We're on the road again!

Friends,

We have departed on an extended camping trip to the American West. We are hoping to stay out this time until mid-September or so. Right now we are headed to the Southwest, then we are planning on heading north thru California, then returning via Yellowstone and maybe northern Colorado.

You can follow our trip at our website blog: http://www.haveschoolwilltravel.com

There are many articles and pictures covering our 3 month New England camping trip last fall on the website, and we're trying to keep it relatively up to date on our travels out west. To make it easy on yourself, if you'll enter your email address into the 'subscription' box at the bottom of the right hand column, you will get email notifications whenever a new item is posted to the blog.

We're currently in Amarillo, Texas, heading towards Carlsbad Caverns today in New Mexico...

Keep in touch!

- Mark, Denise and Vance Tyson

Summer Art Classes

Summer Art Classes at Myers Art Enrichment Studio in Bryson City

For more information contact:

 

James B. Myers

Artist and Art Educator

19 Everett Street

BC, NC

828-735-3391

828-488-3963

flappylips1@yahoo.com

 

Singing at GUM

Hello folks (whom I like to consider my local fan club),

 

I wanted to let you know that I will be performing at Greening Up the Mountains this coming Saturday in Sylva. I will be playing from 10:45 - 11:15am at the Heritage Stage. So, if you feel like coming on over and supporting me in my first performance of 2007 that would be great! I'll also be hanging out at the SCC pottery booth for a lot of the day, if you make it to the festival after I've performed, drop by. Have a great week and hope to see you next Saturday, April 28th.

 

Happy Earth Day!! all the best - hannah

Voices in the Laurel

Voices in the Laurel Children and Youth Choirs will be holding open auditions on Tuesday, May 8^th .


For more information contact Derrick Robinson at voicesinlaurel@bellsouth.net.

Children's Choir consists of 3^rd-6^th graders and Youth Choir is 7^th-12^th graders.

Botany Class for Teens

A Botany class for homeschooled teens at Highlands Nature Center (www.wcu.edu/hbs/Naturecenter.htm).

The speaker, Patrick Brennan, will speak on plant and flower anatomy and function and instruct students on basic plant identification and terminology while walking  through the garden. It will last for 60-90 minutes and will be held at 2 pm on Thursday, May 3.
 
The fee is only 50 cents per person.
 
All older homeschoolers (and their parents, etc.) are invited.  Call (828) 349-1111 or email at linda@faith-llc.com if you plan to attend. 

Linda Bibb

Music Event Moved

The Music Event at the Library on April 24 at 3pm is expected to be well attended!  (Hope you still are planning to come!)

They have so many folks responding they are MOVING the site to MARK WATSON PARK.

 

So the HOMESCHOOL PROGRAM sponsored by the Jackson County Library on APRIL 24 at 3pm will be at MARK WATSON PARK.

Mark Watson is the one past the downtown area on the left coming from Sylva where the baseball fields and tennis courts are.  There is a nice covered area so it is possible to meet even in rainy weather.

 

Hope to see you there!

Crystal Akers

Flower Walk at MHC

The Mountain Heritage Center presents

Nature's Tracks:  A Flower Walk with Dona West

Sunday, April 22
2:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Meet at Pinnacle Park parking area.
From Skyland Drive take Fisher Creek Road to the top which ends in the
parking area.

Please call the Center and leave a message if you plan to attend. Thanks!

227-7129

Botany class at Highlands Nature Center

I've arranged a Botany class for homeschooled teens at Highlands Nature Center (www.wcu.edu/hbs/Naturecenter.htm).

The speaker, Patrick Brennan, will speak on plant and flower anatomy and function and instruct students on basic plant identification and terminology as we walk through the garden. It will last for 60-90 minutes and will be held at 2 pm on Thursday, May 3.

 

The fee is only 50 cents per person.

 

All older homeschoolers (and their parents, etc.) are invited.  Please forward this to anyone you know of who might be interested.  Call me at (828) 349-1111 or email me at linda@faith-llc.com if you plan to attend, so I can tell Patrick how many to expect. 

