Lighting Fires for Homeschoolers

As the Homeschool Day at Silver Dollar City approaches we want to make sure those of you that are planning or want to attend are able to enjoy everything.  But please let me stress that the workshops that you have to pre-register for and pay for are filling up fast.  Unknown to any of us, people started calling in on Monday and registering and one of the classes is all ready almost full!  So, don’t want until the 24th to call in and pre-register DO IT NOW.

For those that wanted more information about the cooking class that cost $10 is as follows:

The Culinary & Craft School salutes the Great American Cowgirl with three great western recipes, perfect for Homeschool students ages 8 and up. We will jump in the saddle with a presentation on Southwestern Potato Salad made with red potatoes and a zesty seasoning. You’ll also learn to make a hearty meal with our Campfire Baked Beans, loaded with savory sausage. And for a sensational side, we’ll show you how to make crisp Corn Fritters, drizzled with Silver Dollar City’s own sauce. During the 4pm class, learn kid-friendly cooking tips as Debbie walks through each dish and then take the recipes home to recreate them yourself!

Classes are approximately 60 minutes in length and are limited to 34 people. These classes are not recommended for children ages 8 and under; parents/guardians please use your discretion when making reservations. Seating in the Demonstration Kitchen is open 10 minutes prior to your scheduled class, available on a first-come basis as you check in at the Culinary & Craft SchoolVisit www.sdcculinarycraftschool.com to make your reservation or to see a list of classes to come.

Make sure that when you sign up for the cooking class to sign up for Cowgirl Cuisine class on October 3 at 4:00.  They will be working into the class a beginning to cook session for those new beginners.  This class is open especially for the homeschoolers but the tickets that are bought before hand will be open to those that want to attend otherwise.

We are seeing a lot of people signing up for the free workshops also, and don’t want you to miss out on these either.  Once the workshop (either paid ones or free ones) are filled that is all that will be able to attend these special events this year.  So don’t wait until last minute.  For more information about the events and time schedules going on that day go to http://www.match-inc.org/sdc.html.  To sign up for the free events go to http://www.match-inc.org/rollercoaster.html and http://www.match-inc.org/marvelcave.html.  To sign up for the paid workshops call 800-417-7770 you can also get a meal ticket when you call.

You can have your tickets and workshop handbands mailed to your for an extra $3 or pick them up when you arrive at the City.  Without the handbands for the different workshops you won’t be able to attend so if you have them mailed to you MAKE SURE TO NOT FORGET THEM!

Watch for signs as you arrive that will guide you to the sign-in booth at the horse shoe behind the water wheel.  We will have goodies for everyone and the schedules for the day and maps.  Make sure to bring your homeschool friends with you.  This is the biggest that Homeschool Day has ever been at Silver Dollar City and we are planning for a wonderful day.

Don’t miss out on any of these wonderful new adventures that are being made possible.  It will be a fun, busy and educational time for everyone.  Make sure to bring a lot of energy with you and your camera’s to help remember this day.

We look forward to seeing you there.
Orilla Crider

Fiesta of Freebies, 2nd Edition needs to be in every homeschool! One thing I have found over the years, freebies are a great way of adding to my teaching!  This ebook is full of wonderful helpful things for all ages.  You will find a section of activities and lesson plans; a section for helping those students learn more about the American Revolution; free art classes; Bible study helps; children books and stories from old records; college information; ebooks; software and maps and the list goes on.  Don’t have the money to buy a bunch of curriculum buy this book and you will have plenty of things to help you and your children keep busy!

Get this great copy from The Old Schoolhouse!

“Help, Lord, I’m Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler!” is a wonderful encouraging ebook! This isn’t a book to tell you how to homeschool your child but an encouragement of how others made it through the high school years.

Each chapter is written by a different person and how there family made it through those tough years.  I found myself relating to some of them as they struggled with having older children and younger ones, “normal” children along with trying to teach handicapped ones.  You will find that even though all of them were happy that they had homeschooled their children, there were down times and times of questioning.  It is nice to know that others have those moments too.

This ebook is chalked full of stories that real mom’s went through.  As we are seeing down times when money is sparce, you will find help and encouragement; wondering if you can really teach what they need through high school to be ready for college, experience it with some that had the same questions; rethinking what your true goals for homeschooling your child are and see that God is faithful to helping us all through to the end no matter what stumbling blocks may be placed in our way.

Overall, this has been a blessing to me.  To see that others have seen there children go through these tough years of their lives and find fulfillment has been an encouragement to me.  It reminds me just why I started homeschooling over 12 years ago and that our family too can make it all the way through.  Great job ladies!

Get your copy from The Old Schoolhouse!

