February

2025Activities Calendar

Network Activities

HAVEN sponsored: Altitude Jump Wednesday Feb. 19th. 11am-12pm. Haven will pay for one hour of jumping. Meet inside at 10:45. In order to be paid for you must be no later than 11am. Parent must accompany child- no drop offs. A waiver needs to be signed in order to jump.

Local Omaha Fall Fest Join us in Hummel Park for this free family-friendly community event! There will be a variety of activities for everyone to enjoy including, nature hikes, crafts, s’mores, archery, yard games, and more!  See attached flier for more information. 

The City of LaVista has a variety of Activities and Classes including Youth and Teen Fitness Classes, Table Tennis Club, and Miniatures club.

Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo Kids Night Out- “Owl” Always Love You and  Shark Tunnel of Love  here.

Fontenelle Forest has a variety of activities: Acorn Academy, Nature Explorers, Full Moon hikes, and Mudpies. Check out the calendar here!

Lauretzen Gardens Has Sean Kenney’s Nature Connects. BUILD a great garden adventure during Sean Kenney’s Nature Connects®: Made with LEGO® Bricks. For more events click here!

Do Space Hosts Littles Lab: Music, Youth Technology Class, and Teen Tech!: Intro to Content Creation. For more information click here.

For additional activities, click the “Local Resources” link below and scroll to General Activities Calendars under Seasonal Activities.

Under “Seasonal Activities” on our Local Resource page you will find a list of General Activities Calendars. Each of the links will take you to a different list of goings-on in the Omaha area. Check out “Family Fun In Omaha”, “Omaha Parks and Recreation”, and “Visit Omaha” for several family friendly activities. Looking for date night options? Browse through ideas listed in “Omaha Magazine”, “Omaha Performing Arts” or the “Omaha World Herald”.

Available Under “Local Resources”: Click HERE

• Co-op & Hybrid School Information

• Homeschool Support Organizations 

• Seasonal Activities

• Extra Curricular Opportunities

• Competition Links

• Internship & Scholarship Opportunities

Connect

• Join our private Facebook group and chat openly with others in the network: https://www.facebook.com/groups/omahahaven/ 

• Omaha HAVEN directory: This Directory is available only to members of the Network through their registered email addresses. Please use this information to form your own groups and make your own contacts. 

• If you’d like our help disseminating info to the entire network, please contact us at OmahaHAVEN@gmail.com

READ MORE at OmahaHAVEN.com

The Good and the Beautiful Now Has Free Curriculum for K-8!

The Good and the Beautiful has updated their free language arts curriculum for ages K-8! What?!? How did I miss this? Okay...so I haven't been homeschooling for three years now so you may all know about this but it was exciting news to me!

I began looking over the new curriculum today and in just an hour or so of time I discovered several good and beautiful things about their website and curriculum. 

• Some of the novels needed are included in the free downloads.
• The free language arts curriculum includes geography and high quality art.
  
• Free downloads for Math K-6 
• Free Marine Biology course 
• Learning games, science videos, and more. 

Feel free to check out their website.

While I did not personally use the Good and the Beautiful language arts curriculum, I did use their fabulous literature list. Every book that I have read with my kiddos has been truly Good and Beautiful. I have loved the many wonderful stories, quality writing, and uplifting messages found in each of these books.

So if you're looking around for a new curriculum or just getting started with homeschooling, The Good and the Beautiful is a good and beautiful option. 

If you would like to peruse their free curriculum downloads, book list, and apps click HERE. You may also purchase hard copy books if you feel that would better meet the needs of your family. 

If you haven't heard of the Good and the Beautiful, this video will provide a good over view of how this company came about and why they provide access to free, quality curriculum:

 

Welcome to the new Omaha HAVEN Board!

The new Omaha HAVEN Board, elected in May, is excited to continue this network journey. A huge "Thank you!" to those who have been willing to take up the torch and keep our sponsored activities running a little longer!

President of Omaha HAVEN: Shantelle Dunster

I’m Shantelle Dunster. I live in Syracuse, NE. I have 6 children, 5 of which are still at home. I started homeschooling two of my children last year and in the Fall I will be homeschooling all five of them. They range from 7-16 years old. I love to travel around and learn about different cultures within the United States. I also enjoy teaching children and adults. I look forward to meeting many of you in the Omaha Haven network.

Treasurer for Omaha HAVEN: Courtney Kennedy

Hello! I’m Courtney and live with my family in Iowa. We have homeschooled from the beginning with our 4 kids (13, 11, 9, and 7). I’m very excited to serve as Omaha Haven Treasurer. We have loved the homeschool community in Omaha.

Excited to work with you!

Board Member in charge of Activities: Jaclyn Ramirez

Hi! I live in Bellevue, NE. We have homeschooled our two children (10 and 6) from the beginning. I look forward to getting to help out with activities for our homeschool community.

Board Member in charge of the Newsletter and Technology: Katie Burton

Hey HAVEN friends! I’m happy to be staying on to help out and keep our newsletter and website up and running. I’m also happy to continue to help out any who are in need of getting started in homeschooling and curriculum ideas!

If you are interested in helping out as a Board Member now or in the future, feel free to let us know at OmahaHAVEN@gmail.com

*Only Network participants may act as members of the Board.

 

Looking for Omaha Area Activities? No Problem! Whether You Homeschool or Not, We Can Help!

Not a homeschooling family? No problem! Omaha HAVEN has something for everyone! 

