Another school year is coming to a close. This year really flew by fast.
13 years I have been at this…my oldest will be finishing his Junior year.
I swear it was just yesterday he learned to write his name!
As I look over my dinning room table, well….maybe I should say “school table”, there are workbooks, text books, notebooks, and and tray of pencils that are without erasers, and all with broken lead; through this mess I can see the the amazement of learning.
Homeschooling is not as easy as some would think. You spend hours pouring over curriculum samples, deciding on what type of teaching and learning will work best with each of your little scholars. You plan lessons, field trips, experiments, and extracurricular activities. And, all the while you are also doing laundry, planning and cooking meals, cleaning house, shopping, doctor’s appointments, the many trips to the library, and any other task that needs to be done.
Not only is the table a mess, so is my house! Deep cleaning is usually put on “hold” until summer break. My therory on this is that I will only have my childrens’ attention for a moment, and that this house will wait, for these little minds need to be dust and cobweb free more then my home.
I have heard so many say, “How can I stand to be home all day with my kids?” or “I need my “Me Time”. For which I gladly reply, “These children were a gift from God to me, and my time with them is so short, I want their memories of education to be one of family, learning without stress, and having life skills.” My “me time” is at 5am….when the house is silent…
So, as these last few weeks are coming to a close, and I prepare for for the next year of learning….my heart is full. The outcomes of this year’s goals have been met, the children have grown, they have learned, they have aquired more life skills, but most of all….they are growing into loving, honest, and well adjusted young people.
Yes my life is super busy, and sometimes I look around at my house and just sigh….but this is my life, a life of continous chaos, but it is all mine….and I LOVE IT!
Sooner Homeschool Angels Curriculum Koop (yes, we know co-op doesn’t start with a K…but it worked)
We are a cooperative homeschool organization, which means that everyone works together. You may volunteer time, donate curricula, or donate funding to help cover utilities / supplies. While we are extending the ministry of the Book Samaritan, we will be changing how things were run. We will not be mailing supplies – hence it is now an Oklahoma co-op – you will have to come to the ‘storefront.’ As things progress, we will post here. Our projected opening date for the ministry is December / January.
Summer 2022 – Reopen under new name, the Script’morium.
November 2020 – Closed. Under re-construction.
June 2016 : Closing out the Book Samaritan and starting the move
July 2017 : Back-to-School Night and sharing books with families
Please remember that, while we are centrally located in Oklahoma, this ministry is available to all co-ops across the state and (hopefully soon) nationwide. We were at our local homeschool co-op’s back-to-school night, but it is not a ministry just for them…it is for all homeschoolers and new teachers.
Our First Event (the one where we have to drastically downsize due to no building availability yet…..)
We love hearing comments like this!!!!!!
These are our busy little bees!
They used to go work up at the Book Samaritan with us twice a year, helping the owners to organize books and keep things in order.
Then, in the summer of 2016, they moved 65 truckloads of books…stacked from side to side, floor to as high as they could safely go. These were some tired little puppies, but I think they deserve a lot of credit (hence the trip to Medieval Times) for helping to get the Book Shack up and going.
We also had a few helpers from our local co-op, who could come for a day and help move things around. All told, it took four weeks to move items from the Book Samaritan in Pawhuska, Oklahoma down to our new home in Prague, Oklahoma.
And then we found out that our 501(c)3 wasn’t coming through. We lost our new home and had to immediately downsize (just like if you were foreclosed upon) – losing 95% of the items we had managed to salvage. It was a bad week…
Well, it was a long week for us. It was a good week for the 100+ families that we were able to help in our big “homeschoolers helping homeschoolers” event!!
Following that, we had some health issues to deal with, while at the same time continuing to get all of the paperwork straightened out. We’ve also spruced up the website a little bit – adding tabs across the top of the page that will answer many of your questions.
Now that it’s come to fruition, can you imagine just how happy these little faces are about knowing that their Spring Break will be spent doing none other than……………….moving books? 😯
Let’s give a hand for our very best helpers!!!
If you’re not sure what you’re looking at…that would be our 501(c)3 non-profit status letter.
They say that ”it takes money to make money,” but the truth is that it takes money to help other people, too. As much as we’d like to never have to ask for donations and financial support, that’s just not realistic. Therefore, after much debate, we found a few ways that will allow you to support the Book Shack without having to stretch your budget even further.