SpellQuizer is a really neat program for kids to use!!  It runs on Windows and is VERY easy to use.  You can use the spelling list that they have pre-made or you can make up your own.  To make up your own you need to have a very inexpensive mic.  Not only does it give the words for the kids to spell but it also uses the word in a sentence.  It reminds me of a Spelling Bee.  You can go change the lists at any time.  This is a great buy and very helpful!  You can also import and export your spelling list.  The price is right, too!!  It is only $29.95 and is downloaded to your computer quickly.  You can get a FREE trial version for 30 days.  You will find that spelling isn’t as hard to study for because it becomes a game and not work!!  You can get your copy at http://www.spellquizzer.com.

The writer has given us a copy to give away and we are very excited about this opportunity!!  The Homeschool Day at Silver Dollar City is fast approaching us and we will be giving the 100th person to sign up for one of the free classes that will be taking part during our big event.  Go to http://www.match-inc.org/sdc.html to see more information about the big day and to sign up for the events.  We are all ready starting to see people sign up, now you can look forward to another reward for that big day!!

This is just in time for the new school year!!  Hurry and sign up and see if YOU will be our winner!!

Orilla Crider, MATCH Director

Calling all Homeschoolers!

Excitement is in the air, lots of work is being done, time is short, Homeschool Day at Silver Dollar City is drawing close.  This years big event is October 3 & 4 and it is going to be BIG.  Yes, a lot of work has gone into this years planning and not everything is complete yet, so there will be a few surprises.  Last year we asked for feedback from those that attended the event and there was some request and you will see that a lot of those are being done this year!!  Make sure to look at our schedule, yes we do have special times for doing some of the events this year, and make plans.  The main event is October 3 and then the 4th is an extra day for you to do rides or whatever you would like while you are at the city.

One of the big request was for us to bring back the physics class, this has been done and on a bigger scale than before.  Please note that the classes have to be pre-registered for due to limits for the classes.  We have some classes that are totally free and others that you will have to pay either $5.00 or $10.00 for.  The cost is to cover what the vendors are allowing the kids to do make and learn with but they have tried to keep it as low as possible.  The classes have a limit so that the vendors can spend more time with each child.  Again, all the classes have to be pre-registered for.  The classes that you pay for will be registered through Silver Dollar City when you pay for them, a wrist band will be worn for these classes so that the vendors know you are registered and have paid for them.  The free classes need to be signed up through us, you will find the sign up form online.

We have some motels again this year that are working with us to give you discounted rooms.  Make sure to check them out!!  Silver Dollar City is also offering meal tickets for the event.  If you purchase these they will save you about $5 and they can be used anywhere in the city.

To find out all the information about what will be going on this year go to http://www.match-inc.org/sdc.html.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us.

When you arrive please come to the Horseshoe at the Guest Relations House.  When you sign in you will receive goodies for your children, buttons, name tags, information about the day, etc.  If you need any of the following they come on a first come basis.

We are planning for a big time of learning and fun.  Don’t miss out!  If you have season passes you do not have to worry about buying tickets.  However, you do need to pre-register for the classes and check in at the Horseshoe on Oct. 3rd.

Pass this along to your friends, this is only for Homeschoolers.  We look forward to meeting you and having a great time together.

Blessings,
Orilla Crider, MATCH Director

Molly’s Money-Saving Digest for August is a wonderful, helpful book that all of us need to read! It is all about organization, and boy do we ever need that.

The first part is on getting things organized and easier to fix quick meals. Like to cook but need some new quick ideas? You will find them here! She has seem really neat recipes to even help out.

Need some ideas on how to organize those bank accounts; decorating; how to clean out those dirty, full closets; don’t forget that cluttered garage, you will find all sorts of help right here in this little ebook!!! Yes, I even learned some new ideas that I plan to put to work.

Do you love to cook but don’t know how to organize that kitchen? right here you will find the help needed. Need some help on how to organize your mail? She also has places to write to get off those terrible “junk” mail lists. As homeschoolers we seem to have loads of pictures but do we ever do anything with them? She has some neat ideas how to get them organized and use them.

Toys, that is a terrible word around our house. But you will find some great ideas how to get them organized so they aren’t all over the house. Another dirty word is paper around our house. There is some great ideas on how to organize that mess, too.

I have a small bathroom and it gets tight every once in awhile with everyone’s stuff in it, you will find some great ideas on how to keep things neater and easier to find. And another topic talked about is books like this, ebooks. If you are like me you have a ton of them but do you know where they are?

And last but not least, how to get all your goals in a better setup. At the back of the book you will find a great reference for all the different areas on the web.

This is a great book that we all need to read about once a year. Thanks Molly for your wonderful help and all the others that put this ebook together. You can get this at The Old Schoolhouse website.