Teaching At Home

Hi Gang!

I want you all to know that I have been child free now since Friday after Park Day, and I am so BORED!!!  What do people do without children?  How can people say, "I can't wait 'till school starts back?"  What do they do all day long while their kids are at school?  I am already suffering with the knowledge that some day (keep in mind that Dae is only 8) both of my kids will have a home of their own, and I will be stuck here all alone...  Yuck!!!!  On an up note, my husband and I have REALLY partied it up!!!  We went to Lowe's and to Zaxby's to eat.  I read and edited a wonderful book that is coming out soon by a wonderful homeschooling mom here in Alabama.  (You know who you are, and I'm finished!)  David put up a new door over our bathroom closet.  We just went WILD!!!!  We did avoid WalMart, so I guess we didn't REALLY paint the town red... 

Dalton has called twice this week.  He spent about a week in Grand Teton and Yellowstone.  They left Yellowstone on Saturday and should be at Glacier National Park by now.  He did get to go the Hot Springs in Thermpolis and see Old Faithful.  He saw a bear from about 75 years, and a deer and an elk walked right up to him.  He is having a blast!!!  He will be home on Aug. 22.

As many of you know, I have had some yucky experiences with my computer this year, so I am working to get everything web-based rather than computer based.  In doing so, I have moved all of my documents, pictures, and now e-mail to the web.  My new e-mail address is:

everestacademy1@gmail.com

Please remember that all the new information or changed information is in BLUE!!!  Also, please note that it is time to renew your Teaching At Home subscription.  The fee schedule is at the bottom of this newsletter. 

I hope you enjoy your week Teaching At Home, and I hope to see you all soon! 

Deb Spradlin

  Homeschool Directory

Please contact me directly at everestacademy1@gmail.com if you would like to be included.  Please include your information in this order:  county, your name, area, contact information, children's year of birth, and any other information you would like added.  Please consider adding your information here!  This could be SUCH a great resource for you!

New Resources….

• Huntsville Paint Ball Program - This Fall FPS Paintball has a program to help home schooled kids get those PE credits in a fun way with other home schooled children. Paintball is great physical exercise and teaches things like teamwork and communication.  For complete information, please look here:  www.fps-paintball.com/homeschool.php .
• Burritt On the Mountain Homeschool Classes - Monthly home school classes are new to Burritt on the Mountain. The home school class will be on the second Tuesday of the month with reservations. We will offer a session from 11:00-12:30. Each class will review the history, vocabulary and methods of a craft. Each lesson will include a hands on activity for each student to create. We will also review how the craft is used in today’s world. There will be an option of a post activity sheet for the students to use for a follow-up activity.  The cost will be $6.00 per student or other attendees. The organizer of the group will be free with ten or more students. I will greet the group in the Welcome Center where you can pay prior to the presentation. There will be a 10% discount for Burritt Members.  Contact Joan Morehead by the first Tuesday of the month to secure your reservation for your group at 512-0146 or email her at joan.morehead@hsvcity.com.This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need to enable Javascript in your browser in order to view it I look forward to meeting you on Tuesdays.
• Emerald City Sports in Huntsville - Our Football and Cheerleading teams will begin July 23rd.  Our high school team will have a 10 game schedule that includes schools from Huntsville, Birmingham, Nashville and Atlanta. We play our home games at the Richard Showers Center on Bluespring Road. Our middle school team will play a 6 to 7 game season with schools from the same locations. The highschool will play 11 man tackle football and middle school will play 8 man unless we have enough participation then those games will move to 11 man as well.  For more information, please contact Kenn Satterfield at 256-852-2881 home or 256-665-1259 cell
• Eat Right Information Sessions at the Kirklin Clinic located at 2000 Sixth Ave. North in Bham.  Get information about UABs Eat Right weight management program.  First and third Wed. of each month at 4:30 p.m. in the Kirklin Clinic at UAB first floor learning center.  Second and fourth Wed. of each month at 5 p.m. in the Kirklin Clinic at Acton Road third floor conference room.  Free.  934-7053. 
  
