See the Light Giveaway (12 Days of Homeschool Giveaways)
Welcome to Day 4 of the Homeschool Bloggers Network 12 Days of Homeschool Giveaways!
If you've missed the giveaways from the first three days, click here.
Today, our sponsor is See the Light!
See the Light is a unique art curriculum that your children are sure to love! They are graciously giving away their MOST POPULAR SET! – The Gift of Love DELUXE GIFT SET.
Includes: The Gift of Love DVD (143 mins), a pocket Size – 6 inch See the Light Black Light (batteries included), eXtreme Colored Pencils, and Fluorescent Chalk.
With this set your family can enjoy the “POP” from the black light in all three of the drawing lessons!
143 minutes of Christmas Content! Click here to learn more!
Are you a blogger? Or simply looking for a way to earn cash for sharing products you love? If so, check out See the Light's generous affiliate program and make 20% off of sales through your link. Click here to sign up.
To enter the giveaway, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Please note- this giveaway is open to US residents only. All entries will be verified. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to reply. If no reply is received within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
History Through The Ages Timeline Trio Giveaway
I can't think of something more exciting than starting off the new year with these history timelines. These timelines make the perfect hands on activities for any history program.
HISTORY Through the Ages Timeline Trio helps put the puzzle of history together. It allow you to follow across eras of time using illustrated figures to represent people and events key to world history. Using them in the Record of Time notebook allows a portability that will become both a valuable resource and treasured keepsake!
With eras of “time” being such an abstract concept, a child can have difficulties wrapping his young mind around the idea of it – adults, too! Quite often the student will become frustrated and bored, resulting in a deflated desire to understand the subject at all. Understanding when and where events took place, however, is crucial to understanding the patterns that evolved throughout history! It also illustrates God's hand in all things from civilizations to sciences, something unfortunately left out in public school educations today. The key factor lacking in teaching the subject of history was transforming it from an abstract concept to a concrete framework, visible and even tangible! Practically all people, young or old, rely on visualizing in order to learn. A child will see patterns happening and will make sense of how one event leads to another.
Win One
Homeschool in the Woods wants to giveaway (1) HISTORY Through the Ages TIMELINE TRIO. It is retailed value at 113.95. Winner will be picked on Wednesday, November 17th at 11:59 pm. Winner will be contacted via email and must respond within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen. All entries will be verified.
Check out the other FUN 12 Days of Homeschool Giveaways!
12 Days of Homeschool Giveaways (Kids Email and Amazon GC)
KidsEmail.org is a safe email service for kids and families. Your kids can now have a safe email account while allowing parents to be aware of any correspondence their children send and receive. You supervise your children when they go outside to play.
Do you know who is contacting your child inside of your home?
Giveaway for Homeschoolers
Win a 1 Year of Kid's Email and an Amazon Gift Card!
Kid's Email is giving away a (4) 1 Year of Kids Email and (4) $25 Amazon Gift Card ($63.95 Value) Winners will be picked on Wednesday, November 17th at 11:59 pm. All winners will be contacted via email and must respond within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen. All entries will be verified.
Check out the other FUN 12 Days of Homeschool Giveaways!
Pick and Draw Giveaway (12 Days of Homeschool Giveaways!)
Pick and Draw is the absolute perfect stocking stuffer for any child.
Pick and Draw Game is a delightfully simple drawing game that anyone and everyone can enjoy using.
Great for one person or large groups, everyone will be empowered to create their own cartoon character faces…name them and tell funny things about them. For family time fun or holiday get togethers, there's nothing like Pick and Draw game to help make great memories and enjoy being together in a creative way.
With this simple game you can make over 60,000 different character faces!
The Big Book of Pick and Draw Activities is a dynamic tool to accompany the Pick and Draw Game for teachers, clinicians, homeschool parents, art teachers, mission workers, social workers, counselors and other professionals that work with children. Past the fun of Pick and Draw is it's ability to be used effectively by professionals who work with kids. Each chapter has step by step instructions how they used it and the goals they were shooting to accomplish with the game.
Win One
Pick and Draw is generously wanting to giveaway 10 Pick and Draw card games and 5 The Big Book of Pick and Draw Activities. Winners will be picked on Wednesday, November 17th at 11:59 pm. All winners will be contacted via email and must respond within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen. All entries will be verified.
Check out the other FUN 12 Days of Homeschool Giveaways!
Free Homeschool Curriculum ($150 Value!)
I am thrilled to be partnering with Homeschool Giveaways for their 4th Annual Black Friday Event and this is the biggest one ever, with over $150 in FREE Curriculum!
Click the image to claim your freebies! Scroll down below for complete details of this special offer from Homeschool Giveaways!
There are also a ton of BONUS Freebies and Exclusive Coupon Codes for you when you download your freebies. (Hint: you'll be able to grab my eBook 101 Independent Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers at 50% off!)
Ready to learn about the freebies in this bundle?
