Speaking of Starbucks....

Starbucks is including homeschoolers in their “Great Start for Great Teachers” promotion. Teachers have been getting a free Tall (12 oz.) Pike Place Roast every Monday in September and homeschoolers are now included for this next Monday, September 29th (hopefully they will include us the entire month next year)! Here are the details from the HSLDA website:

This coming Monday, September 29, homeschool parents will be able to pick up a complimentary tall size (12 fl. oz.) cup of Pike Place Roast from Starbucks.

This promotion is part of Starbucks “Great Start for Great Teachers” promotion, and is now open to all teachers.

HSLDA intervened when we were alerted that homeschool parents were not included in the promotion.

We are pleased that Starbucks is recognizing the contribution of homeschool parents by extending their program to us.

In order to pick up your free cup of Pike Place Roast you will need to present evidence that you are a homeschooler.

Any one item on the following list should be accepted by Starbucks:

• Home School Legal Defense Association membership card.
• Membership card from a state homeschooling organization.
• Notification from a school district or state government recognizing compliance with compulsory attendance.
• Paperwork submitted showing intent to establish a homeschool program.
• Paperwork showing the establishment of a private school.

If you don’t have one of the items on this list be creative and try to provide other proof of homeschooling.

Please note: the final decision about whether to accept proof of homeschooling resides with Starbucks.

We hope you choose to take advantage of this offer.

I will definitely be taking advantage of this!

Field Trip - Mary Kay Production Plant

I LOVED field trips as a kid, but we would only go on a couple every year in school (if we were lucky). My kids are no different and get excited at the opportunity to go visit a new place and see how things work. Last week we went to the Mary Kay production plant here in Dallas. My 3 yob loved seeing all of the machines on the assembly line and my 6 yog loved seeing the massive amount of makeup products.

Here are some other field trip ideas:

Waste Water Treatment Plant
Local Farm
Candy Factory
Bee Farm
Cow Herding (especially if you live in the DFW area!)
Museums
Newsroom (TV or Newspaper)
Recycling Plant
Radio Station
Local Pizza Restaurant

Ask around your local homeschool group to see where the different dads work. Are there any that work in a plant that you could tour? I still remember getting to tour DuPont in 4th grade on "Take Your Daughter To Work Day" and seeing how plastic is made.

Feel free to comment with any other field trip ideas!

Homeschooling at Starbucks!

What a perfect way to start my blog to chronicle our homeschooling adventures! "J", my 3 year old, goes to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that I can focus those days on first grade with my oldest, "F." She got really excited when I told her this morning as we were getting ready to take J to preschool to pack her backpack because we were going to do school at Starbucks! We set up a little "cage" in the back corner so that "C," my 8 month old could crawl around while we learned (and by "we" I mean.... WE! Yes, I am learning things right along with my first grader!) F thought that doing school at Starbucks was the coolest thing ever and flew right through her work.