Great Homeschool Convention

The Midwest's Great Homeschool Convention will be April 4-6, 2013.  They are offering an early bird registration right now.  If you sign up by January 1st, the price is $30 for individual registration and $45 for the whole family.  January 2- February 1 is $35 individual and $50 for family.   For those interested in attending, visit the Great Homeschool Convention website and click on the Midwest option.  Our family is very excited to attend as there is an exciting line up of speakers and a packed vendor hall!

Mom's Only Meeting for January

Our next Mom's-only meeting will be Tuesday, January 22 at 6:30 pm.  Bring a favorite (or two!) book that you've read together as a family to share.  It will be at the usual spot- my house!  If you need directions, please email me at marquettechums@yahoo.com.  Hope to see you there!

December Mom's Only Meeting

The Mom's Only meeting will be Tuesday, December 18, 6:30 pm.  Same location. Please email in advance if you would like directions. The theme will be Science.  If you would like to, please bring a science curriculum or books for everyone to look through.  See you then!

Radio Station Tour Pictures

For those of you who toured the radio station, Heather put up photos on their wfxd website here.  A huge THANK YOU to Great Lakes Radio station for such a great and thorough tour!

November Field Trip

November's Field trip will be November 8, from 1-3 pm. We'll be visiting the radio station next to Super One in Marquette (by the bowling alley). They will talk about sales (how they make money), show us the music room and studio, and talk about management. Also, Walt Lindala (news guy) will be there to talk about the news.  They will also have a couple of kids record the weather!  If interested, please RSVP to marquettechums@yahoo.com.  You must RSVP by November 6 in order to attend.

November Mom's-Only Meeting

November's Mom's-only meeting will be Tuesday, November 13 at 6:30 pm. Same place- email if you need directions.  Back by popular demand, we'll be doing a "home school white elephant gift" game. So wrap and bring something you no longer want or need. It can be something as simple as a pencil to a book, etc.   Everyone will get to go home with something. Hope you can join us!

Hat Trick Farm field trip

Many have asked if the field trip for tomorrow is still on due to possible rain. The field trip is still on- we plan on having it rain or shine! If everyone comes, it will be our biggest turnout yet, so should be lots of fun!  Make sure to bundle up as it will be chilly and perhaps wet!  See you there. =)

Hat Trick Farm field trip P.S.

For those planning to come on our October field trip, there will also be a bonfire for anyone who would like to bring hot dogs to roast over the fire for their lunch. (or marshmallows, etc!)

Pinocchio play update

The allotment of tickets for the pinocchio play has been spoken for. However, if someone is still interested and would like to be placed on a waiting list, please contact Tera Fields. (see below email for contact information).

Pinocchio Play in May

If anyone is interested in attending NMU's Pinocchio play, Tera Fields has arranged for homeschoolers to attend Thursday, May 16th at 10:100 am.  Tickets are $5 per student. Each family gets one free adult ticket (as the teacher).  Right now there are 30 tickets available.  They book quickly because schools from all over the U.P. use this opportunity as a field trip.  Please contact Tera Fields if you are interested at: mrsfieldsin95@yahoo.com  or phone 249-5103.

October Field Trip

Come join us for a fall farm visit to the Millin's farm!  We'll be visiting Hat Trick Farms on Tuesday, October 16 at 11am.   
We'll learn more about chickens and egg production, a very special breed of cow and their history, and sustainable farming.  There will also be a hayride!  Please rsvp to marquettechums@yahoo.com and I will send directions.  For planning purposes, it will take about 45 minutes from Marquette to get to their farm.  Hope you are able to come!

Mom's meeting

Our next mom's-only meeting will be Tuesday, October 9th at 6:30 pm.  Same location (my house).  Our "theme" will be writing. So if you have any writing curriculum or program for everyone to peruse, please bring it!  Please email me if you need directions to my house.  See you then!

"School pictures" opportunity

Thursday, October 4, Corey Heidtman (Coreys images) will be doing school pictures at Crossroads Christian Academy.  She has opened it up to any homeschoolers who would like to come and have their picture taken. She offers school picture packages ranging in price from $26 to $32.  The basic package would include 1 8X10, 2 5X7's, 16 wallets, and a "class picture" (you could do your kids together or negotiate another size picture).  If you are interested, please let me know at marquettechums@yahoo.com so we can give her an idea of how many homeschoolers to expect. Thanks!

