Conner's Cave Tours

This is on the calendar above, but I wanted to also post it since it's a great activity this summer!

Best of all, this one is free!

Every Saturday and Sunday from 1:00-4:00 through the end of August, you can take a guided cave tour of Connor's cave at Rockbridge.

Groups leave every 20 minutes or so, and you can just hang out on the platform above the stairs to the cave until the next one goes.

A park ranger will give you and your child a flashlight and a hard hat and then escort you into the cave. Conner's Cave has water at its entrance, so you'll want to wear footwear that can get wet, and they discourage crocs as they tend to be slippery. Aquasocks, pool shoes, old sneakers or rain boots are good options!

Big Muddy Speaker Series: Stocking Up On Sturgeon

US Fish & Wildlife Service biologist Tracy Hill joins us for a peek into the multi-state breeding and restocking effort to strengthen Missouri River populations of the endangered pallid sturgeon.

7:00 p.m. - Tues. June 12, 2011
Lower level of Les Bourgeois Vineyards Bistro, Rocheport, MO

Presentation is FREE!

The pallid sturgeon has become a living symbol of the old, natural Missouri River struggling to survive in the new river we've created. This odd looking, prehistoric fish only lives in the Missouri River and the Mississippi River below St. Louis. It's uniquely adapted to the intense environment of this turbid, sandy and free-flowing river.

Channelization, loss of sediment and damming of the Missouri River have all impacted the spawning ability of the sturgeon and the survival of its young. As biologists study the habitat needs of this fish and engineers attempt to recreate this habitat on our channelized river, emergency measures have been taken to restock hatchery raised sturgeon throughout the Missouri River basin.

USFWS biologist Tracy Hill will join us for a peek into the extremely difficult process of tracking and catching breeding age sturgeon, spawning them in the hatchery and reintroducing the young fish to the wild Missouri River. It takes the cooperation of several state and federal agencies and a trial and error learning curve that continues to improve.

Additional details: Big Muddy Speaker Series

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

If you have a child interested in the Paleolithic-era, the Ragtime Cinema has a movie for you! Cave of Forgotten Dreams opens on Friday, July 15, 2011 at the Ragtime and is about the Chauvet Cave in southern France. The film premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and consists of footage filmed inside the cave as well as interviews with various scientists and historians. The film also includes footage of the nearby Pont d'Arc natural bridge.

The Ragtime website says:

In 1994, the archaeologist Jean-Marie Chauvet discovered the earliest known visions of mankind: a stunning collection of over 300 Paleolithic-era works of cave art hidden in Southern France. Many writers and photographers have since attempted to gain access to the famous Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc cave, but because of fear that overexposure — even contact with human breath — would damage the incredible discovery, none were let in. That is, until legendary auteur Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Fitzcarraldo, Encounters at the End of the World, et al.) asked. Naturally. Using lights that emitted no heat, Herzog created The Cave of Forgotten Dreams, a fascinating, as well as breathtaking, experience that has earned raves from many critics. "A typically quixotic documentary in which great unknown artists from 35,000 years ago collaborate with one in 2011. Profound, mysterious and utterly absorbing." (Adam Smith, Empire)

For more information and showtimes: Ragtime Cinema

Museum Day 2011

Saturday, September 24th is the Smithsonian Magazine’s 7th Annual National Museum Day and over 1,000 museums nationwide are offering two free admissions per family.

There are 23 museums in Missouri participating, so check the website and order your free tickets today!

Discounts for Homeschoolers

There are a number of ways to save money on your homeschool purchases - some online, some local.

Barnes & Noble has an educator discount card that gives 20% off purchases. All you need to do is ask for the application in-store and fill it out as a homeschooler. You can also download the application online and fill it out before heading to the store.

Jo-Ann stores offers a teacher rewards program that homeschoolers can also use; again, it's simply asking for the application when you're in-store and filling it out. The discount offered is 15% each day and you'll get a coupon for 20% off your first total purchase once you sign-up.

FedEx Kinkos offers a 15% discount to teachers and it includes home educators! This is a great discount for those of us who cut the spines off workbooks, need to do a lot of copying and/or are doing some color printing throughout the year. For this one you can apply online too!

