Back-To-School FREEBIES from Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies

Disclaimer: This post contains my referral links. Thank you for your support!

Homeschool Friend,

Do NOT miss this bundle of FREEBIES, just in time for back-to-school! 

$130 in FREE Homeschool Curriculum

Check out all the goodies that are included:

The Egypt Book from Warfare by Duct Tape 

(retail value - $9.95)

Horsing Around - Once A Week Unit Study from Homeschool Legacy 

(retail value - $14.00)

A Presidential Scrapbook from Knowledge Quest 

(retail value - $14.95)

Bible Road Trip Year 3: The Books of the Gospels from Thinking Kids 

(retail value - $26.00)

Write Through The Bible - Philippians 2:1-18 ESV (Cursive) from Intoxicated on Life 

(retail value - $10.00)

Creative Freewriting Adventure from Homeschool Adventure Co. 

(retail value - $18.95)

Count Your Blessings: A Thanksgiving Hymn Study from Not Consumed 

(retail value - $10.00)

Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World from Master Books 

(retail value - $9.99)

Cultivating Responsibility: Parenting Wisdom for Ages 9-12 from National Center for Biblical Parenting 

(retail value - $9.99)

Travel the World in 30 Days from Home Educating Family Association (HEDUA) 

(retail value - $9.95)

Click here to access your FREEBIES now!

Blessings and love. xo

Geography FREEBIE!

Hi Homeschool Friends,

I just had to pop on here this afternoon to let you know about a fantastic geography FREEBIE that I have already downloaded and will be using in our studies soon. Free Homeschool Deals and Homeschool Giveaways are co-sponsoring this great deal. Just click my referral link below to check it out!

Free Country and Province Study Notebooking Pages

This package has a $25.95 value and includes hundreds of pages (125+ for each country)! Don't delay though, as this offer expires 02/27/15 at 11:59pm ET. 

I'd love to know if you download this free resource and how you plan to use them in your homeschool studies.

Blessings and love. xo

Disclaimer: This post contains my referral link. I did not receive any compensation for this post. I just like to share good deals when I find them. 

Birds of a Feather Unit Study {Review}

Have you been wanting to include a study of birds in your homeschool lessons this year? I have just the thing for you to introduce birds and bird-watching to your students!

I am delighted to introduce you to Sharon Gibson and her company, Homeschool Legacy. Sharon has written some wonderful unit studies, including the one I have had the opportunity to review: Birds Of A Feather (retail value $17.95). It is designed for use with children in grades 2-12. I have used this study with my two younger girls, ages 8 and 9. 

Sharon has designed her unit studies to be used in once a week lessons. In other words, you can take one day, let's say Tuesdays for example, and do the entire week's unit in your homeschool session that day. The lessons are also flexible enough to be broken down into small, once a day lessons, several times per week, which is how I have used them.  Since we already had our days planned out, I just plugged this unit in to our day and it worked very well for us. 

Here is how the unit study is laid out:

Week 1: Birds Basics and Your Backyard Habitat

Week 2: Bird Identification

Week 3: Ornithology

Week 4: Birds of Prey

Now, I'll start off by saying that my children have been nature lovers since they were wee things, and I have tried to nurture that love by giving them experiences to learn and explore. We have taken hikes, gone on nature walks, had bird feeders in our garden, participated in The Great Backyard Bird Count, and while living in Canada, we would go to certain hiking trails to feed the birds from our hands. The Black-Capped Chickadees and the White-Breasted Nuthatches, especially, would flock to peck from the seeds in our hands. One of our friends even had a skittish Northern Cardinal land on her hand for all of half a second! Those experiences are so special and some of our favourite memories. 

(Feeding the birds in Ontario.)

 (One of the first things we did after moving into this house was to put up a bird feeder!)

(And we have had so many lovely visitors pass through our backyard, including this Indigo Bunting. We had never seen one before, so he was an extra-special guest.)

I love this unit study because it incorporates many subjects and can be used with all ages. Sharon has done such a great job of including not only the scientific aspects of birds, but also literature, Bible, history, geography, arts and crafts, life skills and field trip suggestions. I love seeing the read-aloud and movie suggestions Sharon included and was delighted to find a couple of new-to-us books and movies, including these:

Here are some of the activities we enjoyed while studying Birds Of A Feather:

1. We already had a birdbath and a bird feeder in our garden, so we decided to make a simple version of a bird feeder to place around the yard. We used toilet paper rolls, peanut butter and of course, bird seed. Then we placed them in the bushes outside and waited for the local birds to find these special treats.

(Sorry for the blurry photo. Mr. C wouldn't hold still for the photo session.)

2. I had introduced nature journals to my older children years ago, but this was something new and exciting for my younger children. They have had such fun going out into the yard to see what treasures they could find for their books.

