Books on a Budget

How to Homeschool When You Can't Get Off the Couch: Recommended Resources

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 23:05:00 +0000

Cross posted from Be Not Weary

Having struggled with chronic illness for most of my children's school age lives I am always on the lookout for excellent materials that fit within my educational philosophies, but can also be done by the children independently or with minimal help or oversight by me. Video, audio and computer resources especially have been a huge help - very much like having tutors on tap.

Below, I have listed resources that we have used in the past - or are currently using - that have helped make it possible to continue to give our children an excellent education at home, in spite of challenging circumstances. I've also included some materials that we haven't used yet, but may at some point. It is not a complete list, but these are our favorites, most relied upon, or hope-to-use.

Online Lessons

Starfall.com This is a great, free online reading program. Very well done and I have only come across one or two mildly objectionable things. You can upgrade to even more features (including math games) for an inexpensive yearly subscription fee.

Latin for Children This is one we have not done yet, but I have my eye on it. We love Song School Latin and other products from Classical Academic Press (see below) so I plan to use this or the DVD version soon. CAP also offers online teacher led courses.

Classics for Kids This is a wonderful resource for composer study! I need to use this more.

Veritas Press Self - Paced Online History We love these! We completed the Old Testament and Ancient Egypt course and are part way through Explorers to 1815. They also now offer Bible courses and courses for older students. These are packed with information and taught classically with lots of memory work accomplished by games, review and timeline songs. They are also full of pictures of places, people and things from the lessons.

The courses we have done have only had two real negatives. One, I do not care for the way the history guides treat each other, especially in the Old Testament course. It is meant to be funny, but is just plain old disrespectful. Lots of eye rolling, belittling comments etc. between husbands and wives. I point this out to the children as not being acceptable.

The other issue was just with the OT course. We purchased the timeline cards (pictured above!) and I was quite horrified at some of the art that was used. Let's just say that some people in the pictures were lacking clothing. I worked around these few cards by printing out my own pictures and gluing them over the top of the picture on the card. Worked great! The cards were shown on the lessons online but were smaller and these issues weren't as noticeable.

Other than these two drawbacks, I highly recommend these lessons. They work wonderfully as a spine or outline to work from if you are able to add in other books. You can see sample lessons here and they are currently on sale!

Bob Jones Distance Learning Although it doesn't line up with my Charlotte Mason mindset, the distance learning program from Bob Jones is really quite excellent. It was a wonderful solution for us early on and my oldest even learned to read through their lessons. Some of the lessons are a bit long, but they are well done with teachers who are just exactly what you would hope your school teacher would be. They are similar to children's television programs with puppets, themes and props, but are Christian , even more educational and come with plenty of printed materials to go along with the programs (much of the paper stuff is optional and we only used a few workbooks).

We have only used the lower elementary levels, so I'm not sure what lessons are like for older children. The biggest drawback is the price. They aren't cheap, but they do have a payment plan option. The other drawback is Mr. Nice Guy on the Kindergarten program. He is quite babyish and rather disturbing. In real life, I wouldn't let him near my kids. In the lessons he just pops in once in awhile, thankfully. You can view sample lessons here.

Computer Based

Sequential Spelling came highly recommended to me and I was delighted when they came out with the DVD. Short, simple lessons the children can do on their own on the computer. We also have the companion workbooks

Teaching Textbooks We haven't actually used these, but the reviews are excellent. We are already using Math U See, but if we weren't, I would go this route.

DVD

Math U See I am very happy with Math U See. Short, well taught video lessons that the children enjoy and work books and math blocks to go along with the lessons.

Netflix Not something I recommend, per say, but a very useful tool that has gotten us through many difficult days when I truly haven't been able to do more than lay on the couch or in bed. I appreciate the fact that they allow you to have different users on the same account, so the children have their own which goes directly to the "Kids" section and avoids any unpleasant stuff on the home page. Some of our favorite programs are Curious George, Busy Town Mysteries, Leap Frog, Blues Clues, Country Mouse City Mouse, Fireman Sam and How it's Made. Daniel Tiger gets watched too, but he is only favored by a few, short minority. A couple of those shows aren't currently on Netflix, but I'm hoping they will be again. Again, these aren't necessarily recommendations - more just a list of the best options we have found when I need the children to be able to just sit and watch stuff, while I keep an eye or an ear close by. There are also a ton of educational movies and documentaries, but some of those you might need to preview first or watch with your children.

