Swap Shop this Friday

 

This Friday, March 27, will be our final Swap Shop of the year.

If you're in the middle of spring cleaning and have unwanted items, this is a good time to share with fellow homeschooling families and free up some space at the same time.

Hope to see you then!

01.16.15 Announcements

• We asked for volunteers to plan our Valentine's Day Party on February 13th. Thank you to those who offered to help. HOWEVER - we just learned this afternoon that we have a conflict. St. Paul's building is not available to us that day due to another event being held. We are discussing our options and will update everyone as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience.

• Next week, January 23, is Swap Shop. 

• We've had to do some juggling with classes, teachers, etc. over the last two weeks, so thank you to everyone for being flexible and for being willing to pitch in where needed.

See you next Friday!

01.09.15 Announcements

Thanks to everyone who bundled up against the cold and joined us for the start of Term 3! Welcome to a few new and newly returning members!

Just a few CALENDAR reminders to point out: 

• Mom's Night Out is this coming Monday, January 12th. We're planning to go to Omaha's Greek Islands restaurant. More details and an RSVP form to follow soon.
• We meet again for classes next Friday, January 16th.
• We'll be holding Swap Shop in two weeks, on Friday, January 23rd.

Our Valentine's Day Party is also approaching on Friday, February 13th. We'd like to ask for three or four moms to volunteer to plan the party. There is a budget available for treats and decorations. Any interested moms should let one of the Founding Members know that they'd like to participate.

See you next week!

Swap Shop this Friday!

This Friday, November 21, MLC will be holding its second Swap Shop of the year.

We've scheduled Swap Shop four times this year, on the THIRD CLASS DAY of each term. Those dates are listed on our CALENDAR in September, November, January, and March.

What is Swap Shop? It's a FREE garage sale for MLC Members only. No money changes hands. Just bring useful items from home that you no longer want, so that they can be a blessing to other members. Bring what you like, take what you can use. You don't have to bring something to take something, and it's not restricted to homeschool-related items only. You may want to bring a tote bag, clothes basket, etc. to use to carry items home.

We ask that you please pick up any items you brought that did not get claimed by someone else. In other words, please take your own leftover items back home with you.

Swap Shop runs during normal class time - you may begin bringing items in at 9 am, and please pick up leftover items by 12 pm.  Enjoy!

10.31.14 Announcements

Oops! I forgot to post a recap of last week's announcements. Just a few calendar reminders for everyone:

• We do not meet this Friday, November 7th. The first Friday of each month is left open for members who wish to attend Hope meetings.
• Next Monday, November 10th is Mindful Mom's Night Out. Watch your emails for further details.
• Next Friday, November 14th is our Term 2 Field Trip. We're ironing out the final details and will post more information soon.
• Our next regular class day at St. Paul's is Friday, November 21. That's the 3rd class day of the term, so we'll be holding Swap Shop. It's a great chance to clear out some clutter in time for the holidays!

We look forward to seeing as many MLC families as possible at our upcoming events. Have a great week homeschooling, everyone!

Swap Shop this Friday!

This Friday, September 26, MLC will be holding its first Swap Shop of the year.

We've scheduled Swap Shop four times this year, on the THIRD CLASS DAY of each term. Those dates are listed on our CALENDAR in September, November, January, and March.

What is Swap Shop? It's a FREE garage sale for MLC Members only. No money changes hands. Just bring useful items from home that you no longer want so that they can be a blessing to other members. Bring what you like, take what you can use. You don't have to bring something to take something, and it's not restricted to homeschool-related items only. You may want to bring a tote bag, clothes basket, etc. to use to carry items home.

We ask that you please pick up any items you brought that did not get claimed by someone else. In other words, please take your own leftover items back home with you.

Swap Shop runs during normal class time - you may begin bringing items in at 9 am, and please pick up leftover items by 12 pm.  Enjoy!

CLASSES CANCELLED for Friday, September 26

Dear MLC Members, 

St. Paul's Church is hosting a funeral and luncheon this Friday, September 26, so we need to CANCEL ALL CLASSES this week.

Instead, we will meet for an optional and informal Park Day at Sunset Park, 1000 16th Avenue, Council Bluffs. Join us at 10:00 am for some unstructured fun. There are bathrooms, picnic tables, playground equipment, basketball courts, etc.

