Wednesday, June 15, 2011

A New Year – A New Board

Many thanks to last year’s DHSA Board and those who facilitated the Mother’s Meetings, field trips, parties, and activities throughout the year! Thank you for your enthusiasm and your dedication!

Introducing the New Board

stacey2Stacey Lytle – President

I am so excited to be serving on The Deseret Homeschool Association Board this year. Homeschooling my family is my passion and supporting homeschooling mothers is a very close second for me.

A little about me…Well, I am a Mom who truly loves being the Momma; my dear hubby and I have 7 kiddos…ages 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, and 25. I am also “Grammy” to two adorable little people. We have homeschooled for what feels like a lifetime…over 15 years!

I LOVE teaching! I love learning! I love spending my time with my kids! I have the best job ever…I couldn’t have dreamed up a better one…and in the same breath, I will say I don’t think I could have dreamed up a more difficult one. Homeschooling is not always easy; sometimes we can’t always see the rewards, but I assure you that they are there. The relationships we have with our children are strong and close and real and I would not give that up for the world…I know my kids inside and out and they know me. I treasure my time with them and value the blessing of learning alongside them each day.

Homeschooling means so many things to me, the blessings are innumerable, the lessons endless; but foremost in my mind is this -- Homeschooling is really all about Building Relationships. These days with our kiddos are a time for nurturing and growth, a time for learning patience and understanding, a time for seeking truth and a time for realizing our true potential. It is a time to learn that there are no limits…a time to teach our children about becoming…they can “BE” anything & everything…they must know the extent to which we believe in them…we must be their best cheerleaders. When our relationships are strong and solid, the faith we have in them will be felt by their hearts and they will go beyond their most magnificent dreams.

In my early days of homeschooling, I heard the best advice ever and to this day I treasure it…Never let your child’s education become more important than the relationship between You and Your Child. I take this to heart when I want to flip out about some silly math problem that a child just cannot get even after we’ve gone over it 500 times! Or the days when the Spirit in my home is just ugly and contentious, I need to be more concerned with how my kids are feeling and not so concerned with what they are accomplishing in their school work. My relationship with them is #1 and I will not let anything stand in the way of that. With that as my goal…I know they can “BE” everything they ever dream and our relationships will be lovely and amazing!

I am excited for this year and look forward to seeing each of you! We will be holding a monthly Mothers Meeting and will rotate between Thursday Evenings and Saturday mornings, to hopefully accommodate the schedules of more families. We are also hopeful of hosting many fabulous activities for you and your families to enjoy throughout the year. Please take a look through our open board positions in this newsletter ~ we’d love to have you join us!!!

I truly love and admire you for the work that you are doing…I believe with all of my heart that there is nothing better that we could be doing in this lifetime than raising these beautiful kiddos and sharing with them the foundation and beliefs we cherish in our lives. I wish you the best school year ever ~ may you enjoy each and every day and look forward to the next with exuberance and enthusiasm.

clip_image002 Stacey

marissaMarissa Pineda – Vice President

My name is Marissa Pineda and I am excited to be a part of the DHSA Board this year. I live in Boise and have five kids ranging in age from eleven years to three months old. I started homeschooling two and a half years ago and I was so grateful to have DHSA as a resource and a support from the outset. My goal as a member of the board is to provide the same kind of loving, practical support to homeschooling mothers and families as has been provided for me.

Nancy AvatarNancy Georgeson – Newsletter
I have been a member of DHSA since 2004, a full year before I began homeschooling. Receiving monthly newsletters, regular emails about activities in the homeschooling community, and attending Mother's Meetings helped me to make the decision to homeschool. We have now been homeschooling for 6 years and we love this lifestyle. We have 5 kids, aged 13 - 3 years. We love the freedom that we have to learn what, when and how we want. We also love to get together with others, so we often invite people into our home to have fun with us.

A Year in Review

I want to thank all you wonderful members of DHSA. I had a great experience being president of DHSA for a season. We had a great year, full of fun, surprises, and learning. Here is a brief list of the activities that were offered last year. I did not participate in all of them, but the ones I did participate in were great. This is as it should be, all members of DHSA should feel free to do what they want and invite others along for the ride.

Thank you again for a wonderful experience.

Veronica DeMayola

 

  • UNLEASHING YOUR VOICE (Gina Starkey)
  • Dennis Professional Technical Center Tours (Melodi Kallmeyer)
  • August Park Days (Krista Collins)
  • Opening Social (Veronica DeMayola)
  • Andrew Pudewa Institute for Excellence in Writing workshops (Jeneen Haven)
  • Book clubs for homeschooled kids at the Caldwell Public Library (Jennifer Reibe)
  • Vicki Jo Anderson presentation (Merry Pearce)
  • Presentation on Our Country's Constitution and "The 5000 Year Leap" (Merry Pearce)
  • FREE Wahooz ticket Exercise Program (Kelly Collett)
  • Boise Art Museum Field Trip (Nancy Georgeson)
  • October Mother’s Meeting: “Why” you homeschool (Veronica DeMayola)
  • Homeschool Halloween Party (Nancy Georgeson)
  • Monthly Planet Kid Field Trips (Robyn Henrie)
  • Couple’s Meeting: Proper Role of Government (Greg Collett)
  • Children's Live Nativity Pageant (Pamela Cowley)
  • Christmas Party– potluck and sledding (Jennifer Reibe)
  • Valentine's Party (Veronica DeMayola)
  • February Mother's Meeting & Teen Activity (Veronica DeMayola)
  • History Fair (Kelly Collett)
  • Constitution classes (Julie Paine)
  • Home School Science Olympiad Team (Nancy Georgeson)
  • Idaho House Hearing Open to the Public (Merry Pearce)
  • Mothers Who Know Book Group (Emma Beck)
  • Wahooz Day Field Trip (Kelly Collett)
  • Homeschoolers production of Shakepeare's play Much Ado About Nothing (Jody Phillips)
  • Meat Preservation Class (Kristen Pond)
  • Soccer Shots– organizing group soccer classes (Sarah Anderson)
  • March Mother’s Meeting: discuss the Thomas Jefferson Education Forum (Veronica DeMayola)
  • March Teen Group Activity: mock debate (Veronica DeMayola)
  • Eagle Scout project Work Day (Marcee Clark)
  • Aaron Academy Open House (Jeneen Haven)
  • Historical Museum Field Trip (Nancy Georgeson)
  • April Mother’s Meeting and Teen Activity (Veronica DeMayola)

