I was browsing this list of Christmas ideas at Executive Homemaker and came across a great article:
The Four Things Children Really Want for Christmas

You can thank Freebies 4 Mom for setting up this fantastic deal! She has partnered with SeeHere by FujiFilm to give you 50 FREE 5×7 or 4×8 photo cards (even the shipping is free). 

Use the code freebies4mom-1109

expires 11/30

You also get 100 free prints for registering, but be sure to use that promo code in a separate purchase.

A gift from my friends over at TOS

This offer ends today, so get moving!

Target has a buy 2 get 1 free offer on select Wii games, starting at $14.99. Combine this with their $10 off 2 Wii games coupon and you have a great deal. You could possibly get 6 games for $30!

Here’s how it looks:

• Buy 6 Wii games (the 2 cheapest will be free)
  
• Use 3 $10/2 Wii coupons

I received two wonderful books to review for Bright Ideas Press.

A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers filled a big gap for me. I had scheduled our Composer study for every Friday, but was having trouble piecing it all together. This book is one-stop shopping! It is written for grades 4-8, but is easily adaptable for younger grades. It is a full year’s curriculum, but it will last us much longer since we are just doing it one day a week. All of these wonderful resources are included:

• 32 weekly lessons
• 26 Bios of Famous Composers
• 6 Eras of Music Explained
• Easy-to-Use Comparative Timeline
• Easy-to-Use Maps
• Composer Info-Cards & Game Directions
• Note-Taking Pages
• Quizzes
• Answer Keys Listening Suggestions
• Intricate Coloring Pages
• Resource Books

The only thing I am not crazy about is the binding. It makes copying pages difficult – I will eventually have the spine cut off of mine. It is available in CD-Rom, but I like having the book in front of me while teaching. You can view sample pages HERE.

The Nitty Gritty:

• CD-Rom       $29.95
• Paperback  $34.95

Things I Like:

• Lessons are written from the viewpoint that music is from the Lord.
• The composers are in chronological order.
• There is a good variety of activities.
• It is a very complete curriculum.

Value: Worth every penny.

(I am looking forward to the release of A Young Scholar’s Guide to Poetry!)

Over Our Heads in Wonder was the perfect way to kick off our school year. It is a lovely little science book that shows God’s power through studying the weather and the sky. These topics are discussed:

• Clouds
• Rainbows
• Sun
• Stars
• Snow
  
• Wind
• Storms
• Air

This book was written for grades K-5. We used it for our morning devotional time & it worked great for my whole gang. I think it could serve as a science curruculum for the younger grades. You can view sample pages HERE.

The Nitty Gritty:

• $9.95 Paperback

Things I Like:

• The experiments use items commonly found around the house.
• Each section has its own Table of Contents. It is very easy to mix & match the lessons.
• My kids loved heading outside each day to observe God’s world in a new way.

Value: I think this is a great deal!

See what my TOS Crew Mates have to say about Bright Ideas Press!

Posted in reviews ]]> http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/review-bright-ideas-press/feed/ 0 amyswandering composers-book-cover-web-231x300 overourheads http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/howdy-pilgrim/ http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/howdy-pilgrim/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:39:40 +0000 amyswandering http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/?p=2664 ]]>

I am really pleased with my choice of  Truthquest History this year, and I’m excited that our study of the first colonies just happens to start in November.

Here are some good resources if you are studying the same thing:

The First Thanksgiving

The First Thanksgiving is a free site from Scholastic. You can read historical fiction letters, find grade-specific lessons, and print out activities.

A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840

We are loving this book! It goes through the day-to-day life of the fictional Robertson family. The time period is a bit later, but we are reading it now while we have a little more time.

Hands-On History: Colonial America

The older girls are making a notebook using this book. It is filled with interesting activities which are great learning tools & not just a bunch of fluff.

.

History Pockets: Life in Plymouth Colony

The two younger will be making history pockets.

Who’s Saying What in Jamestown, Thomas Savage?

We learned all kinds of interesting things in this true story about a 13 year old boy who lived in the Jamestown settlement.

Do you have any favorites to share?

Posted in activities, books, thanksgiving ]]> http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/howdy-pilgrim/feed/ 0 amyswandering pumpkinpilg pioneer hands hpock thom http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/jingle-all-the-way-to-the-bank/ http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/jingle-all-the-way-to-the-bank/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:38:43 +0000 amyswandering http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/?p=2658 ]]>

You’ve probably noticed my *Jingle* posts by now, so I thought it was time for a proper introduction.

Christmas is just a few weeks away, and I think many of us are having to cut corners and get creative with gifts this year.

*Jingles* are just good deals that I come across throughout my internet adventures and want to pass along to you.

I might *Jingle* about some inexpensive holiday fun or free events.

I will also be *Jingling* about different ways to make a little Christmas cash.

Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss any of the fun!!

You can view all of the *Jingles* HERE

Grab the code for my button in the sidebar to your right —->

This week’s WFMW has a fun Holiday Theme.

Can you believe it’s already time to start planning for Christmas? (You would think it’s only a couple of weeks away by looking at all the stores around here!)

Here are some Free Printable Christmas Planner Links to kick off your holiday season:

Christmas Planner.com This is my favorite!! I love all the pocket planner ideas.

MomsBudget Holiday Planner love the Black Friday pages

Ultimate Holiday Checklist cute to toss in your purse

Meck Mom

Christmas Is Coming

EH Christmas Planner

Papercraft Templates

Christmas Menu Planner

Ann’s Amazing Holiday Planner

Holiday Spending Planner

Organized Christmas

Christmas Spreadsheet

Christmas Lists

And if that isn’t enough for you, here is a link to all the Christmas planner documents on Scribd.

Run on over to We Are That Family for tons of great holiday tips!

This post can also be found at Spell Out Loud.

I am an internet resource junkie. I love to find fun educational websites, and even set up a site to house all my links.  I’ve visited abcteach many times to make use of their 5,000+ free printables.

I’ve always wondered about the 35,000+ printables available to members … were they really worth the cost of admission? Well, I got to spend a month poking around on their site for free and found some wonderful things.

Here is a sampling of the resources to be found in the abcteach member area:

• unit studies
  
• file folder games
  
• science diagrams
• puzzles
• learning centers
• writing prompts
• poetry guides
  
• tons of seasonal/holiday activities.

Many of these types of activities can be found in the free section, so you might be wondering what good a paid membership would do you. Well, I’ll tell you in one word: customization. You can design your own worksheets, puzzles, notebooking pages, shape books and copywork.

There are several different fonts to choose from. This is a big deal to me because I have one child who uses traditional cursive, one who uses HWT cursive, and one who is still in manuscript print. I can easily whip up a copywork page for all of them in the style they prefer. You can try out the abctools here.

The Nitty Gritty:

$40 for 1  year / $70 for 2 years  **buy through Homeschool Buyers Co-op by November 30th & get 50% off your membership!!

Things I Like:

• There are so many activities from which to choose.
  
• Many of the pages have multiple uses.
• The ability to customize!!!!

Value: This will depend on the individual, but for me it is worth every penny if the only thing I ever use it for is making copywork sheets. (But I will be using it every week for all of the seasonal/holiday fun.)

See what my TOS Crew Mates have to say about abcteach!

Make your reservation now for Jessica Sprague’s free Holidays in Hand class.

I’ve been curious about digital scrapbooking, so this will hopefully give me a good idea of what it’s all about.