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 As we near the Sales Tax Holiday in the state of Alabama, I know many people are making their school supply lists and planning to take advantage of some extra savings. Here is a link to the Sales Tax info in case you want to know exactly what is covered and exactly which cities/counties are also participating with the state: http://www.ador.state.al.us/salestax/salestaxhol.htm. Recently, I had a new homeschooling mom ask me what items she needed to have on hand for her homeschooling journey. I thought this was a great question and one worth a blog post! Here is a list of supplies that I like to always have in my home for school purposes:
This covers the basics in our home. Please feel free to comment with your must-haves. Happy School Shopping!
Saturday, July 23rd is a special day for the city of Birmingham and its cultural attractions. This is a great day for exploration of all that Birmingham offers. If you are a member of a participating organization, you will gain FREE access to the locations and also receive an opportunity to win a cultural prize package as you participate in the day. Visit http://birmingham365.org/event/detail/441330887/Member_Day_2011 for full details and a schedule for the day. NOT ALREADY A MEMBER??
http://magiccitysmoothjazz.com Magic City Smooth Jazz is offering FREE music concerts throughout the summer at local parks and green spaces on Sundays from 5-9pm. Click here for Magic City Post’s article that details all the educational offerings and lists the park schedule.
Brunswick Bowling Centers are offering a FREE game of bowling every day in June, July, & August for students age 18 and under. Just visit the link above to sign up and start receiving the coupons in your email. What a great way to beat the heat and stay active!
Literacy is an essential element of survival and success. Many parents struggle with ways to develop a love of reading. Here are some tips and ideas that we have used in our home to encourage reading:
Hopefully, some of these tips will be useful as you encourage reading in your home. Giving a child the gift of reading is like teaching them to fish…they can now “feed” themselves!
Bass Pro Shops in Leeds is offering some wonderful educational and fun activities for summer. Click here or the photo above to discover information about their free science and outdoor survival workshops that offer a free pin upon completion, free crafts, and free activities (including shooting gallery and photo). Something that you might want to fit into your summer days!
This website is a wonderful educational resource! WebRangers provides a safe environment for students to learn about United States history, the environment and stewardship, geography, our social history, various cultures, language arts, and real life applications in mathematics, while also gaining essential computer skills. Your student will create his/her own ranger station, and there is also a monitored interactive community for sharing. There is also a Teacher’s Resource Guide link at the bottom of the home page if you would like to incorporate the activities into your school curriculum.
June 23-24 Gardendale First Baptist Church This is the closest homeschool convention to the Birmingham area this year. If you need some encouragement, you will find it in the workshops. If you need to explore some curriculum choices, you will find some great choices at the Curriculum Fair. Register now to receive the early bird discounts (which will expire on June 9th). I at least attend the Curriculum Fair for an opportunity to touch and review curriculum. You will find a list of the vendors on the website, and if you are looking into a certain curriculum, this is a great opportunity to spend some time with the materials in hand without spending the money (and dealing with return issues if it doesn’t work). Also, I often find that I can get a better deal buying it in the curriculum hall, because I don’t have to pay shipping or distributor fees (and there are usually convention discounts). Check out the information at http://www.chefofalabama.org/convention.html, and don’t forget to register by June 9th to receive the early bird discount!
Beginning June 6th, on Monday nights from 7-9pm at Summit’s Barnes & Noble Children’s Area - Join us for a summer group that will focus on homeschooling basics for new and old! From a Christian perspective, we will approach the following topics: June 6 – Know Your Why (Evaluation of your reasons and philosophy of homeschooling) June 13 – How Can I Homeschool? (Discussion of legal issues) June 20 – How Do I Teach? (Discussion of ways to teach at home) June 27 – What Do I Teach? (Discussion of curriculum choices) July 11 – Planning (How to plan for the year and for the school days) July 18 – Question & Answer We hope to have a homeschool veteran share their homeschool story each week, and on July 18th, we will open the floor up and invite other homeschool veterans to join us in helping you with your questions. We want to encourage you to come for new ideas and encouragement even if you are already homeschooling. And, bring a friend that is interested in homeschooling as well! Special thanks to Barnes & Noble for providing their Children’s area for our meetings! You will want to check out: their Educator Cards at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/bn-at-school/educator.asp, their Summer Reading Program for students in grades 1-6 at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/summerreading/index.asp, and their Kids’ Club at https://kids.barnesandnoble.com/kidsclub/ |
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