MN Homeschool Conference

It was homeschool conference time again this past weekend.  As always, there is a funny or silly story to go with each and every attendance (more on that later!). 

Sarah G., her daughter and my God-daughter, Miss J, and I left around 9am on Friday, June 1 from Fargo.  Our plan was to visit good friend, Jamie, and take time to eat lunch and let Miss J get a little exercise.  We did sort-of crash a six-year-olds birthday party, but we did not come empty handed.  Those kiddos are sure blessed because Jamie can whip together one very cool themed birthday party (this one was a Fish theme).  Cannot say I have EVER done that in my life!  It was hard to leave, but onward to St.Paul and St. Thomas University we were drawn.

And, then the chatting began.  IF, I’d have paid a little better attention to the signs enroute, I wouldn’t have missed the correct place to merge and thus get us to campus by our intended 4pm time frame.  No, instead, Sarah and I were chatting and didn’t catch that we’d missed the proper place to merge until quite a bit later.  Needless to say, we arrived at campus much later (6:15pm) and missed out on the first half of the Used Book Sale (which Sarah very much wanted to peruse).  Thankfully Miss J was a good little traveler and put up just fine with our extended entrapment in the suburban.

We parked, checked into the room, then headed to the sale.  Though late, we both managed to find a few steals at the sale and catch up with a few friends.  After the sale’s closing, we headed back to the room (a very nice college apt/dorm with four bedrooms and 2 baths).  We ordered pizza and the rest of the FMCHE group arrived to visit.  I miss these ladies!  I and Mary N. did stay up ‘till 1am (I set my alarm because I knew we’d need at least some sleep!!) talking about kids and other such topics.  It was GOOD.

Saturday morn began with Mass, celebrated by Fr. Michael Keating. His homily was excellent. It's always difficult to get up and at'em (staying up to late to chat, laugh and cry with friends), but so worth it every time. I'm sure his talks will be just as wonderful. He is soft-spoken and his message heart-felt.

I attended two talks by Marcel LeJuene, the campus ministry administrator at Texas A&M.  Marcel was excellent. I purchased both books sold at his booth and am looking forward to listening to the remaining talks he gave at the conference once the CD set arrives. (I always purchase the CD set so I can listen again and share with my husband). Marcel is a dynamic speaker and I regret that I didn't have time to ask him a few questions after his talks or at his table. His first keynote on Friday was for Fathers, so I plan to listen to that particular talk with Eric.

There were other talks I would have enjoyed, but my theory is that I can listen to the talks later, while driving, and I only have this time to shop the vendor hall.  Truly, the vendor hall was excellent this year. I'd looked through the vendors before going, visited some of their websites (yes, my friends gently heckled me about my preparedness!!) and had marked specific booths to visit. My favorites were:

**Shirley's Prepackaged Crafts: http://shirleysprepackagedcrafts.com
For someone like me, who has a hard time getting organized for crafts, this is ideal. The kits include 12 crafts and can be ordered separately or as a school year package. She also sells the CD's, if you are so inclined to do all the work yourself and save the money. Eva has already done the couple crafts from the convention package with Louis and Graham. It's a hit.  With baby on the way, I am considering this option for the school year.

**Remember Me:
While the final printing has not been completed, the paperback mock-up of this book is enough to judge the finished product.  It is a beautiful book for recording deaths in your family or among your friends. Each month has a place to record the name and a pocket to keep the funeral or prayer card for the person. In the back are more detailed entries where you can enter further details about the person. I picked up a set of the following:  Holy Mass Intentions/Remembering You Cards, Holy Hour Meditation/Praying Always postcards, Holy Hour Repose/Never Forgotten postcards, and With Special Prayer postcards.  The postcards are similar spiritual bouquets.  They are beautiful. The vendor talked about how the idea of offering Mass for our dead is becoming 'forgotten' and she's right. This is her way of educating. I knew my mom would love the whole idea behind her book, so I split the cards and postcards with her.

**St. George Books: Going out of business sale in their homeschool store...huge discounts. Check out their website to find 10-60% off many items.  Great deals!!

**Faith Folders for Catholics:  We've done a few supplementary lapbooks and the kids enjoy them. These lapbooks are ALL Catholic and focus on sacraments, the liturgical year, or other themes related to Catholicism. They are reasonably priced and excellent. The other item she had for sale was a Children's Adoration Guidebook. I didn't purchase, but am still considering it.

