Homeschool Potpourri SALE!

30% off every USED item in the store

from May 29 - June 9th at

HOMESCHOOL POTPOURRI in Kirkland

http://hspbooks.com/

Hours: M- F  10 am -5 pm and Sat. 10 am - 3pm

This is one of the best homeschool curriculum resale stores around.  It's worth the trip down to Kirkland.

CAST Auditions 5/24

(Sorry, I posted this a bit late, there were audition times available on 5/22 as well.)

CAST Theater (A local Christian theater company) is auditioning for their upcoming production, "Choose," a story about teens facing and making decisions, and the consequences of those decisions. It will run August 10-12, at Bethany Covenant Church in Mount Vernon. Rehearsals will be held throughout the summer on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6-10 PM, and Saturday mornings from 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon.

Who: Junior High, High School and College-age are all welcome, and no previous theatrical experience is necessary. Also, there are a few roles available for adults.

When: The remaining audition times are THIS Tuesday and Thursday (5/22 & 5/24) from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Where:  Bethany Covenant Gym

This is a great opportunity, so if you have been considering "getting your feet wet" in theater, this is your chance!

This is just an informational message. If you have questions about this production please attend the audition to ask the director...............

Speech/Debate Club Open House 5/24 (Burlington)

Skagit Defenders Speech and Debate Club

Open House

May 24th at 6:00 P.M.
At His Place Church in Burlington

Please join us for our Open House as we prepare for the 2012-2013 school year. We will have demonstrations that have been prepared by our students, question and answer time and snacks.

For more information contact:

Christina South at dearlylovedchild@gmail.com
Or
Marilyn Rivers at rivers.tm@gmail.com

Iowa Skills Assessment 5/29-5/30

FISH families

For those of you interested in doing the Iowa Skills Test at Summit Park Bible Church here are the details:


The 3rd - 8th grade testing is May 29th and 30th from 8am - noon and the cost is $20.00


The high school testing is on the 31st from 8:30am - 2:30 and is also $20.00.


Please contact Bev Liddle at dbjliddle@comcast.net to get on the list.

FISH Meeting Notes 5.3.12

Great to be together again!  If you've never been to one of our meetings, you will always leave encouraged!  ~~~~~~~~~~~

Kamiyo is going to WHO (in Puyallup) in June...on Saturday...and is willing to carpool.  Call her to sign up.  293.9339

Amy is putting together the Felting Class (see her email or previous blog post for more info).  However, due to a conflict with some families, date has been changed to Monday, May 14th.  There is still time to sign up for that.  Just trying to get an idea of how many supplies will be needed.  Call Amy for more info. 293.1379

Ellen watched the IndoctriNation video and was moved by the truths presented.  It is quite eye-opening how pagan our government/public schools are.  So as the cover of the DVD says, "Every Christian parent with a child in a government school should see this [movie]."  Kamiyo's copy of the DVD is still out on loan, but you can pick up your own copy at indoctrinationmovie.com.

Carrie spoke with a local author, R.L. Spada, who is very interested in teaching a writing workshop or writing class for our youth.  He specializes in 3rd - 5th graders, just getting them excited about writing.  If your kids would benefit from something like this, please contact Carrie and let her know.  She will gather info and let us know about options.  apple.carrie@gmail.com

TOPIC:  FAVORITE "BOXED" CURRICULUM

We basically touched on 3 boxed curriculum series, all from a Christian worldview, 1) Sonlight, 2) Tapestry of Grace, 3) My Father's World.  These were represented by our core group of homeschool moms and lots of pros and cons for each.

SONLIGHT

• Definitely heavy on reading, good quality literature and history
• Has a distinct Charlotte Mason feel to it
• Elementary level science curriculum with Sonlight described as 'better than Apologia' in some ways because it is not so 'textbook' in the teaching approach
• Very organized, easy-to-follow teaching guide, minimal prep time for teacher
• Can have all the readers, read-alouds, and reference books sent to you; no need to seek them out from library or other sources.  Makes it easy.
• Can be pricey if purchasing for several levels of teaching.  But can stretch one Core Curriculum package for a fairly wide range of ages.  (See their catalog for more on this.)
• Pro - great quality literature for every subject.  Books you want on your shelf.  Kids (and moms!) go back to the books again and again.
• Con - once in upper level, becomes harder to grade some assignments (like writing, for example), not a simple answer, more labor intensive for the mom
• When used in comparison to My Father's World curriculum, Sonlight definitely had more reading and seemed a more rigorous curriculum.
• Year-to-year the Core Curriculum is not necessarily in a chronological order.  In other words, it does not follow a classical trivium type pattern. 
• Core Curriculum can seem overwhelming at first, but once you feel comfortable picking and choosing books to leave in, leave out, or substitute, can be VERY enjoyable package.
• For current catalog in .pdf format: http://www.sonlight.com/online-catalog.html
• Amy and Mishel have both used this