Fabulous Women Needed

DHSA is a fabulous support group because it is made up of the most fabulous women EVER…each of YOU! It is our goal to put together some super activities and inspiring Mothers Meetings for you and your families this year. This happens best when we all work together to make something great even better ~ So, in saying this,

Be a part of something wonderful...
Do you want to throw a party, organize a field trip, start a book club, or any other fun activity? This is your chance to help make this association great and inspire other moms in the process. Remember, all of our members are welcomed and encouraged to plan and organize activities for the organization. Please don't hesitate to share some fun with all of us ~ we'd LOVE it! E-mail us the details of your activity and we'll be sure to get the information in our newsletter.

We would LOVE to have our board grow by leaps and bounds. Following are a few positions we’d like to fill ~ if you have any inkling or desire to serve on the board with us, we would love to have you join us for a fantastic year.

The positions available are:

Secretary ~ this person will take notes at the Mothers Meetings and do a small write-up to be included in our monthly newsletter. The secretary will also assist with gathering content for the newsletter and help with membership updates. The only requirements would be to attend as many of the mothers meetings as possible and have some fun writing up what we all chat about (if you can’t make it to a particular meeting, I’m sure we can find another board member that would be happy to take your place for that meeting.)

Field Trip Coordinator(s) ~ It would be great to have a couple of ladies who would like to put together a mix of wonderful places to visit…we have so much available to us in this valley…the sky is the limit! We can have field trips for large groups, small groups, groups of teens, groups of just little people or groups for all ages. The responsibilities for this position basically include coordinating the trip, submitting the info for the newsletter, attending the field trip, and if possible (not necessary, but I think it would be fantastic) a little write-up of the event for the next newsletter just to let us know what is out there to do if we were unable to attend. This position is a blast!

P.E. Coordinator(s) ~ P.E. …What child does not love to run and play and experience new things??? Well, that is just exactly how this position started…there was a need for kids to have a great time learning some new skills outside of their homes…I believe that need may be present again. There is really no end to what a coordinator could do in this position -- anything from setting up activities at various locations, bowling, golf, gymnastics, karate, to doing track and field and outdoor games at a park, or a combination of all of the above. If you have a desire to put together some ideas…we’d love to start the P.E. Group up again. Or if you’d like to do something on a smaller scale, such as organize a soccer game or a one-time activity, then that would be fabulous! Anything would be great in this area…

Science Fair - History Fair - “Other Fair” Coordinator(s) ~ We’d love to see our association host some fantastic fairs this year…In the past, we have enjoyed Science Fairs and History Fairs…If you’d like to coordinate a “Fair” of some sort please let us know…these are so fun and have typically been very well attended. This is the perfect time to let your kiddos “Shine” as they “show off” their hard work. (This is a fun one to do with a friend and it will lessen the load just a bit!)

Teen Activity Coordinator(s) ~ Well, that one is pretty much self-explanatory…There is a need for some FUN activities for our older kids. The younger kids seem to have plenty of co-ops and what-not to enjoy…but let’s not forget our older kids! These can be as simple as having a mom or two in charge of assisting the teens in hosting some fantastic, fun filled evenings. This is a position I would REALLY LOVE to see filled, so please let me know if you have an interest or if you have a teen who would be willing to help out. It seems that the most successful teen groups we’ve had in the past have basically been run by the teens for the teens because they really know what they want to do. An additional benefit of this is that there isn’t a ton of work on the shoulders of the mothers, just overseeing (oh, and possibly making some delicious treats!)…

Holiday Party Coordinator(s) ~ If you are someone who loves to put on a great party…this is the job for you! You can choose just one holiday or take ‘em all… If you have an interest in this area, please let me know.

Other Coordinator(s) ~ If you have an idea for something that is not listed, PLEASE feel free to share your thoughts and let’s make it happen. There is no end to what we can do, so long as there is a desire.

Can’t wait to hear from you…please let us know if there are other things you NEED or want to see happen this year…

I’m excited to see you join our board, so please send me an email ~ DHSA.President@gmail.com if you would like to volunteer for any of these positions or if you have any thoughts or concerns.

Thanks a million ~ Enjoy the sunshine!

clip_image002Stacey Lytle

DHSA Website/Blog

The deserethomeschool.blogspot.com blog is updated and ready to be used this year. All the contents of the newsletter can be found in their entirety on the blog. You can click the links in the newsletter to go to the full article on the blog.

If you have a blog that you would like to share with our membership you may email DHSA.news@gmail.com and get added to our list of Member Blogs. We look forward to getting to know you and your family through your blog.

Make sure you check out the calendar. We will add events organized by board members and members alike. If you have something planned and want to invite others to join you email DHSA.News@gmail.com and it can be added to the calendar and sent out in the newsletter.

If there are any features you would like to see on the blog please let me know at DHSA.news@gmail.com.

Deadline for July's Newsletter is Monday June 27th. Email submissions to DHSA.news@gmail.com