We will have our first meeting of the co-op this Friday, the 16th of September.  Please join us for our adoration time at 1:30.  As you have read previously this is a very special time before our Lord.
We will have an ice cream social and games after so everyone can visit and get to know each other.  We hope to see many there.

Children Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

I have to admit that when the idea of Eucharistic adoration was first introduced in the Homeschool Group that my family attended -- especially 1 WHOLE HOUR I was more than concerned... Even a bit defensive... How do they expect me to keep my 5 young children (particularly my little son) quiet for THAT long...? Won't the children be bored...? Will I be criticized or looked down on if my children aren't the perfect angels they should be during that time???

 

Yes, I was more than a bit concerned...

 

After what is now approximately 8 years of Eucharistic Adoration I have to say, I'm hooked!!! It has been SUCH a blessing to our family. It saddens me that more families don't realize the beautiful opportunity and take full advantage of it! From our small group of adorers, we have celebrated 2 vocations to the priesthood and others discerning religious vocations, beautiful vocations to married life and and overall enhancement of family life and personal growth for all! It has silently lit a fire of love for Our Dear Lord and Our Holy Catholic Faith! What about my children you might ask... do they concur with all of the above? YES! It is amazing! They look forward to it and even when we are out and about and pass a church, it isn't unusual for them to request me to stop so they can make a quick visit to Jesus! As for my noisy little ones, guess what?!?! Jesus has a sense of humor and loves to find joy in their little noises during our time before him! He LOVES the little children and each of us as parents can sympathize and often join in helping with families with children younger than ours. It really develops community in that respect. I know personally it has developed a beautiful love and appreciation for our faith in my family. I'm sure Our Lord is pleased!!! Devoting an hour of prayer and encouraging our children will bring untold blessings -- I often visualize Jesus smiling on our noisy little group of adorers and extending His hand in benediction! It gives me great Joy!!!

I've often heard that Eucharistic Adoration is a bit like being out in the sun... you don't SEE the effects of the sun tanning your skin, but you are certainly changed -- Adoration is the same way... we don't SEE Jesus working to change our hearts or bring blessing into our families, but we are certainly changed!!!

God bless you as you consider blessing your family with opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration!

Respectfully Submitted,

Shelly Pichler

We have just over 4 weeks until our first Friday meeting of co-op.  The summer sure went fast!
Feel free to give a call to either myself, Paula Foster or Shelly Pichler with any questions you may have about our Friday meetings. You can find our contact information in the Contact tab.

As usual we will be meeting at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.

http://www.mapquest.com/us/missouri/business-springfield/st-elizabeth-ann-seton-church-23195653

Summer is going quickly so I just want to put a quick post here letting you know we will start co-op again for the school year 2016-2017 on September 16th.  We will begin with Eucharistic Adoration at 1:30 and then have class/social time after that. Please prayerfully consider joining us.  More particulars are to follow, just wanted to get this out for your consideration.

Co-op meeting periods will be:

12:00 pm to 1:30 pm:  Class activities
 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm:  Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm:  optional social time*

* We have the use of the facilities until 4:00 pm.  However, so far, it looks like the number of families in our group is going to smaller than in years past.  So, in the interest of not overburdening moms with too much class preparation, this time slot is for optional socializing, playing, movies, etc.  If a mom wants to plan something for this period, that would be great!  And if the general consensus is that we want this to be planned more formally, we can change this.

Co-op Meeting Calendar
Note:  We do not meet the first Friday of the month.

Sept. 18, 25
Oct. 16, 23, 30  (do not have facilities on 10/9, may plan a field trip - so pencil it in!)
Nov. 13, 20
Dec. 11
Jan. 8, 15, 22, 29
Feb. 12, 19, 26
Mar. 11, 18
April 8, 15, 22, 29
May 13

I had wanted to put out a big post - complete with photos - chronicling our co-op activities from last year.  Alas, it's not to be, at least not yet!  We really are a bunch of busy homeschool moms!  However, that doesn't mean we didn't have a great year! 

This years co-op will begin on 9/18 at 12:00 pm at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church:
http://www.mapquest.com/us/missouri/business-springfield/st-elizabeth-ann-seton-church-23195653

Our first meeting will be pretty laid back, eating lunch and then activities to help the students get to know one another.  At 1:30, we'll have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  Usually, Fr. McCann of Catholic Campus Ministries will lead us, but unfortunately, he will be out of town that Friday.  I am hoping to get another priest, so say a prayer for success!

Please bring a sack lunch and we'll provide dessert and drinks.

Hope to see many old and new faces!

