Winter Fun
All of the students made gifts for their family during the month of December. Rope wreaths with student made bows, signs to welcome people into their homes, and lots of hand painted ornaments for the tree. We are very fortunate to have access to a art/craft studio this year.
We are now onto the winter sports phase of the year. We will be skiing at Lookout Pass, skating at Glacier Ice Rink, and getting rodeo horses ready to go at the Longhorn Arena.
Fall Feast
Nothing says fall, like having a fall feast with friends and family. Have Books Will Travel held our second annual fall feast serving over seventy people! That is a lot of mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, and pies.
The students from pre k to high school met at the St Ignatius Catholic Mission on Thursday at 1:00 and commenced to cooking. Jo and I had gathered everything for the menu the week before, stored it in the trusty Ford Fiesta, then hauled it to the basement for the feast. I did have to run to the local grocery store a few times (three to be exact) for a few last minute supplies. We set up stations for all of the students to be busy with the preparations.
Luckily, another family donated and prepared the turkeys for the event this year. We were very grateful for them (last year I had under cooked the turkey, so we sliced, baked, and served). This year the turkeys were so fresh and tasty. Butchered the day before, baked, and consumed within thirty hours!
It is hard work cooking for seventy plus people!
Stay Wild Child
Stay wild child, that is our motto and we live up to it. We believe education happens outside of the classroom walls just as much or more so then within the classroom.
We started the fall off with a camping trip. Our focus this year is Montana History. Why read about it when we can visit it? We met at the Bannack State park and had a very educational tour of the mining town. Of course, we all tried to strike it rich and tried our hand at mining. Lots of garnets were found, and one gold speck. Then we loaded up and went to Crystal Park and dug for crystals. Finally we ended the day with a campfire, s’mores, and laughs.
The next day we headed down the Big Hole Valley to the Historic Big Hole Battle Field. The state park did a wonderful presentation with the Nez Perce Tribe about the battle which took place. Students were active participants in the story of the battle, and we were standing on the battle field! Not reading about it in a book, looking at pictures, we were there. It was a very humbling experience, one the students will remember for a life time.
Next stop, Fort Missoula Military History Museum. The students were able to get a feel for several wars and conflicts which the United States has been involved in. There were several comments on how the uniforms have changed over time and how the roll of women has changed over the years.
Stay tuned as we continue this adventure of homeschool assistance. Jo and I have truly enjoyed the path we have chosen, helping parents home school their children. We are looking for funding opportunities, so if you have an idea to help us off set the costs of education, we would love to hear from you.
Fall Is In The Air
Even though the temperatures outside do not suggest it, fall is in the air. Jo and I have been busy all summer preparing for our second year of Have Books Will Travel. We have enjoyed a lot of family time and are so happy to have started this adventure to continue keeping our families first. We are also excited that our homeschool family is growing.
Our focus this year is Montana History, and we are having a kick off camp trip down the Big Hole Valley. We will tour Bannack and the Battle Field September 20th and 21st. There is so much history and we will get to see where these events happened, not just read about them in a book. I love hands on learning, and am so looking forward to this trip.
Picture day is coming up fast and we have the talented Piper Crowe as our photographer agian this year. She did an excellent job last year and we are greatful she has agreed to do it again this year. Please check out her site and information. She will be avialibel October 4th from 10:00 until 1:30.
Piper Crowe Photography
Please register for picture day here! This will let me know where to send your child’s images as soon as they are available.
https://forms.gle/4SC69meR3QkVdTRr6
Pictures will be available online no later than October 20th. Go to pipercrowe.com for more information regarding picture day.
October 5th, we will be touring the Military History Museum at Fort Missoula, and taking our apples which we picked to be pressed.
If you are intrested in joining us for the October adventures, please let me know as soon as possible and I will get you more information.
Looking forward to another great year!
Loretta
Summer is Gone!
Where did the lazy days of summer go? Somehow they missed us this year! Jo and I have been busy planning for the upcoming year with Have Books Will Travel. We will start classes September 12th, we will meet Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 10am to 2pm for assistance and have excursions on Thursdays.
Our first excursion will be to the Big Hole Valley, we will explore Bannack Ghost Town and tour the Big Hole Battle Field on September 20th and 21st. We will be camping so pack your gear, and warm clothes!
