HUB news update-Feb. 28

Homeschool HUB Weekly News--Feb. 28   Homeschool HUB phone: 269-240-6094 email: homeschoolhub@yahoo.com   website: www.hshub.org  Editor: Annette Ernsperger   The information below is offered to you as a service.  Please research and decide for yourself the value to your family.  The Homeschool HUB does not endorse any programs or services other than those offered by the Homeschool HUB.     Send information to be added to the update no later than the Thursday before the week you want it to appear:  homeschoolhub@yahoo.com   Details for the following events are on the calendar at: www.calendar.yahoo.com/homeschoolhub ON THE CALENDAR: Mar. 1 and 4--Open swimming for homeschoolers at Niles YMCA, 2-4 pm, $2  Mar. 5--Homeschool bowling, Strikes and Spares, 1-3, $5 Mar. 6--Chess at Niles library, 9:30 a.m., free HERE'S THE BUZZ: 1) Charlotte's Web at Bethel College 2) Game night 3) Lego robotics for parents 4) Six Flags reading program 5) Sunflower project 6) Homeschool prom 7) State government mini-seminar 8) Art contest 9) Notre Dame family communication project 10) Michiana Homeschool Drama Group presents: And LAST BUT NOT LEAST: classified ads and links of interest at the end of your weekly news.  See also the Letting it Ride section at the end.  1) Charlottes Web field trip performance is coming up on Thursday, March 25, 9:30 am. at Bethel College. Seats are $5 per student, teachers are free. Seats are extremely limited.  Bethel is sold out. I only have 10 left.  Please call me today to reserve your seat! Diane Day 269-445-1900. 2) Games Night again! We had a blast during our February games night, so we decided to do it again in March.  It's tentatively scheduled for March 12 from 7pm -midnight in the Community Room at the Niles police station.  Right now there is a task force using the room, and we are supposed to call March 8th or 9th to make sure they will finish up before the 12th.  We will send out an email to everyone to confirm, but hold the date for now if you like Catch Phrase, Apples to Apples, etc. 3) Lego Robotics sessions at LMC for parents Two free sessions for parents of kids currently or recently in robotics classes.  Parents will have fun learning how to program the robots and use the sensors.  No experience needed.  Limit 16.  Saturdays, March 13 and 27, from 9am - noon.  At Lake Michigan College Bertrand Crossing Campus in Niles.  For more information and to reserve a spot call Meg Edwards at 269 695-1391.   4) The Six Flags reading program is for elementary students (gades K-6). You need to log 6 hours of reading by February 24th.  List the teacher, who will also get a ticket.  If you have two children, list mom as teacher for one, and dad as teacher for the other and submit 2 separate forms (only one ticket allowed per teacher).  Send the form, with a stamped, self-addressed envelope, to the Homeschool HUB:  P.O. Box 286, Niles, MI  49120 attn: Peggy Schindler. We should receive it no later than March 1st.  Please don't forget the SASE -- we need it to send you your 6 Flags tickets when they come.  Admission tickets will be valid at participating Six Flags theme parks from June 14 to August 8, 2010.  For more info, contact: Peggy Schindler at 269-695-2686. Note: The reading log you need to fill out and return to Peggy is in PDF form as an attachment to this newsletter.   5) The Great Sunflower Project (join the hunt for bees) Time to sign up and get your seeds if you want to participate.  Go to: http://www.greatsunflower.org/ In 2008, we started this project as a way to gather information about our urban, suburban and rural bee populations. We wanted to enlist people all over the US and Canada to observe their bees and be citizen scientists. We asked them to plant sunflowers in their gardens so we could standardize study of bee activity and provide more resources for bees. Sunflowers are relatively easy to grow and are wildly attractive to bees. Since 2008, we have expanded the list of plants studied to include Bee balm, Cosmos, Rosemary, Tickseed, and Purple coneflower. So far we've found that the on average our gardeners are likely to see a bee pollinate every 2.6 minutes. Surprisingly, over 20% of our gardens never saw a bee! We want to thank all of our citizen scientists for being our observers. You can participate by getting annual Lemon Queen sunflower seeds from us, at your local store or through one of these seed sellers. The instructions are at:  http://www.greatsunflower.org/files/images/Great_Sunflower_Project_Insert_2010.pdf   No knowledge of bees required! Enter your bee counts online or send us your paper form. We would love to have you join us; let's help our most important pollinators together! 6) Homeschool Prom, "A Night of Divine Perfection," will be Saturday, May 1st, from 5-10 p.m.  The Prom is open for freshman through seniors only.  