Tag: homeschool

Lego Learning Opportunity!

Just came across a fun opportunity for educators from the Lego company:

Now through August 2009, LEGO® Education is hosting an activity challenge for educators of all grades and subject areas!

The LEGO® Smart™ Creativity Contest begins with your imagination and ends with great prizes, online recognition, and the chance to share your activity with thousands of students across the nation!

The task is simple.

Create an activity using only the
bricks included in a LEGO Smart Kit

Educators are being challenged to use the kits’ contents to develop a hands-on activity for their students. This can range from a simple build to a more advanced mathematical problem. You’re the creator, so let your imagination lead you!

Check out Lego’s site to request your own kit, submit your idea, and enter for your chance to win!

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for sharing this news.

Barnes and Noble Reading Program

I hope you already take advantage of any summer reading program at your local library, and now you can also enroll your child in a reading incentive program through Barnes and Noble.

A very user friendly program that anyone can enjoy . . . Simply go to Barnes and Noble’s Summer Reading Program and print out the summer reading journal form. Students must simply read 8 books, write them down, and bring in the form anytime between May 26 and September 7. Couldn’t get much easier than that!

While there you can check out their Eduator’s Kit with more ideas for getting and keeping your kids in a book. The theme this summer draws on  Rick Riordan’s series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians.

The form has these books listed as available as a reward for participating:

Grades 1 & 2:

Abe Lincoln’s Hat by Martha Brenner
Biscuit Takes a Walk by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Camping Out by Mercer Mayer
Curious George: Piñata Party/Jorge el curioso y la piñata by H. A. Rey
Fancy Nancy: The Dazzling Book Report by Jane O’Connor
Little Bear’s Visit Else by Holmelund Minarik

GRADES 3 & 4:

Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith
Clarice Bean, Don’t Look Now by Lauren Child
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary
Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World by Mildred Pitts Walter
Moonwalk: The First Trip to the Moon by Judy Donnelly
Pick of the Litter by Bill Wallace
El ratoncito de la moto by Beverly Cleary
Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One by Judy Blume
Sugar Plum Ballerinas: Plum Fantastic by Whoopi Goldberg

GRADES 5 & 6:

The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles
Beacon Street Girls #1: Worst Enemy/Best Friends by Annie Bryant
Ben and Me by Robert Lawson
Lady Margaret’s Ghost by Elizabeth M. Jones
Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Schooled by Gordon Korman
Sounder by William H. Armstrong
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin

Apologia Notebooking Giveaway!

Apologia has become synonomous with engaging, high quality science in the homeschool community. Now, a new product is available in conjunction with these great books (Read on, post your own blurb, and have a chance to win one! Taken from Jeannie Fulbright’s blog):

Apologia is now producing notebooking journals that accompany each of the elementary science books. Both Botany and Astronomy are now available.

These journals are beautiful, spiral bound notebooks that will save you time and money. You won’t have to print and keep up with your child’s notebook pages, buy and maintain page protectors, or purchase and compile binders…everything that makes notebooking time-consuming and labor intensive for mom. Also, your child will adore having their own notebooking journal.

Each of the notebooking journals includes:

  • A daily schedule for those who like to have a plan or would like their children to complete the book on their own
  • Templates for written narrations, the notebooking activities and experiments
  • Scripture Copywork, with both print and cursive practice
  • Reading lists and additional activities, projects, experiments for each lesson
  • An appendix with beautiful, full-color, lapbook-style Miniature Books
  • Field Trip Sheets to keep a record field trips
  • A Final Review with fifty questions the students can answer either orally or in writing to show off all they remember and know at the end of the course.

See the sample pages here:
Botany

and . . .

Astronomy

Jeannie is giving away four Astronomy Notebooking Journals and four Botany Notebooking Journals to bloggers who post about this on their site. Visit her blog to learn more about this contest.