Liberty's Kids This is an excellent, very well done series that we just discovered. The children love it and I am impressed. I'd say it is the video equivalent of a living book. The children laugh and talk about Lafayette and what a cheerful undaunted fellow he was, they speak with awe and respect of George Washington and they were horrified at the betrayal of Benedict Arnold. (They did not know his story and the series does a masterful job of leading up to his treachery. The children were shocked when he turned out to be a traitor and it made quite an impression.) This series has spurred lots of interest and reading now on the American War for Independence .The DVD iscurrently on sale at Amazon for only $5.00 for the entire series! Definitely a great deal. Highly recommended!

I Can Do All Things Art Lessons We have only done the first few lessons, but they were a hit. This is a set of 4 DVDs for beginning drawing and painting. These set off a drawing frenzy in our house!

Audio

Audio resources are some of our favorite. My children love to listen to audio books and have learned so much this way. Each child has an inexpensive MP3 player (one of my favorite homeschool tools that I plan to write more on later) and I can load it with exactly what I want them to listen to. Latin songs, catechism songs, music from a composer we are studying and lots of audio books. The possibilities are almost endless. More and more curriculum publishers are offering an audio book version of their materials and I look for those specifically. Listed below are just a few

Song School Latin Highly recommended! The book and CD are excellent as is the DVD. The workbook is very nicely laid out, the songs are well done and pleasant to listen to and the DVD gives even more information. All gently, but effectively, taught. I have been very happy with anything I have purchased from Classical Academic Press. I also highly recommend Song School Latin Vol. 2 Book, CD and DVD.

God's Great Covenant Also from Classical Academic Press. This is a great Bible study program, nicely laid out in workbook form. It could be done by a child individually or as a family. It also comes with the Bible stories from the book in downloadable MP3 format.

My Audio School This website is full of public domain books in audio format. Each book is laid out chapter by chapter or as a complete download , along with lots of illustrations that correspond with the book. Some of the content is free and the rest is available for a very low yearly subscription.

Exploring Creation from Apologia I love this series so far. Only one book is available on audio at the moment, but others are in the works and I am very much looking forward to that!

Mystery of History We are not currently using this, but now that Volumes 1-3 are available in audio format I am hoping to incorporate it.

Introduction to the Classics This is a great series on composers that we are slowly working our way through

Jonathan Park Our children love these and have learned so much science through these exciting, but highly educational, adventures. Highly recommended!

What in the World? Ancient history, taught with enthusiasm by Diana Waring

Audible.com Audible is a treasure trove of well-recorded audio children's books and classical literature. They offer multiple download options, or you can listen right from the computer. You can join for a free, month long trial.

Jim Hodges Audio Books A wonderful collection of classic literature, beautifully read! I especially recommend Stories of the Pilgrims, one of our family favorites.

Audio Memory My siblings and I listened to the songs from Audio Memory back when we were being homeschooled and I can still sing the states and countries! We also carried them in our family's homeschool bookstore and they were customer favorites. Planning to use these this year with my own children.

Misc.

Language Lessons This wonderful workbook series by Sandi Queen teaches phonics, grammar, copywork, poetry, picture study (with full color paintings) and narration in simple, short lessons. The older ones can easily do them on their own and for the little ones the lessons are so short and easy that I can manage them on a day where I am feeling better.

