December 2014

December 5th - Christmas parade and Christmas Walk - Downtown Warren 6:30, Christmas walk begins at 5:30

December 6th and 7th - Bethlehem Marketplace, Calvary Baptist Church 4-8pm

December 6th - St. Joseph Annual Christmas Craft Fair 10am - 4pm … 75 vendors

December 10th - Warren Library 'After School with Mrs. Claus 3:45 pm

December 11th - The Nutcracker at Reg Lenna Theatre and Fenton History Center field trip 

December 12th - Movie Night at Warren Alliance Church -  ELF movie - 7pm free popcorn 

December 13th - Mrs. Claus, Elsa and Olaf at Warren Library  11am                           

December 16th - Homeschool Christmas Party, 10am - 2 pm Calvary Baptist Church

December 18th - 'Twas the Night Before Christmas play at Struthers for 1st-4th graders

December 19th - Warren Manor Cookies & Crafts day time tba

January 9th, the YMCA will continue holding their Homeschool Swim class on Friday mornings.    Cost for members is $13 for 5 weeks, cost for non-members is $41 for 5 weeks.

Classes are from 10am-10:30am for grades 5-8 and 10:30am-11am for grades 1-4.  Call the Y or drop in to register …726-0110.  

Classes run in 5 week sessions and last throughout the school year.  Join your fellow homeschooling moms while the kids swim!  On the 5th class, which is always designated as 'watch day', we take the kids to Pizza Hut (with our Book It coupons) and we all have a nice lunch together.  Join us!

WARREN LIBRARY CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES

   

 December 10 - After School with Mrs. Claus: Wednesday, December 10, 3:45 p.m., Children’s Department. Mrs. Claus will read holiday stories and sing songs with the children. There will be a craft and holiday treat after the program. Preregistration appreciated. Registration form will be available in the Children’s Department next to the staff computer starting November 22.

December 13 - Saturday, December 13, 11:00 a.m., Slater Room, 3^rd floor.  Mrs. Claus, Elsa and Olaf from Disney’s Frozen will share holiday stories, songs, crafts and snacks with children and their families. Children are invited to dress in fairy tale attire or holiday outfits. Preregistration mandatory due to limited attendance (42 children). Registration form will be available in the Children's Department next to the staff computer starting November 22.

Struthers Arts & Education Series

Warren County Homeschoolers have been invited once again to attend the Arts and Education performances, free of charge,  along with the public schools. 

Thursday, December 18th @ 9:00 a.m. - Theatre IV's "Twas the Night Before Christmas" - for students in grades 1 through 4.

The admission is free for the student in the aforementioned grades and one adult.  No younger/older siblings permitted and only one parent/chaperone per family.  

Please RSVP to Julie @ anjt@hotmail.com if you plan on attending - I am required to give the Struthers a head count.

10 am - 2  pm 
We will be celebrating Christmas with games, crafts, songs and a white elephant exchange (please don't buy anything new, just re-gift something from home) for the kids and adults!!! All are welcome. Stay for a few minutes or the whole time... we will have a pot luck lunch for those that are there at lunch time. Please bring a dish to pass... I hope you can come for this time of celebration and fellowship.

Please RSVP to Jennifer Bailey at Jennifer Bailey at   2003jenb@gmail.com

Please message me if you can help with crafts, games or are a good singer that would lead songs for us.

Family Movie Night

The community is invited to a free Family Movie Night on Friday, December 12th at 7 p.m. at Warren Alliance Church, 278 Kinzua Rd.

The featured movie is the Christmas Classic "Elf." Elf tells the story of Buddy, one of Santa's elves, who learns his true identity as a human and goes to NYC to meet his biological father.  Wherever he goes he spreads Christmas Cheer.  There will be free popcorn and prizes.  

Warren Manor Cookies & Crafts

Visit Warren Manor and bring joy to the patients by making crafts and enjoying punch and cookies with them!   

