A Bouquet of Sweet Gifts from The Old Schoolhouse

The Old Schoolhouse is offering a fantastic deal to new and returning magazine subscribers - 19 free gifts! Here's a quick run down of what's included with your subscription:

a free 10x13 from Sears Portrait Studio
an all-natural gift pack from Wildtree
Handwriting by George from Greenleaf Press
a $20 gift certificate from Franklin Springs Family Media
a $10 gift card for any Apologia materials
an online introductory film making course from Advent Film Group
a math game from Games by Bea
12-month personalized photo calendar from Happy Kids
math drill software from Quarter Mile Math
web-based writing subscription from I Can Write Online
a pack of wikki sticks and an activity guide
Teaching American History through Art CD from Visual Manna
$25 worth of books from Library & Educational Services
Light Speed Math dvd
a lapbook project pack CD from In the Hands of a Child
Cooking with Children CD from Sue Gregg Cookbooks
Science Matrix: Cell Structure and Function from Digital Frog
a $10 gift certificate from Daystar Publishing
2 skill-based activity e-books from Barker Creek

If you're one of the first 1000 subscribers, you'll also receive a drawstring bag of sunflower seeds.

It's a sweet deal but it's only available to the first 5,000 people who sign up, so if you've been contemplating getting a subscription - now is the time!

Wordless Wednesday

More Books for Beginning Readers

I posted a list of books for beginning readers a few months back and I want to pick up where that list left off. After a child has conquered the basic CVC words and is mastering consonant blends and digraphs you can add in simple vowel combinations. The books listed below are still short enough that a beginning reader will feel successful but they also introduce more vowel sounds. Please note that these lists aren't exhaustive - check your local library for other books in these series.

• My First I Can Read Book

Bathtime for Biscuit
Biscuit
Biscuit and the Baby
Biscuit and the Little Pup
Biscuit finds a Friend
Biscuit goes to School
Biscuit wants to play
Biscuit wins a prize
Biscuit’s Big Friend
Biscuit’s day at the Farm
Biscuit’s New Trick
Chicken said, “Cluck!”
Go away, Dog
How Many Fish?
I See, You Saw
Loose Tooth
Oh, Cats!
Pedro’s Burro
Ruby bakes a Cake
Sid and Sam
Splish, Spash!
The Day I had to play with my Sister
Thump and Plunk
What’s that, Mittens?
Whose Hat is it?

• Green Light Readers, Level 1

Rip’s Secret Spot
Sometimes
Come Here, Tiger!
The Tapping Tale
The Big, Big Wall
Best Friends
What day is it?
Lost!
Big Pig and Little Pig
Cloudy Day Sunny Day
Six Silly Foxes
Daniel’s Pet
Big Brown Bear
Rabbit and Turtle go to School

• Step into Reading, Level 1

Boats!
Mouse Makes Words
Wheels!
The Pup Speaks Up
Elmo says Achoo!
Too Many Dogs
The Snowball
Sunshine, Moonshine
Babe the Sheep Pig: Oops, Pig!
Watch your step, Mr. Rabbit!
There is a Town

Wordless Wednesday

Science Experiment: Freezing and Melting

Before I get to our experiment this week I've just got to say how much I love Sonlight science! We've had so much fun doing these experiments. I didn't buy the whole kindergarten kit, just the InquisiKids DVD, the supplies, and the corresponding experiment book. TJ loves doing science. When she was recovering from a cold last week I let her pick a movie to watch. She asked to watch her science DVD and would yell for me to come in every time the experiment was one we had completed. :)

Our experiment this week was to discover which food items would freeze and which would not. We (even Nick got into the fun with this experiment) filled a clean ice cube tray with various food items such as butter, oil, peanut butter, ketchup, syrup, juice, etc.

We put a spoonful of each item in the ice cube tray and then put the tray into the freezer. I meant to take it out later that day but we forgot about it! Two days later, when I remembered we had it in the freezer, we pulled it out to check out what happened.

This was the fun part - we got to stick our fingers into each food (very sticky and messy!) to find out how the cold temperature of the freezer affected each item.