Linda Bibb

New Museum opening in East Tennessee

East Tennessee State University is opening a new museum this summer - just off Interstate 26. Soon, fans of fossils will be able to get a nearby fix, without having to go out west!

Discovered by a highway construction crew in 2000 during a road widening project, the Gray Fossil site was determined to be from the late Miocene in age (between 7-4.5 million years ago). This is the only Miocene site in Appalachia.

The road was rerouted to avoid the fossil site, and money was appropriated for a museum.

The 33,000-square-foot visitor's center will be adjacent to State Route 75 less than two miles from I-26 in an area that does not intrude on the dig site. The location of the visitors center provides easy access to the site for travelers from the region.
The center will include storage space for the fossil collection, a preparation lab, a museum, an education center, and a workshop for display construction and assembly of the fossils.

Music Program at the Jackson County Library

Tuesday, April 24th at 3:00 P.M.  Tim Beck will be leading a music program for home schooled children/families.  For more information call the JCL at 586-2016.  All Are Welcome! 

Homeschool Day at PARI - May 4, 2007

 

It is time once again for the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) to conduct our Spring Homeschool Day at PARI. The November program was a great success. We have developed all new programs for the session which will be held on Friday, May 4, 2007. The see a fact sheet, the schedule of classes, the curriculum and the registration form, go to http://www.pari.edu/programs/students/Homeschool on our website. You can also find direction on how to get to PARI at http://www.pari.edu/directions. We are limited to 100 students, so it is important to register as soon as possible.

 

We hope you and your student(s) can make it.

 

 

David E. Clavier, Ph.D.

Vice President of Administration & Development

Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute

One PARI Drive

Rosman, NC 28772

(828) 966-4097

Main (828) 862-5554

Fax (828) 862-5877

Cell (828) 553-9713

dclavier@pari.edu

 

Teachers' Night at City Lights Bookstore

Join City Lights children's bookseller Jenifer Ross on Tuesday, May 1st at 6:00 P.M. for an evening devoted to teachers.  She will present the newest books for children of all ages, K - High School.  Lots of giveaways and door prizes such as posters, advance reading copies, reading guides, activity sheets, and more.  Light refreshments will be provided.

Please note that this event, which will run from 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M., is geared toward teachers and is not intended as a parent/child activity.

For more information call 586-9499 or toll-free (888) 853-6298  ~  www.citylightsnc.com 

The store is located in Sylva.   

Easter Egg Hunt Photos

You can view pictures of the Easter Egg Hunt here

Don't Miss 'Kilowatt Ours' at Library on Monday

Kilowatt Ours
Monday, April 16th at 5:30 pm

Vance and I saw this film a couple of months ago - it's focused on where a lot of our energy comes from (coal), the impact of strip mining, but more importantly, what each of us can do to save energy. The last part of the film talks about what steps a normal family can take to save energy, specifically the savings in energy usage (and dollars!) possible by swapping over to Compact Florescent Lights (CFLs, now available at most stores that sell light bulbs).

It's a really cute film that packs a powerful message. Vance came home a convert, and really took an interest in saving energy (he faithfully turns out the light in his room now after viewing this film, and hounded me until we swapped over most of our lights to CFLs).

Highly recommended! There was a decent sized crowd to view 'An Inconvienent Truth' last week, so you probably won't be sitting by yourself ;-) - Mark

Reminder: Big Read at Library starting next week

The Big Read for this year is Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird

Friday, April 20th
5:30 pm

Join Janet Smith, local teacher and parent of a teen, as she leads a discussion with teens and their parents on Harper Lee's classic story of tolerance and justice.

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Thursday, April 26th
5:30 pm

Janice Inabinett, Recognized Story-teller and Bryson City native will lead a book discussion.

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Friday, May 4th
5:30 pm

A showing of the classic film 'To Kill a Mockingbird", starring Gregory Peck - followed by a discussion of the movie and the book.




All programs held at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City

A Bone-afide Good Time

On Saturday, April 21, Chimney Rock Park is going to the dogs with our 3rd Annual Bark in the Park. We're cooking up a tail-waggin' good time for Fido and his friends from 11am-3pm. There is no additional fee other than the normal park entrance.

