Homeschooling in Montana

Today, I’m sharing about Homeschooling in Montana. Home education is a beautiful freedom we have here in America. While the laws for every state are different, any family can choose to homeschool whether it is for religious reasons or just giving children a more well balanced, individualized education. The range in what is required for each state is vast; some have very strict regulations while others are more relaxed and even requirement free. It’s been three years since moving and living in a state that is more relaxed than what was required in the past. This new found freedom for me was/is hard to get used to. At first, I felt like a rebel (I still do) for not giving achievement tests every three years and I still write my year-end progress report just so I can remember any changes in my son’s learning and any curriculum failures.

Homeschooling in Montana

The laws in Montana are simple

•  File a letter of intent
•  Keep attendance and immunization records
•  Provide the required amount of hours during the year
•  Teach the required subjects
•  Follow health and safety regulations

Groups and Co-Ops:  Montana is a large state and we have many homeschool groups throughout. There are Facebook groups for many of them.

Field Trips: Depending on where you live in Montana, field trips are a ton of fun. If you’re like us and live in the middle of nowhere and away from all the exciting places Montana has to offer, some field trips become mini-vacations.

•  Glacier National Park
•  Garnet Ghost Town – our first trip was pre-blogging and digital camera days
•  Little Bighorn National Monument
•  Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center – on our list to visit
•  National Bison Range – on our list to visit
•  Pictograph Cave State Park – on our list to visit
•  Pompey’s Pillar
•  Yellowstone National Park – our first trip was pre-blogging and digital camera days.

If you plan on visiting Yellowstone, you may want to check out the Complete Guide to Yellowstone from Live Once Live Wild. It's full of facts about the park and many of the trails and activities for families.

Of course, there are many local museums throughout our state. Our county museum is home to Steer Montana, once noted as the World’s LARGEST Steer.

Curriculum Shout-Out: I’ve been sharing our curriculum choices for several years now. But my most favorite program to use is Teaching Textbooks for math. The newer versions are all self-grading and they keep up with all the work, so my work is a little lighter and I don’t have to teach math.

Recommended Books: As a home educating mom, I would like to be able to share a list of books I would recommend to others. For some, what I am about to say is sad. In eleven years, I have only read ONE book written to the homeschool mom and while it was many years ago, I can’t remember anything from it. But I do remember it being a blessing to me. I’m sure there are some great books out there, but honestly, I don’t depend on other’s opinions and experiences. Every home is different, every mom is different, and every child is different. While we look for advice from others, we tend to forget where wisdom comes from. The Bible and prayer (James 1:5) are my recommendations to anyone. I honestly believe if you put your trust in God’s strength to give you wisdom on matters concerning your home and school, He will provide an answer. He will not fail you.

Advice: 

• Pray and pray some more. I’ve mentioned many times this is a journey and a way of life. There will be sacrifices (many) to be made along the way with some bumps in the road. No, praying doesn’t stop the problems from happening, but it does help in smoothing the rough edges.
•  One thing a parent can give their children that cannot be taken away from them is an EDUCATION. Do your BEST to make sure your children get a top notch education whether they attend college or not. Make sure they meet all the graduation requires for your state. Plan ahead and look at possible college’s requirements for admittance. More times than not, a child will want to attend college and if they don’t meet the requirements, they are going to feel horrible. Give them what they want and need, an EDUCATION.

•  I had someone tell me they wanted to homeschool their two but just couldn’t do it; they were not ready for the commitment. I listened to what was said and I agreed with them. If you are not totally committed to giving your child an education, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. While I am probably one of the very few to not encourage someone to take this step, I’d rather see a child in a school getting an education than for them to spend all of their school years at home not learning, not being prepared for life.

Are you a blogger with a blog post about the homeschool laws in your state? Leave me a link I’d love to read about what your state requires.

Do you have advice that was given to you that has helped in your home education journey? I’d love to hear about.

Pompey's Pillar and the Lewis and Clark Expedition

My love of American history is huge and living in Montana helps feed the love I have for this great nation’s history. While there are not as many ‘historical’ places like back home and up the eastern seaboard, Montana is home to many historical events that happened during the 1800’s. Pompey’s Pillar is just one of those places because it has the only physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition – William Clark’s signature.