Kumon Workbooks A wonderful series of workbooks for the little ones with plenty of cutting, drawing, tracing, writing and more

That's all for now! Again, this is not a complete list, and what works for me, might not work for you. If you are in crisis mode, see my Netflix-Non-Recommendations and ignore the rest! We have definitely never accomplished all of this at once. These are truly just resources that have been hugely helpful to keep us on track when I am able enough to set them in motion. There have been plenty of days where Real Life Learning has taken precedence or Netflix and Amazon Prime have proven their educational merit. Pray and seek out the best for your family and your situation. I'll leave you with some sage advice from Mystie Winckler:

You are the mother. You are the teacher. You might not know the subject as well as the author of the material, but you do know your child much better. You are not teaching a generic classroom of averages, but your own house of individuals. Your job isn’t to pull them through the gauntlet laid out by the curriculum, but to determine your curriculum – the path you take – and use the materials as means to get there, always being the one in the driver’s seat.

What are some resources you have found helpful in your own homeschool?

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon.com and other recommended companies or products that may render the website owner a small commission.

Liberty's Kids on Sale at Amazon

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 22:30:00 +0000

Amazon currently has the complete set of Liberty's Kids, the popular history series for children, on sale for 5.00! Amazon's prices can change quickly so the sale might not last long!

Free Homeschool Planning Sheets

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 05:37:00 +0000

Free, editable homeschool planning sheets from Educational Snaphots:

I am so excited about this planner. These are the forms that I use to plan my homeschool year, and I am sharing them with you.All you have to do to get your free homeschool planner with eleven different planning forms is subscribe to Everyday Snapshots by entering your email address below. You can print and write on the forms or edit, print, and even save your edits in Adobe Reader.

Click here to download.

25% off for Audible Members During the Month of June!

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 04:58:00 +0000

June is Audio Book Month (not sure who decides these things...) and Audible is offering 25 % off to members sitewide! Audible has a wonderful selection of classic literature and children's books and once they are downloaded you can listen in a variety of formats.

Sale at Jim Hodges Audio Books

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 19:26:00 +0000

Download any "Yesterday's Classics" title from Jim Hodges Audio Books during June 2014 for only $10! This is a great opportunity to add quality recordings to your audiobook library. (Stories of the Pilgrims is one of our family favorites!)

Free Shipping on all orders over $75.00 from Library and Educational Services!

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 06:05:00 +0000

Library and Educational Services is offering free shipping on all orders over $75.00 until June 30th. They have a wonderful selection of amazingly discounted books, so this is a great deal!

From their newsletter:

As a small, Christian wholesale company, we consistently offer everything—everything, not just a few select items—yes, everything we carry at tremendous discounts of at least 30% and usually much higher.

We also offer some hard-to-find resources that most retailers do not offer. We invite you to do a price comparison on your order and see if you save money on average. Let us know what you find.

So when we do offer to pay the shipping on your order, it is a BIG, SPECIAL (and rare) SALE!

For the next 10 days, we will pay your economy shipping for any U.S. order of books, CDs, and DVDs over $75.00.

L.E.S. sells to libraries, schools (including homeschools), resellers, specialty stores, churches, missionaries, daycare centers, and ministry leaders. An account is required to shop with them, but it is free and simple to set one up and well worth it!

The Literature of Honor for Boys

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 05:40:00 +0000

Two very helpful book lists from Cindy at Ordo Amoris:

The Literature of Honor for Boys

Last month we learned that we are failing to give our boys a reason to learn. We learned that boys are motivated by honor and that our society has left them without hope. We also learned that one antidote to the problem may be using great literature to motivate our sons to pursue honor. But what books should they read? I recently asked a group of longtime homeschooling mothers, women I highly respect, what books they recommended. The following is what I gleaned from raising my own sons and also the suggestions of these moms. I have broken the list down into 3 parts: fiction, poetry, and biographies. Click here to read the rest.

The Literature of Honor for Little Boys

I often get questions about good picture books for younger children and I notice that my choices are usually archaic in the sense that new authors and new stories have flooded the market. This list will reflect the books that my boys loved when they were little about last Friday. I will try and stick to books that meet our theme of illustrating honor and not just books that we loved. Click here to read the rest.