Looking for local activities? Click on our "Local Resources" tab, scroll down just a teeny tiny bit and you will find the heading "Seasonal Activities". Here you will find a list of local activity calendars as well as links to other local activities throughout the year. Scroll down a little more and you will find information about activities in a specific area of interest such as "Art", "Music", "Science", etc.

Would you like to receive an email about local activities? Each month Omaha HAVEN sends out a newsletter containing a list of local activities happening throughout the month . To view the newsletter online, click HERE. If you'd like to receive the monthly emails, please join our network by clicking HERE.

Looking for a way to build confidence and create connections for yourselves and your children? Try forming an Adventure Group! An Adventure group is a group of families who take turns planning a variety of monthly family activities and participate in activities as individual time and circumstance allows. Click on the "Adventure Groups" tab to learn more and get started.

Just looking for "Adventure Ideas" for your family? Click on our "Adventure Groups" tab and scroll down. You will find a list of "Adventure Ideas".

If you have any questions about Omaha HAVEN, or would like to know more about homeschooling in the Omaha area, please contact us at OmahaHAVEN@gmail.com

"If You Are a Special Needs Parent, and You Don't Think You Can Do This, You Can!"

by Jennifer Braithwaite

(Written Sept. 2020)

 

It wasn’t supposed to work out this way. But that’s the story of life, isn’t it? I was the mom who NEEDED her kids to GO to school. When my youngest went into all day kindergarten, I was finally home alone! About 4 years later…out of the blue, a quiet, soft voice told me I needed to homeschool. WHAT??! I CANNOT do that! Obviously, there were things I needed to learn. Funny how that works.

My youngest 2 children are special needs. My son had a stroke at birth which affected his left side and my youngest daughter has a chromosome deletion, a genetic condition called Cri-du-Chat. She is mentally and physically behind her peers. They both have had therapy services since they were 2 years old. They had qualified professionals helping them with the transitions of school and routines. I went to their IEP meetings and discussed what their goals should be; well, mostly what the professionals thought their goals should be. We lived in one of the top school districts in the country that was sought out for its programs they had for special needs children. Why would I want to homeschool? I have all the support I need right here!

But that voice kept coming.

Well, my husband was willing to try this experiment, but he thought it was crazy. I talked to my homeschooling friends and read all the books I could find about homeschooling. Lots of prayers and fasting were a huge part of the decision as well. In 2013 my husband lost his job, and we were moving to Omaha, so we decided to start then. After a 6 month de-schooling period, we got out the books. But if I were honest, wouldn’t it be great if school was ONLY playing games, going outside, taking walks, cooking, working together, field trips, and reading together?

My son was on grade level, so it was pretty straight forward with him. Throughout his schooling, I have tried to be generally hands off. He was starting 8th grade and was old enough to be self motivated. He is now 20 and is doing a service mission at the Bishop’s Storehouse.

My daughter was in 5th grade when we started, but in all those years at a top rated public school, with all the services, she couldn’t read, or write, or do any math. I basically had to start at the very basic pre-k or kindergarten level. She is now 17, and while she is technically in 2nd or 3rd grade in understanding, she can read chapter books, she can write and is slowly learning cursive, and finally last year (2019)she started remembering and figuring out math facts. It has been a very slow, frustrating, stressful past 7 years. I have basically repeated the same thing each year, but changed up a little to see what works better. There was a lot of trial and error, but we made progress. But it has also been the best 7 years because of all that I have learned along the way. She is technically a senior this year, but I think we will just continue learning together and growing more and more. I don’t know what her future is, but God does, and he will help me help her find her path.

I have learned more patience than I thought possible. I have learned how my kids learn. I have learned to let go. I have learned that having a network of homeschooling families have been a life saver. I have learned that I can do hard things. I have learned that God will qualify us for what He asks us to do. I have met people and been introduced to ideas that I never would have found if I hadn’t taken this huge leap. I am not perfect, I will not be able to teach my kids everything, but I know our relationship during these last 7 years has been strengthened and my kids are so much better because of it.

If you are a special needs parent, and you don’t think you can do this, you can! If you think God is calling you to homeschool, I promise he will give you people, tools, and mostly patience for what He is asking you to do.

"The Invincible Family"

"The Invincible Family"...I love the sound of this statement! I also love the hope and strength it brings to my heart knowing that there are so many out there acting to strengthen our foundational units of society, our families. That being said, let me introduce you...

"The Invincible Family - Why the Global Campaign To Crush Motherhood and Fatherhood Can't Win" is the title of a book written by Kimberly Ells, a mother of five and graduate of BYU. She has carefully researched and personally witnessed the actions of those who seek to diminish the power of motherhood and fatherhood and dismantle the iron-clad strength of families bound together through marriages based on love, loyalty, and liberty. Such families, when founded upon the teaching of Jesus Christ, stand the greatest chance of helping children overcome the shifting and uncertain tides of popular culture that they might be prepared to build their own loving relationships, healthy marriages and invincible families. 

Why would anyone want to destroy such strength? We want our families to be INVINCIBLE!

If you would like to learn a little more about Kimberly's experiences and her book, "The Invincible Family", please click HERE for her website.

Click HERE to watch Kimberly's interview with Tucker Carlson.

Enjoy! 

Inspirational Messages on Creativity

“Our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son are creators and have entrusted each of us with a portion of their creative power.” - Elder David A Bednar

“Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty…The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come.” - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail." - Edwin Land

"Creativity flows when curiosity is stoked." - Neil Blumenthal

 

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou

"Creativity is intelligence having fun" - Albert Einstein