Pendleton Home School Association

2009 Testing information can be found by clicking on “Read the rest of this entry” below.

Read the rest of this entry »

A local pet store is allowing small groups of homeschoolers to tour the store. The owners are knowledgeable about their animals and make the trip fun and educational.

Here is a baby Chinchilla peeking out of it’s home.

Here one of the parent Chinchilla takes a sand bath.

We were not allowed to pet these ones because of the babies but there was another chinchilla that we were able to pet. It was very soft.

This is a rat, which are very friendly animals to have for pets.

I can’t remember what this was- a small gerbil?

We moved on to the cold blooded animal area, where the snakes and lizards hang out.

This is one of the snakes there- it will grow to be nine feet long. It was just starting the molting process and couldn’t be handled.

The bearded dragon, which originally came from Australia but are now being bred in captivity, being fed.

Two lizards watching us watch them. Can you see the second one? You can make the thumbnail larger by clicking on it.

We then moved on to the fish area and saw some rare species of fish from the Amazon. The kids also got to touch a catfish, see a turtle and lots of other animals.

There are still a couple of weeks left so call Janet to see if there are any open slots.

Today we went on a field trip to tour the local mustard factory. Barhyte Specialty Foods very graciously let us get a peek at how mustards and sauces are developed, made in large batches and bottled.

First we browsed the store. They have many of their items for sale plus specialty foods from other local retailers. It’s arranged in a very pretty way.

This is where they mix the batches that are going to be bottled. We weren’t able to go into it today as they were making a Dijon mustard with horseradish which is very strong smelling. We could smell it standing outside the room.

(Note: You can click on the thumbnails to make them larger.)

The line is very interesting, first there is a person getting the bottles standing up and ready to go then they go to a sanitizing machine. Here are the jars being filled with mustard.

Then the jars move on to have the caps, labels and plastic seals put on. The seals are then heated to shrink them tight and the use by date is stamped on. Then they are boxed up, ready to ship. We were able to hold a bottle right off the line and it was still warm.

Then we were able to go to the development kitchen and talk to the lady that develops new recipes. She showed us what yellow and brown mustard looks like. Here is brown mustard seeds.

Here is what mustard looks like as it grows. It is considered a weed.

I like this one so I am adding it for fun.

We were told some great stories of how the business got started and how it has changed over the years. It was a great field trip!

We went to the city police station on a field trip recently. It was interesting to wander around the old bank building that had been converted to a police station.

This is the small holding cell used when they can’t take a prisoner to the county jail right away.

It’s small and without windows. Right next to it, a small bit is visible in the photo, is the police dog’s kennel. It’s where the narcotics sniffing dog stays when he is on duty and at the police station.

The inside of the building was fairly unexciting but then we went outside and the fun began.

Here are the unclaimed stolen bikes awaiting auction.

Here is the D.A.R.E. car that was confiscated from a drug dealer and put to good use.

The children got to see the insides of a police car. They could see all the radios, radars and other equipment up close and personal.

Here the Chief shows us a Spike Strip or Tire Deflation Device. It flattens tires and stops the bad guys in their tracks.

We were able to climb into the bullet proof SWAT vehicle.

Then the Police Chief and an uniformed officer show us what each officer has to carry and wear while on duty.

The Chief spent time answering questions. He stated that a police officer uses advanced reading comprehension, writing and math skills daily. He also answered questions about the Day Time Curfew ordinance and gang activity.

It was a fun, informative time.

There is a Moms Meeting planned for November. But you’ll have to email me by using the “Contact” hyper link on the side bar to find out the details. They are always great fun! I hope to see you there.

There is going to be an Eastern Oregon Fall Mini-Conference in Baker City on November 15, 2008. It is sponsored by the Baker Area Christian Homeschoolers and OCEANetwork. This is what is planned:

Homeschoolers in Eastern Oregon will be encouraged and equipped by conference speakers Kevin and Christine Bullock. Topics for moms are “Listen for Your Child’s Learning Style” and “Help for the Harried Home Educator.” Dads’ sessions are “Charges of the Father” and “Practical Family Discipleship.” Sessions for the whole family include” Homeschool Success Stories” and “Portrait of a Healthy Homeschool Marriage.”

Admission to the event is free. For more information view the conference brochure at http://www.oceanetwork.org/currents/Baker_City_Conference.pdf

It starts at 10 AM and goes until 3 PM at Harvest Church, 3720 Birch Street.

