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March
2, 2007
 Dear
Oklahoma Homeschool Subscribers,
Hi
everyone! I have good news and bad news. The good news
is that my book, Oklahoma
Scrapbook: A Travel Guide & Memory
Book for Exploring Oklahoma is available for sale
in pdf format. I also now have a shopping cart! The bad
news (well, not bad for me) is that I just bought a new
house in Sun Meadows (Jenks)! We are moving within 30-60
days. So, I'm not going to be able to write much for the
next couple of months. I have to get my present house fixed
up and on the market ASAP; then start packing. (Anyone
want to live in Broken Arrow?)
It's
also coming up on convention time. The
Oklahoma Homeschool Convention is being held on May 4-5,
2007.
For more info: http://www.ochec.com/OCHEC_Convention.htm. For
conventions in other states try: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/calendar/events.htm
I
also wanted to tell you about The Oklahoma Homeschool
Moms Information Network. It connects homeschool community
within the Metro Oklahoma City area and beyond, providing
information, resources, and encouragement to enhance our
homeschool endeavors. It is simply an Information and Resource
Network. Fully moderated/no chat/no spam; received in a
DAILY DIGEST for ease; read or delete what serves you best!
For more info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OKHSMOMS-INFO/join Ellen
Latimer, owner/moderator.
Finally,
I want to pass on info about a contest: http://www.oklahomaheritage.com/scholarships.aspx (use
the guide for OK History). Thanks to Debbie Smith for this.
I
hope you enjoy this SHORT newsletter! I promise I'll
write more after I get moved and settled in.
Cindy
Downes
Oklahoma
Homeschool Newsletter, March 2007
Index:
What's
New on the Oklahoma Homeschool Website?
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Curriculum/Book
Review:
1. History
Through the Ages by Amy Pak
 I love Timeline products and this one did NOT disappoint!
On a scale of 1 to 5, this is definitely a 5! Amy has created
a resource that can be used throughout your homeschooling
career that will help you and your children make sense
of history. And if you've never used a timeline, this one
makes it very easy to get started. Everything you need
is available from one resource.
First, the History Through the Ages Record of Time notebook.
This is georgeous! The timeline pages are printed on heavy
stock so they won't tear out easily and your timeline pieces
won't see through the back of the page. These pages are
then inserted into a 3-ring notebook (about 13' wide by
9" high) with a beautiful, full color, hard-bound
cover, making this easy to store and something that will
last a long, long time. Also, included are 17 maps of the
ancient and modern worlds. The retail price of the notebook
is $34.95.
Second, the Timeline Pieces. The timeline pieces
are purchased in sets (Creation to Christ, Resurrection
to Revolution, Napoleon to Now, and America's History).
They are printed on white paper, complete with a picture
and a short description of the piece. Children who like
to color, can color the pieces which will make your book
even more colorful. Each packet is $19.95. Or you can buy
the whole collection (to print yourself as needed) on CD
for $74.95. The CD gives you the option to print the pieces
with or without the descriptive text and in both wall and
notebook size!
Last, the Suggested Placement Guide. One of the most helpful
features of this set is the placement guide. This shows
you where to place your timeline pieces so that all of
them will fit in your notebook. Without this, you may have
trouble as you create your book. If you place the timeline
pieces in the wrong place, then later when you go to add
others, you may find there is no space to squeeze in a
piece that needs to go between two previously placed pieces.
The Placement Guide is $9.95.
Now you may be thinking, "that's is a lot of money
to spend on a timeline" but let me assure you that
it will be money well spent. How many textbooks do you
buy that last for 12+ years? Or that will be used by the
whole family? And that will be a treasured memory book
of your homeschool days? This timeline is all that, as
well as a tool that will help you teach your children the
history of the world and demonstrate how these historical
events work together to tell God's Story.
The homeschool world is blessed to have authors like Amy
Pak who create resources like this. For more information,
and to purchase this resource, go to her website at: Homeschoolinthewoods.com.
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Teaching
Without Textbooks - Simple Machines
1.
Free Simple Machines Unit Study
2.
Recommended science
curriculum and resources.
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Oklahoma
Centennial Events: April
1.
