While you will find lots of used curriculum sales in the area this time of year, you might also enjoy adding some new books to your shelves. The Scholastic Warehouse Sale is in full swing, but will be wrapping up soon. Depending on where you are your nearest one is closing the 17th or the 24th, so time is running out.

These sales offer you some great deals on those books that traditionally schooled kids get through those little book flyers that go home on a regular basis from the classroom teacher. In these warehouse sales you get to walk the aisles of their store room and find some great deals. If you are going, be sure to register online and print a coupon before heading out. They have lots of great deals to tuck away for birthday or Christmas gifts, or to simply breathe some new life into your homeschool bookshelf.

Check out all the details at the Scholastic website.

CHARIS (formerly Kane County Christian Homeschoolers) is having their annual used curriculum sale this week.

I have been to their sale in the past and it is usually pretty well attended and has a decent variety of materials available for purchase. If you’re a used curriculum sale addict like me, you won’t miss it.

What: The Used Curriculum Sale

When: Friday, May 18 from 9-11:00 am

Where: Sugar Grove Community Center. 141 S. Main St. Sugar Grove.

Click on the Get Coupon button on their site and you can get a coupon for free admission to a number of public gardens. You do need to give your name, email, zip code, pick your garden, and indicate the number in your party. The coupon is good for 2 admissions, but the site says to print as many as you need for your group.

In Illinois, included in the list are:

• Cantigny
• Chicago Botanic Garden
• Elmhurst College Arboretum
• Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden
• Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens
• Rockford Park District
• The Morton Arboretum
• University of Illinois Arboretum

More all across the country, so share with your in and out of state friends as well.

The weather here in Chicago is supposed to be gorgeous on Friday so grab the sunscreen and a picnic lunch, and enjoy a field trip!

HOME SCHOOLING PROGRAM

We are pleased to announce that we will be offering a Home Schooling time block.  This will be on Wednesdays from 1:30pm – 3:00pm, beginning Wednesday, May 2nd.  The cost will be $8.00 per jumper.  Families larger than 4 kids, there will be a $2 discount for additional siblings (not cousins, or nieces or nephews or grandkids or friends…).  Each jumper must have a signed waiver by their parent or legal guardian.  No exceptions, just like in any other case.

847.608.0600 office

http://www.epicairpark.com

http://www.facebook.com/epicair

“You Ready To Jump!?”

Dodgeball, Trampoline Arena, Foam Pit, Long Tracks, Basketball, Parties, Events

Their registration fee is only $35 per family, and classes are only $5 per hour!!

Visit the website, view the course offerings, print out a registration form, and mail it in to Laura. Be sure to call ahead to check on class availability as classes are filling to capacity already.

They would still love to hear from you if you are interested in Biology, ACT Prep, or the possibility of other high school classes in the future.

They have a new art teacher offering 2 drawings classes and also offer private violin, guitar, and possibly piano.

*An exciting addition to the Fall semester will be Expert Night. Students will have the chance to be the expert on any topic of their choice, and like a science fair, will have the opportunity to show off their projects and displays in late fall. This event will be for all their students, Pre-K through high school!

Website: www.mosaicenrichment.com

Where: MOSAIC meets at St. John Lutheran Church in Joliet off of Rte. 30 & Hennepin by the Louis Joliet Mall

Contact: Laura at 815-603-5434 or laura@mosaicenrichment.com

The big event of the year!!! Our annual used (and some new) curriculum sale!

Tuesday, April 24
Elk Grove Village Library (google for directions)
7-9pm

We have a full house planned.
This promises to be one of our largest curriculum sales in years. Lots to choose
from!! Bring cash in SMALL denominations to make purchases. Doors open at
7:00pm. Admission is free!

Beacon is a Christian support group for parents who home educate their children.
Our membership is open to any home schooling family for support. Our vision is
to help homeschool families achieve their vision. What we offer is a DREAM -
Discussion, Resources, Education, Activities, Mentoring.

Beaconhomeschool.net

This begins what will hopefully be a new feature here. Not every week, but a couple times a month on Friday I will share some of our experiences with field trips in the Chicago area with tips on setting up your own.

To kick it off, lets start with a place that we just visited recently, Cantigny in Wheaton (but I always think of it as in Winfield . . .)

What you will find there:

Cantigny offers two museums including a house open for touring and a museum centered around the First Division. They also have beautiful grounds that are beginning to bloom. They are beautiful in each season, especially if you have nature lovers in your group.