Pompey's Pillar and the Lewis and Clark Expedition

 In 1806, on the return trip from western Montana, William Clark and nine men along with York (his slave), Toussaint Charbonneau (explorer/trader) his wife Sacagawea and their son, Jean Baptiste stopped at Pompey’s Pillar. In his journal, Clark wrote:

at 4 P M arived at a remarkable rock Situated in an extensive bottom on the Stard. Side of the river & 250 paces from it. this rock I ascended and from it's top had a most extensive view in every direction. This rock which I shall Call Pompy's Tower is 200 feet high and 400 paces in secumphrance and only axcessable on one Side which is from the N. E the other parts of it being a perpendicular Clift of lightish Coloured gritty rock on the top there is a tolerable Soil of about 5 or 6 feet thick Covered with Short grass. The nativs have ingraved on the face of this rock the figures of animals &c. near which I marked my name and the day of the month & year.”

**Stard. Side would be the starboard (right) side of the boat.

Little Jean Baptiste was nicknamed “Pomp” by Captain Clark and so Pompy’s Pillar was named after him. The editor of the journals, Nicolas Biddle changed the name to Pompey’s Pillar.

The visitor’s center is pretty awesome, even with it being small. There’s a 10-minute video and there are several cabinets with pull out drawers with hands-on learning. You’ll even meet William Clark, Sacagawea, Jean Baptiste and York. I totally missed a picture moment with a hands-on hook of the type of clothing they wore. There is a shirt, dress and child’s shirt made from buckskin that you can hold or even try on if you’re inclined to do so. Believe it or not, there is a good amount of weight in the dress. Although the buckskin is very soft, I can’t imagine wearing one for too long and in the hot summer time.

You’ll also find a smaller replica of the bullboat Sgt. Pryor built on July 26, 1806. Can you imagine floating up the Yellowstone River in one of these? I can, and I would love to give it a try one day. Yes, the Yellowstone River flows north, how cool is that?

In 1882, the Northern Pacific Railroad saw the need to preserve William Clark’s signature, so they placed an iron grate over the area; the picture below is the actual grate. In 1954, a former landowner replaced the grate with a brass and glass case around the area.

When you leave the visitor’s center and enter the back of the park, you will see an old dugout canoe and massive cottonwood trees. I didn’t take any pictures of the trees because of some tree removal going on and the view was not that pretty that day. The stairs! There are roughly 215 steps to view the signature and many more to the very top. We didn’t climb all the way to the top because it was HOT - the weatherman really missed his temperature prediction that day!

Once you make it halfway up the steps, you see some amazing views of the land around the pillar and, of course, William Clark's signature.

My World War II era loving son who tries not to smile for the camera never lets me know if he is enjoying our early American history moments, but those dimples are proof of him enjoying his visit.

You can explore the National Park's Lewis and Clark's Expedition website. If you click on the little tent icon, it will take you to a page about that area. Free downloadable vacation maps of the trail are found at the Lewis and Clark Country website.

If you travel with man's best friend, the park is very welcoming for dogs except for the steps up to the top are off limits along with inside the visitor's center. The walking trails are open for your furry family member.

Weekend Wanderings {The Forgotten Homes}

It’s been a while since my last Weekend Wanderings post because of rainy afternoons and my husband being out of town most of May with his job. But I’m glad to share what we’ve come across while driving around and enjoying our time together. This week, the Weekend Wanderings {THE FORGOTTEN HOMES} edition.

On this particular trip, we hit the jackpot on old houses and buildings. Every old house I see out here, I wonder what kind of family lived there and what their lives must have been like. I can't begin to imagine what the winters were like with no REAL heating in the early 1900's.

How cute is this old house with a rock front? My husband stopped so I could get a look at this one. I can imagine children playing in the yard with a couple of dogs; a rope swing hanging in the old tree. LOVE it!

To some, the scenery here is not beautiful. To me, it's pretty, but not as pretty as what you will see when you get closer to the middle of the state and beyond.

