It's time to get our Ninja on, folks! Book races, talent shows & turkeys... oh my!

A lovely meeting was held last week by several local moms, chit chatting about the future education of our children. 

Ummm, I love that times 100 ; )

As a momma who will have children in both public and homeschool this year I can assure you, no matter your form of schooling- it can be lovely.

On to the nuts and bolts, folks!

There will be a Back To School Kick Off September 5th 6:30pm @ McSpadden Park, Chelsea 

Dress for a mess because we are going to be having fun! 

Watermelon eating contest

Relay race

Water balloon dodge ball

Sack races

Apple catching

It's sure to be a fun time! Please eat before you come or pack a snack for your family WE WILL NOT BE SERVING DINNER

***this is NOT an event only for Ninjas! It is for anyone who currently homeschools OR  considering homeschooling. It's for people in our group, considering joining our group OR not in our group at all! **  Remember, we exist to provide an outlet for homeshool familes to find lasting friendship, information, and to have ecnouragement for the long road of education. It's all abut making friends, sharing life together, all while learning!

A few things to look forward to!

Monthly we will be celebrating birthdays. Just a simple, monthly recognition of who had a birthday mixed with some sort of sweet to make it complete =) of course, right?! We know some children have peanut allergies so of course, you moms can make it special for your kiddos. We will have more info for this at the kick off. 

Book Race: Monthly, we will be having a reading challenge!  But first, allow me to share this:

I have enrolled our co-op in the Braums Buddy Book Club! These coupons will not be available for pick up until October. If your family is wanting to enroll outside of our co-op, go HERE! It'll be great! Your student reads, they get ice cream!

I tried to enroll our co-op in the Pizza Hut Book It Program. However, they said each family needs to enroll individually. WE LOVE THIS PROGRAM! It is just like the public school program. You read- they give you free pizza! It's as simple as that. If your family is wanting to enroll, go HERE!



Another reading program you can sign up for? Yes! The Six Flags Read to Succeed is FANTASTIC! We went last year! All you do is read, log it, and then they send you FREE TICKETS to the park of your choice! INCLUDING A FREE PARENT/TEACHER Ticket! and yes! It is for homeschoolers also! Just click on the homeschool link. Go HERE for more info.

As I mentioned before: We will be starting a monthly book race. Parents will track their students monthly reading according to child's skill set. Then, monthly we will have a book review where each kiddo will get up and say a one minute thing on what they read and why they liked it. Think, Reading  Rainbow: =)

Tentative Schedule of Events So Far:

September

Sept 5th: Kick Off @ McSpadden Park

Sept 12th: Mom Support Time -- bring your favorite homeschool find of the year, any book encouraging you, as well as your calenders! We will iron out all dates and questions over coffee during this co-op!

Sept 26th: George Washington Celebration-- Bring all you know or want to know about GWC! We will have  learning stations and various activities to help introduce our group to George in preparation of our upcoming trip to his little place in the world- where it all came to life!

October

CHECK IT OUT: During the month of October we will be taking about 20 minutes of co-op time to work with different age groups preparing for a Thanksgiving Program! This will be a Thanksgiving program like never before- each of the kids will have an opportunity to study, share, act, or preform something to  their liking related to first Thanksgiving time period. I imagine we will see lots of guns, feathers, poems, and yummy food. ; )  

October 3rd: George Washington Carver Trip (Missouri a little over an hour from here)

October 10: TBD  Possible FREE trip to Shepherds Cross? A Local Sheep Farm to celebrate fall! Click HERE for more info. 

October 17: Talent Show Prep

October 24th: EVENING Talent Show -- Does your kiddo have a special talent or art they'd like to share? Tell them to start thinking!  More info to be handed out at the kick off.  We will be doing this instead of a Halloween party.

October 31st: No Co-Op

November

November 7th: Thanksgiving Program Prep

November 14th: EVENING Thanksgiving Program

November 21st & 28th Thanksgiving Break

Last: A few more details? Yes!


There were several ideas for field trips: Everyone is ironing those out and will post info when they can. Do you have an idea for a trip? Let's get it planned!!!!

Next: we have been blessed to meet at the local baptist church for our weekly group times. We are hoping to expand our location to a local, convenient place where we can have access to outdoors as well as a possible gym or stage. If you have any connections within the community: Please let me know! we are happy to sign liability waivers.

