Monday, March 30, 2009

Playgroup at the park

At the last homeschooling meeting we decided to try having our playgroup start up again. So, we thought we would try for Fridays at about noon at Lakeview Park (weather permitting).
Hope to see you there.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Free Concert Tonight (Sunday)

Hi Everyone,
There's a free concert tonight in Vernon (Sunday 29) at the Vernon Performing Arts Center. Kids under 12 are free, adults and older kids pay $7.50 at the door.This is kind of like being there live for Canadian Idol, except that it's 10 finalists from the Okanagan and they're all ages 8 to 18.My son 8 year old son Jacob and his friend Kai (both homeschooled) will be playing their fiddle tunes. They call themselves Double Trouble. The audience gets to vote for their favourite act and then the winner will be announced at the end of the show. The winner gets to play at the Rare Earth Jazz and Blues Fest and wins $5000 so it's a pretty big deal.I have more info on my blog. I'd love to see a big homeschool turnout tonight!Sarah Bennett
http://fanningflame.wordpress.com/

Saturday, March 28, 2009

kefir curds/grains

Hi Everyone,
I'm looking for kefir curds/grains locally (preferably). Does anyone have them or know of where I could get them?

Not too Late for Permaculture Course


Reminder about the Introduction to Permaculture course being held in Falkland on April 25,26.

Just to let you know I have extended the $130 fee until March 31 (regular fee is $150). (Just for comparison, a horse workshop being held out in Falkland on the same weekend is asking $275 for the 2 days, which also includes one dinner).

Thursday, March 26, 2009

meeting tonight

Hi everyone,

Just a quick reminder that tonight is our monthly meeting at Bean to Cup - 7pm in the downstairs meeting room. Hope to see some of you there. I'll be late but am looking forward to it!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Library Day

Hi Everyone,
I would like to start a weekly Library Day at the Library for Home Learners. Here are some of my ideas:
-Library to donate their meeting room (I've heard its big) for Home Learners one hour each week at the same time from Oct 1-May 31.. We could start this year as soon as possible and continue to end of May.
-Informal drop-in meeting for North Okanagan Home Learners of all ages
-Bring board games to play, projects to share/talk about, books to share etc...

Since I'm new in town I'm wondering if anyone knows of a good contact at the Library?
Any other ideas or suggestions?
Thanks,
Delia

Monday, March 9, 2009

I am posting this from the Inner World School, for those who are interested.

**************************

Hello Everyone,

This spring we are offering three Dancing Bua classes. There will be two creative ballet classes for older children (ages 6 – 10) on different days and a creative movement class for younger children (ages 4 – 6). Keep reading for descriptions of the classes and for the dates and times they are offered.

Creative Movement: This class is for children aged 3 - 5. We will work on coordination, gracefulness and self-esteem through dance. We will play games, explore different styles of dance and different kinds of music and have a lot of fun! The emphasis will be on fun and creativity and supporting the children in discovering and connecting to their own inner creativity. The class will culminate in a performance for parents and friends that the students will help choreograph. (date to be announced later)

Fridays, 3pm - 3:30

March 27 - June 19 (no classes on Good Friday, April 10)

$120.00 ($10 a class)

Creative Ballet:

This beginning ballet class is about connecting children with the real beauty and art of ballet and encouraging the art and talent of the children in the class. We will go on a journey deeper into the passion, the discipline, the beauty and the art of ballet.

This class uses the technique of ballet to learn more about dance. All participating children are expected to attend the rest of the dance series at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre ( last performance is April 17). I am able to purchase tickets for dancers and their families for $10 tickets in batches of 5.

The class will be flexible and responsive to the participants and it will also work towards goals of mastering ballet techniques and developing strength, flexibility and stage presence. Our performance at the end of the semester will be dominated by the individual choreography of the students. The instructor believes that as the children study and come to understand more about ballet, it will naturally emerge in their own style of dance. She believes that fostering this excitement, creativity, and personal expression in dance is as crucial as learning technique and will have a much longer lasting impact whether or not they continue with their studies in dance.

Two options for this class:

Thursdays, 3:15 - 4:15

March 26 - June 11

$120.00 ($10 a class)

or

Fridays 3:45 - 4:45

March 27 - June 19 (no classes on Good Friday, April 10)

To register, e-mail Andrea at innerworldschool@shaw.ca or call 250-503-5416

Thursday, March 5, 2009

So, What are You doing On Monday at 1:30?