Classes will be rescheduled for Friday, October 17, which would have been our Field Trip for Term 1. We will no longer be holding a scheduled Core Field Trip this term. However, we will plan a supplemental field trip to Vala's Pumpkin Patch on one of the reduced admission days that they offer to homeschool families. We will announce time and date for that trip soon.

Swap Shop is being rescheduled for Friday, October 10th. Reminders will be sent out a few days before that date.

Thanks for your flexibility, everyone. We hope to see you this Friday at Sunset Park!

09-19-14 Announcements

1. Thanks to everyone for being flexible this morning, as we put some new procedures into place to help things run more smoothly. If you have not had a chance to read through the new procedures, please take a moment to review them HERE.

2. Next Friday, September 26, we'll hold our first Swap Shop of the year. Watch for further details and updates next week.

3. We have one core field trip scheduled per term, for a total of four for the regular school year. More info on those will follow, but you can check dates on our CALENDAR now.

Any member is welcome to plan and schedule a supplemental field trip or outing at any time, other than Friday mornings. There is a very simple form under the FIELD TRIPS tab to make the process easy. Want to schedule a bowling day, a trip to an apple orchard, or a museum visit? Just use that form and see who's available.

4. If you're on Facebook and haven't liked Mindful Learning Centers's FACEBOOK PAGE, we'd invite you to do so. The page wasn't too active last year - we wondered if members might not be sure whether or not they were allowed to post there. The answer is YES! If you see an article that would be of interest to your homeschooling peers, share it! Want to see who's up for a spontaneous trip to the park or the library? Post and see who's around. Have a question that other members might be able to answer - ask away! Our Facebook page is as much your community and your co-op as our weekly classes are.

We just ask that you keep it friendly and respectful - recognizing that while we have much in common as homeschoolers, we also have many differences of opinion - and keep things at least loosely on topic. If you have something homeschool-related, such as curriculum, that you'd like to sell, you may post that, but please do not advertise home-based businesses or other non-homeschool household items for sale. There are other, more appropriate forums for those topics, and we don't want the FB page to become a commercial or a virtual garage sale. Otherwise, feel free to use the page to connect with and stay in touch with other MLC members between classes and events.

That's all for the moment, friends! Watch for more details on Swap Shop later in the week, and we'll see you next Friday!

09-12-14 Announcements

We are going to begin posting a weekly recap of pertinent announcements, for those who were absent or were unable to hear the announcements.

1. Thank you to everyone who attended our first day of classes, and thanks to everyone who helped out this morning. We're excited to have a larger number of students this year, and we will be making a few adjustments over the next couple of weeks in order to help things run more smoothly. Thank you in advance for your patience as we smooth out the rough edges.


2. If you have not already done so, please take a moment to fill out a MEMBERSHIP Application and REGISTER your students for classes.


3. MLC will hold Swap Shop again this year. Swap Shop is a FREE, MLC Members-only garage sale, where you can bring useful but unwanted items from home to share with others who might be able to use them. No money changes hands. You do not have to bring something to take something.

We do ask that any items that don’t find new homes go back home with their original owners at the end of the day. In other words, please take your leftovers back home with you.

We are going to hold Swap Shop on the THIRD CLASS DAY OF EACH TERM, so that you know when to expect it. Those dates are already on MLC’s CALENDAR, and we will remind everyone during announcements as we approach those dates.


4. Our first Mindful Mom’s Night Out for the new year is in just a few days, on Monday Sept. 15th. This month's destination will be announced shortly, so watch your inboxes. We hope you can join us for an evening of food and fun!


5. If you’re new to our calendar, we meet most Fridays except major holiday weeks and the first Friday of each month. We skip that first Friday so that members can attend HOPE meetings if they choose. So, we will meet again next Friday, September 19 for classes.

You can view our complete CALENDAR here on the website. If you’re a Google Calendar user, you can request that we share our calendar with you.

Summer Terms and Swap Shop

Hello! Summer is upon us, and we couldn't be happier, right?! :)

After going through the responses from our recent survey, it seems that some of you are interested in participating in our Summer Term(s). However, we are unsure if we will have enough students consistently to hold regular co-op classes.

Instead, we would like to propose an alternative to classes, allowing us to gather in a more fun and relaxed way throughout the summer.

On our calendar, we will post "Summer Activities" that will be held on certain Fridays between the hours of 10am and 1pm. Each time we meet, we can plan our destination for the next time we get together. We could meet for picnics in the park, go to the zoo together, visit a splash park, take a walk on a trail, have scavenger hunts for the kids, go bowling on a hot day, or come up with other fun ideas! The kids will get to play and enjoy each other in a less structured environment, which I am sure they will enjoy!

