West Chicago Public Library Nature-Made program

Received via email (note, this is not a homeschool specific event, but they reached out knowing this is something many homeschoolers might enjoy):
Homeschooling families in the West Chicago area-
please save the date for the following programs at the West Chicago Library!
Save the date- Friday, September 9, 2016; 3:00-4:15 pm
Nature-Made at the West Chicago Public Library
Let’s connect to the great outdoors around us with some fun nature-inspired art! We will have various art stations set up for kids to make their own unique works of art. Our creations will be designed using small natural art materials like flowers, leaves, pinecones and more! During this program we will use a generous donation of 30 pansy flower plants from Ball Horticultural. No registration required, just drop-in. Kids ages 5-11 years old are welcome. Parents and other adult caregivers are encouraged to join their children and have fun making together!(Please note: children under 9 years old must be accompanied by an adult.)
http://westchicago.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=4899&backTo=Calendar&startDate=2016/09/01

WWII Event

World War II Days

From midwayvillage.com:

Experience the World War II Era

Saturday, September 26, 2015  11 am until 5 pm

Sunday, September 27, 2015  11 am until 4 pm

World War II Days includes elaborate and realistic battles complete with tanks, artillery, armored vehicles, and exciting pyrotechnic displays. Saturday the battle shows are featured at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm. Sunday the battle time is 2:30 pm.

The popular World War II Days returns this year and promises to be bigger and better than ever!  With more than 1,200 re-enactors representing the soldiers of the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Italy and Japan.  In addition to the action on the battlefields, enjoy the skirmishes in the Village and Woods, demonstrations and displays in the buildings, woods encampments and the ambiance of the beautiful venue.

Maps of the event site will be available when visitors arrive showcasing the battlefield and the various encampments and attractions. Everything we offer will be held rain or shine.

Visitors will also experience:

  • Elaborate 1940s displays in historical buildings on the museum property acting as the back drop of a European village during World War II
  • Encampments of Allied and Axis troops in the Midway Village woods and realistic skirmishes integrated in the historic village
  • Soldiers’ base camps filled with period vehicles, tents and artifacts
  • Shop for World War II memorabilia from numerous vendors
  • Food and refreshments available for purchase
  • A  1940s era USO-style swing dance 7 pm, Saturday, September 26.  The public admission is $7.  Registered re-enactors and vendors are free with a wristband.  Admission is paid for the dance at the door the evening of the dance.

This is one of the largest World War II era re-enactments in the United States with over 1,200 uniformed re-enactors from 40 states representing soldiers from the United States, Great Britain, France, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Japan, Italy and Germany along with 70 to 80 vintage tanks, halftracks and other 1940s era military vehicles!

Back By Popular Demand – Friday Evening Tour
The Behind The Lines tour will take place again on Friday evening from 5:30 pm until 7:30 p.m.   Tour guides will take  you through the Village to get an up close look at what is in store for the weekend.  Space is limited. Make reservations for the tour by contacting 815-397-9112.

Looks amazing, but there’s more! School groups can get a sneak peak on Friday as the troops roll in. Here’s the link to the form to register as a school group, you will want to do this soon as space is limited.

Illumination Celebration at Wheaton College

Received a notice about this event via email:

Illumination Celebration!

Illumination Celebration!

Saturday, April 11, 2015, 1 – 4pm

Location Meyer Science Center Building

In celebration of the United Nations’ International Year of Light, Wheaton College hosts a free open house featuring science- and light-themed fun! The event takes place on campus at the Meyer Science Center from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 11.

This family-friendly event invites children and families to learn how light-based technologies work, enjoy interactive, hands-on labs, and (weather permitting) use our state-of-the-art equipment for solar observations.

The Meyer Science Center is located at 430 Howard Street in Wheaton; parking is available in the Howard Street parking lot, or on the east side of the Billy Graham Center. For more information, please call the Office of Media Relations at 630.752.5015.