Spanish Class

Spanish classes will begin Friday, September 28. There is still plenty of room for more!  If you are interested, and I have not yet heard from you, please email me by Friday, September 14 with your students' name and grade. I need to let Bethany know how many students to prepare for, and students need to be sure and order their books in time for class on the 28th.  I'd also be happy to answer any questions you may have: marquettechums@yahoo.com.

Young Authors

It is time to think about Young Authors!! I know it is early but there is A LOT that goes into planning an event of this magnitude!! This year's author is Kristine O'Connell George (www.kristinegeorge.com). The event will be held the week of May 6-9, 2013. Mark your calendars NOW!! I will have more information coming in the following weeks after I attend the first meeting!

-Kathy Millin

Pinocchio Play

Mark your calendars:

The Forest Roberts Theatre Presents.... PINOCCHIO, A Children’s Comedy

May 13-18, 2013 at the Forest Roberts Theatre
Student Matinees Available!

Northern Michigan University’s Forest Roberts Theatre offers you and your class an opportunity to experience the magic of live theatre.  The play follows the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio, an animated marionette, and his poor father, a woodcarver named Geppetto. With the unique spirit and fun of commedia dell’arte, Pinocchio springs to life from a block of wood and gets swallowed by a great fish!

Only $5 per student.   Tera Fields will be organizing a group for any homeschoolers who wish to attend.  If interested,  please contact Tera: mrs.fieldsin95@yahoo.com.  More details will be coming...seats fill up fast!

Community Canning Class

While this is not a specific home schooling event, I thought I would pass this along to anyone interested:

When: Saturday, September 8, 10:30 am
Where: Marquette Commons (same place as the Farmer's Market is held)
What: Learn the basics of water bath canning with experienced instructor Lucia Patritto of MSU Ext.  Though instruction is geared towards beginning canning, our instructor will also be able to answer questions on pressure canning, freezing, and drying food so participants of all skill levels are welcome.  Safely put away food now so you can eat local all year round!  For more information call Sarah at 906-235-6389.

September Field trip full

Just to let you know, the field trip is full for September.  Stay tuned for next month! =)

However, if you weren't able to make the field trip, some of us will be heading over to Beaver Grove Park in Harvey afterwards (probably about noon-ish). Everyone is welcome to bring their own sack/picnic lunches and join us for fellowship and fun!

Mom's Only Meeting tomorrow

Just a quick reminder: our Mom's-only meeting is tomorrow (Tuesday) 6:30 p.m. at my house. If you need directions, please email me.  Feel free to bring anything new that you are excited to share from your new school year!

Homeschool Spanish Class

A Spanish language class will be starting up in September for homeschoolers grades 4th-high school.  Bethany Troupe will be teaching the class, and has graciously offered to give family discounts for those who enroll more than two children in the class.  We will meet at Calvary Baptist church in Negaunee on Fridays, 6:30-7:30 pm.  Classes will begin September 28.  Each student will need to order a textbook and workbook beforehand to bring to the first day of class.  (I will send a link to those who enroll for ordering).  Textbook and workbook combined will cost about $25.  Class will not meet October 5 due to a Fall Bible Conference at the church, but after that we should be able to meet weekly.

Cost for the classes will be $5 per student per lesson.  For those enrolling more than two students in the class a family discount will apply as follows:

3rd Child=30% discount

4th Child=40% discount

5th Child=50% discount

If interested, please email me your child(s)' name, age, and grade that will be participating in the class to marquettechums@yahoo.com.  Please note that while parents have the option of staying on the premises during class, younger siblings or siblings not taking the class will not be permitted to play in the building or wander around as that would be distracting and disrespectful to the teacher and students.

If you have any other questions, please email me!

September Field Trip

Our September field trip will be to an Alpaca farm in Skandia on Tuesday, September 11 at 11 am.  The tour will take from 45 minutes to an hour.  As a courtesy to our hostesses, I will need to turn in numbers the week before, so please RSVP by September 4 with how many will be attending.  Please RSVP to marquettechums@yahoo.com, and I will email directions back.   For those interested in a picnic/play time afterwards, feel free to bring a picnic lunch and we can meet at Beaver Grove park in Harvey after the field trip.

