Healthy habits kits

Central DuPage Hospital and Delnor have free kits available for teaching. Contact kitsforkids@cadencehealth.org for more information or scheduling. Here is info from their publication:

Kits for Kids

Do you want to teach a class about bicycle safety or hand-washing, but need the tools
to do so? Check out our free Kits for Kids, which contain everything a parent, scout
leader or teacher needs to present a lesson, including script, worksheets, interactive
demonstrations and general information.

Ride Smart!

This kit is packed with information on bicycle
safety and helmet use. It includes a gelatin
brain mold, helmet experiment, identification
stickers, coloring books and more. Designed
for preschool through second grade.

Hand-washing:

Your First Defense Against Disease
Seeing is believing! The kit includes a black
light and Glo Germ™ gel that shows kids if
they are really washing effectively. Lessons
explain the importance of hand-washing.
Designed for preschool through fifth grade.

For kit scheduling and information,
call 630.933.2165.

Masters of Lightning!

Received via email:

The Masters of Lightning is coming to SciTech Museum! See precisely controlled “bolts of lightning” – some 15 feet long leap from huge Tesla coils and play music from Bach’s Toccata and Fuge and even the 8 bit theme from Super Mario Brothers!  “Dr. Zeus”, adds an astonishing element to the show by standing between the coils wearing a metal suit of layered chain mail and interacting with the lightning bolts! A Wow! show not to be missed!

  • Doors open at 6 pm, the show starts at 7 pm.
  • Stay and explore the Museum after the show, we will be open until 9 pm.
  • The SciTech Cafe will be open for delicious treats, and there will be popcorn, a juice bar and more.
  • Adult Tickets are $20 and Children 12 and under are $1

Hurry! This show sells out quickly so purchase your tickets now. Tickets are available online here:

Learn more about Masters of Lightning here:

call 630-859-3434 or

visit www.scitechmuseum.org for further information.

18 W. Benton St. Aurora, Il. 60506

Workshop series available for parents of gifted and talented

ATTENTION: PARENTS OF
GIFTED & TALENTED CHILDREN

What: Guided Discussion Group for Parents of Gifted and
Talented Children (Series of 6 Book Talk sessions)

When: Tuesdays, January 8 – February 12
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Where: Wilmette Public Library – Auditorium
1242 Wilmette Ave., Wilmette, IL

Facilitator: Sharon Collins, Gifted Ed. Specialist, SMPG Certified Facilitator
Email: goingifted@gmail.com (for more information and for registration forms)

Cost: $200.00 (Covers A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children and 6 SENG Model
sessions for one or two parents/significant adults and all printed materials.)

Registration Deadline:
Monday, December 31, 2012 (Space is limited!)

Session Topics:
1. Characteristics and Identification of the Gifted
2. Communication and Relationships (family, friends, peers)
3. Motivation, Underachievement and Breaking Traditions
4. Discipline and Self-Management
5. Intensity, Perfectionism, Idealism, Unhappiness and Depression
6. Complexities of Successful Parenting

Free Creation talk in Carol Stream

Midwest Creation Fellowship talk, “The Six Days of Creation” by John Dingess, on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at 6:45 p.m. at 25W560 Geneva Road in Carol Stream, IL 60188.

Contact: Midwest Creation Fellowship

Phone (847) 223-4730

Email wscmcf@hotmail.com

Website http://www.midwestcreationfellowship.org

The Six Days of Creation.

Do you know that the six days of creation can be understood in threes reflecting God’s triune nature?  You are invited to join us as we see what Genesis 1 says straightforwardly in context with other Scripture.  Origin science will be used to provide models to help visualize how God formed the earth and universe.

Guest speaker, John Dingess, is a former President of the Midwest Creation Fellowship, following Paul MacKinney, one of MCF’s founders.  John has made his living for 34 years as a chemist in product development and has been awarded three patents for his work on chemical product formulations.  His full bio is posted on: www.midwestcreationfellowship.org.

Meet us for free coffee and refreshments at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday, November 13, 2012.  The talk and Q&A will be from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.  (Please note that our November meeting is on the second Tuesday rather than the first.)  Admission is free, but donations are welcome.  We meet at: 25W560 Geneva Road in Carol Stream, IL.  The entryway is just west of Gary Avenue on Geneva Road, on the north side of the street.  Enter the drive just east of the sign (next to Slide Chart Company), and park behind the building.  Enter through the rear door. Handicapped parking is in front, with entrance through the front door.

For more information, visit: www.midwestcreationfellowship.org, email: wscmcf@hotmail.com, or call: (847) 223-4730.