**Sewing with Grandma:
THIS IS SOOO COOL! She sold kits that included 12 projects. Each project has pre-cut fabric and most of the notions necessary to complete the entire project. I purchased the basic kit at the conference special price, but she also has kits geared toward boys or girls.  Each of the projects would work for 4-H and she has demo videos on her website (you can download any for $1 each).  Angelina has already completed the pillowcase and the she hopes to sew the skirt tomorrow.

Thank goodness the trip home was much more uneventful…almost.  Didn’t miss my turn and it didn’t make me ‘angry’.  The whole FMCHE crew stopped at Applebee’s in St. Cloud for supper.  It was a very late night.  I arrived at the hotel around 12:30am, but I slept all night which is more than I can say for most nights at home lately.  Mass in the morning at St. Mary’s and visiting with good friends capped off this trip.  Anyway, that's my take on conference. I'm so glad I went; it truly was a needed respite.

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Roomies for Convention – and this photo proves that I’m no good at the arm-length photos!   Mary N., Me, Sarah G.  Miss J, below, is looking at us like were nuts.  She’s probably right.

 

The whole crew from FMCHE!  Thanks, ladies, for making this such a great trip.

20/52

Joining Barbara in commemorating the year in once a week posts … just whatever is going on in your life: the mundane, the crazy, the normal, the everyday.

Day 1: Progress on the Patio.  It almost didn’t happen today.  The grade change was larger than accounted for in the original plan.  But, they worked out the details by phone, added a retaining wall (with our approval), and started working away.  Thankfully, the semi loaded with our raw materials was able to turn around before getting too far out of Fargo.  Below is the pile of raw materials delivered for the project.

Dash and I planted 3 apples trees in the front yard on Tuesday evening.  Varieties:  Fireside, Sweet Sixteen, and my favorite … Honeycrisp.

My final project on Tuesday was to plant the Blueberry bushes.  Three Chippewa Blueberry bushes at the edge of my garden.  I’ve never raised blueberries before, so hope they grow!

Day 2:  Patio Progress.  By Wednesday evening, the crew had started the third row of the retaining wall on the patio.

Starting over on the strawberry bed after enlarging it a bit.  My sister told me about Sweeney’s Deer Repellent.  I sure hope it works to keep the large, 4-legged leepers/muchers away from the strawberries.  They don’t even wait for berries.

Did a bit more work in my ‘play around’ garden at the side of the garage.  My mom gave me a rose bush for Mother’s Day – it’s planted on the right in the below picture.  I also planted a Morden Centennial Rosebush in the center top photo.  Morden are my absolute favorite rose because they thrive in our ND temps without over-the-top efforts (ie. no effort at all on my part) to winterize. 

Day 3: Progress on the patio.  Drainage installed, and steps to the yard visible.

The square foot gardens were prepped, but not planted.  Dash and I did fill the 7th SFG.  Due to the expected storms, I was reluctant to plant seeds, only to have them swished around by wind and rain.  I did, however, plant the cucumbers, cantaloupe and watermelon, which are covered by ‘staked in place’ milk jugs.

Eric and the three oldest boys are headed to Fort Ransom for the FMCHE Father/Son Camping Trip.  I wonder is each family having as many trials getting their men/boys out the door???  I wish them well as they head out into the rain. 

Yes, they are bringing bikes.  Can you see the excitement? 

Angelina, Louis and I are left home to hold down the house, finish 4-H sewing projects, and take care of the animals.  I think we’ll watch a movie and stay up late.  It’ll definitely be quieter …

 

Lahlum Farm Field Trip Recap

Sorry, there are no pics.   I remembered to bring out mv camera and put it in the kitchen … there it stayed!

The planning started in early April, between myself and FMCHE field trip coordinator & good friend, Sarah G.  May is so busy with sacraments, graduations, farm work, etc, but we finally settled on Wednesday, May 12.  We had no idea the weather would be so very wet in May!  But, thanks to many prayers, our day was dry … the yard was muddy and full of puddles, but it didn’t rain during the field trip. 