Summer Vacation
Summer vacation is not really a vacation at all. It is an opportunity for Jo and I to reflex on our first year of Have Books Will Travel. Looking back over our notes from last summer when this was just a dream, we realized we made many of our dreams a reality! How exciting is that for a first year? The fact we are veteran teachers helped a lot. We feel our non-profit was a huge success. Our students had a wonderful year and made great growth.
We had an amazing opportunity to meet with wildlife biologist Steph Gillian at the Ninepipes Wetland Refuge outside of Charlo, MT. As you can see the students were clearly engaged with her presentation above. Below, we met with Steph again at the National Bison Range located in Moise, MT. She again captured the students attention, and they all walked away knowing more about the area which we live in.
Over the summer Jo and I are planning on getting donations, grants, and scholarships to fund next years adventures. We will start out this fall with a trip to the Lewis and Clark Caverns, Virginia City, Bannack, and the Big Hole Battle field. All of these stops are rich with Montana history, and we have speakers set up at each stop for our students to soak in the knowledge.
Our students will also be busy this summer, tending to their livestock, rodeoing, and adventuring around the state.
If you climb into the saddle, be ready to ride!
Well, we rode the hair right off of March and we are riding hard into April!
Spring time is always very busy, Jo and I recognize that our students have way more to do than just read, write, and arithmetic. Many of our students are busy calving out their cows and getting horses in shape for the upcoming rodeo season. With the days getting nicer let’s face it, being at a study table is not where the students want to be.
Good thing Jo and I are veteran teachers, we understand the spring flee from schooling. We hit things really hard last fall and through the winter so our students would be winding their curricular requirements down by March. Does this mean they are done learning? Oh, NO! But they have checked off many of the boxes which are required by the state of Montana. Now we can focus on what is really important, the world around us. We can get outside and learn.
What are we doing for science you ask? Well, one student assisted and videoed a cow having a C-section. Other students are learning about AI, embryo planting, and seeding cows. Yet others are calving out their herd. All hands on, working with the experts in their fields.
Students are calving out cows and heifers which they own, making sure they are getting the shots and other needs met. Most are getting their horses ready for the summer season. Working with the vets to get the teeth checked, spring shots administered, and most importantly getting horses back into shape which is a science in and of itself.
A wildlife biologist from the SKC Tribe lined up to give hands on instruction about water fowl and wetland habitat for one trip. Another trip is planned to the National Bison Range to talk about wildlife management, and how the Bison Range came to be.
We are kicking off our Montana History study this spring with a visit to Fort Missoula, and we will continue the study next year with visits to other historical places. We live in an area which it is easy to relive the history, we do not have to read about it in a book.
Having fun is a big part of our program. For St. Patrick’s Day we cooked corn beef and cabbage; had an egg launch; and made salsa and plum cobbler. Funny thing, farm fresh eggs, provided by one of the students, do not break.
This adventure started with the idea of having an egg drop. However, the mud was so deep in the area we were going to drop, nothing was going to break. So we did what every kid dreams of, we improvised. We found bungee cords and made a sling shot. Again, the eggs did not break when they were shot in the containers the students made for them. What did we do you asked? We took them out of the container and saw who could throw their egg the farthest. Again, the eggs did not break. So what started as an egg drop, turned into a competition to see how many times one could throw an egg without it breaking. Five. Most eggs were thrown five times before they broke. Farm fresh eggs are tough!
To end the month we took the kids bowling and swimming. They had a blast until I mentioned they should find the mean to determine which team won the bowling game. I heard a lot of groaning and then they said they were just playing for fun.
Please check back next month for more adventures with Have Books Will Travel!
March 2022
It all begins with an idea.
““Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.”
- Arthur Ashe”
Have Books Will Travel has started the year off with a bang! We went skiing at Lookout Ski Area three times and skated at Glacier Ice Rink four times. The students were getting good at both sports by the end of the winter season.
For Black History Month, each student researched a person or group of people and we came together to discuss the findings. Our kids are very interested in the western life style and are patriotic. We had colorful stories from the past, and learned about segregation.
Looking forward to March, we have planned an egg launch competition, where each student will design an egg cage and we will launch them sling shot style and see who comes up with the best design without breaking their egg. St Patrick’s Day will be busy with egg launching; cooking and eating corn beef and cabbage; and cooking with fall harvest fruits: plum crisp and spaghetti sauce.
We will also start hitting the practice arena for the upcoming rodeo season. Everyone is welcome to come and learn about the sport and try out the different events which we practice.. A bowling, swimming, and pizza party has also been planned for March.
Please stay tuned for our April update!