Ski Update

If you are going skiing, you should have received an e-mail from me (Andrea) 2 days ago. I have not heard back from everyone yet and I need the information requested. So if you haven't received the e-mail and you are still wanting to go skiing or if you told me you were and have now changed your mind, please e-mail me immediately (agordon-smith@shaw.ca). The details about the prices, etc. can still be found here.

Following is a copy of the letter I sent out with the names removed.

Hello Everyone,

Skiing/boarding time is coming up fast. Please read this e-mail very carefully to make sure you (and I) have all the information you need. First of all, I just wanted to say that this has become much, much bigger than originally anticipated. When I have organized this in the past we have had a very small group made up mostly of friends and acquaintances. However, this year, as Anchor Academy is not organizing skiing, I am it. And I am just a person whose kids like to ski. I am not paid to do this and there is no advantage to me in any way except that my kids get to ski. So I hope that we can pull this off as smoothly as possible. Mary Sue Nichols has agreed to organize the finances. This means that all cheques should be made payable to her. However, I know that some of you have to request them from your school and they are already made out to me - no worries, Mary Sue and I will work that all out. I must admit that I am feeling a little overwhelmed with all this responsibility. I hope you will all be gentle with me! Please e-mail me to confirm receipt of this e-mail and the accuracy of my information. I don't have a lot of time to be trying to get in touch with people so I hope you will all cooperate so I can make sure there are no disappointments.

Some people phoned me about details. I requested that they e-mail me to confirm their intentions and to check out the website (www.northokanaganhomelearners.blogspot.com) for the details. Some of these people I never heard from again. Please check the following lists carefully to make sure you and/or your children are on it in the confirmed category. If you are in the unconfirmed category it means that I heard from you by e-mail once to ask for details but you never got back to me to let me know you were going to do it. Just e-mail me to confirm if you wish to be involved with the ski program. If you know of people who wish to be on this list and are not, please forward this e-mail and have them get in touch with me as soon as possible and we will work it out. It is not too late for someone to sign up. By the 20th we had more than enough to run a full program so it is no problem to continue to add people. And drop-ins are also welcome.

Forms: I really, really wish I could e-mail all of the forms to everyone. But I can't. The forms they sent to me were infected with a virus and so were useless. They ended up snail mailing me forms. I will be photocopying them tomorrow and then you can come to my house to fill them out. I live at 9005 Rendell Dr in Coldstream. That is off of Aberdeen Rd. I am at the very end of the road in the big white house down a long driveway. Please call before you come to make sure I am home (503-5416). I will not be mailing out any forms and I am unable to scan and e-mail them to you, too. It is going to have to be in person. I don't hand in any of these forms until January 10 so if you live out of town, you can make arrangements with me to come early and fill them out before lessons start. (arrangements means e-mailing or calling me with your details and we will correspond until we have it all worked out - PLEASE no one plan on showing up the day of without contacting me first) And if you live around here, please don't count on registering at the hill or we will have to be up there by 6am.... Some of you have e-mailed me simply requesting me to send you forms. Consider this your official notice that I will not be doing that and I hope you are clear on what you do need to do to take advantage of this opportunity. If not, e-mail me again and we will work it out. If there are alot of you from out of town, maybe one or two of you could volunteer to help me to distribute and collect the forms on that first morning, January 10.

Our lessons are at 9am. I know that is early. Sorry to all you homeschoolers who like to sleep in. I tried for earlier, I really did. That means that we have to be up there by 8am to get your gear and lift pass. I will be there by 7:45. Come to the basement of the main building - the one with the office in it and the cafeteria. I will be downstairs in the lunch room. Come and check in with me. When EVERYONE is there and accounted for, I can get our passes. They won't give them to me ahead of time. And it makes it complicated to get passes after they have finished printing them and handing it out and makes all the money figuring that much more complicated. This keeps us from having to pay for those who don't show up for whatever reason. So please, please, please be kind to me and remember that I am not on salary with any school and be there on time (by 8am) - even early would be great. If you can't show up for whatever reason, please phone me if possible. This makes my life so much simpler. Call before 7am on the day of. You can even leave a message in the middle of the night. I don't have a phone in my bedroom so you won't be waking anyone up. I understand that you might not know how sick your kids are until that morning. Just call me if you can.

Please check the following list for accuracy. Do I have it right what you are doing? skiing? boarding? ages of your kids? What level are they? Complete beginners? Some experience but still beginners? Intermediate? Advanced? Check the silver star website if you need a better definition of these levels. The list is in alphabetical order, last name first.

Looking forward to meeting all of you and enjoying some ski time up at Silver Star.

Most sincerely,

Andrea Clarke

503-5416

okanagan symphony concert for children

Here's some information that was sent to me.


From the Okanagan Symphony – For Immediate Release
December 2007
Dear Teachers, Parents and Music Educators,
After over a decade of success, the Okanagan Symphony Educational School Concert Series is still going strong. This April, the series will celebrate its 12th year running. This programme has educated and inspired young minds for many years and has allowed children a glimpse into the wonderful world of classical music. As this program grows more and more each year, we are anticipating a most successful year ahead.
We are very excited to have Rosemary Thomson as our new director and conductor this season. Rosemary demonstrated her tremendous abilities at last year’s school concert series and dazzled all attending with her love of music and children. For the upcoming season, Rosemary has selected a new and exciting programme entitled "A Day in the Country". This programme features selections from Elgar’s Bavarian Dance, "Spring" from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Mahler’s Blumine, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, River/Water from the Moldau by Smetana and more! We are delighted to invite young and talented local musicians Colleen and Alisha Venables to perform in the Four Seasons this year.
Over the years, we have seen a steady rate increase in venue bookings, musician fees, and transportation fees. Our ticket prices have remained the same through it all. This year, we are increasing the ticket price from $5.00 to $6.00. Supportive funding is available from the Cherniavsky "Mr. Music" Fund administered by BC’s ArtStarts in Schools. For more information, please contact the agency directly at: http://www.artstarts.com/funding/cherniavsky.html.
The essential complementary study guide will be available for incorporation into your curriculum shortly. Those schools that are interested and those that have already indicated interest in attending should now complete the registration form with full payment to confirm attendance and to guarantee seating. Receipts will be available upon request.
Thank you all for your interest and great reviews of last year’s concert, and we are looking forward to welcoming you back for the Okanagan Symphony school concert series of the 2007-08 season!
Crystal Doughty
Program Coordinator
Okanagan Symphony
Tel: 250-868-2469, email: education.oso@shaw.ca

Next Meeting

Hi Gang,

I have a request. I am not usually able to make our meetings because I have dance that night, but I have a free night coming up - Dec. 27. I think that is off your 2 week cycle, but I am hoping that everyone is OK with meeting on that night instead of the 20th. I would really, really, really, really like to connect with everyone and so I really hope that all of you can come out that night. It would mean a lot to me.

Ski Program

Edited to add: Lessons are at 9am..... sorry, I tried for a later time, I really did....

Edited to add: First problem - Michelle is no longer able to help with dealing with the money. Is anyone else interested? I am not sure if I am up for organizing it all by myself. Numbers are not my strength and I found that part very stressful.

