Thankful KEEN Kids

Here are a few responses to "I am thankful for ..."

"My dog Mya, kittens to foster, ballet, family,Taylor Swift, music, God"

Morgan Hutchins

 

"Turkey and friends"

Walker Nipper

"Having great friends and a family and not living on the streets starving "
 Jared Wallace

"To get to see my friends and have dinner with my family and having my brother "
 Julia Wallace
 

"Jesus and (my) family"

Hannah Southworth

 

"Thankful for (my) family and for Christmas"

Willow Southworth

 

"Thankful for everything (I) own, for (my) parents" 

Jayden Southworth

 

"Thankful that (I) get to stuff as much food as I can fit in on Thanksgiving and for (my) parents"

Christian Southworth

 

"Thankful for such an awesome brood, of cute, smart, funny and interesting kiddos"

Ma and Pa Southworth a.k.a Neysa and Jason

 

 

 

Thankfulness

As we all take a moment to consider the bounty of our lives this week, I thought it would be nice to hear from our children. I, for one, am incredibly thankful for the family that K.E.E.N has become. I am grateful that you have allowed us to be in your children's lives and part of their growing years. I am blessed by the friendship and love of so many wonderful, strong, beautiful women (and men) that I know are there for me in my darkest hour and in my lightest celebrations. Love you all, Happy Thanksgiving and now let's hear from those kiddos! Email me your child's response to "I am thankful for..." and I will post them here on the blog!

Rachel

photography class pictures

Embree's nature picture

What makes Anthony happy.

What makes Embree happy.

Michaels nature picture....he also says this chipmonk makes him happy.

More picture from our Photography class

More Pictures from the photograpy class. 

                                                              What makes Shane happy......

                                                                    Morgan H.'s landscape pictures.....................

                                                            Morgan

                                                          Morgan................................

Morgan....................

                                                             What makes Phillip happy.......................

                                                        What makes Jacob happy.......................

Class Reminder

Just a quick reminder that we will NOT have the PUPPET class tomorrow. We WILL have a game day at Northside instead. Be sure to bring whatever board games your kids would like to play with others, we will have some there. Join us at 12:30!
Rachel

Keen Photograpy class!!!!

Last weeks photo assignment was to take picture of what makes you happy :)  These are the pictures I have received so far.  I will post more each day as I receive them.  The name of the photographer will be under the photo.  

                                                      Cam L.

                                                  Morgan H.

                                                Morgan H.

                                                                 Laure S.

                                                  Karina L.

CLASS schedule for Fall Semester 2010

Following is our KEEN on ART co-op class schedule. Registration for classes has officially closed. However, we are working on our field trips and special events which will be open to all! Look for postings here and your email from the group yahoo list.

Fall Arts Co-op Schedule
Oct 1 - KEEN T-shirts – Tabitha Shreffler/Brandi Osborne
Description: Participants will tie dye and paint group shirts to wear on field trips.

Oct 8 - Intro to Photography Project – Juanita Butts
Description: Participants will meet to learn basic digital photography techniques on Oct. 8. Participants will receive photography assignments throughout the semester via email. The project will culminate in a display of notable work planned for the end of the semester.
Oct 15 - Monet's Garden – Gina Stewart/Lisa Hutchins
Description: Along with a picture study of paintings of gardens by Monet, participants will decoupage clay pots with various cut outs from seed catalogs and old magazines. Pots will be planted to take home and watch them grow.

Oct 22 - Puppetry – Rachel Nipper
Description: Participants will make puppets and explore the history of puppets and puppetry as forms of entertainment, art, and use in customs around the world.

Oct 29 – El Dia De Los Muertos – Jeannie Gambill
Description: Participants will explore the history and traditions of El Dia De Los Muertos/The Day of the Dead and make traditional crafts of the holiday (Calaveras de azucar/sugar skulls, papel picado/cut paper banners, Calaveras/skeletons, marigolds/paper flowers)


Nov 5 - Shakespeare's Time – Marie Dimock
Description: After a brief discussion of Shakespeare, the theatre, and the time period in which he lived, participants will make a slashed-shirt costume, a cardboard cylinder sword, and learn stage fighting to illustrate Shakespeare’s dramatic dueling scenes (emphasizing theatrical cooperation, not fighting). Younger participants will have the option of making juggling balls from socks.


Nov 12 - Quilting – Cindee Crosby
Description: Participants will explore the history of quilting and view samples of patchwork quilts. Following, we will make crazy quilts with fabric and glue. 