Silver Dollar City Homeschool Rates

Silver Dollar City has a homeschool weekend in the fall

Event Details

  • Exclusive Homeschool classes available! Tickets must be pre-purchased.
  • Continue to watch the website for a Homeschool Weekend Schedule of Activities.
  • Registration at Guest Relations Horseshoe from 8:30-Noon (pick up FREE goodies).
  • The Marvel Cave Mystery Tour is back in 2014! Join fellow spelunkers as you travel through Marvel Cave attempting to solve the mystery of what nearly wiped out our Gray Bat population a couple decades ago. Complete a student workbook as you go from station to station gathering evidence and solving equations to help you determine the culprit. Book early, only 1 tour available.
  • Meet master craftsmen and watch them in action as we Salute The Great American Cowboy during National Harvest Festival.
Event Ticket Prices
Adult (age 12+):$47.00 + tax $50.51
Child (age 4-11):$37.00 + tax $39.77Price includes 2-day admission.

Ticket Details

Meal tickets available and include buffets! These optional meal tickets are charged in addition the admission price.

• Adult: $11.82 ($12.70)

• Child: $6.33 ($6.80)

Or you can use this special Homeschool rate with a code anytime, it looks like. Check the web for all the details.

(Thank you, Kristen!)

Fermilab adventures

Check this out from Fermilab:

Fermilab Science Adventures — January – May 2014

Fermilab: Explore the Science Around You

The Spring Science Adventure class list, registration instructions and a downloadable registration form are available on our website. http://ed.fnal.gov/sciadv

In addition to many favorite classes, look for these new and returning adventures:

January 25, 2014 – Magnetic Magic, grades 1-4

February 1, 2014 – Snow Crystals, grades K-5

March 1, 2014 – Girls Scientific Salon, grades 4-7

April 26, 2014 – Creativity and Circuitry, grades 3-5 – NEW!

May 3, 2014 – The Bugs are Back! grades 2-4

Spread the word to your friends. To be added to our e-mail notification list, contact sdahl@fnal.gov.

Links to Upcoming Public Events:

Fermilab Family Open House – February 9, 2014, 1:00 – 5:00 PM

The FREE open house will be most appropriate for families with children in grades 3 and up. Tours restricted to those ages 10 and up. Go to the website to register for the tours. Watch the website for updates.

Visit the Fermilab Education Office at Family Science Days at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting

February 15-16, 2014, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Family Science Days

Family Science Days are FREE and open to all. Explore interactive science exhibits, learn about cool science jobs, and have your questions answered by scientists! This free community science showcase features hands-on demos, shows, and other activities appropriate for K-12 children and their families. Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IlL 60601.

Wonders of Science (Ages 7-12) – April 6, 2014, 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Tickets: $4.00/person (nonrefundable). Contact edreg@fnal.gov (preferred) or 630-840-8259 with questions. Printable registration forms available on our website at: http://eddata.fnal.gov/lasso/program_search/wos_form.html

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)) High School Career Expo April 23, 2014, 5:30 – 8:30 PM

The program, held at Fermilab’s Wilson Hall, is FREE and no registration is required.

Fermilab Outdoor Family Fair (Ages 5-12) June 8, 2014, 1:00 – 4:00 PM

Activities include walking the emerging tallgrass prairie, netting for land and water critters and visiting the bison herd. The fair is FREE.

Get to Know the Lederman Science Center

Explore Fermilab science from a kid’s point of view! Bring your family for a guided tour of Lederman Science Center exhibits on the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 AM to noon. No registration is required.

Fermilab Science Adventures is also a Facebook Group.

If you are a Facebook member, go to the top search box and search for “Fermilab Science Adventures” and click “Ask to Join Group” on the top right. As a member you can read and post questions and comments to the other members of this group. You can also have online chats with other members of the group.

Contact Program Staff

Marge Bardeen, Education Office Manager, mbardeen@fnal.gov

Susan Dahl, sdahl@fnal.gov

Andrea Cox, avarry@fnal.gov

Six Flags Reading Program Sign up

We always look forward to our annual visit to Six Flags Great America. Now is the time to prepare for it and motivate the kids to keep reading as well.

Follow the link to register your homeschooled kids to earn free admission for completing 6 hours of reading. https://feedback.sixflags.com/rts/default.aspx

Ready, Set, GO!

The Six Flags Read to Succeed Program is now accepting registrations for the 2013-2014 school year.