• Twin Hearts Meditation - Unity of Birmingham located at 2803 Highland Ave.  Meditation aimed at achieving divine consciousness.  Mondays at 6:30 p.m.  Free.  908-2007. 
  
• Birmingham Canoe Club - Meets the first Tuesday of each month at the Homewood Library and organizes canoe runs on local rivers.  www.birminghamcanoeclub.org
• Birmingham Track Club - Weekly run each Saturday.  Meet at the Western Supermarket in Mountain Brook for a six mile run at 7:00 a.m.  870-5644
• Aug 7 - Volunteer Training Day at Marianna Greene Henry Special Equestrians in Talladega from 9am to 12pm.  We will be showing a video about the program, teaching how to lead, sidewalk, groom, and tack the horses, teaching safety procedures, and having emergency drills. Lunch will be provided afterwards.  There will be lots of hands-on activity.  Please RSVP at (256) 761-3364 to Kate or Elizabeth, and let us know if you are coming.
• Jasper Homeschool Choir - Richard Meeks is putting out feelers to see who might be interested in homeschool choir in the Jasper area for children ages 10 years and up.  Please reply to Pam Porter at pwp123@peoplepc.com if interested. 
  
• Call for Submissions - Lemonpuppy Annual is national arts journal based out of Birmingham now in its second year. We publish emerging writers from of all forms of writing. This year we are adding modern dance and a short film section. Please see our website for submission guidelines or visit our myspace page (www.myspace.com/lemonpuppyannual) for the latest updates.  http://www.lemonpuppy.com
• Birmingham Botanical Gardens Volunteer Orientation - Learn about The Gardens and ways you can volunteer to support Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Orientations are for current and potential volunteers and take place from noon - 1:00 p.m. in the upstairs East Room of The Garden Center at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Volunteer orientations take place the third Tuesday of the month: August 21 & September 18. For more information visit call (205) 414-3962.

• Children's Theater - Hi Gang!  It's time again to sign up for Children's Theatre.  They have a great season this year!!!  Check here for full information: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teachingathome/355709/
• Alys Stephens Center Free Performances - This series allows the Alys Stephens Center to share the arts with area students and aspiring young artists. These one-hour performances by internationally acclaimed artists let students experience the thrill of a live performance in a world-class performing arts venue.  During these interactive presentations, artists will engage students with anecdotes about their educational and artistic training and life as a professional, touring artist. They will also offer insight into the music they will perform, as well as strategies for perfecting musical techniques. Resource materials are available for some performances.  Please look here for full details:  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teachingathome/356110/

• Ballroom Dancing in Adamsville - I have been talking with Wendy of  http://www.curtnwendy.com/ and they have agreed to teach a homeschool ballroom dance class if we have enough interest.  I am just now in the "feeling it out" stage so the details are rather sketchy.  The details are as follows: Ballroom Dance Class in Adamsville (about 15 minutes NW of Bham)  Weekly class to be held during the day starting either this summer OR in September for grades 7-12 (Six months of classes count as 1/2 credit in either Phys. Ed. Or Fine Arts) Either $20/month per child (with half-price for additional siblings in the family) paid at the first class each month, OR $5/class paid weekly for each of the first two kids in a family with any additional siblings at no charge. Let me know if this is something you think you might be interested in, and we will get things underway.
• FREE FIELD TRIP Aug 11 - Tigers For Tomorrow at Untamed Mountain in Collinsville at 8:00am.  A walk through Untamed Mountain, known as Tigers for Tomorrow.  Bring the entire family for a new experience, where life is wild by nature. During your visit you will get up close and personal with over thirty-five large cats, wolves and bears in a safe and natural setting. Bring lunch and plenty of film!  Register for this free event at director@freshairfamily.org
• Aug. 18 - Mom's Night Out!!!  Would you like to join me at the Alabama Theatre for a 7:00pm viewing of "Gone With the Wind"?  If you have not ever been to the Alabama Theatre, it is breathtaking!!!  You can take a virtual tour of The Alabama as well as read it's history here:  http://www.alabamatheatre.com/AboutTheAlabama/TourtheAlabama/tabid/62/Default.aspx .  This would be the perfect place to view "Gone With the Wind"!!!  Tickets are $6 a piece and payable at the door.  We can go to dinner before or after if you would like to!  Please R.S.V.P. To debbido4@charter.net . 
• Aug. 31 - Spring Valley Beach Homeschool Day in Blountsville from 10:00am - 6:00pm.  Cost is $10.00 per person (ages 2 and under are free) to get in.  You will pay at the door.  You can bring your own food and drinks.  I am going to rent a pavilion if enough show an interest.  We went last year and had a blast!  This is a very family friendly place.  www.springvalleybeach.com  Please R.S.V.P. And let me know if you would like to attend with Teaching At Home, and I will arrange for us to have a pavilion.



