April Events

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Families, welcome to Spring and Happy Resurrection weekend. 

We have so many much to be thankful for.

In March, we had a wonderful month of activities focused around entrepreneurship. The month culminated with our 6th annual Entrepreneurship market at Meadowood Regional Park. It was wonderful to see so many of you in-person! The weather was beautiful and the company was even better.

April promises to be a lot of fun as well. Students will plan gardens and get their hands dirty as they learn to plan, plant, and develop gardens. Please RSVP for the planting event by April 8th!

Finally, we are coming down the homestretch! May will be the last full month of activities for students. We have now opened up registration for the 2021-22 school year and have some exciting announcements coming in short order. 

Be blessed,

Ja’Near Garrus

Group Meeting | April 12
To kick off April Activities, students will review the different types of gardening and their benefits to the community.

Pre-K – Age 5 Group Meeting (1:00pm – 1:30pm)
Students will listen to a read-aloud book and identify what is needed for a seed to grow. They will discuss the life cycle of a plant through an on-screen game. 

Ages 6-9 Group Meeting starts @ 1:40pm
Garden Planning: Students come prepared to share a plan for a garden of their choice.

The plan should include:
What they will grow
What is needed for it to grow
Where they will plant it a bird’s eye view drawing to illustrate what his or her ideal garden bed would look like.**
The drawing should include the following: – what they want to plant – think about how much space each plant might need – How many of each plant do they want to plants?

Age Group 10-14 starts @ 1:40pm
Garden Planning: Students research and create a plan for a garden of their choice. 

The plan should include:
What to grow and why
How to grow it ( what is needed for the plant to thrive)Where it will grow and why (benefits of the garden) When it should be planted
How long to germination
Cost to plant and maintain their garden
Students come prepared to share their plans with a PowerPoint presentation, drawing, or poster, be creative!
Field Trip | April 19
Join us to plant Marigolds and Tomatoes at Mt. Olive UMC. Families will take the plants home to grow and a few will be brought back in May to transfer to Mt. Olive’s planter boxes.

Each family will work at their own table outside. (Tables being provided by Mt. Olive.)

What to bring:
A planting pot or paper egg cartonJug of water
Plastic tray to put your egg cartons or pots on
Optional: small shovel or trowel, gardening gloves

We will bring the potting soil and seeds!
Club Day | April 26
Students will hear from a special guest speaker, Mr. Greaves, an Environmental Scientist. 

MAKERS CLUB– Resurrection Gardens
Materials Needed:
1 large terra cotta plant saucer
1 small terra cotta pot
A handful of small rocks
1 large rock
Potting soil
Small sticks
String or twine

March is all about entrepreneurship!

Posted on by gbchomeschoolers

Welcome to March, GBCH Friends!

February was a lot of fun with students participating in the Centuries of Excellence: Black History Student Exhibition, creating music, working on their oratory skills, and participating in a step dancing workshop. It was wonderful to see them come alive, stretch themselves, and show what they are made of.

This month we will turn our attention to Business! Students will have the opportunity to develop a product, think about marketing, and study the great entrepreneurs that have come before them. Wonderful speakers, activities, and an outdoor market await us in this month’s activities.

Also this month, our oratory students will finish learning to recite MLK’s Mountaintop speech and record a video to submit to the Lincoln Oratory Project. Each session they are improving and becoming more confident in their speaking and stage presence. We hope that you will be able to join us for the debut of their final project. Stay tuned!

In closing, we are excited to have you join us for all of March’s activities and special events. Cheers to a safe and blessed month.

Blessings,

Ja’Near Garrus

GBCH Director

Group Meeting: 3/11

Club Day: 3/18

Students will review the concept of entrepreneurship, parts of a business plan and share information about different entrepreneurs.

In addition, students will hear from entrepreneur Tony Jackson, owner of TRUST, Inc., a Christian clothing company (www.trusttk.com).

We will start out the meeting with a speaker, Naima Winston, followed by Centuries Club and Maker’s Club. 

Naima Winston is kidpreneur, speaker, and Baltimore native best known for her participation in The Food Network television shows Kid Baking Championship and the Sweetings Holiday episode. We are excited to have her speak to our students and share how she turned her passion into a business.

Maker’s Club Activity: No-Sew Face Masks

Entrepreneurship Day: 3/25

We are looking forward to our entrepreneurship market day on Monday, March 22nd at Meadowood Regional Park. Please bring something to “sell.” In the past, we have had students sell t-shirts, hair bows, necklaces, lemonade, snacks, bookmarks, and stem kits. Each student will be given GBCH currency to buy and sell with.

We are sure to have a great time and learn from each other!

February Events

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Happy February, GBCH Friends!
This month we will turn our attention to culture with the celebration of Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, and performance art through our programming. Please take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the Centuries of Excellence: Black History Student Exhibition. This special event will allow your child to showcase themselves in Oratory, Dance, Music, or Art. In addition, it is an opportunity to involve your family and friends in supporting your student and our homeschool community. Also, we anticipate great fun in our group meetings as we study hip hop and its origins in spoken word traditions, followed by a Centuries Club on HBCUs and STEP Dancing, and finish out the month with a dance workshop. Please remember there is a parent’s meeting tomorrow (Tuesday 2/2) at 6 pm.

Blessings,
Ja’Near Garrus
GBCH Director

Group Meeting 2/8

For the group meeting, we will delve into the historical context of Oral traditions in the African American Culture. The group activities will focus on how those oral traditions branched into different musical and performance art forms such as jazz, spoken word, and hip hop, which we will focus on.

