February 27, 2009

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I’m a homeschool mom to five kids, ages 8 and under.  In some minds, that makes me either crazy or heroic, but I do have an interesting household most days.  See:

Buying school supplies for a large family means I’m always on the lookout for a good deal.  And there are plenty to be had if you know where to look.  Here are some of my favorites:

Educational Software

Did you know you qualify to purchase the education version of most mainstream software packages if you are a college student, a teacher, a homeschool parent, or on behalf of your child grade K through 12?  Yes, all you have to do is have a child in school to qualify! 

And these are full working versions of the software for a fraction of the cost.  You do need to read the education qualifications for the specific software to verify before purchasing, but usually it just requires an education ID of some sort.  A report card or one of the free IDS many children get now from the portrait companies at the beginning of the year works fine.  (Homeschoolers:  Get a free eligibility letter from Homeschool Buyers Co-op – see below)

For example, you can get the latest Microsoft Office Pro for $119.95 on The Academic Superstore, a discount of 70% off the same program sold for $395.99 on Amazon.  (If you decide to buy from The Academic Superstore, join Coupon Cactus first and get an extra 1.5% rebate – see this post)

The only downside is when an upgrade comes along you can’t get the discounted upgrade price since you don’t own a ‘Full Version’.  In the past, however, I’ve found that buying the educational version each time is still cheaper than a full version followed by the discounted upgrades.

Educational Internet Deals

1. Freebie of the Day - This is a great site with a free homeschooling resource you can download each weekday.
2. CurrClick – They sell lots of high quality electronic curriculum for decent prices, and if you sign up for their email newsletter you’ll get a free downloadable product each week.  We really enjoyed a recent free lapbook download about bees.
3. Homeschool Buyers Co-op – For the homeschool parents out there:  Did you ever wish you could get the great discounts that schools get by buying bulk?  Well, that’s what the Walter family wanted, too.  So they started an awesome co-op that now has thousands of members.  They go out to suppliers and organize great discounted deals for all of us.  Best of all, it’s free to register.  Feel free to explore their site.  They also have lists of many free resources. 

Where to find Used Curriculum

1. Homeschool Classifieds is a goldmine of curriculum listed by homeschool parents for very reasonable costs.  And unlike EBay, it’s free to list up to 7 items, with only a $5 charge per year to list more. 
2. Ebay is always a good place to look for hard-to-find items.  Try using a couple newer features to help get what you want:  Saved searches can send you an email any time an item you’re looking for is posted. 
3. Local Homeschool Co-ops usually have a curriculum sale once or twice a year with great prices and best of all, no shipping!  Find a local group here.

Teacher Discount Cards (for public school and homeschool teachers)

1. Joanns – get a 15% off Teacher Rewards card from Joanns here.  If you are a homeschooler, you need to get a PEAH number first here before registering with Joanns. 
2. Staples – Get a Staples Teacher Rewards card here, print a copy online to use right away, or ask for a card to be sent in the mail.  (The best deals are found the last month or two of the summer.)
3. And check out this great page for more homeschool discounts including Borders, Barnes and Noble, Kinkos, and more.  (Caution:  there are broken links on this site, but still good links for some of the major retailers.)

All-in-all the internet has not just revolutionized teaching with more resources than you have time to get to, but it has done the same with finding bargains to make teaching supplies much more affordable.  Please share your tips on getting teaching bargains with us!

Posted under Homeschool Bargains

February 26, 2009

With 5 kids, you better believe I’ve spent time worrying about how to keep my kids safe.  Plus, I have a 4th degree black belt, so I my kids should learn to foil kidnappers with perfect groin shots.  Hardly realistic, I knew, so I ended up like most of you:

• I told my children, “Don’t talk to strangers”
• I tried to ignore media stories about kidnapped kids.
• I had one or two of those ‘fun’ discussions about what constitutes a ‘private part’ with instructions to come right away and tell me if anyone tried to touch them.
• I basically knew I needed to teach my kids effective techniques to stay safe, but wasn’t sure how.  (Other than the groin kicks – I had those down

A few years back I found some much better advice by reading Gavin De Becker’s book, Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe.  Gavin De Becker is a man with a lot of personal experience with threats and violence coming from a very difficult childhood.  But, he turned that into a skill and is now a well-known expert in teaching others how to recognize specific danger signs that precede real threats.