Where do these donations go?
They are used for :
boxes & packing material
packing tape
blank paper & shipping labels
light bulbs
bookshelves
staples, clips & other binding materials
*postage for recipients
(*= We are currently unable to offer this, due to having no operating costs at this time. See policies for more information on how postage is currently being covered.)
They have been so wonderful to help us as we get started and continue to work to get this organization up and running smoothly!
If you’re in Oklahoma or NW Arkansas, you should definitely check them out for this semester’s materials.
About BiblioMania
The store
was founded in Tulsa, OK, in 1992, and is a unique source for gently used homeschooling materials on consignment. With dozens of years of homeschooling experience under their belts, the ladies who run the store have a wealth of information and encouragement, and will cheerfully answer your homeschooling curriculum questions! (They’ll also provide hugs and strength when you’re ready to throw in the towel.)
Visiting
If you’re going to visit the store, be aware that it’s in the back corner of a strip mall. It looks something like the pic on the right. Here is their contact information :
12929 E 21st St Suite I
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Phone : (918) 438-9889
Our little helpers loaded up even MORE books and were ready for a rest on the long ride home! I think that they, more than anyone else, will be happy when the organization has a permanent home and the boxes no longer need to be lugged around! LOL
We’re having a fundraiser this weekend….and it’s going to be HUGE! We’re talking seven truckloads of items….from several different houses….so you know there’ll be something for everyone! Come on out….bring your friends & family….and if you have an hour or two, sit a spell and take a volunteer shift. AND we made the paper. It’s been a busy week! 😊
After over fourteen long months of dragging books around and storing them in garages, we have finally found a home for the Book Shack!
Wings as Eagles Christian bookstore, in Prague, has graciously offered us a space above their store to use. It is upstairs, so be prepared. If you have a physical disability, we will work with you to get you the materials you need.
To find the Book Shack, look for the Wings as Eagles store – on the corner of Hwy 99 and 9th Street – then look for the antique-barred door just to the right. That’s where you’ll enter! Head upstairs to Room C, and come on in! (Moving to Shawnee as of April 2019)
We received some VERY big donations last week, which is AMAZING!!! We are so grateful for the community of folks who are working together to help each other out. 😃
Within these donations were many items that are more appropriate for a classroom setting, including math manipulatives, games, classroom reproducibles, classroom posters, reading books (like for a classroom library), and a few other things that are more appropriate for classrooms than homeschool.
These items are still available for any of our homeschool families that come to visit (though they cannot be mailed, as they cannot go media mail rate), but we have such a surplus, and these are the types of things that classroom teachers need for their classrooms, so we decided to partner up with the local school district and invite public school teachers to come and pick out items that they need for their classrooms.
On Monday and Wednesday of our July opening dates, both homeschool and classroom teachers will be able to visit the Shack to ‘treasure hunt.’ Depending on how well this event goes, we may open up the Shack to teachers again next summer.
First-time homeschoolers generally try to replicate public school at home. It’s what they know, and it’s familiar. Trust me…many mommas have gone down this road before!
Learning to re-frame the day, however, is the first step toward homeschool freedom. When you understand and accept that there is considerable learning value is almost everything you do, it relaxes your attitude toward school…which transfers to your students…and makes for a more enjoyable experience.
How to re-frame?
First, learn the lingo.
Does your child understand something? Wonderful! They have ‘comprehension.’
If you quiz your child on his ABCs, does he know them? Great! He just passed an ‘assessment.’
Second, master documentation.
Say your elementary student spent two hours outside, skipping rope, playing with sidewalk chalk, catching bugs and examining them, and making leaf prints. That’s physical education, art (or handwriting, depending on what was drawn), science, and nature study!
Baking cookies together as part of holiday preparations? This activity has math (measurement and time), chemistry, reading, home economics, and nutrition lessons!
We’re not suggesting that everyday consist of this type of schooling, though there are families who do ascribe to this theory – it’s called Unschooling, and you can learn more about it here.
The point is that each day doesn’t need to consist of books, papers, and pencils to ensure that learning is happening. When children are excited about something, they’re sure to learn and retain more!
