Veterans Day FREEBIE

For those of us in the United States, Veterans Day is tomorrow, November 11. Do you normally commemorate this day with your kids? Whether you have taken time to do so in the past or not, I have a special Veterans Day FREEBIE to share with you. The work has all been done for you. All you have to do is click. 

And I highly recommend checking out the Veterans Day commemorations going on in your town or city. I have taken my kids to these events in the past, and they are very meaningful and help us to connect with the veterans in our community. The vets are thrilled that we are there, as there usually aren't many, if any, other children who attend. We've had some special conversations, and it is always a joy and an honour to say "thank you" to those warriors who have served to keep this land free.

Blessings and love. xo

Disclaimer: This post contains my affiliate links. Thank you!

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

Enrichment Studies - Freebies!

(Disclaimer: This post contains my affiliate links. Thank you for your support!)

Hello Homeschool Friends,

Have you included classical music and art appreciation in your homeschool? I have always loved classical music and beautiful pieces of art but didn't really know much about the individual composers or artists. It has been such an enjoyable aspect of our homeschooling to include this kind of study. And I am learning so much right along with my children!

As you get ready for the new school year, don't forget to include some of the wonderful artist and composers units from Enrichment Studies! You will not believe how easy these lessons are to immediately implement into your homeschool day. Plus, they will add so much rich culture and conversation to your interactions with your kids. 

I have used them for several years now, and Erica just keeps adding more content to make my life easier and more hued. Thank you, Erica!

And to get you started, check out the FREEBIES that are offered! Don't you just love getting to try before you buy? It always helps to see if it's a good fit for where you want your students to go in the new school year. 

Try It Free

These FREEBIES are just a small taste of what you can find in the product listings. The art and composer selections are extensive and there are other helpful tools offered, as well, such as copywork, which I am always looking to download and print for my students!

If you have any questions about Enrichment Studies, please leave them in the comments, and I will get right back to you. And I'd love to hear how you apply these lessons in your day!

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. 

College Common Sense {Review}

If you have a child in high school who is planning to go to university, you may want to know about College Common Sense. My Emma, who is in grade 11, and I were given the Going to College and Paying for it Online Video and Workbook for this review. This product is suitable for ages 6-18.

College Common Sense is a website that was created by Denise Ames, a financial aid counselor at a university in Texas. She has experience as a student, a parent, and, of course, as a professional who spends her time helping others find money for their studies and life while in university. Denise actually recommends starting the financial aid process for your children as young as age 6, as there are apparently scholarships available for that age. For the purpose of this review, I used the material with Emma only. 

In the Going to College and Paying for it series, there were six online videos to watch. The titles include:

  I - The Big Picture
 II - How Financial Aid Works
III - All About The Free Money
IV - The System That Works
 V - You In The Process
VI - Put It All Together

For each video, there are corresponding workbook pages in PDF file form to print out and look over while listening to the videos. It was suggested that I watch the videos first and then have my student watch them and go over the lessons or assignments. We started it this way but found that for our situation (only one computer) and time restraints, it was better for Emma and I to just watch together. Each video is between 10 and 25 minutes long. There are approximately 34 pages to print, with a few additional ones, such as the The Campus Visit. You can spiral bind these pages, put them in a 3 ring binder or put them in a file folder, which is what we have done for now.

Here is an example of one of the pages Denise has provided in her materials. This one is the College Cost Worksheet:

We learned so much from Denise's experience and expertise. We found out about several resources we had never heard of, including College Navigator, where you can enter your zip code to find what higher learning institutions are close to your home or in your state. We learned new vocabulary, i.e. FAFSA, EFC and COA. We learned that there is an astounding number of scholarships out there (40 million!) and how to find the ones that would work for us. Denise has a very well-thought out and organized strategy for making a scholarship notebook. It would work for a high school student to organize his/her scholarship applications, and could carry over after university, if that student was then looking at either job applications or an additional degree. I like the practical aspect of the scholarship notebook very much.

For us personally, we are still seeking God's will for Emma's future. She has several interests, talents and desires. Maybe we have an odd perspective, but we do not necessarily believe that college is the one and only way to steer our children in their respective futures. We are certainly not opposed to them going to university and are excited to see what God has planned for them, but if He does not have university for them, either right after high school or at all, that is also fine with us. There are so many avenues that He could lead them down and we want to help guide and pray with and encourage our children to follow Him, no matter where that leads.

Emma has been in contact with two universities and we had actually planned to visit one during this review period, but it ended up being on a Saturday when Bob was scheduled to work. We had to cancel the campus visit due to having no one to care for my other children, but we will probably reschedule at some point. Emma is exploring schools even though we are not sure that is the route we will go immediately following high school. At this point, we are open to anything.

Having said that, if we believe our children, starting with Emma, are on a path that includes university, we will certainly make use of College Common Sense and all the resources that Denise has to offer. I appreciate all of her hard work in setting up the website and filming the videos. I learned a great deal and will recommend this to all my family and friends, homeschooling or not, who need help in finding financial aid for their children. It is a great resource!