I remember almost FOUR years ago when we started this little group. I had lived in this community for one year and only knew ONE homeschool family. One day, I met Becky - she was my second homeschool friend. When I met her and she said, "Have you ever thought of going to, or starting a co-op?" I SAID YES!!!! Let's do it.

We started the following week.

I remember standing before several families totally blown away-- they had been in our little community and I had no idea. Since then, our family has hosted a foreign exchange student, adopted two children, had lots of birthday parties, tea parties, little "get togethers" enjoyed meals with many of you. You have walked the hard road of adoption, multiplication wars, and frustrated homeschool mom moments with me.  When my kiddos attend someones birthday party and I notice so many co-op friends there, I realize, this is good.

I hope all of you know how much I love and appreciate you. I'm not the leader of this group-- we all "lead" The door is always open for communication and anything can be wiped off the calender and replaced with a better idea. It is safe here.

Tell your friends about co-op and the beauty of fellowship with other mommas. Invite them to the kick off!  I think it is key to success of homeschooling. At least for me, having people to walk the road of learning together has been beautiful.


STAY CONNECTED! 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/263796663699206/ Join the group for quick updates and access to other mommas!

I'm Kati! One of the mommas of this group. Feel free to call or text me: (918) 5 0 0- 0 one zero 1

Email at hnhomeschoolcoop @ gmail.com

Let's get our camp on!

Hey everyone ---> let's go camping!

When? THIS Friday. May 30th - Saturday am. Arrive around 5-6 on Friday. (later is fine)

Bring:
*tent
*camping gear
*dinner and snacks for your family. Breakfast for the next say also. (There will be a camp fire, bring stuff for s'mores!) hot dogs would be great over the fire. The York's will have ketchup, mustard, relish. Bring your own plates, cooler with drinks, etc.
*fishing poles, bait, etc.
*bug spray, flash lights, camping chairs.
*feel free to bring bikes, yard games, etc.
*games for the kids to play in the tent? I know my kiddos will have card games.


Details: There will be a bathroom available for use. However. I am asking that we all have a chat with our kiddos and remind them: THIS IS AN OUTSIDE EVENT. Let's not plan on playing inside the York's  home. Feel free to invite family members or let your kids being a friend.

If you are not a "tent" type of person- I'm sure we can work something out :-) Still come! If you don't mind, give a quick shout out to Melissa or me as to your plans of going or not so we can plan accordingly. REMEMBER this is our year end party! We hope you can home!

Hmmm, anything else?

Feel free to call Melissa or me with any questions!

Always a joy,
Kati

Science, Peanuts, & Indoor Bathrooms-- hooray!

And we couldn't be more excited! 

Here is what's going on around Ninja land. 

#1 Science, Science, Science!

It's science experiment time! If you remember, last co-op each family signed up for a specific date to do a family science experiment presentation. If you have misplaced your date or forgotten it-- please contact Kati for your date.

Rules:
Each family can work as a team or as individual children. For example- we have two boys and four girls. There is a good change my boys will be doing an experiment and my girls will be doing a different one. You could also divide up into age groups. 

The experiment should last no longer than 20 minutes.

The experiment should be legal to perform inside of city limits and cause no damage to the church property. You may have use of the outdoors for small explosives. (oh my, this is so fun!) 

Please have an explanation as to how your experiment works, why you chose it. Also, if you could bring directions to share for others-- that would be GREAT! Then families can go home and test your experiment for themselves!

On science experiment days we will only meet from 1:15-2:30   We will end at 2:15 and clean up for 15 minutes.

#2 HUGE Field Trip May 23rd. **Peanut allergy beware** 

We're headed for the MOST FANTASTIC, AMAZING Best EVER field trip-- and this is NO Lie! George Washington Carver National Monument guided tour is one of the very best memories I have of my early homeschool days. And if you've been on homeschool day-- this is even better!! Simply because we have a peaceful tour with the guide all to ourselves. Please click the link above and look around the site for more info. This tour is from 10am-1pm. The tour will be divided up into two parts. First, we will take a tour of the grounds, gardens, homestead. Then stop for a picnic lunch (bring a family lunch) on the lawn. After lunch, we will enter the lab for a chance to become a "plant doctor" ourselves! CLICK HERE for a peek at what we'll be doing (PDF file). Afterwards, we can tour the AMAZING museum, historical classroom, and video room.