Remember, co-op activities begin Friday, Sept. 12 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.  We begin at 1:30 with Adoration, and will start the co-op year off with a game day afterwards. 

If you're not already committed to coming for co-op, be sure to let us know if you'd like to try it out.  We'd love to meet you!  Our email address is hfchsa@blogspot.com, or text Shelly Pichler at 417-838-2730.

 

Being busy homeschool moms, we haven't posted in a while, but now we're busy dusting off the ol' website and updating content.  As of today, the teaching chart and calendar have been updated to reflect the current school year before us.  We're working diligently to get everything current, but please be patient with us!  As field trips and lessons are planned, these will be updated accordingly. 

 

Art Day has already been scheduled!  I'll try to post some pics of some of the projects we have done in the past.  In the meantime, here's a copy of the email that went out explaining all about it:

 

 

 

 Please mark your calendar for the 5^th Annual Art Day at HFCHA, with artist and art teacher Julie Straus!

 

When?  Friday, September 26^th at Co-op (after Adoration)

 

Anything new this year?

Last year, some HFCHA parents asked about having our children do faith-themed art. Julie remembered our request and has planned faith-themed projects for this year.  (Thank you, Julie!)

 

Will we be able to order items again?

Yes, we will once again be able to order items with our children’s art on them.  If you want to check out the items that will be available for order, here is the Original Works website: www.originalworks.com (click on “Products”). We will have all the order forms available on Art Day. All orders benefit SEAS school.

 

Do we have to order something?

Not at all!  We do not have to order anything to participate in Art Day. The point is for the kids to have fun making art under Julie’s expert guidance.

 

Do we need to bring anything to Art Day?

I will send out information about anything we should bring as soon as I have the info.  Please be aware that the children may be painting or using markers, so dress them accordingly.

 

If you have any other questions, I’ll be happy to try to find answers.

 

Looking forward to seeing everyone at Art Day! 

Pam

Website Updates

Many  changes have been made to the website. Several pages were added to make it easier to find information. If you can't find what you are looking for it is probably in the documents tab.

The Teaching Chart and Parent Committees tab are especially important for all parents involved in Friday co-op to review. Almost as important is the Friday co-op tab and the parent duties tab. I know we are all busy but it is really important that you look over these pages.

Right now we need more parents to volunteer for committees, so if you aren't signed up for one yet please pick one and let us know. The committees with red lettering are the ones still needing parents.

And of course please sign up on the teaching chart if you haven't. You can also note days you aren't going to be able to attend in the last column of that chart, by putting your name in red there.

Printable 2014 - 2015 Calendar

For those of you who prefer a paper calendar to a digital here is a link to a printable calendar. These are just co-op activities and does not have other apostolate activities like Mom's breakfast, retreats, etc on it.

I will add this link to the calendar tab as well.

Just FYI, this calendar has some tentative items on it, and things may change. I will always update the google calendar, which is the calendar you can see (not linked to) in the calendar tab. I may not update the calendar post or this printable calendar....just too many calendars to keep track of! I will also send out email or a blog post for things that change.

2013-2014 Calendar

Here is the calendar of Friday Co-op activities and potluck/Masses. We were supposed to have a potluck in August, but I totally forgot about it until two days before and couldn't even muster an email to everyone. I have been busy like never before this summer....feel like I am running at full speed all day long! Ok, enough about me.

So this is just the basic list. To get details about the events, click on the calendar tab. Over there you can look at the calendar in many different ways, click on an activity to get more details, print out the calendar (though watch for changes!), or add our calendar to you digital calendar...you know on that smartphone you are carrying (well some of you are carrying!)

We need teachers for both groups of kids, the 5-8 years old and the 9+ on every date below that says "co-op activities" with no adult names after that.

Rachel has done some fabulous work this summer lining up some great speakers and field trips....I am excited and so thankful for her work....so check the calendar carefully. Other than Field Day activities I think we got all the speakers and field trips on the 3rd Friday for easier planning.