Families started arriving at 10:30am & everyone had arrived by 11am.  We started out with two large group visits to the chick pens.  Every child who wanted to hold a chick – did – and those who wanted to pet – did.  Back into the house and it was time to get the food organized.  I am so thankful that each family brought a dish to round out our potluck and the moms chipped in to get the meal ready by 12:15pm.  The kids and moms gathered for a meal prayer, then women & small children went through the line.  Young ladies were next and the young men went last, as is the custom in our group. 

After lunch, the kids could participate in the mini-stepping stone craft or just play.  I sure wish I’d have remembered to at least take a picture of the stepping stones … each was unique.  At about 2pm, the kids separated into two groups and headed outside for a tour of the farmyard and animals.  The group of boys hiked around in the trees and even got in a game of hide ‘n’ seek tag.  Meanwhile, the moms were invited to view our home.

Much visiting occurred throughout the day, which passed way too quickly, IMHO.   At 3pm families started preparing to leave.  The kids were given a snack and belongings were gathered (well, most were gathered!  I have a few items to bring to town on my next visit). 

Things to remember about the day:

1. 9 families, including ours = 39 kids and 10 adults (my husband stayed home yesterday)

2. 1 football casualty = 1 very muddy pair of pants and shoes.  He’s thankful his thoughtful and resourceful mother brought a change for the trip home.

3. Only 1 van semi-stuck = at least three boys very happy to help push it out!  Ya know that probably made their day, my friend (who will remain nameless)!

4. The speed limit on Broadway in Fargo is only 25mph!

5. Gackle is about 40 miles WEST of Marion.  I didn’t know that before yesterday.

6. If the stones/rocks in your mini-stepping stones get a little covered with cement/water on the drive back home, a damp sponge (or toothbrush) will clean them up and make them look pretty again.

7. It’s okay to take off school – completely – the next day to rest!  But, bless my kids, they knew there were some subjects they could do without their syllabus, so they worked a little anyway.

Craft Basket Wednesday

Today, we hosted a farm field trip four our homeschool group, FMCHE.  To give each child a momento to remember the trip to the farm, each made a simple garden stepping stone. Our kids have made the bigger stones … Mother’s Day gifts for the grandmas and I have one for each child in my gardens … except for Graham  & Louis. 

I found the idea for the mini stepping stones in a craft magazine a while ago, but hadn’t had a chance to try it out.  So, on Monday, I decided to check the mix and measurements to make sure I had enough supplies on hand.  I THOUGHT the mix would stay liquid enough in a sealed container.  Good thing I checked it when I arrived home from dance Monday night because it DID NOT stay liquid enough!  So, after adding a lot of water and wrestling with the mix in my bucket, it would eventually pour again and I was able to make two 9 inch stones.

This stone is for Louis (Leo).  It’s flowery, but it was late and my creativity was limited!  I’ll make one with Graham later this week.

 

The second stone is flowery, too.  I like it.

 

The little mini stone is my sample/test.  It’s my first initial.  I just wanted to make sure the stone would come out easily (it does, thank goodness!).

To make the mini, it takes a cup of the stepping stone mix in a styrofoam bowl – I would have used foil pans, but I couldn’t find them as readily on my trip to Fargo and ran out of time to stop at different stores.  I purchased all the stones/glass beads and shapes at the dollar store.  It was a great ‘find.’  I did purchase the stepping stone mix at the craft store, but I believe each 10lb. box will yield at least 12 mini-stepping stones.

The mini-stepping stone was poured and decorated at about 2pm; it was quite set when I returned home from dance at 8pm.  However, the stones should be left untouched for at least 48 hours.  I’d recommend longer just to be sure.  The first time we made the stones, I left them sitting for about a week.  It would be horrible to have one crack after all the creativity used to create the patterns. 

After the stones have cured, an old brush can be used to ‘scrub’ the cement off the stones and clean up the surface.  For variation, colored powders (blue, green, terra cotta) are sold at the craft stores.  I kept the craft simple and easy for the large group; however, I may try that with my kids later.  I’ve also seen wire added to the stone – twisted round so that it holds a seed envelope.  The mini-stones could also be used to mark herbs or flowers in your garden bed.  Letter and number stamps can be used to write names and dates, too. 

 

For more Craft Basket Wednesday posts, check out Amy Caroline’s blog today!