 (We started their journals with our state bird, the Northern Cardinal.)

(We've been adding leaves, bark, feathers, acorns, and whatever else we can find. They are going to enjoy these journals for a long time!)

3. We have enjoyed studying John James Audubon. His book Birds of America has produced hours of pleasure, not only for the little girls but also for the entire family. 

(This book is the largest book we've ever seen. When I went to the library to pick it up, the librarian said I would need a crane to get it out to my car. LOL!)

4. We've had some great discussions, i.e. "How would our lives be different if Benjamin Franklin had had his way and the turkey was our national bird instead of the Bald Eagle?".

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time with Birds Of A Feather and recommend it highly for anyone wanting to add a fun and thorough unit study on birds to their homeschool lessons! We look forward to working through some of Sharon's other unit studies.

Here is a list of additional unit studies offered by Homeschool Legacy:

Forest For The Trees

Horsing Around

Weather On The Move

Christmas Comes To America

Knights And Nobles

Native America

Early Settlers In America

Revolutionary Ideas

We The People: Getting To Know The Constitution

Lewis And Clark: From Sea To Shining Sea

Westward Ho: Part 1

Westward Ho: Part 2

Each of these studies also includes badge requirements if your students are in American Heritage Girls or Boy Scouts of America. What a neat way to accomplish your schoolwork and your badge requirements all at the same time!

Follow Homeschool Legacy:

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Blessings and love. xo

Disclaimer: This post contains my affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase with my links, I make a small commission. Thank you!!!

Galápagos Islands: A Different View {Review}

Galápagos Islands: A Different View from New Life Publishing and Moms of Master Books Review Team was provided to me for the purpose of review. 

About the book:

• Observe the wondrous diversity of life, including birds, reptiles, and plants
• Learn how Darwin's worldview and the biblical worldview differ and the importance of this in studying the Galápagos
• With poignant chapters from Ken Ham, John Morris, John C. Whitcomb, Danny Faulkner, Gary Parker, and more!

Where Darwin once visited and later used evidence from to support his faulty case for evolution, discover the wonder of God in this full-color book filled with vibrant images of these glorious islands in the Pacific, as well as powerful insights that give Him the glory due His name. Your faith will be strengthened as you learn the importance of a biblical worldview from some of the best apologetics speakers in the country. It's an overall emphasis on Galápagos as testament to God's majesty and mercy rather than the empty legacy of one man!

About the Author:

Dr. Georgia Purdom - Dr. Purdom is a researcher and speaker for Answers in Genesis. She graduated with a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Ohio State University in 2000. Her specialty is cellular and molecular biology. Dr. Purdom’s graduate work focused on genetic regulation of factors important for bone remodeling. She is a compelling and dynamic lecturer and well qualified to speak on the relevance of Genesis to the issue of biblical authority. She is the only female Ph.D. scientist engaged in full-time speaking and research for a biblical creationist organization in North America. Dr. Purdom is a member of the Creation Research Society and serves on the editorial board and executive council of BSG: A Creation Biology Study Group. She serves as a peer reviewer for Answers Research Journal and Creation Research Science Quarterly. She along with Dr. Joseph Francis of Master’s College are co-founders of the Microbe Forum. This forum sponsors research, collaboration, and conferences in the field of creation microbiology.

My thoughts:

This beautiful hardcover book is 104 pages. It is a wonderful resource for any home which believes God created our world or for anyone who is interested in learning more about Creation. This book has beautiful photographs and intriguing text. If you've ever wondered how to share your faith and beliefs in opposing Darwin's theory of evolution, this is a fantastic resource to add to your reading shelf. I have learned so much about the Galápagos Islands and their beauty. I would love to be able to travel there one day. I am thrilled to have such high quality material that teaches Biblical principles. My children were also excited to pick this one up, as they enjoy science, geography, history, zoology and learning more about a Biblical worldview.

Price: 
$18.99 or on Amazon

Join us for a fun party tonight at 9pm ET on Facebook to find out more about this wonderful resource and for the opportunity to win some great prizes!

Disclaimer: I received one copy of this book from New Leaf Publishing in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own.

Notgrass Company {Review}

I have been familiar with the Ray and Charlene Notgrass family of the Notgrass Company for a number of years now and have had their materials on my wish list. When I was given the opportunity to review their America the Beautiful Curriculum Package, I almost cried with happiness! What a tremendous blessing for my family! I have been encouraged by the emails I receive from them and have cried with them when their family has gone through heartache. I love that their children, now adults, are still very much involved with the family business.

This curriculum was created for grades 5-8 and is to be used for one school year. It covers history, geography and literature, and the package sells for $99.95. If you are using it with more than one student, additional map books can be purchased for $8.95 and timeline books for $6.95.

