Paper and Art Sale

Hey guys - not a paid post or anything like that, but I got an email about a really good art supply, curriculum, and paper sale that I wanted to share. I've bought things from these guys before and they really have nice quality products, so when you can get them for a reduced price besides, that's very happy! Let me know if you end up ordering stuff - what'd you get? We can compare notes....

First Annual

End of the Season Book Sale!

Save 25% to 50% Plus earn Free Shipping!

10/1/2008 - 10/31/2008 (or while supplies last!!)

The Back to school rush is over and things have calmed down at the warehouse, so we are pulling together these GREAT DEALS for you.

* FREE Shipping for Book Orders over $50.00!!

Sale good on ALL books (sale, close-out, overstock or regular priced).

· Over 50 Titles have been marked down in our Close-Out and Overstock Section! Prices are for in stock books. While supplies last.

· Free Money Free Stuff (Book on Great Deals for families!) Reg. $15.95 Sale $7.95

* Childsize Masterpiece Starter Set Reg. $72.00 Sale $49.00 (Set includes: Level 1, 2, 3 and Teachers Manual)

· Miller's Sketchbook Bundle Reg. $11.99 Sale $8.50
Three Sketchbooks - One each in 9x12", 6x9" & Pocket Size ( 80#, 60 sht. Spiral-bound Sketchbooks)

* Bare Book Bundle Reg. $20.95 Sale $15.95 Bundle includes: 3 Large Blank and 3 Small Blank Bare Books.

* Lambs Book I by Barry Stebbing Reg. $12.95 Sale $5.99

* The Wonderful Art of Drawing Horses Reg. $12.95 Sale $5.99

* Klutz Magnetic A-Z Activity Book Reg. $12.95 Sale $9.75

* DK Ultimate Presidents Sticker Book Reg. $6.99 Sale $5.50

***For More GREAT DEALS go to www.millerpadsandpaper.com & Click on Closeout/Overstock!!

Free Curriculum Contest!

Would you spend two minutes to win an entire year's worth of curriculum? That's all the time it took Rebecca Day from Amarillo, Texas, to register in last year's spectacular homeschool giveaway at Alpha Omega Publications® (AOP). After winning the grand prize of $500 in homeschool curriculum, Rebecca wrote, "It was such a blessing to get your phone call about the prize! This is going to help our family out tremendously!" Now, here's your opportunity! Register to win in this year's giveaway at AOP. From now until February 28, 2009, enter for your shot at the grand prize of $500 in award-winning homeschool curriculum, or other prizes like a complete, 5-subject set of Switched-On Schoolhouse® computer-based curriculum, the fully animated Character Builders™ 8-DVD set, or a complimentary copy of the uplifting and encouraging Daily Focus® devotional book. Don't miss this one-of-a-kind opportunity to gain outstanding curriculum and products for your homeschooling family. It's easy to enter. Simply click REGISTER NOW below and fill in your information. Entrants must be at least 18 years of age, and there is a limit of one entry per household. For more details, check out AOP's contest rules when you enter and remember that no purchase is necessary. Don't delay. Register to win today! Who should enter AOP's Homeschool Giveaway? EVERYONE!

AOP's Giveaway Prizes: Grand Prize: $500 in Homeschool Curriculum 1st Prize: Switched-On 5-Subject Set 2nd Prize: Character Builders 8 DVD Set 3rd Prize: Daily Focus Devotional Book

Super Scholastic Book Sale

I received information about this incredible Scholastic book sale via email and wanted to share - what a great deal!!!!

50-Book Collection Grades 7–9 PTP064052 $50.00 Qty. Also Available 75-Book Collection Grades K–2 PTP513845 $75.00 Qty. 75-Book Collection Grades 3–6 PTP513846 $75.00 Qty. Promotion Code: First Name: Last Name: School: Address: City: State: Please Select: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York N Carolina N Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island S Carolina S Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Wash DC W Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming ZIP: Please click only once to avoid multiple orders.