Creative Freewriting Adventure – $18.95 Value
Writing can be hard work. Good writing most often results from much rewriting, and much rewriting can make a writer weary. Since Philosophy Adventure™ students polish one primary writing assignment over the course of several weeks (supported by clear step-by-step instructions and seven writing checklists), we created freewriting exercises to offset their hard work with play.
Use Creative Freewriting Adventure as a stand-alone resource or to complement Philosophy Adventure. No prep required. Just grab a pen and paper, set a timer, and have fun!
Quark Chronicles: Botany $14.95 Value
Quark Chronicles: Botany is a living science book that is worldview neutral, meaning that you can use it regardless of how you feel about creationism, intelligent design, and evolution.
To get the most out of this living science curriculum, purchase the Notebooking Pages, which include suggestions for extra reading as well as copywork, vocabulary, and pages for narrations and experiment write-ups. It contains the workbook in five different handwriting fonts: vertical cursive, slant cursive, basic italic, cursive italic, and manuscript.
Experience History Through Music Notebooking Pages Set $12.95 Value
Are you looking for a creative and fun way to teach history to your children? Diana Waring’s “Experience History Through Music Notebooking Pages Set” was created to use side-by-side with the actual books and CD’s, but can also be used separately. This set features delightfully decorated pages for written narration for each song, plus a copywork page with lyrics.
When you download the freebies, you will get a coupon code discount to purchase the beautiful set that goes with this notebooking pack!
Birds of a Feather Unit Study – $17.95 Value
Our delightful feathered friends are waiting to be discovered just beyond your window pane. Get up close and personal with Birds of a Feather and some of God’s most stunning creations! Birds of a Feather is a FUN, NO PREP, 4-week unit study appropriate for grades 2-12.
Children choose from a wide variety of quality, library reading selections that focus on backyard birds, bird identification, the science of ornithology, and birds of prey. They will create and maintain a nature journal, learn to identify a variety of species, meet a famous scientist and artist, Set up a bird feeding habitat with simple homemade bird feeders, a bird bath, and bird food concoctions, an MUCH more!
Do you have a Boy Scout in your family? He will earn his Bird Study Merit Badge while completing Birds of a Feather with the rest of his family. American Heritage Girls earn Our Feathered Friends Badge.
The World of Vertebrates – $24 Value
Organized around 24 lessons, each with a mini-book project, lab activity, and graphic organizer project, students will learn about fish, amphibians, salamanders, alligators, birds, mammals, and more.
Includes vocabulary words, “Lots of Science Library Books” a mini-book to make & read, lab activities, graphic organizers, and “Experience, Investigations, and Research” enrichment/extension projects. Clear directions with step-by-step, leveled instructions, pictures, and helpful information make presenting lessons easy once the pre-lesson preparation is completed. A final cumulative project completes the course.
Grades K-8. On Cathy Duffy Top 100 list!
“For You They Signed: The Spiritual Heritage of Those Who Shaped Our Nation” – $14.00
More than simply facts and figures, For You They Signed provides an abundance of resources within one volume, including: a full year of life-changing, challenging family or group devotional character studies, over 90 illustrations, biographical summaries, and insightful quotes, character quality definitions, Patrick Henry's speech delivered to the signers, the Christian nature of state constitutions, and the Christian nature of America's universities.
When you download the freebies you will get a coupon code discount to purchase the other components to get the most of this curriculum (optional.) It can be used for a high school credit course!
The Latin-Centered Curriculum 1st Edition – $12.95 Value
From Cicero to C. S. Lewis, from Thomas Aquinas to Thomas Jefferson, the great minds of the West have been formed by a classical curriculum centered on Latin and Greek. Now you can give your children a traditional classical education at home with The Latin-Centered Curriculum.
In a clear and readable introduction, The Latin-Centered Curriculum surveys the history of classical education from the ancient Greeks through the 20th-century neoclassical revival.
With helpful charts and detailed explanations, The Latin-Centered Curriculum guides you step by step with book and curriculum recommendations for each school subject from K-12. It shows you how focusing a few core disciplines—classical languages, mathematics, and composition—can revolutionize your homeschool.
“Pirate!” Unit Study – $7.00 Value
“Pirate!” is a two-week study on pirates, their plundering ways, swashbuckling fights, and golden loot. Daily readings share about their sea-faring culture and history, as well as the traditions of pirates. The module includes schedule pages for the two weeks that schedule daily assignments and the journaling pages that include rich content and interactive pages. You’ll love all the different things kids will learn, and the fun activities that will bring pirates home with you!
This study includes the reading you need for the study, activities and how to do them, fun games, and more! It is planned around a four-day week to make it easy to do, but it could also be spread out for longer, or customized to use in other ways. Nothing else is required except craft supplies for the activities!
NotebookingPages.com Bundle – $20.85 Value
Notebooking is a family favorite here! We use notebooking in Science, History, and Geography (and anything else we feel like!) This FREE notebooking bundle will give you a taste of what Notebookingpages.com offers!
