coursework. And, if your student is in 7^th or 8^th grade, put your student in Advanced Placement for these courses so he/she can receive high school credit, too.

Homeschoolers are not tourists. Instead, they expect to have an EXPERIENCE. That is why we say that experiencing Israel with Homeschool Travel is “Not just a tour but the educational experience of a lifetime”

Join other homeschooling families this year in the Promised Land. Say, with them,

“This year in Jerusalem!”

Is God inviting you to Israel? Are you going to accept His invitation?

Recently, we said “goodbye” to 25 homeschoolers from Minnesota and Texas who traveled the country for 2 weeks in May. Their testimony was the same: “I would not have changed anything about this trip!”

Now for some great news: We have lowered the prices to Israel due to this year's economic difficulties. We want you to come. Here is what it will cost:

New prices for 20 Day Experience in July

$2313.00 per adult sharing a double room

$1485.00 per child sharing room with 2 adults

$2100.00 per child in separate room

Prices for New 10 Day Experience in September

$1139.00 per adult sharing a double room

$815.00 per child sharing room with 2 adults

$989.00 per child in separate room

New prices for 14 Day Experience in December

$1516.00 per adult sharing a double room
$1039.00 per child sharing room with 2 adults
$1316.00 per child in a separate room

Prices include:
· All accommodations
· All travel within Israel
· All entrance fees, admissions and special events
· Licensed Israeli Tour guide
· All meals except lunches (see below)
· All tips

Prices do not include:
· Airfare to Israel (our people come from all over the world and some prefer to use frequent flyer miles or other discounts)
· Most lunches (we stop for lunch where several choices exist)
· Souvenirs and other personal items
· Trip insurance (if desired)

Please visit our website, www.homeschooltravel.com and then contact me. I’ve been taking homeschooling families to Israel for many years! Is it your turn?

Chris Davis

chris@homeschooltravel.com

www.homeschooltravel.com

Time to enroll for 2009-2010 Pizza Hut Book It program

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:22:00 -0500

You can enroll your grade K-6 students in Pizza Hut's Book It program. The link is:

http://www.bookitprogram.com/enrollment/

Green Generation Cartoon Caption Contest at CurrClick

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:51:00 -0500

CurrClick is currently have a cartoon caption contest... they have 2 different illustrated cartoons that need captions! One is for ages 5 to 11 and the other is for ages 12 to 18. The prizes are very nice... contest ends on Wednesday April 22nd.

Her is a link for the contest:

http://www.currclick.com/cclick_captioncontest.php?SRC=earthday

World Math Day

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:29:00 -0600

This sounds very interesting... March 4th is World Math Day. It is free to register (homeschoolers are welcome). It says on their website that students play against each other in mental arithmetic games. The students are actually playing in real time... each game lasts 60 seconds and are at different levels for various ages and abilities. It says it was created for ages 5 to 18 years old, but teachers may even want to participate!

Sounds like fun...

Here is the link:

http://www.worldmathday.com/

Home School Day at Thankful Arnold House in Haddam, CT

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:38:00 -0600

School Days

Location:
The Thankful Arnold House, Haddam, CT

Date:
3/5/2009
Time:
10 am to noon

Cost:
$8
Ages:
5-10

Description:

Winter/Spring 2009
The Haddam Historical Society
Invites You to
Explore the Past

The Haddam Historical Society is offering a new education program called
School Days for students ages 5-10 in the home school community. All the activities take place in the Thankful Arnold House in Haddam, once the home of Thankful and Joseph Arnold and their family, and now a museum portraying the 1820s period.

School Days

Students will step back in time 200 years and experience activities from a one room schoolhouse. Young scholars will learn to make their manners, write on a slate and with a quill pen, read aloud from an early textbook by Noah Webster, do their ciphering, and participate in a spelling bee.

The program is 2 hours in length, and there is a fee of $8 for each participant with a minimum of 8 (maximum group size is 16). Family discounts are available for 3 or more children. To learn more about the programs or to reserve a place for your child, contact Sarah Neal, Education Director at the Haddam Historical Society.

Sarah Neal, Education Director
email at education@haddamhistory.org
or call (860) 345-2400

Thursday, March 5 10 am to noon
snow date Friday, March 6 10 am to noon

Contact:
Sarah Neal
Phone:
860 345-2400

FVHE Used Curriculum Fair in CT

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:28:00 -0600

FVHE Used Curriculum Fair

Mark your Calendars: Friday, June 5, 2009 Tell a Friend!