It will be held at the "Res" which is in the woods amongst beautiful trails and a creek.  The trails will be open from 5-6:30 to walk and dinner will be served at 6 p.m.  After dinner our Christian DJ will start playing some music to dance the night away. We will also take the time to honor our seniors and pray over them.   The cost is $25 a person.  Please make checks out to Dana DoBrodt and send to 58896 Elm Rd., Mishawaka, IN 46544.  Registration must be postmarked by April 15th to be accepted.  We will only take the first 60 people who send their registration in.   We ask that guys wear dress slacks and ties and girls wear modest dresses ("If you are in doubt, probably not" would be a good motto for choosing attire that evening).  Pictures will also be offered that night.   Please fill out the registration form and send along with your check.  Questions can be sent to hiddeneagles@att.net.                                                                               Name ___________________________Phone number_________________________   Year in school______ Member of homeschool group? yes or no If yes, name of homeschool group____________________________________   email _______________________________________________________________   Guest name __________________________ home schooled   yes or no   Guest's phone number __________________Yr in school___________ 7) Indiana State Government Mini-Seminar--Respond by March 10th Timothy Wesco, a homeschool graduate and candidate for Indiana State Representative District 21, will host an informative session about our state government. We will take a practical and educational behind-the-scenes look at how our Indiana government works.  This seminar is a great addition to any government or social studies course. •Do you know how our Indiana state government creates the laws we all live by in Indiana?   •Can you name any Indiana state representatives or state senators? •Do you know how many state representatives and state senators are in Indiana? •How does the campaign process work?  • How do you become a candidate for office and what is involved in the campaign process?   •How can I participate in the political process? •What is a page and how can I volunteer to be one? These questions and many more will be answered in this free, informative seminar.  Students and parents are invited to participate.   If you are interested in this unique, informative seminar, please respond by March 10th.  The location, date and size of the room we need will be determined by the response we receive. Please contact Tim or Christy Hanlon at the7hanlons@juno.com or call 674-9552 if you are interested in attending. 8) Greetings teachers,   I am writing to invite you and your students to participate in the City of Elkhart's Recycled Art Contest being held on Friday, July 23, 2010.  The Elkhart Environmental Division is holding the Recycled Art Contest at EnviroFest, our annual environmental festival being held at the Elkhart Wellfield Botanical Gardens.    The Recycled Art Contest is for any artist interested in creatively showing the human impact on our environment.  The contest will showcase recycled art, as well as mixed media highlighting human impacts on the earth.  You, your students, fellow artists or friends can enter in one or both of two categories: 1) traditional art (such as paintings, photography, and mixed media) or (2) "recycled art", which must be constructed of at least 70% reusable or natural materials (such as bottle caps, scrap metal, or natural fibers).  We ask artists to please submit only one entry per medium.  The Art Contest is open to people of all ages.     To register or receive further information, please call the Elkhart Environmental Center at (574) 293-5070.  All forms including registration and rules can all be found at www.elkhartindiana.org/eecenter.    Megan Kolaczyk Environmental Utility Coor inator Elkhart Environmental Center Phone:  574-293-5070 or 574-293-2572 Fax:  574-970-0593 Website:  www.elkhartindiana.org/eecenter Email: megan.kolaczyk@coei.org 9) The Family Communication Project:  Tune In and Listen Up!   We are looking for couples and their teens between the ages of 12-16 to participate in The Family Communication Project which focuses on the way families communicate and deal with conflict.  We hope participation in the project will strengthen family relationships.  Families can participate in the Family Communication Project if a couple (married or cohabitating for at least 2 years) has a child between the ages of 12 and 16 that lives with them.    Participation in the Family Communication Project includes attending a few visits at the University of Notre Dame's Center for Children and Families on Ironwood Dr.  The visits last about 2 1/2 hours. Families will be asked to complete some questionnaires in addition to attending the informational workshops.   