Go Big this school year when you and your students participate in the Six Flags 2013-2014 Read to Succeed Program.

Register for Read to Succeed 2013-2014

If you participated last year, your online account is still active. You can login and confirm your information is still correct and make any updates, if needed.

If you are new to the program, registration is now open so you can sign up today. Once you login to your account, you can download everything you need to get started from your Teacher Toolbox in your online account. Your Teacher Toolbox will have the Student Reading Log, Parent Letter and instructional guides. Your students can begin logging their hours as soon as you hand out the Student Reading Logs.

We appreciate your dedication to encouraging students to read and look forward to another successful school year.

Sincerely,

The Six Flags Read to Succeed Team
sixflags.com/read

Free Museum Day September 28, 2013

For one day you can enter a museum for free! (I know we are a little spoiled around here with all the great museums and so many with free days for us Illinoisans)

The Smithsonian Magazine hosts this event, so you can check out their site for all the details and to register.

The ticket is good for two people, and is limited to one per household, so please keep that in mind.

However, there are some great places on the list – SciTech in Aurora, Graue Mill in Oak Brook, Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago,  and more!

Check it out and please pass it along.

Cookies with the Congressman

A unique field trip opportunity to kick off back-to-school season.
Cookies with the Congressman!
When: Tues. August 13th 10-11:30am

What: Meet Congressman Randy Hultgren (a homeschool dad), tour the legislative office in Geneva, hear what a Congressman does, and ask him a question or two! Open to all homeschool families, so spread the word. No cost. This event is an open house, so come and go as you please.

Where: 1797 W. State Street Suite A, Geneva, IL 60134

For further questions please call Susan Russell 847-508-7492 or email me at suzrussell1 @ gmail . com

Primrose Farm event — FREE!

Historic Plaque

Our homeschool group enjoyed a field trip at this farm last year and I appreciated that it was different than other living history farms. It seems the common era for farms around Chicagoland falls somewhere around the 1840s. Primrose settles in around the 1930s and has a whole different feel to it. This would be a great multi-generational event as some in the earlier generation might even remember some of the artifacts and such around the farm and enjoy sharing some of their own personal history.

Received this info via email:

FREE to the public!
Saturday, March 23rd AND Sunday, March 24th!
9:00AM – 4:00PM each day

As winter winds down, farms begin to bustle with activity. Planting
begins and spring cleaning starts even before buds blossom! Primrose
Farm is a 1930s living history farm.

Participating in the following activities:
–planting potatoes or other vegetables in the garden
–broadcast oats in the field
–spring cleaning in the kitchen
–white washing in the barn
–wood-fired oven cooking demonstration

Where: Primrose Farm,  5N726 Crane Road, Saint Charles, IL

Check out their website: http://www.primrosefarmpark.com/

Educator’s Night at the Museum in Sycamore

Midwest Museum of Natural History

Hi Homeschool families!

The Midwest Museum of Natural History is holding an educators’ open house on Thursday, February 28, 4:30-6:30 pm. The event is for teachers, scout leaders, homeschool parents, and other educators in the community. Explore the Museum, enjoy refreshments, and learn about the resources the Museum has to offer. The event is free. Please rsvp by calling the Museum at 815-895-9777 or reply to this email.

We hope to see you there!

Molly Trickey

Executive Director

Calendar of Events
A quick view of events, classes and other things of interest. Enjoy!

Coming up…

Heart Dissection
February 16

Big Run Wolf Ranch
March 16

STEM Exploration Lab
March 30

Educators’ Night at the Museum

Thursday, February 28, 4:30-6 pm

You’re invited! Join us for an open house for educators at the Midwest Museum of Natural History in Sycamore.

Explore the Museum, enjoy refreshments, meet our live animals, and learn about the programs we offer, including our new Educator Resource Boxes.

The event is FREE, but please RSVP by calling 815-895-9777 or email information@mmnh.org

Educator Resource Boxes are supported by a grant from the DeKalb County Community Foundation.

Where: Midwest Museum of Natural History
425 West State Street • Sycamore, Illinois 60178
Phone: (815) 895-9777

Website: www.MMNH.org