Photo cling

On Wednesday, August 18, Walgreen’s is offering a free photo cling, one per photo account. This is part of their seven days of deals going on this week. Note: If you are checking this on Tuesday evening, you will see their deal for Tuesday, but after midnight the photo cling should be their featured daily special.

Now, with a new school year just around the corner, I immediately thought about far more than just that cute picture of my kids languishing on my camera’s memory card.

These photo clings can be up to 11×17 in size. So, how much educational content can you cram into that space?

Here are some ideas I came up with:

– Time line figures

– Maps

– Diagrams

– First day of school photo

– School information (your schedule, expectations, inspirational quotes, etc.)

– A serene picture to serve as a mental pick-me-up on “those” days

– A flag

– Flags from around the world

– Presidents

You could even make a game out of it. Match countries with their flags, put presidents in order, put together a diagram of a flower or a model of the solar system.

I can seen your wheels turning, so go order your cling for free (you will have to pay shipping which is $5.99. Most deals you can opt to pick up in store and forgo the shipping charge, but that doesn’t appear to be the case with this product), and please share your ideas here or on our facebook page as well. And, if you decide to use it for that memorable picture from your summer vacation, it will also be well used.

Free and inspires creativity, that works for me!

Meteor Shower tonight

An easy science lesson for you tonight. A spectacular presentation without any effort on your part, aside from maybe providing the bug spray.

Here is the description from the National Geographic website:

The 2010 Perseids sky show reaches its peak Thursday night, with a moonless sky providing near-perfect observing conditions late Thursday into early Friday, astronomers say.

The Perseids should be most visible between 3 p.m. ET on August 12 and 2 a.m. ET on August 13. A very thin, waxing crescent moon will set about an hour after sunset, leaving behind a dark night sky for the Perseid meteors to shine. (Read about another sky show this week featuring a planetary triangle.)

Observers in Europe and North America should see the most meteors at the start of the peak, while in Asia the best show should be early Friday, according to Raminder Singh Samra, resident astronomer at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. (See asteroid and comet pictures.)

People in the Southern Hemisphere should be able to see the 2010 Perseids too, Samra said, but it won’t be as brilliant as up north.

—With reporting by Andrew Fazekas

This should already be visible now as the sun sets and will continue through the early morning hours.We should have a clear sky and a dim moon, perfect for viewing.

Here’s some more information on getting the best glimpse of the meteors, and if you want to learn a bit about the background to share with your kids as you watch, check out Space.com.

CLA Rummage sale

If anyone is interested, you might find some school equipment useful to your homeschool at this rummage sale at the old Arlington High School building, now Christian Liberty Academy. The article only really mentions lockers, but I am sure there will be a lot of other finds as well:

Rummage sale of furniture and equipment from old Arlington High School.

• When: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Aug. 12-13; 8 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Aug. 14.

• Where: In the cafeteria of Christian Liberty Academy, 502 Euclid Ave., Arlington Heights.

• Money raised: Will be put toward Christian Liberty Academy’s scholarship fund.

Pals around the Pond

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum offers lots of hands on learning for all ages.

On Wednesdays you can enjoy a time geared toward 3-6 year olds meeting Pals around their Pond or Pals on the Prairie.

Description:	Ages 3-6 Leave the classroom behind and discover the exceptional elements that make the North Pond a unique treasure in the city. To learn more about our early childhood classes, click here.
Registration Info:	Class topics vary. Cost: $10/member or $12/non-member. To register, fill out a registration form or email familyprograms@naturemuseum.org.

All ages are welcome to attend. If you have kids that might not fit the target audience, feel free to call about attending with them as well.

They have other events that are free with admission, like pond tours, meeting with a Ranger, and nature walks.
Enjoy these last few weeks of summer!

Six Flags Homeschool Day

2010 HOME SCHOOL DAY
Friday, August 27

Six Flags hosts the 15th annual Home School Day event on August 27. Enjoy a fun filled day at the park with your family and friends. A special all-you-can-eat Home School Day picnic is also available in our private picnic grove. Contact SFGAMspecialevents@sixflags.com for additional information.

Home School Day Flyer

HOME SCHOOL DAY PICNIC—ONLY $10.25

All-you-can-eat picnic buffet in our private picnic grove includes fried
chicken, hot dogs, meatless mostaccioli, potato salad, pasta salad,
potato chips, pickles, rolls and unlimited soft drinks. You may enter the
picnic grove any time from 11:30a.m.-1:00p.m.

EXCLUSIVE RIDE TIME

Purchase a Home School Day ticket and receive one hour of exclusive ride time on Superman Ultimate Flight,
Rue le Dodge and Condor. This exclusive ride time is available before the park opens from 9:00 a.m.-10:00a.m.
and is only available to people who have purchased Home School Day tickets.

Answers in Genesis

Thank you to Melissa for sending this in. A free video download from Answers in Genesis:

Already Gone – Video Download

Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it

by Ken Ham

Format: MP4

Ages: 15 & up

Publisher: Answers in Genesis–US

Download file size: 275 MB
High-speed connection highly recommended

The trends are frightening, but this DVD shows how to win back our families, our churches, and our world!

The next generation is already calling it quits on traditional church. Next Sunday, look around, two thirds of the young people in your church are already disengaged from the message they are hearing. And it’s not just happening on the nominal fringe; it’s happening in the most solid “Bible-believing” churches.

In this important DVD, Ken Ham discusses the profound cultural changes taking place in our Western world, as God’s Word is rejected and man’s fallible ideas are welcomed. Ken relates some of the shocking statistics presented in the book Already Gone that reveal the reasons why young people are leaving church and abandoning the faith of their parents.