I have received the package from Silver Star and here are this year's prices. They have quoted only one price regardless of age this year and please note the change for parents. Prices are per time - so x5 if you are attending all 5 times:

Lesson: $10
Lift/lesson: $17
Lift/lesson/Rental skiing: $22
Lift/lesson/rental boarding: $27

Cross Country
Lesson $10
Lesson/Track $12
Lesson/track/rental $14

Parents MUST be helping to obtain these rates:

Lift $25
Rental skiing $10
Rental boarding $13
Track ticket $12
Rental track $2

I notice that although the parent rates are higher than in the past, they no longer have to pay for a lesson so it works out to be about the same.

I will require confirmation of attendance by December 20. I will collect forms and money by January 3. Please e-mail me ASAP if you are interested: agordon-smith@shaw.ca. And please pass on this information to anyone who might be interested.

As always, you do not have to go all 5 times - whatever works for your family is fine. However, if you are only planning on doing a few times, if you require lessons (are a beginner) I would highly recommend attending the first few times as the class advances fairly quickly and in the past, it has been difficult for those that have missed the first time or two.

Thanks! Andrea

I have booked ski/board lesson program for North Okanagan Home Learners for January 10, 17, 24, 31 and Feb 7. Right now the arrangement depends on us having enough numbers for the lessons (5 per level). If we don't, then we will have to see if others scheduled for that day will allow some of our students to join them. If you are interested, please e-mail me (agordon-smith@shaw.ca) and I will send you the forms. Michelle is going to be handling the money end of things (thank you Michelle). We will be collecting money and forms by January 3, 2008. If you are requisitioning a cheque from SD, that can be arranged. Visa won't work as all payments will be made to Michelle and then she pays the mountain each week. I will be e-mailing NOCHE as well to see if they would like to join us.

Andrea

Skating Times

Sherry Bootsma has kindly arranged 2 skating times between now and the end of the year:

December 12, 10:30 til 11:30 (Wednesday)
December 21, 1:30 til 2:30 (Friday)

At the outdoor skating rink.

Last Minute Swim

I forgot to say at the meeting last night but Rhiannon has been anxious to go for a swim so we are going today (Friday, December 7) to the 1 - 4pm swim. We'd be glad of some friends to swim with!

Meeting Reminder

Hello everyone,

Our next meeting is this Thursday, December 6, 7pm, downstairs at Bean to Cup. It will be good to connect with everyone again. See you then!

Winter Solstice

Is anyone interested in coming out all this way to celebrate Winter Solstice? If some people car-pooled it wouldn't be so bad - would it?

LOL - when I was growing up in Armstrong Falkland seemed like the edge of the world. Now that I live here I think of it as the centre of the world.

If we keep getting snow then we have good tobagganing down our driveway. Which may mean not being able to drive up it.

Or does anyone else feel like hosting a solstice get-together??

Just putting it out there..........

It's That Time Again!

This Thursday, November15 is time for our next meeting at Bean to Cup, 7pm downstairs. I won't be able to make it. Is anyone else going? Mary Sue is in Hawaii...

Davison Orchard Pumpkin Tour

I have booked the Davison Orchard Pumpkin tour for Monday September 22 at 10:45 am. The cost is $5 for each child and parents are $2 but one 'teacher' and one parent helper are free so we can reduce the $2 depending on how many parents come. Each child gets to pick a pumpkin.
Let me know if you are coming . Thanks

Davidson orchard pumpkin tour

Hi Everyone
I contacted Davidson's and they didn't have many spaces available. They only had:
Monday October 22 at 10:00 or 10:45
Tuesday October 23 at 1:15
Monday works best for us. If enough of us can commit to a day and time, I'll book it.

And Again Already

Just a reminder that this Thursday, October 18, will be our next meeting - 7pm at Bean to Cup downstairs. I don't think I will be there as it is a family birthday day.

Meeting Again

Just a reminder that this Thursday will be our next parent support meeting at 7pm at Bean to Cup. See you there!

Rancho Vignola Wholesale order

If anyone is interested in ordering dried fruit and nuts Anita Fletcher is placing an order. The price list and order form can be printed from:
http://ranchovignola.com/

The deadline is September 28th.
If you want to place an order you can either get the order form to me or Anita.

Anyone up for a Fall Hike?

Karen and I are heading down to Cosen's Bay on Thursday morning for a fall picnic. Anyone who wants to come along can meet us at the Red Gate at 10:30.

Parent Support Meeting

Tomorrow night (Thursday, September 20) will be our next parent support meeting at 7pm, Bean to Cup. I put it in the Community Calendar as well. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Andrea

Drumming in the Park today

Andrea edited to add pictures of the event.

There will be a drumming session in the park across from the Greyhound bus station today (Tuesday) from 11 to 1 pm. The man arranging this is the same man who I spoke to about having a drumming circle for children. There will be about 30 drums and it sounded like the public would be invited to play.

Some Changes

I sure enjoyed the meeting last night and it was good to see some new faces, too. We discussed changing the day of the meeting to Thursdays and everyone there was in agreement. We are also going to meet more often. So our next meeting will be Thursday, September 20 at Bean to Cup. It is all arranged with the coffee house as well. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday. See you all then.

Andrea

Happy Not-Back-To-School-Day

Monthly Meeting and a Party

Just a reminder that tomorrow night is our monthly parent support meeting at Bean to Cup at 7pm. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again!

And Karen has asked me to invite everyone to a 'not-back-to-school' party at Kal Beach tomorrow starting at 11am and going to around 3 or so. Bring your bathing suit and a picnic lunch. She's making a cake!

See you all soon!

Andrea

Reminder: Yoga

Yoga starts this morning at 11 AM at Inner Light Yoga Studio, 2807 44th Ave.

Phonics Factory??

Does anyone have the Phonics Factory set? I picked it up at a garage sale and it's missing Tape #2. We'd love to borrow this tape if anyone has it. Thanks!

Not Back To School Celebration in Winfield?

Who all would be interested in meeting up with some of our Self Design Kelowna for a play and visit in Winfield? I know I'm eager to meet the 4 Friends and A Blog crew and they've asked to meet up with us. They're available any day EXCEPT Wed August 29th, Mon Sept. 3rd, wed 5th, fri 7th, or wed 19th. Can you comment on which other days would work for you? Come on, Monique, it's outside and they have lots of BOYS! I think it'll be super fun and a great way to leap back into self-design. Everyone?

Kids' Yoga Starting in September

Terryn is offering the following classes based on our suggestions of wanting it to start a little earlier (to accomodate Ivy's naps). We really enjoy Terryn and her classes and can't wait for this to start. Hope lots more of you sign up!

Every Tuesday from 11:00 -12:00
Starting September 4th, 2007 – October 16th, 2007
at Inner Light Yoga Studio, 2807 44th Avenue

Children of all ages welcome
*Children under 5 must be accompanied by an adult
The fee is $35 per participant for 7 classes
Call Terryn on 558-0735 to pre-register today

There must be a minimum of 8 participants for the session to run.
There will be a second session of 6-8 weeks offered in January 2008.

