October Field Trips

We want to say a big "Thank you" to two local businesses -- Kilwins at the Greene in Beavercreek and Keener Farm in Dayton.  (And also a big thank you to Bonnie Hill Photography for providing the following pictures.)


Kilwins

Keener Farm

              On October 4, Terry and Kelsey hosted our group at Kilwins.  Terry explained about where chocolate comes from, had the children taste the difference between different chocolates, and talked about cleanliness in a kitchen (always good for moms to hear about!). 


Kelsey helped each child make a chocolate covered pretzel and then made a huge kettle of popcorn to share.  We all had a great time. 



 Thank you to Kilwins for their generosity to our group and to Jen for arranging the field trip.  If you would like more information about Kilwins and their products, please visit  www.kilwins.com.  I personally was quite fond of their dark chocolate fudge and would definitely recommend it!

   On October 9, Matthew Keener gave us a tour of the farm that has been in his family since 1830.  The Keener Farm provides local, responsibly raised meats to consumers who are concerned about their health and the health of the animals they consume.  Matthew talked about how to keep the nutrients from the farm in the farm so that fertilizers aren't needed, how much healthier it is for us to eat animals that are kept on the pasture, and encouraged us all to buy local.   
Thank you so much to the Keener Family for taking a morning out of their many responsibilities to give us the wagon ride and explain what their farm does and how it is different from a conventional farm. 
 
For more information about their farm or CSA program, go to www.keenerfarm.com.  Our family is enjoying eating the grass-fed beef that we purchased from them this fall!

Map Your Future 2013

Yesterday, a few of us attended the Indiana Foundation for Home Schooling's "Map your Future" conference.  The conference teaches homeschooling parents and teens how plan and carry out homeschooling through the high school years.   

Last year's conference was incredibly helpful to me, as I had a student in 8th grade and was preparing to begin high school.  I attended several workshops on planning for high school, which covered topics such as how to create a four year plan, how to make a transcript and diploma, and how to prepare for college entrance exams.

This year's conference had some different offerings.  Dr. Jay Wile spoke on how our role as teacher changes over time.  When our children are younger, we really must teach them everything, but as they get older, we slowly become more of a tutor, and then a fellow learner.  He emphasized that independent learning is the most productive kind of learning, and gave some examples of how he encouraged independent learning with his own daughter when he homeschooled her.

Dr. Wile gave another workshop addressing critical thinking.  He spoke of the need to teach critical thinking in all subject areas, and gave us some practical ideas for how to do that.

HSLDA representatives also led several workshops.  I attended one called "Teaching Options to Diversify your High School Program," which addressed different types of classes that parents might choose for their high schoolers (co-ops, private tutors, dual enrollment, online, etc.) and the advantages and disadvantages of each.  Another HSLDA session talked about what we need to teach besides academics to prepare our teens for life (how to do laundry and home repairs, how to handle money, ins and outs of car ownership, study and computer skills, how to interview and write a resume for a job, etc.).

The conference has a separate teen track, which this year included workshops on speech and debate, ROTC, budgeting for teens, essay writing, and choosing a career.  My daughter and her friend attended these workshops together, although there were several sessions to choose from that were open to both parents and teens. 

This conference has been both educational and encouraging for the past two years.  I would recommend it to any families who are currently teaching high school or planning to begin teaching high school within the next year or two.