Monday, October 27, 2008

The Old Schoolhouse 2 Year Subscription With Current Issue & Homespun Holidays!

Did you ever dream of getting a horse for Christmas? You can get a sneak peek of our Fall issue and see Nancy Carter's first horse! Oh, and she's not the only one sharing her childhood pictures. You'll see photos from the 50's through the 80's.

But, you'll need the Fall issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine to go on this walk down memory lane.

Plus, do you like to create holiday memories? The brand new TOS holiday E-Book can be yours, too. It's all about the fall and winter holidays - mainly Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it's not even for sale yet. This is your chance to get it first - for FREE ($12.45 value)!

Normally when a person subscribes, their subscription starts with the upcoming issue which can take a while. But, TOS thought about that when they planned their Fall Special. If you subscribe now with their Fall Special, you'll get:

Almost 50% off the cover price for 2 years

The current Fall issue as soon as it is ready

6 Bonus gifts

12 months of Teacher's Toolbox, which contains a FREE E-Book every month

PLUS, the new E-Book, Homespun Holidays for FREE!

This is over $250 worth of product for only $39!!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

One2Believe - Tales of Glory Nativity Set


Finally A Nativity Set My Children Can Play With!!

In our home and in many Christian homes it is annual traditional to put out a Nativity set for Christmas. Nativity sets are so beautiful and are often placed out of the hands of young ones.

What a wonderful idea to come up with a nativity set designed with the young child in mind. One that they can touch, play with, and act out the Christmas story. The set comes with 17 pieces and include: Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus in manger, 3 Kings, 2 Angels, 2 Shepherds, a male camel, a male donkey, a male sheep, a female sheep, a stable, a tree, and a barrel of hay. You can see it displayed at the end of this review.

They had children in mind when they designed this as the pieces are very sturdy and are meant to last a lifetime. The pieces are 3 inches tall and are designed to fit in a child’s hand. The manger does not seem to be made with the same material as the figures, but is very sturdy.

They include The Story of Baby Jesus booklet with the set. But this is only a brief part of the Christmas story. You will want to read the Christmas story to your children from the Bible. What I found helpful was the "Spiritual Stepping Stones" which is a brief guide to what a child can understand when. They refer you to a couple of websites if you want more info.

The website states that all the toys are third party tested and are free from harmful chemicals. The set is meant for ages 3+.

The vision of One2Believe is:
"one2believe's passion is to help children learn important Bible lessons and to have them come to faith in Jesus. Our goal is to provide fun ways of teaching children about the greatest people who ever lived. Through the toys that we design children will learn and play out exciting stories about real people. Our toys teach children that there are real superheroes they can believe in!"

They offer several sets in the Tales of Glory Series. Other sets include: Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand, Jonah and the Big Fish, and Moses and the Ten Plagues Set among others. Also available are Proverbs 31 dolls which offer a bible-based Christian alternative for girls. These toys are available at several retailers as well as online at the One2Believe toy store.

You can earn "Bible Bucks" by purchasing Tales of Glory products to use toward other Tales of Glory products. When you have collected 10, 15, or 20 points you are ready to get a free item + postage. The nativity set comes with 3 points.

I love nativity sets and look forward to putting out ours every year. This set is likely to be a cherished toy that we will look forward to bringing out each Christmas - to be played with - for years to come.




Thursday, October 23, 2008

Homeschool Library Builder

Wow!  I was excited to find a couple of like minded homeschool moms who love books.  Their passion has lead them to run a business to help get new and gently used books out to others who love books or are just looking for that right book - at a great price.

Scanning through the Homeschool Library Builder site I found wonderful new, used, and out of print books. They stock titles used in many literature based curriculums, such as Sonlight, Tapestry of Grace, Ambleside, Five in a Row, Beautiful Feet, and more, as well as books for unit studies for all ages and grade levels.  The books they sell "promote sound moral character" and "provide knowledge of truths for curious youngsters." (Quotes from their website.)

Being a collector of used and out of print books, I was impressed by the number of books there as well as the reasonable prices.  One great thing right now is the October sale going on with discount "bins" of $1, $2, $3, & $5.

Another great thing is when you purchase books you earn points toward more books.  You can also earn points other ways - by getting your friends to sign up (free!) and make a purchase, linking your blog to their website, etc. Knowing how expensive advertising is they will even list your home based business or product on their website for free.

So if you have not heard of The Homeschool Library Builder, now would be a great time to get to them with there Big Bin Blow Out Sale.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Weblink Wednesday - Election Activities



Some activities for the election season.

Political Elections for Kids

National Constitution Center - Headed to the White House activities
http://www.constitutioncenter.org/HeadedToTheWhiteHouse/Educators.html

Classroom Activities Download and print the National Constitution Center's classroom activity guide for the 2008 Election. You can download the complete booklet or just select the activities below that you wish to use
Complete Booklet [3MB PDF]Download the complete booklet which includes all activities listed below.
Election Coverage Journal [136KB PDF]Students track news coverage of the current election and record their thoughts on the media’s role in campaigns
Debate Night Bingo [237KB PDF]This bingo card will have students excited and actively listening during each presidential debate.
Create Your Own Campaign Button [635KB PDF]Students can view samples of buttons from past elections and create a button for their own campaign.
Your Party Platform [54KB PDF]Students evaluate the issues that are important to them and fill out the planks of their platform accordingly.
What’s Your Message? [125KB PDF]In this activity, students are given a word bank to create the message that communicates their vision for the country.

Also Currclick has an election bundle called America Votes 5 Ebook Bundle on sale. I have not reviewed it but looks very interesting.

Wordless Wednesday October 15, 2008

Friends.



Saturday, October 11, 2008

Back to Reality??!!??

WOW!

What a week!! We had a wonderful week in Florida and know are trying to get back to reality (aka real life.) I am posting about my daughter's Make A Wish trip (when I can!) on our family blog. I hope to have highlights of each place we visited.

This week I battled fatigue and a cold. I was heavy on the natural products to try and kill my cold and seem to have been successful. So how did school go? Well it was kind of an unschooling week. We did do some book work. But here is a look at how we spent the bulk of our time - and I am not feeling the least bit guilty!!

We visited a fire station for a fire safety program.




We visited a children's museum with hands on exhibits - Discovery Center.





All the children spent a large amount of time making things with Kin-ex.
From animals to egg beaters.




Apple picking with friends.







As you can see we all ate quite a few apples while picking.

The apples were hail damaged. Here is an example:



Now it will be applesauce canning time!

The view from the apple picking place:


Here are some pictures I took with my oldest son (17) while driving around today.