Parent Support Meeting this Wednesday

Well, it is that time again. This Wednesday evening at 7pm it is time for our Parent Support Meeting at Bean to Cup. I won't be attending as we are leaving camping for 10 days the very next day and you know me, I'll be doing alot at the last minute... it's how I work... And I know that Karen has a previous commitment and won't be attending either. I look forward to seeing everyone at the September meeting if not sooner.

Andrea

New Info about Yoga -- input needed

I got this email from Terryn:

Unfortunately, a colleague at work has resigned and I have taken on more hours to help with the extra load over summer.This means that I don't have any certain morning off.However, if you are still thinking of summer yoga, just let me know and I will do my best to make it happen.In September, I have been offered to teach classes in Lake Country so I will teach 3 classes every Tuesday night.I would like to honor my committment and continue to teach in Vernon also, I am just working out which day and what time.I would love input from the homeschoolers. Is 12:00 the best time? Is there a best day?Did the 6 week session work best? or 8 weeks? Would offering it once in the fall and then spring be better or was continuous a good fit?I know that attendance started to drop off towards summer.I am here until the end of October so I would like to start one right in September and then I am away until December so I would probably offer it again in January.That is what I am thinking. Any input would be great!Thank you so much Mary-Sue!
Terryn

Meeting Tonight

Just a reminder that we're meeting tonight, 7:00 at Bean to Cup.

Invitation to the Vernon Art Gallery

Hi Everyone,

I am inviting all homeschoolers who are interested to join us (The Inner World School) to listen to the curator speak about the current main exhibit at the Vernon Art Gallery. I found it a very powerful statement about the environment and it is just plain beautiful. But they are all nude - realistically nude - like we all would look like.... just standing there. I didn't find it offensive but I know some might... Anyways, if you want to join us, let me know as soon as possible as I have to make arrangements with the curator for ages and numbers of kids. You can call me 503-5416 or e-mail agordon-smith@shaw.ca. Following is the e-mail about it I sent out for the Inner World School FYI. I'm working on the date of July 17 at 1:15pm.

Andrea
********************************
Hello Everyone,

The workshop didn't get started yesterday as planned because we had some sickness at our house. So I was out spreading the word about the Inner World School around town and what we have planned for this summer, because I think it is pretty incredible! I stopped in to the Vernon Art Gallery while I was out and was very pleased to discover that their art exhibits right now are all about the environment. And next Tuesday some of the artists are coming in to talk about their art right during the time that we will be doing the workshop. They have agreed that we could attend. The talk will be at 12:10.

Also, there is an incredible exhibit in the main room that makes a very powerful statement about what has happened to the North American environment. I am going to arrange for the currator to come and speak to us about the paintings. However, I will be arranging it to happen at 1:15 on the following Tuesday as an optional activity for the "It's Easy Being Green" participants as the exhibit involves quite a lot of nudity. I don't find it offensive and it is not pornographic in anyway but some children's (or parent's) sensibilities might not be ready for it. So I will leave it to parental discretion. I'll also be opening it up to our homeschooling group to attend as well.

I am so excited and passionate about this workshop this summer. I hope you will come and join us. If finances are holding you back, please, please, take advantage of our scholarship program! Come and join us as we joyfully find ways of loving our earth and living with less impact upon her. And please tell your friends about us - help me spread the word of our unusual little school.

To register, call Andrea at 503-5416 or e-mail innerworldschool@shaw.ca

Stuff for sale

Hi all,

I'm going to be selling some stuff so thought I would ask here first.

One is one of those plastic bin storage systems where the frame is wood and the bins sit on an angle - it has 3 "shelves" and comes with 6 large bins and 4 smaller ones, in blue, red, green and yellow. It costs about $90 new and we're selling it for $40 - it's in perfect condition, not even a year old. It's Evan's so he's the one selling it.

I have an older style exercise bike that I'm selling for $20 obo. It's in perfect shape too.

We also have some sections of chain link fence and a dirt bike - a 1975 Honda XR75 for sale for $800 - it's in excellent condition.
I can email pictures to anyone interested. Hope you're all having a great summer.

Solstice Celebration

I am posting this for Karen who would like to invite everyone for a potluck solstice celebration at Juniper Bay, Friday evening, starting around 5:30 or 6pm and stay till dusk.

We'll be there! (anyone got a waggon we could pull Kaetlyn up and down in?)

Park Day (Play Group) and Meeting Update

So, how about having our next park day (play group) at Mission Hill Park. You can get to that park from 15 Ave. Its a huge park with lots of trees and green space and hills and a large play structure. To get to the play structure, go to your left upon entering the park. Is anyone up for tomorrow? Its supposed to be sunny. If not, perhaps we could aim for next week?

And as for the meeting, it sounds like its just not going to work to have a meeting to make up for the last meeting. Perhaps we could aim for our next meeting to be without children so those who need to talk about things without their children's friends listening, can do that. So our next meeting will be July 4th (good thing we're not Americans!)

See you all soon!

Andrea

Updates

No yoga in the park until the weather warms up. I want it to be a really lovely experience for everyone and don't want us leaving wet and cold.
Also, wanting a do-over on our parent support meeting. Is there a night in the next couple of weeks that we could all meet without children?

Earth Savers Club

I read Rhiannon this article that Mary Sue posted in the village and we were talking about how plastic is everywhere and how we need to do our best to not buy anything plastic and generally talking about the article and the grossness of what is happening. She turned to me and said, "Mom, we have to start the Earth Savers Club right now". The name comes from a Berenstain Bears book "The Berenstain Bears Don't Pollute Anymore". But her thought is to get some kids together and pick up some garbage (with gloves on, Mom). I would really like to encourage her in taking action.

Anyone else game? I'd really like to follow through and set a date and DO IT!

Andrea

Meeting on Wednesday

Parent Support Meeting reminder for Wednesday night at 7pm, downstairs at Bean to Cup.
Hope to see everyone there!

Tuesday Park Day

**BRING YOUR OWN YOGA MAT OR BLANKET AND WATER**
NO YOGA ON TUESDAY. TOO WET.
Last Edit: I'm with Julie. I need more predictability than this. The forecast still looks like rain on Tuesday morning, and if it doesn't, the ground will be very wet. I'm thinking we should postpone to Wednesday or Friday. Friday looks better as far as weather goes, any thoughts?
Later Edit: Terryn will meet us at the park on Tues. morning if it's not raining. We will start right at 10:30 as she has to leave an hour later. If it's raining, our options are Wednesday at 11:20 or Friday at 10:20. Which can you make it to? We can make it to either.
Edit:I have confirmed with Terryn. She's excited to join us BUT the weather forecast is 90% chance of rain on Tuesday. What do you think we should do? Is there another day when more of us could meet for yoga? Shall I ask her what other mornings she would be available? Are there any mornings that DON'T work? Ange, could your girls come join us?
Looking for input...

Hello
It seems we've settled into Tuesday being our park day and we've been meeting at Polson Park sometime around 11, bringing snacks. So far that seems to be working well. We will consider a Park move after the end of June.
Would anyone like Terryn to join us next Tuesday for an hour of yoga? She only has between 10:30 and 11:30 free, but is keen to lead us if we're interested. 'Twould be $5 per person, and not necessary to have done any previous yoga.
Comments please.
Thanks!

