There is a very special copywork freebie available today at Homeschool Freebie of the Day.  If you love the Spring, classic poetry, copywork, and use a traditional ZB style font for your young primary age students, you shouldn’t miss out!  Even if you don’t do any of those things, you might just want to take a peek and see what we’ve been busy with these days!

Hope this is a blessing for you!

We now have a free copywork download available at Bogart Family Resources for anyone who signs up for our email newsletter!  Just sign up on the home page and you’ll automatically receive a free download of Copying the Hymns: All Things Bright and Beautiful, Traditional Style ZB Manuscript, Level 1, a 15 lesson Christian devotional copywork book that includes the lyrics of “All Things Bright and Beautiful” along with related Bible verses (KJV)!  If you’d like to share your thoughts with us after downloading it, we’d love to hear from you .  Enjoy!

Cyndi Kinney at Knowledge Box Central is the creator of the well-loved lapbooks that accompany Apologia Science’s Elementary level courses by Jeannie Fullbright, she’s also rolling out lapbooks for the higher levels.  That’s not where here offerings end however, she also has a great lapbook on Modesty (we own this!), a variety of copywork books, and too many titles to list here!

When you visit her website make sure you sign up for her newsletter!  She’ll send you a coupon for $10 off your first order, which is enough to get some of the titles for almost free, or give you a huge discount on others!  You’ll also be able to get the latest news on her generous sale opportunities throughout the year – they’re great!

Hello blessed friends!

I know that many of my readers are homeschooling moms, and I received a special offer to share with my blog readers this month to encourage you in your pursuit of a God-honoring education for your children!

If you live in the United States, you can request a FREE sample of The Homeschool Digest magazine by clicking here and using the code qffhsd

If you live in Canada, or other international locations, you can still get a feel for the magazine by reading the sample articles here. Of course, US browsers are free to browse here as well.

And if you like what you see, you can pick up US subscriptions, one for you and one for a friend, for only $20/year! Canadians pay $25.00/year for one subscription. Subscribe here!

I haven’t yet read the magazine myself, but I like what I see so far.

Enjoy this blessing from the Lord – and the good folks at Homeschool Digest!

Sylvan Dell Publishing produces what may very well be some of the loveliest children’s picture books in print today. Seamlessly fusing educational concepts in the fields of natural science and mathematics with beautiful illustrations and excellent prose, their team of talented authors and illustrators has already engendered a fledgling devotion to their publishing house in me.

More than worthy as standalone picture books, each title is also accompanied an array of free, downloadable educational resources, which include Teaching Activities and Interactive Math and Reading Comprehension Quizzes.

A relative newcomer to children’s publishing, company co-founders Lee and Donna German have lost no time jumping into the rapidly advancing technologies available for providing e-books to young learners. Recently, the company announced the launch of their next generation e-book that is taking the school system by storm.

Equipped with auto-flip and auto-read features, bi-lingual text, and audio (English and Spanish with more languages to come), Sylvan Dell is about to put the run to traditional book-and-tape listening centers. A child with access to an internet-equipped computer can read the new e-books silently, listen to a narrator read the book in a language of their choice while they ‘flip’ the pages with a click of the mouse, or listen and have the pages turn automatically,

The potential impact of these titles for teaching a second language, improving literacy skills, and retaining knowledge of mathematics and the natural world through narrative story lines is nothing short of impressive. With plans on the drawing board for further improvements the unfolding educational potential is inspiring.

Last year, Sylvan Dell awarded free e-book site licenses to over 2600 elementary and Title I/III schools nationwide through their School Resource Grant Program. It may only be a matter of time before titles such as Turtles in My Sandbox and Saturn for My Birthday are available on a school computer your child can access.

While this is an exciting development in and of itself, parents and home educators can also purchase these titles for use in the home. Better yet, Sylvan Dell has made their entire catalogue of 45 titles available for use during a free trial period extending to the end of October.

To take these titles for a spin follow this link and click the “Validate Access Code” button to see the entire listing of titles. Click on the image of the title you and your child would like to read, and you’re in. The e-book interface is very intuitive, but a user guide is also available for download here. This unprecedented free trial lasts until October 31st, 2009.