While we were out, my husband used the opportunity for his benefit. We watched for green signs similar to this one, these tell hunters the private land is opened for hunting. When hunting this kind of land, you sign in with your hunting license info and the owner's receive a small stipend for allowing hunting on their land.  A win-win for both!

You can pretty much be guaranteed to see a runaway cow anytime you are driving. Evidently the grass IS GREENER and tastier on the other side of the fence.

We drove up one road to check for those green signs and look what I spotted...

GREE PINE TREES!!!!!! There's a little hope for me, yet. If I remember correctly, this area is only a couple of miles from our house and open for public hunting. I know where I'll be during turkey season. ;)

My first wildflowers of the year. The day I took this picture, the wind was blowing close to 40 mph, so the flowers were facing the wrong way, oh well.

If your wanderings have led you to interesting places, I'd love to hear about them.

Custer National Cemetery and Little Bighorn

On Monday, we visited the Custer National Cemetery at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. We walked through the cemetery during our previous visits to the park, but Monday was special with it being Memorial Day. There were many veterans along with family members who have loved ones buried there. We even watched several families place small wreaths beside headstones of their ancestors who were scouts for the Calvary during the Indian Wars.

Custer National Cemetery Little Bighorn Memorial Day 2015

I’m not going to retell the story of the Battle of Little Bighorn since everyone knows this is where George Custer died while fighting the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne tribes. When you are standing on the battlefield and looking out across the plains, you have to wonder what exactly was going through Custer’s mind – there were thousands of warriors they were up against.

I am sharing pictures from the museum and parts of the battlefield. I called and talked with the historian at the park yesterday and he was kind in answering my questions about the cemetery and the history of the battle.

There are almost 4,300 grave sites. He did tell me that count is only for the sites because at one time they stacked people for burial, so there is no known number of people. The cemetery is closed for new burials except for the last remaining reserved plots. The reason for this closure is encroachment lines for the battlefield. This cemetery is NOT listed on the VA website because it is owned by the National Parks.

The cemetery has 8 Medal of Honor recipients. Some of these have been newly found within the past 10 years because research is ongoing to verify and locate all recipients of this great honor. One recipient, Joseph Cable has a plaque, but is not buried there. He was wounded while fighting the Nez Perce and was being sent back to Ft. Keogh and died on the way. They believe he is buried somewhere along the Missouri River since wounded soldiers were transported by boat at that time. The historian did say, if Cable’s remains were found then he more than likely would have been labeled an Unknown Soldier and sent on to Ft. Keogh.

The next pictures are from inside the museum. I wish the sun would have been a little higher, because the two cases of Custer’s clothing and other items had a crazy glare for pictures. Elizabeth Custer donated the items in the museum, so others could enjoy them.

There were two cases with models of both battles.

Sitting Bulls' Bow and Arrows

These are the faces of the war. I have LINKED to a larger picture so you can see who each of the men were. When the link opens, click on the picture and then the + sign at the bottom.

The two political leaders behind the battle.

All the information about the attack is from the Indian warriors. The men who were with Reno did tell how everything looked and where everyone laid when they returned to the area; they were in complete shock of what they found. They are the ones who buried Custer and the other soldiers.

This monument is at the top of Last Stand Hill.  The remains of all the soldiers were reburied here in a mass grave and the names of the known soldiers are listed. Many do not realize that Custer and some of the other officers were transferred to other locations for reburial. Custer is buried at West Point.

The  remains of  the 7th Calvary horses were moved to a mass grave in 1881.

One of the many markers where warriors died. They are not buried here, they were given tribal burials.

I came across these graves when walking through the cemetery. I love her name - Pretty Medicine Pipe, her husband White Man Runs Him is pictured in the Little Big Horn Faces picture above, he is on the right side down at the bottom.

Homeschooling moms, be sure to download the teacher’s guide, so you can teach about the Battle of Little Bighorn.

I'd like to thank my husband for allowing me to share his pictures with you.

7 Things I Miss About Georgia

I'm a Georgia girl and that is all there is to it, I'll always have a  home in the South. While there are things about the south I don’t miss (pollen and the smothering humidity), there are many that I do. Today, I'm sharing with you 7 Things I Miss about Georgia.