Kaetlyn's pump

I realize that nothing has been said about raising money for Kaetlyn's pump. I was waiting for Andrea to post - but I'm beating you to it A.

Today was the second garage sale to raise money for the pump - this one was sponsored and managed by Century 21 and was a HUGE event. I don't know the final dollar figures but it topped the amount up to what was needed.

Suffice it to say that Kaetlyn should be getting her new pump this coming week! Yay! We did it! We CAN raise money. What an empowering feeling! I can hardly believe what we accomplished for one of our children.

Anything is possible! It was so great to see all the homeschooling faces today too, and to hear both Eli and Rhiannon busking with their violins (and Evan with his harmonica - grin). And Mika too I think? Wow. Lots of homeschooling talent. And of course the shopping talent of a lot of our kids too (and some dads as well). hee hee

Kaetlyn sure has a great community - what a powerful experience for her and for me too. Just wanted to express that.

Wheels for Change

Hi Gang,

So the Wheels For Change campaign is coming through Vernon on Sunday, July 8. The gang is looking for people to help organize the Vernon event, and here's how I think we can help:

The plan so far is for a bike ride around Vernon from 5 to 6 pm, followed by a potluck dinner in Polson Park and then a few speeches (Mayor etc.) and then music.

What they will need is people to join them for the potluck and to bring enough food to feed themselves and the cyclists. So I thought maybe a group of us can do this too - bring a few dishes to share with the cyclists. I think there will be a table set up for food and everyone will sit on their blankets and eat. It wouldn't be just us - there would hopefully be a lot of people. The irony is that the Vernon event is the least organized so far and has the fewest volunteers - weird considering this whole grassroots thing is starting in Vernon. Anyway, I'm hoping some of you will be interested in coming out to support the cyclists with food and company and positive energy. Let me know if you are interested in joining in. I am planning to try to join the ride from Vernon to Armstrong the next day and then again around Falkland when they pass through (I'm organizing their stay in Falkland). If you want to ride some of the way, you can register at www.wheelsforchange.ca. The ride starts in Nelson and ends in Victoria. I just wrote a new post in my blog too, about climate change if you're interested in reading it: www.dragonflywarrior.blogspot.com. I know that many of us are pretty concerned about environmental issues and this seems like a great way to show support. There is also a showing of a couple of movies on Thursday night, May 24, Schubert centre, 7 pm - they are supposed to be very good, not too long, about climate change. One features Cameron Diaz I hear.

boys dance next year

The dance studio where Evan goes, Accentz (right next to nature's fair) is having another boys class next year - this time it will be a jazz/hip hop combo (I think still taught by Nikki, who is so excellent with the kids). It is scheduled for Wednesdays 5:15 to 6:15. Evan loved his class all year and loved being on the stage at the Performing Arts Centre (for a whole minute and 10 seconds LOL).

There is also a beginners Jazz for adults, if any of you moms are interested. Also an intermediate and advanced Jazz for adults for anyone with some dance experience.

If there is a group who would rather do belly dancing, I bet we could set that up. I know a bellydancing teacher and I bet we could talk our way into using the IWS space (grin).

Medicinal and edible plants class

I have contacted an herbalist named Barbara who runs the Wild Roots Learning Centre over past Enderby (www.wildrootsherbs.com). I asked her about a children's class. Here was her reply:

"I am going to be offering a "Children's Herb Camp" later on in the summer - most likely in July sometime. I haven't quite got all the details figured out yet but I will keep you posted. Alternatively, if you could round up enough people in Falkland or through your home schooling group I would be happy to put together a class for you."

So I'm wondering if anyone is interested in doing a hands-on-in-the-woods nature class with us out here in Falkland. There is a forest very close to my house that is good for walking in (large trails cleared) with a lot of different little ecosystems and a lot of neat plants. I'm thinking we could picnic in the woods too. There's a creek for exploring as well (rubber boots good for this part).

OR - check out her website - she offers adult classes all the time. I'm going to try to take some of them.

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

Thinking of all of you, hoping you'll be celebrated in a big way and feel like the very special mommas that you are... I feel very blessed to have each and everyone of you in my life. Thank you for the passion with which you mother...
I didn't realize that even THIS day has pagan roots, but here you go, from about.com:
A Brief History of Mother's Day The earliest celebration honoring mothers dates back to the annual spring festival of ancient Greece dedicated to Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.
The Greeks would pay tribute with honey-cakes and fine drinks and flowers at dawn. Much like our current Mother's Day tradition of breakfast in bed! Early Christians celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent in honor of the Virgin Mary. Later, in England, an ecclesiastical order expanded the holiday to include all mothers, and decreed it as Mothering Sunday. Servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers.
When the first English colonists settled in America they didn't really have time for many celebrations. The tradition of Mothering Sunday was discontinued until 1872 when Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910), the author of the lyrics to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace.
In 1907, Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948), a Philadelphia schoolteacher, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day in honor of her mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis. She wrote hundreds of letters to legislators and prominent businessmen on both state and national levels asking them to create a special day to honor mothers. On May 10, 1908, the third anniversary of the death of Anna's mother, the minister of the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virgina (the church her mother had attended) gave a special Mother's day sermon honoring Mrs. Jarvis' memory. Anna handed out her mother's favorite flower, the white carnation. In 1914, Anna's hard work finally paid off when President Woodrow Wilson made the official announcement proclaiming the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honor of mothers.

Tuesday = Park Day

Hi everyone Was wondering if we should try Polson again for a play tomorrow? It's just so central and easy for everyone to get to. What do you think?

My Grandma isn't doing very well and I need to go visit her in Kelowna tomorrow so not sure of our plans yet for tomorrow. Might head to Kelowna first thing and stop by the park on our way home. Is anyone else planning to meet up at the park?

Change of Times for Ball

Because there are so few children signed up, the Learn to Play program will be on Saturdays at Coldstream Park (behind Coldstream Elementary) from 10am to 12noon. It probably won't be 2 hours - more like an hour or hour and a half depending on how quickly they get tired. It is 50/50 boys and girls and the kids so far are all born 01/00. Originally Saturdays was going to be for the younger children and Wednesdays for those 00 - 98. If you know anyone who would like to play ball, please pass it along! Vernon Minor Fastball decided to do their registration differently this year... and so for it hasn't done so well at getting the word out.... Those interested can call me 250-503-5416 or e-mail agordon-smith@shaw.ca.

100 Mile Diet Talk

Hey, this has crept up awfully quickly, hasn't it?
Thursday, April 26
Schubert Centre
7 to 9 pm
With: Jen Gamble (Shuswap Eat Local Project) Sarah Clark (Slow Food Movement) and Wendy Aasen (Food Action Coalition)

Anyone going? I sure want to but have to find a way to get my barn full of garage sale items over to Lynn's that night as well...