Going to College and Paying for it DVD & Workbook: 
$50 + $5 shipping and handling

Going to College and Paying for it Online Video & Workbook:
$25 for 12-month log in access 



Sign up for Denise's Free Lesson Plans.

Sign up for Denise's Free Monthly Newsletter.

Connect with Denise on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. 

Tyndale Rewards = Free Books!

Have you heard of the Tyndale Rewards program? The Tyndale Rewards program is designed to provide you with opportunities to get books and Bibles for zero dollars. That’s right—F. R. E. E. As a member of the Tyndale Rewards program, you’ll have access to inspiring literature, Bibles, special promotional offers, and much more.

I have only been a member for a short time and have almost acquired enough points for a new Bible. I have my eye on one that I would like. I think this program would be fantastic for giving Bibles and books as gifts! You can choose from these reward categories: fiction, non-ficion, Bibles, parenting, children/youth or audio. There is no purchase necessary to redeem your points.

Use my promo code to sign up: Click HERE 

The Tyndale Rewards program is available for US residents only.

TOS Magazine

Homeschool moms, don't miss this! I have been familiar with this great magazine for years and used to subscribe to the print edition.

It's online now and it's FREE. (I still can't believe it's FREE.)

Check it out!

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Let me know what you think.

Tonight

I'm working on putting holds on library books I would like to use in December and listening to a cold front blow in. I am also watching a free Christmas movie from Amazon.com.

You can watch, too, if you're a Prime member. Click below:

I'll post our Christmas book and movie recommendations tomorrow.

Have a great night.

Green Hill Christmas Sampler - FREE

Ok, so I'm not quite ready for Christmas music to be playing all the time, but it's nice to have some new music ready for after the Thanksgiving holiday. And it's especially a treat when that music is free. I just downloaded this and took a sneak listen. I can imagine us playing this album on dark nights when we're making supper or relishing an afternoon of hot tea and scones or even uploading it to someone's iPod/iPhone for individual listening pleasure. It's of the easy listening and jazz genres and I know we will enjoy it around our house.

Get your copy of the Green Hill Christmas Music Sampler today.

Homeschool Buyers Co-op and Reading Eggs

Homeschool friends,

Do you know about the Homeschool Buyers Co-op? I have received some very beneficial discounts for our homeschool this year. We signed Emma up for her online Drivers Ed course at a discount and I am using Reading Eggs as a part of the curricula for my little girls this year. One of them was what I will call a "reluctant" reader and this program has been perfect for her to make strides in her reading progress.

To join the co-op...  Join the Co-op NOW! It's FREE!

Here is a little more information from the Reading Eggs website.

 

The Reading Eggs Learning Process

• This powerful educational program is based on the most up-to-date research on how children learn to read.
• The lessons use animation, activities and reward games to keep children motivated.
• The program is completely interactive to keep children on task.
• Children want to come back because they are having fun as they learn.
• When children start the program, they can complete a placement quiz to ensure they are starting at the correct reading level.

This combination of high-quality learning activities, motivation and rewards makes Reading Eggs an unbeatable learning package.

1 Learn skills

Children complete animated online lessons where they learn essential reading skills. The variety of fun activities within each lesson provides the repetition needed for these skills to become part of the child’s long term memory.

2 Read books

Children gain confidence by reading books online that only contain words they have already studied in the program. For further reinforcement, they can also read the real books at home if they have the Reading Eggs book packs.

3 Earn rewards

Children earn golden eggs as rewards for work completed. They can use these eggs to buy reward games.

4 Quiz

After 10 lessons, children complete a Mastery Quiz. This provides you with a report of what your child is learning. Children can repeat the online lessons as many times as they like. Young children enjoy repetition and it has great benefits too, as it helps them to learn.

It truly is a wonderful experience to watch a child learn a new skill. And when that skill is as important as learning to read, you’ll love being part of that experience. We wish you much enjoyment in the journey you’re about to begin with your child.

Right now you can save 33% on Reading Eggs as part of your FREE Homeschool Buyers Co-op membership... Reading Eggs.

Great Day, part 1

Yesterday was a busy and fun day!

First, we were given tickets to the Toronto Raptors game!!! Our friend, Brett, won the tickets from Rona but then had a scheduling conflict and passed them on to us. It was our first time to go to the ACC and to see the Raptors play!

We were in a box/suite sponsored by Rona. Amazing view and free food and drinks! Wow!

The security on the court was baffling! Six security officers per side...

And in case you're wondering who we cheered for...definitely the winning team!

Brett, we're sorry you couldn't use the tickets. Thanks so much for thinking of us! We had a GREAT time!

Part 2 of our great day coming later. Right now we're off to Emma's Christmas concert!

Blessings!

Holiday Freebie

Here's another great free offer from The Old Schoolhouse!


Blessings!