Classical Conversations Practicum

Title: Classical Conversations Practicum
Location: Wheaton, IL
Link out: Click here
Description: Come practice the skills needed to teach your children how to recover the lost tools of learning. Learn to see Him in all you teach. Plan to use your brain and laugh a lot! The CC facilitators love teaching the fundamentals of learning and turning the difficult into the doable!
These Practicums are for parents and teachers of all grade levels. The cost is FREE for adults and teens! The costs listed for children\’s camps are for all three days or any part of the three days. Come when you can, as even part of a Practicum is beneficial. It is important for Children attending to be there on time the first day, as they are taught a lot of foundational material the first day.
Parents attending practicums can relax knowing that their younger students are learning AND having fun, whether they are in the nursery or in one of our academic camps.
Start Date: 2009-06-22
End Date: 2009-06-24

Classical Conversations Practicum

Title: Classical Conversations Practicum
Location: Rockford, IL
Link out: Click here
Description: Come practice the skills needed to teach your children how to recover the lost tools of learning. Learn to see Him in all you teach. Plan to use your brain and laugh a lot! The CC facilitators love teaching the fundamentals of learning and turning the difficult into the doable!

These Practicums are for parents and teachers of all grade levels. The cost is FREE for adults and teens! Parents attending practicums can relax knowing that their younger students are learning AND having fun, whether they are in the nursery or in one of our academic camps.
Start Date: 2009-05-27
End Date: 2009-05-29

Carole Joy Seid Seminar

Title: Carole Joy Seid Seminar
Location: Elmhurst, IL
Link out: Click here
Description: A Literature Based Approach To Education

West Suburban Community Church
825 N. Van Auken
Elmhurst, IL 60126

$45.00 advance (postmarked by October 2nd)
$53.00 after October 2nd, or at the door

Contact:
Michelle 630-748-1242; mlpollard7@gmail.com
Karen 630-279-2647; k.semrau@att.net
Start Time: 9:00
Date: 2009-10-17
End Time: 17:00

Book It Pizza Hut program

If free tickets to Great America weren’t already enough, don’t miss out on the FREE PIZZA for your readers and pre-readers as well.

Again, for kids in K-6, this program motivates your child to read by rewarding them with a free personal pan pizza once a month for the six month duration of the program (October through March). And, you must sign up individually rather than through your homeschool group.


Book It! provides a great opportunity for each child to set their own goals and encourages them to get their nose in a book on a regular basis. The certificates are then redeemable for each month they meet their goal and have been great for treats (and convenience!) when we find ourselves schooling while out somewhere during the month.

As one of the commenters mentioned, there is also a program for preschool. This is not open to homeschoolers at this point and runs on a different schedule than the traditional Book It program.

This simple program motivates readers and gives a tasty reward. It has definitely worked for us!

Now is the time to register for this program for the coming school year. Don’t wait!

Looking for more great Frugal ideas?

Free Admission to the Art Institute of Chicago

The new Modern Wing of the Art Institute has opened its doors today, May 16th. For this coming week admission to the museum is completely free of charge to all visitors.  See the Art Institute’s website for more information.

The even better news for homeschoolers . . . Children under 14 are ALWAYS admitted free. And, Illinois teachers (which you qualify for as a homeschool teacher) are also welcome without charge at the museum on any day they are open. Be sure to bring some type of homeschool identification, and call for details ahead of your visit — (312) 443-3600.

Here’s what their site says about teachers, “Teacher Admission – All Illinois teachers receive free general admission to the Art Institute with proof of teacher certification. When educators visit the Teacher Resource Center, they will receive a free educator’s pass. This pass gives the bearer unlimited general admission to the Art Institute and admission to the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries until September 1, 2009.”

The Institute is also free on Thursday nights from 5-8 as well, whether a homeschooler, teacher, student, or not. Don’t miss out on this great resource to your homeschooling studies.

Check out their links:

– to other art sources online

– resources especially for teachers

– lesson plans

– Scheduling student tours

Welcome!

Welcome to the Chicagoland Homeschool Network. While most of this site provides a listing of resources available to the area homeschooler, many events and offers come up throughout the year that we would like to make you aware of. On this main page you will find current deals, classes, conferences, and programs available to homeschooling families.

If you know of an event that would benefit other homeschoolers just send me an email and we will work to include it on this posting.