Garage Sale to support Kaetlyn

So Saturday, April 28, is our first garage sale for Kaetlyn's insulin pump fund. It will be at Lynn's house (3001 - 22nd Street on East Hill just up Suicide Hill). We'll be there from 10:30 AM on FRIDAY to clean, sort and price stuff. If anyone has stuff to donate and can drop it off on Friday, it would be greatly appreciated. Or be sure to come by on Saturday for some great shopping (yes, that IS Monique encouraging people to shop SECOND HAND........hee hee ha!). The sale is from 8 to 3 and we can use all the help we can get to make this event a huge success. This is a chance to rally around a member of our community, and renew your faith in our power to make things happen. Next time you're in need you'll feel the power of this event extend to you, too...
[Edited by Mary-Sue]

Tuesday = Park Day

Thanks, Jill, for attempting to find a park that works for ALL of us. Alas! It doesn't seem like it's going to be quite that easy... So how about trying out a few to find which one works the best?
First up is Polson Park, the most central, the one not perched up on a hill somewhere...
We'll plan to converge there TOMORROW (Tuesday, the 24th) somewhere around 10:30-ish? Bring your own lunch. Hope to see everyone there!

Wanna Play Ball?

This year Vernon Minor Fastball has done almost no advertising and their t-ball and mite program has been reduced to only 7 players. And I'm the coach! We will be running the 'Learn to Play' program developed in Saskatchewan. I have taken the training for it and I think it is excellent. The emphasis is on skill development and there is no competition involved. It is a very thorough program based on actual brain and muscle development. It is full of games and just fun ball where no one is struck out, every bats until they hit, everyone runs around the bases, no one is out. The session starts with warm up, skill development games that develop throwing, catching, hitting and pitching and then we play a little pseudo ball game. Fastball is a kind of softball so we use a larger ball and pitching is underhand. Vernon Minor Fastball is a girl's organization at the older levels and a small organization (less than 200 registrants from ages 5 - 19) and kids get to know other kids from all over town. I use lots of parent participation and we just have a lot of fun in a supportive environment! Our 'games' will be on Wednesday evenings from 6 - 7:30 at Alexis Park and we may have an alternate Saturday morning at Coldstream Park (not Creekside Park but the one behind Coldstream Elementary that the creek runs through and they do the Salmon presentations at - its beautiful down there....) That will depend on if we can get enough kids registered (if there is more it will be just on Wednesdays) The cost is only $45 and it runs to the end of June and will start in a week or so. If you are interested you can e-mail me agordon-smith@shaw.ca.

Wheels for Change Bike Tour

Hello everyone,

I'm passing on some info here from my neighbor Celia who is involved in the Wheels for Change Bike Tour. They are working really hard on getting this going but could use support in tons of ways. Check out their website here and contact them if you can help. They would also like you to pass on the info to anyone you know. They need help, but they also want the word getting out to the pubic so they can have a big event when they come into town on their way to Victoria.

David Suzuki/Resource list

David Suzuki is going to be speaking at the Performing Arts theatre on June 14. Tickets are $29. Kind of pricey. I'm planning to go with my son Evan because he's a fan - and I'll pay for it with his SD learning investment. Just thought I would mention this event in case there are any other Suzuki fans amongst us.

oh and PS - I will type up my resource list and post it to everyone via SD so we can get a start - then you can add to it etc.. It would be nice to have something in place by the end of the summer at least. I think our plan was that I would collate it and then we would post it in here, and as changes happen Andrea or Mary-Sue could edit the post.

Bring your bikes!

Hi everyone,

Our street is blocked off right now because of road construction so we have very little traffic. My kids have been having a great time biking out front. I would like to invite anyone who is interested to come to our house this Friday morning around ten for a bike ride play time. I thought it might be fun to decorate the bikes (for no good reason) and have a little bike parade. We could celebrate using our bikes again! I'm not talking about a big ride - just riding around on our block. If you are interested, come around ten and bring your lunch or something to share. We'll be here with our helmets on...

Girl's bike

Hi Gang,

I have just been donated a really cool old-fashioned girl's bike for our garage sale for Kaetlyn's insulin pump - but I thought I would give you first dibs if you're interested. It belonged to my former neighbours whose eldest daughter just turned 18 - I think it might go back before her time even. It's a banana seat and it's just cool - needs new tires and a tune-up. It's small - probably for a girl around 5 to 7 years maybe? I'm going to be leaving it at Mary-Sue's place (where we are gathering the garage sale items) if you're interested.

No Foolin, It's April!

Just a reminder that we have our parent support meeting on Wednesday night at 7pm in Bean To Cup basement. Also, I'm eager to try out the new starter to the meeting that we agreed upon: a "What brought you here tonight?/Why are you here?" question going around the room. Also if anyone new comes we will introduce ourselves, tell how old our children are and a little about why we're homeschooling and how...
Does that capture what we agreed upon? If not, please help me out in the comments.
Thank you.

Wednesday's Meeting

Hi Gang,

So we have a meeting coming up, right? We'll start by going around and checking in with everyone - giving each of us a chance to say what we hope to get out of the evening - have I got that right? I would like to start our resource list so maybe go through your house and take a note of anything that you would be willing to share that would be of interest to others.

This is a move in reducing consumption and easing our footprints. (And remember Angela to bring the skeleton thing for me to borrow! (: )

Hope to see everyone on Wednesday night.

100-mile diet night

The Sustainable Environment Network Society (which I didn't know existed) is hosting a 100-mile diet night on April 25 in Vernon with food related films on topics ranging from the food revolution to food security. I don't know where yet, but I thought maybe we could make a date of it - it's on a Wednesday night.

Ostara Tomorrow!

Here is some info. from Denny's new book:

From the book “Earth Wisdom” by Glennie Kindred about the Festival of Balance and Potential:

We begin to feel empowered to reach out for what we want and to take risks, strike out on our own, go for walks and connect to the Earth again. We can use the potential and fertility of this time to create opportunities for positive change in our lives and in the world. At this point we are poised between opposite forces, light and dark, receptive and active, unconscious and conscious, inner and outer. These can be united within us so that we are whole and balanced individuals. This gives birth to actions that come from the heart.

In the past the fertile Earth goddess Eostre was honoured at this time in celebration of new life and gestation. Dragon processions celebrated the emerging active energy of the Earth and eggs were used as a potent symbol of new life and rebirth.

The Celebration:

This is a day to be outside, to enjoy the elements, to run wild like March Hare
Ask everyone to bring something to fly in the wind such as kites, ribbons or prayer flags
Ask everyone to bring a decorated hard-boiled egg (guess it could be chocolate). Before you begin your walk, gather in a circle and if there are some new faces, welcome them and help them to feel included. Everyone in turn says their name and as they do so, each person places their egg at the centre of the circle and makes a ‘pledge of potential’ to help the Earth in some way. Inspire each other with your boldness and creative plans! Enjoy the sight of all the eggs lying in the grass and pass around a hot fruit cup, offering a toast to everyone’s endeavours as you take a sip.
Gather up the eggs (eat en route) and use the walk to network and develop the ideas and plans put forward.
At the top of the hill or wherever you decide to stop, fly kites and plant the prayer flags in the Earth, sending out messages of hope and prayers for peace on the wind. Take some pens and write prayers, messages of hope and good wishes onto ribbons. These can be tied onto a stick and run with in the wind.
A chant:
Building bridges between our divisions,
I reach out to you as you reach out to me.
With all of our voices and all of our visions,
Together we can make such a sweet harmony.
Together we can make such a sweet harmony.