Na No Wri Mo

Facebook Cover

Do you have an inner novelist just bursting to get out?

Or do you live with a hidden novelist?

November has become the National Novel Writing Month, and now is the time to let that little novelist out of hiding.

Here’s the original site for Na No Wri Mo (geared toward adults)

And, they have the event targeted toward kids in elementary school to high school as well.

This would fit in well with your homeschool curriculum and is perfect for this time of year before life gets nuts with the holidays, but fall sports have wrapped up and you need something to look forward to working on indoors with a hot cup of tea and fuzzy slippers.

The kids’ site has tons of resources and downloadable ebooks that will walk your kids through the process of writing their own novel in 30 days.

There’s information for educators, lesson plans, badges, forums, and tons of other cool stuff to get you motivated and help writers not throw in the towel half way through.

I have heard from many that gave it a try and couldn’t believe how many thousands of words their kids could write in a month when they just let the words fly and didn’t worry about anything but getting the story out. This year, we are going to give it a shot, at least some of us. Maybe even me. We’ll see.

Any Na No Wri Mo veterans out there? Anyone with a novel burning to get out?

Less than a week until the event begins, so now is the time to start thinking about where you are headed, dreaming up characters, and sketching some possible plots. Or, just wait until November 1 and just open your computer and see where your fingers lead you. Either way sign up so you can tally your wordcount and even if you don’t write a great novel, you can finish and say you did it.

Check out all their details and get ready to write.

Na No Wri Mo Young Writers Program: http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

Biblically themed art created with Japanese methods

The Biblical narrative depicted through traditional Japanese printmaking techniques.

Watanabe

Website: http://www.wheaton.edu/bgcmuseum/Exhibits/Sacred-Arts-Gallery

The Billy Graham Center Museum at Wheaton College presents “Beauty Given by Grace”, a brand new traveling exhibition of Japanese printmaker Sadao Watanabe. Composed of private collections, this exhibition brings together for the first time 50 of the artist’s original stencil prints, calendars, and cards. This special collection of work on biblical themes presents a Japanese artist of critical acclaim, profound originality, and relentless spiritual dedication. The BGC Museum serves proudly as the inaugural venue for this premier exhibit, on display from October 8, 2012 through March 24, 2013.

Sadao Watanabe (1913–1996) converted from Buddhism to Christianity at 17 years old. He expressed stories of his new faith with indigenous Japanese language and style, depicting biblical themes in an East Asian cultural milieu and using a traditional folk art of hand-cut-stencil dyeing, called “katazome”. The luminous works of Sadao Watanabe impart a unique visual legacy to contemporary sacred art. Well regarded in his homeland and in leading art institutions worldwide, Watanabe’s work was created to communicate biblical truth to his culture, be enjoyed by common people, and displayed in ordinary settings.
Reception

Info on planning your visit:

Regular Hours of Operation

Monday-Saturday 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM

Sunday 1:00 – 5:00 PM

Closed Thanksgiving Day and
between Christmas & New Years.

Admission Fee

No admission charge

Suggested donation:
Adults, $4
Senior Citizens/Students $3
Children (12 and under) $1
Families $10

Birds of Prey demonstration at Cantigny

Fall Festival, Saturday, October 13

This is coming quickly:

What: Walk on the Wild Side (Birds of Prey)
When:  October 18. 2012, 6:30-7:30 pm
Where: Education Center

More details: Free, family program,  regular parking fee applies.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED due to limited seating. No walk-ins. Please call 630-260-8162 or email register@cantigny.org to save your seat! Registration closes 24 hours before the program or when capacity is reached.

Bring your family out to Cantigny Park for a Walk on the Wild Side! Dates have been set for a fun-filled learning adventure. Be amazed with fascinating animal facts! Each presentation will also offer the opportunity to interact with live animals.

This evening’s program will feature a live birds of prey presentation from the Willowbrook Wildlife Center Staff. Learn about this facinating group of birds and see some raptors up close!

Save the date for the next Walk on the Wild Side presentation!
November 15 (6:30pm)-Simply Snakes

Also check out their other classes for homeschoolers:

Kandinsky Kids for Homeschoolers

In this popular class, students will create using a wide range of media including but not limited to all types of paint, clay, fabric, sculpture, printmaking, etc.

Instructor: Kari Kraus, Water Street Studios

Ages: 7-11 years
October 22, 29, November 5, 12
10:30-11:30am
Location: Education Center
$60 per participant, registration required. No parking fee.

Click here to register online and pay by debit/credit card

Click here to download a registration form and send by mail or fax.

Questions? Please call 630 260 8162.

Click here to review our program policies and directions to class locations.

