Mountain Area Home Schoolers
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Mountain Area Home Schoolers
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May & June 2008Forecast for the Summer of 2008: What activities and issues come to mind when you think "summer is here"? Well, if you are like most people here in Colorado, summer usually brings happy thoughts of warm weather, DIY projects that can be completed and long hours of daylight in which to cram all sorts of outdoor activities. However this summer, sharply rising prices for food and gasoline are likely to moderate our usual travel plans and usual supplemental home-school summer camps. I've been paying more attention to where our money goes and I'm shocked at how little time it takes to spend our paycheck and how little it covers! Maybe its true that our national debt of 9.4 Trillion costs every person (not taxpayer) about $4,300 in taxes each year for the interest. So how can we put the fun back into summer while keeping our spending as low as possible? You can get more active in the MAHS and help us plan no- or low-cost classes and outings!! Getting involved usually costs next to nothing (except your time) and the time you spend planning and coordinating just one event is time not spent worrying whether you can take that family road trip this summer. The weather is usually another big factor in summer plans...as in will it be another year with no water, what are the forecasts and how did our own little area of Colorado do this past autumn/winter (when we usually get about 75% of our moisture needs) in getting enough water? I am part of a local weather network called CoCoRahs (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network). From my own weather station we recorded about 7.85" of moisture since September 15, 2007. A neighbor about two miles away claims 9.90" of moisture, while another neighbor (in Jefferson County five miles away) claims 8.45". I appear to be on the low end. Hum? But everyone agrees that the mountains and western Colorado are looking good to average and eastern Colorado (neatly divided right down the Front Range cities) is in a moderate drought. States to the south of Colorado are all in a severe to moderate drought...so it could be worse. http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html So, let's get outside and enjoy our green conditions. The Friday Hike program starts in May and we added a little twist to the usual trails. Most of the hikes are geared towards smaller children, so if you aching to go on a monster hike...maybe you better schedule that one yourself. Our hikes will be in the 1.5 to 4 mile range and only take about 2 to 3 hours. Everyone is welcome to participate in any of the hikes. You can just show up if you want, no scheduling is needed. |
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