There is another section which is the “Ceremony” where you use chocolate eggs and that’s where you think about the energy of the Equinox Hare to lead you on a journey within, asking for inspiration and wisdom for your new plans.

Winds of Change
At this time of year we can inspire each other with prophecies of hope, the power of ‘We’ and our willingness and power to bring change into the world as we create opportunities for a bright new future. Inspire others to join in and spread actions with heart, actions that bring heartfelt common bonds of friendship and community into our lives! Bring the Equinox spark of fertility to your most positive actions! Feel the winds of change and the potential we are part of vibrating in every cell in your body!

Wishing I could be there. Hoping you find this useful.

Denny

Fire the Imagination Catalogue

I just got a couple of beautiful catalogues in the mail from www.firetheimagination.ca. They sell music and books on CD, including Classical Kids, Jim Weiss, Horrible Histories, Story of the World, Putamayo Kids and lots more. This year they also sent the Barefoot Books catalogue; I've only had one of these books from the library (The Barefoot Book of Blessings) and my kids and I absolutely loved it. Many of the books in the catalogue are based on folk tales, fairy tales and myths - they also sell beautiful puzzles and puppets. If anyone wants to take a look at them before we get our April resource money just let me know. I could bring them to Mary-Sue's or to our next meeting.

Equinox/Ostara Celebration Invitation

Hello,
Please come celebrate the equinox and Ostara (Eostar) with us on Wednesday morning, March 21st, say, around 10? We'll cast a circle around the fire (hoping for a sunny day and an outdoor event) have a potluck lunch, hunt for ostara eggs, sprinkle some seeds, sing some songs, and do some rituals...
See you then?

Question

Wondering if we could all ponder this question and bring our thoughts/feelings tomorrow night:

"What needs do you bring to our monthly homelearning support meetings? What kind of discussions would fill you up and contribute to your homelearning journey with your children?"

(thanks, Denny!)

I'm wondering if we can start out the meeting by passing the talking stick (great idea, Monique!) around and giving everyone who wants to the opportunity to share what they're feeling, what they're needing, and what they're hoping will come of this meeting. I think we're all feeling anxious about the meeting, so with this sort of empathic start perhaps it will help to calm us and feel more present. I want you to know that I deeply believe that we will all leave with more understanding, more compassion and the feeling of really being seen and heard. This is the vision I am holding.

Missing Post

Very Important Meeting: tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 13th at 6:oo pm at Bean To Cup in basement. PLEASE find a way to come to share your head and heart and discuss the future direction of our community, our meetings, and our blog. Thank you!!


I am very concerned about the direction of our last post. I am concerned that there are people who feel hurt and misunderstood and judged and I just thought that it would be better to suspend that conversation until we have it in person. I am also concerned about having such a personal conversation in such a public place. I have saved a copy of the post and all the comments so that if we need to see them, we have them. I hope everyone is okay with that. Maybe we can start a thread here about when we can meet. How about Wednesday evening at Bean to Cup? Or would it feel better in someone's home? What do you all think?

Craft social morning Monday the 12th

Everyone is welcome to come over Monday morning anytime between 9-930. I was thinking we could make windsocks. Would anyone be willing to bring extra scissors,as well as hot glue gun mine is packed, and then things to decorate your sock with. I will get enough big foam sheets for the body of the sock as well as I have different decorating things. How many are coming? Does everyone know where I live? Looking forward to it. Michelle

Kaetlyn's Insulin Pump fundraising

We are having a ritual to set our intention for raising the money for Kaetlyn's insulin pump this Friday at 7pm at our house. You can find the details at www.chickadoodle.blogspot.com (and our first fundraising efforts are up there now, too). You are all invited. We'll have some snacks and we'll brainstorm and plan and do a ritual to get this started off.

Thanks for all your support!

Kids Yoga

Post from Angela
Our last yoga class of this session is on Thursday ... if anyone wants to join for the next 6-week round it will start the following Thursday, March 15th. I feel so fortunate to have Terryn offering this. She has such a respectful manner and is particularly in tune to what our kids can bring to the experience ... like she realizes that it's not just us benefiting from this, that it's a mutual relationship and she too is learning and growing due to her involvement with these kids.
Here's Terryn's email to me:

Hi Angela,I wanted to start by saying how much I appreciate youinquiring into kid's yoga. I am so honored that I getto teach the kids and it's such a blast!Thank you for manifesting kid's yoga in Vernon!Also, tomorrow will be our 5th class so I am justchecking in again if people want to do another 6sessions.I know that you all do a bunch of different activitiesso I am not sure how long you expected it to go for orhow long you wanted to do it for. I will continue toteach on Thursdays as long as I have enough studentsso those that want to continue it would be great andthose that don't I just want to repeat myself insaying Thank you!Terryn

4-H

A post from Angela,
Hello all,
I was just talking with Lorna Kotz, the 4-H coordinator in our area. I had a great experience with 4-H when I was growing up and I know a lot of homeschoolers who speak highly of its benefits so I decided to inquire about the options here. Lorna (lkotz@shaw.ca) would like to start a community group that would allow members to pick and choose which focus they take, choosing from the following options:
 Adopt-A-Grandparent
 Agricultural Awareness
 Agro-Forestry
 Aquaculture
 Beef
 Bicycle
 Cavy
 Clothing
 Cloverbuds
 Craft
 Dairy
 Dog
 Enviroment
 Field Crop
 Foods
 Gardening
 Goat
 Honeybee
 Horse
 Leathercraft
 Llama
 Marketing
 Outdoor Living
 Photography
 Poultry
 Rabbit
 Sheep
 Small Engines
 Swine
 Tractor
 Wool Craft
Lorna's daughter is a 4-H ambassador and would like to come to our homeschooling meeting next week to answer any questions and to tell us a little more about 4-H. Would that be okay with everyone?
Here's a site to check out a little more about 4-H.
Angela
Side note: Angela and I discussed whether the 4-H structure would really mesh with our goals/philosophy, especially with respect to record keeping/badge earning, so I will ask about this - can we do 4-H on our own terms, without the factor of having to "earn" anything. If we could access the resources etc. but not be forced to use their structure, it could be good for us. Anyway, we can discuss it and who know what can come out of this. Angela can't make the Wednesday meeting, but if we are prepared with questions (unless anyone really doesn't want the ambassador coming to our meeting) then we can see where it goes.

Sharing Resources

Hi folks,

I was thinking that it would be great if we could share those kinds of resources that are expensive and that schools usually have but we don't. For example, if I bought one of those funky plastic skeletons I could put that on some kind of list that we keep, and then if you want to borrow a skeleton - there it is. I'm thinking of science-type stuff and whatever. So if people think this is a good idea perhaps we could start a list. So far I don't have much, but what I do have may be useful to others, such as my plastic beaker set. I would have a few things to put on a list if I thought about it a bit - things that we wouldn't mind sharing for a month at a time or so (we could trade them back and forth at our monthly meeting). So whatcha think?