If you are a Cantigny Member Plus, please call 630 260 8162 to register and receive your class discount of $5.00.

Southwest Suburban Children’s Choir

A new choir forming and registration is open for just another week.

What: Southwest Suburban Children’s Choir

When: Thursdays from 4-5 PM

Where: Hinsdale South High School in Darien

Website: http://www.swschoir.org/SWCChoir/Welcome.html

Mathletics!

I’ll have more to say about Mathletics on another day, but we love this website and how easily it motivates kids to learn and master their basic facts. I have lots to share about it’s many great resources, but for now, you can check it out for yourself.
Coming next week Mathletics will be hosting the American Math Challenge to help drum up some enthusiasm for math. Kids enjoy competition, interacting with kids from around the world, and having the potential to win! Follow the links below to get a jump on the American Math Challenge today.
American Math Challenge: October 16 & 17th, 2012
The American Math Challenge 2012

It’s FREE and FUN, for all schools and students, K-12

REGISTRATIONS OPEN NOW

PRACTICE FOR ALL STUDENTS STARTS MONDAY OCT. 8th
FULL COMPETITION EVENT ON October 16-17th, 2012

Game On! Click for video

Schools and students across America are currently registering to compete in the 2012 American Math Challenge!

Will YOUR school or class be on this year’s Hall of Fame?

REGISTER TODAY and get your students
EXCITED! about MATH!

It’s FUN, it’s completely FREE and there are prizes to be won!

GETTING STARTED IS EASY!

1. Register your e-mail at www.americanmathchallenge.com.  We recommend using a personal email address for the fastest and easiest registration.
(You only need one registration to secure a spot for your whole school!)

2. Wait for a confirmation link via e-mail. Click this link to let us know your registration is valid.

3. You will be taken back to our site to enter all of your school information (or, for students/parents, student information.)

Once your school is registered, you will get a SCHOOL ADMIN login to upload any number of students, classes, and teachers to your Registered School Account

Parents/Students registering on their own will receive a login for use on www.americanmathchallenge.com after October 8.

Students will compete in the American Math Challenge using Mathletics, an online Math program.
They will be tackling adaptive curriculum-based math questions and competing against other real student peers in timed mental math showdowns—all for great prizes!

Questions? Email us here!

See you at the Challenge!

The American Math Challenge Team
3P Learning USA
info@americanmathchallenge.com
1.866.387.9139

Brought to you by the award-winning MATHLETICS

Meeting for homeschoolers at IIT in Wheaton

This was forwarded through the Naperville Home Educators Yahoo group.

Looks like a great opportunity to give some input and hear about brand new opportunities for homeschoolers in a partnership with IIT.

at the Rice Campus

201 East Loop Road
Wheaton, Illinois 60189

October 2, 2012

Dear Home School aficionado:

We at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Rice Campus in Wheaton, would like to work with you and your students in their secondary education.

For everyone’s best quality of life, the staff at IIT realize that all citizens, both young and old, need to respect and appreciate the intricate and complex web of life on Earth, and understand its dependence on the abiotic factors that provide the edifice for our planet. In the words of the African environmentalist Baba Dioum “In the end, we will only conserve what we love; we will only love what we understand; and we will only understand what we are taught.”  At IIT, our mission is education—and an important topic within that endeavor is living sustainably, within the means of the earth, as we go about our daily lives.

We are trying to increase our own sustainability efforts on campus, and are including outreach into the community as part of those efforts. Thus, our staff would like to work with you and your students as we feel we can offer expertise in the teaching of environmental science—an appropriate theme for integrating the various disciplines of science with technology, mathematics, the humanities and the social sciences.  We have ideas for several different problem/project based learning offerings and would like to engage in discussion regarding how we can help you, with our facility and staff, in the education of your children.

To accommodate different schedules we will hold two meetings at the IIT Rice Campus: Wednesday, November 7th at 6:30PM, and Saturday, November 10th at 10:00AM.  We anticipate that the meetings will last 1.5 to 2 hours. At the gatherings we will ask for your input as to how we can help you in the education of your children within the themes of sustainability and science, while using the Rice Campus facility as our “Petri dish.”  We are open to your ideas and desire to gauge your interest in this collaboration.  We plan to outline some of our project ideas in the dialogue.

Please respond to me regarding your interest in this collaboration, as well as your availability for either one of these meetings at camasus@hawk.iit.edu.   Questions are also welcomed via email. Feel free to forward this letter to friends and colleagues whom you think might be interested in this project.

Hoping we can work together for our youth and their education,

Susan Camasta, PhD

Department of Mathematics and Science Education

School of Applied Technology

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago & Wheaton, IL