Nov 19 - Finger Felting – Kathleen Logsdon
Description: A look at the art of felting using roving (wool) from animals. Participants will work on a project using the technique of finger felting.

Dec 3 - Romanian Christmas – Regina Swinford
Description: Participants will have an opportunity to learn about Romania, its Christmas traditions and folk art. Samples of Romanian music and artwork will be shared. We will wrap up our time together making a simple Christmas ornament inspired by the Colindat (Caroling) tradition in Romania.

Dec 10 - Gingerbread Houses – Melanie Lucas
Description: Participants will work individually to create small versions of traditional holiday gingerbread houses.

Dec. 17 - Holiday Ornament Workshop – Tammy Vance
Description: Participants will have the opportunity to make several types of ornaments.

Decisions, Decisions

After talking with other moms last night, we thought it would be fun to share our curriculum choices here and on our group list. I must say I have been lax in keeping our blog up to date and will try to be better with it. Like most Home school moms, we tend to school year round, learning never really stops. In the summertime we are not so worried about counting our hours and attendance and following a schedule. We read, go on trips, play, swim, take time to examine little critters we find along the way and look up information about them. Playing games and keeping score keeps our math skills sharp. The control freak part of me sneaks in two days a week and we do a page in our summer bridge activities book. I DO count this time, it's not much but I have found that it can save me during our "regular" year when something unexpected comes up. I also spend a lot of summer hours pondering curriculum for our coming school year. We talk to other moms, find out what has worked for their kids, what hasn't. We exchange curriculum at park days, spend untold hours on the internet researching everything. I am moving away from SAXON math this year which I have used for three years. It is a wonderful program but we were getting tired and bored, learning wasn't FUN anymore. Realizing that, I had narrowed our curriculum choices down and decided Walker needed a voice in choosing, after all it is for HIS education not mine. Luckily many choices have demos to try on their sites. I decided on our Math and Science curriculum this year when he was asking to do more. We used Story Of The World vol. 2 for History last year, he loved it, we will continue with it. In fact, we bought vol.1 used form a friend and have been reading it this summer - just for fun.
I have to admit something here. Most of you know me. You know my penchant for going with the flow and using teachable moments. You know in my heart the theories of unschooling resonate loudly. However, we know my head. I LOVE planning, I thrive on having our course work laid out before us. I am this way with other things in my life as well. For us, having these things done and planned allow me to have more peaceful time, to see that we are indeed getting things accomplished and to allow ourselves to slow down and really enjoy our lives and learn.
I hope listing curriculum choices and links will help with some of your choices this year as well. I look forward to hearing about your home school styles, we can learn so much just by sharing.
Rachel

Walker's curriculum 2010-11 (grade equivalent 4)
Language Arts - LessonPathways year 4 - http://www.lessonpathways.com/Pathways/Detail/53825/year-4-language-arts-guided-journey
Reading list - http://www.amblesideonline.org/04bks.shtml
*Ambleside Online is a free curriculum using the Charlotte Mason method. If you are looking for a whole planned out curriculum guide you may find it useful.
Lesson Pathways is also free but only goes to grade 5. full curriculum

Math - Teaching Textbooks 4 -
http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/v/vspfiles/tt/Math4.htm

History - The Story Of The World vol. 3
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/history-and-geography/story-of-the-world/volume-3-early-modern-times.html

Science - The Lab Of Mr.Q
http://www.eequalsmcq.com/
* I really went back and forth on this one, luckily I was able to let Walker try demos on the ones I was choosing from, he enjoyed this one the most. the other I was looking at is http://explorationeducation.com/intermediate/overview.html - but the lessons were somewhat dry and boring for his age when we tried the demo.

Foreign Language - Mango, free online program available through Scott Count Public Library, Walker will be doing Greek (yes along with continuing Spanish)
http://libraries.mangolanguages.com/scott-county/login?u=156308

Civics - The Complete Book Of Presidents and States
http://teacher-supplies.carsondellosa.com/search?w=the%20complete%20book%20of%20presidents%20and%20states

Extra:
Gym and Swim, Scott Co. Parks and rec.
K.E.E.N Co-Op, Creative Arts
Field trips galore

