Homeschool Ski Days!

Despite the extreme lack of snow again this winter, it is winter, somewhere. They are making snow for skiing not too far north of us and they have some deals for homeschoolers on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Check out their flyer with all the details on their website: http://www.wilmotmountain.com/groupsales/2012-13homeschoolflier.pdf

WILMOT MOUNTAIN, INC.
11931 FOX RIVER RD.
WILMOT, WI 53192

PHONE: 262-862-2301

Home School Tuesdays & Thursdays!

From their website:

Bring your home schooled children to Wilmot Mountain on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the 2012-13 Season! Enjoy our special discounted prices and let them enjoy our outdoor snow sports first hand! All you need is your home school identification for you and your child to ski/snowboard all day, all night at these excellent prices. Don’t forget to use your complimentary group lesson available for anyone 8 years and older!
– Groups of 15 or more MUST book at least 48 hours in advance. Please check out the Group Sales
page at www.WilmotMountain.com to find our official booking form and download our
Group Leader Handbook for step by step instructions and answers to frequently asked questions!
– Group Ski/Snowboard Lessons are available through our Snow Sports School at 11 am and 7 pm daily.
They are available for ages 8 and older. Private lessons are also available for an additional charge
anytime from 10:30 am til 7pm upon request. Ask our Snow Sports School for details!

Ski and lift rates start at $10 for kids under 6 and $28 for people 7 years and up.

Free museums!

We rang in the new year with a doosy of a flu in our house, but now we are through it, settled back into our school routine, and even looking for a fun day outing! Fortunately, there are lots of opportunities to enjoy museums in Chicago for FREE this month:

(Hat tip to Free things to do in Chicago)

The Adler Planetarium: – January: 14, 15, 16, 17, 28, 29, 30, 31

The Art Institute of Chicago – January: Every Weekday from January 7 – January 31

Charnley-Persky House Museum – FREE guided tours are offered every Wednesday at 12 Noon. Tours are limited to 15 guests, first-come, first-served.

Chicago Children’s Museum – FREE for all visitors every Thursday, 5-8 pm. FREE on the first Sunday of each month (January 6) for children 15 and under.

Chicago History Museum – January 21

Clarke House Museum – CHICAGO’S OLDEST HOUSE – Wednesdays

DuSable Museum of African American Art – Sundays

Field Museum – January 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 28, 30

Glessner House Museum: – Wednesdays

Jane Addams Hull House Museum – Free every day

Loyola University Museum of Art – Tuesdays

Museum of Contemporary Art – Tuesdays

Museum of Science and Industry – January 14 – 18, 21 – 25, 28 – 31

Museum of Surgical Science – Tuesdays

The National Museum of Mexican Art – Free Tuesdays to Sundays

Notebaert Nature Museum – January 17, 24, 31

Shedd Aquarium –January 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29

Smart Museum of Art at University of Chicago – Free every day

Pirates of Penzance at Wheaton College

What an amazing opportunity from Wheaton College just for homeschoolers. Check this out and be sure to share this event information with others! Spread the word. 🙂

We’d like to share a special invitation to the homeschooling community to attend a preview of “The Pirates of Penzance” at pre-performance prices.

Wheaton College’s Opera Music Theater will perform popular Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera January 16-19 at 7:30 p.m. On Tuesday, January 15 at 7:30 p.m. the dress rehearsal is open to our homeschooling friends at the half price cost of $5 a ticket.

All performances, directed by Andy Mangin, will take place in Pierce Memorial Chapel, located on the southeast corner of Washington and Franklin streets in Wheaton. Tickets may be purchased at the door. For more information, call the Conservatory of Music at 630.752.5098.

Sincerely

LaTonya Taylor, Director of Media Relations

Lori Hart, Media Relations Assistant
Wheaton College
501 College Ave. | Illinois, 60187
Office: 630.752.5015
Wheaton Experts
www.wheaton.edu
For Christ and His Kingdom

Home Depot kids’ workshop

It’s the first Saturday of the month, which means take your little builders to Home Depot!

JANUARY WORKSHOP

Diamond Birdhouse

(Finished painted example)

Dates:
Saturday, January 5, 2012

Time:
9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Be sure to call to verify. I took a few of my kids last month to make picture frames and they had a blast. My son especially loves being able to really hammer and produce something.

They also had pins and certificates for all the kids when they finished their projects. They were out of the little orange aprons when we went, but there is supposed to one of those at most of the events as well. Great, free fun!

Free STEM workshop in Dekalb

SciGirls Professional Development Training

Date: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 – 8:30am – 4:00pm

Location: Holmes Student Center – Skyroom 340 Carroll Avenue Dekalb, IL 60115

Thank you for your interest in the SciGirls Professional Development Training.

SciGirls is a PBS Kids television series out to change how tweens think about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM! In each episode, join bright, curious real girls in putting STEM to work. Then check out the website to play games, watch episodes, share projects, and connect with other SciGirls in a totally safe social networking environment!