7 Things I Miss About Georgia

1. FAMILY ~ all of our family lives in Georgia and Florida except for the one Lone Ranger who lives at Lake Tahoe.

2. CHURCH FAMILY~ after two and half years we still don’t have a local church home that we call home. I deeply miss the SOUTHERNNESS of church services and the JOY that radiates from the people who ENJOY being at church. For many, it’s NOT an obligation or a social event, it’s about WANTING to be there worshiping the Lord and it shows. Don't get me wrong, many people here enjoy being at church.

3. RESTAURANTS~ I have eaten in many restaurants across the country and NONE can compare to Mary Mac’s in Atlanta, The Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle, The Dillard House in Dillard, and The Lady and Sons in Savannah. Of course, I can’t leave out Chick-fil-A because, well, just because. Talking about restaurants, my husband would get me if I left out BBQ because it is a southern delicacy. REAL BBQ doesn’t come from a chain restaurant according to the old timers. Those from the South will know what I’m talking about – the ones that are off the beaten path,  a family name on the sign or even a pig in a pair of overalls. Our favorite establishment to visit was The Iron Pig, weather permitting, you could eat at the picnic tables or enjoy your order at home. If you are like we are, you eat it in the truck because you just couldn’t wait to get home with the order - it is THAT good!

4. TRAVEL~ I miss the idea of being in the mountains one day and at the beach the next. Georgia is home to much history and for this history loving girl, there are still plenty of historical places, I hope to see when we go back home for a visit.

5. FLIP-FLOPS, GREEN GRASS, FLOWERS,and TREES~ I miss spring-like living. Wearing flip-flops and sandals year round are now a thing of the past. Driving down the road and seeing green grass, flowers blooming along with massive amounts of coniferous (evergreen) trees, I miss seeing all that.

6. SWEET GEORGIA PEACHES~ seriously, when I say “they grow ‘em big in the south”, that is not a lie! Georgia peaches are HUGE! But size is not always what matters with a Georgia peach; it’s the juiciness that counts. When you bite into a peach, it should be so sweet and juicy that the juice literally runs down your chin. My parents brought peaches last August when they came to visit. We ate a few and I froze a good many. There’s one bag left in the freezer, just waiting for the right moment.

7. VIDALIA ONIONS~ an onion so sweet you can eat it like an apple, really. True Vidalia onions won’t leave you crying or your tongue stinging. I will say, the Walla Walla onions from Washington are pretty close to the Vidalia, but they do have a tendency to burn and sting.

While some wonder if I deal with homesickness, I don’t. I have never experienced it even while going to camp when I was a kid. My HEART and HOME is where my husband and son are and that is what keeps me HAPPY.

Weekend Wanderings {The Back Road}

This weekend my husband and I enjoyed a nice long, bumpy ride. We went to check out the new Tractor Supply store in the area.  We got excited seeing the prices on a couple of things we've been saving for. They are about $40 cheaper than the local feed store and we are excited because we'll be saving money.

While many around here won't agree about the need of competition among stores to help keep prices low, we’re excited about a new chain store in the area.

Our WEEKEND WANDERINGS led us up the back road on a scoria road. For those of you not knowing what scoria is, it is a type of volcanic rock. Out here there are buttes made of it and it is used in place of gravel since there is an abundance of the neat rock and so little of gravel. Any time I mention gravel, my husband looks at me and asks, where’re you gonna get it? :)

Our travels took us through the oilfield. I didn't take pictures of the PUMP JACKS  because I don’t know if there would be any backlash from an oil company since the company name is posted on the gate around them. So to be safe, if you look closely on the right side of the picture below, there are two pump jacks and on the left are holding tanks. Isn't that open land crazy?

I was a little surprised to see such a large amount of pine trees in this area. This Southern girl dearly misses seeing the color green year round. (Our little house was nestled under huge Ponderosa Pine trees when we lived in the Bitterroot Valley.)  While pine trees are not in abundance around here, I wanted to jump out of the truck and run down the hill and get a good sniff of the pine scent. But, I didn't because it was up in the 70’s and I was not going to risk running into the only Mr. Rattlesnake who would be brave enough to come out in the warm weather on Saturday. Tall or short, skinny or fat, I'm always happy to see pine trees.