Parents can earn up to $130 each for their participation. Teens can earn $50 and prizes.     We welcome your questions! If you are interested in more information or in registering for the program, please contact Jackie jbauter1@nd.edu or Ashley at 631-0887.   10) Tickets are on sale now for Michiana Home School Drama Group's presentation of  "Joseph of Arimathea" and "A Day in the Country".  "Joseph of Arimathea" is a play written by Dr. Nicky Chavers and performed by local homeschool junior/senior high students, and will be performed on March 12th at 7:30 PM.  "A Day in the Country" is a musical performed by local elementary home school students, and will be performed on March 13th at 10:30 AM.  Both performances will be held at 1st Baptist Church, 1446 E. Main St., Niles, MI.  Tickets for either performance are just $5 per person, or $20 per family for larger families.  Tickets may be obtained through any cast member, or by calling Deb or Rebekah at 288-0394, or will be available at the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  CLASSIFIEDS   We are moving and have these items for sale.  If interested can e-mail carollucia@comcast.net or call 269-262-0184 or after March 7, 269-228-8063 and ask for Carol. I can e-mail pics if you'd like. Thank you. ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD First Act MI061 - $30 Like new 61 key electronic keyboard. Great for child to learn on.   BBC MUZZY VHS Spanish Language Learning System - $35 This is the BBC Early Advantage Language Course for Children. It is in like NEW condition. Spanish Level 1 VHS. Complete set Level 1: 2 VHS tapes - these videos contain a total of 6 Muzzy lessons in Spanish. 2 VHS tapes - these are vocabulary builders lessons 1-27. 1 VHS tape in English. tells the Muzzy story in English--Can be very helpful for some children. 2 Audio cassetes-includes all of the dialogs and lessons- great for in the car and to focus on Muzzy's songs. Muzzy at the Seaside CD-ROM--language activities for all ages Muzzy Scriptbook- allows parents and older children to follow and read aloud to younger children scene by scene. Muzzy Parents Guide.   LINCOLN LOGS FRONTIER LOOKOUT PLUS - $15 Lincoln Logs Frontier Lookout set plus more logs, etc. Also includes plastic army figures and toys mixed in.   TOYS AND FUN GALORE - $15 Cleaning out the toy room. FUN Play RUG, best lock, magnet toys (NOT FOR YOUNG CHILDREN), K'nex, yoyo, play snake, balls, misc.   CHILD'S ROCKING CHAIR w/Bear - $15 Solid Wood Rocking Chair for child with or without teddy bear. Great condition. Have something for sale, free or trade?  Advertise here! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LAST BUT NOT LEAST--LINKS OF INTEREST (links do not imply endorsement):  How to write a letter: http://lesson-plans-materials.suite101.com/article.cfm/valentine_letter_writing Virtual tour of a football factory: http://www.homefires.com/click?football Backyard birdwatching: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ Do you have any favorite websites?  Send them to us and we'll share them! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LETTING IT RIDE: The Homeschool HUB is continuing to collect Campbell Soup labels, Campbell's Chunky Soup labels, Campbell's Healthy Request labels, Campbell's Select harvest, Franco-American, Pepperidge Farm, Spaghettios, Swanson, V-8 Beverages, V-8 Fusion, Prego Italian Sauces and Campbell's Food Service.   Give your labels to any board member or bring them to our homeschool functions. --AND-- We are still accepting Boxtops for education labels.  You can find these on: Betty Crocker goods Gold Medal Flour Nestle products Cherrios Cascadian Farm products Chex Cocoa Puffs Cookie Crisp Country Cornflakes Fiber One products Golden Grahams Honey Nut Clusters Lucky Charms Oatmeal Crisps TotalTrix Wheaties Green Giant vegetables Pillsbury Toaster Strudel Totino Pizza olls Hamburger Helper meals Old El Paso Suddenly Salad Yoplait Fruit Flavored shapes Ziploc Kleenex Scott Kotex Poise Depend Hefty Nature Valley Cottonelle  Huggies Goodnites Pull Ups Avery School supplies Go to Boxtops for Education.org for more info, and then SAVE SAVE SAVE  those labels.  Each one nets 10 cents and every 10 cents adds up. You can give them to any HUB board director or bring them to any of our functions that we will be having.  Thank-you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DISCLAIMERS:  While the Homeschool HUB believes that these events or opportunities may be of value to home educators, announcements do not constitute an endorsement by the Homeschool HUB, or its Board of Directors. It is the responsibility of individual parents to determine the appropriateness of any event or opportunity for their children. Participation in any event is voluntary and the participant assumes complete responsibility and liability for themselves, their family, anyone accompanying them, and their personal property.