Date: December 19th 

 Time: TBA (watch for the email)

November 2014

We do not have as many activities this month, as the cold winter months are approaching.  Some of us have been busy canning and freezing, so our families can still enjoy the fresh fruits and veggies throughout the winter.  I am reminded of the verse from Proverbs 31:21  'She is not afraid of the snow for her household', which one interpretation is taken literally … that she is prepared for the winter and has nothing to fear.   

I like to think that by scouring the yard sales for winter boots and coats, by passing down some clothes that don't fit the kids anymore, by having a garden (thank you Ellie!), by filling up my freezer with good food, I am, in one way, that prepared woman.  And as I pause and look at everything that God has given our family for the winter months, I am overwhelmed by His love and provision.  I find the greatest blessings in the simple things and am so grateful for them all.  I pray that you will also find joy in being simply blessed.  

What are you thankful for?  I'm thankful for friends, for homeschooling, for my children, for my husband's job, for our health and for the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

    Wishing everyone a wonderful month and Thanksgiving holiday!

November 14th - Homeschool Swim Class session begins

December 5th - Christmas parade and Christmas Walk - Downtown Warren

December 6th and 7th - Bethlehem Marketplace, Calvary Baptist Church

December 11th - The Nutcracker at Reg Lenna Theatre in Jamestown

December 12th - Movie Night at Warren Alliance Church - ELF

December 16th - Homeschool Christmas Party, Calvary Baptist Church

December 18th - 'Twas the Night Before Christmas play at Struthers for 1st-4th graders

The YMCA will continue holding their Homeschool Swim class on Friday mornings.    Cost for members is $13 for 5 weeks, cost for non-members is $41 for 5 weeks.

Classes are from 10am-10:30am for grades 5-8 and 10:30am-11am for grades 1-4.  Call the Y or drop in to register …726-0110.  

Classes run in 5 week sessions and last throughout the school year.  Join your fellow homeschooling moms while the kids swim!  On the 5th class, which is always designated as 'watch day', we take the kids to Pizza Hut (with our Book It coupons) and we all have a nice lunch together.  Join us!

WARREN LIBRARY CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES

•     Enchanted Fairytale Troupe: If your child loves princesses, these programs will be a special treat! A variety of fairytale characters from the Warren Players will visit the Library to read stories and visit with children on six different Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. this autumn. Specific characters have been established for two of the dates, but have yet to be determined on four of the dates. Four of these programs will take place in the Children’s Department while the other two, which are holiday programs, will take place in the Slater Room on the 3^rd floor.

• November 22 – Character to be determined, 11:00 a.m. in the Children’s Department.
• December 13 – Elsa and other characters from Disney’s Frozen, 11:00 a.m. in the Slater Room as this is part of our Mrs. Claus Christmas program.

 NOTES: Children are encouraged to dress in their princess finery for all of these programs. Halloween attire and Christmas attire is encouraged for the respective holiday programs. Preregistration is appreciated. Registration forms will be available in the Children’s Department next to the staff desk.

Building on the Rock Co-Op news

We are winding down our first session in our Co-Op.  We will celebrate this first 'semester' of our Co-Op with a potluck dinner, a display of the what our children have learned and accomplished and we will wrap up the evening with the drama class putting on a play for their families.

We invite all of our homeschoolers to the next semester of our Co-Op, which will start back up in February, the date to be announced.  If you have any suggestions for potential classes you would like to teach or that your child might be interested in, please let us know by emailing:

homeschoolontherock@gmail.com

We would like to express our gratitude to Christine Smith for organizing and administering our 3rd, 5th and 8th grade tests this fall.  Also, we thank Hollister McNeal and Cay Heath for assisting in the testing process.   Your time and contributions are appreciated!

Struthers Arts & Education Series

Warren County Homeschoolers have been invited once again to attend the Arts and Education performances, free of charge,  along with the public schools. 

Thursday, December 18th @ 9:00 a.m. - Theatre IV's "Twas the Night Before Christmas" - for students in grades 1 through 4.

