Mount Vernon Homeschoolers

Happy Valentine's Day

New and exciting news about Reading Rewards

4-H Feb 10 Lisa's for Valentine Card Making. 11 to 12:30

Feb. 24 Bowling (Last month's newsletter info) 11:00

Sherwood Library Lap Book

Earth book Presentation.

Feb. 12 Actual Birthday of President Lincoln

Feb. 14 Happy Valentine's Day 4:30 - 6:00 Eat, drink cola and be merry.

Feb 16 President's Day

Feb. 22 Actual Birthday of President Washington

Feb. 29 Leap Year

Continuing Events

Mount Vernon Homeschoolers

February 1, 2004 Newsletter #41 Editor: Suzanne
Student editor: Kathy

We had one of those months last month. One where most of what we planned didn't happen the way it was planned. We enjoyed the sleepover for the Birthday and kept meeting for math and writing. But, the activities were changed for snow dates. We will reschedule bowling for those who are snarling at the editor and muttering about insurrection.

The weather chilled and we had wonderful snow and ice. It was hard to be inside at the table and see the neighbor kids with their sleds on our hill. We did go out and join them. We also kept working with a schooling with Internet research on earth related subjects. We will share our research in two ways this month. With the speeches and with a Field trip.

Still have lots of ice and snow out there. Keep up the fun times this month with getting together and talking together.

Old Country Buffet will be including us in a community program offered to the schools and thanks to Kelly, the manager at OCB, the Mount Vernon Homeschoolers will get coupons for each child who reads and submits a list of books you've read. We can have some meals to celebrate every 20 books. We hope to finalize the plans and start this month with some great reading from all of you.

Bring scissors, glue, paper. We always share the goodies for our best annual celebration of card making in time for mailing to Grandma's and Aunts and hiding from Mom and Dad. We set up tables for candy writing and card making and have a mass production. Bring some snacks and we can work on some funny Valentine's.

Meet at the Bowling Alley (under Shopper's Food Warehouse, Shopper's food warehouse, 6228 N Kings Hwy, Alexandria, VA. Bring leather projects to show. We will meet to let our bumpers down and roll some balls down.

We will also be talking about making a stamp for the GPS unit in March. The Letterbox unit will include a Scavenger hunt for the location and placement of a plastic shoe box and we will locate it using measurement and direction. Place our stamp in a notebook. In a personal notebook, we will write what was in the box and leave our stamp on the page in the letterbox. We can remove or place an item in the box, close the lid and place it back and let the next person find the box.

As usual when we have a meeting like this, we will pay for our own bunch and bowl or let them bowl to their hearts content. And, if the editor bowls, we promise not to laugh. Bumpers up.

Feb. 11 11:00-1

Bring your Lap book on the subject of Earth to Sherwood Library for presentation. We expect each student to own the information and be able to answer questions about your preselected topic. This will be a long presentation with so many children to stand up at the podium and present their topic. We expect the meeting to run long. 11:00 to 1:00. After the meeting, we would like to adjourn to Old Country Buffet for a lunch (for those who want to come).

We love to present the lap books and talk about the research and look at the books. The Space books were amazing and the children have been working hard on the earth books. Delayed by snow, ice and more weather, we canceled this and moved it to the February calendar. Not to be missed for the pleasure of watching our children give speeches and answer questions. Praise, and challenging questions await us. Please try to join us at lunch at the Old Country Buffet after we have enjoyed this presentation

Wondering if our families would like to get together for an old-fashioned pot luck supper where we bring a dish, drink, salad, paper plate, and dessert to share and meet at Lisa's for a dinner and teen dance. The teens can show off their swing skills, we could play games, listen to music and eat chocolate.

Let Suzanne or Lisa know if you are interested in an evening activity with the whole family included and we will make it happen.

Everybody can meet and we can have fun.

Mount Vernon offers a free day for G. Washington's Birthday and the Mount Vernon Homeschoolers usually go to the estate on that day and meander around. We like to see the celebration on the green and the wreath laying on the tomb. We like to make a day of it and have peanut soup in the Mount Vernon Inn. Since we live across the street from the original entrance to Mount Vernon, this has become a tradition for us. Look for you all there.

One year, Oleg thought that the guns aimed at the board president had shot the lady. He yelled and our neighbor gave a discussion about saltpeter being used in the muskets. When the smoke cleared, Oleg was pleased no one was hurt. We were so close to the drill, we were smelling the smoke for a long time.

That was one on our best trips and we will miss David, Al, Maureen and Mariah being there this year for those great discussions about Colonial Life. Maureen says it is -02 with a wind chill in Wisconsin. She has seen deer and wild things in the woods and on the trails.

Have a new weather station in my front yard with all kinds of information at a glance. Had to stop looking at the teens on it.

We are planning a Field trip to Reston to visit the Geological Survey office. Meet at 10:00 at Lisa's and return in the afternoon. This should let us look at great maps and be the perfect end to our study of Planet earth this month. Extra day, extra fun.

February / 2004

4
10:00 Cooperative Classes

10
11:00 4-H Valentine Making

11
11:00 Sherwood Library, Earth Books

12
10:00 Cooperative Classes

14
4:30 P.M. PotLuck supper and party(?)
Happy Valentine's Day

16
11:00 Free Day at Mt. Vernon

18
10:00 Cooperative Classes

24
11:00 Bowling

25
10:00 Cooperative Classes

29
10:00 a.m. Field Trip Reston USGS

Every Wednesday Co-operative classes with parent tutors helping the teens with algebra and Language Arts. We handed out "Twenty Little Art Lessons" with instruction to read and complete the units. The younger students are enjoying fractions and working on math notebooks. We ordered math books from Half.com and found them available from the library.

Teens continued writing classes and developed short story plots, character and setting. They are assigned to write the stories now and we eagerly await the short stories. The younger children have been learning lists of words and stand-up spelling. They love to do their work and have a recess where they have time to play and talk together. Some of them play cards and some play outside while the teens work. We took them on an extra long nature walk through the woods to Huntley Meadows where we found exciting paths and adventure.

This time of year, the meadows have visual wonders. We love to see the sparkle of the woods, the ice, the colors of nature. And, the kids are hardy for the exercise and ruby cheeked from running all over in the chill.

Reading Reward One (Ice Cream Party for 25 Books.) Still happens, write down your books, call the editor and invite her to drop everything and come over for gallons of ice cream and lots of toppings and we party We have winners in this eating contest, The younger ones who listen carefully and Alex have eaten their fill for some serious book reading. Now, we have the added incentive of Old Country Buffet, which is on the children's list for best place to eat mass quantities of mashed potatoes with sunflower seeds and gravy. Proud of all our home students. This is one excellent year for teaching. Think all of you are coming to the party. It's Sunday and my crowd has been painting while the newsletter goes up. Hope to see you all at the activities this month.