Oklahoma
Centennial Horse Show at the State Fairgrounds,
Apr 11, 2007 - Apr 14, 2007, Multi-breed horse show that
began 18 years ago to celebrate the Oklahoma Land Run.
2. 89er
Land Run Wagon Train and Ride, Apr 14, 2007 - Apr 21, 2007,
Norman. Annual 89er Wagon Train and Land
Run Ride takes place in conjunction with the Oklahoma 1889
Land Run Celebration in Norman. The journey consists of
covered wagons, buggies and horseback riders. The ride
starts throughout the state, ending at Norman one week
later for the 89er Day Parade.
3. Statehood Constitutional
Convention Dramatizations, Apr 14, 2007, Guthrie.
Dramatizations of the Constitutional Convention, originally
held in Guthrie in the months prior to statehood. The re-enactments
will be performed in the Guthrie Scottish Rite Temple by
high school students from throughout the state.
4. Stillwater's Centennial Tea "Women of
Oklahoma," Apr
29, 2007, 2 p.m., Couch Park, Stillwater. 101 years of
the Stillwater Women's Club will be celebrated with a
costume tea and Susan King as speaker portraying Angie
Debo, noted Oklahoma Historian. The theme will be "Women
of Oklahoma" through the years. Contact: 405-533-7733.
5. Guthrie's
Oklahoma 89'er Celebration, Apr 17, 2007
- Apr 21, 2007, Guthrie. The 78th annual
celebration includes chuckwagon feed and auction, carnival,
food vendors, craft vendors, Old Timers 1889 Baseball Game,
and parade.
6. Choctaw 3rd Annual Land Run Festival,
Apr 19, 2007 - Apr 21, 2007, NE 23rd and Harper, Choctaw.
Living history performers and encampments depicting the
OK Land Run of April 22, 1889 in which Choctaw played a
part. The Indian Meridian runs through Choctaw. Special
programs are tailored for school classes. Contact: Bernie
Nauheimer at 405-390-8276 or email : publicworksdir@tds.net.
Website: http://www.choctawcity.org/.
7. Tulsa's Gilcrease WestFest,
Apr 21, 2007 - Apr 22, 2007, Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa. Festival
style weekend with performers, demonstrators, music, children's
activities, and ethnic/American food. Presenters will be
stationed inside and outside the museum.
8. Norman's 89'er Day Parade and Festival, Apr
21, 2007, Norman - Festival. The parade will start at Norman
High School and end at Main and Crawford. The festival
following the parade will feature the '89er Days Car, Truck,
Tractor and Motorcycle Show; entertainment in the amphitheater;
arts, crafts, antique and collectibles booths; food booths;
rides; games and horse drawn carriage rides.
9. Tahlequah's
Red Fern Festival, Apr
27, 2007 - Apr 28, 2007, Tahlequah. The foundation of
the festival comes from the book "Where
the Red Fern Grows". The festival reaches audiences
with interests in reading, nature, theatre, dogs (hounds),
horticulturists, hunting, fiddling, storytelling, rustic
food, and tours. The festival will also attract those interested
in visiting a place that is evocative of simpler times.
10. The
Rural Heritage Festival is held annually
on the last Saturday in April in conjunction with Perry's
Spring Fest. Celebrate our heritage by stepping back
into the early days of Oklahoma. See a blacksmith at
work, rope making, spinning, and other lost arts. The
Noble County Antique Tractor Association joins the fun
with exhibits and demonstrations of antique tractors,
trucks, and farm machinery. Events take place on the
grounds of Cherokee Strip Museum and in Perry's downtown
Courthouse square. Admission is free.
11. Chisholm Trail Stampede, Apr 28,
2007 - May 5, 2007, Duncan. A week-long celebration of
Stephens County western heritage featuring a cowboy festival,
PRCA Rodeo, dance, trail ride, parade, stampede, 5K walk/run,
art show and chuckwagon cook-off. Check calendar
of events for more info.
