June and July Events

Here is what we planned at the monthly planning meeting the other night:

June 14th - Tennis 9:30am @ Davis Park
June 14th -Music Class 12:30 @ Mt. Top Music

June 17th - History Mystery 10:30am @ Schouler Park. There are no spots left for this if you have not already signed up.

June 18th - Emerald Pool Hike (this will not be rescheduled). Meet in the parking lot at 10:30 with a picnic lunch and we will eat at the pool. We also will be planting a letter box as a group! To find out more about letter boxing click here. Also here is where you can find the clue to our letter box planted at Sabbaday Falls.

June 24th - Book Club 2:00pm @ The River Church
Younger - Little House in the Big Woods
Middle - Treasure Island
Older - The Daughter of Time

June 28th - Strawberry Picking 8:30am @ Schatner Farm. After picking we will get together for a strawberry taste testing extravaganza! Each family should make a strawberry recipe and then we will set them out to share! Please decide what you are going to make and then share it one the yahoo group. The recipe can be assembled before or after picking depending on what it is, kitchen space will be available.

July 1st - 4th of July t-shirt making and parade decoration day! We will meet at 10:00am @ the Kelley's house. We need to come up with a design for the T-shirts before this date and collect the materials. Be watching for emails concerning this on the yahoo group.

July 4th - 4th of July Parade 2:00pm in Conway Village. This year our theme is patriotic! We will be sporting homemade t-shirts and red white and blue. Kids can decorate their bikes (or mom's with strollers) and ride or walk together to promote our group and our love for the U. S. of A!

July 5th - Monthly Planning Meeting 7:00pm at the River Church

July 9th - July Hike...more info coming soon!

July 12th - Raspberry picking and Earl Family Farm tour. More info coming soon!

July 22nd - July Book Club 2:00pm @ The River Church
Younger - Little House on the Prairie
Middle -
Older -

This was posted through the yahoo group, but thought I would share here for those who aren't on the group. HINT - join the yahoo group! So far there has been a lot of interest in this so I am sure it will be going forward. It looks like the practices will be in Fryeburg. If you have questions you can post them in the comments here.

I spoke with Mike Mendonca, the Lovell Rec Director about coaching a fall homeschool running club. He is interested, if we can gain enough interest in our group. He would need at least 10 children to commit to meeting to run weekly. He would also need some amount of compensation, though he understands we are all on tight budgets. If i have clear commitment from enough children, I will go back to him and see what he can do for us. Hopefully, we can find a day/time which will work for all who are interested.

This would be a cross-country type program, with lots of fun thrown in. Basically, learning proper running technique and running on trails and through fields. We didn't discuss an age minimum, but I am thinking school age with a desire to run long distances? He coached a program like this for some Florida homeschoolers and was impressed with their organization and commitment. They even had running shirts made-up and called themselves HEAT(Home Educated Athletic Team). He also coaches a running club for New Life Christian Academy in Fryeburg.

There is a 5K in Lovell the Saturday before Thanksgiving, so maybe the goal for some would be participating? It is run around the athletic fields, so it's not a road race and is appropriate for all ages...even babies/toddlers in jogging strollers! Lots of fun,prizes and good food after.

A little about Mike: He is a Christian dad with a lifetime of experience running and training others to run both for the military and as a Recreation Director. He is a bi/tri(?)athlete and trains daily. He leads a weekly bible club for teens at Fryeburg Academy called the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He also coaches Nordic skiing for the Rec and Middle School while leading exercise classes for the Rec. Coolest of all, he is a *super* nice guy, is patient, kind, soft spoken and cheerful and *loves* working with kids. My boys think is Superman. :-)

Let me know if you have any questions and if you think your children would be interested. We can bounce thoughts around and try to decide by the August Mom's meeting.

Boston Trip Update

Thanks for the feedback on the Boston trip, it looks like there is lot's of interest and our trip is a go! There have been a few questions that have come up since posting the first information and we are going to try to shed some light on them. We will be discussing the trip in more detail at the Mom's Meeting on Monday June 7th. Most people have asked about an estimated cost, we have tried to break it down for you here:

                                            Adult                               Child
Go Boston Card             $90.00                              $55.00
Church Donation           $2.00/night                        $2.00/night
"T" Transportation      $2.00/ride x7 (est)             <11  FREE
                                                                                   >12  $0.85

Other things to take into consideration:
Food - plan on 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners (one of which may be at Quincy Market for $9/person)
Shopping/Souvenirs
Gas/Tolls

The majority of people are interested in fund raising. After some research we have picked a couple that will give us the biggest bang for our buck.