Expect to see more posts from me soon.....Krysta

Fri Sep 13, 2013
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Sep 20, 2013
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Sep 27, 2013
10:00 am - 12:00 pm Field Trip (time is tentative)
Where: Quarry in Willard

Fri Oct 4, 2013
1:30pm - 4:30pm Field Day! at Co-op
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Oct 11, 2013
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Oct 18, 2013
10am - 2pm Field Trip - National Shrine of Mary
Where: Meet near I44 & 65

Fri Oct 25, 2013
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Sat Nov 2, 2013
4:30pm - 8:30pm Mass & Potluck
Where: SEAS Church Sanctuary & Dining Room

Fri Nov 8, 2013
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Nov 15, 2013
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Nov 22, 2013
1:30pm - 4:30pm Speaker (tentative) - Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Nov 29, 2013
Thanksgiving, no co-op

Fri Dec 6, 2013
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Dec 13, 2013
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Dec 20, 2013
Christmas Break, no co-op

Fri Dec 27, 2013
All day Christmas Break, no co-op

Fri Jan 3, 2014
All day Christmas Break, no co-op

Sat Jan 4, 2014
4:30pm - 8:30pm Mass & Christmas Season Party
Where: SEAS Church Sanctuary and Dining Room

Fri Jan 10, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Jan 17, 2014
1pm - 4pm Guest Speaker, Tan Pulles - Time change!
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Jan 24, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Jan 31, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Feb 7, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Feb 14, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Feb 21, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Speaker following Adoration
Where: Cox Hospital (tentative)

Fri Feb 28, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Sat Mar 8, 2014
4:30pm - 8:30pm Mass & Potluck
Where: SEAS Church Sanctuary and Dining Room

Fri Mar 14, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Mar 21, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Service Project - Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Mar 28, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Apr 4, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Apr 11, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Co-op Activities
Where: SEAS Church Gathering Area

Fri Apr 18, 2014
No Co-op, Holy Week

Fri Apr 25, 2014
Tentative Mass with Bishop this weekend

Fri May 2, 2014
1:30pm - 4:30pm Field Day at co-op

Events on the Horizion

This Friday starts John's prep for the talent show. The talent show is happening at the Mass/potluck with Bishop Johnston. That Mass has been moved to Sunday, May 5th at 4:30 pm. Mass starts at 4:30 and potluck dinner will follow in the dining room.

We also added in one more field trip. This is going to be a history lesson field trip put on by a local, well known historian. I have totally blanked on his name right now...but he is good. Tammy will be getting me all the details soon to send out to everyone. The field trip is scheduled for the 19th.

I updated the calendar and the co-op activities list on the website with these changes.

Fr McGann Dinner This Saturday

Sorry for the late notice on this, I was supposed to do this a week or two ago!

To thank Fr McGann for his time and to also celebrate his belated birthday, we are having a surprise party for him. He thinks he is just having dinner at the Pichler's but we are throwing a party instead. Please, email or post what you can bring and I will update the list below.

Date of event: Saturday, March 23rd
Time: 6:30 pm
Where: SEAS Cafeteria

What can you bring?

Paper goods; plates, napkins, cups, silverware: Kris - all

Drinks: Tammy - Tea & Lemonaide

Main Dishes: Paula - Vegetable Lasagna
                    Shelly - Vegetable Lasagna
                    Liesa - Casserole
                    Pam C - Sloppy Joes, buns

Salads: Krysta - Green Salad
         

Side Dishes: Salomon's - chips & salsa
                   Margaret - two vegi sides
                   Shelly - Garlic Bread

Birthday Cake: Paula's Sister
Apple Pie: Paula

March 8th Co-op

Cancelling co-op for March 1st, solved the problem of what to do on March 8th. Everyone wants to finish their Ukrainian eggs and Katie is able to come back on March 22nd and finish the class up. So, I moved Shelly's Mosiac classes up a week to March 8th & 15th.

Liesa, any chance your snack will save until the 8th? If not, Paula said she would bring snack on the 8th.

Take a look at the updated co-op schedule, under the co-op activities tab.

Poll for March 8th

On Friday, March 8th we were scheduled to have a Mass and Potluck activity instead of normal Friday co-op activities. Well the church ended up with conflicts of space and asked if we could use the cafe instead of the cafeteria for our potluck. We agreed to move, but the cafe is very small for our entire group to have a potluck in. So, we came up with a few options of what to do instead of the potluck. Please vote below and the winner is what we will do.

To clarify the Stations & Fish Fry is to attend those activities that are already going on at SEAS. Stations starts at 3pm in the sanctuary and then there is a fish fry afterwards in the cafeteria. I have no idea what the charge is for the fish fry.

What activity would you like to do March 8th?

normal co-op day with adoration & classes

attend stations at 3p & fish fry afterword

no activity at all

don't care what we do

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normal co-op day with adoration & classes0%

attend stations at 3p & fish fry afterword0%

no activity at all0%

don't care what we do0%

Other: (Please specify)0%

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Ukrainian Egg Class This Friday

This Friday, February 15th, Katie will be teaching the older group traditional Ukrainian Egg decorating. Please read her description below before class this week if you have a child in the olders class.

