Homeschool Nations - Vermont - Homeschool Blogger

Join Homeschool Nations - We Need You!

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:49:00 -0600

I am in search of enthusiastic people to join the Homeschool Nations Team to represent your state!

This is a volunteer position but you will receive free copies of The Old Schoolhouse each quarter - one for yourself and one copy to share with friends, family, and families who are thinking of homeschooling, or to place at local libraries and/or at homeschool group meetings. If you are selected to become the coordinator for your state, you will be responsible for posting updates and special state information on this state blog - Information such as: events, homeschool conventionsn, state laws, special meetings or speakers coming to the area. The events do not have to be all inclusive, just a good overview of things that are of interest to homeschoolers. You may also post field trip ideas/reviews and places of interest in your state. You can also blog about your personal experience with homeschooling from time to time. Writing prompts are sent out each week to help people who don't have much to post on their blog that week.

You are also allowed to gift 3 one-year TOS subscriptions each year to area libraries, area support group leaders or new homeschoolers - those people who you think could benefit from TOS! Basically, you become a contact person for people in your state and we help you get the word out about LOTS of info related to homeschooling through our magazine.

If this is something that might interest you, please email me at kprice@thehomeschoolmagazine.com.

I appreciate your interest and look forward to hearing from you soon!

Kris Price
Manager, Homeschool Nation

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

Montshire Museum, Norwich, VT

Tue, 3 Apr 2007 16:10:00 -0500

Montshire Museum, Norwich, VT

Special program for homeschooled children ages 6-12 beginning Monday, April 23. Aquatic Explorations take place at a time when northern New England is alive with aquatic life including frogs and salamanders. Call 802-649-2200 for more information or to sign up. In this three-part series we'll explore different aquatic creatures and their environments. Topics include aquatic invertebrates, frogs and salamanders, fish, habitats, and some outdoor explorations. Mondays, April 23, 30 and May 7. For ages 6-8, sessions offered at 9:30-10:45 a.m. or 1-2:15 p.m. For ages 9-12, sessions offered 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Members $35, non-members $39. Pre-registration required.
Other upcoming programs include Tusks: Ice Age Mammoths and Mastodons; Toys, Machines, and Legos® ; Machine Madness; and more. Check http://www.montshire.org/

Kroka Expeditions

Tue, 3 Apr 2007 16:08:00 -0500

Kroka Expeditions, based in southern Vermont, offers two alternative High School semester programs for grades 10-12 and the post graduate year. Students in the Vermont Semester ski the length of Vermont from south to north during the winter months, build a wood/canvas canoe in April, and canoe back down the Connecticut River in the spring. Students in the Vermont-Ecuador Semester travel to Ecuador to spend time on the instructors' family farm, then move into the rain forest to live with and learn from indigenous people, and wrap up their semester by climbing the volcano Cotopaxi.For more information contact Kroka Expeditions at (802)387-5397 or visit our website www.kroka.org

Sustainable Agriculture summer semester

Tue, 3 Apr 2007 16:07:00 -0500

Sustainable Agriculture summer semester

Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, Vermont, is currently accepting applications for the 2007 Sustainable Agriculture Semester scheduled for June 10, 2007 to August 17, 2007. Application deadline is April 16th.

The Sterling College Sustainable Agriculture Semester immerses students in the daily rhythms and realities of farming. This 6-8 credit integrated program of work and study explores ecological management of plants, animals, and land. Classroom instruction, hands-on training, and work on the farm are combined to teach sustainable practices and to foster discussion about agricultural issues. Our farm includes certified organic vegetable gardens, a greenhouse, a movable hoophouse, a small orchard, solar and wind powered barns, and a variety of livestock including sheep, goats, pigs, cattle, poultry, and draft horses. We implement a mixed-power model, using both tractors and draft animals in our gardens, pastures, and forests.

