July 2009 Newsletter

July 2009 NEWS from THREE SISTERS

What crazy weather we’re having! Most people are thinking of vacations, but if you're following threesisjulia on twitter, you'll see that Three Sisters has been thinking ahead to the new school year.

HLR Programs

We’ve added a track of programming for the younger set, grades 2 and under, to accompany our programming for older kids. We’ve also set a program on knights, with a real live armored knight, on Sept. 9. More details are on our website. Registration for particular programs will be available on our website, approximately one month before the program. For short term news, we’re using our blog for updates. Following or subscribing to the blog is an easy way to make sure you don’t miss a thing.

Sept. 9 – Knights. A full-time professional knight will present a one hour program for all ages at 10 a.m. Held in partnership with the West Des Moines HSAP. $5/family. No cap!

Sept. 21 – Water Travels with Dewey. Learn about the water cycle with a half hour puppet show and a sequencing activity to aid in retention. Grades K – 2. No cost. Cap of 35 children.

Oct. 26 – Recycle Me! Kids learn about making good choices about items they use every day. Hands-on. Grades K – 2. No cost. Cap of 35 children.

Calendar

We’re looking forward to partnering with support groups to publicize their events. Our first submissions are listed below. Let’s hope for a great turnout. Event submissions are welcomed and approved through calendar@homelearningresources.com. Approved events may be included in our monthly newsletter. We keep a calendar in the sidebar of the blog as well as on the Calendar page on our website.

July 18 -- Jonathan Lewis, editor of _Home School Enrichment_ magazine. Cornerstone Church (US Hwy 30) speaks from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Schedule: The Socialization Deception, Break, Why I’m Glad to be a Homeschool Graduate, Q and A. Admission: $3. Questions: (515) 231-3088

August 26, 2009 -- 5th Annual Not Back to School Picnic, sponsored by IAUnschoolers Yahoo Group. Potluck Picnic. Raccoon River Park, 2500 Grand Ave., West Des Moines. Shelter Coneflower A. Noon - 4 p.m. More info from brownsplus2 at yahoo dot com or graber at mchsi dot com.

Other daytime educational events during July include Jazz in July (www.MetroArts.org), nature programming (contact your county conservation board), and library summer reading events (check your local library).

Until next month, Julia

THREE SISTERS is a small Iowa company founded by three bargain-loving home school moms. It has produced homeschool sales and a conference. It remains open to producing other events, including HLR Programs. The founders revel in the fact that sisterhood does not rely on bloodlines.

Homeschool Event

From the Ames Area Christian Home Educators:

Sat., July 18 – Jonathan Lewis, editor of _Home School Enrichment_ magazine will speak at Cornerstone Church (US Hwy 30) from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Schedule: The Socialization Deception, Break, Why I’m Glad to be a Homeschool Graduate, Q and A. Admission: $3. Questions: (515) 231-3088 (sorry, no online info supplied)

K - 2 Progamming

I've gotten the following scheduled for younger children. You can read more about the programs at the website. Registration opens one month prior.

Sep. 21 -- Water Travels with Dewey. Learn about the water cycle with a half hour puppet show and a sequencing activity to aid in retention. Grades K – 2. No cost. Cap of 35 children.

Oct. 26 -- Recycle Me! Kids learn about making good choices about items the use every day. Hands-on. Grades K – 2. No cost. Cap of 35 children.

HLR Programs

All of my calls are not being returned except for one place. I am wondering if camps or a school year schedule is making this situation. I have the best intentions.......

Supporting Support Groups

Three Sisters is a business, not a support group. We started talking one on one to support group leaders earlier this month to understand their needs as we schedule programs and accept calendar submissions.

We'd like to enjoy a synergy between our business and the community. With our ability to rent halls and book speakers without passing huge costs on to individuals, we feel that we could be a resource to groups. Since we have no membership, we have little need for privacy and can assist groups in making their open meetings more widely known with a public calendar.

Feel free to contact Julia at see3sis@yahoo.com if you are a support group leader -- she is nice and will not bite! Let's work together!

Age of Chivalry program

Imagine: Knights in shining armor, right before your eyes, speaking to your kids, explaining what kids' lives were like "back in their day," maybe dressing an audience member in armor. Julia saw a similar program a few years ago and is happy to present it to the homeschool community. Kids young and old will remember this program. Tentatively scheduled for 9/9/09, during the Renaissance Faire weeks in Des Moines, JoustEvolution will present in West Des Moines. Stay tuned.

Twitter

We usually have more people visiting our blog than our website. Although we have no blog followers, having more people check in here than at our website seems to indicate an interest in knowing about short term developments. Julia started a twitter account last month under threesisjulia, and twitters about daily Three Sisters business as well as more personal stuff. Blog readers are certainly welcome to follow -- maybe we can all stay connected in a two-way relationship better via twitter.

Teacher aids

My schedule is quite full this next week, so I've worked on assembling teacher aids for our monthly programs this week. These will be lists of contact information and print and web resources to continue and extend the learning that occurred at the program. I know I really appreciate such lists when the kids and I are all excited about a subject -- I think that timing is just as important with a teacher aid as the content. The plan is to have these available to program registrants and anyone who requests as a webpage.

Oct. 9

Update: Middle Eastern Marketplace will have two sessions:

10:30 - 12 noon for grades 1 - 3 and

12:30 - 2 p.m. for grades 4 and up.