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.

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 annual Science Share is a time to show and demonstrate what we have done in our various topics of study but is not a contest. It is held in January or February and members are invited to participate. No project is too small! It is based on the concept that “you learn what you teach”. Preparing and presenting an exhibit is part of the learning.

Presentation Night is a much anticipated annual event held in the spring. Families display things they have been working on all year. Children sing, play musical instruments, recite poetry or memory verses, do a mini-skit, report states and capitals, present a square dance, or do something in a foreign language. PHSA contest winners are honored and parents can give award certificates. The evening can be used as a graduation ceremony. Both the performance and the display portions of the event are fun and rewarding to homeschoolers. Grandparents and friends are invited to attend, as well as anyone interested in homeschooling.