The admission is free for the student in the aforementioned grades and one adult.  No younger/older siblings permitted and only one parent/chaperone per family.  

Please RSVP to Julie @ anjt@hotmail.com if you plan on attending - I am required to give the Struthers a head count.

Date: Thursday, December 11th

Time: 10 a.m. (arrive approx. 20 minutes early)

Location: Reg Lenna Center for the Arts -  116 East Third St., Jamestown, NY     http://reglenna.com/content/map-directions

Cost: $5 per person, pre-paid to Julie Turbide (cash or check)
RSVP: Please RSVP and prepay to me before November 28th.   anjt@hotmail.com

We attended last year with the Chautauqua Homeschoolers and were absolutely amazed at the performances and the costumes.  Just fantastic!

It is the public school day to attend as well, so there were buses and children everywhere.   Do not wait in line with the public school kids.  There is a separate door for the box office.  I will meet you all in there and give you your tickets, then we will go to our reserved seats.   Parking may also be an issue... we managed to find a spot (with a meter) on a side street, so get there plenty early.

The show was approximately 90 minutes long with an intermission.  

"Presented by Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet and featuring guest artists from the New York City Ballet, Daniel Ulbricht and Erica Pereira.

Bring the entire family to this enduring holiday tradition!  The Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet dazzles audiences with its cherished holiday favorite, Nutcracker, under the artistic direction of Monika Alch.

Nutcracker tells the classic story of Clara who falls into a deep, dreamy sleep after a holiday party at which Herr Drosselmeyer presents her a gift of a nutcracker.   As she dreams, Clara embarks on a fantasy journey with her nutcracker prince, beginning with a battle with the Rat King and his army of mice, followed by a visit to the magical Kingdom of Sweets.  There they meet the Sugar Plum Fairy and her court of sweets, who offer to perform their favorite dances in Clara's honor.

Sumptuous new costumes funded by Oliver G. & Sarah Sloan Bauman Fund for the Arts."

We will be celebrating Christmas with games, crafts, songs and a white elephant exchange (please don't buy anything new, just re-gift something from home) for the kids and adults!!! All are welcome. Stay for a few minutes or the whole time... we will have a pot luck lunch for those that are there at lunch time. Please bring a dish to pass... I hope you can come for this time of celebration and fellowship.

Please RSVP to Jennifer Bailey at Jennifer Bailey at   2003jenb@gmail.com

Please message me if you can help with crafts, games or are a good singer that would lead songs for us.

October 2014

October has been such a fun month for our group, with plenty of educational field trips and our Homeschool CoOp in full swing.  To review, we visited the Lockport Locks and had a cruise on the Erie Canal at the end of September, we went to Port Farms in Waterford, an outdoor science 'Salamander Safari' at Chapman State Park, a healthy foods tour at Wegmans in Jamestown and a trip to Edinboro to the college planetarium and a buffalo farm in Edinboro.   Keep checking the newsletter here for any upcoming events that you might be interested in participating in.

Happy Fall!

The YMCA will continue holding their Homeschool Swim class on Friday mornings.    Cost for members is $13 for 5 weeks, cost for non-members is $41 for 5 weeks.

Classes are from 10am-10:30am for grades 5-8 and 10:30am-11am for grades 1-4.  Call the Y or drop in to register …726-0110.  

Classes run in 5 week sessions and last throughout the school year.  Join your fellow homeschooling moms while the kids swim!  On the 5th class, which is always designated as 'watch day', we take the kids to Pizza Hut (with our Book It coupons) and we all have a nice lunch together.  Join us!

WARREN LIBRARY CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES:

•     Enchanted Fairytale Troupe: If your child loves princesses, these programs will be a special treat! A variety of fairytale characters from the Warren Players will visit the Library to read stories and visit with children on six different Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. this autumn. Specific characters have been established for two of the dates, but have yet to be determined on four of the dates. Four of these programs will take place in the Children’s Department while the other two, which are holiday programs, will take place in the Slater Room on the 3^rd floor.

