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Free Entrance Days National Parks

Jul25

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With the flexibility of homeschooling we can take advantage of going on vacation in August when other families are preparing to go back to school. The National Parks are celebrating with Free Entrance Days in the National Parks! If you have a fourth grade student, there is a special offer for them to have a free annual pass. Find a park that is close to you and go and enjoy the wonderful outdoors!

Information taken from the National Parks website: The National Park Service turns 100 years old in 2016 and we want everyone to join the party! On 16 days in ’16, all National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone.

Mark your calendar for these entrance fee–free dates in 2016:

  • August 25 through 28: National Park Service Birthday
  • September 24: National Public Lands Day
  • November 11: Veterans Day

National parks are America’s Best Idea, and there are more than 400 parks available to everyone, every day. The fee-free days provide a great opportunity to visit a new place or an old favorite, especially one of the 127 national parks that normally charge an entrance fee. The others are free all of the time. Plan your visit and enjoy our country’s history and nature.

The fee waiver includes entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise.

Fee-free days make parks accessible to more people. However, national parks are always economical, with entrance fees that range from $3 to $30. In addition, any fourth grade student can get a free annual pass through the Every Kid in a Park program, and active duty military and citizens with a permanent disability can also get free passes. For more information about the variety of discounted passes available, please visit the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass page.

** National Parks in Ohio are Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Wayne National Forest 

See Cincinnati: Findlay Market

Jun20

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Findlay Market is an area of many shops and is located on Race Street. You will be in for a great treat and is a spot that everyone in your family will enjoy.

Address: 1801 Race Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513) 665-4839

Website: http://www.findlaymarket.org

Hours: Findlay Market is open year round.

Monday OFF

Tuesday-Friday: 9am-6 pm

Saturday 8am-6pm

Sunday 10am-4pm

The Farmers Market is open seasonally-

Thursday 3pm-6 pm

Saturday 8am-2pm

Sunday 10am-4pm

Parking is available, but there is a fee and spaces are limited. Most vendors accept only cash, so make sure you bring some with you. Also, bring a small cooler to take home any meat or produce you purchase for your ride home.

This historic market has all kinds of remarkable goods that you must go there at some point. Fresh meat can be purchased at reasonable prices. While on  a recent trip there I brought home a chicken that had been slaughtered just that morning; you can’t get any fresher than that! You will be tempted to purchase  plants, local produce, newly baked breads and baked goods, natural products, freshly made waffles, fabulous homemade soaps, yummy teas and coffees, and fresh spices to add to your favorite dishes. If you have little ones whose interest may wane before you are ready to leave have them look for the most unusual item they can find or the funniest name of something that is for sale. Believe me, there are some names of items that I had never heard of and had to ask how to pronounce!

There are also restaurants if you get a hankering to try something while you are there. These have menu items that range from ice cream to fresh grilled burgers to delicious gyros.

If you haven’t been to Findlay Market, pack up the family and head down there for a great time!

Source: Adventures Around Cincinnati

 

 

 

MathStart Books

Jun6

Have you ever heard the term living books? Charlotte Mason, a British educator who lived at the turn of the twentieth century, coined the phrase. One of the things that she believed was that children learn best by reading good literature. Thus, the term, “living books”.

I have a math series of living books written by Stuart J. Murphy called MathStart that is for preschool through middle school, which  you can use to introduce or reinforce mathematical concepts through a story.  I recommend that you read these books together to discuss the topic if it is a new concept and then provide the opportunity for your child to read them independently to review and reinforce what you discussed.

There are 63 titles in the series, and while I am not going to list every title, I will give you an idea of what topics are covered and provide you with a link of all the titles in this great series at the bottom of the post.

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Level 1 Ages 3+

Matching

Pattern Recognition

Directions

Opposites

Comparing Amounts

 

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Level 2 Ages 6+

Counting by 2s, 3s, and 4s

Adding

Subtracting

Understanding Halves

Probability

 

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Level 3 Ages 7+

Dollars and Cents

Subtracting

Fractions

Angles

Multiplying

You can click on the picture of the books above to see the description and free activities asssociated with it or go to the MathStart website for details on each title. MATHSTART

You can click on the book list to review all of the titles in this great series. 

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Dressed for Death: a book review

Mar28

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 Sometimes we homeschool moms just need to slow down and take some time for ourselves. One thing I enjoy doing is reading.  Mystery,  justice, and romance are elements I love to see in a novel when I am reading for pleasure. Julianna Deering truly met these expectations with her fourth book, Dressed for Death. With many suspicious characters and several twists and turns throughout the telling of this tale, I was held in suspense until the very end. I look forward to reading more cases from Ms. Derring about her sleuth, Drew Fathering, and his encouraging and fearless newly wed helpmeet, Madeline. I believe you will enjoy this book as much as I did. 

If you would like to have a sneak peek about the book, read on… A Regency-era event turns out to be deadly when one of the guests dies from an apparent overdose of cocaine. Nothing seems to be as it appears as several guests are caught up in the web of death and suspicion. Drew Fathering, one of the guests and amateur detective, is in a race against the killer as one by one guests from the hosting house are being murdered.  

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”