Here is the run-down of what I received for this review:

America the Beautiful Part 1

This book has 75 lessons beginning with life in America before Europeans came and continuing through the first years after the Civil War. 

America the Beautiful Part 2

This book has 75 lessons beginning with America's expansion into the lands west of the Mississippi River and continuing to modern times. It also includes an index to the curriculum.

We the People

A collection of 150 original journal entries, newspaper articles, advertisements, poems, songs, letters, short stories, speeches, and other historic documents from American history.

Maps of America the Beautiful

A collection of 30 maps drawn especially to accompany this curriculum. Your child will often refer to a map while reading a lesson in America the Beautiful and do activities on the map at the end of the lesson.

Timeline of America the Beautiful  

This is an illustrated timeline of American history from AD 1000 to the present designed specifically to include facts learned in the lessons. Some facts are already printed on the timeline. After most lessons, your child will add an event mentioned in the lesson to the timeline.

America the Beautiful Answer Key

Includes answers for the Timeline, Student Workbook, Lesson Review, and the vocabulary assignments included in the main text. 

America the Beautiful Student Workbook

A book of crosswords, find-a-words, matching, codes, drawing assignments, and other handwork activities which review and reinforce information learned in the daily lessons. This book is designed for students in 5th and 6th grades, but it is suitable for older children who enjoy these types of activities. ($11.95)

America the Beautiful Lesson Review

A book of daily lesson review questions, literature review questions, and weekly quizzes. This book is designed to help parents measure their child's comprehension of the material. This book is designed for students in 7th and 8th grades, but it is suitable for younger children who prefer this type of review. ($9.95)

These ten works of literature are assigned in the America the Beautiful curriculum to give your child a richer perspective on the various time periods studied. (Note: I did not receive these books.)

• The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare (Units 4-5)
• Amos Fortune: Free Man by Elizabeth Yates (Units 6-7)
• Brady by Jean Fritz (Units 9-10)
• Bound for Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen (Units 12-13)
• Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (Units 14-15)
• Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Units 16-17)
• All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor (Units 19-20)
• Blue Willow by Doris Gates (Units 21-22)
• Homer Price by Robert McCloskey (Unit 25)
• Katy by Mary Evelyn Notgrass (Units 29-30)

All of the above literature books can easily be found at your local library, except  for the last one which can be purchased directly from the Notgrass website.

Materials needed for this curriculum:

• pencil
• coloured pencils
• notebook paper
• three-ring binder
• plus additional material for the family activities (found at the end of Unit 1 and Unit 2)

This curriculum is exactly as the title states, beautiful! There are 30 units in all, with five lessons per unit, for a total of 150 lessons. Each lesson includes factual information and beautiful photographs. At the end of each lesson, there is a Scripture related to the lesson, as well as five activities from which to choose. These activities include:

• Thinking Biblically
• Map Study
• Literature
• Creative Writing
• Student Workbook or Lesson Review

We are not usually textbook fans, but these are truly a treasure. This is not a typical textbook-based program. It has the simplicity and straightforwardness of a textbook, with the added beauty of a rich unit study. We began reading Unit 1 and the children and I are enjoying all of the facts from our country's history, which starts back before the typical 1492. Because the children have a bit of Native American heritage, both Choctaw and Cherokee, the beginning lessons have been very interesting and personal to them. The lessons are engaging and interesting. A typical daily lesson takes 40 minutes to an hour per day.

Take a peek at these page examples . . .

Activities for Lesson 5 . . .

One of the family activities from Unit 1 that we are looking forward to doing . . .

Map activity for Lesson 34 . . .

Student Workbook Lesson 34 . . . 

Lesson Review Lesson 34 . . .

And a quick word about the book entitled We the People. Wow! What an incredible resource this one is. It includes poems, songs, hymns, advertisements that date back to 1903, speeches, and much more. I just had to highlight it, because it is a fantastic bonus to accompany these lessons!

I am planning to use America the Beautiful with my grade 6 and grade 8 students in the next school year and cannot wait to dive in and learn along with them!

Request a Notgrass catalog here.

To read what other TOS reviewers thought of this curriculum, as well as their Draw to Learn curriculum, click the banner below.

Children's Atlas of God's World {Review}

I am excited to share this new resource with you! I received one copy of the Children's Atlas of God's World from Master Books, a division New Leaf Publishing Group, Inc. for review. Master Books is the world’s largest publisher of creation-based resources including apologetics, home school resources, reference titles, and quality children’s literature. This is my first review with the Moms of Master Books team, and I am happy to be a part of this group of biblically-minded moms. The Master Book's motto is "where creation inspires eduction"!