As we begin a new school year of field trips, I just wanted to emphasize a few reminders:
Please be respectful of those who are graciously opening their farm, business or property.  Parents, please keep kids in the group and quiet when appropriate. (no wandering off!) If you RSVP and are unable to make it, please let me know as there is often people who would like to come if there is a cancelation.   I hope you enjoy the field trips, and please keep in mind Who we are representing!

September Mom's Only Meeting

Our next mom's-only meeting will be Tuesday, September 4 at 6:30 pm.  Same location. Email me at marquettechums@yahoo.com if you need directions!  Feel free to bring any new curriculum (any subject) that you are excited about trying out this year for everyone to look at. Hope to see you then!

Home school Beach Day!

Several home school families will be getting together at McCarty's Cove Tuesday (Aug. 7) from 2-4 pm.  Any other home school families that would like to join us would be more than welcome.  The more the merrier! =)

IEW Door prize at the Overcomer's Seminar

The Institute in Excellence in Writing (IEW) has generously offered to provide a free door prize when we have our Overcomer's Seminar with Skeet Savage on August 21.  The prize will be the Student Writing Intensive Level B.  If interested, please make sure to enter the drawing when you arrive.  The winner will be announced at the end of the seminar.

Mom's only meetings

In lieu of our usual mom's only meeting in August, we will be attending Skeet Savage's seminar August 21.   I will also be busy with several batches of company, so we will not be having a meeting at my house in August.  Last night there was discussion about when to hold the ladies' meeting in September.  We're looking at potentially September 4, but wondering if that will be too busy a time with Labor Day and starting up school?  Let me know via comments or email what you think. I'll post our September mom's only date when we get it all figured out. =)

THE  OVERCOMER'S  SEMINAR

Young Eagles Date Change

Due to runway construction, the date of the Young Eagles program has been changed to July 14.  Please see the below post for guidelines if you are interested. We still have room for some more entries if you were unable to make the previous date and would like to sign up for this one.

Young Eagles Program

Young Eagles is a program designed by the EAA to introduce young people to the world of flight.  The program is free, and starts with a lesson followed by a free flight in an airplane.  June 23, some home schoolers will have the chance to take part in this exciting opportunity!  Please note and follow the guidelines very carefully:

-This program is only for children ages 8-17. No younger children will be allowed on the premises during the program.  Parents are NOT allowed to go up in the plane with the children as they often tend to be a distraction.
-Children must be willing to listen/pay attention the whole time.
-You must RSVP as the numbers are limited. I will put up a notification when the class is full.  RSVP at marquettechums@yahoo.com
-We MUST have a signed waiver/registration form for each child participating. These forms can be obtained from Shannon Kemp. (she will have them available at the used curriculum fair for those who have signed up. Otherwise you can pick them up from her at Rob's Cars)
- Any other questions?  You can email Shannon at kemps4christ@yahoo.com.  Or call 486-9900.

Mom's-Only Meeting

Our Mom's Only Meeting for June will be held Tuesday, June 26 at 6:30 pm.  Please email if you need directions to my house. For June we will be having a "white elephant party" with a home school theme. Everyone bring a home schooling item you no longer need/want, wrapped. We will be playing a game with the wrapped gifts and everyone will go home with something! It can be anything from a pencil to a book- you can be creative!  Hope to see you there!

Used Curriculum Fair

June 1 will be the Used Curriculum Fair for Homeschoolers from 6 pm to 8 pm. This year it will be held at Calvary Baptist Church, on Highway 41 in Negaunee. If you have items to sell, bring them at 5:30 to set up at your table. Items should be pre-priced. Work your own tables to collect money and answer any questions. There will also be some free tables for anyone who would like to give away their materials. If you have any questions, please contact Shannon Kemp at 486-8802 (home), 486-9900 (work) or email: kemps4christ@yahoo.com. Hope to see you there!

Mark your calendars June 12, 2012 for movie night!  The premier of The Over-Mountain Men will be showing at Kaufman Auditorium (611 North Front Street, Marquette)  at 6:30 pm.  Tickets can be reserved online www.shilohfilms.org.  Adults are $5, Children under 12 are free.  This movie, a ministry of Shiloh Baptist Church,  was locally filmed across the upper peninsula.   (Please note that parental guidance is recommended for some scenes of mild historical violence. )

Summer Opportunity at the Farmer's Market

Is anyone interested in heading up a table for home schoolers at the Negaunee Farmer's Market?  Bill Brazier said he'd be willing to  let the homeschoolers have a booth as long as someone showed up every week. And the price is very reasonable.  This would be a great opportunity if someone is willing to head it up! You would need to contact Bill at 906-869-4859. He can email you an application. It would be up to you to find people to fill it every week and divide the cost. If anyone is willing to do this, I would be happy to help by passing along information on this website.