• Dec. 13 - Alabama Ballet Presents The Nutcracker at the Samford Wright Center at 10:00am.  While visions of sugarplums have not yet danced in your heads, the Alabama Ballet is already working towards our holiday season production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker.  Alabama Ballet is currently one of six companies in the world licensed to perform Balanchine's performance.  Cost is $7 per adult.  Children free.  I know it is early for this; however, the quicker we send in our reservations, the better seating we will get. 
• Nov. 26 - 30 - Disney World Trip Teaching At Home will be going to Disney World in Orlando again this year.  We went last year and had a blast.  You can check out the information from last year here:  Disney Trip 2006 .  The trip will include a 5-day hopper pass to all four parks plus two visits to either Typhoon Lagoon or Disney Quest.  We visited Typhoon Lagoon and Disney Quest last year and had an absolute blast.  These tickets will also include one Y.E.S. Program for the students.  These are absolutely wonderful programs, and my kids are still talking about the one they attended last year.  The rest of the time is your's to spend as a family.  Disney Information
• Oct. 23 - Pompeii:  Tales from an Eruption at Birmingham Museum of Art at Noon.   This exhibition of 500 stunning works of art and artifacts offers a rare glimpse of life in the ancient world. It tells the stories of the final days of Pompeii and the nearby resort cities of Herculaneum, Oplontis and Terzigno following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Excavated from 1780 through current day, many of these artifacts have never toured outside Italy. The magnificence of these vibrant cities is reconstructed, with body casts and skeletons shown in the context in which they were found as the pyroclastic surges’ ash and superheated gases engulfed their world. Citizens clutched their most precious possessions including exquisitely designed jewelry, coins and the tools of their trade. The exhibition also features large-scale frescoes, mosaics, and powerful bronzes depicting subjects from Greek mythology and Roman politics. Cost is $8.00 for children and $9.00 for adults.  Deadline for reservation, payment, and cancellation is Aug. 7.  Please sign up with Debbi Spradlin at _fcksavedurl="mailto:everestacademy1@gmail.com">everestacademy1@gmail.com Audio Tours are included in the price of the tickets.  You can find more information about the exhibition along with information on lectures and supplemental  educational resources. here:  _fcksavedurl="http://docs.google.com/RawDocContents?docID=dckh5857_103dvxzgc&justBody=false&revision=_latest&timestamp=1185345077109&editMode=true&strip=true#%20http://www.pompeiibirmingham.com/about/about.html">http://www.pompeiibirmingham.com/about/about.html
  
• March 31 - April 4, 2008 - Dauphin Island Sea Lab 5-Day Camp This is going to be awesome.  We have been on the waiting list for two years for this trip.  We have a maximum of 35 who can attend, so sign up quick!!!  For full information, please look here:  Dauphin Island Sea Lab 5 Spots just opened up!!!

 

 

• Free Rosetta Stone - Rosetta Stone is an online language library that offers a powerful method for fast and effective language learning online.  This award-winning program uses recorded voices of native speakers and thousands of real life photographs to recreate the natural process of language learning.  There are 29 complete two-year language courses offered here for free!!! http://www.jclc.org/
• Impressionism - Take a fun guided tour through turn of the century France and explore the interesting concepts that defined the Impressionism art movement.  Download or browse eight teacher lessons introducing the major themes of Impressionism; plans are geared towards grades 1-8.  http://www.impressionism.org/