As a lover of books, and especially books that have an educational aspect to them, I am thrilled to be associated with this publisher who wants to bring quality, biblically-based books to the table. This oversized book explores all seven continents and focuses on 22 specific countries. There are pages on each continent and a list of which countries are on each continent, as well as maps and interesting facts. It is full of colourful photos and illustrations on each of its 96 pages. Also included in the factual information are biomes, historical sites, flags, cultural information, animals, types of government, holidays around the world and a glossary. 

Here are several of the pages we have enjoyed reading:

We love learning about other countries and cultures in our family and this is a beautiful addition to our resource shelf. I especially appreciate that it is from a creationist perspective, so we did not have to wade through any of the usual evolutionary-skewed beliefs that you find in many books these days. What a breath of fresh air! We highly recommend this book.

You can view sample pages HERE.

Buy the hardcover book HERE ($18.95) or the digital version for iPad HERE ($9.99).

Connect with Master Books on Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest.

Disclaimer:   I received this books for free from New Leaf Publishing Group as part of the Moms of Master Books program.  No other compensation was received.  The fact that I received complimentary products does not guarantee a favorable review.

Knowledge Quest - Sacagawea {Review}

I was recently given the opportunity to review a product for Knowledge Quest, which is a family-owned business run by the Todd and Terri Johnson Family (see below). 

Knowledge Quest offers many products for the homeschooling family, specializing in history and geography curricula. They also now offer a Homeschooling ABC's for new home school parents and a Upper Level Homeschool Mini-Course, the latter of which I plan to check out soon. Included in their history offerings, is an ebook titled Sacagawea (Brave Explorers Every Child Should Know) by Karla Atkins.

Sacagawea (Brave Explorers Every Child Should Know) is a living book, which we love at our house, and is an "interactive historical novel". Since being back in the States, we have been focusing on American history and this was a perfect book to go along with our studies. Sacagawea is a beloved, but what I would call a mysterious character in American history, at least in my mind. This book gave a much clearer picture of her life, her struggles, her strengths and the role she played in the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Corps of Discovery. 

The story was easy to read and very interesting. We all looked forward to our reading time every day at lunch, when I read this aloud to all five of my children, ages 16 down to 6. One fascinating aspect of this ebook is that it included interactive links within the story. We could click on the links to learn more about the characters, the places, the animals, the foods, etc. which were mentioned. The story alone is worth reading, but the links added even more depth to our study of Sacagawea and the role she played in our nation's history.

You can buy the complete set of Sacagawea ebooks on Amazon for $4.97, or each ebook individually (prices range from $0.99 to $1.49). The complete 16 chapter book is worth more than the $4.97, in my opinion, so I consider that a bargain.

To read more reviews on this product or on the Knowledge Quest TimelineBuilder iPad App, click the banner below.

VocabularySpellingCity {Review}

I was given the opportunity to review VocabularySpellingCity with my younger two girls. I will just start off by saying, this is an incredible website. I have been thrilled with all the content and choices the girls have had. It teaches spelling and vocabulary, but with the premium membership there is a wealth of additional activities and subjects to explore. 

Here you can see the differences in the free vs. premium activity choices . . . 

Here is just one example of the geography offered on VocabularySpellingCity . . .

And another example of games offered . . .

Here is Maya enjoying her Word Search . . .

It is very easy to customize the program for each child according to their learning level. For this game alone (above), there is choice between easy/hard, short/long, and timer on/off. As well, you as the teacher/parent get to choose which words your child/student works on in his/her lessons.

This is a fantastic website that I highly recommend for any child, whether homeschooled or not. Teachers in a regular school setting should also know about this great resource for their students. We look forward to continue our learning with VocabularySpellingCity! 

VocabularySpellingCity offers a variety of Premium Membership options, depending on whether you are a parent, teacher, school, or district. 

Options include:

Family - A family membership includes five student licenses for $29.99

Classroom - A classroom membership includes 25 student licenses for $49.99.

Additional student licenses may be purchased for $1.95 each (with a minimum purchase of 5 student licenses). For orders of 300 students or more, contact us at 954-357-1150 for discounted rates.

They also offer Apps for iPhone/iPad/iPod and Android.

Find them on Facebook or Twitter.

Disclaimer: I was given a Premium Membership to VocabularySpellingCity.com for a candid, personal, online review. VocabularySpellingCity helps students study word lists using 25 different learning activities such as Unscramble, Hangman, WordFind, andCrossword Puzzle. Parents can create their own spelling lists, find published lists already available on the site, or use any of dozens of free teaching resources on topics such as Multiple Meaning Words and Possessive Nouns .

There might be more free memberships available for bloggers. If you're interested, find out how you can review VocabularySpellingCity.com.