Includes: Alphabet Copywork, Basic Lined Notebooking Pages, Christmas Copywork, American Presidents Sample Pack, Ancient Times Sample Pack, Famous Composers Sample Pack, First Ladies Sample Pack ,North American Birds Sample Pack ,State Studies Sample Pack, National Parks Sample Pack, and World Explorers Sample Pack.
Take advantage of their HUGE Black Friday Sale and Save $25 on a Lifetime Membership!
Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing – $19.99 Value
Unlock the secrets of compare-and-contrast writing in this eBook for your junior and senior high students. Written by Sharon Watson, Apologia author of “Jump In,” a middle school writing course that is one of Cathy Duffy’s 101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, this is sure to be a hit!
– Includes 10 complete lessons with 28 writing exercise
– Teaches your students 3 solid methods of writing compare-and-contrast essays
– Teaches nonfiction and fiction methods for compare-and-contrast
– Uses copious examples, even full essays written by students
– Includes Answer Key
Click here to download these amazing Black Friday FREEBIES!!
GRACE for the Stressed Out Mama
Before I got married I had visions of what our family would be like. Mommy would be humming cheerfully while the kiddos helped her make cookies in her sparkling clean kitchen.
Instead, I find myself in situations far different than what I envisioned. In fact, our latest baking enterprise turned out like this:
Yes, all mommy has to do is step into the bathroom or go change the baby's diaper and it seems like all hell has broken loose by the time I return.
Moms, I get what it's like. Oh, I SO GET IT!
You want to be a happy mom and do fun stuff with your kids.
You want to cook nutritious meals and bake yummy treats.
You want to serve at church and keep your house clean and serve your neighbors and keep yourself looking nice for your husband and…and…and…
But it seems like everywhere you turn there are obstacles in your way.
Little people dump out what you're baking.
The food you cook gets burned and you have to serve your family cereal for dinner.
You're tired out with a teething baby and you're having to drag yourself through the housework.
“THIS WASN'T HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE!” you're thinking.
Homemaking was supposed to be fun. I was supposed to be a cheerful wife and mom, enjoying being here for my family, but instead I am one STRESSED-OUT, FRAZZLED MESS!
You know what you need? A good dose of GRACE.
Here's how I find grace in the stressful seasons:
G – Get some rest
When you're tired, your emotional sensitivity level shoots through the roof and your patience level fizzles out to nearly zero. Instead of sweetly letting your children help you stir the cookies dough, you find yourself hollering about the flour they spilled (or purposely dumped. ahem.) “Where did that even come from?” you wonder. “Why I am hollering at my babies?” It's time to get some rest, mama. Get everybody down for a nap and go take one yourself. If that's not possible, get them to bed early and GO TO BED yourself.
R – Read your Bible
When I find I'm acting like a bear, I often realize I've been so busy that I haven't spent much time with the Lord. Instead of letting the sweetness of the Spirit of God fill my soul, I've been letting the worries of everything I have to get done fill my mind. When the clock is ticking away and my agenda isn't getting completed, I find myself getting more and more frustrated and stressed until I eventually explode under the pressure. Sometimes that's simply because I haven't asked him whether what's on my list is what He really wants me to accomplish. Sometimes there are things that must be completed within a certain timeframe, but I'm trying to accomplish them in my own power. When I feel the pressure, it's time for me to step away from my worry and step into the presence of God. (See also: Finding Time for God When You Can Hardly Find Time to Breathe)
A – Abandon failed projects
Just because you think a good mom makes cookies with her kids doesn't mean you're a bad mom if you don't. If you're the type of mom who gets aggravated at spilled flour, then give up on the cookie idea. Your kids would rather have a happy mom who doesn't get herself all worked up.
If you've been asked to bring a pie to the family gathering and it's taking you all. day. long. to get the thing made with all the interruptions (true story), you can do one of two things: 1. Don't bring the pie and say “I'm sorry I wasn't able to get the pie done.” or 2. Go to the grocery store and buy a pie, put it on a nice plate, and keep your mouth shut about where it came from. It doesn't make you a failure. Who cares if other people think you should be able to get it done. You know you can't get it done without making your family miserable with your stress. They're more important than what everybody else thinks.
C – Cue the music
There was a reason David was brought in to play music for Saul when he would get so enraged. Music soothes the soul. When you're feeling stressed and snippy with your family, turn on some relaxing, soul-strengthening music. Your disposition will improve immensely.
E – Embrace reality
Be who you are, not who everybody else thinks you should be or what you've envisioned you would be in the past.
If it's not your thing to make cookies with the kids, don't force yourself to make cookies with the kids and end up being a grouch because it frazzles you.
If you burned dinner and had to feed the family cereal, don't worry about it. At least you're putting something in their bellies.
If you struggle with keeping the house clean, but you give it your best shot, don't look around and beat yourself up for being such a failure. “Other moms manage to keep their house clean. I am such a loser.”
No you're not. You're you. You've got a unique personality, and you are loving your family in the way that only you can.
Stop wishing you were like this or that other person. Be the wife and mom God made you to be and embrace it with joy.
Give yourself some GRACE, mama.
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