Time: 4:00-8:00 p.m.

Set-up for sellers begins at 3:00 . I will be there at 2:00 to begin setting up tables.

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 7 Wescott Rd., Simsbury, Connecticut

Fee: $5 rental per table (there are 6' and 8' available)

No admittance charge for lookers/shoppers

Children most welcome! My kids have always LOVED the used curriculum fairs, and always manage to find neat-stuff like science kits and models, leisure reading materials, games and more.

This is a substitution for the Used Curriculum Fair that Regina Sanchez of Charter Oak Family Resource Center used to organize at the church in Avon. Any homeschooler can rent a table (or tables) and then bring all manner of educational materials. You, the seller, set your own prices and keep all the profit from your sales. Any educational materials are welcome, including reading materials, study guides, games, puzzles, videos, text books and other traditional curriculum materials. If you are done with your Sonlight, Oak Meadow, Saxon, Critical Thinking Press, just to name a few, bring them along and turn them into cash. There are always many free items as well!

SHOPPERS: Please plan to bring cash. With many items at tag-sale prices it doesn't make sense to write a check for a couple of dollars. Also some people can't take personal checks, so cash is best.

RSVP: to me, Kris McCue at FVHEgroupis@hotmail.com

when you email to register I will tell you where to send the $5.

***Special Opportunity : Do you know a homeschool family who could benefit from extra dollars to purchase curriculum materials? I have saved a few dollars here, and a few dollars there, in all these years of planning events like Field Day, Art and Science shows, and dances. Some of you have provided supplies for these events and then refused to let me reimburse you. So I have continued to put the money away until I figured out what to do with it. I would like to gift the money back to the homeschool community. Here is how this will work:

If you know a homeschool family who is having a hard time making ends meet, ask them if they would be willing to come to the FVHE Used Curriculum Fair to collect a little extra cash and do some shopping from other homeschoolers. Not all of the money has to be spent at the fair, but I'd like it if some of the money could help other homeschoolers and not just the "incorporated". If your friend agrees, please send me their name and email address. Depending on how many people are recommended to me I will either pull names out of a hat or just divide the money evenly. I would like to "gift" 8 or 9 families. I will notify by email the families who are to be the recipients of the gifts. They must come to the FVHE Used Curriculum Fair to receive their gift, and hopefully spend a little time perusing the materials for sale and do a little shopping.

See you at the fair!

Kris McCue

Standardized Testing Offered for Home Schoolers in CT

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:56:00 -0600

Standardized testing with the Stanford Achievement Test for
home-schooled students will be offered in my Seymour home this April
and May for grades 3 and up. If you would prefer the Iowa Test of
Basic Skills, or would like one of the learning abilities tests along
with the Stanford or Iowa, call me to schedule separately. The
Learning Abilities tests assess developed reasoning and
problem-solving abilities important for learning. Combined
achievement/learning abilities testing will assist you in developing
a reasonable expectation for your student's progress based on his ability.

I am a certified test administrator with Bob Jones Testing &
Evaluation Service since 1992. Testing is done over a series of three
mornings, 9 a.m. to noon for grades 4-8, two mornings for grade 3, or
one day, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for high school. My cost is $25 per child
tested. Tests are ordered and scored through Bob Jones Testing &
Evaluation Service; the cost per test ordered is $44 plus tax (no
shipping). The tests are shipped to me; the results are sent directly
to the parents. For more information on the tests or the service, see
http://www.bjupress.com/services/testing For more information on
testing in general, see
http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/learning/a/testing.htm

If interested in testing your child, please contact me first before
you order because you will need the testing dates to order. There is
a 6-week lead time for ordering tests, so contact me as soon as
possible if you want to be included.

If you don't already have the BJU Press Testing & Evaluation '09
catalog, which contains the testing services information and order
form, go to
http://www.bjupress.com/services/testing/documents/order-form-homeschool.pdf
to download just the order form (2009 Testing & Evaluation Homeschool
Order Form) in pdf format for mailing orders. Orders may also be
placed on-line (use the link in the above paragraph), but a
verification of homeschooling form must be signed and mailed or faxed back.

For more information or to schedule your child's testing, contact
Molly Farrington at e-mail farrdown@integritypiano.com.