It’s great to have an event in our own backyard!

Also, OCEANetwork is looking for people to participate in the 2008 Homeschool Academic Achievement Research project. Here is their write up:

The 2009 Oregon Legislature will be in session soon. In order to prepare for the session, the Oregon Christian Home Education Association Network has commissioned Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute to compile statistics on the academic achievement of Oregon homeschool children. It has been 10 years since the Oregon Department of Education collected test scores thanks to the change in the homeschool law in 1999. But it’s time we had updated research to show “Home educators are doing well enough to be left alone.”

If you had your child(ren) tested with a standardized achievement test last year (September 1, 2007 – August 31, 2008), please participate in the 2008 Oregon Homeschool Academic Achievement Research Project.

All information will be kept strictly confidential. You will generate a student research ID for each student (following a specific formula) which you will use when answering questions in an online survey and when mailing your student’s test scores to OCEANetwork. Neither OCEANetwork nor NHERI will have any personally identifiable information on your students or your family.

This survey of Oregon students is part of a nation-wide survey being conducted by NHERI and the Home School Legal Defense Association.

Deadline for participation is November 14, 2008. You can find more information on the project by going to OCEANetwork’s web site http://www.oceanetwork.org/alerts/research.cfm

There is also a PHSA Board meeting in November, again contact me for details, and then come tell us what you would like to see happen.

The Carnival of Homeschooling is up at Why Homeschool.

I found two articles about The Big Question- Socialization, interesting. The first one is at Principled Discovery titled “What is it about socialization?” Then The Rebellious Pastor’s Wife continues the subject with this post- “The Plus Side of Homeschool Socialization.”

Is there a novel floating around in your head? Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month? To learn how it works and some tricks check out National Novel Writing Month at Little Blue School.

Check out the Carnival and find some gems of your own.

The Carnival of Homeschooling is up at Homeschoolbuzz.com. There are many interesting articles to read but one that caught my eye was “16 Reasons to Read Aloud” at Works in Progress. I read aloud to my children often and this confirms why it’s a good idea. We tend to want to buy the newest and greatest new programs and forget what a great thing just reading out loud can be for our children’s education.

The Charlotte Mason Carnival is up at Homeschoolers. Oregon Style. The list is fairly short this time. Go see if anything catches your eye.

“A Review of the Homeschooling Literature” at Help! My Kids are Smarter than Me! is an interesting, although a tad intellectual, read. One of the things that caught my attention was this:

In the United States, at every grade level, home schooled students’ average score placed between the 82nd and the 92nd percentile in reading and reached the 85th percentile in math. Overall, test scores for home schoolers placed between the 75th and 85th percentiles. In contrast, public school students scored at the 50th percentile, while private school students’ scores ranged from the 65th to the 75th percentile.

And this one can help us all breath a sigh of relief and a possible talking point when those people look at you all horrified as they drop the big question- “what about socialization???!?”

Research also suggests that home schooled students are more sociable than their school peers, as well as more independent of peer values as they grow older.

I’ll leave you with this last article about a study in the United Kingdom about how father’s spending time with their children can effect, for the good, their children’s I.Q.

A big hat tip goes to Why Homeschool for highlighting the last two articles. I glean most of my articles of interest from them.

The kids had fun learning how to play soccer the other day. One of the Mom’s is teaching them.

After a loosening up jog, they learned a few of the rules. The kids are age 8 (nine by April 1) and up. There is a wide age and skill range but everyone was respectful of the others.

Then a game was started. In case you think that it’s the older ones that are more skilled, it’s a few of the young ones that have had more experience.

The kids learned some about the game and had a fun time too!

The Carnival of Homeschooling is up at A Pondering Heart. I haven’t read any of the articles yet but if you do come back and tell us your favorite!

Also, the Charlotte Mason Carnival is all about narrating- so your assignment will be to go read an article ONCE then come back here and narrate it. It’s hosted at Simply Charlotte Mason.

I found mention of a site for homeschoolers called Homeschoolers Like Us. It’s a “social network web site”- has anyone used this site? What do you think of it?

After the tour of the seed cleaning plant we went to a nearby park to eat our lunches. And to feed the ducks and geese.

Click on thumbnails to see a larger copy.

The kids had great fun feeding and watching them.

It was great weather and a wonderful time!

The group went on to tour a food processing plant but no cameras were allowed inside so there are no photos of it. Maybe there is a young (or youngish) person out there who would be willing to write in and tell us all about that tour.