Homeschool with Pinterest (for the Organized & Unorganized Alike)

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 22:25:00 +0000

From Amy at Raising Arrows:

I know Pinterest isn’t for everyone. I know some people can’t help but get lost there and never use anything they pin. I know for some people, it could spell a colossal waste of time. But, for me, it has helped my homeschooling efforts tremendously! It is like a great big network of homeschoolers sharing resources so I can be a better homeschooler!

Click here to read the rest

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 22:39:00 +0000

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." ~ Dr. Seuss

Children's Picture Books

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 22:07:00 +0000

From Vintage Novels:

Let's talk about picture books! A few months ago, two friends asked me if I could recommend any good picture books for children. They explained that it seemed many picture books today are either badly written, badly drawn, or both. I sat down and soon came up with this quick list--missing many classics, no doubt, but containing all our favourites, and some others I've heard recommended:

Click here to read the list

Free or Cheap Audible Audio Books!

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 00:43:00 +0000

Excellent tips on utilizing Audible and getting the best bang for your buck from Simply Convivial:

There are a handful of classics that you can get for free on Audible (professional, high-quality, $30-or-more recordings) if you first buy the Kindle version, including the free copy. Seeing as how I love audio books and prefer the high-quality recordings of Audible (all digital, no scratched library CDs, with good sound quality), I thought I’d share the links to the deals that I had to scrounge for.

Click here to read the rest

Reading to Your Children May Be More Important Than You Think

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 01:11:00 +0000

From Kelly Crawford at Generation Cedar

Home was once the place where hearts could be filled with “good treasure”, and reading played a significant part in that. Good literature was an integral part of the Christian home and the formation of character depended much on parents reading and instilling the love of reading in their children.If we relinquish our commitment to intentionally form the mind and hearts of our children toward what is good and noble, we give it to someone else–other influences and voices fighting for their allegiance.

Click here to read the rest

E-readers (Including Kindles) and Tablets on Sale starting at $39.99 Right Now at Cowboom!

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:40:00 +0000

E-readers (Including Kindles) an tablets are on sale for $39.99 right now at Cowboom with free shipping! They seem to be going fast! http://www.cowboom.com/deal-of-the-day.cfm. If they are sold out try refreshing the page as they keep loading more.

All Lamplighter MP3 Downloads on Sale for $14.00!

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:33:00 +0000

Yes, we are still here! Hope to be posting more often soon, but in the meantime here is an incredible deal I wanted to share:

For a limited time you can purchase ALL of Lamplighter Theaters MP3 Downloads for a total price of $14.00! This is a savings of $361.00! They also have two sets of e-books available at $7.00 each, as well as an e-book/MP3 combo package. Click here to order: http://www.modularmerchant.com/clients/lamplighter/category/21/Special-Offers Not sure how long this incredible sale will last!

Watch “Children Are a Blessing” for Free During the Month of April!

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:13:00 +0000

Join the Moore family in this timely documentary as they briefly expose the evil history of the birth control movement on the 50th anniversary of “the pill.” Listen as they transparently share their testimony of how God, in His grace and mercy, opened their eyes in spite of their own sinful beginning. Be encouraged as they casually answer questions often posed to large families. Then, experience the joy of Biblical family life as they welcome their tenth child into their home. Most of all, be inspired to look to the Word of God for answers to everything in life, but specifically to see that Children are a Blessing.

During the month of April you can watch this entire film (a semi-finalist in the San Antonio Christian Film Festival) online for free at Moore Family Films The DVD is also on sale for $10.00.

We’re still here!

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 01:59:00 +0000

It has been almost four months since my last update but we are still alive and kicking! Our precious new baby boy (Child # 8) arrived in January bringing us to an even four boys and four girls; ages 11 to almost 3 months :-) Life has been even more blessedly busy and pretty much anything beyond survival and laundry and survival OF laundry has been pushed to a very crowded back burner. We are settling in to a bit of a routine though (Using “routine” rather loosely there…) and I hope to be back to posting again a little more frequently as I’m able. “Hope” and “little” likely being the key words…;-). However, that is quite alright by me. These wonderful, crazy days of real life are so full and go by so quickly, the virtual world will have to wait it’s turn. A new twist on the classic poem sums it up:

Blogging and posting can wait ’till tomorrow,
For babies grow up, we’ve learned to our sorrow.
So I’m logging out, Facebook; Laptop go to sleep,
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Thanks for your patience!