Located in Diamond, MO (Near Carthage, MO) Please plan 1.5 hours for driving time. (Google maps show 1 hour 19 min from Chelsea) A group will be leaving from the Vinita Wal-Mart @ 8:30am. Be sure to bring money for the toll road. $5 will be plenty for round trip.

I hope you and your family can join in on the fun! Trip is limited to 40 people total and RSVP is required, please. 

George Washington Carver National Monument
5646 Carver Road
Diamond, MO 64840-8314

Phone Headquarters 417-325-4151
Fax 417-325-4231

GWCA_interpretation@nps.gov

#3 Family Camp Out Coming SOON!

May 30th will be our end of the year party-- family camp out style! James and Melissa York have kindly offered their 40 acres for camping and adventure! We will be camping near the beautiful pond which is close to the house-- which means- YES, there will be bathrooms available ; ) More details to come, but save the date!

As always, it is such a joy to spend life together with you amazing families and I take great pleasure in serving you. HOWEVER don't forget- this is a GROUP and you have LOTS to offer!! If you have an idea, information, or even want to take charge on something- Becky, Jeanna and I gladly welcome you!!




Lovingly yours,

Kati Gibson
918-500-0101
kathlean gibson @ g mai l.  com

New School Year- New Ninjas? 2012-2013 Plans

*Disclaimer: Remember: You are welcome to come to every Friday of co-op, one field trip, or every field trip. There is no obligation. The idea is to have a safe place for families to come together to learn and have fun. Each family learns at a different pace and in a different way. Here, there is no judgement in your style of learning- we're all in this together!  You'll notice, us mommas are totally in love with that Jesus of ours but if you're not a believer- you'll still fit right in here! Please come and be nice... everything is happier when we're nice. =) 

LOTS going on this year with the Ninjas! LOTS of fun and LOTS of changes!

1. CHANGE IN LOCATION- We will no longer be meeting in Vinita at Isaiah 58. We loved it there and we were SO thankful for Becky Lee allowing us to use it- However, after discussing the geographic makeup of our group- we've decided Chelsea would be a better place to meet.

Krystal Tucker has arranged for us to use the First Baptist Church in Chelsea located at 413 Beech St. We are very thankful for the opportunity to use this building-let's be sure treat it with respect (like I know we will) Also, let's be sure we all plan to spend the last 10 minutes or so of co-op picking up and putting things in order.

While the weather is nice, feel free to arrive a few minutes early for fun and games outside. There's a volleyball net and basketball goals- bring your own balls. ; ) You could even bring po-go sticks, rip-sticks, etc.

2. CHANGE IN WEEKLY SCHEDULE- This year we will not be having electives. In an attempt to keep things simple and fun we will have a more simple schedule. First Semester we will be doing only States and Presidents and Filed Trips. Second semester we will study our local branches of government- getting ready for Homeschool Capitol Day in OKC.

States and Presidents is something we did during our first year as Ninjas. For those of you who are not familiar with how States and Presidents work, here is a little breakdown:

On this day- students will need to bring a spiral notebook, (I recommend one for states and one for presidents) any state and president info you have from home and a pencil. Be prepared to dig in and get as much information you can about the person/state you choose!

Presidents:

{The following can be done on a simple level for younger children. Nine and up should answer in detail if you feel they are capable}

How did the president you chose impact America?

Was the impact good or bad?

What new laws did your president implement or pass?

What was his passion during his campaign? Did he follow thorough?

What was the public’s view of him?

What are some of the funniest facts about your president? What was something strange he loved?

States:

When did your state enter statehood?

What is it’s flower, bird, what are some native animals, and trees?

What national landmarks are there?

Did anyone famous come from there?

What food is it known for?

When we gather the last Friday of the month, students will need to have their poster board for presentation, a report (ONE or more page for nine and up, if capable) any books they may have used for display, and a sample to share of the food from that sate. Example: Blueberry muffins for Maine because they are famous for blueberries, corn in a crock pot for Nebraska because they grow lots of corn; or Hot dogs for New York,etc) On the fourth Friday of each month, Co-op will last until 3:30 because we will have 'a taste of the states' together. =) We will also chose our next months state/president on this day. Sometimes we will have students doing one that was already done in prior months, that's OK. The more perspective, the better!