Comparable substitutions will be provided for titles no longer available.
Offer valid through 12/31/08.

A 9% shipping and handling charge will be added to your order.
Sales tax will be added to your order unless we have a sales tax exemption certificate on file. Unless otherwise noted on your purchase order, Scholastic's terms are FOB shipping point.

You may also order by calling us at
1-800-387-1437 ext. 747
or by mail: Scholastic Inc., PO Box 7502, Jefferson City, MO 65102-9964

IMPORTANT: Be sure to mention promotion code PTP
when you order to receive your special discount!

Music Curriculum

Hey - I found a music curriculum that is great for musically challenged folks like me and thought I'd share... Music Ace Deluxe is a software program that includes 36 comprehensive music lessons and assessment games. It teaches theory, rhythm,pitch, note reading, ear training, and keyboard. It can be paced at whatever works for your kids, and just looks EASY. I like it :). Not a paid plug here, just sharing...

FREE Educational Materials!

I have something FREE to share!! Yippee!!! Puzzles, handouts, worksheets, photos, maps and more in ready to print pdf format, all at no charge. Check out http://www.studenthandouts.com and let me know what you think. I haven't wandered around too much myself, but like what I've seen so far :).

New York LEAH discount

I got this little blurb via email - always fun to find a way to save a few dollars!!!

NYS Loving Education At Home is pleased to announce discounts on homeschool curricula and supplies available to LEAH members through the GPA SmartStore, an online store carrying a wide selection of homeschooling items. LEAH members receive an additional 3% discount from already low, discounted prices (the LEAH price is listed as the State Association price - it will be applied after you register and/or login).

A small fraction of each sale is returned to LEAH to help support the organization. Please consider using the GPA SmartStore to satisfy your homeschooling needs and help support LEAH. Go to www.leah.org and click on the GPA SmartStore to check out this great new benefit to LEAH members.

Mission Accomplished, partly

Okay, so some planning work got done last night, but I still have a long way to go. So far there are about ten entries in my little teacher's planner. The girls would like the look of it, but I think the school superintendent might raise his eyebrows a bit. Tonight's the county fair, so it won't happen tonight... There's always tomorrow, right??!?!

Tonight's work

Okay, this is it!! My kitchen table is covered with all of my materials and curriculum for the coming year, my calendar/planner is unwrapped, the pens and white out are ready.... I am going to finally get cracking on the details of what's what for this year. I have NEVER waited this long!!! So, hold me accountable, and we'll see what I have to say tomorrow. Off I go!!