We are currently studying the American Revolution and they had a great sample of a revolutionary soldier and various artifacts on display to help my kids really visualize all of what we have been learning, reading about, and discussing lately. If you are studying more recent American history you will find even more to complement your studies, but even going back to the beginning of our nation you will find something.

The Tanks! It’s what I remember from childhood visits, and it’s what my kids look forward to on each return trip as well. Whether they are imagining they are a soldier on a mission of their own, or pretending it is a hideout, or just climbing for the sake of climbing, the tanks are a big draw for kids of all ages. Of course, climb at your own risk, and be careful. These are real tanks. You will want to pick a day with decent weather so you can get a good climb in.

Classes and tours. You are free to roam the grounds and enjoy the signs, information, and displays on your own time and with your own focus, or you can sign up for a field trip or one of their many classes. They offer homeschool classes periodically (look for these to start up again in the fall) for additional fees. They cover various subjects including art, science, nature study, and history. See their calendar of events on their website for more details.

If you are going:

The grounds do have a per vehicle fee, but if you go to your library you can use your card to get a Museum Adventure Pass and get in for free. We chose this option and it was quick and easy and saved us $5.

There are often school groups touring as well. However, we found them fairly easy to avoid so we could enjoy the museums, tanks, and walkways without a crowd.

Cantigny offers a great field trip destination for a mixed age group. Lots of run around space and climbing action, and then opportunities to settle in and really learn from the informative and high quality displays throughout the facilities. My younger kids were a little scared at first of the First Division Museum displays. It is dark and has war sounds in the background. They are really well done though, and you learn so much on your walk through. If you need to split your group to enjoy it, do so, but kids of all ages can really learn quite a bit from the walk through.

And, be sure to bring your picnic lunch to enjoy at their tables near the parking area. We had a full, fun morning packed with new learning opportunities and conversation prompts. Definitely a field trip destination for every couple years or so.

Join other homeschoolers to take a closer look at the temporary exhibit “The Blues: From the Heart and Soul” and learn about Chicago Blues music through hands-on activities.

Price includes Museum admission for a participant child. No program charge for chaperones.

24-hour hotline for directions and program updates: 847-968-3113

Instructor: Nicole Stocker

Come and join math, science, engineering, & technology experts from a wide variety of careers.

• Meet scientists, engineers, & technicians
• Ask career questions of the experts
• Ask experts about educational pathways leading to specific careers
• Discuss career fields with professional association representatives
• Attend panel discussions on career areas
• Access career expo resources

The STEM Career Expo is a cooperative effort of Kane and DuPage county schools, hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Website: http://ed.fnal.gov/programs/careerfair/

For more information, send e-mail to edreg@fnal.gov.

When: Thursday, March 29, 2012

What: Jim Bresnahan, Elliot Carlson, John Lundstrom, Jon Parshall
REFIGHTING THE PACIFIC WAR

Program & Live Webcast — 6:00 p.m. (CT)

Cost: Members free / non-members $10

Refighting the Pacific War is published by the U.S. Naval Institute Press. Contributors to this alternative WWII history include the noted military historians William Bartsch, John Lundstrom, Douglas Smith, Barrett Tillman, and H. P. Willmott, among others. In a roundtable discussion format, more than thirty veterans and historians address “what if” questions about the war in the Pacific. Their differing views on possible outcomes of various campaigns and the implications of those changes on the course of history are certain to provoke debate. All major naval campaigns and key battles are discussed along with such questions as whether Japan could have inflicted even greater damage at Pearl Harbor, how Admiral Yamamoto might have won at Midway, and the impact of that victory on the direction of the war. The book also explores whether the war was inevitable and whether the conflict could have ended without the use of the atomic bomb. Vice Admiral Yoji Koda, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (Ret.), provides the book’s introduction.

Please note: To guarantee seating for this event a reservation is required. Call 312.374.9333 or click here. Latecomers are seated at discretion of management. There is no refund or exchange of tickets.

Sponsored by U.S. Naval Institute with special thanks to Captain Edward A. Studzinski, USNR (Ret.), for his generous assistance in making the success of Refighting the Pacific War: An Alternative History of World War II, including the electronic version and USNI sponsorship of this program possible.

Pritzker Military Library

104 S. Michigan Ave.

Chicago, IL 60603

312.374.9333