2011

2011

This time is suppose to be fun and memorable! The more the kids dig deep for facts about things and present them in their own way- the better they stick. (shhhh... don't tell them but they're also learning great public speaking skills ; ) Check out HERE for a snapshot of one of our past years presentation days. 

3. CHANGE IN TIME- This year we will be having Co-Op at the church from 1-3 (except for the presentation day, we will stay until 3:30 on that day because we will be eating) Field trips will be the normal time, starting between 9:30&10:00am. 

4. CHANGE IN COST- Since we are not having electives this year, there will be no charge to families.  As long as we all work together and share supplies, etc. we won't have to have a fee per family. 

Here are a look at the Field Trips we plan to have this year. On the first day of co-op we will hand out a calender with all scheduled Field Trips, days off, parties, etc. 

Ride a Train! 

Learn how trains in Oklahoma work and take a ride! FREE, Owasso. 

Will Rogers Museum 

FREE for students, small fee for parents- Claremore

Philbrook Museum of Art http://philbrook.org/

You'll be surprised, even the big boys will love this one! Small admission, Tulsa

Tulsa's New Science Museum 

This will be a new treat for us all! Cost TBD- Tulsa

Tour PSO Dam

We're finally going to do it! Free, Oologah 

OKC Capitol Day

It's a road trip! Free, OKC

Tour the Post Office

How does it get from there to our house? What are the rules? FREE, Location TBD

Go to Court! 

We'll sit in on a real Rogers County court hearing, meet the judge, and ask questions. FREE, Claremore

Tour the Dairy 

What all do they do there? How do they make their butter? FREE, Claremore

Tour the Farm

Check out a local farm and how they get chickens ready for sale in local stores. FREE, Chelsea

These events aren't in any certain order as dates haven't been set. Some aren't even confirmed yet. If you have a field trip you'd like to plan- let us know! We'd love to schedule it in! 

This year we will not be having a fall party- only a Christmas party. The date will be Dec 13th or 20th.

a rainy day, lots of books, & an upcoming fall p.j. party!

Well, another fun couple of weeks have passed yet again!

Of course it rained on our monthly service project day! What better way to get out and serve than in the rain, right? It sure puts things into perspective... for parents. Ha! Those kiddos didn't mind the rain one bit! I think this service was more for us mommas, at least it was for this momma. Believe me, coffee and a slow morning were sounding good when the thunder set in ; )

All in all, we had a great time out and about loving on local businesses who serve our little community. Later that day, while in the local store-- the Librarian came up to me and said, "Thank you so much for the cookies the homeschool kids brought by today. It made my whole day happy."

I wasn't in the group that delivered to the library. So, those of you who were, you made her day!

Afterwards, lots of kiddos, fun mommas, and muddy little people flooded the gibson home-- something I always love dearly.

it never fails... one day it will snap ; )

you might be a homeschooler if you have an actual cash register in your room.

The following week we had lots of fun with lots of books. With it being fall break, we had several people not able to make it but it was still a fun field trip. Mrs. Susan at the Vinita Public Library did a great job showing us around and teaching us awesome library tools online.  

yes, that is my daughter, Emmyn sitting on Mrs. Susan the librarian's lap.
My kids know no strangers, sheesh!

Afterwards we went to the local park for lunch and play! One of our kiddos stopped by to show off her first "kill" (oh, mommas that was hard for me to type) It was her very first time out hunting and sure enough, she had a BIG 'ol Deer in the back of that truck! 

Oh my goodness.

 

See? You just never know what you're going to learn about?! 

This week is our Fall PJ Party. We will be meeting at the church at 9:30, mommas to set up for PARTY TIME ; ) Then the kids will go to electives from 10:00-11:00.

K-1 -- fun art or fun science (teacher choice)

2-3 -- fun art or fun science (teacher choice)

4th and up girls -- we will do scrap-booking since there is so much food already
4th and up boys-- will head over to Tyler's house for Hands on Horses.

At 11:00 we will move into party mode! Mommas, please remember what station you selected and get with whoever you need help from. If I can help in any way, be sure to contact me.

I believe we planned to have the following:

cake walk - kati

ring toss - jeanna

carnival type games - susan and helper

icky, sticky table - lydia

fall craftiness- tiffany s

... hmmmm what am I missing? Don't forget to wear your PJ's!

Everyone is to bring a side dish to share-- I say no sweets ; ) Drinks, Meatballs, and Nachos will be provided. 