Anywhere you go out here, you are bound to see cows. While they are not my favorite farm animal, I do like seeing them because you never know what they'll be doing.  Those little calves are enjoying the warm sun with their mommas.

I have a fascination with old buildings; it doesn't matter if it is a house, a school/church, or an empty downtown building. I can't help but wonder about the people who either lived there, went to school there, worshipped there, or worked there.  The love of history comes out when I see them.

The next few pictures are from Sunday afternoon, I had to run to town and we came home on one of the back roads.

Can you imagine living here 100 years ago?

I finally saw something that I’ve wanted to see. Can you see it? Look again, I'll wait for you...

That luscious greenness tickles my heart, it’s a sure sign spring is here. While this field is actually winter wheat, all the other fields are beginning to show signs of green grass poking through all the brown weeds. I am so excited!

I mentioned in my last Weekend Wanderings wanting to get a good picture of my little partner in crime. Mikey loves going for a ride and looking out the window, I'm pretty sure he is counting down the days to where he can be out pheasant hunting this fall.

Did you have a good weekend? I'd love to hear about it.

Weekend Wanderings in Southeastern Montana

My husband and I miss our weekly dates to our favorite place to enjoy a milkshake back home. We’ve learned to get creative. Since we live in such a HUGE sprawling area with scenery that is just amazing, we enjoy our Weekend Wanderings after we stop for our favorite soft drink and a bag of popcorn and ramble up and down the open road just the two of us every weekend for a couple of hours.

Believe it or not, I still have not been on all the roads in this area, and I probably never will get them all covered. But I enjoy seeing the scenery and just hanging out with my sweet husband.

Here are a few places we have seen the past two weekends.

We are thankful for the invention in the next two pictures! The turbines help keep our power bill at a reasonable rate of about $50 every month unless we turn the fans on during the summer or a space heater during the winter.

This is the Hillside school that is in the northern part of our county. Yesterday, the cows were enjoying just hanging around the old schoolyard.

Mikey is my little buddy who usually rides along with us on our drives.  He loves riding in the back seat of the truck with his nose stuck out the window. Maybe one day, I can catch a good picture of him enjoying his trips.

Do you enjoy just rambling up and down the road with your honey?

Glacier County Honey - A Tour

Where we live, we have honey companies that drop off their bees in many of the fields around the county. Seeing the stacks of supers has made me want to see the harvesting process; I finally got my wish this past weekend. We visited the Glacier County Honey Company for their “Fill Your Own Bucket Day”. We bought 20 pounds of honey and sent some back home with my parents for them and for my brothers and sister.

I'm not a HUGE fan of bees! I guess after being stung over fifty times while cutting grass when I was young helped with that. But I do know without busy little honeybees there would be NO honey and we eat A LOT of honey as a family. My husband started me on it and after reading up on the medicinal usage of honey, I try to incorporate more of it in our diet. In fact, I try to eat a tablespoon of honey every day. I know a tablespoon sounds like a lot, but I normally spread three teaspoons throughout the day.

 

This year, Glacier County Honey is “water white” in color and has the most amazing taste. Honestly, it is the BEST honey I have ever tasted. It has the sweet honey taste without a strong overpowering taste like a lot of honey has. For my southern friends who eat Thistle Honey, it is way better than the thistle and we love thistle honey.

During our visit, we toured the process of extracting honey from the frames. I never thought about having to keep the honey in a very warm room to help with the flow when spinning the frames. In the warming room on Saturday, there was about 30,000 pounds of honey.

 The frames and honey comb were explained. and we even had a taste test of the honey right off the frame.

 

In the extracting room we watched frames being uncapped and readied for the spinner. Underneath the uncapping machine was a funnel that caught the wax and  honey to be separated and used. 

 Once the combs were uncapped, the frames were placed in the spinner for spinning the honey out.

 We watched two frames of bees work and I even snapped a picture of a new unused frame so you can see what they look like.

 

I'm sure you are probably wondering what 20 pounds of honey looks like. This is twenty pounds minus 1 cup.

You can read a more indepth EXPLANATION of the extracting of honey at the Glacier County Honey blog.