We're excited to have a very special guest at this year's event, Maggie the Wonder Dog. Maggie has a full bag of tricks, but perhaps the most impressive is her knack for math. Yes, math! She's been on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Animal Planet's Pet Star. Maggie will show off her skills at noon and 1pm. We promise you'll be as smitten with her as we are!

Blue Ridge Agility Club is back with agility demos. Watch talented dogs jump, weave and run through an obstacle course and find out what it takes to train your pooch to do the same. Working dogs from Possum Hollow Farms will demonstrate herding skills. The Guide Dog Foundation will be on hand with dogs in training to help people with special needs.

Several animal rescue agencies will raise awareness of the needs of animals in our community and show you how you can help. The Blue Ridge Humane Society will have dogs that need good homes. Perhaps you'll find a new member of the family. Plus, canine caricatures, pet and owner look-a-like contest, most phenomenal pet trick contest and lots more!

Puppeteer Coming to Discovery Camp at Tremont

First Ever Artists-In-Residence During Summer Camp

This summer we are excited to welcome puppeteer artist Hobey Ford to summer camp. Hobey will be our first ever Artist-In-Residence at Discovery Camp, June 11-16 and June 25-30. Hobey is the winner of puppetry's highest honor, the UNIMA Citation of Excellence, and recipient of three Jim Henson Foundation grants. He travels around the country and is widely known for his excellence in puppetry performance and craft.

During Discovery Camp, Hobey will conduct his Shadow Puppetry Workshop, which combines storytelling with shadow puppetry bringing a variety of cultures to life through folktales. During the workshop students will learn shadow puppetry performance techniques and how to construct their own shadow puppets. Each student will construct a puppet and get to work with Hobey.

In addition, Hobey will perform his newest production, "Animalia". The performance explores the magical world of animals with Hobey’s "Foamie" puppets – large animal puppets carved from blocks of foam. After studying each animal's characteristic movements, he designs various control mechanisms to make the puppets themselves move in a life-like manner. For each performance he utilizes the entire theater as his stage.

As our artist-in-residence, Hobey will be eating with us and staying on site, and will also lead several Nature Clubs, a regular part of the Discovery Camp experience. For an artist to come live with us for several days, giving campers the chance to interact with him on a personal basis, is a real treat. Sign your child up early this year for Discovery Camp!

For more information refer to the Tremont Discovery Camp Website

Friends of the Library To Host Coffee-House Event with Live Music

Sunday, April 15 - 2:30 pm

Everyone is invited to the library auditorium for fresh, home-baked desserts, drinks and traditional acoustic music provided by Larry Barnett and George Kraushaar. Both play a variety of instruments, including guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle and squeeze box.

All proceeds from the sale of food and drink go toward new books and videos for the collection, programs for the children such as storytime, the summer reading program and Family Movie Day, as well as adult programs.

Even if you can't stay for the music, please stop by for a dessert and cup of coffee to support the library.

At 1:30 prior to the music, you are invited to the Friends Annual Meeting. Find out how you can get involved to help improve the library.

Love to Learn Homeschool Resource and Information Conference

This conference was created to fill the need for up to date, accurate, unbiased, information concerning issues that affect the climate of homeschooling in North Carolina.

Date:  August 11, 2007

Place:  Catawba Valley Community College, Multipurpose Complex ~ Hickory, NC

For more info....

http://www.lovetolearnconference.com

 

 

 

 

Shrek at Library

Family Movie Day at the Marianna Black Library

Monday April 9
3:30 pm

Shrek

Movies are FREE and projected onto an 8 x 10 ft. screen in the auditorium.

Popcorn and refreshments provided.

State Easter Eggs

Did you know that since 1994, each state has sent an 'official' Easter Egg to the White House?

Artists from across the United States create the decorated eggs, which represent each state and the District of Columbia.

Each year the artists vote amongst themselves to select the artist to create the following year's commemorative egg which is presented to the President and First Lady.