There won't be any registration for the Summer Terms and attendance will vary.
If an RSVP is necessary, one will be posted for that activity.
More than likely, though, it will be a 'come if you can' sort of thing!

So, join us May 9th for our first Summer Activity. We will have a Picnic in the Park at Big Lake Park in Council Bluffs. Location, dates, and details can be found on the calendar.

On another note, due to popular demand, we are having a Swap Shop this Friday, April 11th, during co-op classes. 

However, we are changing it up a bit by requiring that you take with you any items you bring that are not swapped.  We think this will eliminate the somewhat chaotic ending to what is otherwise a rather fun and exciting treat!  

You know the saying, "One homeschooler's junk is another homeschooler's fancy new goodies."  Ok, I made that up, but you get the idea...  So, please feel free to share your goodies, but remember to carry out your unwanted items when you leave.  

 

Term 2 Begins with a Swap Shop

Hello Mindful Members,

Just a reminder, this Friday marks the beginning of Term 2. Some age groups will have a new line up of classes and classrooms.

 (Nursery and Pre-K-1st will remain in the same locations.) 

 Please advise your children that they may not be heading to the same classrooms.  We do not take attendance, so please remind your children of what class title they are should be listening for at the time of dismissal.

For a listing of what is being offered, CLICK HERE.


GATHER YOUR UNWANTED ITEMS!!

We are also holding our monthly MLC Members Only Swap Shop this FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25th.

The last swap shop was a huge success!  Many thanks to all those who stayed behind to help clean up and offer to take items for donation.

Depending on how many items are brought to the Swap Shop, we may ask members to take their own items back OR ask that more members help to remove items for donation to area shelters or thrift stores.  We hope you find the Swap Shop to be a blessing to your families!

Note to New Members: Swap Shop is simply a FREE monthly garage sale going on during co-op.  You do NOT have to bring items to take items.  Bring when you can, take what you can use.  At the end of the day, we box everything up for donation.  You might want to bring a box, laundry basket, tote bag or something to shop! Enjoy!

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at MindfulLearningCenter@gmail.com

See you this Friday!

Swap Shop Tomorrow!

Just wanted to remind you about our first Member's Only Swap Shop tomorrow!  It will start at 9:00 a.m. (30 minutes before announcements) and run until 12:15 p.m. (15-30 minutes after closing announcements).

Please feel free to bring your unwanted items to share with other members.  You do not have to bring donations to participate.  Simply take what you can use.

Depending on how many items are left behind, we may ask members to help us remove these items from the facility and take them to a donation site.  You are, of course, free to take your donated items with you if they are not taken by 12:15.

We hope this will be a blessing to us all, so we ask for your help and cooperation in setting this up, straightening items on the tables, and maybe helping to pack items back into boxes as we near the end.

On a side note, MLC received a very generous donation from a fellow homeschooler in the community.  Not sure if she would like her name listed, so I will not release her name here.  We would simply like to extend a huge THANK YOU to you and your family.  We will be adding some of the items donated (that can not be used by MLC) to the Swap Shop to pass along to our members!  We will be sharing math manipulatives, curriculum, children's books, games and more thanks to this generous donation.

It is recommended that you bring a reusable shopping bag or two, box or something to carry out your new goodies!  So, MLC members, as they say, the early bird gets the worm...see you tomorrow!

First 'Swap Shop' is September 27

Start saving your unwanted items now!

Once a month, members have a chance to 'swap' goods at the Swap Shop for FREE.
There will be no items 'sold' at the Swap Shop, and no money exchanged. 

You most likely have items that you 'get rid of' or 'donate' each month. 
Why not share those items with Mindful members before passing them onto area shelters? 

Just a suggestion... keep a reusable grocery bag in your pantry or hall closet.
Throughout the month, fill it up with items you would normally donate and bring
them to the Swap Shop instead!

This is a great way to share homeschool curriculum, books, toys, puzzles, games, household items, clothing, baby items, etc. 

Simply bring items you no longer use, and take items you think you can use.

Leftover items will be donated to area shelters and/or charities.

Swap Shop will begin at 9:00 a.m. (30 minutes before co-op) and run until 12:15.
This event is now on our CALENDAR.