A new entry to teacher discounts on a daily basis is Michael's. Each day if you're a teacher, you'll get 15% off your total purchase. Michael's does not have a card though, so you'll have to ask for the discount at the register and may encounter some difficulty since the policy of the headquarters, in Texas, is to require proof you homeschool (ie. a letter from the state, district, etc.). I've gotten the discount after explaining to the store manager that Missouri does not have any such proof I can offer.

Both Staples and Office Depot have educator rewards programs. Neither are discounts per se. Office Depot's Star Teacher Program gives 10% back in rewards on ink, toner, & paper; 1% back on almost everything else; 15% off copy & print orders. Staples' Teacher Rewards Program: 10% back in rewards on most purchases. These rwards can add up, so do the math to see if it's worth shopping there for supplies or elsewhere!

Field Trip Plans 2011-2012

Thoughout the school year I try to plan a variety of activities and field trips that are fun and educational. Planning takes some time, but is worth it when I can tie what we'll be working on with a day-trip or local activity. Right now, our plans include:

July

MU Museum of Art & Archeology
Butterfly House
Science Camps
Art Camp
Boone County Fair
Arrow Rock

August

MU Museum of Art & Archeology
Rock Bridge State Park
State Fair in Sedalia
Katy Depot and Railroad Heritage Museum
Powell Botanical Gardens
St. Louis Science Center

September

Magic House
St. Louis Zoo
St. Louis Science Center

October

Silver Dollar City, Branson, MO
Walt Disney World, FL
Cahokia Mounds

November

Capitol and Governor's Mansion, Jefferson City
St. Louis Science Center
Gateway Arch, St. Louis
Laws Observatory, Columbia
Big Muddy Speaker Series, Rocheport

December

Missouri History Museum
St. Louis Science Center
Concert Series Show

January

MU Museum of Anthropology
AutoWorld Museum, Fulton
Empire Roller Rink

February

Denver, CO
Vail, CO

March

Concert Series Shows
Federal Reserve Bank Visitors Center, Kansas City
Union Station, Kansas City

April

Runge Conservation Nature Center, Jefferson City
St. Louis Science Center
Boone Junction Village

May

Concert Series Show
Katy Trail Cycling
St. Louis Science Center
Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis

June

Discovery Center, Springfield
Entomology Museum, Columbia

Science Supplies 10% Off

I'm always on the lookout for deals on supplies we need for homeschooling and one site I like for our science supplies is Home Science Tools. I just found out that they have a discount code for 10% off orders through July 13th!

If you place an order, use the code JULYPP11 and you'll save 10%.

I'm not sure if they stack, but free shipping is also offered when you spend $125 or more with the discount code SHIPW711.

Plants & Biomes

The Missouri Botanical Garden maintains two websites with some great basic information for anyone doing unit studies on Biomes or Plants!

The first, about Biomes, is MBGNet - What's It Like Where You Live?

The second, about Plants, is MGBNet - Biology of Plants

Military Families - Free Museum Admission!

Blue Star Museums is offering FREE admission for all active duty military personnel and their families. This FREE admission started on Memorial Day and runs through Labor Day (September 5, 2011.)

This includes 1,300 museums. Find participating museums HERE.

Amongst the museums in Missouri:
National Churchill Museum
Fulton , MO

Missouri State Museum
Jefferson City, MO

Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art
St. Joseph, MO

AMERICAN JAZZ MUSEUM
KANSAS CITY, MO

Andrew County Museum
Savannah, MO

Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
Saint Louis, MO

Eugene Field House
St. Louis, MO

Grundy County Museum
Trenton, MO

Hawken House Museum
St. Louis, MO

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Kansas City, MO

The Magic House
St. Louis, MO

Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum
Hannibal , MO

Museum of Anthropology
Columbia, MO

National Frontier Trails Museum
Independence, MO

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Kansas City, MO

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Kansas City, MO

Poplar Heights Living History Farm
Butler, MO

Powers Museum
Carthage, MO

Ralph Foster Museum
Point Lookout, MO

Saint Louis Art Museum
St. Louis, MO

Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City
Kansas City, MO

University of Missouri Museum of Art and Archaeology
Columbia, MO