Homes Offering Positive Education

Come and discover the awesome inventions that sprang forth from Leonardo daVinci’s thoughts including the first helicopter design, armored tank design, bicycle design and more! Students will touch the machines with their own hands and set them in motion, combining a fascinating, hands-on experience with an exploration of the principles daVinci utilized to create each design. This field trip is for students in 4th-8th grade and will be Tuesday, March 9th from 12:30pm-2:00pm. Admission is $3/person (students & parents) to be paid at the Strategic Air & Space Museum. Our group size is limited to 20 participants, so you must sign-up in advance by  contacting HOPE field trip coordinator Susie Sargent by March 1st at billsusie2©gmail.com . If there are more than 20 participants interested, we will try to arrange an additional time slot.

The LORD is faithful and spring will arrive in His time! Of course, we are all hoping for sooner—rather than later! While we wait, many used curriculum sales and early-bird publisher discounts will begin appearing on the scene. Now is an excellent time to begin preparing for the next school year. HOPE’s March 5th meeting is a curriculum share to help you do just that. Everyone is strongly encouraged to bring their favorite resources to set out so others can take a look. Why you are particularly pleased with (or disappointed in) a particular curriculum is valuable information that will certainly bless another home-schooling family. This is a wonderful opportunity to investigate a wide variety of resources hands-on before you have to get out your checkbook! There will be plenty of time to browse through the tables of resources that everyone brings. HOPE will also invite some members to speak briefly on specific curriculum based on your feedback to our Curriculum Share coordinator Cathy Haldeman Please contact Cathy ASAP at 322-1015 or by email at clhald©msn.com with what you’re already using and what you’d like to learn more about. The doors at SUMC will open at 9:00am on Friday, March 5th. So bring your family’s favorite resources to set out for others to see. HOPE’s Curriculum Share and student co-op classes will begin at 9:30am. Please join us—even if you’ve already got your own “curriculum garden” all laid out!

3rd Annual NICHE Homeschool Day at the Capitol
March 16
Michael Farris, co-founder and chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association and Steve Deace WHO Radio talk show host will be among the featured speakers this year.
Make a difference by putting a "face" on homeschooling for our legislators. 
 
Help NICHE urge the passage of the parent-taught driver education bill,
which was passed overwhelmingly by the Iowa House and Senate in 2004,
only to be vetoed by Governor Tom Vilsack.
 
Get to know your legislators, thank them for their service to our state,
give them a packet of information about homeschooling provided by NICHE
and let them see your wonderful children!

Free Morning Session - State Capitol Building - 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Free Homeschool Rally - West Side State Capitol Steps - Noon
Afternoon Session - Wallace Building - 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

To register online or for more information, [link]

HOPE’S EDUCATIONAL SHOWCASE ON FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 7TH WILL BE A “FAMILY DATE” YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS! PREPARE TO DELIGHT IN musical performances, humorous & serious oral presentations, project demonstrations, table displays of original artwork, lapbooking, and so much more— THE FRUIT OF AN ADVENTURE CALLED HOMESCHOOLING! Perhaps the Showcase might MOTIVATE yourstudent to finish up a special project or practice their music. Perhaps you could ENCOURAGE your child to showcase their proudest accomplishment of the year at a display table. Did your child read a story on their own for the first time or put together a lapbook of the human skeletal system? Whether seemingly simple or intricately complex - let us CELEBRATE their homeschooling successes! PLEASE PLAN TO PARTICIPATE IN AND ENJOY HOPE’S EDUCATIONAL SHOWCASE ON MAY 7TH! Invitational flyers and registration materials will be coming soon! Contact Eunice Bunch at embunch©ymail.com or (712)322-9387 if you have any questions or would like to assist with this years’ Showcase

New Venue & Weekend for 2010 NICHE Conference Polk County Convention Center, Des Moines, Iowa—June 18-19, 2010 This year’s NICHE (Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators) Conference offers a fantastic line-up of encouraging, educational speakers and workshops! Conference hours will be 8am—7pm on Friday, June 18th and 8am-4pm on Saturday, June 19th. NICHE will host a FREE Keynote Address on Friday evening beginning at 7:00pm: Steve Demme, founder of MathUSee, will present “The Family That Stays Together, Stays Together”. Mr. Demme’s desire is to strengthen, teach, encourage, validate and exhort parents to follow the Biblical model for the Christian home. Steve and his wife Sandra have been married for 30 years and have been blessed to home educate their four now-grown children. In addition to his keynote address, Mr. Demme will lead a number of work-shops throughout the weekend. More than 50 exhibitors will be available in a single-level, air-conditioned Exhibit Hall—to showcase curriculum, resources, publications & services—many offering Conference-only discounts! A Used Curriculum Sale Hall and on-site food kiosks (as well as many nearby downtown “sky-walk” restaurants) also make the NICHE conference convenient and cost-effective. Conference Registration Fees provide admission for one adult for two full days to the largest homeschool conference and curriculum exhibit in the state of Iowa! Admission for spouses of paid adult registrants are free! Early registration (before June 1st) is $35 for NICHE members and $55 non-members. Join NICHE (annual fee $30) before you register and receive the NICHE member conference rate. On or after June 1st, registration is $40 for NICHE members and $60 for non-members. On-line Conference registration will be available sometime in March. For more details about the 2010 NICHE Conference and the benefits of NICHE membership (including a $20 discount for HSLDA membership!) go to [link]

On the morning of Friday, December 11th, HOPE will host its annual homemade Cookie & Candy Sale at the Omni Center in Council Bluffs.
So dig out your aprons, push up your sleeves and call the whole family together for some good, old-fashioned cookie baking and decorating!
This is our main fundraiser to cover the costs of speakers and supplies for HOPE each year. Please consider participating by baking and decorating as many cute, unique homemade cookies and/or candy as possible and donating them to our annual Cookie Sale. Or perhaps, you’d rather volunteer to work during the sale?
We’ll be taking cookie & candy donations at the December 4th HOPE meeting and freezing them until the Sale. Or, you can bring them to the Omni Center early on December 11th.
Please contact our Cookie Coordinator, Denise Jacobsen for more details by email at denise@the-jacobsens.com.
I love to bake...I love to bake...I love to bake..

2010 HOPE Graduation? Do you have a teen graduating this spring?  In the past, HOPE has helped sponsor graduation ceremonies for HOPE families.  If you are interested in having your graduating teen participate in a HOPE graduation, please contact Kelly Wilson at homeschoolmom@gotsky.com so that we can get interested families connected with each other!