Free and Low Cost Homeschooling

Unless otherwise noted, all of these resources are free. If you find that any of these sites have become paid sites, please let me know so I can remove them from the list. Thank you. :o)
------------------------------------------------------------
In the process of becoming a seasoned homeschool mom I've found many free or low cost ways to educate our children. I've acquired quite the list and today feel the need to pass it along to my blog friends. :-)
I hope this helps someone trying to pinch a penny. :-)
----------------------
FREE COMPLETE CURRICULUM
http://www.amblesideonline.com/
http://www.letteroftheweek.com/
http://www.baltimorecp.org/lessons/lesson_titles.htm
http://www.baltimorecp.org/lessons/draft_lessons.html
http://www.tanglewoodeducation.com/
http://oldfashionededucation.com/
FREE K-8 ONLINE CLASSROOM
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/month2month.htm
SCIENCE
http://www.harperchildrens.com/hch/LRFO/stage2.asp
http://www.noeoscience.com/
http://msnucleus.org/membership/index.html
http://www.newtonsapple.tv/
http://www.stellarium.org/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/
HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY
http://www.kewlcartoons.com/show/watch/LibertysKids
http://www.historyforkids.org/
http://www.travelforkids.com/
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/matrix.html
http://www.geomatters.com/products/details.asp?ID=75
http://www.geomatters.com/products/details.asp?ID=266
http://www.homeschoolshare.com
http://www.squidoo.com/geograhyunitstudy
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Stream/1639/BragPage.html
http://alexml.blogspot.com/2007/07/galloping-globe.html
http://www.worldatlas.com/
http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Cooking%20by%20Country.htm
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/k-2/index.html
http://50states.com/
http://www.rainbowkids.com/HTMLFiles.aspx?page=KidsActivities
http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/index.htm
http://www.circle-of-friends.com/funColor.aspx
FREE PLACEMENT TESTS: We use placement tests to find learning gaps at the beginningof each school year. Depending on the tests we use, we can easily take AT LEAST a week to do all of the testing. No matter what grade our child is in they begin with the lowest grade level and work their way up until they no longer know what's going on.
AOP LANGUAGE AND MATH PLACEMENT TESTS: **You do have to fill out the online form to have the kids take the test online. They also offer the test for sale to put on your computer so it can be used over and over each year without logging in each year.
http://www.aop.com/sos/Contact_index.php?form=SOSplacementtest
K-6 READING: https://eprcontent.k12.com/placement/placement/placement_langarts_2.htmlMATH: http://www.sonlight.com/horizons-readiness-evaluations.htmlREADING: http://www.sonlight.com/quick-reading-assessment.htmlENGLISH: http://englishenglish.com/englishtest.htmLANGUAGE: http://www.peakenglish.com/placement_test/partnerPlacementTest.jsp
FREE HIGH SCHOOL AP COURSES
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/online_hs.htm#elective
FREE ALGEBRA!
Algebra.help...a site of lessons, resources, and calculators to aid in the learning/teaching of algebra
AlgebraLAB...this site focuses on building the connections between science and basic algebra by including lessons, activities, practice pages, study guides, career overviews, and much more
Ask Dr. Math...an archive of math questions, searchable and arranged by grade level; you can also submit your own questions
Calculators On-line...over 5000 types of online calculators to use
SPELLING
http://ourelementaryhomeschool.blogspot.com/2007/01/spelling-by-grade-1-8th.html
http://www.spellingcity.com/
BIBLE
http://www.christian-parenting-source.com/homeschoolbiblecurriculum.html
http://www.dltk-bible.com/http://www.faithfirst.com/html/catechist/downloads/downloads.html
http://www.daniellesplace.com
CHEMISTRY:
http://www.chemicool.com/
DRUG AND ALCOHOL INTERACTIVE LESSONS:
http://www.drugs4real.com/portal.aspx?AcceptsCookies=yes
TYPING:
http://www.goodtyping.com/
READING and LANGUAGE ARTS:
SIGHT WORDS PRE-PRIMER THRU THIRD GRADE: http://www.createdbyteachers.com/dolchboardmain.html
http://http://free-reading.net/index.php?title=Main_Pagewww.carlscorner.us.com/
http://www.literactive.com
http://www.starfall.com/
http://learntoreadfree.com/
http://www.tanglewoodeducation.com/ReallyReading2.pdf
http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/picturematch/
http://bookadventure.com/
http://www.studydog.com/
http://www.headsprout.com/
http://www.funnix.com/
FREE BASIC MATH EXERCISES:
http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/math/addition/index.htm
http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm
http://www.mathmammoth.com/
http://www.thevirtualvine.com/math.html
http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/seqlps/sudisplay.asp?SUID=242
HANDWRITING PAGES:
CURSIVE: http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/cursive.htm
MANUSCRIPT: http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/manuscript.htm
http://www.carlscorner.us.com/Handwriting%20Highway.htm
http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/kplus_writing.htm
RECORD KEEPINGhttp://highland.hitcho.com.au/attendancecalendar.pdf
http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/index.htm
http://www.homeschooltracker.com/tracker_basic.aspx
http://www.homeschoolplanner.org/
ARThttp://www.crayola.com/
lesson_plans/index.cfm
http://www.dltk-kids.com/
http://www.dickblick.com/lessonplans/2007lessonplans/
http://www.theteachersguide.com/Artlessonplans.html
http://www.geocities.com/theartkids/artlessons.html
http://artkidsrule.com/
http://www.thetoymaker.com/
DOWNLOAD CHILDREN'S STORIES & CLASSICS
http://www.kiddierecords.com
http://librivox.org/
http://www.library.santaclaraca.gov/
http://kids.learnoutloud.com/
MUSIC
http://community.learnnc.org/dpi/math/archives/2005/06/grades_k2_resou.php
http://www.8notes.com/recorder/
http://www.philtulga.com/
http://www.wannalearn.com/Crafts_and_Hobbies/Woodworking/Building_Musical_Instruments/
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/nametune1.htm
ONLINE GAMES
http://www.learnnc.org/students/K/
http://faculty.usiouxfalls.edu/arpeterson/computer_lab.htm
http://pbskids.org/
http://www.uptoten.com/
LESSON PLANS
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CK/resrcs/lessons/index.htm
http://www.ckcolorado.org/units.asp
http://www.learnnc.org/lessons/
http://teachers.net/lessons/
http://www.awesomelibrary.org/
http://www.lessonplans4teachers.com/
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/LPview?grade=0
PRESCHOOL
http://www.preschoolpost.com/Months.html
http://www.preschoolrock.com
http://www.first-school.ws/
http://www.preschooleducation.com/
EDHELPER INFORMATION
If you go to edhelper.com and spend $19.99 - $39.99 you will findeverything you need to teach children for an entire year...Grades K - 12th.
They have the daily review skills packets that you can print off andhave the kids complete daily or weekly.(I'd recommend 1 packet every 3 days. They are pretty challenging sometimes.Internet use will be useful for research.) This is good for K thru 12th grade also.
Math skillsLanguage artsVocabulary/spelling skillsScience open-ended question and reviewWritingSocial studies questionsReading ComprehensionWeekly math word problems
All of this and you can even tweek it too.Here is the link for the Daily skills.
http://www.edhelper.com/daily_review.htm
Or go here to pick and chose what you want to teach them.
http://www.edhelper.com/
Here is the link to the costs.
http://www.edhelper.com/tpreporder.htm

