North County Christian Home Educators Association

Leaders: Jon & Candy Summers 314-521-8487, jon.candy.summers@chef-missouri.com

Pizza Hut Book-It and Raging Rivers Reading Programs: Charles & Kay Kinder 314-921-8815, kkinder05@sbcglobal.net

Pasta House, Six Flags, & Chick-fil-A Reading Programs: Don & Kim Quon 314-838-7601, kquon@netzero.net

Resource Library: Joe & Joy Hahn 314-423-5938, joymom5@sbcglobal.net

Support Group Meetings will be held the fourth Thursday of each month during the school year (except November and May, which are on the third Thursday) at Hazelwood Baptist Church, 6161 Howdershell Rd. Take Hwy. 270 to McDonnell Blvd. Go north on McDonnell Blvd. Name changes to Howdershell Rd. Turn left at the third light, Utz Lane. Meeting schedule: 6:30 p.m. Field Trip Sign-ups; 6:30-7:00 p.m. Homeschoolers’ Helps Discussion Group; 7:00-9:00 p.m. Speaker.
Once again, Pastor David Long and the board of Hazelwood Baptist Church have graciously allowed us to hold our support group meetings in the sanctuary. Let’s show the church our appreciation for their kind hospitality by following their instructions. Enter church only through front doors. Sign-ups and catalog tables are located just outside the doors on either side of the sanctuary platform. Sign-up tables on left. Catalog tables on right. Please do not go beyond these areas. Use only the bathrooms off foyer at front entrance. Children must remain with parents and be accompanied by parent to bathrooms. Thank you.

Meeting dates for 2006-2007 are September 28, October 26, November 16, No December meeting, January 25, February 22, March 22, April 26, May 17 (The Greatest Show On Earth! Students’ Sharing Night).

Homeschoolers’ Helps Discussion Group There’s no reason to struggle or remain confused in your effort to home educate your children. Veteran homeschooler, Rita Stull, is ready and available to address questions from both new and veteran homeschoolers in a small group setting before each meeting from 6:30-7:00 p.m. Meet with Rita in one of the classrooms located in the hallway behind the sanctuary. Look for signs pointing the way.

Name Tags You’re important to us, and we’d like to learn your name. When you arrive at the meetings, please stop by the field trip sign-up area, sign the guest book and make yourself a name tag.

Offerings The expenses of a support group of our size add up quickly. Since we don’t charge membership fees, a freewill offering will be collected at each meeting to help cover the printing of monthly announcements and new homeschoolers’ packets, postage, and reasonable honorariums for speakers. Please pray and ask God what He would have you give each month. Thanks everyone!

Important! Field Trip Registration and Etiquette Unless otherwise indicated, field trip fees are payable at sign up. This is important since payment, especially for concerts and plays, is required from our group a minimum of 30 days prior to the event. Make checks payable to NCCHEA. After signing up for a field trip or activity, mark it on your calendar and please be faithful to keep your commitment. We verify attendance of families as they arrive to events, and we become concerned about you when you don’t show. Also, the management at the places we visit has often made special arrangements to accommodate our large group; they appreciate our promptness and commitment to show. Contact the referenced contact ASAP if you’re unable to attend. Make the event even more meaningful for your children by educating them on the topic of the event before they arrive so they’re able to ask thoughtful questions and provide good answers. Arrive at field trip location at least 10-15 minutes prior to start time for check-in, introductions and groupings. Remind your children of the following: No running; no touching without permission. Listen well. Be polite. Do not blurt out answers; raise your hand and wait to be called on. Our children’s fine behavior is a testimony to the world of the Christian character, self-government and love of learning instilled through home education. Consider writing a thank you note afterwards.

Catalogs A variety of more than 50 curriculum and educational resource catalogs, magazines, flyers, and order forms are on display and available to you for the taking at our meetings. If you’ve got curriculum choices to make, this is the place to check out.

Resource Library Joe and Joy Hahn have our resource library in their home. It includes 180+ educational resources for you and your family. Categories include art, Bible, child training, conservation, homeschooling, language arts, life skills, math, science, social studies, tapes (including CHEF 2000-2004 conference tapes or CDs), tests (ERB), and videos. Contact Joy 314-423-5938 or joymom5@sbcglobal.net to make an appointment to visit the library or to have an item brought to a meeting for you.

Reading Programs (1) Pizza Hut “Book-It” Reading Program allows children in K-6th grade to earn a free personal pan pizza once a month (Oct.-March). Parents decide each child’s reading goals and award the coupons. While the official sign-up deadline has passed, Pizza Hut is still issuing coupons while supplies last. To receive coupons, you can go to www.bookitprogram.com and select enrollment/homeschool or you can call them at 800-426-6548. The coupons will be mailed directly to you. If you have any questions, call Kay Kinder 314-921-8815; (2) Pasta House Program for K-8th grade. Sign up each month and pick up the coupon(s) at the following month’s meeting. You may participate every month or just the months you choose (September till spring). If interested, see Kim Quon at meetings.