Club Day 2/15

Materials needed to prepare: Tin can, coffee can, storage container, or cake panFabric or Balloons, small or average size for tin cans and a punch ball-sized balloon for large items, Rubber bands, Tape, Colored paper, and markers to decorate
(optional)Chopsticks or pencils (to create drum sticks)

Starts at 1pm
Centuries Club:HBCUs, Stepping, and Polyrhythm
Maker’s Club:Creating an African Drum

Experience 2/22

January Events

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Welcome back, GBCH Friends! I hope that you have enjoyed Christmas and New Year with your families and were able to unplug and refresh.

We have come to our annual S.T.E.A.M. month! January’s activities are all about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math! We will integrate these concepts throughout our activities and focus on engineering especially this month. Great speakers and activities are in store and we are excited to see how the students interpret what they are learning into their own projects. 

Also this month, we are starting a new Oratorical program. Students 3rd-8th grade will have an opportunity to learn oratory skills by reciting one of the speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. culminating in a video presentation that will be part of the Oratory Festival. Don’t forget to sign up by this Friday!

Group Meeting 1/11

At this meeting, all age groups will focus on the Engineering Design Process. Students will be introduced to the STEAM acronym and focus on the “E”, engineering, and discuss what engineers do and the types of projects that involve engineering skills (ex. building bridges, designing robots, recycling systems). Students will learn the 5-step engineering design process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve/Reflect).

Club Day 1/18

Experience:

We will be joined by two engineers, Tamyra L. Paschal and Kiwitta I. Paschal, from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Corporation in Fort Worth, Texas. 

We will hear about engineering as a career, the preparation required, their work on airplanes and various opportunities available within the field.

Centuries Club:

Children will learn about African-American architects and civil engineers who have designed various public spaces across the United States.

Maker’s Club:

In observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday children will reflect on Dr. King’s legacy of peace, justice, and equality, and use what they have learned about the engineering design process to build a monument, museum, park, or other structure in honor of Dr. King. Children may use materials of their choice.

STEAM Fair 1/25

Our month will conclude with our annual GBCH STEAM Fair! 

During our virtual science fair, children will present a science topic of their choice or conduct a demonstration to show the group. 

Older students should use the scientific method or engineering design process as a guide for presenting their information. 

Presentations may be live, pre-recorded, PowerPoint, a project board or other mediums of choice. 

November: This is how I…Serve

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Happy November!  
This month we will focus on the importance of serving and the many ways to serve.  We will highlight community service providers, enjoy talks by guest speakers, and get creative with puppet making and baking.

No RSVP’s are necessary for meetings, only special events.  As a reminder, all events will happen at the same Zoom link. In addition, please take note of the group meeting start times.  We will stagger the start times of the group meeting again this month.  

Finally, we will prepare for the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Festival of Trees. The sale of this tree will benefit the programs at Kennedy Kreiger. 

Stay involved and we look forward to your participation!!

Blessings,
Ja’Near Garrus
Director
November 9th: Group Meeting

Age Group: 3-5 | Starts at 1pm
Come dressed as a service provider! Students will learn the sign language for “service”, watch and listen to an animated version of Last Stop on Market Street and show their sign language for service when they see any acts of service or service providers in the story.

Age Group: 6-9 | Starts at 1:40 pm
Come dressed as a service provider! Come prepared to tell or show the group the way(s) the service provider helps/serves others and state two ways they can personally serve others. They will select a service person/provider to whom they will write a thank you note.

Age Group: 10-14 | Starts at 1:40 pm
Bring a quote about service to the meeting and be able to share why you selected the quote and what it means to you. Other activities will include a service-related game and brainstorming and taking action on a community service project as a group.
November 16th: Centuries Club and Baking Experience
The group meeting will begin with Centuries Club, spotlighting the life and work of Edna Lewis, a famous African-American chef and author, noted for her farm to table southern cuisine.

Following Centuries Club’s focus on Edna Lewis, children will participate in a virtual baking class led by Ms. Kimberly Asman, a dietician with Weis Markets. She will briefly discuss what it means to be a dietician and then guide the children through a 30-40 minute lesson on baking Edna Lewis’ Apple Crisp dessert. 
November 23rd: Guest Speaker and Puppet Making Workshop

The Club Day meeting will start with a guest speaker, Dr. Tramaine P. McMullen, MPH.  She will discuss with the students: what is public health, how does it impact our society, how do public health scientists serve others, and the careers available in the field.  Students can ask questions during the last portion of the presentation.

Maker’s Club: Puppet Making Workshop
The speaker will be followed by a puppeteering workshop.  During the workshop, students will make sock puppets and learn the elements of a story (ex: setting, characters, conflict).  If time permits, students will show their puppets and share a short story about their puppets.

September | This is how I create…

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Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year!
Our meetings will begin on September 14th and we are looking ahead to a year of wonderful activities.  Ready to start…let’s jump in!!

Monday, Sept. 14
This is how I … get to know you! We will take this initial group meeting to introduce ourselves to new friends and get reacquainted with old friends. There is time set aside for housekeeping and etiquette.

Monday, Sept. 21 | Maker’s Club & Centuries Club
Come prepared with paper, crayons, markers, scissors, and glue for our Maker’s Club Activity.


Monday, Sept. 28
Field Trip/Experience: Latin Ballet of Virginia 

Student Photo Release: This photo release gives Greater Purpose Christian Homeschoolers, Greater Baltimore Chapter, permission to share pictures/videos of students participating at our events with the Greater Purpose community via email, featured on our website, in promotional materials, or on social media.  Fill our form here- https://forms.gle/GSbiwgu62Cg2MFiGA