Free books can be found everywhere--if you know where to look. This list shows you 50 places to find free books online. Offerings include free fiction and nonfiction books, free audio books, free reference books and free textbooks.

Read the rest HERE!

You know how exciting it is to get back to school, back to a routine? It's delightful, life is less complicated, people are clean and nicely dressed, the mother/teacher is not in her robe still at 3 pm, meals are served on time and consist of a variety of healthy, exciting foods. Well, almost.              

Let's face it, when school is in full swing, the cafeteria selections are not as colorful as when break is in session. Take today, our 5th day of hitting all the majors. We slept later than usual, I made waffles but detoured through "reorganize and repair" land, then meandered on through "put bagged items into fancy tupperware" forest, only to land in "the pantry MUST be organized now" pond. So, around 10 am we were still very full from our "breakfast."         

Somehow, at 3 pm, we've read our new devotion book for this year, did all the Timeline cards, reviewed some Foundations, did math, EEL, Bible and reading, played a game together, and ate a second meal. The apple cider vinegar is on tap and we've downed some xylitol to combat bacteria in our mouths, throats and sinuses. Can it get any better than this??         

Well, a shower and dressing on my part would definitely improve the landscape. So, while they read or nap, I'll do my part so we can move into the evening phase of fun which will likely include rewatching The Story of Ruth from Netflix and playing more games.                  

I'm so tired and am thinking it's clearly the ACV detoxifying :).

It's time to meet another blogger here at HSB! This week go greet Melissal89, In the Sparrow's Nest. It's a fun blog to view and read with posts on homeschooling, Charlotte Mason, and everything mommy, you'll make a new friend for the new year. Be sure to check out the sidebar, it's a treasure trove of resources!

Winter Solstice is passed, but I thought this activity looked fun and easy, even for my science/activity/craft challenged mind. Along with the winter theme, why not make some Borax snowflakes?

With today's economy, it can be hard to find fun things to do for the whole family. What's great about homeschoolers is that they always find a way to create their own fun!

I really liked this honest post about schedules and learning to let go. I struggle with it every year, forever drawn to school while my heart longs for education. Posts like this from Melissa (and you) remind me of what is important and that's why I love HSB!

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

Last year in an attempt to avoid getting my annual bacterial lung infection, or whatever it is--I started to do aerobic exercise and weight lifting. Serious vitamins did not help the situation either. So, I'm thinking boosting my immune system isn't what is going to help. I actually got more sick than I have in years. Instead of 3 or 4 weeks it was 7 weeks and I'm not sure I'm completely out of the woods as far as the strange chest rattle.           

Forest is back on breathing treatments and Willow is snotty all the time, likely because I can't keep her off dairy for any length of time. Oddly enough, Rose is doing the best! I honestly think we must have hit the bullseye treating her for a leaky gut because she is doing fantastic. She had shrimp last night and again tonight. The eggs have been wonderfully accepted. So, it appears that as her skin test has shown she lost the allergies now, her food challenge is also showing she's lost the allergies. Soy is also accepted now.                                         

Because Rose is eating everything except nuts and corn syrup, we are holding off on the endoscopy. We're established with the gastroenterologist and have been addressing one area he said to look at. I think that has solved the stomach aches. In short, Rose is drinking a LOT more water each day.                                    

Bacteria and asthma is one area I'm looking into for Forest. I'm also looking further into the latest findings of killer T cells in the lungs as they relate to asthma. I'm thinking that given what these articles say it wouldn't hurt to treat Forest with something to target bacteria.    

Since bacteria gets mentioned for me each year and Willow and I struggle with consuming dairy, I've wondered if we wouldn't benefit from bacterial targeting supplements.  MMS is one thing I'm looking into now to see if I'm comfortable giving it to all of us. We have started to get a cold in June as well as the Nov/Dec timeframe, so perhaps we wouldn't have to wait an entire year to see if this is helping.   There are many who claim MMS cures malaria, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, but it is not a miracle, it's just good chemistry according to this practical blogger who also believes in MMS. If you google MMS + supplement you will find a lot of information and can make your own decision.   The main site for MMS is here and you can download and read the first part of the book about this supplement there, for free.        

I've already gone back to giving us apple cider vinegar ( ACV ) which is hailed as being a cure-all for many a woe. You can also look up what that site says about MMS and many other alternative therapies. There is a great deal on the web about ACV cures that have been tauted for a long time.                   

If you've managed to stop getting bronchitis or pneumonia annually, please share what you did! Happy New Year!