PS - does anyone have a plastic skeleton?

Don't Forget...

that we're meeting at my house tomorrow evening at 7pm to talk about the ideas in The Continuum Concept.

Last Skating?

I'm feeling a bit disappointed that I haven't taken my kids skating much this winter. And we missed out today, too, as I forgot until too late... Did any of you go?
It looks like the last homeschooling time at the outdoor rink is on Monday, 10:30 until 11:30. Would anyone like to meet us there? I'm determined to make it, unless it's pouring rain or the ice has all melted (ha!) It's always more fun when people we know are there too... Anyone?

The Continuum Concept Conversation

Oooh! I'm excited! Let's schedule it for Tuesday, Feb 27 at 7pm at my house. Thanks everyone!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit: Too much going on this week so I'd like to extend this invitation to NEXT week (Feb 26, 27 or 28). Would that work? What evening? Monday? Tuesday? or Wednesday?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would anyone like to come to my house next Wednesday (Feb 21 at 7pm) for a conversation about this book? I'll have tea and chocolate.
Anyone? Anyone?

Movie Time

I'm going to see Shut Up and Sing (click on the title for more info) on Monday night at 7:30pm at the Towne Theatre. Anyone want to join me? I often go to the film society movies (they show every other Monday night) and they're often sold-out with long line-ups to get in down the street. When I remember, I buy my ticket in advance. If anyone can plan that far ahead I could pick up your ticket when I get mine. This looks like a really good one.

Another Option for ordering bulk flour

Karen's friend, Anita orders regularly from an organic mill in Chilliwack. We could also go in with her on an order. I'm thinking their flour might be more natural and definitely fresher, as they grind the wheat right there, fresh. Here's the link to the mill. They don't have the prices listed but according to Karen's price list (which is old) stone ground organic spelt is $43.80 for 20 kilos and whole wheat stone ground flour is $19.75 for 20 kilos.
Anita will be placing an order in the next couple of weeks. What do you think? I'm leaning towards this option.

Ice Fishing

We went to visit my Grandma yesterday and when driving by Wood Lake noticed SO many people out there ice-fishing! There were lots of seagulls around and even a small heron, standing out there on the ice, so I assume there must have been some fish coming up. Annika and Pedar are SO keen to give it a try, so we're heading out there today. We have NO idea what we're doing, but hoping to use a hole that's already been made and give it a go.
I would have thought the lake wouldn't be frozen thick enough by now, but apparently it is! Just wanted to let you know in case anyone else has been keen to go ice-fishing...

UPDATE: We went out, the lake is BARELY safe with only 4 inches of ice. I was too nervous to keep my kids out there for any length of time so we had a quick look, chatted to the men who were out there fishing (they were catching kokanee YUM! and 2 blue herons were waiting patiently for the heads!) and came home. The lake is thawed all around the edges so we had to jump across water to get onto the ice! Yikes!

Food

So Mary Sue and I in our search for organic spelt flour at an affordable price have come to the conclusion that we must order it ourselves from the source. Big Buy which has been so gracious as to order it from Dan-d-pak is not ordering from them right now and might not be ordering from them again. Everywhere else Mary Sue looked was very expensive - especially if one is trying to do all their own baking.

So what we have decided to do is to put an order into Dan-d-pak ourselves. I have called and ordered the catalogue. You remember my stories about the 50lbs of sea salt and how much 5 lbs of oregano really is? Yes, that was ordered from Dan-d-pak (no idea if I am spelling that right...). From there we can order a 50 lb bag of organic whole grain spelt flour for $50. Now if we have an order for $1000 then the shipping is free. From these people you can also order many organic things and non-organic. In fact, I believe that Rancho Vignola gets some of their stuff from them (making an assumption from the box that my stuff came in). I've bought organic nuts from Dan-d-pak before and they were great. They have all kinds of baking stuff. I am thinking right now that I would like to get an order together every 3 months and buy 3 months worth of flour at a time. If we got a few people together, we could easily make the $1000 limit. If you are interested, let me know and I will arrange a get-together when the catalogue comes in. Feel free to share this with others, too. There will be no profit made on this.

You can check them out here. But they have much more than you can see on the website and they have things in large quantities - not just those little packages.

spring cleaning

For those of you who were not at our meeting last week - I suggested we get together and spring clean each other's homes. What I'd like to see is us getting together (with our kids who can help if they'd like) once a week until spring. We'd clean one house each week until we were done. I'm thinking of doing things like windows, walls, cupboards, dusting, and de-cluttering. Or - we could focus on one big job (like a really disorganized storage room).I guess we could do just about anything that would make you feel ready for spring. If you are interested please let me know asap so I can start organizing this. When you respond please let me know which days work best for you and which jobs you would like to have done.

Snow Fun

I took my kids out to the Candlemass celebration and it was very magical. One of their activities was painting in the snow. The kids had made a giant castle for the gnomes and some snow people and then all the children were given big paintbrushes and some yogurt containers full of very diluted watercolour paints and they LOVEd painting the scene. My kids have been doing it non-stop ever since. I'm sure tempura paints would work as well, and it really isn't just for little-kids, as I can just imagine the magnificent artwork Maggie could create on her front lawn! We're finding that the slushy snow is perfect for this activity (and not much else?) as you can quickly scoop up a slushy castle with the wet snow... SO fun! Maybe this is an old idea for all of you, but just wanted to share in case you're looking for something fun outside to do...

Resources from our Feb. 7 meeting

Hi, so I said I would give you the info on the free on-line audio stories: http://www.homeschoolradioshows.com/
You sign up and get one free story a week - it's the old radio shows and some are pretty cool. I just play them on the computer and the boys sit in my office and listen to them.

The other resource I wanted to mention is a book called Keeping A Nature Journal. It's available at Amazon.ca and I've heard really great things about it - for introducing people of all ages to observing and recording nature. I have ordered it so can bring it to the next meeting.

And - here are some books for kids that are about philosophy/our place in the cosmos - that sort of thing. I haven't read them yet but many are in our library:
Old Turtle (there are a couple, the first is not in the library YET - I'm requesting they buy it, but they have one of the other...Old Turtle and the Broken Promise I think
All I See is Part of Me - Chara Curtis
The Three Questions - Jon Muth
Zen Shorts - Jon Muth
The Jupiter Stone

it was great to see you all - great conversation!! AND - I do think the work-bee idea for house cleaning is great - especially for those of you who are going to be moving - we ought to come and help you clean either your old house or your new house or both!

crafting next week

For those of you interested in getting together to do collage...how does Monday morning work for you? I'm thinking that some of us have babies that need to sleep in the afternoon so maybe 9:30 or 10 until noonish?

Parents Support Meeting this Wed, Feb 7

Just a reminder that this Wednesday at Bean to Cup at 7pm is our support meeting. I am really feeling the need to connect in this way - especially after missing last month's. I put the notice in the paper, too. I look forward to seeing you all and drinking some lavender tea!