12. Pawnee Folk & Spring Fest Rendezvous, Apr
28, 2007, Pawnee, 9 am to 9 pm. Activities include gospel
singing, square dancing, Indian Fry Bread Making contest,
Chili Cook-off, parade, Old Time Fiddlers Contest, clogging
demonstration, and an Ice Cream Social. Contact Theodore
Morgan: 918-762-2493.
13. Shawnee's Santa Fe Days 2007, Apr
28, 2007, Shawnee. Demonstrations by various craftsmen
with special emphasis on wood carving and turning. Children's
activities and fun for the whole family. For more info:
405-275-8412 or email: info@santafedepotmuseum.org.
14. Alfalfa
County's Salt Plains Birding & Crystal
Festival, Apr 28, 2007 - Apr 29, 2007, Jet.
The festival celebrates wildlife with events that include
birding tours, wildlife photography workshops, plant tours,
the "State
Crystal of Oklahoma" digging contest,
youth contest and more.
15. Waynoka Snake Hunt. The BIGGEST, WILDEST, WEEKEND
in the state with a little something for everyone. It began
in the 40s as gathering of area ranchers who banded together
for the purpose of thinning out a critter they saw as a
threat to their cattle, the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.
Over the years it became a ritual and a club was formed
to organize the event into a festival that they hoped would
draw thousands of visitors in an effort to boost the local
economy. It worked and that club today is known as the
Waynoka Saddle Club.
The event is held each year on the first weekend following
Easter. It begins on Saturday with a free ham and bean
feed at the Saddle Club Building, downtown Waynoka. The
downtown square is blocked off and a carnival is set up
with vendors of every kind. The event ends with a very
bizarre ceremony where the snakes are measured and weighed.
A prize is given for the longest snake captured (alive),
the most pounds caught, and for the most buttons on the
end of a rattler. The final event is an auction in which
the longer snakes are auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Now, if you are looking for that perfect gift for your
favorite in-law, I would say that this is the place to
be.
Can Anyone Hunt?
Absolutely, all you have to do is be certifiably in sane
and if you are not, a frontal lobe lobotomy is required.
JUST KIDDING! You will be required to have a valid Oklahoma
hunting license in order to hunt rattlesnakes. For further
information you can request information at sidsmiley@pldi.net.
16.
For discount coupons and more travel info about Oklahoma,
check TravelOK.com.
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Oklahoma
History Resources:
1.
The
Dalton Gang by Carl Green. Just discovered
this fun kid's book that tells about the Dalton Gang.
2. The
Defenders: Osceola, Tecumseh, Cochise by Ann McGovern.
Check your library for this one as it is out of print.
5.
Oklahoma History Online by
Cindy Downes. An online, multi-level curriculum for
teaching Oklahoma History.
5.
Oklahoma Scrapbook: A Travel Guide and Memory Book for
Exploring Oklahoma by
Cindy Downes.
6.
For more info and learning materials about Oklahoma
history, check my website at: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/teachOKH.html
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Internet
Resources:
1. Report
Cards & Transcripts: Looking for a form
to create your own report cards or transcripts? Check
out this free
report card resource. There is also a free
transcript form and information on how to prepare
transcripts on my website.
2. Easy
Fun School - Here's a super resource
for free unit studies, crafts, and more.
3. BrainPop
Jr This has been around for a while but worth mentioning
again for those of you who haven't seen it.
4. Move
it with Simple Machines lesson plan and worksheet (pdf
document) from ScienceLinks.com
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Please
feel free to forward this to anyone who may be interested.
Please forward in it's entirety.
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you'd like to be added to the Oklahoma Homeschool Newsletter
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COPYRIGHT
NOTICE: This newsletter is ©Copyright 2006
by Cindy Downes. All rights reserved.
PRIVACY
POLICY. Your name and email address will always remain
completely confidential. I do not sell, loan, or share any
subscriber or customer information for any reason. Your information
will never be used for any purpose other than delivery of
my e-newsletter and to occasionally inform you of updates
to http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com.
If
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Have
a great day!
Cindy
Cindy
Downes
OKLAHOMA HOMESCHOOL
Website: http:www.oklahomahomeschool.com
Email: cindy@oklahomahomeschool.com
Blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/EmptyNestMom
Check
out Cindy's products at:
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