Pizza Hut Card: We would sell coupon cards offering 6 "FREE Medium Pizza with the purchase of a Large" AND 6 "$5 off any purchase of $20 or more" / no expiration. The card costs us $4 and we sell them for $10 and make a $6 profit/card. A child that sells 11 card will have paid for their entire trip minus food.

Yard Sale/Bake Sale/Car Wash: Each family will get their own spot to sell what ever they would like including yard sale stuff, fresh veggies from your garden, eggs, brownies, cookies, crafts, plants, toys, or anything they want to get rid of.  :)  Plus a car wash.

 If anyone has any other great fund raising ideas please feel free to share.

The Snake Guy!

We were lucky enough to have Josh, the snake guy, come a share his snakes and what he does. Who would have thought there would be such a need for snake removal in our area? And we are not talking about the little guys in your garden, but 10-20 foot pythons and boas. Yikes! Better him than me.

The kids had a great time. Josh brought a bunch of snakes, a couple turtles and scorpions, an iguana, and gecko. And he was kind enough to let the kids hold most of them.

Just check out their faces. This was a once in a life time experience for most of them.

The little ones thought the snakes were cool, too. I thought they might be scared, but no. Lots of smiles and giggles.

Alexis is holding George. A Ball Python. George and his mate are pets of Josh's. We couldn't hold the female because she is caring eggs at the moment.

Here a bunch of the group hold Josh's seven foot albino boa. Can you believe this guy has free rain of the bedroom. I can't imagine waking up with this next to me.

Thanks Josh for a great day, and thanks to Shelia for setting this up.

Check out more photo's on the Kelley Family Blog!

Boston Overnight Poll

Planning has begun for our overnight field trip to Boston.

• We are looking at a Thursday through Saturday in the month of September. The actual dates are dependent on the availability of the church. (Leslie J. is working on the church accommodations, more information to follow. We will be giving them a donation)
  
• Thursday morning we will leave Conway to arrive at the church around 10:00am. Next stop will be Boston Common for a picnic lunch and a Swan Boat ride! Then off on a scavenger hunt for the first half of the Freedom Trail, including Old South Meeting House and the Old State House Museum and many others, ending at Faneuil Hall. From there it is off to Long Wharf to board a harbor cruise. We will end in Quincy Market for dinner. Then it will be back to the church for an evening of games or movies.
• Friday we will start the day at the USS Constitution and then finish the second half of the Freedom Trial with stops at the Old North Church and Paul Revere's House. Arrive on Long Wharf just in time to board the Tall Ships. Both the Science Museum and the Children's Museum are open Friday evening.
• Saturday is your family's choice. Hook up with another family or explore on your own.
  

I know you are going to ask about the cost. Admission to all the above attractions is included in the purchase of a Go Boston Card. You can purchase two days to cover the events we have planned or three days to give you FREE admission on Saturday to your choice of over 70 Boston area attraction. We've done the math and this is definitely a savings. This also gives us options in case of bad weather. We could go to the Aquarium or other museums because it is all included in your pass.

Each family will be responsible for their own food, we are looking into the Quincy Market group dining pass for one or both of the nights dinner ($9.00 per person).

Please note that this is the plan, and is subject to change based on poll results, weather and group size. So it is important to let us know if you are interested or not. Please leave comments on this post if you have any idea, input or questions. Also please let us know if your family is interested via the comments section or the yahoo group.

Brass at the Big Top

Here are a few pics from the last Portland Symphony Orchestra Kinderconcert we went to the other day! It had a circus theme and was lots of fun! One of the trumpet players was so nice to come and chat with the kids afterward.

He showed the kids all the parts and answered their questions!

Hope to see you at the next concert, Percussion the Beat Goes On in Fryeburg on May 17th! Please let Liz K know if you are coming.