Art, Poetry and Writing Contests Homeschool and Public School

I was contacted via email to see if I wanted to post these contests for kids. Homeschoolers are welcome, so of course I said yes. I think we might even enter one or two, especially the poetry. DJ loves poetry. Anyway this is what was sent to me:

Art Contest

Students submit a digital photo of any art (other than photography) and submit it online at www.celebratingart.com. Two contests each year — Next deadline is April 3rd. There are 10 winners in each grade division of K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12 who will receive $25 and a full color book that includes their art. Other artists of merit will be invited to be published. There are no costs to enter or to be published. Open to all students in the US and Canada. Each year we have several home schoolers who are among our national winners.

Poetry Contest

Students submit one poem 21 lines on any topic and submit it online at www.poeticpower.com or mail it to Creative Communication, 159 North Main Street, Smithfield, UT 84335. Three contests each year with upcoming deadlines of April 12 and August 15. There are 10 winners in each grade division of K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12 who will receive $25 and a book that includes their poem. Other writers of merit will be invited to be published. There are no costs to enter or to be published.

Our website at www.poeticpower.com also includes a database that is divided by grade and subject and contains over 1000 lesson plans on how to teach poetry. You can also subscribe to our newsletter with tips on teaching poetry.

Essay Contest

Students submit one non-fiction essay, 250 words or less on any topic and submit it online at www.poeticpower.com or mail it to Creative Communication, 159 North Main Street, Smithfield, UT 84335. Three contests each year with upcoming deadlines of Feb 15 and July 18. There are 10 winners in each grade division of 3-6, 7-9, 10-12 who will receive $25 and a book that includes their essay. Other writers of merit will be invited to be published. There are no costs to enter or to be published.

Then there is a writing contest through the National Parks Service. This one I found on Facebook. My kids are not yet old enough, but maybe your kids are. Visit the link to get the details for the NPS writing contest.

Good luck to any and all who decide to enter these contests. Please if you enter I would love to hear from you. If you win, I definitely would love to hear from you.

Taking Panoramic Photos

DJ had to learn how to take panoramic photos in his photography book this year. With the old camera we would have needed to use a tripod. However, this new camera is so simple to take panoramic shots. You simply pick your starting point, then swing the camera slowly to the right until the yellow plus sign is inside the white plus sign, and then the camera automatically takes the shot. Then you repeat one more time. I love panoramic shots, they are my favorite. DJ took these at the nature refuge and the Gulf of Mexico on our volunteer day last week. If you click on the image it will go big so you can see the full effect.

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend. We did, and tomorrow back to lessons. We are redecorating our classroom, and I can't wait to share that. Tomorrow, I will also be sharing some homeschool contests for my readers to enter. That is exciting!

4H County Events 2012

This is DJ and Caitlin's second 4H County Events. This is a competition and fun day. Last year we just basically watched and learned. DJ did do a photo last year, and won a blue ribbon. The ladybug picture shown was his entry this year, and he won first place again. Now it will go to District Events in May. I hope to be able to attend that this year.

Caitlin did the fashion show wearing a dress she helped sew. She also assisted her brother in his demonstration. Because she is a cloverbud she won a participation green ribbon. Next year she will no longer be a clover bud.

DJ also did a demonstration on the Florida dung beetle. This was his first time doing a demonstration, and people were still talking about it later. He is a very good speaker and once he got over the jitters he did very well. He won first place for that as well, and will be able to do the same demonstration at District Events. Because he is 11 he can't go to State level, but next year he will be able to. They were both so nervous I was afraid they would back out. But they did it, and did it well, and I am one proud momma today. I am also very tired. It is a very long day, that starts way too early. I am so glad I decided to get my kids involved in 4H.

Dennis Creek Hiking Trail

We have been busy, busy, busy the last two days. Yesterday, was a playdate at the park. If you look down at the very last shot you will see how hot it got. I don't ever burn, mostly because I don't let myself burn, but you need to see the raccoon eyes on me. Last night you could the whole outline of my sunglasses.

Today was our volunteer day at the nature refuge. We haven't been since before Christmas and the photography class. Today it was just us, and one other family that volunteers with us. We were privelaged to be able to walk the Dennis Creek Trail, to look for garbage or damage. Gladly we didn't find a lot of garbage, which is nice because this trail is used quite frequently. This particular trail doesn't end up at the Suwanee River, like the others, it goes to the Gulf of Mexico. So after we hiked the trail and did our work, we headed down to the Gulf. It was low tide as you can probably tell from the pictures. We did see some small fish, crabs, and some birds along the trail. We found an area where there was an obvious wildfire at some point, that did not burn through the trees. Just the outside was burnt and new green could be seen growing from the tops. We will ask Ranger Pam about this the next time we see her. It might have been caused by lightning. There is a lovely little sitting dock on this trail, that I want to return to by myself to read or just enjoy the peace and quiet. I might take a friend, it is kind of remote, lol! After visiting the Gulf, there weren't any picnic tables, just fishing dock and boat ramp, we headed back to Chiefland for lunch at the park. I am tired now and have a ton of house work to catch up on. It appears we will finally get some much needed rain over night, but severe weather is possible because it has been so warm. I don't look forward to tornado warnings, and constant lightning. Tomorrow back to regular school, movie day, and grocery shopping.