All of the above has been copied, with permission, from "The Mom With Brownies" at http://www.icantbelievemylife.com/ .

August?!?

Yikes! Somehow it's August 1st and I have not bought my curriculum for the fall yet!! I did have some already, and I use lots of stuff from the library, but there are a few books that I know that I do need, and I've never waited this late to get them!!! Ok, maybe this needs to get moved to the top of the to do list. Well, I suppose clean laundry and dishes, and maybe helping my daughter clean out her stinky gerbil cage can go before that for now, but otherwise, right at the top!!!

Cut-rate Curriculum

It's that time of the homeschooling year again, time for doubting your sanity, waiting for test scores, doubting your kids' sanity :), and looking for curriculum at a good price to do it all over again next year!! A few of my favorites for low cost stuff are:

• Rainbow Resource - huge assortment of new curriulum and supporting material - www.rainbowresource.com
• VegSource - a community of homeschoolers connect as part of this website, and there is a ebay type place to sell and buy curriculum (also some really good discussion boards) - http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/
• Home School Legal Defense Association's Curriculum Market - anyone can sell curriculum here and HSLDA members can buy or sell here - http://market.hslda.org/auction/xcAuction.asp

Let me know if you come arross any other good ones!!

Free curriculum

This is just cut and pasted from their website, but they explain it better than me. Good stuff!

"Welcome to Ambleside Online, a free homeschool curriculum designed to be as close as possible to the curriculum that Charlotte Mason used in her own private and correspondence schools. Our goal is to be true to Charlotte Mason's high literary standards. Ambleside Online uses the highest quality books and costs no more than the cost of texts. The curriculum uses as many free online books as possible, and there is no cost to use this information or join the support group."

Like it says, it's free, and it's a wonderful resource to use either to frame out your homeschooling, or just to give you ideas of books and such....

http://www.amblesideonline.org/