The church is failing to give children real answers to their questions. We are losing our kids long before college. But this is far from a hopeless situation. Ken explains how we can fight back for our children, and what we can do to ground our children in the faith and prepare them for the challenges of the secular world.

Free Educator Screening



You and one (1) guest are invited to a Free Educator Screening of Space Station 3D and Hubble 3D. Additional guests will be charged $5.50 for each movie, or $10.00 for both. Join us and meet our Science Fair Vendors! We will raffle prizes and have a Q&A after Hubble 3D! Date: Tuesday August 24, 2010 Time: 4:30pm – Space Station 3D 5:30pm – Hubble 3D (please arrive a half hour prior to showtime to check-in and register) Q&A to follow Hubble 3D. Place: Randall 15 IMAX – 550 N. Randall Rd. Batavia, IL 60510 Get Map RSVP: Email or Call 630-659-6762. RSVP by noon on Monday August 23. IMPORTANT – Please leave us your first and last name, school name, theater, and number of people attending. If registering via email, you will receive an email confirmation. If registering via phone, you will not receive a phone call to confirm your space.
	SPACE STATION 3D: SPACE STATION 3D is the story of this unique partnership of 16 nations building a laboratory in outer space — a permanent facility for the study of the effects of long-duration exposure to zero gravity and the necessary first step towards the global co-operative effort needed if man is to someday set foot on Mars. It is a story of challenges, setbacks and triumphs…and ultimately, the shared international victory of men and women whose dreams exceed the limits of life on this Earth. Website Educator Guide
	HUBBLE 3D: Experience the gripping story — full of hope, crushing disappointment, dazzling ingenuity, bravery, and triumph – in HUBBLE 3D, the seventh awe-inspiring film from the award-winning IMAX Space Team. HUBBLE 3D recounts the amazing journey of the most important scientific instrument since Galileo’s original telescope and the greatest success in space since the Moon Landing — the Hubble Space Telescope. Accompany the space walking astronauts as they attempt some of the most difficult tasks ever undertaken in NASA’s history, and will experience up close the awesome power of the launches, the heartbreaking setbacks, and the dramatic rescues of this most powerful story. Website Educator Guide
Teachers! Book your Group Today! Call Jeannette at 630-659-6762 or email

Not back to school blog hop

A little fun for this “not back-to-school” time of year. I know many of you are looking for some inspiration, some fire to start off the year properly, some kind of plan to get you enthused for the year.

Emotions right now often run the gamut. Excitement, intimidation, trepidation, fear, doubt, joy. Maybe you feel excited, or maybe you wish you had more enthusiasm for the year to come.

To help us all get in the mood to not head back to school (you know, since we homeschool and aren’t going to school . . .) you can get a peak into the homes and daily organizers of some other homeschool moms over the next four weeks.

The first edition comes out this week and gives people an opportunity to share their curriculum plans for the upcoming year. If you click the icon above it will take you to the list of other blogs and curriculum sharing which start on Monday August 2. If last year is any indication, hundreds of families will participate over the next month, and they will show you many different styles, ideas, family sizes, student ages, and approaches to homeschooling.

TOS sale

I wanted to let you all know about a special on a great homeschool magazine going on just this weekend. The Old Schoolhouse is a quarterly publication with over 200 pages in each issue. I have appreciated the many articles on homeschool organization, maintaining your focus, and special tips to add some fun to your day. Once or twice a year they have a great sale going on the magazine, and one of those times is this weekend.

If you missed attending a homeschool convention this year, or find yourself needing a little encouragement as we head into a new school year, you will enjoy the free gift that comes with a 2 year subscription — Schoolhouse Expo to Go. Read about the deal, and check out the link below:

TOS Magazine has a VERY exciting special happening from now until August 1, only. Normally our two-year subscriptions are $39, but right now they are $17.95 AND anyone who subscribes for those two years will receive for FREE our Schoolhouse Expo to Go which is hours and hours of our recent (Spring) online convention recordings. Speakers like Susan Wise Bauer, Diana Waring, Todd Wilson, Mark Hamby, Deborah Wuehler, Andrew Pudewa, Carol Barnier, Amanda Bennett, and more are all YOURS, free with a two year subscription. Here is the link to check out and share: http://tinyurl.com/2d9y755

If you already subscribe you can add on during this deal to get another 2 years and the free Expo.

Hope you find this helpful!

Fall High School Science classes

Check out Kathy Wentz’s website with all the details on the classes she teaches for homeschoolers at the McHenry County College.

Here is some of the info:
Environmental Chemistry Lab ($99)
This course consists of 16 hours (over 8 weeks) of high school level Chemistry laboratory exercises and related discussions while stressing the Chemistry of Earth’s environment. Lab work will include lessons in lab safety, metric measurements, density, acids and bases, titration, precipitates, endo and exothermic reactions, chromatography, and more. Students should be currently studying Chemistry or be prepared to do some reading in between classes. These labs follow every major curriculum’s scope and sequence. Oct 1-Nov 19

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Biology: Microscopic Survey ($99)
This course consists of 16 hours (over 8 weeks) of high school level Biology microscope exercises and related discussions. Lab work will include lessons in lab safety, microscope work (including making and staining slides, cytology, mitosis and meiosis), DNA, and microscopic life. Each student will make their own lab notebook of algae, protists, and microscopic life forms and learn how to use a biologic key. Students should be currently studying Biology or be prepared to do some reading in between classes. These labs follow every major curriculum’s scope and sequence. Fri. Oct. 3-Nov. 21