Olde-Books.com

Here is a website I happened across recently: Olde-Books.com. These folks offer a selection of quality, out-of-print books in e-book format. They have some titles I am quite looking forward to purchasing!

Free Downloads: Vintage Counting and Alphabet Charts

Black and White Alphabet and Counting Charts

Color Counting Chart

Wouldn't these look cute in the school room?

Quote of the Week ~ July 8, 2009

The Reading Mother

I had a mother who read to me

Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,

Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,

"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.

I had a Mother who read me lays

Of ancient and gallant and golden days;

Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,

Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a Mother who read me tales

Of Celert the hound of the hills of Wales,

True to his trust till his tragic death,

Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

I had a Mother who read me the things

That wholesome life to the boy heart brings-

Stories that stir with an upward touch,

Oh, that each mother of boys were such.

You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be --

I had a Mother who read to me.

~ Strickland Gillilan

Curriculum Reviews

Here is a link to some wonderfully informative curriculum and book reviews (grouped by subject) from two experienced homeschool mothers: Marvelous Mondays. I very much enjoyed these and found them to be a great help. Highly recommended!

Free Dover Teacher's Sampler

I have been a fan of Dover Publications ever since I discovered their series of historical paper dolls as a girl. As a mother now I appreciate the hundreds of wonderful titles they offer that are just right for homeschooling families.

Dover offers a weekly free e-mail sampler for teachers that includes pages from their many books for children. Pages include brain-teasers, science projects, stories and poems, nature illustrations, coloring pages and more. They also offer special sales for teachers. Click here to sign up.

Please note that Dover is not a Christian company and not all of their books are edifying. They do carry books that I would not recommend, so please be cautious as you peruse their catalog.

Free Three Week Samples of Tapestry of Grace

Summertime is planning time for many mothers as they look ahead to a new school year. Over the next few weeks I hope to link to some helps along those lines. To begin, here is a free sample of a popular curriculum to assist you in your decision making :-):

"Welcome to your personal tour of TAPESTRY OF GRACE: the award-winning classical, integrated unit study turning the heads of reviewers and homeschool moms across the world. Covering History, Writing, Literature, Geography, Philosophy, Art, Hands-On Learning, Government, and more, Tapestry is more engaging, more extensive, and more flexible than ever. " Click the links below to order your free sampler CDS:

"Go to Egypt"

"Sail to the New World"

Holling C. Holling Homeschooling Helps: Book of Indians

Here is a link to lesson plans and notebooking pages to go along with Holling C. Holling's Book of Indians

Holling C. Holling Homeschooling Helps: Paddle to the Sea

If you are looking for a good study on the Great Lakes, Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling is a treasure. Paddle-to-the-Sea is a little wooden Indian in a canoe, carved by a young boy up north in Canada. Paddle is sent on a journey to the ocean and the story follows him as he travels through each of the Great Lakes (and has many adventures along the way!). Full of wonderful details, drawings and information on the areas surrounding each lake, this book was much enjoyed in our home. Though it's been a year since we read it, the children have still retained quite a bit of what they learned.

Here are a few free online resources to go along with the book:

Paddle-to-the-Sea with Google Earth: "An exciting new program that uses the travels of Paddle to link real-time Great Lakes data to Google Earth’s mapping application. Tracing the path of Paddle's journey to the sea, it includes themes, key words, and Web sites for each chapter of the book." Click here for more information and to download

Paddle-to-the-Sea Film on YouTube: I saved this old film until we finished the book. While it did leave out many details it was still enjoyable, and it was neat for the children to see little Paddle on the big lakes.

Geography and Paddle-to-the-Sea: This is a helpful post from a homeschooling mother on how she used Paddle with her children.