Candelmas Festival

The Cedar Bridge Waldorf School is hosting a canlelmas festival this Wednesday from 3-5:15 at their school in Lavington. Their poster says:

Our celebration is a festival of food, colour and warmth. Dress warmly and wear a
costume as we will make instruments to play as we parade our school grounds with
the Candlemas King and Queen. We'll light candles to warm the earth to help the
gnomes as they light the seeds beneath the snow mantle above. A special puppet show,
"The Star Child" will be presented as well. Please RSVP at 547-9351. We look forward to
seeing you!

I'm going to take my kids out there to check it out. Jen says that they are considering giving homeschoolers the option of doing school one day a week. Hope to see some of you there!

I needed that...

My crabby day turned wonderful when I saw all of you this morning. I've missed you all so much- we need to do this way more often. Thank-you Mary-Sue for putting it on and taking the initiative to lead us in a meaningful seasonal celebration. We were inspired to have our own fire tonight with daddy and burn a few more little slips of paper. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. See you soon for some crafting I hope.

Celebration Tomorrow

Brrrrrrrr! If tomorrow is anything like today, we'll be celebrating INdoors! We have a hearth fire, which is a big part of the Imbolc celebration, so we'll gather around it. It'll be more crowded, but we'll manage nicely, I'm sure. So 9 o'clock it is.
Just a couple of things: There is one part of the fire ritual where we encourage our children (and us) to release any psychic "dust" we may be holding onto from the past year. We draw a picture or write something we regret, a word we wished we hadn't said, or something we wish we'd done differently. This is all done in private, unless someone feels they want to share what they're releasing. Then we crumple the paper and THROW it into the fire symbolically releasing it from our minds and hearts. So, we all can keep this ceremony in mind in case we need a little time to think of something. Then the other part is writing down something we want to manifest in this coming year, so we can be thinking of that too.
See you tomorrow! Use the comments to ask any questions or share ideas...

Kids and Parents Yoga Starts Tomorrow!

Terryn, from Inner Light Yoga, is teaching us another kids' yoga class. It's from noon until 1pm Thursdays, for 6 weeks. Participating children and parents are $5 each per class. Bring a check for $30 for each person tomorrow to 2807-44 Avenue (across from Coopers on 44 Ave, just off 27th Street, park in Coopers parking lot and walk across 44 Ave, you'll see the sign on the door). It's SUCH a fun class and so far I've heard nothing but rave reviews from those of us who just completed the first 6 week session. We'd love to fill the class with all homelearners again, so come join us!

crafting anyone?

I'm really missing the crafty Fridays we had last year. Am I alone in this? I'd like to start it up again and am willing to organize the first one. I've been doing collage with my kids and they love it. I'm proposing we get together with all of our interesting scrap paper, books, mags, maps etc. and some glue and let the kids go at it. We could even do a huge group collage. Pretty much any morning except Thursday works for me and we can use my house if there are just a few people interested. Anyone up for it?

Invitation to Celebrate Imbolc

Edit: we will meet at 9 o'clock. Please try to come a few minutes early so nobody is standing in the cold waiting for the rest of the group. Exciting!

Please come to our house (5799 Barker Road, phone #503-1147) the morning of February 2 (in the comments we can discuss what time will work best for everyone) to celebrate Imbolc. True celebrations would begin at dawn -- anyone up for that?

"Imbolc" means "great belly" and refers to the life growing inside the earth, but not yet visible to the eye. It is a time of cleansing and symbolic preparation for our own new growth. Imbolc is the mid-point of the dark half of the year and is a celebration of renewal and preparation for Spring, a celebration of the waxing of the Sun. Spring cleaning begins on this day and the first seedlings are planted into eggshells filled with soil. Traditionally this was also when the candles were made, and in Scandinavian countries, the maiden wore a crown of lighted candles imbedded in a wreath of holly during the celebrations (Karen? hee!) Traditional foods were made from seeds (to symbolize growth) and raisins (fruit of the Sun God).

So, here's what I'm envisioning:

- a great cleansing fire (bring anything you'd like to ritualistically burn -- maybe old habits you're done with, written on paper to renounce and throw into the fire?)

- planting of some seeds (after each seed is planted we wave our hand over it and say "Grow, grow tall and free. Grow, grow tall as a tree.")

- did anyone gather any sweet grass last Autumn? hee! this is the day to lay it out in the sun, invoking the awakening of the Goddess who has been sleeping all winter...

- anyone know any songs that we could sing around the fire? "Circle Round" is a good one (Anne Hill - if you'd like a copy let me know) It's simple and easy to remember.

- I'm suggesting that Denny, Aidan and Cass come join US for this celebration and bring your guitar and recorder! Everyone else should feel welcome to bring instruments to sing to the sun, as well. I think drums would be especially effective.

- And any symbolic foods you want to bring to share.

- Also, this is a time to go through our homes and clean out what we don't need/value anymore and give it those who need it more than we do. I thought it would be neat to bring anything you want to donate to the Imbolc celebration so that we can all to a symbolic release of it together.

- And lastly, this is the day of the bride. Not the bride as we know it today, but more the goddess -- but white is very symbolic of the rebirth of the goddess bride. If any of the little girls are inclined to dress up as a bride, this would be the day to do it! As weird as that seems in our current culture...

So? What do you think? Use the comments section to share your ideas and thoughts and feelings on this, please.

dancing

Hi - I just want to mention that Evan is doing a boys' HipHop class with a really outstanding young teacher - Nikki, who is also my modern dance teacher. Anyway, she is open to doing things for people if there is demand (she spends Thursday evenings in Falkland for all of us Falkland dancers) and I was just thinking that if there were a group of similarly aged kids who wanted to dance together, I bet we could ask her to do a homeschooling camp in the summer for a week, or do a homeschooling dance class next year at the studio (Accentz, by Nature's Fare) or something like that. Evan loves his class, and this is a kid who doesn't take classes because he doesn't like being told what to do. He won't even take any more swimming lessons. She teaches many styles of dance and is very fun and always has great music and a big smile. The HipHop is very challenging (she has done a bit with us and it is extremely difficult) but the boys are totally into it. We really love her.

Documentary

In my SPUD newsletter there was an interesting article about the documentary titled "Who Killed the Electric Car". It says the director's film has all the elements of a murder mystery as he looks at the birth and death of the electric car and its place in the history of a larger car culture. Did you know there were more electric cars on the road 100 years ago than gas-powered ones? It sounds very interesting and it's out on DVD.

Also, if you know anyone who is looking to get married, there is a new magazine out for eco-savvy brides and grooms. It offers beautiful, inspired, smart wedding ideas that support an environmentally and socially conscious lifestyle. The premier issue just launched this month.

www.portovert.com

That's my news for today.

Denny

Imbolc, February 2

I would like to have a big fire down by our creek and some festivities to celebrate Imbolc. Is anyone interested?

Test Post

This is the first post on the new Homelearners blog site. The purpose of this blog is to facilitate an efficient, easy way to communicate between all of us. We're thinking it will be a great place to post ideas, projects you're working on, activity invitations (like "We want to skate tomorrow, anyone want to meet us at _____?"), plans, etc. Everyone will be given the password so we can all post whenever we wish to. What do you think?