Old Tabbott Tavern Corn Fritters

As part of our Ky. Junior Historical Society Club meeting on Friday Feb. 12 we made the base of Salt dough maps of Ky. that the children will complete as one of their projects for our Spring Fling Fair. We also made Old Talbott Tavern Corn Fritters.  The Tavern has been in operation since the 1700s and said to be the oldest stage coach stop to the west. Several figures from history are purported to have lodged and dined at the tavern including a young Abe Lincoln and his family, George Rogers Clark, Daniel Boone, exiled French King Louis Phillipe and Jesse James. Old Talbott Tavern is located in historic Bardstown on Court Square. Following is their recipe for corn fritters from the cookbook, Dining in Historic Ky. vol. 2, pg.119

2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup whole kernel corn, drained
milk (we used soy)
oil for frying (we used canola)
powdered sugar

In a bowl mix ingredients, using just enough milk to moisten. Batter should be stiff. Drop by tablespoonfuls into hot oil. Fry to a golden brown. Roll in powdered sugar and serve warm

Dinosaurs: The Big Picture Field Trip - March 9

Dinosaurs: The Big Picture Field Trip
K.E.E.N has scheduled a field trip to "Dinosaurs: The Big Picture" at the Community Arts Center in Danville, KY. Their web site is  http://www.communityartscenter.net/dino  for more information.

Date: March 9, 2010
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Location: Community Arts Center
401 West Main Street, Danville, KY
Cost: $2.50 per person

Please sign up in the database section of our yahoo group site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kyeducationalenrichmentnetwork/
A few notes before you arrive:

ART STATIONS

Students will be divided among various interactive arts stations, including sketching, sculpting and writing exercises. Please have children dress appropriately… some activities could be messy!

STUDENT WORK SELECTIONS

At the end of your visit, please take a few minutes to select two pieces of student work from your group (label with name, age, grade, and school). Please leave these at the front desk for possible inclusion in The Danville Advocate-Messenger. Each Sunday, a selection of submitted pieces from the preceding two weeks will be featured. (If you would like your students’ selections returned, please indicate this to the CAC Education Coordinator)

GIFT SHOP

Our gift shop will be stocked with all things dinosaur! Your students may consider bringing some spending money for souvenirs. Many items will be an affordable price range for visiting students.

LESSON PLANS

Please be reminded that lesson plans relating to this exhibit may be downloaded from www.communityartscenter.net/dino. These plans are designed for students in grades K-5 and meet Kentucky Core Content requirements for Arts & Humanities and Science.

If you have any questions, please email Tammy at tvance_emp@msn.com.


We look forward to seeing you!

Farmington Field Trip Feb. 24

K.E.E.N's History Hounds, our Ky. Junior Historical Society club, has scheduled a field trip to Farmington Plantation in Louisville. Everyone is invited!

Date: Feb 24
Time:10:30 a.m
Location: Farmington Plantation, 3033 Bardstown Rd. Louisville, Ky. 40205
Cost: 3.00 per person / 5 and under are free

Please sign up in the database section of our yahoo group site http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kyeducationalenrichmentnetwork/
or email Tammy at tvance_emp@msn.com or Rachel at nipperrachel@yahoo.com

We are scheduled for the "Daily Life Tour" and each student will make a corn husk doll to take home as well.
You may visit the website for printable teacher packets to use in your home-school prior to our visit.

http://www.historichomes.org/farmington/teacherpack.html

Information about the Daily Life tour from their website:
An hour program that includes the upcoming exhibit: Lincoln and Farmington: An Enduring Friendship and a tour of the museum house and grounds. The focus is on early 19th century life and how it differs from life today. Students will be introduced to fascinating but obsolete artifacts of daily life including chamber pots, bathing tubs, spider skillets, candle-snuffers, slates, quill pens, trundle-beds with shuck mattresses, bed tighteners and sugar cones.

I encourage each of you to visit the website http://www.historichomes.org/farmington/house.html
 for more information on this historic location.

A Great Start...

Friday was the first day of the 

K.E.E.N. spring co-op session. 

All the kids...and parents...seemed genuinely happy to see each other again.

This sessions schedule...

Passport to Art (Art & Geography),
Green Science, 

Intro to Japan,
History of the Middle Ages Pt.2

and for the PreK-1 crowd...

Storytime Literature,

Hooked on Art, Animal Science

The kids who took History of the Middle Ages last session brought some really cool projects to share...they educated and entertained us with costumes, stories, food, models, and unending wit. 

It was a great day!

Newport Aquarium

A few of our KEEN friends met at the Newport Aquarium today to see the fish and enjoy being together.  The kids enjoyed the sharks, even "petting" a few.   I think everyone enjoyed the calming effect of the Jellyfish room. 

When we were done visiting the "sharks house" we stopped by Bob Evans and used the free kids meal coupons they gave us with our admission.