TAPESTRY OF GRACE

• Definitely follows a classical trivium pattern.
• Very rigorous study, especially at rhetoric (high school) stage
• All 12 years/levels of teaching in one package.
• 4 sets of 4 binders worth of materials are downloadable from a disk (or their website), so after you've purchased the materials for 4 years, you go back and reuse them, only at the next level for your children
• Family can all be studying the same thing at the same time
• Heavy on literature, history, geography, and WRITING
• Supplement the core curriculum with math, science, and foreign language
• Pro - very structured (could be considered a pro or a con, ha!), includes ideas to get Dad involved (weekly pop quiz cards), and Unit Celebration ideas for each 9 week unit
• Con - lots of teacher prep, at least one hour/week; and if you do not purchase all the readers as a package to save money, you are constantly on the search for source material from the library or amazon.com
• Produced by Lampstand Press, Tapestry of Grace samples can be downloaded at their website: http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/sample/
• Sonia uses this curriculum

MY FATHER'S WORLD

• Though not discussed in-depth, several moms use this.
• Also follows a classical trivium pattern, but has a Charlotte Mason feel too.
• Each level contains books to be read, but not as many history and literature reads as Sonlight.
• Family can all be studying the same thing at the same time, on their level.
• Still supplement core curriculum with math, science, and foreign language.
• Lots of activities included for hands-on learning, but some moms find they frequently skipped the activities because they didn't have the materials on-hand.
• Pro - very little prep time
• Con - not as rigorous a study as other curriculae
• Part of the sales of My Father's World go to Bible Translation efforts through God's Word for the Nations
• You can download a catalog or request one online at: http://www.mfwbooks.com/setcnt/mfwcatalog
• Kamiyo and Lisa have used this curriculum

So fun and educational to listen to what other moms like or dislike about the curriculum they use.  One great thing about homeschooling, is that we have the freedom to figure out what works for you, and what works for your family.

We also briefly asked the question, what options are there for music lessons without actually driving out to music lessons each week?  Free online piano lessons were suggested.  Some resources in the Sonlight catalog were also suggested.  This may be a topic to explored further.

As always, thanks to Kamiyo for opening her home.  Enjoyed it!

FISH Art Club - Felting Class May 14th! (Date Change!)

Get Ready!  Get Set!  Get Felting!

We finally have a date on the calendar for our felting day! 

(After initial response from several families, date has changed to following Monday, May 14th.)

When?  May 14th from 1pm-about 3pm
Where?  Youth Room, downstairs, back of 1st Baptist Church (2717 J Ave)
What?  An easy project first: with flat felted pieces.  Cut them into the desired shape for a coaster, an ornament, or fish and we were going to bring twine and some bamboo "poles" to make fishing rods for play or decoration.  Cute!  Then, a harder project for about 3rd-ish grades and up.  How about an owl?  Or a bracelet?  Or a necklace? 
Cost? The younger kids projects will be 5-10$ depending on how many items they make.  The older kids will be $10 each.  She also charges an hourly fee, and if possible we are asking $10/ family to go toward that. 

RSVP:  Amy @293.1379 Let her know how many kids you are bringing, ages, and if they want to do the first, second, or both project(s). 

Note: We really don't want cost to prohibit anyone from coming, so, if it's a hardship, we can work something out. If older kids want to do both projects, that is fine too. We were just thinking if folks w/ younger kids wanted or needed to leave after the 1st hour, they could. 

P.S. you do NOT need to have come to a FISH meeting to come to this activity!  :)  Just let Amy know ASAP

Spring SWING Dance - May 4th

Join other homeschool families and friends for the Spring Swing Dance at His Place church in Burlington! 

Friday, May 4th

7:00 to 10:00 pm

$5 admission

(larger families attending together should pay what makes sense for them)

Family Friendly

Prizes

Great Music

Meet friends

Come on Out!