SciGirls Trainings integrate inquiry-based STEM instruction with a commitment to gender equity. Educators attending SciGirls Trainings will learn the latest research for exciting and engaging girls (and boys) in STEM; experience hands-on STEM activities; and gain access to free materials for hands-on, video-enhanced activities that put a creative twist on teaching STEM.

There is no fee to attend this training.

For more information and to register: http://www.ngcproject.org/scigirls-professional-development-training-3

Advent service for children at Wheaton College

Children’s Worship: Interactive Advent Meditations Saturday

December 15, 2012, 10 – 11am

Location: Billy Graham Museum Rotunda

The Billy Graham Center Museum at Wheaton College is hosting a series of one-hour worship services designed to engage children with the wonder and anticipation of the Advent season. Through a unique storytelling format and multi-sensory materials, visitors of all ages are invited to explore stories from the Bible about the birth of Jesus. Participants will have opportunity to respond to the presentations with simple arts and crafts, prayer, journaling, reading, visual arts, and hands-on materials for retelling their own story.

Services will be held Saturday December 15 at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and Sunday December 16 at 4 p.m. The events are free and open to the public and take place in the Billy Graham Center Museum Rotunda area. Stories in the same weekend are identical. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

The Billy Graham Center Museum, located at 500 College Avenue in Wheaton, offers free parking and is wheelchair accessible. For more information, call 630.752.5909.

Research 4 Reptiles

Wanted to share with you about an amazing organization — Research 4 Reptiles.

Research 4 Reptiles, LLC. is a privately-owned company, founded by Holly Zak, whose mission is to provide challenging, hands-on, field-based programs for participants ages 12 years to adult to inspire enthusiasm for and understanding of native Illinois reptile and amphibian species.

This is not your ordinary outdoor education program!

What makes their programs different from the usual outdoor education classes ?

Participants assist in real herpetological research whereby they help survey areas for species.
Participants help to identify species, mark them for identification, measure them, and record information about each animal capture.
Participants learn through critical inquiry, delving into research with inquiring questions!
Every class is limited to 8 students.
All classes are held outdoors at prairie/pond sites within Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington, Illinois (approximately 15 miles south of Joliet).
Species conservation and environmental protection is emphasized.
Best of all, the data collected from research is compiled and given to biological staff at Midewin for species’ management purposes!

3 juvenile painted turtles at Buttonbush Pond

Other opportunities you can find on their website:

see Internship Opportunities and the online store.

If you have a herp lover they have gift certificates available that might make a great Christmas gift.

Also, be sure to check back in January to find OPEN ENROLLMENT for summer programs!

Contact info: Research 4 Reptiles, LLC.
508 Pheasant Chase Drive
Bolingbrook, IL 60490

Email: research4reptiles@comcast.net
Phone: 630-337-0757
Website: www.research4reptiles.biz

This is a sponsored post from a paid advertiser with our site. For more information about advertising with the Chicagoland Homeschool Network, please email me at info@chicagolandhomeschoolnetwork.com.

Free Polar Adventure Days in Chicago

This will happen a few times this winter, but this weekend is the first one:

Have fun while enjoying all the wonders of nature at the eighth annual
POLAR ADVENTURE DAYS at NORTHERLY ISLAND

First 500 visitors receive a Polar Adventure Day mug filled with hot chocolate.

Dress for the outdoors. Call to confirm scheduled activities (phone number below). These events are free and no registration is required.

See Siberian huskies, wolves and other live animals
Enjoy music from the Old Town School of Folk Music
Explore the island on snowshoes (if there’s snow)
Make a nature-inspired winter craft
Encounter birds of prey from Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation
Sip hot cocoa while strolling across the prairie
Take a bird hike led by Wendy Paulson, co-sponsored by Audubon Chicago, Openlands & The Field Museum

Date: December 8, 2012 along with January 19, 2013 and February 16, 2012

Start Time: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Cost: FREE

Location : Northerly Island is located at 1521 S. Linn White Drive, on the Museum Campus

312.745.2910

Free Admission

It’s winter in Chicago – come out and enjoy it!

Live Nativity in Bartlett

When: Dec. 21-22
7-9pm
Where: Faith World Outreach Church
Directions: Rte 59 Bartlett, just 1 mile north of Army Trail Rd.
Cost: It’s free!

Expierence the Nativity from the warmth of your car. You get a cd with the
Christmas Story, some cookies , and hot cider. Then you drive around and see
live actors and animals while listening to the story of Jesus’ birth from your
car.
The church has done this for six years now and many have enjoyed making it part of their holiday tradition.

Monkey Joe’s Peanut Free Night

A fan on Facebook, Heather, shared this:

My daughter has such severe peanut allergies that she is unable to go to school so is homeschooled.

Monkey Joe’s in Wheaton is having peanut free nights.

February 5th and February 28th.

Kids 2 and under are $5.00

Kids 3 and over are $9.99.
The address is 286 E. Geneva rd. Wheaton, IL
630 653-5867 for comments or questions.

I’m sure there are others around in the same situation that would enjoy this type of event. Please share with others.