September 2006 Activities
Attention All Prior Soccer Participants We are sorry to inform you that there will not be any soccer this year. The Duchenes, who coordinated soccer last year, moved to St. Clair County (over an hour from North County), so they were unable to do it again. They had suggested that we find another location for soccer this year, so Kim Quon secured her church's field for us; however, we could not find another couple to coordinate it in time. We asked five other couples, but to no avail for this year. We do hope to continue this tradition for next year, as this has been a North County support group event since we were homeschooling leaders many, many years ago.

Support Group Meeting Thursday, September 28, Jon and Candy Summers will speak on “When God Calls, He Equips-Trusting in God to Provide for All Your Needs in Homeschooling Your Children,” “Ah, The Joy of Homeschooling,” “Planning Your Days,” “Including Fall Family Celebrations,” “Geography and Spelling Games”… Afterwards, we will break up into small groups so that you may speak with other seasoned homeschoolers.

October 2006 Activities
Family Picnic and Volleyball Tuesday, October 10, 5:00 p.m. at Vago Park, 2700 Fee Fee, Maryland Heights, MO. We have reserved the Kiwanis Pavilion, which is near both a playground and the sandpit volleyball court, which we reserved starting at 5:00 p.m. We also requested to have the lights turned on so parents and kids alike can play after dark. There are grills for those who want to barbecue. We had to pay $50 for the pavilion, so donations would be appreciated. Please pack a picnic dinner and come and join us for a night of fun and fellowship. Directions: Take Hwy. 270 to Dorsett. Go east on Dorsett to Fee Fee. At QuikTrip, go north (left) on Fee Fee. Take Fee Fee past Remington Grade School. Make right at stoplight on Old Midland Blvd. (We have never been to this park but have heard from several people that it is a really nice park. The directions were given to us by the receptionist at the Maryland Heights Recreation Department, so watch carefully. She says that there is a sign for the park on Fee Fee.)

Powell Symphony Hall Educational Concerts Information: Payment is required at sign-up. You may sign up at the meetings, or you may sign up by mail. Simply have your payment postmarked by the indicated deadline for each event, and be sure to indicate the performance you are requesting, the number of adults and children attending, and your phone number. Checks should be made payable to NCCHEA and mailed to Teresa Carr, 25 Calverton Rd., Calverton Park, MO 63135. If you have any questions, you can contact Teresa Carr at 314-521-5668 or carrteresa@yahoo.com. Directions: From Hwy. 70, exit at Grand Blvd., turn south on Grand. Powell Hall is on the left (east) side of the street approximately 3 miles south. Parking is accessible off of Delmar Blvd. on the north or by Samuel Shepard Dr. on the south side of the building. From Hwy. 40, exit at Grand Blvd., turn north on Grand. Powell Hall is on the right (east) side of the street approximately 1 mile north. Our group will meet in the main lobby.

St. Louis Symphony Kinder Konzert: Storytelling Wednesday, October 18, 9:30 a.m. Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand Blvd. $3 per ticket. Grades K-3 (but all ages may attend). Prokofiev “Peter and the Wolf” and Prokofiev Symphony No. 1 “Classical,” Mvt. 4. The orchestra is made up of instrument families that all come together to make beautiful music. You’re invited to meet these families and sing along with them as they tell the story of Peter and the Wolf. The lively music of Prokofiev will inspire you to create your own stories. Payment deadline: postmark by 10/04/06 or pay at September meeting.

Support Group Meeting Thursday, October 26

November 2006 Activities
St. Louis Symphony Young People’s Concert: Theme & Variations Wednesday, November 8, 9:30 a.m. Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand Blvd. $3 per ticket. Grades 4-6 (but all ages may attend). Copland “Variations on a Shaker Hymn” from Appalachian Spring and Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell). You can find patterns in the most simple and the most complex things. The American composer Aaron Copland took a simple melody and out of it created a major work, Appalachian Spring. You get to sing along with the orchestra and discover musical patterns, then hear these themes transformed through distinct variations. Payment deadline: postmark by 10/23/06 or pay at September or October meetings.

Support Group Meeting Thursday, November 16

January 2007 Activities
St. Louis Symphony Kinder Konzert: Opposites Tuesday, January 30, 11:00 a.m. Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand Blvd. $3 per ticket. Grades K-3 (but all ages may attend). Rossini The Italian Girl in Algiers Overture, Brahms “Hungarian Dance No. 5” and Beethoven Symphony No. 5, Mvts. 3 and 4. If a piece of music was made up of sounds that were all loud, or rhythms that were all fast, you probably wouldn’t care to listen to it. Composers use opposites to make music vibrant. Listen to the music of Rossini, Brahms and Beethoven and compare and contrast: loud and soft, slow and fast, high and low, short and long. Payment deadline: postmark by 1/9/07 or pay at November meeting (there’s no December meeting).

February 2007 Activities
St. Louis Symphony Young People’s Concert: Moods and Emotions Tuesday, February 27, 11:00 a.m. Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand Blvd. $3 per ticket. Grades 4-6 (but all ages may attend). Dvorák Carnival Overture, Elgar Enigma Variations (selections), and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4, Mvts. 3 & 4. One of the amazing things about music is how it makes us feel a wide range of moods and emotions. Let’s find out how the music does that and what composers do to create a mood in works by Dvorák, Elgar and Tchaikovsky. But do we all feel the same things from the same piece of music? Payment deadline: postmark by 2/6/07 or pay at January meeting.