Co-Op Spring Semester begins Feb. 5

K.E.E.N. Co-operative Spring Schedule – 2010

February 5, 12, 26 No Co-op Feb. 19

March 5, 12, 26 No Co-op Mar. 19
We are planning a Fair Day on April 16 to show off artwork, science projects, history projects, etc. This may be accompanied by a potluck lunch similar to the one that ended the fall semester.

Schedule


PLEASE NOTE CHANGES IN SCHEDULE & CLASS FEES IN RED

New invoices will be sent to all families registered for this semester. Payment will be due on Feb. 5.

10-11 a.m.

Storytime Literature Teacher: Kristin Allen

Ages: Preschool/Kindergar ten Cost: $5

A study of children's classics and related activities to promote analytical thinking skills and to enhance the experience of the book.

Passport to Art Teacher: Regina Wink-Swinford

Ages: Through Middle School Cost: $10

Co-op students will have an opportunity to learn more about various countries of the world and their folk art. In each class students will learn about a country, take brief notes about it and then try out an art project. Some of the countries and areas to be explored will be China, Mexico, Eastern Europe, Ghana and Australia. Different art projects will be offered for early elementary and upper elementary/middle school students. Students will be asked to bring a basic art kit to class each week (supply list will be provided). Other art materials will be provided through class fee.

11a.m. -12 p.m.

Hooked on Art Teacher: Jeannie Gambill

Ages: Preschool/Kindergar ten Cost: $5

A study of different types of art media with hands on projects designed to develop fine motor skills and creative through the study of various art forms.


Green Science Teacher: Tammy Vance

Ages: Through Middle School Cost: $7.50

Meeting Dates: February 12, March 5, 26

In this class students will learn what items can be reduced, reused, and recycled. Students will learn about renewable resources and nonrenewable resources. The students will become familiar with popular attitudes toward recycling and the practice of recycling in the community. We will also plan a field trip to a recycling plant. The children will understand that they can reuse materials and reduce the amount of waste that is produced. We will have crafts for the students and they will have projects due for the end of the semester.

Exploring Japan & Japanese Culture Teacher: Rachel Nipper

Ages: Through Middle School Cost:$7.50

Meeting Dates: February 5, 26, March 12

We will explore Japan through hands on activities each week. Topics will include: Japan Overview, Daily Life, Foods, Language and Games, Festivals and Celebrations

12-12:45 p.m. Lunch
12:45-2 p.m.
Animal Science Teacher: Juanita Butts
Ages: Preschool/Kindergar ten Cost: $5

Our kindergarten science class will focus on animals this semester. We will be learning about lizards and snakes with lap books and hands on experiences. We will have room for a few other animal studies. We will decide those together at the beginning of the semester.
History of the Middle Ages Teacher: Jeannie Gambill

Ages: Through Middle School Cost: $12.50 per family - plus cost of book/no additional for returning students

A continuation of the study of the Middle Ages using Susan Wise Bauer’s Story of the World, vol. 2.

2-3 p.m.

Jr. KY Historical Society Teacher: Rachel Nipper

Ages: All Cost: $3 new students

Meeting Dates: February 12, March 5, 26

This club will study KY history through club meetings, field trips, and participation in the State KY Historical Society conference.
Additional Opportunities

We will be scheduling the following group field trips:

Frazier International History Museum Louisville, KY

(Homeschool Day workshops are full, so we have decided to schedule a separate trip on a weekday that won’t be as crowded.)

http://www.frazierm useum.org/

Dinosaurs: The Big Picture Danville, KY

http://www.communit yartscenter. net/dino

We encourage any of our families to suggest or organize opportunities for our kids to move!! Want to go bowling? Hike the trail at the Arboretum or Great Crossing? Skate? Post the suggestion!! Please!!

Newport Aquarium Trip this FRIDAY

http://www.newportaquarium.com/guestinfo.cfm






It's Winter Family Days at the Newport Aquarium!! 2 kids FREE with each adult ticket purchased (reg. 22.00) PLUS receive a coupon for FREE kid's meal at Bob Evan's.

We will meet at the Aquarium at 10:00 and then eat at Bob Evan's on the way home (The Union exit). You may want to bring a little extra cash for snacks from Sharkey's cafe as we tend to take our time and it may be 1:00 or 2:00 before we eat lunch. Sign up in the database so we know how many to expect (or email me @nipperrachel@yahoo.com) and also match us up for getting kids in free. (for example, I have one child so I can enter with another from a family who has 3 or more).



Children 2 and under are free

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