Edited to add: Council meetings are in the Council Chambers at City Hall, just to the left inside the main doors. You can bring your letter along and drop it at the reception desk, to the attention of Patti Bridal, the city clerk.
There are several opportunities here:
Sam Zaharia (fellow homeschooler) has been very active in our community around food security and has started lobbying the city of Vernon to change the bylaws so that we'd be able to keep a few chickens in our backyards, like the cities of Victoria, Seattle, New Westminster, Burnaby and Nanaimo. On Monday, March 9, at 1:30 pm Sam appears before council to give her 5 minute summation of her case. HERE'S A GREAT CHANCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE by showing up and showing your support for a fellow homeschooler and ultimately for food security in our fair city. As cities around the world face drought and food scarcity, it's time for us to take a stand for the right to raise as much food as we can in our own backyards. Chickens are an excellent educational way to turn food scraps into compost, eliminate pest problems in the garden (cherry fly and slugs disappear when chickens are present -- they even help keep mice populations down!) and provide fresh eggs all at the same time! We're allowed to have rabbits, which can cause all kinds of environmental problems, dogs which we all know can be noisy (and their excrement can be a real environmental problem), cats which are difficult to contain and are a very real threat to bird populations, but not chickens, the most helpful pet around! Studies show that chickens raised free-range have virtually no risk of spreading avian flu (as opposed to chickens raised industrially) yet many industrial chicken lobbyists are using that inaccurate fear to keep us from having the right to raise our own eggs and meat.
ALSO, Sam is looking for a good, loving home for two breeding pairs of Auracana chickens. This means you'll get eggs and the possibility of watching while your pair raises a flock of babies! What an educational treat! Here are her details:
BREEDING PAIR (possibly two pairs) of Auracana cross. The hens lays nice blue-green eggs. The roosters are gorgeous, show all the standard traits of the breed, show very well, have won ribbons at the IPE. We love these birds and are forced by the city to give them up so they must go to a good home, not on the dinner table!!! Must go soon. Email Sam at mumpy5@shaw.ca if you're interested.
ALSO, writing a letter to council stating your own concerns about food security and how you see having backyard chickens could be a partial solution to that would be EXTRA helpful.
HOPE TO SEE YOU ON MONDAY!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Thanks to Kathy.

Thanks Kathy for organizing the courthouse thing. It was really interesting. It was rather horrifying for me to learn that people who are allowed to carry several weapons only get 3 months of training and believe that tazers have never killed anyone. It was also disturbing to find out that you can still get into the Armed Forces if you have a record for violent behaviour - but that's my mother sensibilities there! I think the kids found it all interesting and I really appreciate your effort in organizing the day - it was so cute to watch the kids do the "mock trial". They were really into it. That was definitely a real highlight for me.

So thanks!

Skating Cancelled!

This just came to me this morning from Lynn at 7:48am...

Hi all !
I called the rink this morning, and they were unable to revive the ice last night. The outdoor rink is now
CLOSED FOR THE SEASON
Sorry for all of us who were going to skate this morning, but on a positive side, it looks like spring is here !
cheers
Lynn

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Change to Skating Time for Wednesday

This email was forwarded to me, so I thought I would pass it along:


Due to the warm weather, the rink will most likely be closed in the afternoon tomorrow. The attendant suggested we come in the morning instead, 9:30 until?.

The rest of the week will hopefully be O.K., seeing as it is supposed to get colder.


*We are going to be there tomorrow morning for sure. Hope to see lots of you!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Contact Person for the Morning Star

Hello Everyone,

I have missed the last 3 meetings and it looks like I will be working on Thursdays for the foreseeable future. Most of you know that we have an announcement that runs monthly in the Community Calendar in the Morning Star for our Parent Support Meeting. I placed the announcement and I am the contact person for people to call with questions about the meeting or our group. I was wondering if someone would be willing to take over this responsibility? The announcement runs automatically and I can connect you with Katherine Mortimer who is the editor to change the name and phone number. Other than that initial change, your only responsibility is to answer questions if someone calls and to contact Katherine if the time or place change for the meeting. I have got very few calls but I have had a few lately. I thought that someone like Jill might be a good person to do this - you always seem to know everything that is going on.

Andrea

Skating this week

Just in case not everyone got this email:

Hi there,
Seeing as it is still fairly cold, I booked skating for every day this week.
March 2 - 10:30
3 - 10:30
4 - 1:30
5 - 10:30
6 - 1:30
I will call every day or so to make sure the rink is still open, it's supposed to get warmer as the week progresses.
Michelle D.