Still the market for hard copy picture books isn’t about to disappear – what can compare to gathering your children around on the couch, or snuggling deep under the covers with a story before bed? No need to fret, Sylvan Dell’s hardcover and paperback titles will thankfully still be available for tender moments such as these.

While I remain passionately dedicated to the printed word on tangible paper, I love the potential of this delivery system as an educational tool. Try it for yourself and see. Grab a child, a computer, and settle in for a session of enjoyable reading. If you like what you find, feel free to spread the word. The free trial link is non-exclusive and available for all who wish to experiment with the new format and dig into some great books. Thank you Sylvan Dell!

I hate to admit it, but I’m one of those perfectionist mommies. Not that my life looks perfect – OH NO – not by any stretch of the imagination. But I want it to look perfect. I want the perfect phonics program, the perfect homeschooling schedule, the perfect children, and so on, and so on. Can anyone else relate?

In any case, I own a (cough, cough) number of phonics programs. Some gifted to me, others received to review, readers I’ve purchased used, a blue back speller I got for a song. You know – the regular gamut that accumulates when you’re looking for the PERFECT program.

Well, I knew about Starfall WAY back when we were starting with phonics – you know a year or two ago (she’s 6 now). But, it wasn’t good enough for me, oh no, it was an ONLINE program, and I mean, it was free. How good could it be? It would be SO much better to have a program that I taught her as we sat snuggled together on the couch right?

Oh God, you do like to make me eat my words don’t you? With my slackening policies about electronic media (I now let the children watch some educational dvds, movies about Jesus, and even some…entertainment titles) I’ve started letting Kaelynn play some games on the computer. You know, good educational games – Music Ace Deluxe for music theory, a free online typing tutor that she loves over at BBC called Dance Mat Typing, and Starfall, which I allowed out of desperation – trying to distract her from that Treehousetv.com website she kept talking about.

My ploy worked. She loved Starfall, zoomed through a bunch of lessons and has made a fair bit of progress in her reading. She’s been reading for awhile, is a pro with short vowel sounds and simple words, totally understands blending now, but has been balking at practice, and reading VERY SLOWLY. But now she’s getting pretty good on long vowels, the ‘ey’ combination, and she isn’t complaining about reading practice anymore, she’s ASKING for it.

Note to self, “What works for me in my own imaginary dreamworld isn’t always what works for my daughter in real life.”

Point taken for the time being, but I’m sure it’s a lesson I’ll be taught time and time again throughout this journey they call homeschooling.

Have you heard of Paul Washer?  Our family has been extraordinarily blessed by his preaching; our understanding of both doctrine and God’s plan for family life have increased exponentially through his sermons.  Our passion and desire for God, and our dedication our calling as a family have increased, his teaching has been a true gift  that I praise God for.

Of course, we were terribly excited to learn that he’d written a doctrinal workbook examining the nature of God called The One True God.  We were even more excited to find that it was available for free online!  Today I’ve been printing two copies, and my husband is anxious to get started with our study!  You can find a download here at Heart Cry Missionary Society.  Let me know what you think, I’m going to write a review once we’re done working through it together.

Also, you can find a wealth of Paul Washer sermons on Sermonaudio.com.

I’ve recently had the opportunity to read my first Jamie Carie novel (you can look forward to a review in the future!)  She has a strong writing voice, and her debut novel Snow Angel from B&H Publishing is now available as a free download to celebrate the release of her latest – Wind Dancer.  There is also a U.S. only contest tie in, but never fear – the download is available internationally!

So head on over, download and enjoy!

Remember when I reviewed Glaucia the Greek Slave: A Tale of Athens in the First Century by Emma Leslie last year?  Well, Salem Ridge Press is offering it as a free download, but only until Thursday, February 19th.  Hurry over and pick up some vintage, historical fiction focusing on the early Christian church!

In case you’re not plugged into The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s email updates, here’s a quick heads up for you.  The Old Schoolhouse 2009 Homeschool Freebie Directory is up now with over 40 free gifts for homeschoolers available in downloadable formats.  If you took advantage of the 2008 version I posted a link to, many of these samples and gifts are new, so check it out.  Enjoy!