Here are a few things I thought were very valuable in the book:

• “Don’t talk to strangers” makes a lost kid afraid to talk to anyone, perfect bait for any bad guys around.  Instead?  Tell your child to walk up to a woman who looks like a mommy and say, “I’m lost.  Can you help me find my mommy?”  Since 90-something percent of perpetrators against children are men, just by choosing a woman, the odds of staying safe are upped considerably.  And by choosing a ‘mommy’ your child is likely to get quick help in finding you again.
• “Violence almost always has detectable pre-incident indicators that we recognize intuitively.” (pg. 6)  Learn the 7 Survival Signals.  Learning to recognize these danger signs decreases my and my kids’ worry and fear.  I learn what to look for.  I teach it to my kids, and we are both more confident and safe.  
• The test of 12 things your children should know to be assertive and not a victim, including that it’s ok to rebuff and defy adults if they feel afraid. 
• Five “Signals of Denial” when we’re afraid to even think about specific dangers and instead spend all our time worrying and afraid.
• Reassure yourself by remembering child abductions are covered intensely in the news and there are a lot fewer than it seems.
• On the other hand, be eagle-eyed for any signs of child sexual abuse even and especially among family, friends, and other acquaintances.  Don’t dismiss anything your child mentions and work to make sure they are comfortable talking to you about it, even if it is a close relation or friend.  It is the opposite = very underreported and very common (90% of perpetrators are known to the child, almost always heterosexual males and the most common age abuse begins is 3!) .
• I loved the clear and concise list to teach kids what is inappropriate behaviour they would need to tell you about right away.  (Instead of vague conversations about ‘IT’)
• How to keep kids safe with babysitters, at school, with friends, when they are teenagers, etc., etc. 

I can’t recommend this book enough to parents everywhere.  Not only is it stuffed with great information, there are example stories all through the book which make it an engaging read.

Posted under Books to Read, Parenting

February 25, 2009

Check out the latest Homeschool Blog Carnival at Judy Aron’s ‘Consent of the Governed’ blog .  Along with her political themed blog, she chose a ‘Stimulus’ theme to tie all the great posts toghether.  I thought that was pretty funny.  There are lots of great homeschool blog articles features, if you’re looking for an enjoyable browse.  Have fun!

Posted under Blog Carnivals

February 25, 2009

Denise is a homeschool mom who knows math inside and out and has put together tons of great articles, ideas, and links in her blog with the great name:  Let’s Play Math!

Here are some of what I enjoyed on her blog:

• How to play Math War instead of worksheets to practice math facts
• A great list of internet math resources
• The first article in a new math blog carnival for pre-K to 12 
• Her printable handouts for personal use, and book lists.

Thank you for all the ideas!

Posted under Math Curriculum, Math Websites

February 25, 2009

Isn’t this a great picture of an ‘E-fant’?  (my 3-year-old’s favorite animal)  Learning about animals is a favorite part of early education and teaches children science, reading, comprehension, and lots more.

Check out Exploring Nature, a great natural science website with:

• animal databases
• how to draw animals
• science activities
• lesson plans on plants
• coloring pages
• a glossary
• and much more 

Much of the site is free, but there is also a nominal $25/yr to access some of their member only resources.  Enjoy!

Posted under Science Curriculum, Science Websites

February 24, 2009

Do you think you are bad at math? Does you child think he or she is?

Math seems to come up often in complaints about early education.

So, if you’re looking for a new approach, you might want to try Living Math which consists of:

• Early exposure to math as it is used in real life, instead of contrived worksheets.
• Not requiring mastery of math on a set time table
• Liberal use of math literature and history to make math come alive and feel more real.
• A goal to encourage a child’s natural love of learning (even while learning math

Julie Brennan, a homeschool mom of four, offers lots of Living Math resources on her website:

• An article about incorporating Living Math ideas into your math curriculum
• A Yahoo group Living Math Forum to share ideas with fellow parents and educators
• An awesome list of living math books sorted by topic.
• A whole curriculum of Living Math History she has designed and sells.

Enjoy!

Posted under Math Curriculum, Math Websites

February 23, 2009

If you’re doing a unit study on one of the states in America, check out this website full of State resources including:

• State facts
• Links to TONS of great state-specific websites
• lots of field trip info
• local homeschool info

Thank you to The Homeschool Mom for compiling this great resource!

Posted under Geography, Geography Websites

February 19, 2009

We’ve been gone a bit, enjoying a fun vacation at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio.  Not only did we love running around in shorts, T-shirts, and swimsuits in the middle of February, but we were there with a huge group of Homeschoolers as part of the Unschoolers Winter Waterpark Gathering.  ’Unschooling‘ basically means that you don’t stick to any specific homeschool curriculum.  Instead, you use life to learn and encourage your children’s interests. 

The week was packed with lots of swimming and so many activities that we were running all over the place:  Webkinz parties, Pokemon trading, a Kid’s Marketplace, Dungeon’s and Dragons games, video games, two Talent Shows, dance workshops, a Medieval Ball and tons more!

Here are a few pictures of our fun (and socialization, which we take very seriously as homeschoolers – ROFL)

Our beautiful Princess in her ball gown and hat for the grand finale, the Medieval Ball!

Showing off his own dance moves – the definition of EXUBERANT!  Why can’t I suck off some of their energy and use it myself??

He won the 1000 ticket jackpot in the arcade – and it took him FOREVER to decide how to spend them.

His favorite moment of the Conference:  buying his own bag of cotton candy at the Kid’s Marketplace.

And dressing up in the kid’s lounge is always fun!

Sometimes homeschooling is just way too much fun!  We love this life!

Posted under Field Trips, Homeschool Activities