College students, academically advanced high school and homeschooled students, and adult learners are eligible to apply. Enrollment is limited to twelve. Application deadline is April 16, 2007. For more information go to <http://www.sterlingcollege.edu/sas.html>

Cleland Four springs Farm

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 13:43:00 -0500

Greetings to Home School families and organizations from Four Springs Farm. Even at this time of year we are thinking about the warm days of summer here in the beautiful Vermont mountains.  We are planning some wonderful activities again this season.  Many of you have been a part of our past activities in the years since we opened the Campground and Learning Center in 2004.  Some of you have camped with us, taken part in weekend gatherings, joined in our Firefly Festival, come by for a picnic or camped overnight.

Thinking ahead in 2007 I'd like to invite you to take advantage of the many opportunities to learn and play here at our organic farm and Learning Center.

Sunday July 1st is the Second Firefly Festival.
Come join us for this relaxed celebration of our abundant friends the fireflies, who enhance every hot summer evening with their amazing patterns of flight and flash. Four Springs Farm's meadows are an ideal habitat for fireflies. Everyone is dazzled by their outrageous numbers. We will share a meal and listen to music before darkness falls and the fireflies come out.

Or come up the last weekend in August to be part of our Sky Day.
Saturday August 25th we will host a Sky Day Celebration with opportunity to learn about raptors, weather and the stars and planets.

Consider gathering a group together and migrating up here for your own event at the farm. Come for just a picnic if you're nearby or stay and camp much longer. We have hosted Moms and kids, Dads and daughters, Home School family groups and individual families for casual camping or program laced visits.  Everyone is invited to tag-along on chores in the mornings and explore the gardens in the late part of the day to pick your own veggies for dinner.

We are happy to organize activities for you with our Program Director, Kate, or leave you to explore our woods, fields and streams on your own.  Some ideas for programs are outlined on our farm website.  Both Kate and I will be happy to help you with your planning.

I hope everyone has had a good winter.
I'd love to have you visit our updated web site.
and please pass the invitation along to others in the Home School community as well as to your friends and neighbors.

Wishing you well and hoping to see you or your friends/groups at the farm in Vermont this summer.

Jinny

Jinny Hardy Cleland
Four Springs Farm
   Campground & Learning Center
776 Gee Hill Road
Royalton,  Vermont  05068
(802) 763-7296
www.fourspringsfarm.com

Homeschool retreat at Singing Hills Conference Center (SH)

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 08:00:00 -0500

Dana and Vicki Merrill, mfdist@midmaine.com, are considering hosting a
Homeschool retreat at Singing Hills Conference Center (SH), located in
Plainfield, NH (just across the river from White River Junction, VT). You
can visit their website at www.singinghills.net. This is tentatively set
for Monday - Thursday, October 1-4, 2007. This gathering is to give moms a
time of refreshing, as well as a special time to connect with other families
who Homeschool in a beautiful location.

Vicki is still working on all the details, but the following is a "sketch"
of what she is hoping to have:

Arrival would be between 4-6 PM on Monday, October 1, with an optional
supper (reservations would be necessary. This is not included in the
retreat package price and would be the responsibility of each individual
family). The retreat would end after lunch on Thursday, October 4.

Families would be staying in lodge type accommodations where each family has
a room(s) according to their family size. The rooms each have two twin beds
and a set of bunkbeds, a closet, nightstand and lamp.

Full buffet meals will be provided. They are working on some snack options,
too!!

In addition to information sessions that she is trying to schedule, there is
a huge athletic field with equipment available, as well as a playground and
hiking trails.

The days will be broken up into "sessions". They are trying to give the
moms some time together while the dads and children participate in
activities together. They are also considering family activities, some time
for dads to spend together, and time for moms and children to work together
on meaningful activities. It would be great if some teenaged girls could
care for the youngest children if necessary during certain events. There
might also be a field trip to somewhere in the local area (Ben & Jerry's Ice
Cream, King Arthur Bakery, etc). Any costs for attending such tours would
be an additional cost to each family participating.

The approximate cost for a 3 day retreat is $114 per person over the age of
10 for the entire retreat (includes lodging and meals). For children ages
5-9, the approximate price is $40. Children 4 and under are free!

If you have any questions or suggestions (subjects you would like to see covered,
activity suggestions, field trip possiblities, participation, etc), please email
Vicki directly.