Oh, it's just so much fun!

Joyfully serving you and those crazy kiddos of ours, 

Kati =)

chit chat, cookies, and a little service go a long way.

I remember when I was young and I would hear all the old people talking about how "they just didn't know where the time was going" -- I would always think, what is wrong with you people?

I am the old person now.

Time? Where in the world does it go, mommas!

With that said, we have rounded another month and facing a new service project tomorrow. Before those details, let's recap over the month.

Last month's service project to the Boys and Girls Club & Local Food Bank was a HUGE success. We had such a fun time and the Kids worked hard. For some reason, we forget to bring our actual cameras and only have iPhones and iPads and those don't take the best pictures. So, the indoor pictures from the B&G Club aren't very good quality so I didn't post them. You can imagine them ; ) We cleaned floors, toilets, and lockers. We picked up trash and washed walls. It was a great time. Below you will see all of our kiddos at our first stop. United Methodist Church Food Pantry. Our kiddos piled in their old basement and dropped off lots of goodies for the people of Chelsea.

kiddos at food pantry

 The week after that was our Elective week. The big boys enjoyed a trip to the local Auto Repair shop for a lesson on changing oil and jack safety. The big girls enjoyed cooking and scrapbooking, and all the littles enjoyed fun science and fun art in various classrooms, divided by age.

Thank you to our mommas for doing a great job playing, "school"!

girls cooking class

Last Friday, we had our support day. Kids played games and crafts -- boys in one room, girls in another, mommas in the big room. Mommas talked about upcoming events and made plans along with just sharing life and encouraging one another (can this be my favorite Friday?) Then, everyone pulled out their sack lunches and enjoyed fellowship in the dining hall.

One of the decisions made during support Friday was T-Shirts. I just received word today, they are ready! I can't say enough about how quickly they were finished. I gave him the design on Monday afternoon and they were finished in THREE days (this includes ordering the blank shirts)! Deric Brock at All Star Trophy did an amazing job. He's fantastic.

blue front

green back

If you ordered T-shirts PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE bring your money ($9/shirt) We will wear our shirts for the service project and need to pay All Star Trophy by this weekend. Do not make checks out to me, please make them out to AST. If you didn't order and would still like to, you are welcome to do so. Becky and I have decided to place another order but must have a minimum of 10 shirts. Let me know if you'd like to. We will place another order within two weeks so we are sure to get everyone. This will be the last order before next years shirts. 

Tomorrow is our next Service Project! This week, we are taking it to the streets! We're handing out yummy goodies to local businesses, trying to bring a bit of fall cheer to the end of their week. They work hard serving the people in the community and this is our little way of giving back. 

Remember, each family (if able) are to bring THREE desserts to give. Example, 1 plate of cookies, 1 loaf of bread, 12 muffins. OR just three plates of cookies. 

We will meet at the rock parking lot of Dollar General and go on foot. We will divide up into groups so we don't overload the businesses. Perhaps, some of you can head up to the schools after we meet. You will be surprised what joy this little act of kindness can bring. After delivering goodies we will head over to the park for a sack lunch and play.

So tomorrow please bring:

*T-shirt money ($9ea)
*3 baked goods for 3 businesses
*a sack lunch for your family

I thought it would be sweet if some of us could bake a little extra for Mr. Deric Brock, who made our t-shirts. He just did just a fantastic job. Although he's not a local business in Chelsea, his shop, All Star Trophy was started in Chelsea by his father many years ago. This would be a "sweet" little bonus for him and a nice way for us to say, thanks. If you would like to bring a little treat for him,  I'll deliver those to him with payment. (I happen to know, he loves a little sweet baked goodie around to munch on ; )

Click to enlarge. YES I know the date is wrong. It IS Saturday, Oct 13th (not, 12th)

Last but not least: THIS SATURDAY NIGHT I will be having a Mom's Night Out here at my house. If you do not have details and would like them, please click the flyer and RSVP ASAP =) I hope you can make it! It's going to be fun. ; )



I hope you know what a blessing each and every one of you are to me. I am so thankful to be surrounded by people helping me raise my children in Godly character and challenging me each step of the way. This time last year, I was begging God to help me meet other homeschooling families in our area and now I can't imagine it any other way!
 

joyfully serving you and those crazy kiddos of ours, 

Kati =)