• October 25 – character to be determined, 11:00 a.m. in the Slater Room as this is part of our Boil, Bubble, Toil and Trouble Halloween program (see details below).
• November 8 – Character to be determined, 11:00 a.m. in the Children’s Department.
• November 22 – Character to be determined, 11:00 a.m. in the Children’s Department.
• December 13 – Elsa and other characters from Disney’s Frozen, 11:00 a.m. in the Slater Room as this is part of our Mrs. Claus Christmas program.

 NOTES: Children are encouraged to dress in their princess finery for all of these programs. Halloween attire and Christmas attire is encouraged for the respective holiday programs. Preregistration is appreciated. Registration forms will be available in the Children’s Department next to the staff desk.

Building on the Rock Co-Op news

Jennifer reminded us today, only 4 weeks left of Co-Op!  The classes have gone well considering this is our first semester of our new Co-Op and something new for all of us involved.  The kids have come to love it and really enjoy the friendships they've made.

Cooking class has been whipping up a different dish each week, sometimes with the assistance of Pastor Chip.  They've been making breakfast dishes, desserts, soups, pastas and they've also learned about proper place settings at a table.  

Lego class has done research on various famous buildings and forms of architecture, then designed their own replica with Legos, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids, the Pentagon and more.  

In Art class, we've studied Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh, painted our own versions of Monet's water lilies and Van Gogh's sunflowers and his Starry Night masterpiece.  We dabbled in other forms of art, such as our papier mache pumpkins, autumn leaf painting, underwater scenes with monochromatic colors, quilling paper and making puffy paint.  We will be doing graffiti painting next week, string art and portraits in the weeks to come.

Drama class has given the kids a love of acting!  They chose a play, their parts and have begun building the props.  They've been practicing every Tuesday and it is bound to be a fun performance on our celebration night.

Science class has covered a slew of topics complete with a craft or experiment to tie in with the lesson.  They have studied ladybugs, spiders, adaptation of animals, chipmunks including hibernation, foraging and survival, leaves/trees including parts and growth process, nutrition and taste buds of humans, storms and cloud identification, hot air balloons/air and temperature and next week will feature wind/direction/strength and speed.

For those that are in Co-Op, what would you do differently?   What are you enjoying?   For those not in the Co-Op, what would interest you, if you were to join?

Our next Co-Op semester will start near spring, the date to be announced.   Our 1st semester 'Celebration Night' is also yet to be announced, an will be on an evening in November.

Fall Testing

This fall, here are 2 options available for our 3rd, 5th and 8th graders that need to be tested this year.  

Option #1:  Iowa Test with Christine Smith

Date: Thursday, October 30th   Time: 8:30 AM

Location: Warren Alliance Church, 278 Kinzua Rd.

Register at:http://www.bjupress.com/category/iowa-tests-homeschools  tester # 1125558  

What to bring:  Pencils, calculator (may or may not be using), and your lunch … scrap paper will be provided

Deadline:  You must purchase test 2-3 weeks before test date of October 30, no extra tests will be available day of test

See attachment for more information.

You can also call to register. Cognitive Ability test will be given Wednesday afternoon (10/29, 12:30pm) at same location.

Christine Smith

814-723-6460

hsmamof7@gmail.com

Option #2: Terra Nova Test with the Richman's

Fall 2014 Testing Schedule

When:        Where:
E. Oct. 22 -- Lehigh Valley
F. Oct. 23 -- King of Prussia
G. Oct. 24 -- N. Montgomery (Harleysville)
H. Oct. 29 -- Altoona
I. Oct. 30 -- Allegheny - Washington Co.
J. Nov. 6 -- Latrobe

For Directions, Click on the Location

This will be our 26^th and last year of offering fall testing throughout the state, though we will continue to offer some fall testing at locations in western Pennsylvania. The test we give meets the third, fifth and eighth grade testing requirement of the PA homeschool law, and we strive to create a positive and professional testing environment where students can do their best. Students in the fall take the level test that is normally given at the end of the previous grade in the spring. Thus the fall test for third graders is the same as the level that is given to second graders in the spring. Tests are scored using Fall Testing norms. For more ideas on test preparation, see the archived articles on our website at www.pahomeschoolers.com

Testing begins promptly at 9:30am, and we finish up by noon. (Third graders will finish at about 11:00.) The test will include Reading/Language and Math. We will no longer test science and social studies in the afternoon.