You can view all of the 2007 Eggs at the White House website

Seminar in Andrews

Homeschooling - Methods that Win and Methods that Wipe Out
The seminar will be from 1:30 - 5:00 on Saturday, April 14th.
The cost will be $5.00 for early payment and $10.00 at the door. 
For more information and to register.
http://www.jeanniefulbright..com/NC.html

Pizza and Politics!

Last night while eating at the newly remodeled Papa's Pizza, Vance and Jesse met Congressman Heath Shuler, who was visiting Bryson City. Congressman Shuler shook hands with both of the boys, and spoke with them back in the gameroom!

Alas, we didn't have a camera on hand to record the event, but as we recently studied the structure of the U.S. government, it was neat for the boys to meet our new Congressman in person.

Films celebrating Earth Day

All films at Marianna Black Library

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An Inconvenient Truth
Monday, April 9th at 5:30 pm

The Oscar winning documentary by former Vice President Al Gore concerning the threat of Global Warming.

You'll never look at a smokestack the same the same way again. This is a very powerful, frightening, yet inspirational film.

Regardless of your political leanings, An Inconvenient Truth contains a message you should hear to at least understand the potential threat Global Warming poses to mankind.

---

Kilowatt Ours
Monday, April 16th at 5:30 pm

Vance and I saw this film a couple of months ago - it's focused on where a lot of our energy comes from (coal), the impact of strip mining, but more importantly, what each of us can do to save energy. The last part of the film talks about what steps a normal family can take to save energy, specifically the savings in energy usage (and dollars!) possible by swapping over to Compact Florescent Lights (CFLs, now available at most stores that sell light bulbs).

It's a really cute film that packs a powerful message. Vance came home a convert, and really took an interest in saving energy (he faithfully turns out the light in his room now after viewing this film, and hounded me until we swapped over most of our lights to CFLs).

Highly recommended! - Mark

---

Hoot
Monday, April 23rd at 5:30 pm

A really cute movie of 3 Florida middle schoolers who join together fighting to save a flock of burrowing owls from an unethical real estate developer, corrupt politicians, and clueless cops.

Based on the Newberry award winning book by Carl Haasen.

Produced by Jimmy Buffett, who makes a cameo appearance as a high school teacher.

Asheville Parks and Rec. Homeschool Adventures Trip

Asheville Parks & Recreation is hosting a Home School Rock Climbing trip on April 17th.

They are meeting at 9:00 a.m. and returning at 4:30 p.m. to the Montford Center.

The fee is $16 for Residents and $17 for non-residents.

For more info folks can contact Christen McNamara at 251-4029 or

cmcnamara@ashevillenc.gov

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Friday Egg Hunt & Picnic

Friday Egg Hunt & Picnic

Calling all homeschoolers to bring a picnic lunch, blanket, a dozen plastic eggs with goodies inside, and a basket and come to the DeHart Bottoms on Needmore for an afternoon of fun!
When: Friday, April 6
Time: 1:00 p.m.
DeHart Bottoms is located approximately 3.5 miles from Hwy. 74

Antz in the Library!

Family Movie Day At The Marianna Black Library

Monday April 2

3:30 pm

Antz

Movies are FREE and projected onto an 8 x 10 ft. screen in the auditorium.

Popcorn and refreshments provided.

Blue Ridge Parkway Homeschool Day

Updated to include map. This event is around the Little Switzerland area

Dear Home School Teacher,

The Blue Ridge Parkway is inviting all elementary aged home school students to the North Carolina Museum of Minerals (milepost 331) on Wednesday, April 18th, 2007.

As part of the Parks as Classroom Program, National Park Rangers will be assigned to the Minerals Museum that day to conduct educational programs for grades K-5.

The topics will include animal senses, habitats, life cycles, geography, and Native Americans of North Carolina, among others. The programs are free of charge and will last between 30 minutes and one hour. No reservations are necessary but if additional info is needed, see contact below.

Thank You,

Jonathan Bennett

828-765-1228

Jonathan_Bennett@nps.gov

Parks as Classroom Coordinator

Blue Ridge Parkway.