May field trip registration closed

Just wanted to let everyone know that the May field trip is full!

Mom's Meeting in May

The next Mom's-only meeting will be May 22 at 6:30.  It will be at my house, so if you need directions, please let me know!

New shopping/services page

In an effort to promote awareness and support of local entrepreneurial home schoolers,  I am excited about this blog's new feature: a shopping/services page (see tabs at top of blog).  If you are a local Christian home schooling family with a business,  please let me know.  You can email me the information to post: either a website or email address, along with an explanation or list of what you are selling.  Email: marquettechums@yahoo.com


(Disclaimer: We reserve the right to not post a business/service if it is determined to be inappropriate for the group or has earned a reputation of dishonesty etc.)

Joel Lantz website and pictures

For those of you who went on the beekeeper field trip yesterday, Joel has posted pictures on his website:
UP Michigan Bees

Mom's Meeting- Changed Location for April

The location for our Mom's Only meeting has changed for April 24.  Since Smoothie King's hours did not go as late as our meetings tend to last, we decided to meet instead at Culvers in Marquette. (3033 US Highway 41) We'll meet there at 6:30pm.  Hope to see you there!

April Field Trip

Tuesday, April 24 we will be having a field trip to Beekeeper Joel Lantz' property.  We visited him last year, and it was one of everyone's favorite field trips. However, many were not able to make it, and some are interested in going again. The Lantz' place is at 192 Kunde in Skandia.  The tour will begin at 10:30 am.  Joel does an excellent job in educating people about bees and bee keeping.  Please RSVP by April 9 if you'd like to join us.  Group size will be limited. (Joel's new website is at : http://upbees.weebly.com/index.html)  You can RSVP by either leaving a comment on this post or email me at marquettechums@yahoo.com.

April Mom's-Only Meeting

Our April Mom's-Only Meeting for Homeschoolers will be Tuesday, April 24.  However, due to construction materials piling up at an alarming rate in my living room, we will be meeting at a different location. We will be meeting at Smoothie King/Temaki and Tea at 6:30 pm.  For those who want to order a full meal (from Temaki and Tea) or just a healthy snack (Smoothie King), or just visit, you are welcome to join us!  Smoothie King is located at 1422 Presque Isle Avenue in Marquette (near the Dome).  Several expressed interest in bringing a favorite book to share since they missed it last time. So bring your favorite book (fiction or non-fiction) or several if you can't decide!

Mom's Meeting

Next Mom's-only Meeting for homeschooling moms is March 20 at 6:30 pm.  If you are new and would like to come, let me know and I will send directions.  This month bring your favorite non-fiction book that has made an impact in your life.  (bring two if you can't narrow it down to one!) It will be fun to see what books people recommend!

March 9 Field Trip

Just to let you know, the March 9 Field Trip is full. We will not be able to add anymore people at this time.  If you want to sign up to be notified in case someone cancels, you can let me know: marquettechums@yahoo.com.  Thanks!

March Field Trip: Main Street School of Cosmetology

This month's field trip will be Friday, March 9 at 1:45 pm. We'll be getting a "two for one deal"!  We will be meeting at Rob's Cars (141 N Second St. in Ishpeming) at 1:45 and walking over to Main Street School of Cosmetology for a 2 pm tour.  Afterwards, we'll get a tour of Rob's Cars Garage.  Space is limited to 30 people. Please RSVP by either commenting on this post or sending an email to marquettechums@yahoo.com.

February Field Trip

Our next field trip is set for February 9. Dorothy Dickey will be giving a presentation on what it is like to be blind. Children are encouraged to think of questions ahead of time to bring to the presentation.  It will be held in Peter White Library's community room at 2 pm.  RSVP is required, and there is a limit of 40 people. If you have any questions, either email me or you can call Shannon at 486-9900.

February Mom's-Only Meeting

The next Homeschooling meeting for moms-only is Tuesday, February 28 at 6:30 pm.  Back by popular demand, please bring your math curriculum for everyone to peruse. If you need directions, please let me know!