Open Book Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:45:00 +0000

Here's a wonderful resource for book reviews (written by a home educated student!) :

Welcome to Open Book Reviews! I hope you find a treasure-trove of helpful information as you seek good, living books for you and your family. My desire is that the reviews here will save you time and energy as you search for good literature as well as school curriculum.

I pray this book review site will make good use of my love of books and help you make better decisions about your family library.

Click here to visit Open Book Reviews

Quote of the Week ~ August 30, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:22:00 +0000

Never be without a really good book on hand. If you find yourself sinking to a dull common place level, with nothing particular to say, the reason is probably that you are not reading, and, therefore, not thinking. ~ The Story of Charlotte Mason, p. 162

Homeschool for Free

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:12:00 +0000

Click the links below for a huge assortment of free homeschooling resources and printables from The 5 J's:

Homeschool for Free

Printables and Downloads

Alphabet Virtues Coloring Pages

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:52:00 +0000

Here is a wonderful collection of free coloring pages to teach an alphabet's worth of virtues to little ones! Click here to see and print the whole collection

Free Pages

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:52:00 +0000

A wonderful assortment of free printables from Practical Pages:

I am passionate about homeschooling and really enjoy my homeschool journey with my girls.

Here are my notebook pages, minibooks and lapbook projects, handwriting charts and booklets, organizational tips and ideas … that I would love to share with you.

Click here for lots of links

Tracing Outlines of Famous Art Works

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:22:00 +0000

From Practical Pages:

I have often made outline drawings of our art work for art appreciation lessons. The Van Gogh picture “Starry Night”
is one of the most popular downloads! It is a simple, really easy and frugal method to create a picture to colour, apply techniques and make your own version of the art masterpiece.

Click here for instructions.

Freebies from Heart of Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 04:04:00 +0000

LOTS of free printables from Heart of Wisdom:

There are hundreds of free printables for Bible study, homeschooling, and home organization spread across five different Heart of Wisdom blogs. I put them all here to make them easy to find.

Printable ABC Bible Verses

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:54:00 +0000

From Heart of Wisdom:

These are copywork Bible pages for children memorizing the ABC verses. The print is dotted and lined for tracing. Print in color or black and while. There are 5 PDF pages.

Click here to download

Yesterday’s Classics Ebook Package Sale!!!

noreply@blogger.com (MrsSWM) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:04:00 +0000

Yesterday’s Classics is a company that republishes classic books for children from the golden age of children’s literature, the era from 1880 to 1920. Many of the titles they offer have been out of print for decades and so have been hard to find until recently. Now they have also made their entire collection of 225 books available as e-books in both Kindle and E-pub format! These are beautifully formatted, complete with illustrations and table of contents. If you don’t have an e-reader you can still read or print the books from your computer.

From now, until Saturday, August 27th Yesterday’s Classics is offering their entire e-book package to our readers at a special sale price of $99.95! If you purchased all of the paperback editions of these books the total would come to $2,495.75! If you purchased each book in electronic format individually the total would come to $648.80! This is a wonderful opportunity to add a huge collection of wonderful children’s literature to a family library!

Though I have to admit I still much prefer to collect and read from printed books I am delighted to add these to our family collection. The ability to print the books and read them from multiple devices makes them extremely versatile, and the price makes it possible to have an incredible selection at your fingertips.

(Note: There are several books in the collection that I don’t intend to offer to my children as they don’t meet with some of the convictions we hold regarding reading material. However, this collection is so extensive that it is still wonderfully worthwile, even if some of the books never get read. )

We are thrilled to offer this sale to you right now as it blends beautifully with our theme for the rest of August over at Noble Womanhood; home schooling using the Charlotte Mason/Christian Classical methods which both rely heavily on real, “living” books, rather than textbooks.

For lots more information on this package, including a complete list of all the books in the package and a free book to download, please click here!