Sifting Through The Great Salt Plains

Though the Panhandle and Northwest Oklahoma may be majestic, alive with the beauty of the "wind sweeping down the plains," there are a few other undeniable truths that exist.  First, it's hot - really hot.  Second, things to do in these parts tend to be few and far between.  Finding adventure in your own backyard can require creativity and sometimes a short road trip.

"Look, Mom! Treasure!"

Northwest Oklahoma offers a vast array of unique and interesting State Parks, such as The Little Sahara State Park, Boiling Springs State Park and today's destination: The Great Salt Plains State Park.  The barren landscape of the Great Salt Plains is comprised of salt left over from an ocean that covered Oklahoma in prehistoric times, and the saltwater lake in the park, Great Salt Plains Lake, is about half as salty as the ocean.

Bring your shovel!  In designated "dig areas", you can sift through the wet dirt and find buried treasure!  Just beneath the surface, water travels through the salt-saturated ground and comes to the surface where it evaporates, leaving a layer or crust of white salt.  This concentrated saline solution combines with gypsum to promote selenite crystal growth in a portion of the salt flats. 

Not only is this a great family outing, but makes a great geography and history lesson as well.  

Click here for more information about the Great Salt Plains and don't forget about the treasures in your own backyard!

Homeschool Record Keeping & Documentation

Record keeping and documentation are important facets of effective homeschooling.  Not only does it help you, as the teacher, to track your child's progress, it provides a visual framework of your year's work at a glance.

Regardless of the type of curriculum being implemented, it is vital to check its merits against state mandated standards to ensure that your child is always at or above the current educational standards of their peers in public school.

Not all curricula are created equal.  Just because it is labeled as "Christian" or "advanced" doesn't mean that it necessarily lines up with what your state requires of public education.  The last thing we want as homeschool parents is to make the decision to reintegrate our children into the public school system only to find that they are actually behind their peers - despite the fancy and expensive curriculum that was used.  Click here for a sample of the Oklahoma State Board of Education C3 Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) requirements.

Keeping track of your students' grades on a report card similar to that of public schools in your state will not only ensure an easy transition if you are led to enroll your children in public school at a future time, it will also provide a valuable safety net if you are ever asked to validate your homeschooling practices.  Even if your current curriculum provides their own report card or reporting system, it is advisable to take a few extra moments a few times during the year to evaluate their progress in this way.  Having more than one document detailing your child's progress will only strengthen your confidence in your skills as a teacher and their confidence in their own progress.  Click here for sample Oklahoma report cards for Pre-K - 5th Grade.

NW OK Summer Bucket List

Summer time is here... along with the words every parent dreads.... "I'm bored!"

Find the perfect balance between downtime and fun in Northwest Oklahoma... and share your ideas in the comments section so that we can make this list a great one!

Teacher Appreciation Collage

'Tis the season to let our teachers know how much we appreciate all that they have done for (and put up with from) our children throughout the school year.  My friend Tiffany and I got together and came up with a couple of ideas to show our teachers how special they are.

After asking the children to describe their teacher in one word, she provided me with the list of attributes and the general idea and I put together these collages, printed them on photo paper and framed them.

Miss Gunn is a Texas Longhorn fan!

This was a simple and inexpensive way to give a gift that is sentimental without being cheesy - and straight from the mouths of the students... as you can see, many of the attributes were the same, so making the second one took less time.  

Simply choose a photo and make it the backdrop or watermark in a word processing document and then begin adding text boxes and turning them different ways, changing the font and color, etc.

Have a better idea?  Let us know!  Post it on our Facebook page and we could feature your project next! 

The Secret Magical Playground In The Woods

Spending your childhood in the country is comparable to the old joke about buying a small child an expensive gift, when all they want to do is play with the box.  Instead of playing video games or going to the park, we entertained ourselves with much simpler diversions.

I can remember hiking through the pasture with my younger sister and my niece and three nephews (we are all about the same age, by the way, but that's another story).  Each excursion was a greater adventure than the last.  We discovered a "secret bone yard" where we knew some tragic massacre must've taken place.  My dad later told me it was where they hauled the carcass when a calf died.  I like the earlier rendition better, though.

There was also a "land of hidden treasure" where beautiful old glass bottles and remnants of all kinds of interesting things were stowed.  I laughed when I found out that it was actually a dump of sorts where someone hauled a few loads of unwanted junk in the 1950's.  Some of that junk really was treasure, though and I still have it today.  I have always been a connoisseur of junk.  Still am...  I LOVE OLD JUNK! (also another story...)

All of these things came flooding back to me when my children came in one evening after playing around the farm to tell me that Grandpa Bob had showed them a "secret magical playground in the woods".  I shot my dad a skeptical look and he smiled mischievously and nodded.  (He also told them that the same woods were haunted by witches.)

I shook my head and followed as the boys ushered me out to the woods.  When we got there, I realized that what was so magical and enchanting to them was an old swing set that my older siblings had played on over 30 years ago.  Our dad had used the tractor to haul it from the backyard out into the woods where no one would get hurt on it.  Over the years, the swing set has become wedged between two Honey Locust Trees and the base has sunk in the ground a foot or so, making it perfectly safe and secure - and mysterious!

I laughed as I told my dad I didn't need to worry about buying them a new swing set for Christmas.  They were more excited about junk!  Poor boys, they got it from their mamma.

Next time you feel guilty about not buying your children everything their hearts desire, step back and give a new perspective to something old.  After all, when was the last time you heard a child refer to a store-bought swing set as secret or magical?

Welcome to the farm.

Grandpa Bob found a newer swing in the garage - the old one was shot!

Somehow, they were actually using this two-person teeter totter swing without seats!

There's even a cat walk.

The slide, I'm afraid, is un-salvagable.  The boys have told me of their plans to build a new one, though.