The classes will switch times as Katie cannot get away from work until later in the day. Katie will arrive at 3:00 to set up and then the olders class will begin promptly at 3:30, in the old youth room. So the younger group will go with Shelly to the youth room right after adoration, and the olders will go to the cafe right after adoration.

We will need as many adults as possible helping in the egg class.

Here is Katie's info:
Class 1: Explain Ukrainian eggs. Tie in to Lent.  Explain colors and symbols.
Explain safety and rules.  Children who cannot sit still will not be successful in this class.
Demonstrate how to write on the eggs.
Give each student an egg with pencil markings on it.
Students will cover the pencil markings with hot wax using the kisky.

I will take all eggs home and dye them in yellow.

Class 2: Students will continue working on the eggs according to the pattern (everyone's eggs will have the same pattern)
Students will dye eggs in class.
Students will remove the wax once their egg is finished.  I expect some kids to finish their first egg during this class.

I will take cleaned eggs home and apply varnish and bring back next week.

Class 3:  Students will finish their first egg and remove the wax. For students who are really behind, it would be helpful if their parent or other adult worked with them one-on-one.
Those finished with their first egg may work on a second egg.
I will bring my electric kisky and lathe for those who finish their first egg to use.  We will probably reserve these for the oldest kids.

I will take cleaned eggs home and apply varnish and send back next week.

I don't have any solutions for those who do not finish their eggs after the third class.  We will not be doing an difficult pattern, so everyone should finish in 3 classes.  If a child is sick and misses a class, it may be difficult for them to finish their egg.

I will only have enough eggs for 2 per student.  They will have to be very careful not to break eggs.  These eggs are not hollow.  The egg inside the shell has been drying for over a year.

The tools we use to write the wax on the eggs are called kisky. They cost $5.00 each.  I have a decent supply so we will not have to purchase any.  If anyone wants to work on eggs at home after the class, I will ask for a $5 deposit for each kisky (there are 3 sizes).  The beeswax cost 50 cents each and the candle costs 25 cents.

Let me know if you have any questions.  I am looking forward to sharing this art form with the kids!

Blessings,
Katie

Monthly Mom's Breakfast is this Saturday

If you are a Catholic homeschooling Mom and need some quality time with other Mom's, please come to our breakfast this month. We always come away from breakfast a little less stressed and more refreshed!

This months breakfast is on Saturday, Feburary 16th and they are always the third Saturday of the month.

We meet at the Village Inn on S Campbell, in Springfield, at 8:00 am. We usually wrap up 9:30 to 10:00 am, but feel free to leave earlier if you need.

Please RSVP, by email or by making a comment on this post. Hope to see lots of you there.

Map to Village Inn:


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Valentine's Party

This Friday, February 8th, lets do a simple Valentines party at co-op. The kids can exchange Valentines and I will make sure snack is special. We won't be decorating bags or boxes for the exchange, so please bring something to hold your child's valentines in. The exchange will occur during snack/social time.

Should we exchange with everyone, or just within the age groups? I may be a little short on Valentines if we do everyone.

Krysta

Mom's Monthly Breakfast

If you are a Catholic homeschooling Mom and need some quality time with other Mom's, please come to our breakfast this month. We always come away from breakfast a little less stressed and more refreshed!

This months breakfast is on Saturday, January 19th and they are always the third Saturday of the month.

We meet at the Village Inn on S Campbell, in Springfield, at 8:00 am. We usually wrap up 9:30 to 10:00 am, but feel free to leave earlier if you need.

Please RSVP, by email or by making a comment on this post. Hope to see lots of you there.

Map to Village Inn:


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Celebrate with your fellow Catholic Homeschoolers

Christmas Season Celebration

Saturday, January 5th after 4:30 mass at
St Elizabeth Ann Seton Church

SEAS Dining Room

Potluck Dinner & entertainment!
Please sign up for one (or more) of the following, by posting a comment below this post... We will update list as people RSVP to make sure we have all of our "bases covered". More info to come regarding entertainment....

Paper products -- napkins - Katie
                                dinner plates - krysta
                           -- folks/knives/spoons/cups  _Katie_________________

                           -- dessert plates  - Paula

Main Dishes

Paula = ??

Krysta - Bourbon Chicken over rice
Pam C - Beef Stew

____________________

____________________

____________________

Sides

Shelly - Salad

Lisa A
Katie

____________________

____________________ 

Desserts

Paula - ??

Shelly - ???
Pam C - Lemon Bars

____________________

____________________