Students in grades 5 and above are allowed to use calculators on the math word problem section. So, we’d suggest you help your child bring a calculator they feel comfortable using. No questions require calculator use.

Cost at the door is just $35 per child. We will have plenty of tests and room at every location. Be sure to show up by 9am if you are paying at the door.

         Howard and Susan Richman  

Struthers Arts & Education Series

Warren County Homeschoolers have been invited once again to attend the Arts and Education performances, free of charge,  along with the public schools. 

Tuesday, November 4th @ 9:00 a.m. - the Will Power tour of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" - for students in grades 9 through 12.

Thursday, December 18th @ 9:00 a.m. - Theatre IV's "Twas the Night Before Christmas" - for students in grades 1 through 4.

The admission is free for the student in the aforementioned grades and one adult.  No younger/older siblings permitted and only one parent/chaperone per family.  

Please RSVP to Julie @ anjt@hotmail.com if you plan on attending either play.  I am required to give the Struthers a head count.

Misc. Homeschooling Opportunities:

Engineering for Students by Dyson:   http://www.jamesdysonfoundation.com/form/request-an-engineering-box/

November 8th - 6th - 9th grade Career Day at Penn State University : Exploring Careers in Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences - Penn State's annual career exploration program for students in grades 6 through 9 who are interested in veterinary medicine or biomedical sciences as their future careers. This annual program for students in grades 6 through 9 features hands-on experiences, a panel discussion, and an advising session at this critical stage in students' choice of secondary education.  $40 per student, $10 per parent/teacher/chaperone.

http://vbs.psu.edu/youth/careerexpo/exploring-careers-registration-form-1

November 8th - Lowes Build and Grow Build a Science Lab 

Register here:  http://lowesbuildandgrow.com/pages/default.aspx

The Nutcracker

Date: Thursday, December 11th

Time: 10 a.m. (arrive approx. 20 minutes early)

Location: Reg Lenna Center for the Arts -  116 East Third St., Jamestown, NY     http://reglenna.com/content/map-directions

Cost: $5 per person, pre-paid to Julie Turbide (cash or check)

We attended last year with the Chautauqua Homeschoolers and were absolutely amazed at the performances and the costumes.  Just fantastic!

It is the public school day to attend as well, so there were buses and children everywhere.   Do not wait in line with the public school kids.  There is a separate door for the box office.  I will meet you all in there and give you your tickets, then we will go to our reserved seats.   Parking may also be an issue... we managed to find a spot (with a meter) on a side street, so get there plenty early.

The show was approximately 90 minutes long with an intermission.  

RSVP: Please RSVP and prepay to me before November 21st.   

Presented by Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet and featuring guest artists from the New York City Ballet, Daniel Ulbricht and Erica Pereira.

Bring the entire family to this enduring holiday tradition!  The Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet dazzles audiences with its cherished holiday favorite, Nutcracker, under the artistic direction of Monika Alch.

Nutcracker tells the classic story of Clara who falls into a deep, dreamy sleep after a holiday party at which Herr Drosselmeyer presents her a gift of a nutcracker.   As she dreams, Clara embarks on a fantasy journey with her nutcracker prince, beginning with a battle with the Rat King and his army of mice, followed by a visit to the magical Kingdom of Sweets.  There they meet the Sugar Plum Fairy and her court of sweets, who offer to perform their favorite dances in Clara's honor.

Sumptuous new costumes funded by Oliver G. & Sarah Sloan Bauman Fund for the Arts.