Here's a picture of TJ discovering that the freezer didn't affect our peanut butter. TJ also discovered that the freezer didn't have any effect on oil, jam, honey, chocolate syrup, dulce de leche, or dish soap. Very fun experiment!

The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner

I will be the first to admit I have a serious addiction to planners and forms and this 375 page e-book is enabling that addiction! The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner from TOS magazine's Schoolhouse Store is jam-packed with home and school organizational pages as well as informative articles and even some recipes thrown in for good measure. There is sure to be something in this pdf for every homeschool mom. Here's a summary of what's included:

Monthly Calendars (pictured below) - Starting with July, each month's calendar is given its own 2-page spread with large boxes for writing or typing (yes - this is a pdf e-book but it's been formatted so you can type on the pages!). Every month also includes an informative article covering various topics, a handy chart or outline that correlates with that month's article, a list of resources that The Old Schoolhouse provides to enhance the subject, and, to round it all out, 2 yummy recipes.

The monthly articles are from various individuals - Michelle Miller, Steve Demme, Jay Wile and Amanda Bennett, to name a few. Each article focuses on a specific subject - Karen Mohs writes about the importance of Latin and Greek and included you'll find two charts of important Latin and Greek word roots. An informative article titled "American Government Basics" is accompanied by a wonderful chart of federal, state, and local government offices as well as some useful internet links.



Informational charts - The next section of the planner includes some wonderful charts and outlines that can be really useful to the homeschooling parent, including a listing of U. S. Presidents, famous artists and composers, and countries and capitals.

Homeschool forms - Now we come to the fun part of the planner (at least for those obsessive planners like me)! You'll find goal charts, daily and weekly planning charts, lesson planning pages for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 children and so much more. Report card forms, transcript pages, book report forms, and the list just goes on - over 100 pages of homeschooling forms! Plus, each one is formatted so you can type on them (or, if you prefer paper and pencil - print off as many of each as you need and fill them in).

Household forms - You won't find just homeschooling forms in this e-book, though. There are also more than 50 pages of charts and organizational tools that are helpful in the home - cleaning schedules, chore charts, daily to-do lists, grocery lists, menu planners, Bible reading schedules, garden planning pages, an address book, and many, many more helpful pages.



This planner is a wonderful way to organize things in your home or your homeschool - there are sure to be pages and forms that anyone would find useful. As much as I love the planning pages, I really love the monthly articles. The information included is wonderful and the charts and outlines are very effective in rounding out the monthly articles. Along with the list of resources, it will be so easy to pull together a simple monthly unit. If you've been looking for a way to organize things in your home or school, this e-book would be a very useful tool. I can't think of any other planning pages that could have been included - they've got 'em all!

If you are interested in seeing more of The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner, just click on the link provided and you'll get a small preview of some of the pages included in this wonderful resource. The planner retails for $39 and is available for download right after purchase. Or, if you'd like to read what other homeschooling moms are saying about this product, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.

Favorite Things

Summer has arrived and we are spending all of our spare time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. TJ (and the puppy) are either playing in the dirt or splashing in the pool and I spend my lazy time reading in a comfy chair in the sunlight. All of this to excuse myself from the lack of blogging in the last few months. :) But I've still been reading other blogs and finding some neat things. Here are a few of my favorites:

Recipes: I've been on the look-out for a healthy granola recipe. Now that winter is gone I don't want to make pots of hot oatmeal but I still want something filling and nutritious. I haven't tried this recipe from Kiss my Spatula yet but it looks like a winner! And to offset all the nutrition in the granola I found this recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker - a combination of my two favorite desserts - chocolate chip cookie-topped brownies. Just the name of them is setting off cravings!

Crafts: Just in time for Father's Day - this origami shirt and tie card from Once upon a Holiday is super cute! I know what TJ will making for Nick this week. Skip to my Lou has instructions and pictures for making an adorable little purse - perfect for a simple sewing project for mom and daughter. It's still a little too much for TJ to handle but I'm bookmarking it for later.

In other news, I've been accepted to the Homeschool Crew for the next "voyage" so you'll be seeing more posts about homeschool products as I get a chance to review them. I'm really looking forward to working on the crew and discovering some new (to me, at least) homeschooling materials.